A few days before the end of the year 2011, I sit and reflect the many things that have happened in our lives.

Our 2011 has been very interesting, we barely have had the chance to stop and rest:  many changes, many adventures, many journeys!

We have gone from living in Guachalá to finishing our own house and moving into it.

We sold the Rodeo to help pay for the house and bought a more ecofriendly car, the Spark.

At school, we started our second year, opened a toddler classroom thinking of little ones like Alegria, and got our functioning permit.

Ana Martina started her second year of the 3-6 Montessori Children’s House program and Alegria is now in the 1-3 Children’s Community program.

Rafa jump-started his Cayambe Libre and is now giving computer and internet classes.

I have made an effort to sew more, do some more art, I started the sketch book, and have been reading as much as possible.

Now we are getting closer to a new year.  In the end of things, this “New Year” thing is all symbolic, but I still like to think that it gives us a chance to improve things, grow  and explore more, challenge ourselves more, love all things, and more than anything continue enjoying this journey we call life.

Alegria’s fun new and not so new words:

gracias, pupa (upa, or lift me up), caamba (caramba), Rafa, ñaña (sister or Ana Martina), pipi, Mitaka (tia Gaby’s and Cristobal’s dog), ufff (when she poops), Agueda (her grandma and her cousin), Aby (Gaby), paca (alpaca), Alegia (Alegria), ayayay, wowwoww (any animal with four legs), mira (look), toma (take it), nene (breastmilk), no

Alegria’s old words:

mama, mami, papi, grrrr (Simba or our cat), hola, agua (her MOST favorite word of ALL times)

I need to:
*Start a new sketchbook (have not done any of this since 2003 :-O, missing it badly)
and
Experiment with all types of art forms, new and old (for me)
*Read older books (historical fiction written in 1940′s)
*Learn to crochet and knit
and
Make hats and slippers
*Organize myself more so that my Ana Martina and Alegria can start experimenting more fully what art is all about… LOVE letting them finger and hand paint, allowing them to feel it and even taste it (Alegria).
Need to do it more.
*Continue with my million sewing projects. Sewing= ART (for me)
*Dance, specially with my girls
*Rediscover music that I used to enjoy deeply. Love how music takes you back to old times and good memories. Need to go back sometimes, and remember who I used to be and realize who I have become because of those old experiences and memories.
*Listen to the amazing sounds of nature that are amazingly amplified really early in the morning…

So far, January has been a fun month for our little family, though we have also been facing bad colds.

The building of our house is coming along and it is so exciting to see it start to take shape and form.  Our dream of having our own home is becoming a reality!

Alegria has become best friends with Mr. Simba, the kitty cat.  It is hilarious to see them playing together.  Somehow Simba knows to be extremely gentle with her even though she loves to grab his ears and tail.  I love listening to Alegria talk to Simba in her very own “cat” language.  She “grrrrssss, grrrrrssss, grrrrrsss’s” at him and he responds!  Ana Martina has also started to become more and more friendly with Mr. Simba and loves to hug him whenever she can.  Whenever we call him, he hears the following:

Me: Simba, kitty, kitty, kitty

Ana Martina: Simba, kee, kee, kee e

Alegria: Grrrr, grrr, grrrr

And he just runs towards us excited to see us.  Lately he has decided that he prefers spending time inside our house and he keeps Rafa company while he works.  Simba has surely earned a place in our little family’s heart.

Alegria and Ana Martina have started playing more and more together.  They enjoy each other’s company and are always looking out for each other.  If Alegria wakes up first, she tries to wake up her sister so that they can play together.  She also misses Ana Martina greatly when Ana Martina is in school.  One of her first words is “ñaña” (sister) and uses it all the time.

Rafa and I decided it was time to dust and get our bicycles out, buy a new baby bicycle seat in order to have two, and go for rides like we used to.  It has been four years since I stopped riding.  Mostly because of pregnancies and little babies, but now Alegria is over a year old and she can ride in a seat.  We are excited to start using our bicycles again to go on little adventures.

Now that we are building the house, we have also been planting trees all over what will be our backyard.  We have decided to concentrate on planting species that are from the area.  It has been fun and Ana Martina loves to help out in the planting and watering of the trees.  While we are doing that, Alegria loves to play with pebbles, dirt, and leaves.

Wild Cherry Tree

More pictures from this month

Funny things happen here around supper time, like Alegria trying to eat on her own, Ana Martina trying to feed Alegria and then eating part of Alegria’s food, each one grabbing the spoon their own way, Ana Martina insisting in seating next to Alegria every single day…

"Quiero probar el de mi ñaña, pero solo un poquito"

Notice the noodles on her sweatshirt

After using the spoon, and then her hands, Alegria finishes her soup in a different way!