What a Circus!

As always, we have lots to tell you. This weekend we went to Ocean City and met Grampa and Grammy, and also Uncle Sean, Tía Natalia, and cousins Sofia and Matias. (We'll tell you all about that soon, along with our visit to see them in Hershey with Grandma Jane before we even went to Mexico!) But today we'll start out with Grampa and Grammy.

 Ollie made Grampa and Grammy work pretty hard.

Plotting ways to escape down the balcony stairs kept Grampa on his toes.

maybe i can just jump over him if i get a running start?

After a night of babysitting where Ollie woke up at midnight and cried and cried until Grammy played ball with him til Mama got home, Grammy still had enough energy to play with Ollie in the baby pool.

Which he LOVED.

Then Grammy kept Ollie entertained on the ride back to the train station when we had to go home.

And remember that rocking horse Grampa and Grammy got for Ollie? Well he loves it and gives it hugs all the time.

And his new favorite daredevil thing...

 is to ride on it circus-style.

Please Sir, I Want Some More

If your name is Oliver, you'd better learn this word...

Little Pelé

Ollie's been practicing his new dribbling skills and is getting ready for the 2030 World Cup.

Liittle Archaeologist

On our third day in Mexico (are we only on the third day?) we explored some ancient Zapotec ruins with Ollie.

(Well, first we had some coffee.)

There were a lot of stairs to climb.

We thought about taking the ancient Zapotec elevator.

But finally made it to the top for a fabulous view.

Ollie made sure to stay hydrated in the hot sun...

While he helped build a new temple.

Which was exhausting, and required a backpack nap to recover.

Mama? Mama Who?

So much to catch up on! But before we even attempt that, a few pictures of Ollie with his new favorite person, Michael. Mama had a meeting with a client last Friday and Michael very kindly agreed to come babysit Ollie. When Mama left, Ollie didn't even cry... he has NEVER done that when Mama leaves except for with Papa and Zadia's Mama. 

These are a few pictures from another day they were playing. Mama doesn't know what sort of shenanigans they got into last Friday, but Ollie's favorite game with Michael on this day was when he held his fingers and ran really fast around the roof deck with him. Ollie's face pretty much had a smile plastered on it the entire time. And Michael got a good workout. 

michael's coming over!!! yipeeeeeee!

he'll play ball with me

and teach me to jump

and ride me on his shoulders

and play my favorite game that we call "motorcycle michael"

 i. love. it.

 more!!! more!!!

with pauses only to look at airplanes, which i get very excited about

thanks michael for coming over to play with me all the time and for taking such good care of my while my mama was away. (i'm sorry i had a blowout poop while you were in charge.)

a message to mama

well we are back at home.

papa tells me i have to let mama sleep in today cause it is "her day".

so while waiting patiently for mama to get up i thought i would get reacquainted with my toys and write a message to my mama.

mama you are the best.

i love you.

Ollie's Take on Culture

One more post from Mexico...we'll be home tomorrow to tell you about the rest of our awesome trip. But for now...

On Day Two of our trip (which was now over a week ago, but hey, we've been a little busy here) we visited a few museums in Oaxaca--the Modern Art Museum and the Oaxacan Cultural Museum. 

Ollie put on his new walking shoes and we were ready to go hit the streets.

Hmmmmm... not sure about this modern art, I think maybe I could draw some things like that myself.

He much preferred to climb around the old buildings the art was in than to look at the art.

Note his filthy pants. This is pretty much how dirty he has been the whole trip. Just imagine what his hands look like. 

He did, however approve of the soccer ball exhibit in the Modern Art Museum. Until he found out he wasn't allowed to touch any of them, that is.

The Cultural Museum was way more interesting though. Long hallways for silly running.

Tons of steps for (literally) hours of fun.

(He can't quite decide if he likes going up or down more.)

Signs to shake and knock over.

Oh, right... we're here for Culture. Do plants count as culture?

Meh, culture, schmulture... let's go play some ball in the park. 

And lucky for us, Ollie's a pretty adaptable little boy and can usually take champion naps on the go in his stroller.

Well, adaptable up to a point. He's still not a fan of the shower. He will definitely be happy to get home to his bathtub!

And to end our successful day of Culture, Mama and Papa, put Ollie to bed, took the monitor out on the hotel balcony and sampled the local foods, wines, and beers (as they continued to do every night thereafter). That counts as culture, right?