uruguay, myuguay

so far montevideo has been a mixed bag. while jack was playing with his grandparents today, i was working in the filing center with our correspondent kelly o'donnell, my fellow producer antoine sanfuentes, and cameraman rodney batten. we are a serious group.





montevideo is somewhat known for its architecture. on these trips we often don't have much (read: any) free time, but today -- because the president was at rancho anchorena, the uruguayan camp david ... and because he was a three hour's drive away from monte-where-we-make-the-video, we had a bit of a break after his press conference. and, in our break we walked out through one of the capital's nicer neighborhoods to a nearby market, taking in the architecture.

the feria was not all that we had hoped for -- it was less about great folkloric artisans and more about grateful deadheads, but i did manage to negotiate to buy this donkey:




i am hoping he will be able to walk up the steps of the plane with no problem. otherwise it's a long walk/swim to colombia ... even for a mule.


there was not much good shopping at the market ... unless you're in the market for incense or jam ... and really, who couldn't use more jam?

but it was just nice to get out in the fresh air and stretch the legs ...

one thing i did find interesting: we saw a great number of children while we were out and about. babies being carried, strolled in carriages and strollers, played with, bought for. it really seems to me that uruguay is a pretty child-focused culture. but then again, maybe i notice it more since i'm missing jack ...

i'd put pictures in of this, except that i didn't take any. i thought it seemed weird to take pictures of other people's children. and i didn't want jack to get jealous!

Conseguí

Success! I found my Zoomp jeans. After only 20 years of pining for them. I took pix but my camera phone won't send text messages in Brazil, so I can't post them. But they're cool, and all I have to say is Jack better not barf on them!!

um otro dia, um otro real ...

another day, another dollar ...

things in sao paulo are going well. potus arrived without incident and meets president lula in a couple hours to make an announcement about an ethanol agreement between the two countries. in the interim, i'm hoping to sneak out to the nearby mall in pursuit of zoomp jeans that i've been coveting since i was 13 years old.

jack is doing well. he had another okay night with only one wakeup. this morning he was up early (5:30a) but was content to play by himself in his crib until the more civilized hour of 6a. and, a new "best practice": jack fed *himself* his morning bottle in his crib while daddy got his shower. everyone was happy for 15 minutes.

tonight nana and grandpa jennings come over to babysit and spend the night. hopefully jack will wait until that same "civilized hour" to wake up and play with his grandparents.

gotta go -- o zoomp esta chamando!!

chegé

so mommy has arrived in the land of her birth after an overnight flight from andrews afb. we were delayed in leaving because king abdullah of jordan cut in line ahead of us. something about royalty and head of state taking precedence over the fourth estate ... pshaw! but, we took off around 1 am and i slept from about 1:45a to about 6:45a, after watching about half of "a night at the museum." when i woke, it hit me, i usually don't get to remain horizontal for five uninterrupted hours.

daddy reports that jack is well. michael's now experiencing what it's like to not get that extended uninterrupted laying down time, as jack woke at 2a for a bottle. but, true to form, jack went right back to sleep until 6a and they spent a nice morning. although it will be wearing for the next week, hopefully things will continue to go as smoothly.

depending on citizenship rules, jack may also be "brazilian" so mommy will be on the hunt today for appropriate vestments to show off the national pride.

that's the latest from the southern hemisphere ...

what to pack?

so, mommy is about to be leaving on a jet plane. my first trip since jack was born -- to brazil, uruguay, colombia, guatemala and mexico. i've never been away from him a night, and now i'm going for a whole week. should be an interesting trip -- i've never been to uruguay or guatemala -- but it will probably be hard too. mommy is sure she will miss her varoncito pequeño (little boy). my colleague tells me that now is actually a *good* age for me to travel. he says when they get older, they start saying, "why do you have to go?" and "i miss you!" in a most heart-breaking fashion. something to look forward to ... great ...

maybe it's psychological, but i put off packing until this morning. also, it was partly the fact that we forgot to get the suitcase out of the attic tuesday morning and didn't want to wake jack last night. so, as i was packing, i had a little helper ...



do you think i'll fit in the suitcase too, mommy?



would that you could, varoncito ... would that you could.

the latest in the great bell stand-off

this round goes to jack ...

i love lucy

our very good friends auntie dine, uncle daweed and their daughter la luce -- came over for brunch on sunday.


we ate a yummy egg, bread and cheese casserole and some sausage. jack joined us for brunch, eating cheerios, but daddy decided to give jack some sausage to try as well. dipped in maple syrup. mommy was a little bemused, but boys will be boys. and, not surprisingly, jack *loved* sausage! note to nana -- you're now officially out of trouble for giving jack syrup. it's now apparently s.o.p.



after a delicious-but-heavy meal, it seemed like we needed to exercise to work off the calories. lucy decided the perfect anecdote would be yoga:





and, apparently it is proper yoga etiquette to remove ones shoes, socks, and, umm... pants??? so, lucy did. and jack watched attentively.











jack even got in on the yoga fun -- trying the cobra pose:



after we said "namaste" to yoga, the kiddos decided to play with some of jack's toys, although jack wasn't totally sure about sharing ...

but in the end, he warmed up to the idea of lucy touching his toys, and there were many hugs and kisses exchanged.