January 2012

Early one morning, during the first week of January, cookie woke us up barking so persistently, that we had to get up and see for ourselves what he was barking at.

We were so pleasantly surprised, especially Santiago, our horse lover, to see this beautiful horse walking on the adjacent lot next to our house. The kids got dressed and ready quicker than I ever thought possible and went running to give her a carrot. At first she was a little timid and did not receive the carrots we were offering, but in no time, she got used to us and now comes quickly towards the fence the minute she notices we are out in the yard.

Needless to say, this horse has given us so much joy!! We all love watching her through the window...I can see her from the kitchen window. She is a sweet girl and her name is Autumn.

Santiago joined a basketball team with 5 other classmates this year. The coach was one of Santiago's best friend's father. He really enjoys the practices and the time spent with friends outside of school.
Now that he has been exercising so much, he has such a big apetite, it is hard to keep up with him.

After lots of practices, they had their first game and bless his heart, he was so nervous.
He did not have a good time and felt that the constant noise inside that small indoors court was unbearable. We understood his feelings and honored his decision to not participate in the games anymore.
He continued to go to practice and had fun with his friends twice a week.

I admired his courage to stand up for himself and let us know how he felt about the situation. I admired his courage to let his friends know about his decision on his own and still feel respected and accepted for who he is. We are so thankful to belong to this community where we can let our kids be themselves and feel the freedom to express their individuality.

There will be plenty of time for him to do more competitive sports when he gets older...if that is what he decides he likes.

"Amigo tigrito", was Santiago's imaginary friend for a long time, up until maybe 5 years old.
One day, I guess he was reminiscing on his childhood, he sat down and drew a picture of him.
This is what he looks like mommy, he said showing me the picture.
I was very excited to finally see the one whom I cooked for and talked to for so many years.
Nice to meet you "amigo tigrito"!

Every Friday at Live Oak, there's a school Assembly and each grade takes a turn on presenting what they have been working on. On January, it was 4th grades turn and they did an amazing job at presenting their songs, verses, artwork and a very well thought out shadow play.

Also in January, Santiago had his very first field trip to Monterrey Bay Aquarium, we were so proud of him. He really wanted to go with his friends and be a part of the whole experience.
They slept in Monterrey for one night and had a backstage tour of the aquarium. On another day, they went to the beach and explored the tide pools there. He came back so happy and told us all the stories of his trip.