Happy Halloween!

Halloween isn't really celebrated in Bolivia, but I wanted to do something to celebrate with the kids. Finding costumes for all of them just wasn't possible, so instead, we had a little Halloween party! It ended up being probably the most lame Halloween party ever... I can say that because it was all my idea! The kids had fun though so that's all that matters!

This picture is actually from the day before Halloween! We bought candy to make goody bags for the big kids, and I knew they'd love these gummy teeth. We had a little too much fun convincing E. to try them out!

Baby C. dressed up as a ladybug, and I even found a matching pacifier for her!

These lucky 3 got to dress up! R. was a ballerina, M. was a zebra, and baby C. was a ladybug!

The cutest zebra out there!

Stuffing his face... Typical E.

The mummy and the ladybug enjoyed the festivities, as well!

Tía Rosi trying to teach the kids how to throw the rings onto the witch hat!

Totally cheating.

Being allowed to throw a toy? Pretty much the most fun game ever!

She won the award for "Most Adorable Costume"!

M. was so not a fan of the witch hat!

P. thought wearing the witch hat was just as much fun as playing ring toss with it!

Ballerina or a witch? She couldn't decide!

Cheating some more...

R. and K. showing off their pumpkins! (They had to glue on the face.)

S. didn't want to be left out of all the fun!

Wordless Wednesday~ Tía Silvia's New Baby

For those of you who haven't heard the exciting news, our director Jennifer had her baby, Sophia, on October 13th! Click here if you want to read all about it! (Jennifer brought Sophia to visit all of us at the baby home, and Tía Silvia quickly tied her up in my aguayo and finished cooking lunch for us!)

Feliz Cumpleaños to Our Newest 7 Year Old!

Yesterday (10/27), we celebrated a very special birthday! A.M., one of our big girls, turned 7 years old!  

She's had a bit of a hard time lately, so we wanted to make her day extra special! I think we succeeded; she celebrated all day long! A lady who loves A.M. very much and visits her often took her out for the day. Going to church and eating chicken for lunch seemed to be the two highlights of the outing! When she returned home, we had a party with the girls. They danced, 10 year old A. dressed up as a clown (told you we have clowns at every event here!), played games, and ate cake! A.M. has been asking me for at least a month if she could spend the night with me at the baby home for her birthday, so that wish was granted. After celebrating with the girls, I took her with me for the night!

A., with the help of J., came up with a clown costume!

All of the girls gave A.M. a gift. She received several little purses and dolls!

The presents just kept coming! 

 Our "payasa", A., insisted on being the one to light the candles.

A.M. actually took 2 bites of her cake! The first bite was small, but after some encouragement from the girls, she put her whole face in the cake!

She loved seeing herself in the mirror after taking her second bite of cake!

The birthday princess was so excited to show me that she could hold baby C. all by herself!

While waiting on our trufi, A.M. spotted an airplane and said "Look Tía Hannah! It's Tía Daniela's airplane! Chau, Tía Daniela!" (Danyelle (or Daniela as she was called here!) was here over the summer and lived in the girls' home~ We all miss her!)

A.M. loves riding in these toys, so before heading back to the baby home for the night, we stopped at I.C. Norte to buy some popcorn (she requested popcorn and a movie before bedtime) and they just happen to have 3 of these "motos," as she calls them!

A.M. was so excited to play with the toddlers! She's always asking me about coming over to play with E., so she got her wish!

She also helped feed baby C.!

Watching "Buscando a Nemo" (Finding Nemo) while enjoying a big bowl of popcorn

I ended up working a night shift that night, so we all (A.M., Tía Rosi, and I) shared two matresses. A.M. wasted no time in stretching out and taking up space on both matresses!

She even wanted to help change diapers in the morning!

Wordless Wednesday~ Look who lost another tooth!

*Since this picture was taken, she's lost a second tooth and loves showing off the gaps in her mouth!

Laundry Ayudantes

Our kids love to help us with anything and everything! They are much more helpful with some chores than others, but it's always sweet to see them trying to help. 

Helping with laundry is everyone's favorite chore! If a tía is outside hanging laundry on the clothesline, you can bet she has at least one or two little helpers. They're a little too short to hang clothes up, but they're quick to pull out the trapitos (little fabric scraps used as wipes) and socks to place on the window sills to dry. 

So thankful for such helpful kids!

Welcome Back!

Last week, we were surprised with the adoption of C., and this morning we were surprised to see her again! Her mom had some things to bring over, so she brought C. along for a quick visit. Even though it had only been a few days, it was so great to see her again! It is always a weird feeling around the house when a child leaves, and it sure is fun to have them come back to visit!

C. is doing so well with her new family. She was always a bit fussy with us, and I think a lot of it had to do with her needing more attention than she was getting here. When she came back to visit, she had a huge smile and was just radiating joy! You see a kid like her after just a few days with a family, and you know that adoption is absolutely worth it!

Feliz Cumpleaños Jasmin!

Some of the tías have gone above and beyond to care for me here, and Tía Rosi is one of them. She's told me several times that she wanted me to come visit her house and her family, but the timing never really worked out. Until this afternoon, that is! Her daughter, Jasmin, turned 6 years old today, and I was invited to her birthday party!

Tía Rosi (like the majority of the tías) lives in Chulla which is about an hour away in two different trufis. As I had never visited Chulla before, she agreed to meet me in Quillacollo (not too far past the boys' house) and we rode to Chulla together. It's SO different than the city. Lots of land, not as many houses, dirt/gravel roads... like a completely different place! 

Jasmin had quite the celebration! There were two clowns, two cakes, lots of presents, and so many friends! I think she had a great time, and I did as well. Jasmin's party was a lot of fun (it was my first Bolivian birthday party!), and I really enjoyed seeing a different area of Cochabamba and meeting so many of the tías' family and friends!