Ethan's New Favorite Game

Peek....

...a...

...boo!

Christmas Day

We had a really nice Christmas this year. While we were tired from dealing with the dogs the night before (see the Christmas Eve post), we were up early to open presents. Ethan had a great time helping to open his gifts and playing with the wrapping paper.

After presents we headed over to our friend's apartment for a Christmas Day brunch. We had a delicious meal and a great time with everyone. It was a really nice (and very warm) Chritmas.

Here is Ethan, excited about wrapping paper.

Ethan enjoying his gift from Sadie

George and Gracie enjoyed their gift of peanut butter biscuits from Mimi and Grandpop.

Ethan modeling his PSU jersey.

Crazy Christmas Eve

Ethan here. I know, it has been a while since I blogged. I have been very busy though...playing "peek-a-boo" can be a full time job some days!

These are some pictures from Christmas Eve. The first picture is me enjoying some traditional Christmas Eve dinner of avocado. Okay, maybe it isn't traditional, but it is yummy!

This picture is of me under the tree. See that? I am in shorts! It was nice and warm here for Christmas.

And this is Dad and a scared George. Here is the story. In Argentina it is traditional to have the big celebration on Christmas Eve. Families gather for dinner and exchange gifts and at midnight they celebrate. Christmas day is generally a low-key, relaxing day to recover from Christmas Eve. The other tradition is to set off fireworks at midnight (or anytime before or after that you are feeling the need to set off fireworks)...from your balcony. George and Gracie are not fans of this tradition at all. In fact they spent most of the night on Mom and Dad, or barking at the fireworks through the window.

Not to worry about me though! I am like Dad, I can sleep through anything, so I missed all the excitement.

Ethan's First Chanukah

These are some pictures from Ethan's first Chanukah.

Ethan watching Steve light the candles on the last night of Chanukah.

And Ethan checking out the candles after they have been lit.

Holiday Dinner

Last Saturday (the 4th night of Chanukah), we hosted a holiday potluck dinner. As with all traditions while overseas, you need to be creative to continue a tradition, or be flexible enough to start a new one. We went into the weekend thinking that Steve would make latkes and brisket. The scene in the butcher shop was hysterical as we tried to explain what a brisket is. There was a charades game of pointing, asking question and general cracking up between us and our good natured butcher and staff. In the end, we figured out a brisket cut just doesn't exist in Argentina. So, we got a tenderloin instead. No applesauce for the latkes? Steve made it from scratch.

And the amazing lomo (beef tenderloin) and applesauce and latkes were just some of the great dishes we had that night as our friends brought some of their best dishes too. Salads, risotto, greens, mushrooms, couscous, empanadas and amazing deserts were just a few of the things that made it hard to get out of our chairs after the meal.

Steve explained that the idea of a holiday potluck is stolen from our friends Erica and James and their monthly potlucks. We also mentioned Erica's tradition/requirement that at potlucks everyone needs to share "good news", one good thing that has happened to them since the last potluck. Our guests were more than game, and so, we had the first "good news" potluck in BA!

So, our holiday dinner was a great mix of old traditons, stolen traditions, and hopefully some new ones too!

Quest for My Personal Penguin

Hi! Ethan here. Mom just posted our "Last day in Ushuaia" post and she forget to answer that one question you have all been dying to know! Did I get a personal penguin?

OF COURSE! Grandma and Grandpa bought me my very own penguin when we were in Ushuaia. He is my personal penguin and he lives in my room. I like him a lot.

Mmmm....tastes like chicken.

Last Day in Ushuaia

These are some pictures from our last day in Ushuaia. Outside of our hotel there was a strip of grass between the road and the water. On our last day, when we woke up, there was a horse tied up there. A little later we saw a man come and move the horse to another spot in the grassy strip, so I guess the horse was enjoying a day of munching on some new grass. Ethan and I headed out to see the pretty horse.

An amazing picture of the view outside our hotel

Ethan and I outside of this neat cafe and shop called Ramos Generales. We hung here a couple of times for afternoon tea and stopped in once more on our last day.

The inside was decorated with all these neat collectables, signs, maps, toys, etc. It was a really interesting place to hang out on a chilly afternoon.