A day at the office

At 3/12 months, we decided it was time for Valentina to get a job. So now as part of her daily routine, she goes to the "office" (the bed in her room) and sits at her "desk" (the boppy). Her "employees" (the pink giraffe, the blue suited bear, the formless duck, the multi-colored centipede, and the permagrin doll) sit attentively while she orders them around (more milk! fewer naps! sing me a song!) like a good chief executive. In Argentine style, she spends about 15 minutes at the office in the morning and maybe another 10 in the afternoon before calling it a day.

Now that she's entered the stage of being curious about the world, I am constantly thinking of things to keep her amused, engaged and most important - not crying. We go on errands - the butcher, the fruit stand, the farmacia, the newstand, the kiosco. I put her in the Baby Bjorn while I put on my makeup and putz about. We go to the park and sometimes meet up with other mommies. We look out over the US Embassy garden next door to see if the Jacarandas are blooming yet and what the weather has in store. Yesterday we watched a rainstorm that lasted 4 hours (her attention lasted two minutes). But, Valentina's favorite activity is watching the bulldog. Its like her own private zoo.