Bat Girl

Gwendolyn, in a frog-eating bat shirt made by Lynne and Amanda, checking out an actual frog-eating bat in hand. Oh, the layers of fun!

Gwen Wren vs The Vultures (On the Banks of the Chagres)

A lazy Sunday afternoon. Stopping for a picnic by the Chagres River. This video is a little long - mirroring the slow pace of our afternoon.

Turtle Release

Last Friday Graciela found a baby turtle under the house. She brought it in for Gwendolyn - a red-eared slider - and we were all enamored of it. Very small, very cute!

David went online trying to find out what turtles eat, how they should be kept, and so on. And in the process, found that roughly 90% of turtles carry salmonella. We explained to Gwendolyn that if we kept the turtle she would have to be really careful and always wash her hands with soap after handling it. She was actually pretty good about this - about half the time. The other half she would pick up the turtle, then bite her fingernails, eat a snack, or put her hands in Simon's mouth. This, coupled with our failure to find any food the turtle would eat, swayed us toward releasing him. So Sunday morning, we set off into the forests of Gamboa, to a lagoon we thought would be perfect turtle habitat.

Surprisingly, Gwendolyn did not object. So many of her storybooks are about children losing, then reuniting with their mothers, I think it was quite natural for her to think the turtle should be set free to find the other turtles.

A hot and sweaty hike later, here we are at the lagoon, turtle in hand. Release successful!

Mysterious Cube

A mysterious cube arrived in the mail recently. We call it "Darien's Cube," or sometimes just "The Cube." (Confession: it was a perfect cube when it arrived, but we have thus far been unable to return it to it's perfect form.)

What is it for? Putting candies on?

Oh, it comes apart into smaller pieces!

Perfect for stacking up and knocking down--then lounging upon!

Or lounging under.

Or delounging!

Hey, let's put Simon on it!

Um...

Hey, let's bury Dad!

It's fun for the whole family! (OK, Simon still looks a little skeptical.)

Thanks, Darien, for the mysterious Cube, eternal source of wonder and delight!

A Fistful of Wren

Gwendolyn is getting better and better at taking care of Simon. I can now leave the two of them alone for short periods of time. They play together on Wren's bed, she sings to him and brings him toys and hugs and tickles him when he starts to fuss. But a few weeks ago, I returned to find Gwendolyn in some distress.

She was curled in a ball, crying, while Simon was gurgling, kicking and grinning. Upon closer inspection, I found a large tuft of Gwendolyn's hair in Simon's fist!

Gwendolyn at Work

Coati

Last weekend there was an open mic coffee house at the Gamboa community center.

Laurie organized the kids to perform a play version of Jan Brett's The Umbrella. In the right corner is Ximena! She and her family have been here almost a month - it's been great to see them again.

 Gwendolyn was a coati - complete with long nose and upright tail.

Tomas was a snake!