Today was a landmark day for me. Ouest and I were out walking the neighborhood. We were a couple blocks further up the hill in the locals neighborhood when a car pulled up alongside us, rolled down a window, and asked me in Spanish how to get back down to Centro. We were only about seven blocks from the main plaza, but once you get up in the hills here all the streets are one-way and there is only one way down which is a road so steep that people oftentimes stop and consider when the last time they had their brakes serviced was.

My reply? “Derecho, derecha, izquierda, derecha.” He thanked me and drove off. And there was my landmark day, here in Mexico I had given driving directions to a Mexican. For that I think I deserve a permanent visa.

The kids are growing up quick. Ali now makes Lowe three eggs for breakfast. Three! Only about two make it into his mouth, and if we had a dog he’d be fat as a pig, but still, that’s two eggs for breakfast. He also eats a plate of pasta that Ali probably wouldn’t be able to get down. I knew having a boy was going to be expensive. Girls can spend money on whatever girls spend money on, but a hungry boy is what is going to make us go broke.

Ouest is now going to the bathroom with zero assistance. From start to finish. Though we do go against her wishes and swoop in for a second swipe before she attempts to get dressed again. “No help Papa. No help Mama.” If there were two-year-old Olympics she would take home gold in this discipline.

She’s also excelling at numbers. Actually I’m not entirely sure if she is excelling, but I think she’s doing great. She hops down steps and counts them right up until eight, when the counting gets a little fuzzy. We read her counting books and when I say a number from one to ten she tells me what is next. And she can count objects up to five before trailing off. She’s also doing great on her letters, but I’m a numbers guy myself so that’s what gets me all puffed up in the chest.