Halloween Mania in the States and More...

Yes, we went “home” (Texas) again and we made the best of our trip. We squeezed so much in such a small amount of time. Benjamin keeps us young and moving.

But first! A little bit more Brazil…

We installed nets within days of moving into our new place. They do change the view but they are worth the obstruction. After a while, the nets blend. We have much needed peace of mind not worrying about our monkey climbing where he should not be climbing.

Our "security blanket" - the nets that obscure our view (a bit). These provide us with some much needed safety with our little monkey. The view is still lovely.




Speaking of climbing monkeys: We saw our first monkey spotting while on a family walk – it was very exciting to not have to go to a zoo to see a monkey!

Walking through the "jungle" in our neighborhood.

We have a country club in our neighborhood that we are eager to explore once we get a few things settled.


Playing bocce for the first time. He didn’t really play – he rolled the balls.



Walking toward a ferry that takes neighborhood residents to the beach (a praia).


HOUSTON TRIP:

HALLOWEEN!

Naturally, Benjamin has caught his parents fever for Halloween. He had a wonderful time celebrating so many Halloween events that even HE was exhausted. We crammed in old traditions along with new. Dewberry Farm, Zoo Boo, Children’s Museum, Pumpkin Patches, Trick-or-Treating. We did as much as we could to celebrate the season.

Dewberry Farm and the Zoo Boo were special because we shared time with our dear friend Taylar. Taylar and Benjamin had a wonderful time together.

DEWBERRY FARM:
Chicken face.


Pumpkin patch at the farm.


Something that we wish could happen more often - Benjamin hanging with his buddy Taylar!


They played so well together.


Chickens!


Pony Ride fun.



Next stop: Zoo Boo at the Houston Zoo.

Giant candy corn (only in Texas).


He is NOT afraid of the rhino.


Digging for pumpkins.


Cute pumpkin patch models.

HOUSTON CHILDREN'S MUSEUM:
We had the museum to ourselves and it was the BEST time ever. We have found the museum to be way too busy at times and we were pleasantly surprised to have such an empty museum. This time we were able to explore parts of the museum we tend to ignore due to large crowds.

Driving the ambulance.

The empty Halloween halls of the museum.


Cute, "scary" photo op.

Inside a giant lighted "Twister" box.

Meet the Benjamin Goblin.

Checking out groceries.

His favorite section: the vet.
More Halloween Decorations.

Benjamin loved the Halloween props.



Greenwood King Pumpkin Patch
Oh, and more pumpkins….the neighborhood Pumpkin Patch that B. has annually been to since he was well, a few months old.

Closing his eyes.

Distracted by pumpkins.


TRICK-OR-TREATING:
We did our tradition of trick-or-treating in the neighborhood with cousin Lillian, Uncle Mike, and Aunt Ginger. It was wonderful to share this experience with them. The kids strolled two streets and then helped pass out candy.

Mami's Favorite Werewolves.

Mami's favorite niece and monkey.

Knock, knock...

What a fun concept - to knock on doors for candy.

Classic "urban" trick-or-treating with the coolest Papi ever.
Benjamin and his "Aunt" Janis.



RANDOM SHOTS:

Sitting by pumpkins at a local shop.


NEW RESTAURANTS IN/NEAR OUR NEIGHBORHOOD:

We enjoyed a couple of kid-friendly restaurants in our neighborhood!

The Height’s Kids Group is a big source of information on what is going on in the neighborhood and the latest “rage” (at the time of our visit) is a restaurant with a horse. Natachee’s Supper and Punch. We took B. and he had a wonderful time riding Lacy the horse and eating hot dogs from his metal lunchbox. And, he was able to dress up in his favorite costume: Woody. Who would have thought the opportunity to ride a horse in downtown Houston would ever be possible?


Natachee's Supper and Punch.

View of Natachee's...
Riding Lacy the coolest horse in downtown Houston.

If his grin gets any bigger...

The best part is opening the metal lunchbox...

Digging in sand.


JENNI'S NOODLE HOUSE:

Jenni’s is a restaurant that is "fairly" new to the neighborhood and is also kid friendly. They have a concrete pipe outside that kids love to crawl, jump through or run around. Benjamin spent some time with his buddy Truitt and they were entertained to the point of exhaustion.

Yep, just a cylinder of concrete can entertain.


Parallel Play at it's Best:




WILSON’S MONTESSORI FALL FESTIVAL:

We squeezed in a local school festival to yet again exhaust our little guy. Benjamin got to jump in a bouncy house, paint a lantern, play mini-golf, ride a golf cart, eat lots of goodies, and roam outside with his buddy Charlotte.

Before the festival fun. Ummm..the other way B.


Jumping in the bouncy house (a favorite).
Painting with Charlotte.

Painting his Lantern.

Mini-golf fun.


THE MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCE FEATURING BUDDY FROM DINOSAUR TRAIN:

Proof of how much Mami loves her little monkey. She spent way too much money for parking and museum admission AND then waited an hour to take a photo with one of Benjamin’s favorite characters Buddy.
Was it worth it? Yes, absolutely.

This made Benjamin the happiest little boy in the world.
Happy Benjamin meets Buddy.


Enamored with dinosaurs.


He really didn't want to sit near this giant fossil but it happened.


HERMANN PARK AND ZOO TRIP:

Mami promised to take Benjamin to ride the train at Hermann Park and we had the luck of rain on our side. Luck because the park and the zoo were literally low in attendance so, once again, it felt like we had the place to ourselves. The rain did not keep us down nor did it stop us!
Wet, but happy.

Classic, cute Benjamin face.


SANTA!

Yes, we even squeezed in a photo with Santa!

BACK TO BRAZIL:

FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY!

For a few days, we had to adjust to the four-hour time difference! Then we made it to our first birthday party in Brazil. We were invited by some expats who are part of the Mom’s Group in Brazil. Benjamin had a great time playing with the Superman display, jumping in the trampoline, and watching a magic show.

The Spiderman Display

Candy Display
Trampoline Jumping.

A Burger/Hot Dog House

Playing Soccer with Papi
Resting...
Cute, squeezable cheeks.
Lots of excitement with the magician!
The fire was a big hit!


Playdate with new friends:
Playing with someone else's toys is always a new treat.


As of late, we hope to not have such a huge gap in our blog and will make better efforts to update.

Till next time!