Cesitar!

As I have said, we came to Chile primarily to celebrate Dad's 60th Birthday.  However as an added benefit we got the priveledge of celebrating a 5 year old's birthday as well!  Cesar Alfonso Bergen was born on May 4th 2005 in Santiago de Chile.  I have only had the opportunity to see him a few times since that day.  The first time was a few days before my wedding day.  He was a VERY cute little ring bearer.

He was only a few months old at the time and of course I was super busy getting married so I did not get to see him very much.  But he was super cute and I was so glad that I got to meet him!  The next time we saw him he was about 18 months old and we made a trip to MN to visit Bruno and Heather and Mom and Dad fro Mom's birthday in September of 2006.  He was a very compact ball of energy.  Super cute but he was more interested in his cousins than with boring old Aunt Amy.  The next time I saw him was September 2008 when he and his Mama came through Dallas on their way home from Maui.  We only saw him for an afternoon and he did not talk to me very much since he was primarily speaking Spanish.  He and Annabelle seemed to have a great time playing together!

I was very excited to see him and his sister during this trip and since Alessandra has been in the hospital since we arrived we have gotten to spend lots of time with Cesar because his parents have needed help with him.  That was has been quite the joy!  For the most part, Annabelle and Cesar have played very well together.  When he first came into the house, he had a HUGE smile on his face and was very happy to give me a big hug!  Annabelle was very glad to have a cousin to play with and they were SOOOO cute together!  As time as gone on, they have started to get in little fights here and there but nothing too major.  Cesar is a very sweet hearted boy who likes to play with a venegance.  He seems to be comfortable in any situation you put him in and has even proven to be a good translator for me with some of the kids in the area. 

On Tuesday we were excited to celebrate his birthday amidst the emotions of his sister being in the hospital.  However, the night before his mommy went home from the hospital sick while Mom went to be with Alessandra.  The next morning, the birthday boy woke up feeling sick and sleep a good part of the day. 

However that evening, we were able to go over to their house and have a little party with him.  Annabelle was very glad to have another person to sing Happy Birthday to and of course she knew cake was coming!  We went to the mall to buy him a birthday present and even though Annabelle was very excited about this venture she feel asleep as soon as her head hit the stroller!

 

But when we got back into the car she was happy to be going to the party.  When we arrived, the big boys started playing with the Wii and did not give the birthday boy much of a turn. 

However once he opened his birthday presents he had lots to keep him occupied.  Annabelle took over the new soccer game we gave him but he was a trooper to share his brand new toy.  So Sweet!

We had a delicious cake for his birthday but everyone was feeling a little sick and Annabelle, Italo and I were the only ones to indulge in the cake.  O well! Annabelle would have been very confused if she had gone to a party and not gotten cake!  It was a good dinner for us ;)

That evening Maggie had started to have a fever again and was not feeling up to par but she did enjoy getting a walk in at the mall

And a bounce in her cousin's bouncer

All of that activity tuckered her out pretty quickly and she was REALLY ready to go to bed by the time we finally got home.  She was asleep as soon as I laid her down and before I even got a chance to get out of the room ;)