Our sweet boy is growing up so fast! Apparently it is a cultural custom in Puerto Rico to give a baby their first haircut right around one year of age and since Aeden was looking a bit shaggy we thought it would be fun to do. We had scoped out a few barber shops, but one day we had about an hour to kill and we saw the twirling blue and red of a funky “barberia” so we decided, why not now!
This place was so cool, it even had a full sized pool table in the waiting area. Aeden was a champ and just curiously watched as the barber snipped and sheared. He looks so much sharper! He and we love his new recorte de pelo!
Before and After his haircut!
It’s funny that something as simple as a first haircut can be so meaningful in the life as new parents. But we love this little stinker so much! And like his hair, he just seems to keep growing and growing by the minute, so sometimes we have to stop and take a little clipping! 🙂
The end of September was a hot and humid one. It took everything we had to keep up with the work on the farm. Thankfully we don’t have to be out there when we don’t want to, but when it is that sticky, it is rare to want to get more sweaty than we already are. So we have taken to waterfall hunting (which I’ll write about a little more in later posts) and gathering and planting new finds from nurseries and things that grow wild. Even that can take a lot of effort and exertion just to plant something, but it is not nearly as much as clearing out brush and maintaining/mowing thick areas. Despite the difficulties, the gardens are looking fantastic! When we take pictures and roam slowly throughout, I remember why we do put so much effort into our botanical gardens.
A few of the wonders of the gardens. Pride of Barbados, Vanilla, Weed flower, ornamental banana, bird garden art, rainy day market with flowers
Tried dragonfruit for the first time. We have it growing, and it flowers but hasn’t fruited yet
Cockscomb and yellow beehive ginger
We visited the old Coloso sugarcane factory that they are going to renovate and reopen and turn into a distillery. Sounds like a cool project
Randomly saw some peacocks walking around. How I want these on our farm!
Flowers (ground orchids and fragrant hedychiums)
Just a few things around the yard (avocados, bananas, turmeric, ginger). We are always eating straight from the trees/ground.
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We checked out a new restaurant/boutique inn in Aguada called Fusiones. It was like a fusion between a food truck and a fancy hotel.
At Fusiones
Still find lots of wild hermit crabs on the property!
These Vanda orchids love this huge almond tree!
Tried out another cute vegetarian food truck called Cafe Yoruba in Rincon at the old Carta Buena
Baby Spiders hatched! yay! Go after those mosquitoes!
An amazing lily bloomed after about 5 years since we planted it!
The gardens of Aeden (and Daddy)
Taking the long windy drives up the high hills of the Rincon peninsula!
We have passed our 2 year anniversary since Maria (and 6 years since moving here full time). So much has changed!
We planted a Titan Arum -a corpse flower! These are amazing! Now our gardens are even more like true botanical gardens!
Bromeliad in bloom
The Jungle Boys!
Besides our waterfall adventures I think that just about catches us up lately. We’ve also been dealing with some car issues (got a new-to-us transmission in the Mustang), we work the cabana rental and continue selling flowers and plants at the market and at the farm. Aeden’s getting big and nearly walking and is always with us on our adventures. He’s really starting to fit in with us and we love him so! That’s our life recently in a nutshell!
Thanks to Jessika Providence for this beautiful picture!
Where has the time flown!? Our baby has officially turned into a one-year-old! We decided that we had a lot to celebrate after this first year, and that we should throw a party in honor of making it through (literally since I almost died)! Our property is like a sanctuary to us and we are sort of hogareños (home-bodies) and don’t often have events or people over. But we have the space and we also very proud of all the work we put into it and wanted to showcase it.
Before the party, not only did we mow and clean both the houses, but we also removed another section of fence that we have always wanted to take out in order to open up the meadow area and connect it to the upper courtyard. This took many steps, including a tow rope and the truck, but it turned out great and will look even better when the grass grows in.
We also had fun going out and finding the craft stores and party stores around. There was one I noticed close-by in Aguada and just had to check it out. We got all sorts of fun party supplies and then stopped for ice cream. And of course we went a couple of times to the All Ways 99 stores. They have pretty much anything you could want for cheap but fun home and party fixings.
Raising a baby really helps you to see time go by much differently. And it is like a marker point for reference now (before Aeden, when I was pregnant with Aeden, when Aeden was ___ old, etc). It is not always easy and the challenges always change, but I’d say having a one year old is much better than having a newborn! Holy smokes we can sleep again! We are so grateful that I am alive to celebrate this milestone of life that the party was more than warranted.
Aeden Cakes!
For the party, we rented a big white tent and chairs since we don’t really have entertaining space and it was a good idea since it was both roasting hot in the full sun and then we had a downpour for about 20 minutes in the middle! Aeden enjoyed his little smash cake that we bought from a local small business “reposteria.”
Nice tent at the party
Fun at the party!
Memories in the making! Thanks to some friends for some of the photos/videos
Here’s a fun video of the party and highlights of the first year and before!
I have been wanting to check out Survival Beach for some time. It is supposed to have some pretty picturesque sea rocks and caves and a really fun hike. One day we were out driving around and we thought we would run some errands in Aguadilla. I remembered that Survival Beach is accessed by foot with a 30-40 minute hike that starts at Surfer’s Beach. “Hey, let’s check it out!” I’m sure if we were surfers we would already know about it, but it was another first for us.
This sign cracked me up!
To get to Surfer’s Beach you must go through a gated area that looks to be owned by the Electric or Water Company. I assume it is always open, but it was strange that it was gated. Once in, the road is very beautiful lined with palm trees and flamboyans with a rock curb. Upon arrival there is a small skate park and a little coconut drink place that was closed when we arrived. It looked like maybe someone had parked their van to stay/live there with a grill, tarp, clothes hanging out, etc.
Little Coconut Kiosk
Pile of Coconuts (used for said kiosk I presume)
Small skate park and picnic tables
Nice (very tall) bench to watch the waves
Fun at Surfer’s Beach
De Camino a Survival Beach
We found the sign that pointed the way to the start of the hike, but weren’t prepared with the right shoes, food, water, etc. So we walked a few yards down the path that was strewn with fallen trees to one of the beach outcroppings, and said we would save that hike for another day. I am not sure what the story is about why it’s called Survival (or sometimes Survivor Beach), but it did look rough and that you would need to use your survival skills if you washed ashore out there with no road, but a hike of a trail to it.
Going under some fallen trees on the early part of Survival Beach trail
Looks like another adventure is in the queue! But until then we enjoyed our short time at Surfer’s Beach.
