Today’s the first day back to school after the 2 week “winter vacation” of the schools here in Peru. The “winter vacation” coincides with the Fiestas Patrias (national holiday) the end of July. After two weeks of sleeping in, our Brianna wasn’t ready to wake up on time for school this morning but papi knew just what to do. For some reason Brianna has been totally enamored with the Beatles’ song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” so when papi was checking his early morning emails (and that pesky CSRF_TOKEN that keeps appearing on my work but that’s another story) I cranked up the volume on my laptop and hit “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” in iTunes.
Listo, Brianna wakes up, goes of to jardin and papi now has 4 blessed hours of peace and quiet in the house! Thank God and Profe Shirley!!!
Anyway, our Brianna is NOT the girl with kaleidoscope eyes. She has beautiful big brown eyes just like almost all the Cusqueñas. When Brianna was born some of Patricia’s friends and family could barely hide their disappointment that she wasn’t a blonde blue-eyed baby. They just expect any gringo baby to be that way. I may be tall and sexy but I’m not blonde blue-eyed myself so I don’t get why they expected my baby to be that way 😉
However, our second baby, Claire Josephine, was born with blue-ish eyes like her papucho. Most of the time the baby’s eyes are blue-ish gray-ish like mine but sometimes they appear more green or beige. Heck I’m a middle-aged white guy I don’t know more than 6 or 8 basic colors (fuchsia what’s that?) but the baby’s eyes are some undefined blue-ish color. Even on an RGB color chart I couldn’t nail down the exact color. Our baby’s eye color changes with the light or her moods I don’t know but she really has the kaleidoscope eyes like the little girl who John Lennon said inspired him to write the song. (the drug references are supposed to be secondary)
The point of this rant on colors is that people in Cuzco treat my baby like a goddess because of her eye color. Very few Cusqueños have light or blue colored eyes and whenever they see somebody who does have blue eyes, in the view of your average Cusqueñian, the blue or green eyes define that entire person, that person is better and more beautiful than any other. Almost to the point that it annoys me, like my oldest daughter is OK no mas but the one really came out good is the baby with the blue eyes.
People stop me in the street to check the color of my baby’s eyes. I was at the market the other day with the baby in the stroller when two teenage girls stopped me:
“Sir, please stop, wait one moment.”
They said it in a very serious voice like perhaps my baby was getting ready to fall out of her stroller or something. I stopped to check the baby but one of the girls stuck her face in the stroller and with a look of approval turned to her friend “Yes she’s got blue eyes.”
Our beautiful baby girls 🙂
The girl with kaleidoscope eyes
UPDATE: Kind reader Kristin passed along this link about genetics of eye color: How blue eyed parents can have brown eyed children.
Life in Peru 
Hi Ward
You have two absolutely gorgeous daughters!!! So have I! Even if their Cusqueño father expected them to be born blond and blue-eyed! I actually think their black hair/brown eyes are even more gorgeous – but perhaps it’s because they stand out more in a country with lots more blue eyed blonds!! It has also meant they don’t need mascara!
I think Patricia must have had a blue-eyed ancestor somewhere along the line. Genetically brown eyes are dominant!
Kristin
Thanks Kristin, I imagine you know from experience how I feel. I hope your girls are doing well.
I still favor Brianna. There is just something special about Latinas. Besides, she looks more like her mother.
Larry
Larry: everybody says the baby is my spitting image but they’re both precious. I hope you guys are doing well.