Growing, growing, growing!

I feel Mateo has grown so much this past week!! For starters, he is beginning to be more audacious about walking. He'll take the initiative to take several steps, but we have to remind him constantly to slow down because he just wants to take off! I'm really glad he's no longer in that contradictory stage of not wanting to even try walking on his own.

It's amazing his level of attention and retention. It's amazing to see him pick up on the things I do with him throughout the day. I guess it really scares me on some level to realize that it only takes him one time seeing something to imprint it on his brain. I had to get on a stool to reach for something in the kitchen and once I was down, he also tried to put his little leg on the stool. If he sees me sweeping, he runs to his room to get his own broom and imitates me. Or, if we introduce a new word via a picture in his books he'll remember it the following day when we "quiz" him.

And it's not just him copying me either. There's a little bit of that, but time and again he'll bust out with something that lets me know he's learning everything right now and he knows what it means and when to use it. For example, we often read to him from a series of books which feature a monkey (Popi) in different seasonal situations, hence the latest one was about Christmas. Before reading Popi, Mateo would not stand to have a hat on his head; as soon as it was on, he would pull it out. A couple of weeks ago when we were hit with the cold spell, I put his hat on and told him he would be like Popi. He thought about it a second, touched his head, smiled proudly and left the hat on!! Go figure!

He continues to show his emerging independence, his sense of right and wrong and his lack of self-control. He knows he is not supposed to throw his food, bottle or plate on the floor. But his impulse to do it is so strong that as he reaches for the plate or the bottle, he shakes his head no while smiling and then throws it on the floor. Of course, he then looks up to see if I saw what he did and what my reaction is. If it's not favorable to him, he has started hiding his face in his hands and lowering his head. He then waits a while before peeking through his fingers to see if I'm still upset with him. If I am still serious, he'll retreat to his hiding position and then look up after a while and offer me whatever might be on his tray - I guess, his way of saying, "Peace."

He continues to like to lift people's shirts to see their belly buttons. You can imagine that this habit of his hasn't been too well received by some moms who've been the victims of some unpredicted shirt lifting! During his music class he roams around the room and on two occasions, he has gone from behind and lifted moms' shirts. The first time he did it the mom was pretty upset (she's a bit on the fat side) and the second time, this past Friday, he was fascinated with the mom's behind, since she had a full color tattoo. He must have lifted her shirt and peeked twice before I noticed he was missing and was up to no good. I laugh about it now, but I hope he doesn't continue this promiscuous behavior later in life.

Lastly, he LOVES drawing and looking at his masterpieces, since I hang them right above his desk. He actually chooses the colors now, although it seems he just chooses whichever color is next in line. Unfortunately, he has also found much joy in drawing on the floor and all over his desk. I have to keep an eye on him at all times!! However, he's not big on getting his hands dirty (like his mom!!). Finger paints are okay for a little while because only his index finger gets dirty but anything else is a big no-no. He seems to occasionally enjoy getting his hands dirty, as in the pictures below, but he quickly asks me to wash them.

The poor little meatloaf has been sick since Sunday. He has some stomach virus again. It was pretty bad on Sunday but has since gotten progressively better, if not in the number of diaper changes, in his spirits and energy level. However, a happier Mati means that I've had to get creative and come up with activities for him to do at home since he's infectious. So I got the shredded paper out and he had blast playing with it. We've been drawing a lot also, and reading, reading and more reading!!

Sunday at the park, before the onset of his illness.

His energy level was remarkably low, but he had some fun on the swings.