Back on Track

Get ready for a picture fest of little Mateo!!!

After recuperating from his cold and teething issues, his apetite and happiness are back. He's still kicking those balls, spinning those wheels, and fascinated with Popi and Noukie. He has started to do little gallops when he gets excited and is slowly starting to run. He is increasingly signing, especially the sign for "MORE" --> when Dad or Tio Brandon throw him up in the air, when I dance with him and whirl him around, when he wants more food, more Popi, more Noukie, more ......

From being shy and glued to me a couple of months ago, he is slowly coming to terms with himself and gaining self-confidence. He therefore ventures out from the comfort of mommy to seek the attention of others and absolutely loves it when people talk to him and praise him when he does ANYTHING. He is very friendly and people constantly tell us he talks with his eyes ... how poetic!

Finally, Mati has been spending more and more time with his Tia Mumu and Tio Brandon (he now also says "Tia"). They have babysat the prince on a couple of occasions and Mateo accepts them very well. Nico and I are very happy that he'll be able to spend time with other family members on a regular basis, extending his circle of trust beyond mommy and daddy and knowing his family beyond just pictures. We are also happy because we have reliable babysitters who we can trust 100% - no need to be checking the cell phone every hour!

Excited to see a Popi magazine, which Nico reads to him during bath time. He does this facial expression often, especially when he's excited.

Another visit to the Bay Area Discovery Museum. This time Tia Mumu and Tio Brandon joined us.

Fishing and playing with the fish was again a favorite!

Petting Amigo, one of the Guide Dogs that visited the museum.

A beautiful series of my two boys

More Tio Brandon, more!

Happy 17 Months!!

I celebrated little Mati's monthary at the park. He played in the sand, sat and sat on the swing until HE decided it was time to come out (after about 30 minutes!!), played basketball and kicked the ball around. I taught him to jump, although his version of jumping doesn't involving having his feet come off the ground. But he thinks he's jumping and seems to like it. [On a side note, Mateo has become so much more assertive in the past month. He doesn't just stand on the sideline and watch as other kids take his toys anymore, especially his ball. He grabs it from them and shakes his head no but never gets violent with them. If he can't pull it away, he'll look for me and start crying.]

To top it off, he ate half a pain au chocolat - actually, he only sucked on and eventually ate the chocolate and then handed me the bread (I had the other half, couldn't let him celebrate on his own now could I???). And finally, my handsome boy got a little bit of a makeover. I took him to the hairdresser. He was very patient and a good sport, he only complained by shaking his head no when the lady sprayed his head with water. (He didn't loose any of the curls!)

"I hear noises outside. Is it Papa? Papa?" No Mati, Papa is working.

Looking a lot like his Papa . . .

Stop taking my picture!! Evening meltdown ...

At home, he's become quite the dancer, especially to merengue and reggaeton. He spins himself around, shakes his head, moves his arms up and down and sways his hips. Ahhhhh, he's soooooo adorable!!! I've taken some video of him shaking up the dance floor but we haven't, unfortunately, found the way to upload it online! :(

Finally, we've been working on getting Mateo to stop sucking his thumb by simply asking him not to suck it. It has been working really (surprisingly) well, especially at the park or when he's playing. However, it's really hard to peel him from his thumb when he is painting, it's as if his creativity demands it!! And I don't dare ask him not suck when he's about to sleep since it soothes him. I'll see how much progress we make between now and after we come back from France. If he hasn't nearly completely given up the thumb, we'll have to take more drastic measures - like Tabasco sauce! (Just kidding!)

Her name was Pearl

Her name was Pearl, she was a toddler
With yellow curls in her hair and pink pants
She was loving and affectionate, she was at the park
The hottest spot in North Berkeley on Thursday evening

His name was Mateo, he was a Latin/French toddler
He was walking around the sand, he saw Pearl walking too
She came over and started to touch his head, and then his face
And before you knew it, they were trading kisses and rolling on the sand!

I wish I had had the camera! But even then, it all happened so fast. Mateo is VERY affectionate, which doesn't always go well with all kids (or parents, for that matter) but with Pearl, he found his match: another equally affectionate baby. If we stay in the US or go anywhere else for that matter, Mateo will not only have his good looks (hey, I'm the Mom, what can I say about my boy???) but his knowledge of two very romantic languages: Spanish and French, to charm the girls! Ayayayay ... I'm going to be busy!!

Self-feeding

My little meatloaf has taken another step towards independence :(, he has started to self-feed. I had been delaying this evolutionary step for awhile because I didn't want to be the one to clean up the mess, but the day has come!

While all his buddies started self-feeding around 13-14 months, I decided to coach him by using his shovel and pail. Every time we would go to the sandbox, Mati would entertain himself by pouring the sand into the pail. He practiced, again and again, the whole complicated dance of directing his hand towards another object with precision. I'm glad I waited and took this path because, while I can't take him just yet to eat with the Queen of England, he's no huge mess. He's even starting to wipe his mouth clean after he finishes with a napkin! It also seems to me that he is enjoying his food much more, savoring every fork- or spoonful to the last drop.

Talking

We've noticed that Mati is starting to make longer monologues and longer words too. I think he's also starting to imitate the phonetic sounds he hears us say, like the "rrrr" in Spanish. And to make his Tata Nabou very happy, he says "Abu".

Memory

Mati is also showing signs of remembering people. He clearly associates my mom with the phone (wonder why???), the paintings in his room, and is able to point her out in his gallery of pictures. On Wednesdays we go grocery shopping and the staff at the supermarket always says hi and plays little peek-a-boo games with him while at the cashier. For the past couple of times, he's been the one initiating the hellos as soon as he sees them.

Affection, affection, affection

This little guy has me wrapped up in his little finger ... He knows exactly how to melt my heart: with kisses and hugs. He'll hold my head and give me a kiss or just come cuddle in my arms (especially when I get upset with him for doing something he shouldn't have done). He does this with my sister too. Yesterday at our Wednesday playgroup, he kissed one of the grandmas goodbye. He's just a bundle of love!