Talking, talking, talking!

The BIG NEWS about Mateo now talking non-stop is that he FINALLY started calling me "Mama"!!! Unbelievable how a single word, said by my baby, can bring out so many feelings and sentiments I never knew I had!!

His vocabulary is increasing by the day. He picks up words so easily, in all three languages - his two favorites at the moment are "uh-uh" and "No, no", which he started saying about a week ago. The whole "no, no" is still so new and cute that it's hard not to start laughing when he says it, which has gotten in the way of disciplining at times. He also says some made-up works, like "ataboom" a lot - well, maybe it's not a made-up word, perhaps he is trying to communicate something and we just don't have the slightest clue what it means! He makes connections between words - for example, I told him yesterday we were going to the pool and he said "aya" (water) - and understands words even if they are not in the language he says them in. For example, I'll say the equivalent of apple, ball, hand or foot in Spanish, and he'll repeat those words in French. He even says "Maman" in French too! Although he doesn't do it very often yet, last night he put together two words to express an idea. He wanted me to sing a particular song, in a particular way: he said "Apy Elbo" (the If You're Happy and You Know It song with touch your elbow as the first sign of happiness). I am really surprised and amazed at how his speaking has taken off at this age - we were prepared for some delay given his exposure to three languages but he's making being trilingual look so easy! Maybe we should introduce Chinese now too ...!!!

The flip side is that he is learning (and imitating) things VERY quickly. It only takes one time for his mind to register it, whether it's a new word or gesture. So the age of being careful with what we say has come!

We are making potty training breakthroughs as well!! For two days in a row now, Mateo has communicated his need to poo in the afternoon. Sure enough, as soon as we sit him down, out it comes!! No breakthroughs with the pee yet, although we plan to tackle that over the summer.

On Monday, Mati had his 18-month pediatric visit. He got weighed, measured and vaccinated. He weighs 23 lbs, 13 ounces and measures 33.5 inches (85cm). He has grown 10 cm since he turned 1! He was extremely good with the doctor and didn't even cry when he got his vaccine!

Mateo loves it when we sing to him, it doesn't matter what, just as long we are singing. As soon as the song ends, he signs for more. Among his favorite songs are "La Marseillaise", "The Itsy Bitsy Spider", "If You're Happy and You Know It", and "You are My Sunshine." The night time routine of massaging him with oil and dressing him has been elongated because he wants me to keep on singing to him! He has also grown very attached to "Happy", which is simply a happy face. I drew one on his hand some time ago and ever since, he asks me every day to draw one.

On another note, his reading preference has changed. "Don't Worry Be Happy" is no longer his favorite book, he has moved on to some titles in French and the Papa and Mama series in Spanish.

This past weekend was full of fun activities we shared as a family. Nico took Friday off, so we went to the San Jose Discovery Museum. That night, Mateo continued his culinary exposure to sushi. He had tamago (egg sushi), unagi (sea eel) and salmon eggs. I wouldn't say he particularly loved the salmon eggs, but he was willing to try them again and again. In part, I'm sure, he was fascinated with the fact that they were little balls and that they would pop in his mouth when he bit them!! On Saturday, we went to the Botanical Garden in Berkeley where Mati enjoyed going off on his own and being chased by one of us. He also loved smelling all the flowers and playing with the dirt and rocks. And finally on Sunday, he enjoyed the morning with Nico at Fairyland.

The Mailman Series

Story time

Ticklish

He loves to drive!

With Happy and Papa

At the Botanical Garden in Berkeley

Run Mati, Run!

"Look what I found, a rock!"

"Oh look, DIRT. FUN!!!"

At Fairyland in Oakland

Going to the pool

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to my mom and Mamounette!!

I had a wonderful day!! My two boys treated me to brunch this morning, followed by a trip to the steam trains in Tilden Park, a hike in the afternoon and dinner at Picante, a local Mexican restaurant.

It was Mateo's first time in a steam train and just seeing his face and how much he enjoyed the ride (he asked for more) was the BEST Mother's Day present EVER! It was also the first time he had a full restaurant meal - he had a chicken taco with beans, rice and pico de gallo. He self-fed and enjoyed his meal VERY much (as you'll see in the last picture).

Two quick things I wanted to share: first is that Mateo has created a new word for apple. It's no longer "apul" as he said when he was 10 months (his first word) - it has become an English-French hybrid: "apum". I guess we'll be enjoying more of these creative constructions as he starts to talk more! And second is that there are two fruit groups in Mateo's world: "apums" and "apums" said while shaking his head no (not an apple). Fruits that fall into the latter category include peaches, nectarines and oranges, so far.

(In celebration of Mother's Day, I'll indulge by posting several pictures of Mateo and I - a rare treat for me since I'm usually the photographer in the family!)

An observant Mateo, wondering what this steam train ride is all about ....
"Hmmm, this is kind of fun ..."

"Wow, this is SO much fun!"

Checking out the engine in front

Going through the tunnel!

You gotta love his facial expression!!

A happy trooper after enjoying a good meal!

Everyday Life

This past week was marked by three days of HOT weather. We hit about 85F, which is very rare in the Bay Area. To help quench the heat, I took Mateo to Lake Anza on Monday (sorry, no pictures of this outing, since I had enough to carry with the towels, beach umbrella, lunch and Mati to add the camera on top of all of that!). Mateo had a GREAT time! He played and played by the edge of the water, busy scooping sand out and putting it in his pail or on his body. The water was cold, at least to me, but he seemed to enjoy it as he sat or walked in it the whole time. We topped the morning off by having a picnic together. I love days like these, where I enjoy the simple pleasures of life with my little guy!

Mati is making progress containing his jealousy. Oh yes, he's one jealous guy. Up till very recently, Mama couldn't hold another baby without him pushing the baby away or trying to hit him/her. He now shows interests in babies - "babus" as he calls them - he'll squat down to their level and gently caress them or even kiss them. I held a friend's 6-month old and at first Mateo was gentle with her. But after three or four times of caressing her and showing her some love, he was asking for my full attention: he wanted to be held! I snuggled him with my free arm, but that was not enough. Mr. Bossut-Ugarte wanted the whole enchilada!

He's getting possessive now with his toys, especially his balls. A friend took his ball to play with it and Mateo went up and started hitting him and pulling on his jacket. I'm trying to teach him that if he kicks the ball to the other kid, s/he in turn can kick back to him, and BOTH can play with the ball. But it's hard ... sharing is a VERY foreign concept.

Mateo is using body language to communicate more and more, especially his frustrations. He's biting (but I think four teeth coming out at the same time has something to do with it - and he only does it to family members, especially Nico, la Tia and me!), throwing mini-tantrums, throwing things on the floor, pulling cheeks and hair and like I said before, hitting others. He lets you know what it is he wants and he always wants it NOW. It gets difficult at times, like on Saturday when we went to a birthday party and Mateo tried an alfajor with dulce de leche (a pastry). He LOVED it - I gave him one and he asked for more. I gave him another one and he asked for more and more. Since I didn't give in, he started kicking and crying (not that I'm trying to make up excuses for him, BUT he was also tired). The good thing is that his tantrums don't last very long, not even minute, because as soon as he starts crying, all he wants is to be held and that calms him down right away. And, there are only a couple of instances which prompt him to get frustrated: sharing toys, being tired, etc - all other times, he is still the fun-loving guy everyone loves! :)

Trying to kiss Lynlee - Lynlee played hard to get.

Taking time to smell the flowers!

Going after the ball

Marcela

Marc and Anya

Playing chef

Family Picture

We don't have many family pictures (I think three is our grand total!!), so here's one that was forwarded to us by a friend, Gustavo. We were celebrating Gustavo's son's 2nd birthday last weekend.