Slide Ranch

With absolutely beautiful weather and Tia Mercy and Tio Brandon along, I took Mateo to the Spring Fling at Slide Ranch in Muir Beach.  Unknown to me before today, Slide Ranch is perched right on a cliff overlooking the ocean off of Highway 1.  There were goats, sheep and chickens roaming around, an organic garden to walk through, live music, and picturesque trails to hike.  We started our morning by milking two goats.  I thought that Mateo was not going to enjoy it, given how squeamish he can be, but he clearly proved me wrong - he was fascinated with the whole process!!  

Then, for another first, he had his face painted like a puppy.  Again, I was amazed at his willingness to let someone paint his face and he was delighted with the result.  

Tia Mercy and I then took him to see the chickens, roosters and chicks.  We put grains in his hands and he fed them.  Of course, he chased them and even tried to catch them, but with no avail.

Lunch was a struggle as he was busy putting rocks in his pockets and just roaming through the garden, looking at spiders, bees and butterflies.   When we are outdoors he prefers to continue his nomadic ways instead of sitting down and eating (except for dessert - of course!!!), which makes feeding tough when we have picnics.  After lunch, we headed down to the beach to the tide pools.  The trail was dotted with wild flowers and fennel and a magnificent view of the ocean glistening with the sunshine - absolutely perfect.  

On the beach, we spotted starfish, sea anemones, crabs and some sort of sea snail, which Mati tried to eat after he saw it come out of its shell!  And then, he took off his shoes and socks and braved the cold Pacific Ocean ... at least for a little while!

Whenever Mati sees as incline, he is overcome by laziness and requests to be carried or taken on the stroller.  I've managed to convince him, most of the time, to walk up, even if it means that I have to pull him up because he always wants to hold hands as we go up.  But on the trail, he had an easy victim: his Tio.  Brandon carried Mati up the whole way, which was no easy feat since the terrain was pretty rocky.  Once in the main area, we did some arts and crafts projects and finished our excursion by petting the goats.  Mateo is in love with animals, he loved petting them and after he woke up from his nap, he asked to go back outside to pet the goats!! 

On a final note, kudos to Slide Ranch! They organized the event very well, with volunteers helping out with the animals, the garden and activities. It's certainly a place worth visiting and coming back to again and again!!

Spring Sweetness

As we are getting ready for yet another move, I'm shocked at how little time we have left in the Bay Area. While I'm excited for all the new opportunities this will bring our family, I'm also terribly sad at the family and friends we'll leave behind. On a day like today, with the sun out, the view of the Bay and the freedom to walk everywhere, our little piece of heaven will also be very hard to leave.

But in the meantime, Mateo has been up to a lot. First, he is head over heels with the baby in mami's tummy. On a daily basis, he asks to kiss my belly. I usually lie down on the couch and Mati comes around the side and showers the baby with kisses, hugs and caresses. He gets really excited when he feels the baby "kick" - at this point, it's me moving my belly. I wonder if all this love and excitement will continue once the baby is here, but up to now, he's just a little ball of sweetness.

Second, he is a total singer!! He sings when he's playing on his own, when we are in the car, at any time really. He always surprises me when he just starts singing a song I had never heard him sing before. The other night, he recited a verse from "La Bamba"!

He shows a lot of interest in climbing - trees, shopping carts, ladders - and in reading. He constantly asks what signs say and he spends a lot of time with his V-Tech laptop. We were considering taking it away for a while, but this weekend, he impressed us with his knowledge of words. He knows, for example, that igloo starts with an "i", quilt with a "q", nest with an "n", etc.

Mati has always been such a good sleeper. But lately, he's been having lots of trouble. At first, he would refuse to go to bed, he would protest and cry and cry and I'd have to do a lot of talking to convince him to stay in bed and sleep. This initial stage seems to have subsided, but now he wakes up in the middle of the night, crying and refusing to return to his bed. He gets out of his bed, opens the door and tries to make a run for our bedroom. We don't know what it is that gets him so frantic. We wonder if Nico's trips have made him fearful of being left behind or losing his parents, adjusting to the pregnancy, teething, or just a normal stage of his development. Despite him being such a good talker, he just doesn't say what it is that is bothering him.

Finally, at almost 2 and a half years, Mati (still) weighs 28 lbs and measures 36 inches.

After refusing a nap, he fell asleep while playing with his cars.

On an Easter egg hunt at his friend's Kendall's house.  He was delighted when he found out the eggs were stuffed with fruit gummy bears!

Tio Brandon and Tia Mercy hosted for a second time Mateo's very own Easter egg hunt.  

He wasn't too delighted that there were no fruit gummy bears inside.