Mati's Allergies

I took Mateo to the allergist yesterday.  He got tested for 95 allergens, which meant 95 pricks on his back!!  Not a pleasant afternoon for my little guy - the nurse had to call the receptionist to come help keep him down because he's STRONG!! 

The results:  he's allergic to EGGS!!!  On a scale from 1 to 4 he tested 4 for eggs; 3 for insects, barley, salmon and tomate de arbol, a local fruit; 2 for grass, garbanzos, pork and dog hair. When we were in Anapoima, he ate eggs for breakfast everyday and had tomate de arbol juice often as well.  And then to top it off, he got 4 mosquito bites.  

So today we start an egg-free diet for the next 3 weeks.  Then we'll go back to the allergist to see what next steps to take.  I know it's not the end of the world, but this means we'll all have to adapt to this new diet and I'll have to be super vigilant about his food when we go out to restaurants.   The good news is that at least he won't be able to eat the food at school!!! :)

Santi at 7 months

Our little man's personality is starting to blossom.  He is a happy baby, VERY active (changing his diaper is proving more and more difficult), and is beginning to have a dynamic relationship with Mateo.  However, he gets awfully frustrated when he can't move as fast or in the same way as Mateo - he loves to watch his older brother run and be silly, but then that means that he doesn't want to stay sitting and insists on standing up.  When we stand him, he'll start to bounce up and down or move his arms as if he were dancing.

He sings a lot and likes to play with the maracas and the xylophone, which is how we discovered that he prefers to use his left hand.  We'll purposely give him the instrument on his right hand and he transfers them to his left.  I thinks he's still too young to determine whether he'll be a rightie or a leftie, but it's interesting!!

Finally, he still refuses to go on his belly.  Absolutely, positively HATES it!!!

Our little chomper

Pictures by Mateo

Some pictures by our little photographer.  I love his perspective - what he views as worthy of a picture and the perspective he has from his 1 meter frame!!  He's very serious when he takes his pictures - quiet a sight!!  Enjoy!!

Abuelita Rosi made him a tunnel and a parking structure out of box - probably the best Christmas present ever!

On his way to Disneyland with his tios.

His favorite subject to photograph!

Elevator shot

I took this one - I love their looks!

His friend Juan Lucas

The wall

Cement trucks

Construction worker on a break

Flowers

Cars - his second favorite thing to photograph!

Our driver Jose

I love this one!

Everyday after school, we walk through a park to go home. And everyday, Mati gathers two or three leaves, throws them, one by one, into the river and watches them sail away.  

Anapoima

Lovely days in Anapoima with los tios ... lounging by the pool, playing in the water, water skiing, playing tennis ...

Our stay was too short, but enough to soak in the sun and have a break from Bogota. Unfortunately, on our last day, Mateo got another allergic reaction.  He started to swell and was running a fever, so we cut short our last day in Anapoima and headed back to Bogota where his allergist checked him out that same day.  He's on medication now and hopefully by Monday he'll by well enough to start running allergy tests on him.

Mateo's second Easter egg hunt!!

"Cool ... a car!!!" (He also got an egg full of chocolates!)

Mateo's Green Thumb

Today I went to a Parent-Teacher conference at the Liceo.  Mateo has been having "issues" with expressing his emotions and often hurts others because he can't control the intensity of those emotions.  We've been working with him on communicating verbally instead of physically, although it's not always easy, especially with Santiago.  His teachers have observed that he has a hard time making transitions - they feel that the change to Colombia, coupled with Santiago's arrival and entering school, has affected him more than we thought.  

Otherwise, he is thriving!  His motor skills are still a bit weak but his language skills are way up there!!!  In comparison to his classmates, he has a strong command of both languages.  At home I'm speaking to him in English and while he understands mostly everything, he prefers to answer in Spanish (although when he reads "Mercy Watson", his FAVORITE BOOK OF ALL TIMES, it's always in English!!).

I was very pleased to see some of the work he's been doing at school:  paintings, mostly. Another project the class worked on was of planting seeds and observing what plants need in order to grow and thrive.  Mati seems to have taken after his grandmothers' green thumbs because he planted a bean and his plant is the tallest one of the class!!!  When I congratulated him at home, he said that his is the tallest because he waters it a lot.

I also met the class pets: two snails - Margot and Pierrot.  These two have been busy at night for they have tons of baby snails!!!  The kids take turns getting them their food (leaves), moisturizing their house with a water atomizer, and cleaning their "house".

Overall, it was nice to see that they do more than just play because when I ask Mati, EVERYDAY, what he did, all he answers is that he played with Juan Lucas, Jero, Jaco and Pablo - his clan.