Nine-month letter

Dear Mateo,
Wow, you are nine months old! How did that happen?


In the two months since we wrote one of these letters, you have become a very mobile little boy. You have totally mastered crawling and sometimes startle me and Mommy with how fast you can get from here to there. As fun as it is to crawl, it's fairly easy to see that, to you, it's just a step towards your ultimate goal. Yes, walking. Ever since you were probably...(pause for my foggy memory to catch up) three months old, you have been trying to stand up in our laps. I think you have wanted to walk since you were in utero. I can now report that I think walking is in sight. I'm sure it will take a couple more months to actually all come together, but you are on the way.

Here's how the situation stands so far. Parts of walking that you...

-have mastered: pulling up, cruising on one piece of furniture, powering around the house with your Radio Flyer pushcart and chairs, walking with an adult holding onto both of your hands

- are working on: moving between pieces of furniture while standing up, standing without holding onto anything, sitting down from standing without holding onto anything

- haven't even begun to conceptualize: walking with an adult holding onto only one hand, getting to a standing position without holding onto anything, taking a few steps without holding on, etc.



In addition to mobility, you have had a major, MAJOR month in the tooth department. In fact, since we got back from visiting your Apa on the east coast, you have popped out FIVE teeth. Holy toothbrush, Batman! Needless to say, the last two weeks have been pretty tough for all of us. You haven't wanted to sleep or to eat anything solid and have just wanted to nurse all the time. Poor Mama now realizes that she sacrificed way too much baby weight during the horrible thrush ordeal and no-sugar diet and is now eating massive quantities of premium ice cream, whole milk yogurt, etc, in order to keep up with you.

What else are you up to at nine months? We think you might be working on a word! You've started saying "ma-ma" - which, admittedly, you've been saying for quite awhile - but you seem to say it now especially when one of us is around. We think you will probably call both of us Mama for quite awhile, until you can work out the differences between Mama and Mommy. Also, we're working on using more Spanish with you. Most days, Mommy speaks Spanish until noon and Mama does her best to keep up. We're also both taking Spanish tutoring online from Guatemala (via webcam - we feel very high-tech!).

And, speaking of your erstwhile parents, you have developed separation anxiety at last! As recently as our east coast trip, you were content to make friends and be held by just about anyone who crossed your path. However, just in the last week you have become quite a Mommy's/Mama's boy. Not only do you now frequently cry when someone else holds you, but you have been known to start wailing in a panic when one of your moms gives you to the other one! During our beach trip, it happened several times that Sacha would give you to me for a nursing session and your face would crumple and you would scream as she left the room. Wow! As this is a very age-appropriate development, we hope you'll emerge in a couple of months with your social nature intact :)


Mateo, during your eighth and ninth months, I would say that you have truly earned the title of seasoned traveler. You have been all over the place and have done it with a great deal of flexibility and good humor. We spent the beginning of July in California, then went camping for the first time a week after we got back, then went to New York and Pennsylvania a week after that, and then went to the coast for several days a week after that. You have amassed more traveling experience in your first year than some people get in much longer than that. You have learned about flying on planes and developed a fascination with those little magazine holders on the back of airplane seats. You have explored some big and small cities while riding in style on our backs. You have gotten to spend some quality time with both sets of grandparents, your Apa and his boyfriend, your aunt and uncle, and some of your cousins on both coasts. And, you have helped your moms learn that we can do just about anything with a baby, given enough prep time. Here are some photos from our trip to the east coast:





Also, some photos of our recent beach trip with your Bubby and Poppa:



Back on the home front, you seem to be making progress with food again, after your two-week-long teething hiatus. You have had several new things this month: turkey, chicken, yogurt, rice puffs (quickly discontinued due to major constipation), and Cheerios! You have a very clear preference for taking your time with foods, especially new ones, and we are learning to follow your lead. Mama and Mommy also enjoyed a special food this month - cake! We helped your Grammy ring in her birthday in style just a few days ago.




Here's an update on our most engrossing subject: sleep! Sleep continues to be one of our collective challenges. It was going pretty well and you were going to sleep on your own 99% of the time, which we thought was pretty great, until we did all that travel that I mentioned earlier. That, combined with the Amazing Teething Marathon, threw a rather large wrench into the works. However, we're planning to get back into a more predictable routine and hope to report good things in your ten-month letter. I think we're all still getting to know each other and experimenting with what works for all of us.

Finally, you continue to develop your love affair with toys and other playthings. You seem to have discovered all the toy bins (really converted wastebaskets that you kept getting into) that are scattered throughout the house and you loooooove to knock them over and examine their contents. Other favorites include a couple of bookshelves in the living room and a shelf in the kitchen that are full of your books and (in the kitchen) mixing bowls.

Oh, and one more thing - you love other kids! You love to watch the big kids playing at the park and you are also intrigued by little ones that are closer to your size. You have fun at our baby group and you also enjoy playdates with some of your little friends. It's very cute. At this age, it seems that playdates mostly involve babies playing with toys next to each other (is this called parallel play?) with interludes of hair-grabbing and parent intervention!

Mateo, being your parents gets more fun and more complex as every month passes. I still have those moments where I just can't quite believe that we actually got lucky enough to have a kid! And, even more than that, that we were blessed with you specifically. You are helping both of us learn how to appreciate the present moment and not always leap into planning for the future. This is especially easy because, for the past nine months, each present moment has been an amazing and wonderful place to be.

Here's one in a series of self-portraits to kick off your tenth month!


You are the greatest and we love you to the moon and the stars and back again.

Besos y abrazos,
Mama y Mommy