We felt very proud today as we schlepped towards the doctor's office, having scheduled Teo and Talia to have their 2 year/4 month appointments, respectively, back to back. It still took forever. We were there for two hours!
Both kids are doing great. Talia weighed in at nearly 14 pounds, which is the 50th percentile for her age. She's 24 inches long. She's a pretty mellow baby and laid very cooperatively on the table to be measured, but somehow they managed to get it wrong by two inches the first time. That is a lot on a baby! We (having chilled out considerably since child #1) didn't care too much about how long she really was, but the doctor insisted on remeasuring. I think they measured her head, too, but I forget the number. It's tracking an appropriate curve, which is the important thing.
She seems to be doing well with developmental stuff - chatting, laughing, etc. She's not really trying to roll yet, but she loves to move around and has learned how to nearly scootch out of her bouncy chair. She also likes to chat and will give a huge grin to anyone who comes within her line of sight. She got a bunch of shots and screamed her little head off, but calmed down right away once she got some boob. She didn't have any reaction at all to her first set at 2 months and we're hoping this time will go just as smoothly.
We (Sacha and I) also got shots, by the way. Flu shots. Hopefully, this will mean no flu for us. Mine was my very first flu shot ever. Since we're both working with germy kids this year, we decided it was the way to go.
Meanwhile, Teo had his first appointment with Talia's pediatrician. We just switched him to Sacha's health insurance and had to leave our original ped, who we loved so much that we almost kept him on the old insurance just so he could keep seeing her. This new lady is good, but still no comparison to doctor #1. He weighed in at 24 pounds, which is somewhere below the 10th percentile for his age, and is 35 inches tall, which is around the 30th percentile, I think. He is a little stringbean! Doubling his current height, which we think you can do at age 2 to predict adult height, would put him around 5'10", which is probably about right for his genetic stock.
The doc didn't ask too much about developmental stuff until Sacha asked her about it. She mentioned that he should be able to use two-word phrases by now, which was a little strange because he was chattering away right in front of her. He's starting to use words like "sometimes" and "hopefully" in sentences. She also said he should be able to run and that he would probably be doing parallel play with other kids for awhile.
I think that's about it. Sacha just commented that we can't say we have two kids under the age of two anymore! We do, however, as one of the nurses commented, still have our hands full! Here's hoping we all have good health and stay out of the doctor's office this winter.
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On a totally different (and short, since this is already really long) note, we had a wonderful birthday party for our little guy yesterday. We had a great, and large, group come out and it was good to see everybody. At one point, I looked across the room and noticed just how many kids were spread out playing everywhere. Before Teo was born, we knew two kids in this area - my cousins! Now, two years later, we have this amazing community of all sorts of people and families. With Thanksgiving coming up, we have much to be thankful for.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Friday, October 31, 2008
Two years old
Our big boy turned two today. When I went in to get him this morning, I said, "Mateo, it's your birthday!" and he said "Apa coming to take you out to lunch!". Apa did indeed come to take him out to lunch and they had a great time. He also got two fun presents from his moms and got to see his Bubby and Poppa and talk to quite a few other friends and family on the phone and went to a Halloween party and got to help give candy to trick-or-treaters. Overall, it was a very successful birthday. He was so revved up by bedtime that he could barely go to sleep. His party is coming up on Sunday and I'm sure that will be an experience in over-stimulation all of its own.
We made a little movie about the last year, which is below. During the process of making it, we went back and watched a lot of the little videos we've taken over the course of Mateo's second year. It was just wild to look back at him as a 13-month old just barely beginning to sign and talk and run around and such...and then to see him now, looking and acting like such a kid instead of a baby.
I was thinking back to his birth while I was nursing him off to sleep, and remembering the overwhelming joy immediately after he was born and we got to meet him for the first time. Even with all the ups and downs and times when it seemed like nothing was going right, it's only gotten better from there.
We love you, Mateo bear!
We made a little movie about the last year, which is below. During the process of making it, we went back and watched a lot of the little videos we've taken over the course of Mateo's second year. It was just wild to look back at him as a 13-month old just barely beginning to sign and talk and run around and such...and then to see him now, looking and acting like such a kid instead of a baby.
I was thinking back to his birth while I was nursing him off to sleep, and remembering the overwhelming joy immediately after he was born and we got to meet him for the first time. Even with all the ups and downs and times when it seemed like nothing was going right, it's only gotten better from there.
We love you, Mateo bear!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Talia's four month letter
Dear Natalia,
Happy four months! What an eventful month this has been. Now that you have officially moved out of your "fourth trimester" you are so interested in the world. You love to track objects with your eyes, and look at your brother, mama and mommy. When you are nursing these days, you sometimes have a hard time staying attached with there are so many interesting things you could be looking at!
You also have learned a new skill: shrieking. You delight in hearing your voice and shrieking to your heart's content. Actually, on our plane ride down to California, you shrieked almost the entire time. Although the fellow travelers may not have been too happy about the racket, you were having a wonderful time and letting everyone know about it. The flight attendant even stopped by to say, "She is a loud one, isn't she?"
Speaking of this, the trip to California was your first airplane trip. The air pressure change didn't seem to bother your ears and you took the flight like a champ. On the other hand, you were not interested in sleeping away from home! You clearly know your bed, and thought that Grammy and Grandpa's house was such an interesting place to be that you were not interested in sleeping at night! This pleased you much more than us.
You are really enjoying your tummy time and spend lots of time on your play mat. Sometimes, Mateo shows you his toys and reads you books while you are having tummy time. Almost always, he lies down next to you and says, "Mateo have tummy time too!" You look at him, smile and coo.
Another fun skill you have is grabbing things. Especially, you love to grab hair! Mommy's hair is just the right length for you to get a fist full and hold on tight. I know that before we know it you are going to be grabbing and shaking rattles and other fun toys. For now, you love to grab hair.
On the sleep front, it is definitely two steps forward, one step back. You are doing a great job with getting yourself to sleep and most days, at home, sleep between 6:30 and 7:30pm. Although you do wake up in the next hour most days, you then sleep till 1pm or so. (Last month it was better, but I guess you go down more consistently on your own.) Then you nurse every 2-3 hours till morning. Now that Mommy has the feeding while lying down figured out, she doesn't mind two night wakings, but prefers not to have three in a night.
You are such an amazing girl and we love having you in our family.
It is hard to imagine a time before you were born, now that you have been with us for four months. We love you and can't wait to see you continue to grow and explore the world.
love, Mommy and Mama
Happy four months! What an eventful month this has been. Now that you have officially moved out of your "fourth trimester" you are so interested in the world. You love to track objects with your eyes, and look at your brother, mama and mommy. When you are nursing these days, you sometimes have a hard time staying attached with there are so many interesting things you could be looking at!
You also have learned a new skill: shrieking. You delight in hearing your voice and shrieking to your heart's content. Actually, on our plane ride down to California, you shrieked almost the entire time. Although the fellow travelers may not have been too happy about the racket, you were having a wonderful time and letting everyone know about it. The flight attendant even stopped by to say, "She is a loud one, isn't she?"
Speaking of this, the trip to California was your first airplane trip. The air pressure change didn't seem to bother your ears and you took the flight like a champ. On the other hand, you were not interested in sleeping away from home! You clearly know your bed, and thought that Grammy and Grandpa's house was such an interesting place to be that you were not interested in sleeping at night! This pleased you much more than us.
You are really enjoying your tummy time and spend lots of time on your play mat. Sometimes, Mateo shows you his toys and reads you books while you are having tummy time. Almost always, he lies down next to you and says, "Mateo have tummy time too!" You look at him, smile and coo.
Another fun skill you have is grabbing things. Especially, you love to grab hair! Mommy's hair is just the right length for you to get a fist full and hold on tight. I know that before we know it you are going to be grabbing and shaking rattles and other fun toys. For now, you love to grab hair.
On the sleep front, it is definitely two steps forward, one step back. You are doing a great job with getting yourself to sleep and most days, at home, sleep between 6:30 and 7:30pm. Although you do wake up in the next hour most days, you then sleep till 1pm or so. (Last month it was better, but I guess you go down more consistently on your own.) Then you nurse every 2-3 hours till morning. Now that Mommy has the feeding while lying down figured out, she doesn't mind two night wakings, but prefers not to have three in a night.
You are such an amazing girl and we love having you in our family.
It is hard to imagine a time before you were born, now that you have been with us for four months. We love you and can't wait to see you continue to grow and explore the world.
love, Mommy and Mama
Spanish afternoons
In previous posts I think we have mentioned that when Alayna is working, I am trying to speak in Spanish with the kids. Some days I do better than others, but most days I speak at least 1-2 hours only in Spanish.
I read in _Raising a Bilingual Child_ that two hours is actually the minimum children need to become bilingual. It sounds like a lot, but then you think they are awake for 10-12 hours a day, so 2 hours is around 20% of the time. On the days I am home in the afternoons, I think I average that amount of time.
Also, the book stated that the best predictor of vocabulary in the second language is not the amount of time talking in the second language (beyond those two hours), but how many hours the child spends reading books (or being read too) in the second language.
This made me feel much better! I read to both Mateo and Natalia in Spanish almost every single day and have since Mateo was born.
It is interesting to see that Mateo's progression in Spanish has followed just like his learning curve in English. First he has started with saying nouns, and then some phrases that he hears frequently and can repeat verbatim. Now he is starting to create two word combinations, and on rare occasions three word combos. He does mix Spanish and English, which is completely normal, but only when he is talking in Spanish. He will insert a word in English to complete is idea, if needed. He can also follow most simple comands in Spanish now and seems to understand what I am saying most of the time.
Today I read him a new, silly book, El Gato de Mil Narices (The cat of a thousand noses) and he just giggled up a storm. This might have explained why he didn't go to sleep after hearing the book, because he wanted me to read it to him again! The amazing thing to me is that he clearly understood the book the first time I read it since he was laughing so much at the story.
For me, I too am learning much Spanish this year! I love my job as a Spanish literacy teacher and at school I spend three hours reading in Spanish every day. Just like with my students, I am learning many new words. This year I have looked up or figured out every single unknown word in every story that I have read! Today I learned the word for compost (abono natural) and disguise (antifraz). Every day I read new words and get to explain them to my students, helping me remember the words! My job is a one year post, and because of my vocabulary in Spanish I was a bit nervous about teaching reading to older kids (I teach up to third grade), but I am really enjoying the year.
Now. . . if only I could find a job where I taught Spanish literacy in the mornings to younger children, mathematics in (English or Spanish) the afternoons to older children and one or two days a week supervised aids or newer teachers . . . That would be my ideal full time job for next year!
I read in _Raising a Bilingual Child_ that two hours is actually the minimum children need to become bilingual. It sounds like a lot, but then you think they are awake for 10-12 hours a day, so 2 hours is around 20% of the time. On the days I am home in the afternoons, I think I average that amount of time.
Also, the book stated that the best predictor of vocabulary in the second language is not the amount of time talking in the second language (beyond those two hours), but how many hours the child spends reading books (or being read too) in the second language.
This made me feel much better! I read to both Mateo and Natalia in Spanish almost every single day and have since Mateo was born.
It is interesting to see that Mateo's progression in Spanish has followed just like his learning curve in English. First he has started with saying nouns, and then some phrases that he hears frequently and can repeat verbatim. Now he is starting to create two word combinations, and on rare occasions three word combos. He does mix Spanish and English, which is completely normal, but only when he is talking in Spanish. He will insert a word in English to complete is idea, if needed. He can also follow most simple comands in Spanish now and seems to understand what I am saying most of the time.
Today I read him a new, silly book, El Gato de Mil Narices (The cat of a thousand noses) and he just giggled up a storm. This might have explained why he didn't go to sleep after hearing the book, because he wanted me to read it to him again! The amazing thing to me is that he clearly understood the book the first time I read it since he was laughing so much at the story.
For me, I too am learning much Spanish this year! I love my job as a Spanish literacy teacher and at school I spend three hours reading in Spanish every day. Just like with my students, I am learning many new words. This year I have looked up or figured out every single unknown word in every story that I have read! Today I learned the word for compost (abono natural) and disguise (antifraz). Every day I read new words and get to explain them to my students, helping me remember the words! My job is a one year post, and because of my vocabulary in Spanish I was a bit nervous about teaching reading to older kids (I teach up to third grade), but I am really enjoying the year.
Now. . . if only I could find a job where I taught Spanish literacy in the mornings to younger children, mathematics in (English or Spanish) the afternoons to older children and one or two days a week supervised aids or newer teachers . . . That would be my ideal full time job for next year!
Sleeping porch naps
When my mother was a child, they apparently took naps outside on their sleeping porch, and slept there as well. This afternoon, our two children ended up taking outside naps as well. It was a beautiful day and Mateo would not fall asleep in his crib. I ended up taking him on a drive "to the store," of dreamland. Of course, on that drive Natalia kept on fussing. . . so after Mateo fell asleep, I took her in her car seat out of the car and placed her on the porch, where she is now sleeping.
Mateo is sleeping in the car, with the door open, and Natalia on the porch and I am thanking the world for wireless internet! Sitting on the porch, I'm writing and enjoying some sun, peace and quiet.
Mateo is sleeping in the car, with the door open, and Natalia on the porch and I am thanking the world for wireless internet! Sitting on the porch, I'm writing and enjoying some sun, peace and quiet.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Catching on
My mom made Mateo an early birthday cake this weekend and he ate it up - not just the cake, which was delicious, but the candles and singing and presents and attention. Today, he got another early present - a special birthday cake plate from our friend, Catherine, who was visiting. He loved it!
Then, tonight, as I was putting him to bed, I was telling him about tomorrow and how we'd be seeing his friend, D, in the morning. I said we'd all play together and maybe go to the park. Then, Teo said this: "Then my cake is going to come out...in a bowl...and we're gonna eat it in a bowl!" I had to laugh. He must be starting to think that life is just one big birthday celebration!
Then, tonight, as I was putting him to bed, I was telling him about tomorrow and how we'd be seeing his friend, D, in the morning. I said we'd all play together and maybe go to the park. Then, Teo said this: "Then my cake is going to come out...in a bowl...and we're gonna eat it in a bowl!" I had to laugh. He must be starting to think that life is just one big birthday celebration!
Siblings
We're back from our trip and mostly in one piece! I ended up coming down with a 24-hour stomach virus pretty much right after I hit 'publish' on that last post. No fun. We had spent time with our friend, Sara, earlier that day and she had been worried that she was coming down with something...but, ironically, I turned out to be the one who was contagious! I really hope no one else catches what I had, because it was no fun, but it was also gone in 24 hours and now I feel back to normal.
Anyway, we had a great trip except for the very, very end. The kids have been interacting more and more these days and so I thought I'd post this video of them attempting to read a book together. Mateo's telling Talia all about what animals are in the book...
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