So, I think we mentioned earlier that poor Natalia has a diaper rash of the yeast variety. Our Dr. gave us some prescription cream, plus we are using GSE in a spray bottle for our wipes. The Dr. also suggested that we keep Talia mostly out of diapers when possible.
I would have to say that having her out of diapers does raise the awareness of when she might go! LOL. Don't ask me how, but she only used one diaper this afternoon. We were out of the house for much of the afternoon (so she was in a diaper then), but with elimination communication I was able to catch all of the other pees.
Mateo was using his underwear all afternoon and has been doing great with that.
I don't expect us to have another day like this for some time, but pretty cool to have two kids under the age of two and only use one cloth diaper in an entire afternoon!
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Free association
Mateo has recently learned about the octopus. He knows how to sign it from his Signing Time sessions and he also has a book that features a group of octopi (although it says "octopuses" in the book, which irks me to no end). Apparently, he's pretty excited about them. Sacha made waffle batter with him this morning and he seemed to think the whisk she used looked like an octopus. Here he is giving us his thoughts on this matter, among other things. Bizarrely, our digital camera made his eyes look brown...:
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Pumpkins
Like, apparently, most of the rest of the free world, we went to the pumpkin patch today. We were actually planning to do the big corn maze (or, maize, as they creatively called it), inspired by our friend, Katie, who was going to provide her sense of direction to lead us through it. Sacha and I tried to do a corn maze before, but we never made it to the exit. After an undetermined amount of time, which seemed like about a year, we gave up in frustration and broke out through the side of the maze. This time, unfortunately, we never even made it through the maze entrance! They were charging a whopping $7 per person and we thought that was a little steep for walking around a big field of corn.
Undeterred, we had a lovely time. It was a gorgeous and sunny fall day and there were all kinds of things to do. We went on the hayride, which was quite the adventure. As we were climbing up onto the bales, Natalia decided it was time to eat. So, Sacha channeled her inner pioneer woman and nursed her as we rumbled along and I tried to keep them both from falling off the side. They were never in any danger, but it was quite funny all the same!
After we got off, Talia finished her meal on solid ground:
Then, after Teo romped up and down this huge tower of haybales and avoided being crushed by the crazed older children jumping without looking from high above, we decided it was time for a snack. Sacha got some delicious corn on the cob and I decided to try my first caramel apple. Verdict: not my thing. The apple was awesome, but the caramel was kind of overwhelming. Eventually I just peeled it off and ate the apple underneath.
The piece de resistance of the afternoon came right before we left, when Mateo and I rode in the kiddie cow train. Mateo was determined that he would ride on it before we left, and so we did. Our cow car was named Pookey, but Mateo decided to rename it Moosey. At some point during the middle of the ride, he started petting the wooden cow head on the front of the car and saying "hello Moosey, hello Moosey" over and over in the sweetest little voice. It was as if he himself was gently leading a real cow around the pasture.
So ended our afternoon. It was pretty awesome.
Here's one more photo of me and the kids last week sometime. Notice how Talia has Teo's hair in her iron grip...
By the way, she has started to laugh! And, she is chatting up a storm and squealing and even learning to stick out her tongue. Her little personality is really starting to emerge. Yesterday we got a great video of her cracking up as her brother jiggled her legs. She was poker faced when we did it, but when Mateo did it, she thought it was the funniest thing ever!
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Mateo's 23-month letter
Dear Mateo,
You just turned 23 months old and you are going to be two years old in less than a month! You are beginning to grasp the concept of your birthday and can tell us, when asked, that your birthday is on Halloween and it is October "firty-first". Grammy gave you a shirt last year that says "October 31" on it and we call it your birthday shirt. You love to wear it.
Enough about your birthday for right now, though. We still have a month to go! We want to write down a few things about what you're up to right now, at 23 months. One thing right off the bat - you have learned to smile for the camera. It is this totally over the top smile complete with throwing your head back and you do it every time someone pulls out a camera. We thought we'd showcase a selection of those photos here today...
First, you've learned to say your full name. This started as a game with one of your little friends, in which I went back and forth telling you both what your full names were. You first thought that your full name was "Uncle (last name)", which Mommy and I found hilarious, but now you can say your first, middle, and last names. You still throw in Uncle (last name) sometimes just to get a laugh. You've deduced that saying it is funny from listening to me tell several people about the whole thing. You really are listening all the time!
In other news, we found a cool website called Starfall on the recommendation of our friend, Emily, and you are totally down with it. We started with the section on learning letters and now you and Mommy like to explore the section with interactive stories. You call it "looking for letters" and beg to do it whenever the computer comes out.
On the subject of letters, you love to talk more and more every day. You amaze us all the time with what you can say. You often speak in sentences these days and have your own, unique take on the world. One of our favorite things is that you say "you" often when you mean "I". Just in the past couple of days, we've noticed you starting to say "I" more. People comment all the time on your vocabulary and how clearly you enunciate. We usually just respond by saying that you love to talk and leave it at that. We feel really lucky that you're so verbal, because we can ask you to use your words when you start to get frustrated and you will usually tell us what's going on.
Mommy has been speaking Spanish with you in the afternoons ever since the school year started. You have picked up quite a few words and phrases already. We'll hear you reading a book in Spanish to yourself and sometimes, when you want us to read a particular book, you'll say "Este libro. Este libro!"
You are also really digging music these days. Your music class has started up again and we just went to our second class of the semester today. You particularly enjoy the "hello" song that we sing at the start of every class. You love to have me sing it in the car and we say hello to everything in the world. A sampling of the things we greeted on the way to our friends' house today: Mama, Mommy, baby Talia, every single truck we passed (ie, "the green green tractor trailer truck!" or "the orange orange cement mixer truck!" You like to say colors twice when they apply to trucks, as if for more emphasis), the trees, the freeway, the seats in the car, the cars on the road, etc. I'm sure they all felt very well acknowledged.
You are starting to try to sing. Mostly, it's songs from our music class, but you've thrown in some others, too. I was singing you this song I learned in elementary school about the worms crawling in and out and you started up trying to sing it. You don't have too many different voice tones yet, but you're getting there.
You're getting more interested in stacking and building things. Your blocks have taken on new importance. You've been wanting to build towers as well as making interpretive versions of different trucks, such as tractor trailer trucks and moving trucks.
Other physical things: you're trying really hard to learn to jump. You've made it off the ground a few times! It's pretty cute to watch you try to overcome gravity for a second. Also, you're eating more with utensils and becoming more competent with an open cup. We've been trying to encourage this and, hence, have cleaned up quite a few spills recently. You get really upset when you spill something and often want to help clean it up.
You've had some difficult behavior developments recently, too. You've discovered how to really whine and have started putting it into practice. You've also been testing limits more and have gotten into a clingy stage with Mama, which is probably because she started a new job and isn't around as much as she used to be. We're trying to work with this and really have a lot to learn! We do notice that the more consistent we are, the better things go, so I guess all we have to do is be more consistent and things will go perfectly. Ha!
In terms of sleep, we have only good things to say. You consistently sleep through the night now. You usually go down right after Mama gets home from work, around 7 pm, and sleep to somewhere between 6 and 7 am. You often wake up fussing in the night at some point and almost always get yourself back down on your own without much trouble. Mama usually goes in if you get too upset, but you almost never do. We love it! We have all ridden on quite the sleep roller coaster together and getting to this point feels really good.
Now that the cold weather is starting up, our house heating system has been coming on, and that fascinates you. You looove it when the air starts blowing out of the heating vents!
Mateo, we can't believe our little guy is about to be a two-year-old boy! We could not be more happy and proud that you are our son. Happy 23 months and here's to a great end to your second year.
All our love,
Mommy and Mama
You just turned 23 months old and you are going to be two years old in less than a month! You are beginning to grasp the concept of your birthday and can tell us, when asked, that your birthday is on Halloween and it is October "firty-first". Grammy gave you a shirt last year that says "October 31" on it and we call it your birthday shirt. You love to wear it.
Enough about your birthday for right now, though. We still have a month to go! We want to write down a few things about what you're up to right now, at 23 months. One thing right off the bat - you have learned to smile for the camera. It is this totally over the top smile complete with throwing your head back and you do it every time someone pulls out a camera. We thought we'd showcase a selection of those photos here today...
First, you've learned to say your full name. This started as a game with one of your little friends, in which I went back and forth telling you both what your full names were. You first thought that your full name was "Uncle (last name)", which Mommy and I found hilarious, but now you can say your first, middle, and last names. You still throw in Uncle (last name) sometimes just to get a laugh. You've deduced that saying it is funny from listening to me tell several people about the whole thing. You really are listening all the time!
In other news, we found a cool website called Starfall on the recommendation of our friend, Emily, and you are totally down with it. We started with the section on learning letters and now you and Mommy like to explore the section with interactive stories. You call it "looking for letters" and beg to do it whenever the computer comes out.
On the subject of letters, you love to talk more and more every day. You amaze us all the time with what you can say. You often speak in sentences these days and have your own, unique take on the world. One of our favorite things is that you say "you" often when you mean "I". Just in the past couple of days, we've noticed you starting to say "I" more. People comment all the time on your vocabulary and how clearly you enunciate. We usually just respond by saying that you love to talk and leave it at that. We feel really lucky that you're so verbal, because we can ask you to use your words when you start to get frustrated and you will usually tell us what's going on.
Mommy has been speaking Spanish with you in the afternoons ever since the school year started. You have picked up quite a few words and phrases already. We'll hear you reading a book in Spanish to yourself and sometimes, when you want us to read a particular book, you'll say "Este libro. Este libro!"
You are also really digging music these days. Your music class has started up again and we just went to our second class of the semester today. You particularly enjoy the "hello" song that we sing at the start of every class. You love to have me sing it in the car and we say hello to everything in the world. A sampling of the things we greeted on the way to our friends' house today: Mama, Mommy, baby Talia, every single truck we passed (ie, "the green green tractor trailer truck!" or "the orange orange cement mixer truck!" You like to say colors twice when they apply to trucks, as if for more emphasis), the trees, the freeway, the seats in the car, the cars on the road, etc. I'm sure they all felt very well acknowledged.
You are starting to try to sing. Mostly, it's songs from our music class, but you've thrown in some others, too. I was singing you this song I learned in elementary school about the worms crawling in and out and you started up trying to sing it. You don't have too many different voice tones yet, but you're getting there.
You're getting more interested in stacking and building things. Your blocks have taken on new importance. You've been wanting to build towers as well as making interpretive versions of different trucks, such as tractor trailer trucks and moving trucks.
Other physical things: you're trying really hard to learn to jump. You've made it off the ground a few times! It's pretty cute to watch you try to overcome gravity for a second. Also, you're eating more with utensils and becoming more competent with an open cup. We've been trying to encourage this and, hence, have cleaned up quite a few spills recently. You get really upset when you spill something and often want to help clean it up.
You've had some difficult behavior developments recently, too. You've discovered how to really whine and have started putting it into practice. You've also been testing limits more and have gotten into a clingy stage with Mama, which is probably because she started a new job and isn't around as much as she used to be. We're trying to work with this and really have a lot to learn! We do notice that the more consistent we are, the better things go, so I guess all we have to do is be more consistent and things will go perfectly. Ha!
In terms of sleep, we have only good things to say. You consistently sleep through the night now. You usually go down right after Mama gets home from work, around 7 pm, and sleep to somewhere between 6 and 7 am. You often wake up fussing in the night at some point and almost always get yourself back down on your own without much trouble. Mama usually goes in if you get too upset, but you almost never do. We love it! We have all ridden on quite the sleep roller coaster together and getting to this point feels really good.
Now that the cold weather is starting up, our house heating system has been coming on, and that fascinates you. You looove it when the air starts blowing out of the heating vents!
Mateo, we can't believe our little guy is about to be a two-year-old boy! We could not be more happy and proud that you are our son. Happy 23 months and here's to a great end to your second year.
All our love,
Mommy and Mama
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
The wheels on the bus
I got a message on my voicemail today that our car is finished and ready to be picked up. They never called to say what exactly was wrong with it, so I assume that means it was nothing major. We are, however, considering switching mechanics to a place that specializes in our type of car.
After a day that included much ferrying around with our one working car, we are pretty excited to have the second one back in action. However, yesterday, I took the kids on a big public transit adventure and I want to write about it before I forget.
I took the kids to an awesome storytime at a local cafe last week and I had promised Mateo we would go again this week, so I wanted to follow through. The cafe is several miles away, but on a direct bus line that stops about a third of a mile (I just looked it up) from our house. I decided I would take the kids on the bus. It was a short enough trip that it seemed doable and would give me a chance to get over the intimidation factor getting them both on and off public transit by myself.
The storytime starts at 10 am. We needed to catch the bus at 9:30 to make it on time. That meant leaving the house by 9:15. Come 9:00, Teo and I were ready but Talia was still snoozing. She loves to sleep in. I think this will be good if Teo ever starts sleeping in, but for right now, it doesn't do us much good in terms of getting extra sleep.
9:10 rolled around and she still wasn't awake. I began to realize that she would want to eat when she woke up, but I wouldn't have time to feed her if we were going to catch the bus. I had a bottle of Sacha's pumped milk in my bag, but it was cold and she just won't take cold milk from me. She will from other people, but maybe she knows that I'm wrapped around her little finger and will compliantly warm her bottle for her whenever she wants. And I will, so she clearly knows what she's doing!
Anyway, I woke her up, rushed her into a new diaper and new clothes and into the Ergo and off we went. I stuffed the bottle into my back pocket and hoped it would warm up fast! We got to the bus stop ahead of schedule, with Mateo chatting away in his stroller the whole way.
That brings me to the stroller. We have two strollers. One is a lightweight umbrella stroller that can go anywhere. That one was in the car with Sacha at work. (Actually, I thought the umbrella stroller was in the volvo at the time, but actually we had it in the civic and could have used it after all. Oops.) The other stroller is, as our mailman noted, the Cadi.llac of strollers. It is a great ride and can carry your kid and all your stuff with no problem, but it is a tank. In my usual way, I decided that we had to have a stroller to make this trip and that, even though the stroller was big, that we would figure out what to do with it when actually faced with the actual bus.
As we were waiting for the bus, I attempted to feed Talia her bottle. It was still too cold and she opted not to take it. Instead, she slobbered all over the front of my shirt, making it appear that I was having some major leaking problems. Simultaneously, I formulated a plan. When the bus pulled into view, I would take Teo out of the stroller and hold his hand. I would help him walk onto the bus and then I would bring the stroller on, fold it down, and put it under the seat for our ride. Piece of cake, right?
Well, it turns out that our stroller really is big. And those bus aisles really are small! I got Mateo on the bus and then proceeded to accidentally knock him over with the diaper bag on my back as I turned around to grab the stroller. Luckily, he was gaping at the bus (which he has been on before, by the way) and seemed unfazed. I then got stuck at the front of the stroller and had to sort of drag it down the aisle to our seats. I attempted to stuff it under the seat, but it was still so big that it stuck out halfway and partially blocked the path for other passengers.
However, the bottle had finally warmed up enough for Talia to drink most of it on the way. And, we got off the bus with no major problems. We made it to storytime early and had a nice time, complete with stories, songs, snacks, and general playing.
The way back was more sticky, because the bus was more crowded and I was more tired. And, there were no seats in the parallel rows in front, so I tried to lean the stroller against where we were sitting mid-bus. The driver then suggested I bring the behemoth up to the front and put it on the platform by the door. However, since he didn't stop driving the bus for me to do this, I had to pick up the freaking thing and navigate to the front with a baby on my front, and then wrestle it onto the platform thing, which was really not built to hold a folded up stroller, without falling over.
All I can say about that I have done easier things in my life. You would think someone might have offered to help, but, sadly, no one did. Getting the stroller off the platform and getting it off the bus was also an adventure, but we all made it off the bus and it drove away and our adventure was complete. Whew!
I learned two things from the whole process. One, it is completely doable to take two kids on the bus. I know, people do it all the time, but I never had and now I feel pretty confident in doing it. The real problem was the stroller, not the kids. The second thing I learned was that I will never again take that f***ing stroller on a bus. I will take the umbrella stroller or nothing!
That concludes our adventure for this week. Here's a photo to wrap it all up. I love seeing the kids start to interact more and more:
After a day that included much ferrying around with our one working car, we are pretty excited to have the second one back in action. However, yesterday, I took the kids on a big public transit adventure and I want to write about it before I forget.
I took the kids to an awesome storytime at a local cafe last week and I had promised Mateo we would go again this week, so I wanted to follow through. The cafe is several miles away, but on a direct bus line that stops about a third of a mile (I just looked it up) from our house. I decided I would take the kids on the bus. It was a short enough trip that it seemed doable and would give me a chance to get over the intimidation factor getting them both on and off public transit by myself.
The storytime starts at 10 am. We needed to catch the bus at 9:30 to make it on time. That meant leaving the house by 9:15. Come 9:00, Teo and I were ready but Talia was still snoozing. She loves to sleep in. I think this will be good if Teo ever starts sleeping in, but for right now, it doesn't do us much good in terms of getting extra sleep.
9:10 rolled around and she still wasn't awake. I began to realize that she would want to eat when she woke up, but I wouldn't have time to feed her if we were going to catch the bus. I had a bottle of Sacha's pumped milk in my bag, but it was cold and she just won't take cold milk from me. She will from other people, but maybe she knows that I'm wrapped around her little finger and will compliantly warm her bottle for her whenever she wants. And I will, so she clearly knows what she's doing!
Anyway, I woke her up, rushed her into a new diaper and new clothes and into the Ergo and off we went. I stuffed the bottle into my back pocket and hoped it would warm up fast! We got to the bus stop ahead of schedule, with Mateo chatting away in his stroller the whole way.
That brings me to the stroller. We have two strollers. One is a lightweight umbrella stroller that can go anywhere. That one was in the car with Sacha at work. (Actually, I thought the umbrella stroller was in the volvo at the time, but actually we had it in the civic and could have used it after all. Oops.) The other stroller is, as our mailman noted, the Cadi.llac of strollers. It is a great ride and can carry your kid and all your stuff with no problem, but it is a tank. In my usual way, I decided that we had to have a stroller to make this trip and that, even though the stroller was big, that we would figure out what to do with it when actually faced with the actual bus.
As we were waiting for the bus, I attempted to feed Talia her bottle. It was still too cold and she opted not to take it. Instead, she slobbered all over the front of my shirt, making it appear that I was having some major leaking problems. Simultaneously, I formulated a plan. When the bus pulled into view, I would take Teo out of the stroller and hold his hand. I would help him walk onto the bus and then I would bring the stroller on, fold it down, and put it under the seat for our ride. Piece of cake, right?
Well, it turns out that our stroller really is big. And those bus aisles really are small! I got Mateo on the bus and then proceeded to accidentally knock him over with the diaper bag on my back as I turned around to grab the stroller. Luckily, he was gaping at the bus (which he has been on before, by the way) and seemed unfazed. I then got stuck at the front of the stroller and had to sort of drag it down the aisle to our seats. I attempted to stuff it under the seat, but it was still so big that it stuck out halfway and partially blocked the path for other passengers.
However, the bottle had finally warmed up enough for Talia to drink most of it on the way. And, we got off the bus with no major problems. We made it to storytime early and had a nice time, complete with stories, songs, snacks, and general playing.
The way back was more sticky, because the bus was more crowded and I was more tired. And, there were no seats in the parallel rows in front, so I tried to lean the stroller against where we were sitting mid-bus. The driver then suggested I bring the behemoth up to the front and put it on the platform by the door. However, since he didn't stop driving the bus for me to do this, I had to pick up the freaking thing and navigate to the front with a baby on my front, and then wrestle it onto the platform thing, which was really not built to hold a folded up stroller, without falling over.
All I can say about that I have done easier things in my life. You would think someone might have offered to help, but, sadly, no one did. Getting the stroller off the platform and getting it off the bus was also an adventure, but we all made it off the bus and it drove away and our adventure was complete. Whew!
I learned two things from the whole process. One, it is completely doable to take two kids on the bus. I know, people do it all the time, but I never had and now I feel pretty confident in doing it. The real problem was the stroller, not the kids. The second thing I learned was that I will never again take that f***ing stroller on a bus. I will take the umbrella stroller or nothing!
That concludes our adventure for this week. Here's a photo to wrap it all up. I love seeing the kids start to interact more and more:
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Today
We had a lovely weekend, except for one of our cars abruptly dying on the freeway. It's rather old and we got it for free from some very generous family members, so I guess it wasn't surprising, but it was kind of a bummer, nonetheless. We're hoping it can be fixed for less than what it's worth! We've suddenly started debating the merits of getting another car versus becoming a one-car family.
Highlights of the weekend included an amazing clothing sale that netted us most of the warm clothes Mateo will need for the next couple of years. Plus shoes. Plus a new diaper pail. Plus some toys. All for a grand total of $120.
Also, we were lucky to have friends watch Mateo for several hours on Saturday, while I was at an all-day cpr training, and to have Apa and his friend M step in to cover the kids so Sacha could wait on the side of I-5 with me for an hour for the tow truck to show up.
Today, we had brunch with Apa (including bacon, which I am obsessed with right now) and it was sunny and glorious and warm outside. You might have noticed that the photos above feature M without any clothes on at all. He is really, really, really into being naked right now. One of the most common phrases we hear these days is "You want to be naked!!" He says "you" when he means "I". And so we often just let him be naked. Today he was kicking an empty milk carton up and down the sidewalk and squealing loudly while wearing only his birthday suit. Hopefully the neighbors weren't too scandalized!
The last fabulous thing we did this weekend was go Liam's birthday party at The Little Gym! Fun! Mateo had a blast and got to run around and try all sorts of gymnastics equipment. His favorite things were walking on the balance beam and learning to do a somersault with some help. It was a really fun party and a nice end to the weekend.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Tummy time
Natalia has been having a diaper rash and so we have been trying to give her some air time. This afternoon she was having both tummy time and air time at the same time, and so I had her lying down on a cloth diaper to protect the carpet.
Mateo walks in with his Frosty Bear (a kid-sized ice pack, because he had a little fall earlier and needed some ice comfort) and puts frosty bear on his "tummy," face down on the carpet. Mateo then says, "Frosty bear has tummy time too!"
Then, Mateo lies down on his tummy and says, "Mateo have tummy time too. Mommy, have tummy time."
I lie down on my tummy and we all enjoy the calm moment.
Then, Mateo looks at Natalia and asks what she is lying on. I say that it is a cloth diaper, and so he decides he needs to lie on a cloth diaper (on top of the underwear he is wearing.) "Mateo lie on diaper."
Mateo then looks at frosty bear and says, "Frosty bear needs diaper." He walks over to the bucket and gets out a cloth diaper for frosty bear. And then . . . who do you think he decides needs a diaper?
Mommy!
So, we all had tummy time lying on cloth diapers!
I love our children sooo much.
Mateo walks in with his Frosty Bear (a kid-sized ice pack, because he had a little fall earlier and needed some ice comfort) and puts frosty bear on his "tummy," face down on the carpet. Mateo then says, "Frosty bear has tummy time too!"
Then, Mateo lies down on his tummy and says, "Mateo have tummy time too. Mommy, have tummy time."
I lie down on my tummy and we all enjoy the calm moment.
Then, Mateo looks at Natalia and asks what she is lying on. I say that it is a cloth diaper, and so he decides he needs to lie on a cloth diaper (on top of the underwear he is wearing.) "Mateo lie on diaper."
Mateo then looks at frosty bear and says, "Frosty bear needs diaper." He walks over to the bucket and gets out a cloth diaper for frosty bear. And then . . . who do you think he decides needs a diaper?
Mommy!
So, we all had tummy time lying on cloth diapers!
I love our children sooo much.
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