Mateo and Natalia had a great time this afternoon playing with her bottle. At first Mateo was feeding her the bottle, and then the two of them got giggly and started playing. It looks like he's the only one throwing the bottle around, but she did start it!
Monday, April 27, 2009
Dictionary fun
This afternoon, after Mateo used the potty, I wanted to say that his bladder was empty, but I didn't know the word in Spanish. (I was talking in Spanish with him and Natalia.) I went to the dictionary and looked up the word bladder and showed Mateo how the dictionary told us that the word bladder in Spanish is vajiga. We have a visual dictionary (a favorite book of Mateo because it has thousands of interesting pictures), and so he is familiar with the idea that you can look words up in a dictionary.
A few minutes later, Mateo picks up the dictionary and tells me that I should give him a word. I say nose. He flips through the dictionary and opens it up to a page, points to a random word and says, "nariz." He then does the same thing for kitchen (cocina), ear (oreja) and a few other words. I then gave him the word floor, and he looks and looks and then pronounces to me that the word floor is not in the dictionary. He found it, though, after I told him that the word floor is piso.
I am really amazed at all of the words he knows in Spanish. He is just like a sponge at this age.
A few minutes later, Mateo picks up the dictionary and tells me that I should give him a word. I say nose. He flips through the dictionary and opens it up to a page, points to a random word and says, "nariz." He then does the same thing for kitchen (cocina), ear (oreja) and a few other words. I then gave him the word floor, and he looks and looks and then pronounces to me that the word floor is not in the dictionary. He found it, though, after I told him that the word floor is piso.
I am really amazed at all of the words he knows in Spanish. He is just like a sponge at this age.
Bubby's 65th Birthday
This weekend I went up to Washington with Apa and the kids. (Alayna was in California with her college friends.) We had a wonderful weekend celebrating my mom's 65th birthday.
We had a wonderful time celebrating Bubby's birthday, walking on the beach, picking up crabs, and visiting our friends' chickens and roosters. Mateo even got to collect some eggs from the coop, which was very exciting to him. He also had a love bird sit on his shoulder for some time. Hopefully we will find some pictures of that.
While the day time of the trip was wonderful, the night time consisted of the kids' combined awakenings being 8 or more times each night. This made of quite the zombie of a mommy, but I suppose that is just what happens when traveling with two!
Overall, it was a wonderful trip. I think I am still recovering from the sleep aspect, so this is a shortish post.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Natalia's 10 month letter
Dear Natalia,
You are 10 months old, kiddo! After we all emerged from the fog of your first few months, the time has just raced by. Here are some things you've been up to lately:
First, you celebrated your 10 month birthday a little early by finally going to the doctor for your 9 month well-child visit. You weighed in at 16 pounds, 13 ounces, putting you in the peanut category - that's the 9th percentile. You're 27 inches long, which is around the 30th percentile, and your head is about 17 cm around, which is around the 20th percentile. You're a little one, just like Mommy was at your age, and just like your brother!
You're growing wonderfully well and learning to do new things all the time. You're working more on cruising these days, although you're still mostly happy to just pull up on things and play with whatever you find. Your attention span is getting longer and longer, which is great for everyone.
This month, you welcomed your first two teeth into your mouth. You now have two teeth, although they have just barely broken through the gums. You didn't particularly enjoy that part and needed lots of TLC, baby oragel, and tylenol to get you through it. We tried all the other stuff first - offering you cold things to gnaw on, etc - but you weren't any more interested in trying it out than your brother was at your age!
Speaking of gnawing, though, you are learning to chew and have added quite a few solid foods to your repetoire. You can now eat little pieces of tofu, soft fruits, crackers, and pieces of bread and bagel pretty much on your own. You also enjoy being fed a variety of blended veggies and fruits, oatmeal, and whole milk yogurt. Your favorite thing is to be given a hunk of something and to just sit there and chew and slobber on it until it's completely pulverized. We still supervise you very closely, as we regularly need to fish things out of your mouth!
You're still nursing a lot from Mommy and that's nice for both of you. Your calmest feeding is in the early morning before Mommy goes to work. During the other feedings, you are all about action and sometimes have a hard time concentrating! Mommy got her first person at school who asked when she's going to wean you, but neither of you are ready for that yet. Within reason, the timing of that one will be your decision. You also have a couple of bottles a day from Mama and that's a nice bonding time for the two of you, too.
This past month has been an interesting one between you and your brother. As you've become more mobile, he's discovered how easy it is to push you over. And over. And over. He thinks it's funny and you don't, not surprisingly. Your moms are struggling to manage this nascent sibling rivalry, but you mostly take it in stride. Someday, you'll be old enough to play with him on even terms!
You're doing really well in the sleep department and mostly sleep through the night on your own - 7 pm to 7 am. The holy grail! Your moms are getting rested enough that we actually notice feeling tired in the morning after we all have a rough night, instead of just feeling exhausted all the time. Keep up the good work!
You're communicating more and more with us. You love to babble, screech, wave, and generally connect with us and other people. You still love to say "ah-dah" more than anything, but you've said "mama" several times and even said "tay-tay" (for your brother) after we repeated it to you several times.
We love you to pieces, little girl! You light up our days and (thankfully) not so much our nights anymore.
love, Mama and Mommy
You are 10 months old, kiddo! After we all emerged from the fog of your first few months, the time has just raced by. Here are some things you've been up to lately:
First, you celebrated your 10 month birthday a little early by finally going to the doctor for your 9 month well-child visit. You weighed in at 16 pounds, 13 ounces, putting you in the peanut category - that's the 9th percentile. You're 27 inches long, which is around the 30th percentile, and your head is about 17 cm around, which is around the 20th percentile. You're a little one, just like Mommy was at your age, and just like your brother!
You're growing wonderfully well and learning to do new things all the time. You're working more on cruising these days, although you're still mostly happy to just pull up on things and play with whatever you find. Your attention span is getting longer and longer, which is great for everyone.
This month, you welcomed your first two teeth into your mouth. You now have two teeth, although they have just barely broken through the gums. You didn't particularly enjoy that part and needed lots of TLC, baby oragel, and tylenol to get you through it. We tried all the other stuff first - offering you cold things to gnaw on, etc - but you weren't any more interested in trying it out than your brother was at your age!
Speaking of gnawing, though, you are learning to chew and have added quite a few solid foods to your repetoire. You can now eat little pieces of tofu, soft fruits, crackers, and pieces of bread and bagel pretty much on your own. You also enjoy being fed a variety of blended veggies and fruits, oatmeal, and whole milk yogurt. Your favorite thing is to be given a hunk of something and to just sit there and chew and slobber on it until it's completely pulverized. We still supervise you very closely, as we regularly need to fish things out of your mouth!
You're still nursing a lot from Mommy and that's nice for both of you. Your calmest feeding is in the early morning before Mommy goes to work. During the other feedings, you are all about action and sometimes have a hard time concentrating! Mommy got her first person at school who asked when she's going to wean you, but neither of you are ready for that yet. Within reason, the timing of that one will be your decision. You also have a couple of bottles a day from Mama and that's a nice bonding time for the two of you, too.
This past month has been an interesting one between you and your brother. As you've become more mobile, he's discovered how easy it is to push you over. And over. And over. He thinks it's funny and you don't, not surprisingly. Your moms are struggling to manage this nascent sibling rivalry, but you mostly take it in stride. Someday, you'll be old enough to play with him on even terms!
You're doing really well in the sleep department and mostly sleep through the night on your own - 7 pm to 7 am. The holy grail! Your moms are getting rested enough that we actually notice feeling tired in the morning after we all have a rough night, instead of just feeling exhausted all the time. Keep up the good work!
You're communicating more and more with us. You love to babble, screech, wave, and generally connect with us and other people. You still love to say "ah-dah" more than anything, but you've said "mama" several times and even said "tay-tay" (for your brother) after we repeated it to you several times.
We love you to pieces, little girl! You light up our days and (thankfully) not so much our nights anymore.
love, Mama and Mommy
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
The job outlook
Last year, I had the unlucky situation of being unassigned, and so I thought that this year I might also have to deal with that because of all the budget issues. Amazingly, the school district really has pulled it together this year, and it looks like almost no one is going to be laid off! I have my half time job for next year. Yah.
I am wanting to transition to a full time job, though, and so am going through the hiring process. A few weeks ago they gave me an interview to determine my Spanish Language Proficiency. I passed with a near-native score - so I am good to go for applying for a full-time position. I should be finding out in the next few months what job I will be doing next year, and I am hoping for full-time!
I am wanting to transition to a full time job, though, and so am going through the hiring process. A few weeks ago they gave me an interview to determine my Spanish Language Proficiency. I passed with a near-native score - so I am good to go for applying for a full-time position. I should be finding out in the next few months what job I will be doing next year, and I am hoping for full-time!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Photos and more photos
I took these yesterday after I walked in from after a run and found Sacha giving the kids a bath. As a side note, it's amazing how far we've come that neither one of us bats an eye at bathing them both at the same time. It would have taken both of us plus some help to do that nine months ago!
Also, we had a lovely Easter today that included church and amazing organ and singing music in the morning, a mid-day brunch, and an impressively complicated Easter egg hunt at Grandmommy's to wrap things up. Apa brought the kids Easter outfits this morning and they were just too cute.
Photos:
Yesterday...
And, today...
Happy Passover and Easter!
Also, we had a lovely Easter today that included church and amazing organ and singing music in the morning, a mid-day brunch, and an impressively complicated Easter egg hunt at Grandmommy's to wrap things up. Apa brought the kids Easter outfits this morning and they were just too cute.
Photos:
Yesterday...
And, today...
Happy Passover and Easter!
Friday, April 10, 2009
Apa is the best
We want to send a big thank you out to Apa, because he is the best!
Thank you...
For springing us for date night nearly every week for months and months.
For coming over to hang out with the kids when we both need to work, even when it means rearranging your own schedule.
For having family dinner with us every Sunday and cooking up delicious meals for us all to enjoy.
For getting us hooked on the Biggest Loser!
For being so great with the kids.
For all the flips you do with Mateo.
For finding that funny spot that makes Natalia laugh and laugh.
For making all sorts of cool stuff for them, including a sleeping canopy for baby Talia earlier this week.
For lending a hand to innumerable household projects.
For going with us on about a zillion outings.
For being able to take both kids out on your own.
For taking them last week to the storytime we go to every Monday and braving questions about where your "wife" was this week.
For proudly explaining our babymaking situation to the many interested and confused folks we've encountered.
For finding a perfect balance of letting us be the parents while building your own relationships with the little ones.
For wanting to navigate this unique journey with us. We love you!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)