And we're off...

You would think that we were going off for a month via horse drawn carriage to a place where they do not have a Target anywhere with in an hours drive or something. I always have the best intentions of packing light, less is more and all that, but in the end, my pack-rat neurosis gets the best of me.
We successfully packed one suitcase, and three carry-ons. One is entirely full of snacks, one is entirely full of diapers and diapering paraphernalia, and the last has, everything else one might need on an airplane, I think Chris is planning on taking his pillow!
I am now officially ready to go as soon as I take a shower! There is something up with our camera and uploading, I asked Chris to try but he didn't get to it, so hopefully I'll have pictures when we return!

Happy 8th Monthday Amalia!!

Amalia, you turned 8 months this week and we have definitely been busy. These month days are just zooming by, I can't believe you are getting so big.
The biggest development this past month is the acquisition of your two new teeth. You have made good use of them, eating just about anything that we put in front of you. I think that more are on the way in the very near future since you are still chomping down on everything in site. Fortunately for me, you learned pretty quickly that biting mama is a no-no and doesn't get you any more milk than before.



You are just starting to show some interest in moving around, and will roll from here to there. You are still not a fan of being on your tummy, so I think the army crawl may not happen with you and you might just scoot on your bottom like tia Leticia. You get frustrated when you can't get something that's just out of your reach, and especially when you know who walks out of the room.

You are starting to clap your hands and play "tortitas para mama" our version of patty cake. You are singing and babbling and laughing all the time. You still say dadadada and squeal and scream. My bet is that when the first real word comes, it will be some version of Domi.

I some times wonder and worry that we don't stimulate you as much as we did with Domingo. There are times when I'll just let you play and explore sitting next to me rather than be constantly talking or singing or signing to you. Sometimes, (like now) you'll be grabbing at me "asking" to be held or nursed and I'll put you off for a minute or five with a toy and a tickle. Fortunately you are so good natured that you'll take it and you never hold it against me. Also I figure that you constantly hear your brother who doesn't stop talking, so you are probably getting as much action as you need.
That said I am going to really try to start the sign language this month, and hopefully enlist your brother's help because honestly if he's doing something it's a sure bet that you want to be doing the same thing.

I am pleased to say that as of this month, mama is still your number one.


I love that when I walk in the room you get so excited you bang your hands up and down in front of you, and if I leave, you push your bottom lip out and start to complain. I admit, it's a good feeling to come home from work and see just how much you missed me. I love snuggling up next to you at night and kissing your sweaty little head. It's true, I didn't think that babies were supposed to sweat, but your little round head will sometimes end up in a puddle over night.



This coming month we have some new adventures in store, with your first plane trip planned, and your first trip to the ocean. I can't wait to see your reaction and am so excited to be there with you.


Love,
Mama

25 things Domi and Amalia version

First born goes first:

1. I am already 2/3 as tall as my mother and I'm only 2.
2. I am named after my abuelo and my Farfar.
3. My first word was pelota, or ball in Spanish.
4. I called my mama "papa" for about a week.
5. My favorite food is peas, but I also love chips, and of course CANDY! Also, I only eat things plain, not "dirty" with sauce or God forbid, butter.
6. When I was 16 months old my parents made a list of all the words I could say. It was over 160 words so they stopped counting.
7. I can say lots more now.
8. I bumped my mouth on the bathtub when I was around 6 months old, it made a dark spot on my front tooth that later turned into a chip.
9. My mother chipped the same front tooth when she was a baby.
10. My mother hopes I don't use my serrated smile to bite my sister the way she used to bite hers.
11. I don't like ice or things that are too hot or cold.
12. I don't like taking naps.
13. I don't like going to bed at night.
14. I don't like getting my diaper changed.
15. I do all the above things grudgingly if you have a little patience.
16. I always want one more book.
17. My favorite book is about dinosaurs.
18. I love all animals, but dinosaurs are probably my favorite, and I love it when you name them for me, and I can name about 50, including parasauralophus, pachyrhinosaurus, and pachycelphelosaurus.
19. I roll my eyes at mama when she makes a mistake about which is which before I correct her.
20. I love all my extended family, but will not hug or kiss them on command.
21. I love my primas, but will not share with them.
22. I love my sister, but will not share with her.
23. When my sister is asleep, I ask to wake her up.
24. To get me to brush my teeth, you have to find a toy that is afraid to brush his teeth and then tell me to help him by showing him how.
25. My favorite word is no, but if I'm pressed I'll make it a no thank you.

Now Amalia's turn

1. I was born on the longest day of the year.
2. I'm named after my Norwegian great grandmother and an Argentinian comic strip
3. I'm already nearly 1/2 as tall as my mother and I'm only 7 months old.
4. Up until January, when I started eating solids, I was made up entirely from my mother's body, except for one single cell that I got from my dad.
5. That one cell takes its toll.
6. I am very ticklish, especially if you eat my toes.
7. Everyone I meet comments on my size.
8. I am actually smaller than my brother was when he was my age.
9. I need to sleep with my feet propped up on something, preferably my mother.
10. My brother is the most fascinating person on the planet.
11. I hate peas, but love every other food including chips.
12. I also love eating paper.
13. My eyes are slowly but surely turning brown and they are amazing.
14. I was not the easiest baby from months 1-4.
15. I'm making up for it now.
16. I now have two teeth and can do some serious damage.
17. I love bath time.
18. I love books, but I love eating books even more.
19. I don't like doggy kisses.
20. When I smile it starts at my eyes and works it way to the rest of my face.
21. I can say dadadada, but mama says it doesn't count as my first word.
22. I am the house champion for poop-throughs. I beat Domi's record for number of times a diaper could not contain me. I bet you can't guess who came in third place.
23. I am definitely pro-chupete and don't know how or why Domingo didn't like them.
24. Before I was born they said I had a tiny head compared to the rest of me.
25. My head is the only part of me that's bigger than Domi's was at this age.

Another belated monthday post!

Happy 29th monthday Domingo! You are very nearly two and a half and are acting every bit your age. These monthday posts are getting hard to write since you are not really making any new milestone moves, and I don't know what comes next besides getting your drivers license.
One thing I can do is list some things that you no longer are doing. You no longer say hipomotamo, or chipses. You are becoming so articulate in both English and Spanish that the cute mistakes that I love to repeat, like granillas instead of granola are disappearing before I have a chance to note them!
Actually this past month you really have made some pretty amazing leaps in terms of your English speaking. You pretty much are just as fluent in English as Spanish, and I'm slightly troubled to report you are choosing to speak in English when you are playing by yourself sometimes. You easily profile those adults who you think should speak English and Spanish, and speak the appropriate one to each. This means that you don't speak in Spanish to your Dad anymore, usually because he wouldn't understand what you were saying anyway. Your Spanish had passed his a while ago.
In other language news, you are now spelling your name and Amalia's name and are very interested in what letters spell what words. You always say you want to "count" things when you want me to spell them. It's kind of funny.
You are getting so rambunctious, and becoming such a boy. You now run and jump and push and spin and work yourself up in to a pretty good lather, especially when the twins are around. You love those girls so much, and are beginning to show signs of learning to play together rather than just tackling them, or ripping your toys away from them when they come over. Usually the games need to involved running around or chasing, but it's a start.
Speaking of playing, our pre-school search has begun in earnest this past month. I've been visiting schools, you had a "play date" with the French School (where we didn't get to see what went on in the classroom!) and we are applying to enough schools that I think you should be able to go somewhere in the fall. And if not, well, I am coming around ever so slightly to the idea that even if you don't go to school when you are 5, it's not the end of the world. So next year, all of the preschools will be open to you. That said, I think you are really ready now, and if we don't get in anywhere, we'll figure out something else for you to do to get you socialized!



This month you've also had a series of trips, slips, and falls. As you get older, you get clumsier. Or maybe it's just that you get more reckless or more confident in your movement which results in boo-boos. You've taken a tumble down grandma's stairs, which honestly was one of my worst nightmares, but it happened and no one was really injured, your big bruise on your leg went away in a few days, and now you are even more careful, on the stairs at least, then before. I'm there to scoop you up and kiss your boo-boos until they are all better. Luckily for me you are one tough kid. Even after a pretty serious bang up, you stop crying fairly quickly and are back playing before my heart has returned to it's normal pace. But you are now peppered with little bumps and scrapes and bruises that make me catch my breath when I see them. But I've learned something, that kids are going to fall and get hurt, it's better that I just get used to that fact and move on.

You are still sleeping in our room, but honestly it's coming to an end pretty soon. There is just not enough room for your growing flailing limbs. You are sleeping in your bed for naps without any complaints, but do want company if you wake up before it's time to get up. I think pretty soon we'll take on the big boy bed for overnights, but for now I'll just enjoy the close quarters. As you fell asleep tonight, I leaned over and sniffed your sweet little head. Gone is any trace of baby smell, along with all your chubby baby rolls and dimples. You are now all lanky limbs and skinny angles with only the littlest bit of pot belly left.

I recently found this picture of you from last year, and in one year, you've gone from round soft baby:


To little boy:


and I am so lucky to have been there for it.
Love,
Mama

GACK!

Behind on the old 29th monthday post, AND we got tagged to post 25 random facts about Domi and Amalia by Jane!
This is a facebook phenomenon that I actually kind of love. It lets you be completely self-absorbed for a minute and say little known facts or share distant memories with your friends. For these guys I think it's kind of like a monthday recap. Seriously, what mother doesn't enjoy telling anecdotes about her babies?
I'll have to spend a little more time thinking about what I'm going to write (rather than like now one hand-typing and pumping w/ the other before work!) so in the next day or too.
In the mean time enjoy these recent pics!

I ate WHAT?

Amalia is little miss eatsalot these days. She is such a social eater, and when ever people are chewing, she watches their mouths with total concentration. In addition to foodstuff, she will put absolutely anything in her mouth, (you know that boot in the picture is about one second from being gummed like nobodies business!) except oddly enough, strained peas. She spits those out like they're on fire. What a mama's girl.

kids stuff

Another installment of kids say the funniest things.
Yesterday Domingo was going on and on, calling Amalia "little television" in English. It was so bizarre, and I could not get him to explain to me why Amalia was a little television. He just kept calling her that, asking Daddy to read a story to him and little television, asking us to play with him and little television. He said mommy put down little television. It was so weird. Maybe he likes to watch her? I have no idea.

Then this weekend, scathing Sofia was doling out some more of her 3rd degree verbal burns. This time Farfar was the victim. He was talking to Sofia, teasing her a little and asking if she would be his girlfriend. She hemmed and hawed for a second and then said, "no, but I'll think about you when you are in heaven".
?!
Then Sofia and Graciela were playing with another little girl in the children's zoo and when we had to leave the little girl walked us to the door saying goodbye, and Sofia turned to her and said "goodbye, you know we'll never see you again."

Who teaches these kids these things?

Sofia also has a history of being a mini Dorothy Parker. Once when Leticia and I were with the kids at Millennium Park playing in the water fountain, Sofia saw a little girl who was running around naked. She asked the girls mother why she didn't have a bathing suit. The woman replied that she had forgotten to pack one. Sofia, without missing a beat said, "yeah, some mommies forget to pack their kid's bathing suits, but most mommies don't." Ouch. From a three year old, that has to smart. Fortunately the woman was good natured and laughed it off. Leticia and I just looked at each other wondering where on earth she comes up with her material before busting out in hysterical laughter.
I felt I had to document this since Leticia is too busy you know, saving lives and having twins to write down some of the hilarious things her children say.