Domingo and Amalia

Happy Birthday tia Leticia!

2009-07-13T16:37:00.000-07:00

Here are some great pictures from this weekend. Once again Leticia scores the pool party because her birthday is in July. No fair.

No party entry is complete w/o obligatory food photos. My little sandwiches are not pictured, neither are the delicious peach pavlovas- and I usually dislike dessert- or lemon pound cake. Everything was delicioso.

Someone's standy-standerson!

Mama-love

YUM!

A little too similar to the Shining.

No seriously, YUMMM!

Fun on the 4th

2009-07-07T20:07:00.000-07:00

We had such a great time this past weekend in Michigan. The weather was perfect, even I got in the lake, and that is really saying something. We got to see some great fireworks on the lake, and hang out with our friends, and tia Jennifer and fam, and of course grandma and farfar.
Domi got two mosquito bites, and just like his mama, his face blew up and his eyes are practically swollen shut. Two days of benadryl and he looks a little less like a kling-on now.

Here are some pictures, enjoy!

In the clubhouse.

Smiley on the deck

camera was accidentally turned to black and white

SPARKLERS! Tia Patricia I told everyone your cautionary tale, but no one listens to me.

Beach baby!

Happy 12 monthday!!!

2009-06-22T19:03:00.000-07:00

Amalia, Sunday was your 12th monthday! I was reminiscing with a co-worker about your embarrassing and hilarious birth story, and I really can't believe it has already been a year since my water broke in the middle of a fake trial and the trainer went around to all the courtrooms announcing that I had gone into labor in the middle of our case. I still say that if I had been mistaken and I just peed myself, I would have faked your birth and not gone back to work because I would have died of embarrassment. Luckily for me, you really did want to come out on June 21! The longest day of the year. If I was more poetic, or more of a hippy, I would have insisted we name you Titania or Puck, or at least something pagan, but we stuck with Amalia Mafalda and I still think it fits you like a glove.

We just had your one year doctor's appointment and you continue to be off the charts in size and cuteness.
Length: 31.5 inches
Weight: 27 lbs 3 oz
Head circ.: 18.75 inches

King Kong has nothing on you.

Yes, you are a big baby. Even though you are not walking yet, I'm not too worried about it. You are very motivated to move around, and can get around while your hands are free to pick things up, so you just aren't super motivated to get up and walk. That and it is a lot of mass to get up off the ground!
Of course, you are still eating like a champ. You don't eat baby food out of a jar any more and now eat everything that we do and love it. You are drinking whole milk now since the breast milk stock pile is completely gone. You still nurse at night and early in the morning before you hit the "snooze" button and go back to sleep for a few hours. We'll just have to see for how much longer this continues.

We turned you around in your car seat, only to read an article the next day that it's better to leave you rear facing until 2 years, or 35 pounds, and you should get there in the next couple months, so rear facing you go again!
You are becoming such a social little girl. You love playing with your cousins and watching other kids. You smile and wave and clap, and the best thing you do that I haven't been able to capture on film is dance! You will scoot around in a circle and "raise the roof" with your arms in the air when there is music playing that makes you move. It is so unbearably cute, I need to get a video before you stop doing it.
You are still very clingy with me, and are a little shy with strangers, but you will wave and smile shyly before burying your face in my shoulder.

You still adore, and are adored by your big brother Domi.

It is a source of never ending delight for me to hear you guys crack up at each other for no reason that anyone else can fathom. You have secret jokes, secret smiles, and so much love for one another. It is just the best thing ever. Not that it's always a love fest over here. Domingo still yanks toys away from you, you smack him and grab them back, he throws blankets over your head, you rip them off again and we try to survive the "games" you guys play, minimizing the tears. You have totally become your brother's champion, when he cries because I've turned off the t.v. you look at me and complain loudly like "why did you turn that off, he was watching that!" Or when he gets an "esquina" for what ever reason, you scoot over to where he is and try to comfort him, or get him out. You just want to be with him, and are already a much better sharer than he is. I'm hoping he'll learn some from you.

Amalia in 12 short months, that you have gone from this:

to this:

is nothing short of a miracle. I'm so lucky to have been here with you to see it all.
Love,
Mama

Bjorn Borg family at home

2009-06-20T11:56:00.001-07:00

This is my new favorite thing ever.

I just want to celebrate!

2009-06-19T08:02:00.001-07:00

For lots of reasons!!
Mostly, Amalia turns one on Sunday. We had a really fun party at the Abuelo's house this past weekend. We (of course!) didn't have our camera, just the video, so I don't have pictures. Hopefully some of you who were there will forward your photos to me so I can post some soon.
But even MORE important that my second child turning one, I am DONE PUMPING!!! Oh my that feels good to type, and to say, and to think. Amalia will still nurse in the morning and at night as long as she wants (or as long as I can take it!) but I'm done nursing and pumping during the day!! We are using up the last remnants of my meager stock pile and mixing it with whole milk, and she has no problems drinking that at all.
The fact that I'm done, in all likelihood forever, pumping does not bring me even the slightest bit of wistful nostalgia. I am tempted to make a bonfire with my pump in style as the tinder, but I'm way too superstitious for that. So I'll just pack it up and put it away, somewhere I won't have to see it ever again!
I am pretty proud of the fact that for the second time I have fed my baby only breast milk for the first full year of her life. I don't want a medal or anything, but I just needed a minute to pat myself on the back. Don't worry I won't strain my arm.
The weaning process (which I know has already begun when she started solids) will continue and I'm sure be harder than with Domingo. For one, she doesn't seem to be as verbal as Domi was. She is doing lots of signs, but still only says mama and papa. And two, with D, I think ending nursing happened mostly because I was pregnant with Amalia and it was much more work for him to nurse then to ask for "leche en vaso". He was 16 and a half months and he was talking enough to very plainly ask for leche en vaso not leche mama. So we'll see how this goes, I'm sure there will be false starts, and I'm not under any illusions that the over night nursing will end any time soon, but the fact that there is an end somewhere in the not too distant future is something to celebrate!

Here are some ridiculous pictures I took in our failed attempt to go to the free day at the Shedd Aquarium yesterday. Annie Leibowitz I'm not.
I should have know something was up when at the parking lot, where they usually charge you 16 (they just raised it from 15! Darn city!) was changed to $19 cash only, and a red laser-lights scrolling sign blared out "NO REFUNDS! Expect long lines at the Shedd". Long lines, I assumed were 30-45 minutes to get in, waits for the dolphin show etc. No, these were 2 and a half hour lines to get IN. We decided, much to Domingo's disappointment, that 2+ hours in the (finally) sweltering Chicago humidity with 5 little kids was not going to happen. So we'll try again another day. I wonder what the lines look like today...

Amalia enjoys being a girl. Although she doesn't have enough hair to hold in her barrette.

Domi adores Charlotte. The only reason he didn't leave the park outside the aquarium in a fit of rage was because he and Charlie were holding hands chasing birds. Wait, actually, he did leave crying, because he had to give back a book of Charlotte's and because of extreme overtiredness!

Taking a break from chasing birds.

Combo 32 and 33 monthdays!

2009-06-11T10:59:00.000-07:00

Happy belated 32 and 33rd monthday Domingo!
These past two months have not been all that terribly news worthy.
The biggest thing in our little universe is our sporadic attempts at duh duh DUH... Potty Training. It's capitalized out of respect.
You actually are doing better than I had expected, but we are going about it very gradually and not at all systematically. I read the books, and I think as we get closer to the start of school, we might try the "potty party" and going completely cold turkey with the diapers. Although, Esther's attempt at that resulted in a very smelly couch cushion that took a bottle of febreeze, upholstery cleanser, and a spin through the old wash to get back to normal. So it was a short lived but memorable attempt.
Other than that little gem, we are slowly but surely preparing for you to start preschool in the fall. I kind of don't want to think about it quite yet, since the weather isn't even all that warm and it's JUNE! But think about it we must since the first in a series of meetings about school was last week, and we've been filling out papers, making copies of birth certificates, and generally being in a tizzy since then.
I know that we'll get to have loads of fun this summer, and when school does start, I'm sure you'll be very excited and do just fine. We talk now about school, and teachers, and playing with other kids and sharing. You are eager and enthusiastic about it all except the sharing. You are nothing if not consistent.
You are still such a good big brother to your sister Amalia. You wake up before her and ask your Daddy, if you can play with your "baby sister". It's very sweet. You are also such a good big primo to your newest little prima Lucy. It is really adorable how you "share" your toys with her, showing her puzzle pieces and animals and getting that same crazed look you would get when Amalia was that teeny, like you want to just squeeze her with love. But you are always gentle and sweet, although I know it's hard to keep all that excitement inside. I know as you all get bigger and grow up together, you'll always take care of your little sister and cousin. You are just the sweetest, stubbornest, most willful and adorable boy I've ever known.

Here are some pictures from the last two months. You got to go twice to your favorite place ever, the Field Museum, once with Esther, and once with me. Although, once again when you were with me, you were way more interested in the toys in the gift shop than the exhibits! Only the buttons in the dinosaur exhibit could hold keep you from throwing a fit to get to those dinosaur toys. But you had a great time, got a dinosaur toy, and had hot dogs and chips for lunch. Pretty much a perfect day.
Love,
Mama

I had to include the face of lederhosen induced misery.

MUSEO!

So happy he's kissing the taxedermied animals.

Scooty-scooterstein

2009-05-27T19:52:00.000-07:00

scooty from alice on Vimeo.

Here is Amalia getting around the only way she knows how!

11th monthday!

2009-05-26T17:43:00.000-07:00

Domingo, I'll do a combined 32nd and 33rd monthday for you in June, since I'm apparently not going to get around to it this month, and there really isn't that much exciting going on by way of developments with you kiddo.

But Amalia, you have had quite a month!
You are really working hard in all areas of development.
Let's start with gross motor skills. You are pulling up and standing all over town. You love to be vertical and to move so I can't help but think that you'll be walking before too long. You still are scooting around on your bottom to get around until you figure out the walking thing. We are pretty sure that you won't be crawling on all fours because, try as I might, you refuse to stay on your tummy long enough to learn how. And why should you? You can get to where ever you want to be as fast as any crawler and you don't have to lose your dignity by crawling on hands and knees.

You are still the champion eater in the house. Everything that Domingo turns his nose up at, you will gladly gobble, even somethings that your mother would rather not touch- flan anyone? Amalia says yes!
You love drinking water out of my glass, but refuse to drink anything but milk out of a bottle.
This month we are going to start mixing a little more dairy into your diet to get you ready for WEANING-2009! I have a feeling you will be less than thrilled with this plan, particularly during the overnight hours, but it's all a process, I'm comfortable with that.

What about language? Well you still babble and giggle and "talk" all the time, but your sign language is really taking off. You wave bye bye, ask for more, ask for milk, talk about the lights, books, ducks, birds, food, and itsy bitsy spiders.
You point and clap and also use your hands to pick up teeny tiny little objects as well as smack, pinch and hit your mom, dad, and brother.

Pleased to meetcha!
You actually say mama and dada, as well as a few other things that we can't decipher, but much to my shame, I think one is "television".

You are just about the sweetest baby I've ever met. You are always in a good mood, (unless it's nap time!) and love nothing more than to crack up at your brother's silly antics. Lucky for me, your brother was just as wonderful at this age, so I can't say you are the absolute sweetest baby, it's pretty much a tie.
11 months is a wonderful age, you are starting to interact in a really meaningful way, you understand what I'm saying, and I am starting to understand what you are saying. But you can't run away from me, like a little stinky gentleman that I won't name! It's great. You are so loving and dear. You hug and kiss all your family. You adore Domingo and want to be everywhere he is. Listening to the two of your laugh together is one of the best things I've ever experienced.
You still have the most amazing smile that you flash to everyone you meet, pretty much instantly winning them over. Your smile starts with your big grey-green eyes and then spreads out over the rest of your face to reveal your sharp little teeth. The two on the bottom are finally joined by two new ones on top. You really are the most beautiful baby I've ever seen (sorry D.) but looks aren't everything kid, keep up those signs!

Amalia, I can't believe that you are almost a year old, yet it blows me away that I ever lived in a world where you didn't exist.

Happy monthday,
Love Mama.

I didn't forget I swear!

2009-05-18T11:56:00.000-07:00

Domingo's monthday post has been postponed, rescheduled, placed on the backest of back burners over and over again since the last time I blogged. Various things kept coming up that kept me from writing, for example and in no particular order: the stomach plague that decimated our little abode, the wonderful and exciting addition of little baby Owl aka Lucy, the death of our hard drive, my reluctance to upload pictures to the computer since the death of our hard drive, season finale of LOST which by the way was so awesome I can't stand it. All important things, that prevented me from my blogerly duty of writing about my beloved first born and all his wonderful milestones that he achieved over this past month.
But I'm feeling marginally better, am now only 3 pounds away from pre-Domi weight, thanks to said stomach plague, and I have loads to write about if I can remember everything that has happened over the past month(and almost a half). That is of course assuming that I can get a free moment to post once I get home.

Finally, some more teeth!

2009-05-08T10:12:00.000-07:00

Just what we've always wanted, more crabby babies! After 4 months of wondering when Amalia would get some more chompers, her top two teeth are starting to poke through her red painful gums. Here is a good shot of the bottom two.

Amalia's eyes are really starting to look brown too. In the light you can see lots of brown specks in her dark grey eyes.

Happy Birthday Baby Owl!!

2009-05-04T11:36:00.000-07:00

Congrats to tia Hez and tio James on the birth if their beautiful baby girl! Lucy was born early this morning after a LONG day for new mom and dad. I don't have all the details or pictures, but I know that Hez was a rock star and delivered a big 9 + pound baby girl! Tonight I'm headed over to the very same hospital where Domi Amalia and the twins came into this world to meet little Miss Lucy.
For the past few months we've been referring to Lucy as baby Owl as a nickname and just for fun until we knew what her real name would be. Now we'll just have to explain to Domingo that tia Hez did not have an actual baby owl...

Just had to post this!

2009-05-02T09:28:00.001-07:00

This is the cutest picture I have ever seen if I do say so myself. We're in the middle of a fun crazy weekend. Hopefully I'll post more and pictures later!

What a nightmare!

2009-04-30T15:24:00.000-07:00

Domingo has been waking up crying in the middle of the night a few times these past few weeks. We suspected he was having some nightmares but he's usually too out of it to tell us what's wrong and just goes right back to sleep.
Last night Domingo woke up crying again, and Chris asked him what was wrong. He said "mommy took a bite of my fruit and I didn't want her to take a bite."
Seriously?
This child is not having nightmares about monsters or being lost or getting eaten by dinosaurs, which would make sense since his crazy parents let him watch Jurassic Park and he's only 2. Don't judge! He LOVES the dinosaurs and is totally not phased by all the people eating stuff! He's like, "look mommy, that quetzalcoatlus is hungry, he wants to eat that man." Circle of life.
No, no, my son's biggest fear is that he will have to share his fruit with his mother. Or a toy with his sister, we think he was crying in his sleep about that a few weeks ago, he was mumbling something about "it's my toy!"
This may have been brought on by me a few weeks ago daring to suggest that we share the last ice-cream bar. Domingo just about lost his mind. I mean, no wonder he's having nightmares, I should be locked up.

Meanwhile, Amalia has turned into a total brute! She beats on her brother now with such glee that I almost have to laugh. He will pull a toy out of her hands, or try, and she will yank it right back, or clock him with it. She is just trying to defend herself from his constant selfish toy yanking ways! The other night she smacked Domi over the head with a big hard plastic dinosaur. Domi took it in stride, and just asked for a band-aid for his head, but it probably really hurt.

The drum stick, one of her weapons of choice.

She is such a baby-hulk. She'll get tangled in her play gym but continue to scoot along where she wants to go, just dragging it along behind her. The other day she had a trail of babygym, bjorn, and bumbo tagging along for the ride as she scooted desperately to where she heard Domi and tio James laughing and having a good time. Nothing was going to keep her from playing with those two.

So between Little Miss Smacksalot, and No-Share MacGuiliacuddy we're doing a bang up job over here.

Back it up, way up.

2009-04-27T18:01:00.000-07:00

So this weekend our computer hard drive decided to die. Unfortunately this means that the last year and a half of pictures, videos and precious baby moments committed to our computer are now lost to the ages. I am understandable upset by this. More upset by my own stupidity than anything else. Of course I know you have to back stuff up, of course, I'm not an idiot! We even have one of those little stick thingies that you put stuff onto. And of course we did it one time about a year and a half ago, and then of course we never did it again. More than ever I'm glad that I have this blog that I've been uploading pictures here rather than just waiting to print stuff out and fill in my baby books because, oops! Wouldn't have ANYTHING AT ALL for Amalia's book at this point and the last ones we have of Domi are from when he's chubby and not walking yet!
So we now have a back up hard drive so we will at least have pictures from her first birthday if nothing else.

Happy 10th monthday!

2009-04-23T06:27:00.000-07:00

Amalia, Tuesday was your 10th monthday!
You've made some pretty incredible leaps this past month. You are signing more and more(mas y mas) and you are officially unconventionally mobile!
You've taken after your tia Leticia and discovered the best way to travel is by sitting up and scooting along the floor on your rump. You never liked tummy time, and as soon as you learned a way to avoid it, you would never spend more than a few seconds on your tummy, so it shouldn't be that shocking that you don't crawl on your belly like a normal kid! But strangeness aside, you are fast! I realize it isn't the most efficient way to travel, but you manage to disappear in a flash, and by the time I look up you are in another room!
Because you are the second child, you are doomed to be compared to your older brother. This began long before you were born, when you were just a little bean making me throw up more than Domingo, moving around more than Domingo, and then once you were born, being so much calmer than Domingo, and then screaming inconsolably for hours JUST LIKE DOMINGO!! Fortunately for you, your mother was not so dumb to think that "oh it's just colic, she'll grow out of it" like I did with Domingo, because really, what are the odds of two colicy babies in a row?
Well this trend of comparison continues, and again, I don't know why it surprises me so every time I make this realization, but you are so very different from your brother. You have your own little personality and are your own little person already. You are much more curious and adventurous than your brother ever was, or even is to this day. Where he is very cautious and careful, your throw caution to the wind. He never put things in his mouth, babyproofing for that reason was pretty easy. He was content to sit and look at books or toys for long stretches at a time, and didn't really feel the need to move around much. Part of the reason I think that he didn't walk until he was 15 months was that he really didn't care too much to get any where. He was pretty happy just to sit where he was and play with what he had near by.
You on the other hand cannot get enough of moving around! You want to be where ever you are not. You want to see all the action from a front row seat. And you get there fast with your swish swish, slalom-like scooting.
Along the way you put everything you get your hands on directly into your mouth. You want to eat every new food, gum every toy you pass, taste every surface you encounter, it doesn't matter that it's a public restroom mirror or the tires of your stroller-ARGH! you just want to explore the world and the best way you know how is through your mouth.
The only time something is not in your mouth is when you are trying to use it to talk to us. You are so chatty it's great. You still aren't speaking in words we can understand, but that is definitely our failing and not for lack of you trying to get us to understand! You whisper, scream, giggle, laugh, whine, and babble all the time. You are signing a few words, light, more, duck. And you get so excited when I get excited and clap when you use signs. You clap and smile and laugh, it's so great.
I am so excited for these next few months, not just because you'll be turning one, but for lots of reasons. The sun is coming out and it's warming up, we're going outside more and more. Soon we'll be swimming at abuela's or going to the cottage with grandma and farfar. And even sooner we'll get to meet baby Owl!
There is so much to look forward to. I know that you will be front and center to see it all.
Love Mama.

rhyme time

2009-04-19T19:10:00.000-07:00

We had another fun weekend in Morris with the primas. Domingo continues to be enamored of them, he calls them "my pweemas" or sometimes he says my cousins. He is so thoroughly bilingual now it's funny. He has some weird speech impediments though. He doesn't say r's or l's in English, but has no problem with them in Spanish. He can say libros or lechugas or libelula in Spanish with out a problem at all. But ask him to say lizard or lion or leopard and he says wizard, wion and weopard. The other thing he has started recently is a little bit of a stutter. There is a lot of and a and a and a that goes on over here. I have a feeling that's partly because he's deciding which language to speak, and then his mouth just doesn't work as fast as his brain.
Today he was showing off his funny brain with the girls. They were playing a rhyme game with Chris. They were making up "poems" and saying rhyming words. Domi spent our entire lunch saying words that rhymed with his various lunch items. Rice rhymes with ice, hot rhymes with pot, and apparently porridge rhymes with orange. So much for that old saying that nothing rhymes with orange!
No pictures this time, but I'll get around to posting some more soon.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-13T18:32:00.000-07:00

This weekend we went to Champaign-Urbana and met up with the primas and family at the girls' Nana and Grandpop's place. Tia Leticia and I ran a race, and then we drove back up to Morris for some Easter fun.
Domi and the twins had a fun Easter egg hunt, but we didn't get any pictures since the egg hunt lasted all of 5 seconds! Domingo found his first egg, realized there was chocolate inside and just started scarfing down the candy without bothering to look for any more eggs. It's probably better that way, since he'll end up eating less candy overall, but his sugar high was immense.
Here are some more pictures from this weekend, and one of Amalia from last weekend and tia Heather's awesome baby shower!

Roxie- just about the best dog ever. Amalia took a minute to get used to this big girl, but as soon as she figured out she wouldn't get licked, Amalia started scooting after Roxie every time she was in view.

Beautiful Easter dress before...

And after!

Domi's deciding what he wants to eat... strawberry or blackberry?

Amalia's floral fashion statement, and chins.

31st Monthday!!

2009-04-07T18:44:00.000-07:00

Domingo, we are ridiculously light on the pictures of you this past month. But we do have a bunch to report. This past month you have exceeded even your usually impressive amounts of willfulness. But you temper it nicely with your sweetness especially around your sister.
You are also keeping me from throwing you to the wolves by all the funny things you say lately, and there's loads. Some of my favorites are "calmate" and "no te frustres mama" when you think I'm getting a little too antsy for anyone's good. Rather than send me into a rage as I'm sure it would if you were a few years older and accompanied by the obligatory eye roll, I actually am reminded that you are watching every move I make, and if I'm frustrated or agitated, you pick up on it instantly. So it really works, I take a deep breath and relax, and then I laugh at you and myself.
You now speak English just as well as Spanish and your vocabulary is skyrocketing. You are so comfortable speaking in English now I get a little worried that your Spanish will slip away, but I am making every effort to keep it up.
You are now sleeping every night in your big boy bed with Papa. We are transitioning ever so slowly to you in your bed alone, and I think it's working. You love sleeping in your bed, and a few weekends ago when you had to give it up for the primas, you were none to pleased. Soon enough you'll be in there by your self, or maybe we'll make you share with your sister! I think it's helping everyone sleep a little better now that we're not all crammed in the bed together, but I do sometimes miss the sweet boy snuggles. It's officially boys against girls now and your sister and I say good night and don't see or hear you again until morning. All this Daddy-Domi time you've been spending has lead to an unexpected Daddy obsession on your part. You are so into your Papa lately, it's great. I must admit to feeling a little heartbreak when I went to console you once at bed time and you screamed, "Yo quiero mi PAPA!" I was so taken aback, since you have never once before wanted anyone else over me if you were upset or crying. I almost cried, then almost launched into a "I carried you for 9 months..." type tirade before I realized that not only does this make perfect sense, it is a wonderful thing that you and your Papa are so very close, and growing closer every day.
The other big news this month is that after months of hand wringing and angst (on my part, you have been blissfully ignorant of all the drama) you will be attending a cooperative preschool next fall! You got in off of the waiting list for one of the schools we applied to in January, and I am so excited and happy. It seems like it will be a good fit for us, as it has everything I wanted from a preschool- finger paints etc. and it has the parent involvement that I think is really important for us both to feel comfortable with the transition to school. The other good thing for me and your Papa is that we'll get to learn how to be good responsible involved parents BEFORE your actual school starts. It's a win-win.
Every day you say or do something insane, or hilarious, or adorable. Everyday I say "man I've got to type that up for my blog". But the thing is, we're so busy actually doing insane, hilarious and adorable things that the time slips by and I forget what it was that was so noteworthy! However, I would rather be there with you than be next door typing up what I heard you say.
Love,
Mama.

Masing her butt off

2009-04-06T17:40:00.000-07:00

I got home from work today and Amalia was pulling up to kneeling on the coffee table, and (according to her Papa) "Masing her butt off". Amalia was just on the cusp of doing all kinds of stuff for so long. She is "crawling" too by scooting along on her bottom. She was pretty stealthy about moving up until the last two days, where you would need a time lapse camera to notice her in motion. You would just look and five minutes later she was some where else. Now she motors across the room on her tush.
And when I asked if she wanted mas puffs, she started signing mas with a fervor that could only come from realizing she is communicating the need for more food!
When she pulled up at the table, she looked over at me with the biggest most breath taking smile. She was just so proud. I had to clap!
I'll get some video up here asap.

Happy 9th monthday, Complete with doctor stats!

2009-03-22T09:08:00.001-07:00

Amalia, yesterday you turned 9 months! Three quarters of a year has gone by in a flash.

You are becoming a very talkative and very sweet little girl. I'm sure you are finding your voice because if you don't scream, you'll never get a word in with your brother around! Dadadada is still your favorite, but you say many others like mamamama, ennnnn, blabla and squeeee!

You are still not quite mobile, for which I'm truly grateful. You can scoot around a little on your bottom if there is something that really catches your fancy, you get to it that way. You still get extremely frustrated when Domingo or I leave the room, so I'm pretty sure you'll find the motivation to move soon enough. You are wanting to pull up on things but due to a few early bonks you are less eager to pull up by yourself, and wait to have some helping hands on you before you try to stand.

You love giving kisses to the little baby in the mirror and playing peek a boo, but you like to be in charge, holding the blanket or book or what ever we're hiding behind. You like other kids too, grabbing and holding them or their toys. This distresses your brother a little as he is still not very good at sharing, but that is your main job these days, helping your brother learn to share.

This month we got to go on vacation with Grandma and Farfar, and even though we didn't get to do much swimming, I'm very excited and hopeful that this summer it will be one of your favorite past times. You love the water, especially bath time, and are just as fearless as your brother when you get water in your face. You just blow it off and either act like nothing happened, or like you are momentarily confused but then it's back to playing and splashing.

And finally, yes, you are still a giant monster baby. We took you to the doctor for your 9 month check up, and you are still off the charts in every category. If they only had a category for gorgeousness you'd be off that one too. The doctor said that we may want to watch a little more carefully just how much we feed you at each sitting, but that she's not really concerned with your weight, since for one, it's on par with your height, and second, you are not moving yet, so once you start, hopefully some of the rolls will disappear. Your brother started off exactly the same way, and now I look at him and wonder if he isn't too skinny. (He's not, he got checked out too, and he's 75-90% in every category now with a totally normal BMI)
Here are the actual numbers:
Weight: 24lbs 7oz
Length: 30"
Head Circ: 18 5/8"

Well Amalia, you've been outside in the world as long as you were inside of me. It still amazes me that you started out so tiny and are now so big and changing every minute. Another month of changes is up ahead, and I can't believe your first birthday is so close on the horizon. I am always torn between wanting to linger on each little stage of your development, and being so excited for what is to come.
Love,
Mama

Vacation 30th Monthday!

2009-03-12T06:48:00.000-07:00

Domingo, this month you are officially 2 and a half! 30 months snuck up on me while we were on vacation in South Carolina, but I'm here to make amends.
This past month flew by as usual.
You continue to amaze me. You are such a smart funny little kid. Although I still think you are a baby, you really look and act more like a boy all the time.

I guess it makes sense that since you are getting bigger that you become more and more like your Papa all the time. You love playing with him, reading with him, joking with him, sleeping next to him, and waking up with him. Watching your relationship change and grow has been one of the best parts of being your Mama.
You have even developed your father's insane love of the freezing cold water.

You won't see me getting in the ocean or the pool unless it's 80+ degrees! Not Domi, you refuse to stay away. And it really was incredible to see your delighted face every time a wave breaks and got you soaking wet. It was like some magic trick that kept happening over and over. You smile with your entire face and laugh a maniacal little laugh. It was so much fun just to watch, I didn't have the heart to keep you away.

We are still in the process of waiting for preschool news, so I don't want to get ahead of myself about that. But I'm pretty confident if we don't get you into one of the places we applied, we'll figure something out.

You are becoming more adventuresome with your diet and have tried more meat and chicken much to my delight. And you are getting less and less difficult about things like diaper changing and putting on pants, but still have fits of "NO!" every so often. Fortunately for you, your parents are very patient.
Actually, I have to take some (or most) of the responsibility. You get your sweetness from your Papa, and you get your obstinate nature from your mother. Transitions are hard for us both. But you seem to have completed the transition with me going back to work by now. Ester and I had a nice long chat yesterday about you and she told me, much to my delight that you have completely changed around her. You aren't jealous of her playing with Amalia anymore, you never want her to leave, you hug and kiss her and don't fight her when it's nap time or diaper changing time. I wish I could say the same about you when I'm home! Doing things like time outs and serious talks about what we do and don't do has been a big part of this last month. But you are doing great, it's all part of the process of becoming a good social being, and I'm learning that it is a learning process!

As the days get longer and warmer we are all coming back to life. I'm so glad I get to be here to play with you and watch you grow.
Love, Mama

And we're back!

2009-03-11T17:07:00.001-07:00

We had such a wonderful time in South Carolina with Grandma, Farfar, and all the gang. It was so nice to get out, even if it was unseasonably cold in Charleston, it was still super fun. I'm recovering from a teen vampire book induced stupor. I never get a chance to read much because I'm usually asleep when I have a free minute. So this past week I was quite addicted (much to tio James's disgust) with these books, and so was staying up late to read. Thank goodness I'm done, so I can finally get some sleep!
Here are some pictures from our great vacation. Thanks again so much to Grandma and Farfar for making it possible, Domi is still talking about going to the pool and what he saw in the aquarium!

And we're off...

2009-02-28T20:32:00.000-08:00

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!!

2009-02-24T17:46:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-13T15:04:00.000-08:00

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.