Just like Daddy...

He put on the headset all by himself. :-)

First harvest.

Rafi and I ate our first harvest today - a single strawberry. It was juicy and delicious. Mateo wouldn't eat his share. We have a handful more growing though!

Mat visits and revisits the doctor.

Two days after Mat's second birthday, he had his annual doctor appointment. He is now weighing in at 24.8 pounds (12%ile), 33 inches tall (12%ile), and has a larger head that is in the 24th percentile. That's just more proof to me that he's a smarty. ;-) He was all caught up on his vaccines, so no shots for him! All was well...

... until Wednesday night, that is. As previously mentioned, we visited the Austin Children's Museum on Saturday. Despite lots of hand washings, he still got sick. We saw his doctor again first thing Thursday morning, and she confirmed what I thought - he has croup. Since he had also had some strider (which is like a cough heard upon inhaling), she prescribed some steroids along with recommending Motrin since Tylenol never brought down his 102+ fever.

And now it is Thursday evening. His morning was rough, but his afternoon was nice. We enjoyed watering the garden together, learning to dribble a ball (basketball style, as he's got soccer style down), and attempting to watch his first movie - Wall-E. We only made it about a quarter of the way through before he was done (wanted to go play instead) - just long enough for me to get into it! Bathtime and bedtime were great, so we'll see how the night goes. I took a nap in anticipation of a rough night, as the doctor warned me he'll get worse before he gets better. Poor wittle guy!

Fourth Cake.

Tonight I had my last cake decorating class, and I learned that I don't do roses well. I made a "wedding cake" because I was too lazy to mix colors! I'm glad the classes are over because cake doesn't go well with Weight Watchers.

Mateo's Family Birthday Party

Mateo's birthday was February 21, and all the family on both sides (my parents, Rafi's parents, and Rafi's brother and his wife and three kids) were in town, so we celebrated all day. First we went to the Austin Children's Museum where the germs ran amok. More on that in the next post or two. Anyhow, the kids (all four of them) had a great time running around. Mat especially enjoyed the large train table.


After the museum we went home to make some pizzas. The kids made theirs with pepperoni, of course, and I made an adult one with chicken fajitas, onions, and cilantro. The kids also decorated their own cupcakes. I made a car cake for Mateo, as did the kids. I think he liked theirs better because he ate it up!


Mateo loved all his gifts, especially his Handy Manny doll he got from his cousins and his Bee & Me book he got from my parents. The ride-in car Rafi and I got him was not a hit that day, but he's slowly warming up to it.


We want to thank everyone for celebrating Mateo's birthday with us and for the gifts. Tita and Luis, thank you for the adorable Panamanian outfit. It will be something we keep for him always. Thank you Luis, Monica, Nicole, Maria Sofia, and Luis Raul for the Mickey Mouse shirt and the Handy Manny. He is in love with the mini toolbox. And thank you to my mom and Dad for the great books (he loves the duck book, too), the tool set (tire gauge is now the fave), and all the change that he enjoys putting into his piggy bank.

My baby is two years old!

Cake Class #3.

I'm currently taking the first Wilton cake decorating class. A lot of the techniques are "totally 80's", as my friend and classmate Ingrid and I have decided (e.g. star filled cakes, roses, etc.), but still I'm learning a lot. One thing I've learned is that decorating with piped frosting is much more difficult than with fondant, which is how I've finished most of my cakes (like the Wii cake).

Anyhow, this week we made a clown cake. It's not that great, but here it is. My right clown's arms are a little... shall we say horse-like? Oh well. It eats just the same. Inside is a lemon cake filled with lemon curd. Originally the white frosting was going to be yellow, but I was running out of time and patience during class, so I was short-cutting some things.

Wascally Wabbits

I. Hate. Rabbits. No longer are they cute little fuzzy bunnies who like to play in our yard. Nope. They are now little garden devouring bastards who must be stopped by any means necessary. This weekend we discovered they had eaten three strawberry plants, two broccolies, two cabbages, my cilantro and flat-leaf parsley, all of my thyme, and completely uprooted and ate my lettuce. My tomato plant is now just a leafless stalk, too.


So in response to this, we have constructed what we hope to be a bunny-proof fence. I've heard fake snakes can help so maybe I'll look for one of those this week. Supposedly fox urine, mothballs, and human hair work, too, but I think I'll save those for my last resort. Then again, maybe electrifying the new fence would be best. ;-)

Mateo's Playdate Birthday Brunch

This weekend Mateo had a small early birthday party at home. His birthday isn't until the 21st, but we'll have all of Rafi's family visiting, so to avoid the hoopla of too much birthday, we opted to divide it into two days. Lucky kid!

We were thankful to have his friends Miles and Preston, Helen and Maria, Josilyn, and Connor join us along with their parents. We treated it like a regular playdate only with cupcakes and gifts. Mateo has really enjoyed playing with his new toys, and we thank everyone for coming!

This is Mat and his helpful gift opener Miles checking out the loot with Rafi.


After the party and his nap, he really REALLY enjoyed his Valentine's gift - a battery operated bubble blower. (It was more of a gift for Mommy and Daddy who get tired of blowing bubbles until the point of near fainting.) Each time a large bubble was made he said "oh! oh! oh! oh!" It was very cute. He enjoyed popping them with different body parts that he would name afterward - elbow, nose, head, etc.

Organically growing...

Our backyard has a new addition - an organic vegetable garden. A friend introduced me to "square foot gardening," and we're taking on the challenge. Square foot gardening, though it looks quaint and cute, actually has high yields and takes up very little space. Gone are the aisles in between row plants that waste space and water! Gone are hours of backbreaking hoeing and weeding (since there are no weeds in the now nonexistent aisles)! Gone are the pesticides and fertilizers we used to eat along with the fruits of our labor!

First I cleared the ground.


Then Rafi made the frame out of cedar. He put on some pretty brackets, too.


Then we filled it with a special mix of soil and peat moss from Natural Gardener in South Austin.


Here's a toast to new beginnings and lots to eat!