Kite flying.

After a very odd day (I started the day off being sick, and then later I went to a friend's house to chase a bat - it had flown away on its own), we bought Mateo a kite (Buzz Lightyear!) on a whim and then stopped by to fly it. It started off rocky, as we had installed the cross bars the wrong way, but soon enough it was up and flying high.

Mateo held it on his own for a long time. He did a really good job and says he's excited to do it again.

My heart.

Obviously I've been a bit slow with my blogging lately, but I've been crazy busy. Pathetically, I haven't been busy with anything other than cleaning. I recently got back into my cleaning routine, but somewhere along the way I got a little carried away. Before I knew it, I was doing heavy cleaning for many hours a day. On the plus side, everything is feeling fresh and organized in the house, so I am feeling accomplished as of late.

Mateo has been so cute lately. I often tell him "you're my heart." Tonight after reading his books to him he said to me, "Mommy, your reading is good." That was sweet enough, but then he added "You're the bestest my heart." And he kissed me. Made me melt all over.

Mateo's Three Year Well Check.

Mateo had his three year well check this morning. Since he was in the doctor's office a few weeks ago for a flu test (swab up the nose), he wasn't too thrilled about being there. But he had his starfish keychain in his hand to squeeze to give him bravery. (The results of which are debatable.) Anyhow, he's in the 15th percentile weighing in at 28 pounds, and he's in the 25th percentile measuring in at 36.5" tall. His iron levels were healthy, and his ears have healed from his double ear infections a couple weeks ago.

What he didn't like was the thumb prick for the iron test and the Hep B vaccination. (They had a shortage previously, so he got his today.) What I'm not liking is that we will need to do physical therapy for his toe walking. Sigh... This will be our second time doing physical therapy with him, as he did it for a good 8 months during his first year for his neck issues. We do what we have to do.

Other notable milestones:

Mateo loves to talk. He is starting to make up his own stories or act things out from books or shows (Thomas the Tank Engine and Veggie Tales). He loves to help around the house. Lately I've been having him sort and put up silverware when I empty the dishwasher. His little broom provides lots of fun for him, too. Let's hope it lasts!

Thomas the Tank Engine and all Thomas' train friends still occupy most of his playing time around the house. He gets down on an eye level with them to talk to them, play with them, and act out various "rescue" scenarios. It's pretty cute.

Mateo has also taken on a parenting role in that he corrects his mother (ahem) when she says "yeah." He says, "Not 'yeah', Mommy. 'Yes.'" Sheesh.

He also really likes singing songs - the sillier the better. He's known his alphabet and the sounds since he was age 2 to 2.5, but now he's showing interest in reading. He can sight read simple words like "cat, dog, frog, bug" and a few others. We're still working on sounding words out. He has "spelled" two words so far - OGW (agua) and LGO (log). One of my biggest hopes for him is that he loves to read like I do.

He still has issues with textures - doesn't like certain foods (any kind of pasta, plain meats, veggies) and doesn't like to touch certain things (fingerpaints, gooey foods, etc.), but we're working on it still. He's been showing a desire to control more things in his life - clothing choices, food choices, etc. So we let him - even if it means a Thomas the Tank Engine shirt over a dinosaur pj top.

Obviously Mateo is doing great and has fun every day. He makes us laugh and brings us more joy than we ever imagined. :)

Snow in Austin!

Today we had nearly a full day of snow in Austin. It was awesome. The flakes were huge and fat and fell heavy from the sky.

So she wouldn't miss out on the snow while she was traveling, I took some pictures across the street at my neighbor Deanna's house. Her desert century plant presents quite a juxtaposition to the snow.

Here's the field across the street from our house.

The dogs enjoyed the snow, too.

So did Mateo. We made a snowman. He has peanut butter pretzel eyes and a baby carrot nose. He's a little grassy, but we like him.

I offered "snow ice cream" to Mateo, scooping some fresh snow from the hammock, but he got completely grossed out yelling "yucky yucky yucky!" when I took a bite. Boys... *rolling eyes*

Happy Birthday, Mateo!!

My baby boy is now "free" years old. We celebrated his birthday at The Little Gym of Austin. He and his friends had a grand time! The Little Gym teachers gave Mateo tons of special attention, which he was eating up. The party started with some free time in the gym and bubbles.

Then the kids got birthday cake stamps on their hands. Mateo got three - one on each hand and another on his forehead. After they played with balls and danced to a song, they brought out the air truck. The children sat on it while it inflated and then jumped on it. It was a HUGE hit.

Then they brought out a huge wheel and gave the kids rides on it.

Once all the little hands were sanitized, they formed a birthday train, with Mateo at the front. Boy did he love that!

Next came food and cake! We served sandwiches, Veggie Straws, oranges, and strawberries. We were so proud of Mateo - he blew out his candle at the right time and with only one try!

Obviously our friends and family were very generous. Mateo has played with pretty much every toy more than once. He was a happy boy!

A Big thank you to everyone for the lovely gifts, but mostly for spending your time to celebrate Mateo's birthday with us.

Pancakes make everything better.

Mateo has the flu. I have the flu. We're praying Rafi doesn't get it. Mateo also has double ear infections. That said, he's still playing with his trains and is relatively happy. I, on the other hand, haven't been. I'm still functional, but this thing has been dragging me down. I'm sure not being able to call in sick to my job of motherhood might have something to do with it. I think, though, that the worst is behind us. Mateo is on antibiotics for his ears, and I've been trying to rest in between meal making, cleaning, changing diapers, etc.

Due to our illnesses we missed the Shrove Tuesday pancake breakfast at Mateo's school. I had planned to volunteer to cook, but I assumed most people would prefer not to have a sicky hacking over their breakfast. Instead, I made pancakes for dinner - with sprinkles, which made Mateo very happy. Here he is "helping" me make them:

I can't believe my baby turns 3 years old in five days. Ack!

Valentine's Day Party.

Well, Mr. Sickly is still sick, so we didn't actually ATTEND his Valentine's party at school, but we swung by to drop off his Valentine's cards for his classmates. Originally Mateo was supposed to help me decorate the cookies with food markers, but since he was sick I did it myself. Each kid got a cookie, Diego Valentine with heart shaped sucker, pencil, and two tattoos. I kind of overdid, but I think I was subconsciously making up for him missing his Christmas party due to Christmas in Panama.

After we got back home Mateo was super excited! He got a candy gram from his Mommy and Daddy (pink thing he's holding up) and his decorated bag full of Valentine's loot. For lunch he insisted on unwrapping every piece of candy and sampling it all. I managed to get some peanut butter pretzels and oranges down him somehow, but the great thing about kids this age (unlike most adults, me included) is they really don't over indulge on candy. He had a few pieces and then was done. If only I could manage to do that!

Mr. Sickly.

Mateo suddenly came down with a nasty cold. He's got a fever, sore throat, runny nose, and drainage that makes him gag. Poor kiddo. Some time on the couch watching Thomas the Tank Engine DVDs is making him feel better.

Thursday morning conversation.

Mateo: "Mama, I sick. I don't feel good."
Me: "You feel sick? What hurts?"
Mateo: "Ummm, my legs."

"Dancing."

For some reason this specific song that Rafi plays really moves Mateo.

Did you notice that he hit his own head with the drumstick?

Squishy stuff.

It's not any secret that Mateo has issues with textures, specifically things that feel slimy or gooey. Even at a year old he did not want to pick up fruit with his fingers, and now, well, let's just say finger painting is NOT his favorite activity. Some of you may have even witnessed him getting upset at his first birthday party about getting frosting on his fingers. Most kids lick things like that off, but Mateo will ask you for a napkin.

There's actually a term for it - tactile sensory disorder. We haven't taken him for a professional consult, but he definitely does fit the criteria for a mild case (issues with textures, picky eater, walks on toes, likes to be clean, etc.). Thankfully he doesn't display symptoms of a serious case (clothing irritations, sucking on fingers, avoidance of touch, etc.). After conferencing with his teacher about that (and other things - he helps clean the classroom, shares with his friends, plays well with others, etc.), I've decided to embark more seriously on exposing him to various textures; some occupational therapy, if you will.

So today on this rainy Sunday we made some all natural play clay. It's made with flour, salt, oil, hot water, and paprika for color. He enjoyed feeling the dry ingredients, and eventually warmed up to playing with the dough. He made a cat and a dinosaur.

Then we cleaned up our area and used soapy, squishy water. Honestly I think he enjoyed playing with the measuring items most.

And then there was this...

Thank goodness he's cute, 'cause that laugh about did me in after a solid five minutes.

He did it!

He made it through the night! No falling out of bed. No waking up crying. No getting up to play in his room. We're very proud.

And this morning he pointed to his crib and announced it was "for babies." :-)

Sitting on my hands.

My baby is no longer a baby. *sniff sniff* Tonight, right now as I write this, Mateo is upstairs in his big boy bed. He's doing okay so far. We can hear him through the monitor doing the things he used to do in his crib - play his Glo Worm, mess around with some trains, sing, etc.

So as I sit here reminiscing about his former baby years, I am practically sitting on my hands to not go up there and check on him. However, I know in order for him to grow and become self-reliant we must allow him the space to do so. No crutches here, folks. No sippy cups. No pacifiers after the first birthday. No toddler bed even. We went straight to the real deal. Yes, we're that mean!

In preparation of this moment (and to show him how BIG we think he is), we made today an event for big boys only. After a special breakfast of pumpkin eggnog French toast we took Mateo to see his first movie - Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. He barely sat in his chair (would you if yours kept folding up on you?), but he enjoyed it very much. Our usually shy guy was flapping his gums at the start, but he quickly got into the movie and quieted down. (I think the popcorn helped with that.)

Later, after his nap, we moved his furniture around in his room so the bed would be in the same spot as the crib. This REALLY excited him. He kept telling us "good night" and crawling into bed. The room looks a bit odd right now (which will really take some strength from me not to "fix it"), but we think it was a good move (pun intended) in that it'll feel more familiar to him.

To top off the night we went out for a special big boy dinner. What did he want? Pancakes!! He's truly just like his mother. :) We also took him to choose a new pair of big boy pajamas. We really thought he'd choose "Mickey House" (as he calls it) or Thomas the Train, but he ended up choosing none. He said he wanted to wear "the monster right here on my shirt." So that was that. He went to bed in his monster shirt and pj pants.

And then the actual event happened. He panicked a little once he realized he wasn't going in his crib. We let him cry for about 2 or 3 minutes before I went to tuck him back in bed. It's now been about an hour, and he's still hanging in there.

So can I go upstairs and check on him now? Is it wrong to wish your little "big boy" still needs you?

Rock star!

Mateo's school had their Halloween costume parade today. The kids were just dern adorable. While Mateo didn't exactly sing along much, he strummed his guitar - which we were quite impressed with. He maintained his coolness through the whole event. By the way, the sunglasses (or "goggles," as he calls them) were his idea.

Here he is with his, like, totally rad teacher Ms. Mamie.

Making a punk rock face. I wonder if he knows what anarchy means?

It takes a REAL rocker to sport a mohawk AND Mickey Mouse shades.

Rocket Ship Shoes

This Saturday Mateo received a haircut, the trundle mattress so he can move into the big boy bed (when he's ready), and new shoes. He's most excited about the new shoes. We asked him if they make him run faster. He said, "Yes, my wocket ship shoes."
In actuality these pricey little boogers will supposedly help him with his toe walking issue. They are heavier and stiffer, helping to keep his heels lower. We can see the difference when he wears them. Time will tell if they'll help us avoid yet another physical therapist.

But he doesn't know all that. All he knows is that they are his rocket ship shoes, allowing him to run at the speed of sound.

Ma-TAY-toe.

We love how he mixes his name with "tomato." And for the record, he wouldn't eat it later.

Bird calls.

Sometimes while I work in the kitchen I'll leave the back door open for Mateo to freely play in or outside. Today I caught him doing bird calls. "Hawk! Hawk!", "Kweee! Kweee!", and my favorite "Bird! Bird!". Thankfully he never noticed me with the camera. :)

Painting pumpkins.

Our good friend Mary gave Mateo some pumpkins to paint. (Thank you, Mary!!) I let him use some paint markers. As you can see, most of the marker ended up on him. As you can also see, he mainly chose very light colors for his pumpkin, resulting in a very minimalist design.
My pumpkin sports a mustache.
He cooked the pumpkin afterward and told me to eat it. I politely declined.

Bad hair day.

I titled this post "Bad hair day," but in truth, Mateo's hair looks like this most mornings when he wakes up. You see, he inherited my hair, the poor child. And sadly no amount of combing - with or without water - tames our morning hair. At least I can use hair clips.

I admit to loving his wavy locks, though. No one else has them like he does!

Imagination Movers.

School photos.

So Mateo was supposed to take his school photos today. Alas, he wouldn't cooperate, so we won't be getting any of those this semester. Instead I decided to take a few shots after he got home. Why does he pose for me and not for others?

I finally caught him doing something we think is hilarious. Any time he says "speshul tweeeeet," his little hand goes up to his mouth, he points at you while waggling his finger, and he makes this face. Now where does he get that from? Couldn't be me! Oh wait, I guess it is me.

First doughnuts.

Mateo had his first trip to the doughnut shop this morning. First he drank his own milk. Then he drank Daddy's orange juice.

Yummm!!!

Some people (who shall remain nameless) can get a little testy when the the camera is turned on them. First they try to ignore it.

Then they get annoyed and give you the stink-eye.

And then they hide.