Tato and Da Ladies

Sept. 26-28: Tato spent this past weekend in Chicago with 2 cousins, 2 nannies, and 2 grandparents, while Ric and I were at 2 different weddings in 2 different states. Or and Rin, took Tato and the little ladies went to the park for some outdoor time. While indoors Tato and Ruari, fought over toys, watched cartoons, and fought over toys some more. He also ate lots of fried dried beef from Siam Noodle, kept Lolo & Lola awake with his crying and gave warm sweets hugs to his cousins. I know he had a great time even though he wasn't feeling well and missed his Mama.

Baby Hair Gel?

Sept. 26 - Ric & I have gotten into the habit of wetting down Tato's mop before dropping him off at school because his hair is so extra unruly in the mornings. Photo 1 shows him enjoying his breakfast with his hair groomed. Photo 2 shows him less than an hour later, in the car, holding his favorite shoes. I asked Ric if I should take Tato for a hair cut before his school pictures on Oct. 8th, and he said 'no' because he wants his hair to be as naturally Tato as possible in his pictures. So it'll be more of Photo 2 for his first set of school pics. Need I invest in baby hair gel?

BTW, he loves these ecco shoes so much that he'll take them off and just to hold them even while he's eating finger snacks. One shoe in a football hold, the other hand feeding himself.

From School To Pool

Sept. 10 - It was one of those days - again. I don't really understand how fun it is for someone to be soaking wet in a pool while fully dressed, shoes and all. However that being said, I am a first-time mother and there are plenty of things that I don't understand. Well, from what I gather that's not exclusive to me or to any other parent who has one or more children. He's just faster than me. He sees that pool and can't resist. I will go in and take off his shoes but aside from that I say, "have at it!"

Check-up

Sept. 8 - Today was Mateo's 18-month check-up with the pediatrician. We love his pediatrician because she's so casual, calming, and encouraging when it's all necessary. Plus her office gives the best print out at every check-up with stats, diet, milestones, safety, vaccinations, etc. for your childs current age. I live by those things!
This trip was the first time he weighed on a medical scale instead on one of those baby scales. Ooh! He could do some damage on one of those things for sure! The stats that morning were as follows:
Age: 18 months and 2 weeks
Height: 34.5 inches / 95th percentile
Weight: 29.8 lbs / 80th percentile
(this doesn't seem right to me. how big are baby boys these days?!)
Head: 19.5 big inches / 95th percentile
He's progressing really well in all areas and on track to be 6' tall. He won't need to return until he's 2 YEARS OLD with the exception of getting a flu shot. It's so hard to believe that he'll be 2 years old is less than 6 months away already : }

Fall Fest

Sept. 5-7: Plymouth Fall Festival was in town and we all had a great time. Well actually, Ric and Mateo had the great time. They went on the rides, played the games, danced to the music, played in the fountain, etc. While I was the one photographing the moments, ordering and delivering food, etc. My life as a sherpa can be quite unrewarding sometimes. Can someone tell me when Mommies start to be the ones photographed with her child? Hmm...

Quiet Time

Tuesday, September 16 - My colleague Jodi gave me some MegaBlocks for Tato that her son Kolin had outgrown. He was uber-excited when I poured them out onto his playroom floor. He squealed with excitement, then covered his eyes with his hands, and then quickly pulled them away in complete disbelief that all of those toys were his. Then the stomping of the feet started. He was just gushing with happiness. This bought quite a bit of time to prepare dinner. After a little bit while I noticed it had gotten quieter, but I could still hear him talking. I peered around and saw Tato sitting on the end of the sofa closest to me reading a Spanish book that his Abuelita had read to him when she was here in July. I dared not to disturb him because he loves reading his books. A hardy THANK YOU to the Fettigs for passing it forward.

Groovy Buddha

We were hanging out at home on a hot day after school. I still had this onesie for Tato to run around in and he decided that he'd much rather chill on the sofa and play with a pacifier holder. Hey, whatever keeps him entertained.

TATO in action

TATO in Hazleton PA

Our EngiNERD...

We were always so proud of the good, honest work Papito has done at his 11 year with Ford Motor Company. Now others will see just how great he truly is because on Oct. 9-12 down in Houston, Texas, he will be honored at the Hispanics in Engineering Conference. Ford has only had a handful of these Luminary Honorees come from their company and Papito will forever be one of them. I am SO overjoyed with pride, even though he remains his humble self through it all. He will also be honored next Monday, Sept. 8 at Ford World Headquarters by the Group Vice-President of Development. This is truly a wonderful honor and recognition for all his great work.

As much as I want you all to send him congratulations, he would be absolutely mortified with all the attention, as he was tentative about even going to any awards ceremony to begin with. I just wanted to express my love, joy, and pride. CONGRATULATIONS PAPITO : )

Last Day in Classroom 3

(OK, here he's using his right hand, but he eventually switches to left. I'm hoping for another lefty in the family.)

Aug. 29 - Today was Tato's last day in Classroom 3. It was so bittersweet, but we're excited to be moving to Classroom 5. We will miss Miss Janice, Miss Heather, Miss Margaret, and Miss Karen. Thank you for all you've done to help him develope and grow in just 3 months.

The Hef

Aug. 27 - No I don't dream of my little man becoming the next Hugh Hefner, but he did seem to look like a mini Hef in his new bath robe.

Plymouth Play Cafe

Aug. 27 - Today after work we took a trip to downtown Plymouth to spend some time burning off some extra energy at the Plymouth Play Cafe.
Tato and Papito had a lot of fun climbing around and sliding down the tube slides. Afterwards we had dinner and ice cream. Mmm... ice cream : )

New Camera

Aug. 26 - We got a new camera! Hooray! I'm so happy to report that we are now proud owners of a Canon Power Shot SD1100 IS Elph. I've been eyeing this camera for a very long time and when I busted our Fuji, well that was a perfect reason to get this one. What else does that mean? New pictures to chronicle our Tato.

I Stand Corrected!

Aug. 25 - My bad. Class 5 = Class 4. Class 4 = Class 5. We still are SO proud of him for all he's learned and accomplished in Class 3: learning to feed himself with a utensil (where he favors his LEFT hand, yay), sitting in a big boy chair to eat instead of a high chair, etc.

In that same timeframe he also learned FOUR distinct things in Spanish Class (forgive the missing tildes and accents):
1. Donde esta tu nariz? (Where is your nose?) He points to his nose.
2. Adios. He waves and says, bye-bye.
3. Arriba. He puts his hands UP in the air.
4. Quieres mas? (Do you want more?) He signs for "more."

Whoa!

Sorry, I'm still left with a broken camera and our old 3.1 "mega"pixel Kodak EasyShare has been with me in Panama for the past week. Basically, still no new pics of our Little Man. However, today was full of fun surprises.

It all happened this afternoon when we got home from school. I again had to chase him around the inside of my car to get him out. He was quite amused. When I finally got him out he made a beeline for his still-filled swimming pool and well you can imagine what came next - floop! Right into his swimming pool fully dressed ; ) At that point, why make him get out? He just stood there laughing at himself. Then he got out, walked up the stairs to the back deck and waited to go inside. Once inside I read the letter we received from his school. To my surprise he was being promoted to not the next class but to the class beyond that! Whoo-hoo! He is set to begin in Class #5 on Tuesday, September 2nd and we need to meet his new teachers. The letter stated that it was due to development and the secretary explained to me that the teachers discuss and decide which students move up at the beginning of each school year. I was so proud but at the same time concerned. What if they made a mistake and he's suppose to be in Class #4? I just want to make sure that he's where he is suppose to be and that it's best for his development. I'm going to confirm with his teachers tomorrow morning.

Lastly, tonight after dinner Ric wanted to go down to the park. No big deal. Since Tato had been stripped out of his soggy clothing since the pool incident, and just finished dinner, I needed to take him upstairs for a bit freshening up. When we were done, we walked out of his room to find Ric standing at the top of the stairs ready for some park fun.
Tato took one look at him and said "Night, night."
Ric: No, we're suppose to go to the park first.
Tato: Night, night.
Ric: Isn't it too early?
Me: Um, he's telling us what he wants, so I say it's time for night, night.
Tato (to Ric): Bye-bye. Night, night.
Ric: Ok : (
I walked back into his room and what did Tato do? He pointed to his curtains. He wanted them shut. I closed the first ones then he turned and pointed to the others. I was snuggling with him for a bit but he kept leaning towards his crib. Talk about knowing what you want and going for it! Hmm, Class #5 is starting to seem right on the money.

By 7:00p all I could think of was WHOA!

TGIF

Missed Photo Op

AUGUST 3 - I can't believe that I didn't have time to grab the camera. We were in Sturgis this weekend for my 15-year High School Reunion - eek! This morning I had to leave early to catch a flight out of Detroit for my business meeting in DC. As I was loading up my car, Ric put Mateo on his tricycle. And for THE VERY FIRST TIME TATO PEDALED ALL BY HIMSELF! I'm not talking one or two pushes of the pedals. I'm talking making his way across the driveway on his own chubby man power. It was SO exciting. I really did almost shed a tear. Lolo, Lola, and Tita Jojo were also there to witness the momentous occasion. I just can't stop smiling : )

Excuse Me Driver...?

July 30 - When we got home today, I unbuckled him, and away he went. He would not allow me to get him out of the car. He slid down to the floor of the back seat and sat behind the driver's seat (I was on the other side)bv. I decided this is a good opportunity to unload the car. When I checked on him, I found that he had climbed over the console and into the driver's seat. With melted Peppermint Patty on his face he had a blast pretending he was driving. He even went as far as honking the horn - twice (sorry Carl), pushing the button to turn on the stereo, then turning the knob to change the volume. He also had fun turning the knobs to adjust the A/C, trying to turn the steering wheel AND he even tried to adjust the rearview mirror. It was all SO ADORABLE! The last picture was of him letting out a big, "Oooo Wooowwww!"

Morning Routine

July 29 - This is what it's like when we're getting ready for the day.