Finally Painting..... or not!

I sometimes feel guilty because I avoid some projects because it is so hard to do somethings while juggling two kids. Especially if one of those kids is Mateo, who is always going 90 miles per hour. One day while Mateo was napping I pulled out the paints since we haven't painted in a long time. Here is Diego concentrating very hard...... for about two minutes.

He decided that he didn't want to paint and asked for his markers instead. He drew a great picture of a pirate ship and, to my surprise, wanted to pose for a picture with it. I guess I didn't need to feel guily after all.

Fun in the Sandbox

We have had just gorgeous weather lately and this is pretty much what you will find the boys doing everyday.

How to Train Your Dragon

Diego and I recently had a date to go see the 3D movie "How to Train Your Dragon." I mistakenly told him about the trip about a week before and he asked me constantly when we were going. Finally the day before I told him that we were going "mañana." He asked me, as he often does, "Es hoy, mañana?" (Is today, tomorrow?) Well the day finally arrived and we headed to the theatre. It was Diego's first 3D experience and my first time if you don't count the old paper blue and red glasses that they used when I was a kid. He wouldn't keep the glasses on so he watch the most of the movie blurry. The special effects were awesome but there are some intense parts that might scare some sensitive kids. He and I had a great time and I know that he enjoyed the movie because he asked if they would let us watch it again "ahora mismo" (right now.)

Growing Up

Every month until Mateo was one year old, we would take his picture with a little sign with his age and date so that we could see how he grew throughout the year. Some months he did not want to cooperate (see month nine) and some months I forgot (see month ten) but it is fun to look back at these so I am very glad that we did it. On Thursday, we took a two year old picture of Mateo to add to the collection. He was not interested in sitting still at all and this was the best picture I could get out of thirty but that's our Mateo. :)

Toys my children ACTUALLY play with- Stamp set

When my mother asked for suggestions for birthday presents for Mateo, I pointed her toward a Melissa and Doug stamp set that I have had my eye on for quite a while. I chose this one because Mateo is dino-crazy but also because came with great reviews from Amazon customers. It is basically a set of eight dinosaur shaped stamps, two colors of ink pads, and five colored pencils. Even though the top of the stamps are multi-colored, the stamps obviously come out one color and the kids have to color them (hence the colored pencils.) The boys have had a ton of fun with these several times in the last couple of weeks. I have no action shots since Mateo tends to stamp dino-prints on EVERYTHING if I am not paying attention. The only complaint that I have is that the top of the box has no lid so it is easy to knock the stamps out if they are not placed on a high shelf far away from little hands.

If you have a toy that your child loves and that you would like to share, please link up. It can be an old post or a new post.

Feliz Cumpleaños a Mateo

My baby boy turns two tomorrow. I feel extremely grateful and blessed to have a healthy and happy child but a part of me is sad also. We are not having anymore children so this is the end of the baby stage for us. When Diego turned one we started discussing whether or not to have another baby. Now I can not imagine our lives without him. Mateo is such a blessing to our family. He and his brother are best friends and love each other very much. He can be quite a handful sometimes but as soon as he flashes that grin at you, all is forgiven. He is funny, caring, and curious and we love him very much.

Feliz Cumpleaños Matutis!

Move over Eric Carle

We have checked out and read the book "Oso polar, oso polar" (Polar Bear, Polar Bear) many times from the library and it is one of the boys' favorites. Recently we found a copy of "Oso pardo, Oso pardo" (Brown Bear, Brown Bear) and it was equally popular with the boys. The following project, I am very proud to say, was completely Diego's idea. He wanted to make his own book with a Black Bear (Oso Negro). I provided him with a stack of paper and helped him with the cover paper. This was a great opportunity to talk about cover pages, authors, and illustrators. Besides that, Diego grabbed his crayon and started illustrating "Oso Negro, Oso negro, Que hueles allí?" (Black Bear, Black Bear, What do you smell?) I wrote down his words and we stapled it together like a book. He told me that he would like to take it to the library so that Mema and Papa (my parents) can check it out to learn more Spanish. :)