Paloma: Volume Forty-Five

Hello, friends! I am finally getting all of our clothes washed on our trip and getting back to post-trip "normalcy". I hate unpacking! As a distraction, I've posted a few photos of Little Miss from the past month. Then I'll finally get to the Malta pictures. Yay!

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Paloma is an alphabet-writing machine. While she doesn't really recognize many letters of the alphabet, she loves to copy everyone's names. 

For Easter Monday (the day after Easter Sunday of course, a bank holiday here) the kids got a mona de Pasqua from Mateo's godparents, Rafa and Katya. Traditionally, the mona is a chocolate figurine given to godchildren. Yum!

The art of savoring. Paloma's gotten really good at closing her eyes and pretending to enjoy the earthy notes and hints of citrus in this strawberry macaron. Or maybe it was that good.

Like I mentioned, we were in Malta last week, and we flew out of the beautiful Barcelona airport. Our expert traveler jumps on the shiniest floors.

Something we rarely do. Ride in a car! Our travel booster seat came in handy. Our tour guide (aka my brother-in-law) Juan Pablo showed us around the island. It was nice to sit back and spectate.

They're pretty inseparable on trips. Baby and a very girly Paloma on a ferry to Gozo, a neighboring island.

She can turn it off and on, and she can't stop. Savoring a white chocolate yummy on this warm day...and still doing it at home. "Mommy, look at me!"

Who was happy about being at a new playground? Overlooking the water, not too shabby.

See you soon!

Mateo's First Haircut

Hello, lovelies. We're back from our spring trip in Malta. It was fantastic! Like a crazy tourist, I took around 800 pictures but have finally whittled it down to 350 and am still trimming. Will share soon, of course! It's nice to be back in the city, which welcomed us with weather that had warmed up while we were gone. Spring is here!

But before that, I'd like to share some photos from Mateo's first professional haircut. And oh yeah, I brought my big camera!

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The "before" photo. Dad and son got back-to-back cuts. Kill two birds, right?

 We took Mateo to the neighborhood hair stylist. He's got a very simple painted sign outside his shop called "Jose Caballeros". Snip away!

 Dad had to hold him and provide some comfort. Guess it wasn't working.

 Waahhhhhhh!

Paloma tried to use the distraction method to calm Mateo down.

 

He checked himself out in the mirror and realized it wasn't looking too bad after all.

 Okaaaaaaaay....

Let's not forget the bangs. Noooo! He wasn't upset that I was holding his head firmly in place to avoid getting jabbed in the eyes. He just didn't want to get stuck with the Caesar cut a la George Clooney, which went out of fashion after the late 1990s.

 The "after" photo. With a little bit of styling, it was perfect. There's that smile I love.

Thanks for stopping by!

Mateo - The Seventh Month

I may just be enjoying this baby too much...so much so that every day that passes, I feel like time is slipping away as he moves from babyhood and into toddlerhood. It's early, but I see it, I feel it, and it's happening so quickly. As he develops his own personality, I can't help but feel a little weepy that our little boy will be crawling, walking and telling me with words what he wants soon. Perhaps my lament comes from watching Paloma grow as she is letting us now who she is, and we can't stop it. It's all so fleeting!

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Mateo doesn't mind being with his sister as long as she isn't stealing toys from him. (She loves this.)

Another night, another pajama party. In a year, bunk beds?

I've started to call him my "Sunshine Baby" because he can flash a smile even when he's tired or when skies are gray ;-) It feels right.

 Enjoying some "peek-a-boo" time with you know who.

It's on. Mateo's been more alert with his surroundings and reaching for things, anything! And protesting when he can't get it. This is it!

But, we can still smother him with hugs and kisses without any problems. Hehe...

Welp, to my surprise Mateo's not a big eater of solid foods yet. Doctor said that's okay...he's getting taller and gaining weight at a good pace. He loves sitting with us at the table though!

People are saying that he is looking more and more like Paloma, but maybe he still shares some resemblance to his daddy still. No?

This picture with my two babies makes me happy. Hence, my Facebook profile!

See you soon...in the outdoors!

Paloma: Volume Forty-Four

Hello, and happy spring! I'm back from a short blogging break (I know, I'm the only one who notices). The last few chilly weekends of winter were uneventful, but peaceful for us. It was necessary to just stop for a wintery moment and hit the refresh button. We stayed indoors most of the time and just simply enjoyed each other's company. Our home is small, which has its advantages. It's cozy!

Last night, I was watching a video conversation of Paloma from a year ago and realized how much she's changed. More than anything, her language has gotten more complex. She's making funny Spanglish words up like "I don't want to pis it" (pisar = step on), and yesterday she was able to express her negative emotions, "Mommy, I'm frustrated because it doesn't work." MUCH better than a tantrum!

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Still lovin' on her brother. That maternal instinct of hers helps make my job easier.

Walking home from school goes slooowly when it rains. Luckily by the afternoon, the rain paused so we could get home at a decent pace.

Despite the fact that she loves her skates and scooter, she still loves her stroller wheels too.

We did get out once or twice. Here we enjoyed having lunch with friends at the beach.

Paloma stole my bag so she could carry her toys to the playground.

A Saturday morning snuggle of my 3/4ths.

She fits so comfortably on this first step in our lobby area. Being tiny has its advantages.

Her class made Indian headdresses and necklaces and had their faces painted. Is this completely banned from the curriculum in the States?

At the forefront.

See you real soon!

Mateo - The Sixth Month

Happy six months to our Baby Boy! My, was it half a year ago in the dead heat of summer that Mateo came out into this the world? The other day, I was putting away clothes in a box marked "Mateo: 0-6 months" and couldn't help feel a little nostalgic and sad that Mateo could no longer fit into these doll-sized socks and miniature onesies. How fleeting babyhood is! Thankfully, we are still in the thick of it, experiencing these moments that we'll look back on with a certain romance. Sure, there are hard days, but having him with us has been nothing short of awesome. 

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Feeling refreshed from a warm bath. Ready to face the world!

I squeezed this kid into my favorite striped pajamas as long as I could. It went into the baby clothing box. Sigh...

Enjoying some Saturday morning sunlight.

Paloma thinks of her little brother as if they were a team. 

 Now this - THIS is my favorite moment of the day. It's so sweet to see how our children love each other.

Why do I love this picture? Maybe it's that tiny huggable body and that cushy little diaper butt.

 In dreamland. Sweet bliss for baby...and mommy. 

No, we did not feed him a lemon as his first food. I guess his first bite of banana tasted a little different compared to mommy's sweet milk.

 Okay, so maybe the banana should have been overripe. Sorry, kid!

We celebrated his half-birthday with a half-cake. Kids accomplish so much when they're little!

A solo shot. Love him so. *Squeal*.

Until next time, friends!