Paulo - 3.25 years

Paulito,

 

Munequito. You are such a sweet boy. I have so much to say about you, but I will start by saying, you and I have become such good companions. We like our time together and we understand each other very much at this point. That has sort of always been the case, but you grow so fast that every time we're getting comfortable with each other you up the game again, haha. And I mean it in the most normal way.

 

You are such a little boy right now I want you to stop growing so badly. There are so many things you do on your own now, like going bathroom unassisted (except for pulling up your pants) and ask me to leave and shut the door sometimes.

 

You are great at playing by yourself. I'm proud inside that I feel like I introduced you to imaginary play, making up pretend friends and pretend food and pretend dialogues and you are having so much fun with it. You have imaginary dinosaur friends and imaginary Ninja Turtle friends. You can play for long periods on your own, having little dialogues and pretending you're in certain places like the ocean, etc.

 

Meals are always such a battle with you, especially if Dad's around. Definitely one of my least favourite times of the day. You have too much energy, and you like getting up and run around in the middle of it. But at least I am glad we have kicked the habit of you watching videos on the Ipad while you eat... for now. Sometimes I will even see you turn of the TV on your own and play other things, which is great.

 

You love your playschool and you are so excited to be starting school in "the big school" in September. You are excited that you will see our 6 year old neighbour Kayden there.

 

Now that the weather is starting to warm up, we're spending more time outside and its amazing how much your behavior changes. All of a sudden you want to help me cook, do crafts, read more, etc.

 

You are also a very determined, smart, little boy. You know what you want, and once you do, you're not letting it go. Just like your mama.

 

Paulo, you are sweet, super smart, funny, friendly, confident and a bit weird. I love that in you. And we love you so SO much.

Emilio - 14 months

Emilio,

 

you are 14 months today. I know I skipped the 13 months post and I am not sure that I will continue writing about you every month. Life has been way too busy and any chance I get to have without the two  of you (which doesn't come often AT ALL) I don't want to spend it thinking or writing.

 

However, I didn't want to miss the opportunity to write about all the fun things you are doing now. I will probably forget a bunch, but I want to write what I can remember right now that you are sleeping.

 

Just to get it out of the way, your sleep has SUCKED. For months. I don't even know when was the last time you had consistently good sleep. For that reason, you and I seem to permanently have moved to the downstairs room and your brother and Dad sleep upstairs. I think it has been a combination of tons of things. Starting by the fact that you and I sleep together and you still nurse, so you like to visit the restaurant every time you roll over or move. However, it has been much worse for different reasons, such as teething (first all molars, now your canines) and also when I introduced cow's milk and it was giving you a horrible time at night. I'm just hoping that when all your canines come in we will finally be done with the circus and I may attempt to night wean you then.

 

As for all your other skills, you are EXPLODING. You have started to run, which is incredibly cute because you do it clumsily, with your chest all out and your arms bent at the elbows. You are not as proficient with your words as your brother was/is, but you definitely try and some are more or less understandable. Your motor skills, however, are out of control. Gross motor skills are insane --- you climb on the table, you try to jump, you twirl, you skip, you dance like there is no tomorrow. You LOVE LOVE LOVE music and everything to do with it. You dance at any chance you get and I've noticed you try to sing, although I never have any idea what you're singing. Your fine motor skills have also gone through the roof. You have figured out how to unscrew caps, which is NOT GOOD. You can brush your teeth and you even spit for me when I ask you. You are a great eater still, and have recently started to proficiently use the spoon, sometimes the fork.

 

Potty wise, you are starting to be more consistent in peeing and you can last a whole morning without a diaper if I can pay attention to you, although many times I just put you in a diaper if I' m getting breakfast ready and getting your brother ready for school.

 

You are such a sweet boy, I feel like it's a shame that  our families don't get to see you, because they would get such a kick out of you. You are funny, noisy, you love cuddles, you are mischievous and you like to get in trouble. Like you will go and take out all the pots and kitchen utensils from the cupboards. I am not too hard on you just because I know you are trying to stack them, fit them inside each other and find the matching lid.  You love screaming with excitement when daddy comes home or when Paulo is happy or playing. You copy EVERYTHING Paulo does. And the other day for the first time I saw you playing with your brother nicely but about 30 minutes, giggling away, running, chasing each other.... BEST SOUNDS EVER.

 

Emilio, we love you so much. What would we do without you???