Paulo dice asi.../ Paulo says it like this...

You will find that most , if not all of Paulo's conversations start with a "No!"...ahhh toddlerhood...

Me: "Vamonos Paulo, es hora de dormir"/ "Let's go Paulo, it's time for bed"

Paulo: "No!"

Me: "Paulo, quieres dormir con mama o con papa"/ "Do you want to sleep with mommy or daddy"

Paulo: "No! I want to sleep with the Ipad"

"Tengo una idea!" /"I have an idea!" -- I'm pretty sure he has no idea what having and idea means. I think he think it means something about getting a surprise present or something, because every time he says that he starts searching my purse or doing things like these:

Daddy: "Paulo, stop pulling my shirt from the irnoning board" "No papi!!! It's an idea!!!" Hahaha, too funny, God knows what he's thinking...

Me: "Paulo, estas feliz?"/ "Paulo, are you happy?"

Paulo:"No mama!! estoy enfermo!!"/ "No mom!! I'm ill!!"

(Playing cars)

Me: "Puedo poner el carrito en esa puertita?"/"Can I put the car in that little door?"

Paulo: " No mama, este juego esta muy chiquito para ti / "No mom, this game is too small for you".

Paulo: "Voy a trabajar en el Ipad"/ "I'm going to work on the Ipad" (meaning, he can't be interrupted)

Paulo 2.5 Years

Paulo, hermosho pisioso, bonito, cosita linda, chiquito hermoso, enanito, mune, munequito. You've turned 2.5 years!! and you have changed soooo incredibly much in the last 6 months. I can barely remember the early months, almost as if you have always been this old.

 

You are a tall, skinny, curly little devil, and we are having so much fun at this age. You have been through so many changes since you turned two, it is no surprise to me that you have made temper tantrums part of your daily routine. You definitely are a bear in the mornings and after your naps and I have to tiptoe around you until you're a little bit awake.

 

You have had a tough last few months with our move away from Calgary, your leaving day care, and the birth of your little brother. I am starting to bounce back from severe separation anxiety from being unable to pay 100% of my attention to you 100% of the time. You in turn, have learned to be a bit more independent, and play by yourself for longer stretches of time.

 

It took you a while to get used to your little brother, but you are slowly starting to care more and more for him, which is really cute to watch. You will now randomly hug your little brother and say : "estoy cuidando a Emi" (I'm taking care of Emi"), or give him kisses and bring him things once in a while. That being said, you still almost 90% of the time will take toys away from him, including rattles and other baby toys, haha.

It is no surprise that Emilio follows you with his eyes ALL the time and lights up every time he sees you. You are always on the go, being a busy little boy. I love watching you run around from one place to the other, always in a hurry, with your cute little stiff run.

 

You have become quite strong headed and you must ALWAYS get your way. Everything is a fight with you and sometimes you bring me to tears, it is so exhausting to stretch my patience so much. But I am glad that more and more now we are starting to get have peaceful days and smile more than butt heads.

 

 You absolutely LOVE your strider bike. We go bike riding almost every day now if it's not rainy, and you have now started to go out on bike rides with daddy. You certainly can pick up a great speed and you go around the neighborhood turning heads everywhere you go, you look so ridiculously cute. Other than your bike, your other favorite toys are still balls, cars, and lately the train table we recently got you. Oh, and I should not forget umbrellas...oh boy, your love (obsession) for umbrellas!

 

One thing that has become really obvious to me in the last few months, though, is your mastering language. You are definitely learning more English and becoming more confident at speaking it now that your Nana is at home, and that daddy is making a bigger effort to speak to you in his language. You love speaking English and using all your new words. Your Spanish continues to be amazing, learning new vocabulary every day and starting to sound more and more like me, which I don't know if it is funny or scary. The other new thing from the last few weeks has been your ability to "create" new words in Spanglish, which basically means taking a word in either language and adapting it to sound either English or Spanish. It is very funny, but this is one of those cute traits that I do care to correct because I want you to be able to communicate well.

 

Last but not least, your imagination has sparked and exploded in the last month like never before. I think for the first time in your life, you are starting to use your imagination, mostly with pretend play. You will pretend that you are a cat, make up stories, pretend you are Jake and I'm Captain Hook, and you even pretend you speak a foreign language now, which always makes us both laugh, it is so silly.

 

Paulo, I love you so much I could have never imagined I can love you even more every day. You make me try so hard to be better for you every day, and yet sometimes I am so disappointed in myself that I can't be 100% the mother you deserve. You are such a gift in our life, I will never be able to explain it enough.

 

Te quiero munequito!!!

 

 

Emilio - 4 Months

Holy cow, 4 months Emi! Where did time fly by so fast?? It has been perhaps the 4 busiest time of our lives. I think we constantly get confused thinking it is you and your brother making us busy, but I think our move and setting up the new house in Ottawa has got much more to do with it than anything.

 

It is hard to believe it has been that long since you joined us out here, but I can tell by seeing you,, you've grown so much!! you are for sure much heavier than before. Although I haven't taken you to a check-up for about a month, I can see your little chubby legs get chubbier by the day, and my back and shoulders  are not so keen on you growing like a weed.

 

Emilio - 4 months

I mostly carry you on the sling for most of the day, and although you are getting a bit too heavy for it (you are also getting too curious and always want to be facing all directions), you are the happiest being carried around in there right next to me.

 

Most days you have 3 or even 4 naps a day still. You sleep for about 45 minutes about an hour or two after waking up. Usually you are in the sling because if I put you down you wake up almost immediately after. Then you wake up for about half an hour and go back to sleep for an hour. Then you wake up for about an hour and go back to sleep at the same time as your brother around noon or 1 p.m, and have a longer nap of 2-3 hours. Finally at about 4.30 or 5 you have another mini nap of half an hour to 45 minutes, and you go to sleep at around 8.30 p.m.

 

At night you sleep for about a 4-5 hour stretch, and then wake up exactly every 2 hours -- not so good for me :/ .

For now you are still sleeping in your crib in our bedroom, and I bring you to bed with us at about 3 a.m. I am still not sure when we will change you somewhere else since your brother sometimes cries at night in his sleep and you still wake up somewhat often.

 

You have definitely started to master your tummy time and head control. Sofar you have turned from your front to your back on a couple of occasions but I think you still don't know what on earth just happened. You also work hard now on controlling your hands and you love reaching for objects and touching everything around you, including my hair.

You are also definitely very aware of your surroundings. One of the sweetest things I've seen is the way you look at your brother Paulo --- it is so sweet! you follow him everywhere with your eyes and if he is still, you just stare at him with this mini grin on your face. It is the cutest thing ever. And if he touches you to pat your head or slightly touch your hand or to kiss your face (even though he can be...well.. kind of rough) you just don't complain at all. But if your brother starts one of temper tantrums where he screams at the top of his lungs, you join right in with the crying (which I am not a fan of :( ). I wonder if you are scared or just sad for your brother.

 

 In general though, you are such a happy baby. I think being carried around in the sling has a lot to do with that. But you are always so content. In the mornings you are ALL smiles, and if you see a new face, and especially somebody who talks to you, you are the happiest. You just smile away with your big smile and happy eyes. I feel as if I could count with both hands how many times you've cried since you were born. Everybody (even strangers) always comment on how happy and content you always look. The only things that make you really cry are when you get really tired (right before bedtime) or having a bath also made you panic quite badly, although fortunately you have seemed to be over it in the last 2 weeks.

 

Your brother is still a bit jealous of you and not so keen on letting you play with basically ANY toy, haha, but he is getting better and making an effort to be nicer in that regard. I do from time to time catch him holding your hand or touching you gently as if by accident. But I am sure you two are going to be a happy giggly pair later on.

 

Emilio, you are such a sweet baby I love you so much, my heart could burst any minute <3.