Alex is now less than two months away from birthday number three and when I ask him what he would like to do for the day, he keeps asking for a Buzz Lightyear piñata...we'll see if that's what he ends up having. Last year we made the piñata but this year I may be buying it, I just don't think I could make Buzz Lightyear. I could make a soccer ball or something with a roundish shape... I don't think I will have the energy to work on a piñata anyway since I will probably have an almost walking toddler by then.
He has started pre-school two days a week. We're just trying it out at this point. Most children go to 3-K here and 4-K is required so we are seeing if and where we may send him to 3-K. So far it's been ok, he's only gone twice. He came home the first day pretending to be spiderman...and shooting pretend web from his wrists. The second day he came home with a scratched face. He told me a blue boy bit his face. I asked him a lot of questions and finally it seems like what happened is a boy with a blue shirt pushed and scratched him. We'll see how this week goes.
And, I learned a bit of a lesson this week when I heard Alex singing a little ditty yesterday when we went to a playground: "la la la stinky stinky poo". OOPS. There is this really cute show he watches called Pinky Dinky Doo and it's this little cartoon girl who makes up stories and they teach a new word each episode and it's educational and well...the song is really catchy... So I was absentmindedly humming it and changing Santi's diaper (which was a doozie) and I started singing "Yesiroony positoony zim zam zoom......la la la la la stinky stinky poo...(instead of Pinky Dinky Doo) Yeah, I thought he might pick up the potty humor at pre-school but he heard it from me. I hope he forgets that...I won't be singing it anymore, I hope (it is just so catchy).

9 months old!

I cannot believe my Santi is getting so big. He started clapping his hands yesterday! It is SO cute. And he is FINALLY sleeping through the night. (I really really needed that!) And he is eating everything and anything he gets his hands on. And he has 4 teeth. Alex and I crack up at him everyday because he'll crawl over to us and make a hoarse growly noise that sounds kind of like "hah". It is really funny. He is usually very contented, except when Alex takes a toy away from him or when I pry my grocery list out of his mouth and hands when we are shopping. Then he WAILS. It is also very cute (for now).

playing at la deportiva

Happy B-day Abuelita!

Random stuff...

Two weeks ago we went to Mexico City to visit friends and get Dany's visa renewed the next day at the embassy. We stayed in a hotel downtown and Alex loved riding up and down in the "alligator". He also slept in a "big boy bed" (not a crib but a regular bed). He was very proud of himself for that.

I was just looking back at old entries to this blog...It's been around awhile now. It's amazing how much Alex is talking these days. I mean, I guess it's normal but compared to a year ago, it is amazing. He has these long conversations with people on the phone and with me and his dad and even his friends. Here's a recent conversation he had with grandma (paraphrased cuz I don't remember all of it):

Alex: Hi grandma, you send a LOT of books to me!
Grandma: I'm glad you liked them!
Alex: You send me a lot of Curious George books Grandma!
Grandma: Yes I did.
Alex: You send me 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 books! (looks at his clock that says it's 12:35) Hey its 7 o'clock. I'm going to say bye bye now grandma. Bye bye.
Grandma: Bye bye.

And today:
Alex: Hi grandma, thank you for my books.
Grandma: You're welcome.
Alex: Ok I have to go read my Curious George books in my playroom. Bye bye. Ah love you.
Grandma: I love you too.

Alex: Mommy, STOP TALKING TO GRANDMA. Let's go read my books!

Alex knows how to spell his name (have I posted about that before? probably...oh well). He was with Dany in a store and saw his name on a bottle. There is a brand of furniture polish called ALEX. He said hey papi, that's my name A- L- E- X. I am trying to teach him to spell Santi. Sometimes I hear him in the playroom spelling his name and then he'll say G-O-G-X-A-L-E-X that spells Santi! He is learning his letters slowly and with no pressure from me. We just talk about the letters on the wall of the playroom. He knows A, L, E, X, O, G (he says, g is for grover mommy). I can't remember what other ones. He recognizes all the shapes....even pentagon, hexagon,and a trapezoid(it's on one of his shape sorter toys). He also likes to know how things work, like the potty. Man, for a while I had to take the lid of the tank everytime he flushed so he could explain to me how the water went down and where it went and then how it was filling up again. He also likes to tell me how water goes down to his tummy when he drinks it and eventually how it comes out again.

Santi is still the cutest baby boy ever. I have to specify because his cousin Amy is the most adorable baby GIRL ever! (She really is and I'm not at all partial in any way, Seriously though, check the link and go look at the cutie)
But back to Santi :) He is a sweet baby. Right now he is a little sick, poor guy....but he is all over the place, crawling, pulling up and almost cruising (walking holding on to things). He dances (waving his arms) and likes to put his fingers in our mouths and feel us talking. He loves Alex's "bathtub" (big sterilite tub). I put less than an inch of water in it yesterday and let him splash. HE would pull himself up and then let go to sit and splash the water. He absolutely loved it. He also loves being in Alex's (soon to be Santi's) crib wrestling! Alex just steamrolls him and he loves it. It's funny because he takes a lot of roughhousing, he will soon be dishing it back out I'm sure.

Thanks Grandma!

Sleep Deprivation

The tireder I feel, the more the kid wakes up in the middle of the night. (Iknow tireder is not a word).

In Mexico City with good friends.