Santiago Marcos Melendez

First Lost Tooth

2010-04-23T19:48:00.000-07:00

We have big news, Santiago lost his first tooth yesterday. He is excited!

Last night at bedtime we had a little ceremony. We lit a small, white candle. Ed and I read a poem (below) and Santiago put his tooth into a pouch and tucked it under his pillow. In the night the tooth fairy visited, blew out the candle and transformed his tooth into treasures: a coin, a blue star, a purple stone and a gold nugget (for abundance, wishes, bravery & knowledge).

It was quiet magical and now Santiago has tons of questions about the Tooth Fairy: What does she look like? Is there one tooth fairy or several for different parts of the world? She wears white and carries a wand and there is only one tooth fairy who doesn't follow time like us so she can fly through out the world in one night -- just like Santa

The poem...

I see you've lost your little tooth,

The pearly one that's been so loose,

I'll fly tonight on fairy wings

And come to you while soft you dream.

I'll take your tiny gift in hand

And fly away to fairy land

Where fairies all rejoice with you

And marvel at how fast your grew!

In exchange I'll leave a treasure

To amuse and bring you pleasure

And to remind you as you grow

To claim the magic that makes you bold!

Five Little Pumpkins

2007-09-14T05:11:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAn-g4qkp30

Pufferbilly

2007-07-28T07:53:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGMB762EJVA

Flirting -- It's Hardwired

2007-07-06T12:54:00.000-07:00

Santiago and Mom were enjoying an afternoon at the swimming pool when Mom noticed Santiago was fixated on one of the life guards. This isn't so strange; Santiago often stares at life guards trying to figure out what their deal is. Yet, this soon proved to be a little different. When Mom moved Santiago in the water or spoke to him he would strain his neck to keep his focus on the life guard.

Turning around Mom found that the life guard was a very cute young lady with big sunglasses and blond hair. Santiago waved and said, "I'm waving at her, Mom." His waving got more emphatic and wild as the life guard waved back. Santiago waved again when he and Mom passed by the life guard again. However, on the fourth pass Santiago turned his head away from her stand and said, "I'm turning my head this way, Mom."

Let the games begin!

4th of July

2007-07-06T11:27:00.000-07:00

Santiago rode in the neighborhood's 4th of July parade in his red wagon with his friend Annabelle. Santiago enjoyed waving to the folks along the parade route and telling stories to Annabelle. The fire truck was a big hit. Power to the people.

Santiago & Lucy

2007-07-04T12:43:00.000-07:00

Santiago takes care of Baby Lucy (Annabelle's sister). He is so smitten with Lucy that he was willing to repeatedly kiss her while Mom tried to get a good shot. In the end all the kisssing photos looked like Santiago had fallen into Lucy's car seat.

Imagine

2007-06-17T19:30:00.001-07:00

Santiago gives Dad a ride.

Santiago has recently taken to doing a lot of imaginary play. One favorite game is ordering fish at the grocery store (tilapia, of course). This includes ordering, putting "meat and fish" into a baggy, weighing it and asking if you would like anything more. Another is acting out life-guarding. This requires an adult to swim around (be sure to wave while passing the life-guard) and blowing a "whistle" so that swimmers have to get out of and into the pool. A repeat favorite is train. The couch is the train and the game inlcudes buying tickets from the ticket window ("two little and one big"), cleaning the train and calling out "All aboard!"

Fathers' Day 2007

2007-06-17T19:06:00.000-07:00

Here comes the train!!

And check out this video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzVKyvgrOPc

End of New York Trip...Visiting Friends

2007-05-13T19:25:00.000-07:00

Here is a photo of Santiago with Arcadia and Meridian. These are the daughters of Nicole who is Mom's friend from her Newman years. We had a good time visiting the "suburbs" after a week in The City. The best part, we took a train to get there.

For more photos, check out Dad's pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/emelendez/May2007

New York, part one

2007-05-09T16:43:00.000-07:00

Santiago has been a good traveler though he doesn't like long walks through the city. Who blames him. Imagine Mid-town Manhattan at stroller (knee level). What a seemingly dangerous ride -- that's the level of briefcases, light cigarettes, bus exhaust.

"What is your favorite thing about New York, Santiago?"
"The subway."
What is your next favorite thing?"
"Um...another subway."

Besides the subway, Santiago has enjoyed laughing at the "teeny-weeny" buses seen from the observation deck of the Empire State Building, the carousels in Central and Bryant Parks, the bus at the Manhattan children's museum, the polar bear and puffins at the zoo in Central Park.

Trains!

2007-05-08T17:03:00.000-07:00

Santiago loves trains. His favorite and first activity of the day at home is playing with his train. Recently, Mom and Santiago took a six hour ride on the Hill Country Flyer with friends Lisa and Alex. Santiago has perfected his "all aboard," and he knows the difference between the driving and the leading wheels.

Dad's Graduation Day

2007-05-08T12:47:00.000-07:00

Still Singing

2007-04-18T20:01:00.000-07:00

One of Santiago's favorite activities right now is singing and strumming the guitar. Recently he put on a show for Mom. He started with "The Hello Song." Then he would take off the guitart, set it to the side, raise his hands, wiggle his figures, and sing "Come on Everybody" (the opening song from Gymboree). Follow that he would put the guitart back on and play "Ole McDonald" the Biscuit Brother's version which includes throwing your hands over head while emphasizing the O in Eieio. Then "This Old Man." "This old man, he play two, he played knick knap on my door." The concert closed with a rousing version of "The Goodbye Song."

A little boy, already?

2007-04-09T10:54:00.000-07:00

Here are some recent photos taken at Zilker Park. These reveal a toddler turning into a little boy. So soon?!

Cousins Come to Visit

2007-04-09T10:49:00.000-07:00

Sing That Song and "Which one?"

2007-03-26T14:45:00.000-07:00

Santiago truly enjoys singing his ABC's. He even has a fast "robot" version of the song. He strums the guitar with confidence and looks like an experience guitar player while swaying, nodding and singing "The Hello Song" from his music class. His repertoires includes "Itsy Bitsy Spider" (he prefers the "Insy Binsy" variation), "This Old Man," "One Little Owl," and all the ditties from Gymboree.

Current conversation with Santiago is punctuated with "which one."

M: Santiago we are going to Amy's to get ice cream.
S: Which one?
M: The Amy's down the street?
S: Which street?
M: The one in front of this store?
S: Which store?

A note from Mom: Yesterday, while walking through the neighborhood, I found myself explaining what a water sprinkler and a lawn mover do and why would people spend resources on watering their lawns only to have to spend energy to cut the grass down. You think that Al Gore will give Santiago's question a slide in his power point presentation? Reader, you will be reminded that Santiago and Al go way back when they were hanging out at Dan Rather's condo together nine months ago.

Spring in Austin

2007-03-19T19:57:00.000-07:00

After a very brief winter, but one that included an ice storm that shut down the city for three days, Spring has arrived in Austin. The leaves are coming out and the grass is a beautiful shade of yellow green. We've made our first trip to Barton Springs sans swimming. Mom has bought a bike and a trailer with every intention to pedal to the pools, music class and playgroups this season. The trailer is still on order but the helmets have been purchased. Santiago sports his helmet decorated with racing flames proudly.

Transportation still holds great interest for Santiago. He loves to ride the miniture train in Zilker Park. He is thrilled when he sees a train running down the neutral ground on Mo-Pac (a hightway we find ourselves on often). He loves to play with his trains. (Thanks Francis and Leo!) The garbage truck will stop all activity at his playgroup with Asa, Aman, Jacob & Sam. The five boys will run to the window and press their noses again the glass.

Here are some good Spring photos of Santiago's world. The Kite Festival...riding the tractor with Grandad...planting radishes at Grandmom's house. Happy Spring everyone.

If life was a 70's sitcom

2007-03-19T19:52:00.000-07:00

There was "Whatz you talking about, Willis?" and Squiggies' "Hello." In Santiago's life there is "Maybe yes. Maybe no." At the strangest times when Mom & Dad are trying to decide something or when Mom is given Santiago instructions for a task, out comes a drawling, "Maybe yes. Maybe no."

It's been a while...again

2007-03-19T19:42:00.000-07:00

Time has flown by and so have the ways of Santiago. He is quite a story teller now though you have to have a thrill for detail to truly enjoy one of his stories. Here is a recent story that he told Grandmom about going to see a band play downtown during South by Southwest.

"We got in the car. Uhum. Turned left. Uhum. When up a hill. Yeah. Saw music. Uhum."

Here's a photo of Santiago and Dad that afternoon outside City Hall where we watched a couple of bands. Uhum.

Albuquerque & Snow

2007-01-08T12:36:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of January, Santiago visited Albuquerque with his Mom & Dad. The city had had fourteen inches of snow three days before they arrived. Santiago was thrilled to find a city with so many snowmen. He asked Mom & Dad to locate snowmen as they drive around town. Grandpa made an eight-foot snowman much to the glee of Santiago. However, Santiago preferred to keep a little distance between him and the snowman.

Oblivious of a cat named Santa Claus, Santiago really enjoyed Snowmen during the holiday season. Walgreen’s came to be known as the Snowman Store. Before leaving Walgreen’s Santiago needed to say goodbye to each snowman…and at the beginning of the holiday shopping season, Walgreen’s had lots of snowmen in stock! Santiago liked for Mom to sing “Frosty the Snowman.” Though she didn’t know all twenty verses she learned a lot more than most people know.

One activity that gives Santiago great glee at this point in his life is running around stores. He picks up a little speed and trots around giggling and squealing as Mom, Dad or Grandmom jogs after him. Parks, museums and homes don’t have the same thrill level that can be found in REI, a bookstore or other shopping cart-less retail outlets.

A Day in the Life of Santiago

2006-12-15T04:37:00.000-08:00

Santiago and Mom wake up between 5:30 and 7 o'clock. Dad has already gotten up and is off to school. The morning always starts with this conversation:
S: Milk
M: You would like milk?
S: Yummy
M: Okay
S: Mom
M: Yes
S: Coffee?
M: Mom's going to get coffee too?
S: Yummy

After breakfast Mom and Santiago set off for playdate, errands or music class. Santiago's favorite errand is going to the grocery, or "ding-ding store." There is a gas station type bell that cars roll over at the exit of the grocery's garbage that Santiago really likes and talks about through out the day. Santiago always gets a slice of fresh bread and stops at the Putamaya listening station for a brief jam. Santiago can now match the artwork on the cds to that on the listening station directory. No trip to the grocery store would be complete without a declaration of "Brrr" in the diary isle. Santiago carries the entire transaction at the cashier out. He can swipe the credit card, push the correct button on the card reader, sign the receipt, ask the cashier for stickers and say bye-bye.

Santiago is singing now. He likes the "Horse Song," which is the opening song to the musical _Guys and Dolls_.

I've got the horse right here, his names is Paul Revere, and this guy says that if the weather's clear, can do, can do...

Santiago joins in with all the can do's. He also can sing the first line of "The Wheels on the Bus." And joins in with an appropriately placed "Who?" in "The Audubon Zoo."

He's waking up more later...

Birthday

2006-12-15T04:31:00.000-08:00

So much to catch up on...

2006-12-15T04:25:00.000-08:00

I see that it has been a long time since my last post. In two months so much has happened in Santiago's life. He turned two. His language skills are exploding, his play skills are evolving and his routines are setting in. Forgive my long absence from updates. -- Mom

Pumpkin Patch

2006-10-12T18:50:00.000-07:00

Current Favorite Toy: Blender

2006-09-27T17:29:00.000-07:00

Annabelle

2006-09-20T19:30:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of Santiago's chum, Annabelle.

She lives in the neighborhood. Santiago has known Annabelle since he was ten months old. She and Santiago see each other a couple times a week. As Santiago and Annabelle age, it is fun to watch them turn to their gender role activities. While they used to play with the same toys, now Santiago likes to point out truck and Annabelle enjoys necklaces. Annabelle likes to hug and kiss which Santiago isn't so sure about. Wait until they are sixteen and see those roles change!

Nevertheless they are buddies and can say each others names. They are most honest in their play together -- Santiago is very likely to call foul while playing with Annabelle. Something he rarely does with others.

Sing, sing, sing!!!

2006-09-16T19:02:00.000-07:00

Santiago likes music. He likes to dance. He likes to play music. He likes to listen to music. He likes to sing.

Santiago will sway to music he likes, but his favorite way to dance is to be held by Mom or Dad and bounced to the beat. He likes to play any instrument. At his friend Annabelle's house, he makes a bee-line for her miniature guitar and he has gotten quite good at strumming. He plays his drum while listening to music. This afternoon he entertained Mom with a performance on his wooden xylophone complete with signaling his song's end by "singing the resting note," as we do in music class. Today, Santiago and Mom went to the Austin City Limits Music Festival for two hours. Santiago enjoyed listening to the gospel band. It was like Earth, Wind and Fire was playing Sunday school hits. Santiago truly enjoys live music and is very supportive with applause, a cry of "Yaaayyyyy!" and calls for "More!" The day before yesterday Santiago started singing a duet with Mom. She was singing a non-word version of the "Bubble Song" which is a rewrite of "10 Little Indians." The night before last he became maestro, conducting Mom, Dad and himself through several renditions of that song at the dinner table.

Local Water Disaster is Pint Sized

2006-08-31T19:43:00.000-07:00

"Call Me Nu-Nu"

2006-08-31T11:43:00.000-07:00

Since Mom first announced, "I'm pregnant." Dad has lobbied that Santiago's name be Noodles. Well, now it has stuck. If Santiago is asked, "Where's Mom." He will point to Mom. If asked, "Where's Santiago." He'll point to himself. If asked, "Where's Noodles." He'll point to himself. When Santiago speaks of himself he points to his chest and says "Nu-Nu."

Santiago wants to do more and more things for himself. At naptime this afternoon, he picked up a book, pointed to himself and said, "Nu-Nu" to indicated that he wanted to read the book himself. He can wash himself in the tub and pour his own milk (as long as the carton isn't too heavy). He likes walking everywhere and still enjoys pushing is own stroller. He will push Mom out of the way when he knows that he "can do it himself."

A, somewhat, typical day for Santiago

2006-08-26T20:30:00.000-07:00

Santiago's day begins between 6:30 and 7 o'clock. He is always the first one to wake up in the household. He wiggles around in bed cuddling with Mom & Dad. Eventually he sits up looks at Dad and says, "Book!" Dad rouses best as he can get gets out a book to read with Santiago. After listening for a while he then says with emphasis "Milk!" and he and Dad head upstairs to get a sippy cup of milk. They return and Mom is up getting dressed. Santiago might return to reading with Dad or if he joins Mom, he'll brush his teeth (chew on his toothbrush) while Mom washes her face.

Then Mom and Santiago head upstairs to make breakfast. Santiago stands on a chair and directs and helps with the preparation. He determines whether he'll add banana, nuts or such things to his cereal. Generally he eats most of his breakfast while still standing on his chair in the kitchen while Mom is pulling things out of cabinets and the refrigerator. When Dad joins them, Santiago likes to join Dad to direct his breakfast preparation. Santiago usually prefers to play with his train or other toys to eating breakfast.

After getting dress, Mom, Dad and Santiago head out for a walk beside Town Lake. Santiago makes the choice of which path to follow. Along the way, he eats his fill of mini waffles. He enjoys getting out of his stroller at one point on the path and throwing rocks into the water. He then likes to push is own stroller for a while and ends up riding back on Dad's shoulders.

The remainder of the morning is spend meeting other kids for playgroups, going to classes or tagging along with Mom on errands. After lunch, one o'clock, it's nap time and after reading three of four books, Santiago sleeps for one and a half or two hours. He is a slow riser from naptime, unless Mom announces that they are heading out to some fun event like visiting Grandmom & Granddad or going swimming.

Mom, Dad and Santiago eat dinner around six followed by some playtime or another walk. Bath time is a fun time. Dad and Santiago bathe together. But there is more hype about "toothbrushing" that comes after the bath. Then the family reads more books together and by 8:30 it's "lights out."

It's been a while...

2006-08-25T12:27:00.000-07:00

Santiago been busy this month building skills. His vocabulary is exploding. The other day he formed his first sentence. "Poo bye-bye" said after a diaper change. Ah, that will be good fodder for Mom embarrassing him in front girlfriends when he is fifteen.

He is a very expressive guy. There is no doubt when he is excited about something. His face lights up and he shouts and hoots approval.

His physical skills are developing as well. He is getting more comfortable with trying things out and enjoys the success of accomplishing climbing something new. Gymboree has been a great place for him to crawl and walk over and under things. He has fun when we go there. He is pretty intent on getting the instructor's, Jaime's, attention when he's doing something new and cool. He'll do it over and over again until she notices.

Santiago is reading. He can interpret pictures in a book and will flip through picture books on his own. He also sits down with Mom & Dad's books and papers intones "UUUUUUHHHHH" to Mom & Dad's pleasure and Santiago's glee. He recognizes the letters U, W and O.

He enjoys swimming, playing with the trains his cousins sent him, rolling tape rolls (which he calls wobble-wobble) across the floor, playing in and with water, going to the park and kicking his soccer ball around, reading and being read to, visiting grandmom & granddad's house, standing behind the doors to the washroom then busting out of the doors with peels of laughter, mariachi music, spotting cross-walk signs, cement mixers, green and blue city buses, school buses, and backhoes.

2006-08-06T20:58:00.000-07:00

Vocabulary and Smiles

2006-08-06T20:16:00.000-07:00

Santiago is building his vocabulary. He points to things in a request that it be named and is picking up words very quickly.

He learned cloud when flying to DC and now he loves to add cloud to instances when he mentions airplanes.

When near a pool, Santiago chants, "pool, pool, pool." He has developed an affinity for swimming, well jumping into the pool. Sometimes he likes being carried in the water and sometimes, not so much. But he loves jumping in. He throws his hands in the air, smiles ear to ear, squeezes his eyes shut and falls into Mom's arms.

Santiago's knowledge of truck and ability to identify them is impressive. He can name garbage trucks, cement mixers, back hoes, bulldozers, rollers, mail trucks (called mail man).

Santiago enjoys playing ball, chase and hide and seek (sans seek, he hides and then pops out of his hiding place).

Mom calls Santiago a trickster and is trying to teach him to say "yoink." He likes to tease. When getting a good-bye kiss from Dad, he turns his head away and waits with a big grin on his face.

He is a happy soul who smiles easily and likes to meet people (especially if they have a ball).

Washington DC

2006-07-28T12:15:00.000-07:00

Mom, Dad & Santiago flew into Washington DC yesterday evening. Santiago was excited to be on a plane again and said cloud for the first time then was thrilled to practicing repeating it.

After arriving at his cousin's house, he sat an played with their Thomas the Train tracks and cars. He probably would be quite content to spend his entire visit sitting playing with that.

Santiago gets pretty jealous of his cousin Anna who frequently asks to sit in Mom's lap. Though startled when Francis and Leo approach and get very close, Santiago seems very pleased with the affection they show him.

Santiago rode the Metro and was a little freaked out by the trains but indicated that he liked the Metro when asked. He did not however like the Metro elevators which is strange because he generally is thrilled to ride in elevators.

Anna, Leo, Santiago, Francis

2006-07-20T19:58:00.000-07:00

da time

2006-07-20T19:43:00.000-07:00

Santiago now uses "Da" to call for Ed. Up to now Dad like all loved ones was called "Ma."

There are some times of the day when Da is urgently needed. Da must join Santiago for a bath. After Santiago and Mom draw the bath, Santiago stands at the foot of the stairs and yells, "Da, Da, Da."

Da and Santiago have another special time: Toothbrushing. This involves Da asking Santiago, "What time is it? It is time for a playdate? Is it time for ice cream? Is it time for...toothbrushing?" At the word toothbrushing, Santiago squeals, balls up his hands, shakes them and bobs up and down in delight.

up and down, high and low

2006-07-20T19:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday while rolling a roll of tape underneath the living room chair, Santiago added a new twist to the game. He would stand behind the chair and reach up and put the tape up and over the back of the chair. Then Mom would roll the tape back to him under the chair. While engaged in this Santiago started saying up and down as the roll of tape was moved around. This is the first time he has used position descriptions on his own. It was great fun for everyone.

Santiago at Play

2006-07-17T08:26:00.000-07:00

Santiago is a very busy guy. He attends classes and playdates throughout the week. Often he has a social commitment in both the morning and afternoon. Being sick has meant spending more time at home which reveals some of his favorite activities. Right now he is pouring macaroni from one plastic cup to another. Putting and moving things into other things is a favorite pastime.

Santiago also likes to play Candyland. The rules are pretty free form and involve putting the gingerbread man pieces onto the board and knocking them over and sorting through the cards. All colors remain blue when asked "What color is that?" But Santiago can say red, yellow and purple when asked to repeat the words. Yateze is another favorite. It is pronounce "Yat-yat" by Santiago and he enjoys putting the dice into the cup and rolling them out.

Santiago enjoys feeding his fish in the morning and when the fish bites a piece of food Mom & Santiago shout "chomp." Playdough and puzzles are liked. He likes to roll rolls of tape around.

Santiago really likes to have books read to him.

Emergency Room Visit

2006-07-16T18:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday evening Mom & Dad took Santiago to the emergency room -- he is ok. Santiago & Mom went to Alex's birthday party at Radijazz. Santiago threw up. An aside to the story only important once you know Santiago was okay...Luckily he threw up on Mom while she was walking away from tables where the other kids where sitting and cake was being served. Everyone has had that experience of being the kid that throws up at a party? We are all relieved that Santiago's party reputation wasn't marred at such a young age.

Because Santiago's breathing was labored, Mom & Dad decided to take Santiago to the emergency room. At the hospital he was given something for bronchial inflammation, had a chest x-ray (horrible experience! but show nothing in his lungs), had some fluids via IV, and discharged after about four hours. Dad did some research and thinks that Santiago is experiencing asthma-like symptoms brought on by chest congestion resulting from a viral infection. We'll look forward to a visit to Dr. Pugh this week.

Apart from a horrible cough and sometimes raspy breathing Santiago is doing well, even jovial at times. To pass the time in the treatment room Mom, Dad and Santiago took some photos. One picture shows Santiago's amusement at the red light coming from the monitor taped to his toe. The picture of Dad is the first photograph Santiago ever took. Pretty good, Santiago!

2006-07-02T19:25:00.000-07:00

Off to New Orleans

2006-07-02T13:17:00.000-07:00

Note from Mom: I haven't had to chance to update Santiago's blog in a while. We moved into our new pad a week and a half ago and things have been rather hectic because of the moving. My Mom arrived in town for good. Tod helped her move from New Orleans we got to see him one afternoon. We are headed to New Orleans tomorrow. This will be Santiago and my first trip back since the Storm. I am excited to see familiar places and faces...and am worried about the soaring crime rate and that I will find that I have missed New Orleans so much that I will not want to leave. Wish us Bon Voyage.

chicago -- day two

2006-06-10T19:28:00.000-07:00

Today Santiago and Mom went to the Shedd Aquarium while Dad went to the University of Illinois at Chicago to make his presentation to the urban planners conference. Santiago loved watching the dolphins jump out of the water at the dolphin show, but he found that there was too much blah, blah, blahing by the announcer and not enough jumping by the dolphins. A BIG hit was the Beluga Whales. Just watching them swim in their tank was a pleasure, no tricks needed. Mom and Santiago ate lunch in the food court at a table with a group of chubby Girl Scouts from Arkansas. Afterwards, they watched fish pass by in a few large tanks then headed back to the hotel for naptime.

Santiago is rather a neat fellow. He puts things into the trash, wipes his face when eating (mostly with a reminder but sometimes on his own volition), and wipes up spills. He enjoys bubbles at bath time (and can say both bubbles and bath). However, he did NOT enjoy the bubble bath Mom prepared the night before their trip.

He continues to be a big flirt and has an M.O.: eye contact, acting shy, peaking out, hiding behind Mom, then dogged attention getting. Restaurants are a favorite flirtation spot because there is ample time to run through the entire flirting sequence. Few have been able to resist his charm.

One of the photos is from yesterday afternoon's visit to downtown Chicago.

Millennium Park -- Chicago -- Part One

2006-06-09T12:01:00.000-07:00

This morning, after dropping Dad off to write his presentation, Mom & Santiago went to Millennium Park. What a beautiful urban park! The fountains, sculptures and buildings were stunning, and the gardens were gorgeous (see photos).

There are a few pictures outside the park: at the Chagall mural _The Four Seasons_ and lunch at La Cantina Enoteca where Santiago completely charmed the maitre d' who checked on Santiago repeatedly and sent him ice cream.

Millennium Park -- Chicago -- Part Two

2006-06-09T11:55:00.000-07:00

Millennium Park -- Chicago -- Part Three

2006-06-09T11:27:00.000-07:00

Chicago -- Arrival

2006-06-08T20:23:00.000-07:00

Today, Santiago flew with Mom and Dad to Chicago. Seeing so many airplanes was exciting, as were the bumps of take-off and landing. Santiago got quiet proficient at pronouncing "airplane" and weathered the two and a half hour flight to Chicago well. The drive from O'Hare to the hotel downtown was another matter. That was made bearable by the excitement of seeing commuter trains running down the center of the highway.

A Note from Mom

2006-06-05T20:31:00.000-07:00

Thank the heavens above and the earth below, Santiago sleeps through the night.

More Food, Words, Music & Motion

2006-06-05T13:06:00.000-07:00

Santiago is now pretty comfortable with moving from Mom farther than a body lunge away. He still needs a direct line of sight in public places (much to Mom's relief). In the right environment he enjoys showing off his ability to walk backwards, spin and dance. Dance is a very serious thing for Santiago. He gets very still, listens to the music and then carefully sways to the beat. He has begun to climb things. He can climb into bed and up the stairs

His spoken vocabulary is increasing. Here is a list of some of his new words. Water, bulldozer, apple, Volvo, bath.

Santiago and Mom started a new session of the music class series they have been taking. Though it is in the same room, there is a new teacher! Santiago sat in Mom's lap and stared at the new instructor though half the class. Shaking his head at any question and refusing all movement which wasn't scaring at the instructor. He warmed up to the situation when the shakers were brought out for a rendition of Vengan a Ver.

Santiago's favorite food continues to be Spanish rice. He also loves peanut butter and banana smoothies. Club soda is a favorite and is met with shouts of "bubbles". Santiago likes to assist with breakfast preparation. He stands on the stair Mom slides up to the counter and adds raisins to the cereal. He enjoys pouring things into other things which can sometimes lead to spills of milk and of cereal and sometimes of both.

Santiago got his first hair cut today

2006-05-25T18:59:00.000-07:00

Until today Mom, worried about getting a pair of scissors close to Santiago's head, trimmed his bangs while he slept. As a result his bangs always slanted to one side or the other. Today Santiago and Mom went to a kids' barber shop. They are set up with lots of distractions. Each barber's chair is a race chair and there is a video library for kids to watch while getting their hair cut. Mom selected Thomas the Train for Santiago. He hooted in excitement each time he saw a train.

Santiago shouted and cried as the stylist snapped on the cap. Then he quietly (except for hooting when he spotted Thomas) held onto Mom's thumbs and only took out his binky for the photo. The memento card is included here. Mom thinks he looks a little like his cousin Francis in this photo.

Man of Few Words

2006-05-23T04:04:00.000-07:00

Santiago is a man of few words, literally. But what he has he uses well.

There is more which is pronounced "mo" with a very long o. He uses this when he wants more of his favorite foods, yogurt, Spanish rice, pineapple. He also uses it when he wants more music. Watching the mariachi band with saucer eyes, he points his index figure to other palm (sign for more) and says, "mo, mo, mo" at the end of each song. He also asks Mom for more singing when she sings "Fuzzy was He" while he's getting his hair washed.

Up is a often used word. Rarely is it used once. It is usually "up, up, up." Being an observer Santiago likes to be up high were he can see things. Mom keeps a chair in the kitchen so that Santiago can see meal preparations. Santiago now does a lot to help with making breakfast. He adds raisins to the cereal and even can pour milk into the cereal bowls. Being up is also a form of protection and Santiago will demand "up" when he needs a little security in a new place though he is really good about visiting and checking out new places.

Santiago can say "Mom" and "Mommy." Used for Cassie, these are saved for times when Mom returns from being away or when Santiago sees Mom after waking up. Mom also means a loved one so Dad, Grandparents and even his good friend's mom are all called "Mom."

Santiago can verbalize his reactions to food with yummy. Water is yummy. Rice is yummy. Milk is yummy. Yuck is saved mostly for non food things after Mom tells Santiago not to eat soap or sand. Then Santiago smiles, shakes his head, says "yuck" and eats more.

"Ba" is with different intonations is ball, bus, bubbles. "Poo" means "pool."

No is now in use and is pronounced with a very long o. "Nooooo." It is said with a sweetness of tone that seems better fitted for another word. Mom bought Santiago some hardsoled shoes to transition away from the beloved Robezzes. Each time we leave the house and put on our shoes, Mom asked Santiago to get his new shoes. Santiago takes them out of the box and examines them. Mom says, "Let's put on your new shoes, Santiago." "Nooooo," says Santiago. When Santiago does not want to do something No is followed by emphatically waving goodbye and shaking his head.

Crazy?

2006-05-17T20:22:00.000-07:00

Just in case anyone thought I (Cassie) was crazy about comments I made about dog bites in the last entry. The home page of the American Academy of Pediatrics notes May 21-27 as Dog Bite Awareness Week. Check it out:
http://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/dogbitetips.htm

The number eight

2006-05-16T11:33:00.000-07:00

This morning Santiago met his new friends, Asa and Sam, for a playgroup. We visited the lovely little park in Sam's neighborhood. Austin has tremendous neighborhood parks, well maintained, clean, with lots of trees, playscapes, and other kids. At the park we met Rachel and hope to visit the Nature Center with her and her Mom, Rebecca, soon. Santiago always makes quiet a stir with the Moms at the playgrounds. He is so cute, they say, and he capitalizes the fact that he is a good flirt too. Asa and Sam are about Santiago's age and being boys share play interests: cars and balls. At the park all eyes turned and all activity stopped when a garbage truck passed by, that is expect Rachel who didn't even notice.

Yesterday Mom and Santiago when to Zilker Park, the major city park and the park in our neighborhood. We watched three guys play futbol, threw rocks into Barton Creek and ran into our friend Annabelle (who greeted Santiago with kisses). All of which Santiago enjoyed tremendously.

Santiago now enjoys pushing his own stroller. There is a bar on the stroller at his height. During our morning walks on Town Lake he likes to get out of the stroller and push it along the path himself. Well, he needs help steering. This morning he walked so far that he wore himself out and crashed early for his nap.

Santiago's fascination with dogs has now been coupled with a comfort around dogs. He will even reach out and touch them. This thanks to time spent around Ainsely's and Jimmie Boone's dogs. Mom's not too thrilled with this as she has read too much about kids getting bit by dogs to be really comfortable with the proximity.

When Santiago and Mom read together, Mom asks Santiago to pick things out of the pictures: butterflies, birds, cats, horses, dogs, the moon. Last night, a little bored with the Winnie-the-Pooh counting book, Mom asked Santiago where the number 8 was and he picked it out with confidence! Smart boy!

Visiting the pool...Spanish lessons...Naptime

2006-05-11T12:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon, Santiago meet his friends Annabelle and Ainsley at Deep Eddy pool. It was cold (68 degrees year round). While Santiago avoided the wading section, he enjoyed going to the deep end and bobbing up and down with Mom, showing he truly prefers taking the big risks. Santiago gave Annabelle a hug and exchanged kisses with her. Ainsley who is a dynamo had dashed off somewhere and missed these demonstrations of affection.

This morning Santiago and Mom attended a Spanish Mommy and Me. It was half Spanish, half English and sign language throughout. Santiago was meek at first, then got bold enough to move to a place of observation and joined in at the end of the session by holding the blanket that was a prop for our song about colors.

The event was held at Terra Toys; a great toy shop that has a Thomas the Train table that kids can stand at and play with the trains. Santiago meet his new friend Asa at the train table. Asa and Santiago played intently with the trains as the Moms chatted about the trials of getting a good night's sleep while co-sleeping.

After stopping for lunch on the very winding terrace at Whole Foods, Santiago crashed for a nap. The congestion he has had for a while is still lingering.

[I've attached a photo of Santiago from our first visit to Deep Eddy which was on Easter Sunday, April 16, 2006.]

10 days to 18 months

2006-05-08T14:15:00.000-07:00

Santiago will turn 18 months on the 19th of this month. He has changed sooo much in a year and a half. I get a kick out of the cool things he does and discovers each day. Here is a photo of him with his chum Alex and his sister Eva. We were at one of Austin's great public pools, Big Stacy Pool. Santiago got in the water for a short time, but his favorite pool activity is playing ball. Well, that's his favorite activity in any situation right now.

Today at music class he really started to participate in the activities and was engaged for about half the class. During the peekaboo song he raised his scarf over his head and pulled it down with a big "boo!" He even swayed around with his scarf with everyone else during the dancing song. After he lost interest, he preferred to wonder around and survey his surrounds. When the open jam started, Santiago rejoined us with a characteristic and loud "Wow!" True to his ball loving, he found as shaker that was somewhat round and what thrilled to find he could roll it like a ball.

Getting Started

2006-05-08T05:18:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine has a web page for each of her kids. She updates it with photos and a blog. While I'm not certain I can be as ambious as she, I thought it would be a great way for people -- especially grandparents to keep up with the goings on of Santiago.