meuterosa

Snow video

2012-01-19T21:59:00.000-08:00

Snow Days in Seattle

2012-01-19T21:56:00.000-08:00

more Christmas 2011

2012-01-18T20:27:00.000-08:00

Decorating the Tree

2012-01-04T21:06:00.000-08:00

Family Xmas photos

2012-01-03T13:37:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2011

2012-01-03T13:33:00.000-08:00

Maddox and math

2011-12-23T13:55:00.001-08:00

Maddox in the bathroom, "Mom, did you know 4 and 5 makes 9? And 4 and 4 makes 8."

Maddox tonight

2011-12-08T20:25:00.000-08:00

Maddox: Maya, do you like dots because you are a daughter?

Maddox when refering to the nutcracker, "I just used the acorn cruncher."

Kiddo time

2011-11-27T17:04:00.000-08:00

We have been having special "kiddo time" where each kid gets 10 minutes on a timer to call the shots. Usually Maddox wants to play hide and seek and Maya wants to play follow the leader. Today when it was Maya's turn, she decided that she wanted all of us to have a parade and dumped out all of the musical instruments. She passed everyone their musical instrument that she chose for them and then turned to us and said "I want the grown ups to pick up this mess". I did not see that one coming.

A little Sound of Music

2011-11-09T21:27:00.000-08:00

Bilingual Maya

2011-11-09T21:19:00.000-08:00

Halloween 2011

2011-11-07T10:18:00.001-08:00

Maddox's compliment

2011-10-02T19:51:00.001-07:00

Maddox: Mommy, I really like your scarf.
Me: Aww, thanks Maddox.
Maddox: I also like your pants. I even like your face

Maya's owie

2011-09-29T20:40:00.000-07:00

Maya: Daddy I have an owie on my toe.
Mark: Oh. That's too bad. Which toe?
Maya: The one that went to the farmer's market.

Taking out the garbage

2011-09-24T22:49:00.000-07:00

This is how we roll during the fall in Seattle...

The Mascots

2011-09-24T22:28:00.000-07:00

Maddox and Maya have been performing quite a bit. They love the masks Shuleena made for them. They call themselves the Mascots. I assume that they like this name because they think the word "mask" is in it.

Maya and Circle Time

2011-05-13T12:09:00.001-07:00

As I picked Maya up from school the director came up to me to share a little story. Apparently all of the children were sitting and waiting for circle time to begin when the teachers were doing some last minute things. Maya picked up a copy of A Very Hungry Caterpillar and began to read the book to all of her friends. She finished the book, put it down and then sat down so her teacher could read them the next book. The teachers thought it was the greatest things they have seen.

Maya tonight

2011-05-03T20:51:00.000-07:00

We were towards the end of dinner when Mark took the last piece of bread. There was an uproar. I was able to calm all parties involved, even though they had already had quite a bit of bread, by informing them that we had more bread and they need not worry.

Me to Maya (expecting her to say 1 or 2): How many pieces of bread would you like me to cut for you?
Maya (without missing a beat): Five

Knock Knock

2011-05-03T11:44:00.000-07:00

Maddox's first knock knock joke he told me.

X: Knock knock
Me: Who's there?
X: Vegetable
Me: Vegetable who?
X: Book.

I cracked up.

A message from Maddox

2011-04-27T15:50:00.000-07:00

Lately Maddox has been really big on leaving messages for people either through voicemail or he'll have me jot down what he wants to let people know. Often when I pick him up from school he will have special notes that he had the teachers help him with for either Maya or us.

Apparently he is now sending emails, I just received this in my email inbox at work...

FROM: Albey-Director at kid's school
SUBJECT: A message from Maddox

Hi Mama!

I love and I want 3 big hugs from you when you pick me up!

Right now, I will get one big hug from Albey and I will see you when you come.

Love Maddox

The things that Maya says

2011-04-26T09:10:00.000-07:00

April 2011
Correct answer is "Sticker"

Me: What do you get if you stay in your bed all night?
Maya: Pizza!
Me: What do you get if you stay in your bed all night?
Maya: Chocolate!
Me: What do you get if you stay in your bed all night?
[Maddox interrupts with some gibberish like coo coo fa sha]
Maya: No Maddox. We get sticker. Maddox is so silly.

April 2011
Singing the chorus of Ms. Jackson by Outcast (still trying to get this on video)
"Sorry Ms Jackson. I am for real. Never meant to make your daughter cry. I apologize a trillion times."

February 2011
Beat boxing along to a CD that has beat boxing on it while we are driving home.

The things Maddox says that I always meant to document

2011-04-25T15:57:00.000-07:00

April 2011
Meuter: Do you want your cinnamon raisin toast cut or whole?
Maddox: I want it cut.
Meuter: How do you want it cut, half, triangles, squares?
Maddox: Circles.
Meuter: Circles are too hard.
Maddox: Ovals?

November 2010
Overheard as Meuter was putting Maddox to bed, "Get a lot of sleep so you can grow up to be big and strong". "Like you, daddy?" "Yep" [pause] "And then I'll have a big penis".

August 2010
Maddox trying to get my attention..."mommy, hey mommy, mommy...hey hot stuff". It worked.

August 2010
Apparently Maddox has inherited my knack for hearing musical lyrics incorrectly. He was singing "Mary had a little man, little man" over and over.

It has been so long

2011-04-13T21:43:00.000-07:00

Well I kept meaning to put pics up from as far back as December to the point that they piled up and then it seemed daunting. So I'm just going to try small. We are having some laptop memory issues so I have many on the camera but they may stay there for a while. This photo is from February 2nd. Mr. Maddox is now completely potty trained. He loves wearing underwear all of the time. This happened March 1st and he has only had 2 accidents in the middle of the night. Miss Maya is also wearing underwear now and pull-ups at night. We were able to get rid of the changing table that was in our bedroom and it is slowly starting to shape up into a grown up room. The kids are growing so fast that it feels like pants that just fit them a week ago are now too short. A few weeks ago, Maya's toddler teachers told me that Maya saw Maddox playing out on the playground and told the teachers that she wanted to give him a hug. They opened the Toddler class door and called Maddox over. She gave him a hug and told him she was sad. Maddox kissed the palm of her hand and told her that if she got sad she could just put her hand on to her cheek and think of him. Apparently this melted some of the teacher's hearts. We are very lucky.

M-A-Y-A

2011-02-22T20:31:00.000-08:00

Maddox has been spelling his name for a while now and Maya's name since December. A few weeks ago Maya started spelling her own name. Another thing she pick up from her big broher. Did I mention she will be 2 in May.

Christmas show

2011-01-12T21:25:00.000-08:00

Maddox is in the second row wearing the green striped shirt and the huge smile at the end.

underwear, underwear, underwear

2011-01-12T21:09:00.000-08:00

Maya figured out how to put on Maddox's underwear in September. Since then every morning, Maddox picks his out and then lets Maya choose a pair. She hasn't quite figured out that they go "under" your clothes.

November 2010

2011-01-12T20:45:00.000-08:00

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

2010-11-22T13:59:00.000-08:00

October 2010

2010-11-01T21:57:00.001-07:00

View all

Get your own

September 2010

2010-11-01T21:49:00.000-07:00

View all

Get your own

This is what we do for fun

2010-10-22T09:30:00.000-07:00

Maddox recovered quickly once I gave him back his napkin.

Peaches

2010-09-22T21:08:00.000-07:00

We went peach picking for the first time on our visit to Chico in August.

September 2010

2010-09-21T11:58:00.000-07:00

I have been horrible keeping up with this blog. So much is happening. Words, words, words! Maya is talking all the time. We sometimes understand the lengthy monologues she churns out, but most of the time we only catch parts. She is getting very frustrated with us that we don’t always understand her. I feel so bad. She hardly signs anymore because she feels that we should understand her words. I think that she also hears us always asking Maddox to use his words so we can help him so she is trying to also but it is backfiring on her. She attempts to do everything Maddox does. And I mean EVERYTHING. Maddox jumps off the sofa (no we don’t just let our kids do whatever they want) and even if Maya knows she is going to hurt herself trying to jump off the sofa, she will still try it. They are both so physical these days we are barely keeping up. After our vacation to Chico, Maddox and Maya were so scraped and bruised up that we joked that the teachers were going to think we enrolled them in some type of toddler wrestling sport. Today Maya took off her pajama top and attempted to put on her shirt. She said “No, I can do it” when I offered her help to put it on. This is not her first sentence. The week of 8/9 she came up to me, handed me a book and said “read this”. Maya also started counting that week. You have to get her started by saying one and then she’ll keep going usually up to six. Also in August, one day when I was putting her down for her nap, she looked at me and said “I love you eyes” and pointed to my eyes. I responded “you love my eyes?” and she said “yes”.

Maya is starting her transition to the Toddler class as Maddox is transitioning to the preschool class. She put on her jacket this morning and can put on her shoes so she is very ready. However she still has a little of her stranger anxiety so I’m not sure how the transition itself will go since Maddox will be in the Preschool class. Maddox is enjoying his visits to the preschool class. He has become very contrary lately. As a baby and toddler his aim was to please. Nowadays it is to push as far as he possibly can. Needless to say it has been very challenging. Mark is such a calm person that he can take it without breaking a stride. Me, not so much. If anyone has any tips on how to tap into an extra reserve a patience, please let me know. It makes my head spin that one second he can be cozying up and being so sweet to his family and then the next he is tormenting either his sister or Archie. He is as bright as ever and manages to surprise us every day. The other day I asked him who he sat with during lunch. He said “Hmmmm…let me think. I sat next to Mateo [pause, still thinking] yes, I sat next to Mateo”. They say that he has been very engaged in the preschool class. I get to chaperone my first preschool field trip next Wednesday. I am so EXCITED! We are taking public transportation to Benaroya Hall to visit the Seattle Symphony. Both preschool classes are going so 40 kids total. Crazy! I'm looking forward to it.

The "I love yous"

2010-08-05T07:11:00.000-07:00

Quinceanera

2010-07-24T21:24:00.000-07:00

The kids and Aunt Christina

2010-07-24T21:17:00.001-07:00

Cousins

2010-07-24T21:09:00.000-07:00

We were lucky to see cousins Madison and Carson. Here's the gang!

1st Plane Ride

2010-07-24T21:00:00.000-07:00

It went so well!!! Maddox was excited and was able to meet the pilot and go into the cockpit. As long as we let Maya stand on the seat to chat with the family behind us, she was fine. I still can't get over how well they did!

June updates

2010-07-08T14:55:00.000-07:00

Ahhh June...you came and you went and I was too busy to post.

MAYA

Y is giving closed mouth "besitos" these days. She puckers up her lips like she is doing a fish impression before she zeroes in on the face.
"Jumping" she bends at her knees as low as she can and then pops up and makes a noise like she just jumped. It's the same noise that Maddox makes when he jumps.
Y is obsessed with putting on others' shoes. She has a soft spot for X's crocs and rain boots.
Y is also obsessed with wearing hats. Recently, her teacher forgot to put on her hat when they went outside to play on the playground. Maya kept asking for it. The teacher finally had to go back inside because Maya was very insistent that she needed her hat.
Y loves to brush her teeth.
Y loves dancing and will try to copy any kind of dance move you do.
Y says the following words often: rock, ball, bye, hat, dog, mama, dada,truck,diaper, gentle, bubble, baby
Y signs the following often: milk, baby, please, more, gentle, and eat
She knows where her toes, nose, head, hair, eyes and belly are
Favorite song right now is If you're happy and you know it.
She thinks it's fun to tickle her brother.
She is a bit of a spitfire. At a school picnic recently, the teachers in the toddler class (X's class) were laughing about how that they are all kind of scared of her when she is upset with them. Apparently, if they do something she doesn't like she gives them the stink eye. She has made it clear to them that no one can compare to her Infant teachers and they better not try. We'll see how it goes when she transitions to the Toddler class in September.

MADDOX

X has been practicing signing "I love you" while he is telling me he loves me. Melty melt of the Mommy's heart.
X is so excited about his first plane trip he asks about it every day.
X is completely potty-trained. Everyone is shocked, including us, on how well he did.
X Dresses himself. Most of the time the clothes are on backwards but nonetheless, he does it all by himself.
Story #1 of how X takes good care of his sister...Maya is now joining X's class on the playground. One day Maya was sad, so Maddox came over and told her "it's okay Maya" and gave her a big hug. When she stopped crying, X went back to his truck. Y started crying again, so he stopped playing, and rushed over to console her again.
Story #2 of how X takes good care of his sister...We were at the park with X's friend Gabriel. Gabriel had crackers that he was passing out to X and Y. Maya asked for "more" cracker. She even said "please". For some reason Gabriel only wanted to give X crackers. X took the cracker Gabriel had handed him and handed it over to Y. Y thanked her brother by giving him a huge smile.
Favorite song right now is John Lennon's "Watch the wheels roll".
X is really into creative storytelling. So far we had a persistent crow that wanted to eat our garden, then our car, until we gave it some special crow crackers. We also had a Tiger that was going to stay the night but Maddox changed his mind about the Tiger staying so he called the Tiger's parents to come and pick him up.

4th of July Weekend

2010-07-05T22:02:00.000-07:00

We went on our first sailboat ride on Saturday. Here is a picture of us starting out. Maddox doesn't look too happy but he ended up LOVING it! He wanted to go back the next day. Maya on the other hand didn't enjoy the life vest. She did like seeing the sea planes and geese but not enough to keep her awake. She ended up falling asleep during the 45 minute trip. The photos below were after the sailboat cruise. Maya was invigorated by the nap. Maddox was starving.

Getting our sillys out (June)

2010-07-05T21:44:00.000-07:00

The gun show

2010-05-23T12:18:00.000-07:00

Here are the kids showing off their muscles...

Maya's 1st Birthday

2010-05-21T17:35:00.001-07:00

Maya turned one year old on Tuesday May 18th! She loved us singing Feliz Cumpleanos and even tried to sing along. We celebrated her birthday on Saturday by inviting some of her friends over. She had a wonderful time and I will be posting pictures soon. Big Brother Maddox helped blow out her candle which made her absolutely giddy.

She has been acting like a toddler for a while now and is quite impressive. Her first word was button. She is also saying chapstick and jacket. If you ask her what an owl or sheep says, she will answer. She is mimicking a lot of words right now. She does the sign for "please" by rubbing her entire belly. It is so cute! She is such an amazing little girl. We love her so much!!

Hail

2010-04-28T21:34:00.000-07:00

During the first week of April, Seattle experienced the weirdest hailstorms. One day when I went to pick up the kids from school, Maddox's old infant room teacher (Maya's current teacher) told me a wonderful story about our little boy.

It was recess time and all of the children in the toddler class were outside on the playground. It was cloudy but it didn't seem like anything to be worried about. All of a sudden out of nowhere it began to hail and rain. All of the teachers and children ran under an awning looking for some protection from the sudden storm. Except for one. Our little Maddox, decked out in his green rain boots that he wears all year long (yes even to the wading pools during the summer) and his favorite sweatshirt with the dump truck on it, just stayed still in the middle of the playground. He looked up to the sky and big smile spread across his face. The teachers and his friends kept calling out to him to come stand under the awning. Instead, with that big smile in place, he proceeded to run as fast as he could all around the entire playground and splash in any puddles that he encountered. He had the playground all to himself and was the happiest little boy in Seattle.

After she told me this story, I went to his class. I said to Maddox, "did you see the hail?" and a big smile spread across his face and he said "yes" as I collected the big plastic bag that contained all of his wet clothes, "I like hail".

Little Monkeys

2010-04-13T21:54:00.001-07:00

Still trying to catch up...On April 4th, Maya climbed on and off Maddox's truck all by herself. She is a bit of a daredevil and is always climbing on chairs, benches, tables and so on. Forgot to mention earlier that she now has 4 teeth, 2 on the bottom and 2 on the top.

On April 5th, Maddox climbed on the monkey bars at school. This is a pretty big deal because only the Pre-schoolers use the monkey bars. It's very rare that anyone from the Toddler class not only climbs onto the monkey bars but actually hangs and swings on them. The teachers were very impressed.

Maya's walking!!

2010-04-13T21:21:00.000-07:00

Maya started walking on 3/29. 10 months old and already cruising along. Here is some video that we shot that day.

Shoe sale

2010-04-11T16:53:00.000-07:00

While we were waching March Madness a few weeks ago, Maddox decided to make some extra cash by selling our shoes. Maya was his only customer.

Carkeek Park hike

2010-03-27T14:35:00.000-07:00

We walked to the Carkeek Park playground from our house. Forgot the camera but luckily grandma had her cell phone and was able to get some pics of Maddox having a great time on the swing and going down the big boy slide and Maya's first ride on a swing and having a snack.

favorites

2010-03-20T14:47:00.000-07:00

maya taking a nap in my arms
maya giving me big kisses
maddox cuddling with my arm and smiling while he is asleep
maddox kissing my cheek and saying i love you mommy

2010-03-13T15:31:00.000-08:00

Phew!! Where has the time gone? Maya is going to be one year old in just two more months. This is a shocking thing for me that I cannot even grasp. They are growing too fast.
Maya has started to do the sign language for milk and waving bye-bye. As long as she is holding onto something and pushing it (like one of the kid chairs) she’ll just walk and walk all over the house. She likes to give kisses and whenever I pick her up from school, she gives me big open-mouthed besitos. She is also going around making messes and then saying “uh-oh”. She just had her second tooth break through. If you ask her to give you five, she’ll put her little hand up.
Recently, Maya has wanted us to read Peek-a-who to her on a regular basis. As I was reading it to her the other night, she was very attentive while following every page. At the end of the book there is a mirror and the last line is “peek…a…..you”. As soon as I said the line, she grabbed the book and proceeded to give herself multiple kisses. She does this each time now.
Maddox is just as hilarious as ever and is adopting other’s stories as his own. About a week ago, I hurt my foot and have been limping around. I was talking to Meuter about it and then left the room. When I came back, Maddox was telling Meuter about how his foot has been bothering him and if he lays a certain way when he goes to sleep it feels better. I guess he was paying special attention to the details of my foot woes.
After dinner the other night, Maddox still had some food left on his cheek as he ran off to play. I decided I would take advantage of the kids playing and do some puttering. As I was cleaning up, I saw Maddox picking at his cheek. He caught me looking at him and said, “Mommy… I have a beard”. I laughed so hard that I had tears rolling down my face.

Here are the stats from the latest wellness visits.
Maya (9 month) check-up: Height 28 inches (75%), Weight 19 pounds 9 ounces (50-75%), Head circumference is 46cm (95%)

Maddox (2 year) check-up: Height 36 inches (90%), Weight 29 pounds 12 ounces (70%), Head circumference 50 cm (80-85%)

February slide show to the right...

Video of the kids below...

Maddox's 2 year b-day!

2010-02-22T20:24:00.001-08:00

Maddox had a wonderful birthday!! On his actual birthday, 2/18, we took some treats to his classroom. When he saw us walk in, he had the biggest smile I have ever seen and he started jumping up and down. He was absolutely giddy. We had told him that we were coming after nap time. All the teachers said that he couldn't stop talking about how we were coming with treats after nap. On Sunday, we had a little gathering at our home and Maddox was so excited for his party that he was awake at 5:45 AM and ready to get his party going. It was so fun to see him and 3 other of his little friends playing and having a good time. He even requested for us to sing feliz cumpleanos and happy birthday. Not only was it such a fun party, but Maddox was so tuckered out that we did not hear a peep from him all night.

We have a tooth!!...and countdown to X's b-day

2010-02-15T20:56:00.000-08:00

Today Maya cut her first tooth! Hooray! She has been such a funny little girl lately. She loves hiding behind the curtains and then pulling it back while you say peekaboo. She has also started handing me toys that she wants me to hand back to her. She loves this back and forth game. She LOVES music. Whenever we have music playing or start singing, she'll start clapping her hands and swaying back and forth. She is also standing and trying to walk all over the place. Apparently, last week she climbed the climber at school and slid down three times in a row. Tonight while Maddox and Maya were taking a bath they started playing catch with a bath toy. They played back and forth for a good 5 minutes. It has been so much fun watching them play together.

We are counting down to Maddox's birthday on Thursday. We didn't think we were going to do anything too special but Maddox asked for a party a couple of weeks ago. Shortly after that he asked for a present. Then last week, Maddox asked for cupcakes. Tonight he asked for a birthday crown. I guess it is going to be a full on party instead of just the quiet play date gathering that I was envisioning.

She's CRAWLING! and talking and...

2010-01-19T09:37:00.000-08:00

Our little Maya is such a big girl now. She has been scooting around on her bottom for a while but is now crawling everywhere as of her 8 month birthday yesterday. We seriously can't keep up. This a still from some video that I took(yep, video is still not working). She is crawling a full month ahead of when her big brother began crawling. She also started copying us and saying Mama and Dada and if she isn't saying that, then she is always babbling about something. When she is starting to get excited or impatient and wants you to pick her up, she doesn't cry. Instead she flaps her arms wildly. It looks like she is trying to fly. Perhaps she is. She is a very persistent little girl. If there is something she sees that she wants, nothing gets in her way. With her determination to get items, I'm actually surprised she wasn't crawling sooner. She is also pulling up on everything. I think she may be musically inclined. Yesterday she made a mad dash to a little piano (crawled), she pulled up and then proceeded to play some music for us. Maddox joined in and we had our first duet on the piano in the meuterosa household. She also stood on her own for a little while, twice, after pulling herself up onto her dad's leg and onto the armoire. She enjoys pattycake, clapping, songs and is starting to dance. She is still very independent and loves just sitting on her own and playing with her toys. She is absolutely amazing, just like her brother! We are the luckiest parents on earth.

Going to try to load video one more time. Perhaps I will be pleasantly surprised.

Happy New Year!!

2010-01-18T14:35:00.001-08:00

Our friends Pete, Carolyn and Margo came over for New Year's Eve and we had pizza and snacks. It was a lot of fun having them over. We also did our countdown (around 8 PM). Maddox had so much fun counting down that we had to repeat the count down a couple of times that night, the next day, the following week, and yesterday.

On another note, video seems to not be wanting to upload to the blog anymore. If anyone has any suggestions on how to fix this let me know.

December 2009

2010-01-16T14:11:00.000-08:00

I've been under the weather since the holidays so I haven't been able to keep up with the blog much. Maya started scooting around the house on her bottom in December and Maddox continued to sing more and more songs. He loved Christmas! Here are a few pics and a video of the kids opening gifts on Christmas Eve(kind of boring but good for those die hard fans, also I would like to apologize for talking through the entire video). December slide show to the right.

November 2009

2009-12-03T22:36:00.000-08:00

November was a blur.

Abuelito, Tio Tyler and Tia Shuleena spent Thanksgiving with us. It was GREAT! Maddox got really attached and is still talking about all of them. The visit went so fast. He was very sad to see them go. It helped that my dad stayed a few days after Shuleena and Tyler left. So it wasn’t such a shock. But it was really sad the day my dad left. Maddox came home from school and was calling him. He went to the room that my dad was staying in and just stood there in the dark and said “Abuelito”. It broke my heart. Anyway… I tell him that they all went home and he says “ go home… airport?”. I’m not sure if he thinks they live there. I have posted a slideshow of their stay in Seattle on the right.

Maddox is talking in sentences all the time now and comes up with the funniest things. The other day I slammed on the brakes and Maddox said “sorry kids”. Apparently I have done this before and say “sorry kids” each time I do. I’m driving a little slower these days. He also is really into singing Happy Birthday. He sings it to all of us over and over. Currently he is obsessed with the following: pretty lights (Xmas lights), traffic lights (his class sings Twinkle, Twinkle traffic light instead of little star), horses (saw a horse drawn carriage downtown), phones, Abuelito and the usual trucks, trucks, trucks.

Maya is a sitting champ. She also lunges for everything in sight. She is babbling and has proven to be quite a squealer. Maddox never really squealed so we are slowly growing used to the high pitched sounds that come out of her. Usually it’s when she is really excited. Maya is a strong little girl. The other day Maddox was trying to convince her that it was a real good idea to give him the toy she was playing with. She had such a grasp they were tugging the toy back and forth. Maddox ended up with it but in a couple of months, I don’t think that’ll be the case. She loves sitting and playing with toys and actually gets feisty if we hold her too much. She is constantly observing and exploring. We went out to dinner with my Dad and she was totally content just sitting in the high chair, checking out the restaurant art, view, and the people. She is still the happiest girl in their school. I have the class pictures to prove it. As soon as I can scan them in I will post them. Maya had her 6 month checkup here are the stats: Head circumference 44 cm (95%), length 27 inches (90 %), weight 16 pounds 12 oz. (75%).

Giggles

2009-11-12T20:44:00.000-08:00

I thought it would be a good idea to start doing more video recordings since the kids are changing so fast. Lately whenever I try to record anything, Maddox becomes obsessed with the camera. This was an experiment on whether or not after a little while of me not holding the camera and just letting it run on its own, Maddox would just be himself. It was a success!

I was trying to edit this 3 minute video but couldn't figure out how. I had planned to jump a minute into it, so feel free to fast forward past the first minute to get to the good stuff if you don't just want to watch Maddox eat cereal and make small chit chat for the first minute.

Counting

2009-11-07T12:47:00.000-08:00

October 2009

2009-11-01T15:49:00.000-08:00

So I haven’t been keeping up with the blog because I just assumed people weren’t really reading it that much anymore. Since a couple of people asked about the blog recently, I figured I could write an entry. Maddox is a counting machine. Every morning we cuddle in Mommy’s and Daddy’s bed for a half hour before we get up and start our day. The other morning Maddox was lying in bed when he started counting. He counted from 1 to 5 all by himself. We were amazed.

Maya is now giving open mouth besos, sitting up (with a little help) and is slowly easing into solids. Her first attempt at oatmeal made her gag. We are going to try some sweet potatoes since that was Maddox’s first foods and he loved them so much the minute they hit his tongue. Maya and Maddox are so different that I wouldn’t be surprised if she is a pickier eater. The only thing they have in common is that they are so smiley.

Whenever we go out on any outing even if it is errands, we call it having an adventure. Here are some recent adventures that we have been on (slideshow on right):

We went to a pumpkin farm about an hour out of Seattle. Here is a picture of Maddox taking a bite out of the pumpkin that they had at the entrance as a display. He was disappointed that it didn’t taste very good. He enjoyed “driving the tractor” and looking at the farm animals.
Maddox and his dad on the carousel at the Woodland Park Zoo on one of the first rainy days in Seattle.
Aquarium outing
Just being silly at home
Halloween! Maddox is a spider. Maya ia a bee.

The best part of being Maya’s and Maddox’s parents is when we see them interacting with each other. Maddox can make Maya laugh so easily. When he is around her little face just lights up and there is no one else in the room except for Maddox. Here is some video of Maddox cracking Maya up.

updates

2009-09-29T15:23:00.000-07:00

Last week Maya rolled over and started pulling her musical toy so she can now entertain herself in the car. She also likes to lift up her shirts and stroke her tummy. Maddox began jumping with both feet. He has also really been into singing along with songs and has started creating his own songs. His favorite song that he made up is "Banana Shake". It goes like this..."na-na-shake, na-na-shake, na-na-shake" over and over while I'm preparing his favorite drink, a banana smoothie. He does a little elbow and hip twist dance while he is singing. It is adorable.

All smiles

2009-09-05T20:25:00.000-07:00

Maya has been smiling since she was two weeks old. At first I kept thinking it had to be gas but the smiles just kept coming. She is such an alert baby and is now mesmerized by anyone eating or drinking. Maddox thinks it's funny and waves food around so she'll follow it with her gaze or hands. Here is some recent video...

Cheese Part 2

2009-09-05T20:09:00.000-07:00

Maddox knows his food. So much that he knows the ingredients in his favorite foods. He now calls cheese quesadilla.

Cheese

2009-09-05T19:43:00.000-07:00

I was accidentally on video mode instead of photo mode.

bed time

2009-09-02T20:30:00.000-07:00

maya is snoozing in my arms. i just wanted to write down something new that maddox has been saying. as he is getting ready to doze off, his new thing to say is "mama pat maddox" as he is patting his bottom. not just any pat will do. it has to be right on his bottom. if you get it wrong he'll say "no mama, pat maddox" as he is kindly demonstrating the patting again. it's funny because i never used to pat him but apparently he likes it enough to request it every night.

a while ago he also started becoming a dj and approving or vetoing the song that is playing when we are listening to music in the car. since he loves buses, his favorite song is the wheels on the bus but he calls it "school bus". he only likes it if we are doing the gestures that accompany the song. today we were talking while the song was playing and he kept saying "do it" over and over again until we figured out what it was he wanted us to do. he was very pleased when we started swishing our wipers.

18 months & 3 months

2009-08-23T21:20:00.001-07:00

The kids are doing great in school. Maya may have taken Maddox's title for being the smiliest kid in school.

She started grabbing her toys and playing with them in early July (meant to post that earlier). Nowadays, she really enjoys reading books and singing songs. She also likes being in the stroller and doesn't mind being in the car seat that much. She is one of the sweetest babies I have met. At first I thought she seemed so easy because she was our second but everyone comments on what a happy and easy baby she is. Keep up the good work Maya!

Maddox is constantly surprising us. Every day he does or says something new. Last week, I picked him up from school and he had scratches on his arm. I assumed one of his classmates scratched him and started naming each of their names and asking him if they were the ones that did it. A soft drawn out "noooooo" was his response each time. Finally, I asked him who scratched him. He looked me in the face, smiled and responded, "bush". It's hard to believe that he was once Maya's size.

Cousins, children's museum and hammin' it up

2009-08-10T20:47:00.000-07:00

Summer!

2009-07-28T21:01:00.000-07:00

7-11-09

2009-07-12T12:47:00.000-07:00

Maddox's second sentence was when I asked "where is your milk?". He responded "on the table". I also told him I was going to make two eggs and started counting them as I cracked each one. I started with "one" and as I was cracking the second egg he blurted out "two".

Maddox has his first haircut. Not my best job but it will do. It took me a whole day to cut his hair. I had to do it in snips here and there while he ate, washed his hands, played with toys, etc.

Took Maya to the doctor the other day. She weighs a whopping 11 pounds and 9 ounces and is starting to fit some 3 month old clothes. She loves to smile at her big brother, which makes Maddox crack up.

7-8-09

2009-07-09T14:59:00.000-07:00

Maddox says his first full sentence..."Archie is hyper".

Maya sleeps from 9 pm to 1 am. Which means we could have had a 4 hour block of sleep but instead we woke up 12:15 in disbelief and then talked about it until 1 am. She woke up every hour after that. Silly parents.

Our laptop is broken which means that it will be tough to post pictures and video as often as I used to but I will do my best.

Joy...the face I Iove

2009-06-27T02:22:00.001-07:00

The latest

2009-06-26T10:42:00.000-07:00

We had a very mellow father’s day (no Ms game for us this year). We took a family walk and also a family nap then we headed out to BBQ with the Culvers. Maddox and Sophie had a good time playing with each other. Sophie loves to hold her friends' hands and apparently Maddox does too.

Maya is going a little longer between feedings. She is getting pretty big and must be over 9 pounds by now. She is going to be starting in Maddox’s school in August, which is such a relief that she got in. She smiles quite a bit (at people as well as things like plants and light fixtures). She loves her animal mobile and taking long baths. So far she is a mellow little girl, unless she is hungry or has gas. Unfortunately, we have noticed that she has a red mark, just like Maddox’s bump, on the left side of her head. So we’re going to have to go through the hemangioma thing again but hopefully if they treat it early we can avoid surgery this time around

Maddox has grown and advanced so much over the past month and it is amazing all of the things that he can do these days. Every day after he has his after school snack he goes outside to water the tomato plants that the Meuter folks planted for us. He enjoys sweeping, cleaning up after himself when he is done with meals, picking out his clothes, grabbing supplies for baths and diaper changes, and dancing. His new favorite book is an English/Spanish picture book. When we get to the lion (leon) part of the book, he goes and gets his stuffed lion animal named “cabeza de leon” and sits CDL next to him for the remainder of the book. His favorite animals right now are elephants and lions. He also has become obsessed with airplanes and helicopters. Maddox is in the process of transitioning into the toddler room at school. I think that the change in classrooms right after Maya being born has been hard on him but he is coming around. Yesterday he stayed in the toddler class all day without asking to go back to the infant room. I’m hoping things will get easier for him soon. One thing that has helped is moving his bedtime up a half hour. We noticed that he would misbehave and meltdown the more tired he grew. So that has gotten better but his clinginess and his frustration are still there. He is still very gentle and sweet with Maya, but very needy of his mom these days. I know that it will just take some time for him to get used to all the change.

Archie got a haircut. We’re not sure why this groomer cut all of her hair when we said only shoulders down. Anyway, she resembles a poodle and we now have to brush her as much as possible because it’s growing in matted. So this haircut is actually creating more work for us than her long hair did. Other than that, she has taken Maya’s addition to the family very well and follows Maya and me around from room to room and gets up with Maya and me for feedings in the middle of the night. She must just want to be with the girls. She is super sweet with both kids.

This month and a half has gone by way too fast. I start working from home in July and slowly ease myself to being in the office again by mid-July. Maya’s dad will spend the month of July with her. I thought having to go back would be easier the second time around but the fact that she is so little is making it very hard. I love our days together and am really going to miss spending so much time with her.

Maddox and Maya Icela (at 2 weeks old)

2009-06-08T13:57:00.001-07:00

Wellness visits

2009-06-01T20:47:00.001-07:00

Both Maddox and Maya had their wellness check-ups here are the results...

Maya Icela (2 week): Weight is 7 pounds and 15 ounces (50th percentile). Length is 20 1/2 inches long (75th percentile). Head circumference is 14 cm (60th percentile).

Maddox (15 month): Weight is 27 pounds and 5 ounces (90th percentile. Length is 32 inches (75th percentile). Head circumference is 19 cm (90th percentile).

Domestic

2009-05-26T13:21:00.001-07:00

Maddox is a little helper these days. Here he is with one of my aprons and here he is also hanging out on the weekend with his buddy Archie.

Here is a photo of Maya having a quick cat nap. So far she is a pretty calm baby. She likes to pretend that night time is daytime and vice versa, so we're trying to swap her internal clock.

Maddox and Maya have been getting along swimmingly. Maddox is so gentle with her and when he asks to hold her he nuzzles his head against her head and strokes her hair and then gives her besos. Every morning when he wakes up he is excited to look in her co-sleeper and see her there. There have been so many photo opportunities but as his cudding of her is unfolding we are so caught up in the moment that we don't even think about the camera. They are so sweet together. We are the luckiest folks around!

Maddox and Maya Icela meet

2009-05-20T16:29:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of two day old Maya and some video of the kids' first meeting.

She's here!

2009-05-19T11:18:00.000-07:00

Maya Icela (ee-SEH-lə) Alvarez Meuter was born at 3:21pm on Monday May 18. She is 7lbs 10oz and 19 3/4" long and absolutely perfect in every way. Labor was 5 1/2 hours long. We hope to check out of the hospital today. Maddox didn't even care that we weren't there last night. He loves little Sarah and had way more fun with her than his stuffy parents. Maddox and Maya will be meeting today.

Mother's Day 2009

2009-05-17T16:19:00.001-07:00

We had a wonderful Mother's day. We went out for breakfast and then to the zoo. Maddox came face to face with a giraffe and an elephant. It was very exciting. We all went home and took a nap and then Maddox and his dad went to the park while I stayed home to eat chocolate cake and read a book. It was a perfect day.

Tomorrow is the big "I" day. My check in time is 7:30 AM. I hope the labor isn't long so we can be with Maddox as soon as possible. We'll keep you posted.

No T2 yet

2009-05-12T13:38:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would let you know. We have a doctor's appointment tomorrow and at that time they will schedule my induction for next week. We're hoping she comes before next week. Inductions have been known for making labor longer (days) and more painful. It also increases the chances of needing a c-section, which is not great when you have a toddler at home. I'm hoping you can all send some positive thoughts this way and hopefully T2 will sense them and come out on her own.
----UPDATE----
Induction is now scheduled for Monday May 18th. Let's keep our fingers crossed that she comes before then on her own.

Uncle Joey and Aunt Vicky's northwest wedding ceremony

2009-05-03T19:49:00.000-07:00

Almost May...

2009-04-29T16:58:00.000-07:00

So Maddox is getting his cool shades out for summer. He wants to be outside all the time now and apparently the other day at school he refused to stay in the stroller when the class went for a walk. He was determined to walk instead. I had to edit this post in order to add that today his teacher said that whenever Maddox would slide down the slide by himself he would say "good job" to himself.

Due date for T2 is May 8th. If she comes a week early like Maddox did, she would be here this Friday. I had a doctor's appointment today and I'm 2 cm dilated. I'm not sure if that is good or bad and can't compare to when I was pregnant with Maddox because the midwives never told me information about how dilated I was. It's driving me a bit nutty. I want it to go as planned in my head but I know that is a stretch. Why oh why can I not have any control over this. Seems like as a mom I should get special privileges like planning out my own labor and having all go according to plan.

The latest

2009-04-22T19:50:00.000-07:00

Maddox caught his first ear infection a couple of weeks ago. It was a double ear infection...ouch! It was the first time he seemed so sick and not himself at all. We're going to the doctor this Friday to make sure that it is indeed all cleared up. This is a picture of him knocked out by his persistent 104 degree fever that we kept trying to break.

We have been puttering around the house trying to get things in order for when T2 makes her debut. We're about a month behind of where we should be. The due date is two weeks from this Friday. I went to the doctor today and I'm 1 cm dilated. Archie knows what is going on but we're pretty sure Maddox doesn't really get it. He knows what a baby is and we talk about his little sister but I guess we'll have to wait and see.

We had a parent/teacher conference last week and his teacher said that Maddox is very gentle with the younger babies in his class. He will be transitioning to the toddler class in June. Some of the comments that she documented on his evaluation sheet are as follows, "demands personal attention", "pride in achievements", "loves an audience". He's a little ham.

The other day at school it was lunch time and all the kids in his class have to be sitting at the table before they will start feeding them. Apparently, one of the little girls was taking her time making it to the table, so Maddox was trying to coral her into sitting down because he wanted his lunch and she was taking too long. He knew that he needed to get her to sit down so he could get his lunch and was very insistent on getting her to listen to him. I have actually been accused once or twice of being "helpful". I guess that is where Maddox gets it.

Here is some more footage of him walking.

She flipped!

2009-04-06T12:31:00.001-07:00

Yahoo...no breech baby. What a good girl.

Checking in

2009-04-05T20:34:00.000-07:00

Not much to tell. Maddox's scar is healing really well. It's still a little red but he no longer has to wear any bandage. We're still putting some antibiotic ointment on it but he is done with his oral antibiotics. He is very sad about that. Most kids hate taking medicine but he loves it. He would get giddy every time we would pull it out. He is walking much better these days and only does the "drunk" walk that I posted a video of when he is really tired.

Here is a picture of my enormous belly at 35 weeks. I feel like a freak. I can honestly say that I am over being pregnant. We have an ultrasound tomorrow and will find out if she flipped or if she is still breech. We sure hope she did.

Everything is going well here, it was even 70 degrees today. Seattle in 70 degree weather is one of the best places on earth.

Walker

2009-03-28T12:41:00.000-07:00

Maddox is recovering well. We had a little hiccup and he developed an infection at the incision site. He has been on antibiotics and we're going in for a follow up with his surgeon on Monday. He has been in great spirits eventhough every time we change his bandage we pull some of his hair out. I hate that but it's so close to the hairline that there is no way around it. A couple of weekends ago he started taking some steps. He's really been enjoying waking around the house. One funny thing he has been doing is playing with his arm restraints. We stopped using them since he doesn't really mess with his bandage but keep them on his bed just in case. One morning he woke up and brought them over to us for us to put them on him, then he wanted us to wear them and then last but not least he wanted one of the restraints on his leg so he looked like he had a peg leg. Guess he is going to like Pirates like his mom.

T2 is now 34 weeks old and unfortunately she is breech. We're hoping she'll flip over on her own so I don't have to do a c-section. The thought of the c-section doesn't scare me but not being able to pick up Maddox for weeks would be horrible. Keep your fingers crossed that she flips. Due date is May 8th so we're about a month away. I've really been wanting to get everything ready so I guess I've hit the nesting part of the pregnancy.

Here is some video of Maddox walking.

Maddox's surgery

2009-03-20T19:29:00.000-07:00

Maddox had a busy day yesterday. He wasn't allowed to eat or drink milk past 7 am for his 1:45 pm check-in, so we had a list of activities to keep us busy and away from anywhere that would make him want to eat. We left our house at around 8:15 am. We went to a hardware store, then Target, the Greenlake community center play area (but they were closed), the Greenwood Library for Toddler story hour and then to the Aquarium. We were all exhausted (and starving) by the time we arrived at Seattle Children's hospital at 1:30. We were in the surgery waiting area until we were called at 2:30. They led us to the pre-op waiting area and were there until the anesthesiologist showed up to take Maddox away at 3:45. Picture of Maddox in yellow gown is when we were waiting for him to be taken into surgery. Every time he signed for food or milk we tried re-directing his focus. He was so great through all this waiting while I was losing my patience. Here he is smiling even though he hadn't eaten in almost 9 hours.

Pictures above are of Maddox still a bit woozy from the drugs and anesthesia.

After his surgery was over, we met him in his room at 5:45. The nurses said that he was fine unless they tried taking his apple juice away then he would start crying. He did so well in recovering that they let us go first thing this morning. The picture of Maddox with his dad is of when Maddox was able to eat his first cracker after surgery. He was very happy. I think that may have been the best cracker he ever had. He followed it up by eating 5 more crackers.

They told us that he should wear the bandage as long as possible. The downside with wearing the bandage is that it means he will also have to wear his arm restraints since he likes to take his bandage off (not fun). We're hoping he gets so used to the bandage that we can lose the arm restraints sooner than later. He is currently taking Tylenol with codeine but we hope to start lessening the dosage tomorrow.

The minute we came home he figured out right away how to crawl with the arm restraints so he was all over the place acting as if he never had surgery. He is going to be just fine. Thank you all for your positive thoughts and prayers. It means the world to us to have so many people love our little guy.

Home from the hospital

2009-03-20T10:06:00.000-07:00

We just got home. Maddox was a champ. I'll post the details later.

B-day party for 8 One year olds

2009-03-07T21:11:00.000-08:00

Good news!

2009-03-05T19:41:00.000-08:00

No bedrest. I am so relieved. I just need to start taking it easier. I'll be 31 weeks tomorrow. The first milestone is 34 weeks because that is when T2's lungs should be developed. Then the next milestone is 37 weeks. At 37 weeks T2 will be considered full term. Whew...

Big Boy and T2 update

2009-03-03T10:39:00.001-08:00

Here is our big little boy. We just had his one year wellness visit and here is the breakdown.....drumroll, please....he now weighs 25 pounds (85%). He is 30 1/2 inches long (75%). His head is 48.5 cm in circumference (85%). He is not a little baby anymore. Have I mentioned that he loves pizza and can down 2 slices at a sitting?

I have been getting some inquiries as to why I haven't been talking much about T2, Maddox's baby sister. I have to say that it's because I was being a little superstitious. Maddox's surgery is two weeks away and I have been a little nervous about being placed on bedrest again before then. I kept feeling like once we made it past his surgery, I could start focusing more on her. Yesterday, I started having mild contractions and was prescribed some medicine to stop them and told that I needed to get some rest. We have a follow-up doc appointment and ultrasound this Thursday. I am 9 1/2 weeks away from the due date. My goal is to not be put on bedrest but if I have to then I have to make it at least past Maddox's surgery. Wish us luck!

Birthday Month!!!!

2009-02-22T17:53:00.000-08:00

There are so many birthday celebrations that it is impossible to post all of the pictures, so from now until mid-March we will be updating the slideshow to the right.

New pics from this weekend includes a friend's birthday and a playdate hosted by Maddox. Maddox is eating his first cupcake in this picture. He took one taste and then crammed the whole thing in his mouth. Next weekend we will be having a group birthday with our Peps group which includes 8 babies and their parents.

More pics to follow...

Happy Birthday Maddox!!!!

2009-02-18T20:03:00.000-08:00

Today was Maddox's birthday. He had a great day. We started the morning off with opening presents. Then he went to daycare and the whole class sang songs to him. Today was his first day eating the big kid meals at school. Apparently, he LOVED it. It's been a few weeks now that he turns his nose up to baby food so we're not that surprised. After school, it was still sunny so we decided to play on his slide in our backyard. He had a lot of fun and was tuckered out by the end of the day.
(more b-day photos in the slideshow to the right of the screen)

I can't believe it has been a whole year since he was born. It's amazing to me how much he has changed. He is getting up and standing on his own, he is doing some sign language for "eat", "milk", "more", "bed" and also is saying some words in addition to "Mama" and "Dada" like "dog", "bye", "diaper", and our favorite "Pepper". Pepper is a little stuffed dog that has become his friend. In the mornings when Maddox sneaks into bed with us, he calls out for Pepper and then when he gets him, he gives Pepper a big hug and a beso. "Beso" is a kiss in Spanish and Maddox gives big wet besos. "Kisses" means that Maddox will blow kisses to you with his hand. Since he has mastered "gentle", he pets all of his stuffed animals and also will try to cuddle with them, including Archie. He knows where his nose and eyes are located. Most of all, he LOVES books. He chooses books for us to read and wants them read over and over. Needless to say, we're looking for some new books to spice things up. He is one of the most amazing individuals I have met. Just like his dad. I know this blog is focused on Maddox but I do have to share something that his dad did today. He came home today to spend the rest of the day with the birthday boy and brought me flowers for being Maddox's "wonderful" mom. It's the sweetest thing he could have ever done for me. I'm the luckiest person in the world.

16 days until 1 year birthday!

2009-02-02T20:04:00.000-08:00

16 days until Maddox turns one. I can't believe it.

I mentioned in an earlier post how silly he has been lately. He is a big flirt. He is blowing kisses these days. A couple of weeks ago we went out to breakfast with our friends Carolyn, Pete and their little two month old Margo. We were at our table and Maddox kept turning around in his high chair to blow kisses at the waitresses. He also winks these days but since he can't really make just one eye close, he closes both eyes. It is so adorable. He has been enjoying playing chase. One of us acts like we're strolling away from him and he follows after us crawling. All of a sudden we turn around and tell him that we're going to get him and he crawls away from us as fast as he can, giggling the entire time. He has finally mastered "gentle" with Archie, which she really is happy about. Another thing that he is doing that isn't very cute is picking his nose. He loves it and is not shy about sticking his entire finger up his nose.

Play dates and other things

2009-01-20T20:42:00.000-08:00

Maddox has had a busy social calendar. He has been getting together with some friends for play dates, which he really enjoys. He is now starting to stand on his own for a few seconds, but we think he enjoys crawling too much to be in too big of a hurry to start walking. He now knows how to safely get down from the sofa and our bed all by himself. He now has both upper front teeth with more on the way. He is becoming more and more fun everyday and has a silly sense of humor. So he has been keeping us entertained. On another note, Maddox will be having his pre-op on March 16th and is scheduled for surgery on the 19th. His first birthday is rapidly approaching. We can't believe it.

The many faces of Maddox

2009-01-11T20:03:00.000-08:00

Everything is going well. Maddox has about five new upper teeth coming in at the same time so he has been a bit unpredictable. We're adjusting to being back at work. I think everyone knows by now that Maddox is going to have a baby sister in May. So we have been preparing for that big event. I've already started talking to the director at Maddox's daycare and she seems to think that T2 will have a slot there which is such a relief. Here is some video of what it's like to visit Maddox's house this past week.

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-31T09:51:00.001-08:00

Snow Day!

2008-12-14T21:37:00.001-08:00

Maddox's bump

2008-12-09T11:52:00.000-08:00

We went for a consultation yesterday at Seattle Children's Hospital and were told that Maddox will need to have the bump surgically removed. We're shooting for March. I'm feeling sick to my stomach at the thought that he is going to have to go through another surgery where he is put completely under.

Happy Turkey!

2008-11-27T20:21:00.000-08:00

Uncle Joey and Aunt Vicky spent Turkey day with us. Maddox made the centerpiece.

9 months old!

2008-11-24T18:14:00.000-08:00

We had little X's 9 month visit today. He now weighs 21 pounds (70%) and is 29 inches long (85%). His head is 46 cm around (70%). Once again he didn't cry when it came to shot time. He is speed crawling, pulling up on things, clapping, and stalking Archie. He hasn't mastered the word gentle, but we're still trying. Lucky for us Archie is such a sweet girl and welcomes his attention with a nose nuzzle. We're looking forward to turkey day. We went to a potluck at Maddox's daycare last week and Maddox could not get enough mashed potatoes. It will be fun to see Maddox eat (wear) them again. So those are the ups, now for the downs...Maddox is no longer sleeping through the night. This kills me. I almost wish I hadn't been given the tase of the good life because it seems so cruel to be having to get up during the night again. Oh well. Hopefully, we'll have our good sleeper back again someday. On another note we are getting a referral to Seattle Children's Hospital for his bump. We'll see how that goes. I have a feeling we won't be getting in until after the holidays. I'll keep you posted.

Just a few things...

2008-11-10T18:17:00.001-08:00

Maddox showing off his new hairdo.

Maddox fell asleep on his hand and it left a print on his cheek.

Maddox showing off his two front teeth.