colourful drops of everything

and blog #2

2009-09-13T19:53:00.001-07:00

it was a busy night! made sure that this one was coming out also :
fourmirose.blogspot.com

new blog #1

2009-09-13T19:26:00.000-07:00

you can follow me here : http://tanivi.blogspot.com/
a blog on journaling - if it interests you...

and new blog #2 should be coming soon.

saying good-bye

2009-08-29T08:51:00.001-07:00

Saying good-bye is never easy...but I feel it is now the time for it...

I want to go on with other projects that have been tickling my mind....and I am writing a new book (for primary this time!).

When I look back, I realize that I wrote quite a lot of pages. I wrote 329 posts ! I will cherish this home-made book that I printed out. (I will have to make a copy and give it to someone just in case.)

A lot of people have told me : My God, you spent so much time and so much energy on it....but I don't feel that way at all...I have always written at the end of the day, as a way of unwinding....It never felt has something I had to do...I just wanted to do all the time!

For my reading fans, don't worry, I will come back for sure...but I don't know exactly when and how...Come back once in while to check for my new blog....

This picture represents well how this last year has been. An explosion of new emotions! Having a baby changes you in many ways. You appreciate life so much more and realize how fragile equilibrium is...

Before saying farewell I want to thank my lovely husband M. Your support to write this blog has been great and I know you will miss reading it from your office in the basement...And without the great camera you bought me (you always buy me great gifts in the end!) this blog would not have been the same. (Personally, I never like to read blog which don't have pictures...)

Thank you for being in my life.

But most of all, I want to thank the Universe, God, the Stars (whatever you want to call it) for having put little wondeful, beautiful Mateo in my life.

Ciao

Mommy Tan

mommy in NY

2009-08-29T08:46:00.000-07:00

Would never have thought of taking a picture with Donald before...but I knew you would like this...

Mommy had a great time and thought of you all the time!

Daddy had a good time with you too!

a great Sunday

2009-08-19T18:12:00.001-07:00

We went to visit baby Angela for the first time last Sunday. (Congratulations! She is so tiny and looks so much like Jeff!!)

Surely a girl you will kiss in a few years Mat. Uncle Jeff is already worried...

Sandra looks amazing - almost no sign of a belly anymore and it was only a month ago !!!

The baby room is wonderful and so is their house.

They just bought a new boat and we went for a ride together.

We had a wonderful afternoon.

Without knowing it, I dressed Mateo for the occasion - see on the back of his t-shirt : Out to Sea!

walking

2009-08-10T20:01:00.000-07:00

no picture yet to prove it but Mateo is walking!

that means I will stop writing soon...but I have an idea for a new blog...

details will come...

a list of nicknames

2009-08-10T19:56:00.000-07:00

I realized not too long ago that Mateo has many nicknames.

While I just have Tan or Tani, he has :

Mat

Matito

Papi

Pops

Papino

a new picture to make me dream

2009-08-10T19:54:00.001-07:00

One day...

If flickr.com is not in your favourites yet, put it now!

thinking...

2009-08-10T19:39:00.000-07:00

I love to blog that's for sure.

I've always like to journal my thoughts, plans and emotions.

Writing your life makes it more intense since you live it twice.

Journalling is very private but blogging is so different since it is so public. This brings a discipline to my writing. Family and friends read me and that's why I want to write all the time...

What fun it has been to write about Mateo. It is so easy to talk about the things we are passionate about...

I have said that I wrote this blog for Mateo but actually I wrote it for me. It was so interesting doing it and such a great hobby and a great way to relax at the end of the day.

I thank M for buying me a great camera to capture the great moments of this past year.

I thank life for having put Matito in my life.

I still don't know when Mat will read this blog. Will I wait until he is 18? I doubt it. I don't think I will be able to wait so long before giving it to him. Will I make him read it after a big fight we will have when he will be a teenager? At 12? 14? When will it be the best time? I don't know. I just hope he likes it...

jojo and mateo

2009-08-10T19:31:00.000-07:00

they look alike!

laughing his head off

2009-08-10T19:30:00.000-07:00

silly things make him laugh

2009-08-10T19:29:00.001-07:00

our small family

2009-08-10T19:27:00.001-07:00

happy!

what did he see?

2009-08-10T19:26:00.000-07:00

I don't know...

Looks scary...

and summer is not even finished...

2009-08-02T18:02:00.001-07:00

baby shoes cost almost more than my shoes and they don't last that long.

Oma sent it to us

2009-08-02T17:59:00.000-07:00

We received this nice picture from Oma when we were away.

What a smile!

Thank you so much mom and dad for babysitting!

while we were gone

2009-08-02T17:57:00.001-07:00

This is one of the pictures that we had on my camera while we were away. I think we looked at it 2o times!

Mateo eating corn-on-the-cob on his own!

a letter

2009-08-02T17:49:00.001-07:00

It is 5h30 PM. The sun is still shining on my body but the heat is bearable now.

I have a notebook and a pen in my hand.

I have always liked to write letters to friends when I am away on holiday, but this time around, I decided to write to you Matito.

Dear Mateo,

Just wanted to tell you that Daddy and I are at the beach.

We hope you do not miss us too much. Had you noticed that we were gone?

Not an hour goes by without us mentioning your name and talking about the great things you do.

We are so proud of you.

We can't wait to see you!

we are back home!

2009-08-02T17:45:00.000-07:00

Mat, we missed you so much!

You cannot imagine!

We had a great week in the sun but life is much better with you!

I don't know if we will leave you again for a complete week. It is too hard. Next year, you will be old enough to come with us...

Last night, when we arrrived we were so excited to climb up the stairs and admire you in your crib. We were dying to bite you and wake you up.

This morning, at the first little movement in your bed, we went to see you and I think you were surprised to see us.

We spent an hour cuddling in bed. It was so fun - felt so warm.

We plan to kiss you all week - whether you like it or not!

honeymoon

2009-07-24T09:10:00.000-07:00

Dear Mateo,

Mommy and Daddy are leaving for Punta Cana tomorrow.

We will miss you so. You can't even imagine how much!

It's only when you will have children one day that you will understand how much parents can miss their children...

We plan to have a lot of fun, to get out of our routine, to read, to take some sun, to take some pictures, to eat lot of food (mommy likes buffets!), to hang out, to sleep in (yeah!)....and of course to talk about you and how great you are.

We will think of you all the time.

You will have a great time with your grandparents.

Love you so much

maman et papa

sometimes we're serious, sometimes we're not!

2009-07-24T09:05:00.000-07:00

posing. again.

2009-07-23T11:04:00.001-07:00

discovering the taste of chocolate!

2009-07-23T11:02:00.001-07:00

thank you Gustavo!

our family and Oma

2009-07-23T10:58:00.000-07:00

love the composition of this picture!

he just got a new plane from Geddo

2009-07-23T10:56:00.000-07:00

now, more expressive than that : impossible!

three cousins hiding in a box

2009-07-23T10:55:00.000-07:00

these two love each other!

2009-07-23T10:54:00.000-07:00

mat and his first car

2009-07-23T10:50:00.001-07:00

the young one wants to play

2009-07-10T11:02:00.000-07:00

and the old one wants to sleep!

playing with tupperware

2009-07-10T11:01:00.000-07:00

leave me alone Mom - I'm busy!

the poser

2009-07-10T11:00:00.001-07:00

so I don't forget

2009-07-05T19:04:00.000-07:00

a few things to share about Mateo (he will be 14 months in a few days)

1) out of 7 nights, he sleeps 3 the whole night through - the other four, I end up sleeping is his room on a mattress on the floor

2) he wears size 21 shoes

3) he loves liquid yoghourt

4) he is more attracted to boy and men than girls - you should see him with Daddy, Opa, Zouzou, and he is completely in love with Charles-Alexandre

5) his voculary words are : ehhhh, teden, pepe, mama and papa

6) he loves to look at books and to be read to

7) he cannot go to sleep without his dog Caramel (that he chews to death!)

8) at night time, he wants to be only with me - daddy don't even try to come into my room!

9) he reacts to every child we see by saying ehhhhhh

10) he loves music and knows every button on every toy he has that has music and dances to it!

11) he initiates games himself : He looks at us, then crawls super fast, takes a pause to look at us and then expects us to run after him.

12) he can imitate the sounds of lions, dogs, fish, cars, planes and helicopters. The one that he can't do although we keep repeating the sound is : cats! But that's okay (m and I we don't like cats at all!)

...that's all I can think of for now...

nectarines

2009-07-05T18:59:00.000-07:00

Mateo always surprises us with different foods that we think he won't like but that he tries and loves!

The other day, he did not want to eat anything so we tried to give him some of our lunch : a tuna spread sandwich (with ginger and green onion!) and he loved it!

We couldn't believe it!

And tonight, at Zouzou and Lily's house, he ate half of a fresh nectarine - opening his mouth wide like a big boy!

Guess what mom is buying at the grocery store next time.

your mom the crazy one!

2009-07-05T18:56:00.000-07:00

we have a problem!

2009-07-05T18:49:00.001-07:00

I am guilty I know. Since Mat is born I have been biting him out of love (like on this picture I found!). I have been biting quite hard. Mat has never cried. So I continued biting. I couldn't stop. It was too good. His whole body is a candy!

But the problem is that he learned from us and he also bites! When he is happy or excited he bites us in the leg or in the neck. It's okay if he bites only daddy or mommy (and he bites Oma too) but I wouldn't want him to bite other children...

m misses m

2009-07-05T18:46:00.000-07:00

Papa is away in Florida for a few days and he is thinking about Mat a thousand times a day I am sure. If he listened to himself, he would call at least 10 times a day...but you can't talk for now Mattie...

Soon, you two will have the talks daddy is so longing for...

a passion for engines

2009-07-05T18:35:00.000-07:00

Matito loves cars, fire trucks, motorcycles, buses...

Every time he sees one his eyes become so big!

And he imitates the sound of the motor. We find it so funny.

He is a real boy!

This is to prove that from childhood there are already huge differences between boys and girls.

our man

2009-06-25T09:40:00.000-07:00

starting to get a tan this little bugger. His hands are darker than mine!

we tried

2009-06-25T09:35:00.001-07:00

We decided to go for drinks at Vince and Mariette's house the other night.

We thought we could put Mateo to bed there but, oh boy, our plan did not work well.

Mateo was wondering what the heck he was doing lying on the floor.

He just wanted to play.

Juliano was not sleeping either and sneaking out of his room!

So we decided to let him stay with us until 10 and we were sure he would fall asleep - which he didn't of course!

At 10h30 he was still wide awake watching our wedding video!

We finally left, he fell asleep in the car after crying for a while and then woke up again once we transferred him in his bed!

What a night!

I think he finally fell asleep at 11h45!

Not a good idea we had.

But hey, we tried!

how does this thing work?

2009-06-25T09:33:00.001-07:00

shall I have hamburgers or steaks tonight?

Mateo following the footsteps of his dad!

not by you mommy.

2009-06-25T09:25:00.000-07:00

mateo is not a big eater.

occasionally, he will surprise us and eat a lot but most of the time, we have to serve and try many things before he decides to swallow a few bites. You should see the table at the end of the meal (M and I call it the "buffet").

his favourite foods are bread and yoghourt.

but last weekend, we discovered that he eats better if a child feeds him.

he was eating everything Juliano was giving him : chips, crackers...

and here you see him eating chocolate ice cream fed by princess Alexandra!

Oh well...

We'll have to hire a child to come and feed him...

I don't take that many pictures anymore...

2009-06-22T09:00:00.000-07:00

but I found a new cool toy on my computer : THE camera!

my new cabana boy

2009-06-20T13:43:00.001-07:00

Mateo loves to do all the chores around the house.

When I vacuum, he follows me around and wants to grab the stick.

When I wash the floor, he wants to grap the mop.

When we planted the flowers, he wanted to give a hand.

Let's hope it stays that way...

Wouldn't it be great that he likes to do the dishes!

playing hide and seek

2009-06-20T13:39:00.001-07:00

Coucou Papa!

who's the craziest?

2009-06-13T07:43:00.001-07:00

shaving with Opa

2009-06-13T07:40:00.001-07:00

My mom bought Mateo a babygrow that says "What goes on at grandma's stays at grandma's".

This is the proof that a lot of experiments happen on Louis XV street!

Mom's favourite season

2009-06-03T18:16:00.001-07:00

I remember writing my wish list for summer 2008 not too long again and here is summer knocking at the door again.

I want to :

- Tan!!! Did not have the time to do it last summer and neither at our wedding!

- Do lots of creative things - don't know what exactly but I'm sure I will find ideas...

- Spend time with my friends and family.

- Get back in better shape.

- Try fresh recipes.

- Create great activities and tools for teachers.

- Spend a lot of time outside with Mat.

- Spend less time on the computer.

- Spend a lot of time with my hubby M!

- and of course, eat lots of icecream. Roberto here I come...

Mateo - revisited

2009-06-03T18:14:00.000-07:00

love those teeth!

Mateo looks Egyptian

2009-06-03T18:12:00.001-07:00

: here is the proof! I found these pictures on Flickr ...

I often tell M that Mateo would fit right in the streets of Cairo!

an angel sleeping

2009-06-03T18:10:00.000-07:00

at Oma's and Opa's.

My mom has always liked to take pictures of us (Moul and I) when we were sleeping...

The tradition continues.

Does not look like a baby anymore this little dude...

up date

2009-06-03T17:32:00.000-07:00

-Mat is waking up less and less during the night

-Naps are easier than before

- Eating more things, like cauliflower for example and yoghurt

- Pointing at things to show us what he wants

- Showing so much affection

- Says Pa-pa, Pa-pa...but never Ma-ma (snif!)

- Is so happy when he gets to play splash-splash in the bathtub

- Is wearing 18 months old clothes

- Laughs a lot and wants to play all the time

We could not ask for more...

I know it's silly...

2009-05-24T18:59:00.000-07:00

but I just had to share it : I am back into 34B! I am so excited!

The bras look so small to me now - and they fit!

I danced around this morning so happy I was! M though it was funny!

thinking of you

2009-05-24T18:51:00.001-07:00

Instead of an e-mail, I thought I could write to you here since I know you come and visit every day.

Thinking of you!

Tried to find pictures to portray Ireland. Is that castle really in Killarney? Did we visit it? :)

I miss you.

Hope you are doing well and baby Elias too!

Have a great week and don't work too late!

Thank YOU!

2009-05-24T18:41:00.001-07:00

Thank you for coming to my party!

Thank you for the great gift, for the smiles, for the games we played, for the cakes, for the time, for the birthday cards, for the balloons, for the clothes, for both parties, for the kisses...

Thanks for being there - to all of you!

Mateo xx

now, how cute is he!!

2009-05-24T18:40:00.001-07:00

in a serious mode that day.

our superstar

2009-05-24T18:33:00.000-07:00

another cake he did not like...

2009-05-24T18:31:00.000-07:00

At his second party, we tried another type of cake.

Maybe it was the chocolate he did not like the first time, but he does not like carrot either!

Look at his face!

Oh well!

hugging

2009-05-24T18:30:00.003-07:00

Mateo is so affectionate! I love that of him!

Maika and Mateo taking a bath

2009-05-24T18:28:00.000-07:00

I love the way Maika looks at Mateo.

My brother came over last weekend and we had a nice time with the kids.

It was fun to see them together.

Mateo wanted to get her attention all the time...

he slept right through !

2009-05-24T12:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we had a little party for Mat's birthday again - my parents were back from Germany and godfather Elias was back.

We had a really nice afternoon. It was sunny. Daddy, François and Zouzou set up the new play house.

Then, Oma and Opa left with our baby to spend the FIRST night away from home.

Mommy and Daddy, although they finally had a night off, went to bed early (although we did go to the cinema....ah! that was so nice!) and did not sleep that well. All night we were wondering : Is he okay? Is he crying? Is Oma freaking out with the cries? Will Mat be traumatized?

This morning, we woke up at 7h40 - not any later than usual - and we waited before 8h10 before calling (just in case the night was bad and that my mom and Mateo were still sleeping) and I asked : So, how was the night?

My mom answered : I know you won't believe me but HE NEVER WOKE UP ONCE. He slept right through !!!

- That little bugger - in ONE year, yes ONE year wih us - he never did that !!

What happened?

We don't know!

A mystery!

He is sleeping over again tonight! - we wanted to do test again.

I can't wait to call my mom tomorrow morning to see how it went...

funny and original Élisabeth

2009-05-24T12:22:00.000-07:00

your cousin is full of life Mateo - just like you. I'm sure you will be the best of buddies !

he likes the fridge!

2009-05-24T12:18:00.001-07:00

Most of the time we say NO, but sometimes we just give in and we let him open the fridge and go through the stuff. We don't know why but he loves it. When we shut the door, he cries or gets upset!

the mobile in his room

2009-05-24T12:16:00.000-07:00

it has a little golden fish and a big octopus that Mateo likes to grab...

mateo and lily

2009-05-24T12:14:00.001-07:00

they like to play!

a cake story - part 1

2009-05-16T19:31:00.001-07:00

Hello guys! It was my birthday yesterday. We had a little party going on....

I hear my mom whispering in the background.

Auntie Joanne already started taking pictures of me.

I am sitting in my high chair but I already had supper a while ago.

What is going on?
Okay, here comes my mom with a funny brown thing. Does not look like puree to me!

Everyone is singing.

My cousin Éli is trying to blow out my candle.

What are they doing?
Everyone is looking at me and cheering.

Essaie mon amour! C'est ton gâteau Mateo! Goûte-y!
I'm really not sure about this....
"Try it my love", says auntie Nadine.

a cake story - part 2

2009-05-16T19:17:00.000-07:00

No, I don't like it mom!
"Come on", says Gedo.

It is really good!

My mom went back to the kitchen to cut a little piece for me.

Maybe that will work she thought.

Okay, I'll try again Mom.

Let's touch it.

Mmmm...the texture is pretty nice but...
No, I don't want to eat this! Can you get it out of my face?!! Please!
"Don't cry!", said my mommy.

Let's put a fancy hat on.

Smile!

It's your birthday!!!

once in a while

2009-05-16T19:15:00.001-07:00

my mommy Tanja takes a really cool picture.

My mouse car and me!

happy birthday Matito!

2009-05-15T19:33:00.001-07:00

I had a great day!

my first mother's day!

2009-05-10T15:42:00.000-07:00

I feel so priviledged to be his mom.

Happy news : he is ALMOST walking!

you can finally leave a comment!

2009-05-06T10:56:00.003-07:00

Dear blog followers : many of you have tried to leave messages for Mat or for me - without any success.

I finally went into my settings and I think I fixed the problem.

You have to log in as anonymous.

a dream M had...

2009-05-06T10:52:00.001-07:00

When Mat was born M had a dream of me wearing a red dress with white polka dots.

Since then, I have been trying to find that dress - still haven't.

But yesterday, I came closer : I came across this picture on flickr.

Shoes are not as romantic as a dress but I am hoping that this picture will attract the dress.

Images have power.

Let's see how long it takes before I find it...

results of our photo session

2009-05-06T09:56:00.000-07:00

Mateo sleeping in his stroller.
Playing with all the mirrors we have in the house.
New blocks Daddy bought. Mateo still does not understand how to play with them. He just wants to throw them on the floor.
Another game that Daddy bought. Putting the right shapes into the holes. Still does not get that either...It will come...
His favourite buddy : Diego.

a bit sick

2009-05-06T09:54:00.000-07:00

Mateo has been under the weather these last weeks.

Runny nose (as you can see), loss of appetite.

I hope you feel better soon baby....

baby you can drive my car!

2009-05-06T09:52:00.000-07:00

he loves Daddy's car!

great ideas

2009-05-06T09:45:00.001-07:00

Two days ago, we received a nice big package with a handwriting that I know so well : Annona!

It knew it was a gift for Mattie.

In the box, I found :

- a very cool painting outfit - to paint with Mommy of course - Mat likes the feel of it - he likes to bite it.

- a fun hat to cover the neck from the sun rays - finally something that is not blue! Yeah !!!

- very colourful swimming trunks with sharks on them.

- and little bag to put the wet swimming trunks in them! Even good for mom's bikini!

Merci BEAUCOUP chérie!

your cousin Maika

2009-05-05T18:51:00.001-07:00

too cute !!

playing around

2009-05-01T10:54:00.001-07:00

an invitation

2009-04-29T13:27:00.000-07:00

I wanted to find a fun way to invite :

Oma, Opa

Guedo, Teta

Mouli, Karine and Maika

Nadine, François, Charlie, Élisabeth,

Joanne and Elias

to your FIRST birthday party and I thought I would invite you here since I know that you all read my blog.

So we will celebrate one week after Mateo's birthday. Mark it in your calendars : May 24th at 2PM.

It will be very simple : cakes - lots of cakes!

baby walking

2009-04-29T13:16:00.001-07:00

So I made up my mind : I will write on your blog Mattie until you learn how to walk.

I needed a time frame to help me with my decision.

How much do I have left?

One month? Two? Three?

I don't know...

Let's wait and see...The longer the better I guess.

Mommy went shopping for shoes today.

Now I know what type of shoes you need : flexible sole but support at the ankle.

Did not boy anything yet - they were 80$!

But at least I know your shoe size - you are a 4.5.

a day for pictures

2009-04-29T06:22:00.000-07:00

've been so busy lately.

today is beautiful day - sunny - let's take pictures of Mattie.

I need a fresh new bunch.

Ciao!

an important night

2009-04-29T06:13:00.001-07:00

Last night was a very important night in our life.

Mat went to bed without the boob - his very first time since he was born.

I cannot believe it. Almost 12 months!

Mommy went to a concert and Daddy put Mattie to bed - without any crying!!

OH MY GOD!

I called M at 9h00 just to see how things were going.

I was expecting M not to answer because he would be in Mat's room trying to calm him down.

I was expecting M being a bit fed up and discouraged.

But no, M was celebrating : he was having a scotch on a week night!

To celebrate our boy who finally went to bed without his mother's boobies!

Wow - we were so happy...

But now, on a more sad perspective : does that mean that breastfeeding is really over for us?

Will Daddy put Mat to bed again tonight?

Or will mommy say a formal farewell - one last night?

olio

2009-04-29T06:08:00.000-07:00

multilingual our son!

his first word was hola in Spanish

and now he keeps saying olio - oil in Italian.

I should have known that he would be a language lover.

Bravo Mateo!

pa...pa

2009-04-26T18:51:00.000-07:00

he has been babbling for months now...

but now when he sees M he definetely says pa-pa...

so endearing.

we can't wait to hear more words.

it is so exciting to see your child growing and learning.

what will I do?

2009-04-26T15:58:00.001-07:00

still don't know Mattie if I will continue this blog after your birthday.

my plan was to write during the first year and the first year is coming to an end...

Mommy likes writing about you but maybe she will change her blog slightly.

I also wanted to create a blog on creative journaling.

I also wanted to start taking more pictures again.

I now know that I cannot have too many projects at once.

It does not fit in my schedule like it used to B.M. (Before Mateo).

I remember Claude telling me a few times in the last fifteen years : "Wow, you do SO many things in one day."

Well I still do a lot of things in one day, but not the same things anymore.

Let's wait and see what mommy decides to do.

lights

2009-04-25T18:59:00.001-07:00

the past months have been a bit hard since Mat has been waking up at night and leaving me and daddy quite tired.

But I think things are getting better. He is waking up only once or not at all.

That means happiness.

Makes me think of colours.

summer

2009-04-25T18:52:00.000-07:00

This morning, I went through Mattie's clothes!

Out with the winter clothes.

He wore shorts today! Mommy bought him a few cool new t-shirts.

We sat him in the grass. He did not move - he was intringued by the texture of it.

We also swang together in the hammock. Fun.

pizza

2009-04-19T19:27:00.001-07:00

All this food talk gave me an idea of another post : Pizza.

Why pizza? What is the link with Mat?

When I was pregnant, I used to look at all the men - babies, toddlers, teenagers, young men, men, older men...and I was wondering if they could look like my son.

I imagined Mat's features so many times...

I would always tell M : Look, maybe Mateo will look like that....

M thought this was very weird.

And one day, we went to one of my favourite restaurants (Botega) and I fell in love with the boy who was making the pizza. He was maybe 16 and so handsome. He was short (like me) and had dark features (like M) and I stared at him many times during the evening. I loved his fun t-shirt and his baseball cap. I just loved the energy that came out of him.

I thought it was so cool that he was so good at playing and shaping the pizza dough.

I thought : Wow! I would like my son to do this kind of job when he is a teenager.

I don't see pizza the same way anymore.

It's fun to imagine crazy scenarios like this.

Oh, I almost forgot : pizza is also M's favourite food!

yes, cakes!

2009-04-19T19:07:00.001-07:00

I bought one of Jamie Oliver's recipe books a while ago and I have been dreaming about the last section in his book about cakes and desserts.

I told M last week : I would really like to try all these cakes.

And then he answered : Stop saying it - and just do it! Try them! Do it!

So, it got me going...

I want to celebrate Mat's birthday with many cakes. I know it is a silly idea but I like it. His birthday theme is not Diego or Baseball : it is CAKES!

When I was growing in Germany, we always had a choice of many cakes for afternoon coffee.

I remember always choosing the dry coffee cake and sometimes something with fresh fruits. These are still my favourite cakes although I also like chocolate cake.

I have never been a great baker since I tend to change the recipes a lot. I always find there is too much sugar or butter. But I have learned the hard way (meaning : nobody eating my cakes!) that a cake recipe must not be changed !

So I decided to try a few cake recipes with Nana because she is a great baker and food lover. And because she had the greatest kitchen : a lot of space, a lot of counter, and a great oven!

So this week, we are trying :

- Lemon and Poppy Cake

- Carrot and Mascarpone

- Super Chocolate

- and Cheesecake

Hope you like them Mat!

first bike ride

2009-04-19T19:01:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, uncle Gaby came by to bring us this baby bike seat.

He had bought it for Alex and Junior but never used it!

M has been wanting to go for a bike ride since I was pregnant and we finally went today!

It was fun to be in the late afternoon fresh air.

Mommy was happy to pedal on her retro red bike again.

I am not sure Mattie liked that much since he was silent for most of the ride and then he got fed up and started crying.

We pedaled super fast to come back home.

Thank you Gaby ! We will use it a lot - anyways, more than you. :)

thinking...

2009-04-18T19:06:00.000-07:00

Almost one year ago, I was at the hospital.

What an amazing trip it has been..

I don't feel the writing does any justice to the experience.

There is no way to put any of it into words adequately.

a few great moments

2009-04-18T18:56:00.000-07:00

1) The first few seconds you came out of my belly.

2) My one on one time with you when I breast feed.

3) Your first giggle-out-loud you had with daddy.

4) The first shower you took with daddy.

5) Your christening. You were so adorable.

6) Your feet in the sun in Mexico.

7) The first time you ate a full bow of fruit puree at auntie Nadine.

8) The first time you crawled.

9) When I see you interacting with other kids. You laugh all the time. It is so endearing.

10) Your first sounds.

11) How happy and excited you are when you are in grocery cart. You look around everywhere.

12) When we are all together in bed in the morning.

...

happy birthday

2009-04-15T18:38:00.001-07:00

11 months!

one month to go...

I'm so lucky ! I get to hang out with this dude every day.

because one is a big number

2009-04-12T18:48:00.000-07:00

So the first birthday party planning is starting in my head...

How in the world can this be?

Mattie turning ONE already in a bit more than a month!

Where did this past year go?

Dominique, you will have to give me a few ideas : you are the PRO.

my top model!

2009-04-12T18:46:00.001-07:00

the face he makes...

2009-04-12T18:45:00.001-07:00

when we say no.

Quite stubborn this young man!

another haircut

2009-04-12T18:43:00.003-07:00

Mat is not even one yet but he is already up to two haircuts!

The only thing that bothers Mommy : 15$ plus tip for a cut that lasts about 5 minutes...

We'll have to find another place.

a very proud dad

2009-04-12T18:40:00.001-07:00

M is so in love with his boy.

M could watch him all day long.

The other day, he told me : "Mat is like the best movie. I can watch him forever."

m and t - a booby story

2009-04-04T15:56:00.000-07:00

I was supposed to stop breast feeding last night.

I could not do it.

Do I have a good reason?

No.

Well ya, i do. I am afraid of how nights are going to be if I don't give Mat the boob before he goes to bed.

Maybe I am worrying for nothing?

Will I breast feed again tonight?

Yes.

Why?

Don't want it to stop right now.

Will I try to stop this week ?

Yes.

Because I want to stop before having another baby.

It is so hard to stop something you love to do.

I told my mom this week that if I have another baby, I would like to breast feed for two years!

Because I know that, I will never have the chance to breast feed again ...

Feeling my baby next to me - in unison.

That is so sad.

what mommy is dreaming about

2009-04-04T15:47:00.000-07:00

-dancing

- being in the sun

- have a little time by herself to relax

That is the plan we have daddy and I this summer - without Mat.

I don't know if I will get through a week without him - I think I will miss him too much... and talk about him all the time...and compare all the babies at the beach to sweet Mattie... and then cry...

Let's see how it goes.

cry baby

2009-04-04T15:40:00.001-07:00

This blog is 99% of all the great things Mat does...but today Mat was a brat!

When he did not get what he wanted, he cried and cried and screamed.

We finally put on Baby Enstein (God bless the person who invented these DVDs says daddy) to calm him down ...but we are still burned.

Mommy is going to bed at 8h30 tonight - which she rarely does.

Good night!