Playing peacefully

I caught the boys playing together the other day. I hate to brag, but they get along really well. Everyone had warned me that they would bicker and fight and whine and cry, but overall that has not been the case. (At least, not yet.) Magglio loves making Tiago laugh, and he even shares his toys (except for his pirates, those are off limits). Tiago follows Magglio around everywhere and is always up for playing with his brother.

They are so cute.

 

The game they were playing went like this. Magglio would hold up a letter for Tiago and ask, “Do you want this one?” And Tiago would respond with the only word he knows at this point: “No.” And then they would both have a giggle fit and then the game continued. I think they both are tickled to be engaging in conversation, even though Tiago may or may not understand what is going on!

 

Deutschland

The Salinas family just took a much needed trip to Deutschland to visit family. Unfortunately, my beloved uncle, Georg Weiss, had passed away five weeks ago on 3/4/12. His death was sudden and unexpected, and I have yet to wrap my mind around the ‘why’. The only comfort that I hold is that he knew I loved him and I know that he loved me.

But life goes on for the living, and so we went.

Here we were at Schloss Heidenheim (castle Heidenheim), with 2 cold and tired boys.

We also took a trip to Legoland, which Magglio LOVED!

And walking with Oma at Legoland:

And at the WAY over priced gift shop:

And then we had some family time. On the couch are my Oma, my two lovely cousins, Julia and Carina, and their boyfriends Dustin and Robin. My Aunt Lynn Ann is standing far right and I am slumped in the chair.

And my aunt Hilde, with Erica on the right:

My cousin Stefi and my sister Erica:

We kicked around the soccer ball a bit in the sun.

And we were cold but warm at heart:

We took a day trip to a lovely little traditional German town, whose name I can’t recall right now.

And I have to say that somehow Edgar and I managed not to kill each other – between the cold and raining temperatures, Edgar and Tiago being sick with horrible head colds, a TEN HOUR plane ride, and adjusting to a six hour time difference. Our boys did wonderfully – they were super well behaved, charmed the pants off of our family, did a great job meeting new people, playing and sleeping and in general were good sports. Overall it was a wonderful trip and I’m so, so happy to have seen my family – minus one amazing and terrific man who was so much more than an uncle.

So I leave it here, Onkle Georg may you rest in peace. Ich leibe dich und ich vermisse dich.

The kids…..

Magglio is now a big boy (3) and Tiago is now a toddler (14 months). Blink of an eye, I tell ya. Yes, we do talk about having another, but no, it probably won’t be this year.

Tiago is now officially walking (mostly) although there are times when he still crawls because he’s faster. He’s even saying a few words, like ‘mama’ and ‘papa’, plus ‘cheese’, ‘blueberry’ and my favorite – ‘no’. It’s always fun to hear him say no.

Magglio still attends his school/day care, which he LOVES and even has a few good friends that he talks about all the time. The newest phrase that he’s learned from school is, “I’m not your friend!” Which he applies to just about every situation when he’s angry or upset. Those damn kids at school probably throw that around regularly and it’s Magglio’s way of expressing his frustration at me, mostly when I scold him or tell him ‘no’. Three going on thirteen.

Without further ado, here are the rugrats.

Magglio in his school uniform:

Magglio at the Miami Children’s Museum, which is 3 levels of awesomeness and a child’s dream come true:

Tiago:

More to come next month!

Happy Birthday to Magglio and Tiago!

Magglio’s birthday was December 14th and Tiago’s birthday is December 29th.  Like any good parent, we decided to lump them together into one celebration.

Tiago is six months old!

It seems like just yesterday I had a fast and furious labor and pushed out my 11 pound son. But he’s six month old! He recently got his two bottom teeth and started eating his rice cereal and fruits. *Sniff* How does the time pass by so quickly?

Here are some pictures of my cutie, Tiago.

Magglio has been obsessed with taking pictures lately. He took these two:

Tiffany came to visit us!

Yay! Another one of my dearest and closest friends, Tiffany, came to visit us recently. I met Tiffany at my MSU orientation, and we’ve been close friends ever since. It just so happens that Tiffany is African American (gasp!) and so as we’re walking around with the kids, everyone thought she was my nanny. Now, I have nothing against people having nannies, or nannies that happen to be a different race than the family – however – what does it say about our society that we are quicker to assume that adults of different races are together for a business relationship instead of an interracial friendship?

But now here’s the exciting part: PICTURES!

Tigao:

Magglio (being a stinker) and I:

Tiffany, Tiago and Magglio. (Does she look like a nanny? I don’t think so.)

You may have noticed by now that we frequent a certain spot. There is this really cute shopping area right on the water here, with live music and fun activities for children. They have Magglio’s favorite merry-go-round, plus a little train ride, and a jumpy-thingy for kids. Recently, they’ve added a new addition: a few real live horses and a BOOTLEG petting zoo. Why bootleg, you ask? When I surveyed the animals inside, I saw: a small pig, a goose, 5 roosters, a goat with three kids, about 10 chickens and 2 chihuahas. Dogs. BOOTLEG. Next time I promise to post a picture, assuming the City of Miami hasn’t shut down their operation.

Anyway, Magglio LOVED riding on the real horse about as much as the fake ones on the merry-go-round.

New photos of the boys

Happy Tiago:

Serious Tiago:

And Magglio my hipster boy:

“Mommy, please stop taking photos of me while I’m trying to watch my morning cartoons.”

Good times

My best friend, Billie Jo, came to visit this past weekend. We’ve been best friends since 8th grade. It’s amazing to see the women we’ve become.

The kids had a lot of fun with “Aunt Billie”, too.

Aunt Billie took Magglio on the merry-go-round. (Twice)

Tiago and I watched and waved. Well, I watched and Tiago slept in his wrap.

Then we went to dinner. It was Magglio’s first time eating corn on the cobb. He dug right in.

Tiago woke up but he couldn’t eat the corn. Instead he got some of mama’s milk. (No, I’m not going to post a picture of me breastfeeding.) But here is one of Tiago awake and alert and being a good little guy.

It was a little bit cold, so I put Tiago’s hat on him. (he’s staring up at mommy. so cute.)

Here is my favorite picture of Tiago and Billie. Tiago looks so alert and so big!

We had a great evening. My kids are *so* well behaved (mostly). It makes me think I am doing something right!!

Helpful Big Brother

Magglio is such a sweetheart. He is so helpful and gentle with his little brother. Only a few times does he insist that I hold him instead of Tiago, but overall he’s had zero jealousy. The cutest thing was a couple of days ago when he found a bottle of expressed breastmilk on the couch (Edgar feeds Tiago while I’m at work) and he tried to give some to Tiago. He had no idea how, but he tried, and I was lucky enough to capture that moment.

“Here, Tiago, please don’t cry.” (I think he actually said that)

“Drink your milk!”

And here he is another day, after he picked out his own outfit: (boots included)

And most recently, I finally bought a kid’s bike seat for my bicycle so we could take rides together. Magglio *loves* it!

Tiago is getting over a bad case of infant acne, so I don’t have a lot of pictures of him to post. Here’s a couple: