Painting by Fingers

We had our first foray into finger painting yesterday - what a mess! Mateo and Mommy both had a fun time sliding the paint across the paper and squishing it between our fingers. When we'd had enough, we hung our beautiful works on the clothesline to dry. Now that I think of it, they're still out there! Luckily it's a lovely warm autumn day...

Pumpkin Party!

Mateo took a stab at pumpkin carving when the local library held a Pumpkin Carving Party and bake sale this past weekend. Alysa and Sam are offering advice (thanks, girls!). Daddy did most of the carving, but Mateo initiated the masterpiece by drawing the face.

Hat Weather

Gabby Karen bought Mateo a cute fleece hat and mitten set for the cool weather season. His initial reaction? "No hat! No hat!" As you can see, he has warmed up to the hat - look how fast it makes him go on his motorcycle!

We're still working on the mittens.

Out to Lunch

Mateo and Mommy treated ourselves to lunch at one of our favorite spots - Cafe Wren. In the photos Mateo seems to be a little skeptical of his sandwich, but in reality he gobbled it right up!

Artsy Fartsy

Mateo and Daddy pose in front of Mommy's winning entry at the inaugural EarthArts Fall Salon. Mateo's favorite part of the evening was slyly pilfering things from the food table, particularly a container of black olives of which he ate at least half. :-)

(photo by John Bailey - thanks, John!)

I've Got Rhythm

Mateo seems to have a real knack for keeping a beat - he loves music and really enjoys pounding on his drum (and various other objects: plastic bins, the furniture, our companion animals) :-) His favorite song is HeyYaNah from a Music Together class we took when he was ten months old.

Party Time!

Mateo had a LOT of fun playing with Jonathan and Connor at Jonathan's 2nd Birthday party in August. We first met Jonathan and his parents in Guatemala in February 2007 - they were a tremendous help to us and we're so glad to know them. Thanks guys, and nice party!

BEAR!!!

I just had to throw this photo in. We did actually have a bear cross through our backyard this summer at dinnertime, but it was only a black bear - teeny tiny in comparison to this one lounging in a pool behind protective plexi :-)

More Company!

Cousin Justice spent the first weekend of August with us. We took him and Mateo to Duluth - it was a nice first trip there for both of them. We hit the zoo (note Dad's creative camera angle on the zoo train), the aquarium and Park Point beach - Justice plunged right into the cold waters of Lake Superior (brave soul!) and said he couldn't ever imagine swimming being this good in his entire life. Sweet.

Company!

Cousin Reggie stayed with us for a week at the end of July while attending art camp - we all enjoyed having her here, but Mateo especially loved the extra attention! Mateo kept calling her Justice (her brother's name) - we corrected him all week long, but he didn't quite "get it" until Justice appeared the following weekend :-)

Teo's Too-Tall Tower

Mom scored a giant bag of MegaBlocks at a garage sale - they're one of Mateo's new faves - check out this tower! (I think Dad must've helped out???)

Teddy Bear Park - what fun!

A playdate at Teddy Bear Park with Jonathan, Connor and their Moms. A beautiful day in late Spring or early Summer. (again, don't mind the dates on the photos!)

Children's Museum!

On one of Mateo's first playdates, we joined Adrian and his Mom at the Children's Museum. The boys ran and ran and ran - so much energy - what a great spot for them to tucker themselves out! (pay no mind to the date on the photos - this was before I figured out how this camera works)

Who's 2? Mateo's 2!

Long time, no update! Thank you, Mary, for "encouraging" me to get up to speed :-)

The big news since February was Mateo's 2nd birthday! The extended family joined in the celebration one drizzly day in May with a Boowa & Kwala theme, complete with games, presents, and a menu including banana-marmalade sandwiches, lots of strawberries and, of course, cake! Mateo had a great time entertaining and being entertained - thanks everyone!