Boys & Bears

Mateo and Daddy, Big Bear and Pooh Bear enjoy a spot of tea while Mommy makes chili for dinner.

Mateo is doing a lot of imaginative play lately with Pooh Bear as his favorite partner in crime. Pooh Bear has a surprising amount of poopy diapers to be changed and also requires frequent clothing changes and an unusual amount of soda pop for a bear, I think. It's fun to see Mateo being creative - the things he comes up with are (usually) amusing and inspiring.

The Empanadas That Mateo Made

Mateo and Mama made pumpkin empanadas last week. The recipe is from a children's picture book called The Empanadas That Abuela Made. They were delicious (before cooking AND after)! We'll make them again for Thanksgiving to share with the whole family.

In other news, Mateo can count from 1 to 10 on his own - good job, Mateo!

Trick or Treat!

Mateo Jack-o-Lantern and Adrian Monkey went trick or treating Halloween day to lots and lots and LOTS of local businesses. They were chaperoned by their moms and Adrian's Aunt Melinda and cousins Tyler and Meghan, who were very helpful in holding doors open and taking turns carrying the pooped little monkey - that's a lot of walking for little legs! The boys made quite a haul in the candy department and were reluctant to hand over the goods. What a fun day to spend with our friends!

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!