Baptism, finally

We did a practice run with her dress before the baptism. You can see she's not happy.

Teary, after the baptism, while we tried put her white dress on her.

Maya, nearly naked, with our priest.

Waiting this long to get Maya baptized wasn't a good idea. I know that. And I knew going to church today for the service wasn't going to be our best hour. But really, did she have to scream so much?

This is how the baptism ceremony at my church works. At the beginning of mass, the parents, godparents, and babies are to gather in the back of the church, near the baptismal font, to be introduced. Later in the service, the families return to the same spot, this time with their babies naked, so they can be immersed in the baptismal font, which is like a basin, and baptized by the priest. Then the priest puts chrism oil on their foreheads and then the parents take the babies to get changed into a white dress or outfit. At the end of the service, the babies, parents and godparents go to the front of the church for a final blessing and then walk out of the church with the priest. 

Maya started the day well. She was happy sitting in the pews, coloring in her Dora book. Then, she decided to find her belly button. She calls it a butt. "Butt, butt," she said, pointing to her bellybutton. She pointed to mine and then decided to turn around to the people behind us.

 

"Butt, butt," she said, pointing at strangers, who surely could hear her. 

Embarrassed, I explained quietly to the man behind us that she meant bellybutton, she wasn't calling them mean names.

She continued, pointing at strangers. 

"Butt, butt, big butt." 

"Big butt!?!" I thought and could barely control my laughter. My friend Pat, who was sitting in as a witness for Maya's godmother, my grandmother, nearly lost it too. "Who did she point to and say big butt?" I wondered, but was too embarrassed to look. 

 

Finally it was time for Maya to be baptized. I took her to the font and tried to put her in. She started screaming and refused to sit.  At my church, all of the children gather around the baptismal font and everyone else turns in their pews to watch. They giggled, while Maya screamed. The priest laughed and I laughed too, mostly out of nervousness. He splashed water on her and she was baptized. 

She calmed down when we wrapped her in a towel, but after all the babies were baptized and the priest came back with the chrism oil, Maya lost it. She turned her head away so he had no choice but to put it on her shoulder as Maya screamed some more. At last, we were able to leave the church so we could get her changed. 

She was screaming and screaming. (Not one other baby cried, by the way.) I put on Maya's diaper, socks, and shoes first and then tried to put on her dress. She wouldn't have any of it. We gave her a snack and then slipped on the dress. While all the other babies returned to the mass dressed in their white outfits, Maya went ballistic. 

She ripped the bow out of her hair and threw it on the floor. She kicked off her shoes and then pulled off her socks and threw them to the ground, all the time pulling at her dress to try to get it off. I tried to distract her, but she wouldn't calm down. "Hurt, hurt," she screamed, tugging at her dress. 

I gave up when communion started. I took the dress off her and carried her back into mass. She wore only a diaper with white bloomers over it. Oh, and she was clutching a plastic bag filled with Cheerios snack mix. 

At the end of the service, we took her to the front of the church with all of the other baptized babies. They looked beautiful in white, while Maya, as happy as could be eating her Cheerios, was nearly naked. 

Cardinals, Ankees

Guillermo, Will showing off their Cardinals gear

A young Maya getting in the spirit.

Guillermo's new Cardinals hat

Guillermo and I were chasing each other around the living room today while we listened to our daily dose of "Here Comes the Power Rangers," which ranks Number 1 on Guillermo's Greatest Hits these days. I needed a break and just happened to spot a pretty bird through the window. 

"Guillermo, look at the red bird," I said. 

"There's another Cardinal bird," he said, pointing to a different red bird nearby. 

Then he spotted another bird, this one blue. "Uh oh. There's an Ankee bird," he said. 

"A what?"

"An Ankee bird," he said. 

I knew he meant Yankee. 

"Where did you learn that word?" I asked, wondering if someone had called my son a Yankee and then almost immediately wondering why I cared if someone called him a Yankee. (Though to be truthful, he's not a Yankee. He's a Texan!)

"There are the Cardinal birds and there is the Ankee bird," he said, ignoring my question. 

It then occurred to me. Cardinals, as in St. Louis Cardinals, as in my family's favorite baseball team. And, Yankees, as in New York Yankees, as in Will's parents' favorite baseball team. One year they gave him both a Rodriguez and a Jeter jersey. He's since outgrown them and they'll be headed to my nephew, where in his family, they are fans of the Detroit Tigers, the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Colorado Rockies. 

Will will cheer for the Yankees if  the Cardinals are out of the picture. But first and foremost, my husband, the baseball lover, is a Cardinals' fan and he wants Guillermo to love the team too. 

To be sure, the Easter bunny brought Guillermo a St. Louis Cardinals baseball hat.  He'll be wearing it, no doubt, for the Cardinals' season opener against the Rockies on Monday.

Goodbye bottle

The princess has no use for a bottle anymore.

It took nearly 22 months, but Maya has finally given up her nighttime bottle.

I forgot to pack it when we went to the beach for a few days with my mother earlier this week. She didn't seem to notice. She drank out of a sippy cup, read books with me, and then went right to bed on the first night. No complaints (at least not until the middle of the night, when she demanded more milk and I didn't cave ... until she had screamed for an hour and I was afraid our neighbors would never get any sleep ... and then I caved. "She sure can throw a tantrum," my mother said.)

Tonight, we're going on our sixth-straight night of no bottle and I think I can finally throw the bottles away, for good. It took us long enough!

 

Beach trip

Maya, on Easter morning.

Guillermo's first day on the beach. 

A shivering Maya and me on the beach.

He had so much fun. 

Sorry for all the pictures. I couldn't leave out Maya's Easter dress (Guillermo, by the way, wore sweat pants Easter morning) or pictures from our beach trip!

We finally saw the North Carolina coast and Guillermo fell in love instantly. Watching him was so much fun. He didn't notice that the temperature was in the 50s or that the water was ice cold. As soon as he saw the ocean, he ran straight across the beach and dipped his feet into the water. He ran around in circles and then sat right down in the wet sand and built a castle. He was filthy and having a great time. At least a few times on our vacation, Guillermo was down on all fours as the waves crashed into the shore, soaking him head to toe. He never complained that he was cold. He was having too much fun. 

Maya, on the other hand, didn't like the beach one bit when she first saw it. She didn't like the cold weather, she didn't like the sand seeping through her crocs, she didn't like the water, and she wanted only to be held. It took a bit, but eventually she put her feet down on the ground and gathered a few shells for Guillermo's castles. And, later, she was even digging in the sand with a shovel. By the end of the trip, I was convinced that when the weather is warmer and other kids are playing, she would enjoy a day at the beach.

We spent three days along the coast with my mother. Will, not one for the beach, or water, stayed home. Our first two days we stayed at our friend's parents' condo near Southport. On the third day we drove to Wilmington before driving home. It was a wonderful, quick road trip. Oh, and we even took the ferry to the aquarium. I've never been on a car ferry and my mother said she didn't know who was more excited, me or Guillermo.  

My mom left today. I hated dropping her off at the airport, but found solace at the Carter's outlet store. Nothing like shopping (even if it isn't for me) to cheer you up. I know that would make my mom proud. 

Easter

My mom is visiting and we've been having a great time. Today was the best. My mother took Guillermo to see the Go Diego Go, Live show! He loved it. Follow that with lunch at McDonalds and she was the queen of his world for awhile. While they were at the show, I took Maya to a few museums, and what luck! It was duck day at one of them. There were three or four ducks outside of the museum and Maya was so excited. She even touched one, but barely. A man held it up for her and she stuck one tiny finger out, touched it, and them immediately pulled her hand back, but she was beaming, squealing. Inside were a few baby swans. They were tiny, gray, and beautiful and made Maya so happy when she saw them. 

Of course, we spent most of our time at the museum in the cafe for snacks, but that's OK. She was content. Plus, she then had a chance to ride the elevator down two floors. "Whee" she exclaimed, as she stood next to me, holding my hand. I think it was her first ride on her own two feet. 

Later, my mom and I ditched the kids, leaving them with my mom, while we spent the rest of the afternoon shopping. Moms are great. 

We rushed to dye eggs with the kids after dinner and they had a great time. Guillermo loved coloring the eggs with the magic crayon before he dyed them. Maya would swipe the undyed eggs out of my hand and then throw them in the bowls full of dye like she was slam dunking a basketball. I don't know if we have any eggs that aren't uncracked. "Prettyo, eggsss," she said, when she pulled one out of the bowl, held it in her hands for a bit, and threw it back in, just to do it again a few seconds. I couldn't get the dye off her hands during her bath later. 

Goats and Donkeys

I should have had my camera with me today (the pictures above are from last week). We went to story time at a bookstore in a little village near our home. Afterward we walked with some friends to see the cows and goats in a nearby field. 

Maya and Guillermo were so excited. The goats came right up to the fence and ate out of their hands. I really wasn't too happy about that, afraid my kids' fingers would get gnawed off by the hungry goat, but my friend said she'd never heard of that happening. (I was already nervous because hidden behind the wooden fence, on the animal side, was an electric fence. "Electricity can't go through the wood, right?" I asked. "No," my friend said, and I'm sure she thought I was crazy. Of course, she hadn't touched an electric fence when she was younger, like I had. She'd never felt that shaky sensation that didn't so much hurt but still stayed with you for a long time. So, I wasn't being crazy, right, just protective of my kids, right?)

So, I let go of my anxiety (a little) and let the kids go to town, feeding that hungry goat weeds and grass. When that one was full, another came to get an early lunch. Guillermo was having so much fun. Maya didn't do too much feeding. She just threw grass through the fence and yelled "goats." Later, a donkey came over to get in on the action. By then, there wasn't much tall grass near the fence. Most of the older kids would fetch the taller weeds a few feet away. Not Maya.  

"Goats don't like to eat rocks, Maya," I said as she threw one through the fence, near the goat. 

"Rocks," she said.

I warned again later.  

"No rocks, Maya."

Too late. It hit the donkey in the face. 

"Donkey, donkey," she said happily. 

Sick day

 A cold that kept my nose working on overdrive and forced me through a box and half of Kleenex (and a few shirt sleeves) yesterday also made me a very cranky mom. Lucky for me, Guillermo and Maya were great. I skipped my morning workout, slept in and woke to find Maya and Guillermo eating breakfast. Guillermo wanted to color more construction paper Easter eggs and that activity filled up a good amount of time. Against my better judgement, we went to the library but that turned out well too, despite a troubled start with Maya screaming because she had to leave her crackers in the car. I also had to serve up reminders that mommy didn't feel well and that they needed to be on their best behavior because I had no patience.

When we got home, my plan was to feed them lunch, read our new books, then let Maya nap while Guillermo watched TV until soccer practice, even though that meant 90 minutes straight of PBS Kids, including the never-ending fund-drive that drives him bonkers. Unfortunately Maya wouldn't nap and Guillermo wanted to watch only 30 minutes of afternoon cartoons. (this is a first. Some of his biggest tantrums stem from a blank television screen.) I let them play on the deck while I laid on the couch listening for any sign of fighting or, more importantly, silence, which indicates worse trouble. Maya kept trying to make a break for the backyard, though, and I had to get up and act like a mom. 

Poor Maya was the brunt of my barking that day, though it didn't seem she minded or paid much attention. She continued to sit on Guillermo when he whined and I yelled for her to get up. Despite my not so quiet reminders that we don't hit doors, she still banged on Guillermo's when he closed it to play by himself.  And, Guillermo, well, he got the mean look a lot and threatened with a few time-outs, when time-outs weren't really justified, but they were great and I was just, well, not feeling well.  

At dinner, Guillermo played doctor: "You need to go to bed early tonight. After dinner, you go right to bed."

 

Egg hunts

Maya tries to take off with Guillermo's basket.

We skipped Guillermor's soccer game on Saturday so we could go on an Easter egg hunt and it was well worth it. Guillermo's favorite color is orange and last year at the same Easter egg hunt, he collected only orange eggs. This year he picked up anything he saw and filled a good part of his basket. That's pretty impressive considering the egg hunt, with 18,000 eggs spread over three fields, lasted maybe five minutes. A lot of kids were there. 

Maya was a champ, too. She was so happy to pick up "eggssss." There is a downside to the all of this though. Maya has now been introduced to Smarties, jelly beans, and those digusting Old Fashioned marshmallow eggs.  We couldn't get the basket out of her hands yesterday. For a good part of the day, she carried it around the house, asking: "Cany, please, more?"

When they went to sleep that night, we tossed out most of the goods. Of course, Guillermo picked up more loot today at another egg hunt. This time, many of the eggs were filled with stickers and little toys, such as plastic watches and compass rings and tiny cats. Guillermo gave three cats to Maya. She liked them at first, but then realized some of the other eggs contained candy. We caught her tonight trying to bite through the foil wrapping of a chocolate egg. I'm so glad they don't have dentist appointments soon.  

Show and Tell II

Guillermo's first show and tell went great. He spoke quietly but was so proud. He let everyone take a close-up look at the Playmobil catalog and the Native American and soldier page. He even pointed out the tee-pee. No one laughed, as Will feared they might. 

After Guillermo, a girl showed off two babies and two books, another boy showed a robot, another showed a stuffed dog in purse, and the last one showed off his new underwear. Yes, you read right. He showed off his underwear. He wasn't wearing them, of course. (Though my niece did earn herself a trip to the director's office at her preschool last week when she and a friend showed their bottoms to their classmates.  Oh wait, they showed their bare bottoms for that stunt). 

Actually, it was really sweet when the boy in Guillermo's class showed his underwear because he was so excited (wouldn't you if you had penguins on the back of your underwear?) and it was so genuine. A friend of mine told me tonight that when she was in kindergarten, she took her mother's deodorant to show and tell and demonstrated how her mother applied it every morning. 

After show and tell, Maya, Guillermo, and I went for a hike in the woods. Our trail was .6 miles and we had done it before. I made the mistake of telling the kids I had snacks. We must have stopped at least five times so they could eat grapes. Sometimes they would eat two and then get up and go. Maya liked to walk off the path so she could stomp in the leaves but her footsteps must have been too noisy for her because she would cover her ears. And, for part of the trip, she would stop every time she saw a rock on the path and try to move it. Unfortunately the rocks were embedded into the ground. "Stuck," she said, each time. 

We played at the park later in the afternoon and then this evening, Guillermo and I went to see the play "If You Give a Pig a Party." He was so tired I think he fell asleep in the middle of the show. 

Tomorrow, we're hunting for Easter eggs. 

Show and Tell

Tomorrow is Guillermo's first show and tell at his school. Guess what he's taking. 

A free catalog of all of the Playmobil toys you can buy. Specifically, he's going to show his classmates the two pages that feature Native American and soldier figures. 

"Soldiers wear all different colors, you know," he told me, remarking on the blue uniforms the soldiers in his book are wearing. 

He's fascinated with the catalog, but does he really need to take it to show and tell? He has real Playmobil figures. Wouldn't those be more exciting to his classmates instead of a catalog? 

"Isn't that a weird thing to take for show and tell?" Will asked. "Will the other kids laugh at him?

I don't think they will laugh. Some might be staring off into outer-space while Guillermo's talking, but there's nothing unusual about preschoolers acting as if they are on another planet. Guillermo does it all the time. (As a side note, Jupiter is Guillermo's favorite planet.)

I'll keep you posted on how it goes. He's so excited. 

After school today, a few of the boys from our neighborhood were playing on our street. One of them let Guillermo look at the Green Lantern comic book he had just checked out from the library. While Guillermo's friends tried unsuccessfully to fly a kite in the still afternoon, Guillermo sat on the curb studying the book. He must have looked at the book for 15 minutes. 

Of course, when we returned home, we played Green Lantern outside and Guillermo, acting as the Green Lantern, turned his ring into a submarine and an airplane. 

"You really liked that book, didn't you?" I asked him. 

He replied: "I was reading it with my imagination."

Maya's new do

After seeing a little girl at the park a few months older than Maya with her hair pulled back into a ponytail, I decided Maya, too, needed to sport a ponytail. We needed the help of only four barrettes and for some reason, Maya sat still for my nonsense. And, she loved it when she saw it in the mirror. "Pretty, bows," she said. She calls herself Aya (as in EYE-ya). "Aya, bows." 

Shifting tide in the car

Maya and grandpa reading.

Guillermo and grandpa making pizza.

I didn't have it today. I was tired. Guillermo had a friend over to our house this morning and I was babysitting our neighbors baby so we had a pretty good morning, but by this afternoon, I was beat. Maya took a nap and Guillermo and I were playing a computer game on the couch, but I kept falling asleep on him. I even heard myself tell him not to throw things again, and then realized I was talking in my sleep (if you can call a 30-second nap sleep). I didn't really perk up until on our way to soccer practice when I heard the news about Eliot Spitzer (don't get me started) and that got my brain working again.

 

But earlier in the car I did hear a sign of change coming.

"Elmo," Maya said sweetly from the backseat. 

I figured she was just talking to herself. 

"Elmo, Elmo," she repeated. 

Then she did something she's never done before. 

"Elmo hear," she said. I glanced back and she was tugging on her ear. 

Ahh, she wanted to hear the Elmo cd. Ok, we'll listen to Elmo, I said. 

That didn't sit well with Guillermo, who controls MY car radio from the backseat because I've let him. 

"No, space music," he said forcefully. 

I made them share. Two Elmo songs, two space songs. Guillermo didn't like the compromise one bit, but he bit his tongue. I silently cheered for Maya, her new vocabulary, and her growing assertiveness (as long as it's not aimed at me!).

We had a wonderful weekend. My father spent the weekend with us after a business trip here and the kids had so much fun with him. They played gladiator and "got you," splashed in the puddles, explored the science museum, read books, and put together puzzles. Maya and Guillermo happily ate the cracker jacks and ice cream he fed them. Guillermo made pizza with my father and he and I watched the UNC-Duke game. Today, Guillermo said his visit wasn't a real visit because he didn't stay with us the entire time he was in North Carolina. Guillermo said he wished grandpa could have stayed longer. Me too.  

High heels

Maya in my black heels. 

Guillermo, in 2005, in the same pair of black heels. 

What is it about toddlers and other people's shoes? Maya loves all of my shoes, Guillermo's orange crocs, and Will's sandals. Really, she likes any shoes she can slip her little feet into, even if she's wearing her own shoes. It's so funny to hear her near the front door, struggling to get shoes that don't belong to her on her feet. "Shoose, shoose," she says. 

Guillermo was into shoes, too. One time at Target, when I was spending way too much time deciding which towels to buy for my bathroom, my mother distracted Guillermo in the shoe aisle. They spent a good 15 minutes there and he was game to try on any pair she gave him. Later, he went through a boot phase, where he insisted he wear his yellow dog boots everywhere he went. When he outgrew those, he switched to fire truck boots and he has ripped through two pairs of those. We're on the lookout for the next great pair.  

Deep in the Heart ...

The other day a friend of mine asked Guillermo where he was born. 

"Texas," he said. 

Then he burst into song. "Deep in the Heart of Texas," he sang.

Guillermo loves that he's from Texas, though he's never been. He has a book that plays up all of the Texas stereotypes. If we ever take him to visit, he will be expecting cowboys to greet him when he steps off the airplane. 

Before we moved to North Carolina, we were at a press party and Gov. Rick Perry was there. He asked about our move and then said, "Well, at least your son was born in Texas." We're so glad he was too. If he weren't, we wouldn't have this video (it's from January 2007).

 

Soccer, Grandpa

Guillermo warms up before the game.

Maya playing with grandpa

Guillermo had his first soccer game of the spring season on Saturday. He had so much fun. 

In his league, the games are 3-on-3 and each team has two games going at once. It 's meant to give the kids as much chance to play as they want and to touch the ball as much as possible. Guillermo barely took a break and was all smiles. He seems to like defense because he would usually head to the goal if it appeared the other team was going to score. Unfortunately, the league rules prohibit kids Guillermo's age from playing goalie or even playing in the goal area. That rule is in place so kids can score often.  

Guillermo scored his first goal in the last game of last season. Hopefully, he'll score again this year. The one downside to this season (except in Guillermo's eyes), his shirt looks like a yellow highlighter. It is so bright it glows in the dark! Guillermo's first soccer team had maroon shirts and the kids voted to have their team name be "barbecue sauce." How cool is that?

We had a busy weekend, with soccer and playdates and beautiful weather. To top it off, my dad came to visit. The kids had so much fun with him. He's in the area for work and came by this evening for dinner and will be back next weekend. Yeah! Guillermo took him to the woods behind our house and they chased tornados and made mud honey.