7 Months Already?!

Holy shnikes, I can't believe Mateo is already 7 months old!! And he's very happy about that fact:



Mateo is quite the little charmer. He giggles, smiles, squeals and chatters all the time. He's recently started saying "da da," although he hasn't yet associated the word with his daddy. We're working on "mama" and "papa." He wriggles around on the floor and gets his knees under him, although he can't yet propel himself forward. Mateo rolls all over the place and tries to pull himself up whenever possible. Once the kid's truly mobile, we're going to be in real trouble In addition to all the exciting sounds and activities, Mateo is a bona fide solids eater now! He has many veggies and fruits under his belt, as well as rice cereal and baby oatmeal. Yum! Mateo has also been practicing on the sippy cup - we're not quite there yet, but he enjoys chewing on the spout.



We don't think any teeth are ready to break through, but he's drooling and putting everything into his mouth, including his crib rail:



Mateo has also perfected some awesome facial expressions, as evidenced in earlier posts. We like to call this one "The Elvis":



We love being Mateo's parents! Every day brings something new, and it's a joy to see him grow, explore and blossom.

Bath Time Fun

Mateo loves his baths! In fact, it's a surefire way to dispel fussiness - if he's extremely cranky (these days because he has once again napped for a total of 30 minutes all day at daycare), we give him a bath and he's all smiles. He especially likes to kick around and chew on his rubber ducky's head. It might be time for swim lessons!

Three Cheers

For your viewing pleasure, a Mateo tableau:

Everybody's Workin' for the Weekend

We're getting our house ready to rent, and Mateo helped Daddy level the patio. Hard work, but somebody's gotta do it. Mateo makes it look easy. :)



Mateo has been rolling all over the place. He regularly wakes up having turned 180 degrees in his bed. Definitely time to install those bumpers, methinks...

It's Getting Hot in Here

Mateo was in Wenatchee recently to visit his grandparents and Aunt Kelsey before she made the big move to Washington, D.C. It was HOT while we were there - over 100 degrees. Mateo weathered it well. It helped that he spent the majority of his time lounging in the air conditioned house with the family.

Mateo put on his cool face with Grandpa. The hat may be just a little too big!



He also found Grandma quite amusing, although "Silly boy" doesn't have the magic it once did ;-):

Eat, Drink and Be Messy

Mateo loves sweet potatoes! He's not as into squash, but he likes peas. So far, we have the orange veggies under our belt as well as peas, pears, bananas, avocado, rice cereal and oatmeal. Yum! Doesn't he make it look good?!



He's also been trying his hand at the sippy cup. We've gotten him to accept water in a bottle, so we know he'll drink it. He's not quite dexterous enough to actually get water into his mouth from the sippy, but he gets that it goes in his mouth, and he likes to suck and chew on it. We're getting there!



Mateo likes sitting in high chairs! He is much happier when he feels like he's sitting up high with the big kids.

Delinquents!

Well here we are again...I guess it must be fate. ;-) Seriously, apologies are in order for the lapse in posting. We have been extremely busy around Casa Garcia these days. We have been househunting, and we've been dealing with all the stuff that goes along with it. In fact, we found a house...in West Seattle! We're not moving far, but the house is great. We've had to do the whole offer/negotiation/inspection/negotiation/financing nailbiting jazz. And now, we are packing (ugh). As you can probably guess, that leaves very little time for blogging!

Since it's been so long, we have a multiple-post taste treat for you today...and that means multiple pictures! Yay!

Let's start it off with a video of Mateo making some of his new sounds. He's suspiciously close to saying "Dada" despite my efforts at pushing "Mama." Luckily for the audience, we have not yet captured his new, ear-piercing scream on camera.