Little picker

Ever since I discovered I have holes in my nose, the fun hasn't stopped. I mean, I can stick my fingers in my nose any time any place.

When I'm watching TV, in bed, in the bath, in my buggy, at my Christmas concert (the songs weren't that great anyway) and for our Christmas photo at our friend's house.

Mami and papi make a weird face every time I put my finger up there and are always moving my hand away. I don't know what the big deal is. And yes, sometimes I eat what I find, there is a lot in there!

But what really makes me scream is when mami takes a tissue and wipes my nose. I mean, COME ON! She comes out of nowhere, then pinches my nose and it hurts.

I have become smart to all this and started wiping my own nose when I see her approaching. At least then I buy some time and can get away quicker.

I don't know what the big deal is. Everyone acts like they don't pick their nose, yeah right.

I really hope that one of mami's resolutions for the New Year is to loosen up. I could use a little freedom; I'm almost 2 you know.

Give me my dummy!

Something is definitely going on. I have a sneaky suspicion that mami and papi are trying to get rid of my tetes or dummy's.

When I cry out for my tete, mami will look at papi and say "we can't let him have it during the day" Papi will look at me with sad eyes and say "you can't have it right now"

But I just demand my tete...wahhhhhhhh! Tete, tete, tete! And eventually mami says "okay, just give it to him, but he really should only have it for sleeping".

In goes the tete and I'm happy as can be. As for them, mami gives daddy a mean look and he says, "don't blame me, you told me to".

"Okay, but tomorrow no tete, only for sleeping"

Suuuuuuure I think. It's what she always says.

That's it. The last one. I refuse to let it go.

But this week I noticed that my usual assortment of tetes were no where to be found. I checked by my bed, and nothing. I checked in the bathroom, NADA. I checked in my back pack, and it was empty. I even ran into the kitchen and there was nothing on the counter.

Uh oh. I think she really means business this time. I cried and cried for my tete, but mami came over to me and said "No Little M, el tete es solo para dormir/the dummy is only for sleeping"

Eventually, she found a tete. I knew she had one! It was close enough to bedtime that she let me have it. But I'm not too happy about my stash being reduced. I have been on the same tete for a week now and I think this may be the last of them.

Can't believe she doesn't want me to have it! I love my tete - I really hope she doesn't take it away for good. I will fight for it until the end and I won't make it easy.

Just you wait mami. Just you wait.

Speak soon

Uh oh! I think mami is worried.

I heard her talking to abuelita on the phone, and when she asked if I was talking yet, mami scrunched her eyebrows, looked over at me and said “Hmm? Not really. I mean nothing, just sounds. He can quack like duck”.

She is sort of right. I’m not speaking like my friends at nursery, but I do repeat mami’s animal noises. They are so funny! I can quack like a duck and bark like a dog.

But the thing is, I can understand (almost) everything she says.

So far we understand each other just fine. She speaks and I respond by either pointing to what I want, shaking my head no, holding out my hand or just running away. See, I can speak, but it just doesn’t sound like the words she and daddy use.

A few months ago I did start saying mama and tete/dummy, but I haven’t really used those lately. I am now a year and a half (19 months to be exact) and I just want her to know that I hear her and daddy, but I am not ready to say anything yet.

Even the way I say “no” sounds different to her. Mine is more like “ne ne ne “. Maybe I just have a different accent?

So I wrote mami a little letter so that she won't worry anymore.

Querida mami,

Please don’t worry, I am going to speak soon, I promise. I hope you know that I understand both English and Spanish, and just because what I say doesn’t sound like your words, I am learning them.

Daddy has been teaching me how to say “tree” and this week I said it! I hope you are proud of me.

Remember, I blow kisses at you every morning and I hope that makes you happy until I can say more.

¡Te quiero mucho!
 

I tried it! Mr Colour Maker

 

A while back mami let me paint in the kitchen and I made an absolute mess!

She turned for one moment and I painted the floor, the cabinets and when she tried to take the brush away, I even painted her jeans! It was so much fun! Although, mami didn't think so.

So when I was offered to try out Mr Colour Maker paint bucket by Tomy, mami was very happy for some good clean fun!
I am only a year and a half and even though it is recommended for kids 2-5 years old, I enjoy seeing the bucket light up when I pour the different colours. I don't know it does it, but the entire bucket begins to glow and I use the magic wand to stir it all up. You can even mix colours to make new ones!

It took mami a few tries to understand how it worked, but daddy and I got it just fine.

He asks you to pour in red, blue and yellow, sings back to you and explains how to make more colours. Mami and daddy help me with this, because I am still working on learning my colours. Daddy thinks it is a clever little invention.

Mami's only concern is that the lid came off right away. It didn’t break off, it just comes off all the time. And without the lid Mr Colour Maker doesn’t work. So when I hid the lid and couldn’t remember where it was, I couldn’t mix the colours. Oh no!

But daddy thinks this is on for a reason – the lid is meant to come off so that it won’t break off. See?

It also sings the rainbow song and there are 3 different modes depending on how well you know your colours.

One night, mami came into my room to check on me and she tripped on Mr Colour Maker and it lit up and said “wake me up with some colour please”.

This scared her so much she yelled out and woke me up. He is sneaky! He goes quiet after not playing with him, but mami wishes there was a permanent off button.

Lid aside, mami, daddy and I really like  Mr Colour Maker and I give it two hands up! It makes a great gift and you can get it for £24.99 from Tomy, Argos and other toy shops in the UK.

I also use it to keep my dummies and the rocks that I find at the park.  So it serves as a storage too!

Now get painting!

My Great Escape

Today I gave mami a VERY BIG SURPRISE.

When she opened her eyes she wasn’t expecting to see me at her bedside. Ha ha ha ha!

You should have seen the look of complete shock when she realised I had climbed out of my crib and walked into her room.

“Yeah, that’s right mami. I know how to get out now!”
See, I’m tired of having to wait for mami to come get me when I wake up. I know she can hear me crying, so why does she take so long?

After my morning nap I, just wanted to get out and play. I cried out for mami, and no response. I cried harder and nothing. I waited and waited and still no mami.

“She’s taking a nap too” I said to myself. And boy was I right.

I thought, “I may be in here a while” and took it upon myself to make my escape.

I am a great climber, I can get up and down the sofas, chairs, my buggy and mami and daddy’s bed. My crib isn’t that much higher. So I began to climb.

It wasn’t easy, but I didn’t give up! I ended up very sweaty. First I stepped up on the side of the crib. Easy. I just dug my feet on the netting and was able to creep up. Once I got to the top, I swung one leg over onto the side table then the other and slid down to the floor. Even easier.

Getting out of the room was trickier, but I played with the door handle and managed to get it open. Score! I ran to mami’s room and just as I had thought – there she was SLEEPING!

I ran in, stood next to her bed and said “HEY”. She slowly opened her eyes and said “Little M, ¿qué haces aquí?/What are you doing here? How? ¿Cómo?”

She sat up and said “You got out!”

I just clapped my hands, offered her my dummy and ran into the front room. "Get up mami, time to play!"

That will teach her. She's not the only one who can be sneaky!

A tiny favour please...

I saw that Cosmopolitan, a magazine for mamas is launching the Cosmopolitan Blog Awards. Not my first reading choice, but I thought it could make mami very happy.

She was looking at the site last week, but she didn't say a word to me about it.

I later went on the computer and thought, "I should put my blog forward for the Lifestyle Category. After all, being a toddler is serious business!"

And because I can't really nominate myself in the fashion or gadget tech categories!

If you like what I write, or have laughed at any of my stories, could you nominate me please?

Just click the logo above, select Lifestyle and that's it! (well, you have a write a few things, but I hope that won't be too difficult)
My promises

I promise to be really really nice to mami. I promise to eat all my food and not throw it around the kitchen. I promise to let her kiss me. I promise to give her more kisses. I promise I won't poop as much (well, sort of)  I promise not to cry right in her ear. I promise to let her wipe my nose. I promise to not  pee pee on the floor. I promise I won't take her makeup brushes and put them in the toilet. I promise to take longer naps. I promise to use my own toothbrush instead of hers.

Phewwww, think that is enough!

Thank you very much lots of hugs and kisses

bye bye

Little M

A very secret club

Oh no! I completely forgot to tell you about me and mami's first Secret Post Club experience! See we are part of a very secret club where bloggers exchange gifts every month. Its so much fun!
Last week the doorbell rang and mami panicked because she was still in her jammies - so funny! She quickly put on her jeans and a robe and ran to the door. The mail man handed us a box and after getting the tape off the box, mami handed it over and said "here Little M, this is for you".

Wrapped in pretty colourful paper was a some sort of lip makeup for mami (she loves that stuff!) a cupcake magnet, a pretty notebook, a carrier bag with flowers and a tray to make ice lollies for me! Yessssss! YUMMMMY!

Mami read the card and I couldn't stop clapping with excitement. I love paper and boxes!! She looked over at me and said "Little M, mira/look, our secret friend is Julie from All About Us and Such Like! Lets take a picture to send her to say thank you!"

Opening our presents. Thank you Julie!

Julie made mami and me very happy!

So, today was our turn to send our present to our secret friend. But, shhhh! I don't want to ruin the surprise (but I did help choose the gifts by pointing to what I liked at the shop). I wrote her a special note with my green crayon and I hope she can read my writing!

You can be part of the club too. Just read the directions and promise to follow the rules. And you can be anywhere in the world, not just in the UK. And if you are lucky mami and me will send you a nice present!

Bye bye,

Little M

Christmas, Chris-t-mas?

Mami and Chef Phil Vickery

I don't know how mami spends her days. She takes the train after leaving me at nursery, but after that I have no idea how she fills her time. I have heard her talk about her "office" and "work". But that is as much as I know.

So when she came home last week talking about seeing new toys and food for something named Aldi, I was even more confused than before.

"There was a room full of delicious food and chocolates and fun toys in another!" She told daddy.
I perked up from my high chair. "Toys?" I thought.

"It was Christmas in July" she exclaimed 

"Aldi has a whole range of toys, I had no idea they had anything other than food at their stores. Remember Aldi stores from Spain?"  She asked daddy and emphasising the word Spain  (I don't know what that is either) but daddy just thought for a moment and said,

"Oh yes. They have toys there?"

"Yes! That's the German store. I had forgotten they had them in the UK. They have amazing prices" said mami.

"They had a display of all products that will be out for Christmas".

"Christ-mas, Chris -t -mas" I thought slowly. I know that word. How do I know that word?

"So what else did they have?" asked daddy.

"Hold on!" said mami and she ran out of the kitchen into the living room. She came back with a white bag and began taking out chocolates and cookies.

"Yummy!" I thought and pointed for a piece. "No Little M, you finish your dinner"

Daddy looked at her and said "well, this isn't very good for your diet" Mami just snorted at him, took the chocolates out of his hand and put them into the fridge. I could tell she couldn't wait to eat them! I can't blame her because I want some too!

Changing the subject quickly she said "well, the best part of all is that I got to meet with Phil Vickery!"

Daddy stopped stirring the sauce and looked at mami wide eyed "You did? How? What's he like?" he asked excitedly.

"Well" said mami slowly, "He's a really nice guy. Very funny, big advocate for getting kids cooking.  He's been working with Aldi stores for 2 years now."

"So that's what Aldi is, a store" Got it.

"Oh, really?" said daddy "Wow! I had no idea"

"Oh yeah, he's got an online school called Phil's Cooking Academy that helps kids learn to cook from scratch. Something I want Little M to learn when he's older".

"Sure! I've seen daddy cook and I want to help too" I shouted out. Mami looked at me, wiped away some sauce from my cheeks and kissed my forehead.

"So, did he give you any advice?" asked daddy

"Of course!" Said mami and read off a list of tips that Phil recommend for all mamas:

• Bulk cook so that you can freeze 2/3 of it for another day - Daddy smiled because he does this already.
• Keep your meals simple and have balance of sweet, fruit, veg, meats - Mami smiled this time because she cooks very very simple. Daddy rolled his eyes.
• Fast-food does not mean junk food. He says you can have healthy packaged or frozen food that is fast and easy to make but that does not mean its "junk"  - No reaction. Guess they both agreed.
• Kids should be introduced to a variety of foods early enough so that they are open to try it all later on. He said it is something called "flavour profiles" - Daddy perked up and said "its like muscle memory, the mind doesn't forget"

"Don't forget meeee" I thought. And I threw some mashed potatoes at mami to get her attention. She turned to me and said, "Okay mi amor, lets get you in the bath".

I still need to figure out what this Christmas business is all about and how it involves toys.

At least I learned that Aldi has "great value" for money as mami says, a yummy range of fresh and frozen foods, and Phil Vickery on their side!

Hot hot hot!

I've been very sticky and wet lately. I have never felt like this before. I feel warm all over just like when I was sick a few months ago - but I feel fine.

I hear mami and daddy say "hace calor/its hot" and that now it is "verano/summer time". There is a lot more light and sun than I remember and on some days its so hot that mami doesn't even dress me - and that never happens!

Mami says she want to eat my toes - I hope she doesn't!

I'm going to be 18 months soon, so I would have had a summer before, but giving it another thought, last summer we went to Chile when it was hot - and it was cold there in July! Daddy said it was winter there when it is summer in the UK. 

So this is my first real summer - and I'm loving every moment!

Mami sometimes looks a little flustered and her cheeks get red. She is constantly folding up magazines or paper and waving it in front of her face. I once saw her pour water on the back of her head - silly mami.

I don't know why she doesn't just take off her top and shorts like me. It sure helps keep me cool!

Whatever mami and daddy say - I sure do love verano/summer!

I don't have to wear socks!
I can see my toes through my shoes :)
I like being able to feel the sand and sun on my legs
My shirts don't cover my arms
No jacket to put on before going out - I don't like them at all!
I can drink as much juice and water as I want
I get a bath, every single night!
We go to the park 3 times a day
I get to eat with no shirt on
I get to splash aournd at the paddling pool
Ice cream! Mami gives me an ice lolly on our way home from the park - yummy!
Abuelita comes to visit - that is the best part of all!

Summer is great - I wish it could stay like this all the time!

Earth Friendly Baby and Kids

Shhh! Mami won’t like me saying this to you, but she does not see the point of buying special lotions, body washes or shampoos for me. She sees that other mami’s lather up their little ones with “extra special” soaps and oils, but she just doesn’t get it.

Mami just goes to our local Boots and buys whatever is on offer. Hey! It’s worked fine until now, I smell good, and I’m clean. I do have dry skin, and mami has tried to put lotion on me, but I don’t like the sticky feeling on my arms and legs and I wiggle and twist until I am out of her grasp.

She tries again every now and then, but I won’t have it! I’m like daddy, a simple, no fuss kind of guy. So when the nice people at Earth Friendly Baby and Kids asked if I would like to test out some of their lotions, shampoos and nappy cream, I had my doubts. Unfortunately for me, mami checks the emails so I wasn’t able to hide that from her. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to try them out and then I thought, this could be my very first review!

Earth Friendly Baby and Kids don’t settle for irritated skin or unnecessary chemicals in their products. And the best part of all is that their pure and natural range of affordable, everyday toiletries for children offers everything mamas and daddies need at great value prices. That is the part mami liked the best.

Now I don’t know why, maybe it’s because I poop a lot, but I have very bad nappy rash. I sometimes cry when mami is changing me because it hurts so much. We’ve been using the Baby Organic Red Clover Diaper Care Cream (£5.49), and it made me feel better than the other stuff we use. It’s thick and soothes me right away. Mami and I like it very much, but mentioned to daddy that she would not buy such a small tube of nappy cream for that price when she can just buy a bigger container and have it last longer.

I still don’t like having shampoo and body wash on me, but mami and I were surprised at how yummy the organic chamomile Kids Shampoo and Bodywash (£3.99 250ml) smelled.  It left my hair soft and my skin feeling fresh. I give mami the go-ahead to use this on me again. I like playing with the bottles in the water and besides it distracts me from the hair washing that I find so annoying.

Washing my hands with the Kids Handwash

I also now wash my hands with the zingy citrus Kids Handwash (£3.99 250ml). I like it because I can press down on the pump and get the soap out by myself! It reminded me of the orange pieces I sometimes have for lunch. It leaves my hands nice and clean and it’s so much better than using wipes.

Lastly, as much as I do not like to admit it, the Baby Organic Calendula Daily Care Cream (£5.49) was the best of all! I still don’t make it easy for mami to put it on me, but since I was so relaxed after my citrus bath, I lay still long enough for mami to put some cream on my arms and legs.

She showed me how to rub it on my knees – it wasn’t so bad! I’ve noticed that my skin feels much better and its not as dry as before. The size of the tube is quite big and should last for some time. I think the nappy cream should come in that size too!

Earth Friendly have all sorts of other yummy smelling lotions, soaps and products for mamas and kids. You can find the Earth Friendly Kids and Baby products for your little ones at selected Waitrose stores, good baby and health stores and via http://www.healthqueststore.com/. 

Mami and I really like Earth Friendly and recommend you try it too!

 

A week of spew and poo

Why do I always get blamed when we are all sick at the same time? Why can't it be that mami had a stomach bug and gave it to me? No one ever thinks of that - its always my fault! Every time mami and daddy feel sick they say "Oh, I think I've got what Little M has".

And last week was no different. On Thursday night I got sick all over myself and bed. After having my bedtime milk my tummy didn't feel so good and then I just couldn't keep it down any longer. The next day I heard mami saying she wasn't feeling too good and keep holding her tummy and scrunching up her face. On Sunday, daddy woke up saying his tummy hurt and mami had to come home from theatre rehearsals early because she felt she was going to "spew" on stage. I said it was nerves, but she failed to see my point.

On Sunday I felt tired, my tummy ached and admittedly was being very nasty towards mami. I just didn't want her near me - I just wanted daddy to hold and cuddle me. Mami looked sad as I shooed her away, but I just wanted my space, to be left alone and to whine and cry on my blanket on the floor.

By mid afternoon, the poo and spew began. Daddy was reading The Economist when he suddenly piped up and said "uh oh" and took off running to the bathroom. I still didn't want her to touch me so I tired to follow daddy, but he had closed the door.

After a few minutes, mami suddenly looked down at me, and just by the look on her face, one that screamed absolute fear and panic, she jumped up and ran out of the living room. I followed her into the hallway and I saw her banging on the bathroom door and saying (very loudly) in a panicked voice "please, I need to get in there, its an eeee-mmmerrrrgennncy" I couldn't quite hear daddy's response but mami kept saying "hurry please, PLEASE!"

Daddy soon appeared in the doorway and mami shoved him aside and locked herself in. Daddy came out and he looked just like he does when he comes back from a long run! I think he got it the worse, spew and poo. But hey, don't blame me! Any one of us could have given it to the other.

Mami re-emerged after a while and just shook her head and said "uuughhh" before sitting back down next to daddy and I.  Mami just stared straight ahead, I was snuggled up on daddy's lap with my blanket and dummy and no one said a word.

It was a long night - many more trips to the toilet by mami and daddy. To top it all off, my molars are coming through and I was in absolute pain - teething bites!

Tummy bug gone now. No more spew and poo - and I still say it wasn't my fault!

Are you the nanny?

Me at two weeks old! How can anyone doubt she is my mami?

It happened again.

It had been several months now, and it took me and mami by surprise.

Mami and I were in a store on the high street trying on summer shoes when the girl from the shop looked down at me, smiled and said “oh, he’s a cutie”.

“Thanks very much" I thought and I stopped chewing on the foam bar on the buggy and stared up at mami who was looking at me all gooey eyed like she often does. She was just on the cusp of thanking her, when the girl quickly cut her off and followed the statement with the forbidden question  “are you his nanny?”

“Nooooo!” I thought, "not again!"

“Of course she’s not my nanny, that’s my mami” I screamed out, but I don’t think she quite understood me.

I pointed up at mami who had already lost that twinkle in her eye and then, keeping very calm and collected mami looked  her square in the face, and in a very clear and authoritative voice (a voice I know very well) said:

“Nanny? Nooo. He’s all mine”

Clearly the answer did not suffice, because the girl looked from mami to me and back again as if doubting her.

She then did something that drives mami absolutely mad. In a high pitched faux baby voice (which I find ridiculous and very ineffective by the way) exclaimed at me  “Oh, no? She’s not your nanny then?...Noooo, she’s your mummy, right? Your mummy?!”

I just shook my head and kept pointing at mami who was holding a shoe in her hand. I’m pretty sure she was fighting the urge to throw the shoe at the girls face. Thankfully she didn’t and we were out of there!

See, the first time mami was asked that question we were both absolutely gob smacked. She flinched in disbelief when the older woman at the park asked, “Is he yours?” Mami was so caught off guard that she nervously smiled and said muttered “of course” and walked away.

“How could someone ask such a question? Of course he’s mine!” She would say later at home.

“Unbelievable!” I would hear her tell daddy. “I would never ask anyone that question!”

Being less mobile back then, I just lay on my back, threw my tiny fists in the air and flashed her a gummy smile to let her know that I knew she was my mami!

As the months rolled by we would occasionally come across another person who would ask if I "belonged to her".

“Of course I’m hers!” I’d squeal. I still did not understand why anyone would doubt that she was my mami.

We learned to deal with it and move on. But in all fairness, mami and I had no idea that half of London was full of kids and babies being looked after by nannies. After all, we were new at this!

Mami and I now realise that many of the mamis at the park are in fact nannies, and she too finds herself wondering “mami or nanny?” Although a seemingly innocent question by the person asking, it can hurt many mamis feelings, especially since they dedicate so much time to us! Mami would not want to hurt anyone’s feelings by asking that question, so we just keep it to ourselves.

Even so, when the girl in the store asked her the “forbidden question”, it stirred up old emotions for both of us.

I reminded mami that just as many people have very kindly come up to us to say just how alike we look. That quickly cheered her up and she soon forgot about the “incident”.

How about you mamis out there - have you been asked this question? How did you react? Is it more a city thing? (It has only ever happened to us in London) Tell me about it!

Daddy is learning Spanish too! (Bilingual Corner No.1)

Reading a Dora the Explorer book before bed

¡Hola! It's been a very busy weekend here. Saturday while mami was doing housework and daddy was watching cycling, I managed to get some time on the computer and catch up on my blogging. On Sunday mami had theatre rehearsals and daddy and I went to the park, and today we went to Battersea Zoo! I finally saw a real monito (monkey)! Mami always says that I'm her monito but I don't think I look like them at all!

As some of you know, I blogged about my Bilingual Corner to tell you about the funny side of being bilingual and to meet other mamis and daddies doing the same thing. Being bilingual means knowing another language, and sometimes that means that one parent does not know the other language. At least that is how it is with daddy!

See, daddy does not speak Spanish naturally like mami does. He has been learning over the past few years. But truth be told, I know more than him! He sounds a bit funny when he calls me over to sit down "Little M, ven aqui" because it doesn't sound like mami at all.

He sometimes gets his words confused like the time he mixed up the word for socks (calcetines) with the word for olives (aceitunas) when getting me dressed. That one really made mami laugh! But he is learning more and more each day.

I may not be able to fully speak to mami and daddy, but I understand everything she says. My two favourite words in Spanish that I can say to them are tete / dummy (absolutely essential to know this word) and mama (also, very important, especially to lay on the guilt!) Pretty smart huh?

I'm saving the rest of my words for a few months from now to keep them in suspense. From what I can understand, no is the same in both English and Spanish, but I purposely ignore that one all together. Eh.

So for all you other bilingual mamis and daddies:

1. How do you work around not knowing the other language?
2. What language do you mostly speak at home?
3. Do you have certain times or activities you do using just one language?
4. Anything funny, including mistranslations?

I would love to hear from you! (you don't have to answer all 4 questions, they are just suggestions!)

• Blog about your experience on your site
• Then come back here and leave a link to your site in the comment box so that we can all read it
• Link to Little M's Bilingual Corner on your site
• You can also just read it, enjoy it and leave any comments or suggestions
• Have fun!

¡Chao!

P.S. You can also find a review of my 3 favourite Spanish books at RedTedArt's blog

The Gallery - Mami's Amigas (Friends)

It just so happened that I was planning on writing about mami's friends when I came across Sticky Fingers  blog where the theme for the weekly Gallery was just that, Friendship. Bear with me as I have more than one!

Mami and daddy have been living in the UK for 5 years and one of the difficult aspects about being away from your “home” is leaving behind your close knit group of friends and family. However, mami is great at making friends, and even more so, at working on lasting friendships.

She has friends from when she was a little girl that she still keeps in contact with today, and friends that live far away in the US, Canada and Chile. There are also her friends here in the UK, without whom her stay here would not be so much fun, and now new mummy friends. There are all sorts of friends, including old ones, new ones and even family!

Here are a few of mami’s closest friends or amigas:

Mami’s best friend since her university days Auntie Noodle was just here for a visit. They had just seen each other over Christmas, but that didn’t stop them from jumping up and down and squealing with delight when they saw each other. Same happened when mami's sister and number one BFF Auntie D came to visit in November. Despite being tired from staying up late, mami drank a lot of wine, talked non-stop and had a big smile on her face! Daddy and I just sat back and let her enjoy her “girl time” while we played and read together.

Mami, Auntie Noodle and Auntie D

A former expat herself, Auntie K moved back to Canada after 6 years in the UK. She actually hired mami for her first PR job in the UK. But aside from being a terrific manager, she is mami’s confidant, good for a laugh and vino partner in crime! Mami misses her a lot and they have weekly phone chats to keep up to date with all the gossip. Usually I am in bed when they talk, but I can hear giggles and laughter from the living room! She was also at the hospital when I was born when no one else was able to come and visit – and for that mami is most grateful.

Here they are at No 10 when I was in her tummy!

I recently realised that mami considers her mami her best friend! Every once in a while there is a bit of disagreement but they always manage to move past it and laugh over it. She says her mami is her biggest supporter when it comes to her life decisions and choices and even kept her cool when mami thought she wanted to drop out of university, move to NYC and become an actress. (I know, crazy, right?)

My mami with her mami!

As for me, my best friends are mami and daddy. They may be difficult at times, insisting on wiping my nose every chance they get, but we always make up with big sloppy kisses and hugs!

My best friends!

I leave you with a song by Brazilian singer Roberto Carlos “Un Millon de Amgios” (A Million Friends). Its a classic and its beautiful, just like mami's friendships (and please, disregard his mullet).

Sun, fun and blogs

Friday was a beautiful sunny day here in London and I spent my afternoon at the paddling pool and sandbox (there I am in the picture, cute huh?) But the events leading up to my big day included several bumps in the road.

My mami is not an easy woman.

The sun does funny things to people. Mami was really happy this morning, singing and telling me about all of the fun things we were going to do. After getting me dressed in shorts and a t-shirt and packing my bag, mami suddenly runs back into her room and begins digging through her closet.

After rummaging for a very long time, I wandered in to see what all the fuss was about. She was sitting on the floor going through bags of shoes and old dresses. Her face looked a bit worried, not the smiley face she had moments before and said to me "Ay Little M, mami has nothing to wear! Nothing fits and my toes are not ready for this weather!"

We just looked at each other for a few seconds, then I decided I needed to cheer her up and I opened my mouth and laid a sloppy kiss on her cheek. That did the trick! She quickly stood up and swooped me into her arms and spun me around laughing.

Not sure what she was so worried about, she found a comfy dress and summer sandals despite her toes. I don't know about her, but my toes are summer ready! :)

Just before heading out, I saw mami's blackberry blinking. She turned to get a bottle of water and I quickly grabbed it and ran into my room. And there it was, the tweet that made the start to our weekend even better:

"@verybusymama congrats on making it into the ParentDish UK Best Blogs Roundup"

Wow, wow, wow - I couldn't believe it! Such an honour! I clapped with delight and gave mami's phone back to her. She was very impressed at my willingness to hand it over. She looked down at her tweets and as she scrolled through her messages, I saw her smile get bigger and bigger. I couldn't have been happier.

We did make it out, and the mixture of the summer warmth and our recognition on ParentDish UK was enough to propel mami's legs to walk faster and make it to the park in record time!

P.S - She forgot all about her toes when we got there - all the mummies had theirs buried in the sand too!

Have I got news for you!

Before going to bed tonight, I peeked at mami’s latest twitter posting and found out she feels more tired after spending a day with me than when she goes to work! (@patygalilea, @positivedivorce, @activekiddies and @activemarketing all agree so this post is for them as well!) And as if that wasn’t enough, she said work for her was a much needed break. Well, this may come as a surprise to you mummies but the feeling is mutual!

I speak for all Little One’s out there. We too need a break from being at home all day. I enjoy going to nursery to get away from the constant nagging, but I am also the first one to run to mami when she picks me up!

Below are some of mami’s complaints and my solutions to making her life easier:

She is constantly running after me! – She would be less tired if she just let me be. I just want to be free to chew on the corner of the table, pick up lint, open cupboards and taste everything I can get my hands on. Is that too much to ask?

She says feeding me is very messy – Oh loosen up! Truth is, I love food! As a matter of fact I am sort of a "toddler foodie". I don’t just eat food, I experience food; I enjoy squeezing the mashed potatoes through my hands, rubbing tuna fish on my checks, and gently massaging soft noodles through my hair. It's liberating. Try it!

She tells daddy that dressing me is a mini-wrestling match – oh it sure is! You should see her trying to catch me so that she can get me dressed. Eventually I settle down, but once she gives me that trusting smile and says “good boy” I quickly do the twist, kick and drop move I have mastered and in a flash I'm out of the room. It wouldn’t have to be this way if she’d just let me hang out in my jammies all day.

She says I poop too much – I do, so what? I always get the urge right before going out. You should see her face! At first she looks puzzled, and then she picks me up and sniffs my bottom. After realising its a poopie, she rolls her eyes back, lets out a loud sigh, drops her bag and keys to the floor and calls me into the room. Sorry! When you gotta go, you gotta go!

My crying wears her out – excuuuuuuse me! If only you understood what I was saying the first time around I wouldn’t have to resort to extreme measures. We both speak the same language (two as a matter of fact) and I understand almost everything she says, so why are we having communication problems? I can’t wait until she learns more words – it’s getting ridiculous now.

Well, I’m going to leave it there but I could go on. However, this in NO way means I love mami any less!

So mummies, next time you are tired, and “need a break” why not just give us a break and make life simpler. Help us, help you!

So, who’s tired now?

P.S. – That's me in my jammies (refer to 3rd point)

Mami paints her face!

Not sure if other mamas out there do the same thing to their faces, but mine draws colours on her cheeks and eyes every morning before leaving for work. (I tried doing this at nursery with the crayons but my teacher made me draw on the paper instead).

After getting me dressed and having my morning milk, I usually run around until we are ready to head out the door, but not without mami shouting "little m, no! get out of there" when I play near daddy's night stand. Apparently opening the drawers are dangerous or something. I usually ignore her and run off only to try again later.

Mami then sits in front of a mirror drinking some sort of black juice that she says she "cannot live without" and smooths what looks like my sudocrem (only smaller) on her face. I thought it was just for my bottom, but I guess its for the face too! She then rubs another darker creme on her face before taking out her paint brushes and colouring set. Using different brushes, she dabs at the coloured blocks and begins to paint her face.

This morning, I took the time to stop and really look at what she was doing - and I could see mami making faces in the mirror when painting her eyes! She looked so funny - it made me laugh! She didn't move much at first, she was looking straight up in the air, and her mouth was wide open. After a few seconds she smiled back at me and put the black brush away.

After making more funny faces in the mirror, I stood next to her and asked her to paint my face, but she smiled and said "no, little m, face painting is for mamas, not little boys". Just then daddy picked me up and said, "no, that's not for you" and took me to get my jacket on. Come to think of it, I haven't seen daddy paint his face. Hmm?

Next time I am in the room I will investigate further and, if I can get up on the chair, will try out her coloured pencils and brushes!

Just in case you are wondering, the name of mami's paints are called: E.L.F. eyes lip face and her face sudocrem is: Simple Hydrating Light Moisturiser. She does not recommend the light brown stuff to "cover up" with because she is not happy with the one she uses.

Any mamas out there have something better to she could try?

Speak softly and carry a big stick

Speak softly and carry a big stick 

(US President Teddy Roosevelt)

Yep, that's exactly what I did!

There I am running away from mummy and daddy after I found the biggest stick ever! They got a good laugh out of seeing me run around - but later mummy was afraid to come near me, so she sent daddy to get me when it was time to go home.

I could see daddy approaching with caution, so I scared him a bit and waved the stick around. He jumped back and I just laughed out loud and ran off. Sadly though, daddy caught up to me and before I knew it, he had the stick in his hand. I let him know he couldn't just sneak up on me, but when he put me on his shoulders I thought I may as well make amends. Besides, it was dinner time and I was hungry!

Eventually mummy motioned to daddy to get rid of the stick. As if I didn't notice that one, but I pretended not to see just so mummy didn't feel bad.

I admit, I gave them a bit of a hard time - but I think they secretly love it!

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