In 80 Days We Decide

Eighty days 'til election day - and it's a big one.  Do you know who you are voting for?  What issues are most important to you?  I'm not a single issue voter.  There are a wide range of issues I care about. The different facets of my identity impact my perspective on these issues.  I'm a Latina (and the daughter of an immigrant), I'm a lesbian, I'm a mother, I'm a 5th generation union member, I'm a woman, and I'm invested in my local community.

Spanish/English Hybrids: Coopee Kikos Mystery Solved

This is the face you get when you ask him to smile

I'm sure you were all losing sleep over this, so I wanted to fill everyone in ASAP.  A few posts back I mentioned that Leo says "coopee kikos" after meals, when he burps, or when he's trying to get by someone that is in his way.  Basically any time "excuse me" would be appropriate - so "coopee" made sense, but we were completely stumped as to what "kikos" meant.

Dia De Los Muertos: Las Ofrendas de Ocotepec

For Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) we went to visit Ocotepec, Morelos - a small town just north of Cuernavaca (where my family lives) - to see the ofrendas (altars) that are still a tradition there.

To prepare, during the day we went to the market to buy candles because it is customary to give a candle to each family whose home you visit.   The market was packed with Day of the Dead things - sugar skulls, decorative paper, candles, and the traditional flowers for the holiday.

Sugar (and chocolate and gummy) skulls

  

16 Month Update: Favorite Words

I climbed this tree when I was a little girl

Today marks 16 months of having Leo in our lives.  It wasn't the best day because after a nice long break, we are teething again.  Back in February (while in Mexico) he cut five teeth in six days bringing his grand total to eight and then all was quiet on the gummy front.   Well, now there are at least three (probably five) teeth breaking through and again he has stomach flu-like symptoms - diarrhea, vomiting and fever.  Poor kid.

My No Good Very Bad Day

Today was one of those days where nothing seems to go right.  It started off ok.  Leo and I had a lovely breakfast together, pee and poo in the potty, nice playtime, and he went down for his nap without a fight.  I got him up with just enough time to get ready and go to his doctor's appointment.  This is when things began to unravel.

1.  As we were leaving I noticed the dog had thrown up.  Ew.  Poor puppy.  No time to clean it up.  She seems ok.  Out the door.  No biggie.

2.  I get distracted making "chugachugachugachuga - toot toot" train noises with Leo and miss our stop on the subway.  Need to switch directions, back track - and now hustle because my perfectly timed commute is messed up.  Eh.  Poo happens.

Spanglish

There are a zillion reasons it's important to me for Leo to learn Spanish.  Being bilingual is good for your brain, allows you to communicate with a wider range of people, facilitates travel, and opens up opportunities professionally.  I want him to be able to have conversations with his aunts and uncles and cousins.  I want him to have an easier understanding of etymology. I want him to have a base if he chooses to learn another romance language.  I could go on and on.

Being bilingual has been such an advantage and a blessing to me; I really want to share that with Leo.

(Of course my Abuela might tell a different story if she were still around.  She would tell you about the time I pretended I couldn't understand her in front of my friends when she came to pick me up at school.  I'd been teased and called a Mexican dog and a wetback, so my reaction was to deny and reject that part of my life.  I loudly and pointedly said, "WHAT?  I can't can't understand you.  Speak English!  I don't understand."  Well, my Abuela was a no nonsense kind of woman and with a very stern, "Ni que 'GUAT?' ni que nada" she gave me a look that had me immediately slink back into obedience.)

Fourteen Months

 Leo is fourteen months old!  We are doing much better after our little rough patch - I don't know if everything is just on the upswing or if getting out my feelings/thoughts on virtual paper helped me - but whatever it is, I'm happy to report that we've both been much happier the last few days. 

Sleep:  We are still going back and forth between one nap and two - but the margin is narrowing (whereas before one nap days were a nightmare and two nap days were mostly good - these days both have their challenges but are manageable). 

Walking:  He is all walking all the time now.  He's falling more than he was initially, but I think it's because he's not concentrating as hard since it's becoming natural for him.  He's even taken to running a bit here and there.

May Vlog

Welcome to our first monthly vlog!  Highlights include Leo pretending to have an allergy attack to get out of giving me a massage,  Leo showing off his scolding finger, and well, Leo.