The Reader

Where there is a little Santi there is almost always a book. I love it!!!

The couch

Santi has been able to get up on the couch for about 2 months now. Thankfully he hasn't been interested unless someone else is up there, until today. He discovered he could get up all on his own, and bounce, and jump off. Yeah, jump off. He has been jumping off the fireplace for a while (its about 8 inches up) and I think in his little head he thought it would be about the same. Yeah, not so much. He jumped off (thankfully I was only about a foot away) and landed on his feet, but it scared him to peices. It was a MUCH further distance than he had calculated. He cried for about 3 seconds and hoped right back up. Are you serious? What is it with boys? He wasn't about to let that little scare keep him down, literally. I then showed him how to sit down and scoot off. He thought that was fun, so he was up and down, on and off the couch for about 20 minutes. All of that time I was having a heart attack waiting for him to break a leg or his face. I know better than to not let him do it at all because he will then just do it while Im not looking. Its not like I can take the whole couch away, so its going to happen whether I want it to or not. Better that I actually be there and able to catch him or rush him to the doc if need be. By this whole fun event I have decided that children are not good for blood pressure. But man oh man did he have fun!

When he first re-realized he could get on the couch he was very calm and happily brought a book along.

Looking at cars and probably hoping Papi would come home soon!

Deciding his jumping method.

Post 500 jump/scoots. All that fun was very exhausting!

New Camera

Soooo.....I got a new camera! I really didn't need to be spending the money, but its the camera I have wanted for years and years and years. I never felt like I could just spend that much money on something I really didn't need, but when a friend was trading up and needed to sell her nearly new, spotless, perfect, beautiful Canon Rebel XS EOS Nolan and I just couldn't contain ourselves. Plus she needed the money to go on a missions trip, so that helped! Haha! Anyway, I normally take way too many pics of Santi throughout the day, but now.....oh my!! Im having waaaaaaaaayyyy too much fun! Nolan even joined in!

Our new toy. I love her and think I shall name her. Ideas?

I utterly HATE peanut butter, but I know the majority of the world loves it. So I try and be
 a good mother and let Santi enjoy even though it is so sticky and his breath smells
like it for the rest of the day. How could I not give it to him? Look how happy he is!

Apparently I was taking too many pictures. This is his finger shake that he
 does when someone is being "rude"!

Nolan joined in on the camera fun last night!

He got this amazing picture of the babe! Look at those eyes!

He loves to "jump" off (I would call it walking off) the fireplace.
This is pre-jump.

Post-jump.

All our days include hours of staring at books! Love it!

I told him we were going to go see Nana when he got up from
his nap. He immediately ran to get his shoes.

He tried and tried to put them on himself. I had to break the news
that it wasn't time to go yet.

Now the question is...how many pictures will I take today??

13 months!

A little boy with his favorite people in the world!

This is what Santi now does, enjoys, hates, and has!

-8 teeth
-Loves shoes
-My grandparents bought him the book "The wheels on the bus" and he wants it sung to him no less than 30 times a day. At least he dances while we sing/read it to him.

-Gets extremely frustrated when he can't do something perfectly the first time, even if the toy is made for a much older kid! The toy above is for ages 2 and up and he was so annoyed he couldn't get that last peg down! He is the same way with puzzles, I actually had to put those away because he was getting so mad he couldn't put the pieces in right.
-He must have a banana within 5 minutes of getting up each day. "Banana, banana, banana, banana...

-Loves water whether its in the pool or bath. He thinks getting splashed in the face is funny.

-Thankfully not a picky eater
-Understands everything in Español and English.
-Waves at anyone and everyone.

-Cutest saying- said with arms out to the side "don sta?" (donde esta, where is it?)

-Loves the beat of reggeaton-best dance music ever!

-Takes 2 naps a day. Goes right down, normally without a peep.

-When I say rude he shakes his pointer finger like you would saying no no.

-Loves his stuffed llama Señor llamita

-Loves bringing me the dish towel!

-He enjoys reading more than playing with blocks (he goes through stages where he plays with one thing more than the other).
-Thinks "this little piggy" is funny!
-Loves all electronics.

-Still calls Papi "da da"

-Convinced he is speaking and has whole conversations and expects me to respond having understood everything he just said.
-At nap time I ask him if he is ready to go night night and he replies with "nigh nigh".

-Loves every kind of animal and screams and pulls their hair from pure excitement. Not all
animals actually like that surprisingly enough.

-Hardly ever scared of anything. Actually loves being startled. We jump out from behind a corner and he jumps and then laughs and runs away so you will chase him and then hide again.
-When Papi "da da" gets home from work the world is a happier place.
-Dances all the time. His dance includes bouncing and sometimes adding hand and arm movements. Every once in a while he will do a little spin move.

-Started cuddling at 12 months, hated it before. Now hugs and kisses all the time.

-Goes and stands next to the ipod and points if the musica isn't on. He does this at home and at Nana and Granddads.
-The one song in English he ALWAYS dances to, whether we are in the car, in a store, or at a restaurant, is "sexy and I know it". How embarrassing. Don't judge!
-Loves it when a team scores a ggggoooooooaaaallllll!

-Buenas Noches Luna is his favorite book to look through alone.

-Doesn't like it when we brush his teeth.
-Sneezing is hilarious, whether he is the sneezer or someone else.
-Toots are funny. Oh joy!
-The second I start making food he realizes he is starving to death and will probably die before I finish!

-Major thumb sucker

-Says "da" for yeah.
-Sometimes says no when he means yes.
-Feels super cool when he walks backwards.
-Everything is a phone! His hand, a remote, toy, ball, ANYTHING!

-Loves walking off the fireplace, even if he falls. He normally laughs really hard and gets back up and does it over and over and over and over and....

One week

It still amazes me how quickly and how many things a little brain can learn in such a short amount of time.

Just this week Santi learned how to dance. You know!? The dance every baby does. They bounce up and down and smile real big!

When the camera is out he would rather play with it than perform. 

Wait till the very end for a very short dance. He didn't really want to dance, 

he did it just to please me, you get the idea though.

He learned how to kick the soccer ball and walk at the same time.

He FINALLY got a new tooth! The doctor said the next 2 would be up top, but he got a bottom one. He likes to be different I suppose! He now has 5.

You can't see the new tooth here, but I just love this toothy sideways smile!!

He has been knocking down blocks since the day he was born, but he decided to stack some this week. On his very first try he stacked three.

Notice the very serious "Im trying really hard" face.

Im not really sure when he learned this, but I have to say I was shocked. There are several things we never ever say in English to Santi. He has no idea what water is, its agua, he doesn't know what a book is, its a libro, he doesn't know what dance means, its bailamos, he doesn't know what ball is, its pelota. Well, come to find out, he does know what ball is. I have literally never said that word to him, but the other day my mom told him to go get his ball and he did. The only thing I can think of is that he heard the soccer players talking about the soccer ball. It may not sound that amazing, but it just made me realize how wonderful it is going to be that my little man is going to be fluent in both Spanish and English!

Oh the things you can do in a year

April

May

May 20: Born 9 days early
May 22: Came home

June

June 3: First babysitters
June 19: Baptism
June 29: First vacation

July

July 4: Slept through fireworks
July: Got Peruvian passport

August

August: Went to first Titans game
August 12: Rolled over

September

September 15: First airplane flight
September 19: First time at the beach

October

October 17: Ate cereal for the first time
October 29: October fest, dressed as a chicken

November

November 9: Drank from a sippy cup
November 25: Gramps 90th birthday
November: Started crawling
November 26: First trip to the zoo

December

December 1: Moved to a new house
December 19: Stood up
December 22: Waved bye

January

January 6: First teeth (two bottom)
January 15: Pulled up on the couch without any help
January 21: Ate chicken

February

February: Got top two teeth

March

March 14: Stood up in the middle of the room without help
March 21: Drank from a straw
March 25: Took 3 steps

April

April: Can say mama, dada, dandad (granddad), Nana, dog, no, daga (agua), banana, nigh nigh (night night)
April 7: Can walk all the way across the room
April 11: Roared like a lion

Walking and talking

I can't believe how many new things a little 10 month old can learn in one week. Santi stood up for the first time without holding on to anything and took his first steps all within a few days. Now just a week later he can walk all the way across the room. Of course crawling is much fast and easier, so that is still the preferred method, but I don't see it lasting much longer.

On top of walking Santi is now starting to talk more. Not only does he babble and copy everything we say, but he can for sure say a few words.

Mama

Dada (which is very weird to us. Nolan is going to be Papi, daddy is Spanish. We have never called him dada, but Santi calls him dada ALL the time.)

Nana (my mom)

Dog (he LOVES my parents dog)

Dandad (granddad, my dad)

Daga (agua)

No (not my favorite, but I guess he's got to learn it all)

Such a happy boy!

What joy this little man has brought into our lives in only a few short months! I can't wait to see him turn into the godly young man that he will hopefully be one day! One of the ways we hope to teach him about Christ is through the AMAZING catechism songs that Diana Batarseh wrote and recorded. I learned about the songs through Mustard Seed when I worked there. I always looked forward to teaching my own children. Just recently Diana finished the 3 cd project. Soooo, for Santi's birthday we ordered him a copy! I cant wait to get them and sing them with him. Now I just have to see if I can remember any of the sign language that goes with it!