de Ledesma Family Blog

When Yago gets tired...

Wed, 1 Oct 2008 23:22:57 -0500

This is what he does. Usually this only happens at night when it’s time to go to bed, or around nap time if Yago’s really tired.
 Some kids have a binky, blanky, lovey...my kid still has something else.
Fortunately (for both of us) his Dad usually tucks him in at night. And to answer the question you’re asking yourself--no, Yago goesn’t give Dad the same treatment.

By the way...I am a bit tired of waiting to be at home to blog, so I may take a break from the .mac/iweb blogging that I do. I’m testing out a new page. It will make writing much more convenient!

Check out our latest antics at

http://shabjoon.wordpress.com/

Touchdown!

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 22:02:32 -0500

Yago was a bit shell-shocked at the beginning of the game--who can blame him? The people, the noise, the music, the crowd...He had been to games before, but now he was old enough to have an idea of what was actually going on.

I was expecting for him to get bored. I had packed markers and books for him to keep him entertained. I had almost taken my mom up on the offer to watch him so that we could watch the game in peace. Little did I know that our little Yago would be such a football fanatic. He pretty much sat still and watched almost the entire game!

He started out watching the game with Grandpa:

He then took turns sitting in my lap, Santi’s lap, and my cousin Amin’s lap. Here is a picture after a few rounds of “musical laps.”:

During halftime, he played with a mini football that I had brought into the suite. He was throwing the ball around and kicking it as well. He would tell me exactly where to hold the ball (as if he were kicking a field goal). If he were a little older, he probably would have yelled, “Mom, laces out!”

out of order

Sun, 14 Sep 2008 05:05:46 -0500

Yago loves his magnetic letters. On his school bus activity center, he has magnetic strips on each side to display his cherished letters. He can recognize a few letters. Apparently, gone are the days of immediately pointing out the “o” on a keyboard, and yet referring to the entire alphabet as “o!”

Yago’s favorite letter? “M.” Not sure why. Some days he’ll walk around the house with an “m” in each hand repeating the letter over and over.

I’m happy that he’s learning his alphabet, even though he’s learning it a bit out of order. Maybe this means that “elemenopee” will have a bit more meaning if he ever learns the alphabet song...

Good news! I haven’t ruined Yago...yet

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 20:10:41 -0500

I am happy to anounce that we haven’t put a DVD in the car for over a week. :) In fact, Yago hasn’t even asked for one in the car. We have been singing along to nursery rhymes and fun songs such as the Wheels on the Bus. Yago will act out the itsy bitsy spider too. Yay! I haven’t quite ruined him...not yet anyway.

(But since Grandma watches Yago all day, I don’t argue or even try to dictate more than mere “suggestions” to her--such as: please water down the gatorade before you put it in his sippy cup...that being said, it is likely that he’s getting his dose of DVDs in her minivan...But that’s what grandmas are here for. To give their grandchildren what they want.

I do have to admit that we have been watching the occasional episode of Thomas the Train or Backyardigans, though. We especially like the ones narrated by Alec Baldwin and George Carlin!

Lately, Yago will ask for Choo Choo (Thomas the Train) or Egg (Backyardigans). Why does he refer to the Backyardigans as “EGG?” We went to TPAC last month to watch the Backyardigans live. It was a good experience and Yago and his best bud Thompson couldn’t have behaved better if they had slept through whole show! Anyway, the theme of the show revolved around a giant egg which held a baby dragon. Hence, Egg.

At least he’s asking for shorter shows and no longer asks for “Vroom Vroom” (Cars), “Ah-Ah-Ah” (The Little Mermaid), or “Nemo” (Finding Nemo).

For those of you who know about “My”---he also doesn’t ask for that anymore (and we don’t remind him).

Choo Choo!

Sun, 7 Sep 2008 18:06:22 -0500

We braved the heat and made it out to the Tennessee Central Railway Museum for an afternoon with Thomas the Tank Engine. Yago got to see Sir Topham Hat and he got a new Thomas backpack too! He even took a picture with Thomas after a ride on the train. Once the picture is available on the internet I’ll try to download it or else I will scan the picture I purchased.

Yago had a good time with the choo-choos. It was hot so we didn’t stay long to play under the tent with the train tables. I’ll make it up to him by taking him to Barnes and Noble soon for some train table play (and he can play tomorrow at Grandma’s too).

Yago loved the train ride and couldn’t wait to tell his dad all about the Choo Choo!

What a trooper

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 02:15:05 -0500

We have put Yago through a lot so far on this trip and he’s been a trooper! It may work out in our favor in the end that he won’t sleep before 2 in the morning Madrid time and he sleeps until 11 or so. Hopefully he’ll forgive us for this short trip and soon return to his regular self. He has been great, and it’s to expect that he’s a bit clingy (especially after waking up without mom or dad after what we were HOPING would be more than just a nap...-hey, we were only meeting up with friends across the street! We weren’t far!) Anyway, we should have known better, and should not have left him the first night, despite getting along swimmingly with his Spanish family.

Last night was Santi’s cousin’s wedding and it was fun! We didn’t get to dance due to a 22-month-old who just couldn’t take any more. And who could blame him? He had already played outside with his second cousin during the wedding and then danced through the cocktail hour to a great band, sat down for most of the five-course dinner, and all of this after only an hour nap. My hat’s off to him for sure.

He fell asleep in the car on the way back home but then the jetlag took over and he was awake when we got back and insisted on watching the Little Mermaid before going to bed. We watched the whole movie (for the second night in a row) and he was finally asleep sometime around 2:30 or 3. At this rate, Hopefully he’ll sleep until 11 or so. He has a play date at the park in the morning so finally he has an activity geared toward his age group!

I can’t believe that we’re already heading back home tomorrow. We haven’t even unpacked and it’s time to pack up again!

Here are a couple of pictuers so far! I’ll post more in an album soon.

Yago smiles for the camera after a long, long day!

Yago ate his share of pasta and mine too for lunch on Friday!

UPDATE:
Here are some pictures from our trip so far:

Our Disney Movie Junkie

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 06:40:12 -0500

Sorry I’ve been gone for so long. Nesting has started kicking in so instead of procrastinating on housework and cleaining up Yago’s toys by blogging, I’ve been tidying up and then crashing. I WILL be better about this, really I will!

First it was Finding Nemo, then it was Cars. Yago’s latest obsession is with the Little Mermaid. He LOVES this movie. We started playing it in the car a couple of weeks ago and he asks for it all the time. It makes getting him into the car pretty easy these days with the promise of “mermaid” or “ah-ah-ah.”

He understands the “bad” Ursula and says, “oh-oh” when she shows up. He exclaims “wow” at the fireworks. He echos several parts of the movie and anticipates other parts, spoiling the movie for others who may be around. I keep trying to convince myself that this is really a good developmental tool. I mean, he’s increasing his vocabulary, right? He also gets up and dances during all of the songs (if not strapped into a carseat) so he’s getting exercise! If he’s in the car, then he’ll wave his arms and dance as much with his legs and upper body as he can. Sometimes he sings along in his own gibberish as well.

Here’s a pic below of both “kids” watching the Little Mermaid on Saturday morning:

...but they did pause to give Mom a smile for the camera:

Ariel will be granted her wish to walk among the humans, and I’ll eventually convince myself that the Little Mermaid is a developmental tool and we’ll all live happily ever after.

Yago masters his sorting blocks

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 22:57:17 -0500

When I bought this sorting block wheel from pottery barn, I hoped that it would be a bit simpler than his 6-sided sorting block toy that was harder to manage. The top would not seal, so flipping it was difficult without losing the blocks that were already sorted! This one is perfect because he can’t open it yet. He is contstantly completing it and handing it back to me to open it and dump out the blocks. (He should be able to open it, but just hasn’t quite figured it out yet...I like it that way! We are less likely to lose the blocks!)

Despite the hours of fun with his sorting blocks, today they became supplanted as the “favorite” toy. I saw the Bilibo online and decided that it would be a good addition to Yago’s ever-growing collection of toys. Hopefully we can retire some toys and declutter a bit! For now, most toys fit nicely in the corner of the living room: Not displayed here are the mega blocks or Diego toy bin that are neatly hidden under the electric keyboard. (We have only put together one set of shelves...there are two more sets--one for the remaining cubby boxes and another for a selective library of books for the living room.

Anyway, back to Yago’s new favorite toy:

Yes, I had to buy two. Yago and Santi-aka the Stormtroopers-tried them on for size.

When I first opened the boxes from Amazon (and before the bilibos became hemlets), Yago was SOOOOO excited and immediately turned one of the contraptions on its “back” and began to spin it around. Next, he grabbed all of his toy balls (little footballs and pvc balls) and started launching them into the spinning target.

He also tried the bilibo out as a chair...

--albeit an unstable one:

I like this new toy because there are no rules. Yago can do what he wishes with it and the possibilities seem endless!

What use can you find for your Bilibo?

Wii be unfit

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 21:56:39 -0500

Recently, I had my first shot at Wii Fit.

[I had played the Wii before, but not with the board. Interestingly I seem to play the Wii when I shouldn’t. The last time I played the Wii was shortly after knee surgery to repair my ACL. I only learned later that my surgeon had actually performed knee surgeries caused by Wii injuries! ...but I digress]

Anyway, back to the Wii Fit. I have to admit that as a little girl, I was pretty good at the hula hoop. Not just pretty good. I was an expert. I could take the hoop from my waist to my neck and back down. I would just hula and hula for hours and hours. This childhood love for the hula hoop is probably why I just could not resist the temptation of trying it out on the Wii! Not only did I try it out, but I did the hula-hoop carrying two babies! (one in the womb and one out...I don’t recommend trying this at home) I may have to buy a Wii for myself just so that I can hula. It will be a good way to lose the baby fat once the baby is born. In the meantime, though I must use more self-control and avoid all Wii urges.

wow!

Wed, 9 Jul 2008 02:29:42 -0500

Yago’s new favorite word. He has a supercool new top that his grandmother bought him and it spins in place. When I finally got to pick him up Tuesday evening he excitedly ran to get the top to show it to me. He showed me how it worked and said, “WOW!” Once or twice as he repeated his new favorite word, I caught a slight hint of a persian accent and it came out more like “vow” (there is no “w” sound in farsi)

Yago is becoming quite the parrot. At times he’ll just sit and repeat what we say for 1 or 2 minutes. Santi and I like to get him to repeat fun phrases such as “oh, man” or “alright-alright.” It’s loads of fun and entertainment for the whole family!