I bought Ignacio his first set of finger paints and this is his official first piece of artwork!

Taking a walk in the frigid weather with his snow suit from Tia Casey on! Mommy puts the hat on when we are playing and crawls around the house barking like a puppy! Fun times!

Here he is in his new hat from Great-Grandma Smith. Ride 'em cowboy!

For your viewing pleasure!

Here are two videos. One is of Addison and Ignacio playing hide and seek behind our curtain. It was close to their bedtime so they both had the "zooms" like kitties! The other is of Ignacio this morning helping mommy clean. Watch near the end of the video when he looks at his reflection and dances. Adorable!

Ball

Ignacio seriously loves the word "ball" and he literally wakes up saying it and goes to bed saying it. If someone comes over the first thing out of his mouth is "ball" and he can go from wailing to seeing a ball and the tears stop and "ball" comes flying out of his mouth. And he doesn't just say it once. Ignacio says ball probably, and I am not kidding here, over 200 times a day. Since his obsession with balls started a few weeks ago he has shown me a whole new world, where anything can become a ball. It is like his brain is wired to see balls everywhere. I feel like I am in a "Where's Waldo" book only I am constantly trying to see what he is seeing that is making him say "ball" over and over again. The following is a list of items that, before Ignacio, I never would have noticed look like balls:

The red cement figures on the pavement in front of Target stores
The light fixture in the cafe at the zoo
My sister's boob
The chandelier at the chinese restaurant
The post on a railing
The eyes of a frog
The toys in the monkey cages at the zoo and the list could go on and on.........

Today at the zoo he said his other favorite word as we looked at the majestic female lion perched on top of a rock behind the glass..."kitty!!!" For a moment I thought, "I should correct him and say "leon" so that he knows what animal it really is." Instead I just bent down next to him and smiled. You're right honey, that is a really big kitty.

Fire and Wire

Today I woke up to Ignacio crying in his crib and, as I opened the door to his room, he flopped down with bear for me to give him his morning cuddle. Now it is almost 9am and, as usual, I have already done more in the last two hours than I ever would have before having Ignacio. He is learning so fast and it is amazing to watch his little eyes focus because you just know there is so much happening in that little brain. Fire and wire those pathways! He is smart, quick and poised to absorb everything he comes into contact with. I think one of the best parts of being his mom is just experiencing things with him, like going on the ride this weekend. The look on his face when it started moving was something that, if I could, I would bottle and give away for free. I feel so lucky to have this time with him, even on the really hard days! Enjoy the pictures of him. We went to the Mall of America (something I NEVER do) and, although we didn't get to eat at the Rainforest Cafe (which was the whole reason we went), we did meet a creepy frog man and went to the amuzement park.

Ignacio in his big boy shoes!

PJ Party

Ama bought Ignacio the cutest pajamas EVER! I can barely contain myself from snuggling him the whole morning when he has these on. He is so LONG, much like his mother.

Silly, Silly

Ignacio tries to get himself dressed, put on his own socks and shoes and even tries to brush his own teeth. He is becoming his own little person and he loves to be independent now that he knows that he can be.

Here he is snuggling his bear. At any given moment he will find a stuffed animal among his toys, pick it up with his teeth and tackle it to the ground, staying still for a couple of seconds before springing up and moving on to the next thing.

Ignacio eats better when he has a spoon in his hand. He even put it to his own mouth the other day! Today, as I asked him if he was ready to eat, he made his way to his highchair to wait for me to sit him but as I looked down he had a big wooden spoon in his hand! I guess he wanted to upgrade today!

He absolutely loves seeing himself in the mirror, which in our living room is actually his reflection in the glass door of the cabinet. The other night he actually went over to it to watch himself cry!

Ignacio can now actually ride his favorite toy from Great-Grandma. At the end of the video when he puts his hand to his mouth he is blowing kisses. His legs are growing longer every day and soon enough he will be ready for his bike. He is such a delight to be around these days. He wakes up saying, "ball" and goes to bed saying the same thing. Today he said, "na na" for banana! He picks things up really quickly, which means mama and papa have to be VERY conscious parents now! He continues to be full of life, full of energy and insanely hilarious!

Birthday party, Banging and Ball

Addison after eating his birthday cake! He went in with two hands and Ignacio loved it too!

Ignacio with his Cisneros cousins. It looks like Miguel has three kids because they all look alike!

One of the gifts Addison got...sure is tasty.

Ignacio did three important things this weekend...he said "ball", he went to cousin's birthday party and he has found the art of banging things! That last part doesn't sound right but you know what I mean. Enjoy the pictures!