Baby Shopper, Aisle 9

Sometimes I really underestimate Mateo, and then he amazes me! We (Mateo & Anita) went grocery shopping Thursday night and (as usual) he was trying to pull items off the shelves and then fussing when I would not let him. I just assumed that he wanted to grab them, hold them, eat them, and drop them so I kept trying to divert him. Finally, in the produce section I let him touch the broccoli. He immediately chose one and placed it in the bag I was holding with the other broccoli. Amazed, I asked him to pick out a potato and put it in the basket, and he did. He subsequently picked out all our apples and pears and placed them in their respective produce bags. Who knew he even understood how to shop, much less be able to do it? I was so blown away that I had to refrain from buying one of every fruit and vegetable!

Mateo is Officially Walking (and here's the proof)

Mateo took his very first real step last week (Thursday Sept. 10th, to be exact), following it up the next day with his first sets of 2-3 steps linked together. It has now been a week since that fateful first step, and each day we've witnessed him get better and better at his new skill. Yesterday afternoon at the playground he took what must have been about 25 or 30 continuous steps before he plopped onto his bottom. We didn't get a video of that one, but we snapped a couple of brief video clips so that all you die hard Mateo fans out there can witness the magic for yourselves.

Hiking in the Portola Redwoods

Here are some photos from a trip we took this weekend with Jen & Mike to go hiking in the Portola Redwood Forest (~1.5 hours south of San Francisco).

Mateo was excited to crawl around and check out the big trees after a long and windy car ride.

Taking a pit stop for some lunch amidst the towering redwoods.

What a lovely picnic spot.

Flying high.

Posing for a photo with Mommy and Jen.

Wow, what a cool stick.

Not much of a waterfall this time of year, but Mateo didn't mind.

He loved playing with the water and touching the cool slimy moss on the rocks.

A bird's eye view of Mateo's luxury chariot.

Walking through the woods with Mommy at the end of the hike.

After a long day, he still had enough energy to climb up the stairs to our apartment.

It's so much fun on the weekends when Mommy and Daddy are both around all day!

Mateo's First "Camping" Trip

Jesse's lab had a camping trip a few days ago in Sanborn park (Santa Clara County), and Anita & Mateo decided to come along for the day without sleeping over.

Mateo loved getting dirty in the woods, and opening and closing the raccoon-proof bins.

Hitching a ride on a hike through the redwood grove.

The Wagner Lab poses for a group photo on the Shakespeare-in-the-Park stage (Jesse's boss is on the balcony with his twins).

Mateo loved the twins' little camping chairs.

Mateo loved crawling through the dirt, commando-style, kicking up dust like Pigpen from Peanuts. Along the way, he would find simple treasures, like this nice leaf.

Nothing tastes better than food while you're camping.

Mateo's First Birthday Party

We celebrated Mateo's first birthday party with a potluck picnic in Golden Gate Park. We had a nice picnic site, near the Dahlia Garden and the Conservatory of Flowers, and lots of friends came to share in the festivities. Mateo had loads of fun -- here are a few photos to prove it.

Catching a moment of shade in his beloved giraffe tunnel.

We brought this wagon to haul all of our gear to the picnic site, but it ended up being a big hit with the kids. Mateo loved riding in the front and standing up the whole time. His buddies Oliver and Leo got a kick out of it, too.

Oliver's mom Rosa pulls the wagon, and Nalini helps push.

Mateo takes a break from playing to gnaw on an apple-pear, which cousin Jenny brought us from her backyard garden in Berkeley.

Despite having his own, Mateo tries to swipe cousin Elliot's pacifier.

Sure enough, he succeeded.

Mateo helps open cards and presents, and all the kids swarm the emerging pile of goodies. Here Lucas checks out Mateo's new drum, and Maya checks out a colorful book.

Mateo bangs on his new drum while Lucas looks on.

Mateo and Maya make music together.

Mateo rushes to text all his friends about what a cool party he's having and how many awesome gifts he just scored, including this colorful wool hat.

Casey and Maya say goodbye (but not for long, since we met up with them for sushi afterward). Next month, it will be Maya's turn to celebrate the big 1.

A few more fun moments

Mateo has been getting much better at standing on his own, but until now we haven't captured it on film. Anita's friend KT snapped this cute photo of Mateo standing in her flip-flops.

KT, who visited from Austin, was excited to finally meet Mateo.

Mateo reading in his bathtub. He recently learned to point at things he wants, and he used his new skill to point to every single bath toy in his bath toy caddy, one at a time, resulting in a tub so full of toys that you can barely see the water.

Getting older, but as cute as ever.

Profile of Our One-Year-Old

Weight: 23 lbs
Height: 30 inches
Number of Naps Per Day: 2 (9:30 am and 2:30 pm)
Bedtime: 8pm
Awake: by 7am (often earlier)
Number of nighttime wakings: 2-4 (ugh!)
Number of Teeth: 3 (with at least one more on the way)
Favorite Foods: watermelon, lentil soup, toastie o's, guacamole
Favorite Word: "burp" (actual burps are received with fits of giggle)
Favorite Animal: dog

Animal Sounds He Can Imitate: "moo", "baaa", and "woof woof"

Favorite Activity: opening and closing the toilet lid
Favorite Activity that Mom actually allows: emptying the clothes from the dresser drawers
Least Favorite Activity: Diaper Changes
Favorite Element: Water; swimming in pools, wading in the ocean, taking a bath, blowing bubbles in the water glass (note: some people would say that water is actually TWO elements, hydrogen and oxygen. Whatever floats your boat...)
Favorite Toys: books, musical instruments (especially percussion), kitchen utensils
Favorite Motion: Being flipped upside down

Happy Birthday, Mateo!

It's official! The little guy is one year old today. Although mommy & daddy both had to go to work, we celebrated with an evening together. We ate burritos in the park, where Mateo got to people-watch and dog-watch while chowing on guacamole and black beans. Afterwards, went for a walk to the ice cream parlor where Mateo tried his first ice cream: plum sorbet and orange cardamom ice cream. (The ice cream shop is "hip" in San Francisco so the flavors are quite gourmet). He started off a little hesitant, but then was quite enthusiastic, using his spoon to collect his own bites. He is now fast asleep, without even a bath or goodnight rock-a-bye... straight from the car to bed in his day clothes and sticky face. What a day!

Here are a couple photos from our picnic dinner in Dolores Park:

Last day of zero...

Mateo helped his last year go out with a bang by taking a 3 hour and 15 minute nap this morning. Phew, guess it's tiring to be almost one! Today mommy and daddy FINALLY celebrated their anniversary (June 5th) by going on a date to the movies. Mateo got to hang with his nanny Alexis, who was more than happy to share her labor day with him. We can't wait until tomorrow!