On kisses and other displays of affection

You can imagine how delighted I was this week when my 13-month-old son kissed me for the first time. It was totally unexpected and spontaneously and at the beginning it took me aback. His sister might have been past 2,5 years when she learnt to kiss. I first thought it a coincidence but after three clear attempts at putting his lips on my cheek and making a little noise it was clear to me. In the previous weeks he had been doing some biting instead. I wonder now whether he was practicing. How sweet this little dude is!!

We like snuggling up and are all sort of loving but I clearly see differences between my children in this sense. Marina is pretty much her own and definitely introverted. She often refuses to be kissed, has very seldom kissed anyone but her parents, and we totally respect that. The fact that we don't encourage (let alone force) our children to kiss anyone, not even relatives, might be a bit of a contrast when we meet relatives who do, which happens once or twice a year. Someone may think we are raising unfriendly, unsociable children but I really believe it is a way to show them to trust themselves, their sense of safety and comfort. This is very important to me.
Marina's displays of affection tend to be shy so I had a secret feeling of joy the other day when matter-of-fact and out of the blue she declared "I like Cristina Coll, Irene (both friends of mine), you and Mazda (invented character) very much".

An update and a dilemma

This post is a kind of wink at Melissa from Vibrant Wanderings. Thanks Melissa for making me want to post a little update as a response to your Moments post.
What are we up to?

We seem to be entering a new era where both kids play lots together and both concentrate on similar practical activities. However, there are many other activities that are not prepared for the littlest, mainly language and sensorial things. Despite his capacity for concentration, he is often attracted to what the eldest is doing and leaves his aged-appropriate material to see and touch(!!!) what his sister is into.
I would love to hear from people with experience in coping with a toddler and a pre-schooler sharing the same space.
For the moment being, a high-chair which only Marina (my pre-schooler) can climb onto and a large table with her materials is the only way we have found to prevent the youngest from touching or knocking her materials.
Amadís is already 13'5 months and a good-natured boy. He is about to start walking any moment and is very into animal models, opening-closing, imbucare activities, stacking, and playing with his sister. He is using spoon and fork for his meals as of late, although he prefers to use the hand most of the time, or to be fed... oh lazy kid. He is a master of repetition and his sister is his dearest model. His vocabulary and expression in general widens a bit everyday. Most of his words are composed by the syllable "ta". He uses "ta" for "there you are" as well as for "give it to me"; "tata" for poop and pee, "teta" for boob.
Marina's main interest as of late is in Montessori activities, which fills me with joy.... At last! She wants to work with the pink tower and the cylinder blocks several times a day, and asks for other materials we don't have currently displayed. Today she brought the Movable alphabet to me and said she wanted to use it. And there she's been inventing words and "writing" them. She is also big into painting and drawing. She was given a set of bright solid tempera markers for her third birthday on the 22nd of December and midway through the Christmas break she had already used them up. I am amazed at the array of activities that keep her engaged.
 The fact that she finds so much to do though our home has brought up a family debate. We, the three of us, were going to Marina's school everyday during the first trimester. This was exhausting and although we were doing all right I felt I really needed a break. And there came the break and the time to ponder and reflect, and to let the feelings find their way. At the end of the break I didn't feel like going back to school and neither did Marina. I've really felt in my bones the joy of preparing a Montessori environment and organizing/looking for materials to match my children's current interests. I am thriving on it! And hence the dilemma: do we go back to school something like twice a week, or should we stick to our Montessori home-schooling?

New year, new words

Not so long ago I was excitedly witnessing my daughter's first words (or babbling) and compiling it here. Today, this daughter is three years old and sister to a one-year old brother who starts babbling.
Regretfully, in 2013 I was trapped in a sort of chaotic life with two small kids and very little time and couldn't manage to find the time to post. One of my resolutions for 2014 is to write more and this includes, of course, to post more. This blog was born as a journal and it is now my desire to use it as such, for the sake of memory. It is endearing to remember a baby's first movements, words, interests... and I am afraid my memory is not able to retain everything.

Baby 2 is now nearly 13 months. He doesn't walk yet but we are starting to see a kind of peace that was totally gone for a whole year.

As I was with Marina before, I am fascinated by the way he designates words and also by the fact that he chooses nearly the same monosyllables her sister used when she started to babble.

To date, he uses some disyllabic inventions such as:

"Teta" for boob, and generally food.

"Tata" for poop, pee, for some people.
"Taata" for tiger and other animals he sees on his bedtime board book.
"Holaa" for hello and good-bye.

"Baba" for water.

The uses of "mama" and "papa" are a bit erratic but he often utters them.

I am looking forward to witnessing more words, first steps, and other milestones... But I also wish to live here and now and not miss a thing.

So happy to be back!!!