Count down to 5K

In less than one week mami and all the other mamas who agreed to take part in the Adidas Women's 5K Challenge will be making their way to the start line and then taking off running! Mami as you know is running for Arthritis Research UK.

This week has been really "stressful" (I don't know what that means) and tiring for mami, and she hasn't really been able to go out for a run. But yesterday she went for a quick jog and today, me, daddy and mami all headed out and we did 7 miles!

Mami was really sweaty again, but we were proud of her for getting out there. I also heard her telling daddy she had put on weight, so she was determined to get moving.

We tried it! Weekly Roundup

It's a long weekend, and that means I get to spend extra time with daddy. I really don't want to be blogging too much, so I am going to give you a brief update on some of the great things mami and I have been trying and a special giveaway to 5 lucky winners around the world!

Caca. That's poo in Spanish

Just to update you, mami really should not worry about me talking - I let her know loud and clear what I was up to this morning.

When she came to get me out of my crib, I looked up at her and said "CACA" (poo in Spanish). She was so happy I had said a word, she just laughed and said "Si, caca. Poof! Let's get you changed"

But when she bent down to pick me up, she saw the horror I had been sitting in. "Yuck!" She yelled out and suddenly she realised she was stepping in something mushy. I just stood there and I pointed at my bottom.

I was covered in it! I had never seen it come out the side of my leg that way. Must be the new nappies, not very good I'd say.

So you gotta understand I tried my best to clean it up. I threw it out of the crib, I rubbed it on the side of the wall and wiped my hands on my sheets. Of course, I was just trying to help.

Mami quickly wiped her toes, you should have seen her face, so funny! Then she ran to start the bath and in I went. Ahhh, just what I needed.

I said "caca" again and clapped. She looked at me, sighed and said "Si, caca. Muy bien/very good".

At least she gave me credit for getting the word right. It wasn't easy you know.

I love mami. Even if she did make me sit in my caca.

Speak soon

Uh oh! I think mami is worried.

I heard her talking to abuelita on the phone, and when she asked if I was talking yet, mami scrunched her eyebrows, looked over at me and said “Hmm? Not really. I mean nothing, just sounds. He can quack like duck”.

She is sort of right. I’m not speaking like my friends at nursery, but I do repeat mami’s animal noises. They are so funny! I can quack like a duck and bark like a dog.

But the thing is, I can understand (almost) everything she says.

So far we understand each other just fine. She speaks and I respond by either pointing to what I want, shaking my head no, holding out my hand or just running away. See, I can speak, but it just doesn’t sound like the words she and daddy use.

A few months ago I did start saying mama and tete/dummy, but I haven’t really used those lately. I am now a year and a half (19 months to be exact) and I just want her to know that I hear her and daddy, but I am not ready to say anything yet.

Even the way I say “no” sounds different to her. Mine is more like “ne ne ne “. Maybe I just have a different accent?

So I wrote mami a little letter so that she won't worry anymore.

Querida mami,

Please don’t worry, I am going to speak soon, I promise. I hope you know that I understand both English and Spanish, and just because what I say doesn’t sound like your words, I am learning them.

Daddy has been teaching me how to say “tree” and this week I said it! I hope you are proud of me.

Remember, I blow kisses at you every morning and I hope that makes you happy until I can say more.

¡Te quiero mucho!
 

I tried it! Maclaren Triumph

Okay, so you remember back in July when my pushchair broke down and a certain company wouldn't replace it? Yes, that's the one! Mami and daddy where not very happy and really it just caused a great inconvenience to everyone involved.

However, a great opportunity came from Maclaren when I was offered to test out their Triumph pushchair.

Who are Maclaren you ask?
They are a premier British parenting lifestyle company that produces the worlds most safe, durable, innovative, and stylish baby buggies, strollers and pushchairs. And let me just say, daddy agrees with everyone single word!

I climbed right in - couldn't wait to test it out!

First impressions
You should have seen the look on mami and daddy's face when it arrived. They could not stop "ooh-ing and ahhh-ing". Daddy had selected the red one for "safety" reasons and because it is easier to spot. Daddy is very smart you know.

Mami immediately checked out the wheels to see how sturdy they were (this is where we had problems with the last one). They seemed to meet her approval and she smiled.

We took it out for a spin and it was the smoothest ride I have ever had in a buggy!

I think mami and daddy knew that they should have purchased a Maclaren in the first place. They had been trying to save a bit of money and decided for the less expensive option. But like daddy says "you get what you pay for". When in fact it is not that much more, especially when you consider how much we use it.

Why we love it
For us the Maclaren Triumph is just perfect! We do not have a car so we rely on a top quality pushchair to get all around the city.

Mami takes me to nursery and it is easy to fold up and put away. When we go out on weekends daddy can just take me up the stairs at the tube station, it is easy to get on and off the train and doesn't take up much room on the bus (we have had MAJOR issues with making space on the bus). It is also waterproof and the seat cover can be washed - good thing because I have already made a mess!

Hey! I'm a city boy - I need to travel light and in style

Daddy said the wheels swivel perfectly, the handles are very comfortable and no major effort is required to push like the other one.

Doesn't get in anyone's way - even on the escalators

 No need for mami to lift the front to get on the tube

Perfect fit on a London bus

Oh! And another reason mami loves Maclaren is for their newest  Stroll back to Shape campaign with Pushy Mothers  (mami loves anything to do with  fitness!) They are helping get mamas get back shape by using their buggies.

Even though mami has been doing more running lately, she loves this because we did buggy fitness for a long time. I remember going up and down and up and down Primrose Hill when I was just a baby. You can't say she didn't try!

What I say
I can get in and out on my own (yesssss) and  I can push it at the park. I do have to admit, that 5 point harness starp is pretty good. I can't seem to get out of these like I could with the other one. So an A+ is well deserved.

Strapped in tight -  I'm not going anywhere!

Mami and daddy's final say
They should have never purchased anything other than a Maclaren. They had always known they were good buggies, but now they are complete "converts". And just as importantly Maclaren offers a Sovereign Lifetime Warranty which shows their confidence in their own products. Unlike our last one that only had a 6 month warranty, this is no "disposible" buggy.

Bye bye

Say a little prayer

Mami and I walked over to the post office to pick up a package. I love it when she takes me out without the pushchair. The only rule is I must hold her hand. And I do. Very, very tight.

After I handed the man the red card with our package information he brought back a big brown pack.

We then turned to go home but went via the high street instead of the way we came.

Mami tried it! Lubatti Dreamy Night Cream

Clearly I am not the expert when it comes to the stuff mami puts on her face. The only creams I know are nappy creams and that slimy baby cream mami sometimes rubs on my arms and legs. Yuck! I don't like it at all!

So when Lubatti contacted me about mami trying out some of their products, I thought "Why not? Mami deserves it and she loves that stuff".

And she really does. I have seen first hand how she paints her face in the mornings and although I am asleep at night, daddy has told me all about her night time "routine".

It involves taking off the colours from her face and lots of cream! Come to think of it, I have never seen daddy do any of this, so I won't either.

Daddy day!

Yesterday was a special because daddy was home with me all day long! Just the two of us. No mami anywhere in sight.

Mami  had woken up very early and left to take a train. She had a very important meeting with some of my blogging friends. She, along with @cosmicgirlie @pippaD @and1moremeans5 @himupnorth spent the day at the Asda offices in Leeds getting to know the team and eating yummy food.

Funny, but there were a lot of pictures and mentions of sausages on twitter (I followed her tweets to check in on her). Looks like she had a fun day. Hmmm? Not bad, not bad at all.

Gone Bananas!

Lunch time again!

Mami sat me in my high chair and fork in hand I started poking at the chicken and tomato bits on my plate. I had a few bites, mami cheering me on for being so good with the fork and she turned to get my juice cup.

To tell you the truth, I just wasn't in the mood to eat. Some days I'm just not hungry. Mami doesn't get it and there she was trying to get me to eat.

"No no no no no" I yelled out shooing her away and moving my head to the side. I closed my mouth really tight and shook my head "NO".

"Okay, fine. But drink your juice" and she took the plate away.

I tried it! Mr Colour Maker

 

A while back mami let me paint in the kitchen and I made an absolute mess!

She turned for one moment and I painted the floor, the cabinets and when she tried to take the brush away, I even painted her jeans! It was so much fun! Although, mami didn't think so.

So when I was offered to try out Mr Colour Maker paint bucket by Tomy, mami was very happy for some good clean fun!

Mami's very VERY long run

The long run

Mami always manages to get herself into trouble, and last Sunday daddy and I thought she had gotten lost on her group run! He kept going up to look out the window and was very close to putting me in the buggy to go and find her.

Early that morning, she had filled her new Swiggies, or Swigglets as daddy called them (they are water bottles that go on your wrists, so cool!) and she was gone.

Picture: ARUK

Chillaxing

You know when all you want to do is sleep ALL DAY LONG?

I bet you do. Mamas always complain about not getting enough sleep - including mine!

Well, mami and I have been feeling like that all week. Mami walked around in a daze today. She wasn't her cheerful self and I wasn't in the mood to be made to sing. I'm getting more teeth and it hurts.

I tried it! FlexiBath

Yipppeeeeeee! I got a new bathtub! Yessss! I love it and so does mami and daddy. It's red, it folds up and it's called a FlexiBath.

I know what you're thinking "he doesn't have a bath tub?" and the answer is "no, I don't".

See when I was a baby mami and daddy has a special tub for me. They used the big one and I couldn't wait to go in there. Then we moved to another flat, and guess what? Our new flat does not have one! I searched and searched, but no luck.

The Gallery - Mami's Playtime

I'm baaaack!

It has been a very long time since I've done anything for The Gallery. But the theme this week was playtime and of course that is my specialty!

I thought about all the fun pictures I could post like the one of me making mud cakes.

Orrrrr the one of me painting all over the kitchen floor. And even the one of me building a tall tower with daddy.

But no. I decided to ask daddy to take a picture of mami during her playtime.

Bilingual Corner No 3 - Nicknames!

A special badge for all bilingual families.

My friend Rebecca over at two became four made it specially for me!

Last month I blogged about choosing names in bilingual homes. This month I wanted to talk about something similar – nicknames! 

I found out the hard way that nicknames don’t necessarily make sense from one language to the next.

Nicknames are personal and sometimes can be funny, really funny! But only to those that understand the language. It may sound strange to others but only you and your family know how you got it.

Running Mamas

 
Calling all Running Mamas!

Why mami runs

Mummy to 5K

Okay, some of you many know that mami is training for the Adidas Women's 5K Challenge to raise awareness and funds for Arthritis Research UK and also running the Royal Parks Half Marathon in October.

Today mami and daddy put me in the running buggy and we all went for a 5 mile run.  She didn't look well, and had a hard time breathing, but she made it!

After we got back I had my milk and pulled up my chair next to mami and she answered a few questions. So here it goes!

 Weeeeeeeeee!