Chilling and hanging out with Mateo

My baby is fast becoming a toddler, while being extra clingy to me. This entails walking a lot and dragging me along with him. He can be left alone to play with his toys, but I still have to be close to him. Really close. Like within an arm's reach close. I find it tiring, despite feeling that Mateo is somewhat an easy baby to look after.

I know that I should totally embrace this stage since this too shall pass. Yet, I am so stubborn. I try to squeeze in doing house chores as Mateo wants to simply spend time exploring things with me. Want to walk around? I should be beside him. Mommy needs to fold laundry? Mateo will shake the laundry rack and try to topple it. Need to wash dishes? He will follow me to the kitchen where he can find and bring a lot of mess. Or simply cry his lungs out behind closed doors.

It gets overwhelming. I could not find time to unwind. Then I found the way to chill out WITH him. I realized the two of us could already eat out when one day at noon time he begged me to go out. I was tired, and even if we did not have lunch yet and I knew he was sleepy, I submitted to his command. Yey. We went out. I was hungry (which most likely means he was also hungry). There was Subway. It looked healthy. We ordered food and ate. The six-inch sandwich may not have been satisfying for both of us (both of us wanted more but it was enough to not to make us hangry), but it was a good time.

Here is Mateo eating his first Subway roasted beef sandwich:

So the next day when Mateo was once again being a bit difficult (perhaps agitated from being just at home), we went out. I took to him to McCafe where I had cappuccino (surprisingly nice) and Mateo ate most of the mango muffin. It was a joy to hang out with this little kid! It has been one of my dreams to take Mateo to a coffee shop and with him alone. I had done that in Toast Box when he was 11 months, but he was sleeping. Now, we are finally eating together. Check. Check. Next in the checklist will be reading a book in a coffee shop while we sip our drinks in peace. Or maybe something less ambitious, like taking a nice photo of our little adventure.

It will be extremely expensive to do this everyday, but I am sure going to make this one of our regular activities. Now I can unwind and relax while tagging him along. Never mind the mess at home. :)