My second child is approaching his first birthday, and with this milestone comes the excitement of new words spoken and understood. Also, as it relates to our bilingual ambitions, this age is my favorite because success is defined in a measure that is achievable for our monolingual household. It’s cheating, I know, but at almost one year old, my hijo is completely bilingual! Actually, just today, he said “más” and used the sign for more. I was ecstatic! I continuedRead More ...
My Baby’s First Bilingual Words
What’s In A Name? So Many Choices, Only One Winner
I’ve had baby names on the mind lately, and at this late stage of my pregnancy it’s kind of hard not to. Every sharp kick, jab and foretelling Braxton Hicks contraction is a reminder to stop procrastinating and decide on something, anything, before delivery day. For my first pregnancy four years ago, it was different, as most first pregnancies tend to be. I was so excited that I basically peed on a stick and ran to a bookstore to purchaseRead More ...
Piercing Baby’s Ears — A Cultural Rite of Passage?
There are rites of passage in many cultures that are sure to raise eyebrows, and even judgmental comments, from others. Many are justified for being inhumane and even torturous, but I refuse to believe that piercing my daughter’s ears when she was an infant falls within that spectrum. If I sound defensive right off the bat, I might be just a tiny bit. This week I wrote an article over at my Babble Voices blog – Besos – titled “HowRead More ...
Growing Up Bilingual
I’ve always been a sucker for old photographs, letters, diaries, lists — anything that will somehow give me an insight into my and my family’s past. My parents were pretty good about saving stuff like that in an old wooden trunk which has seen better days and is currently in my sister’s possesion. So I was absolutely ecstatic when just a few days ago my mom handed me a small brown envelope with something I’d never seen before — orRead More ...
In The Name Of… Culture?
I recently went through my running list of possible names for our second child – to be born in September – with my husband. I’m sad to report it didn’t go very well – although I was not surprised. He didn’t really like most of them. So we’re kind of back to to square one. For some – especially within the Latino population, naming their child might not be a very difficult task for they have no problem choosing theRead More ...