One of the first toys we ever gave Mateo was a basketball. Yes, not those baby rattles or cars, but a miniature rubber ball. And he immediately took a liking to it. From then on, we always had a first choice of gift for him.

On his 1st birthday, we weren’t surprised to find out that many of his guests picked the same thing for him as a gift. Papu, as we call his granddad, gave him a football, on the other hand. Now he’s got several basketballs, a soccerball, and a football.

Here he is after trying out his new ball. He got his first tackle from dada, but still found the time to smile for the camera.