Mateo is such a handful lately. He could barely sit still for ten minutes. It’s such a hassle now to bring him whenever we eat out because he could make such a ruckus. He’d cry with such vigor, worthy of Bantay-Bata. He has a lot of toys but he’ll be interested in them for only about an hour. After that, something new needs to be offered to keep him preoccupied. He has gone through his books several times already, he has almost memorized each one of them. He talks incessantly, as if having a conversation with us. He loves going out and would readily go with anyone by the door. He’d run around when inside a mall and refuse to hold our hands. He can shriek like a girl and laugh like there’s no tomorrow. He’d sing with emotion on his face and dance like no one’s watching. He’d tinker with absolutely anything that catches his attention, which would be everything when he’s bored. He loves climbing our sofa, our dining chairs, our gate, our bed’s headboard, etc. He opens cabinets and removes things from inside (but puts them back in if asked). He’d challengingly remove scotch tapes, band-aids, anything that has adhesive on it and stuck to something. He likes to hold his crayons and doodle on big cartolinas. Sometimes he’d even lie face down on the floor and ‘write’. He’d automatically go up somebody’s back/tummy once he sees them lying down and he’d go ‘horsy, horsy’. He’d sometimes defy our admonitions with a naughty sparkle in his eyes. He’d insist on something he wants until the two of us are almost in a shouting match. He’d stubbornly keep his lips shut if he doesn’t like the food we’re offering. He’d say ‘dede, bel’ if he wants his bottle, say ‘dede, mama’ and pull my shirt up if he wants to drink milk from me.

My sister calls him Mateo the menace while Ramil and I wonder if we have a child with ADHD.

And he’s not even two. So help us God.