What My Sweet Child Does In His Free Time

A whole lot of toe sucking...

and a whole lot of lovin...

Blowing Raspberries

It was a wonderful weekend spent with the family even though all three of us have been sick. Finally finished shopping and wrapping gifts. Played some games and watched the last episodes of The Good Wife (so much that I think I could be a good paralegal or FBI agent now...).

Today I took Luke to the doctor for his 6 month check-up and shots. While Luke was watching the people passing by as we sat in the waiting room, I could only think of how that smile wouldn't be on his face any more in less than an hour. Any time a person would acknowledge that he was there, he would jump up and down grinning from ear to ear. In between those times he would blow raspberries and try to suck on his feet. Where does he learn this? I have no idea. While in the patient room, he kept trying to eat the paper covering the bed. Finally, when the doctor came in, I took it away, and Luke immediately started fussing. I figured... oh, it's something babies do.. because they don't have the bottle/toy/paper any more, but then the doctor asked, "Did he just have a tantrum?" Oh dear. He laughed a little and wished me luck because we're going to have a fun two-year-old if he's already throwing tantrums at 6 months.

I didn't get it until now. Terrible Twos. That's what they're called. Great. Just great. I'm going to be the mom in the middle of Wal-mart with everybody snarling at her because her kid's throwing a fit on the floor.
... ok, so not really, but I do worry about it sometimes. I just don't want any of my children to be bratty.
... and I thought boys were supposed to be easier???

Who would've thought it all started with blowing raspberries...

Tons of Pictures

I realize that I've neglected taking pictures with Daddy. So until we get a family portrait put together... Can't believe we don't have one yet!!! ... this will have to suffice. And as always, there's some extra thrown in, just because he's too cute.

Cuddling with Daddy

  

 Abuelito's Birthday Party

And my favorites of the week...

Let the Celebrations Begin

It's not even the middle of December and I'm already exhausted from all of the holiday celebrations. Friday we had a party put on by the teens for our church. My sister and I were in the drama and Aldo cooked a ham and potatoes and volunteered to help in the kitchen. Sometimes I wish he didn't like to cook as much... but then I realize I wouldn't be eating a delicious dinner that night... We ended up staying past midnight playing Pit and Taboo with the youth, and telling silly jokes from being so slap happy. (Taboo has become a new favorite game of mine, like Catch Phrase, but now I don't have the answers memorized. I here and now add that to my wish list.)

Saturday we went Christmas shopping together and surprisingly didn't overspend. Thank you Dave Ramsey! We've gotten back on our budget and with a little a lot.. of self-control, we can actually build up some savings. Now I'm eager for everybody to unwrap them and see the thrill on their faces. :)
We weren't even home for an hour, when my Granddad invited us to his church's Christmas bash. After church on Sunday, we went to Vero's apartment to celebrate Aldo's dad's birthday with pizza and card-playing. After a few hours, we rushed back to church to watch the children in their Christmas performance. I've never been so glad for a Monday.

Well, the cold is here and I'm ready to snuggle up in a blanket with my family, flip on the tv, and sip some nice, warm hot chocolate. Lately I've been reminded of how blessed I really am... I can't wait to go home and spend time with my husband and son. I think sometimes we get caught up in life so much so that we don't realize the really important things are right in front of us. Love you Aldo and Luke!

Memorabilia

I need to play a little catch up...

This past weekend Aldo, Luke, and I visited my Grandma and Grandpa. Luke actually let Grandpa hold him (usually he doesn't like men holding him) and he sat on Grandma's lap for a while. Until he wanted to roll on the floor. Later, we put up our own Christmas tree. Luke doesn't seem too interested in it, but I let him touch the tree anyway. It's about the same size as him and he nearly pulled it down. This week Luke's new thing has been saying "DA". It's really cute the way he says it, and I'm sure his first word will be "Dada". Stinker. I also think he'll be crawling by Christmas.

Anyway, I've been going over Luke's baby book and I realized a lot of stuff I forgot to put in it. Or things it doesn't even ask for. I was talking to a pregnant friend of mine the other day and she told me how she was just getting over her morning sickness. I remember that first three months. Man, it was horrible. Whenever I got in the car, my stomach would just drop. Then I had some deja vu the other day at Walmart. In the middle of my pregnancy I would get really dizzy. Once I was in Walmart with my mom and sister and almost passed out in an aisle. They made me sit down until I had enough strength to get a drink of water. It occurred to me, why didn't I just carry a bottle of water around from Walmart, and purchase it after... even if it was empty? People do that all the time right? Buy stuff that they've already used...

I'm sure I've failed to mention something else. I'll have to write about it as it comes. 

Look at my Big Boy!

Come on Winter!

Thanksgiving Holiday Pictures

The True Meaning of Royal Flush

I absolutely love holidays. Not just for the food or the great gifts, but because I have the world's best family to celebrate with. To sum up the entire Thanksgiving holiday, I'll just give the most notable moments of the weekend.

Luke has really been staring down "adult" plates as of late. Rather than wanting to eat his own food, he'd like to grab some of ours. We ordered some take-out pizza for the family the night before Thanksgiving and we were just hanging out in the kitchen in deep conversation, enjoying our dinner. I like to dip my pizza, so when I got some on my finger, I let Luke lick it off. Man, he really enjoyed it. I continued to give him little fingerfuls of sauce, when all of a sudden he smacked his hand on my plate and the entire tub of sauce shot in the air and landed all over his white socks and my brand new jeans. Afterward  he looked up at me with such questioning eyes... like Mommy, I spilled the sauce... I couldn't feel anything but sympathy.

For Thanksgiving, I was going to let Luke eat with us.. baby food chicken and gravy. Yumm. But he DID NOT like it one bit. He would sort of clamp his mouth shut, making it very difficult to feed him. My mom said, "Well, what do you expect? It's baby food. And all of the meats don't taste very good. Try it." I wasn't going to stick that gross stuff in my mouth. I pitched it and fed him bananas instead.

After eating, we decided to play Catch Phrase. One of my favorite games ever! My granddad isn't very good at it. He can't read the lettering, and all of his "hints" refer to politics and history lessons I must have failed. The player of the night would have to go to my sister. Her first clue was this: "It's a really big poop I guess." We're all looking at each other like WhAt?? The Real Phrase: Royal Flush.
Another good one of the night goes to granddad, who misread the phrase "Cordless Mouse" for "Cordless House". His hint was "A home with no outlets."

And to finish these last weekdays off, we spent a good amount of time picking up sticks and building a fence for the cows. Aldo locked my mom's keys in her car, but luckily we had an extra pair. Saw the new Harry Potter movie, part 1. (Don't bother... part 2 is going to have the most action.) And today I think Aldo is cleaning out the garage. Yay!

Sign Language

Everyone asks me... what's new with Luke? I feel I answer the same thing every time. Something with him getting bigger. Or eating a new food. That's about all he does.

Well, here's the new. I've been trying to use sign language around the house ever since I heard our church nursery uses it with the toddlers. The kids have to eat at the table and "say" please and thank you in order to get their snack or toy. Luke has no idea what the please and thank you mean yet, but I've also been motioning "come here" before I pick him up. A few days ago, Luke was in his bed and was cranky crying. I went into his room and when he saw me, he stretched out his hands. I don't know yet if he's learned the motion.. or if his hands were just waving about. I like to think it was on purpose. :)
I've also been trying to point at things for him to look at. He gets as far as my finger.

It's Like Some Sad Song

Aldo had a schedule change at work, so we had to make some changes at home... who watches Luke and when. He will now be staying with Abuelita on Tuesdays and Wednesdays all day long. (This is instead of just Thursdays).

In a way it's good because Luke will have a better opportunity to learn Spanish. And I'll have time to clean the house, buy groceries, and go to the bank. But I just feel horrible. Today I didn't know what to do with myself because my entire day revolves around Luke. It's like some sad lyrics to a depressing song. And nobody listens to those because they just make you further depressed...

And we're just getting to the point where he might be crawling any day. He turns 5 months old tomorrow you know... Here's looking to Thursday.

Date Night

 

Past week's picture of Luke eating green beans. Yes, I know... I need to work on my aim.

I am almost ready for winter. Lately I've been thinking of creative Christmas gift ideas, while listening to conversation very closely... for the kids I think I'll be going with a Toy Story theme. As for myself, I'm in dire need of a coat (but I think that should be considered pre-Christmas). It's almost here!! Get ready!

Aldo and I went on a really nice double date with our youth pastors to Stix. Oh how I love sushi! It started out perfectly with a rose and ended perfectly with a chocolate dessert. If there's any way to do it, that's the way. I was missing date nights. Lately it's been watching past tv episodes before bed. And I hadn't realized that Aldo hasn't been holding the door of the car open for me any more. Well, it's because he's been putting the car seat in the car. Somehow I'd forgotten I married a gentleman. <3

The rest of the week was spent cleaning. I've been putting it off. But now our house is livable again and we can hibernate there for awhile. Saturday night we went to my cousins' play "Seussical", Luke's first performance to sit in on. He only cried twice, once when he was hungry and once when my cousin shouted on stage. Later, after getting home, I was still hungry and pulled out the pineapple. (Luke has been watching me eat and starts to put on his hungry face whenever I have my bowl of cereal or plateful of food around. The little stink!) So when he put on his hungry face this time and started to blubber, I let him suck on some pineapple. He loves it! Great! Here's the beginning...

Mommy went crazy with the camera today. The next thing I have to do is fill some frames. (hmm... that would be a good Christmas request...)

 (The library ladies would love this!!!)

Abuelito Weekend

Aldo and I, Mom and Maecy, went to the Consumed Conference with our church youth group to minister to other young teens. It was an awesome weekend of worship and love encounters.
While we were gone, Luke stayed at his Abuelita's and spent some time with his Abuelito and Aunt Veronica as well. Abuelito sent us a text in the middle of the conference. It was in Spanish, but as far as I could understand... Luke slept with Abuelito and Abuelita (lucky... he's not allowed to sleep with me any more...) and Abuelito cut his fingernails. I was eager to pick him up. Aldo kept teasing me, telling me that Luke would probably start crawling while we were gone.
When we arrived at the house, Luke was still awake! I was expecting him to be asleep as his bed time is around 9:30pm. (I guess it doesn't count in a Mexican household.) Anyway, Abuelita said that he was perfect all weekend, until a few hours before we arrived. He started getting cranky, and she suspected it was because he missed his parents. Awwww! It just makes your heart about burst <3

Today, Luke and I had a pretty boring morning. We had to take Daddy to work because we forgot to pick up the Scooby Doo van, and on the way back home had to pick up diapers since we ran out in the middle of the night. (Luke was wearing a size too big... and Mommy didn't want to clean up any leaks.) As soon as we got home, we were both exhausted and decided to rest. For lunch, I chose to try out more baby food with Luke. He didn't like the peaches, but maybe a vegetable would work...
He LOVES green beans! (The mess I left is horrific.) I had him in his Pooh walking seat, and he kept diving forward with his mouth to get the green goop, but missed and ran his face into the spoon. It would fly onto his bib, or on the table part of the seat, or luckily stay on the spoon. In between bites, I'd wipe up the mess. And if his face started dripping, I'd wipe it off too. And even more... I ran out of stuff in the bowl two or three times! During those times, he'd start sucking on his jacket sleeves and so they are green too. Man, it was such a mess! But he ate the whole jar!

Ah, the life of mom. So many moments...

Peaches Are A No Go

I was really excited for Halloween! Luke was going to go to a Trunk or Treat all dressed up and looking cute as usual. And instead of candy I was going to give him peaches! His first baby food. Yummo!
He didn't like them. I figured he would... that was my craving when I was pregnant. I'm thinking though, it might just be the baby food. (It didn't smell very good.) Also, we didn't even leave the house Halloween. Luke was so upset from cutting teeth. I had to make a Walmart run for the teething tablets. Of course, they didn't have them... so I bought some Baby Orajel hoping it would work. It is a mommy's best friend! Luke konked out! Poor baby. And now he has this horrible runny nose and when he's upset he'll start coughing.

 

Luke also helped Grammy this weekend get ready for her sale at the booth and has been watching my sister and I prepare for the November Consumed Youth Conference. We joined the drama team and practice our dance like crazy. He kind of enjoys it. ...I really don't know... but I imagine he does because he actually watches us and sometimes even bangs his hand on the tabletop or his leg with the music. What a sweetie. He is such a mama's boy. :O)

My sister has also been taking pictures of Luke for her photography class. The topic is portrait. My idea would've been maybe like a family portrait that I could use for Christmas or something. Because I really need one. But she chose just Luke. And wrapped him as a gift. I'll leave on that note.

Excuse Me Miss, There's Spit Up On Your Shirt.

For the past week Luke has been teething. It's not as bad as I thought it would be. He sleeps most of the day actually. And when he's awake, he's just very quiet and observant. If his gums really start to hurt, he'll definitely let me know, and I'll rub them down with some soothing stuff. Easy enough.

Today was a wonderful day. Luke and I read some stories together and marched to some toddler action songs (Thank you Etta). And then ate a nice meal of rice cereal. He got it all in his mouth and wasn't spitting it out! I was too excited! I'm officially that crazy mom that oodles over her kid and thinks it's absolutely amazing when he does something "new"... which is not really new. Every other kid has done it. It's just part of the process.

Anyway, Luke also met his little buddies this weekend. Ethan, who is 4 months younger to the day, from our Trex family. And Jaedyn, his some-sort-of cousin, who was born 4 mo. and 2 days after Luke and had the SAME EXACT measurements!! Am I getting baby fever? I hope not.

All About Luke: Visits, Bouncing, Eating, etc.

I admit I overuse this line, but... we were so busy this weekend! We decided to visit Papa, since he hasn't seen Luke since his dedication at church. You could tell Luke wasn't completely comfortable with his surroundings; he kept looking for Mommy whenever someone else was holding him and he wouldn't talk or squirm like usual. Cranky boy. Most of our talk revolved around Luke's current condition of reflux (more on that later) and getting our car working again. Time flew. We did, however, get to watch some past episodes of Rugrats... I never realized how bad those babies are...


Sunday we went to church of course. But then my sister volunteered me to join in the dramas for the upcoming Conference. Now I have to find time to practice those. Although I took dance for several years, I'm not like I once was... can't remember as much and I'm not as limber. So I started exercising in the mornings. Would rather not pull something.

Monday was Luke's Four Month Check-up! I figured it would be a quick in, get the new measurements, walk out. But noooo. He had to get his shots. And I wasn't aware. Well, for starters he was cranky because he was hungry. And I didn't know if you could feed a baby before shots or not, so I had to hold off. When the doctor came in, he said I could. So I fed him. During that quiet time the doc told me that Luke is now 15.4 lbs. and 25 and a half inches long. I guess that's pretty big. Apparently he still has reflux by the way he sounds congested and his nose runs all the time. To help with that we can start feeding him rice cereal with a spoon! And last, we can start putting Luke in the bouncer to help him further his development of his manly muscles and stuff. The doc also said we should prepare for him rolling/crawling. And if he gets irritated, he's probably teething.

 Luke's first time in his bouncer.

Luke's first spoon-fed meal.

Today I took Luke to the Baby Storytime at the library. All of the other babies were older and could at least crawl. Poor Luke had to sit on my lap the entire time and play with only the toys I picked out. But he did enjoy the songs where we clapped or raised our hands. I think I'll sing the "chin, cheek, nose song" at home to him. Anyway, beforehand I fed him so he wouldn't interrupt the story for the other kids. I must have jiggled him around too much because he spit up three times! One, projectile across the library entry-way. Poor baby. Proof that he does have reflux. So starting today, he's going to be fed even less. 4 oz. buddy. Please don't be mad at me. I love you!

Oh, and p.s. He took the shots like a champ! I was feeding him the rest of his bottle and that mean nurse just jabbed him in both legs. He waited 10 seconds before he screamed at her, and then went back to his eating with the smallest tears in his eyes. 

And this is because I just didn't load pictures fast enough...

      

The Little Man in the Mirror

I finally got us out of the house!! This morning Luke and I woke up extra early to pick up the car at Abuelita's. It started up real nice, but then once we turned on the highway, the engine light came on again. Pooh. I thought it would be fixed forever. I'm debating returning it because I really want to go in search of some winter outfits for Luke and some post-pregnancy work clothes for myself (things are a bit snug at the moment). I was also going to start on Luke's Halloween outfit tomorrow. I know what he's going to be!!! So excited!

Well, like I said we got out. First we were at Abuelita's. We watched Despierta America! with her all morning. I must say, my Spanish is improving. I think I understood quite a bit. And last night I was messing around with Spanglish... Aldo says it's a sign of a fluent speaker. Take that Señor G-! But mostly I was doing it to teach Luke something of his foreign native language. Afterwards, we attempted to watch Dancing with the Stars while Cousin Alex and Noah played with cars, climbed on each other, threw fits and blew whistles in our faces. There might have been too much stimuli... which is why we hightailed it outta there. Bought some groceries on the way home and Luke took a short nap before going to the neighbor's. All in all it was a productive day.

As for baby, he's found a friend. Himself in the mirror! If he's getting squirmy, I'll just pick him up and hold him in front of our dresser mirror and he goes nuts. At first Luke sees the face looking at him and smiles. Then he starts to jump up and down and coos because the face smiled at him. It's really sweet. So I'm looking forward to storytime next week because I know he will definitely enjoy the other babies' company.

Before I go, I must mention Aldo's failed attempt at making a homemade pizza for dinner last night. I'm sorry honey, it was just too funny. The "bread dough" was "unleavened"... meaning as hard as a rock. It seriously reminded me of the muffin weaponry on Charlie's Angels. Pizza = Fail.

Through My Son's Eyes

When I have the cutest subject, I just love taking pictures. I could do this all day.

It amazes me how much he is learning. And how he experiences the world, all for the first time.

Life is extraordinary.