Happy Halloween Lil Monster

We took Luke trick or treating for his first time ever. I made his outfit myself (and I think it's going to be the only year I do that... didn't save us money like I thought it would...). At first he was supposed to be a dinosaur, but he didn't know how to make a dinosaur sound. But when we ask what a monster says, he'll put up his hands and make monster noises.
Luke was fantastic keeping on his hat and tail. He even carried his own pumpkin in and held it out for candy. We were planning on going to all the family and friends', but it was dark when we first started so that plan went out the window. First stop: Grammy's (upstairs). I don't think she was ready because she took some candy from our refrigerator to give to Luke. I made him knock on the door and everything. He was so excited he started jumping around the room like a little crazy person.

Second stop: the library. I'd been telling them all week about this outfit I made (idea from pinterest.com) and I had to show them. And Luke is special to them, so it was more of a requirement.

Final stop: Abuelita's. We visited Abuelita, Veronica, and the boys for a little bit. We tried to go to a community trick-or-treat thing, but they closed right when we got to the door. By that time it was late, so Aldo bought me a bag of Reese's (which was all stolen by the moochers upstairs) and we went home. I'd say the holiday was a success.

i Viva El Paso !

El Paso was a blast! Mostly because I was able to hang out with my hubby and son for four straight days in a row. It started off like any trip. Granddad drove us to the airport.. in the wrong direction. Luckily we made our flight. And didn't have to worry too much about getting in with Luke's milk, medicine, food, etc. Luke slept for a good part of the ride and woke up at the end. As long as he had a bottle in hand, we were ok. We were laid over in Chicago forrevverr. But running around the airport wore Luke out, so he slept for the entire second flight.

We stayed with Aldo's mother's side the first night. Very laid back and don't speak much English. They took us to the market (very cool!), where we drank aguas and ate some real chalupas and Mexican dulces. We stayed up all night - because that's what Mexicans do - playing Just Dance on the wii and singing karaoke. The next day it was pretty much the wedding and meeting Aldo's dad's family. A whole nother story that lot. It's where Aldo's crazy side comes from. Even though the wedding was in Spanish, it was beautiful and I cried. The reception was so much fun. Every time you got on the dance floor they handed out another prize: glow sticks, balloons, cowboy hats, masks, etc.

Pina, Melon, Manzana, etc.

 in a sombrero

On the way home Luke slept the entire first airplane ride. The second was the most eventful. He was awake the entire time. In the very beginning, the older man in front of us sat his seat back. I'm thinking - that's just dumb... I knew Luke was going to go straight for the tray on the back seat once he caught sight of it. So he started slamming it open and shut while the man slept in our lap. And when I told him "no", he pointed out the old man's bald spot. Grabbed his hand before he touched it. I'm sure the guy wouldn't have appreciated it. So I handed him over to Aldo, and in the meantime he found the light switch overhead, and turned it on and off. Then played peek-a-boo with the two businessmen behind us. Near the end of the flight, he started crying. We finally figured out that he wanted ice chips (for what we later found to be his molars coming in). Thankfully the ride ended and mom picked us up and took us home.

Texas is wonderful. A whole bunch of brown, but a lot of flavor. Still there's no place like home.

Word Association

The life of a full-time, working mother. We blog at midnight because there's no better time to do it.
Anyway, I had to post this before Luke learns something new. Earlier this month we have been babysitting a friend's dog named ChaCha. Luke calls her "caca", as well as any other dog, or animal for that matter. And sometimes he just randomly says "caca". It's kind of funny since Aldo's family speaks Spanish, but I don't want him going to school and get in trouble for calling homework "caca". Well, we bought my mother-in-law a puppy for her birthday. Luke was calling him said name, which wouldn't work because he's a boy... so I've since then been trying to teach him the word "puppy".
Last week, Aldo and I were just talking like usual on the couch, about our day at work, etc. and one of us said the word "puppy". Without a second to pause Luke said, "caca". I know that's not what I was trying to teach him... but I was so excited because it's like word association! Or idea association! I don't know... But it lets me know that what I'm teaching, he's understanding. And keeping in his mind until later it comes up again, and he recognizes it! Ah, sweet success.
That's my story for the night. I will probably have more as this weekend is my birthday and also a holiday, so three day weekend. And also next week we are preparing for Aldo and Luke's first ever airplane ride to Texas!
Until then, good night.

P.S. He has eight teeth and counting. There are four coming in on bottom right now... and the last two were full of endless drool baths. Two of them are molars!

Time At The Pool

After my first week of working full time, I had the entire weekend off. It was full of course.
We went to Schlitterbahn with our youth group (a water park much like Oceans of Fun), and took Luke too.
It was such a blast! He was actually able to ride every ride. We pretty much stuck to the wave pool though. And in between we would travel over to the baby pool, where he would go down the pirate slide. It was long and fast, and at the end Luke would smile and growl, and clench his fists. It didn't matter if he got splashed in the face or not. I think it's a sign that he liked it.
The craziest moment was when we were letting him walk around in the kiddie pool. We left his life jacket on because he kept trying to run into the deeper end and he would lose his balance and fall forward. Anyway, after squatting down several times to splash in the water, he decided to lay back and raise up his feet. Our 14 month old was floating on his back in the water. All on his own. It was unbelievable to me. He must be a natural water baby because I have never heard of any kid doing that.

Dancing Like A Jumping Bean

I know you are patiently waiting for me to post pictures of Luke's first birthday party. I've been trying to get the pictures processed, and just finished putting together his First Birthday Photo Album. SO CUTE. So I'll put the pictures on here as soon as I can.

My blogging has really gotten away from me. So here's the latest.

I recently took on full time at work. I am a working mama! At first I wasn't too sure about it; the schedule clashed with my play time with Luke. But we have it all worked out. On Monday through Wednesday he'll be with me until noon and then go across the street to my Aunt's house. A few hours later Aldo will pick him up and have the afternoon with him. On Thursday and Friday I'll go into work early and Luke will be with his Abuelita. I'll get home at 5:30ish and see BOTH Aldo and Luke! I'm so excited! Today is my first day going home early!
Of course, getting up wasn't easy at all. My husband has turned me into a night owl, and the one day I wanted to go to sleep early my mom asked me to help her with a project that kept us up past midnight.


Aldo started back at work this week also. He had one week off between his internship at the medical center and work to spend solely hanging out with Luke. They are so crazy when you get them together. It's cute how each of us have our own "things" with Luke. I have the "tickly fingers" and hide-and-seek, Aldo has the "wrestling" and signature "stomp", my sister plays follow the leader with him... and I guess my Mom lets him eat things he shouldn't... but it's so sweet how we bond. More than bond. These are off of my new phone.

 Cutest Cheese Ever!

Reading On His Own

Giving Daddy Kisses

Luke has learned so much and gotten so big. He's different day to day. When he was a baby it felt like months before he did something new, whereas now I just can't keep up with him. He points to things that he wants. The other day I didn't know what his grunting was, until he went over, picked up his bottle, placed it in my hand and grunted again. He reads on his own, climbs into things, drives, talks on the phone, watches some of the movies, SAYS PLEASE in sign language (a really big feat for us, we've been working on it since he joined the nursery at church), and so much more. Someone has taught him how to jump. I'm sure it was from watching all of our youth dramas. But now every time music comes on he really gets to bouncing.

The other day I took my sister to enroll at school and after meeting with the principal, the principal said, "bye". Without any hesitation, Luke said, "bye". Is this his first real word? (besides the regular sounds of mmm, mama, baba, dada, etc.)

Oh my little jumping bean.

More to come!

The Big Show

I wasn’t sure if Luke was going to get scared from the fireworks. A couple of days before the 4^th, there were some people setting off the big stuff nearby, the ones that sound like bombs. At the time, Aldo was taking care of the chickens and ducks. He told me later that when the first one went off, Luke ran to him right through the mud and chicken poop.

So we were waiting for an interesting day.

We watched the firework show at the mall. Five minutes in, Luke was ready to explore the sidewalk and steal Twizzlers from the neighbors. I guess this isn’t one of his favorite celebrations… not until he can actually pop something anyway.

At the Start

Watching the Show

   

Grand Finale

Why I Wasn't at Work Today...

Haven’t been to Worlds of Fun in a while. Let me tell you… the Prowler is awesome!

We were invited to go with the church youth and the date just happened to work out. It was also a nice break from work and home. It’s funny though, only after a couple of hours, we were missing Luke. How am I going to do it for four days?

Baby Fever

I took Luke to the doctor for his one year check-up this week. The doc said that his weight is in the 75th percentile and his height at 97th percentile. Only three out of every one hundred kids is taller than Luke! Needless to say, he's going to be a Big Boy. It felt like we were waiting in the room forever just to start with. Luke played with his toy car, pointed at every sticker and picture on the wall, skimmed every drawer, basically broke my phone, and ate some fruity snacks while we were waiting. By the time the doctor came in he was already cranky. So he started throwing tiny fits when his ears and diaper were checked. I don't blame him. I wouldn't want anyone tugging around on me either. And then the nurse gave him four shots and made me hold his hands. Way to be cruel. I never thought this way before, but I'm starting to see how doctors are mean. Anyway...

I think I'm getting baby fever. Part of me wants another one, part of me is saying that I'm absolutely crazy. So far the rational one is winning.

Luke's First Birthday!

On the day of Luke's birthday, we were actually busy, so we didn't celebrate much at all. My mom bought him a bubble blower and the colored bubbles turned his outfit and skin all blue. That was fun. That night our church drama team was ministering at an event called HOPE. And afterward we went out to Applebee's, which is always delicious.

   

Blue Bubbles

 Grammy is So Cool!

Poke & Pop

Covered in Blue

We slept in on Saturday and went to the pool for our Father's Day/Luke's Birthday celebration. It was hot. Luke enjoyed the water and went down the baby slide two or three times. In the shallow pool he would stand on our legs and blow bubbles in the water. Sometimes, though, he would accidentally drink the water. And sometimes he'd accidentally get dunked because he was blowing bubbles when Mommy and Daddy weren't paying attention. Aldo's sisters, nephews, cousins, and parents were there along with my dad and his household. Later, we went out to D'Bronx and ate pizza as big as our heads! Sunday we were so tired, I don't really remember what we did.

Present from PaPa (hasn't quite figured it out yet...)

Luke also got his hair cut. It was something Aldo and I wanted to do together, but I think next time we'll just go to the stylist. As long as we had cookies in hand, Luke was alright. About fifteen minutes in he wasn't having it any more. And the other problem was, I didn't want to cut it too short. Or make it crooked. So I kept going back and forth with Aldo on how to do it. You'll enjoy the results. (I think he looks like a Chinese baby. Or like we put a bowl on his head.)

More Mommyhood

Summer has hit and we are officially in run-around, make-sure-to-mark-the-calendar mode.
Since the last time I have written, Luke has grown up so much. No longer does he want to eat baby food or drink from the bottle. He likes to brush his teeth and his own hair, and use a spoon... which is more like holding it in one hand while he picks up the food with the other.

The other day I took him to a doctor's appointment. He was weighed and measured, and had an iron test. When the lady pricked his finger, he sat there like a champ and watched her squeeze his little finger. And when she told me to hold a cotton ball on his boo-boo, he held it all by himself as I described it to him as "fluffy". (I signed him up for Summer Reading at the library; he really enjoys the board books that are touch and feel. Like "That's Not My Tiger..." and "That's Not My Bunny...". The pictures just crack him up! It's hilarious to watch. But right now we're working on textures.) I also learned from the visit that he can eat anything now! And from somewhere else that even though he's not speaking, he's storing away the names for things. So as we go around, I say "puppy", "fluffy", and  "cheeeeereeee-ooos". Trying to get him to say please and thank-you, or even blow a kiss. But it's not happening. Luke is very good at nodding yes and shaking his head no. And when he enjoys some fruit or other tasty food, he'll even go mmmMMmmmm. Something Mommy taught him.

Anyway, today was his first day at the pool. A real pool. And he wasn't scared of the water at all. I think it would have been a better experience if he had taken a nap earlier, but overall it was a nice day. Now we just have to get the details straightened out for his sprinkler party for his birthday!

Oh and p.s. We went to a T-bones baseball game last night. Luke played with the foil off of our hot dogs and clapped his hands for the team, while flirting with all of the girls near-by. Not one temper tantrum (which unfortunately he's figured out how to do as well).

I'll post pictures as soon as I can.

Perfect Present

I absolutely love the weekends! Especially ones that celebrate womanhood and give you free chocolates and cupcakes.
Saturday, Luke gave me the perfect Mother's Day present. It had been a busy day - consisting of a Ladies Luncheon at a steakhouse, youth drama practice, and a youth leadership staff meeting. Just one thing after another. Aldo, my sister, my pastors, and I, along with some of the other staff, were sitting in the living room having a nice talk, when out of the corner of my eye I saw Luke stand up and take two steps. I shouted, "He just walked!" and everyone started clapping. It freaked him out because it was so sudden. He didn't even know what he did. But he started clapping. And then he fell over.
So that was my first and perfect Mother's Day gift. I won't forget the day Luke took his first steps. Because I got to see it!

The next day was spent with the family at the park. Luke's first time there also. The weather was wonderful! And the food delicious! I have a feeling I'll be stuck at the swing our next few visits.

 

His Hair WAS NOT Blowing in the Breeze

(actually stuck like that)

Kissing the Duck

Eating Wood Chips

 A Good Day at the Park

Easter "Fun"

Easter Sunday

For the entire weekend, I was home on the couch with food poisoning. By no means would I call that fun. However, I still had a wonderful time with family and friends. On Saturday, we had our own Easter egg hunt at our house, played with bubbles, and raced on Aldo's new wii game that he got for his birthday. Sunday morning we woke up for sunrise service with Granddad (we caught the last 5 minutes I think) and later spent the day at my mom's boyfriend's sister's house.

I think it's Luke's favorite holiday so far. If I put the eggs out where he could see the bright colors screaming his name, he would go straight for them. And then after he had two in his hand, he would be content. Banging them together, sticking them in his mouth, and whatnot.

Searching for Eggs

 

Content with Only Two

As far as everything else goes... Luke is gradually learning more and more every day. I think we could officially add another word to his vocabulary: "pay-pas", which is really Spanish (papas) for french fries. One day he woke up and wouldn't stop saying the word. So we cooked up some french fries for breakfast. And let me tell you, it's delicious! He's also in the phase where he's too smart for his own good... For example, the other day he was banging on the tv with his hand, so I shook my head at him and firmly said, "No no." He just turned his head sideways and smiled. Inside I was cracking up at how cute he was. Another time Aldo was trying to feed him and he very unwillingly and slowly ate. When I walked in the door, Luke started crying as if he had just gotten hurt. I could seriously see pain in his eyes. Aldo later told me, he was playing it up for me. In a few weeks, I expect Luke will be walking. He stands and squats on his own, but hasn't tried those first few steps. I think I like this stage.

Aldo applied for an internship for a case study at KU med a while back and recently found out that he made one of the spots. He'll be starting at the beginning of June. I'm so excited... this is the doorway to what he wants to do with his life. How many of us don't even know that? 

We also finally got a new car! (And by new, I mean used.) It's a 95' white, Chevy Blazer in almost perfect condition with low miles for it's age. I feel like I know almost everything about SUV's and vans now that I've been looking at vehicles for the past couple of months. No more Scooby Doo van! 

And for the special ending... Luke and his "angry face". 

Hair Day

I wanted to put these pictures up because they were so cute!
I did his hair for the first time. (I think he looks like his daddy.)

MaMa & BaBa

Aldo and I received a certificate for the Chateau Avalon for Christmas. We used it this past weekend. It was a nice stay in the Venetian room. I would have taken a picture, but there wasn't anything out of the norm about it; it was just very elegant. The jacuzzi was its best attribute. We've decided we want one for our house, when we build/buy it, and want a bigger one for outside, which will sit in-ground beside our huge pool.

This week Aldo has been hanging around the house because he's on Spring Break. (Teachers are lucky. They have the best working hours in the world, off whenever anything significant happens.) Monday we spent the day together around the house. And tonight, as I'm writing this at 11:00pm, he's spending time with his little sister at a WWE wrestling match. Tomorrow I think we'll get out of the house for a while so we can enjoy the warm weather, because the rest of the week I'll be without a car as mine is in repair from the most recent fender bender.

Significant event this week: Luke said his first word. Mama. He really is the sweetest baby boy. How I love him!!! His second word was "baba" for bottle. And last, he ate some chicken poop on my mom's watch. So now she can't be trusted...

Man On A Mission

I just watched as my son crawled across our entire living room, through the maze of dining room table/chair legs, and back with a bottle cover in his hand. I'm not exactly sure, but I think he was wanting to do something with it. Then of course a toy here and a toy there got him side tracked.

That's how it is around the house. A plethora of things to explore!

And so here's the belated pictures that you've probably been waiting for.

           

Chasing Balloons     

Attacking Mommy

 

In the Cabinets

Stealing the Magnets

         

Trying to Get His Hands on Anything!!! (...or in his mouth...)

Luke is getting so big, I'm afraid of his coming firsts... such as the haircut. I absolutely dread it. I really like this age. It's kind of like we have our own kind of communication, but he can't talk back.
I have no doubt he'll be up to something new tomorrow. And although, I'm excited for our night at the Chateau, I'm really going to miss him.

My Little Booger

I Have the Cutest Baby in All the World!

Every mother should say that.
Lately it's been kind of crazy around here. Crazier than it has been before. I am blessed to have a child that can be independent if need be. He'll sit on the floor and play with every single toy I set out. And once he's done with that move on to other things, like pulling the magnets off of the refrigerator, opening cabinets, and trying to get inside his carrier (or destroy it... one of the two...). I put together a list of things that are new so I wouldn't forget to mention them. I just want to mention first that it is a wonder to me how brilliant he is... and how I adore his personality... and how God made him so perfectly for this family. I am truly blessed.

THE LIST
- Tries to stand. It's so funny because he never really started crawling like normal babies do... instead he kind of bear walks around.
- Likes my soup.
- Plays Patty Cake. He only does the motions for the patty cake part and throwing it in the pan.
- Shakes his head "no".
- Does forward rolls. I'll hold him in the middle and he'll put his hands on the floor and tuck his head. It is sooo cute! He gets so excited he'll want to do it again and again. I'm just afraid he'll get too dizzy. I mean, he's not even 9 months!
- Likes taking showers. Maybe he's a swimmer??
- Waves "hi" and "bye".
- Kicks his primos. I'm sure he wants to play on their toddler bikes.
- Continues to play with that pink bear.
- Will get inside any bag laying around. His diaper bag, my purse, grocery bags, etc.
- He'll stare at toys and things way up close. Like the blinking light on his toy helicopter. Or our linoleum floor.
- If you point at him, he'll point back. Like an ET finger touch!
- He's ticklish in his arm pits.
- Plays Peek-a-Boo. And Hide and Seek.
- Watches the tv occasionally. Laughs at the Disney part at the beginning of movies.

That's as much as I can think of at this point. I'm sure I'll have more for you tomorrow...

What's The Matter With Boys

Lately I've been thinking about the day I found out I was having a boy. Just before, my mom told the nurse, "We don't WANT boys. We don't LIKE boys." I don't know what she was thinking... I only wanted a girl because I had more experience with girls, I had a name picked out, and she would have been the first (new clothes and lots of attention). But by no means did I have anything against boys.
I think about that day when I see Luke's eyes light up when he sees his Grammy and reaches out for her. When they're playing on the living room floor. When she's taking pictures and showing him off. When she volunteers to babysit for the night. He's certainly changed her mind.

When Luke was little, Aldo brought to my attention that boys are rough. That Luke's going to be coming home with scrapes and bruises. As a mother, I feel protective and always worrisome. I don't want to see that little guy hurt. The other day he was helping in the chicken coop and the space heater fell on his head. Thankfully I wasn't there to freak out. And also thankfully, he didn't have a bump or sign of it anywhere. Lucky. He also had his first temperature this weekend. It got all the way up to 101.2 in his armpit. I, of course, took it to the extreme and had Aldo call the nurse hotline, thinking Luke was going to be in ICU or something. Turns out babies can spike a temperature from about anything.
All in all, I don't think I'm ready for the roughness. I'm not ready for scrapes and bruises. I don't think I would mind to have wimpy kid. It hurts me to the core when I have to let him sit there and cry on the floor, instead of running to his side for help.

This feeling has probably come around more and more with Luke exploring and testing out new things. The other night I was relaxing on the couch while he was playing on the floor with his toys. Usually when he's tired of them and wants me to pick him up, he'll crawl over to me and just look up. This time he came over, lifted his hands to my pant legs, and pulled himself up to his knees, almost his feet. When they stand, they fall. I hope I can just get through this.

Second Chances

Thank goodness for quiet mornings like this.. my few minutes of relaxation and deep thought, otherwise I'd be driven to insanity. In the last seven days, I have entertained friends that came back from Afghanistan, planned a surprise sweet 16 party for my sister (and even better - it was a hit!), and repaired both of our vehicles drastically. Just reading that, it doesn't sound like much, but I'll put a little emphasis on it for you...
We had friends from out of town to entertain. How entertaining is making signs and shopping for your little sister's birthday party? And the whole time not having working cars? I have no idea how we managed to do it, but we did. I'm ready for March.

Among those times, there's moments that keep me going. When Luke was a baby, he would only sleep with us in bed, in my arms. But after we moved in with my mom, he started sleeping in his own crib in the room next to ours. It wasn't too hard to do, because I enjoy sprawling out in my bed and sleeping all night. Well, a couple days ago, Luke was having the worst night ever. He just kept crying and crying, and finally I had to send Aldo in because I just couldn't do it. He was in there a while and then came to the doorway and said, "This is only for tonight." He brought Luke over to the bed and set him down gently next to my side. I remembered when Luke was first placed in my arms at the hospital. How small he was, and how emotional I was. This was like a second chance. So I could take in the entire moment, enjoy the whole blessing. I snuggled up real close, pulling the covers up, and he fell right asleep. It just melts my heart. 

Maybe it's because I see Luke growing and showing personality to where I'm thinking that one day he won't rely on me any more. So I enjoy this time where he's still my baby. And it's great.
Here's some pictures to make your day a little brighter. Be blessed.

Superman

Luke looking in the mirror for Mommy. And then back at me. Wondering how I moved so fast.. or are there two Mommys?

Who doesn't love a cute baby bum?

Playing with Tia's party hat