My mom says I need to continue blogging...

Little does she know I already am...

3 Months

Nayelli Grace (2 Months)

I actually haven't forgotten to write; I've just been really, really busy. From October through December we had been working on the Christmas play at church. It seems I was there at least three times a week. I was worried because it wasn't your typical Christmas play (a modern day Scrooge), and second it wasn't your typical nativity story that you would see in church (a modern day Scrooge with a spiritual twist). Furthermore, I had to do the set all by myself. And I had a newborn! And a three-year-old that can't sit still. Thank goodness Dad let me borrow his Netflix password, otherwise we would never have gotten it done.

Our Amazing Trunk or Treat (and First Family Photo)

Nayelli was a Unicorn Princess

After that we were sick for a while. About four rounds of itchy throat and runny noses, and pure exhaustion. I didn't feel much like talking about that. Actually, Nayelli had to be observed overnight at Children's Mercy because she had a temperature. Aldo had forgotten about this, but because of her young age, a slight temperature is something to worry about. It was rough. Aldo had to stay home with the kids and with Bandit. I had to stay at the hospital alone overnight. Nayelli had to sleep in a big girl bed/crib hooked up to monitors. Of course, she slept through the night proving the point that she is a "perfect baby". I slept in the rocking chair right next to her with lights on and waking up every hour to pump or for vital check, etc. I'm grateful though, because from this experience we learned that she can, indeed, sleep alone in her crib through the night. So when we got home, we swaddled her and put her in the crib. Since then she's slept through the night.

Nayelli's First Visit with Abuelito

The holidays were nuts. Absolutely nuts. Honestly, where do I come up with these ideas? And why do I open my big mouth? Why do I agree to things? For Thanksgiving, I decided that I wanted to see Dad's side of the family. We hardly ever see them for holidays. Then, Aldo's dad announced that he was moving to El Paso after Thanksgiving, so this was our last time to see him. And Aldo's mom would be going to central Mexico on vacation for Christmas. And Vero wanted to host, but not late at night. And Jerad would host, but he would have to do it later for the kids. It was all mixed up this year! Long story short, we made it to all three, but we were late to both of mine and I didn't get to do my favorite thing... play games! Never. Again. Never, ever again. Two Thanksgivings is enough. Three Thanksgivings is straight up coo-coo.  

Merry Christmas 2018! 

 The very first in our new house...

Christmas, I thought, might go better since we were hosting (Aldo's idea). I knew it was coming because Maecy hosted last year, and when we bought the house Aldo said we would host the next one. Hosting is just as bad as being the one to travel. I don't know who decided we'd be the only ones cooking... I know who. It was Aldo! IT WAS ALDO!!! Aldo told all of my family that we would cook mom's ham, buy a turkey as well and cook it, make mashed potatoes (because J and Amy might not be coming and they're easy), and I'd cook the green beans (per usual because I make his favorite). He told his family not to worry about a thing, that there would be plenty of food, just bring themselves!!! I was like, whoa now... if we're hosting two families at the SAME TIME, we're going to need more. Jerad brought a ton of soda. Granddad was supposed to bring the rolls (he brought hamburger buns). Maecy brought her pretzel salad dessert (delicious!), Mom made stuffing, and Jul came with (what he brings every year) pecan pie. Everyone came at the same time! IT WAS INSANE! Thanks to Granddad and his horrible memory, and Jerad's "5 minutes" turning into a solid hour, my side ended up at the house between 1:30-2:00. Aldo's side, running on CPT, got there immediately after. We were supposed to serve at noon. And I hadn't eaten breakfast. I was starrrrving! And you know what else??? We had two gift exchanges. And while everyone was playing games on the Cooper side, we had the Secret Santa with the Alvidrez'. And while they played the cube game and I almost burnt the second round of green beans, I also had to show the Coopers how to work the remote. Entertaining is stressful. All I wanted to do was play games!!! I had spent YEARS waiting to get to the adult table... it was like, my greatest accomplishment when I was finally able to sit down with everyone and be taken seriously at Up and Down the River... and now, I might actually strategize and win! Sheesh. Afterward, Aldo agreed that hosting both sides at the same time, even though we had enough seating probably wasn't the best idea. So now, we plan on switching years at hosting between the family. 
How did New Years come up? Aldo. Still Aldo. He told friends that he wanted to have them at our house. And invited more friends. Someone's kids invited their friends. And so on. Aldo had worked a regular shift, came home and grilled up some tacos, and hosted til past midnight. For a while there, it was a ton of music and, for me, running up and down the stairs to take care of Nayelli. Then for a while we played Texas Hold Em'. Midnight came, and since then we haven't had a spotless house. (Was it seriously ever going to be spotless? And with a dog that sheds?) Confetti was everywhere! I knew we'd have confetti to sweep up, but darn it, some kid took it upstairs and tossed it all over both of our kids' rooms and in the bathroom too! There's confetti in between the crack of the seat of our couch. There's confetti in our air vents. There's confetti in our vacuum that we emptied at least three times. And there's still confetti in our room (which was locked that night), from sticking to the bottom of our socks and shoes and being carried in there! Forever confetti. Fun night though. Since then, everybody wants to come to our house. I don't know why... we have hardly any seating. No one eats at the dining room table. Our dog goes bonkers when anyone comes over. Maybe I should stop smiling when someone throws out these bad ideas..... I'll replace it with Aldo's "grumpy cat" face.

I forgot to mention that in between the holidays, right before Christmas to be exact, Aldo decided to get a vasectomy. So there's that. I don't want to go into too much detail, but let's just say it was a bad experience for both of us. What should have been a 5-10 minute operation, ended up being 45 minutes. And the recovery was longer. And it's hard as a "nurse" when you don't know how to help the "patient" and how to empathize with what they're going through. All you know is that it was traumatic. And you know, it being the sensitive and prized area... all the more traumatic. 


Currently...

Nayelli
Gosh, because this is HER first year book that I'm working on... 
She's amazing. Absolutely amazing. I already said that she sleeps through the night. A typical day goes like this:

5:00-7:00 am • Wakes up after sleeping through the night for first feeding and goes back to bed
9:00-10:00 am • Wakes up for good, is very attentive and happy (I get most of my cleaning done)
Eating in between
12:00-2:00ish • First nap
Eating in between
Attentive, but wants attention. A good time for games, toys, and learning.
6:00-8:00ish • Second nap
Eating in between
10:00-11:00ish • Bedtime

She recognizes and loves my face. Daddy is pretty high up there too. More importantly, Bandit is interesting now. Except that I've caught him licking her hands, feet, and head while she's in the swing, so you have to keep an eye out. And on top of that, she likes to stick her hands in her mouth as fists. It's really cute. But what's not so cute is when she does it right after Bandit licks them. She also blows raspberries and will chatter at you and raise her eyebrows and smile, like she's telling you a story. Cutest thing ever! She drools a lot. Can babies cut teeth this early? Google says some babies are born with teeth, so at three months it could happen. Typically, they cut around 6 months, but a baby can start showing the symptoms as early as 3 months. If that's so, she might be slobbery in every picture from now til then. Just saying. Last, blankets now go to the mouth too. Today, I caught her examining her hands. The time when she starts examining all sorts of things with her mouth is coming. It's right around the corner.

Mila
Oh, Mila. She is a wonderful big sister. She doesn't try to "help" by taking care of the baby herself like I feared she might. Instead, she warns me when the baby is crying and I need to get out my "special leche". She'll grab you diapers and wipes if you ask repeatedly. And, she'll play with Nayelli by taking her toys, giving Nayelli a high-pitched voice and having a conversation for her, or by telling her she's "so cute" and reminding me to put bows in her hair. Everything is still "so cute". Nayelli is a "princess". Speaking of which... we had a conversation today:

Me [in control of Nayelli's hands]: Come at me, Mila. I'm gonna punch you. Come on. Come at me!
[Mila giggles]: No!
Me: Come on...
[Still giggling]: No!
Me: Hey, guess what, Mila. I'm a princess boss. 
Mila: No, you're not a boss.
Me: Yeah, Mila. I'm a princess boss. Mila's not a princess boss.
Mila: No!
Me: Yeah, I'm a princess boss. Mila's a baby!
[Mila giggles]: I'm not a baby! You baby! 

Gosh, she's so smart. And gorgeous! Both of my girls are GORGEOUS. I mean... watch out! But back to smart. I was worried because I haven't been able to work with her like I did with Luke. For a good portion of his life, Luke watched Elmo and that's how he learned everything. So I was very happy when she picked up Mickey's shapes book. And counting from "monkeys jumping on the bed". And colors from... well, I don't know where they came from. Power Rangers, maybe? I'm so proud.
Hopefully soon we'll be able to get back to the library, where she can have some big girl time and learn with kids her age. Get used to kids her age! She wants to go to "school" and calls the library her "school" and also church her "school". She'll tell me she has "homework" and then play with her toys for a while. I honestly have no idea what she's doing, but if it keeps her occupied for a little bit, then that's good. The girl is constantly talking, or singing, or moving. She's seriously a special kind.

Luke
This is the part where my mom said I should start blogging again. It comes from the fact that I enrolled Luke in 4H. He decided his first project should be with the dog. Actually I encouraged it. Dog Care & Obedience to be exact. Win-win! So we had our first class (without the dog). Class went well with three kids. The trainer is really nice and funny, seems down-to-earth and easy-going. She ended up giving out homework to work on this first week. Made sense since next class will be wild with 10-20 dogs, several of them less than a year old, meeting other dogs and other people for the first time in a new place with new smells. Some who haven't been on a leash that much. Some who haven't been in the car that much... like ours for instance. I imagine that we'll want to quit after the first week. Anyway, the homework was: to work on their name (a dog should look you in the eyes when you say their name, that way if you're out in a field and shout their name... they at least acknowledge you), work on a "stupid trick" that I can only describe as dog touches their nose to your open hand, and the basic trick of sitting. If the dog is already pretty good at sitting then you can toss them treats (which leads to staying). Well, we get home and Luke and I look at each other and say, "Hmmm... let's see what Bandit can do!"
Bandit is not a dumb dog. Close, but not the dumbest. He knows his name. Woohoo! He instantly wants to come at your hand if you put it out. Instead of a nose touch, it has turned into let me go above and beyond and lick your hand up and down for the treat. I will wrap my tongue AROUND your hand, that's how much I want a treat. :| And, for a treat... he'll sit right away. He'll also sit for praise. He likes attention. So, we're like... let's move on to the treat toss. The very first one bonks him right in the middle of the forehead! It was hilarious and sad. I've noticed that he's not very quick at sniffing things out. Apparently he's not very good at seeing things fly towards his head either. I will give it to him though, the treat is tiny like pea-size. I suggest we try a toy instead. So Luke and I do the trick with Bandit's squirrel that he just got for Christmas. He did sooo good! And Aldo taught Bandit to "drop it" so it's been turned into a really fun game! After 20 or so treats and fetches, we're done and I go upstairs. Before I know it, Luke comes up and tells me he has bad news. Bandit ripped up his squirrel. There's stuffing everywhere. Ok, no biggie. He's also ripped up my bra. My last bra. Ugh. THIS DOG! The trainer said to pay attention to how much praise vs. "no"s we tell our four-legged companions. I tied up the count real quick. (To be noted: Bandit has gone after my bras forever. Is it my smell? Is it the breastmilk? Is it the fact that it's just mine and he wants it? I don't know why he went for it, but he's on my Do Not Trust list. Cannot leave bras around, even if on the highest point of the couch or counter. He WILL find it. He WILL go for it.)

Aldo & Myself
Right now our church is doing a 21-day fast. It's been good so far. It is only Day 3...
In the midst though, we have been planning for the Children's Church ahead of schedule, which is nice (for me especially... the admin). We went on a "date" last night to go pick up a foosball table in middle of nowhere, Holton, KS. During the ride we talked about dreams that we've had on trips to go on, retirement, aspirations, work-related goals, etc. Today starts the day where I start getting the house in order and our five year plan written out, a budget in place and so on. Aldo and I are finally in agreement to do the insurance thing (not with the original company), AND in agreement that I should go back to school to become a CPA. I've looked into it several times and every time I think - Oh my gosh, I haven't done a math problem in forever and now companies and people are going to trust me to help them with their finances and taxes! I can't do percentages off the top of my head like Aldo can! I don't understand stocks! I would have to be attached to Excel and whatever other programs they have now. And, would working with numbers all day be mundane and dull? But, I am encouraged to try out a class at least. I can do it. If it doesn't work out, well, like Aldo's insurance job... it wouldn't be "the dream job"... but a means to the end. In all seriousness, I've made the dream job. I'm a mother.