New House, New Day

A lot has been happening lately; I'm so bad for not writing anything... I'm afraid I might forget something.
We moved out of the apartment and into my mother's basement this past weekend. It wouldn't have been so bad, but she had all of her stuff from when I lived there, plus stuff she was working on for her antique booth, plus other random junk... there just wasn't enough space. We had to move things out before we could even move in. And in the blazing heat! But thankfully, we have three garages and some tough Mexican dudes that offered to help us out. Craigslist get ready...
The first night wasn't bad. We slept in our own bed in our own room. And Luke in his crib in his own room. It was hard getting to sleep. Luke usually just lays in my arm and we fall asleep together, his little body heat keeping me warm. But I was without, so I was up all night. And I kept worrying about him. He had a schedule at the apartment, but this first night he didn't follow it. So I kept waking up thinking it should be feeding time. And I kept wanting to check on his breathing. The information goes out about SIDS and things like that.. and so when you come home with your brand new baby you freak out that you're going to be the one in a million that it's going to happen to. At four o'clock I heard squirming, so I turned to the hubs and said, "I'm waking him up and feeding him!" And that's what I did. And he ended up falling asleep in the middle of his bottle.
The next night was exactly the same, but I wasn't as worried. He only woke up once at five o'clock.

All week I have been gradually getting our new home in order. You can imagine how much I've actually gotten done though with the cutest baby ever hanging around. He has grown up so much! It's kind of a heartache. Because I know it's not going to last forever. Getting away from that subject...
We have our playtime each day. I go through all the games I can think of. Running with his feet (that's his favorite as he can do it all by himself now), Patty Cake with his feet, and Ahooah! were his originals. Now we say our vowels, but all I ever hear is "goo" or blowing raspberries. I tease him and say, "Stop doing that! You look like you have rabies!" And then he laughs. I glanced through a book that came through circulation at the library, and it mentioned that one of the techniques to teach language is putting the hands up to the mouth. So recently I've been putting his hands up to my mouth and going through the alphabet. In Spanish and English. I'm pretty sure he's going to be a talker! I've also been trying to give him toys. He's not into the rattles yet, but he does like grabbing the "security blankets" that have animal heads attached and shaking them. And gnawing on their appendages. He also likes how his bouncer buzzes under his little hiney. That puts him straight to sleep. And before bed, I'll put him in his crib and turn on his "friends" (Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and Piglet). He'll smile at them, talk to them, and kick his legs until he passes out.
Oh, AND he's learning how to roll over. He's done it about three times now, with a little help from myself or my sister by pushing down on the mattress. I'm waiting for the day he does it by himself. My little man is growing up.

Dedication & Doctor

Sunday was Luke's dedication. I invited all the family and they all showed! Yes! I'd been praying for that. Anyway, it went really well. Luke means "bringer of light". I knew that one. And Anthony means "to be praised". Of course he is. Luke is about the cutest baby there ever was.

And Monday was his two month appointment. Wasn't really eager to go to that as he was getting his first shots. I don't even know what for. First, the nurse took his measurements. He's 12.7 lbs. now! WOW! My little chunk is getting so big! 25.5 inches long. And forgot the other measurement, but basically he has a huge head too. After that she left, so I was stuck in the room with him and all he wanted to do was play. So we "ran ran ran" and "peek-a-boo"ed for it felt like ever! He was so happy! And laughing. It broke my heart to know that I was just leading him to seconds of torture. The doctor came in and we discussed his growth. Mainly his eating habits. And then he recommended Tummy Time because Luke will start to roll over soon. I noticed that the other day! Then the doctor left. Why? So that the nurse can do all his dirty work! She came in and gave him a squirt-full of milk (that's what it looked like anyway). And then a squirt-full of Tylenol. He didn't like it. Interesting because that was cherry flavor. And while I was rinsing out the squirter she jabbed him in the legs! and my poor baby wailed. By the time I got to him he had one band-aid on and the other she was pinching so a little droplet of blood came out. Oh, you meanie! His face tore at my heart strings. He had his eyebrows together and a little pout on his lip, so it seemed like he was staring that nurse down like saying, "If you even think about touching me...".

The things we do for our children.

History Lessons

So my husband recently started his new job with the school district as an ESL teacher. The other day he was describing how he might have to catch kids up in certain subjects that they are behind in, as well as help them with English in all classes. The topic quickly changed when I mentioned that I need to go back to 5th in History. He asks me, "Okay, what year was this country founded?" Here's the rest of our conversation.

Me: Um, I don't know. 
Him: Come on hon.
Me: The seventh day! When God made man and he found it!
Him: Really? Adam and Eve were here?
Me: YES!
Him: Adam and Eve were HERE?
Me: Oh wait. No. Ok. So when the indians or whoever were here.
Him: Babe! I'm going to pretend you are joking. Alright, it's the same year as when the Declaration of Independence was written.
Me: See. That's what I'm talking about. I don't know!
Him: It's 1776. What day?
Me: I don't know.
Him: When's Independence Day?
Me: July 4th. But that's not right. It was signed before then.
Him: You're right. It started July 2nd.

More babbling...

Him: Do you know what the Pilgrims came over on?
Me: Of course! The SUNflower!
Him: (Laughing) The MAYflower.
Me: (Laughing) See I told you. I need to go back to at least 5th grade. They can teach me all this over again. I don't even know when Christopher Columbus discovered the U.S.!
Him: Um, it wasn't the U.S.
Me: Yes it was!
Him: No, it wasn't.
Me: Yes it was! It was... oh wait... South America... Ok fine.
Him: Do you know what he sailed over on?
Me: ...ermmm... the Santa Maria?
Him: YES! And the other two ships?
Me: The pinto....
Him: Pinta.
Me: ...and the Nee-na.
Him: The Neen-ya.
Me: Whatever.

Confessions of a Working Mother

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I miss my booger butt!
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Spending Time With Abuelita

I started back at work this week. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be... maybe because we had some practice. For our first anniversary we went out to the movies and saw "SALT". Pretty good actually. I let Aldo pick. Afterwords we were tired and decided we needed some real rest. I set my alarm and konked out. At four in the morning I sat up and yelled "THE BABY!" I couldn't believe we forgot about him. Neither one of us woke up with my alarm. Thankfully Aldo's mom is a night person and didn't think anything of it when we walked through the door when we did.
So recently he's been going over to his Abuelita's in the afternoon while I'm working. Aldo has been in training during the day and at night working at his other job. This whole week I haven't seen him. It really stinks. But next week will be wonderful because I can get off work and come home to a dinner maybe, and a well-rested husband, and definitely a clean house (it's gotta be if we're going to move this month), and my baby! He's so cute. I would brag on him but I think people would get sick of me because that's all I would ever talk about. 

At first I was kind of nervous that I wouldn't be the one watching him. You want your kid raised the right way.. your way.. and you don't want to miss out on things. Well, now I'm ok. Because when I picked him up the first day his Abuelita told me that he wouldn't sleep for more than 3 minutes at a time. Because we weren't around. I couldn't stop smiling afterword. I know that it's bad.. not feeling sorry for him.. his poor sleepy self... but I was just so happy that he missed me! He knows his mama! I absolutely love it! It makes my heart just pound. 

And so I leave you with these pictures.

      

Lots of Changes

Let's talk about Luke. At his last appointment he was 9 lbs. 9 oz. (a total gain of 25 oz! when all they wanted was 5-10.. haha!) and 22.5 inches long. My baby is going to be a monster! Anyway, he's been sleeping ok, still not enough for us to feel well rested though. If I take a nap some time in the afternoon, it makes for a better night. Also, he's been making all kinds of faces. He now smiles at me! And recently he's started to raise an eyebrow. It's really funny. I've given up on breastfeeding (so many complications... next time I'll be prepared). I've also been trying to think of lullabies that I knew when I was little. At first I couldn't think of any so I resorted to some songs I learned in Freshman Spanish.. "The Cho-Co-La-Te Song" and "Los Colores". Well, it's better than Aldo. He just repeats "How Now Brown Cow" over and over.

As for me, I haven't been doing much. Once you have a child, your whole day pretty much revolves around them. On Mondays I've been going to Bible study. I've been wanting to get more involved for a while and last Sunday, Aldo told the youth pastors he wants us to be "youth pastors". He meant to say "youth leaders". There's a major difference between a leader and a pastor.... and so... I had to tell them what he meant to say. But.. ever since it came out of his mouth, I have no idea where this is going to go. Heh heh.

Other than that I'll be going back to work in August. Aldo recently applied for a job and was hired. So he'll start his training to be an ESL teacher with the school district in August also. And at the end of August we'll be moving in with my mom. Right now we're just trying to get the schedule managed out and two cars working. So.. there's been a lot of changes. Luke's maybe last?? baby shower is August 1st. And his dedication is August 15th. So I'll have pictures to post then and more stories.

P.S. Baby had his first booboo yesterday. Aldo's deodorant accidentally fell on his head and left a tiny mark on his forehead. He felt so bad. But I think it's a good starter. Boys end up with all kinds of bruises growing up. I better get used to it.

Apartment Living

Well, I've now been stuck in the house for 3 weeks. It's been crazy. Especially this past week. I've been in and out of the hospital with numerous doctors about breastfeeding. Turns out I developed a staff infection and an abscess preventing me from feeding him. I'm on like four different pills. And I actually saw a specialist today and had to have an ultrasound done to see if the infection spread any further. My goodness! I never expected this to be a problem. I thought it would be... something like sleep deprivation or jaundice... So anyway, that's that.
I also have my shows that I watch every night while my hubby is off supporting his family. Thank goodness I haven't turned to the soaps yet though. I've been following The Bachelorette and True Beauty all the way through. And I've been off and on with So You Think You Can Dance, America's Got Talent, Wipe Out, etc. Judge Mathis and Judge Judy are my favorite shows all the way. I'm pretty sure I could be a lawyer. Ha! I'll enjoy this while I can. I haven't been able to watch anything good for the longest time. All the good shows are on at 7 and 8 o'clock!
Luke is gradually getting a little belly. I think he grew taller too! It's weird to think someday I'll have a son that's taller than me. And he's starting to sleep longer hours at night and staying awake longer during the day. I can't wait until he gets to point where he's making faces and showing more of his personality. With me as his mother and Aldo as his father... he's sure to have a good one.

  

I love when he sleeps. As I hold him in my arms I can't help but think how this is exactly what I was made for. To take care of him. And raise him into a young man who's going to make some huge difference in the world. And when his eyes are closed, he is such an angel. Oh, I love being a mom.

It's strange having someone so dependent on you. He is a cuddle bug! We can't put him in his bassinet or set him down for five minutes without him getting a little squirmy and then waking up later. At night, he sleeps with us in bed. I know you're not supposed to, but I don't care. He won't sleep anywhere else. And I like knowing that he doesn't feel comfortable anywhere else but by my side or in my arms. 

And it's so funny when he's dreaming. His little mouth will twitch. He's got duck lips so he'll make this little duck lip face. I know he'll be a good kisser for sure, kid can pucker! And he'll smile in his sleep too. Other times he brings his eyebrows together like he isn't too sure about something. And then finally he'll have a face like it's the end of the world and whimper. I feel really bad during those times. I can't help but smile. 

 I don't have very many pictures with his eyes open. We keep trying to guess the color. One day they'll be blue and the next green. Most likely they're going to be brown like Aldo's, but for now they're a deep grey color. 

He has my ears! And he has Aldo's hair. Full of cow licks! Still waiting on the eyebrows, nose, and lips too. 

I'm still surprised at how cute he is! Looking at this picture just makes me want to smooch him. 

Till something interesting happens... or till I go crazy with the camera again..