Fun in the Snow

Merry Christmas

What a wonderful, beautiful Christmas this year!! Our family tradition is to stay home and do Christmas just us with the kids, and then we normally head out to spend New Year's with family. However, with little munchkin #3 on the way and so close to due date, we decided this year that we would stay home through the New Year. The fun part?? Well, it's that family comes to us!! Earlier this week we were still unclear as to who was coming and when, but now we know. My sister and her family, along with my mom are driving in today. My brother in law and his family will arrive later in the week. We are excited to spend this special season with each one of them and look forward to their visits.

Yesterday was a wonderful day, busy but still great. Hubby worked on cleaning out and straightening our pantry; I made a trip to the grocery store, and cooked most of the morning/early afternoon; the kids played great, together some, and alone a lot. They were very patient for the most part. Kateli helped me cook a bit, but mostly helped with the prepping/baking of the our dessert. We baked sugar cookies, iced and decorated them; as well as iced our very yummy oreo balls. The kids hardly had a nap yesterday, which worked out well because they were tired and in bed by 9pm. I have to say that the weather really has surprised me, although I'm sure it was forecasted...but earlier in the week we had had fairly warm weather...and then it started to cool off and the precipitation came in about 2 days ago. Yesterday we woke up to sleet and an accumulating sheet of ice on the roads. We went to church service at 5:00pm. When we went in it was still sleeting. When we came out, it was SNOWING!!! It was coming down pretty good. There was a nice layer of snow on top of that lovely sheet of ice, which makes for some fun driving!!! YIKES!! We made it home safely, and enjoyed our quiet Christmas dinner. We had honey glazed, spiral ham, twice baked potatoes, veggies, and rice casserole, along with yummy butter rolls...and finished off with some delicious dessert. Katherine was so excited to share all the cookies she had made!!!

After dinner we did our usual, which is sit on the couch and enjoy our own personal dance show--thanks to Kateli and Joshua. They turn on the music and dance to their heart's content. We watched TV for a while--mostly listened to some beautiful Christmas Choirs. One of the specials we listened to/watched was the one with Andreas Bocelli--it was amazing. The kids loved the music and listened intently. Katherine asked lots of questions, and when she saw Andrea, she kept asking why he had his eyes shut--so we had an opportunity to talk to her about how God makes each one of us special, and in His own image. I don't know if she understood it all, but she seemed to show some understanding of Andrea's eyes not working like hers or mommy and daddy's.

Like I said the kids were exhausted and went to bed without much complaining about 9pm. Dan and I stayed up for a little while longer, but I think we were in bed by about 11pm. This morning we ALL slept in--the kids were up close to 8am. We got up and had a very leisurely morning, no rush whatsoever to get presents opened. We had a nice breakfast, and then sat with daddy and listened as he read to us the story of the birth of Jesus in Luke. We talked a little about what Christmas is about, and who Jesus is--and this year it was fun to hear Kateli's answers. She asked about Jesus dying on the cross, and asked us what "forgiveness" meant.

We then moved on to gift opening. Both kids had a blast. I think Kateli enjoyed much more handing out the gifts to everyone else, and saying Merry Christmas, than actually opening her very own. Don't get me wrong, she loved her gifts, but she was more eager to GIVE than to RECEIVE!! Isn't that what it's all about though??

We are so blessed, and so thankful that today is Jesus' birthday. That He came as a baby, grew up and lived in our fallen world, and died on the cross for you and for me. What better gift than that?? Nothing tops that off. At the service last night, we were reminded to think about the ultimate gift that God gave to us, His SON; that we can't overlook that gift and leave it wrapped under the tree just to look at and ponder about what's inside. Rather it's the gift that we need to most eagerly be looking forward to opening, and that is a relationship with HIM.

We hope that you have had a wonderful Christmas celebration this beautiful day. May you be filled with His JOY and peace as you bid farewell to 2009 and welcome what's in store for the new year!! WOW!! 2010!!

Merry Christmas from all of us!

Update on baby in the womb...

So, you've seen pics but I have not shared very many updates. I'm about 35 weeks along, and anxious to meet this little one that constantly is giving me loving kicks in the belly. I was riding in the car last night, running errands and while stopped at a light baby gave a HUGE kick, literally kicking me into a moment of realization that the day is coming soon...oh so soon!! Katherine was delivered at 35weeks, and Joshua made his appearance at 37 weeks, so we may be meeting/holding this baby any day now.

I've been feeling great. I've got this tiny, cute little ball protruding from my belly (okay, I'm partial cuz it's my baby bump). You'd think that after almost 3 full pregnancies, the baby bump would just be, well that, just a baby bump. But, I'm still amazed and in awe every time I look in the mirror and see the miracle that God is working inside of me, the way that our bodies are built to conform and expand and make room for such little miracles, and the awesomeness of feeling this little person move inside of me. I don't know that any words can express very well all that goes through my mind when I take a second to really think about the whole realm of pregnancy.

So...a lot has happened in 35 weeks. We did find an OB in town who will allow me to try for my second VBAC. I started seeing her at 24 weeks. At about 26weeks I was referred to the high risk OB, same doctor that performed the ultrasound, and diagnosed the Vasa Previa with my first; same dr. that did an ultrasound and said everything was good to try for a vbac with my second. In fact, I asked to be referred to her. I wanted her to do an ultrasound and make sure everything looked good. And everything looked and continues to look good on the ultrasounds. The High Risk dr advised us to do a monthly ultrasound because of my Sjogren's-to make sure baby's heart remained healthy and strong. So, we've had the oppty to take Katherine and Joshua to two ultrasounds now, to see baby on the screen. However, they are more interested in what the tech is doing to my belly, than watching the screen--which is kinda cute.

The last ultrasound was last week. I was 34 weeks, and baby was already estimated to weighing 4lbs 11oz. The doctor said that was just a little bit over average weight, and that we should still be okay to continue our attempt for VBAC delivery. I will now be seeing my regular OB weekly, through the delivery.

I'd like to rally all of you into prayer for us, as we excitedly await the arrival of this little one.

Please pray as you are led, but specifically:

1. readiness. We know baby will arrive in God's perfect timing, but we have NO idea when. So, pray that we can be motivated to getting prepared.

2. logistics. Pray that we can have a plan in place, specifically someone to watch our oldest two when we have to head out to the hospital.

3. calmness. When Joshua came I was calm. I wasn't scared, or worried, or bogged down with the fears and risks doing a VBAC. Please pray that I can be surrounded by Holy Spirit in the same way this time, so that my fears do not hinder my body from doing what God designed it to do during child birth.

4. timing. The doctor that we have chosen to deliver this baby, is LITERALLY the only doctor in town to still be doing VBACs, and she will allow me to try for a vbac if she is the dr to deliver. Pray that I go into labor on a day/night that she is not travelling.

5. baby growth. Of course we want baby to grow and be healthy to be born, but please pray that he/she doesn't gain too much weight. I haven't asked the doctor what would be too big to let me continue with a VBAC, but I know there is a limit. So just pray that baby stays on an average gain weight :).

6. Please pray for my labor, the delivery and a healthy baby. Pray that my labor is fast, delivery is safe, and baby is healthy!

Thank you all so much for your love, support and your prayers.

baby on the way....32 weeks and counting!

In an effort to continue practicing doing self portraits for my real maternity shoot, I captured these images, which I just love. Here is baby in the womb at 32 weeks.

Our Christmas Tree is up...

We're on it, or I should say dear hubby is on the ball. He put up our Christmas tree this weekend. I think this is the earliest we have ever put it up. As much as I'd like to post a fam pic in front of the tree, today it was NOT going to happen. Maybe another day. So for today, you get yours truly...by the way, this is me at 32weeks pregnant!! I have not taken too many pics of my belly, so I thought this worked, even if it is out of focus. It's hard to take pics of oneself!

A year ago today

Wow, hard to believe that a year ago, today, Nov 16th, we were running our first marathon. What an accomplishment that was!! I still remember the rush of emotions at the very end of our run, when I finally heard and saw my sister, and Katherine at the finish line. It was ALL for her, and she was there to witness our crossing that finish line, beaten and tired, but seeing her gave me that last burst of energy to cross the line strong, and with what would be my final sprint for the next year. Yep, sad to say that I have not maintained to the training, and my running is pretty scarce...in fact ZERO! Of course, I do have a good excuse--I'm just a few weeks shy of giving birth to our third child, so my body is not in a state to be running right now. As we celebrate our one year marathon anniversary, I want to take a moment and say THANK YOU again to all of you who supported us, financially to meet our fundraising goal, emotionally, encouraging us to continue in the training, and spiritually, praying for our training, healthy bodies, and our kids!! We could not have done it without YOUR support!! It was an amazing journey. I have to say that I DO want to run another marathon...but I may need to wait a year or so to start training!! :)


On another note, and very important I must say, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TIO WALTER!! We love you!! Big hugs and kisses to you on your birthday!

Sweaty hands...smell my feet!

This is another short conversation between Katherine and I this afternoon after naptime. She woke up and I let her play a game on the laptop. I'm pretty sure that Katherine's love language is touch, so she loves to hold my hand to fall asleep, when she's sitting watching tv, anytime she's still...she loves to hold my hand. Today her hands were very sweaty, and I here is what happened:

ME: "Oooh, your hands are really sweaty. Why are they so sweaty?" as I put them up to my face and said "yucky!" and teased.

Katherine: As she looked at me with a mischievous look on her face, thinking of her comeback and said "smell my feet!" and lifted her foot up to my nose!!

I tell you, that girl cracks me up!! The things she comes up with!

Ordering steak

We ate at a steakhouse last night--Katherine's pick. We sat. We ordered. We waited. The food arrived. Small talk between Katherine and I, while waitress waited for us to make sure the steak was cooked to our liking.

me: "Katherine, is this pink enough for you?"

Katherine (not even looking at the meat): "I don't like pink, mommy, I like it RED!"

She was NOT kidding! She had nothing to do with the med/pink cooked kids sirloin we ordered for her and Joshua. Instead she opted to share with daddy, who had ordered a almost rare cooked sirloin.

Yuck!

Our week in Houston

Originally supposed to just be 6 days, with 2 dedicated to the drive there and back. But, we were having so much fun that we extended it to a full week!! It always seems like years between our visits home, but really, we had just been there at the beginning of July for my brother's wedding. Nevertheless, we were due for another visit as I was missing my family and knew that it would probably be one of our last roadtrips before baby comes. Now, we're thinking we may still be able to squeeze in another one before Dec, we'll see. :)

Anyway, we LOVED being in Houston. It was fun, busy, and yet relaxing at the same time. The kids did great, and Kateli was so excited for days before our trip that we would be visiting abuela and abuelo. Joshua, I don't think really comprehended, until he had to sit in the car for hours on end. Kateli did make the observation, and said a few times "mommy, this is a long trip", and asked "why Houston was so far away", but overall they were very patient both on the drive there and actually much better on the drive back.

While we were there, we got to partake in Eva's baptism, enjoy time with cousins, abuela and abuelo, tias and tios, and friends. I even had a surprise baby shower!! That was absolutely the best, and a perfect surprise! My sister did a stupendous job, she kept is well under wraps, and planned everything perfect despite the fact that she had just done her little one's baptism, and had people over on Sunday afternoon. The shower was monday evening, and it was SUCH a surprise. I wish she would have had her camera to take a pic of my face when I walked in, and the second it clicked that something was going on! She put it all together in one day, and had friends, decorations, cake, and gifts ready. I know my sister in law helped as well, so a big thanks and huge hug for both of them. I so was NOT expecting a baby shower for our third baby. I thought we had been lucky to get one when Joshua was in my belly, and to share it with my sister, but this was just beyond expectation!! Thank you too, to all my friends who dropped whatever they had going on Monday night to come partake in the festivities and celebration as we await this little one...

who by the way seems to be having boxing matches in the womb constantly. A few weeks ago, I though this baby was so calm, and not quite as active as I remembered my first two! Wow, has he/she proved me wrong lately. I'll be sleeping and get woken up by constant kicking and twirling in the middle of the night--let's hope he/she gets days/nights figured out quickly after birth! However, all the activity has been fun because Kateli has been able to feel baby move and kick, and just has a grin across her face when it happens. Both she and Joshua are so sweet to the baby, but Kateli more intentionally and self motivated--she kisses my belly, says good morning, and good night to baby, and snuggles any chance she gets. Joshua on the other hand, I give gentle reminders of baby and once prompted he will kiss and hug my belly as well. So sweet!!

Going back to our visit....the kids have brushed up on their spanish, what with speaking ONLY spanish to abuela and abuelo, who wouldn't. But it has been so much fun to hear Joshua speak it, he's saying a lot more spanish words, and I'm feeling encouraged that he is going to pick it up too! Kateli still struggles with only spanish with me, but we continue to work on it. That's not to say that she doesn't speak it, on the contrary she speaks it beautifully and it's fun to see and hear my little blondie, blue/green eyed little girl speak spanish! They both loved spending so much time with tia Marta, Dani and Eva. In fact, I think Joshua woke up every morning asking for "dani", his cousin. We spent most of our time at Tia's house during the day, as my parents worked and all the toys are over at her house anyway. The kids played, danced, ate, and let's not forget fought together. Yes, they had their disputes over this or that, but in the end were laughing and making memories.

Exciting for me too, was that I was able to do two photo shoots while I was in Houston this time. I did a maternity session on Tuesday evening, and a 6, almost 7 month old little boy in his baptism outfit on Friday afternoon. I had so much fun!! You can see the photos on my photoblog. Maternity and Baptism

Oh and let's not forget the improv pics that I got of my beautiful chunky little niece, Eva. I could just eat her up!! Those baby rolls are to die for!! I'll post more pics of her later, but for now look at how beautiful and cute she is: Eva

I'll post pics later. I'm cross eyed from the editing I've done this weekend!! Thanks for visiting our blog

Out of the ordinary...

So, we've had a special start to our weekend, something out of the ordinary for us anyway. This weekend, is special enough, as tomorrow we will finally be doing a formal child dedication of our youngest, Joshua. More on his dedication tomorrow! Very late in the game we let grandparents know about the dedication--our mistake. Grandma handbone was able to fly in a share with us in the celebration. My parents wished they could have been here, but I have to remember that I have to allow more time for them to make plans and arrangements--sorry abuela & abuelo. Going back to my story....Saturday was a BUSY day!

Early in the morning we drove to Edmond to share in the birthday celebration for one of our little friends who was turning 6. Then drove back promptly after the party, grabbed a quick bite for lunch--took Joshua to get his haircut and then headed home. The haircut itself was quite the experience.

We decided since tomorrow would be a special day we could indulge him in a more fun haircutting experience, although a bit pricey. We went to the Kuts 4 Kids down south. The owner is a Christian fellow, and the place is...well as the name implies, just for kids. There are toys everywhere, the colors are bright and fun, there is a huge TV screen, which the kids face while seated in one of the two fun chairs. They have a choice of a dirt-trike or a 4 wheeler. Joshua opted for the 4 wheeler, and once seated he didn't move an inch. He was mesmerized by the TV, and he got the best haircut to date!!!

Then we came home and rested for a bit before heading to the airport to pickup grandma. On the way there, I made a comment about the Toy Story double feature to Dan. Turns out on the way back from the airport we took the kids to the movie theater for the first time!! I was a bit worried about how it would go--Kateli loves to watch movies at home, and Joshua can sit through some of them but I wasn't sure about the theater. Plus it was 3-D so they had to wear the funny looking glasses. Well, we got there a bit early and had to sit through all of the previews--which by the way were not the most kid friendly movies to come--so we had to cover eyes a few times. We got a huge tub of popcorn, and were ready for the movie. Joshua on Dan's lap, Katherine on mine, and grandma in between with the popcorn in lap. Kateli wore her glasses 95% of the time, taking them off near the end of the movie. Joshua wasn't too thrilled about the things on his face, so he watched without them. It was so much fun to watch my kids sit there and enjoy their first movie. Neither one of them got restless, or tired, or wanted out. They sat and enjoyed the movie from beginning to end. I don't think Joshua said a word, he was just mesmerized. Katherine on the other hand, kept asking questions and I would answer and remind her that she was to whisper...then of course she would come back with a LOUD "why?"...so funny!! The movie was fun...but I really wish that the language and attitudes in those movies was tamed a bit more--at least for the little kids. I finally lost count of how many times the word "idiot" was used, and was not too fond of them saying "shut up" to each other, or the attitude between Woody and the other figure--as well as the neighbor boy. When they introduce Sid and his toys, it's just spooky too....so I was glad that this was not a movie that we had at home and one that we would play over and over at home. I think my kids are a bit too young for that, they really don't understand what they pick up and repeat sometimes--so we may wait a while before watching it again. All in all it was a fun experience, and the good thing is, we had NOT heard any of those words at home, or seen some of the behavior mimicked!

So this was our "our of the ordinary..." today! It was fun, and we were exhausted when we got home!



and because I don't like to leave you without photos, here are two of the kids from today...

I don't want a nap mom....I don't need a nap mommy...

Yep, that's what I heard for about an hour and a half from this little girl, who shortly after asking for a snack was fast asleep on the carpet in the office where I was working. She asked for a snack...I said, "just a minute"...I turned around to find this....sweet huh?? Yep, she sure is, but she sure can be hard headed sometimes :).

Ready for underpants...could it be??

This is the big question in our household right now...We are so excited that for 4 days now, with a miss or two, Joshua has told us he needs to go poop..."poop mami..." he says!!! the most exciting part has been that he's gone in the potty each time, and not called wolf once!! Wooohooo!!! I'm so proud of my little man, but it doesn't compare to how proud he is of himself. He's watched his big sister get the hang of it, and been curious from the beginning, but although I had sat him in the froggy before, he really never went. He would just sit for a second, then get up with a huge grin on his face, but there was nothing left behind. About 4 days ago, he said "poop mami"...and looked as if he were going to go in his diaper...so I quickly jumped up and asked very cheerfully..."wanna go in the potty and poop??" his reply "uhu!!" I didn't waste anytime and ran with him into the bathroom, took his diaper off and sat him down. I stood there for a second watching my little boy's grin from end to end, and then very promptly he said, pointing his chubby little index finger to the door "room mami"...I quickly interpreted that as "mommy, leave the room please?" and obliged immediately. Of course, I didn't go too far, just far enough to get out of sight. I waited a few mins, and after a little grunt he got up from the potty, turned around and looked inside and then proceeded to come get me! I was right outside the door, so he didn't go too far, but he was beside himself with excitement and said "ook mami, poop!" I didn't know what to expect, I thought he was pulling my leg so when I actually saw poop in the potty I celebrated..in fact, we all celebrated and he just couldn't wipe that smile off his face for at least 30mins after that...and that's how it all started. Daddy went out last night, with both kids, to get Joshua pull ups. He's been in pullups all day today and has only peed in them...he's gone to the potty for his other business. Now, if only I could figure out how to get him to pee standing up in the potty. No way that little froggy is going to help in getting this accomplished. When I look at it, and think of Joshua attempting to pee in it, all I imagine is pee grafitti all over the wall behind the froggy and none in the actual potty seat. Anyway, while he hasn't figured out the peeing, he certainly graduated this afternoon before naptime. He first took care of business in the froggy, of course and then left the room. I called him back and asked him to sit back in the potty--cuz I wanted to get a pic of him...and this is what I found when I came back with the camera....He climbed up there, climbed off, and flushed all by himself!!!!




PS. I don't think I've written the word "poop" so many times before...but this is just a special occasion and we celebrated, just as we celebrated when Kateli got the hang of the big girl pants as well!

Guess what we found today...

Today was a low key day. We decided to just stay in and get some stuff, like laundry, done around the house. The kids played indoors most of the morning, until right before lunchtime, when we ventured into the backyard for some jump time and hitting the tee ball. While we were out, the kids went searching for bugs, and guess what they found?? Check out the pic. They actually picked up two, Joshua was the first to find one...a huge one, which he quickly proceeded to dismember. By the time I got the camera, Kateli had found the second one and was having fun holding it...she didn't want to share it. I was impressed that she actually carried it, and held the thing. I would have thought she'd shy away from it, but nope...she was up for it!

another collage

I'm on a collage kick right now, so here is one of our 3 1/2year old!

A simple collage

Look who just turned 2

I love my kids birthdays!! Today was Joshua's 2nd birthday!! I'm on a high all day long, and can't seem to stop calling him my "birthday boy". Their birthdays always bring back sweet memories of the day they were born--I remember it all and I think I go through the experience over and over in my head. Since this is birthday No. 2, I won't bore you with all the details of how I went into labor, what time I arrived at the hospital, when my water was broken and all that jazz. However, I will tell you my little boy was born on a Sunday afternoon, at 3:41pm and he was absolutely the most amazing little boy I had/have ever met in my entire life. He brings joy to our lives, and smiles to our hearts day in and day out. He's grown so much in the last year alone, and I can't wait to see what is in store for this next year! He is starting to talk so much, it's fun to hear him express himself now. He is sweet, and tender hearted. He loves his big sister, and wants to do all that she is doing, and wants to be everywhere that she is. He looks up to her so much, I keep telling Kateli she's got big shoes to fill being a big sister, because she is the one to set the example and to teach her little siblings.

We woke up the birthday boy with our traditional chocolate birthday cupcake, and the happy birthday song, along with the "mananitas" too. He got up with a huge grin on his face, although he wasn't too sure about the singing. As the day progressed and he received multiple birthday wish calls, the grin on his face and his expression grew more and more priceless. I have to apologize to everyone that called him, because he didn't fail to hang up on anyone shortly after the birthday song--I don't know that it was intentional, but it was funny that he did it each time after the singing was done--personally, I think it's just that the RED hang up button just sticks out like a sore thumb. For breakfast, we watched Joshua enjoy about half of his chocolate cupcake, which I was surprised by. He devoured last year's cupcake!! Then he moved on to some yummy fruit salad, and finished up with a yummy pancake face! Kateli was a great sport, she did complain a bit that she didn't have a cupcake but was soon calmed down when her brother decided to share some of his cake with her. She sang to him a couple of times with so much excitement and informed me that for her birthday, in "nomember" she wants a "married barbie"...we'll have to see where I find a barbie bride :). Anyway, we ended our day with a yummy dinner at Zio's where Joshua enjoyed the spaghetti, meatballs, angel hair pasta, and fried shrimp!! What a guy, he's only 2 and he eats like a big man! Above is one of my favorite pics that I got of him this afternoon. You'll have to come back in the next few days to see the rest of his birthday pics from this morning!

15 weeks and growing...

I have to admit that I have not been real diligent about taking photos of my expanding belly! I think this is about the only pics that I have thus far, and they aren't that great, but you can see belly a bit. I'm 15 weeks along, and am having a pleasant pregnancy. The first trimester was very similar to the other two, nausea hit when I went too long without a snack, so I had to have a bite to eat every 2 to 3 hours throughout the day. Something different though, I was not waking up in the middle of the night starving, and scarfing down a huge bowl of honey bunches of oats before being able to return to my slumber. In fact, this pregnancy I have not gained but about 5 pounds to date...with my other pregnancies I was gaining about 3 lbs a month...so that's a change, but still not indicative of whether this will be a boy or a girl. Just in case you are wondering, no, I don't want to find out the sex of the baby this time either. It has been so much fun to get that little surprise the day of, I love it! Although, with Kateli being so adamant about wanting a baby sister, who knows if I'll change my mind for her sake...I think maybe we would want to prep her for a baby brother in case that's what God is sending to us...but we'll see if we can convince her that it doesn't have to be a baby sister.

Anyway, here are the pics. THese are from our recent trip to Colorado Springs at the Garden of the gods.

Recent Vaction - A few "firsts"

We are back from our recent trip, which in my book was a family vacation. Technically, we just tagged along with daddy on a business trip and extended it by two days to spend quality time with family. It was packed with several FIRSTS for all of us...which I'll try to highlight!

FIRST flight for our entire family together, but most importantly first time our little man flew in an airplane! He's been spotting planes in the sky since I can remember, and happily says "momma, vion" every time he sees one...so I was excited to take him on a plane before he turned two. We managed to do that!!! He absolutely loved it--well, the take off and landing anyway. On the way out, he slept about an hour of the trip and on the way back he squirmed and talked and pointed, and laughed the entire way! Kateli, too, really enjoyed the experience. It was so much fun to listen to her talk about it, and ask tons of questions. She wanted to know why the plane had wings, and where its eyes were, and if it had a tail...and so on and so on. She was fascinated, especially on the flight back as we were on the very last row of the plane and she could see the plane's "feet"(wheels) retract, and come out for landing. She also enjoyed a movie each way. She didn't complain at all, and on the way back she was so comfy with the whole experience that she had no problem asking for drink refills 3 times!!

Our flight out on Wednesday was super early, but neither kid complained that we had gotten them up at 5am! We arrived in Denver close to 7:30am, picked up our rental, got a quick bite at breakfast, checked into our hotel room, and dropped off daddy at his office before heading out to visit our cousins in Fort Collins. I was so exhausted, and was glad that the drive was no more than an hour...we arrived and the kids were just ecstatic to be with their cousins. They were so comfortable with each other, and playing as though they'd seen each other everyday. It was fun to see that Kateli was not shy at all, and out of sight immediately after we arrived. For a sec I forgot that I didn't have to keep such a close eye on my kids...and then was reminded by my sister in law that Emma is 12, and Elliot is 10, so they could "babysit" their little cousins and I could relax. That was NICE! The kids played non-stop. Both Joshua and Kateli loved their dog, Lucy, a black lab that is so calm and good with little ones. We also got to experience chasing chickens around the backyard, gathering fresh layed eggs, and watching their garden's fruits. The chickens were a hit...Joshua would run around saying "duck, mom, duck" and squeal when someone came close to him with a chicken to pet! That evening we all drove back to Broomfield for dinner with daddy, and got to run out in the rain after a pretty good hail storm on our way out of the restaurant.

The next day, our cousins drove to us and we spent the late morning and most of the afternoon in the pool. It was overcast, and a bit cool in the morning but after our lunch picnic the sun finally came out and we got some warmer weather, which made the pool time much more fun. Then we headed up to the room, and the kids all watched Charlotte's Web. My kids were sad when the cousins had to leave to go back home, but I assured them that we would see them the next day and spend the night with them, either at their house or on a campground somewhere north of Fort Collins.

Daddy had taken Friday off of work, so we got to enjoy some family time together. We rolled out of bed about 8:30 am, and got dressed and packed up to go on our little excursion of Colorado. Our first destination, Colorado Springs, where we would visit the Focus on the Family site, and then head out to the Garden of the Gods. In the afternoon, the plan was to head back north to Fort Collins to meet with the cousins and then head out to the campground. So, it was a full day, but fun nonetheless. I, and the kids, both felt like we were in the car most of the day so we were relieved when we arrived at our final destination where we knew we wouldn't have to get in the car until the next day. Focus on the family was a brief stop, as we needed to give the kids a bit of a break and check out the huge slide on the property. Unfortunately, our kids are still too short to enjoy the big slide--you have to be 43" tall--but they had fun either way. They played and jumped around in the little kiddie room, and then wandered around the back room where there was a smaller slide for them, and an airplane that led to a fun underground tunnel! After the focus on the family we were off to the Garden of the gods, which fortunately was not too far of a drive from where we were. When we got there, we were mesmerized by the beauty of the site. It was amazing to see the formations of great red rocks, and it looked absolutely beautiful against a background of blue skies with white clouds. We had a little picnic and then hiked a bit. The kids loved it, especially Kateli who was intrigued by how we would be able to climb to the top of the rocks. She did come up with an idea though, and she was relentless about finding her transportation. A few weekends ago, the kids were watching Diego on the spanish channel, and Diego has a llama who helps him CLIMB, so guess what?? Kateli was enthusiastic about finding a llama on the grounds of the Garden so that it would help us climb to the top. Needless to say, we did not find a llama but we sure had fun listening to her talk about it, and watching Joshua enjoy picking up rocks and throw them with excitement.

The ride back to the Fort Collins was uneventful, except for the couple of times when the kids lost it. Luckily I had the DVD player charged up, and Kateli was content to watch a movie before falling asleep. Joshua on the other hand had just had it being in the car, and he threw such a fit that we had to stop and pull him out of the car seat for just a few minutes--poor kid! We arrived at the campground much later than we had anticipated, and uncle Dan, Tia Moca, and the kids had already set up camp--so it was like we were coming to a little camp resort!! We had dinner after a little bit of playtime near the river, and filling up a pail with sand. I think Joshua's favorite activity at the camp was picking up pebbles and tossing them into the river, he could have done that for hours on end--and he got excited with each toss! Kateli on the other hand, was full of favorites. She played near the water, she played in the sand/gravel with a bucket and shovel, she colored, and she hiked...she was content just to be in the company of any and all her cousins--although she may have gravitated a bit more toward Elliot, her only boy cousin. Elliot was an awesome sport and so sweet to her, she wanted him to hold her, or to hold her hand or to just play with her and he would do it with a happy heart. She also had lots of fun playing with Nora, and coloring with Lizzy, and she loved being carried by Emma! All in all it was an awesome vacation! We all had fun, and were sad to have to leave so soon. Hopefully we will all get together again sooner than later! Here is the first collage of pics that I've put together thus far. I have many more pics to go through, and I'll put a second one together, but for now enjoy!!

oh to sum up our firsts....First time for Joshua to fly, first time for all of us to be in Colorado Springs, First time visiting Focus on the Family, First time to go to the Garden of the Gods, First time to camp overnight....!!

Do they look older?

Cashing in on our CLUNKER

Sadly, we said our goodbyes to our dear 1985 Toyota Landcruiser this past week, and hello to a brand new Kia Soul. The "cruiser" as we referred to the dear ol'thing took us places, even as far as CO soon after purchasing the vehicle. Sure, it broke down on us Santa Fe, but it came back with a vengeance and was a fun car to drive, and ride in--even the kids got to enjoy it a few times; but we didn't know how much longer it would last. So, when the Cash For Clunkers deal came out, we/Dan jumped at the opportunity of getting a new car. Neither one of us has ever owned a brand new car, so this was going to be fun--a new car with barely any mileage on it, that we would get to break in. Daddy looked and test drove quite a few different options, and in the end decided on a Kia. He asked us all our color preference; I was leaning towards the alien green or the titanium, and Kateli was very definite when she said she wanted a "red" car. So, when Daddy came home on Tuesday evening with neither of our color preferences, Kateli was a bit surprised. I, of course, didn't mind that we were now the proud owners of two bright silver cars, but Kateli felt a bit differently. She didn't show much excitement when daddy pulled up, and when I asked her why she hadn't told daddy what a cool car he had brought, she replied "because that's not what I wanted. I wanted a red car"....she was so serious too!!! It was hilarious. She has now come to terms with the silver, and is enjoying the new car. Joshua, of course could care less what color car we got...he's just excited whenever daddy drives up in the afternoon, and anytime he sees the car parked outside. He squeals out "dadda car, car dadda"....

Here are a few pics to remember our old cruiser by!!!

5 years ago, this day

Dan and I promised each other to love one another in "sickness and in health, in good time and in bad..." and for five years we have been faithful to this promise, and look forward to loving each other, more each day, for many more years to come. Wow, hard to believe that we've been married FIVE years already, how time flies!! We've been through, and experienced so much more than we would have ever imagined. God has dealt an interesting set of cards, some good, but at the time put quite a bit of challenge into the mix, just to keep us on our toes; or maybe to keep us faithfully trusting in Him, depending on Him and remembering that we are at His mercy and not our own. There is nothing that I would change about the last five years together, we have grown immensely. I could not ask for a better man, a better husband, a better friend, or a better father for my children. He is there for me, to encourage me when I need it, to lift me up when my spirits are down, to sustain me when I'm weak; to laugh with me, to cry with me, to just sit with me each and every day. I love him dearly, and I pray that Lord will bless us with many more happy years together!

Happy News

I'll let the kids tell you...!!

Baby 3 on the way
10 1/2 weeks along
Due 1/31/2010
Please pray for healthy pregnancy, healthy baby, a dr that will do another VBAC and a quick and easy delivery



On another note, and this is more for me so that I don't forget. Joshua has reached another milestone. We knew it would happen anyday, and it's actually taken a while but he has figured out how to climb out of his crib. This morning, at 7am, he came downstairs and was crying at our door. So, we woke up with two little monkeys in our bed...well, three if we count the one in my tummy! :)

Happy Father's Day

UP dates

Wow, it has been a while since my last post. Seems like lately I have little time to sit down and share my thoughts or update you on what's going on in our family.

Things are good. We are all managing to stay healthy, except for the annoying allergies that come with the season. The weather finally cleared up and we have seen absolutely beautiful sunny days, some warm temps and some cooler temps, which are certainly welcome when heat starts to invade our space. :) We have really enjoyed these days, and by no means miss the month of overcast, rainy days that we have a month or so ago. No kidding, I think we had about a month straight of gloominess around here, but it's all gone. It was great for the plants, and the lawns, but not for me and the kids. We love being outdoors, and finding indoor activities that do not expose you to germs, is kinda hard to do :). Anyway, this year already I think we've made 5 trips or more to the zoo. We have discovered that we enjoy much more the outing when we rise early. We not only have cooler temps, but it's quiet, and we actually get to watch the animals. The first time that we got there about 10mins after opening time, we watched the elephants eat, we saw the rhino eat, the cheetah roam, the tortoises bathe in mud, and so much more. It was such a pleasure to watch Katherine get excited and talk about what she was seeing. Joshua is not quite talking too much yet, although we do hear new words each day, but he too enjoys the zoo to the max. That little man, little as he is, has quite the energy and the muscles. One morning we met up with some friends at the zoo, who had brought their wagon. Joshua insisted on pulling Katherine and Becca in the wagon by himself..and although he got a little help from behind, I was amazed to him actually pull them along :). He loves to watch the animals. Both kids have discovered that they love, absolutely love riding the train when we go. In fact, Katherine will tell you that it's her favorite part of the outing. She doesn't have a favorite part yet, until we've ridden the train and gone through the tunnel.

We've spent lots of time at parks as well this spring already. There is a new splash pad/kids park on riverside that recently opened, and the kids love it. It's a bit crazy, as it seems to be THE place to be at right now, but the kids love playing in the water, and then running around. It's fun for me, but a little stressful trying to keep an eye on both kids--I go into panic mode when one disappears from sight for even a second!

We are looking forward to a couple of summer getaways that are in the plans right now. Especially the GRAND event of the year for us, which is my brother's wedding. My baby brother is getting married, and my baby girl is in the wedding. Our 5 year anniversary is this year, so we are thinking about getting away and celebrating the grand milestone.

The kids continue to grown. Kateli is a little parrot, she loves to talk. She loves to ask questions, lots of questions, and she makes the funniest remarks. I really wish I hadn't neglected this blog so much, I'm sure that I've missed some real funny incidents to write about, not only to share bur for my memory sake! The girl loves to eat out--have no idea where she gets that from ;). Anyway, she's got her own way of communcating where she wants to eat...ultimate favorite, Billy Sim's--not the healthiest, but she loves it there, especially during the week of steroids. Next in line, the "uva place"; it took Dan and I a little while to figure this one out, but we did--the "uva place" is the Olive Garden, and she loves their spaghetti. Then there is "ham and cheese" which usually means subway, or panera, and of course can't forget the "chicken 'uggets", which we now know is either Chick-fil-A or Wendy's. Tonight we grabbed chick-fil-a, on the way out there was a convertible car waiting in the drive thru. As we walked out, she noticed the car and said "mommy, that car is broken" I had to laugh, and then explain to her that it wasn't broken but that it was a convertible--I don't think I convinced her :).

Joshua on the other hand is NOT picky, and has no preference on where we eat, just as long as he eats something yummy. Apparently EVERYTHING is yummy for little man's palate!! He truly enjoys his food, and I enjoy watching him eat. His latest likes, which make me go "wow, he really eats everything" is shrimp in garlic sauce. The little guys just devours them!! We are actually going to have to stop depending on the kids sharing meals, because Joshua is going to leave Kateli with nothing to eat, he eats and he eats fast if he's real hungry. Joshua has grown so much, he is quite the big boy now. But he still loves to snuggle mommy, although I think he would be content to just snuggle his blankie and lay down with his pacifier. He is happy, all the time...well except for his latest tantrums, which have recently started. I think we are definitely getting close to being 2!! He usually likes to share, and he responds very well when asked to do something. He has his moments when he can be kind and loving with his sister, but for the most part he is ALL boy. He thinks saying "I love you" is smacking you in the leg, and smiling!! He has started to use more words, he says 'pease', 'mar', 'ater', 'gua', 'ball', 'chip' and he knows how to pull mommy in one direction to show me what he wants. He is bilingual for sure, you ask him to say 'pelota', he responds 'ball', or you ask him to say 'por favor' and he responds 'pease'....so much fun!!

Well this is it for now...i'll try to be more diligent about updating...thanks for stopping by and catching up...

Happy Mother's Day

I know, I'm a day late...but really, should it not be mother's day everyday?:) I wanted to write about my 4th Mother's day!! WOW!!! I feel very blessed. All the hardships and challenges of being a mommy melt away so quickly and what I'm left with are the fun, exciting and unbelievable moments and feelings that come with having little ones at home. Every mother's day has been fun, but each one is also different. This year was special. I feel truly blessed to be the mommy of two beautiful children, they bring joy and excitement to my life each day. Actually, I have to say that I got a whole mother's weekend, not just a day celebration. We had a lot of fun trying new things this weekend, from the places we ate to what we did to have fun at the park. On Saturday I got to go workout--which is always a treat, I absolutely love the feeling after a good workout! We enjoyed a quiet lunch at home, and after naps we headed out to try a new eatery in town--well, new to us. We ended up at the Savastano's Pizza Place down south. They serve Chicago style pizza, and I was excited about it because the pizza I ate in Chicago, when I was there years ago, was delicious. Well, I have to say that I had totally forgotten that the first time I had chicago style pizza I didn't have kids, so the wait was not a problem. Saturday was a wee bit different--it took about 45mins for the pizza to come out--Joshua was starving; Kateli was jumping off the seat and we were so ready to eat and go. When the pizza came out we were excited, only to find out that a single slice of that stuff if plenty to fill you up!! After dinner we were going to treat "me" to some Coldstone Ice cream, but were disappointed to find out that Maggie Moo's seems to be taking over the icecream market. So, instead we ended up just picking up custard from the place down the street. The kids were so excited!! On Sunday we began our morning by going to church. The sermon was so good. I enjoyed it a lot, and even got teary eyed listening to our pastor speak. The worship songs spoke to me deeply and I was moved just listening to the lyrics and muttering what words came out without sobs. After that we tried a new restaurant for lunch and ended up at the D'Novo place at Kingspointe. It was an interesting experience. It is a lean gourmet restaurant, and the food was great--but a bit too pricey for the amount of food that you get. However, it was fun to have a private party just the four of us, as I believe we were the only ones in there for lunch. When we got home from lunch, the kids and my wonderful husband gave me a gift--as if I really needed much more than the pampering and attention--but I was NOT going to turn it down :). I got a great digital frame, and I'm having fun finding our family pics to upload to it so that I can enjoy them daily. We decided to forgo normal nap time and instead headed over to the park to fly a kite, and play and run. The kids absolutely loved flying a kite. They were both so excited to see this "bird" up in the air and daddy holding it by the string. Both Kateli and Joshua got to hold the string at least once before the wind died down. We spent about 2 hours playing at the park, we played ball, ran, played on the swings, slides, hiked through the wooded area and walked the trail. It was SO much fun. I really wish I had pics, but I decided to leave the camera at home and really enjoy my family yesterday! I hope that all you moms out there know how special you are, and I hope that you were celebrated and pampered on your day. May the Lord bless you each and everyday and give you the energy to do all that comes with our jobs as mommies!!

Baby is here...

well, she did arrive yesterday afternoon, I'm just REALLY late in posting an update! My sister had a QUICK delivery, I think she was in labor about 7 or 8 hours before she was holding her brand new baby in arms. Baby apparently came out starving, and she latched on immediately after being born. When I talked to my sister, 30mins after baby was born, baby had not yet been weighed or measured as they had handed her to mommy to nurse and she was still eating. Anyway, thank you for your prayers. Baby was born at 3:01pm, and I believe she weighed 7lbs 10ozs. What a blessing!! I'm so excited to go home and meet my new little niece. I keep saying "baby, baby and more baby" because "baby" does not yet have a name. I remember being in that same situation when our little guy was born. He was nameless for a day or two before he became our little Joshua Andrew. Here is a pic of my niece (courtesy of "abuelo")

My niece is getting ready to make her appearance...

Tia Marta is in the hospital and we are excited that baby will arrive soon. Please keep her in your prayers. Daniela is with my parents while Marta and Misael are in the hospital, so pray for Dani to be okay being away from her mommy for a day or two. Pray for Misael as he is with Marta during the delivery. That he would stay strong; be an encourager and be a good support and coach through the delivery. Pray for Marta as she delivers this baby girl, that she would be calm and strong. Just pray for a fast and quick delivery, without complication, and for a HEALTHY, beautiful baby girl!! :)

thanks.

Random Videos of the kids

I've been able to capture the kids doing some funny stuff on video--not the best quality, as I'm just using my phone to do this...but either way, hope you enjoy.
This is of Joshua playing soccer with a basketball in our front room. I think I got this back in Oct, so you can imagine how much better he is handling the ball. HE loves balls and cars!!!
Both kids LOVE music, and they get into the dancing 100%
You'll get a kick out of this one.
While Kateli is in her ballet class, Joshua enjoys the music from one of the other classes, hip hop!! Check it out!

It was COLD, but we had FUN!