I Do's In September

Two of Armando's friends tied the knot with two amazing women this month.

Jeff & Jasmyn

Jeff and Armando have been friends for as long as I can remember. He started dating Jasmyn several years ago, had a beautiful baby girl sometime after, got married in Vegas last year then recently held a more formal ceremony and reception for friends and family here at home. Sadly, we walked into the ceremony just after they said "I do". I used to always be promptly on time, if not, early to everything. Now, poopy diapers, temper tantrums & unexpected naps (kids, not me) make me late for just about everything. We were still able to enjoy the reception and congratulate Jeff & Jasmyn on their marriage.

Jason & Awna

Armando and Jason have been good friends since high school. Though Jason and Awna went to high school together, their romantic relationship and life together has only just begun. They had a small, intimate ceremony which was held outside on the Oregon Coast. Armando was one of the groomsmen and we were honored to have had the opportunity to be a part of their very special day. Esperanza and Samone (Jason's niece) followed Awna around like they were lost puppy dogs. Esperanza kept calling Awna Princess.Ezra enjoyed being held through all of his naps

Say Cheese

Armando recently got a job where he needed a phone with more reliable service. So he switched services and got a new phone. Lucky for me, he decided to get me an early birthday present and got me one too. Whoo-hoo! Besides it doing what a phone is supposed to do (which is new for me), it also takes neat pictures...here's a preview of some shots I've taken of the kids.

Cute naked baby Strawberries are still going strong!
Love this picture!I can't get her to quit picking her nose! The other day I asked her "you don't pick your nose at school do you?" Her reply, "No, only at home". Oh, Lucy Sleepy baby
Could he get any cuter?
Esperanza running with Maddy & Daisy at moms Corn field behind moms houseMy two favorite kids in the world I finished knitting Esperanza a blue hat she's been asking forever for. She loves it, and her blackberry milkshake. I moved Ezra's carseat to the middle the other day when we had another person in the car. Instead of moving it back later, I left it. I was hoping Esperanza wouldn't try feeding him something, or wake him if he was trying to sleep. As it turns out, the opposite was true. She holds his hand to try and comfort him when he's crying & she giggles and laughs with him when he's happy. A few days ago I asked her to try to give him a binky when he was really fussy while we were driving and he took it from her! Then today after I picked her up from school and he started crying on the way home she said to me in a very matter of fact kind of way "mama, I need his binky".

Ezra Is 3 Months Old

~He coo's and chats up a storm when you get him going. He loves to have deep intellectual conversations. ~He despises car rides. He can be all happy & giggly and then once he's in the carseat (or even just seeing the carseat), he starts to cry, and often continues to cry until we get out of the car. He especially doesn't like it when we run errans and I'm taking him in and out of the car every few minutes.

~He giggles and smiles all the time. Often he'll start kicking his legs and squeeling with delight. He'll sometimes even give you a crooked half smile~He's starting to settle into one morning nap and one afternoon nap. There are still the occassional cat nap here and there, but they are becoming more predictable. And he'll take naps almost anywhere.

~He is teething already. For now, all that means is he's a little fussier during the day and he drools a lot. I'm expecting there will be some sleepless nights soon, but for now, nights aren't a problem. He's not yet old enough to hold onto anything to put in his mouth, but he has recently discovered his fist and will knaw on it very intently, screaching with discomfort at times. At the same time I discoverd he was teething, his bowel movements became less often, even skipping a day or two. Not sure if these two things are related or not.
~He weighs 16 pounds

~He has an unusual pea size ball/lump on his right heel. I have an appointment later this month to get it looked at since everyone keeps commenting on it. He also breathes kind of raspy so we'll get that looked at too.

~He's still sportin' the mo-hawk ~He still sleeps wonderfully at night time. The other night he slept 11 hours without waking! I of course woke up drenched in breast milk and went to check on him to make sure he was still breathing. Sometimes he'll wake in the middle of the night, and I can hear him on the baby monitor cooing and making soft noises. I'll wait for him to start fussing before I get up to get him, but usually he goes back to sleep within a few minutes.

I'm one lucky mama to have such an amazing baby boy!

Big Sister, Little Brother

While I am hoping I'll have the first baby that stays a baby forever, Esperanza cannot wait for Ezra to grow up. She's constantly saying things like, "when he's bigger, he can swing with me" or, "when he gets bigger, he can eat a popsicle with me". Tonight while we were getting ready for bed she said, "when he's bigger, he can have acidophilous like me!".

For now, she enjoys dancing for him, helping change his diapers, taking baths with him, showing him her toys, putting blankets on him and talking to him. The other day they were both on the bed while I was hanging up some clothes and she said to him, "watch this brother". Then she proceded to do a summer-sault...right on top of him! I know she didn't do it on purpose, but it definately shook him up and irritated me. He loves watching her play and run circles around him. He follows her with his eyes, smiling and kicking his legs as if he wants to be running around with her. All in good time, all in good time...

I think she was mad at me for some reason here...but stilll lovin her brother and holding his hand

Butterfly Catcher

We planted a butterfly bush in our front yard last fall, so we've seen lots of Monarch butterflies this summer. Esperanza has been trying to catch one for months. She hasn't gotten even close, but she has fun, and thats the point. She must have thought the turtle water floaty would attract the butterflies

August Wrap-Up

August was a busy month! Tons of birthday parties, a baby shower, lots of trips to rivers, visits with friends and family, Esperanza starting school, Armando starting school as well as a new job, me trying to get everything and everyone on a schedule...I just don't have the time or energy to blog about it all in detail, so here's a little wrap up of August...

Eva threw Cathy a wonderful baby shower. Cathy's baby boy is due in a few weeks and we're all so excited to meet him Armando's cousin Lucy's baby girl Isabella This was actually a mistake. Not even sure how it happened, both kids napping at the same time and in the same place. Sounds like a dream come true but it wasn't. Esperanza doesn't nap any more and on the rare occasion she doess, like on this day, she's up all night long. Not worth it. Still a cute picture though. Is this normal? Babies sleep? And in a swing? After Esperanza, I'm convinced that I have a miracle baby this time around. He even sleeps in a crib, in a seperate room at night, 6-8 hours straight!!! I love this babe. Sadie and Andy turned 4. Hot potatoe anyone? Super cutie! Esperanza's animal collection continues to grow. I think some may take a trip to the Treasure House soon. There's just WAY too many. Rafa, Esperanza and Armando having fun in the Lewis River Clarissa turned 5 and Kiko turned 2 Quaks turned 38 - here he is with all his kids2 month old Ezra with his 4 month old cousin Estevan. I can't help but point out the obvious...Ezra is half his age yet twice his size! And only half Mexican yet twice as dark. My perfect baby. Geneva helped Esperanza give Ezra a bottle of some mamas milkAngelica turned 17 and Antonio turned 14 this August. Here's Angelica and her boyfriend Allen cookin' up some freshly caught crawdads from the Washougal River for dinnerAlso, George had yet another surgery in August. The stump from his last leg amputation wasn't healing very well and when the doctors gave it a closer look, they realized they hadn't gotten all of the infection. So, we went in and had the leg taken up a little farther, above the knee. He is home now and doing well. George just had his 62nd birthday too.

Spanish With Sarah

This week Esperanza started preschool at a place in Camas called Spanish With Sarah. It's a Spanish immersion school so the teacher speaks to the kids only in Spanish. The school year started the beginning of August, so she missed the first two weeks. Though it wasn't a last minute thought to put her in this preschool, it was a last minute decision because I hadn't realized they started as early as they did. I scoped the place and website out about 6 months ago and kept going back and forth on getting her in this year or waiting one more year. I talked with Sarah last week about the program and got some questions answered. They just happened to have an open spot in the preschool class too. We went and toured the place last Friday and met Esperanza's teacher Gabby, a young woman from Guatemala. Then, Esperanza started her first day of preschool just this past Monday.

Esperanza in front of the school house

I was so surprised and relieved at how well the first day of drop off went. Neither Esperanza, nor I, broke down crying! I'm sure they've seen it all at the school, but I envisioned an embarrasing and awkward scenario of Esperanza screaming and crying, throwing herself on the floor, holding onto me for dear life & begging me not to leave her there. I had my own seperation anxiety with just the idea of dropping her off at a new place with new people. When the moment of truth came though, she gave me a hug and kiss, said 'bye mama, pick me up later' then turned around and ran off to go play. I almost froze with shock but then quickly left before she changed her mind. Lets hope every day goes as smoothly as that first day!

Esperanza just before we left the house on her first day of school!