Happy Holidays 2012!

Ten on…

1. Z likes to say he has peanut butter in his ear. I’ve been trying to work that into a post for a while, but I’ve never found the right time. I think it’s hilarious though.

2. I have run myself ragged this week. We have be insanely busy at work, lots of family stuff and buying new clothes for the kids and food (and presents) in between. It has been non-stop. I am so happy today is my last day for a week! Yay!

3. I have been carrying my point and shoot camera around to try and take more  pictures since my DSLR spends most of its time at the house. It has been nice, and I have busted it out a couple of times. We discovered last night that the card (which I’ve never formatted) has pictures from 2010 on it. That’s a little sad.

4. Z’s school Christmas program was yesterday. My schedule cleared up just enough for me to get there (albeit a few minutes late), and it was quite anti-climactic. The kids all just sat and looked at their respective parents. Z made his shy “I’m trying not to smile” face when he saw me. I was still glad I could make it, and my mom came too. Although it quickly turned into a debacle when I was trying to leave and I was blocked. Then to make matters worse, Z all of a sudden had to go poop. We made it back to my office eventually and Z took his place on the throne here. All’s well that ends well I always say.

5. I have finally started getting over an incident that happened a couple weeks ago, so now I’ll tell the story. We took a family trip to the Galleria, which was going fine. We were browsing the appliance section of Macy’s, when I realized Lu needed a diaper change. Instead of taking her to the restroom, I decided to put her down in a corner of the maternity department and take care of business. It happened to be right by the nursing bras, so I thought, sure I could use a couple of these and it made me feel less bad about marking Lu’s territory there. I bought the bras, went back to Nick and Z, then Z had to go potty. I took him and then we went to play games, bought our Ninja blender and new coffeemaker, then headed home. I have a bad habit of dropping shopping bags in my closet, then coming back to them the next day, so I thought nothing of the bag until Sunday, when I promptly realized it was nowhere in the house. Long story short, I still have not found that bag, and I assume someone at the Galleria stole it picked it up. While I know I will likely never see the contents of that bag again, I take solace in the fact that whoever found it was probably very disappointed.

6. My parents are convinced Z has a tonsil problem, because he periodically lowers his voice. I think he’s just trying to be cool.

7. Speaking of, I saw a bumper sticker on a mini-van today that made me laugh out loud. It said: “I used to be cool.” I feel that way sometimes.

8. The other day I was at Wal-Mart looking for a doll for Lu and I realized that the only dark-haired doll they had was Dora. I like Dora just as much as the next guy, but can’t I get a regular baby doll with dark hair?!

9. Z used to do pretty well when he would have to come to my office. He’d stay either in my personal office or sit up front with Susie, but now he wanders around. The two times he was here this week, he ended up in the patient’s room with me despite all the fun activities I had there for him!

 

10. I am so excited Nick has off almost the same amount of time I do this year! I can’t wait! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everybody!

7 Months

Lu turned 7 months on Sunday, which was our 6 year wedding anniversary! It was pretty cool. I wish I could say the same for the day, most of which was spent monitoring and taking care of Z, who was sick with fever.

But, Miss Lu is the topic of discussion today. First, you may notice her bright orange nose. Yes, the Beta Carotene is flowing in that child’s body. Looks like she’s taking after her brother on that one, and as such will probably have an orange nose until at least her first birthday. By the way, I think it looks worse in pictures.

She is babbling a lot and says Bababa and dadada pretty regularly. She has also started doing this adorable squinty nose thing, such a little priss already.

She loves the jumparoo and spends a lot of time in it at school. She nearly bounces out of my arms every time I approach it with her.

So far, she is eating great. I really haven’t seen or heard of her rejecting anything (except banana apricot from Earth’s Best). She’s now had the famous avocado banana mixture and she may not have loved it, but she sure ate it all!

She is really taking notice of her brother, and always wants to see what he’s up to. Her cousins really love her too. I think she’s earning her title of “little sister” for sure!

Blogger Day of Silence

Mixed Emotions

I debated whether to post today, so much happened over the weekend. I am just so sad about the tragedy that occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School. I see my babies in all children and it’s almost too much to take. I just can’t thank God enough that my children are safe. I worry too so much sometimes, I have to remind myself to trust in God that He is in charge. I know it is going to be impossible for the family members of those who lost their lives to find solace or peace of any kind. I am praying for them and for their angels who are surely in a better place now.

I also pray for all of the children and people of all ages senselessly dying all over the world and especially in Syria right now. Unfortunately it is no longer the place it was when my parents were growing up. Children (and men, women, and the elderly) are dying every single day there and have been since it started almost two years ago. It actually started with the brutal murder of a single child. So I also have to thank God that He lead my parents to the USA all those years ago, so we could raise our children in a society where we may have to worry about random, sick, evil (or whatever word you could use to describe them) gunmen, but at least we do not have to worry about a sick, evil, despicable (there aren’t enough disgusting words to describe him) dictator killing his own people to maintain power and prevent them from having freedom, a God-given right.

Lu turned 7 months, we had our 6 year anniversary, and Z got really sick with fever and chills this weekend. He is at home today with my mom, and hopefully on the mend. With all the emotions I felt this weekend, I probably should wait to update you on all of those happenings until I am in better spirits.

Tomorrow is the Blogger Day of Silence, and I will be observing it. It is the most miniscule thing I could do to show that my heart is with those who’s lives changed forever on 12/14/12.

Ten on…

In the spirit of a couple of my blog friends, and because I have been lacking slightly in inspiration, and because I have a few random thoughts, I have decided to do a 10 on… post. Today it will be 10 on Thursday.

1. I have decided to remodel my office, which I have been in for over 4 years now, and I am super excited. I really liked the way it looked when I acquired it, but I can’t wait to make it my own.

2. Lu has started saying “ba-ba.” She doesn’t do it exactly like Z, but she can actually mimic us a little bit and is trying really hard. She’s known how for a while, but last night she really hit her stride.

3. Also in the spirit of same said bloggers, I am reading Gone Girl. It is really good, and I love having a ibook book to go to when I am feeding Lu, eating, or before I go to sleep at night.

4. Z is pretty into superheroes these days, but really just in name and gear. He has no idea what they’re all about. I have already bought him quite a few batman presents for Christmas, as that seems to be the clear favorite right now. Although he still likes spiderman a lot too.

5. Pumping has been very different for me this time. I never really know how my supply is going to be from one day to the next. I don’t remember having that problem with Z. I’ve always made sure I had enough, but there were some days I wasn’t sure I’d make it! Right now it’s going well, and I’m back down to three times a day, including once before I go to bed, which makes no sense, but it works.

6. I am so excited my parents are finally moving to our neighborhood. They settled on a beautiful house, and I can’t wait to hang out there, not to mention give Hotel Gaxiola my house a break from all the family dinners and spend the night company (even though secretly I love it!).

7. This weekend is our anniversary, and we are forcing ourselves out of the house sans kids. I don’t know why it is hard for us to plan these things. I guess we are just content at home with them, or going to the mall and picking up Five Guys on the weekends. I am really excited though about a date night!

8. I am spoiled by two great children’s clothing stores that are so close to my house and office Fireflies and Fairytales and Favorite Laundry. I have so enjoyed frequenting them for cute clothes for Lu, especially during my lunch break.

9. I love The Middle so much. I quote it all the time, like a lunatic, but it is seriously hilarious. I really love that Frankie, played by Patricia Heaton (from Everybody Loves Raymond, another favorite of mine) is going to dental assisting school. It is so funny and actually very relevant. I have several patients with older kids who are going to dental assisting school right now.

10. I hope this wasn’t super boring or random. I kindof enjoyed writing all that down. Maybe there’ll be some more 10 on’s in the future.

Summer in December

The weather these days has been so pretty, actually bordering on hot. On Sunday, Nick took Z to the park, which is somewhat of a tradition for them, then called us girls to join him. I’m so glad we did. The weather was beautiful and they both had a great time!

Z still really loves the park, although now he seems more into the sticks, leaves, and rocks and prefers climbing up the slide to going down it.

Miss Lu had her first swing ride with Baba, and like Z, she definitely liked it! I see more trips to the park in our future, especially if the weather stays this pretty!

Wordless Wednesday

6 Month Checkup

Lu had her 6 month checkup on Friday. Our plan was to go straight from there to Sylacauga, eat lunch with my dad and then go home for naps and to get ready for my dad’s staff holiday party. Well, 2 hours later, and I was leaving the doctor’s office with no blue form, starving and very frustrated. I am not going to get into my disdain for pediatricians right now, but suffice it to say it is growing by the day….

Z was NOT on his best behavior at the doctor’s office, despite his appearance in these photos.

On the positive side, Lu is doing great! She had clear ears (thank God!) and her growth is great, 26 inches long (50%) and 14 lb’s 13.5 oz.’s (25%). Those are basically the percentiles she started out in, so I’m satisfied.

She both nursed and had a meal of carrots while we were waiting. She took both like a champ, while Z ran around the jail cell exam room actually laying on the disgusting floor twice.

I considered giving him some crayons and no paper, just to see what would happen. I mean, what do you expect when you lock up leave one mom, one 3 year old, and one infant in a room for an hour and a half?!

I know I’ve said this before, but man those shots are serious. I know she has some padding on those thighs, but the needles are so long! I felt horrible for her as usual, but she did great and was ready to GO as were we!

We had a lot of fun Friday night, Lu got passed around a bit and didn’t mind at all. In fact, she got so excited, she could barely hold still in their arms! She was bouncing like crazy and cooing! It was really cute. I was happy to have one last evening in the Sylacauga house and the kids slept great. Z actually slept by himself in my old room (the mattress and box springs are on the floor, so the bed is really low to the ground). It was really nice.

So, what is Lu up to these days? She’s sitting up by herself pretty well, but you definitely have to stay close by, because she starts tipping after a bit.

She’s eating super well, so far she’s had a mix of homemade stuff (sweet potatoes, carrots, peas, bananas) and store bought (squash, pears, applesauce), some mixed with rice or oatmeal cereal, some mixed together (sweet potatoes and carrots). They discovered that mixture at school, when I sent the carrots for the first time with a back-up of sweet potatoes. She ended up eating them both mixed one in the morning after her first bottle and one in the afternoon after her last bottle. So now, she’s (already) eating twice a day and loving it!

I just love the way she eats, she drops that tongue way down like a lizard and just scoops the food in. Believe me, you know when she’s ready for the next bite.

She is super active and wants to be involved in whatever’s going on at all times. She’s getting pretty strong on her tummy, although still shows no signs of crawling.

She loves her big brother, when he starts being silly, she looks at him with fascination and has laughed at him far more than she ever has at us!

She still nurses 4-5 times a day when we’re together and takes 3 6 oz. bottles of breastmilk at school. She sleeps through the night, although we usually hear her talking at least once a night through the monitor. She’s a pretty good napper, if she’s ready to sleep, all you have to do is put her down and walk away. She does that at night too. Most nights I have to steal the cuddles, because she’d really rather fall asleep in the bed.

I’m so thankful she still really likes being in her carrier and in the moby and ergo carriers. She rarely gets fussy, except when she’s tired, hungry, or (I think) bored. She likes her little dolls (including her new cabbage patch) and playing with paper or plastic wrappers.  

I will leave you with this, Lu’s first ponytail

Happy Monday!

Introducing...

Old Man Z

You see, old man Z likes to wear his pants way up high.

He also enjoys taking long walks, collecting superhero figurines, taking long naps, and doing puzzles.

Many times you will find old man Z eating his favorite super food, prunes. They keep him regular...

Old man Z has one message for all you young and young at heart's out there, just remember you're only as old as you feel!

Trip to the North Pole

One thing I’ve wanted to do the past couple of years is the North Pole Express at the Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum. We have already been there for the Thomas the Train exhibit, but they go all out for Christmas, and I’ve heard good things about it. This year I was able to get tickets in time, and we went the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

I wasn’t sure we were going to get the in time because Nick and Faris just had to test out our new Ninja blender right when we should have been leaving, but thankfully, we did, and the timing actually ended up being pretty good. We had to sit in the back, but we didn’t mind, especially since Miss Lu needed to eat on the way back.

Z was very excited about his ticket.

Lu slept until we got on the train, then she enjoyed the ride. That is, until she saw us all eating cookies and drinking milk and remembered she was hungry. We actually gave her a couple of small bites of cookie and she was in heaven. She didn’t get chocolate milk like us, but she was happy all the same.

Once we arrived at the North Pole, Santa came on board with Mrs. Claus. I have to say that was a good Santa and Mrs. Claus, and Z was pretty happy to see them (even though he looks like he’s trying not to smile in this picture).

When we got off the train, Z kept saying I want to go on another train, so I guess he liked it. It was a fun family night!

Thanksgiving 2012

We had a really great Thanksgiving this year, and I cannot express how thankful I am for my many blessings!

I’ll start at the beginning, Wednesday, Thanksgiving Eve, the one day in the year when my kids school is open and my office is closed. We’ll call that ‘Magical Wednesday.’ I was not going to let anything get in the way of Magical Wednesday, even selfishly when the school called on Tuesday to tell me Lu’s cough was sounding worse. In my defense, I did call the doctor’s office, and they didn’t suggest bringing her in with the symptoms I described. Definitely not the fact that my nephew was out of school and there was no family here to take care of him (thank you, Uncle Faris and Miss Amber). So, anyway, back to Magical Wednesday. It began with a peaceful cup of coffee and the couch. I knew that if I wasn’t careful it would probably end there too, but I managed to get up and head to the store to get the rest of the ingredients we needed for Thanksgiving.

Then I got a call from a certain aforementioned uncle telling me his tooth was “killing him” and “unbearable.” After I said I few choice words, I awaited his arrival only to find he was tricking me and actually came to tell me in person that he had gotten accepted into Med School. ‘I am going to hurt you,’ were words that were very present in my mind. I celebrated, kicked them out, pumped, got ready and made my way to the Summit, where some lovely me time took place.

I headed out just in time to hit some major traffic, and nearly too late for the school, but I got the kids and returned home. That night we began the preparations that would take up most of the daylight hours the next day to produce this:

Our Thanksgiving feast!

which we promptly devoured, boxed up, and moved on to Black Thursday night Friday. We didn’t do anything crazy, but Nick and Faris did attempt to get out just to say they did. Unfortunately, I passed missed out.

The menu: Smoked (fully cooked) turkey, deviled eggs, dressing, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, corn casserole, sweet potato casserole, broccoli casserole, pineapple casserole, pumpkin pie, and rolls. Were there some things I would do differently, absolutely, but we were all too busy eating to complain. The kids enjoyed The Polar Express and a sampling of the feast at the kids table and Lu missed the whole thing entirely, as we felt that it was an opportune time for a nap. Lucky for us, she agreed. Either that, or she slept just ‘cause we needed her to.

Speaking of Lu, I set aside a sweet potato for her and mashed it up and she LOVED it. She’s finally getting this whole food thing, and I think she’s realizing what she’s been missing. More on that later. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope you guys are enjoying lots of food and family time. We are so thankful for all of our blessings especially these two little turkeys!!

6 Months

Little Lu is 6 months old! She turned 6 months on Friday, which I thought would be great because I would have lots of time to take lots of good pictures. Instead Friday was quite busy and I was squeezing her photo session in between the thousand other things I was trying to do, yet again. But oh well, at least we got some in.

Probably shouldn’t have done them so close to naptime.

She is (as I said to a patient the other day) just a big bucket of sugar! I am so thankful for her sweet little demeanor (so far) and everything about her! She can sit unassisted for just a few seconds, and she’s very grabby. She loves playing with Z’s toys and has even taken a liking to Winnie…. Good thing he has two!

She has been a lot little stuffy these days and I think that’s been messing with her sleep.

She’s started eating solids, mashed bananas to be exact. It has taken her several tries, but I think she’s finally getting the concept. Her poops seem to confirm that theory. Next up, just in time for Thanksgiving, sweet potatoes!