Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays to all from our family to yours!

Gaby at 10 months old!

11/28/12

Dear Gabriela:

You are now 10 months old! We can’t believe in two short months you will be a year old! You really light up our lives and we are so thankful for you!

You experienced your first Halloween, trick or treating (you loved it and were a cute little ladybug!) Thanksgiving, tried turkey (you weren’t a fan), and have seen your first Christmas tree all in the last month. You weren’t a fan of the tree at first, but now you like to wave at it and smile when the lights are on.

You are getting very independent when it comes to eating. I’d say you’re more independent than Santi was at this age. You love feeding yourself, and some of your favorites are toast/bread, crackers, Mum Mums, Cheerios, puffs, and banana slices. You can hold your sippy cup but haven’t figured out you need to tip it up to get the liquid out quite yet.

You’ve started (finally!) taking a sippy cup, but only the special one that we got from Children’s Hospital when we went for your feeding evaluation. And you will only drink the most expensive organic formula and only if it’s mixed with a banana. So we make you a banana “smoothie” as we call it three times a day and since we’ve been doing that you have been drinking about 16-18 oz of formula a day. We did all of this because you weren’t getting enough fluids before and even though you were nursing, you weren’t getting enough, so we decided to try supplementing. Your weight had dropped two pounds in a two month period, and we’re happy that it looks like you’re gaining weight again!

Unfortunately, because you like the sippy cup and formula so much, it looks like our nursing relationship is done. While I’m a little sad about this, I’m happy that I was able to nurse you for 10 months, and I know you have gotten a lot of health benefits because of it. And you are such a mama’s girl, I know we will still get our snuggle and bonding time in without the nursing.

Here are some more things that you’re doing:

• Showing excitement when you see something you like. It’s especially funny when you see the container of puffs or your sippy cup being prepared as you start giggling and smiling and will sometimes clap
• Still giving us big belly laughs when we tickle you or do something that you think is funny
• You play “hide your foot” with Daddy, where he pretends to try and eat your foot when you stick it up over the tray of your high chair. Right when he gets to your foot, you will yank it down and then put it back when he backs away. You are usually giggling the whole time he is doing this.
• Scooting ALL over the place. The other day I put you down in front of the kitchen so I could see you and got distracted and when I turned around a few minutes later you had scooted all the way to the front door. You looked pretty pleased that you’d made it that far!
• Still working on pulling up. You’re not quite strong enough yet, but we know it’s coming!
• You love music and “dancing” – your favorite song is still “Bounce Your Baby” by Caspar Babypants. Whenever it comes on you start moving all over the place!
• Eating solid foods for 3 meals a day and taking a sippy cup of 4-8oz of formula 3 times a day
• Wearing size 6 month and 6-12 month clothes
• Wearing size 1-2 diapers and your largest cloth diapers
• Wearing size 1 shoes
• Weighing in at almost 16 lbs

We are excited that you will celebrate your first Christmas this month! It will be fun to see what you like and don’t like…we’re wondering if you will like Santa or if he will scare you, and what you will make of opening presents on Christmas morning.

Thank you for making our past month interesting, fun, and for continuing to be a light in our lives!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

 

Seeing the tree for the first time... :)

 

Trying out pig tails for the first time!

 

Trying out hanging on to stuff

 

Out to lunch and having some bunny crackers

 

 

 

Love those eyelashes!

Kitchen Pinterest success!

So I've been on Pinterest for awhile now, and there are many projects or tips I've tried that work so-so, or not at all. Partially this could be due to user error, or it could be due to bad directions, or me just not having the skills needed to do the project, who knows?

When I first joined, I saw this tip about green onions. Rachel over at Baked by Rachel said you can basically have a never ending crop of them by saving the ends, and placing them in a cup of water on a sunny window sill. I didn't really believe it, but I used up our green onions in a stir fry last week, so I figured I'd give it a shot. I placed the green onions in an old Ikea glass on our kitchen sill. This is a window that is south facing so it doesn't get direct sunlight but it gets light in the afternoon. Not only was I surprised yesterday when I noticed that the green onions were indeed regenerating, but they are growing SO fast!

This is day 6:

 

It's been so successful that I'm going to get another bunch to add so we have some more. Green onions are the veggie that I add to everything if I have them on hand, but I often forget to buy them, so this is perfect!

Have you had any tips from Pinterest that have worked really well?

 

Gaby's 9 month letter

10/28/12

Dear Gabriela:

You are now 9 months old! Almost a whole year has passed since you joined our family! You certainly have made your place in our hearts because we can’t imagine our family without you!

Your personality is shining through more and more every day. You let us know when you are happy and when you are angry/sad. Your crying and screaming seems to have gotten louder and more high pitched, if that was even possible. You’re trying to be more independent and love to do things like pick up your toys to play with and feed yourself.

Sometimes when I put you into your car seat you will cry because you’re mad that I’m not holding you. But once you’re in and I’ve given you your doll or blanket, you are happy. And you will even laugh at me/with me when I come around to your side again after putting Santi into his seat.

Overall, you are a very happy and easy going baby. Once you are comfortable with people, you will let them hold you, although you’re more apt to let them hold you if I’m not around. Once you see me, you need to be in my arms.

You managed to lose almost two pounds between your 6 month appointment and your 9 month appointment at the pediatrician so we are going back in a couple of weeks to get things checked out and see what’s going on. In the meantime, I’m piling more table foods and starchy/high fat foods into you in hopes that it will help you pack on the pounds.

You’ve also managed to get a bad yeast diaper rash. And a skin infection, so we’re giving you medicine, which unfortunately gives you diarrhea. So you’re not very happy right now when we change your diapers and have to slather on medicine as well as A&D diaper rash cream.

Here are some more things that you’re doing:

• Talking more and more everyday. Right now it’s more babbling, but you do say “Mama” and have started babbling with “d’s” and “b’s” sounds
• Laughing when we tickle you
• “Sharing” your food. You like to take whatever is in your hand and put it out for us to “eat.” We will pretend to eat it which you find hilarious and then you’ll eat it yourself
• Pulling up more and more on us only. You will also hold onto things if we place you against them but we usually need to be right nearby in case you decided to leave
• You will take a few steps if we are holding your hands/arms but not all the time
• Really love being upright in your bouncer
• Eating solid foods for 3 meals a day and breastfeeding about 3-4 times a day
• Just started wearing 6 month and 6-12 month size clothes
• Wearing size 1-2 diapers and your largest cloth diapers
• Wearing size 1 shoes

You’re now an international traveler, and have also visited the pumpkin patch for the first time. We’re excited to celebrate your first Thanksgiving this month and hope you like turkey and rolls as much as Santi did his first Thanksgiving!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

 

Gaby's 8 month letter

9/28/12

Dear Gabriela:

You are now 8 months old! We celebrated your 8 month birthday in Peru! It was your first international trip and you traveled pretty well down here on the plane. You loved waving to people on the plane and the flight attendants were very helpful in getting you to calm down when you wouldn’t stop crying once.

You love to eat and eat a lot! You’ll usually have about 6-7 ounces of pureed food along with some solid food each meal (usually toast or a waffle or a Mum Mum or crackers.) You are feeding yourself and very independent.

You still won’t crawl but have started to pull yourself up on us. We will hold our hands out and you will grab them and pull yourself up to a standing position from there. But you are really showing no interest in crawling, either from a sitting position or from your tummy. The most you have done is when you’re on your tummy you will turn in circles and then cry.

You love to be in your jumperoo and jump as much as you can. If we put you in your exersaucer you will try to jump but you can’t jump as much in that so you don’t like it as much.

Here are some more things that you’re doing:

• Getting more comfortable with other people, although you still prefer mommy and daddy (mommy over daddy everytime too.)
• Rocking back and forth to music when you’re sitting
• Waving and closing your hand in a “milk” sign even though it’s your way of waving as well
• Laying all the way forward when you’re sitting
• Really developing a relationship with Santi and noticing him and reacting to him
• Eating solid foods for 3 meals a day and breastfeeding about 3-4 times a day
• Wearing 6 month and 6-12 month size clothes
• Wearing size 1-2 diapers and your largest cloth diapers
• Napping consistently from 2-4:30 or 5pm everyday, and sometimes with some cat naps in the morning. If we’re home you’ll nap from about 10am-12pm

You did great in your flying and trip to Peru. All of your family was so happy to meet you and to celebrate you for your baptism! They all can’t wait until we are back again! You’ve changed so much and we’re excited for this next month and what it brings!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

35 in 35!

On October 12th, I turned 35 years old. Part of me feels like, "Whoa! When did that happen?" And another part of me feels like, "Age is just a number." I certainly don't feel 35, or at least not how I thought I would feel at 35. I feel good.

I'm in the best shape of my life since high school (maybe better?), eating well, have a great husband and two awesome kids. I am lucky enough to be able to stay home with my kids right now, we have a new (to us) home, just went on a vacation to San Diego and to Peru. We've got great friends and family and relationships with them are better than ever. So things are good.

I was inspired by a friend who recently told me about her and a few girlfriends who were completing a "35 in 35" list - 35 things they'd always wanted to do but hadn't to accomplish in one year. So I decided to create my own list. Since I've been working out more, I added a few fitness related goals on my list, but then I also added some crafty things as well as some fun things (hello couples massage!)

I thought I'd share my list in an attempt to maybe inspire others but also for my own accountability! Feast your eyes on my list of 35 things I'd like to accomplish in my 35th year!

35 in 35 list

1. Take a pottery class
2. Run 2 10k races
3. Run 2 5k races
4. Take a cooking class
5. Have drinks and appetizers at the top of the Space Needle
6. Learn how to knit and make a baby hat
7. Get a couples massage
8. Do a mud run race/obstacle course
9. Pick a charity and donate to it throughout the year either monetarily or through volunteer time
10. Catalog all digital photos on DVDs and print out certain photos for albums
11. Finish at least one non-kid related book a month
12. Find a good red wine I like
13. Pick 5 Pinterest crafts and complete them
14. Pick 10 Pinterest meals and make them
15. Lose 6 more pounds and maintain the loss
16. Finish and plant new garden in yard
17. Travel to one new place with Tito and the kids
18. Take a weekend and go away with just Tito
19. Eat at 6 new restaurants
20. Try something new on the menu of 6 restaurants I've been to regularly
21. Watch 3 movies in the theater
22. Go rollerskating with Tito on a date
23. Adapt 5 new tips from Pinterest into my household routine
24. Start watching Downton Abbey
25. Buy one new vegetable I haven't eaten at the grocery store each trip, learn how to prepare it and eat it
26. Learn how to crochet and make a blanket
27. Take a cake decorating class
28. Take a sewing class
29. Take a wine tasting/pairing class with Tito
30. Do a date night in Seattle with Tito
31.  Do an all free date night with Tito
32. Go indoor skydiving
33. Start a "one line a day" journal for both of the kids
34. Go to Yakima Valley
35. See a show at the 5th Avenue Theater

What are some things you'd like to accomplish by your next birthday? And for good measure, here's me celebrating my 35th in style (my actual birthday was spent traveling home from Peru after 24 hours of delays...but we did get bumped to first class for the last leg of the trip, so that was nice!)
 

 I'm 35!

 

With my handsome husband!

Testing mobile blogging!

Gaby's 7 month letter

8/28/12

Dear Gabriela:

7 months have flown by since you joined our family! You’re so much less of a baby now and so much more of a person! Your personality is large, even though you’re still tiny!

You eat solid foods for every meal now and have really branched out as far as different purees. You definitely let us know when you like something or don’t like it though. You have a high pitched squeal/scream for when you’re really excited or when you’re really angry.

You’re sitting very solidly and now pull yourself over and onto your tummy. We think you’re pretty close to crawling, and although we’re excited about that, we’re ok if you want to wait a little longer until you’re mobile too!

You wake up at about 8:30 or so at night and we let you cry it out for about 5-10 minutes and you soothe yourself back to sleep. You also wake up at about 3-4am, and I’ll feed you and then you go back to sleep. You have tried using a sippy cup and you liked it but you still won’t take a bottle.

Here are some more things that you’re doing:

• Getting excited when we give you toys
• Smiling at people who talk to you
• Waving on your own
• “Dancing” by waving your arms when music is on
• Getting mad and crying when Santi takes a toy (like his cars) away from you
• Eating solid foods for 3 meals a day and breastfeeding about 4-5 times a day
• Wearing some 3 month size clothes, as well as 3-6 and some 6 month sizes
• Wearing size 1-2 diapers and your largest cloth diapers
• Still napping from about 2-4:30 or so every day. Sometimes you have a quick nap in the morning if we’re home, and you’ll always fall asleep in the car!

You had a great trip to San Diego and charmed everyone on the planes and in the hotel. You went swimming in a pool for the first time and had a great time…you’re a water baby just like your brother! We’re getting ready to take you on your first international trip to Peru, and can’t wait for you to meet your family there as well as for the plane rides! We love you so much and are so blessed to have you as our daughter!

Love, Mommy and Daddy