Luca Says: 2nd Edition

We had a fantastic time in Pinetop for fall break, and it was so great to get out of the heat and enjoy some cool, fresh fall weather. The fall weather has finally made it to the valley now, and I am loving it! I meant to update sooner, but things got busy like always. I guess that's just the way it goes when you teach full time and have a toddler to chase around. Can you believe it's finally cool enough for long sleeved shirts? And daily walks to the park!

 Lately I have been working a lot on Luca's first year album in Shutterfly...yes, I am still working on it. Hey, I am up to 9 months old. Maybe it will be finished before he turns 18. Looking through the hundreds of pictures we have taken since he was born really tugs at my heartstrings. Where did that tiny little baby go?! I look at the little boy I see running around our house now, and I can hardly remember that squishy little baby. :::cue tears::: Today he was feeling a little under the weather. He woke up at 5am and actually slept on my chest in our bed until 7. This NEVER happens anymore. Like not since he was a newborn. It was heaven. Then, this evening he cuddled up with me on the couch all evening. I hate when he isn't feeling well, but it's seriously the only time he will sit on my lap or cuddle up with me for longer than 5 seconds. I secretly was thankful for the quiet moments with my sick little man. I didn't touch my messy house all day, but I don't care. I wanted to savor every single second of him actually wanting his mommy. Despite him feeling pretty crummy, he mustered up a smile and said "cheese" when I tried to snap a quick picture of him snuggled on my chest. What a doll.

Luca is talking up a storm lately, and he is always learning new words. Here is the latest edition of "Luca Says"...

apple-when he wants applesauce, his favorite snack (it may have even beat cheese)
go-when he wants Tevez to get out of his way he pushes him and says "go"
off-when he wants his shoes off
goggy=doggy
he says something like "pumpkin", they have been learning about them at school
shoe-he is actually pronouncing it clearly now, and he is still obsessed with shoes
potty-pointing to the toilet
poopy-for obvious reasons...
Elmo

I know I have more to add to this list, but it's late and my brain is foggy. 
Oh yeah, and he LOVES dancing to Gangham Style. Think modern Asian Macarena...

Luca Says-First Edition

I am amazed at how quickly Luca is picking things up lately, and his vocabulary seems to be growing by 2-3 words a day! Every minute it seems like he is saying something new...and it's usually pretty funny. I decided I would try to share his latest words as I catch them. Here we go...Luca Says, 1st Edition:

"trash"-and he will now identify trash on his own, and throw away trash when asked...LOVE THIS!
"ball"-his favorite toy
"shoes"-the kid is crazy about obsessed with shoes. We have a basket in the dining room full of his shoes, and he wants to change shoes every 10 minutes. He even wants to wear two different shoes at the same time, and often he wants to wear them on the wrong feet, and if you try to suggest otherwise he throws a fit. He wants to wear them to bed, and he wants to put them on first thing when he wakes up. He also wants everyone else to keep their shoes on at all times. If you take your shoes off, he will bring you a pair and try to put them on you. He will also try to wear our shoes.
"outside"-his favorite place to be, hopefully it will cool down soon
"car" AND "truck"-it amazes me that he can now distinguish between the two
"down"-when he wants down
"please"-which he does with the baby sign, and it melts my heart.
"mas"-more in Spanish
"agua"-water in Spanish
"night night"
"bye bye"
"cheese"-his favorite food
"cracker"-this one I am not totally positive about, but I am pretty sure that's what he is saying.

That's all I can think of at the moment, but I am sure we will come up with more soon. It blows my mind how quickly he is learning not one, but TWO languages. I love it!

Toddler Time!

The last month has just been crazy. What else is new? I forgot how exhausting the first month of school is since I got to skip it last year. Note to self: having a baby around the time school starts is a fabulous idea! In addition to all the work of starting a new school year, we have had the pleasure of chasing around a toddler. That's right, he's on the move! He officially started walking just a few weeks ago, and now we can't stop him. He is all over the place. I honestly love having a toddler. Now that he can get around more easily, he has become a lot more independent, which means mommy doesn't have to tote him around everywhere. This is great...unless you have to go to the grocery store. Riding in the cart is so not cool anymore. Now he wants to walk all over the store and push the shopping cart. Unfortunately, he never wants to go where mommy needs to go, and if he can reach a shelf, you can count on everything being thrown on the floor. Oh, and he's all about throwing things lately. Food, toys, shoes...anything. It's especially fun to throw things directly at mommy. He also loves wearing things on his head and putting on my bracelets and Santi's arm splint (he is battling tendonitis). Headbands are his favorite.

This past week he surprised us with his first real words (besides mama, dada, and uh oh). He has said consistently ball, car, quack quack (apparently he loves doing animal flash cards at school), honey (which is hilarious, because that's what Santi calls me), and uva (grape in Spanish). He also will say "toma" when he throws something, which is Spanish for "here". Santi taught him that one. He has said something like "si" a couple of times as well. In addition to walking and talking, he has developed quite the opinion on what he likes and doesn't like, and he doesn't hesitate to let you know. He will shake his head and say "no" when you offer up something to eat that he doesn't want, and he will take you to the fridge and point out exactly what he wants to eat. He has also started sitting on the kitchen mat when he wants a snack. No idea where he got this idea, but he consistently goes and sits there and points to the pantry or fridge. The other day he ate a string cheese, and walked over to the trash can to throw away the trash. I was impressed. I guess he is a neat freak like mommy. Besides all these big milestones, he has also been fighting the battle of teething for the last couple of weeks. Poor guy. He finally started sleeping through the night again last night and it was amazing after weeks of getting up multiple times a night. I ended up staying home from work with him one day so he could rest up. He loved all the mommy time.

We enjoyed lots of snuggles on the couch, and we also went for a short walk over to the park for some fresh air. I love being home with him, even if it means having to miss work and catch up later.

Here We Go Again!

Well, another school year has begun. I survived my first week in a new district, new school, and new grade. All in all it went pretty well...but I am EXHAUSTED. I am so glad I had a helper to set up my classroom for the first week.

 Luca has settled in really well at his new daycare and we really like it there so far. He seems really happy, and I am so glad he is so easy going and social. He just goes with the flow. It's so funny though, his little personality is totally coming out even more now that we have entered the toddler phase. I always knew he was demanding and stubborn (the kid knows what he wants and he better get it rightthisverysecond), but now he comes home with reports from daycare about "demanding" things from his teacher. She says it's the cutest thing. Hardy har har. I am not so sure it will be cute in another year or two. Something tells me we are in trouble with our little firecracker.
Oh yeah, and how could I forget...he is WALKING!!!!!! He took his first official steps a few weeks ago for Santi and I, but then he wouldn't do it anymore. He wanted to drag us all over the house by our fingers (and throw fits if we wouldn't walk with him where he wanted to go), but he just wouldn't do it on his own. This week at daycare when I arrived to pick him up, he actually walked from his teacher to me. It was the most precious sight! Then, tonight he and I had a mommy and Luca "date" night since Santi went to see a movie with his work buddy. He actually toddled across the living room for the first time! He is still pretty hesitant, but he can totally do it! He gets so excited too. It's so cute. He wants to take off running though, and he gets frustrated that he can't go as fast as he wants, so he grabs my hand and pulls me along.

So, totally random side note, Google+ rocks my socks now that I finally "get" how to use it. And if my phone wasn't so crappy it would rock even more  (it keeps deleting random photos...which is super annoying). I finally downloaded the app and figured out how to send all the photos from my phone to Google+, which now has my favorite photo editing tool, and since it's connected to blogger as well I can upload photos directly to the blog and edit them all in one place!!!! IT'S AWESOME! Here. I was playing around with it.

                        Someone went to Burger King and discovered the art of dipping things in ketchup.

Dear Luca

Dear Luca,
I can't believe you are one! Where has the time gone? It seems like overnight you transformed from a tiny little baby into this funny, active little toddler with a BIG personality. You are so busy these days. Climbing on everything, trying to put on every pair of shoes you find (yours, mine, and daddy's) in hopes that someone will take you outside (despite the fact that it's over 100 degrees outside), playing with Tevez (he sure makes you laugh), chasing balls, and examining everything. You know what you want and you are determined to get it. You are a stubborn little boy. Passionate already I know. We have had a lot of fun this summer playing at the splash pad, swimming, and visiting family in Indiana. You did a great job on your first plane ride, considering you were confined to our laps. You are not a fan of being confined. You love to explore and you are always on the move. I know soon enough you will be walking...or you might just go straight to running. You are so close, and I am just waiting to see you take those first steps and let go of our hands. I know you are ready for more independence. In just a few days you will start your new school. I know you will make a lot of new friends and enjoy all the activities. You are such a social little guy, always waving at everyone. I am going to miss spending all day with you, but I know we will have plenty of fun after school each day. We love you more than anything little man, and we are so blessed to have you in our lives!!!! You are amazing! Never forget that.

Love,
Mommy

We have a one year old?

Wait, when did that happen?! How did my tiny little baby turn into a busy one year old boy? Ahhhhhh! I just keep thinking about what we were doing this time last year. We were up all night with a newborn. No clue what we were doing. Exhausted. Trying to adjust to this tiny little thing that came in and shook up our lives. Well, a year later I think it's safe to say that we have started to settle into our new roles as mommy and daddy, but we still have a LOT to learn. Every new stage comes with new challenges, questions, and surprises. Just when it felt like we were finally mastering the baby stage, BAM! We have a toddler. An active, curious ball of energy. He is into everything. It's exhausting. He loves balls, climbing on things, tools, putting things together, tormenting Tevez, being outside, and did I mention balls? Soccer, football, baseball, basketball. It doesn't matter. He is his father's son.
We celebrated his first birthday here in Arizona with a pool party. He had plenty of friends around to help him celebrate, and he of course was happy to be in the pool. As for the cake, he wasn't too interested in eating it as I anticipated, but he did an awesome job of covering himself head to toe in blue icing. A shower was required afterwards. But you just can't celebrate enough when you are turning one, so we threw a family party in Indiana as well. It was really special for him to be able to celebrate his birthday with all of his grandparents and great grandparents as well as his cousin Ruthi. They had a blast together. It was great to be back in the midwest even if it was a whirlwind of a visit. Now we are back in Phoenix, and I have one more week of summer before I officially start my new job at my new school. It's a bit overwhelming thinking about starting over in a new district, new school, and new grade. Well, the first month of school is overwhelming regardless. On top of that, we have a LOT going on. I hope I get more time to blog in the upcoming weeks because I feel like I have been so bad at blogging. I have a million things I want to share!!!! For now, please accept my crummy short post and enjoy a couple of birthday pictures!

Ahhhhh...

Well, summer vacation has officially begun and I thought I would pop in and let you all know what is happening in the Sotomayor household. After the craziness of finishing out my LAST school year at Desert Oasis (hallelujah), we took our first family trip to California to visit family and of course take Luca to the beach. Despite chilly weather, we had a great time just hanging out and exploring southern California. Luca of course LOVED the beach. He went toddling right towards the water holding onto daddy's hands, mouth wide open with awe and excitement. He also loved the sand. That is the longest I have ever seen him sit still in one place, bucket and shovel in hand. Thankfully none of it made it into his mouth. We also got to spend a lot of time with Santi's family, and Luca enjoyed checking out Uncle Xavi's new digs in Venice Beach. Isn't that like the perfect place for a twenty something single guy? Yeah, I know. I think Santi was drooling on the inside. Of course Luca was also spoiled rotten by his great aunts, and we were so happy we got to see Tia Maria Enith who was visiting from Ecuador. He is definitely the prince of the Sotomayor side being the only baby boy among a bunch of baby girls. And he definitely has grandpa's personality. Hopefully we will get to see grandpa in a month or two when he makes his way to the states again. After a relaxing weekend away, I got to start my summer with my little man. We have been enjoying hanging out around the house, and have made plans for play dates, library story time, and the pool next week. The past couple of days he has been a little under the weather thanks to the top teeth working their way through. Hopefully they will pop out soon and he will be back to his happy self. Even when he is uncomfortable, he doesn't sit still. He has been busy cruising around all the furniture and I am certain he will be walking very soon. Eeeeek!

Besides taking care of my teething baby, my furry baby is also nursing an injury he managed just an hour after being dropped off at the pet resort. Oh Tevez. Poor thing. I am also working on some serious home organization over the summer, on top of getting ready for my first year in first grade at my new school...AND planning the final details of two 1st birthday parties! Man, so much for lounging. I have a bunch of pictures to post from Luca's first beach adventure, but my memory card is waaaaaaaaay over in the bookcase and I am so not getting up right now. Luca's nap time is one of the few moments of the day I get to sit and chill. Oh, and our laptop is still all slow and screwy, so it will be getting (hopefully) repaired next week, which may mean I don't get to update or post more pictures for a little while. AHHHH!

My First Mother's Day

As luck would have it, I am in a blogging sort of mood and our laptop is on the fritz. Go figure. I am attempting to blog from the ipad with limited success, so I may just have to try again later. Anywho...on Sunday I got to celebrate my first official Mother's Day (with a baby on the outside). Last year I was 7 months pregnant with Luca. Santi made me a delicious breakfast and got me some roses, and I remember wondering what it might be like to celebrate with my little one. This year I enjoyed my day with my amazing little family attending church (where we sat in the parent room and Luca plowed through an entire snack container of puffs and Cheerios), going out to breakfast, and taking our first family trip to the pool. Luca LOVED the pool, just as we had anticipated. The kid is a huge fan of water. Period. It doesn't matter if it's in a bath, a pool, or the dog's dish. He wanted nothing to do with the baby floating tube. He only wanted to be held so he could splash around. I am pretty sure he would have jumped right in if we had let him. I love watching him experience things for the first time. It's one of the best parts of being a mom. I love being a mom. Even on the days I am just completely tapped out. It's not an easy job by any means, but I wouldn't want to change a thing about our life with Luca.

May Musings

Wow, I was going about my morning mommy duties of getting Luca ready for daycare this morning when it occurred to me that today was the first day of May. I would say that it snuck up on me, but I have been counting down the minutes until the end of the school year since...oh...November 1st when I went back to work after maternity leave. May is a magical month. It's probably one of the most busy and hectic months of the school year, but summer is so close you can almost taste it. There is just something about knowing that you are in the final month of the school year that puts a spring in your step. The end is in sight, and a much needed vacation awaits. I am going to be honest here, this school year was probably my most challenging in my 6 years of teaching. I think it has even come close to topping the year I taught 5th grade, which is saying a lot. It's taken some time to get into the groove of being a working mommy. Starting the school year with my kiddos in November was NOT easy, especially since we had gone from a full day kindergarten program to a half day. NIGHTMARE. It was also hard being away from Luca all day, and really just the logistics of functioning as a teacher on very little sleep thanks to my most favorite little guy keeping me up all night many, many nights. That's no easy feat for any teacher, and with the class I had this year it was down right exhausting. I felt like I was going about my days in a fog most of the time. The house was always a wreck, sometimes we would eat a decent dinner, and forget about relaxing. Add several pumping sessions throughout the day (including two at work) and I am surprised I have survived the last 6 months at all. It hasn't been an easy road, and I will be the first to admit that the stress got the best of me many, many times. Too many. I allowed it to take over way too often, and I saw myself becoming a person I didn't want to be. Grouchy, bitter, short-tempered. Once again I felt God calling me to take a leap of faith. I just knew that it was time to move on from the school I have called home for the past 5 years. I knew that it was not a good situation for me, and it was not allowing me to be the mommy and wife I want to be. Despite my common sense telling me it was too much of a risk to resign without another job lined up, I turned in my letter of resignation in March. I had to trust God once again. I had to free myself up so that He could reveal Himself to me once again. Let me tell you, GOD IS GOOD! Now when you are waiting for God to show up in a big way, it's not always easy. In fact, it's scary. At least for me. I struggle with faith sometimes. I guess this is why he is always testing me and urging me to let go and let Him. I know He is growing my faith every day. Well, He did show up in a big way, and I am so thankful for His mercies. I was offered (and of course accepted!) a first grade teaching position in Litchfield Park. I fell in love with the principal, school, and teachers right away. It just felt right, and I breathed such a sigh of relief when I got the offer. I knew it was the perfect fit for me, and I knew that God had my best interest in mind when he nudged me to take that change and put myself out there. I feel a new energy and excitement for life, and I can't wait to see what this change does for me and for our family.

Dear Luca

Dear Luca,
Wow. Turning 9 months old has been a BIG deal. You have been a very busy little boy these last couple of weeks! You are now an expert at the army crawl that you began at 8 months, and you can really move fast! You give Tevez a run for his money! Over the course of one weekend you began sitting from laying, pulling to stand in your crib and at your play table, waving hi and bye, pointing at anything and everything, clapping, sharing toys with mommy and daddy, and shaking your head to music. You are so funny! You are always smiling, and I just can't get enough of your "ma ma ma ma"...even if it's not necessarily directed towards me just yet. I am so proud of how well you have done at your new daycare since grandma and grandpa left. You are always happy when I pick you up, and you love flirting with the ladies at the front desk. You and your buddy Bennett really keep Ms. Debbie on her toes every day, and you are quite the duo. I love seeing you interact with friends. It's too cute. Today we took you to your first class at The Little Gym. You seemed to have a good time, even if you were one of the youngest babies there. You loved the balls, sticks, and bubbles of course. You also got to try out your new pool in the backyard since it was 100 degrees today! You had a BLAST! You really love the water. I can't wait to take you to the big pool soon. You are so full of energy. I can't imagine what the next few years are going to be like chasing you around everywhere. Tomorrow we are going to try out your big boy carseat, and mommy is going to work on some things for your 1st birthday party. I want it to be extra special. I can't believe in less than 3 months you will be a year old. Stop growing so fast!!! 

Love You Always,

Mommy

Feeling Crafty

Oh Pinterest, I love how you make me feel creative when really I am not. I am pretending to be creative and crafty this weekend. Thanks to Pinterest I have collected quite a few ideas for Luca's first birthday party. I cannot believe it is less than 3 months away. How did that happen?! I am getting really excited. We are doing a blue and orange themed party, and I have some super cute ideas in the works. I am going to keep most of them under wraps for now, but here is a sneak peak of what I am working on:

Courtesy of juliemariepix.blogspot.com
This was my inspiration. We will see how it turns out. Oh, and thanks to Pinterest I also discovered these amazing looking Orange Crush cupcakes courtesy of www.serendipitymommy.com:

I am going to have to make a trial batch soon. YUM.

Mommy Fail

It's been a month since I blogged!!!! I know, I have been a real slacker. Mommy fail. Let's just say that the last month has been a very busy one. Our favorite little guy is growing like a weed. Those two bottom teeth are all the way in now, and man is it CUTE! I can't stand it! I wish I had more time to keep on every little detail of his first year because every single moment is so special. I get so wrapped up in the day to day things and I am so afraid of missing something. I can't believe his first Easter is just around the corner. We picked up his basket (ok, the Easter Bunny brought it) last week. Of course it has all sorts of sports things on it. Mommy may have eaten all the candy out of it already. I am dying to take him to see the Easter Bunny this weekend. Daddy thinks it's a terrible idea since he has some serious stranger anxiety at this age. Hey, it's a right of passage, and we skipped out on the whole Santa thing. Hopefully I can get some time to pick out an Easter outfit for him and we'll make it to the mall.
This past month, in addition to hitting the 8 month mark and getting his first two teeth, he also had his first trip to the zoo, stuck his toes in the pool, and started his new daycare. He has also added several "real" foods to his menu, including guacamole from Chipotle which he LOVED. He knows the good stuff! Spring break was such a welcome reprieve and I am so thankful that Santi had some time off work so we could enjoy some family time together. It was much needed!
 I cannot believe he will already be 9 months old in another week or so. That is just crazy. He has mastered the army crawl, and he is trying so hard to get going on all fours. He will get himself up, but then he isn't quite sure how to get moving. He is also desperate to pull himself to standing and will practically do a head stand attempting to get on his feet. I have a feeling I am going to wake up one day and he is going to be running through the house. It seems like these things just happen over night. Last week we booked our trip to Indiana for his 1st birthday, and I realized that we have not left the city of Phoenix in over a year (except our one mommy and daddy weekend in Vegas)! Man, having a baby really does change your life! I am so excited to take Luca to Indiana for the first time, and I am really excited that he will finally get to meet his great grandparents. I am sure he will have quite the turn out for his big day. I can't wait!
Along with watching Luca grow, I have been busy milling over some big life decisions. After a LOT, and I mean a LOT, of thinking and praying I have made the difficult decision to leave my current school district at the end of this year. I have spent five years at my school, worked with some amazing teachers, taught some wonderful kids, met some great families, and learned a lot about myself as an educator and as a person. It's going to be very bittersweet walking out those doors for the last time in May, but I feel that God is calling me in a new direction. I am not sure exactly what that means, but I am going to trust in Him and see what he has in store for me. He has never lead me astray, and I am sure it's something fantastic. I am still anxious, but excited at the same time.
Thanks for reading, and here is some serious cuteness for your time:

Dear Luca

Dear Sweet Baby Boy,
I can only call you that for a few more months it seems. The thought of you being a toddler and not a baby anymore brings tears to my eyes. When did you get so big? This past week I saw two little teeth poking through your gums. Your adorable little gummy grin is about to be replaced with a toothy big boy smile. I cannot believe it. It seems like we brought you home from the hospital only yesterday. Would you please slow down already?! Oh, and then there's the army crawling. All of a sudden you are mobile, and the world is at your fingertips. You can no longer be contained, which means mommy and daddy don't get to relax much (as if we did anyways). You are getting faster every day with your army crawl, and poor Tevez is always trying to escape when he sees you headed his way. It cracks me up when you take off after his toys. As if you didn't have a million toys lying around. Apparently the dog's toys are much more interesting. I guess all the extra exercise is wearing you out, because you have also slept through the night for two nights in a row. Thank you!!! I guess you knew that mommy was starting to get pretty worn out. I can't wait for summer break when you and I can just hang out every day like we used to. I miss that. I hate having to work, and I hope you know that I would much rather be home with you enjoying every single second. I know you are going to love going to the pool this summer. You just love the bath tub. Well, I am off to look for more ideas for your 1st birthday party. Yes, I realize it's over 4 months away, but I can't wait to put together the best celebration ever! But please don't let it come too fast...

We love you baby boy!!!!

Mommy and Papi

Confession

I need my smart phone back. Ok, I don't need it, but I really, really, really want one again. Santi got an iphone 4s yesterday, and I am slightly jealous. Ok, I am really jealous. I used to have a smart phone. Just a simple Droid, nothing fancy. I got rid of it before Luca arrived thinking I was going to be all money wise and save the $30 a month we were paying in data. I figured with a baby around there wouldn't be much time for playing on a fancy phone. Not to mention I was worried about what said baby might do to an expensive phone. Well, after about 10 months without my smart phone I have decided maybe I need to rejoin the 21st century. I hate that my dumb phone can't take any decent pictures. When you have an adorable 7 month old that is always doing cute things, you just want to be able to grab a camera and snap away. When the camera is not handy, I am out of luck. I also want to do more blogging, mainly because this is the only way I am recording all the events of Luca's first year. I skipped the whole baby book thing and decided I would keep this blog as my way of remembering all those special moments. I want to write more, and mostly I want to be able to quickly send pictures to the computer and blog away. I want to quickly and easily capture every second of my baby's life, because let's face it, he is growing way too fast and the baby phase isn't going to last much longer! So...I am thinking of taking Santi's old Droid Incredible for the time being, and hopefully becoming one of the cool kids with an iphone in December when I can upgrade again. I hope this means more blogging and more pictures of the world's cutest baby!

7 Months and So Many Changes

Wow. On Sunday our precious little baby turned 7 months old. Not only that, but in a matter of days he became an expert at sitting (no more toppling over), learned how to wave hi, and started army crawling forward and backward. I think it's time to finish the baby-proofing. I cannot believe how fast he is growing. My heart melts when I see pictures of him as a newborn. It seems like I blinked and that tiny baby doubled in size. Life has changed so much since he arrived, and even though balancing the demands of motherhood and a full time job is exhausting, I would do it over and over again. Luca has filled our lives with so much joy. He is such an incredible blessing.
While Luca is busy reaching milestones and changing every day, I am dealing with changes of my own. I have been praying for a long time for God to provide a way for me to stay at home with Luca. It makes me sick knowing that half of my paycheck goes to childcare and that I could be spending my days with him instead of other people's children. I struggle with this every.single.day. While I love teaching, I don't want to look back and regret the time I have missed with him. I am thankful that I am in a career that gives me 3 months off every year, but it's still not enough. So, as contract time approaches I am spending a lot of time praying for God to guide my decision and give me peace about it. I don't know what the future holds, and I am trying to remind myself daily that He is faithful. That He knows our deepest desires and has our best in mind. I am feeling called to take yet another leap of faith in life, and just like the last one, I am sure it won't be without struggles, but I know that He will provide. He is good. He is faithful. I am reminded of that every day when I look into the eyes of my precious rainbow baby (a rainbow baby refers to a baby born after a loss).

6 months EBF and still going strong!

I have been wanting to blog this for a couple of weeks, but life has been hectic and the blog has taken a backseat. I am just now getting around to updating, but on January 5th I hit a big goal that I had made for myself before Luca was born; a goal I really doubted I would be able to achieve. Luca has been exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months of his life, AND I am still doing it! He has never had a drop of formula (and there is absolutely nothing wrong with formula, I was a formula baby), and it feels like such a great achievement to know that I was able to give him that precious gift for his health and development. When he was first born I thought I wouldn't make it past 3 weeks of breastfeeding. It was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. It was physically, mentally, and emotionally draining. I will be honest I hated it at first. In the beginning I had to set little goals and take it day by day, but I pushed on because I knew it was best for him and I was thankful that I was physically able to nurse my child. It wasn't this magical special time with my child that so many people had told me it would be. Being the sole provider of nutrition for my child was overwhelming and exhausting. He depended on me and me alone for food, and it was a big job.
When I went back to work I was certain I wouldn't make my 6 month EBF goal. I was so overwhelmed with the idea of having to pump at work when I knew my days were already packed. Once I went back I took it day by day again, and eventually got into a pumping routine. Thankfully I had a decent freezer stash from my maternity leave, which helped to supplement on days when my supply was low.
Six months later, I am not crazy about being tied to a pump and having to revolve my whole life around pumping, but I will say that I have changed my mind about the time I spend nursing Luca. Every day I look forward to nursing him after work, and nursing him to sleep at night. That's my time with him. Time when he is quiet and still, and it's just the two of us. Sometimes we just stare at each other, other times I watch him sleep peacefully while he nurses and it is the best feeling. I even look forward to him waking in the middle of the night sometimes because I love sitting in the quiet darkness of his nursery with him.
My next goal is to make it to one year before I wean him. I know I can do it. Sure it will mean more sacrificing, but I know that it is worth it. I will be glad to throw the pump out the window when I am done (or perhaps reenact the scene from Office Space where he takes the baseball bat to the copy machine), but until then I am going to keep on pumping!

Look who can sit up all by himself!!!

Since Luca hit 6 months it seems like he is doing something new every single day. So far he has tackled rolling both ways (he has been doing this since 3 months), babbling consonants (loves to scream and shriek), eating solids, scooting around the room on his head, and now he is pretty proficient at sitting up all by himself. Check it out:

Here he is checking his Facebook.

 I can't believe how quickly he is growing and changing now. I remember the newborn days when it was so hard to imagine him transforming and reaching all the milestones of his first year. Now every day he looks less like a baby and more like a little boy. At times I wish I could just hit the pause button and keep him my little baby forever, but I am also excited to watch him turn into the little person he is going to become. He already has quite the personality, and I can only imagine what he will be like once he is able to express himself more. This weekend Santi and I are headed to Vegas for the weekend for some alone time and to celebrate Santi's 31st birthday. I am overwhelmed with mom guilt for leaving my little man overnight with his grandparents, even though I know they take great care of him. I just feel so bad since I work so much during the week. I hate giving up two full days with him. I know that we need to nurture our marriage and have some time to relax and recharge our batteries though, and I know that this time away is going to make me a better and more well rested mommy. I can hear the Sleep Number bed at our hotel calling my name...

Who goes to Vegas to sleep?! This girl.

6 Month Montage

Last week my baby boy turned 6 months old. I cannot believe we are halfway through his first year. Time flies! In the last 6 months he has gone from a tiny little baby that did nothing more than eat and sleep to a laughing, rolling, curious little boy that now sits up all by himself, loves fruit, grabs everything in sight, and drinks from a sippy cup. ::cue tears::

Welcome 2012!

Happy New Year!!! We celebrated the start of 2012 with a beautiful hike in the White Tanks and enjoyed 80 degree weather in January. I love living in the desert.

Since it's the first day of a new year, and I suppose I should think about some resolutions or something, maybe reflect about the year that has just come to a close. I love the excitement of a new year. A fresh beginning. What will this year bring? It's going to be difficult to top 2011. I remember this time last year. I was just out of the first trimester in my pregnancy with Luca. I finally allowed myself to breathe a little, and even to believe that this would be our take home baby. That 2011 would be our year. After the loss and heartache we dealt with in 2010, I was filled with anticipation and hope for 2011. 2011 fulfilled my greatest expectations and with it came the realization of a dream longed for. We welcomed our precious son in July, and he has changed our lives completely. I will never forget 2011. The excitement and relief of a successful pregnancy and delivery, the birth of our first child, growing into my new role as a mommy, celebrating all Luca's milestones, watching him grow and change week by week.
This first week of 2012 Luca will turn 6 months old. It's hard to believe that the little baby we brought home from the hospital is already forming quite the personality and looking more and more like a little boy every day and less like that tiny baby. I am looking forward to every moment of this year with him, and I can't wait to watch him grow into the person he is going to be.
On a personal level I have a lot of goals, hopes, and prayers for 2012. Last night during our church's New Year's Eve service I thought a lot about the things I want to focus on in this new year. Some things are deep and others are just silly, but I thought I would lay them out for you.
So here we have it, my 2012 resolutions/goals:
1. Grow in my relationship with Christ and learn to love Him more deeply. This is a goal of mine every year, as it should be. Part of this goal includes finishing where I left off last year with reading the entire Bible. I read a good portion of it last year, but life got the best of me and I didn't do as well as I had hoped. I have purchased the prayer guide for the One Year Bible this time, and I am hoping it serves as a guide to deepen my prayer time and help me to hear from God on a daily basis through His Word. I am also striving to be a more devoted servant and to look for areas in my life in which I can serve others in His name.
2. Glorify God in my job. This school year has been rough since I returned from maternity leave. Not so much because I was out for the first three months (although that didn't help) but more because of some issues with my students that are out of my control. Additionally, the budget cuts and other administrative decisions are really presenting some challenges for us. I will be the first to admit, I have not always been so positive in the last couple of months about my job, and I have allowed a negative attitude and frustrations to fester within me and affect my life outside of work as well. I want to remember that through my job as a teacher I am serving Him  through serving His children. Even though it's not always easy, I have to remember that when things are tough at work my strength comes from Him and that He will give me the ability to reach my students if I rely on Him rather than myself.
3. Be a more patient mother and pour into Luca's life so that he would know God's love for Him. As I continue to grow into my new role as mommy this year, I hope I can focus on being more patient (especially the times when he is fussy and only wants to be held, or in the middle of the night when I am exhausted and he wants to be awake). I also hope that as he matures and reaches the stage where he is in need of occasional correction that I can remain patient and offer gentle words while teaching him the importance of respect, obedience, and self control. I also hope that through Santi and I he will learn of God's love for him and develop a heart for the loving and serving the Lord.
4. Health. Now I know pretty much everyone starts off the New Year with a plan for eating right and exercising...and then they fall off the wagon by the time February rolls around. So I am not going to make a weight loss resolution. I am now about 3-5lbs away from my pre-Luca weight, and I am actually at a point where I am pretty happy with my post baby body, so I am going to focus on mental AND physical health by eating healthier as often as possible, getting as much exercise and fresh air as possible (which includes spending quality time with Luca walking, jogging in the stroller, hiking, and playing at the park), and taking time for myself when needed. I know that in order to be the best mom I can be, I need to take time for myself once in awhile, and that's okay. It's important. When I feel rested and refreshed I can give more to my family.
5. Have fun! I want to have as much fun as possible this year. For the first time in two years, I am not worried about getting pregnant or being pregnant. No testing, no medications, nothing! I can have a great time with my family, travel, play, and just enjoy life!

So...those are my main resolutions for this year. I am also hoping to tackle a few more things on my 101 in 1,001 list (see my blog header). Bring on 2012!