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!

Whoa...did all that just happen?!

I woke up this morning to the aftermath of Christmas scattered all around my house, and I realized it's all over. I also realized I have not updated the blog once since mid November. I guess the busy holiday season got the best of me. I really was hoping to do a better job of keeping it updated for Luca's sake. He has grown and changed so much in the last month. I can't believe he will be 6 months old next week. His first year is just flying by. Sometimes I get emotional holding my little one in my arms at night just wondering where that tiny little baby went.

November and December have just flown by in a blur of work, visitors, holiday events, parties, sickness, and milestones. I went back to work on November 1st, and since then one of us has been sick with something almost every week. Luca is still battling his second cold, we all three had the stomach flu, I had food poisoning, and Luca also broke out head to toe in eczema. It's been a rough couple of months! In the midst of all that illness, we have had a slew of visitors and celebrated Luca's first Thanksgiving and Christmas. Since I fell behind on my posts, here is a photo timeline of Luca's first holiday season:

At 4.5 months we started Luca on some solids. He loved it in case you couldn't tell. So far he has tried bananas, avocados, pears, cereal, and a little bit of mango gelato. Can you guess which is his favorite?

Luca celebrated his first Thanksgiving with a visit from his Great Uncle Jerry and Great Aunt Mariana. He loved all the attention. 

Luca loved all the excitement and magic of his first Christmas. We took him to Home Plate for the Holidays at the Goodyear Ballpark where he saw Santa and snow and had his first real experience with cold weather! We also enjoyed the Tolleson Luces de Navidad parade and he was absolutely mesmerized by the police motorcycles. The kid loves lights and sound. He also loved scooting himself under the Christmas tree and pulling on the branches in an attempt to get to the lights. 

Luca's cousin Ruthi came out to visit for Christmas and they got to meet for the first time. They are just 4 months apart. It was so great spending time with my parents, Andrew, Candice, and Ruthi. We all had a great time together and even had a professional photo shoot of everyone together. I can't wait to see how they turned out! 

As 2012 quickly approaches I am so excited to see what the new year will bring. 2011 was such an incredible year, and we were so blessed with the arrival of our little boy. I am looking forward to watching him continue to grow and change over the next year. I am sure many more special memories are ahead. God is good!!!!

The Life of a Working Mom

As I approach the end of my third week as a working mom, I can't really say it's gotten any easier. Sure we have established a routine now, and I am getting used to the craziness of teaching all day and coming home to play mom all evening, but being away from my baby boy all day will never be easy. I know he is well cared for all day, and he is always all smiles when I pick him up, but I can't help that nagging feeling that I am supposed to be the one loving on him all day. I feel like I am missing so much. I love teaching, and it will always be my passion, but it will never compare to being Luca's momma. And I feel like I can't be the teacher I want to be while being the best mom I can be. I can teach for the rest of my life, and I will probably always be involved in education in one way or another, but my baby is only going to be a baby for so long. Even though there are moments I wish I could press fast forward (like to a time when I no longer have to haul a breast pump around all day and spend every spare moment pumping), I know that these moments are so fleeting, and I want to cherish every gummy grin.
Then there's the teacher heart in me that is breaking with my class this year. I have 36 students total that I see each day. 36 little lives that I am responsible for teaching, loving, and molding. 36 children with needs far beyond what I can ever meet. Even if I wasn't a busy mom, this would be a very challenging year. Every single child in my class this year has so many needs. Emotional, academic, social. It devastates me that I cannot do it all. I can't be everything to everyone, and let's be honest I am giving the best of me to my own child and my own family. And that's what I need to do. But that doesn't change my deep desire to meet each and every child's needs that I come in contact with every day. How can you look at an innocent child that for whatever reason is not having certain needs met and just wash your hands clean of them? I can't. And I don't like feeling defeated. I don't like to just give up. But I have come to the conclusion that I cannot parent every one of my students, and so I may just have to be unpopular with some of the parents this year when I demand that they step up to the plate.
I have been doing some serious soul searching in these last few weeks, and let's just say I have a lot to think about in the months ahead.