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!