Monday, May 27, 2013

7 Months

(This post is a day late)
I'm 7 months old today!

I weigh 16 lbs, 12.5 ounces, and I'm 28 inches long.


I'm starting to wave hello.


I reach for people.



I babble a lot.



I try to get to everything. I climb all over mommy and daddy. I'm super curious and can grab things very quickly.



I get up on all fours and rock all the time.



I took my first crawling "steps" two days ago and now I'm working on getting my hands and feet coordinated.



I fight sleep with a passion.



Sunday, May 26, 2013

Disneyland!

We went to Disneyland just after Mother's Day, for 5 days. Well, Disneyland for 1 day and California Adventure Park for the rest. We had only been to Disneyland before and planned to spend most of our time there, but California Adventure Park turned out to be really fun for little ones. 

The first day was hot, really hot, so being outside all day was rough. But kids don't seem to care about that. Elena ran around. You can see her cheeks all flushed in this picture.


Luckily, right before we left I bought one of those fans that sprays water. That really saved me from the heat. I was still kinda miserable, especially when breastfeeding Samuel out in the heat; he felt like a little heater. He was the coolest one out of all of us, though. The fan would blow on his whole body all at once, and I sprayed him every once in a while. The first time it startled him and he cried, but he was fine with it after that. Elena didn't like being sprayed; she preferred being hot. The rest of the days were beautiful.

This is at California Adventure Park in Cars Land. Right after this they told us the kids couldn't get on the little tractor, and when Jorge got her down Elena made her big frowny face and started crying. I was glad I got this shot. 


I don't know what we were thinking when we bought 3 huge ice cream cones; they were big enough for us all to share one. Elena was only able to eat the tip. I guess we were too tired at this point to really think about it. 


This is at A Bug's Land at California Adventure Park. We were in line for Flik's Flyers.


I love this picture of Elena, the excitement. Those moments are precious to me.


On the bumper cars. Elena loved being the driver, even if it meant she was getting stuck or going backwards. 


We only waited to see a couple characters, because Elena enjoys them much more from afar. 





Getting some snuggles while waiting in line . . . with my daily churro.





On the ferris wheel.


Samuel's choosing to suck his thumb instead of his pacifier.


He is such a good sport. He was such a happy baby even though we were in a totally new environment. He got tired enough to nap wherever we were at.


 

We stayed late one night to watch A World of Color. It was beautiful.


Jorge and Elena with a little Minnie Mouse


It was a really fun trip. It was funny because Elena had never had cotton candy and while we were pushing her in the stroller she said, "Hey, turn me around!" Then she pointed and said, "I want that!" She had seen the cotton candy. She had plenty while we were there. And she enjoys staying at hotels. She played and played with the phone, pretending to order food.


 And I didn't want to put this little guy on the floor so I put him in the inflatable bathtub.


We made a lot of good memories there. Even though it wasn't the most relaxing vacation and the rides were all for Elena, we had a lot of fun and a ton of quality time. We're planning on going back soon.

Dress Up, Food and Cuddles

 This girl is precious



She has been playing dress-up.

Sometimes she's a cowgirl.


Other times an explorer or pirate or fairy.

 


I started giving her stickers to put on a little chart for putting her toys away. When she has 3 stickers, she gets to pick a reward from a grab bag. I keep the chart on the fridge so she can put the stickers on herself.


And this little has been tasting new things. It's a little messy so Jorge hasn't fed him yet; I'm way better at dealing with the inevitable messes that come with having children.


Love, love, love

 
 

Samuel on a rare instance of sleeping in.


Elena wants to get up right when she wakes up. I like to stay in bed with them and cuddle for awhile, until Elena's impatient and Samuel is just crawling all over me. Good moments.

Mother's Day 2013

We enjoyed a relaxing Mother's Day. I got beautiful flowers, cards from Jorge and Elena, and a card Elena made at church.


We went to my mother-in-law's house. Jorge's mom, aunt, uncle, cousins, and sister were there. Elena always has fun at Nana's. She likes to run around in the backyard. 

Here she's climbing all over her daddy.


 

 She's in the air here.


We helped Elena do her first somersaults. She was cracking up.


Samuel is getting so strong! He had fun on the grass. We put a sheet down for him, but one of the dogs, a pug, kept coming over and laying on it. I kept trying to keep her off; everyone else thought it was funny.





Here's Elena with her tia Gloria.


Me enjoying my baby



Samuel passed out. 


Elena is so adorable with Samuel. She loves on him all the time. When she wakes up in the morning and he's in bed, she cuddles up next to him and rubs his head.



Daddy always gets lots of love.


There are lots of difficult and demanding moments, but I love being a mommy.