His and Hernandez

Happy Birthday David!

2012-01-13T09:11:00.004-06:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVID!

Yesterday our sweet little boy turned 2! I can hardly believe its been 2 years since he came in to our lives, but he also reminds me almost DAILY that he is, in fact, a 2 year old. He is still and I think always will be a good natured "little" man, he still laughs at everything, and nothing, (its actually really funny cause we'll just be home and he'll just start playing and then just LAUGH really hard. Seeing as his middle name means Laughter, I think its fitting, and here to stay) BUT he is also growing up SO fast! David love to sing, just recently he started singing Christmas carols, "Chin-nah nah, chin nah nah, Chin nah ahhhh da waaaayyy!!" (Jingle Bells) and Silver Bells, which is also pretty funny. He has also taken to singing the last word or so in every line to the lullabies I've been singing them. "Jesus Loves Me" and a song my dad wrote probably before I was born.

David is about as boy as you can get, making me more and more thankful that God has decided to give us a baby GIRL. (God sure does know what we need! Amen?) I can't imagine having TWO Davids back to back... yipes! Cars anything, airplane anything, those are his favorite things, aside from his only NON manly toy... his stuffed lambie pie, which he prefers to his Triceratops, go figure. Tonight in fact, he got out of bed, stood at his door and say Jorge watching football on TV and said "football" then quickly ran to the couch and yelled "COUCH!" We were trying to hard not to laugh, but it was just do dang cute. He sat there on the couch watching football for literally a min going "wha? wha?" as he watched the game. The proceeded to say "couch daddy, couch!" as Jorge tried to get him back in bed.
I LOVE this boy! He is such a delight and a sweetheart. I pray that this spirit will remain with him all his life, and that he will grow to be the man of God I hope him to be, strong and courageous, and faithful in all he does.

(yes that is a PINK train set... its Lori's. Jorge is desperate to get this boys some boy toys... at least he's not wearing the pink conductor hat in this pic...)

Thar she blows...

2012-01-03T14:09:00.008-06:00

Lately I have been feeling HUGE... beyond massive really and the sad realization that I still have 4 months left makes me slightly depressed. Ok, well NOT quite depressed, I LOVE being pregnant, but this kid is proving to be more difficult than the other two. I just can't believe I still have so long left, she moves CONSTANTLY, which is fun, but again, makes me tired. :)

I still take a picture every week, so here are the last several... (man I need to update this blog more often don't I?)

20 Weeks
5 months

21 Weeks
5.25 months

22 Weeks
5.5 months

23 weeks
5.75 months

24 weeks
6 Months

I can not wait to meet this new baby girl. Our whole family is SO excited, well, aside from Davey who really is pretty clueless on the baby thing. I can't believe that soon enough, there will be another Hernandez in this house. Wow. I hope these next few months go a little quicker. :)

The story of Adam and Eve told by Lori.

2011-12-07T09:10:00.006-06:00

I think one of my favorite things about being a mom is seeing the world through fresh and pure eyes. In the 3 plus years I've been learned so much about God, and how he must view us. My faith has grown as well. When you have to simplify the Bible enough to explain it to a inquisitive three year old, you realize just how simple God has made it for us, and how COMPLICATED we as humans choose to make it.
I am blessed to have two kids that LOVE going to church and learning about Jesus. This morning while I was reading my Bible, Lori asked me to read her a Bible story. So I told her to go get her Bible and then SHE read to ME. I asked her to do it again so that Jorge could see it, but figured it was just too precious to keep to ourselves.

Number 3 Belly watch...

2011-11-27T20:50:00.012-06:00

I HAVE been taking belly pictures but I haven't posting them quite yet. Things have been crazy. This pregnancy has been much more difficult than the other two. Lori was a BREEZE, David was significantly more nauseous, more pain etc. THIS one on the other hand, not exactly a walk in the park. Since getting pregnant for this 3rd time, I have had some sort of 24 hour bug, a WHOLE lot off feeling icky, WAY more tired than I remember being with the others, and then a sinus infection. Its been brutal. I love being pregnant. I love this baby, but MAN, I'm looking forward to feeling better eventually.
So with out much further ado, here are the belly pictures from the last several weeks.

12 weeks
3 months

13 weeks
3.25 months

14 weeks
3.5 months

15 weeks
3.75 months

16 weeks
4 months

17 weeks
4.25 months

18 weeks
4.5 months

19 weeks
4.75 months

My husband cracks me up!

2011-11-26T20:37:00.004-06:00

We are watching Dr. Phil where he's talking about a new TV movie 'Have a little faith' with Martin Landau in it, and when Dr. Phil introduces Martin Landau, describing all his hugely famous friends and all the people he's acted with, I said something like "How is he not dead yet?" to which Jorge says, in all seriousness mind you, "He is." (We watch Martin Landau walk out on to stage) and our conversation goes as fallows.
Me: Uh, no he's not.
Jorge: No really. I thought he died. (checks to see if this is an old episode of Dr. Phil. Its not)
Me: He's not dead.
Jorge: (Genuinely concerned) Well then WHO DIED!?
I checked wikipedia to make sure cause now he has me thinkin'/remembering something about Martin Landau dying.
Jorge becomes very upset by the idea that Martin Landau is still alive cause he remembers being sad that he died. ("Cause he's the guy from the X-files movie")
I was cracking up so bad that Lori came out of her room to ask "who's laughing?"

I know this is a beyond random post, it was actually supposed to be a Facebook status update that turned out to be too long... so I figured I'd blog it, I just had to share how funny I think Jorge is! I haven't laughed that hard in a long long time! I imagine we'll be watching the X-files movie in the near future.

Sweet Lori

2011-11-09T20:54:00.003-06:00

Today Lori sang me "Happy Birthday", followed by "cause your Birthday's comin' up." I told her, that my birthday had already happened and that it was in July. She responded with "But that's coming up, right?" I said "No, but you know who's Birthday IS coming up? Jesus."
Her answer to my saying that was classic,
"JESUS?! Can we go to Heaven and help Him decorate? Cause He can't decorate His party all by Himself!!"

I LOVE my children. They bring me joy everyday. I hope and pray that God will continue to grant me these types of moments, so that in those crazy days where I'm pulling my hair out, I can be reminded of what a blessing and gift from God they truly are!

Kinda excited... just a bit...

2011-10-11T20:35:00.004-05:00

and so that's our news. I hope that someday, when Lori is about 12 and her new little brother or sister is buggin' her, she'll be able to remember that at least at one point, she was VERY excited to have them in her life.

my girl

2011-09-11T20:39:00.003-05:00

This is my girl.

She is beautiful and funny and I love her.

She is growing up too fast.

From the moment she was born, Lori has owned her daddy’s heart. Everyone talks about men wanting sons and how great that is, but there is something about the relationship between a father and daughter that is unlike anything else. (for the record, I love my daddy too, although I don’t call him that anymore)
Today, something happened that I hope I will never forget. My mom told me to write it down so I wouldn’t and since blogging is where I do that, I figure I’d just blog it.

This afternoon, Lori went to her dress up box and got a princess dress and dress up shoes on. She went up to Jorge and asked “Daddy? Can I go to the ball?” slightly confused by her request, seeing as Lori’s imagination is just now coming to life, Jorge said yes.

“But I don’t have a Prince.” She paused. “Davey…” after a slight struggle Jorge stepped in, telling Lori that he didn’t think David wanted to be her prince. Lori looked at Jorge and said “with YOU be my Prince daddy?” Then she proceeded to lead him by the hand to her room, where she did her very best to dance with him. (He’s not a big dancer that husband of mine)

It was without a doubt one of the most touching, and heart-melting moments I’ve seen them have yet. I want to stop the clock and make her stay just the way she is, but I am also finding such joy in watching her grow into this little lady.

Davey Bieber

2011-07-01T17:47:00.000-05:00

This is what he gets for having an older sister... poor kid.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the anomaly that is Justin Bieber... He is a 17/18 year old "man" who looks like a 12 boy and sings like a girl. And he's AMAZING! As much as I'd like to blame this behavior on the high schoolers that come in and out of our house daily, I am as much at fault as they. (However I still take no responsibility for Lori knowing Lady Gaga...) But what can I say... its a catchy tune.

ROADTRIP!

2011-06-04T17:05:00.014-05:00

My dad has always been one of my heroes. I didn't have any brothers and when my dad wanted to teach someone how to use a power tool, or tell them some nifty tidbit about a movie or music group, I was more than happy to be that person. So, when I needed to get from Houston to Chicago (actually Racine Wisconsin) I called my dad to see if he wanted to be the one to drive with me. :) It turned out to be a GREAT idea.

They did VERY well in the car. Here is a video of the kids just laughing and playing.

It was also very exhausting as you can see from this video... (hee hee)

I was very nervous about how my kids would behave, both in the car, and while my dad and I were doing all the things I had planned, particularly during our stop in Memphis. A Memphis stop over was kinda my ploy to getting my dad to agree to this crazy adventure. My dad is a HUGE music buff. Growing up he taught me how to identify each one of the Beatles by the sound of their voice and WHY. (I'm still pretty proud of that. :) ) A friend of mine who was raised in Memphis gave me some tips on places to eat and things to see and do while there. Being a musician himself, he strongly suggested that we take some time over at Sou lsville USA, and the former Staxx records recording studio... the birthplace of Soul!! I didn't know just how much I loved Soul music until then. But I'm a fan! He also asked his good friend Kirk Whalum to come down and say hi. It was really neat to meet him. As my dad would say Kirk is "at the very top of a very short list of really good saxophone players" It was an honor to get to meet him and a real treat to get to see the Soulsville Charter school as well, a school that specializes in music.

Me, my dad, the kids and KIRK WHALUM!

We also got to sample some REAL Memphis BBQ at a place called the Rendezvous (which is mentioned in one of my dad's "Memphis Songs" so he got a real kick out of that.) Davey enjoyed the ribs so much that there were legitimate tears when I had to take it from him when we had to leave.

very excited to try my huge plate of food. (I shared with the kids... I swear)

Close up of the boy and his rib... tears followed shortly after.

One of the sweetest things we did in Memphis was get to go as see the ducks at the Peabody Hotel. Basically for the last 70 years they have had ducks living in their lobby's fountain. Every day at 11 o'clock the duck master rolls out the red carpet and then brings the trained ducks down from their penthouse on the roof to spend their day in the fountain, and then everyday at 5, they do the same thing in reverse. Its super cute, and Lori LOVED it.

Peabody Penthouse

I swear the mallard duck stopped and posed for this picture.

Watchin' the ducks swim in the fountain

The kids and the Duck Master!

The view from our hotel room. Pretty sweet huh?

The very cool trolley system of downtown.

Happy girl on a trolley car!

The following are just some of my favorite pictures of my dad and my kids.

I feel so blessed to have had this time with my dad. It is truly a memory that I will cherish for ever. Memphis is one of my new favorite cities and I will definitely be going back, and hopefully I'll be able to convince my dad to come with me. :)

We left Memphis and headed to St. Louis, which was gonna be our second stop. It was pretty much uneventful, accept for the tornado warnings and CRAZY wind! We were able to make it all the way to Chicago and we only ended up using the DVD player ONCE, during a horrendous rain storm that we drove through to get to St. Louis.

We got to Chicago and picked up Jorge from the airport. After that we went to Navy Pier for a few hours and got some GARRETT'S POPCORN. Something I had my first trip to Chicago almost 10 years ago, and had been dreaming about since, but wasn't able to get until then. It lived up to the memory it had burned on my brain. Then we dropped my dad off at an L station so he could take it to the airport and we headed up to Racine WI for the wedding festivities! I was really sad to see my dad go. I had really loved spending some one on one (plus two) time with him. I will treasure it in my heart forever.

Happy Easter/Birthday!

2011-04-24T20:50:00.012-05:00

Today is Easter, it is also Lori's 3rd Birthday. I didn't want to make a HUGE deal over the fact that it was her birthday cause I kinda wanted her focus to be on, well you know, the whole Jesus raising from the dead part. Seems a LITTLE bit more important, however, we wanted her to feel a little special.
Basically, we did the usual Easter stuff. I sang this morning in our worship choir and then we had an AMAZING breakfast provided by the church. (I swear, I know Jesus rose from the dead to conquer our sins and allow us to have eternal life with him in Heaven, but I also think that these biscuits could have had something to do with it.) On a more serious note, I was kinda finding it hard to get through the worship songs today. I was really hurting over the loss of our loved ones this past year. I kept thinking about how it is BECAUSE Jesus died, that they are not really gone. I think I usually think of death as being the end. Being the final chapter. But in all actuality all that we are living is just the prolog, isn't it. I had a whole new prespective on Easter this year. I know I should have probably came to this conclusion long ago, but I don't know, it just hit me. I realized that if Jesus hadn't died for our sins, and raised from the dead, conquering death, then my loved ones, Brian, Kimberly and Mike, would cease to exist. The would be dead. But now, because of what Jesus did, and their willingness to accept that gift, they will live forever in Heaven. And I will see them again.

Kisses for my Birthday Girl!

Kids runnin amuck. Glad they feel so at home at church!

Family shot in front of the flower cross.

More of the crazies...

After church we went home to rest for a bit, and then off to our friends' house for a get together, potluck lunch/dinner thing. We started doing this 5 years ago and there were only 4 kids. Today there was 14. All under 7. It was intense. FUN, but intense During our time at home Lori opened some gifts from her Grammy and Papa (my parents) and we called them and they said "Happy Birthday!" to which she said "and Happy Easter!" That made me happy. (She also said "Thank you" when people would said "Happy Birthday" which also made me proud)

.
EGG HUNT!

Then is was time to celebrate Lori. She walked in to the kitchen of our host and politely said, "Its my Birthday time now." She got a piece of Cherry Cordial cake (made by our friend Sara Kinsey) and we sang her Happy Birthday. As you can see by the look on her face, it was quite a magical moment.

And now some pictures of David...

Happy as can be! Apparently when you are 15 months old everything is funny. He was cracking up while crawling up the stairs.

And finally, one last family shot. :) All in all it was a great day! I can't wait to celebrate Lori again at her party in a few weeks. She really is a joy and we love her to pieces!

Happy Birthday David Issac!! (Better late han never!)

2011-04-10T11:28:00.014-05:00

It has been a LONG time since I posted anything, and a lot has happened. We had another death in the family, and I think after that I got tired of posting things about the loss we'd been experiancing, (3 deaths in 2010) and so I just took a break. Sadly, that meant that Davey's Birthday post was delayed... but better late than never I suppose. In the midst of all the sadness, I need to remember all the "Joy and Laughter" that God has placed in our lives. (Lori's middle name is Joy and David's in Isaac, which means Laughter) I LOVE my kids. I love my Davey man. (aren't the nicknames that end up sticking so silly) David is one of the happiest and most wonderful boys I've ever met! He makes me smile DAILY! Thank you David (and Lori too) for giving your Daddy and I something to get out of bed for, even if it's way earlier than we'd like on a daily basis. Thank you for reminding us that life is to be lived, to the fullest, everyday! We love you!

January 13, 2010

February 14, 2010
1 month old

March 13, 2010
2 months old

April 24, 2010
a little over 3 months old

May 10, 2010
4 months old

June 6, 2010
almost 5 months

July 13, 2010
6 months old

August 15, 2010
7 months old

September 6, 2010
Almost 8 months old

October 24, 2010
about 9 months old

November 5, 2010
Almost 10 months old

December 17, 2010
11 months old

January 22, 2011
Davey's first Birthday party.
Happy Birthday to my big man!

Away in a Manger!

2010-12-12T12:50:00.003-06:00

I was pretty excited for this Christmas because Lori is at the age where she is just now getting the whole concept. "Be a good girl or Santa won't bring you any Band-aids" has become a real threat that actually yelds results. (Band-aids and batteries are the only things she's asking Santa for) I've been enjoying watching all the Christmas movies through new eyes. The lights, the tree, the cookies and decorations all have a new magic about them. With all this new found excitement though, comes a responsibility. It is my responsibility, as well as Jorge's to teach Lori what the TRUE meaning of Christmas is. Most of the Christmas books are about Jesus and not Santa, so we've been reading those. However... I'm fairly confidant that our church's FABULOUS childrens program is to thank for the bulk of her knowledge.

A few weeks ago Lori was asking me if I wanted to go to a party with her. I had NO idea what she was talking about, church had been over for hours and we had just been running errands so I wasn't really thinking along those lines. (I actually first thought she was inviting me to go POTTY with her, but that's a different story, anyway...) Upon further questioning I figured out that she was inviting me to a party for Jesus' birthday being thrown by our childrens ministries at our church. Last Sunday was the party, which Lori informed me was complete with cupcakes. They were able to capture this picture for me... which I will forever be thankful for!

When Lori saw this picture she said "Hey, that's me!" and then the following conversation took place.
Me: What were you doing?
Lori: I was looking at the Angel baby
Me: The Angel baby? What was his name?
Jorge: Jesus?
Lori: Yes, Jesus.
Me: What was He doing?
Lori: He was sleeping. In the manger. Cause He doesn't have a crib anymore.
Me: Why doesn't He have a crib?
Lori: Umm... I don't know.

Out of the mouths of babes, as they say. I truly just LOVE the simplicity of her logic and thinking.

Lori and her new (Scentsy) Buddy!

2010-10-28T12:28:00.005-05:00

I don’t know about you, but everyone once in a while I walk in to my kids’ room and I’m hit by a wall of some mystery smell that I can’t pinpoint. How can kids that are so cute, smell so bad? Well what do you do? You can’t light a candle, and I guess you COULD spray the heck out all their things with an air freshener or something but then what happens if they put one of those things in their mouths? That’s no good either. Well. Scentsy has come up with a solution. Scentsy Buddy. Scentsy Buddies are stuffed animals with a zipper pocket in the back which allows you to add a scent to it.

There are 6 buddies to choose from, “Lenny” the Lamb, “Mollie” the Monkey, “Ribbert” the frog, “Penny” the Pig, “Ollie” the Elephant and “Roarbert” the Lion. I got Lori “Ollie” the Elephant, since elephants are her favorite animal and so far, she has been loving it and so have I! I love that her room smells fresh, AND that everywhere she brings him starts to smell nice too. I was thinking of asking her to take him with us to the store, just so my car would start to smell fabulous too. (But Scentsy actually has a product for that, which I’ll probably be trying soon!)

I am usually very hesitant to get stuffed animals for my kids, cause I don’t want them to have TOO many of them, but I don’t consider Scentsy Buddies to be just any stuffed animal. It’s more than just a cuddly friend, it’s an air freshener, and depending on what scent you choose, aroma therapy (think calming lavender scent).

Right now the scent packs come in 15 AMAZINGLY vibrant scents Berry Blush, Black Raspberry Vanilla, Camu Camu, Cucumber Lime, French Lavender, Havana Cabana, Hemingway, Mochadoodle, Perfectly Pomegranate, Pima Cotton, Satin Sheets, Sunkissed Citrus, Sweet Pea & Vanilla, Vanilla Cream, and Vanilla Suede. And the best part is, they are interchangeable! So if you, or your child, want a different scent, just contact your Scentsy consultant for another one!

For more information contact Chilly. You will not be disappointed, nor will your kids!

OH, and an added bonus... the box had handles, windows and a door that pop out, turning it into a house! Lori LOVED that part!

Weep, Remember, Live

2010-08-25T20:34:00.007-05:00

As many of you know this has been a very rough summer for me and my family. Not long after losing my cousin in Afghanistan, we lost a dear family friend to cancer. All in all, it's safe to say that I'm glad the summer is over and I'm looking forward to starting fresh this fall. It seems like every time I think I'm done crying, I'm not. I have never had to deal with death before, at least not of anyone this close, and then times it by two... wow, I'm emotionally spent.

Something that has helped me tremendously are words spoken at my cousin's graveside service. They were given as a benediction of sorts and I honestly feel like it was directly responsible for starting me off on the path of healing. (Which is proving to be a much long and tougher road that I ever expected.) I contacted the Chaplain, Chaplain (Colonel) Larry McCarty, and asked him for his exact wording, and while I still think that the three words; Weep, Remember, Live, are powerful in and of themselves, having the extra explanation in there just adds to it, and makes it even MORE memorable.

Weep — Jesus wept and so must you. Weep, grieve by leaning on your family, friends and above all your faith. 2 Corinthians 1:2-4 teaches that as we weep, the God of Comfort and Father of Mercies will hold us close. And He will give us the strength to one day help others who are going through the same storms of life.

Remember — Hold on to the precious memories. Cling to them. Never let them go. Remember the precious promises of God, promises like John 14:1-3 (see bottom of post for verse.)

Live — Live life fully. Seize the day. For life is a precious, fragile gift from God. Live your life fighting the good fight of faith and finishing strong. 2 Timothy 4:6-8 (see bottom of post for verse.)

I know it's going to be a long long road, and certain things like my guilty pleasure of Lifetime's "Army Wives" will never be the same, nor will a show like "The Big C" (a COMEDY about a women living with cancer) ever really seem funny to me.

Another part of the healing process for me was getting my first and probably only tattoo. It's to replace the prayer bracelet that I wore during his deployments, until it broke during his last one. (I know, I don't even wanna think about the "omen" that turned out to be, good thing I don't believe in those! Anyway...) It was much bigger than I originally intended but the more it heals, the more it "grows" on me. It makes me feel like there is no chance I could ever forget, it's hard to explain really, it just makes me feel like his memory will always be with me... everyday. I hope that every time I see it I will be reminded to pray for Brian's wife, brothers and mom. I know it will be harder for them than I can even imagine!

So in the words of Chaplain McCarty, I'm gonna Weep, Remember and Live (repeat)

(“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” John 14:1-3)

(For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:6-8)

My cousin, my Hero!!

2010-07-22T09:24:00.007-05:00

On July 19th, I lost my cousin and friend Sgt. Brian Piercy. He was fighting for our freedom over in Afghanistan.

(handsome huh?)

My dad was the one who told me, and ever since I have been filled with every sort of emotion you can think of. Sorrow, angry, numbness, denial, guilt, even hatred. Acceptance comes for a few seconds and then goes just about as fast as it came. He was a good man, he IS a good man. Its funny, I can say "was" but typing it seems odd, too permanent maybe. This first picture of just him and I makes my heart hurt. I can only look at it so long before I realize that I'll never get to hug him again. It's just weird.

Brian, his twin brother Eric and I are only 4 months apart and we have always gotten along really well. They lived a few hours away but we always got together for Christmas or Easter or family weddings as well as a few other times a year, We were always getting in to some sort of trouble... always fun for us, but trouble for our folks. As we got older we saw each other a little less until high school when our busy schedules finally matched up. It always seemed like it was only 2 of the 3 though. (Brian and Eric have a younger brother Kevin) Either Brian and Kevin or Kevin and Eric, but rarely all 3. (THOSE times were and are extra special)
One time in particular it was just Brian and Kevin and we were board and watching T.V. I think Brian was channel surfing and as we were passing a certain channel Kevin screams out "OOH!! UNCLE BUCK!!" Brian and I looked at each other and in confusion and then BUSTED UP laughing. I mean seriously, Uncle Buck?? (not saying it's not a good movie, it's just that it didn't seem to warrant THAT amount of enthusiasm.) And that was the first time we laughed so hard together it hurt! It seemed like every time we saw each other after that we laughed until it hurt. I've never laughed so hard, with someone so often in all my life. I will always have that with him, always.The other thing about that trip that stands out is that for some unknown reason, our parents sent us to the corner market for snacks, or maybe we just went on our own, I don't remember. All I know is that some how we ended up buying Dreyers Scooby Snacks ice cream as a joke which turned out to be our new FAVORITE ice cream flavor. We would talk about it all the time, as well as Uncle Buck and to this day I do not see that movie with out thinking about Brian and Kevin.
I have never had to deal with death. Most of my family members who have died, died either before I was born, before I could remember anything OR where on the older side and were "ready to go". This was not like that. He was taken from us, it was someones fault. I know that he did not suffer, and that he died doing what he loved and I do find some comfort in that. But for the most part this is still very foreign to me.
One of my favorite pictures! (Not only cause my jacket was AWESOME (purple corduroy!) but because it was all of us together!)

It was very rare that we were ALL together at the same time, like I said it was usually Kevin and one of the twins, I think that's why I love this one.

Back in 2006 Brian married Christina, and she made him happier than I'd ever seen him. They are a perfect match. Please pray for her as she grieves the loss of her best friend and sole mate. I can only imagine what she's going through.

THIS photo (sorry, there's been a lot I know) was taken 6 days before his death, he was apparently giving orders to his squad, which I think is very cool. I love looking at it cause when I do I see strength, courage, and confidence. I see a hero. Brain was my hero and even though sometimes I don't understand why or who he was fighting, I know that he was fighting for what he believed in. I miss him terribly.

6 months!

2010-07-15T12:48:00.004-05:00

I can not believe its been 6 months since Davey was born. He has grown in so many ways, which is to be expected I suppose. I am just beyond in love with this little boy! As of July 8th he can sit up by himself with out falling over and as of yesterday, July 14th he is CRAWLING! Ok, so crawling my be a SLIGHT overstatement, however he pulls himself towards the toys that he wants, usually my phone or one of Lori's shoes, more than a toy really. It still counts in my opinion cause he sees what he wants and he gets there... usually.
He's such an interesting little kid. Jorge and I talk about how different he and Lori are all the time. For one, he's WAY bigger!! When Lori was the size he is now, she was 9, probably 10 months old! He's a MOOSE! He also laughs more than we remember Lori doing. Which is special for me since he's middle name means "Laughter". He also loves to watch T.V, unlike his sister who couldn't care less about T.V until just recently AND play with toys. Lori didn't have much interest in toys until not too long ago. I love watching the two of them "play". Most of the time it's just Lori trying to convince Davey or I that he is done playing with the fancy light-up, music playing toy by trading him for something not NEARLY as entertaining. "He aw done. Day-Dee aw done" "Uhh, yeah Lori, I don't think so." Haa ha, never a dull moment with these two. They are also similar in the sense that they are both basically good natured, happy, easy going kids.

Happy 1/2 Birthday Big Man! We love you and are so proud of you!

(photos curiosity of Aunt May-Me photography. haha )

Jesus Love me!

2010-06-25T19:43:00.003-05:00

Lori has been "singing" for a while now, but hasn't really gotten the whole "lyrics" thing. She would sing "Jesus Loves Me" by saying "Bible, Bible" over and over again. It was cute and I enjoyed the sweetness of it. But just the other day she surprized me by singing the actual words! I was THRILLED! So thrilled that I have started trying to teach her Michael Jackson's "Human Nature" which is comin' along quite nicely. So far we have "Why? Why?" and "Looking out... across the night-time" and then "No I don wanna!" (not the lyrics... just her protest)

Here is a couple of videos I took on my phone (probably should invest in one of those flip cams huh?) of Lori singing her version of "Jesus Loves Me" with the promise of her rendition of "Human Nature" to come soon.

Just what I've always wanted!

2010-05-13T15:42:00.005-05:00

This Mother's Day was AMAZING! It started out with Lori bringing me my travel coffee mug, with a NEW insert that she and Jorge made. It was the most wonderful thing I've ever seen! In all honesty it was. As you all know I am a pretty crafty person, and having worked at a school, I was the one who made all the crafts and gifts for kids to give there moms. In the back of my mind, I always thought I'd be the one makin' my own keepsake crafts with Lori. But Jorge did it for me. Now all she did was "color" a little part of it, but still, it was so special! He even have Davey a crayon and had him help a little too!

David's part is the purple on the right and Lori's in the red. (Jorge helped her write her name, she's not THAT advanced)

Then we went to church where I received a rose for being the mom of one of the youngest babies in the service. :)

After church we all came home for peanut butter and honey sandwiches and while eating lunch our neighbor came over and said he was going to have our backyards mowed and edged as a gift for me for mother's day!! Isn't that awesome? I thought so! :)

The rest of the day went like this, Lori took a nap while Jorge watched the Cubs game and Davey and I stepped out for a bit. When I got in my car I heard the familiar sounds of the Glee soundtrack that Jorge had slipped in to my CD player which hadn't worked in MONTHS!! He totally surprised me, which trust me, is very hard to do. We drove to the used book store, the Goodwill and Micheals, just cause I wanted to. Once we got home, we all drop to the Super Target where we met up with my sister and her family for "Frappy Hour" (1/2 priced frappacinos) and the Starbucks there. After THAT, (wow this is turning out to be a rather packed day isn't it?) we went for a walk with my sister and her family, and our good friends the Kuykendalls. Then came home, put the kids down and had pizza! It was great!

worth while moments... (working title - anyone got anything better?)

2010-05-09T19:15:00.003-05:00

The other day I had to run errands and naturally Lori and Davey came with. I took the kids to Hobby Lobby and after about 2.5 seconds Lori was done with the cart! "Running Lori?" (yes she does mean run and yes, everything she says is with a "?" at the end) Needless to say, I wasn't about to let her run around the store, so I had to do my best to entertain her. Eventually she grew tired of me and desided to lay down. This girl is a kook and a half and makes me laugh! (ok that rhymes but it was unintentional... I promise.)

worth while moments... (working title)

2010-05-07T12:18:00.004-05:00

Like I mentioned in my last post, I'm going to start making note of the things that my kids do that remind me why I do what I do.

After Lori's birthday party we opened gifts and she got to play with some of her new toys. Jorge had to run some errands so it was just me and the bubbas. (My sister's and my nickname for babies...) She got tons of dress up stuff, so naturally we had to open it all and try it on right away! :)

I also gave her a toy which she was given LAST year but it was kinda over her head so I put it away until this year. :) I love watching Lori play with her toys. I think it's so neat that she actually PLAYS. It's fun to see her actually DO things with her toys, like playing with her babies and copy what she sees me do with David.

After she had been playing dress up for a bit I noticed this...

and it made me smile.

worth every minute

2010-05-03T10:28:00.007-05:00

The cheese factor of this post promises to be extremely high, so be forewarned.

Parenting is tough. It's easily the hardest thing I've ever done. (oxymoron?) But everyday I am reminded why it's worth it. Starting today I will to start making a note of those moments, and blogging them when at all possible.

Lori has been acting up for the last few months, probably the "terrible two's" even though she just turned two last week. (We always said she was advanced. :) ) She's been getting on my last nerve A LOT and has decided that bedtime should take over an HOUR! BUT like I said there are times when she says or does something that just melts my heart! This time it really didn't involve me so much, but made me feel so appreciative that God has placed her in my care (sometimes I wonder what He was thinking! Ok, most of the time I wonder what He was thinking) and that He has allowed me to get to witness the sweet moments of her growing up.Several weeks ago Lori and I were headed to Bible Study and as we were passing the play ground we heard a little voice say "Lori!". We stopped to see who had said it and saw our friends little girl Rachel standing at the top of the play structure. She immediately headed for the slide, slid down and raced over to the rod-iron fence that contains the playground. Lori said "ACHEL!",(yes Achel... it's not a typo) ran to meet her and the girls embarrassed through the fence. I took a picture on my phone! (which I actually thought didn't get saved on my phone and was super sad but then mysteriously showed up on my phone yesterday!)

(I don't know how or why it happened but I'm so glad that this picture showed up. I know I'll never forget it, but I'm just so happy I have a copy of this moment to share with everyone.)

Why is this such a sweet moment for me? I think it's because it reminded me that I, we, are so blessed by our community here in Houston. My child/children are loved so much by the people around them. Moving here was a big step for us BUT it has proven time and again to have been the right decision. And it also made me realize that Lori is growing up so fast, and that she's made her first REAL friend.

"We did it!"

2010-03-28T19:39:00.005-05:00

In the words of Dora the Explorer, "WE DID IT! We did it, we did it -YA!" For the last month or so Lori has been sleeping on a crib mattress on the floor. Well, she was SUPPOSED to be sleeping, but for the first few weeks she would refuse to nap, and at bedtime she would either come out of her room every 5 min, OR even worse, NOT come out of her room and get in to HEAPS of trouble... and I mean HEAPS! (one night she went through 35 of my homemade diaper wipes, just cause!! THIRTY FIVE!!) So I decided that the best way to remedy this situation was to use bribery, and for the bribe... the ultimate prize in the eyes of a child! THE STICKER! I'm not sure why but stickers are like crack cocaine to children.

I made her a sticker chart, Dora themed of course, and every time she took a nap in her "big girl bed" or didn't get up too many times to play around her room at bed time she got a sticker. (The last box IS filled... Lori just put the sticker a little outside of the box... ;) )

Once she filled up the chart we were gonna go out and get her a REAL big girl bed!! Well last week, she filled up the chart, and as promised, we went out and got her a bed! It required moving around some furniture but here it is, THE big girl bed!

Lori was SO excited when we got it set up that she started crying for milk and a binky even though it was still a little early for bedtime. She did get up a few times (which is normal for Lori) but now she is fast asleep in her new bed!! I'm waiting to peak in on her, which I'm sure Jorge will frown upon, but I really want to see how cute she looks sleepin' in that big bed.

The other side of the room... where David will be sleeping... eventually. (We will have to get a new Uppercase Living sticker for the wall above the crib... I'm already workin' on it. :) )

Siblings!

2010-03-22T21:06:00.005-05:00

So far, Lori and David seem to be getting along famously. Obviously David is a little oblivious to his surroundings, but Lori is still LOVING having him around. The older he gets the "easier" it is to get pictures of the two of them together. Here are just a few of the shots I got this weekend... just looking at them makes me happy.

On Sunday morning as we were getting ready for church, I put David in/on our bed so that I could have my hands free to pack up the diaper bags etc., well Lori saw him on our bed and climbed up to be next to him. Then she said, "snugga?" (meaning snuggle) Asking to snuggle is a new thing for Lori, but it's been happening at least once a day. In fact usually Jorge's day starts at around 6:30 to "snugga Dada? snugga?" This was the first time she'd asked to "snugga" with David and it was so flippin' cute we had to get the camera.

Later on Sunday I had to give David a bath, but Lori didn't want to be left out. I was forced to put them both in the bath... at the same time. This proved to be equally cute (at least to their overly proud mother) and therefore needed to be photographed.

Silly with Celine

2010-03-11T13:48:00.004-06:00

A few months back there was a Celine Dion concert on T.V and (don't judge me) I watched it... again. (Yes again... don't judge, she's awesome!) Anyway, chalk it up to being loopy from lack of sleep from having a new baby, but I got a little silly when she sang "My Heart Will Go On" Lori thought is was hilarious... her squeals were just too funny, so I had to ham it up a little more so we could get it on film. It seems to work.

enjoy!

*sorry for the poor quality of video, it was filmed on a cell phone. :(

Go Texan Day!

2010-02-26T22:36:00.004-06:00

Today was Go Texan Day. What is Go Texan Day you ask? Well, it's a day that is set aside for all Houstonians to wear their "Texas garb". That's it. According to Wikipedia it was first thought of in 1938 but wasn't put in to practice until the 1950's. Every year since 1954 Go Texan Day has been the traditional way they kick off the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. It seems to be a real big deal out here... I saw a guy driving his car in a cowboy hat, two kids at target wearing "western gear" (including purple cowboy boots - awesome!) AND a group of people in a flat bed trailer being pulled around our neighborhood, similar to a hayride, but with out the hay... or the horses... or the farm... or any particular purpose what so ever. Only in Texas I suppose.

Since my kids are Houstonians born and raised, I figured we'd follow suit. Jorge says that he can't ever dress up like a cowboy cause he always ends up looking like a migrant worker... sadly, he's kinda right. But I don't think that's the case with the kids though... at least not yet.

Davey in his overalls, and his bandanna cloth diaper (not pictured :) )

and Lori in my cowboy boots.

"GO TEXAN" DAY!!

"Diaper Diaries"

2010-02-26T08:12:00.000-06:00

I've finally done it! I said I was going to do it and I did! I am now a user of cloth diapers. Well, I AM not using them, but I'm using them on David. I only had 3 up to start cause I wanted to try it out and make sure I really wanted to use them. And I DID! On Monday I went to a store called Nurtured Family (see link on the right) and got the rest of my "stash", 12 in all. Tuesday was the first day that I used them ALL day and I really enjoyed it, as much as one can "enjoy" diapers I suppose.

I was so excited that I contacted the mom website that I am involved with and pitched an idea of a weekly blog about my adventures in cloth diapers. They LOVED the idea so today they posted my first blog post. I feel so accomplished. It's also got me thinking about doing more writing, i.e product reviews and stuff like that. Who would have thought that cloth diapers could make me want to be a writer. (I use the term loosely of course, and I don't actually know if I want to be a WRITER but I definitely want to do more writing.)

Here's the link to my first post... Diaper Diaries: a first timers adventure in cloth diapers. I'm actually finding that I have so much to say that I'm tempted to make it more than once a week. For those of you who are interested in hearing/learning more about cloth diapers, I'd love to hear your feed back as far as any questions you may have that you would want me to answer or look in to for you.

So now you can all follow me on Momslikeme.com as well as here. Isn't that special? :)

Big girl bed!

2010-02-24T09:13:00.006-06:00

About a week ago, Lori discovered that she has the ability to climb out of her crib. We figured this out when I woke up to the sounds of Lori from her dresser opening and closing her drawers trying to get pick out an outfit. That was certainly a shock. So since then we've been making the transition to a "big girl bed", which is really just a crib mattress on the floor of her room. At first it was REALLY difficult. We'd put her in bed, say prayers, sing a song and then close the door. She would either come to the door and try to get out, or walk around the room and find something to play with. We'd hear her singing and playing or fiddling with the door, or we'd hear nothing. For some reason, maybe it's just that I know my daughter WAY too well, but hearing nothing made me feel terribly uneasy. Jorge and I will go back and forth about if we should check on her or not. Usually I'm right and those times that she's quiet are the worst.

Take last night for example, Jorge was gone leading a Bible study at church, so I put Lori to bed myself. She went down really well, she didn't try to come out of her room and when I did hear her I called to her to get in bed and then didn't hear anything for about 30-40 min. It all was really easy... too easy. So I decided to check on her before I hopped in the shower, and I'm glad I did. I found her COMPLETELY nakey, sitting on her bed, with the box of homemade wipes. She had gotten out of her jammies, some how managed to shimmy out of her diaper (that was DUCT TAPED on mind you) and was wiping herself, her bed, and her stuff animals, that's probably why she needed 34 WIPES!! 34 WIPES people! I was furious to say the least! She was nice enough to put the diaper (which was clean by the way) and roughly 28 or so of the wipes in the diaper pail, but even so, I was still so mad.

Napping in her bed was completely out of the question, up until a few days ago. But every day gets better. The other day, after much struggle I finally won, and she napped in her bed. When I went in to check on her (like I said, when it's quiet I worry, so I check on her.) this is what I found.

I guess this counts as sleeping IN her big girl bed...

And on another day...

So we don't bother with the crib anymore. Our baby is growing up! As soon as she masters the crib mattress with out getting up and getting in to trouble we're going to get her a twin bed. (Probably with some Dora sheets.) We are going to put Davey in her old crib EXCEPT for the fact that Lori can now climb IN to the crib too... so no one is safe. :)

First day with two

2010-01-23T19:24:00.012-06:00

Monday was my first day by myself as a mother of two. It was a little daunting but we made it through, with out too many tears shed. Although I did cry when Jorge came home from work, mostly out of sheer exhaustion.

People keep asking how Lori is handling the transition. I'm not sure if she loves being a big sister as much as she loves having baby things around the house. I walked in to the hallway to find this...
One baby on the changing pad and one in the car seat. I think she's handling the transition rather well... don't you?

Lori has been acting up lately. It started a little before Davey was born and it's not horrible, but it is annoying. She has taken to running away from us when we ask her for the thing she's holding, or if she needs to come inside from our walk. I'm not TOO worried since this was bound to happen sooner or later seeing as she's almost two anyway.

She also has become very concerned with giving David anything that is his, be it his blanket, binky or anything else that she thinks he may want or need.

She'll even share her toys with him.

So, that being said, so far so good. I mean we're still in the hormonal/emotional up and down part but I think that's to be expected.

David Isaac!!

2010-01-19T08:40:00.011-06:00

On January 12th I went in for my 39 week check up and the Dr gave me the option to be induced the following day. I told him that I didn't really want to make that choice, it made me feel like I was cheating or something. I asked him what he thought I should do and he said that I probably wasn't going to make it till next week, and that he wasn't on call that weekend so if I wanted him to deliver the baby (which I really did) then going the next day would be ideal, AND he said that the longer I wait, the bigger the baby was going to get and the bigger he got, the chances of me having some difficulties delivering go up. Jorge and I talked about it and prayed about it and decided that yeah, we wanted to go ahead and have this baby, in less than 24 hours after I walked in to the Dr. office.

I went for a super long walk afterward to clear my head and started having contractions. Those continued all the way through the night. We went to the hospital at 7:00 in the morning on Wednesday and they started the induction process. With in an hour they broke my water, and an hour after that they gave me the epidural! (Man, those things are AMAZING!)
Long story short, I started to feel like I he was comin' and asked the nurse to check and sure enough, he was RIGHT THERE. She called for the Dr who came over and when he check he said "oh wow" and went runnin' to get his things ready cause we were havin' this baby.

3 minutes and 6 pushes later David was born. Afterward, the Dr said that I would have most likely gone in to labor on my own that night if we hadn't induced, AND that if we have any other kids I may not make it to the hospital, considering how fast I tend to have kids. (Lori was only 5.5 hours and 15 min of pushing) So all in all I feel pretty good about the decision to be induced.

Here he is!!

David Isaac Hernandez
Born January 13, 2010
11:11 am
6 lbs 14 oz
19 inches.

And now the real adventure begins right?

She did it!!

2010-01-11T22:15:00.002-06:00

I just wanted to say that today... Lori actually used the potty. Just once, but still... there was much rejoicing!! (and the giving of a "nm&nm" or M&M)

Way to go baby girl!!

in the home stretch

2010-01-07T19:45:00.009-06:00

So I'm actually almost done. I've made it to 38 weeks (or 39 depending on which due date you look at) At this point, regardless of due date, "Numero Dos" could come any day. I've never been this pregnant before and so from here on out, it's all new! Which is exciting and frustrating all at the same time.

38 weeks
(is it just me or does my belly look SMALLER than last week?)

As anxious as I am to have this baby out and meet him face to face, (not to mention NOT have him painfully wedged under my ribs anymore...) I actually have been taking the advice EVERYONE has been giving me, and enjoying my last few days being just Lori's mommy. She is amazing. (I know, I know, I'm bragging again, but hey, it's my blog and I'll brag if I want to! ;) ) Lori has become particularly snuggly these last few days, which could be in relation to her slight fever today but I like to think that she just KNOWS that things are going to be different soon. She's just my sweet baby girl who is beyond precious and I love her very much. It actually makes me sad, that things are going to change in a matter of days or weeks.

I've been enjoying watching Lori's free and joyful spirit as she wanders around the house cooking up some sort of trouble. In this case, it' not so much trouble as it is just plain silliness.

wearing Jorge's socks...

Bag lady, eat your heart out.

Every outfit needs a good pair of shoes.

For some reason in this picture I think she looks like my sister a little bit when she was little...

Our silly little girl who makes me smile every day! What a blessing she is!

2010-01-05T21:22:00.006-06:00

It's no secret that we think that Lori is with out a doubt the cutest and smartest kid ever!!

Her latest thing is trying to learn to use the potty. She had the potty chair that would sit on the ground, but lately she wanted to sit on the actual toilet. This required me to sit on the floor and hold her over the toilet for 10 or some minutes at a time. I obviously grew tired of this much faster than Lori did, and so we went to Babies R Us and got this fancy potty seat that sits INSIDE the toilet. Lori is extremely excited about the new seat and will now sit on it for 10-15 min at a time, several times a day. She's not too good at actually GOING in the potty, but it's a step in the right direction in my opinion.

She's also just recently just gotten in to dolls. She used to carry them around and give them hugs, but now she's actually started playing with them. It is not uncommon for us to walk in to a room and see a doll or two laying on the floor either on or under a blanket. Yesterday I caught her walking to her room carrying her Barbie. I figured she was up to something (she is my daughter after all... she always seems to have something up her sleeve) so I followed her.

I walked in to find this...

From the looks of things "Numero Dos" is going to be in good hands.

Almost there...

2010-01-03T19:58:00.004-06:00

It's kinda crazy that I'm almost done, but then again I also feel like it's FOREVER away. I'm getting really nervous about everything. Like when I'll go in to labor (I never had to even think about that with Lori), giving birth, the lack of sleep and just simply having two kids. I know it's "a little too late now" but that still doesn't mean that I'm not nervous. Everyone says that you'll love your second kid just as much and the first and I don't doubt that at all, I'm just having a hard time thinking about how Lori will no longer be "my life". I will be just as much this baby's mommy as I am Lori's, and that's a weird thought. I think that might be why I'm SO ready to be done. (Not just the fact that I am getting extremely uncomfortable, although, that has something to do with it too I think. :) ) I'm not a fan of the unknown, and I just really want to move on with the inevitable. You know what I mean?

anyway... that's enough out of me. Here's the belly...

37 weeks
(maybe 38)

belly post... only a few more of these left..

2009-12-26T16:42:00.008-06:00

I am just now getting around to posting the pictures for the last two weeks. I'm getting MUCH bigger, almost embarrassingly so. (You know you're getting big when you're mother says you are HUGE. ;) She obviously was joking...) I'm pretty sure I'm starting to my own gravitational pull!

Here's LAST weeks picture...

35 weeks
(or maybe 36)
Man... I wish I knew for sure!

36 weeks

I had my 36 week check up last week and the Dr says that I'm a little effaced and a little dilated. (sorry is that too much info?) I am usually in some sort of pain, be it my back or my belly but it's pretty consistent. Luckily I have an AWESOME husband who is really good about making me rest and take it easy. We have to wait a least until the 1st of January for our insurance to kick in, before I can have this baby and I'm getting pretty ready now. I'm looking forward to meeting this little guy, but I am getting nervous about the idea of having two kids. I think to myself "I can't wait to not be pregnant anymore, so I can have more energy." Then I remember, "Oh wait... once I'm not pregnant anymore, I'll have two kids and NO sleep! Gah!" I guess it's too late for this kind of thinking. He's comin' in a few weeks whether we're ready or not.

Our daughter the artist

2009-12-18T21:48:00.004-06:00

Today I learned a few things. One, Lori actually DOES like to color. And two, she doesn't need paper. I was in the my sewing room on the phone with my mom this morning when I heard a banging/hitting sound. I said to my mom, "Hang on, I think Lori's coloring on the floor." I was wrong, but not too wrong. She had taken the heart shaped crayons that I had made her and started coloring on the wainscoting of our eating area. All I could do was laugh, until my mom told me that I shouldn't laugh otherwise I would only encourage her drawing on the walls. But it was so dang cute. I could tell she had NO idea she had done anything wrong what so ever. (I love this girl so much!)

I explained to her that she can only color on paper, not the walls and then I took her crayons away. She cried and cried. I felt bad, but I figured it was the only punishment I could really do. I do plan to have her clean it off... but I wanted Jorge to see it when he got home. (I even told the women who cleaned my house today not to clean it off... is that wrong?) Sadly, Jorge is kinda proud of her work and wants to keep it up a little longer.

Later I was in kitchen and saw this...

Apparently, she had hit the kitchen before getting to the walls of the eating area. This also made me laugh. And what makes me laugh even more now as I type this is imagining Lori changing colors and adding a little blue here, and a little green there. (granted I can't be sure of this since the crayons she was using were made from melting down different colored crayons, so she could have just been using the same heart shaped crayon but the idea in and of itself makes me laugh.)

Needless to say, she will most likely be getting an easel for Christmas.

34 weeks... or is it 35??

2009-12-12T19:09:00.004-06:00

So here's the latest...

I went in for my 34 week check up last Tuesday. Because Lori was so small and because we were watching the baby's kidneys, (they were slightly "dilated" on earlier ultrasounds) we had our 36 week ultrasound at 34 weeks. It turns out that his kidneys are hardly dilated anymore which is good. The Dr guessed that the baby is around 4 lbs 11oz, which is pretty much the size Lori was when she was born. He said that if he gains the expected .5 lbs per week than he'll be close to 8 lbs. He then said that he wasn't too keen on me giving birth to an 8 lb baby so he may be inducing in the 39th week, which I'm very excited about! I seriously don't think I can handle 5 more weeks of this craziness! This kid is attacking me from the inside and then I have Lori attacking me from the outside. Its insanity, I tell you, pure insanity!

34 weeks or
maybe 35

I guess I'll find out more details in a week when I go back for my next check up...

I'll keep you all posted as usual. :)

bigger still...

2009-12-05T20:50:00.007-06:00

Here are the last 2 weeks of belly shots. I am getting more and more uncomfortable but still content because I know my boy is growing. I'm getting to the point where I am ready to be done though. I'm ready to meet him and cuddle him and watch him and Lori together. Sadly, I have to wait at least until the first of January since I am not covered by insurance until then. But in reality, it's not THAT far away. My parents are coming to visit for Christmas in 2 weeks, so that is something I can look forward to.

32 weeks

33 weeks

(which could be 34 depending on which due date you go with. I'm beginning to think it's the earlier one, it just feels like cheating a little bit. )

Picasso eat your heart out!

2009-11-27T14:13:00.011-06:00

A couple weeks back we had a few days of bad weather, which caused a friend of mine to ask "What do you do with a 18 month old when you can't go outside?" Someone gave her the idea to have her kid paint. That seemed like a fun idea to me and it just so happened that one of my high schoolers came over later that week wanting to paint some of Lori's hand prints so we decided to give Lori a brush and a canvas while we were at it and see how it went. From the looks of it she enjoyed it immensely.

Just getting started...

and loving it!!

getting the hang of it...

(Notice that she's using the "wrong" side of the paintbrush...)

And the finished product!Morgan, Lori and Katie
Three pretty ladies very proud of their work!

I really enjoy watching these girls laugh and play with Lori. I'm so glad that they are so willing to come hang out with a pregnant stay at home mom and her crazy kid.

Even more belly...

2009-11-20T20:00:00.006-06:00

Here is the latest picture of the belly.

I actually look a little smaller than last week, but I'm thinking that it's because of his position. We now only have 9 weeks left at most. The Dr said that he's not sure about the due date anymore, and I'm thinking that it's going to be on the earlier side. So he could be here in 2 months. That seems so soon!

31 weeks!

Lori sitting on her brother... happy as can be! She's really not sure what to think but I think she' going to enjoy having a little brother around. We've been given a few baby dolls and Lori really loves carrying them around giving them "Squeezy hugs" (more on that later) and putting them in things, be it a stroller, or a bucket, the later has happened on at least one occasion.

I can't believe we're actually in the homestretch now. We've dropped to the single digits in how many weeks we have left. So crazy... but not as crazy as our lives are about to be I suppose. :)

30 weeks!

2009-11-13T12:02:00.004-06:00

I'm now 30 weeks pregnant. I can't believe we're almost done. I also can't believe how HUGE I've gotten. It's pretty impressive... if you ask me.

Nothing as really changed much since last week, except for the fact that the Dr says he's going to do our 36 week ultrasound at 34 weeks instead, just to be sure he's not small like Lori was. I'm not exactly sure what to think of that, it makes me a little nervous just cause he's being over cautious. It makes me think there might be something he isn't telling me. I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that there is nothing to worry about... that sounds like a plan to me.

30 weeks

still more belly...

2009-11-08T13:37:00.004-06:00

This will be a quick post.
I'm 29 weeks pregnant now, and as you've all seen he's been getting rather large. Praise God! He moves CONSTANTLY, maybe because he knows he's going to need to keep up with his crazy big sister. It's kinda cool accept for the fact that every time I grab someone's hand to let them feel, he stops moving.

Anyway... here's the picture...

29 weeks

Halloween!

2009-11-04T21:19:00.018-06:00

Halloween this year was good, crazy fun! My sister and I decided that we were going to make Lori and Wyatt be something together and after running through many different ideas (Troy and Gabriella from HSM, and Sonny and Cher to name a few) we landed on Lilo and Stitch. In hindsight I think it was a lost cause, seeing as we didn't end up getting any pictures of them together anyway. But they were cute as usual, so I guess that's ok.

We started the day going to a pumpkin patch so we could get some pictures of the cousins in a pumpkin patch... I think we got some good ones.
if these don't make you smile then nothing will!!

(Lori had just slapped Jorge in the face, however her face is so beyond joyful I had to post it)

After the pumpkin patch we went to a soccer tournament that our church was putting on. We intended to let Lori run around but it was CRAZY muddy so she got held by some of her favorite people...

Terry Richter

Keeke Hartis

and Griffin Simpson

Then it was time to get ready for the night. We've done the same thing for the last 4 years (I can't believe it's been that long!) We go over to a friends house, have Chili and appetizers and then go Trick or Treating. When we started this there were 4 kids. Now there are 11!!!

Two very happy trick or treaters.

This is one of my favorite pictures from the night. :)

Jason Barnes (no relation) and Keeke were sitting with a bunch of the kids and it looks like a perfect Norman Rockwell Christmas card.

Sara Kinsey passed out the candy while we all went Trick or Treating. She also brought one of THE BEST APPETIZER EVER! Stuffed jalapenos! I think I ate 4! (Dang it, now I'm cravin' 'em!)

There was a cute moment between Lori and her best friend Rachel. I actually missed it, but Jorge witnessed it and told me about it on the way home. Apparently Lori was coming away from a house after getting some candy and saw Rachel. She says "Achel!" and then Rachel walks past her and says "Hi Lora!" And that was it, short and sweet but it was her first conversation.

Lori found this Lollipop and started sucking on it, paper and all. Jorge thought it was funny so we let her do it, yet she sucked through the paper and then ended up a drooly sugary mess! It was disgusting.

Last but not least, here I am in my costume. If you can't tell I am Juno. I decided to dress up like a pregnant teen since that's what everyone seems to think I am. Yes, it ACTUALLY has happened, in fact, I have been the source of a few rumors while volunteering at the youth group at church. It's KINDA funny, but after a while, it does get a little old. Some days, I think I'd like to look my age, I'd even settle for looking like I was in my early 20's! Oh well.

Third Trimester!

2009-10-31T13:18:00.005-05:00

We have now reached the 3rd trimester. Arguably the hardest of three and so far... I think I agree. Lori was NEVER this difficult while in the womb (side note... I don't know if I like that word... womb. It sounds weird.) This kid has me on the couch after dinner, lying as flat as possible (while still being able to watch T.V) otherwise he's RIGHT under my rib. Yesterday he actually kicked me so hard under the rib that I was actually sore. It did not appreciate that very much.

At my last Dr. appointment the doctor said that the due date may be as soon as the 14th of January, so I could potentially be a week farther a long than we thought. I found that to be rather exciting.

Here's the picture of my growing belly...

28 Weeks

7 MONTHS!

Third Trimester!!

What does a cow say?

2009-10-29T08:34:00.003-05:00

Lori is getting smarter by the minute. It seems like everyday she's learning something new and we are just adding those to her bag of tricks. You know she can say "wow" (in a whisper) and that she can dance and spin on command, say "Da Dtoo" (thank you) among other thing.

Here are 3 of her more recent "tricks", one of which isn't so new but it's fitting that it be in this video... you'll know what I mean when you watch it.

enjoy!

(for those of you who don't know... according to Lori, a cat/kitty says "tsss tsss" cause that's what our cat says to her daily.)

"Thar he grows!"

2009-10-23T21:25:00.008-05:00

I'm getting much much bigger, and so is he! According to Baby Center he's almost 2 lbs and 14 1/2 inches long!! NO WONDER I'm getting so uncomfortable, that's only 3.75 inches shorter than Lori when she was BORN and almost HALF the weight! Kinda scary if you think about it! Granted he may not actually be that big, but he CERTAINLY feels like it!

Here's my picture from LAST week at 26 weeks.

26 weeks

Here we are at 27 weeks... almost to the 7th month mark!

27 weeks

(I'm not sure who/what is more responsible for the good amount of belly growth this week, the actual baby or the excess of pizza we had on our Chicago/WI trip last week)

I have to admit that the weight gain is starting to get to me. I was just looking back on the last 15 or so weeks or pictures (we don't bother taking pictures until the 12th week) and was starting to get a little sentimental for my "old self". I know I'm not alone in this feeling, and hopefully those who are or have been pregnant before can understand where I'm coming from. Don't get me wrong, I'm actually VERY proud of my size right now cause it makes me feel like "Numero Dos" is big and healthy, but it's hard to feel so out of control of my own body.
I am really enjoying this pregnancy though... regardless of the pain and discomfort he's been causing me. The more "trouble" he causes the more real he feels and the more excited I get to meet him. I know he'll be here before I know it, so I'm just going to sit tight and enjoy having only one child while I can.

WOAH!

2009-10-09T12:35:00.004-05:00

I thought that this would be an appropriate title for this post since that tends to be the reaction I get from most people who see me. I don't know if it's because he's a boy or because this is my second pregnancy but either way I have become MUCH bigger with this guy than I was with Lori. He's now roughly 13.5 inches long and weighs about around 1.5 lbs now, and let me tell you, he is making himself known. I can't sit with out him kicking me particularly in the ribs. This is all new to me cause like I said before, Lori never did any of this. I'm trying not to be too much of a complainer but there are days that are worse than others. Jorge has been really supportive for the most part, I KNOW he could do with out the mood swings, but then again, so could I. :)

With out further ado... here "we" are...

25 Weeks
6.25 month

5 years and 6 months!

2009-10-02T08:26:00.006-05:00

First of all, here's the weekly shot of my growing belly. I have been told on MANY occasions that I seem to have gotten bigger overnight. I don't know if it's exactly over night but I certainly have gotten bigger, and so has he!! He's moving CONSTANTLY, which is sometimes painful, and sometimes annoying, but despite that I'm still enjoying it. I like knowing that he is strong and healthy. :)
24 weeks!
SIX MONTHS!

And in other news, today marks 5 years that Jorge and I have been married. I can't believe it's been that long! SO much has changed over the last 5 years. We've moved to Houston, bought a house, had a BEAUTIFUL baby girl and now are having a baby boy!

I feel very blessed to have him in my life. He's been my best friend close to 8 years and I can't tell you how great it is to be married to your best friend. He makes me a better person and I'd like to think that goes both ways.

We always celebrate our anniversary the same way. We go out to eat, usually TGI Friday's, where we ate on our wedding night cause we were SO hungry after our reception... (isn't that always the way it goes?) and yes, we get the SAME meal we had that night too... or Olive Garden (cause I LOVE there salad) and then we go to Best Buy and get a movie that we've been wanting (maybe a season of the X-files this year... ?). That way we don't have to worry about what to get each other. Simple yes, but very "us".

I am really looking forward to tonight, getting "dressed up" and going to a simple, yet enjoyable meal with my best friend.

Happy Anniversary to us!!!

still growing

2009-09-25T19:30:00.005-05:00

This post will be short, sweet and to the point. Here's my latest belly picture.

23 weeks
(almost 6 months)

and the belly grows...

2009-09-18T09:42:00.008-05:00

Here's the last belly pictures from the last two weeks. "Numero Dos" is becoming VERY active. He kicks A LOT which is new to me cause, believe it or not, Lori never did. She would move around but never kicked me like her brother has. This makes me a little nervous since according to Baby Center he's 11 inches long and only a maximum of 1 lb... so what will his kicks and punches feel like when he's 4 lbs? Yipes, I cringe at the thought.

21 weeks

22 weeks

and just for fun... this is how "big" I was at 22 weeks with Lori...

Poor, sick baby!

2009-09-11T10:10:00.005-05:00

Tuesday night around 11:30 pm Lori started fussin'. Nothing out o the ordinary but Jorge went to check on her anyway. I was up for one of my many midnight bathroom runs, so Jorge called for me that Lori had thrown up. I came running, just in time to see her throw up again, and let me tell you... watching your child throw up is possibly one of the saddest things a mom can watch. Jorge striped her bed while I gave her a bath. Luckily it was only 11:30, which meant it was only 9:30 in CA, so I called my mom RIGHT AWAY! Lori had never been sicker than the sniffles before so Jorge and I were a little thrown off. (not to be confused with Lori who had, of course, thrown UP - poor baby) We were able to get her back to bed and everything but Jorge and my mom agreed that since I am pregnant, I really should stay away from Lori as much as possible, to avoid getting sick and harming myself and the baby. So Jorge was on Lori duty, but luckily he didn't have to do much.

She slept the rest of the night and well in to the morning. The next day we took a trip to target to get her some bland foods, but Lori stayed in her Jammies. She didn't eat hardly anything, but had regurgitated some water twice. (Dr. said that was ok) She slept well but this morning was harder on her. Her eating and drinking habits were off and she was so tired that she actually sat and watched Playhouse Disney.

We had to run to the store, but when we came home it was right back to the couch, this time with a cup of animal crackers (and a new appetite) and a sippy cup. As you can see in the following pictures, got pretty comfy!

A little more comfy... and feeling good enough for a smile!

Gotta keep hydrated! Doctor's orders!

Watchin' a little Playhouse Disney...

aaaaannndd... we're out! Rest up baby girl, and feel better!!

It's sad not having her as her usual crazy, happy self! Please pray for a speedy recovery for our little bubba.

Numero Dos...

2009-09-03T22:08:00.005-05:00

So as promised, here are a few more belly pictures.

Here is LAST weeks picture.

19 weeks

And now... what you've all been waiting for... (drum roll please!)

It's...

a...

BOY!!

(hence the blue shirt)

20 weeks
and HALF WAY DONE!

I can't believe it's already half way over. This pregnancy has gone by way faster than the last time. Probably because I'm so busy with Lori. We are SUPER excited about having a baby boy. We've told a few people and the first thing they all say is "Is Jorge just SO excited?" Yes, he is very excited, but honestly he would have been just as excited with another girl. At least that's what he's told me. :)

We've always wanted to have both "types" of kids and now we will get just that.

As for his name, I hate to tell you, but THAT will remain a secret until he gets here. We have a few names we're tossin' around but none that we're 100% sure on yet... so until his birthday we will continue to call him "Numero Dos" cause that just seems to fit him. (Please feel free to throw out any name suggestions... they are more than welcome!)

Thanks for sharing in our happy news!!

a dream come true

2009-08-24T16:42:00.004-05:00

As many of you know, my sister and her family moved to Houston about a month ago. I was sittin' at home the other day thinking about how blessed I am. Megan and I have always been close, yes we fought, but I really can't think of a time where I didn't consider her my best friend.

When we were little girls we used to talk about what it would be like when we grew up and one of the things we talked about was living down the street from each other. She would have a pink house, and I would have a "booger green" house. (that was what we called the color of my parents house and I wanted to do everything just like them)

Fast forward 20 plus years and here we are. Ok, so we don't live exactly "down the street" from each other, and her house isn't pink and my certainly is not "booger green" but we aren't complaining.

It's been a fun month! Jorge and I are excited that our kids will grow up with their Aunt and Uncle around the corner. We look forward to raising our kids together. It truly is a dream come true.

P.S: Happy Birthday Megan!!

Up to NO good!

2009-08-19T18:51:00.008-05:00

Here's a little update of Lori and her mischief! If you are "a regular" to our blog you know that there is something we do that I like to call "Up to NO good!" cause frankly, that's what she is... up to NO good! She's SO cute, I know that, but spend one day with her and you'll agree with me, she's a menace! It does make for some pretty cute pictures though!!

Here are some shots of Lori "helping" Uncle Ryan unpack one of his boxes... I don't think anyone asked her for her help, nor do I think they will again for a while.

I made the mistake of leaving my purse/diaper bag in the hallway... Lori LOVES bags! Well, she loves to TAKE APART bags, and wallets and pretty much anything. So as I was resting on the couch, trying not to be sick, Lori decided to take apart the diaper bag and my gift card holder... she made a HUGE mess!!!

CAUGHT RED HANDED!!!

more belly

2009-08-17T09:30:00.015-05:00

Here are a few more belly pictures...

16 weeks

I can't believe it's been 4 months already!
Kinda crazy!

17 weeks

I'd say that I am SLOWLY starting to move out of the "she let herself go" stage and in to the "I think she might be pregnant" stage. I THINK I'm looking forward to the "when are you due" stage, but that's easy to say now... when I'm there it could be an entirely different story.

This one KINDA creeps me out only because Lori is sitting on and squishing her future sibling, making my belly look kinda freaky in my opinion. It's still cute though... cause Lori looks SUPER excited!

The Belly Shots...

2009-08-02T16:08:00.009-05:00

When I was pregnant with I took a "Belly Shot" every week, wearing the same thing (more or less) and in the same spot, starting at 12 weeks. So naturally, I wanted to to the same thing with "Numero Dos". I know everyone says that you get a lot bigger a lot faster the second time around, and I am hoping that "Numero Dos" is bigger than Lori was, (who was only 4lbs 14 oz) but really, I don't know if I'm ready for it... oh well, too late now!!

Here's my 12 week picture from when I was pregnant with Lori... I remember thinking that I was TOTALLY showing. How silly of me. :)

12.5 weeks

and here's 12 weeks (more like 12.5 actually) with "Numero Dos" Lookin' bigger than last time for sure!

14 weeks

We missed 13 weeks cause I was at my parents house, so this is 14 weeks. The shirt is a little bigger than the last one, so it looks a little different, and my hair has seen better days but you get the point.

15 weeks

Not much of a difference between 14-15 weeks, (especially with the hair) but I figured I'd post it anyway. The shirt is the same as in the first picture since I couldn't find the maternity version of this shirt, so it's a little bit tighter.

So there you go, let me know if you'd like to see more or less of these. But be honest!!
I don't want to bore you more than I probably already do.

a Summer of firsts!

2009-07-11T15:44:00.010-05:00

This summer has been a year of firsts for Lori, which is to be expected in a child her age, but nevertheless, it seems like a good time to share them with all of you. You've seen her first trip to Austin, so here are a few others...

First pigtails!

Her hair is getting longer and longer and one day I thought it might just be long enough for pigtails, and I was RIGHT! She looked so cute with those pigtails that you'll most likely see her with them on most days... especially in this HOT weather!!

First chocolate cookie!

She was being a good girl so I gave her a cookie, a store brand "fudge Stripes" cookie to be exact. As you can see, she loved it!

First trip to the pool!

After a whole week of triple digits, we had to go to the neighborhood pool. Lori enjoyed herself, and much to my dismay has NO fear of the water, not even a healthy one. She'll walk around in the kiddie pool, and if she falls under she doesn't even cry when I pull her up. Lori also LOVES the big pool! (again, I find this very disconcerting.)

First car trip facing forward!

She now BARELY meets the height and weight requirements for a forward facing car seat. We're getting ready for the big road trip from CA to TX in a week (post coming soon) I'm hoping that facing forward will make the trip a little more enjoyable for her, but I'm sure that is just wishful thinking.

First toothbrush!

The dentist told me to start brushing her teeth. (all 7 of them) I'm not nearly as good about it as I should be, but she LOVES to hold and chew on her toothbrush, both ends of it acutally. I don't give her any toothpaste when I give it to her, but I do use baby toothpaste everyone once in a while.

First potty chair!

I know, I know! She's only 14 months old, am I crazy? Well, yes, I probably am crazy, but that's besides the point. On several occasions Lori has said "poo poo" and THEN gone in her diaper, so I consulted with my mom, and she told me to get her a little potty chair. It's been quasi successful. She's gone in the potty a good handful of times, but don't worry, I won't post those, pictures, although they are pretty funny. Lori is VERY proud of herself when she does go, as are Jorge and I. So it looks like AFTER the big road trip we'll start the ACTUAL potty training.

First taste of Pink Lemonade!

Lori was looking at my glass of pink lemonade the other day and kept saying "MAH?" (meaning more) I thought it would be funny to give her a taste. Cruel as it may sound, I thought she's wrinkle up her nose and make a funny face, no harm there. That was not the case! She wanted "MAH?". I ended up drinking the rest of the glass.

First time being a BIG SISTER!!!

That's right, your heard me! Lori will be a big sister in January. (January 21st is the actual due date.) I had to make her this shirt since I couldn't find one small enough. As you can see from this picture, she's pretty happy about it. Although she does lift up my shirt when I ask her, "where's the baby" and give the baby "kisses", I am thoroughly convinced that she hasn't a clue what's going on. And probably won't for a long while. But that's ok.

Austin... not SO weird.

2009-07-01T09:59:00.039-05:00

Over Memorial Day weekend Jorge and I (and Lori) were able to get to take a trip up to Austin TX, with our good friends Trey and Mandy Barrow. They both went to UT (University of Texas) so we were able to get a tour of the whole city. It was really fun. We started off with a visit to the state capital. Not only is it the tallest building in Austin (it's actually against the law to build anything taller the capital.) but it's also taller than the Nation's Capital, if you include the basement, which of course, Texans do!

It's virtually impossible to get the whole thing in to a picture. Trey and I both tried. This was the best we could get.

Lori enjoyed walking around the grounds and exploring in her squeaky shoes!

We went in to the Capital building just to look around

Here's a shot of the underside of the capital dome.
I thought the details were amazing.

The floor underneath the dome,
I like that it says "Republic of Texas"

and no Texas State building would be complete without this gem! TAA DAA!

We toured the University of Texas campus. I was really excited to see Be vo, the UT mascot. I was able to get pretty close, I'm pretty sure he looked at me!! This is Bevo XIV, so it is by no means the original, but I was still really happy to see him.

Can you see him??

Who does this statue look like?

Here's a cute one of Lori and her Aunt Mandy!

Our very good looking tour guides. They were both in the UT marking band.
Here they are with the marching band statue.

We walked ALL around campus and found a 7-ELEVEN!!!! We used to live within walking distance of two 7-elevens and since moving to Houston we've been very, very deprived!

There was an artsy fartsy art piece on the campus of thick rubber tubes. We let Lori walk through them, and I think she liked it, but her taste in art might be a little more less "abstract".

I was able to get this pretty "artsy" picture of her, which ended up being my favorite picture of the weekend!

Last shot of the UT campus I got was of the infamous UT Tower. The site of the 1966 shooting by Charles Whitman.

She was a little tuckered out after our day in Austin! She took a little cat nap in the car on our way to get some drinks and see a view of Lake Travis.

We technically stole this picture. They were charging 15 bucks to get your picture taken ON the back of the Longhorn, so we waited until the guy was distracted and snapped the shot. We had to move quickly, AND cautiously cause I did NOT want to startle that beast in ANY way! His horns were freaky large!!

Happy to not be walking! We did LOTS of walking!

Checkin' out the view!

Some of Lake Travis. It had just started raining, so the pictures aren't THAT great, but you get the idea!

The next place we went was called the Hula Hut. The Hula Hut is a very yummy mexican restaurant with some hawaian undertones. We arrived there at 5:45 but because it was a Saturday night, we didn't actually get seated until close to 7:30 and didn't get our food until around 8:00! Despite the LONG day and all the rain, Lori was still her happy, happy self!

Where's Lori?

THERE SHE IS!

The last stop on our Austin tour was The Saltlick. And OH MY GOSH, if you are ever in Austin, this is a must!! Jorge and I had seen an episode of Man vs. Food where the host goes to Austin and eats at The Saltlick, and just watching it made our mouths water. We were telling Trey and Mandy about it and they said that they used to go there all the time! So we put it on the list! It lived up to the hype FOR SURE! We plan to go back someday!

Our last picture is kinda blury but we had to post it!

*note Lori's new shirt... she looks cute in UT orange!

Father's Day...

2009-06-26T08:31:00.004-05:00

So this is slightly late BUT really, is it ever too late to say how much you love the Dads in your life? I don't think so.

First of all, My dad, David Barnes. The dad of two girls, he really took interest in things that my sister and I liked and that couldn't have been easy. He always made me feel special and important. When I was 8 or so I started to take interest in things that he liked, tools and music to be specific. He taught me everything I know about tools, he taught me how to identify each of the Beatles by there voices and WHY they sounded the way they did. (Something that I'm sure will come in handy some day.) He introduced me to Archie and the Fantastic Four, two of the best comics of all time. Now he's a grandfather or "Papa" as Lori calls him. And he is the only other person, beside Jorge and I, who's name she says. He walks up and she says "Papa". He's obviously still very special to us.

We love you Dad! Thanks for everything!

The next of course is Jorge. Everyday he impresses me more and more. He has taken to being a dad more than I could even have imagined. I am blessed to have them both. When she hears the garage door open she gets so excited and starts saying "Dada! Dada!" If she's playing in the living room and she hears the "click" of the key in the front door she stops what she's doing and runs to the hallway (sometimes falling over in the process, which is pretty funny) saying "Dada. Dada."

He is her hero! And she is his pride and "Joy"

This is my new favorite picture, taken by a friend at a church event. It's Jorge and Lori with our friend Ben and his son Ryan. To me it captures pure joy between everyone in the picture. Fathers and their kids, a relationship that is probably one of the most important ever, one that is SO important to me because of who my father was and is and who my husband is to our daughter.

THE Party!

2009-06-02T20:36:00.017-05:00

So here is the post I have promised many people about Lori's big party. I've been dreading it because I CAN'T STAND the dragging of pictures that is required for such a big post! But, nevertheless, here it is...

So we held Lori's party on May 2nd so that my family could help me get everything ready. It was going to be a fiesta (since it was close to Cinco de Mayo, and since Lori's our little Mexican jumping bean) We went ALL OUT! Ok, lets be honest here, it was me, I went all out. In my own defense, I don't usually decorate when we throw parties but this time was special!! We did A LOT of work on our backyard in preporation and I really think it paid
off!

Jorge and my dad doing some of the aforementioned prep work...

Here's a shot of the backyard "all done up"

and a family shot, with a little more of the decorations in the background.

Lori and her "papapapapa" (said in a whisper only)

We had a WONDERFUL spread of food! (is it still called a spread when it's Mexian food?) Jorge grilled up the Carne Asada for us, which took a lot longer than expected. I made my "famous" Mexican rice and guacamole, and Lori's "Uncle" Trey was nice enough to bring his equally, if not more, famous homemade salsa! It was fabulous! The food was SO good, I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!

Our friend Tim Petru and "Uncle" Trey Barrow keeping Jorge company at the grill.

Another shot of the backyard... note the bubble machine... I was very proud of that. And the blow up cactus... a must for EVERY fiesta.

T Doug and Corin playing cornhole... (hold all jokes until you've played it... it's fun!!)

This is one of my favorites from the day! Lori coming over to say Hola to her daddy who's grillin' up the food for her party!

BUBBLES!

BLOW UP CACTUS!

Chasing her buddy Ryan on his bike...

"I got it Mamma!"

Then it was time for cake! Our friend Shannon Gleditch made Lori's cake for us. It looked, and tasted AMAZING!!! She made it in the shape of two maracas to go with out fiesta theme. It was perfect!!

And of course we had to sing Happy Birthday... which Lori seemed to like.

Lori didn't really know what to do at first, but eventually she caught on.

Happy girl on her birthday!!

Time for gifts...

Thanks for everything everyone! We had such a special day!!

"Yay! It's Summer!! Lets break stuff!"

2009-05-29T10:00:00.004-05:00

So today started out like any other day, we go up, showered, Jorge went to work and I got Lori her breakfast and turned on Good Morning America. But then, at 8:30 there was a VERY strong knock on the door, fallowed shortly by the door bell ringing. That made me nervous so I peeked out the window and saw the Constable. Then I was even MORE nervous! I opened the door and he asked me if I had seen my car window. I said no and then we walked outside and that's when I saw this...

and then this...

My first thought was, "Crap, they stole our pack 'n play!!" But no, they didn't steal ANYTHING! Then I thought, maybe it was my "W04" sticker (no jokes please) but I live in Texas, and he's not president anymore, so I ruled that out too. After mentioning that to the Constable, he told me that every year after school gets out for the summer, kids go around and cause destruction just for the "fun" of it. Gah! Well their fun, just cost us 240 bucks!!

Have a good summer kids... geez!

Cousin bonding!

2009-05-21T20:01:00.010-05:00

CUTIES!!

Like I said in an earlier post, my family was in town for a whole 10 days not long ago and there was SO much going on that it is virtually impossible for me to blog about all of it, so I have broken it all up in to small parts... this part is about Lori and Wyatt.

I can tell all ready that they are going to LOVE each other! I can't wait to live closer to them someday, it will be so much fun to watch these two grow up together.
They have matching "100% baby boy" and "100% baby girl" onesies that still fit so we made them wear those, at least once while they were together.

Here they are communicating in their own special way...

I like the way he's lookin' at Lori in this one.

Daddies and their babies... (note Jorge's face... he did that on purpose, which is why I'm posting it.)

I was in the back of the van we rented with the two kiddos and couldn't help myself...

here they are in my sunglasses.

Wyatt LOVED the aquarium swing, and Lori liked to "help" him go faster...

We borrowed a double jogger from the Kuykendall's and took the kids for a walk. We had to make a stop at Sonic for Happy Hour!

So there you go, fun with cousins... more from the visit to come.

Lori's new friend

2009-05-18T16:44:00.005-05:00

Lori LOVES to look out the kitchen window, and one afternoon she had a little friend looking back at her. It was one of our many backyard squirrels. They stared at each other for close to a minute. At one point the squirrel was even standing up on it's hind legs, looking at Lori. It made me laugh, so I made Jorge take a picture of it...

And then he was gone, as mysteriously as he had arrived.

WOW! She speaks!

2009-05-14T22:19:00.003-05:00

Here is a fun video of Lori saying her favorite word!

WOW! Isn't see cute??

Where's Lori?

2009-05-11T21:47:00.005-05:00

Lori is getting bigger, and smarter by the minute, and with that come more fun! The other night when we were getting her ready for bed we took a break to play some peek-a-boo! It makes us giggle every time we watch this video, and I hope you like it as much as we do...

6 adults +2 babies +10 day +1 birthday = a whole lot of fun!! (part 1)

2009-05-05T09:54:00.029-05:00

Because so much has happened over the last 10 days I'm going to be doing several posts over the next few days in order to avoid one HUGE post and having to drag all the pictures I'm going to be posting...

so stay tuned.

My WHOLE family flew in to Houston on April 23 so that they could all be here for Lori's Birthday and Birthday party! I was beyond excited to see them, as was Jorge s

ince he hadn't met our nephew Wyatt yet.

After picking them up from the airport we all went to lunch at a restaurant called Prince's where we were able to trade babies (I needed to get my hands on Wyatt and Megan/Ryan/my Mom/my Dad all needed their Lori fix)

The cousins got a chance to "bond" as well...

The next day was Lori's FIRST Birthday. She had her 12 month check up, (she now weighs 17 lbs 2 oz) and we got the green light to start giving her Peanut Butter. This will make my lunch making much easier, since I often make Jorge a Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwich for lunch. Here she is enjoying her first Peanut Butter sandwich.

That night we had Lori's Birthday dinner at Chacho's. As always, the food was delicious. We enjoyed a FULL order of the King Kong nachos, an order or nachos that can EASILY feed 6 people with some left over. I'm getting hungry just thinking about them.

Kisses for the Birthday girl!

THUMBS UP FOR BIRTHDAYS!!!

Yay for good friends!

Our good friends the kuykendalls joined us in the birthday festivities... here are four of the five of them. Samuel was there, he was just sleeping in his little seat...

They gave Lori an very sweet Curious George ball for her birthday.

Barnes and offspring

My sister Megan and her precious boy Wyatt!!

This time around Wyatt passed on the nachos, I don't think that will be the case next time.

BABY SWAP!

After dinner we came home and gave Lori a taste of Birthday cake.

Eyebrow Threading

2009-04-27T21:23:00.005-05:00

There are many ways to rid yourself of excessive eyebrow hair, plucking, waxing and my new favorite way, threading. According to Wikipedia threading is "an ancient method of hair removal which originated in Persia spread to the Middle and Far East and is now gaining popularity in Western countries. It is equally popular with both men and women in Arab countries. Practitioners use a pure, thin, twisted cotton thread which is rolled over untidy hairlines moustaches and so on, plucking the hair at the follicle level. Unlike tweezing where a single hair is pulled out each time, threading can remove an entire row of hair, resulting in a straighter line."
I have had my eyebrows threaded once before and I was SOLD! I will never wax again! I was so excited that I called my mom on my way home and we planned to get ours done together when they came out to visit us. Since then I have been growing my eyebrows out in preparation. Fast forward to yesterday. My sister, my mom and I went out to the Katy Mills Mall to get our eyebrows done!!! The trip was a great success and Megan and my mom were quite pleased with the results... as was I. They are able to achieve a much cleaner line by threading and as a result a much nicer shape to the overall brow.

I knew I was going to want to Blog about this so I asked Jorge to take a "before" picture of my eyebrows and then later an "after" picture. I think they are a little "backwards" (I would have preferred the "before" to be on the left and the "after" to be on the right but oh well...) Like I said before, I was growing out my eyebrows so, keep that in mind when viewing the following pictures... they may not be suitable for young children! :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LORETTA JOY!

2009-04-24T22:20:00.010-05:00

Today is Lori's first Birthday. This year has gone by SO fast it's unbelievable! It seems like yesterday that she was just a little 4 lb 14 oz peanut. Jorge and I are blessed to be the parents of such a beautiful and happy girl. She has lived up to her middle name (Joy) so far this year with out showing any signs of slowing down... Here's a brief look back over this last year...

Lori - April 25, 2008 Lori - April 28, 2008
1 day old Just to remind you
how tiny she was!

Lori - May 15, 2008
almost 1 month

Lori - June 4, 2004
about 2 month

Lori - July 11, 2008
All smiles!
3 months

Lori - August 1, 2008
almost 4 months

Lori - September 15, 2008
almost 5 months

Lori - October 31, 2008
6 months

Lori - November 22, 2008
7 months

Lori - December 22, 2008
8 months

Lori - January 23, 2009
9 months

Lori - February 24, 2009
10 months

Lori - March 16, 2009
almost 11 months

Lori - April 24, 2009
ONE YEAR OLD!!
Happy Birthday Baby Girl!!!

24 horas con Pop

2009-04-23T09:53:00.012-05:00

Jorge's dad was coming to Houston for what we thought was a short visit. Little did be know that because of some crazy weather it was going to be even shorter! He was supposed to get here at 11:00 on Saturday morning and leave at 5:30 on Sunday night, but since there was that severe weather, his plane didn't land until 5:00. This made his trip only 24 and a half hours (to be exact).
When they finally got to the house we all went out to dinner, Mexican food, and then came straight home so Lori could go to bed. I worked on some craft stuff, while Jorge and his Dad, Jorge Sr. talked about tools and other things that they wanted to fix around the house.

One question we get a lot is "Jorge, does your dad speak English?" The answer is yes, "Pop", as we call him, DOES speak English, and fairly well. BUT Spanish comes much more naturally so when he talks to Jorge he speaks mainly Spanish.
Which brings up another FAQ. "Jorge, do you speak Spanish?" The answer to that question is also yes, although Jorge would tell you he isn't fluent, that's just him being modest. He understands is PERFECTLY and can speak it very well... when the situation presents itself. (like visits or conversations with Pop)

After church the next day Jorge and Pop went out tool shopping while Lori napped. After that we went to lunch, Mexican food again. (it was at this time that I realized that in all the time that we've gotten together with pop, either in California, Chicago or here in Houston, I have ONLY eaten Mexican food with him... and no, if a Mexican eats pizza that does not make it Mexican food, I checked) After lunch we went shopping (!) for stuff for Lori. We got some awesome things from Babies 'R' Us including a sippy cup with a straw (since Pop knew Lori likes drinking from a straw) and some shoes and flip flops and some super cute clothes that I got to pick out!! I enjoyed it!!

Then it was time for another nap (for Lori, not us) but before that she got to show Pop one of her new outfits, and how she can almost walk now!

Then when Lori got up from her nap we all got in the car and drove Pop to the airport and said good-bye. But not before Pop said a little "oracion" that's Spanish for prayer, which he said in Spanish of course. It was very special moment and a great way to end the visit.

Bluebonnets - this is going to be a long post

2009-04-18T16:24:00.042-05:00

If you are ever driving through Texas in the springtime, you will see the highways littered with parents taking pictures of their children in the amazing fields of bluebonnets that grow all over this state. The origin of this tradition of taking pictures of our kids in our state flower is unknown but from what I gathered from a quick Google search, it dates back to the 60's when first lady Lady Bird Johnson persuaded the Texas State government to seed bluebonnet and other wild flowers along the state highways and elsewhere around the state.
I was so excited to get to take Lori this year! We took advantage of Jorge having Good Friday off and made the "40 minute" trip up to Brenham, TX to take pictures of Lori. We got lost (and almost ran out of gas) on the way, which is somewhat hard to do considering that its RIGHT off the Highway... but we got there eventually, and it was worth it. (That is why I said "40 minute" trip... ours turned in to 90 minutes...)

We found a BEAUTIFUL field of bluebonnets and pulled over to join the other parents and families taking pictures. I'd guess there were close to 40 other families there, and you're about to see why... oh and I should mention that Bluebonnets smell as good as they look!

When Lori stands up on her own Jorge and I clap and cheer for her with much enthusiasm, in hopes of motivating her to walk sooner. So far it's only caused Lori to clap her own hands as a way of asking us to clap for her whenever she does anything... no matter how small... it's kinda cute.

Here she is encouraging us to clap for her...

This one is one of my favorites... so pensive. (and no, it's NOT illegal to pick the bluebonnets... so she's ok.)

More clapping... and a good view of the field.

These are two of my favorites...

Our BEAUTIFUL, HAPPY girl!

Monogrammed bloomers, another Texas must!

After Jorge took some photos of Lori and me, I took some of them. My two FAVORITE people in the world!! They turned out great, if I do say so myself.

Jorge is so good with Lori, she just ADORES him too! Looking at these next few pictures makes me feel blessed!!

This one reminds me of Max from the book "Where the Wild Things Are"

But take a look at how much they look a like in
the next few pictures... it's amazing.

More standing and clapping...

and a family picture!

Thank you and congratulations for making it to the end of this post... dragging all of these pictures to where I wanted them took WAY too long, so I hope it was worth it! Thanks for reading!!

Rodeo time!

2009-04-03T10:04:00.016-05:00

Everything is BIGGER in Texas! This includes the Rodeo. Every year Houston hold the largest Rodeo and livestock exhibition IN THE WORLD!! It's held in the Reliant Stadium, the home of the Houston Texans, and spills over in to the Reliant Center and the parking lot surrounding it. It's not just a rodeo and livestock exhibition, there is also a carnival and concerts every night.

For me, a girl from the suburbs, and Jorge, a boy from the city, it is quite an experience. This year we were given tickets from a family member in Houston (yes I have family in Houston) We would have stayed and seen Brooks and Dunn in concert but I figured getting my city boy husband to the rodeo at all was good enough, (baby steps...) and this way we were able to take Lori with us. She had a good time, a great time actually, she was so interested in all the people and animals that she wouldn't eat much.

She wasn't very excited about the Texas size turkey leg we got... or the Texas sized curly fries we got. (bottom right)

After lunch we made our way to the livestock exhibition, complete with shops, petting zoo, livestock auction and new this year, a birthing center! Yes, that is exactly what it sounds like, livestock (cows, sheep, goats and pigs) who are about to give birth, in one area. There were T.Vs mounted above the cages,a camera man roaming around to get live shots and bleachers so that people could sit and wait to see a live birth. (only in Texas) We missed the birth of a calf by seconds, as gross as it sounds, it was actually pretty neat. (I may have been in Texas too long!)

We also took Lori to the petting zoo, which she really enjoyed. She's always trying to "pet" our cat (more like grab) so to actually be able to touch an animal was like a dream come true!

After that we walked past all the livestock that's up for auction. Lori was able to pet a cow...

it was a BIG hit!!

Of course we couldn't leave the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo with out trying something fried. They fry up pretty much EVERYTHING! Twinkies, Oreos, Moon Pies, Snickers, and M&M's (huh?) This year we tried the Oreos, and all in all, it wasn't half bad.

so on that note...
God Bless Texas!

Takin a stand and doing a dance!

2009-03-25T19:58:00.009-05:00

I've mentioned before that Lori is not walking yet but is really really trying too! She wants so badly to be able to move much faster than she already can, which is hard to imagine since she's in to everything enough as it is! So far all she can do is stand up and take one or two steps.

Here is a video of her "taking a stand"

In previous posts I've posted video of Lori dancing. She has since perfected her technique! A month or so ago I was asked to record a track for our VBS CD, it has since become her favorite song, we'll be driving in the car with the CD on and once my track comes on she starts "dancing". It's quite flattering really.

Here is a video of her dancing to one my track, getting in to trouble with the toilet paper, and playing with her buddy Ryan!

Quilted fun!

2009-03-13T11:20:00.015-05:00

About 4 years ago my friends and I threw a picnic bridal shower for one of our friends. When we got to the picnic spot my friend Samantha Sorbello whipped out this awesome quilt made out of jeans. The crafter in me went crazy! I knew that I was going to have to make one of these one day! Sam told us all that it was a wedding gift from her mother-in-law, that it was made from close to 20 pairs of jeans, and that she broke a lot sewing matching needles in the process.

I got the instructions from Samantha's mother-in-law not long after our picnic and haven'
t thrown out a pair of jeans since. It wasn't until the weather started to get nice that I decided that it was time to tackle this enormous project. Lori inspired me. She can't walk yet but she LOVES being outside so therefore I figured I'd make this HUGE (and I do mean HUGE) quilt so she can have a big enough space to crawl around on.

Well it took me 5 days, 14 pairs of jeans, 2 spools of yellow thread and 9 sewing machine needles but I DID IT!!

So far its been quite special. Lori took her first step while we were playing on it. She LOVES crawling and exploring the quilt, looking at all the seems and patches. (And trying to eat leaves...)

As usual Lori is all smiles! I can already tell that this summer is going to be really fun for us! She loves it so much I've decided to make it one of her birthday gifts... not that she'll really remember but it's the thought that counts right?

As much as she loves crawling around on the quilt, there is something about it that makes her want to try to walk. Like I said earlier, she took her first REAL step on the quilt and even though she's not walking yet she's getting closer and closer every day we play outside. Here's an action shot of Lori trying to stand up.

oh well... maybe next time!

COUSINS

2009-03-10T20:35:00.009-05:00

On February 23d Lori and I flew out to California to meet my sister's baby!
Wyatt Browning Smith

He and I share a middle name which is super special... we're going to be good buddies!! I can tell!

Lori really didn't know what to think at first but after a while she really just couldn't get enough of him...

Here she is meeting Wyatt for the first time...

Cousins in the car, ready to go!

No trip to California would be complete with out a trip to In-N-Out Burger... Lori enjoyed the fries!

Me and the little guy...

Lori and Mommy

The progression of these next pictures makes me laugh...

Lori and her cousin...

poor Wyatt, in the right place at the WRONG time...
"
NO LORI, DON'T TOUCH!"

Notice she is a good distance farther away now... this is not on accident

Uncle Kent, Wyatt, Aunt Megan and Lori

There was one night that I was just SO beat from all the visiting that I got up after dinner and picked up Wyatt and we both fell asleep. When I woke up a few hours later this pi cture was on my camera... I'm really glad someone took it because it's such a special moment.

This is also one of my favorites...
When we were in CA we went to Trader Joe's and introduced Lori to "Buccaneer Joe's Unburied Treasure White Cheddar Corn Puffs... her new FAVORITE snack!! Megan, Lori and I ate half a bag in one sitting. :)
More of the little bubba...

this was a great day... but man, shopping with two strollers was ridiculous.

Grammy and "her" babies!

Another restaurant stop... our favorite Chicago pizza place, Patxi's

Lori got to try pizza for the first time... I think she enjoyed it! (That's my girl!)

These pictures I like to call "photo shoots should not be done before bedtime!"

but matching jammies are SO cute!!

Ok... I think that sums it all up... sorry for the long post!

Evil genius!

2009-02-18T11:14:00.005-06:00

I told you she was up to no good!! Here is Lori's new favorite thing to do, reach the things on the coffee table that we've pushed out of reach by pulling out a basket of DVDs and using it as a step. Evil genius! Ok so maybe she's not EVIL but still... she's to busy for OUR own good!

Lori's dedication

2009-02-07T11:42:00.016-06:00

This post is LONG over due, almost embarrassingly so but it's such an important thing that it feels wrong not to post it at all.

On November 22, 2008 we had Lori dedicated at Grace Presbyterian Church, our church here in Houston. My family was able to be here so that was really awesome. It was a first for Grace. They had never dedicated a baby before, they have always done baptisms. Jorge and I decided that we would like to give Lori the choice to be baptized someday when she is old enough to understand what she's doing and what it means. This was also a first for our pastor, Doug Ferguson. (Doug married us in Menlo Park four plus years ago, moved to Houston a few months later and then we came out a year or so after that...) In all the years that Doug has been marrying couples and dedicating/baptizing babies he's never dedicated/baptized a baby who's parenthe'd married the parents, until now. :) Lori was the first!

We were really excited that our very good friends Ben and Jenna Kuykendall also had there daughter Rachel dedicated that same weekend!! It was SO special to be able to share that experience with them. We love "doing life" with them out here.

Here are some shots of Doug dedicating the girls.

My mom filmed the actual dedication for us so we can share with our family and friends who weren't able to be there. (i.e: most of you.)

So with out further adieu, here's the dedication...

Up to NO GOOD!

2009-02-04T10:55:00.008-06:00

Lori is becoming SO mobile that it's getting really hard to keep her out of "trouble" It's pretty ridiculous. I decided to start documenting her adventures in pictures! (maybe I'll be able to get some videos someday, I just can't figure out how to get them on to the computer... my tech support has been slackin'. Eh hem... Jorge!)

I've been accumulating pictures for a few months now so I'll start with the earliest and end with the most recent...
*for the record... I ALWAYS make sure she's safe before I take the pictures...

Is anything more fun than a cardboard box?

Doing the laundry...

bouncy chairs are NOT for climbing!

She wanted to play with this toy even though it was put away...

ready to go!

This is why she got a tunnel for Christmas!

Playing with the kitty's bowl!

"helping" put away Christmas decorations.

Lori will do what ever it takes to check email!

She went IN to my purse and got out my wallet and then OPENED it... I thought I was a few years away from that.

Any Request?

2009-01-29T12:03:00.002-06:00

Hey everybody!
So I'm trying to figure out what everyone wants to read! Of course there will be the family updates, but is there anything else? I think a lot of people like the Stay at Home(made) Mom stuff too but let me know HOW MUCH of that stuff you're interested in. Any ideas?
Can't wait to hear from you!

2009-01-09T14:38:00.011-06:00

Now that the holidays are over we are packing up Christmas and getting our lives back to normal. Like most people it takes a while to "De Christmas" our house. It has taken me longer than usual since Lori is so mobile.

Here she is giving me a "helping hand"

(for the record she got in there ALL on her own. How, I have no idea seeing as the box is above her waist.)

So Christmas is packed up (mostly) and we're looking ahead to the upcoming year! We have so much to look forward to! The first of these things the birth of our nephew. My sister and her Husband are expecting their first baby, a boy, on February 4th (give or take) and we are so excited! He'll be born in California but I'll get to fly out and visit a few weeks after he's born. :)

We are also very excited to watch Lori grow and to celebrate her 1st birthday in April. I'm already thinking about how to celebrate! We're going to go all out!

In March Jorge's best friend and his wife are coming to visit us. We haven't seen Steve since our wedding and we haven't seen his wife Michelle since there wedding over 5 years ago. They are driving down from Minneapolis to spend a week with us, and bringing their 4 year old daughter with them who we've never met. We recently got reconnected with them thanks to Facebook. (I have say that albeit a GIANT waste of time, facebook sure has done wonders for us by connecting us with LOTS of people we would have only heard from a few times a year at best.) Thank you Facebook!

On top of all that we have a handful of very close friends who are also expecting babies this year so our Houston family will be multiplying greatly. And we can't be more excited!

Here's to 2009! It's going to be a good one!!

Dancing Machine!

2009-01-04T18:36:00.007-06:00

Over the Holiday Season while visiting my family, Lori learned a new trick. She learned to dance. Now she's a far cry from Micheal Flatley but I think she's on her way. Here's a little sample of Lori dancing to the opening song from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. I never paid much attention to the song before but I can assure you that I will from now on!

(That's my mom in the backgroud singing along and talking to Lori.)

Happy New Year everybody!!!

2009-01-01T19:02:00.006-06:00

This year was a big one for us for one very obvious reason. Lori has made our lives so much richer. We have not only been blessed to have her as a daughter but we also feel even MORE blessed every time we see her with one of our friends or family. We love watching her be a "joy" to those around her and seeing how much all of you truly love her.

This year we celebrated the New Year by serving dinner at The Brookwood Community, a community for adults with functional disabilities. It was such an amazing experience! Our church has been involved with Brookwood for a long time and it was one of the many things we loved about Grace. We, along with a few other couples form our Sunday School class were lucky enough to be able to serve the residents dinner at their New Years Eve party! The party only went until around 8:00 but Lori felt like leaving early (hungry) so we stayed long enough to serve them their food, but not long enough to dance. (Hey there's always next year!) I loved watching all of the residents smile as Lori gave them a huge toothless grin. Like I said before, watching Lori make people happy is one of my biggest joys in life. She is really living up to her middle name, that's for sure!

After we were done all of us went to our friend friends Grace and Duncan Vise house and rang in the New Year! It was as usual ( for us anyway) a low key New Years Eve, although it seems to be getting harder and harder to stay up until midnight, and I'm beginning to think it might be overrated.

"Joy" to the World!

2008-12-26T13:05:00.011-06:00

To add to our already long list of Christmas traditions Jorge and I decided to take Lori to see Santa Clause at Stanford mall last week. We waited in line for a little while and when it was Lori's turn the "Helper Elf" (He wasn't dressed like one but it was his job all the same) came up to me, very animated and said "OK, here's what we're going to do, we're going to have you "back her in" while you step over here and distract her, while we take a few pictures" My response was, "uh, I don't think she'll have any problems, but ok"
He looked at me and Lori, and then repositioned himself so he could PHYSICALLY block Lori seeing Santa. "Yeah, we don't like ones her age to see Santa" Evidently he takes his job very seriously! (and rightfully so, what would Christmas be with out pictures with a mall Santa?)

It didn't take him long to realize that Lori was in no way worried about meeting the Jolly white-bearded fellow so he let me go a head and put her on his lap.

This might have helped change his mind.
(Lori smiling at her Daddy taking a picture.)

Once Lori was permitted to sit on Saint Nick's lap they took some pictures, very quickly I might add and then it was time to go, but not before we purchased our photo package. (and those things ain't cheap!!)

As we were leaving the "Helper Elf" says to me and Jorge, "That is that happiest baby." I said thank you and something along the lines of "yay Lori, way to go!" and I shrugged it off as the elf just trying to get us to buy pictures BUT I realized that I had already bought the pictures. Then he looked at us and in all seriousness said "No, seriously, I've been here for 47 days straight and that is the happiest baby I've ever seen!"

and here's why he said that...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Love Jorge, Dana and Lori