Kinda excited... just a bit...

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 cousin, my Hero!!

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.

David Isaac!!

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?

Numero Dos...

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 Summer of firsts!

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.

Loretta Joy!

Here she is!

Loretta Joy Hernandez
Born April 24, 2008
10:29 am
4 lbs 14 oz
17 3/4 inches

As you can see by the picture it's been a few weeks, 6 to be exact, and she's growing like a WEED! (A very cute weed but a weed all the same) She is rapidly approaching the 8 pound mark! (WOO HOO)
She continues to amaze us every day. So far her personality is still forming but from the looks of it she's a pretty good mix of the two of us. Jorge's calm easy going spirit and love for sleep at inopportune times and my love for music and dancing (i.e: standing her up on her feet and watching her wobble to the sound track of a cheesy commercial.) and my inability to sit still.

She is currently suffering from infant pattern baldness (Dr. Phil eat your heart out!) which I am convinced is due in large part to the fact that I couldn't keep my hands off her thick head of super soft black hair. I have it on good authority that it will grow back. Here's hoping!

Home Sweet Home!

We just bought our first house at the end of March and have been most, if not all, of our free time fixing it up and making it ours! I've really enjoyed not having to worry about neighbors or a landlord. I can paint and hang pictures and not worry about the deposit. The cat has enjoyed this new found freedom as well... barfing many times on our new carpet. See... home ownership, fun for the whole family.
Our last apartment we lived next door to smokers and we could smell the cigarette smoke constantly. Somedays it would get so bad that before I realized that it was our neighbors, I actually thought that the people who lived in our apartment before us had been smokers and that it was coming through the paint or something. It was horrible! I'm very glad to not have to worry about waking the neighbors, bothering the neighbors or smelling the neighbors ever again! Hurray!
Last night I was watching the news and saw this story about a Colorado couple that is NOT ALLOWED to smoke in their town home any more because the neighbors could smell it. As silly as it may sound I can completely understand and respect the judges ruling!
click here for the whole story