Easter, Cousin, Running and Beach Play!

Kamilo’s first Easter was not as I pictured it, but we did make the best of it. We went to the Good Friday Service at my home Church. Then the plans that we had made for Easter Sunday fell through that Saturday Night at 9pm. So we woke up in the morning went to church as we had already planned. The service was beautiful; I have never been to a Catholic Easter Service before so it was a new experience. It is such a weird feeling to know that next year during this time I will be going to that Ceremony in a completely different perspective. I am planning on attending RCIA classes this year and converting to a Catholic Christian. Eddie my husband is Catholic and we have decided together to raise Kamilo Catholic, so I have decided to attend the classes and see where God leads me. So after the service we went to my Brother in Laws house and met my little sister there with Kamilo’s Easter basket. Kamilo got to spend some time with his Aunt Landra, and Cousin Nolan. I got some great pictures of the boys going through there baskets, including some of Kamilo feeding Nolan the Easter grass. It is always nice to get them together! That night Eddie and I went home and had a quiet Bean and Cheese burrito dinner celebrating and reflecting on how much God has done for us in the past years of our marriage.

Alan has been spending his entire breaks down in Mexico with his Mom, but before he left we were able to celebrate Easter with him. Instead of an Easter Basket, I decided to use a Backpack instead. He has been asking his Dad for a new backpack for awhile. So instead of giving him a bunch of useless candy and trinkets, I stuffed the backpack with items he needs. I followed my Mom’s tradition and put in a Bathing Suit! Then I added some small stuff like a belt, underwear, some toys he enjoys, and of course with Alan a little money. I was trying to fill every Zipper Pocket of the Backpack with something! I think we had a good Easter Celebration with Alan. He is in a year round school so he gets a month off and should be returning home on the 4th of May. Kamilo does miss his brother very much when he is not home.

Kamilo has progressed so much on his walking; he can balance and kick a ball over and over again. I have a video of him doing that just one week after he was fully walking on his own. The other night I was in the bedroom preparing for bed and I set Kamilo’s two bottles on my nightstand. Kamilo comes up behind me, grabs a bottle and runs around the bed giggling. It was so adorable! I did not realize that he can run! So the very next day when Eddie brought him to my work for lunch, we set him down to show the office his walking ability and again he took off running around the office!

Kamilo loves dogs! When we go for walks and he sees a dog, he will make a barking noise in a very deep voice. He does the same thing with his doggie book; he pets the dog in the book and makes the same barking noise. I am trying to get it on video, but he gets too interested in what I am doing instead of making the noise. One Sunday at church there was a dog in a car barking at us, Eddie pointed it out to Kamilo and this time Kamilo surprised us both as we were walking away by saying “Doggie”. He really amazes us everyday by everything that he picks up! He will mimic everything that we do!

This past Sunday after Church, Eddie, Lalo and I did not want to go home! So we were going to try and go to Earth Day at Balboa Park but the traffic was crazy so we decided to go to the beach instead. It was a Hot beautiful day and Kamilo loves the water! He has never been to the beach before so I was super excited. We went home and picked up Kamilo’s bathing suit and headed down there. It was super crowded so we had to park about a ½ mile away. Kamilo’s first reaction was shock when the cold water hit his feet! He was amazed to see the waves hit him, no matter how cold the water was he just kept dragging us down to the water. Kamilo looks white, but he definitely has his Dad’s skin! In the car we put sunscreen all over Kamilo except where his shirt was. When we got down to the beach we lost the sunscreen, so I took the t-shirt off and still let him go down in the water but I kept a very close eye on him for any pinkness. An hour later I put his T-shirt back on and then a half later in the sun, I started to Panic and put a long sleeve shirt on him.

After an afternoon in the hot sun, my legs look like lobster claws and Kamilo did not have any pink on him! He tanned beautifully! It is funny because even Eddie’s brother Lalo got Pink on his back but not Kamilo. Lalo was the one who spent most of the time with Kamilo down by the water and in the water. Even though Kamilo has a great tanning ability Eddie and I have both agreed we still need to keep sunscreen on him to protect him from the harmful sun damage.

More Stuff ...

Ok, so it has been over a month since I blogged last, I need to try and do this more often. Well a lot has happened in the last month. Kamilo has not been growing as fast, luckily he is at a stand still at 12-18 month clothes. I think he is still weighing in at 26 pounds. He now says Hola Mamma, Hola Pappa, Hey, Habla, Blah blah blah and Ba Ba. Then the phrases I here are I want Mamma and I love you. I am sure these are just a mothers love thinking that is what he is trying to say. :) He tries really hard to talk! When you tell him no, he looks at you at says HEY! Then grunts and does it again until you redirect him. He is AMAZING and we love this active boy very much.

Kamilo will now cruise around on the furniture, he does go from furniture item to furniture item with no help. The problem is he reaches and sort of jumps for it, which involves many falls. He is a stong boy, when he falls he does not cry unless he really hurts himself. This is always sad when he cries, he likes to call for Mamma when he hurts himself. He can walk while holding a single hand from Mom and Dad, the second we let go of his hand ...he falls. Kamilo thinks it is fun to hold onto the couch or the railing of his crib, let go smile and Fall Backwards!OHHH BOY! I am going to be so scared once he starts walking! He is very adventurous! I also have to say he falls with grace "Normally" he will land softly onto his bottom, he definately knows how to fall without too much damage. He loves to explore, he is not afraid to run off on his own. It is very scary because one time Eddie was telling me that he could not find Kamilo. When he found him, he had crawled into his bedroom closed the door, went into his closet and was playing the guitar. Eddie only knew where to look becuase of hearing the guitars sounds. This all happened in under a minute! Kamilo loves music! He prefers orchestra music! He likes to play his piano, and even enjoys strumming the guitar. It is so adorable when I come home from work! He will ALWAYS greet me with a big smile and arms up. I pick him up and he grabs me by the ears and with a lound GRUNT he kisses me with a big open mouth right on my lips! I just love my baby boy! Kamilo now has two bottom teeth! He loves to eat cherrios, oranges, beans, gerber puffs, Broccoli, and all types of baby food. He eats three times a day with baby food with snacks inbetween. He still wakes up almost every four hours on the button for a feeding of 6 ounces. Eddie and I tried weening him down to 4 ounces but then he woke up every two hours. After a couple nights of that we decided to go back to 6 ounces. He does still sleep in bed with us, we start off by putting him in his bed he will last until 1am sometimes. Then he wakes up and sleep right between Eddie and I. We normally wake up again at 5am for a feeding, I ussually make the bottle and Eddie feeds Kamilo the bottle then he falls back asleep in Eddie's arms almost instantly after the bottle is done. Then he will wake up again around 7am when I wake up to get ready for work. He normally wakes up because he is literally sleeping on me Cheek to cheek. This morning when I woke I think he was sleeping completely on on top of my face. His mouth was almost on my mouth, his cheek on my forehead. It was humorous while I Eddie was trying to help me get him off of me. Eddie had a hard time becuase Kamilo had decided at that point to wrap his arms around my neck because he did not want daddy to take him away. This was all while he continued to sleep! Alan had been doing magnificently! When he came to live with us he was barely reading at second grade level. Just last week when he was tested he was at a 6th grade level. He is doing it all on his own! At first he struggled and needed my help but after less than a month in school on a regular basis his homework is already finished before I get home from work! I am very proud of him! It make me sad that he still goes hom to Tijuana every Friday to visit with his mom and his other brother, I don't know why I am so jealous of his need/want to visit his mom every weekend. But then again if it was Kamilo having to go back and forth it would be a different story. I just wish that Alan thought of me as more of a mother image. Valentines day is special for Eddie and I, not because of the Holiday but because it marks our anniversary of when Eddie and I had our first kiss and decided to start dating. This year marked the 3rd year that we have been together. When I got home from work Eddie had beautiful roses sitting atop our dining room table and a brand new pair of shoes for me, that he had picked out on his own. What a nice surprise! Not bad considering he is a stay at home dad, and is still adjusting to the wonders of taking care of a baby and household all by himself! Well one of the things that Eddie likes to do with Kamilo during thier time together is go to Balboa Park and watch the glass blowers in the Spanish Villiage. As a surpise for Eddie I purchased him a two hour glass blowing class! The class actually took place on Valentines day! In the two hours Eddie was able to make a paper weight and a drinking glass. Eddie was so excited and happy about this Valentines day surprise!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Wow ...it has been very crazy since Kamilo started crawling at 5 months..just two days after he took off crawling, he started standing up in his crib, then he figured out how to stand up and cruise along the furniture in our living room! Recently at barely 7 months he has picked up some words ! He now has a vocabulary of Mamma, Hola and Hey! We are not exactly sure if Hey means Hi .. but it sounds more like Heeyy! Such a cutie he is growing up so fast!! He understands the Spanish phrases of Donde esta tu Mamma? and Donde esta tu Papa? He does know the difference of which one of us is Mamma and which is Papa? This has just happened this past couple of weeks! He understands Spanish more than English! He knows how to communicate what he wants with grunts, groans, smiles, and body language. I need to teach this beautiful baby some sign language. He is TOTALLY destructive ...

Everywhere he goes, he wants to take everything apart! He enjoys getting into anything and everything! He loves crawling to his toy box which is hidden and pulling out all of his toys one by one! He gets to the diaper bag and takes everything out of it ... He loves to chew on Mamma's purse handles every chance he gets! If we leave a magazine or piece of paper within his reach, he enjoys tearing it to shreds! We have tried keeping him to the confines of the Living Room .. but he Loves to explore and follow us around everywhere ... he is Mr. Independent and does not mind wondering off to the bathroom or the two bedrooms! We now have to keep all doors closed because HE IS FAST! He Loves to wrestle with Papa and his Uncles, and loves to climb around a pile of pillows. He loves to kiss his Mamma! Fight with Papa over the remote control. He has recently decided that he does not like eating baby food! Screams the entire time, we do not know what we are going to do because we can't feed him table food yet because he has no teeth! Well a lot has been happening since he started crawling ... It has been hard to keep up! So to break it down a little... He Crawls, Sits up on own from Lying down or crawling position, rolls over both ways, cruises along furniture, can stand up on own from any item on floor, can walk on knees in upright position, can stoop from standing position to pick up toys, Can hold his own bottle, can pick small pieces of cereal and eat it, understands the word no! Yes all of this in such a little bit of time. My wonderful little boy, what am I am going to do with him growing up so fast!! I can just go on forever and ever! Well hopefully I will get more time to update my blog more often, but it is very difficult since he has decided he stays up till 10pm. YIKES ...he also does not sleep through the night he wakes up at least once for a feeding between 2am and 5am, then goes right back to sleep, he even decides when he wants to sleep with us or when he wants us to put him back in his crib! I know not good sleeping habits! I would rather him sleep with us, but he likes to sleep in his crib on the warm nights! He is such a good boy! He only cries when he is hungry or sleepy or lately when Eddie and I can't understand what he is trying to tell us, but that is more of a frustrated whine instead of a cry! Ok .. that is it for now on Kamilo!

Eddie and I are doing good... still struggling on one income but we are both Thankful that I have a job and we have the ability to let Eddie stay home with Kamilo. I think it is the best thing for our little boy to have a parent home with him every day! It is worth every struggle! I am so happy and Thankful for my WONDERFUL husband! I come home from work and almost everyday the kitchen is clean, bed is made, laundry is done, and Living room vacuumed and picked up! All I have to do help make dinner! He is absolutely amazing, I have been so blessed with a wonderful husband, wonderful Step Son, and beautiful baby boy!



Our Christmas and New Years was simple but blessed!

Unfortunately Alan was not with us this year, he has spent his winter vacation down in Tijuana with his Mom, we can't wait to celebrate Christmas with him when he gets home on the 18th of January! Alan is doing very well in School! He is caught up to 5th grade level and won a Good Citizen Award! The teacher talks very highly of how quickly Alan is catching up! I am so proud of him!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Eddie and I are so Thankful for our beautiful family and each other! Last year at this time I was 2 months pregnant and Alan was living in Mexico with his mom and hardly every visiting us, maybe once every two months! This year we have a beautiful Baby boy! And Alan is now living with us and going to school here! Kamilo turns 6 months on 11/29/08... I took the video on 11/28/08 .. He started crawling 2 days before he turned 6 months! So cute watch the video! He is a little unstable but doing it!

Bye Bye Gallbladder!

I am trying to get caught up on my posting ..so I will fill in the blanks, Eddie and I were on a Date Night and about 15 mins into the movie and was struck with an EXTREME pain!! I had to leave the movie immediately and had Eddie rush me to the nearest Emergency Room! Luckily we had a babysitter at the house with Kamilo! The pain was so much worse than contractions and Kidney stones put together! The doctor soon discovered that I was having a gallstone attack, the tried convincing me to get my gallbladder removed that night but I was so not ready! I was already away from Kamilo for too long and could not imagine being away from him any longer. Well after visiting a surgeon on the 10th of November, I was told my Liver levels were at dangerous levels and I pretty much had no choice! I had to schedule the surgery that week! So on November 13th I had it removed, and had to spend a whole night away from my sweet 5 month old baby and my Husband! Two weeks later I still can't lift anything over 20 pounds (Kamilo) and am still sore! Wow two stomach surgeries in less than 6 months can where a working mom out Financially and Physically!

Eddie's 30th Birthday!!

Happy 30th Birthday Eddie!

Eddie turned 30! Finally he is caught up with me in the 30's! So Edddie was acting a little sullen most of the day and did not seem too excited about celebrating his birthday, besides that he was worried about my health and more money issues since after spending November 1st in the Emergency room, my liver was starting to fail and the doctors wanted to remove my gallbladder. What Eddie did not know was that his brothers and I had planned a surprise party for him! Eddie was under the impression that we were going to church and I was very spacey and kept going the wrong way! We ended up at our favorite steak house, I told him that I had decided to have a nice quiet dinner with the four of us to celebrate his birthday! Then he saw his brother and father pull up! Then when we got to our table, and Cruz and Angela were there .. with a cake and the gifts I had hid in the trunk of thier car. Eddie was surprised! We had a nice dinner ... Kamilo behaved well ... and we spent a wonderful night with family! Eddie's brothers are so amazing they paid for the entire dinner! I am so Thankful for my wonderful Brother in laws! I have missed the love of my brothers for so very long and now God has not only given me an amazing husband and baby, but a few new brother's and Sisters! Oh I forgot to mention .. Kamilo even unexpectedly got a handfull of cake when everyone was trying to pose for pictures! The white in Kamilo's hand below is Frosting!

Tripoding Baby...and a great weekend!

This weekend ..Eddie and I decided to buy a "Family" vehicle. Since we are trying to conceive a 2nd child we decided we should get a safer vehicle and try to save some money at the same time. We went (me unwillingly) to a car lot down in National City! I got a great deal on a 2007 Dodge Durango for $5 more a month than my little old beat up 2004 Saturn Ion... Wow what a great deal. There was a lot of scary/costly stuff going on with the Saturn . The catalytic covertor was out ($800)..the Air conditioner was not working to its full potential... the registration was due this month...($151)... it was very small...and unsafe (Priceless). I am happy that Eddie made me go...

This weekend Kamilo at 4 months old ..has shown us a great deal of new stuff ..it is very cute ... he is trying to crawl backwards... almost sitting up completely...and loves doing pushups. It is very amazing to see Kamilo do all of these new things.

We went to the Swap Meet today and we bought Alan a Skim Board for his upcoming birthday on Wednesday. He even had a chance to try it out at the beach with his uncle Lalo.