Christmas 2012

Christmas time this year was so much better than last year! I am very happy to report that, as I was a bit nervous thinking each year was going to be a chaotic blur. LOL! I have been planning Katie and Nathan’s birthday parties for several months now, but lining up when to order presents, decorations, book venues, go Christmas shopping, squeeze in holiday parties, and celebrating with families is a bit of a mess. Hopefully I pulled it all off this year; I don’t remember hearing too much complaining, but then again, I might have selectively blocked that out.


We celebrated with our friend’s children on December 19th. Tiffanie and Jeremy, Noemi and David, Paul and I were able to gather almost everyone that was here last year to open up Christmas gifts, have some holiday treats and enjoy one another’s company for a couple of hours. I know it is hard to get together during the month when so much is going on, but it meant a lot to see the kids get together and play and open presents. I can’t believe how quickly these kiddos are growing!

Paul and I were able to attend the PCU Christmas party on the 21st. One of my co-workers hosted the party for us in his beautiful home. We had such a fun time hanging out and having some drinks with everyone. It was nice to be able to relax while not at work with the ones I spend so much of my week with. :) They were even able to get us to sing Karaoke. Oh my goodness, I am awful. lol!
The Greer Family opened their home to friends and family for their 2nd Annual Holiday Open House on the 22nd and Paul and I took the kids by for a little while that evening. Mrs. Greer had put out quite the spread, as she usually does, and we had a great time visiting with the Greer and Kazear families. This has become one of our favorite new traditions! After the party, we headed over to Irma and Ramon’s house for the Garcia/Gauna Christmas celebration. Unfortunately, we were a bit late and most of the family was headed out after we arrived. It is hard for the little ones to stay awake and not only was it past Charlie and Lorelei’s bedtimes but always Katie and Nathan’s. We were able to visit with everyone for a little while though before we headed home and called it a night.

My grandparents were able to come down for Christmas and Katie’s birthday this year. I always love having them here, and it feels more like “Christmas” to have them with us. Mom, Papa, Grandma, Grandpa and Jonathan all came over for Christmas morning at our house, and mom made lunch for us afterwards. Katie was so much fun to watch this year! She was really into opening her gifts and had to get every last piece of wrapping paper off before she looked at what she received. She seemed so excited about her toys and loved unwrapping Nathan’s (and anyone else’s) gifts, as well. Nathan started to help unwrap his gifts, but he quickly lost interest and let Katie take the lead. He loved banging all the gifts around after they were open, though. Irma, Ramon and Paul each stopped by to give the kids presents and visit for a bit Christmas morning. Katie and Nathan were thoroughly spoiled for Christmas this year! (as were Paul and myself!) They will have enough gifts to play with all year long!

Thanksgiving 2012

Thanksgiving this year was split up into two different celebrations. We went to Oklahoma November 2nd to 5th for an early Thanksgiving with the Murray and Tidwell families. We had a pretty good turn out, too, with about 65 people there. My Grandma and Grandpa were able to share this day with all of their brothers and sisters that are still living. A lot of my cousins were able to make it, too, however, there were a couple this year that missed that I was able to see last year.


Katie had so much fun playing with her 3rd cousins. Acelyn and Tailey are a little bit older than she is, already 3 now, and she loved getting to spend time with them. Even the older cousins were fun to play with as the little ones headed to the park, swung and played on the merry-go-round. It was really neat to see Katie play in the park that my cousins and I played in 20 years ago. I have such fond memories of my childhood in Aline; I hope that Katie and Nathan will also have memories of playing in mommy’s hometown.

For thanksgiving day, I had to work from 3pm-12am and Paul had to work from 7am-3pm. This is the first Thanksgiving in many years that we haven’t shared together. I took the kiddos to Mom and Papa’s house for lunch. Mom made a wonderful spread for us, and we really enjoyed sharing the day with them and with Jonathan. After we were nice and full, I loaded up and headed to work. Paul stopped by his sister, Melissa’s house, on the way home from work before spending the evening with Katie and Nathan. We have so much to be thankful for this year!

Nathan: Month Eleven

Nathan,

My sweet little one, you are almost a year old! You are growing and learning so quickly and are such a joy to have around. I can’t believe how much you have changed in the past 11 months, it went by so quickly. Yet it is hard to remember life without you here; you complete our little family!

You are babbling up a storm this month. You are still saying “mama,” and you also started saying “dada” on October 9^th. You aren’t saying it specifically to daddy, but it is definitely fun to hear you talk more! You have little conversations with us and yourself that only make sense to you and it is pretty darn cute. You are becoming rather mischievous as well. You LOVE to explore and are constantly opening doors and lids to see what is inside. It’s been an adjustment for us because unlike doodle bug, you think being told no is funny and you smile at us while you try to do whatever we told you not to do. In typical boy fashion, you like yucky things like opening the toilet bowl lid and sticking your hand inside, swinging around the toilet bowl brush, and putting dog food in your mouth. Your latest obsession is chasing me while I vacuum, playing with extension cords/light sockets and unraveling the toilet paper. As you can tell, you have been keeping mommy fairly busy! Even Katie is getting in on the mothering and has been yelling at you “No Bubba! No Sir” while she shakes her finger at you. We are working on teaching her that you already have lots of “redirectors” and don’t need another.

You are so close to walking, too! You took your first step on October the 9th. I was walking with you and holding your hands. When I let go, you took a step before standing still on your own and then sitting down. Since then, you take lots of 2/3 steps, but haven’t quite taken off on your own. You would prefer to hold on to something with one hand while you walk rather than crawl, though. But you are getting close! You took four steps for Aunt Tara on the 25^th!! I know that you will be running around and “going fast,” as Katie would say, any day.  You have also taken to climbing onto things, so we really have to be on our toes with you!

This month has been a pretty busy one, and with the weather being a little bit nicer (read as 80-90s instead of 100+), we have been trying to stay outdoors more. You love to be outside and love to look around at everything. You are very observant…and becoming quite a flirt! You are constantly complimented on how handsome you are and you love to smile at anyone that gives you attention. To be fair, you are pretty darn cute with your two bottom teeth showing in your happy smile. We went to the Kiddie Park for our friend, Evelyn’s, 6^th birthday this past month.  You and Katie took some adorable pumpkin pictures, we went to the mock pumpkin patch at Northwest UMC for pictures, and Trick or Treating at SeaWorld with some of our friends.

You have had a couple of doctor’s appointments this past month too, because at your 9 month check-up, you weren’t quite where they hoped you would be for height and weight. Dr. H wanted to see you again when you were 10 months old, and while you had gained some, you weren’t quite where they were hoping you would be. You weighed 16 lbs and 13 oz on October 4^th, which is only the 2%. Since you were 4 months old, your weight has been dropping from the 20-30% and we aren’t really sure why. Dr. H ran a bunch of labs, and we tried to feed you as much as we could for a week to see how you would do. When we rechecked your  weight on the 10^th, you were upto 17 lbs 3oz, which was the 2% still, but at least you were gaining. I checked your weight on the 25^th and you were 18.2 lbs which is the 5%. Basically, you eat A LOT! For breakfast, you will eat a banana, a slice of toast, some baby food and a few puffs. Then you want to nurse, too! You eat like that all day long, except when someone else besides me is with you and then you refuse all milk. Little stinker! You are getting older though, and you nurse plenty when I am around, so Dr. H didn’t think that was a very big deal. You eat whatever we are eating, with a few exceptions. I don’t give you eggs, honey, peanut butter, or any of the “high allergen” foods that are not recommended. You do really like strawberries, too!

Places we have visited/things we have done this month:
Kiddie Park, September 30^th
SeaWorld, October 8^th
3^rd haircut with Janet, October 20^th
Northwest UMC Pumpkin Patch, October 20^th
Pump It Up, October 25^th
St. Anthony de Padua Church
Mamaw and Papaw's House
Grandma Gauna’s House
Aunt NoNee's House
Aunt Tara’s House
Aunt Melissa’s House
Swim Classes for Katie
Mommy's work
Restaurants
Shopping

Your Clothing/Eating and Sleeping Habits:
Clothing: 6-12 months, size 3.5-4 shoes

Diapers: size 3 disposables and "small" or “medium” cloth diapers
Sleeping: Bedtime is around 9:30pm. You usually wake up once around 3ish or 5ish and are up for the day around 7-8am. However, some days you will sleep right through, although that is the exception. You are trying to drop one of your naps. On the days you take all three naps, you take very short morning/evening naps (11am/6-7pm) and a longer nap around 2-4 with Katie.

Eating: You have been nursing 6-7 times a day and typically take one 4oz bottle when I am gone (regardless of the time frame), sometimes two. You eat and eat and eat solids though. Normally you will eat 3-4 4 oz jars of baby food and lots of table food/snacks in between meals.  

We love you so much, Nathan, and we are looking forward to celebrating your very first birthday next month. You are our pride and joy, and we are so proud of how well you are doing!

Love,
Mommy


Trying to Play with the Big Kids at Pump it Up, October 25th



Playing at Aunt Melissa's house, October 15th



Going to SeaWorld, October 8th



My cutie having lunch with me, October 27th



Nathan and Daddy at Mass on the Grass, October 14th

Mamaw and Nathan, October 6th

Playing at Swim Class

My pumpkin, October 20th

Katie and Nathan having lunch with Me, October 7th



Hanging out with Aunt Nonee, October 1st



Nathan and Braeden at SeaWorld, October 8th

Weight Re-check, October 4th

Nathan: Month Ten

My little bubba dubba,

Or “Good Boy” as your sister likes to call you. :) This month, you have become so much more social. You like to smile at everyone, and we get so many compliments about what a happy baby you are. You are overall a very happy little one, but when you are upset… man, you know how to throw a fit. Full on with arching of the back, hysterical screaming and tears. It is quite a sight to behold. LOL!

You love to play whether it is crawling after Katie in a game of “get you!” being tickled by mommy, playing “airplane” with daddy, or swimming in the hot tub with Uncle Jon. You love to be outside and this month when we have gone to the park, you just sit and take it all in. Occasionally, you will get shy when other people are talking to you and put your head against my chest, or fuss to come back when others hold you, but not very often. We went to the Zoo for the first time this month and you loved looking around at all the animals and people. We even got to ride the train, but you took a nap through that.

I thought you might take your first steps this month, but you aren’t quite there yet. You are SO close though. You are a really good cruiser, and you prefer to be on your feet than all fours. You pull up on everything and move around the furniture to get where you want to go for as long as you can. You have stood in place by yourself for several seconds, too, without falling down. You can stoop down to pick up your toys while you are standing and holding on, and you pass objects back and forth between your hands well (especially puffs)! You are trying to figure out more ways to communicate with us this month. You bang your hands on your highchair tray when you are ready for more food, and you make a grabbing motion with your hands when you want to be picked up. You actually said your second word on September 21st which was repeating “Bubba” after mommy and daddy. This month, you also gave us both kisses on September 22nd and 23rd. You had your second hair cut on September 1st, and now, at the end of the month, it looks like you could use another one! Your hair grows so quickly.

The one thing that hasn’t been growing as quickly is your height and weight. On the 31st of August, I took you to see your doctor for your 9 month check-up. You had a flu vaccination and got a height and weight check. You were in the 2% for height, 3% for weight. I am not sure I believe those numbers though. You eat so well and are meeting all your milestones. Your little thighs and arms have fat rolls on them too. We have tried feeding you more this past month, though, and you go back to see Dr. H on October 4th for a weight check. Hopefully you have gained some and grown an inch or so. Either way, you are perfect to us!

Places we have visited/things we have done this month:
Heritage Duck Pond, October 31st, September 20th, September 24th
San Antonio Zoo, September 18th
Mamaw and Papaw's house
Aunt NoNee's House
Aunt Tara’s House
Swim Classes for Katie
Mommy's work
Restaurants
Shopping

Your Clothing/Eating and Sleeping Habits:
Clothing: 6-12 months, size 3.5 shoes

Diapers: size 3 disposables and "small" or “medium” cloth diapers
Sleeping: Bedtime is around 9:00-9:30pm. You continue to wake up frequently during the night, more so this past week. Maybe you are having a growth spurt?? On the 26th you actually slept from 10pm to 5am! Mommy was so happy! Generally, you and Katie are both up at 8am. You are taking three naps still, but you seem to be trying to drop your morning nap. The mid-day nap is usually 1.5-2 hours.

Eating: You are still nursing very frequently. Usually 7 times a day, give or take, even if I work. This past week, you have actually nursed upwards of 11 times a day. Like I said…growth spurt? More teeth? You still have only two teeth. You have been eating three 4.5oz jars of baby food a day, plus puffs and other snacks like yogurt melts and pieces of table food as we let you. You feed yourself with your hands very well! You haven’t had a major dislike for anything we have given you yet, either.

We love you so much, Nathan, and are so proud of the little boy you are becoming. You are such a joy and delight to our family! I hope you always know how much we love you and how special you are to us.



Love,
Mommy



Meeting Emma for the first time, September



Nathan and Mommy at the Duck Pond, September 24th

Nathan and Mamaw at Swim Class

Big Guy standing at Mamaw's

Nathan's First trip to the Zoo, September 18th

Katie thought Nathan needed more toys, September 5th

Nathan's 2nd Haircut, September 1st

At Dr. H's for an appointment, August 31st

Riding the Train at the Zoo, September 18th

Playing at the Zoo

Closing Shop

I think I am about done pumping. I know, I know. The going-ons of my milk production and supply are of the utmost importance, lol, but it is a big milestone for me.

I had to look back and see when I got to this point last time because I couldn't remember how far along I made it. Turns out it was almost the same length of time. I pumped at work for 9 months and 26 days with Katie. The last time I pumped was on September 16th, making it 9 months and 19 days with Nathan.

This time is a bit different since Nathan nurses at home, and I am not exclusively pumping. I started pumping only at work over a month ago because Nathan was nursing so much when I was home. Today alone I nursed Nathan 4 times and worked over 12 hours.

I have an over abundance of frozen milk; last time I checked, I had enough milk for Nathan for 7 months at the amount he was drinking then. I feel like it is not as crucial that I pump frozen milk for him now as it was earlier. And for awhile, I was afraid my regular supply would drop if I didn't pump at work, but I have been doing okay the last week or so.
While I am pretty sure the last time was the last time, I am hesitant to close up shop. I know Nathan is growing up right before my eyes and while we have many more months of breastfeeding ahead, I know it will be over before I know it. I know how fast my Boo Bear grew up, and I don't want to blink. I am enjoying nursing my little boy for as long as I can!

Kaitlyn: 32 months old

Boo Bear,

I have been meaning to do an update for you for awhile now. I wanted to update around 30months, but here we are at 32 and still no update! Ugh! Time slips away from me so quickly. Anyway, life at our house has been very chaotic just the same.

You are such a big girl and quite the big helper nowadays! I can’t believe how much of a preschooler you have become in the past eight months. You are putting together your thoughts so well, you are very coordinated and you seem to learn more and more all the time.  You have a mind of your own though, and you have been testing us much more in the past couple of months.  I have a feeling the terrible three’s are right around the corner, and I must admit, mommy is scared!

You have been talking more for awhile now. May 11^th you were saying “Where are you Daddy?” “Found you Daddy!” Your first five word sentence was shortly after that. You said “Don’t want it Daddy’s Car!” when you wanted to go with Mamaw on May 26^th. Now you just talk all the time. When you wake up in the morning, you give Bubba a huge smile and you tell him “Good Morning Bubba! I love you good boy!” You tell me things all day long; about the toys that you are playing with, crying out for “my baby doll!” when we are leaving and your baby is on the bed, telling me “Mamaw’s girl” when I ask you if you are Daddy’s Girl or Mamaw’s girl. You tell me to wait so that you can get your shoes…and your glasses…when we are heading out. You asked to “start the car” almost all of the time when we get in the car. You love to ask for candy and tell me with your finger up “have just one. Just one okay? Okay!” You tell me “I do it” for almost everything. Daddy told me last night you wanted to make your own peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

You love to cook. You drag your little chairs or “my stool” at home and at Mamaw’s house to help us out in the kitchen. Mamaw really likes having you help her, and you guys even made cupcakes together. You saw her cupcake holder in the garage and got so excited. You took it inside and kept exclaiming “birthday!” After y’all made the cupcakes, you decided they were “my birthday” and didn’t want to share with anyone. ( Aunt Tara’s baby Emma was just born this week and when I told you, you told me “I love birthdays!”) You also like to pretend to cook and dump out all your Tupperware dishes and play food to cook. I see you cooking eggs and corn on your campfire most of the time.

You love to be outdoors and would spend all of your time at the pool or in the park if you could. You run everywhere you want to go and love to go for wagon rides, shoulder rides and zoom around the yard in your Mustang. You also like to ride on your tricycle, although that is mostly indoors. Daddy taught you how to fly a kite this summer and you had so much fun chasing the “balloon” around in the street! You love to go to SeaWorld, “go Elmo,” and ask to “feed the dolphins” before we go every time. Feeding the dolphins after we swim has become a special treat for you and Mamaw.

We put you in swimming classes the first part of February and you are doing so well in them! You are in the Baby and Me II class right now and will be ready to move up to the preschool class in January after you turn three. You love to go down the slide on your belly and run across the blue floatie to jump in the water. Daddy barely makes it to the end of the floatie before you are in the water. You know how to get out of the pool by yourself, you are learning how to float on your back and can go under water for a few seconds. You even are able to scoot down the side of the pool all by yourself! I am so glad that we put you in swimming as you seem to really enjoy it.

You are starting to sing more and sing Happy Birthday, Twinkle Little Star and You Are My Sunshine. Daddy said that you like to sing the theme song from Doc Mcstuffins, too.  You are watching more TV shows than I would like, but I guess it’s okay. You watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Doc Mcstuffins, Elmo’s World DVD’s, Toy Story I, II, III, The Muppets and Finding Nemo. You have started to watch more of the Disney Princess Movies, although your favorite movie is Toy Story by far. You love to ask to go to grandma’s house and watch Toy Story over and over and over.  Ad nauseum.

One of my favorite thing about being a mommy to two kiddos is your interaction with Nathan. Bubba is finally able to play with you and you love to spend time with your brother. You always ask about him when he isn’t with you and when he is around, you are such a big helper in caring for him. You hear him when he cries and you tell Mommy and bring Bubba his pacifier. You like to give him hugs and kisses, sometimes a little bit too harshly, but you are well intended. Just this past month, you have started trying to play “get you!” with Nathan. When he crawls after you, you shriek and run away screaming “get you bubba!” Nathan has the biggest smile crawling after you! Of course, you are also having to learn to share with Nathan and have been caught several times taking his toys from him, but that is a part of having a sibling and you will both have to learn to play together nicely.

The next biggest thing that we need to work on with you is using the big girl potty. Just before Nathan was born, you were so interested in the potty. You liked to watch us go to the potty, see what was in it, flush it, sit on it. Now you want nothing to do with it. In July when you were two and a half, we tried to get you to wear some panties and use the potty without any luck. You screamed and cried and wouldn’t even let us put your underwear on you. You even had picked out some Elmo panties from Target, but no luck! I am planning to try again with you very soon; I am ready for you to be a big girl with your underwear at least!

Other cute tid-bits:

-Whenever you are misbehaving, you tell me “gotta listen, gotta listen mommy!” At least you are hearing me…

-You love to have your babies play with Nathan’s toys and highchair. You give them bottles and pacifiers and push them around in their stroller for walks. You even breastfeed your babies and try to pump with mommy’s breast pump.

-You like going to the duck pond at Heritage Park with Mommy and to Chick-fil-a to play in the toddler play area. When we drive by, you point out “CHICKFILA” and you ask to go when we are at home.

-Uncle Jonathan is amazing to you! He spoils you rotten and you ask for him frequently. You call him “Uncle Jon” or “Jonan.” He always seems to have time to be silly with you, help you water the flowers or take you for a swim in the hot tub.

-You like to help feed Nathan and will get his food from the pantry for Gam Gam, Mamaw or Mommy when we are feeding him.

-You are able to get into the refrigerator to snack on. I have the jello, cheese, milk and juice containers down where you can get them now with your stool.

-You sleep with mommy and daddy nowadays. Daddy loves to put you to sleep and this is your special time with him at the end of the day.

-You have weekly sleepovers at Mamaw’s house and will ask to “stay Mamaw’s house” every Friday night. Sometimes Saturday nights, too, and you certainly don’t wanna come home with daddy and I come Sunday night. I was (still am) a Grandma’s girl, too.
-You are becoming more bossy and tell Kalli "No Kalli!" while you shake your finger at her. You also tell Bubba "No Sir!" when he is getting into things he shouldn't be (like the wine bottles.)

We love you so much, Katie, and you are mommy’s little ray of sunshine. No matter how bad a day I have or how much you don’t listen, I will always love you more than life itself. I am so proud to be your mommy.

Love,

Mommy



Snuggling with Daddy, August 15, 2012



Getting a Bang Trim with Janet, Sept 1, 2012



Swining at Aunt Tara's, August 8, 2012

My little cutie pie!, July 2012

Princess Sleeping, mid-August 2012

Katie at St. Anthony de Padua, August 5, 2012



Crackle Barrel with Uncle Jon, Gam Gam and Great-Grandpa, August 31, 2012



Nathan and Katie playing at Mamaw's House, July 2012



Going to Home Depot, July 28, 2012



Helping Grandma Bake, mid-August 2012



Welcome Baby Emma!

My best friend's little girl was born this past Wednesday, September 5th. We have all been (im)patiently waiting this sweet little girl's arrival for quite some time. She is so adorable! I am in love!

Emma Grace
2:10pm
6lbs 3oz
19.5 inches