Cheerios

Eli was looking in the kitchen cabinet and I was washing dishes. One moment I looked at him and he was just playing with the food boxes and the next moment I looked down and this is what I saw...!

First Day in Mexico City

Today was our first full day in Mexico City. Cesar, Eli, and I are here on vacation for 10 days. Cesar grew up here and can't believe he is back here after 12 years! We saw a lot today! We walked around Cesar's old high school. It was very nice- it is a church high school and felt very peaceful compared to right outside of its gates. Mexico City is a busy busy city! There are people everywhere, cars everywhere, and horns honking for no known reason. People here drive so aggressivly and crazy. It scares me to death. We rented a car and Cesar did a good job driving today. I actually have anxiety when I am in the car with other people in Denver, but here it is magnified so much. Drivers swerve in and out of traffic, run red lights, come within a couple inches of hitting other cars, pedistrians, and cyclists. The other very difficult thing about driving in Mexico City is the lack of signs, and confusing intersections. We got lost so much today which is scary in itself. Mexico is very colorful, which I like. Houses, shops, and even freeway signs are full of color. One interesting thing Cesar pointed out is that in America it is the rich people that live on hills (like in L.A.), but here the poorer people live on the hillsides. We drove through pretty poor neighborhoods, but not the poorest, and also some nicer ones too. We saw a building downtown that has a tree growing out of it. We also went to a cool mall and ate at the food court. There are people at street corners selling things which is to be expected, but what I did not expect was to see a few people in the middle of the freeway selling things! It is like people don't even look concerned if they are almost hit by a car. I also saw a few mothers with their babies selling things at street corners, I felt lucky and blessed to be able to stay home with Eli and not have to work. One of the moms was breast feeding her baby which was in a sling and selling pinantas at the same time! It was hot today too. Much different than the weather when we left Denver. I was wearing a thin long sleeve shirt and was wishing a had a short sleeve on.
Eli is soundly sleeping in the hotel room now and I will be going to sleep pretty soon too. It was a long tiring day!

Taking a Snowy Walk

This was Eli's first time to walk in snow. He liked it until he fell into a bush- it was covered in snow and he didn't realize how soft snow is I guess. He got snow on his face and didn't like that at all. Until that, he was having so much fun. I need to work on his snow outfit- it is not very color coordinated!

Snowy Day

Thanksgiving

Eli playing smoosh face.
Eli touching Tony's beard- he was kind of scard of him at first.

Eli playing in the basement.

Our Thanksgiving was great! We spent the day at my parent's house in Parker around family and friends. I was able to relax and really enjoy myself. Cesar and Eli had fun too. Eli started walking kind of a lot on Thanksgiving. It was fun for everyone to get to see him and he was so proud of himself! I didn't realize I only took pictures of Eli. Oh well.

We spent the night at my parent's house also. It was actually the first time we have been away for the night ever since Eli was born! Eli did great and slept through the entire night- only the forth time in his whole life. Once Eli went to sleep Cesar and I went in the hottub. It was great and relaxing. Cesar woke up at four something in the morning to go shopping. I stayed in bed until seven. It was a great day and week!

Blessings

Our family has been so blessed the last couple of years. Ever since Cesar and I got married great things have happened. Here is a list:
1. We bought and sold our house on Nile and made some money.
2. We paid off all our debt (except Mortgage of course).
3. Cesar got a much needed job working for my dad.
4. Eli was born!
5. Cesar got accepted into grad school.
6. Cesar's jeep is still working.
I believe all these things are blessings from Heavenly Father. There are some things I know I am forgetting, and also all the numerous smaller blessings that happen daily. I'm so grateful. I love my life and will try not to complain so much!

Leaky Pipe

Early last Wednesday morning I hear a strange sound coming from the kitchen. I went downstairs to investigate and saw a huge bubble on the ceiling in the dining room! The sound was a stream of water falling out of the bubble onto Eli's high chair. I ran upstairs and told Cesar to get up becuase the ceiling was going to fall! He rushed down and cut into the bubble to let all the water come out. Then he cut a hole in the ceiling and found a leaky pipe. He said it has probably been leaking since he redid our bathroom about a year and a half ago. He thinks he may have broken the pipe when he had taken the toliet out to put the tile down in the bathroom. He put a new pipe in, but has not yet put new dry wall up. I'm glad Cesar is so good and knowlegeable about home repairs because I know I am not. I wish I had a picture of what the big bubble looked like when I first discovered it, but I don't. I did take a picture of Cesar checking things out though.

Passport

Today we applied for Eli's passport. We will need it in December when we travel to Mexico City. We will be there for ten days including Christmas. This will be my first Christmas away from my family. I'm excited to see where Cesar grew up and meet some of his relatives including his dad's mom. Cesar has not been back to Mexico since he moved when he was 18, so I know he is very excited!

I am very nervous to travel with Eli - this will be his first trip. I am trying not to worry too much and just have faith that things will be fine.

Cesar took all of our passport photos. It definetly beats the fifteen dollars they charge at the postoffice for two photos.

Happy Halloween!

Cesar - The Furniture Maker

Cesar is a great furniture maker. He is very talented and enjoys working with wood. I am impressed with his ability to dream up an idea, put it on paper, and then make it a reality. Here is some of his work:

Building our entertainment center


The finished product.

Complete with a glass water wall in the back

Building our bed

He also made the window bench and night table in our bedroom.

Thanks Cesar for all your hard work in making our home beautiful!

3 out of 365

I love sleeping. I take a nap a few times a week and try to go to bed early too.

In the past 365 days I have slept through the night zero times. Eli has slept through the entire night 3 times only, and on those nights, I of course was worried that he hadn't woken up yet, I did not sleep very well.

One of the things I was most worried about was not getting enough sleep with having a baby. I think I have gotten enough sleep and don't feel sleep deprived- I just can not wait until the next night I sleep soundly all night long. That will be a great day.

Happy Birthday Eli!

Eli is one! He had a great birthday. We celebrated at my parent't house with cake, presents, and singing. We also had a cake party on his actual birthday- Oct. 10th at our house. I made carrot cake and apple cake- yum! Eli liked the cake, but mostly he loved the attention. He is such a great boy. Here are a few things about him:

He loves to dance anytime he hears music from the radio, TV, toys, and even when I sing!

He loves looking at books.

He is a good eater and usually finishes everything I give him.

He gives Cesar and I pats and hugs. He also likes to hug his teddy bear.

Dual Citizenship

Eli now has dual citizenship - United States and Mexico. We went to the Mexican consulate and filled out the paper work yesterday. We hope to travel to Mexico soon to see Cesar's family. Cesar has not been back since he moved to this country 12 years ago! In about another four years Cesar will be able to become a US citizen and have dual citizenship too!

Pumpkins

Yesterday we walked over to Nick's Garden Center across the street. It was fun. They have mazes, tons of pumpkins, jumping castles, and good produce. We went with my mom and nephew.

Mondays

I love Mondays! I always feel rejuvenated and more energetic than any other day.
Mondays I usually do a lot of stuff - laundry, clean, cook. I feel better when I am busy and productive as opposed to doing nothing. I try to remind myself of that when I slip into a lazy mood, but sometimes I just want to do nothing.

Fall Colors

I lived in Salt Lake City for a brief time five years ago. I remember driving around and noticing the mountains looked red. For a couple of days, I just thought that was weird and wondered why. Then I realized that the leaves were changing to red because it was Autumn. Pretty dumb, right? I grew up in Houston and don't remember the season changes.

Here in Colorado, Fall has arrived! I love seeing the leaves changing colors and falling, I like the cooler weather, and I like it getting darker a little earlier. The only thing I don't like about Fall, is I know Winter is next....

Therapy for my bad mood

Today I was in a bad mood. Eli did not take either of his naps and I had to come home earlier that expected from Parker (my parent's house). The past year I have not been able to bounce back from unexpected things as easily as I used to. I'm not sure why, for now, I will blame it on having a baby and possibly hormone changes. Anyways, I hate the way I have become so uptight and not able to go with the flow like I used to.

I had the idea to list the people I think I influenced today with my bad mood- maybe if I see it written next time I will choose differently next time.

1. Eli 2. Mom 3. Cesar 4. LaResa 5. Ivaras 6. Me



I have a hard time making decisions. It bugs me badly. It's like I have to have validation from the person I'm with (Cesar, mom, etc...) Today I went to work at LaResa's house. My grandma is visiting and I knew I wanted to see her while I was in Parker today. I didn't know if I should try to put Eli to sleep for his first nap at LaResa's house or just go to my mom's and try there, or just totally forget the nap. So...I decided to try at my mom's. It didn't work, and then I got really stressed out and anxious. From that point on, I found it really hard to just enjoy myself. I miss so much going to my paren'ts house and relaxing and enjoying it. But the truth lately has been I am always anxious when I am there because we are missing Eli's nap or bedtime. My parent's got a new hot tub today. I would love to be able to go and just sit in it and relax. The truth is I haven't been able to relax all year. I am constantly thinking about getting a massage, but haven't been able to yet. I love being a mom and I love Eli soooo much! I am grateful to Heavenly Father for allowing me to be Eli's mom and trusting me with one of his sons. I feel ungrateful and selfish for complaining about motherhood, but it is how I feel. It is a big trail for me and I'm grateful for it because I know I will eventually learn what I need to learn. I think I need to learn about the value of work, about love, about sacrifice, humility, and most of all faith.

Texas Vacation 2005

I have not been on a vacation in an entire year. so I decided to relive one of my past vacations. Cesar and I went to Texas in June 2005. We had only been dating a few months, but somehow I felt comfortable enough to invite him to go with me, and he accepted. We had a great time. We went to Austin, Houston, Galveston, Dallas and San Antonio. We saw a lot of cool things, stayed with nice friends and family, drove a lot, and got to know each other better. It was a great week. I remember going to the water wall in Houston and just laying on the grass and relaxing. The sun felt wonderful! We also had a picnic with my old roommate in Dallas. Cesar and I stayed at my aunt's house in Houston and made pancakes in the morning- a lot of them! We saw Wayne "the train" Hancock in Austin and walked around UT. We rode the light rail into downtown Houston and walked around. We went to the art museum and walked around Miller Outdoor Theatre. We went to Schlitterbaun Water park in New Brunsfels and met a couple of friends on the River Walk in San Antonio. It was great to do so many things in one week!

*Have you seen the Texas Travel commercial lately? This post was partly inspired by it.

15 Things

5 Things I love about Cesar

1. He has so much faith.
2. He is so kind to everyone and is always willing to help.

3. He appreciates the things I do for him and Eli and tells me.

4. He is super talented and has great ideas.

5. He takes things as they come and deals with things nicely.

5 Things I love about Eli

1. He pats my back when I pat him.

2. He sleeps well.

3. He is so brave.

4. He looks at books for a long time and studies the pages.

5. He laughs and smiles so much.

5 Things I am grateful for Today

1. The sunshine and wonderful breeze.
2. Family. It was so nice to talk to my sister today on the phone.
3. Friends. A friend and her baby came over today. Her baby is the exact same age as Eli. It was great to hang out together.
4. Neighbors. I have gotten to know several neighbors over the last year. It is nice to know who you live by.
5. KenKen puzzle. I found a new puzzle in the Readers Digest today. It is similar to sudoku.

Washington Park/ New Blog

Eli and I met my friend at Wash Park today. We had a nice picnic and walked around the park. The weather was perfect and it was nice to be at such a happening place. I love being around a lot of people and just watching them. We saw people on bikes, lots of strollers, many dogs, people taking pictures, people playing volleyball, joggers, families enjoying time together, and more. Eli had a great time seeing all the people and dogs. He makes a small woof sound when he sees dogs now. It is so cute. After we left the park we went and saw Cesar at work. Eli gets so super excited when he sees his dad! He starts smiling so big and laughs too. I love it and know that Cesar loves it too!

Eli is now sleeping, Cesar is at the wood shop at school making a model that is due Monday, and I am writing this. I have been reading other people's blogs lately and decided to make my own. I have enjoyed reading about people's day to day lives, and thought I may enjoy writing about mine too. I used to be pretty dilligent about writing in my journal, but the last few years I have not. I feel a sense of guilt for not writing about things when I first got married and when Eli was born. I figured all I can do now, is start writing!