Christmas 2012

We had a nice Christmas this year- our first in our new house.

 Church Christmas Party

 Carousel at Bass Pro Shops

 Diego loved this train!  He couldn't even be torn away from it to sit on Santa's lap, so only Eli did.

 Eli admiring the stockings on Christmas morning.

 Getting ready to open presents.

 Eli playing Angry Bird Space game- one of his new presents.

 Family picture after opening presents at my parent's house.

Recent Happenings

 Eli and Diego are pretty sweet brothers; they play nicely with each other for the most part.  They do fight some, but I can usually count on them being good playmates together.

 Eli went on his first field trip in December.  He got to ride the school bus!  They went to Four Mile Historic Park.

 Diego trying to hold Eli's hand while they were sitting on the couch.  He is such a love bug!

Cesar and I went to his Triunity holiday party at Maggiannos. We had a good time and ate good food. We had gone to that restaurant once before to celebrate our engagement 7 years ago. It was nice to go back.

 

 

 Cesar has been super busy with kitchen stuff.  It is taking way longer than we had anticipated to finish all the house renovations.  Here is the cement mixer he rented from Home Depot so he could make our countertops.  He was a bit nervous because he had never done this before, but it all worked out- it always seems to work out for Cesar :).

 While Cesar was busy in the garage with the cement, the boys and I got to go to Casa Bonita with my family to celebrate my mom's 62nd birthday.  My aunt Melinda and her boys were in town too.  Some of the kids performed on the stage that was in the room that we were eating in.  Here is Eli dancing on stage- he is quite a dancer and performer.

Eli actually ended up leaving Casa Bonita in a bad mood. He went into the little haunted house they have there and got scared and said he never wanted to go back.

 

 

 We also had a fun ice skating family outing in Castle Rock.  It was all our family and Kristy's family too.  The kids had fun although Diego was scared at first.  I stayed off the ice because I'm pregnant.  We had hot chocolate and snacks to eat.  It was fun.

And of course we had our traditional cookie decorating and carolling at my parent's house.  I'm grateful my parent's put so much effort into traditions and family get togethers- thank you mom and dad!

Waiting for Ruby

We are awaiting Ruby's arrival any day now.  My due date is Feb. 8th.  My doctor said she would be suprised if I made it to the due date though.  I'm quite nervous about labor and delivery.  I know as soon as I feel a contraction I will be on my way to the hospital so I can hopefully avoid another suprise home birth.  Even worse than a home birth would be a car birth, I think, especially if it is a friend or neighbor's car!  I'm trying to have faith that everything will work out smoothly.

I am feeling big and pregnant.  I am pretty uncomfortable these days, especially at night.  But overall this pregnancy was pretty easy, probably easier than both boys.  I didn't have as much ligament pain or heartburn this time as the other two pregnancies.  I have gained a little more than the other pregnancies though.  I feel like I have no patience lately and get bothered by the smallest little things.  I am trying to still be a nice mommy to Eli and Diego, but I feel bad for them sometimes.

I am nervous to have a third kid.  I know the first few months will be an adjustment and I hope I can stay calm and try to enjoy my last newborn. 

Eli and Diego talk about Ruby everyday now.  They were pretending this morning to be baby Ruby.  They are excited to have a baby sister around, I hope they stay so excited when she actually arrives.

Tumbling Class

Eli is in a tumbling class for the month of January.  It is at the rec center just down the street from our home.  He likes it.  It only cost $15 for 4 45 min. classes- that is pretty good priced.  I signed Eli and Diego up for another month of tumbling, but not until May and Eli will have soccer starting mid March through the beginning of May.  My boys are growing up!  

Kitchen Cabinet Installation

Saturday we installed our kitchen cabinets! It was quite a job. The kitchen is looking good and I'm super excited to be closer to having a full functioning kitchen after nearly 3 months without one! I am so impressed with Cesar and his talent. He designed the kitchen, built everything, painted it all, and installed. It must be cool to see something that you dreamed up become reality.

Painting in the garage.  This part was not one of Cesar's favorite parts, but he got it done!

This is one of my favorite pieces- the food cabinets.  There are sliding doors and all the food fits inside. 

Eli enjoyed helping Cesar measure, and he especially liked being on top of the refrigerator!

Everyone had to use all their muscles- the cabinets are really heavy!

This is one (out of three) pieces that hang from the ceiling.

Muscle power!

We rented this lift machine to help with the super heavy pieces.

At the end of the day.  A lot still needs to be done - drawers and doors, the island, and the countertops - but I already love the way it looks!

The Musuem and the Dentist

Last week the boys and I went to the musuem.  They were really excited to see the dinosaurs.  I love living so close (10-15 min. away) to the musuem and zoo!  It makes it easy to just go for a couple of hours on the free days.

I took the boys to the dentist for a check-up.  They both did really well!  Eli unfortunately has a cavity that needs to be filled and they told me that Diego needs to stop sucking his thumb because it is pushing his teeth.  Diego sucks his thumb a lot!  I'm not sure how to get him to stop.  Eli still sucks his thumb at night, but it is not moving his teeth so he doesn't really need to stop. 

Halloween 2012

We had a nice busy Halloween this year.  The boys were dressed in their costumes all day.  We went to Ivaras' birthday party in the morning, Eli had a party and parade at school in the afternoon, and in the evening we went trick-or-treating.  It was a nice night and not too cold.  It was nice to go in our new neighborhood and meet some new neighbors too.  My parents met us while we were trick-or-treating in their costumes.  My dad walked up to Diego and pretty much right away Diego said "Grandpa", so he wasn't fooled.  Diego was actually sick and after only a few houses, he sat in the stroller while we rolled him around and Eli continued trick-or-treating.  Then I came home and put Diego to bed while Cesar and Eli did more trick-or-treating and I sat on the porch and enjoyed the night.  I really love my family and my new neighborhood!