I can't add images to my blog right now. More blogs to come, I just can't upload pics.

Baptism, Baby Shower, Cookout

Today was a hella busy day. I got up early to head to Lewisville to get my mom from my sister's house. She participates in a produce co-op, where they all pitch in $15-$20 and get loads and loads of fresh produce. Well, she sent me home with some goodies that she wasn't going to get to and I was very appreciative. mmmm...I love fresh cilantro! Anyway, after picking up Mom, we grabbed some breakfast to go.

When we got home, we finished up Weeds. My mom actually got a bit hooked on it! Too bad the last episode was a big cliffhanger, so we have to wait until June for the next season to be on DVD. Anyway, afterwards, we got ready to go to a baptism for my friend's twin girls.

We got there 45 minutes early (yeah, I couldn't believe I was early either!) and witnessed a triple wedding. It was like a reality slap. It is so easy to get caught up in the material world, especially when it comes to weddings. You can really go overboard with spending money. But these three weddings were very simple: artificial flowers, no over the top decorations, or suits, or attendants. The grooms in simple suits, the brides in inexpensive gowns, but they still looked very beautiful! Then again, I've yet to see an ugly bride. The baptisms were lovely as well. Oh, and I failed to mention that all of this was in Spanish. While Don didn't understand what they were saying, he did know what was going on. That's the beauty of the Catholic faith, the order of the mass is the same in any language.

Afterwards, we booked it on over to the Brut Champagne tasting room for the baby shower. Talk about an extreme change in environment. Mom stayed home and watched Mari and Don and I lived it up. I tasted a really great sparkling shiraz. The shower was nice and it was great to see those friends again.

Then, we headed on over to my friend's house to have a cookout in honor of the girl's baptism. We had some delicious meat and mole. Mmmmm...the last time I had mole was at her baby shower and it was so good then too. I love how welcoming her family is. Plus, they were able to meet Mari for the first time. We were there for several hours until we totally lost our shine. We came home to pass out!

I had so much fun hanging out with mom and Don. Sidenote: while at the church, they were setting up for a festival called a Jamaica (ha-my-cah). They had these big bundles of cables leading to the booths for the vendors. Well, mom is in her scooter and these cables were at the base of the ramp. She sped up to jump the cables like she was a participant in X-games. Sure enough, she caught some air and landed perfectly. I couldn't quit laughing. There was mom, with a big smile on her face, riding her red scooter. That's how I always remember mom: smiling, innocently in the moment, and genuinely happy.

Neighbor's Tree

This is the Bradford Pear that had fallen during the storm. Don was a good Samaritan and went over to help cut down the tree. Two chainsaws, lots of elbow grease and less than two hours later and they had the tree down. Our neighbor was generous enough to let us have the extra wood so we could burn it for firewood next winter. Anyway, just had to share this image.

How was everyone else? Did you get some storm damage?

9 weeks, busy day

It's been storming up something fierce around here. Luckily, nothing happened to our house. Currently, we are fenceless so our fence didn't fall down. Heck, my petunias went unaffected as well. Unfortunately, our neighbor's Bradford Pear fell over nearly on his house. WHOA!

My brother came up from Austin for a brief visit. He took us out to eat dinner at Mi Cocina and he even paid. Sniff, sniff...I can't believe how grown he is. It was a proud moment for me. Afterwards, we went to Ikea so I could give him my opinion on a few beds he was looking at. I think he found the one he wants and I can't wait to head down to Austin to check out his new place. Anyway, on Thursday he was heading back, so we loaded up all of the stuff I promised him: table with chairs, bookshelf, end table, TV, stock pot, knives, a couple of framed paintings, and two rugs. I can't believe he fit all of that in his Xterra, but he did. Then, he loaded his TomTom and was off. Amazing how he doesn't get as lost ever since he's had his GPS unit. I mean he still gets lost because he is distracted, but it's all good.

Afterwards, we took Mari for her 2 month checkup. She was scheduled to get her vaccines: 5 shots and 1 oral. I'm still on the fence about the vaccines, but Don and I both made the decision that early on she'd get them. I'd asked Don to go to the doctor with me because I was unsure how I was going to react. I has the same anxiety I used to get right before I'd have my own shots. Anyway, we went there and the nurse was very calm, detailing what was going to happen. She said she'd be quick and she was. I'd never heard Mari shriek before and it just broke my heart. Just because I'd prepared myself for this moment didn't mean I didn't want to grab one of those needles and shove it smack dab into her jugular. Poor baby. Fortunately, she'd had some Tylenol before the appointment and had eaten immediately after the shots. My heart was broken and I admit, I cried. I needed Don to hold my hand and we're still going to research more of the vaccines that they offer. Luckily, my doctor is open to us altering her vaccine schedule. Thank you Julie for all of your information and we'll be reading it more closely for the next time around.

The bright side is that she's 10 and a half pounds and 23 inches long. She's healthy and progressing really well. I'm so grateful we have a healthy and happy baby. Here she is when we took her home. She just sat in her swing sleeping away peacefully and quietly. She took another dose of Tylenol and after that she was back to her normal self. No irritability, no fever, just a little bit of tenderness in her thighs.

We've not taken those bluebonnet pics yet. Soon, though, very soon. Hopefully the weather will cooperate so we can get them!

Mo at the park

It was a cloudy day. Originally, we'd planned on going to the Arboretum for pictures, but neither of us was feeling it. Instead we headed to Prairie Creek park, a favorite photo place of mine, for some quick shots. Mari was fast asleep and we spent about 15 minutes total taking the shots.

We were pretty tired from the day before. We'd gone to Mockinbird Station to check out Urban Outfitters. After that, we went over to grab a bite to eat at Taco Diner, then Sprinkles for dessert. We quite possibly over-indulged, hence the bluesy laziness on Tuesday.

When we got home, we napped. That night he went to see The Mars Volta. There was a pretty big storm that came through, but that wasn't the last of that storm. Oh well. Anyway, it was a great visit with him and I was sad when he had to leave.

Poor thing

We took Guapo into the vet for a routine teeth cleaning. We'd noticed he had a bump (growth) around his anus and were a little worried. Not thinking it was normal, I asked the vet to look at it before the teeth cleaning to see if it was necessary to be removed. Well, sure enough, he called us to tell us it was a perineal tumor and we should probably have it removed since we were putting him under anesthesia for the teeth cleaning. He gave us an estimate (OUCH!) and we agreed to having the procedure done. Poor thing has to walk around with this Elizabethan collar for the next 9 days. Hopefully it'll go by fast.

Unfortunately, he's been running into everything and he wants to scoot his butt across the carpet. I can't imagine he's comfortable. And when he runs into things, you can't help but laugh a little and feel sorry for him a lot. Oh well. He'll be well soon enough. At least he's back to his normal self and not lethargic like when I first picked him up.

Deep Ellum Arts Festival

Sunday was an incredible day! The weather was perfect. We opted to head to the Deep Ellum Arts festival. There were definitely quite a few sights to see and a lot of pretty talented artists on display. I also enjoyed the music.

But most of all, I loved the food! Mmmmm...I love those ribbon fries. I'm starting to see them at more of these festivals instead of just the fair. They are so greasy and fried, but man, they are so yummy! Especially with Valentina sauce and a bit of ketchup! Delightful. Of course I probably need to run another 5K to work it off, but I'd gladly do it! Here is a shot of one of the trays of fries. Complete with Valentina sauce, ketchup, and a bit of ranch in the corner.

We enjoyed seeing all of the little dogs running around. Mari was up for most of the festival. She was quite alert and very happy despite being pretty hot. Any time we had the chance to sit in the shade, we did. Here she is flying under the trees.

First 5K!

We ran in the Seton Soles 5K Run/Walk on Saturday. This was Mari's first 5K and it wasn't too bad.

I got up at 4:30 for her first morning feeding and opted to not go back to sleep since we had to be at the race at 6:30. Even though I didn't get to bed until 1:30 (yeah, I was exhausted!), I knew it was going to be a great run. By the time she finished eating and I changed her, it was after 5 and I knew if I went to back to bed, I'd be really cranky and sleepy. Instead I got dressed and figured I'd go for a coffee run. Who know Starbucks didn't open until 6 on the weekends?? Bleh! That didn't make me happy. It was really chilly outside too.

When I got home, I added a couple of other layers and planned to add a few more layers to Mari. By this time, Will was up and was ready. I logged in online to verify where we needed to park and then we headed to Starbucks. Cafe Mocha for Don, Cinnamon Dolce Latte for me...nonfat milk, no whip, at 140 degrees. Good stuff!

Now that I had my go-juice, I went back home and loaded up the car and baby. We headed to the race. I had those pre-race jitters. My strategy wasn't so much to run it, but to finish it in a decent time. I figured I'd jog for a bit, walk for a bit, alternating like that until we finished. The race started and off we went. I turned on the ipod and coming out of the speakers of the jogging stroller was my calm and relaxing mix. Since I was towards the back when the race began, I had to maneuver through several people until I got to a comfortable level. By the time the race started, it was significantly warmer and I was feeling more awake.

The first mile was right at 11 minutes. Not too shabby considering the first half mile was start-stop mess. The second mile was at 10 minutes. I admit I had to stop and walk for a little bit. I was getting paranoid that I was going to wet my pants. I was certain this was going to happen. I'd been having some accidents in recent weeks when I'd been working out or running. I was terribly afraid this was going to happen, so I kept stopping at the on-set of any pressure. That last mile I was determined to get it under 9 minutes, so I kicked it in gear. There was a bit of a hill to conquer and I was on an 8.5 minute mile pace when my little one gently reminded me that I was a mommy. Thank God I brought the bottle. I pulled off to the side and we sat on the curb for her feeding. She was much happier and better, but was not going to let me put her back in the stroller. So I held her and we walked. Don and Will had finished the race and came walking back to catch up with me. Will took over the stroller and Don held Mari for a bit. He offered to let me run to finish strong, but I figured I'd just walk it out to the end. He handed her back to me and we crossed the line at 48 minutes. I didn't think that was too bad especially since I sat for nearly 10 minutes feeding her! We survived the first 5K! Wahoo!

Afterwards, we treated ourselves to the Original Pancake House. Gotta love those fresh banana pancakes! When I got home, I immediately took a warm shower and crashed out for a couple of hours. Don and Will went to trim trees. When they made it home, we headed to Arbor Hills so they could do some biking. I leisurely walked with Mari to stretch my legs while they rode. My hip joint was pretty tight and I realized that I was getting older! ha ha! Then, we were bad again and had Mooyah for lunch. I absolutely love these burgers and I'm adding them to my faves list!

That night, my sister came over to watch Mari so we could have a date. Originally we were going to go to a movie, but it was sold out. Instead, we headed for oysters, but before that we went to Mi Cocina for drinks. Another late night for me, but well worth it!

Busy, busy, busy day!

First Baseball Game

Don was picked by one of his students for teacher appreciation night at his high school. He was very honored and got to wear that student's jersey. Originally, we were supposed to go to the game on Tuesday night, but they had a plumbing accident in the infield, so the appreciation night was postponed to Friday.



Well, after an amazing dinner, we headed out to the ballfield. But first, I'll tell you about the dinner. I went to the local meat market and picked up some meat. I got a dozen tamales, thin cut ribeyes, and 1 dry aged t-bone. Don cooked up the meats and I prepped some brown rice and veggies. I steamed the broccoli and cauliflower over the top of the rice cooker. I laid small pieces of lemon over the veggies for flavoring. Delish! That dry aged beef was so tender and flavorful! I'm definitely going back to buy some more! It is of course a luxury item, but well worth the money. Next time I want a steak, instead of going to a fancier steakhouse, we'll just buy our own. Here is a picture of Guapo enjoying the bone.



Ok, so we headed up north and went to the game. It was a chilly night, but we were well prepared with several blankets and they had plenty of hot chocolate too! I found it surreal to be surrounded by all those high school students. Listening to the things they talked about cracked me up! *sigh* I definitely don't miss those days!



The team won by 10 runs (very impressive)! They handed out clappers and these nifty backpacks. Doesn't she look so cute bundled up?

2 months

My, my, my these last two months have flown by in such a furious fit of joy. I can't believe how much she's changed even in the last week. Talking with my sister, she thought it was cute at how I remark how "tall" she is. I guess most people refer to their babies as long, not tall. Here are a few highlights of what she does that I want to remember:

1. She absolutely loves standing up. When we hold her, she likes to push off with her legs and stand with some help. It's pretty funny, but I'm always telling her that she has to learn to sit before she can stand.
2. She holds her head up very well. She's actually been doing this since 4 weeks, but now she seems to have a lot of control.
3. Speaking of head control, she absolutely loves looking right. It isn't because she can't look left, she just wants to look right. I don't know what is so interesting for her when she looks over there. It makes me wonder. Maybe it has to do with how I hold her and in what direction.
4. I've started teaching her sign language. Very simple things: eat, more, mommy, daddy, I love you, and change. She seems to calm a bit right before our feedings when I show her the eat sign. When I ask her if she wants to eat, she'll look me intensely and be really calm.
5. I've begun letting Guapo interact with her more. You can tell he loves his little sister. He's always so protective of her watches over her. Of course, he has been feeling a little neglected. So much so that this week when I've nursed her in the nursery, he goes in there and will sit in a little tripod position until I allow him to jump up on the ottoman and curl up by my feet. I'm sure If I let him squeeze on the Boppy, try really hard to do that too.
6. She's smiling and cooing even more than ever. I really need to film her. And when I sing to her, she makes noises like she's trying to sing with me.
7. We had to take out the first layer in her head positioner in her car seat. Since then, the fussiness has really come to a minimum. I guess she was just a little too crowded in there.
8. She really loves hanging out in the stroller. Even more than the stroller, she loves her cradle swing. That is hands down one of the best investments we made.
9. I bought her a blanket buddy in the hospital when she was born. It is a frog head with a purple blanket and white satin trim. It sits with her in the cradle and I call it her "buddy." Well, she'll hold on to her buddy and if the light is in her eyes, she'll grab it and cover her eyes with her buddy. It is too cute!
10. She loves bath time. I can tell she has anxiety at first because of the way she looks at me. But then we put her in the warm water and she just smiles and swipes at the water.
11. Her hair has gotten longer, but it is still too fine to be put in little ponytails. I still use the clips and she fits her headbands too! I need more hair ties for her. I really do enjoy brushing her hair.
12. She looks absolutely adorable in dresses! I really wish I had more of them.
13. She frequently kicks her legs when we're changing her. She really loves to just kick her right leg. But while she's doing that, she's waving her left hand. Her left hand is her active hand. Often she will get a hold of the toys I leave near her. She reeally loves this crinkly dragon fly and gator rattle. I call that gator rattler her gator-aid.
14. I love her little feet. They've grown and filled out, but more than that, I love how she grips me with her toes.
15. It breaks my heart when I hear her congested. I have to put a few saline drops in her nose and let them sit, then I'll suction her out. Invariably, I'll expel bits of mucus that surprise me with their size. No wonder she has difficulty breathing. Poor thing. But that look of gratitude and relaxation after I get it out is priceless. Expecially because she was so irritable just moments before.
16. Speaking of irritation, I also don't like it when she has gas. I'm able to deciper the gassy cry. Instantly when I give her the mylicon drops, she's quiet again. I don't know what they put in that stuff to make babies love it, but I am grateful!
17. She's starting to pull herself up a bit, almost like a miniature sit up. She'll grip my fingers with her hands and I don't have to hardly pull her up because she'll do it on her own.
18. Oh and during tummy time...she cracks me up. When she wears those socks with the rubber bottoms, she can push herself forward. She hasn't yet learned the dexterity to move her arms, but this week she's been doing push ups with her arms. She can inch worm backwards pretty good, though!
19. Her drool factor has increased quite a bit too. It cracks me up!
20. She's been doing a great job sleeping in her basinnette, but it won't be much longer before she's outgrown it. I'm certain by the time I go back to work she'll be quietly sleeping in her crib. I don't know if I'm ready for that, but she's been fairly independent so far, so maybe she's trying to let me know she's ready.

Happy April!