The Velazquez Family

The things she says!

2012-02-01T10:36:00.000-08:00

Aubri makes us laugh all the time with the things she says. A few recent things....

We were asking her a list of 20 questions we plan on asking her every birthday (thanks Chrissie!). When we asked what she wants to be when she grows up she paused. I told Jose, " She doesn't know what that means." Aubri got upset and said "Uh huh mom! I know what that" means!!" I don't think she does, because she ended up saying, "I don't want grow up anymore."

I love cherry blossoms, and got excited when we were driving and I saw a tree full of pink blossoms. I said, " That's a pretty pink tree!" Aubri didn't see it and laughed and said "Silly Mama! Trees not pink! Trees green like grass."

A few days before her birthday, Jose asked Aubri what she wanted for her birthday. Her response? "No more toys. I have some already." Instead she said she wanted clothes. Hmmm...I wonder why she didn't seem to mind the toys on her birthday!

There have been lots more that I've wanted to write down, but I can't think of them right now!

33 weeks

2012-01-31T13:52:00.000-08:00

What an exciting week! Aubri turned 2 and we had a great day celebrating her- I've got to get a post up about the festivities. She is such a crack-up. She knows exactly what she wants and made sure we knew what she wanted- down to the pink Elmo cupcakes. She had a little lunch party with her toddler cousins and a ice cream and cake party in the evening with extended family. Not to mention a Panera/Starbucks breakfast and an Olive Garden dinner (both her choices!).

Only 50 more days until my due date! With Aubri I was certain that I would go late, and went in to labor on my due date. This pregnancy I feel like I will have him early, so I really need to prepare myself in case he is late. The good news is I'm nowhere near being sick of being pregnant, and can hang in there if he decides to take his time making his appearence (lets see if I still say that in 7 weeks). But if he decides to come early, well that is great too!

I felt like we had sooo many things to get done before Ezra arrives, but thanks to Jose we got lots done this past weekend! The room is now completely painted and looks great! I loove the blue focal wall, and the tan is just the right soothing shade.

It is still a work in progress, but come in and take a look!

We got adventurous and did some original artwork. I had this football picture in mind and Jose executed it perfectly. We used paint we had on hand, and I bought the canvas 50% off. So inexpensive for a piece that we have some pride in!

Our big project was this football field growth chart. I've gotta admit I'm pretty proud with this idea I came up with all by myself. Again, Jose is the one who actually did most the work, but I still consider it a joint project! I colored matched the green in the bedding to find the perfect field color, and Jose used his new birthday power tools to cut the wood to size. Unfortunately the precision measuring,taping and painting took us a lot longer than expected, but that just might add to the sentimentality behind it. A true labor of love. Man I hope this kid likes football!

I made a banner to hang across one of his bare walls with fabric my mom and I picked out. I'm still looking for ideas to fill up this wall. Gallery wall photos? Three large frames? Anyone have any ideas??

I'm just excited the room is starting to come together! We still have a few touches we need to add- the crib bumper, new lamp, curtains, rug, frames, make the mobile....but that all will come in time (preferably after the baby showers ;-).

Other pregnancy news: no stretch marks, no weight gain this week, no cravings (unless you count junk food/sweets which I'm avoiding), no sickness, still no sign of braxton hicks, and no aches or pains. I do have lots of kicking and moving inside, a weird flat belly button, and an amazing husband who gives the best foot massages.

I started a new Bradley series! I'm teaching 3 couples who after the first week I already love. They are talkative, excited, and eager to learn. Jose is sitting in the class and we are participating along with them which is a lot of fun. I got an email from 2 more couples requesting to jump in the series, so we may be teaching 5 couples at once!

I am getting so excited to meet our little man. Glad there is only 5-9 more weeks!

32 weeks

2012-01-25T10:48:00.000-08:00

This may be the most challenging week of pregnancy so far (and by far the worst weekly picture, blah). Not because of the pregnancy, but because of a stupid cold I got that turned into a sinus infection. For the past 8 days I've had a stuffy nose. For the past 5 days I have not been able to taste or smell (do not even get me started on how miserable, depressing, frustrating, horrible this is), and for the past 4 days I've had the worst sinus pressure and headaches. As a Bradley childbirth instructor, and a natural minded mom (at least where pregnancy is concerned) I do not use medication in pregnancy. With Aubri not so much as a single Tylenol entered my mouth. So for a week I've been eating the best I can, consuming vitamin C, drinking fluids, and even resorted to using a neti-pot. At my doctor's appointment on Monday, my midwife said she needed to prescribe an antibiotic. Bummer. However by that time I had waited it out and done what I could. So yesterday I started the first the day of treatment and am happy to say I am already feeling better today. I still can barely taste and can't smell, but there is no headache! I'm praying that I keep improving!

As far as the pregnancy, I am still doing great. The doctor noticed I lost weight and asked what happened. She was impressed it was from healthy eating! I've lost an additional half pound, so my total weight gain is about 18 1/2 pounds.

Ezra loves to somersault around and I watch my belly move like a wave. We participated in a pro-life walk this weekend (hundreds of them were happening around the nation!) and I was saddened with the thought that so many don't see my baby inside me as LIFE! The pro-choice issue is something I care very much about, and it is something I want to take a stand against any chance I get. Aubri even carried a sign in her stroller, and we explained simply what the walk was for. In her words " We walk cuz Jesus loves babies in mommies' tummies."

I learned earlier in the week that my placenta was in a normal position- thank you Jesus! At my appointment the midwife said that I can return to normal activity and there were no longer any physical restrictions on me. They never told me I had any restrictions to begin with! Thank goodness everything was fine, because somewhere along the line someone forgot to mention that with a low lying placenta there were exercise, physical, and marital ;-) restrictions I was supposed to be following.

Aubri got to "help"at my appointment again. She holds the tape measure for the midwife and gets to push the button to retract it. When the nurse put the Doppler on my stomach, you should have seen Aubri's face! Her eyes got big, and a huge smile covered her face and she said "That's Ezra! Ezra's heart!"

Our little girl turns 2 this coming week! I can't believe it. We have a couple of small things planned for her, and she's been pretty specific about what she wants ("pink Elmo cake, candles, pinata" and for "everybody come over").

I also start teaching another round of Bradley classes this week!

31 weeks

2012-01-18T13:42:00.000-08:00

We got to see our little man again this week! He is getting big and looks great! We had a follow-up appointment to check the location of my placenta. The tech couldn't give us much info, but said it had moved up some. I'm dying to hear what my midwife has to say.

We took our parents with us to the ultrasound and somehow we all squeezed in the small room. After the ultrasound we took Aubri to the labor and delivery area so she can see where mommy will have the baby. The nurses there were all so friendly and I was reminded why I love French hospital. Since we had the extra hands to help with Aubri, we took the opportunity to pre-register. We are still 7-11 weeks away from delivery, but it feels good to have one less thing on the to do list!

We had a great trip to Big Bear lake this past weekend. We realized it has become a 30 week tradition to go to the snow (we flew to Colorado when I was 30 weeks pregnant with Aubri). I'm sure I will post much more about this weekend later.

We started eating very healthy a week and a half ago. I'm trying to follow the Bradley diet and am sticking to whole foods and no sugar. I actually lost 1 1/2 pounds- that tells you how bad I was eating before!

The uncomfortable pregnancy feeling has passed again for the time being. I guess this little guy found another way to get comfortable because I rarely feel like he is stuck under my ribs anymore. I'm glad that only lasted a week! I even sleep great without any extra pillows or support (though I wake up a little sore and stiff most mornings).

No additional work has been done to the nursery. Maybe this week we can make some more progress and I'll be able to post an update soon!

30 weeks

2012-01-10T11:28:00.000-08:00

We have hit the every two week doctor appointment time! I can't believe it. Luckily I am finally insured so those office visits won't be so pricey (though in actuality being a cash pay client works out cheaper than paying an insurance premium!). We had an appointment two days ago and had great news and a bit of not so great news. First of all, our baby is growing perfectly, has a strong heart beat, and is already head down! He was annoyed with the stomach prodding and let the midwife know he had enough by kicking her several times! Way to stick up for yourself little man!

My lab work results came back and glucose levels and most everything is great, but I also found out I'm anemic. I need to take additional iron supplements and really work hard at eating foods high in iron. Also, after my ultrasound in October the lab never sent the results to my doctor. They finally got a copy of the results. Most importantly the report said our baby was developing perfectly with no abnormalities, but it also stated I have a low lying placenta. In rare cases the placenta can block the opening of the cervix preventing a vaginal birth (my mom had this with me!), but mine wasn't that low. I need to go back for a follow-up ultrasound next week, and we are praying the uterus has pulled the placenta up higher.

This week was the first week I've started to feel pregnant. It seems like overnight my stomach grew making it a little uncomfortable to bend down or even sit up sometimes! This little guy feels so high under my ribs! Still, I feel great and am enjoying this pregnancy. I gained a pound this week, but according to my weigh-ins at the doctor I have still only gained 20 pounds overall.

We celebrated Jose's 30th birthday! Aubri loved helping me pick out 30 presents for him, and insisted on helping me wrap them. She wanted to make sure he had balloons, candles, and birthday plates for his "party". We had a great family dinner a few days before, and an amazing brunch on his birthday. This weekend we are headed to Big Bear for a final birthday bash. Hopefully there will be a little snow to play in!

Aubri wanted to take a picture with the camera man after posing with Mama!

Christmas Eve

2012-01-06T16:28:00.000-08:00

Since Christmas Day fell on a Sunday, our church staff decided to not have Sunday morning services, and instead have a Saturday night Christmas Eve celebration. I had the privilege of organizing/planning the service. Only problem is a large part of we wanted was a children's musical performance, and I'm far from musical. It turned out amazing anyway, and it was a really special and memorable night.

The pre-k and Kindergarten kids had two songs to perform, and I had told the older tiny tot parents that their children were welcome to perform too. Aubri and I sang Happy Birthday Jesus and Away in the manger the whole week before and she was soooo excited to sing. There were so many littles up there singing it was hilarious! Some kids knew every word and sang very loud, others just stood there without a clue what was going on, and others stole the show singing directly in the microphone. It was awesome! Aubri sang off and on, mostly distracted by all that was going on. She and her best bud Canaan hung out close together.

After the little kids, the older kids took their turn. I felt bad that so few of them showed up, but I was SO proud at how well they sang. The congregation joined in to help them, and it worked out great.

A few of our Jr. High and High School kids memorized parts of Luke 2 and recited it. I was so proud!!

After a short, but great message from our pastor, we ended the service with a candle lighting and singing of Silent Night. Beautiful!!

Everyone seemed to love the service, and I wouldn't mind if it became our tradition!

December mornings

2012-01-06T16:17:00.000-08:00

A few times in December we made "special breakfast". We had snowman pancakes a few times, and even tried egg nog Christmas sprinkle waffles. Yummy yummy! Aubri was very happy to get her favorite whipped cream for breakfast.

These pictures were taken Christmas Eve morning after yummy waffles. Aubri was actually asking for her picture to be taken and telling me where she wanted to pose. I loved the laid back mornings we shared on Jose's days off!

29 weeks

2012-01-04T08:57:00.000-08:00

During my first pregnancy I was a sore-footed, back-aching, swollen, uncomfortable, preggo at this time. I still thought I loved pregnancy, but compared to this time that was no fun! This time I still only have minor hip pain to whine about in the morning, and nothing else negative! Woohoo! My ring still fits loosely and comes off easy- at 30 weeks I had to take it off last time!

I'm down to 4 pairs of jeans I rotate- all non-maternity! Though yesterday I had to unbutton a pair that previously buttoned just fine. Must be the couple of pounds I let myself gain over New Years. I've gained a total of 20 pounds now.

I finally got my pre-natal blood work done. Since I hadn't gone in for my early blood work (the doctors were sympathetic to my previous lack of insurance) they had to draw lots of blood in addition to the 2 hour glucose test. All in all I was at the lab for almost 3 hours, and got my blood drawn 3 times! Even though I still got nervous and my palms were sweating like crazy, I impressed myself how well I handled it (I'm really scared of needles!). In the morning I told Aubri I was going to the doctor and she was staying with daddy. She excitedly ran up to me, kissed me and said goodbye. When I was finally leaving she asked "Mommy going to push baby brother out now?" Seriously. The cutest thing ever. She thought it was time for me to have the baby and she was so excited. We had to tell her it wasn't time, and she seemed ok with that too.

Every nap and bedtime we make up stories to tell her. She often requests stories about when baby brother is coming. She knows that when the baby is big and ready to come out, mommy and daddy are going to the hospital to push little brother out. She knows she will go stay with either Papa, Tia Emma or cousin Adri, and we will call her when the baby is born.

I can't believe that is in 9-13 weeks!!!

More progress was made on the nursery! The fan is installed! Grammy's boyfriend Rigo helped Jose out (he installed Aubri's chandelier too!) and it looks awesome! Jose also painted another wall of the room once we picked the tan color. He would have painted the entire room at once, but it was much more important to us to enjoy Happy Noon Year at the Children's museum!

Penelope's Tea House

2011-12-29T20:42:00.000-08:00

In early December my mom invited Aubri and I to join her friends at the tea house. Aubriella loves tea parties (definitely my Nana's granddaughter!), and really enjoyed the milk she got to pour out of her own tea pot. She told Grammy and her cousins about it, and they decided they wanted to go to!

Right before Christmas Grammy took her granddaughters and me to Penelope's. Aubriella was a little more comfortable there (aka didn't sit still and tried exploring too much), but it was still a great time. I didn't warn my nieces that tea food= small portions, so they left a little bit hungry. We had a fun time and hopefully can make it a Christmas tradition!

A few pictures pre-tea party. I straightened Aubri's hair and I could not get over how different she looks! Her hair is so long and beautiful!! While I love her curls, I realized that I won't be heart broken if she loses the ringlets someday and keeps the wave.

Discovery Museum

2011-12-29T20:32:00.000-08:00

The Children's museum isn't really Christmas related, but it kind of seems like it. Aubri and I visited for the first time last month and ended up buying a year pass. I thought of it as an early Christmas present to us! We've gone every week!

Two days before Christmas, Daddy and cousin Savannah finally got to join us , and we took along the camera. Since they made "gingerbread" houses while we were there, it seemed pretty Christmas-y to me.

This picture cracks me up!!

Christmas Lights

2011-12-29T20:23:00.000-08:00

One of the highlights of Christmas for Aubri was all the lights! She enjoyed them so much! Anytime we drive by them she says "Christmas lights! I see them! Roll down my window!" I've already written about her obsession with the "Everything House" and taking her little friend Ella. We took the cutest little video of the two of them that I'll see if Jose can load.

We also took a walk around the neighborhood one night when we were watching some of Aubri's cousins. All the girls were so silly and excited. Aubri and Gulianna loved being pulled in the wagon and identifying all the decorations ("Look, 'nother snowman! Reindeer! I see Santa!").

Jose and I also took Aubri again to one of the houses we had taken Ella too.

She would stand and watch the lights forever if we let her!

Meeting Santa

2011-12-29T17:34:00.000-08:00

Aubri wasn't a fan of Santa. She wouldn't go near him at the mall, and her first parade she was pretty tense any time he came by. We took her to meet him and she gripped Jose and put her head on his shoulder and said "I'm sleeping" so she wouldn't have to sit with him. We didn't force it, but pointed him out a few times. Randomly she asked to go sit in his lap one day and started asking to go see him. We didn't have a chance to go, but one day while shopping in Walmart he was walking around. Aubri didn't waste anytime telling him she wanted "Dora presents". She stood next to him with Daddy for a cell phone picture.

When we learned that he would be at a local grocery store we decided to introduce her again. I didn't want to waste a trip to the mall, and it wasn't important enough to me to pay a ridiculous amount for a picture with him. Aubri still didn't sit in his lap but she talked to him and gave him knuckles. The grocery store background cracks us up, but we were stoked about the gift they gave her! Brandie and Savannah were with us and got in on the fun.

Funny thing- before Aubri was born we decided we wouldn't tell her about Santa or have her believe in him. Somehow we slipped in to telling her that he fills her stocking. We aren't making him a big deal -and he definitely doesn't get credit for the presents we bought!- but we've caved. Our reasoning for not telling her was that we wanted God to get all the credit as the only omnipotent, omnipresent being, and we didn't want to crush her when she found out it is a lie. We are figuring out this parenting thing as we go along I guess!

28 weeks

2011-12-29T16:43:00.000-08:00

We now interrupt our Christmas posting to update you on the pregnancy.

First of all, we can say with 90% assurance that the little guy is Ezra Joseph. Still checking out options, but we both love the name! We looked up it's popularity and since 2004 it has risen about 100 places a year. It is currently #243. We better name him fast before it ends up in the top 100 next year ;-)

Hip pain has actually lessened, and overall I feel great. I didn't weigh myself all week, but finally did this morning (1 day past 28 weeks) and I gained about 2 pounds this week! Yikes! Darn Christmas cookies.

Little feet or hands are sticking farther under my ribs but nothing has been painful yet. He still seems to move mostly at night, or whenever I stop moving.

We started the nursery!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can you tell I'm excited! With only 82 days more or less since he is here I was starting to get a little anxious. We just switched the big guest bed out of his room and gave it to Aubri, and made her toddler bed back into a crib. Jose painted the focal wall in a couple of hours, and we moved the changing table in there. It is still really empty (we just ordered his dresser!) and we still need to buy his bedding (we only got the crib sheet). I have a couple of do-it-myself crafts I'm planning on doing and can't wait for it to start coming together more. I get so happy walking up the stairs and seeing it! Aubri is loving her new huge bed and the rearrangement of furniture.

Hopefully we'll decide on a paint color for the other walls and maybe do that this weekend!

Jr. High Youth

2011-12-29T12:31:00.001-08:00

We have such a good time with our little Jr. High Youth Group. We meet with them every Wednesday night. December was a great month because we changed things up a bit. One week we walked through the neighborhood near the church towing our wagon. The kids went door to door asking for donations for the food pantry our church operates. It was great! Not only did the kids have a blast (they are a goofy bunch!), but it was so awesome to see how generous most people were (only 2 people said they didn't have any canned food to donate, and most people loaded up bags!). It was also a great way for our church to get out into the community so the neighbors know about our programs.

The following week we had a silly Christmas party. We sent out a text that day to dress in a silly/corny Christmas outfit. I was impressed with how quickly the kids pulled together costumes. Kate was the winner of the Starbucks giftcard. She wore a "White-trash" Christmas shirt made out of underwear! We played games, ate junk food, and stuffed our mouths with gingerbread marshmallow men.

And the week before Christmas we took the kids to a local convalescent home to sing carols and visit with the old people. We partnered with an adult small group from our church and they prepared song sheets and played the guitar for our sing along. We handed out cookies, and prayed that we didn't give any one a diabetic attack (the kids told me that after watching the elderly people eat a few cookies, they would announce that they were diabetic. One guy ate about 9 cookies!) Aubri got to tag along and did good despite her discomfort over the attention she got. All of the old people wanted her to sit on their laps, shake her hand, or give her a hug! I was so impressed with our youth for how they interacted with the residents there. One of our girls was so sweet trying to ask an elderly lady about her Christmas plans. After repeating the question 3 times, the lady said, "Oh yes, I used to go on lots of picnics!" The sweet girl just went on with the conversation. One elderly lady was giving our beautiful dark haired girls a talk about how men like popular, thin, blond haired girls. She also told them how she used to dress "sexy" when she was younger and how she preferred husky men. Oh dear!

Tree Farm

2011-12-29T12:04:00.001-08:00

This year was the first year that I have ever not bought a Christmas tree at a tree farm! I've always been opposed to parking lot tree stores, and instead have justified spending lots more on a tree from the farm. However, Costco had a deal too hard to pass up and we couldn't resist saving $30.

Even though I caved and bought a parking lot tree (which ended up being very pretty!), it didn't mean we couldn't still enjoy the tree farm! We went a night- another first- and it was fun seeing Aubri run around. It was a little scary because it was pretty dark out there, and she soon became fearless running through the rows of trees.

Jose's brother Edu was visiting and he joined us too.

It doesn't qualify as a tree "farm", but I really wanted to take Aubri to the tree lot at the fairgrounds. It is a mile from our home and we drove by it everyday. Aubri loved seeing the huge blowup snowman and would yell "Hi Snowman" every time we passed it. We took a walk over there one afternoon. Aubri got to meet the reindeer (I was surprised they were back! Last year we saw on the news that one had escaped and ran into OUR neighborhood. Police couldn't catch them, so some local cowboys were called and they roped while riding their horses! Man, I wish we would have been home to see that excitement!), play in the cow train, and eat free popcorn. It doesn't get much better than that for our little girl!

Crafts and Cookies

2011-12-29T10:56:00.001-08:00

Since our Fall crafts were a hit with Aubri, we continued to do arts and crafts together throughout December.

I made a paper chain countdown until Christmas. We called it "One day closer to Christmas" and every morning Aubri would remind me that we needed to do it. I was unsure if she would understand the concept, but after a couple of days I'm confident she did. She would tell us "It's getting smaller! Christmas coming!"

I was trying to figure out where to hang it, and temporarily set it over her toys. It ended up staying there the whole month and worked out great.

You can see a sample of our crafts and our tiny little chain in this picture that we took 3 days before Christmas. I forgot to take pictures while we made our little angels (can you tell which one Aubri put the wings on??) and snowman, and also didn't get a picture of our hand print Chrismas tree- somehow pulling the camera out when we had green paint everywhere didn't seem like a good idea!

One day Aubri and I glued together parts of a nativity (left over from a Sunday School craft). I helped a lot with one, and the other I let her do with me pointing her in the right direction.

Even though I'm not a perfectionist, I got to admit that it is hard to see a sideways heart and Mary hanging off the side! But when I see how proud of her work she is, it melts my heart!

One day I made gingerbread cookies and she helped decorate them. Neither of us are pros, but she sure had fun eating sprinkles! She actually did do a good job sticking the sprinkles for eyes and buttons, and realllly loves to shake the extra messy sprinkles over the frosting. I think she asked every day after to make more cookies.

I invited the girls from church over for a Holiday bake day. I did it last year, and aside from the huge mess it made it was a huge success. I tried doing the same this year, but no one could make it except for the two greatest bakers I know! Our niece Savannah and cousin Brandie came over and we baked all day. I forgot to take pictures, but trust me it was amazing! We sold the treats at the church bake sale the next day and the proceeds benefited children's and youth ministries. Even though other girls couldn't make it to help, we had several others contribute their baked goods for the sale too.

I didn't get any pictures of the bake day, but I caught Savannah hard at work a few days later! She and Grammy offered to make us dinner complete with appetizers and dessert. Look at her cute Fruity Pebbles Christmas tree!

Today when I told Aubri we were going to do something very special she asked "Make more snowman crafts?!" We are actually going to the children's museum, but it was a good reminder how much Aubri loves craft time. I need to think of some cute things to do in January!

Christmas Parades

2011-12-29T08:31:00.001-08:00

Aubri loooved watching parades. She started the month off being very scared of Santa, but soon didn't seem to mind the guy so much (never warmed up enough to sit in his lap, but she at least gave him knuckles and stood next to him).

Her first parade was with my parents to the Arroyo Grande Parade. We missed out on the fun, but heard she had a great time.

We took her to the Santa Maria parade and she loved watching it with her favorite cousins. Little Jesse and Aubri loved running to collect the candy that was being thrown out to them. I'm always amazed at how well Aubri sits and watches the parade for so long! Having a warm Starbucks milk and candy canes probably helped a bit.

We also went to the Old Town Orcutt parade. It was cute and short, but it was fun to see lots of friends we knew.

Aubri asked often to go to more parades, but we will have to wait until next year!

Christmas Past

2011-12-29T08:28:00.000-08:00

Wow! Christmas was amazing! I can't believe it is already over, but I'm content knowing we did all we could to make this season a memorable one! I can't wait to show you all the fun things we did over the last month. Aubri was the perfect age to enjoy everything, and seeing Christmas through her eyes made it extra special. It just may have been my best Christmas ever! Stay tuned for pictures!

27 weeks!!

2011-12-21T12:26:00.000-08:00

Christmas is in a couple of days! We can't wait! Aubri loves talking about Baby Jesus, and makes a sad frown when she says "No room at the hotel!" She tells us "Baby Jesus born in manger!" She asks me every night at bedtime to tell her about Christmas day. She loves repeating and reminding me that she will wake up and open presents, say thank you, go to Nana and Papa's house to open more presents from "Uncle Jesse and Uncle Jasen", she wants to give them their little present she bought them, celebrate Papa's birthday (not only is it Jesus' birthday, but it's my dad's too!), then go to Nina and Nina's house to see her cousins.

Every day we do "One day closer to Christmas" (our paper chain). Today Aubri announced "Smaller Mama! It smaller!" I asked her why the chain has become smaller and she said "Christmas coming soon!" She has loved the Elf on the Shelf so much, and I'm glad I decided to start the tradition this year. She remembers every morning to look for the little Elf, and yells "There he is! I found him!" Throughout the day she will go up to him and tell him things, and if she is being naughty she yells out on her own "Little Elf, no presents for me! No listening to mommy and daddy!" Little stinker!

She is crazy about Christmas lights! After I took her to see one really decorated house, I told her to yell out the window to say bye (she didn't want to leave!). She started saying bye to Santa, to the penguins, to the reindeer....finally I said, "Say bye to everything." So of course she yelled out "Bye Everything!"A minute down the road she asked to go back and "see more everything!" This soon became the "Everything house" and she asked over and over to go back to the Everything house and take her friend Ella. After a week of asking, we took her and Ella to look at lights. The little girls giggled and chattered all around town. It was so cute!

This week our little man has started kicking much harder! I can feel his foot or hand stick out sometimes, and I watch my stomach wobble all around as he moves. I forgot how strong kicks can be! One night while I was sleeping, I had rolled over in bed and my stomach was against Jose's back. The baby kept kicking his dad all night! Aubri loves yelling at my stomach "Wake up little brother! Kick my hand little brother!" Sometimes if he isn't kicking, I fake a kick and she laughs and laughs! She also puts her head to the stomach and says "Kick my head!"

I gained about half a pound this week, wore maternity shirts exclusively, but am still in regular jeans (some pairs I use the belly band). I randomly started waking up with sore hips this week. It usually goes away as I get up and move around, but it is strange. Also, a couple of times after eating chocolate I think I got very mild heartburn! These are the first pregnancy complaints I've had sine the early weeks, so I'm counting myself very lucky that I had a perfect 2nd trimester! I can't believe we've entered the 3rd and final trimester!

26 weeks

2011-12-14T13:35:00.000-08:00

We are in the double digits on the baby countdown! Only 98 days (more or less) until we meet our little man!

I had a doctors appointment a couple of days ago and everything looks great! We heard his nice strong heartbeat and were told he is measuring just right. I seriously can't believe how great this pregnancy is. I love being pregnant! It is so nice not having to worry about belly fat rolling over the top of jeans.

I've been comparing my blog posts from my pregnancy with Aubri. By this gestation with Aubri I said I felt like and old lady at the end of the day and my back and hip pain was unbearable most days. This time I honestly don't feel weighted down at all with this baby yet, and haven't had a hint of back pain since the first month. It must be that I still weigh significantly less than with Aubri- in fact only 3 pounds more than I was at the start of my last pregnancy. My total weight gain at this point is about 15 pounds. I gained 10 pounds though in the last 7 weeks, but my midwife was not the least concerned.

The last couple of weeks have been fun as the kicks are getting stronger. I can watch my stomach jump around as he kicks inside, and occasionally I'm already starting to feel a foot or hand under the side of my ribs.

Aubri loves to yell into my stomach and says "Wake up little brother! Kick me little brother!" At night or nap time she insists on lifting my shirt to kiss him goodnight. If you ask her what his name is she says "Guke" (Luke) , and if you ask what is the other name he might be, she says "Egwa" (Ezra).

The other day she came into the room as I was sorting some hand-me- down clothes for the little guy, and she said "Mama what you buy little brother?" She ran to the clothes and said "So pretty! Awww cute!" as she looked through the things. She doesn't seem to have any jealousy yet and she always points out boy things at the store and tells me "Buy for little brother please." She cracks me up!

(We haven't been so good taking the weekly pictures! We missed weeks 23 and 24 because of Thanksgiving, and then missed week 26. This is the picture from week 25)

Fall Fun

2011-12-06T21:14:00.000-08:00

I just uploaded our camera with pictures from the last 8 weeks! Thought I would catch us up to speed on what has been happening around our house this fall season.

Aurbi had her first cup of hot cocoa. She loved the whipped cream most of all!

Jose taught Aubri how to make a fort while I was gone one evening. She loved it! Excuse her messy hair, that is what happens when she is running and rolling around!

The nights have been chilly!! We've taken a few evening walks and this is how Aubri gets bundled up to ride in her stroller.

Aubri and I made crafts together for the first time. She LOOOVED it. At first she didn't appreciate the paint on her hands for our handprint turkeys, but soon got in to it. She could have colored and glued all afternoon.

She was excited to show off her works of art. A couple of minutes after this picture was a completely different scene. It involved her kicking and screaming on the floor asking for "MOOORE CRAFTS!!!! NO NAP!!"

Since our first arts and craft experience was an overall success, we've been doing it weekly. Our next project was what we called our "craft/treat". I showed her acorns online and we read about them growing on trees (don't really have any acorn trees available to me) and squirrels eating them, then made our own acorn treats.

Anytime I make anything involving food, she insists on wearing her apron and sitting on the counter. She will sit and "bake with mommy" all day if she could. She was a great help unwrapping the candies and sticking the parts together. However every time I looked she was cramming the candy in her mouth in true chipmunk fashion.

Our finished product. Super simple, but super tasty!

Our latest craft was pom pom snowmen. She wanted to make one for herself and her two grandma's. They all look a little hunched back because she wasn't as concerned as I was for perfection. I think the one at our house is actually flashing gang signs at me as he cocks his head to the left.

And finally, possibly the best 24 hours I've had in a long time! A little getaway with my love! We celebrated our 4th anniversary with a night stay at Avila La Fonda (where we stayed our wedding night).

We could not believe the amazing weather! We walked up and down the beach in shorts enjoying the heat.

This hotel is our favorite ever. They offer so many fun little treats (we took advantage of it all!). Happy hour hors d'ouvers and appetizers, and late night dessert.

Isn't he cute?? We were excited and surprised they upgraded us, and we got the same room we had on our wedding night. I don't think we will wait 4 years to visit again! I'm already thinking V-day might need to include a stay here!

23 weeks

2011-11-22T10:43:00.001-08:00

Grr....just finished this post and lost it all. So in a much more abbreviated form then the original:

*No weight gain this week! A true miracle when I think of all the times we ate out and the holiday food sampling!

*Twice this week people were vocal about commenting on me being pregnant! The first was the lady at the jewelry store. She asked how much longer I had. I didn't know what she meant and she said she was asking about the pregnancy. She said it has been fun to see our family grow over the past 4 years- she sold Jose my engagement ring! At church a couple of young guys pulled Jose aside to ask if I was pregnant. Apparently the missed the announcement and my sweater dress showed off the bump. I told Jose he missed a perfect chance to mess with the guys and tell them I wasn't pregnant!

*We did our baby registry! I forgot how much fun it was to scan that little gun. It was nice to see that we don't need much! And we have a much better understanding of what is really important.

*Our crib bedskirt arrived! We ordered it to start buying accessories and painting!

*I cleaned out my closet of the too-snug clothes and was left with a pretty bare selection....so the maternity clothes have made it at least out of storage and are ready to start being worn.

*I've been feeling this little guy kick stronger in the night and when I wake up. I love feeling him move. It still amazes me how I can love him so much without having met him! I almost got a little emotional when Jose and I were talking about the Chargers crummy season. I mentioned how next year will be better because Jose and the Little Man will be watching football together, and picturing that was so surreal! So crazy to imagine our lives with another little person to love!

22 weeks

2011-11-18T14:55:00.000-08:00

Add another 2 pounds to the charts! I've now gained 10 pounds, but am still 2 pounds less than I was at the start of my pregnancy with Aubri. Still wearing normal clothes (though have added a couple of hand me down maternity shirts in the mix), haven't unpacked my own maternity clothes from the bin in the garage, and today I am still wearing one of my smallest jeans (with a rubber band around the button and unzipped...shhhh).

After browsing a few fabric stores, Jose and I picked out some fabric for the baby's room. But then I started stressing about how much it would cost to pay someone to make it. We were back to square one until I found a simple bedding set on target.com. Of course before I could settle on it, I had to ask Jose his opinion a few times, check out several more stores online, and checked out fabric one last time. We ordered one of the pieces today so we can check it out in person and start finding paint colors and accessories. Whew! What a relief!

And as far as decisions go...I think we are close to settling on a name. We've gone back and forth but it is looking like this little guy will be Ezra Joseph! Luke is still an option though, but the more Jose and I read the book of Ezra in the Bible, the more we admire this un-sung hero.

Other 22 week updates- Aubri has discovered the art of tantruming. Running, screaming, throwing herself to the floor and kicking....yup at least once a day. The first huge fiasco was after a fun outing with her best bud Ella. She was tired, but not ready to call it an end to the playdate. What a scene. I had no idea last Wednesday we'd see more of those. We are still figuring out how to parent these situations.

Lest you think my daughter is all brat, let me tell you about the good things:
*This week also marks the transition to her "big girl bed". We've taken the side off and lowered the mattress of her crib making it a toddler bed. She seems to like it and has adjusted well (since the addition of the bed rail to avoid another night like the first involving several falls out of bed). In a couple of months we will switch her to a queen sized bed and move the crib to Ezra's (Luke's??) new room.
*The past month she has learned to sing her ABC's all the way through. It is one of her favorite songs (trailing behind Happy Birthday and Elmo's Song).
*We continue to improve on potty training despite our doctors lecture that she is too young.
*She counts to 10, and knows every other number to 20
*She counts to 3 in Spanish, and with help up to 10 (her Spanish numbers are much more clear than English!)
*She has spent the night at Nana and Papa's a couple of times and loves it!
*She is ready for Christmas! She keeps talking about "See Santa, sit in lap, say cheese, get baby candy." Let's see if she actually does that when she sees the big man in person!

Side note: I bought the Elf on the Shelf! Aubri may be too young, but we are going to give it a try. Anyone have any fun tips??

19, 20, and 21 weeks

2011-11-09T08:49:00.000-08:00

At 19 weeks. Aubri insisted we take a picture to track her growth too!

I have been slacking on the weekly updates! Since this pregnancy is going so well there is little change week to week. I have gained a few more pounds, and I have worn 2 maternity sweaters (mostly out of necessity because it is so stinking cold and they were all I had, and one is a hand me down from a very, very petite friend!). The little man is squirming and kicking more and more, and he must be growing because the belly is getting bigger! A combination of the stretching belly skin and a reaction to the lotion I was using caused some seriously dry and itchy skin- which has since gone away!

I'm a little overwhelmed with how much pink we have...and how very little blue we have! I haven't found any bedding that I love, so I'm hoping we can get creative with fabrics and find some colors or themes we like for a nursery. I don't even know where to start! I don't want to do the whole "room in a box" again,and would like something more unique. Right now it all seems overwhelming because instead of starting with an empty room (like Aubri's had been), I have to figure out what to do with all the furniture and storage we have in the closet. Aubri will be getting the queen guest bed, but even that can't happen right away because I know my finicky little sleeper won't do well with a sudden change.

20 weeks
A cute story that happened a couple of days ago at church...
Aubri was in Sunday School/nursery and was reading a book with the kids and her teacher. The book had a picture of little kids, and the teacher asked them "Where is the little boy?" expecting them to point. Aubri looked at her and said "In mama's belly!"

21 weeks

October 31st

2011-11-07T11:36:00.001-08:00

You may remember me saying that traditionally Halloween is not a holiday I look forward to or particularly enjoy. Last year having a kid to dress up made me recant a bit, but this year I absolutely LOVED the day!! It probably has something to do with the fact that we started our day off with our ultrasound!

Aubri was happy to put on her strawberry costume (something she had been refusing to try on until we got our favorite neighbor kids to convince her the day before) and kept telling us she was going to say "tick-o-tweet!"

We headed to San Luis Obispo, had a great visit with our midwife, and headed over to the ultrasound center. I have a confession to make. The entire pregnancy I'd been saying I didn't care what we were having. That is mostly true, but I did have a period where practicality was winning out and I preferred a girl. Well something changed in the couple of days leading up to our ultrasound, and I found myself lying on the bed praying "Please God let it be a boy!"

We had probably the boring-est ultrasound techs in the planet who barely uttered 10 words to us. When she finally turned the screen so I could see she quickly scanned the body. Thankfully I seem to have a skill at looking at ultrasounds (the one thing I had going for me when I wanted to be an OBGYN) and I was able to point out what we were looking at. Our sweet baby was waving to us, curling his little fingers and shaking his hand! When she asked if we wanted to know what we were having, we of course said yes. When she zeroed in on the private area she didn't have to tell me the sex, it was pretty obvious!

After our appointments we enjoyed a little bit of time in SLO then came home to get ready for our "Little Pumpkin Reveal Party!"

That evening most our family and a few friends came over for the big announcement. We had everyone make a guess of what they thought the baby would be (pictures didn't come out too well!)

Jose had carved a pumpkin that said "Boy or Girl" and we had hidden the answer inside. Aubri has some homemade flash cards she has memorized, and we had stuck the boy card inside. We had Aubri pull it out and asked everyone to quiet down so she could read it aloud. She said "Boy!" perfectly and everyone cheered. Poor thing was a little surprised at the response and was pretty stunned (Now she brings that card to me, reads "boy" and says, "Mama clap! Everybody clapped!").

We had a fun time eating lots of food, and took Aubri trick or treating to a couple of houses. She loved handing out candy to the hundreds (yes, hundreds) of trick or treaters who came to our door, but I had to post a sign asking people to take off their scary masks because Aubri and her cousin kept getting scared.

It was such an exciting day,and it was really special to see how many people were just as excited for our little guy (yet to be named!) as we are!

It's a...

2011-11-01T10:46:00.001-07:00

BOY! We couldn't be happier. We got a great shot of the goods, and got to see our little man wave and kick around!

It has been a crazy couple of days, but I'm hoping to post pictures soon of all the fun festivities.

Love.This.Picture

2011-10-21T10:46:00.000-07:00

Jose was reading and Aubri decided to jump on the chair and hug him. She loves asking "What you doing?" Over. And over. And over again.

I was sitting on the other couch across from them and she said, "Mama, picture. Cheese!" I asked if she wanted me to take her picture and she let me know she wanted a picture of her and daddy. I had the camera out in 5 seconds and love the (non pirate eye) pure joy I caught on her face! Can you tell she loves her daddy?

18 weeks

2011-10-18T12:37:00.000-07:00

Another week down! I have felt this little baby move a lot more this week. One night Jose and I were watching TV and he had his head on my stomach and felt a tiny kick! I think this baby may end up being much more active than Aubri.

My belly really popped out this week! One morning I just looked down and thought "Whoa! When did that get here?!?" I think I am at the point if people saw me they would assume I was pregnant and not just fat. YES!

WE CAN'T WAIT....2 more weeks until we find what we are having! I'm already trying to think up ideas for a baby boy nursery, or if it is a girl Aubri will get a new room and I'm trying to design that! And of course, once we know if it is a boy or girl we can get serious about deciding on a name.

I have no pregnancy related complaints, aches or pains to report...but have been fighting some annoying bug. For the past week I've had swollen glands in my neck making it verrrrry sore and painful. Swallowing, yawning, moving my neck, all of it hurts! In typical fashion, my body fights back and I get a cold sore out of the deal. This time in my nose. At first I was happy that I got it out of view (those things are gross), but have decided that I'd rather it be on my lip for the world to see, then in my nose causing so much pain.

To add to this discomfort, I take the FDA's, and American Academy of Pediatrics, Committee on Drugs statement very seriously : "No drug or chemical, whether prescription, over-the-counter or food additive- can be regarded as having been proven entirely free of potential harm to the fetus." So that means no meds for me. Aside from drinking tea with honey and gargling with salt water, I haven't been able to mask the symptoms. WHAAAAA! Ok, I'm pulling it together now. No more whining.

I have got to add that I am very grateful that at least I don't have any pregnancy discomforts to add! Not so much as a little uterine twinge or cramp.

Aubri wanted to get in the picture, but didn't feel like posing.

Potty Training...

2011-10-18T12:28:00.001-07:00

Is a piece of cake! Well maybe not that easy, but it sure is getting easier! We have had very few accidents, and Aubri really has the hang of this thing. We bought her a potty watch that sings every 30 minutes. It is her signal to stop what she is doing and we run to the potty. Her reward is jelly beans, and boy have we gone through a lot!

We have kicked the diapers bye-bye, and she now only wears pull-ups and underwear at home. She has not been consistent going #2, but her big prize incentives are helping with that.

I tend to avoid public restrooms at all costs so it has been challenging for me to have to take Aubri every 30 minutes. I had never been to a lot of the restrooms at our favorite stores until this week (Trader Joes, Costco, Target, and more!).

Another inconvenience to potty training is that Aubri wakes up early in the morning (and even once at night) yelling for me to take her potty! I know this is a great thing, and a step to keeping her dry around the clock, but it is messing with my sleep. ;-) I'm realizing that potty training takes a lot of sacrifice on the parents part, and I think part of the reason so many kids are still in diapers at 3 years old is it is easier for parents. My two cents.

She thinks it is funny now to take off streaking. Wait until she sees this picture when she is 13!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-11T13:03:00.000-07:00

Wow! Avila Barn was all abuzz now that the pumpkins are here. We learned it was a mistake to let Aubri run around the place 3 weeks ago, because this time she tried doing it again. Unfortunately it wasn't empty like our last trip, but filled to the brim with people, and she was so much more comfortable!

Grammy, Nana, Papa, uncle Jasen, Adri and PJ joined us and I think everyone had a great time. My mom kept laughing that Aubri knew the places to pose (though accompanying the pose is the infamous pirate eye!).

As soon as we got there, Aubri ran up to the barrels of pumpkins and picked out her tiny little pumpkin. She carried it around with her until it got in her way I guess.

A few weeks back, even though she loved the animals, she wouldn't get very close. This time she had no fear feeding them, and even got her fingers nibbled a few times.

We took a quick hay ride down to the pumpkin patch and hoped off long enough to take a few pictures. She picked out another pumpkin, but since it was too heavy she got over that pumpkin fast too.

Papa helped her cut it.

That's not a pumpkin I'm smuggling under my shirt! It's the baby bump!

We topped the day off with pumpkin ice cream, and Aubri finally picked another small pumpkin that she wanted!

17 weeks!

2011-10-11T10:05:00.001-07:00

I am 17 weeks pregnant! Can't believe it! Less than 3 weeks until our ultrasound appointment...but no closer to settling on a name!

I've been feeling the baby move this week! LOVE IT! I didn't feel Aubri until my 18th week, and even then I wasn't sure. But this time I'm sure it is the baby fluttering and squirming around. I only can feel the movement when I'm very still and lying down (which rarely happens) so it is mostly in the evenings that I get a chance to feel him/her moving around.

The baby is now the size of my hand! I think this is the week he/she can hear sounds so they will soon be able to hear Aubri blowing raspberries on my stomach.

I've gained about 5 pounds total, but fortunately haven't experience the headaches and backaches I had by this time during my last pregnancy(from sitting at my desk at work). Pregnancy is so easy when you aren't working full time!

We have had an exciting week with Aubri- we are potty training! She is doing so well, and we are so proud of her. But it is a lot of work!! After day 1 I was seriously sore from squatting in front of her potty chair, and lifting her up and down. And it is really hard for me to remember to take her when we are out and about. I hate public restrooms no matter what, but keeping a curious 20 month old from touching anything is really really tough.

We have been sitting her on the potty here and there since she was about 9 months, so she has always been pretty comfortable going. For months she tells us she has to go potty, but usually she just wanted to sit there and have us read books. This past weekend though, she seemed to learn how to make herself pee. She kept saying she had to go, and would! We just went with it, and have been so impressed how often she tells us she has to go. We also remind her to go throughout the day and yesterday managed to stay dry from 12:30pm to 9:00 pm!! She has lots of big girl panties but doesn't love wearing them.

What has really helped is the hot weather! I started getting sick a couple of days ago so Aubri and I spent the day at my parents house so I could sleep while they watched her. Aubri ran around outside all day in her swimsuit or panties, drinking water from the hose and stopping to use the potty. We've of course had a few accidents but overall had so much success! Can't believe how fast my little girl is growing up!

Aubriella has decided it is not fair that she isn't in the pictures, so this week she is joining me. Keep in mind this is minutes before bedtime the day I slept and rested allll day at my parents house because I was starting to get sick.

If we didn't' already have a cute Strawberry costume, I would so dress her up as a pirate!

16 weeks

2011-10-11T10:03:00.001-07:00

Just realized I never posted about 16 weeks, and 17 weeks is tomorrow! The bad thing is I can't even remember if anything happened that week. Oh well! Pregnancy has been comfortable, easy, and enjoyable.

I have lots of fun pictures to share of this new week, so stay tuned!

Pirate Eye

2011-10-06T11:51:00.001-07:00

Aubri finally stays still for pictures, but always makes this pirate eye face! I think she knows she is being funny.

And if she isn't making the pirate eye, she is making her funny face.

Or jumping

This is the most normal I could get! Silly girl!

Fall Bucket List

2011-10-04T13:25:00.001-07:00

What do you think? Is this cute or is this cute (don't you love how I give you options?)? I found this little graphic on my new fave blog to follow The Real Housewives of Bucks County.If I remember correctly they found it on Pinterest (I am sooo badly wanting to start using this, but am heading the advice that it is severely addicting and I don't need anything else to take my time). I saved this graphic and had it printed 8x10 on Walmart.com photo. I had plans to frame it and use a white board marker to cross things off, but got too excited and taped it to the fridge.

We are moving right along with our bucket list! So far we have gone apple picking, gone on a hay ride, photo shoot in the leaves (though our leaf pile is a little pathetic), gone on 1 date, made fall cookies (twice!), drank fancy coffee drinks, and yesterday we had a nice family picnic (perfect timing before the rain hit!). We plan on crossing off all the items....though we've had our fill of s'mores and bon fires over the summer so I won't be bummed if we skip that. By the way, since we are on the subject of marshmallows (s'mores=mallows, you following?), I compulsively purchased a pack of pumpkin spice flavored marshmallows. I love all things pumpkin flavored, but forgot I don't love marshmallows. Anyone have any good ideas of how to use them??

I have got to give a little plug for the movie Courageous. Jose and I had a great date night in SLO and got to watch it. I love supporting wholeseome, Godly movies and this gets 2 thumbs up. Of course it is lower budget than most Hollywood movies, so excuse some of the cheesy acting, but the story and message make up for it. I cried, and Jose had "dust in his eyes".

Aubriella turned 20 months a few days ago. I can't believe it! She is really seeming to grow up. She used the potty a few times this weekend, started telling us "wait one minute!" (where in the world did she get that from??), sings her ABCD's (what she calls them) perfectly up to I, then mumbles her way through ellemeno, shouts P and several other correct letters, but mostly just keeps up the tune perfectly after that. She is a character always trying to get her way, and be cute but mischievous. Last week she was a little stinker. One day particularly. We stopped by Jose's work and I considered leaving her and running! But we survived that day, and 3 days later were back to normal (after Jose became handy at plumbing and snaked out the items little Aubri had stuck down the toilet). Yup, she keeps us on our toes, but despite my frustrations, sometimes I can't help but hold in a laugh. Like yesterday when she took a big drink of water in the car and was swishing it around in her mouth. We saw the gleam in her eye, and the pursed up smile, and told her to swallow the water. She shook her head no, continued to gleam, and of course sprayed her water everywhere. That is her new favorite thing. She did it again that night at my parents, and last week it was milk at the restaurant. Lord give me wisdom with this independent little girl!

yup, that is lipstick she decided to put on.

15 weeks!

2011-09-29T11:01:00.000-07:00

(Oops...meant to post this last week! )

Another week down! We had our second doctor's appointment and got to hear the baby's heartbeat! There is a myth (though many facebook commentors seem to believe there is some truth to it) that the slower heartbeat indicates a boy, and a faster heartbeat indicates a girl. Our baby had a slower heartbeat (well within the normal, healthy range), and the midwife joked that it may be a boy. Of course Jose is holding on to hope that this myth is true! As a side note, when my mom was pregnant with me before the use of ultrasound was routine, my heartbeat was slower indicating a boy.

We will be able to put the wondering to rest in less than 5 weeks! We have our big ultrasound scheduled for October 31st! I've mentioned before that I'm not a huge fan of Halloween (though last year was a blast with our little Snow White), but this year I'm sure it will be amazing! We've already figured out how we will announce what we are having, and I'm already planning what I'm calling our "Little Pumpkin Reveal Party!"

These last four weeks have flown by (must be all the fall fun we are having). I'm really looking forward to October because I should begin to feel baby movement soon (I know it is early, but I think I may have felt a little something a couple of days ago). Aubri, church, Bradley classes, and party planning (FCV family mark your calendar for our Fall, Family Fellowship Dinner October 30th!) are keeping me busy. I have felt GREAT and am enjoying the belly swell. It is so fun not having to suck in, and just let the stomach all out!

Apple Picking

2011-09-26T11:07:00.000-07:00

I can't believe fall has become my favorite season (shh...don't tell Winter). Fall has so many things to do, great weather, amazing flavors, wonderful colors....I could go on and on. Jose is such a good sport going along with my love of fall. I know he doesn't love pumpkins or apples as much as he pretends to for my sake, and I know he didn't understand why I once took him to get a pumpkin spice latte to celebrate the first day of fall. Last weekend I know he wasn't particularly in the mood for apple picking, but he knew how much I wanted to go. Next thing I know we were headed to Avila Barn!

Aubri was happy to see her animal friends again, and was even brave enough to feed the goats once.

We picked the perfect Saturday afternoon because it wasn't crowded and she was able to lead the way and explore. Even though we got there 2 hours before closing, apparently we missed the apple picking times. Fortunately ~~after I pouted enough~~, our teenage cowboy hayride driver decided to let us pick apples after all!

Please excuse Aubri's pirate eye. Apparently there is more Tapia in her than we thought--she seems to take after her uncles' in the goofy picture posing skills. She has decided that anytime you ask her to smile, she needs to lift her chin, fake a smile, and close one eye. Oh dear!

We've been gobbling up apples left and right! I filled a large trifle bowl of apples and placed it on our dining room table. Seeing them out like that makes them a tempting snack anytime of day!

Apple picking is now checked off my Fall Bucket list....next up pumpkin patch!

2nd Trimester

2011-09-20T15:39:00.001-07:00

Woohoo! We are moving now! On to the 2nd trimester, often thought of as "the best trimester of pregnancy". And if that is really the case, I'm in for 13 great weeks!

In a dramatic turn of events (really the only thing dramatic about it is me calling it that), I've gained 2 pounds, and 2 pairs of jeans came out of the dryer too tight! The belly gut (no cute hard bump yet) is definitely protruding (isn't that an ugly word? kinda accurately describes it though). What a change in one week!

I've realized that more and more when I think about about the baby, I'm picturing a boy. Interesting.

You would not believe how Aubri's language skills are growing. She is really trying to speak sentences. A few examples, this week she told me " Don't tickle me!" and "Get pumpkin pie [at] papa's house!" When I told her I didn't think Nana and Papa had pumpkin pie, she said "Papa take you Costco, get pumpkin pie." Grammar issues aside, I'm pretty proud of my little girl. She does very well at getting her point across like "Don't like_____" or "Mama get_____", and since she frequently climbs into and on everything she often says "Mama help! Stuck!" And of course the favorite "No _____ !"(fill in the blank with the word nap, food...). She counts to 10 (needing slight help to get through 4 and 5), and can recognize the 7 words I wrote on flashcards (milk, dog, dada, mama, Aubri, baby, hi). She still talks in the 3rd person a lot, but is catching herself and starting to answer "I do!" instead of "Aubri does!".

I hoping to find some time to upload a few pictures for you!

13 Weeks

2011-09-16T16:09:00.000-07:00

I have a feeling this pregnancy is going to go by fast! With so much going on in our lives, days just seem to fly by!

If you could tell, last week I started to worry a bit. It is really silly I'll admit. I've been so proud of myself for not gaining weight and easily fitting into my clothes. But then I read through past post from when I pregnant with Aubriella. By 10 1/2 weeks my clothes were snug, and at 13 weeks I wore maternity pants because I couldn't stand how uncomfortably tight my pants were. After reading that my pride in staying fit quickly turned to panic that maybe the baby wasn't growing, or maybe there was something wrong. Silly huh? For a full day I kept wondering if I've felt any pregnancy symptoms lately and letting my mind think all kinds of crazy things. Got to remember to trust in the Lord!

The really funny thing is literally a day later I caught a reflection of myself and thought, whoa, where did that stomach blubber come from?? I think I forgot that a baby bump isn't instantly hard and round, but instead the uterus kind of pushes everything else out(that I usually can suck in!). The past 3 days I keep bending over, or see myself in the mirror and laugh that I thought I wasn't showing! Even though I can easily button my pants, there is now officially some growth going on.

This past week was another fun week. A great wedding (more on that later!), start of the footbal season, and more. Three days included not one, but 2 trips a day to the 5cities area. Not fun when gas prices are so high! It is worth it though to be working in a dream job at the church, having fun at youth group, and being encouraged at an area Children's pastors meeting, and the following day at the area Vineyard leadership meeting.

And let me take this moment to pat myself on the back,flip my tassel and throw my cap in the air....drum roll please......I now have a graduate degree diploma, officializing my commencement, and honoring me the masters of arts degree in clinical psychology! Are you confused? Did you think I did all that almost 3 years ago? Well I did, but I skipped out on the commencement ceremonies and never got a chance to pick up my diploma. After the 100th and final letter from the university letting me know my diploma was still in the office, I sucked it up and sent $15 to have it shipped to me. So I guess it is official. I guess I never saw the need to go out of my way for the diploma...to this day my high school and undergrad diplomas are still in offices somewhere! Shame on me.

By the way, if smells weren't so overwhelming to me right now, I'd have all our Glade air freshners spewing the wonderful fall fragrances of spiced apple and cinnamon pumpkin by now!

Every pregnancy different?

2011-09-13T15:15:00.000-07:00

I've been so excited to not be gaining weight, and still able to button my pants without a problem. I was looking through past posts from when I was pregnant with Aubri, and by this time my pants didn't fit and I had been unbuttoning them for a couple of weeks. I'm counting myself lucky this time around, but I'm also scratching my head a bit. Aren't you supposed to show faster in 2nd pregnancies?

Cravings

2011-09-08T08:12:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not I crave pickles this pregnancy! I don't even really love pickles, and definitely didn't want them my last pregnancy. But this pregnancy is different. Payne's Perfect Pickles have been invented and they rock my world. They are sweet and spicy, add flavor to sandwiches, salads, anything really, and I've even used the jalapenos in salsas. I sound like an infomercial, but really I just love them. We ran out and I just really need to get my hands on some more!

Other cravings aren't too weird. I love fruit and orange juice, and like milk more (not really a fan). The biggest craving is pizza! To at least attempt to make pizza healthy, we've made it at home a couple of times. Start with yummy Trader Joe's dough (garlic and herb or whole wheat), top with a fat free, nutrient packed sauce, and top with your favorite toppings. My favorite combination is chicken, mushrooms, onion, garlic, spinach, and pineapple. Even Aubri is starting to love Pizza.

Looks good doesn't it?

And I'm not just talking about the pizza! ;-)

12 weeks

2011-09-07T15:19:00.000-07:00

This past week has been great. Still no weight gain (in fact for 2 days I had somehow lost 1 1/2 pounds!) which is so exciting for me-- especially since the babycenter update let me know I'm entitled to 5 pounds by this point, and should be noticing a thickening waistline.

The pregnancy symptoms seemed to have all faded and it is hard to believe I'm really expecting! I did switch prenatal vitamins to some horse-pill sized variety (what did I expect? everything is bigger from Costco) and taking them on an empty stomach was not a good idea. My body seems to have adjusted, and I've learned to take them with food. My energy and sleep also seem normal (good thing because I have had the busiest week I've had in a looong time!).

It was a fun week because even though this pregnancy hasn't been a secret, it just became Facebook official. It is fun being congratulated and hearing the advice about becoming a mom to two.

I'm often asked if I want this baby to be a boy or girl. With Aubri I knew I really wanted a girl. This time around I really would be happy either way! I would love for Aubri to have a close sister (something I never had), so a girl would be great. Plus we have so much pink stuff already it would be much cheaper. But...then it would be nice to have one of each (not to worried about this because we know we will have more), and it would be fun to do a new nursery and buy blue
things (though expensive!). Jose would love to have a boy, so for his sake I think I'm torn 51% boy and 49% girl.

To give you an Aubri update....she has progressed from opening the front door, to leaving out the garage door. The other night she told us she wanted to "see Gugi-anna" (her cousin Gulianna). She told us she was going bye-bye and very seriously made it known that she was leaving. She proceeded to get the car keys from the drawer, walk out the garage, attempt to open the car door (hindsight is 20/20:should have stopped her there, but we wanted to see how far she would go), asked for help opening the door (driver side!), waved to us, said bye, shut the door and tried to stick the keys in the ignition! When we stopped her at that point, she cried and said she wanted to "drive, see Gugi-ana!" I'm keeping my eyes on this one, or else she is going to be the toddler who drives down the street.

Suggestions?

2011-09-01T12:09:00.000-07:00

I'm taking name suggestions if you got them! Of course we don't know if we are having a baby boy or girl yet, but it is never too early to start thinking.
Here is what we got so far
Boy:Ezra, Luke, possible middle name Joseph
Girl: Alia, Alina, Alaina, Elise (the A names and similarities aren't intentional)

11 weeks

2011-08-31T13:54:00.000-07:00

Only 203 days to go (give or take 14 days)! I'm happy to say that for the most part all yucky pregnancy symptoms are already behind me. I had a few uncomfortable days, but never threw up so I can't complain. Also, I haven't been nearly as exhausted this time around!

I have only gained about a pound--yeah!--and there is no sign of a baby bump (even though a few people have told me how cute the belly is, I haven't had the heart to tell them it is just fat!).

My life is suddenly even more pregnancy oriented as my first full Bradley series starts this week. I'm excited to "practice what I preach" and educate first time moms and dads in the joy of natural childbirth!

In other news, my life may never be the same again. Aubriella figured out how to unlock and open the front door today.

A big update!

2011-08-24T08:20:00.000-07:00

My plan was to write a nice big update for Aubri's 18 month birthday, but that passed 3 weeks ago! I can't believe how fast time flies!
For the record, my lack of posts in no way reflects the lack of events to write about. In fact it is the opposite! So much always seems to be going on that I can't seem to catch up.

In the last couple months we've been out of town twice for my "little sister's" bridal showers (not biological sister), stayed at a lake house with my parents, attended lots of birthday parties, and so much more!

Aubriella continues to amaze us with her vocabulary and personality. She is quite the comedian always trying to make us laugh. I love that I can pick her up from her grandparents and ask what she did, and she tells me. I can always count on her saying ice cream if she was with Grammy or Papa! She is stringing sentences together now, and can almost always get her point across! As I type, she is looking out our front window at kids walking to school and is yelling to them, "People! I see you!"

She currently loves playing with her puzzle, playing on the swingset, carrying around her baby dolls, and watching Elmo. She eats a lot more these days, and will usually try something new. Her favorite foods are still cheese, peas, edamame, cereal, blueberries,watermelon and occasionally chicken. She is pretty good about eating any fruit or green veggie (I don't know what it is about the green ones, but I'm not complaining!).

I completely weaned her by her 18 month birthday, and it went so smoothly. She now asks for "Trader Joes milk" and asks for it in a cup. Speaking of Trader Joes, Aubri is obsessed. She sometimes wakes up asking "go Trader Joes." She LOVES going there. The workers recognize her, especially the sample lady in the back who knows Aubri is there for cookies. Usually once we are done at Trader Joes she asks to go to Costco next (her other fave place!). If we pass the Trader Joes/Costco parking lot and don't stop she has been known to cry.

She isn't potty trained, but continues to tell us she wants to sit on the potty (even if she doesn't go). Lately she will tell me "Potty! Potty!" as she is going or about to go. We are working on timing!

The cutest thing Aubri does lately, is come up to my me, lift up my shirt, kiss my belly, then say "Baby get big!" Did you catch that?? Aubri is going to be a big sister! We are so excited to be having another baby, and think the age gap and timing couldn't be more perfect. I am 10 weeks along, and feeling great. I had some early symptoms of mild nausea, but it already seems to be passing. Thankfully I'm not nearly as tired as I was when I was pregnant with Aubriella, but I have taken quite a lot of naps (something I did very rarely last time). I'm starting this pregnancy 13 pounds lighter than I started the last one, and so far haven't gained weight! I'm hoping chasing Aubri around will help me not get huge like last time!

So there you have it folks! A long overdue, but hopefully very exciting update on the Velazquez family.

At the Lake

2011-07-21T09:51:00.000-07:00

Last year with a new baby, high gas prices, and busy schedules we didn't make it out on the lake one time! This year we were determined to fix that!

Four days of camping with my family was a blast. The constant teasing between my brothers and I, the good food, the 4 person tube, the hot weather, the love Aubriella had for the water...it all added up to the best lake trip ever! I seriously haven't had that much fun in a long time!

I intentionally didn't pack any toys thinking Aubri would find enough to keep her entertained. I was right! She had a blast running around the campsite, getting dirty, finding sticks and rocks, going on bike rides, playing in her pool, on the swingset...way to much fun! She even had her first overnight stays with Nana and Papa, sleeping with them in the RV every night while we camped out in the tent.

My parents bought a new 4 person tube that all us "kids" could ride at once. One day we rode it for over 2 hours straight (minus the short breaks when someone flew off!), and the following day I was so sore and covered in bruises that it hurt to move.

Aubriella absolutely loved the boating life. She would promptly fall asleep as soon as the boat began moving, and after a nice nap she'd wake up ready to play.

Poor thing couldn't understand why she didn't get a turn wakeboarding and wakeskating! She loved going on the tube. She definitely keeps us on our toes because she has no fear of water.

Can't wait for our next trip!

4th of July!

2011-07-20T09:18:00.001-07:00

We had a great 4th of July! We were camping at Lake San Antonio with my family (tons more pictures of this trip to share!). Surprisingly even though it was a holiday, the place emptied out and it seemed like we had the lake to ourselves! We spent one last day out on the water and playing on the shore.

In the early afternoon we packed up camp and headed to Oceano. It was Jose's aunt Cuca's 50th birthday party!

His family had an amazing beach house right on the sand. We had a great time with ALL the cousins! It is rare that with a family this big for all of them to be in one place at one time. In fact it is the first time in over 4 years that it has happened (and 4 years ago there was at least 9 fewer kids!), so of course it needed to be documented in picture form!

Unfortunately my memory card was full from the camping trip and Sea World trips we had just been on. For every picture I wanted to take, I had to delete another! There weren't many pictures I was willing to get rid of, so we didn't get pictures of all the cousins playing together in the sand.

We ended the night watching lots of illegal fireworks lighting up the sky!

I love 4th of July and the freedom it represents!

Flowers

2011-07-20T09:10:00.000-07:00

Hydrangeas are my favorite flower. This summer we got 5 new hydrangea plants lining our walkway! Aubri and I love going out to look at them.

Yummy!

2011-07-20T09:02:00.001-07:00

Aubriella finally got to lick the cake batter of the beaters (I'd be lying if I said the only reason I'd held off was fear of salmonella...it is mostly 'cuz I don't want to share!).

Obviously she loved it

....until I took them away!

Summer highlight

2011-07-06T11:46:00.000-07:00

Our summer has been great so far! So many pictures to share and posts to write, but to make it easy I'll start with one of our summer highlights!

Aubri and her Grammy have been watching Shamu on youtube for awhile now. Aubri loves to cheer "Shamu! Shamu! Shamu!" like they do on the youtube clip. Grammy Silvia thought it was time that Aubriella got to experience Shamu in person, and- well lets just say you don't have to ask us twice!

I was so impressed with Sea World's park. It has been years since I last went, and I was amazed to see how toddler friendly it was. Aubri absolutely LOVED everything about it! Even though she will never remember this trip, she was able to really enjoy it. They have an entire Sesame Street area which happens to be her favorite. She went on her first ride, and still reminds us everyday about "Elmo ride up dada wee" (Translation "I went on the Elmo ride, that went up, with Dada and I said 'weee' ").

Can you see her little hands lifted? She was saying "wee!" in anticipation.

She had a blast climbing the jungle gym thingy and was sad to come down! Jose was yelling my name from up top to get my attention, so since then Aubri often yells "Marleeeeene!"

It was so nice having Grammy Silvia with us because she is a frequent Sea World visitor and could tell us the fastest ways around the park and offered the best suggestions. Aubriella especially enjoyed her Grammy because she got all kinds of fun souvenirs, snacks, and food!

On our quick trip to San Diego, we were able to stop in and see my "Mom #2". We missed seeing my former roommate and best friend Amanda (who is doing missions work and serving in Mexico with her husband for the entire summer), but got to spend the night with her parents and sister.

We also called Daniel and Katie last minute and arranged to meet them for lunch and say goodbye one more time. Kami and Aubri had so much fun playing together! Even though I am so proud of them for moving to Thailand to teach and do missions, I will miss them so much!

And one final stop on our way home...Biola! Aubriella loves it already. She has already decided she wants to attend there in 2028!

Cookie Maker

2011-06-21T12:23:00.000-07:00

Aubriella recently got a Seasame book called "Baker, Baker, Cookie Maker" and after reading it several times one day I asked if she wanted to make cookies. She's never been too interested in the past, but this day she was even willing to wear her bakers outfit.

We made a simple sugar cookie from a package, and she helped pour ingredients. She took her stirring job very seriously! Instead of indidual cookies we made one giant cookie, topped it with a whipped cream cheese frosting, and decorated it with fresh fruit. Yummy fruit pizza!

June gloom??

2011-06-19T13:42:00.000-07:00

I don't think I will ever get used to June gloom. It is summer for crying out loud, so why am I still wearing pants and a sweater? Even though I should be used to the chill and fog, everyone will agree that the rainy weather we had was way out of Central Coast character. I don't think I can remember rain in June ever!

Needless to say I was pretty bummed to wake up to COLD rainy weather the morning of the Rodeo parade. I haven't been in years, but we were so excited for Aubriella to go. Despite the weather we headed out anyway knowing we could come home whenever we needed. We were lucky that Emma works at PB & Assoc. so we set up camp on their grass and enjoyed their coffee and doughnuts.

Aubriella's favorite cousins joined us, and we made the most of the freezing weather huddled under blankets. I felt so bad for the little kids in the parade wearing shorts or leotards. On top of them freezing, there were very few spectators. The streets that are normally packed, were barely dotted with small groups of people.

Aubri sat in my lap for nearly 2 hours bundled up and enjoying the festivities. That made it totally worth it!

Do you ever wonder....

2011-06-18T16:00:00.000-07:00

...what happens when Aubri tries to brush her own hair and pull out her bow?

Now you know!

Memorial Day

2011-06-17T15:22:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Memorial Day by inviting some family, friends and our youth group over for a barbeque. Aside from the wind it was a fun time! We ate good food, played some games, and Rigo set up his science show in our garage .

One of the best parts of the show was Debbie's reaction to it!

Avila Valley Barn

2011-06-17T14:36:00.000-07:00

Our favorite place is back open for business! This past weekend we took a trip to Avila Valley Barn. It was the perfect day because the weather was nice and there wasn't the usual weekend crowd. Aubriella enjoyed it more than ever! She had so much fun watching the animals, walking from one pen to another calling the animals by name or saying their animal noise. Since Sunday she keeps reminding us about the "bok bok bok!" the turkey, horsie, dog...

We let Aubri lead the way for most of our time there, which meant we visited with the animals for quite some time and snuck lots of blueberries and grapes (don't worry we bought plenty of produce to make up for her stolen treats).

We took the tractor ride down to pick the juiciest, sweetest peaches.

Aubri usually doesn't want to eat or try anything, but she had so much fun picking the fruit she was brave enough to take a bite. After her first sticky taste she was hooked and we had trouble taking another picture without her face stuffed in the ripe fruit.

We have been eating fresh fruit and veggies all week and need to head back already to restock!

Why are boxes so much fun?

2011-06-17T11:20:00.000-07:00

Exciting things around the corner!

2011-06-16T15:10:00.000-07:00

Last month we took a long drive down south for some exciting events! It was a lot of hours in the car, but so worth it!

First we stopped in Ontario for a bridesmaid dress fitting for Stephanie and James' wedding! I can't believe the wedding is 3 months away! It was fun to see Steph, even for a bit. We will be wearing this dress in apple red.

Next we got to go to Kamryn's 1st birthday! A month later and Aubri still sings "Happy..to you! Happy..to you! Happy Kami! Happy to you!" Guess we got it stuck in her head singing it the 3 hours home.

I am so excited for the Lamb family who will be moving to Thailand next month. Their dream of becoming missionaries (and teaching overseas) is happening, and I know God is going to use them. But, I'm going to miss them! What a brave step of faith to leave everything behind and to start a new adventure serving the Lord.

Silly

2011-06-16T11:00:00.000-07:00

I found these pictures from a few months ago (April!). Aubri and I were being extra silly and it was fun to see her understand instructions. She loves looking at the pictures on the screen after we take them, so it was so cute to hear her laugh after each funny shot and say "Again!"

"Say Cheese!"

"Kiss Mommy!"

"Say Ahhh!"

"Funny face!"

"Be Silly!"

Jose came home from work wondering what we were laughing about, so we made him join in on the fun!

Iti s ok to laugh at us. I know we are weird!

Caleb is 2!

2011-06-15T10:21:00.001-07:00

I always feel so blessed when I see Aubri surrounded by all the cousins and friends her age! We got to attend the barnyard themed birthday for her little friend Caleb last month. It was so fun to see all the little tiny tots from church playing together! I couldn't help imagining them all growing up together, being in youth group, going to camp...

There was way to much cuteness here!

I'll be back soon!

2011-06-15T09:24:00.001-07:00

So sorry for the lack of blog posts! So much has happened since Mexico...I just haven't got around to posting all of it! For now I'll give you one final taste of Mexico.

These pictures were taken at church the Sunday before our team left. We took an offering to cover out outreach expenses (food) and the church family prayed for us. As an extra silly touch, the Velazquez family made sure to dress Mexican ;-)

Church/Mother's Day

2011-05-26T10:14:00.000-07:00

I had an amazing 2nd Mother's Day this year. Being in Mazatlan for Mother's Day (and Dia de las Madres a couple of days later!) is something I probably won't ever forget. The Mazatlan pastor had asked Pastor Jose if he would preach at both the La Vina English service and the Francisco Madero's Spanish Service. With one day's notice they also asked if our team would do the Children's service. No problem! I looked up a couple of lesson ideas and was told I would be able to print out some things and buy some materials later. I was confident we could pull off a lesson.

At La Vina Church it was surprising to me to see a service of white people! I didn't realize how many American and Canadian retirees there were in Mazatlan. Pastor Jose brought the message, and he invited the church members to come up for . Our team had an awesome time of ministry praying for a variety of needs.

After that English service ended, we jumped into trucks and drove to the colonia of Francisco Madero to be a part of the Spanish church there. Worship was awesome and it was powerful to sing along in Spanish to songs we knew in English. The day before we were never able to get supplies, a lesson plan or the craft I wanted and we had arrived too late to get access to the churches limited supplies. Without any children's ministry supplies, no detailed lesson, no Spanish speaking team members I was nervous!! When the children were dismissed (it seemed like that was half the congregation!) and Pastor Jose was being called up to speak, I whispered to him "Make it short!"

We were led to the "classroom" which is in the still under construction new building . With about 30 cute, but dirty and stinky kids, we crammed into a small cinder block room. Imagine no fan, one little window, no breeze, 95 degrees.....and those 30 kids (remember cute, but stinky!).

How we survived? I don't really know. Somehow, I did a short lesson in Spanish about the importance of the Bible and the salvation story. I called kids up to recite their favorite verse, and called on kids to answer questions.

We had taken along some beads and we made Salvation story bracelets (each color bead represents something black= sin, red=blood shed...). Shannan, Isabelle, and Debbie M. helped the kids with the bracelets and loved on them, while I was in shock that the Spanish words were coming to me. The kids corrected me a couple of times, I asked the Children's ministry director for help a bit...but overall they understood me and got the message. Thank you Jesus!

As much fun as we were having, I was still ready when the service was over. It was exhausting having to think so hard to teach and the heat was nearly unbearable.

I didn't get to see it, but I heard that the message Pastor Jose preached in Spanish was amazing and the whole church responded for prayer. The Holy Spirit showed up powerfully in that church and the Lord did some great things in people's lives.

Following the church service we enjoyed a good meal at a restaurant.

After that Jose had surprised me with a massage back at our hotel, and the rest of the evening was spent napping and resting by the pool.

I was so blessed by this opportunity to serve in Mazatlan, and I'm so blessed to have such a sweet little girl!

Francisco Madero

2011-05-25T11:54:00.001-07:00

One of our great privileges while in Mazatlan was to visit the feeding program in the colonia of Francisco Madero. 10 years ago, Madero was the worst of all neighborhoods. It was considered to be the "tolerant zone" meaning anything goes. Gangs, violence, drugs, you name it! Police did not patrol or enter the neighborhood and it was home to the red light district. 10 years ago our pastor Jose was visiting Mazatlan and checking out how our church could get involved in the work there. He happened to meet another Californian who had a vision for reaching this community. Our Pastor Jose was able to join the efforts and help raise funds for building one of the first feeding centers/churches that La Vina has (there are now 13!).

La Vina began by feeding the children of Madero weekly, then offering a Sunday School program. Soon these children of prostitutes were bringing their moms along and the church began ministering to them. Then a weekly church began as well as other programs, and Madero has become transformed by the Love of Christ!

Years ago when our church took a team to Madero, they helped lay the concrete for the building. During the trip 3 years ago they helped run the Children's program. This time it was running like a well oiled machine, and there was little for us to do aside from loving on the kids! It was amazing to see the ownership the people of Madero have taken for this church.

We walked in to see 120 kids running around the church (imagine a big concrete gym). We interacted with them and watched them horse around (we really need to loosen up on rules in our Children's ministry!). It was so cute to watch the kids immediately go to their seats and began to pay attention as the pastor's wife, Lolita, began the program. The kids participated in games, worship, prayer and a lesson.

Afterwards they were served a hot meal. We wondered why the plates were placed inside plastic bags, with the food on top of the bag. Some kids gobbled their food down in seconds, others barely picked at it and turned their bags inside out to keep the food to go. One team member saw a mother pulling left over bags out of the trash can to take home.

The volunteer mom and grandma cooks served our teams a plate. It looked so good, but we were told by our missions coordinator that if we didn't eat it, it would be used to give to the volunteers so we had to politely return our plates.

It was so sweet to watch this children's program. To see this many children listen to a Bible message and receive a meal was so special. To see their moms crowding in and waiting to hear more was amazing.

Outreach 2 Loma Bonita

2011-05-18T10:00:00.000-07:00

Our second day of outreach was to Loma Bonita, which means Beautiful Hill. To be honest I saw nothing beautiful about this place- aside from the people!

Loma Bonita is a poor colonia where La Vina has built 1 of their 13 feeding centers, and has had a school and church (I don't think either are operating right now). Once a week La Vina puts on a children's ministry program and gives the children a free lunch. We learned that we would be assembling bags of food to give to each house.

As usual the morning of our second outreach we met for team devotions, walked to the church for breakfast and stopped at Sams Club. Pastor Dave of La Vina pointed to items and told us how many boxes to get of each item. Oil, corn masa to make tortillas, tomato paste, pasta, rice... After we purchased 120 of every item, we created an assembly line in the parking lot to make bags per household.

Despite the heat, I couldn't believe how FUN it was to work as a team and assemble these bags. Such a simple task, but our excitement was building as we looked forward to delivering them! Even Canaan had a task!

We got to Loma Bonita and some boys immediately greeted our bus. They promised to lead us around the colonia to the occupied homes.

We broke up in 3 teams and headed in different directions to hand out tickets for a food bag. Our sweet "tour guide" Francisco led us barefoot -that is until someone loaned him a broken pair of size 10 flip flops! He took his job so seriously!

At each house we stopped at we offered to pray for the families, and told them to bring their tickets in an hour to pick up their bag of food. They were so appreciative!

We treated Francisco to a cold soda from the local "store". I can't even begin to express how the 6 pesos (about 50 cents) we spent on the soda blessed us to see his enjoyment!

We soon headed back to the center of the village to begin the food distribution.

Along with the food bags, we handed out stickers and candy to the kids, and toiletries to the moms. You should have heard us try to explain conditioner to people who rarely use shampoo!

The people seemed so trusting and open to us, and I was shocked to learn that the night before there had been a rape/murder in this village, and another family had been killed the week before (of course the pastor told us this AFTER we left).

Walking around Loma Bonita, praying for the people and meeting their needs taught me so much. We have so much to be thankful for!

Outreach Day 1 Continued

2011-05-17T11:10:00.000-07:00

After pulling away from the dump, we drive down a ways into a colonia to feed children with some of the hamburgers we had set aside.

It may be one of the highlights of my trip seeing the kids run from their homes to greet us. I couldn't believe how dirty they were and was shocked to see them running barefoot through glass! I didn't mind loving on these kids, but I was worried about Aubri getting lice, or falling in the glass so we kept her in the backpack. Jose, Isabelle and I walked around handing out stickers to the kids while the rest of the team handed out burgers.

Pastor Jose took Jose (Jos-B) and I down the street to check on a family he had met several years ago. The family had moved, but another lady let us enter her house. Though it was little more than a shack, she commented on the nice ocean breeze that comes up from below and her ocean view. It still amazes me how so many people were so grateful for what they had.

We spent a little more time hanging out with the kids before we headed back to the hotel for a much needed shower and nap!

Outreach to the dump

2011-05-17T10:00:00.000-07:00

Our first day of outreach was the hardest of all. We were sent into the dump. I've never been to an American dump so I can't compare, but I was told this is many times worse.

We drove up a dirt road to the top of a hill overlooking Mazatlan. Joy and I were riding in the back of an enclosed truck (think ice cream truck) with our kids, only able to see a little out the front window. The rest of our team rode in the back of an open pick-up. The closer we got, the hotter it seemed to get and for sure the dustier it was. We were shielding our eyes and mouth from the dust, yet trying not to breathe through our nose because of the stench (first miracle of the day was that I surprisingly got used to the smell and didn't notice it after a short while!). When we parked and got our first look around Joy and I looked at each other and wondered what had we gotten ourselves, and more importantly our kids into! Joy said, "Lord have mercy on us!" as we wondered how we were going to keep our kids from touching the ground for hours.

We had gone to the dump pulling a horse trailer that has been converted to a mobile kitchen. We would be feeding the dump workers and dwellers. Many people either live or work in the dump scrounging around the deposited garbage for anything of value. Either they want clothes or items to help build their home, or they are looking for recyclables that they will turn in for money. Some are sorting cardboard, others plastic, and others eating whatever food they will find. It is such a contrast to the tourist beach resorts that are seen in the distance just a 15 minute drive away.

In the blazing, muggy heat our crew got to work. We took shifts cooking and singing the ABC's to Canaan and Aubri who were restricted to the stroller and backpack for 4 hours (second miracle of the day is that the kids actually sat without a problem!). It was such a blessing to me to have other team members willing to help with Aubri because I felt like I got to contribute to the work too.

Immediately a group went out with cold water to hand out to the workers. As workers ran to get a cup, I was reminded of John chapter 3 when Jesus teaches that he is the living water. I know that after drinking this small cup, the people would be thirsty again immediately. But if they could only drink of the living water!

Our ministry at the dump was primarily providing food, yet a few from our team were out evangelizing, and all of us were letting the people know that Jesus loves them. It was so great to be a part of La Vina's work in Mexico because after we leave the church continues building long term relationships with the people and making disciples. While the dump workers don't often receive a hot meal, La Vina takes a group of retirees and tourist with sandwiches to the dump EVERY Thursday! Also, La Vina has planted 13 churches in the local colonias (villages) so a church is available to many. It was a honor to be representing La Vina church, and while I can't say I led any to the Lord at the dump, I know that I represented Christ and pray that the workers would be led to check out La Vina church.

Once the meat was cooked, we began an assembly line of putting together hamburgers, chips, and drink. We announced to the workers nearby that the meal was ready, and soon people began to run towards the truck! I line quickly formed, and after saying a prayer over the meal, and asking the ladies to come to the front of the line, we began serving 300 burgers. We noticed several people come through the line more than once (turning their hat backwards or trying to disguise themselves) but we just let them eat their fill.

Too many cooks in the kitchen, or many hands make light work?

What a challenging yet rewarding day!

Mazatlan Mission Trip

2011-05-17T09:30:00.000-07:00

I don't even know where to begin describing and summarizing our week long missions trip to Mazatlan Mexico. I will first say this, I believe the Velazquez Family has only scratched the surface of our involvement into missions work! This is just the beginning for us!

Before our trip, we had many people question if it was wise to be headed to Mexico especially with a toddler. I was one of them! After going to Mexico in March and having a rough trip, I was very nervous to be going back. We had a million reasons why we shouldn't go, but Jose felt strongly that we needed to go. A couple of weeks before our trip, all my anxieties and fears began to be replaced by excitement. With lots of prayer behind us our trip went great!

While in Mazatlan, we worked closely with La Vina Vineyard Church. They oversee all of our outreaches and pretty much told us what to do and when to show up. Our mornings began with team devotions at our hotel, followed by breakfast at the church. We would usually make a stop at Sams Club to buy food for whatever we planned to do then would head to our destination.

The three kids on the trip did amazing! Even in the heat and dust there was very little complaining for any one. Our entire team got along great and worked so well together. God really worked through us, and used us to meet the physical needs of so many by providing food, clothes, toiletries and more. And more importantly we were able to share the love of God and the gospel with many more.

What was amazing to me was how we were able to live out missions no matter where we were. One of the people we loved on the most was a man named Armando who lived on the beach in front of our hotel. He slept in a canoe that he rented out to tourist during the day. He worked for a company that did parasailing and tubing also. Every day we talked to him, prayed for him, gave him food, and gave him business purchasing his excursions!

Other people we surprisingly had the most contact on were the time share street vendors we passed everyday on our walk to the church. We'd pass the same men every day and got to share what we were doing. On the last day, one man yelled after us "La Vina, Mexico loves you!" and another received the shoes off of Wayne's feet.

Thank you to all our friends and family who helped make our trip happen. With your financial support and prayers we feel we were effective in our ministry, reaching the world for Christ!

Mazatlan Fundraiser

2011-04-25T12:04:00.000-07:00

Our Mazatlan Taco Feast Fundraiser was a great success! All the money raised is going directly to our outreach work (buying food and supplies for our daily projects). We are only a week away from our mission trip and we are getting very excited! We can't wait experience this mission trip and are looking forward to serving others!

Allow me to introduce you to a few of our team members:

Shannan- our church office assistant. She is amazing with kids, and detail oriented. Also a hard worker!

Fred- church attendee who I am excited to get to know better!

The bbq crew

Dennis- co-leading the team. Has the biggest heart ever, and is passionate about serving in Mexico. He is the real grandpa of 3/4 of the kids going on the trip, and "Papa" to everyone else.

Andy- he is Aubri's godfather so of course we think he is pretty great. He is fun to have around, and will probably be in charge on our construction projects.

Ben- maker of the Perfect Pickles (which we are selling by the way as another fundraiser. Anyone want a jar of some perfectly sweet and spicy dills? $10. Proceeds towards the Mazatlan trip). Ben is ma good friend and food connoisseur who we are counting on to lead us to the safe restaurants (clarification, the places where we will not get diarrhea from!)

Don Jose- In case you don't recognize him, this is my husband :-)

Aubriella- The youngest girl on the trip. Her best bud Canaan will be coming and she is very excited.

She unfortunately got her first scraped knee at the fundraiser.

Straight Sue

2011-04-25T11:18:00.000-07:00

Normally we call Aubriella Curly Sue, but the other day she was Straight Sue! Her godmother Joy bought her a tiny hair straightener for Christmas. I have been too scared to use it (for fear of burning her or damaging her hair) but I decided to give it a try. Aubri sat so still while I did, a true miracle compared to our usual hair struggles, and she was so proud of it afterwards. I really think she could tell she looked different!

I couldn't believe how different she looked, so grown up! I took a million pictures and of course am sharing a lot with you!

It is done!

2011-04-25T10:54:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, a rain-free forecast and no plans finally coincided! The swing set made it out of the boxes and was assembled by Jose and my dad with help from Matt!

They worked all day putting together Aubriella's clubhouse with a rock wall, swings, slide, monkey bars, and underground level...just kidding about the last part, but this thing has it all!

Aubri has already thoroughly enjoyed it- though the slide is really fast even for my daredevil. We have spent time almost everyday in the backyard, and even enjoyed a couple of bbq dinners! We are finally enjoying our backyard. I do feel bad for all our surrounding neighbors though because we often have had a backyard full of noisy kids.

Check out all the pieces!

Matt and Amanda called the day before asking if they can come up for a last minute visit. OF COURSE!

Aubri loved it even before it was assembled!

I loved how she wanted to "help"

We love sharing it with our friends and cousins!

Aubri and Ella love playing on the swing set. They didn't like sharing the toddler swing, so Ella's mommy was nice enough to buy another swing for Ella. PERFECT!

It hasn't completly eliminated the problem with sharing, but they are learning.....

Good Friday

2011-04-22T10:57:00.000-07:00

If you've read my blog at all, you know I love holidays. I got to admit though, I sometimes let Easter spring up on me (haha, just caught the pun). This year I've tried to be more intentional thinking about why we celebrate- Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice, paying the penalty for my sin! Wow!

Being pastors this year has brought along an added responsibility and humbleness as we are in charge of Children's Church on the "Superbowl of Sundays". We get to help share the message with the children who attend our church and many who will be visiting for the first time. It can't be just about candy, and eggs and bunnies! For months I've been browsing catalogs and online for the perfect craft, lessons, and treats and praying that the kids would hear and believe the gospel. I was blessed to hear of a 4 year old girl who was excited to go see the Easter bunny at school. When her mom asked her if that is what Easter is about, she said, "No! Jesus died for my sins!" Wow! Even as I type that I'm getting choked up. THAT is what Easter is about.

So today ( even as I am preparing my home for Easter brunch) I am preparing my heart to hear the message at the Good Friday service we will soon be leaving to. I don't want to let Easter pass without remembering what Jesus' death, and maybe more importantly, his resurrection has done for us. Because he died, we have eternal life.

Enjoy this song Glorious Day, by Casting Crowns as you take time to think about how "Living He loved me. Dying He saved me. Buried He carried my sins far away. Rising He justified, freely forever! "

http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=KLGYP7NX

Aubri was checking out the Easter bunny at Farmers Market. She wasn't a fan.

Nojoui Falls

2011-04-15T15:30:00.000-07:00

This post is long overdue, but I just came across the pictures and had to share them. For weeks I had been wanting to go to Nojoui Falls. We kept getting having rainy weather, but one day we had a break in the clouds. I somehow convinced Jose that it was perfect falls weather, and we got Savannah to come with us. We all tried to ignore the sprinkles on the window on the drive! It was beautiful! The rain made everything green and lush, and the misty air reminded us of being in Hawaii! Aubri was so excited to go in the hiking backpack

Savannah loved getting up close and feeling the spray.

Savannah was proud of the wildlife she found. (roly poly)

Afterwards we stopped at the honor system organic produce store. We got there late in the day so a lot of the produce was gone. We still had fun exploring.

Aubri deciding what to buy

"Why do you guys keep taking pictures of me??"

It was a long day and the girls were wiped out! So cute to see them asleep the way home.

Cell pics

2011-04-13T15:19:00.000-07:00

Ever since I upgraded from my much loved, but ancient cell phone I've been taking a lot more cell phone pictures. It seems like daily Aubri does something that Dada needs to see or her grandmas' need to know about. Here are a few of my recent faves. Papa and Jasen came over one day, and Aubri wanted to know where Nana was. I had to send a text to Nana! We got to pick Savannah up from school one day while Grammy was out of town. It was really hot and we needed ice cream. We had to let Grammy know we missed her. Nana and Papa were coming to pick Aubri off. The jokingly told me to have her waiting with her stuff by the step. So we did just that! I didn't know how long they would take so Aubri waited there for 10 minutes with me hiding on the porch. She looked so cute holding her doll and eating her raisins! I was too scared to leave her alone to grab the real camera, and to worried we'd be inside when my parents pulled up so cell phone quality is what we got. Had to show Carolyn Whitaker that everyone loves her food! Could not believe my picky picky eater could not get enough of cooked spinach leftovers! Aubri and Ella wanted me to text their picture to their friend Canaan ;-). Aubri wouldn't sit still and instead of retaking it, I sent it anyway because it is totally their personalities! This is what happens when Mommy answers Daddy's question of what Aubri should wear with, " I don't care. Anything you want." Besides this bedtime routine being absolutely precious, had to show Nana that the new baby doll never.leaves.her.side. (Yes I know that it is no longer Christmas. No I don't wash pajamas every other day. Of course I wish I would have bought more when Costco had them cheap!)

Mazatlan Mission Trip

2011-04-13T09:40:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Family, After much prayer and consideration, Marlene and I have decided to participate in a mission trip to Mexico. Joining together with a team from our church, Five Cities Vineyard, we will be headed to Mazatlan, Mexico on May 3rd. While in Mazatlan we will be working closely with La Vina Church doing various projects needed in the nearby colonias. Our goal is to provide encouragement and support to La Vina, and participate in a unique opportunity to serve God and take part in His work among the poor of Mexico. We plan to meet people’s spiritual needs with outreach and sharing the gospel, and at the same time meet their tremendous, physical and material needs. With these goals in mind we will spend our time doing construction, taking a food truck into the impoverished communities, ministering to and feeding as many as we can, delivering clothes, and doing outreach at the land fill. We are very excited for this opportunity and look forward to all we will experience serving others! Aubriella will also be joining us, and though she may not remember much of our trip, we hope we can begin to instill in her the values of missions and service for others. The cost of the trip is $1000 per person. We have decided to pay Marlene and Aubriella’s fare out of our savings, but are attempting to raise the funds for my way. We’d like to humbly ask for your support of our trip. Whether you can pray for us daily, or financially support us, we would be grateful. All donations are tax-deductible, and can be made out to Five Cities Vineyard, and mailed directly to us. We’d also like to invite you to our mission trip fundraising “Taco Feast”, April 17th at noon at FCV 1052 E. Grand Ave, Arroyo Grande. We look forward to updating you after we return from Mazatlan, and hope to share all the great things God uses our team for while there! Jose

Time to buy some Kleenex stock

2011-04-07T10:47:00.000-07:00

I meant to post this last week, but the pictures weren't uploading....

"Aubri has been sniffle free for three weeks! Thank you Jesus! Before that it had been 3 months of runny nose (with two, one week breaks in there). That is a lot of tissues.

Found these pictures of her that I took the day she got sick again after a week break (which happily fell during her birthday!). For the most part she never complained or slowed down (except Mexico) but this day she wasn't napping well and *gasp* actually sat to watch TV. "

Should have posted it when I had the chance, because a runny nose has hit again. I am so sad, frustrated, mad, and I'll be honest, pissed off that my baby girl suffers from this so much! Another mom recently told me that it that it was a good sign kids don't know how to blow their noses because it means colds dont' stick around long enough. Wish I knew what that was like! Aubri has been blowing her nose for a couple of months! I'm praying she recovers quickly and we find out for sure what is causing it. Germs from other sickies? Allergies? Teething? Lord heal her fast!

Starting to eat

2011-04-06T17:13:00.001-07:00

So here is the messy evidence that Aubri is starting to like food!

Funny story...we had just got home from the beach and I bathed her to clean off the sand (hence the wet ringlets). DUMB mom, she pretty much needed another bath after this!

Aubri has improved so much in her eating. She especially loves spaghetti, yogurt, peas, blueberries, olives- pretty much anything that is "fun" to eat. We showed her how to bounce the peas "little green balls", put olives on her finger, and slurp spaghetti (gonna have to unlearn that) She went from barely 20 pounds 3 weeks ago to almost 22 lbs at her doctor visit a couple of days ago!

Beach bum

2011-04-05T15:39:00.001-07:00

LOOOOOVE the hot weather we have had! Perfect excuse for a last minute beach trip with my friend Sonya. Sonya got to see firsthand my weight loss secret- chasing after Aubri! We didn't stay as long as expected (you can only chase a little girl so long) , but it was fun to be out on the beach.

Even though my feet hurt from the cold water, Aubriella couldn't get enough! As soon as I put her down, she would take off towards the waves. She was fearless...and soaked!

Bummed I didn't take the camera, but got a cute picture of Aubri running away on my phone.

RANDOM!

2011-03-24T11:59:00.001-07:00

*I babysit a little girl once a week. Aubri LOOOVES having her over, and it is great teaching her to share her toys and mom. Yesterday the two little girls kept finding the camera and video camera bags, and would each grabbed one to wear as a purse. SO cute! I would have taken a picture....but they had the cameras! The little girl is named Ella. It is so funny to say "Aubri, Ella!"

*There has been lots of talk about a large California earthquake. Pastors and people we know and respect have felt the Lord telling them to warn people to get prepared. Then Japan happened. Then that geologist predicted there would be an earthquake (didn't happen as predicted). Bottom line we are taking heed of the advice and have prepared ourselves for disaster. Just in case. Let me tell you disaster preparedness is not cheap!

*Aubri is as active and happy as ever. She is also as defiant and strong willed as ever. Oh that little girl. I can tell she is going to give us a run for our money. Time to pull out the Dobson books and start learning how to use this determination and independence for good! Her favorite word right now is "No", she runs from us when she has something she's not supposed to, and shakes her head and waves her finger right before she does something bad. She can scream and throw a fit one second, and give kisses the next. Oh, and she is FAST. She can run around the house, the church or a restaurant in no time.

*Aubri has gained a pound! She has finally ended her 13 month food fast and is starting to eat more solids. By more I mean we cheer that she will eat a small yogurt container over the course of a day, a few blueberries, a pinch of peas, a cracker or two, and a couple of pieces of pasta! She has also impressed us by eating a tiny bit of chicken. Way to go Aubri! This is a huge improvement for her as she prefers to survive (and in my opinion THRIVE) on milk.

*Aubriella's 3 month cold magically disappeared the day her 6th tooth popped out! Her top gums had been swollen for months, and over the last two weeks all 4 broke through. I'm a believer in teething colds now! We haven't had a snotty sneeze in a week!

*Our kitchen was so close to being complete! We had a working sink and a dishwasher about to be delivered! Then my dad set up the sink to install the dishwasher, only to get a call the dishwasher wouldn't arrive for a week. We are back to an unusable sink and no dishwasher. Hopefully tomorrow it should all be resolved.

*We finally did our taxes and are getting back much more than we expected! It is so amazing to see how God has met our needs even though I quit my full time job last year. I tell you this to encourage you to tithe! We've faithfully given tithes and offerings to our church and continued to give to our favorite organizations (Care Net Pregnancy Center and World Vision) and have seen God show up in many unexpected ways. I can't begin to express how grateful I am to Him and thankful that I am able to "stay home" with Aubriella!

*Our backyard swing set continues to sit in boxes in our garage. Every time Jose and my dad plan to assemble it, it rains. We always have so many weekend commitments, so I pray we get a free, dry weekend sometime soon!

*My first Bradley class starts in a week! Yay! I'm excited, but praying for at least one more student couple! Pass along the word to any preggo friends!

Family Portraits

2011-03-17T10:37:00.001-07:00

We managed to get professional pictures every three months throughout Aubriella's first year. I'm kind of sad our appointments with Christina (Moments Captured) are over for now. Every shoot seemed to get better and better, and Aubri's one year pics were no different!

Aubri may have been sneezing up a storm, not willing to sit still for a second, and the weather may have been chilly, but I love these pictures!

You'll notice she is clutching her shirt in many of them. It is because she is obsessed with her belly button and the surest way to get a smile is to ask to see it!

Ovredue Update

2011-03-15T10:10:00.000-07:00

It has been a very long time since I last updated! I have a million pictures from last month of Aubri, house deconstruction, Jasen's 15th birthday (the parents rented a beach condo for him and 20 friends to hang out. Can you all feel bad for me that the youngest gets everything? ;-), and so much more!

Here's a short recap on things that have been going on...

The end of February and now early March have been as busy as ever. I completed my Bradley academic requirements and am now an approved provisional teacher! I'm hoping to start my first class in a week! YaY!

Aubriella has had a rough time teething, culminating in a horrible 2 days while we were in Mexico (deserves a post of it's own) where three teeth finally broke through! Poor thing was so misserable in pain, had a very high temp, and refused to eat for days. She has had a runny nose for months now, and it makes me so sad for her. No 1 year old should go through this many tissues, know how to blow her nose, and like the booger sucker. It seems to be getting better since the teeth came out.

A few months back our dishwasher leaked/broke and caused some cabinet damage and some mold to grow. We finally got the insurance claim and had weeks of an unusable kitchen! It was pretty intense how serious they take the mold issue. Thankfully after the company came and tore our kitchen apart, my dad was able to repair it back together!

It seems like our house is never completely clean or picked up. We are always going in 5 different directions, have busy weekend schedules, and somehow the cleaning is the first to get neglected. I try to at least pick up, and find myself following the Aubri tornado around. I pick up her toys at least three times a day and put things back in the cupboards up to 5 times a day. I can't stand to leave the mess out all day so for now she takes things out and I put them back all.day.long.

Birthday season has come and gone for us. In the past three months we've had all our parent's, all our little family's, and my brothers' birthdays. I need to figure out the math and make sure we don't add any kids to the family with birthday from December-March! Lots of presents and parties!

Hopefully I'll get around to posting more details about things we've been up to!

Her "real" Birthday

2011-02-16T08:30:00.001-08:00

Aubriella's actual birthday was the day after her party! After a fun morning at church (I heard her tiny tot's class sang Happy Birthday to her during snack!), we went out to eat with Aubri's grandparents. I love these pictures Jose snapped right before we went in. She looks so grown up!

It was an exciting day because Aubri got to use her new forward facing car seat! She loved it! The excitement of it wore her out though...

Later that evening, Aubriella's grandparents and great grandparents came over for dinner and more cupcakes!

She is a pro at blowing out candles! Every time she did it she said "Gen, Gen!" (Again, again!) I think she made us sing and relight the candle close to 5 times!

She knew exactly what to do!

All this birthday stuff is too fun!

Superbowl

2011-02-16T08:25:00.000-08:00

It seems like every year there are two teams in the Superbowl that I could care less about. There isn't much motivation to get really excited for the game. Such a bummer, because we have so much football party stuff that we could really throw a great bash.

Even still I had planned on having a small Superbowl party but (call me crazy) after Aubri's party the weekend before, I never really remembered to invite people over! Our friends were all getting together after church but Jose and I both pictured Aubri without her nap, running around with me having to chase her. We decided to come home where she could nap then run around without us fearing she will break something and had my parents join us.

Our Chargers were a huge disappointment this year, but we are not fair weather fans!

Valentines Day!

2011-02-15T15:28:00.000-08:00

I'm a huge fan of holidays, and V-day is no exception. As a kid I loved the classroom parties, valentines day cards, and will never forget the flowers from my dad and the year of the amazing breakfast my parents prepared for Jesse and I(complete with LOTS of decorations, gifts, heart waffles topped with ice cream and strawberries).

In high school and college the day lost its appeal being single. It came and went and most I don't remember-except my sweet friend David buying all us girls single roses, and the other year Jesse had a concert in a coffee shop.

But then I met Jose. And Valentines was suddenly one of the best.days.ever. Hot tub and massages at Sycamore- yes please! Surprise night stay at the Cliffs, and couples massages at some fancy Vineyard place in Paso- heck yes!

Then it was my turn to plan Valentines Day. I'd always wanted to do a progressive dinner and thought it would be a good time to try it out. I picked places that meant something to us for apps, dinner, and dessert. But turns out Jose and I had never tried going out to eat on V-day. Lets say the night ended in three strikes when every place had a TWO HOUR wait. We ended up with dinner at Olive Garden in the bar section.

Last year we were still in awe of our little two week old bundle and a night in was perfect for us. I tried ( I think) making a dinner, but I remember holding Aubri throughout it.

This year we couldn't decide who was going to take the planning lead, so we both kind of did. I planned The Ten Days of Valentines, where every day I hid a small gift or planned something for Jose. Can I just add how amazing it is to hide gift #1 in my husband's Bible and be absolutely certain he would find it the following morning?? I'm so blessed!

Jose planned an early V-Day dinner Friday night so we could be Aubriella and crowd free. I was so excited to find a gift waiting in my car (framed Jose original love poem and the cute shirt I'm wearing as I type). We enjoyed an amazing meal at Steamers in Pismo. I'm so glad they haven't started posting the calories on the menu yet like every other stupid restaurant because I didn't want to be reminded the seafood fondue has about 3000 calories while wearing my size three skinny jeans--- oh yes, that is not a typo friends. I just shared my pant size 1) because I have not been this size since Jr. High/Freshman year 2)I never thought I could be this size again 3) because I still can't believe they fit, and thought maybe typing it out might be like pinching myself.

Any way back to V-day dinner. It was amazing, dessert following was amazing (though probably could have been better if the calories weren't on the menu making me choose the least caloric of the choices),my husband is amazing.

Saturday- Sunday Night the 24 hr flu hit me hard, but I woke up V-day morning feeling great. It was miserable, but I did lose another 1 1/2 pounds so I could look at the bright side.

Monday morning, Aubriella and I picked up breakfast burritos, candy and a balloon to surprise Jose at work. It was raining and my trying to juggle all that, a baby, and my suitcase sized purse with the camera inside wasn't to successful. We managed to lose the balloon as we were walking in...and a shoe (Aubri's not mine). We had fun causing a commotion at work and eating breakfast in the break room with Jose.

At lunch, I had our wedding video and slide show playing-- cheesy but so fun since we hadn't seen it in 3 years.

Aubri at the window saying bye to daddy!

She loves her little singing puppy from Daddy!

For dinner Aubri and I cleaned up, lit candles everywhere, and made homemade pizza. I even had my old college dorm floor soundtrack "Midnight over Manhattan" playing in the background as an extra touch. Jose walked in the door as the appetizers were coming out of the oven. Perfect!

She joined us at the table instead of her high chair

Her first taste of bubbly cider

We may not have had a few hundred dollars to drop on a nice hotel stay and couples massages, but this may have been my favorite Valentines day- or 10 days :-)

It's in the details

2011-02-03T11:12:00.000-08:00

Just thought I'd share some of the details of Aubriella's Cupcake party. Everything turned out great (except the weather ;-). I was so lucky that Silvia helped me look for all the special details...like the perfect square plates, pinata, silverware, goodie bags and SO MUCH more! She probably stopped at every party store in Santa Maria and San Diego! Thank you Silvia for all your help!

I had fun making a few crafts for the party. Tissue paper pom poms, high chair tutu (my mom helped me cut the 100's of tulle strips!), and Aubri's hair clip (that she wore for 10 minutes before we decided to put her hair in pig tails!), and even planted a few flowers in pots for centerpieces.

I lucked out that a few stores were featuring Valentine's Day cupcake themes. I was able to mix and match from everywhere!

This perfect flag I found at Kohls. And matching dollar store balloons! The easiest little walkway to let guests know to come through the back.

For a couple of weeks I was hanging the pom poms everywhere! Eventually they surrounded the posts and rails of our bed!

They were scattered on fishing line above the party, but ended up bunching in a few places because of the wind. I thought it still looked cool!

The banners are actually what started to whole party theme. My friend Sarah made Aubri her name banner for her room. I was going to attempt a Happy Birthday one to match and have a pink and brown cupcake theme. Then we happened to go to another friend's house and she had the pastel one already made, AND it had cupcakes on it.

What is a cupcake party without cupcakes! I baked 120 cupcakes, and Silvia frosted them all! About 7 years ago while I was in college, I compulsively bought this little cake stand and matching pastel plates with a cupcake theme. I've never used them, until now! They were PERFECT!

Some of the cupcakes had little sparkly crowns in them. They were made by Aubriella's godmother Joy, and were left over from one of my baby shower invitations! I taped them to toothpicks.

Of course the only time I had to stop and take some pictures of details was before the party started...sadly before everything was set up! I was so excited to be able to use my swap meet vintage pastel bowls for the salsa, and my favorite set of melamine nesting bowls for chips! They looked so cute (you just got to take my word on it!).

I asked my brother Jasen to take a picture from our upstairs window

Saw a tutu similar to this on Etsy... for $75! made it for $18!

I bought supplies to make Aubri a cupcake shirt, but ended up finding the perfect one at Babies R Us! I made her bow for free at Beverly Craft Stores 35th birthday party celebration! And her tutu and hat I found on clearance after Halloween mixed in with some costumes!

And finally, thanks to Silvia, the perfect pinata!

Family Day!

2011-02-03T07:41:00.000-08:00

Have I mentioned that the recent weather has been amazing? (Except for Aubriella's party....grrrrr). ;-) We had to take advantage of it being this nice so we finally walked the Bob Jones trail. Jose and I may be the last ones on the Central Coast that hadn't walked it! Even Aubriella is familiar with it thanks to Nana and Papa!

We of course took off wearing flip flops, and started getting nervous that everyone else was in hiking gear or looked really prepared. I guess they just really wanted to get some excercise because flip flops served us well!

It was so pretty and Aubri loved the stop at the swings and seeing all the dogs! We will definitely be doing this more often!
My girl loves the swings!

Aubri brought along her balloon from an earlier shopping trip.

Exploring the open road

Wish I knew how to take better pictures! The sun made this one dark, but the moment I caught is priceless!

Whenever Aubri is on Jose's shoulders she spends the whole time bending over to see him!

Since we took the walk at a very lesuirely pace (and somehow passed our bridge exit!) we got to Avila later than we planned. Aubri had fun walking around, and of course going on the swings.

We could have walked back, but instead added to our adventure and took the trolley ride!

A short story

2011-02-02T09:27:00.000-08:00

Once upon the time there was this really lucky mommy who had a beautiful baby girl and a handsome husband. The lucky mommy was convinced to get a pedicure by the handsome husband. Not one to argue with that, the lucky mommy indulged herself. Turns out the beautiful baby girl was lucky too. The Handsome husband/daddy took her to the park while the lucky mommy was enjoying her treat.

The silly Handsome Husband had so much fun with the beautiful baby girl. He told the lucky mommy "We must take her to the park much more!" to which the lucky mommy replied, "I don't think so. Not when we have two huge boxes containing lumber and parts for a gorgeous swingset for our own backyard sitting in the garage waiting to be assembled!" Turns out the only one not lucky is the handsome husband...because he has some work cut out for him!
The End

Long Legged Lady

2011-02-02T09:19:00.000-08:00

January has been very unseasonably warm around here (that is until the day of Aubri's party....grrrrr). A few weeks back it was pushing 80 degrees and when Aubri put up a fight during a clothes change I decide to not fight back. Jose and I were cracking up that she was walking around in her diaper and shoes (lately if she finds a pair of her sparkly shoes she HAS to have them on!).

Things got even funnier when she took a break for a snack! We could not get over how long she looks! She's really been thinning out lately, and obviously getting taller!

Setting the tone

2011-02-01T12:01:00.000-08:00

I'm a big advocate for invites setting the tone for a party/wedding/event. The invites hint at the theme, colors, and tone of the festivity to come.

With that said, you can imagine the pressure I felt after the holidays were over when I realized that I had 2 weeks to find invites and mail them for Aubriella's party! I didn't even have a concrete theme! I found invites I looooved but they were about $1.25 a piece and needing 45 of them didn't go over to well. Believe it or not I "settled" for some 44 cent ones from Walmart. At the time I didn't think they were the right style, but after the party came together I realized they were perfect.

Ok, hard part done, card picked...now we just need a picture. Wow! I forgot how hard it is to stage a picture of a very active girl. I've been singing since then my made up song "How do you take a picture of Aubriella?" (to the Sound of Music tune How do You Solve a Problem like Maria). It is like trying to catch a wave upon the sand, holding a moonbeam in your hand, catching a cloud and pinning it down...

Thought you might want to laugh with me some of the outtakes. I'm sure Aubriella will love these someday. Keep in mind these were taken over the course of a couple of days.

Clearly outside was too distracting. All she wanted to do was run around! We tried her chair outside and that didn't last.

So we moved inside.

I actually got this cute one inside, but her diaper was a little distracting. I tried to fix her skirt, but she took off....and hid inside her tent!

Not happy to come out of her tent!

Very not happy!

Ok lets call it a day!
Day 2

I had to chase her down after every shot! Looks like she is dancing, but just trying to run away I think.

Trying to get her to smile. I was singing to her and she's doing the "mark it with a B"

She's off again!

Not her fault in this one, camera setting too dark.

Can you see how messy her hair is getting from all the chasing and wrangling her back in the chair?

Believe it or not, this is the winner!

Not posed, taken as a joke over the stair banister, distracting tile and carpet... but that is 100% my little girl!

I just had the best year of my life!

2011-01-30T21:43:00.000-08:00

Happy birthday Aubriella Joy! You have brought us so much joy. I love everything about you (except can we please try working on that food throwing thing? thanks), and I thank God everyday for allowing us to be entrusted with your little life. I can't wait to see the big things you were created for, and look forward to 17 more years of helping mold you and guide you closer to Christ.

Baby girl Mama and Dada love you so much!

Jose

2011-01-19T08:52:00.000-08:00

Jose celebrated his 29th birthday this month! I may be a bit... ok a lot...behind in blogging but he deserves his post nonetheless!

Where do I even start to praise Jose? Aubri and I are SO lucky to have Jose in our lives. As he likes to point out, he is different then most guys. He loves everything about being a husband and dad. He helps out around the house, changes diapers, puts his clothes in the hamper, always puts the toilet seat down, and wipes up his splashes around the sink! WHOA! On top of that, he is handsome, sweet, writes me silly poems, reads his Bible every morning, and does a devotion or lesson with me at night! He works hard for his kids at work, comes home, and before even getting a chance to sit down gets ready for whatever committment we seem to have every.single.night. He watches most football games in fast forward (thanks DVR!) and gave up fantasy football to spend more time with us.

Jose you are the greatest husband and father there is! We love you so much and are so thankful for all that you do for us!

1st picture

2011-01-14T08:04:00.000-08:00

Sorry friends for the lack of updates! Just wanted to share with you the first picture of the new year.

Taken New Years Day morning:

I think it is going to be a great year!