Happy Weekend

I don't have much to say today except that I am very happy that its Friday and I get to spend the 

whole weekend with my Little.  Have a good weekend everybody!!

<3 Mama Chuca

Park Days

November 2010

February 2011

March 2011

September 2011

March 2012

September 2012

As I was looking through iPhoto today, I noticed that we have a number of pictures of our little family at the park!!  When Little was born we had a park literally 2 steps away from our tiny apartment and we took him there often.  After we moved it got a harder to take trips out to a park, which is when we decided to sign Little up for Gymboree.We didn't take photos every time we went to the park, but I wanted to share a few shots of Little from when we did remember to bring the camera along.   The weather is getting more and more pleasant these days so I foresee many more park trips, hopefully I will be catching some more huge smiles from a happy Little swinging in the park in the near future.

<3 Mama Chuca

26 Months

 

Favorite Foods:  Little didn't have much of an appetite the a few days ago, he just wouldn't eat and we were worried.  We made it a point to cook his favorite foods and buy his favorite snacks but he wouldn't budge, it didn't help that he had a stomach virus for a day or two.  Then all of the sudden he was back to his hungry self and we were so relieved!! Loving mac and cheese, rice, chicken, pasta, ice aqua and all the usual! Thank Goodness!!

Watching:  Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Toy Story 3, Finding Nemo, Little Bill and recently he loved Lilo and Stitch!  Still cutting down on TV, but we're a little more lenient now that Little goes to school full time.  Knowing that he spends his day learning and playing at school with his friends makes us feel a little better when we let him watch a cartoon or two. 

Reading: Happy Halloween Little Critter, The Very Hungry Catapillar, Potty and any bookhe finds laying around.  He usually picks up about 3 or 4 of his favorite books for us to read at bedtime. 

A few of his favorites:  He has been trying to sing! If I start singing he starts a little hum, more of a sing songy voice, and he repeats the last word I say at the end.  Wheels on the Bus, Itsy Bitsy Spider, ABC's- just little tunes like that.  Dada and Little have created a game; Little names our family (Dada, Mama, Jude) and then jumps or throws himself on the bed and laughs like crazy.  Little loves putting all of his little toys to sleep, carrying around Stitch his stuffed animal everywhere, lining all his toys up and making them jump off whatever they are lined up on.  For some reason all of the sudden NO is Little's favorite word. He doesnt scream it or get upset when he says it, he just simply says,"no" when you ask him a question.  

Mama: Can we try on this sweater?

Little: no

Mama: Come on, its gonna be cool! Look it has a dinosaur on it!

Little: no

This is pretty much how our conversations are now, not too fun.  

A few of our favorites:  He has been trying to count, he can count to 5 on his hand...sort of.  He'll start to count his toys but sometimes he gets confused and his numbers get mixed up.  Either way he's trying and we are encouraging him, he definitely has 5 down though!  Little is talking more and more, he can repeat everything we say which is good because I do want him to learn.  But a huge new development is that he is starting to say 2-3 word combinations on his own! While we drive he says "go under trees" and he'll say "no wohw wohw" (no dog), I love it. Ive been working on manners with Little lately, its so cute hearing him say tantu (thank you) and peeece (please).  Every Friday Little brings home the work he's done all week at school, it makes me sooo happy and is my favorite thing about Fridays!

Watching Dada and Little run around the park I kept wondering; how on earth Little was going to grow up to be as big as Dada. Its a funny thought, thinking that this tiny little boy who is eventually going to be a huge guy like his Dada.  Chances are he'll look just like his Dada, since everybody tells me he already does- I don't see it!  I got really excited thinking about the fact that I get to watch this kid grow up, I am one lucky Mama!

<3 Mama Chuca

WOWZA!

Photos taken with my phone at our favorite restaurant, oh theres a tortilla too.

Yesterday I found myself staring at Little and throughout the night asking Dada,"Doesnt he look older today?" or saying "I think he might have gone through a growth spurt".  Only to realize today that yesterday he turned 26 months!! How could I have forgotten? Yes I do have a lot on my mind with the new house, the wedding, invitation designs for a party, an upcoming trip and a whole lotta work stuff.  But how could I have forgotten that my sweet little boy turned 26 months?! And I definitely owe you guys a monthly post!! I promise tomorrow I will have Little's Monthly post full of photos and tidbits of what this kid is loving and doing this month.  Besides wondering why my son looked like a big boy last night, we also pretended to be Mama and baby monkeys.  I would put him over my shoulder, make monkey noises and pretend to eat bugs from his hair.  He, in turn, laughed like crazy and ate bugs from my hair, then we tackled Dada who was obviously from another monkey clan.

<3 Mama Chuca

Weekend Recap

He's not crying or sleepy, he just didn't want to be photographed!

HELLO HELLO!! Here is the rundown of our weekend!!

On Friday we had dinner at Tia Linda's house and watched the movie What to Expect When You're Expecting.  Which turned out to be hilarious, Elizabeth Banks always makes me laugh!! Oh and Dada would definitely be a member of the Dudes Group!

Saturday we had a big yard sale, we usually have a big one every 6 months.  This one was a little smaller than usual but there was a pretty good turn out.  Although most of the time we end up just trading goods with each other.  Ill usually trade a couple of Little's old outfits to Tia Rachel for baby Noah (her 1 year old) for some of Cousin Rene's old toys (he's 7).   One woman's size 5 toddler shoe is another woman's slightly used lego set, this works out pretty well for us!  After that Little and I stayed in because Dada had to work, due to the new iPhone!  Little's daycare gave us homework that I worked on that night, we had to put together pictures of family for a book that will be made.  So I had a couple of pictures of the family printed and Little had a blast going through them over and over again, quizzing me on the family members.  Whenever I asked Little if I could take a picture of him, he would smile and throw his face into the blanket!

Sunday, Little went to Gramma's house to watch the football game with Papaw so that I could have lunch with my girlfriends.  I needed a little bit of girl time, thank goodness for loving grandparents!!! That night we went to dinner with a good friend of ours who we've asked to be our wedding photographer.  He said yes (YAY!), we are very excited about it, he mostly photographs bands and has quite the eye.  We ate pizza, caught up and Little was a very well behaved big boy!!

Today Ive been very excited about our new home we will be in next month!! Ive been dreaming up canvas's and art I want to make for our new walls.  Im even thinking about wall colors, Ive always wanted a yellow kitchen!! Right now I have a lot to be grateful for and Im very excited about all the new things headed this little families way.

See you tomorrow!
<3 Mama Chuca

Favorite Movie Friday

Away We Go

Hello there, second FMF post!!

Today Im going to be talking about another Mama movie, Away We Go!

Synopsis: Burt (John Krasinksi) and Verona (Maya Rudolph) both in their 30's with their first child on the way, take a trip to find a home for their new family.  By traveling to the homes of friends and families around the US they begin to discover what "home" is really all about.

10 reasons I love this movie!

1. The cast alone is amazing!! John Krasinksi, Maya Rudolph (love), Catherine O'Hara, Jeff Daniels, Maggie Gyllenhaal (love), Allison Janney (love) and Jim Gaffigan- to name a few.

2. Burt and Verona's relationship is awesome; they love, support and make each other laugh. What more could a girl ask for?

3. TAYLOR... TAYLOR... TAYLOR... TAYLOR...! Allison Janney is hilarious in this movie and the way she describes her boobs after pregnancy is frighteningly not too far from the truth.

4. The scene with Verona and her sister (her only living family) is so endearing and sincere.  What can I say... I'm a sap for sisterly love in movies.

5. Maggie Gyllenhaal is quite the scene stealer in this movie, but I could not stop laughing at the dinner scene!  And I just have to say Im a bad Mama because I use a stroller and "PUSH" my baby away from me!!!

6. The couple's trip to meet their old friends was amazing and heart wrenching.  I was in tears, I can't go too much into it without feeling sad all over again.  I just have to say that I happen to love their home, their children and the love they have for each other.

7.  Burt really reminds me of Dada! It could be the beard, the height, the silly things he says or perhaps when he tries to make me feel better and it comes out completely wrong!! lol

8.  There were no cookie cutter families in this movie and I love that.  We are shown a cooky nuclear family, a family of just sisters, a bohemian family, an adopted family, and a newly single parent family. Not all families are the same but that doesn't mean they have any less love.

9.  That old house at the end looks amazing!

10. When I first watched this movie I was about 7 months pregnant and I really connected with the characters.  I too wondered if we Dada and I were "screw ups" because we were 24/25ish, pregnant with our first baby and didn't have the basic stuff figured out.  Luckily seeing this movie helped me to remember that its the family not the place that help you make a home.
 

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this movie, I strongly advise if you haven't seen it, go out and find it immediately! I've had an unfinished draft of this post waiting forever, every friday I would look it over and then chicken out and not post. This was mostly because I really love this movie and wanted to be able to do it justice, today I just said "go for it" and here you have it.  Hope you enjoyed.

<3 Mama Chuca

Happy Weekend!!

Big Boy

I know I've said before that I have a big boy but I think its really starting to sink in with this Mama.  This big boy of ours has become a master builder lately.  He received a small lego set for his birthday and when he remembers he has it, takes it out and builds away.  He'll build a towering car and say "MAMA big brrroom", in return I tell him what a good job he's done.  So over and over he builds a huge car or airplane, calls me to look and then knocks it down to rebuild.  I also find him reading to himself, or at least a version of reading.  He sits with a book and flips through pages saying... uh nuh...uh nunhh...uhn uhnhuh.... in a sing songy voice.  He could possibly be mimicking my voice when I read to him, either way its darling to watch. Does this mean he's ready to start learning to read?? Ok ok I won't get a head of myself!!

Yesterday I went to pick up Little early from daycare and caught the him doing the cutest thing.  I walked inside and saw him in a little line of kids (his age) all walking with their hands behind their back, he was walking and laughing with another kid.  WHA?? Hold the phone!! He can be good, follow directions and have fun without Dad or I around??  Perhaps I haven't been giving him enough credit.  When he comes home with me I see a little baby turning into a big boy, but maybe I already have a big boy.  All the times I worried about him being at school alone, I never even stopped to think that he is a big boy who can handle it!  Part of me thought he spent the hours we're apart thinking about me, as I do here in my office about him.  But no my big boy is learning and laughing with his friends at school, as he should be.  I can not wait till he can actually come home and tell me all about his day. 

<3 Mama Chuca

Life Lately

 Our best friend babies!!

I swear I had a FMF post all ready for Friday and then I went into a meeting, then Monday was busiest workday and didn't get a chance to post again!! My biggest apologies, with tidbits of our life lately:

I think I might have mentioned before that Tia Linda is the head chef and manager of an amazing cupcake place.  Well her location was having a huge birthday bash to celebrate being open for their first year.  As part of this bash that included free mini cupcakes, a cupcake piñata and some sprinkle guessing games, Tia Linda asked me to do some face painting! The kids were all very sweet and nobody asked for anything too crazy: cupcakes, ice cream cones, hearts, butterflies, angry birds, spiderman and a Saints symbol.  I thoroughly enjoyed the whole day and my Midnight Magic cupcake, which I call Chocolate Chocolately Chocolateness.

On Sunday Dada and I took Little to see Finding Nemo 3D!! We always go to the same theatre because its prices haven't jumped to infinity yet and we've had pretty good experiences with Little watching movies there.  So as soon as we turned into the parking lot Little started going crazy!! He started saying, "ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT", it was so cute to see him getting so excited about  this special treat.  He behaved amazingly and loved the movie!! SCORE!

After the movie Little took his nap at home with Dada while he watched the Texans game, so I headed out with Tia Linda who was doing Christmas shopping!!! WHA?! Yes, my sister is getting it done early this year and that might be pretty smart! While going through Toys R Us with her I started to get excited about what I thought our little cousins might like to open.  This year however I believe I will do my best to stay with the 4 Gift Rule for Little; something he wants, something he needs, something to wear and something to read. I said I would do MY BEST.

Speaking of holiday fun, I saw a lot more costumes out for Halloween! I even bought Little a new Halloween book, Happy Halloween Little Critter, to help him understand a little more.  Tia Faith is throwing a big costume party for her oldest son Ray and we're invited, costumes are a must!!  So Im pretty much thinking that Little and I are going as Pugsley and Morticia from the Addams Family, an easy to do costume for Little!

We are moving into the cutest little house!! A friend of the family is in the process of repairing and remodeling a little home and asked my aunt if she knew anybody interested in renting.  My mom then told me to drive by the house and see if it was something we like and it was! Its a 3 bedroom home with hard wood floors throughout, its close to Tia Linda's house and its in a quiet neighborhood down the street from the elementary I went to! Our move in date is November 1st and I can't wait to set up Little's room!!

Dada and I have a date in mind for the wedding.  We're still playing around with the idea and working with our budget, but I think we might go with it.  We even started looking at some venues and fell in love with one in particular.  I don't want to reveal too much too soon, but this wedding is already moving forward! EEK!!

And its barely Tuesday!! Hope everybody has a great rest of the week!!
 
<3 Mama Chuca

Currently

Reading: Im actually not reading anything myself right now, I finished the Frida Kahlo book and started 123 Magic.  Sadly I put 123 Magic down and have yet to pick it up again, I think I still had a book hangover from Frida.  Does that happen to anybody else?? I have to completely process a book before I pick up another or else I can't concentrate on what Im reading.  This may have been passed on to Little, because as soon as we say bedtime he pulls out the same 5 books to read! Maybe he needs to have them each read 100 times to fully process the book.  Newest to the bedtime book line up is Winnie the Pooh (Classic) Grand Adventures.

Watching:  Still watching my fav- Project Runway, although I usually record it and end up watching it on Saturdays during Little's nap.  Its a pretty good season, many great designers and tidbits of drama! Im pretty much rooting for either Dmitry Sholokhov or Sonjia Williams, I feel like they could produce some amazing things if they were to show at fashion week!  Ive also been recording Four Weddings to help me with wedding ideas and to see what exactly goes into a wedding...turns out its A LOT!  We made the mistake of bringing Toy Story 3 home from Grammas and now everyday Little asks to see this!! Aye yi yi!

Anticipating:  So excited for our trip to visit Dada's Family that will be happening very very soon!  Ive been looking up tips and tricks to keep a toddler happy during a first time flight, if you have any please send them my way.  Ive been making lists upon lists of things I don't want to forget, I just need to remind myself to jot it down and not keep it in my head.  Dada and I are sooooo excited!

Laughing:  The other day Dada, Little and I went to the Disney Store to have a look around and they had Halloween costumes out already!  This year for Halloween I was going to try and let Little choose his own costume thinking that maybe since he was little older he might be able to grasp the concept that you can dress up as something you really like.  This is a little harder to explain to a 2 year old, as i learned! I picked up the cutest Buzz Lightyear costume and headed straight for Little to try and explain, this is how that conversation went:

Mama- Look! You can be like Buzz!! Cool right?
Little- *looks at costume then goes back to what he is doing.
Mama- If you put his on then you will be dressed just like Buzz!! Do you wanna try? See here is the helmet!!
Little- *lets me put on the helmet for exactly 5 seconds then gets frustrated and pulls at it like its on fire!
Mama- Are you sure you don't want to try this on? You can be like buzz!!! *shows Little the similarities in the suit and in the picture.
Little- No mama

There you have it, I tried 3 times and nothing! I left him alone after that and Ill probably try one more time closer to the Halloween.  If he still isn't getting into the idea of costumes, Ill most likely end up making something at home for him to wear.  I already have lots of Mama & Son costumes popping up in my head!!

Working: Mostly working on wedding things as of now; budget, list of guests, ideas for centerpieces and invitations.  We want to do a lot of handmade things to make this wedding more US.

Wishing:  Yesterday was a very restless night for us, Little had a terrible stomach virus and couldn't keep anything down.  Although we were very tired,  we were mostly concerned about what to do to help Little.  It is the most unsettling feeling to know that for something like this you simply have to let it pass, we did everything we could to make him comfortable.  This morning he seemed much much better, we let him eat a cup of cereal and drink a little water to see if he could keep it down and he did!! He was in a very good mood and that made us very happy.  How does this fall into wishing? Im sure every Mama you will ever meet will tell you that when her child is in pain the first thing that comes to mind is wishing they could feel that pain for their baby.

Loving: A sleeping Little, yes Ive mentioned this before but its really the only chance I can kiss him or get a good look at him up close without him jumping on me.  He is a very active kid and I can watch him sleep all day. We have been hit with some cool-ER weather this week, not bundle up or even "sweater cool" but anything thats not over 95 degrees is amazing for us!! Finally, I am FULLY LOVING this song and video!! It sums up exactly how I feel about Dada; Home is wherever Im with you.

<3 Mama Chuca

Rewind

september 2010 

september 2011

september 2012

I just had to do a Rewind post today because I ran across the cutest picture of my chubby baby from exactly 2 years ago today!!  When he was that small I would always wonder to myself what he was thinking about.  Now that he's beginning to speak more I can sometimes get a small glimpse of whats going on in his mind.  On more than one occasion he'll ask for or tell me about a number of things; brushing his teeth, prayers, doggies, books, school.. pretty much anything that pops into his mind at at that moment.  I am very much looking forward to my baby growing up and sharing with me everything and anything that is on his mind, even if its about brushing his teeth. 

The irony is not lost in the fact that I chose to do a Rewind post on this day of all days. Always on this day, for the rest of our lives we will rewind at least once.  We will all take a moment, even if not aloud, to think back to where we were this day 11 years ago.  One day Little will come to me and ask me about the stories he hears and the specials we watch about September 11th.   I will have to tell him what happened and do my best in answering the "why's" that will follow.  But the good thing about this is that I can also explain to him the light at the end of this tunnel, that even when all seems lost there is still a glimpse of hope that we by nature possess.  I will tell my son to remember that day, say a payer for those families and to always embrace that hope like so many people did that day 11 years ago. 

<3 Mama Chuca

Im Back!!

Little playing basketball at Gymboree!! 

I promise I did not abandon this place!!! I had to take a couple of days for myself to gather my thoughts because I feel like the last 2 weeks have been crazy.  But I do want to catch everybody up on my Little, here are some tidbits of us as of late:

Little is talking so much more now!! He is saying so many new words everyday and is starting to put his sentences together better as well.  There are times when he is trying to tell us something and we can't quite understand what word he is trying to say, for the most part he can pretty much repeat any word pretty well.  At school he has been working on colors, so Dada and I have been helping him by using flashcards (not in a drill sergeant way).  His favorite color, in my opinion, is Yellow because when we show him the color he screams "LELLOW"!!  We're still working on numbers and touch on the Alphabet at bath time, because he has a foam book full of letters for bath time games.

Tia Linda and Squishy have a new beagle puppy named Peanut! He is adorable, sweet and very gentle with the babies.  Squishy who is brave by nature loves to baby and run around  with the puppy.  Little, who calls the puppy Peaput, is still very skittish with him and I think it'll take a while for him to warm up to the pup.

Squishy's birthday is coming up very soon (November), Tia Linda and I have been bouncing around ideas for her very special 2nd birthday party.  Tia Linda has settled on The Lorax theme, which sounds amazing already!! Their are limitless possibilities for an awesome Lorax themed party!! A Lorax Piñata!!  Lorax invitations!! OMGOODNESS YES!!

Dada and I have been getting things ready for our special trip north,  I believe Ive mentioned before that we'll be going to New Hampshire in early October to visit some of Dada's family. I can't wait for Little to jump in leave piles, sip hot chocolate in cool weather, meet family that already adore him and to see him in a cute scarf.  I live in Texas where it is pretty warm 80% of the year, so I imagine Little and I bundled up Christmas Story style while others are wearing light sweaters and staring!

Oh and Dada & I.... are engaged to be married!!!!!! YES thats the big news, 2 weeks ago Dada asked me to marry him and of course I said yes!! Whenever we talked about marriage in the past, we knew it would happen but we never really went into depth about it.  Dada and I have always been on the same page about our family, as long as we all take care of each other and are happy then we feel we're doing a great job.  I honestly didn't think this would happen anytime soon and I definitely didn't think I would have to plan a wedding but here we are!!  I am very excited as is all of our family and friends!!  Details to come in later posts but I just had to let out our big news in my little space here!

Other than this amazingness, we've been pretty much going about our little life like usual! Hanging out with family, wrestling, going to Gymboree and our new favorite- playing with Peaput!  Stay tuned for regular posting again people because IM BACK!!

<3 Mama Chuca

According to my Phone

It's Wednesday, its September and its been forever since Ive posted here! ** FACEPALM

Im very very sorry for my absence and I promise I will have big news to share very soon.  But for now I will enjoy this photo of a napping toddler who finally gave me a break from reading the Hungry Little Caterpillar over & over again and having me put lotion on every single itch & booboo he finds.  As I said I promise I will be back to share some very big and happy news with you. By the way, where did August go??

<3 Mama Chuca