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

Currently

Reading:  I just finished reading Is Everybody Hanging Out Without Me by Mindy Kaling, which was HILARIOUS!! I love The Office, I love her character Kelly and I can honestly say that I would love to be her best friend!  Im going to start reading Frida Kahlo; Song of Herself, a book full of interviews, journal excerpts and drawings from the artist.  Ive been carrying it around in my purse waiting for just the right time to start reading.  I have also been looking around for parenting toddler books, Ive heard some good stuff about 123 Magic and Love and Logic for Early Childhood.  As soon as I read them I will definitely have a post about my thoughts.  For Little Im looking to get him a couple of picture books, People and Seasons.  The illustrations are very lovely.

Watching:  2 words- TRUE BLOOD! The season started off a little slow but it is at high speed now, I can't even get into it because I could talk for HOURS.  Other than that, Ive been watching Project Runway, I have a very special Love for Project Runway!! My Project Runway rundown- I definitely want to see more from Dmitry Sholokhov,  not digging Christopher Palu's attitude, loving the design of Ven Budhu but I cringe because he is just mean and not so into her aesthetic yet (show just started) but Sonjia Williams is super cute!  Little has been on a Toy Story, Cars and Pocoyo kick lately, I happen to think Pocoyo is just like Little because he is sooo animated when he is trying to convey a message! Halloween costume maybe??

Anticipating: This weekend Dada and I will be going to Austin Tx with some friends for my birthday!! My birthday isn't til the next week (25th),  but I really wanted to spend that special weekend with Little.  Its very bittersweet- Im very excited to hang out with my good friends in Austin, but I have to leave my Little for the night.  He will be staying with Gramma and Papaw so I know he'll have a lot of fun and be extra spoiled this weekend.

Laughing: Lately Little has been one hilarious kid! He's been walking like a dinosaur or old man, making silly faces and/or making funny noises.  We just bought him a stuffed Winnie the Pooh bear and he just has to sleep with that little pooh. So in the middle of the night I check to see if he's cold/hot/alive (yea i still do that) and he's still holding on to that little pooh bear in his sleep. Thats not so much laughing but smiling.  Little, of course, has been asking to read Brown Bear Brown Bear but this time when we get to the teacher in the book he says its Mama! I guess the glasses are a dead giveaway! When I ask him who where Dada is he turns the Children page and points to the little blonde kid!! He does it EVERYTIME and its sooo funny!!

Working: Im thinking of making some photo albums for Little.  We have plenty of "albums" on iPhoto and a lot of pictures on here, but I want something that he can sit down and flip through.  I love pulling out old photo albums of my siblings, family and reminiscing. Im not much of a scrapbook-er so Ill be putting together an "old fashion" type of album for him,  I plan on going through every month and I want to pull key photos for our book.  This sounds like a lot of work because we have thousands of photos but I really want to make this project happen.

Wishing: Im wishing house/apartment hunting were way easier!! Were looking for a new place to call home and since having a baby its not as easy as it used to be. Before it was a small checklist: good rent, good location (close to our fav places). Now the checklist is way bigger: good rent, great location, very very very  safe, bottom floor (groceries and toddler), lots of storage (bike, play house..etc), in-between Dada and Mama's work and a pet deposit we can work with because we think Little is ready for a puppy. (Im sure there is way more to that list that I forgot to mention)  I am very optimistic that we can find something that will work for us even if we have to pay a little more than we would like. After all home is where we are together.

Loving: School shopping! I know this sounds crazy, what parent loves school shopping and he's two how much school shopping do you need to do?! Well...when Little started daycare he was in the toddler room, so he didn't need anything besides a mat for nap time and kleenex.  Now he's in the 2 year old room where he is doing big boy activities! So we have a small list of items to get together for Littles classroom; crayons, glue, toddler scissors, sanitizer.  Im also thinking of getting him a little backpack to bring home his sippy and school work! Too much??

This was supposed to be a monthly type post but I missed last month! Oops!! I hope you enjoy these Currently posts because I enjoy writing them.  Feel free to let us know what have you been up to lately!

<3 Mama Chuca

24 Months

Little loved this shark cage, he would jump inside and 

say "cheese" for a picture.. we have like 100 pictures of just this!

Little got to eat his favorite foods for his special day!

Knocked out on the Colonial Paddle Wheel Ride.

 Im a very tricky lady, I am!! I combined our Birthday trip to Moody Gardens with Little's 24 Month update.  After all, he had turned 24 mths that very day! Yes we took a trip on that very huge Colonial Paddle Wheel Ride where Little took his daily nap, also those are the awesome Moody Garden Pyramids!

Favorite Foods: Chicken, pasta, mac & cheese, ice water, juice and popcorn. Starting to get a little picky this kid!

Watching: Toy Story, Cars and Go Diego Go.

Reading: Goodnight Moon, I Love You Through & Through, Trick or Treat, When I Get Bigger and any other book that he finds laying around. 

a few of his favorite things: Little is so active, he's still into any sport with a ball, wrestling and now he can actually get off the ground when he jumps. He also loves to say "GO" then run like crazy, he usually likes to play this game with Squishy.  But Im pretty sure he's racing and she's playing follow the leader. He also loves acting like a little puppy (barking and all), playing with his little figures, racing to put his chunky puzzles together: we say go then he races to get all the pieces in place while we cheer him on. Lately he's been on a "scare kick", he either wants me to scare him or wants to scare me by growling randomly.  Little likes to play and run around Tia Linda's house with Squishy.  He loves brushing his own teeth, we did it for him before but now he asks for the toothbrush to do it himself!

a few of our favorite things: Little is talking soo much more now, its amazing how much he is learning. Some new words and phrases are: aww man, oh no, alright, good job, thank you, shoes off and bye bye school.  He also says "hat go buzz", in Little translation its Woody go Buzz otherwise were not sure exactly what it means.  Dada taught Little to do the cutest thing!! He says "YESSS" and pulls down his little elbows, when he gets excited about something.  Once, I picked him up from Daycare and when he came out of his room he said "YESSS"-was awesome! Ever since we put him into daycare full time he has been doing so well in the morning, no more whining or tears when it comes time to drop him off. (THANK BABY JESUS) I just downloaded a Pocoyo App for my phone that LIttle absolutely loves, Pocoyo dances and plays music. We love to ask Little to dance like Pocoyo, he does it so well!! When we ask him to show us how to swim, he lays on his belly and moves his arms and feet like a pro!! (swim lessons might be in order)  He is saying and doing so much now that we can't keep track, everyday we find ourselves asking each other "did you know he could do this..."! 

Although there are many things we are loving right now, there are times when Little is in full toddler-having-a-fit mode...not so much love for that! Lately fits have been less and less, but there are times when he's flopping on the floor because he can't have anymore juice.  Otherwise our Little is pretty much a happy kid, he is a great listener and follows directions very well.  And just yesterday he was walking around like an old man on the way to the kitchen, nobody asked him to, he was just doing it and it was hilarious! Which proves that he may look like Dada on the outside but he is Mama on the inside!! We are looking forward to more fantastic birthdays and confusing toddler conversations with this awesome little guy!

<3 Mama Chuca

****

I want to note that there was a second half of the day after Little took his nap.  We went to Palm Beach at Moody Gardens, its a super fun small water park.  It had a wave pool, a lazy river, water slides and an area for kiddies.  Little LOVED it, he was nervous at first but after about 10 minutes he was running around splashing in the water. Dada and I left the camera and our phones in the locker so we don't have any photos, but we also could fully enjoy our water baby.  We will be heading out again because we all loved it so much. 

A Little Blur

Its getting harder and harder to take a good, un-blurry photo of this kid lately!  I am knee deep in the blur of a To Do list I created for myself!! Although this birthday party is a small affair, for some reason I seem to keep adding to an already Big list!! Sorry for the light post today, but Ill try my best to give you a wonderful Wordless Wednesday tomorrow.  Im about to go over my To Do list again for the 8th time!!

<3 Mama Chuca

Currently.

Little and I singing "The Wheels on the Bus"

Reading:  Unfortunately Im not reading anything at the moment, that makes me sad.  The last thing I read was the Hunger Games Trilogy, which was amazing and awesome!! I didn't know if I was going to like it or not but I watched the movie and figured Id give the book a chance, so glad I did!! 

Watching: Due to a very demanding little boy I have been watching a lot of cartoons lately.  I have noticed recently that Little is very into tv right now, so we are putting a stop to it!  Yesterday when I called Gramma at 2pm to ask how Little was, she still had cartoons on for him and Squish because he was throwing fits when the tv was changed to a different channel.  NO sir that will not do for me, from now on he is cut waaaay back.  As for me...thank goodness for DVR, I usually just record anything I want to watch then try and get it in when Dada and Little are wrestling, when Im cleaning or when Little falls asleep.  The usual suspects on DVR:  True Blood- Ive been re-watching last season to catch up for SUNDAY's premiere, Girls, Big Bang Theory- reruns just because I love it, and I try to record any new movie once in a while from HBO or Cinemax that seems interesting for Dada and I. 

Anticipating:  Saturday we are taking Little to see Madagascar 3: Europes Most Wanted!! I know I know, Im trying to cut him down on tv but Im taking him to see a movie??  Bad Mama!  Well honestly I have always felt that going to the movies was a whole experience; the movie posters, the popcorn, the trailers and the chatter of the audience.   So Im thinking this is really a treat for the whole family, Dada and I LOVE these movies!!

Laughing about:  Yesterday Tia Linda and I worked out to the Jillian Michaels: Extreme Shed & Shred DVD she recently bought.  It was our second time trying to keep up with the ladies in the video and this time was worse than the last.  The only good thing the comes from us trying to get through this DVD (besides our awesome muscles were going to have) is watching Little and Squish try to do the exercises as well!  They are hilarious; bending down to touch their toes, running in circles around us and stretching their little legs out to copy their mamas.  The only thing funnier than watching them exercise is watching each other!

Listening to:  I love hearing all the new words Littles been saying lately, such as nana, hello (almost british sounding), and NO.  Its actually funny to hear and see him say no he because uses his whole mouth just to say one little word.  We laugh every time he says it... Me: mamas going to work now, can i have a kiss? Little: No.  Cue Dada and Mama bursts of laughter! Yep he knows what it means. 

    I hate to say this but the only time I really listen to music now is when Im in the car and most of the time I am in the car Little is with me.  

When Little is in the car we listen to:

The Beatles- Twist and Shout (his fav)

Florence and the Machine- Dog Days are Over (his fav)

Regina Spektor- Fidelity (his fav)

The radio - Fun "We Are Young" (too much listening, his fav) & 

Goyte "Somebody that I Used to Know" (his fav)...

When I was younger I listened to music all of the time, everything was a soundtrack to my life! When Im in the car by myself I listen to a huge array of music some of my fav bands/musicians are:

The Beatles, Muse, Deftones, Mars Volta, Pink Floyd, Regina Spektor and that list could go on forever...

Eating:  Little has a new huge passion for Bananas lately, he literally wakes up and goes to bed asking for "nanas".  Other than nanas, I haven't been eating too much of one thing lately except pizza and I can always eat pizza!  But I have had a serious craving for sushi and beef sashimi since last week and I definitely need to hit Miyakos, my favorite sushi spot, soon.    

Working on: Im working on a book for my Little, just a little something for him from us for his birthday.  Lately when we draw together I draw him just like that picture below and before I tell him who its supposed to be he starts pointing to himself and saying "this".  I really hope he enjoys this book. Im also working on making 2 million (ok more like 50 or so) tissue paper flowers for my besties baby shower!! Im getting so excited for her shower, but I have less than 2 weeks and I'm working on lots of ideas...too many ideas!

Wishing: That I had a team of professional tissue flower builders to work for me! But for realsies Im wishing I had more time away from work to spend with the Little, Dada and I are definitely going to have to take time off for a small trip with this little boy soon.  Im thinking well take him on a trip to Seaworld's new water park Aquatica!! 

I got this cute post idea from an amazing blog called Sometimes Sweet!  I hope everyone enjoyed a pretty good sum of whats going on with Little and I lately!!

<3 Mama Chuca

P.S. If you haven't already, please enjoy that Regina Spektor video I have up there ^^ its one of my favorite songs/videos as well!!