Seven

Happy birthday, Agustín!

Almost 7

He will be seven in three days.

Seven years ago, today was my due date. I went into the doctor and the doctor said we should probably do a C-section and I freaked out and begged for a couple more days. I was terrified of having a C-section. More than labor, for some reason.

Well, we waited until the 19th, when I went in and the doctor scheduled an emergency C-section because the fetus was in distress and the heartbeat was going down. Agustín spent a week in the hospital, 3-4 of those days in the ICU, and I still can't help but think that it was probably my fault.

Or maybe not. I don't think the doctor would have let me wait if it had been dangerous. I want to tell myself it was just one of those things. It happens. No one really understands it. But in the end the C-section wasn't the worst thing that could have happened to me. Having a sick baby was, and suddenly how he came out seemed the least of my concerns.

(Almost) seven years later I can look back in relief and know that he is OK. He is healthy and strong and seemingly unaffected by the incident. But I wasn't, and am not, and will never forget that terrible scare. To this day, I can't watch the video that Andrés taped for me to bring into my room so I could "meet" my little newborn until I recovered enough to go up to the ICU without seriously bawling my eyes out.

We love you, Agus!

Happy birthday!

Happy 38th to my wonderful husband! How lucky we are. Twenty years together. Whew! More than half our lives. Amazing.
Love you, honey!

Happy Easter!

The kids woke up way too early today to make sure the Easter bunny had come. He had. He hid the eggs and baskets a little too well (even he couldn't find the eggs later), so we spent a good hour searching the house. Guess he'll have to go more "obvious" next year!

We also had a little cake and party for Daddy tonight. He'll be turning 38 tomorrow! Wow! Made a Devil's Food cake with yummy frosting. Agustin DEVOURED it! I love watching that kid eat, after all the trouble we had with him when he was little.

Happy birthday, Nicolas!

Hard to believe, but my little baby is not a baby anymore. At four, there is no more pretending. He is growing in leaps and bounds, and getting more and more independent every day.

The way he plays, intense just like his brother, makes me feel complete. His imagination is amazing and he comes up with the craziest stories.




Today he was the swimming instructor and we all had to do what he said. He had us swimming laps, back and forth, back and forth, then kicking, blowing bubbles, and splashing. He, of course, just sat and relaxed while his pupils worked.



Watching him float in the pool, unafraid of the water and "relaxing", just made me laugh.

Later, after hours at the beach and in the pool, Agustin took a break, spreading all his toys out on the bed to play with.



Nico, however, wanted to go back in the pool. So we did. He got his way a lot today, since it was his birthday. And he took advantage of that as much as he could! :)


You don't need much in life if you've got this smile to look at every day. I am so lucky to be your mom, Nico!

Birthday week

Nicolas has been excited about his birthday for a long time now. Today was the party at school. He had a dinosaur cake, lots of presents, and goodie bags for everyone, and it was a good time. Now, however, he is convinced that he has already turned four. He doesn't quite understand that we celebrated early. Worse when he got a visit from Laura and Checho tonight, who brought not only birthday presents but Christmas presents as well (we haven't seen them for a really long time!). He got beach toys and a basketball hoop and was pretty happy. In his mind he is officially four.

Great-Aunts and Great-Grandmas

Lailai's birthday (81!!). Nicolas has always been close to his great grand aunt and great grandmother. He smothers them with kisses and hugs and torments them by turning circles until he gets dizzy and falls down, barely missing his eye on the corner of every coffee table.

Go, Speed Racer, Go!

We're doing the Speed Racer thing for Agustin's birthday Wednesday. We bought the DVD but it was hard (for me) to follow. There was some very strange anime stuff going on, but the graphics were cool. Granted, I didn't know any of the back story, and I was trying to watch while the kids played and screamed and half-watched while asking me a million questions (why does he have eyes, Mommy? Who is the guy in the car? Why isn't the car red and blue?, etc.), so that might explain why I had a hard time with it, too.

On a slight Japanese twist to the whole Speed Racer theme, we will have a giraffe piñata. No monkey, but I'm sure the writers could fit the giraffe into the plot somehow.

My baby turns 2!!!!

Wow, it is hard to believe but today Nicolas turns two years old! We have a party planned for this Saturday, and will also celebrate Grandma Shushu's birthday that day. Hopefully a few kids will come, and some family, and it will just be a restful day where everyone can enjoy each others' company. The weather hasn't been so pleasant lately, so we'll be happy if we just get no rain or drizzle (I'm sure the kids would like to play outside a bit) and, if we're lucky, maybe we'll even get a peek of sunshine.


We got our toddler a Prep n Serve kitchen, something we've wanted to do since Christmas but couldn't get the time to go and pick it up, and then they ran out of them at the store and it was too late for a Christmas present. This time we bought it early (Monday) to be sure to have it in time for the party, and the kids have been cooking nonstop since. Of course, now we basically just break up fights over who can cook and who can wash dishes (wish this were real life and not make-believe!) and of course, who the lucky duck that gets to play with the frying pan and hamburger bun will be. When they finally come to an agreement, however, I can think of nothing more pleasant than sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee or hot chocolate and watching my two growing boys playing peacefully together. It usually lasts about half the cup, so I've learned not to fill the coffee to the brim.

We have playgroup scheduled for today, so I'm thinking about bringing a cake so we can sing Happy Birthday, and then once we get home I plan to upload a picture of our birthday boy, taken early this morning on his special day. More to come!



Edited 3/14: Here he is on his birthday morning!

First Birthday

I will have to try and get some pictures up of Nicolas and his first birthday. We had a small party and he received some cute gifts. Of course, big brother monopolized the gifts and is having trouble using the word "yours" and not "mine" with them, but after the novelty wears off I suppose it will be easier. It is so hard to teach kids to share. I need some of your advice. Do I take the toy away and give it to the other one? Do I take it away and give it to no one? Do I force big brother to play with little brother and possibly get pushed or something else if little brother plays with the "wrong" toy?

In the meantime, I am enjoying the fact that the two are actually old enough to fight. I don't like seeing them grow up so fast, but it is fun watching them interact like little people.

Another blog in the blogosphere

I've been largely absent on my blog lately. I've been really busy at work, which is the only place I can post blogs from, since Blogger doesn't like Safari much. I've also been working on the CEC blog, which I've created for CEC students but which could be used for English students in general. Here's the link. Check it out and leave a comment. It is a team blog, but so far (as you can see), I am the only one posting anything. I'm having a ball with it though as I learn how to embed youtube videos (easy) and other widgets like that cool Hangman game. Plus, I "get" to read books frm our library and post reviews, which gives me an excuse to read. And anything that gives me an excuse to blog, of course. Blogging rocks.

Nicolas recently had his one-year birthday. We will be celebrating this weekend, but we did have cake and a few presents on the real day. Here is the birthday boy now.



















and another one:




















and we can't forget his big brother...

Tin Turns Three!!!!!! Birthday Plans for Tomorrow

3:30 Guests arrive
4.00 Craft station: Create a Christmas ornament
4:30 Game time:
Balloon race - The children put a balloon between their legs, holding it at the knee. They race. First child to cross the finish line without dropping the balloon is the winner. If the balloon drops, the child must go back to start.
Freeze dancing - played like freeze tag. The children dance while the music plays. When the music stops, the children must freeze completely. Anyone who moves is out. Play continues until only one child is left.
Water Balloon Kick - The children takes turns kicking a ball at a water balloon, set about 25 feet in front of them. The first kid to break the balloon with the ball is the winner.
Mini Car Race - Each child chooses a Matchbox car. The children race the cars to the finish line by pushing them along a racetrack. Owner of the first car to successfully cross the finish line is the winner. Cars must cross with just one push.
Duck Duck Grey Duck (In Spanish: Pato, Pato, Ganzo) If time and energy (as well as prizes) left
5:00 Cupcake decorating: The children decorate their own cupcakes using sprinkles, M&Ms, chocolate flakes, shredded coconut, gummies and crushed peanuts.
5.30 PIÑATAS! Each child gets their own small piñata filled with mini toys, chocolates, candies, and suckers.
6:00 Cake time (adults)
6:30 Movie: Cars

We have five kids invited - Daniel, Camila, Emilia, Emiliano and Daniel Endara (the last two being second cousins). Emiliano is only 5 months old, so his mom will have to be his representative!