This lil' boy and his teddy...

So just for remembrance for myself,


My last post was because I was kinda venting! I can't stand that people already assume I'm like 12 and then when they see me off to the side, with my breastfeeding cover on (mind you), I get that look. So yes, those are my few reasons why I went on about breastfeeding. Kinda to make me feel better, but after reading it, I realized, gosh bf really does have it's advantages and it was MORE reason Not to stop.


So onto my lil' hugging loving baby. He has a teddy bear we bought for him at Jared's and now it's his all time fav thing in the world. We call it Teddy, hence the name and he is by far the cutest thing when he see's it!! Don't mind the noise from my phone receiving a txt!

Breastfeeding...

My take on breastfeeding is not of, well lets say the common. 


The mention of breast in breastfeeding is definitely looked down on, especially if you're still nursing your own baby past six months. Much of this is due to our idea of what a breast is or does. It purpose has gone discreet against what our society now looks at it as. Sex. So when you tell an on goer or another mother that your are still nursing, you get the big googly eyes. As if you committed a crime. Which shouldn't be the case at all. 


Breastfeeding is really the only thing we as mothers should be doing. Back then there was no formula, no magic powder that substituted for your babies meals. But now formula has taken on the main role as mother's milk. 


If you think about it, breastfeeding should have more meaning than just feeding your child. Not only is it food, but comfort, warmth, connection, security and now being discovered brain development for the baby. It is your baby's immune system, controlling allergens and possibly even preventing them. 


Yes breastfeeding takes a lot of getting used to. And you and your baby learn each other, but now I'm so thankful for it. I don't have to wash a million bottles or carry around formula and water. Eli never really drank out of a bottle so that was no hassle getting him to drink out of a sippie cup. It's become so convenient and to be honest I'm kinda lazy because of it. I don't have to worry about prepping or heating anything up. I just pull out my boob and Eli is in heaven. And why not, he's near mama, he's comforted, he has his security blanket. Its amazing when the lil' one is under the weather and all he wants is breast milk. It's a great source of hydration, when lil' one wants nothing to do with a spoon full of food, or sippie full of liquids shoved in his face. 


And in all actuality, who or what says after giving your baby the optimal nutrition of breastmilk for 12 months is now considered dumb or unheard of because of what our society thinks, sounds pretty ignorant to me, if ya ask. Yes a child's diet changes and solids should be the main source of food, but why let go of giving your child more nutrients. Why not?!

Eli's Invitations

ONE WORD : PERFECT

And so the prepping has started...A superhero is born

This past week my mom and sister came over to help with some of Eli's decoration and such for his birthday party. I'm getting so excited for it. I can't believe how much time goes into these kind of things. They were here for almost two full days and it seems like only a few hrs work went into it. But so far, we have made the adorable masks and almost done with the drink wear. I guess a lot of the work is due to cutting. All we did was cut, cut and more cutting. Tomorrow I'm gonna start on his name center pieces.

So we found a basic template for a mask, but I was just not into it. So my wonderful, crafty madre made one of her own.

We used foam material bought at joann's which I loved.

My mom just traced it out on the foam material and then cut it using a craft knife.

I bought a more expensive type for this due to the foam, I didn't want it to have jagged edges.

We made sure to add some for the lil' lady superheros:)

How cute did these come out?! 

Adult and children size.

I'm thinking of uploading the templates my madre made for others to use.

I started on the drink ware for the party.

I got some cute straws from http://www.etsy.com/transaction/68411227

And then just used glue dots to hold the POP together that I got from http://www.etsy.com/transaction/68411088

I bought these adorable cups from Amazon. And I'm still in the process of spray painting the tops blue, red and yellow to match. I can't wait to post the final look on how the cups will turn out.

We also started cutting out the cute lil' outfits for our suckers. 

Have you ever thought what if?!

Today me and Moi were talking about his brother and gf who are pregnant.


And it came over me, that if I had medical insurance we would have never gotten married. No, we weren't your, I'm getting married becauze I'm prego kinda deal. We were actually four months away from our Big Wedding Day and were absolutely surprised when we found out Lil' E was only six weeks old, in my belly that is, at the time. We got married early becauze I didn't have medical and I wanted the BEST doctor out there. And by the way I did. A doctor who gives you his actual cell number is the number UNO doctor in my books. 


Well, as I was telling him that, Moi, with a cracker in his mouth, looks over and replies with a sorta look. Yeah, that's true. We would have probably just been finishing planning our wedding for this year. 


But see everything happens for a reason. I realized that with our marriage, me and Moi made the ultimate commitment. We promised to God and ourselves that we were gonna go all the way and work hard, even when we felt like we were doomed. You see, I am the typical kinda girl that runs when things get hard. I hate to face what many of us call life. Yes, especially with relationships I never gave it my all. I never thought of any reason too. I mean I was young and thought I didn't need to prove myself to any guy and if he didn't like it, oh well! But a marriage surpasses that whole, girlfriend, boyfriend, playing games kinda of relationship. I think if Me and Moi hadn't gotten married, Eli would have probably spent many nights at my moms. I probably would have just left. Not even allowed myself to give me and Moi's relationship a second thought. When it got hard, and boy did it get hard, I would have packed up me and Eli and hit the road with my mom on the other line. Eli wouldn't have had a stable life and I would have been an awful mess. As well as Moi. So, even though we got married for the insurance, we really got married to keep us together, but at the time didn't know it. Not having insurance was a blessing in disguise and was my reason to stay and work, work HARD at our commitment. A marriage isn't just signing a paper, it is the ultimate gift you are giving to your partner. The ultimate promise to those who you are confessing in front of, and of course our Lord. It gave me my reason to stay and keep my family together. 

Momma's lucky charm

My Mr. Chunks wanted to make sure he was 100% pinch proof. Especially from all the lil' girls :) We attended his friends Dylan's 1st birthday. It was a lil' rainy and chilly, but we still made it out to Lakeside to wish Lil' D a happy birthday!

I think ...

Someone wants to help pick out his lil' cuzin's paint for her room...

Cuz we caught this booger climbing out of the cart!! 

He was trying to blend in with the rest of the paint cans :)

My Cedes..

So I haven't talked about my Cedes in quite a long time.


It's seems that I have somehow pushed her in the back of my mind, not cuz I wanted too, but I needed too.


The way I was feeling wasn't healthy. Not for me or her. I was becoming over obsessive about her being gone. How much I missed her and it was making this happy lady, sad. And A LOT. I was angry and hadn't moved on from what had happened to her. I knew I needed to let that all go.

And I finally have.

I've finally allowed myself to have closure in my heart. 

But lately she's been a constant image in my mind. I miss her terribly. My love for my Cedes isn't that of your typical aunt or tia. I have a special place in my heart only for her. She is more like my lil' sister or even a daughter. She's a very special lil' person to me.

So today, I picked up my phone and realized I hadn't talked to my sister in a while. She's been kinda on the down low, with her pregnancy. She's tired a lot. And I know she misses her husband like crazy. So as we start talking she mentions to me, that she talked to Dan. Asking if she could have Cedes. Cedes has been writing stories. And that lil' girl has got an imagination on her like no other. When she reads them to me, I can't help but laugh. She is so funny. But lately, she has been writing a story about a dead girl who follows her. A ghost she says. She gets more and more detailed as she writes about her, which is daily. Well, the other day she told my sister that the lil' girl committed suicide. (what lil' nine year old knows about suicide?!) Red flag for sure. She said that the lil girl was sad because her mom left. I knew this was a call for help from our sweet girl. I was in shock to be honest. I was so angry that she was feeling so alone. That she has gone so long probably feeling this way and has found somewhat of an outlet in her writing. Her father thinks it's just her imagination, but I know that any lil' girl who says something like that, there certainly is a meaning behind it. I can't help but weep in sorrow for our poor Cedes. I didn't know what at first to tell my sister, but I just belted it out. Marisa, she trying to tell you something. With her voice clearly hearing, she replied I know Mireya. I asked Dan if I could keep her! But I asked him to really consider it this time. 


I know in life everything happens for a reason. Reasons which we don't know about yet. Or will ever know. But sometimes I wonder why Cedes?! Why did she have to be put into this world of darkness?! Why did a lil' five year old have to endure horrible circumstances from others doings?! 


But throughout this whole ordeal, I have realized how much our family is so in love with that lil' girl. How much love that surrounds her. This could have happened to a lost lil' girl who might have had no one. No family, no love, no support. I try and see the deeper meaning of why?! I hate to think that people place blame on our Lord for reasons they still don't know. But have they really searched?! Some just don't want too, while others, just believe that it was God's intentions to hurt them. But I see it as, he knew that Cedes has a strong family behind her that will get her through this. And though God, wasn't responsible for what had happened to her, he knew that when she would face this awful situation, we would all have open arms. Waiting for her. Not allowing her to face this alone. She would have her family to be there for her, no matter what she endured. I feel that he has and is still preparing us. Setting us up for something that is deeper than we actually know. Possibly facing fears we all have for Cedes future, but giving us hope and strength that she will get through it. I know it'll be a long road. A road with holes, cracks and forks in it, but a road all of us are willing to ride. As long as Cedes is in the passengers seat. No matter how long the trip is!  


I can't wait to see Cedes in a few weeks. I just pray the Lord opens up her fathers heart and allows him to see what is good for Mercedes and not for himself, nor my sister. But for their daughter!

Guess who has class...?!

I just signed up Elijah for swim class that starts this Saturday.

Its a mommy and me class, so I'll be joining him in the water.

I'm not sure who really wants to see my untoned body in the water. Oh well ;/

My sister has a pool and being in San Diego I bound to be near some form of water. 

And well, Eli loves water. 

He's my lil' fishy baby.

So I know I gotta make sure he is as safe as I can make him, if for any reason he were to get out of my sight for just that one second.

Plus he is still crawling, so that gives me a lil' time before he is walking and eventually running. 

Next in line is our Lil' Nugget.

Our Nahla is honestly the sweetest lil' thing and I knew I couldn't just let her sweetness pass. 

My cousin has been recently volunteering for the Rady's Children Hospital and I thought

Nahla would be perfect for that. 

She'd be so amazing as a therapy dog. 

I always had plans to put LuvLuv our lil' poodle in it, 

but never came around to it.  :(

So when my cousin told me I had to do it.

So this lil' nugget will be starting her 10 week course this Wed. to becoming a therapy dog for all the lil' ones in Children's hospital San Diego. 

I can't wait to see both my babies in class. :)

Eli's pajama party...plus 10 months..

So yesterday Eli attended his first pajama party. I loved the idea, it was due to the daylight savings time change. It helped get the lil' ones tired so they could be exhausted when they got home. But of course with our lil' dude he still managed to stay up two more hours, even after an hour in a half of fun at the pajama party. It was so adorable, we did lil' crafts, played, sang loudly, clapped, climbed and met new friends. I know Eli had a blast.

We walked in and he was ready to get his play on!

Mommy's climber

Gluing fur on his sheep

Giving Gymbo kisses

Eli and his buddy Brayden

Collecting his goody bag after a hard day of fun!

Onto Eli's 10 months. 

Yes my baby boy is now in the double digits. I still look back on his baby pix and can't get over how much he's changed, mentally and physically. I go back to my lil' time capsule and relive his baby, baby moments for a lil' bit. And then I'm hit with a pea to bring me back to my now food throwing, bear hugging, stair climbing, dancing boy!

Eli's is almost hitting twenty-one pounds. I looked back and saw a posting for his three months, where he was already at 16.8 lbs. So I'm actually thankful he's slowing down. He still is my chubbers though, which I love. He's 29 in. long as well. I really pray he's somewhat taller than Moi at least 5' 10. 


Still in size 4 diapers. 


He is almost completely in 18 months clothing. 


Ok, now nursing. That's another story in itself. He is still nursing every two hours. But sometimes I can get in an extra hour if we are out. I think it's more of a connection to him to be honest. I guess you could say I'm your attached parent or crunchy parent. Which I actually love. I'm gonna let Eli wean himself. I don't plan on weaning him. 


Eating. This boy can NOT go to bed with out milk and a big nights dinner. He will wake up if he misses it. I promise every time we have put him in his crib when he's either fallen asleep in his car seat or on a walk, he never fails to wake up to eat and then that boy is once again O-U-T! He now needs his carbs as well. He can't just eat blueberries for breakfast. He needs that along with toast, pancakes or his whole grain wheat waffles ;) Oh now when he gets full, he makes sure the puppies get food too by throwing his leftovers on the floor for them! oh and he's absolute favorite food I think you could eat over and over are Cheerios. I have no clue either cuz those things are so bland.


He dances to the beat of his own drum. I love it.  He can walk w.his walker, but he's still afraid to walk along the furniture. 


He has seven teeth. And those things are just coming in!


He loves saying mama and dadda. And I think he actually knows who we are when he's saying them.


You point now when you want something. It's so cute to see your chubby lil' finger pointing.


He is by far the best sleeper. You love to cuddle, but when it comes time to actual sleeping, you need your own space. You always have to sleep in your crib or you start fussing. You sleep through the night and I've cut your naps down to one a day. You take a good two hour nap around 1 and then go to bed around 7.


He prefers to be close to mama and papa. You do enjoy the play area we made for you, but rather stay in the living room w.us and go searching around for household toys. I showed you mamas pans and you love throwing those things around!

He is an amazing sharer. And when I ask him to give me something he's not supposed to have he'll come crawling to me to hand me what ever he has. He's a great listener!


Diaper changes have been a challenge. He knows his changing table, so now we avoid that area cuz the moment he lays down on it, he knows it's time to change his diaper and he HATES it. 


He's starting to get a lil' afraid of men. As well as certain things. The other day he saw some dolls and freaked out. He was clinging onto my mom for dear life. 


He discovered the puppies food and water. And he attempted a few days ago to actually eat it. So those have now needed to be moved a few times. He keeps finding our hiding spots' for them :)


We recently went on our first hike and Eli passed out. It was so cute. I mean this kid was PASSED out!


Eli you're mamas happy lil' man. You can smile on the drop of a hat. I hate to say it, but you are mamas boy for sure. No doubt about that. I can't thank daddy enough to allow me to stay home with you so I can see your face! Only two months away till' your big day and boy are you in for a surprise!!

 

Can you spot Eli?!

His play area (or our once formal living room)

Our animal adventures...

So as many now I'm an animal activist. I've always loved animals since I can remember. I grew up loving Pigs as my favorite if ya can believe that!! :) Me and Moi have saved over a handful of strays found on our streets. We once kept a lil' doggie for more than 2 weeks. I don't know how these animals find us, but they do. And the last two adventures have been a lil' odd.


Well, a few days ago I encountered what I thought was a man who seemed to be stranded on the side of the freeway. He was driving so slow. So I pulled up behind him to see a lil' wiener dog running on the side of the man's motorcycle. I couldn't believe no one had pulled over. So I pull over with Eli in the back and throw on my hazards. I'm still driving slowly behind him. The dog stops, so I get out, take my keys out of the ignition and call the doggy over. Then, the worst happens and the dog books it across the freeway. My heart dropped and the man starts to yell. I didn't think twice and chase the dog across the freeway with my hand out telling people to stop. Luckily people slowed down and others were finally starting to pull over. The dog was so scared. So of course, he runs up the center island of the freeway and of course the way I am, I booked it after him. And then again he runs across the freeway again. It was gut wrenching. I don't know what led me to do this, but I wasn't scared. I was determined to get that dog if it killed me first. After all my failed attempts a car pulls over only to have the frightened dog hide under it. I pull up and park on the far right lane of the freeway, with a car in the back and the man with his motorcycle in the back. Trying to trap the dog. I managed to have oreos in my car. We used that to lure out the poor lil' pup. By this time, so many people had pulled over. The weird thing is, I never take the 805 freeway to the 54, I always, always take the 125 toll road, but I made a mistake with my directions. And the whole way on the 54 I kept thinking, why didn't I take the 125 instead. The 805 to the 54 takes an extra 20 mins., so you can see my frustration. But that day, I was meant to go on the 54. Fortunately, we pulled out the lil' doggie out and women took him. He was so thin :(   


Then today, as we were driving from Gymboree the clothing store to Eli's Gymboree play and learn class, we spotted a rabbit. It was just chillin on the side of the road. We weren't sure if it was alive, but Moi asks me right away if we should pull over. I was hesitant, but finally said, YES! So we turned around and headed back to the poor lil bunny. I even said a prayer, hoping the poor bunny was ok. But to our luck, it was still there, just limp. So we pull out Moi's emergency pack and pull out his splint. He attaches the rabbit and we are on our way to the animal emergency. Poor buddy I hope he was just in shock. So funny, how moi has turned into this animal lover!! I can see Eli now seeing a stray and asking to save it!!

My Eli Friday...

 My baby love is low in iron. I was severely anemic when I was pregnant with him and almost had to have a blood transfusion, so it was good to get his iron checked. I went in the same day to get my blood checked. I probably am since I'm still nursing. Iron is no fun. It messes with your tummy. 


I was so proud of my bubs though. They pricked his lil' finger and he just did a small semi-cry. It was more a lil' squeal. He was more interested in the band aid. 


Eli has grown a full on LOVE for his puppies. And now that he knows how to give kisses he can't give enough kisses to the pups. Especially his girl, Nahla.

And I just noticed my boy is in dire need of a haircut or trim. That'll be the first thing we do on his bday. 

Blowout...

So today I went shopping a lil' for Lil' E's party. And let me tell ya it's coming out so adorable. I promised myself I wouldn't make anything, but that is absolutely impossible for me to do. So any who, I met up with my mama at Joannes to pick out some material for Lil' man's Super E costume and the capes to go along with it as well as for the other kiddos who will be joining us. Well, the ONE time I decide to just shoot for it and go without packing Eli an extra outfit, Eli decides to remind why I made a horrible mistake. 


Eli is sitting in the cart eating his yummy broccoli, yes that kid LOVES his veggies (proud mama here.) Me and my mom are going through some sewing books and all I hear to my left is pushing and grunting. I look over and see Eli's face red. Eli is so white, it never fails that every time he poops it looks like he's giving birth. :) I think it's hilarious, but my worry wart Moi has to make sure he is ok and it's nothing serious. He's such a good papa. Ok, ok off the subject. Next thing I hear CR-PLUM. Once, twice and then a third. 


Well dumb me, I go to the car, so I can show my madre a pic I have on the phone, but of course I forgot his diaper bag. So back I go and this time running. I know I'm short of time. Eli is still pushing so I know this is an explosion. I come running back, get Lil' Chunkaroo out of the cart head to the bathroom, only to have it locked. Head to the counter, pick up the key and what do I see, but an empty bathroom with NO changing table. This whole time I'm holding Eli in flying position so the poo doesn't leak out. Yeah, kinda gross. So I head back to my mom, and I'm thinking ok, ok Eli's still good. So I figure he might have not gone as bad as I thought. Nope. I was wrong. All of a sudden I feel a wet sensation on my hand, look down and it's seeping through his back. Now I'm running to the car with Eli in one arm and the diaper bag in the other. 


And this is where the crime scene happens. Open my back trunk and Eli's poop is ALL over his back. And I'm then reminded I have not one piece of clothing of his. I had just cleaned out our car, which had a few outfits in it. So I'm literally scrounging for anything. And I find the only article of clothing. Moi's V-neck sweater. I saw it and just smiled. You wouldn't believe how happy I was to see just clothing. I wish I would have gotten a pic cuz Eli looked like baby Moses. He had his lil' flip flops on with a long black sweater. He was content and that's all that mattered. With my luck I knew this was bound to happen. And we just started him on organic yogurt with probiotics. And why wouldn't I be more weary that this was probably gonna happen?! Cuz that's me. I live on the edge :)


Well we headed back to the store thirty minutes later and finished our purpose, shopping. Me and Eli had a lil' fun playing with the cute lil' St. Patty's decorations!

A day of fun...

We finally gave in and realized it was time to bring Eli to a child's paradise. Of course I'm talking about non other than good ol' Chuck-E-Cheese.' We walked in and Eli was in aww. At first he didn't know what to think of it, but as he came around, boy was that kid excited. Especially when it came time to go the showroom with the characters on stage singing. He was dancing away. I really need to get a video of him dancing, it is so funny. He played in the toddler area and got a kiss from a lil' girl. Have I mentioned what a ladies man this kid is. He's kissed two different girls in Gymboree class and two girls have kissed him. I know I'm gonna have my hands full with my lil' charmer! But for now it's still considered really cute. 


He met Chucky and wasn't scared one bit. If anything, he was more interested in him. He was staring at him to the side. So intrigued. Luckily, Moi knew a girl that worked there so we were able to get a table in showroom. We went on a Sat and man oh man it was full to the brim. No tables were available. Eli of course had his kids meal. Mr. Piggy wiggy. It was so fun to see him so excited. It brings a new joy of Chuck-E-Cheese. I can't wait till' our lil' Cedes comes home so we can all go together.

He felt like a big boy and decided to stand up. And boy oh boy he was glad. He had a blast standing up. He went on the same three rides over and over. But we didn't mind at all, it was so cute to see him want to go again. Gosh this lil' boy melts my heart.