Celebrando!

Here are some pictures from my birthday celebration! It was just what I wanted, a low-key night with people I love. Angel surprised me by coming home early from his trip to Chicago and making the day special.

Practice makes perfect!

Here he is....walking all by himself! (and yes, that is his sock in his mouth)

Greatest Gift

Today is my birthday and I am gently reminded of where I was one year ago today. Ignacio was only two weeks old, still small and warm. I just remember tears on my face with happiness as I sat on the couch with my little bundle, still in throws of getting to know him. Today, as I sit on the couch, I am watching him teeter cautiously around our living room, snuggling his bear and kitty and making me laugh. So much of my growth this past year of my life has been intertwined with the growth in his first year of life. I have been stretched in so many ways as a woman, wife and mom. Ignacio himself is not my greatest gift, rather it is all that he brings to me and my life. This past year, his presence in my life has moved me to discover new capacities within myself, face the parts of myself I am not proud of, and draw on the strengths I already new existed. I have laughed so hard I have cried and cried so hard I have had to laugh. I really think it is the true beauty of life, to be moved into greater understanding of ourselves.

Top Ten

Top ten things Ignacio loves to do :

1o. Put one thing inside another thing. Who knew putting the same shirt in and out of the hamper fifty times could be so enjoyable?
9. Stuff as much food as he can in his mouth at one time. I now have to monitor how much I put on his tray at one time!
8. Try to do things for himself...brush his hair, put on his shoe, put a shirt on. So cute! It is fun to watch him connect purpose to objects.
7. Hide! Just ask him, "Where is the baby?" and watch him squirm with anxiety as he tries to hide behind something.
6. Make things make sound. He will continually go back to the toys that make sound to keep them going or throw something to see what sound it makes. A born musician!
5. Walking. Everyday the confidence on his face is priceless.
4. Saying, "papa" which is adorable. Our language repetoire is now up to "mama", "kitty" and "papa".
3. Opening and closing things. Whether it is a drawer, a door or a cabinet, with mommy's supervision he can open and close something FOREVER! Then throw in #10 on the list and it is even more entertaining!
2. Intentially drop something and then say, "ohh, ohh" which is his way of saying "oh oh."
1. Snuggle his kitty and mommy at the same time. Just ask him where kitty is and he will go and get it and bring it to me in his mouth just looking for a snuggle. Sometimes we catch eyes and he quickly lays down where he is with his head on kitty because he knows I will come right over and snuggle him up good.

Top ten things Ignacio DOESN'T like to do:

10. Be in his carseat. This child needs to move!
9. Go to sleep (sometimes!) We are definately light years ahead of where we were but Ignacio is still a go-getter who loves life!
8. To be held unless he is sleepy like waking up from a nap or eating something out of your hands.
7. Being away from me like if I have to get something done in another room and he needs some mommy time or can't get to me because of the gate.
6. Drink whole milk or juice. I guess compared to mommy's milk and water these two new additions don't taste that great.
5. Listen to the radio in the car. Give me that salsa music mom!! Celia Cruz is his favorite CD.
4. Getting dressed. I have to do it while he stands up in his crib. He is upright and contained...two perfect parts of the changing equation!
3. Laying down to have his diaper changed.
2. Have his face cleaned after eating. Actually, now that I think about, having his face touched at all.
1. Wait for food!

Our friends helped to throw Ignacio a birthday party in Minneapolis too! What a lucky one year old! Casey brought the cake and when Ignacio saw it he said, "kitty!"
Little Addison is teething but he found a way to have fun at the party. He even helped cousin open up all his gifts!

Tia Casey with the boys. The toy Ignacio is holding is from Aunt Krissy and he LOVES it!

Here is Amy, the midwife that delivered Ignacio a year ago. We are so lucky to still have her in our lives. Hopefully she is around for the second one!

Big birthday boy!

First Birthday!

The beautiful sunrise on the day my little baby boy turned one year old. As a mom I contemplated so many different things this morning watching the sun come up over Lake Michigan on the day Ignacio came into the world a year ago. Singing Ignacio Happy Birthday. The entire time he was looking for his new favorite push toy and wanted to get down quickly to play. Enough of this staring at a candle thing while singing. Let's move people! Maybe next year the cake will be of interest! Addison sure enjoyed it though...he dug right in both hands!

What a cutie!!!




Here we are with great grandma and her new Yamaha keyboard! She played us jingle bells and America the Beautiful while the boys made circles around her. While Angel helped her figure out all the bells and whistles, Krista and I danced to the beat selection "R&B" and realized we REALLY need to get out for a night out! Ignacio is so lucky to have such a wonderful family!

Hey cousin, move over! Addison was happy to join cousin for his birthday celebration. I can already see these two in the spring zooming down the sidewalk together racing. I can imagine Ignacio's little legs going as fast as they can.

Look at Ignacio's FIRST bike! It is a Radio Flyer and he was already fascinated by how the pedals and wheels turn. I can't wait until spring to chase him around at the park. It is a perfect fit for him with a little trunk in the back to stick his favorite toy in!

A whole basket of toys from crayons to blocks to stuffed animals! Great grandma even got him a children's book entitled, "We the People" about the constitution. Mama is going to sort the toys and bring a few out at a time. That way he is never bored!

Here he is eating lunch with mama. He was tired but having SO much fun! Who needs a nap when you are turning ONE???!!

Yes, all those gifts in the corner were for him. You only have your first birthday once and the family went ALL OUT! Our car was PACKED on the way home. Great grandma had a blast just watching Ignacio go around the room playing. He is better than Fox News! Everything was so special from the thoughtful decorations to cake. Aunt Mary did a great job with the planning!

Ignacio took NINE steps in a row at my dad's house...the most ever. Such a big boy! This picture clearly depicts the three generations of that little chin and mouth!

Kitty!!!!

Ignacio just had his one year check-up and is a healthy, happy little boy according to Dr. Williams! As Ignacio sat in his stroller stripped down to his diaper the doctor made his way into the room. Ignacio immediately saw that there was a black and white kitty stuffed animal on the doctor's miniature baby stethoscope. Dr. Williams smiled and pulled it off from around his neck to hold it close to Ignacio so he could get a good look. All of a sudden, Ignacio tensed his arms and legs with excitement, smiled so big you could see all his teeth and yelled, "Kitty, titi, kitty!!!!!" The doctor chuckled at the big reaction and as he went to put it back around his neck, Ignacio had lunged for the kitty and had it in his mouth like a puppy dog. That is Ignacio's form of snuggling. As I quickly reached for my little one the doctor gently yanked at the stuffed animal in an attempt to get Ignacio to drop it. He eventually relaxed his jaw just enough for Dr. Williams to retrieve it from his wet mouth. It was a classic moment that I will not soon forget. Besides gnawing at the kitty, Ignacio was told he is in proportion from his head to his toes. The only thing not in proportion with his body is his immense spirit, which has been the most fun to watch grow.

Spaghetti and Santa

Ignacio is like his mom in that he doesn't really like sticky hands so it was hilarious to see him "let loose" and make a mess with spaghetti. Even more amuzing was to watch Angel relinquish the spoon!! Later that week we went for the THIRD time to Macy's Christmas display. It is like a wonderland with glowing lights, elves and creepy people dressed in costumes. It has become our regular hang out spot. Ignacio particularily likes the little kitty hiding in a basket among the animals singing carols. As the other mothers hold their little ones in their arms they point to the display as the babies quietly gaze in amazement at the lights and sounds. Then there is us with Ignacio reaching, twisting and yelling because he is in no way content to just look at the kitty. If he had his way he would find a way up onto that display, make his way across the fake snow and glitter, tackle that kitty and haul it back to his stroller. This last visit we waited in line with Krista, Chad and Addison to see Santa and the excitement was growing. As the line twisted and turned we finally made our way to the red velvet curtain. Santa was just as fat and jolly as we remembered. Ignacio was not too impressed with Santa this year but we will be back next year to wait an insanely long time in a long line of impatient, sticky-fingered children with frustrated parents just to see him again.

Hey, who is that sock monkey crawling around the Loring park? Oh...it's my baby boy. There is nothing cuter than a kid with a tail and thanks to great-grandma Ignacio got one! Angel and I were tempted to take Ignacio around the neighborhood, not so that he could experience the holiday but rather so we could get a bunch of free candy. Then we decided that it was quite exploitive of our little bundle of joy and restrained ourselves. We tried to justify it by thinking that people would LOVE to see a baby at their door but that rationale only lasted a mere 2 minutes and then we realized we were pathetic. So we stayed in, as hard as it was, but there is always next year. Happy first Halloween little one.

Balls to the Walls

Grandma bought Ignacio 100 BALLS!!! His new favorite thing to do is lay down on his back (which is a rare for him) and have mom put the balls on top of him so it is like he is hiding. When I take a shower he has plenty of things to throw overboard and it keeps him occupied. What a great gift! It saves us from having to throw him into the infested pool of balls at Mickey D's!

Snow fall...

I am sitting at the kitchen table in my pajamas watching the first snow flakes fall and I am suddenly filled with an overwhelming sense of emotion. Anyone who knows me wouldn't be surprised at this. Whether it is the first leaf that looses it's green, the impatient flower that pokes it head out the frozen dirt or the first ice crystal falling from the sky, changes excite me. But I usually don't almost cry! I can't figure it out at first but then it hits me. The day Ignacio was born it was a very snowy day and, with the first flakes of this season falling, he is almost one year old. I have almost been with my little light for one whole year meaning he has almost seen every season and celebrated every holiday. He is doing really well and is so full of life. He is happy, talkative, interactive and moving. It is such a delight to wake up everyday and know that I get another day to be his mom. One of the pictures shows what I walk into every morning. He is into throwing everything overboard from his crib when he wakes up...even his socks. It is adorable. The beauty of life is that now we have the opportunity to do it again and spend another day together, and this chance, I do not take for granted.

First steps

Okay, this is the cutest thing you will see for a very long time. Great grandma's gift is one of the favorite toys the boys have. Angel Ignacio has a fire truck and Addison has a school bus. Here we are yesterday at Krista's house playing. Enjoy. Ignacio is ready to walk alone anyday!

Good to Go

We just got back from Ignacio's 9 MONTH checkup!!! I can't believe it. His next one will be when he is 1!! He is coming in at a hearty 21 pounds and 29 inches long. As he attempted to eat the doctor's stethescope he babbled and smiled, happy as could be. Oh, and the doctor said he should outgrow this not-wanting-to-sleep thing. Angel and I have decided that we can't let him "cry it out" and have taken to a new consistent routine that we hope will provide the right environment for him to figure it all out. Between separation anxiety, teething and an incesant desire to do all his tricks (talk, crawl and stand-up) this might be awhile. So while HE isn't crying, let's hope mom and dad don't either!!! I am thankful today for Ignacio's health and spirit. He loves life and he loves me, and for today that is all that matters.

Full Circle

Manson Lake is a place that is sewn into the essense of who I am so there are really no words to describe the experience of what it was like to spend time at one of my favorite places in the whole world with Ignacio for the first time. All I can say is that the trip was one "full circle" moment after another.

Full Circle