Family

We made our way over to Krissy and Chad's for Halloween night and had SPOOKY time. Adia is getting so big and she loves Uncle Angel's big hands. She found her perfect little spot!

Here is Adia and Krissy's baby picture. Everyone says she looks like someone but auntie says she looks like her own little person...baby Adia.

We managed to find 30 seconds to sit still together! AMAZING!!

Thanks great grandma for the batman outfit that worked perfect. He didn't even realize he had a cape on and he doesn't know who Batman is...but he was CUTE!

Okay, let me preface this picture by saying Krista bought these creepy masks at Walgreens for 99 cents and I thought they were scary. The boys, on the other hand, thought they were funny. Ignacio was a true show boat and wore his the most trying to make Addison laugh.

Two big dorks!!

Our family picture before my mom fly the coop for Florida. Pretty soon there will be another little one in the picture!

5 months and counting...

I can't scale it. My heart bleeds and my body aches at even the thought.
With my head tipped back, even then I cannot see.
I look straight ahead; at the cold, dark rock in front.
I am still, with eyes closed.
Finding peace in the uncertainty of my position.

Anticipation

Tomorrow we will see you
Our bright and shining star
In a few short months we meet you
In my heart you're never far

The four "M"s

We are in a moment of "m"s because there are four things that are making life difficult for our little guy these days.

First "m": Molars. Ignacio's are coming in and the are Cisneros teeth (HUGE) and he is fighting through it. I thought he might luck out and not get them like me (mine never came in)...no such luck.

Second "m": Mommy. Age 2 is a separation anxiety time and Ignacio is so heightened about being close to me 24 /7 and is hyper vigilent about where I am and what I am doing. It seems I can't even go to the bathroom without him RIGHT THERE. What to do...stay close to him until he works it out and reassure him over and over and over and over.....

Third "m": Milky. We are now two weeks without nursing and that, coupled with the separation anxiety is making Ignacio pretty sensitive. It was actually a smooth weaning but the minute he isn't feeling well he asked for it. It is a change for us but a positive one. Independence is important...for both of us. And it gives me a break for a few months before the next one. Who would have thought when Ignacio was 6 weeks old that we would have made it this far. It is either a testament to determination or insanity.

Fourth "m": Monkey. Damn monkey is still making appearances in Ignacio's room. It seems to have found a home somewhere else but decides to visit every now and again.

Snow

I woke up this morning at 6:30am with a slight headache and a profound urge to throw up. Last night was rough and Ignacio was up for a good three hours. This was only compounded by the realization at 7am that there was only one diaper left in the house. As I sat in the warm bathroom throwing up, Ignacio screamed for his breakfast and I heard the front door close as Angel ran late to work. "This is going to be rough," I thought. I slipped my coat on, threw on a dirty pair of jeans and chased Ignacio around trying to put on his tennis shoes; not bothering to change him out of his pajamas. We made out way out to the elevator and I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I hadn't bothered or even remembered to brush my hair and you could clearly see which side I had slept on. My entire focus had been put towards remembering to grab the diaper coupons off the counter. Mission accomplished. As soon as we walked outside we were greeted by a blanket of white, fluffy snow and big flakes falling from the sky. Ignacio's body tensed with excitement as he went running over to the lawn in his pajamas to touch it. I took in a breath of cold, crisp air and felt a sense of relief. I stood on the sidewalk as Ignacio ran through the snow and screamed with delight. This is why I do it. These are the moments that make it make sense. And while we can't spend all day outside as the flakes fall, when I'm in my moments of parental despair, I now have one more reason to pull it together and make it happen. Snow.

Food Network Cisneros Style

It is crazy to see my habits and tendencies in Ignacio. In some ways it lets me know what parts of my personality are just genetic and not some strange coping mechanism developed over time. Notice in this picture the lined up noodles on the table. My mom says when I was little I would line up my lima beans out of my soup. Looks like, along with chin, that got passed on too!

4pm to 6pm is Ignacio's hardest time of the day. He is tired, needy and desires ALL my attention. The problem is it is when I need to make dinner. Solution?...Have Ignacio help!! He loves putting things in the bowl, mixing and watching. Here we are making brownies.

Now when I cook he says, "Ignacio cooking" and proceeds to pull out the pots and pans and pretend to cook too. He lines up all the pots and finds the corresponding cover. It is actually quite helpful to my cupboard organization (or lack there of)! The good thing is he puts them back (most days) all by himself.