Purple Madness

Out it came. The big purple elephant that Uncle Chad had bought for Addison's second birthday party swung from the metal chain attached to its back. As it was hoisted up to hang from the basement ceiling, Ignacio tensed with excitement at the big paper mache animal that stood almost as tall as him. As the kids circled around with interest Uncle Chad introduced the wooden stick for the pinata. Ignacio took a step back in wonderment as if to say, "What does a wooden stick have anything to do with this friendly elephant?" The adults in the room began to cheer as Addison was handed the stick to begin the attempt of breaking open the elephant so that its delicious insides of chocolate and toys would fall to the basement floor. Ignacio quickly grabbed a backrow seat on Angel's lap, quickly realizing that the elephant was about to be beaten repeatedly by old and young alike. As the kids took turns hurling the stick at the elephant its paper tissue fur began to fall to the carpet, only to be followed by his leg. The horror. Not only was Ignacio's friendly elephant being gang beat by humans, now it had lost a limb which the kids passed around. It was then Ignacio's turn to give it a whack. He approached the elephant and tapped it lightly with the stick, quickly turning to Angel and saying, "It's okay" but in question form. The emotion built as the elephant soon appeared to be giving in and the adults in the room screamed statements like, "Hit it," and "Harder" to their little ones who abruptly attempted to follow instructions. As the belly of the elephant tore open, the Hershey Kisses and noise makers fell to the ground and the kids scrambled with their Ziploc bags to reap the harvest of their efforts. As I looked around for Ignacio I quickly found him and his Ziploc bag on the couch where the elephant had been laid to rest, gaping hole in his side and all. Ignacio was slowly petting the elephant's head saying, "It's okay," obviously highly precoccupied for the well being of this kind purple creature. Needless to say he ended up sleeping with us that night after waking repeatedly in screams, surely dreaming of chocolate-faced children running rampant with the limb of an elephant and the species laying on the couch with a gaping hole. In the end maybe a star or balloon shape would have been better or an attempted explanation of why it appeared we were mutilating an animal such as, "There is candy inside and the only way to get it out is to hurt the elephant." All I know is that Ignacio's highly empathetic emotional attunement to our purple friend was adorable and completely unforgettable.

Look of Love

I have seen it. I know it not because I have seen it with my eyes but because of the way my body feels when the gaze hits it. Every night when Ignacio is taking his bath I pop in to say that "Mama's going ni-ni" so that Angel can finish the bath and put him to bed. His head turns up at me and his eyes become big and round and, most nights he says, "Bendicion Mama" asking for his nightly blessing or he tells me he loves me. Some nights he says nothing. But every night he looks at me so intensely that, even thinking about it gives me chills. For those seconds it is a pure connection. He does not break the stare until I do and Angel sits there in silence as if a prayer were being recited as Ignacio and I engage in this look. In that moment we are completely "plugged in". It is the feeling of pureness and love and all that is wonderful. It is a moment of being completely present with Ignacio in a way that is so powerful it is almost silly to try to write about it. Casey called it, "like being very close to the Source" and it is so true. It has become something sacred not because we make it that way but because it is.

BFFs

As I approach 32 weeks of pregnancy my best friends "nausea" and "vomiting" are back. I told them back in month 5 that they didn't need to return but, given the circumstances and the fact they made it back around 32 weeks during my last pregnancy, they thought it rude to bow out. Lovely. Good thing I have Ignacio to keep me laughing and kindly point out that they eggs I just threw up in the garbage are officially, "icky eggs". Today he picked up a toy and pretended it was a phone and called the following people within 15 mintues while walking around the house like a 15 year old, even stopping to look at himself in the mirror on numerous occassions:

Papa
Auntie
Tio
Tia
Prima
Maureen
Elmo
his nose
Big Bird
the christmas tree
chicken
Cookie Monster
a horse
a frog
Ama
his milk
a baby
Papa (again...forgot to tell him something)
his crib

When he was done he put a bucket over his head and turned on music to dance...priceless.
I love my kid and am cherishing these last weeks together just him and I, stir-crazy in the house acting like goofballs, nausea and vomiting and all...

Bummer!

Our computer broke so I can't post pictures or anything for a bit. Sorry! Happy New Year to all and to all a goodnight...for now!

Merry Christmas...kind of

This Christmas season was a mix of all that life means and has to offer...loss, love and life. With the passing of two family members and a good family friend we entered the season with heavy hearts and thoughts of others in their grief, as well as our own. But life is also about celebrating living. Picking out our Christmas tree, setting up decorations, seeing Santa and spending time with family reminded us about the beauty of life that continues on after others end their journey. All in all it was a reflective, tough yet joyous time for us...proof that more than one thing can exist at the same time and all can be true.

On Christmas day we headed outside as big flakes dropped and I could hardly contain myself! The snow was wet and heavy...perfect for building a snowman.

We decided that the front of Summit House was the perfect spot for our "man" and thought the rest of the residents of our condo would enjoy our front yard decoration! We even put eyes, one of great-grandma's knit hats and a carrot for the nose!

After this we realized at around 3pm that Angel's wallet was missing and spent most of Christmas day turning our house over looking for it. By 6pm all credit cards had been cancelled and we were just starting to accept the $400.00 charge for a new INS Green Card. It was a real downer but we tried to stay upbeat for Ignacio. At 8pm with the winds beginning to whip I told Angel I was going to take the garbage down and, with a broom, look out on the street in the snow one more time for wallet, thinking that it dropped out of my lap the night before. I knew the plows would be coming through and after that all hope would be lost. As I hit the street I moved the broom through piles of thick snow and puddles with no luck. I crossed the street and began my best to find it when, all of a sudden I saw something black and shiny. There it was, wet as can be but in tact! Christmas saved!

On Christmas day Ignacio woke up at 5:40am and there was NO coaxing him back to bed so we trudged out the living room where we had his present from "Nino Jesus" (baby Jesus) waiting for him. It was a big semi with 20 matchbox cars inside! Here we are snuggling on the couch.

The 24th we headed over to Krissy's house for a dinner with more family. We all chipped in and in the end had a really nice meal, laughed a lot and watched the kids rip open their presents with excitement.

"Baby Adia" (as Ignacio calls her) was happy as a little buttercup on the 24th in her little pink tights. She gave auntie more smiles than I can count, runny nose and all.

This year at Macy's holiday display Ignacio was a bit more suspicious of Santa and, while he didn't cry, he certaintly wouldn't let him touch him! He slept good that night so it wasn't too traumatizing!

Matrimonio

Sr. Angel cried the whole way down and so did everyone else. It was so beautiful!

Henry's two boys...Ignacio loved them!

All smiles!

The reception hall.

Dancing the night away!

Ignacio is reaching for the squeeky frog the photographer is using to make him look his way. Little does he know that Ignacio isn't just going to look at it...he WANTS it! After the picture Ignacio was crying because he wanted the frog and all of Angel's aunts started chanting in Spanish, "Frog, frog, frog" so that the photographer would give it to him, which he did!

Our family...

Now is this model material or what? So beautiful!

Marlenita seeing her dad for the first time in his Navy uniform. There was not a dry eye in the house!

In Memorium...