Heart Work

Heart work: defined as giving selflessly of ones self in a manner in which others feel nurtured and cared for without any expectation of having to return a favor. Thanks for the lesson, Aunt Kath. 

Big ONE

Our beautiful boy turned one on Saturday. We had to convince Emilio most of the morning that the baby had actually turned one. Because Santiago didn't look any bigger, Emilio wasn't quite convinced. We scheduled the party around his naptime so that he would be fresh and ready to go. It was a beautiful, partly sunny day with a strong breeze and almost 90° weather. The park we chose ended up being perfect. I just took the whole day in; making sure to spend extra time and pay extra attention to my little one. To think a year ago he was nestled on my chest in the hospital and there he was in the park walking, smiling and giggling...feeling totally comfortable being the center of attention. We decided to go all out for Santiago's first birthday party...a nice meal, good music, a piñata and beautiful refreshments. My heart was filled with gratitude watching all of the people who we love and who love us helping to make the day so special. By the time we left the park at around 8 o'clock we were exhausted.  Just the thought of unloading the van and all the cars was overwhelming, but we all dug deep and managed to get everything out and organized. While I spent the day feeling a bit of grief that my youngest baby was already one, Angel was feeling the excitement of all that was to come. As I nursed Santiago to sleep, I paid extra attention to everything that makes him who he is right now...the way his hair curls behind his ears, the way his little fingers still have dimples and the softness of his cheeks. We made him and we made it through the year. Happy birthday beautiful Santiago! 

Emilio designed Santiago's cake. It was a monkey reading Santiago a book under a banana tree. The boys made an appearance on the cake playing soccer. The theme was bananas because it's his favorite food. 

The birthday boy!

Singing happy birthday!

Auntie helping with the gifts. 

He enjoyed the cake...to the last crumb. 

Piñata time!

My lemonade vision made reality!

Gratitude!

Uncharted

A day at Minehaha Falls. If you asked the boys, they were explorers in the middle of uncharted territory. They delighted in walking sticks, rock climbing, beaten paths, rock throwing and staring at animal poop in the forest. The river was rushing with the levels so high and you had to be there to really understand how wonderful it smelled. Fresh, sweet and clean. That is not how the boys smelled after our hike, but you get the point. 

11 months

Can hardly believe it. Eleven months old today. I've been saying he doesn't look old enough to almost be a year but then this past week he just changed. His face is fuller, his bones feel bigger. He just feels more "substantial" I guess. We are over the moon with him. We really couldn't ask for a better addition to the family. I am so thankful Angel and I tried again. That we didn't let fear determine our fate and we trusted that something as beautiful as Santiago was right around the corner. He was, waiting for us to take a leap of faith and allow him to come. And he is definately here. 

Check it out...

Seriously cute. 

Three parallel world. 

Chilling in the pool. Or, as Ignacio says, "Chillaxing"! 

Just love these three goofs. Handsome kids will make for handsome men. 

Strolling through the neighborhood on a Sunday night. $6 pizzas at our favorite restaurant cut our walk short but that was A-Okay with me! No cooking!

Emilio's pride after making his bed. 

The boys playing soccer and Santi doing his orangutan crawl to keep up. We love this park. We call it the nature park. It's where we took our family pictures when I was pregnant. 

He's really into taking this in and out. More like "into taking things out"! 

Commit

Sometimes the oldest gets lost in the shuffle. They are independent, not as dependent and get asked to do more stuff than anyone else. "Take your brother to the bathroom." "Get the baby." "I know they aren't your toys but pick them up."  My little Ignacio. Sometimes being the oldest makes people forget you are still young. I commit to doing a better job. I commit to making the baby wait. I commit to really listening and trying to say yes more than no. I commit. Because, your first baby is always your baby, even when there are other babies around.  

Slow

Slow down. It's moving too fast. What about the 0 to 3 onesies? What about the first smile? What about the warm curl of you on my chest? What about swaddler diapers and worrying about your first cold? Slow down. Take it all in. Close your eyes and remember that you remembered. Remember you were there.  Remember thinking that you wanted to remember. Remember taking deep breaths and inhaling all the goodness. The smiles and the sighs. It's around the corner. The writing is on the wall. There are no detours and no way to avoid the route. So we enjoy the ride. Take it all in. Remember to remember. Worry that you're going to forget. Let it go and live. Just be. Yes, he's almost one. Breathe. He'll always be the baby.