First Grade

Ignacio is a first grader! He was so excited the night before and, as I wrote his embarrassing mommy love note for his lunch bag, I realized just how big he is. Then he came out of his bedroom asked if I could snuggle him and I remembered how small he is. 

First days are a family affair. Emilio couldn't stop hugging Ignacio all morning. He was going to miss his BFF all day!

Santi now understands that people go somewhere in the morning and he's in on the action too. 

So, my days are back with these two blondies! Not bad!

Dog Days of Summer

Princess Santiago

I go to the bathroom for 10 minutes to take a shower and the two boys made their baby brother into a princess. I must say, he was very pretty. I'm going to chalk this up as one of the downfalls of being the youngest. 

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.