Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Wordless Wednesday

(I'm not sure why my link on Facebook is being so weird, asking you guys if it's spam. So , I'm going to try a few things.)



Last weekend was my mother in laws birthday weekend. She had a party at their house with great food, lots of beer and loteria. I had tons of fun, and tons of beer. Haha! It was the first time I let loose in a looooooong time.

















-jen

Play date paloosa

Ok, I guess gabe only had two play dates, but they were in two days so it seemed like a lot. First, gabe and I went to orland park to meet a mom and little girl that I met on instagram. Jorge freaked me out at first. He was saying things like, "you gotta be careful, meet in a public place..." Omg. Way to make me nervous!



It turned out fine. Better than fine actually! Alli and Mia are great! I could not believe how well gabe and Mia got along. They were super cute on the playground together, with their "beans" (a cute stuffed animal my mom made).





We met at noodles (gabes favorite place), and then we spent hours at the park. The kids really were so great together. They are only three months apart. I think she's the closest in age to gabe of any of his friends. We finished the day with ice cream and shakes from McDonald's. The two of them were wiped out!






Tuesday, gabe had another playdate! This time we hung out with Dave, Stacey, and lilah. We met at woodfield so the kids could go play at yuyu kids. It was raining out so there weren't a lot of choices. Gabe did a lot better this time. He actually went in a little bouncy thing. He and lilah also play great together.










After yuyu kids we went to lunch/dinner at rainforest. We had never been before. It was really cool, we were sitting right by a huge tank. The kids loved it!


It really was a great two days!

-jen

Friday, April 19, 2013

Co-sleeping




We still co-sleep. It's a funny thing. Jorge definitely wants it more than I do, most times. The bed is cramped, but we want a king, so then it won't be so bad. There have been times where Jorge has said, "won't it be nice when he's out of here?" and then turned around and said "but it will be so sad". It has it's ups and downs. Is there a saying about how you have to spend time with your babies because they aren't babies forever? That's kind of where I'm at right now. It can be a pain, but there will come a day when gabe doesn't want to sleep with us, doesn't want to hang out with us. So, shouldn't I take full advantage of it now? And honestly, what's better than waking up to your little one saying "sshhh mama, we have to tuddle" (cuddle)?



-jen

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Food, glorious food!




Gabe likes certain foods. He's a picky eater like his father. However, I do still try to get him to try other things. This weekend he ate a HUGE plate full of rice and I even got him to eat a "taco" of rice and homemade guacamole. He only took a few bites, but I consider it a success. Last night, he ate a few of my chicken nuggets. This is also a success because he rarely eats any kind of meat. He also had a few bites of my turkey, bacon and avocado sandwich.



It could be just a few bites, but I get so excited! Gabe really only asks for hot dogs and Mac and cheese. He can put away a ton of Mac and cheese. There are a few fruits he will eat, strawberries, bananas, and occasionally apples. He loves mandarin oranges, but his belly doesn't. He also likes to share my green smoothies with me. Those can contain spinach, yogurt (a favorite of his already), and various fruits.



It's a challenge to get a picky eater to not be so picky, but I figure if I can continue offering him things, and if he occasionally tries them, I'm doing a good job.

(the last picture is what I feel is my biggest success...a plate full of chorizo and tortillas...he loved it!)

-jen

Why I've been away...




Ok. I will finally admit it. I have been absent from blogging because....well...because I've been reading. You read that right. I've read a book a week for the past month or two. I can't put it down once I start. I used to read all of the time. Conor had to read for school and I would read too. Hopefully this is encouraging gabe to read.

We also try to go to the book store once a month. Jorge and I love reading and history and I think we would both like gabe to enjoy these things too. Although, part of me thinks that gabe won't even have school books, that everything will be online or on a tablet. It's kinda scary. I read books on my iPad, but they are no way as wonderful as reading a good, physical book.





-jen

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Wordless wednesday




I love the fact that gabe plays independently. I was not always the most independent kid, or teenager so it really makes me happy to see him being able to play by himself.














-jen

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Mr. Personality




It's so cool to see what parts of our personalities gabe has acquired. He definitely has parts from both of us.

Gabe and Jorge are similar sleepers. It's so funny to go upstairs at night and see the two of them sleeping the same way and snoring. Jorge sighs in his sleep. Gabe laughs, cries and every once in a while talks! Obviously, gabe got a lot of his "boyness" from Jorge, like playing in the dirt (although he doesn't like to be dirty, which is so funny!)and rough-housing.




It's hard to say exactly how gabe is like me. He makes some of the same faces that I do. He organizes things like I do. It's really funny to get home from the grocery store and see him unload the groceries and then hang the bag on a knob, and put the other bags inside the first one. It's not a personality trait, but he is copying what I do. He has a sweet tooth like me...that's for sure. Give him some chocolate and he's happy. He was asking for m&m's for breakfast!


-jen

Friday, April 5, 2013

It's been a long week




Jorge has worked a lot this week. He also went to a concert Wednesday and is going to another concert in Milwaukee tomorrow. It has been a lot of gabe/mama time. I hate to admit this, but I know other moms feel it....sometimes it's just too much together time.

Gabe is one of the best things to ever happen to me. I love him more than I knew possible. He makes me smile and I can't get enough of his squeezes.

However...

Sometimes, there is a point where you have spent too much time together. For both of your sanities (is that a word?) you need some space. Thankfully, Jorge picked him up today and hung out with him when I went to a resale thing with Megan. I needed that space. It's kinda hard to appreciate your kids humor when it's the only thing you've been around for days.

I felt bad that I needed a break. But I'm not the only one right? I felt bad that every thing was getting on my nerves, but I also felt like I couldn't stop. I am so grateful for having the evening "off".



(also, there's only so many times you can hear the hot dog dance song)
-jen

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Sibling love

It's amazing seeing the love between gabe and Sidney. It fills my heart with joy and it also makes me sad because she can't be with us all of the time.

It's no secret that my brother and I were not super close. I used to chase him around the house (when we were fighting) and kick him "where it counts". We still have our moments if sibling rivalry, but for the most part, we are a lot better.

I was super worried about having a baby because Sidney very adamantly said she didn't want us to. I'll never forget the day we told her. We took her out to dinner and said that we had something to tell her. She said "Jenny's going to have a baby? Haha!" Jorge and I just looked at each other and said "yeah". She thought we were kidding, but was also really excited.

Sidney was holding gabe when he laughed for the first time.

*hold on, I'm tearing up a little*

Gabe cries if he is in the car when we drop Sidney off. He doesn't want her to leave. Sometimes it is so much harder because he won't give her a kiss because he's so upset.






-jen

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Wordless Wednesday (kinda)


My kid is quite the character. He does goof-ball stuff almost every day. Most of the time, I don't even know where he comes up with stuff. I have a feeling he will be the class clown.

Yesterday, gabe stripped off all of his clothes, jumped on a pillow and told me he had to go surfing. What?!







Today, in the car, he said his shoe was "dirty and grwooss". So he took it off and put it in his cup holder.






-jen

Monday, April 1, 2013

Easter Sunday


Easter sunday was like every other holiday at our house....jam packed! We had breakfast with Jorge's family, hung out at their place for a bit, and then went to my aunt and uncle's. Gabe had so much fun playing with my cousins Donald and Samantha. It did break my heart a little after Samantha left and gabe was running around looking for her.





















There was so much excitement, activity and running around that gabe passed out on the way home and just kept sleeping!



-jen