Texas, soon

Me and the little man are heading to Texas today. I am excited to be in Texas but sad to not be in Mexico...I know it doesn't make sense. Not quite sure how I am gonna handle being away from Zach for so long, but I will just have to. The good thing is that both of us will be really busy...him with studies and me with appointments for Tate, so the time will pass easier!

Over the last few days, I have realized how nice it would be to have waterproof mascara. I seem to randomly cry when certain things happen...and then have some eye issues. After I got ready this morning, I realized I should not have even attempted with the mascara...oh well!

Zach is taking us to the airport in a few hours. Since I am going back on a way one ticket not knowing when or if I will return, I am bringing 3 suitcases. They told me on the phone it was okay...we will see when we get there. Always seem to have issues with airport people!

My posts now will be from Texas and hopefully frequent for daddy! I have been instructed to email him at least 2 pictures a day and upload to youtube at least 3 videos a week...I think I can make that work! He is gonna miss Tate so much...they are best buds! I am gonna miss seeing them together and hearing Zach talk to him. (Already messing up the mascara!)

Wish us luck with this time apart! And anyone in Texas...I would love to see you!

My boys hanging out!
Talking to each other...I love them!

Solids!

Tate started with solids on Monday of this week. I was expecting it to not go so well...you know more food on his face than in his tummy...but he did AMAZING! After about the 3rd bite, he knew exactly what was going on and opened his cute little mouth for the spoon. We just did oatmeal (cereal de avena) the first night...our pedi recommended it over rice cereal due to his past constipation issues, in case anyone cared about my sons poop! We started apples 2 days later and he loves both.

At every feeding so far, he makes a face of complete disgust with the first bite...but gets over it quickly. He then proceeds to demand faster feeding from me...the little hoss gets mad if I take too long preparing the next bite! It is going to be fun to try new kinds of food in future...but I am just glad that, so far (fingers crossed), he is a much much much better solid food eater than bottle feeder!!


Mommy feeding the happy little monster!


Daddy wanted a turn and he is very meticulous!!


Told you he LOVES it!!!!

Loves his Daddy!

Daddy is having a little bit of an allergy in his eye and took the afternoon off from school and a nice study break! We don't get a lot of time together...without his nose in a book, so we really enjoyed it. This semester is tough...lots of studying!!

This evening we made a little trip to the pedi for the last of Tate's 4 month vaccines which he was not happy about. He is getting smart because he started to get mad as soon as we laid him on the table...reminds me of Chico, shaking as soon as we walk in the vet! Anyways, after some tylenol, and his first solid food...more on that later...he was chillin with his daddy!


These two make me smile! I am so glad to be outnumbered by the boys!!!

So photogenic...

Me and the little man were playing in his room...really we were changing a nasty diaper...but I decided to take some photos of him. His room has great light, really Mexico has great light, and he is unbearably adorable...so it went well. A happy baby is a much better photo candidate.

This bear on the bumper is his favorite part of the crib. Let's just say I was doing some crazy things to get him to look at me...good thing it was just the 2 of us!


See what I mean about him not being able to turn off the cuteness!


Happy little chubster!


I love this one and especially when I put it in black and white.

And again, the little chubster showing off all his rolls!

Playing with him and the camera were my favorite part of the day. Scrubbing the downstairs of the house until my very dry hands are permanently Fabuloso scented...not so much the most fun part. But I do love Fabuloso...it may sound very "I live in Mexico" of me...but you can use it to clean everything! My house smells like a lavender field!!

Loving Toys!

Little man now loves his little toys! He still isn't quite at the point where he will pick them up himself, but if I let them touch his hand he will usually grab them. And of course, everything goes straight into his mouth...so cute...and so much slobber, everywhere!!

Most of his playtime is spent laying on the floor, looking at himself in his little mirror, or smiling at me. He seriously smiles EVERY TIME he sees me...and it makes me smile every time. Seriously...I am have cheek and jaw pain from all the smiling!


Here he is last night playing with his soft book...a Christmas present from cousin Emma, thanks Memma! It is now, by far, his favorite thing. I think the fact that it is larger gives him a much higher ratio of getting it in his mouth...so it's a winner to him! It's got that lovely, noisy crinkle paper in it...a pleasing noise to him, but one that gets a little old to mommy.

Oh, and one noise that never gets old...happy baby scream, love them!

**At 5 months old now, Tate...

1. Puts everything in his mouth (as previously discussed).
2. Smiles at mommy all the time (also previously discussed).
3. Laughs, not all the time, and mostly just for daddy...and it ranks at about a 58 on the 1-10 scale of cuteness!
4. Cries when mommy leaves his sight...he and I are together 24/7, so I think he is getting a little separation anxiety!
5. Loves to talk to his mobile, playmat, and the puppet guys on Baby Einstein (I call all creatures that hang above him his friends, so I think that is why he like to chat with them).
6. Loves bath time...so much!
7. Is eating about 5 ounces every 4 hours and sleeping about 8-9 hours at night...woohoo!!

I just wanted to record some of this stuff to remember it when he is running around the house, knocking stuff over, and getting himself covered in much worse stuff than slobber! These days are amazing and I know those will be too!!

5 Months Old!

Today my little man turned 5 months old! I have probably said it before, but it doesn't seem possible!! He is such a sweet fun little guy and is doing new things every day...I love love love it!

I am a member of a few preemie online groups. Just helpful for question and concerns about development and all...and a place for us mom's to share pics of our cutie babies! Anyways...every so often they send stories and poems and things. Today's really touched me...so here it is!



**Did you ever wonder how the mothers of premature babies are chosen?**

Somehow, I visualize God hovering over Earth, selecting his instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As he observes, he instructs his angels to take notes in a giant ledger. "Beth Armstrong, son. Marjorie Forrest, daughter. Carrie Rutledge, twins."

Finally, he passes a name to an angel and smiles. "Give her a preemie."

The angel is curious. "Why this one, God? She's so happy."

"Exactly," smiles God. "Could I give a premature baby a mother who knows no laughter? That would be cruel."

"But does she have the patience?" asks the angel.

"I don't want her to have too much patience, or she'll drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wear off, she'll handle it. I watched her today. She has that sense of self and independence so rare and so necessary in a mother. You see, the child I'm going to give her has a world of its own. She has to make it live in her world, and that's not going to be easy."

"But Lord, what if she isn't strong enough?"

God smiles. "No matter, I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has just the right amount of selfishness."

The angel gasps, "Selfishness?! Is that a virtue?"

God nods. "If she can't separate herself from the child occasionally, she will never survive. Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with a child less than perfect. She doesn't know it yet, but she is to be envied. She will never take for granted a spoken word. She will never consider a step ordinary. When her child says 'mama' for the first time, she will be witness to a miracle and know it. I will permit her to see clearly the things I see – ignorance, cruelty, prejudice – and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life because she is doing my work as surely as she is here by my side."

"And who shall be her guardian angel?" asks the angel, his pen poised in the air.

God smiles. "A mirror will suffice."

--Erma Bombeck
And here is my happy little guy this morning...we love mornings!!

Funny funny!

If you have a teething baby...I recommend this little teething toy. Target, I believe. The best part is that it vibrates when they bite down on it. Seeing him bite down on it the first time was worth 3x the amount I paid for it. He made the most confused face and then let out a laugh. My advice, if you get one, video the first bite...totally worth it!


The following photos...are just for fun! And possibly for the future embarrassment of my son!

Normal sitting, chubby baby...

Farting, sitting, chubby baby!!