Wordless Monday...

God is truly AMAZING!!!

Today was one of those days when something really special happens, which makes me realize (even more) how truly amazing God is! Wow!

Here's the story....Our good friends Yda and Ricardo have been married for 12+ years, 9 of which they have been trying to have a baby. Yda is now 39 years old and has been pregnant twice, both times resulting in early miscarriages... very sad....

Ever since I know Yda, I have been praying for her and her husband so that some day they could become parents... Yda's faith is really amazing; she's one of those women who truly believes that everything happens for a reason and she accepts God's every will and just deals with whatever comes her way... and always with a happy heart!

Well... today at church, she gave me the wonderful news that she's PREGNANT WITH TWINS!!

I was so excited that I started to cry and so did she... It is truly amazing how God works in such mysterious ways. Not only has she been blessed, but now she's going to have two babies... She is now 12+ weeks pregnant and so far everything is on track with the belly!

I know how much she wanted this and I am so happy for her and Ricardo... Glory to God!!!

Now, let's pray for a happy and healthy pregnancy!... I can't wait to meet these two babies!!!

"Terrible Twos"

Whoever came up with the phrase "Terrible Twos" was totally right and then some... Oh my, what a terrible age!! I only pray that God gives me the patience to go through this and understand Olivia and her many sides!

Up until she turned 2, Olivia had been such a wonderful little girl, well behaved and extremely obedient... I felt so lucky to have such a nice toddler...

Well... that suddenly changed to craziness and out of control behavior, which she has adopted within the past few weeks. She has become incredibly loud, messy and just terrible... She has even started to hit other kids, which is so embarrassing considering I have no control over who she hits. Also, she now likes to bang on things, throw her toys on the floor, jump up and down the stairs and challenge our every command... I'm going nuts!!!

Even bedtime, which used to be the "easy" part, has now become a challenge as she screams hysterically every time we put her down. She refuses to nap during the day and sometimes even refuses to eat at all!

One of my theories is that she wants all of our attention because things do get better once I sit down with her and actively participate in all of her games or introduce new toys and activities.... maybe that's the way to go!!??

I asked her doctor, and he says that it's normal for kids her age and that just like everything else, it will pass as she grows older... I hope he's right....

I must say, however, that she is still a loving child and extremely clever as well. She constantly shows us how much she cares about us and also demonstrates her willingness to get better!

So, I can only say... "Terrible Twos??.... bring it on!!!"

Gaby is SIX weeks today!

In baby life, 6 weeks is one of those milestones, when the baby is usually going through some kind of growth spurt and has accomplished "major" things such as sleeping through the night, eating more, crying less, making different sounds, etc...

Well, today is "it" for us...the day that Gaby turns 6 weeks... I still can't believe it has been that long already; it's definitely bittersweet but all in all a great thing...

So far, Gaby has accomplished most of the things that babies do around this age; she smiles at us, she has incredible neck and head strength and the biggest of all, she has been sleeping through the night consistently for a week!!!

Her next doctor's appointment is next Tuesday, where they will do another weight check to ensure she is gaining properly. Then around mid-September she will have her 2-week check up, that's when she will get her set of shots, which I'm definitely not looking forward to.

I'm looking forward to seeing my baby grow up and turn into a little lady, just like her sister!

I still haven't caught her smile on camera, but hopefully will very soon! For now, I will post a crying picture, which is easier to get! ha ha!

Happy 6 weeks Gaby!

My new "What To Expect" friend....

Ever since I got pregnant with Olivia in 2006, I have been part of the "What to Expect" message board, which is a spin-off of the famous pregnancy book "What to Expect When You're Expecting", also known as the "pregnancy bible" since so many pregnant women read it and swear by it....

Well, it turns out that the website has an awesome community of pregnant ladies and wonderful mommies, some of which have become my greatest friends. Most of them are from the "July 2007 board" from when I had Olivia (I love you girls!!! you know who you are!).. and a few more from the "July 2009 board"....

I still frequent most of these ladies to this day and have even met some of them in person.. However, most live in different cities and states, which is sad!...

Well, today I met a new "What to Expect" friend, who happens to live in Pembroke Pines.. I was so happy when we found each other online and I'm even happier now that I met her in person.. I felt like we clicked right away.. it was great...

Her name is Liz and she just had her first baby (Andrea), who was born 6 days after Gaby, which is great since we're both going through the same things at the same time. We had lunch at Panera Bread and had such a wonderful time telling stories about our lives and getting to know each other... I'm so lucky to have met another special friend through the site...

We agreed on meeting again and I'm so looking forward to it... I believe we could be friends for a long time...

Thanks for a wonderful lunch, Liz!.... see you next week??!!

My 6-week post-partum appointment

I can't believe tomorrow will be 6 weeks since I had Gaby.. wow.. time sure flies! I had my 6-week post-partum appointment with Dr. Daniel this morning at 10am and it was great... She checked me and told me everything was perfect; we discussed birth control options and then I told her stories about my babies since she has delivered both of them... good times!
For now, I will be going back on the pill and later on I will consider getting the "Mirena".... we'll see!
She asked me if I was planning on having any more children and I said "probably"... it's not set on stone, but both Iggy and I are open to the possibility of having a third child!... only time will tell! ;)
For now, I am happy to be enjoying my daughters and I'm looking forward to our family life!

"Potty Training"

I know it sounds crazy but even before I thought of having kids, I have been dreading the "potty training" stage.. I guess a part of me wonders why a child would want to go from having their butt wiped off and comfortably peeing on a diaper, to going to the potty on their own... oh well.. it HAS to be done and that's when my fear becomes a reality!

We've decided that 2 years old is a proper age to begin the process of potty training so the past few weeks have been all about being "out with the diapers and in with the potty!"... From reading books, buying pull-ups, to setting up kiddie toilet seats and potties around the house; I have officially started to prepare myself to be a trainer....

During the weekend, we did the "naked" potty training routine, where I take off Olivia's diaper and pants and let her walk around half naked... it was somewhat successful since she only peed on the floor once and it was easy to clean... the rest of the times she did go in the potty but I think she saw it as some type of game where mommy claps and jumps around after "something" comes out of her.. a little weird I must say.. but she did get the idea that it's a "rewarding" experience... I gave her gummy bears and a sticker every time she peed on the potty so she though it was something cool to do!

During the week, Olivia's babysitter has been helping me as well. She wears little panties during the day and makes an announcement every time she needs to go...

So far, the whole "potty training" thing is not as bad as I had imagined but mind you it has only been a week or so... I certainly hope it gets easier and not harder!

She's still not fully potty trained but I think the fact that she is getting the idea is a start. Hopefully we can keep up the progress and have her completely trained within a month or so! I'm crossing my fingers!

Wordless Monday...

Marisa's Birthday!

Today is my aunt's birthday so we got together at her house to celebrate. Since it felt on a Sunday and everyone has to work tomorrow, we kept it small with just a birthday cake, ice cream and some chips... it was a nice get together.

Olivia had a blast with her cousins; they all played around for a couple of hours and drove us all crazy, but it was so much fun! It's always great to see all the kids playing around and just being themselves!

My aunt got tons of presents, phone calls and special thoughts....what a special day!

Happy Birthday Marisa! May you celebrate many more!

The Time Traveler's Wife

Today I went to see The Time Traveler's wife, which has been out in theaters since August 14th. I must say that I went in to see the movie with a bit of skepticism since I'm not into science fiction and often dislike movies that I know are unrealistic and impossible....

Well, to my surprise, the movie was actually pretty good and very well thought... The storyline was well organized and the characters were rather engaging. It was romantic, funny, cute and ingenious at the same time... I really enjoyed it. Even Iggy liked the movie and he often thinks that romantic dramas are usually bad... that was first!

I thought Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams played such great roles and their portrayal of the characters was great; they make such a cute onscreen couple and had great chemistry. Also, although the movie is based on something as impossible as "time traveling", it is so engaging that at some point the viewer believes that it is a true story...all in all a great movie!

Sunny (and hot) South Florida!

Oh my! Did somebody say hot and sunny!?? Mother nature has been rather cruel lately with hot hot hot weather, temperatures consistently in the 90's, with the heat factor up to almost 100 degrees.. it's insane!!

Summer is famous for being the season when people spend time outdoors having all kinds of fun and enjoying the sun.. well, this is NOT the place to do that.. because it's actually masochistic to be outside.. I get so cranky when I'm outside and I just feel like running around naked.. it gets even worse with two babies that have such sensitive skin... I wish I could move somewhere else (for the summer at least)...

It is estimated that the temperatures will continue to be in the 90's for the rest of August and part of September... so we'll have sunny and hot South Florida for a while longer!!! This is when I envy Canadians and their cool weather! ha ha!

Pablo visits South Florida

Today was such a nice day since we got to spend time with Pablo, who is my sister's brother in law and also my niece's godfather. He is visiting from Madrid, Spain, where he lives with his girlfriend Vicky.

Pablo is here for business so his visit will be rather short; he got here yesterday and will be leaving tomorrow at 3pm...

Pablo and I are godparents to Erika (aka Cookie) whom we baptized when she was 7 months old. It has been such a great honor to share such responsibility with him and to be able to give Cookie all the love that she needs to be a happy and sweet child.

We had a nice time eating at "Panera Bread" and then we went shopping at Sawgrass Mills Mall; we were able to have a nice conversation and to spend quality time together.

My sister was very happy since she was able to take a picture of Cookie with both of her godparents and Cookie was even happier to see everyone together! What a nice day!

A true "Kodak" moment...

In life, there's only a few of those "Kodak" moments, where an image is simply priceless..
Well, here's one of those moments... I simply love this picture, where both daddy and baby are caught up in a beautiful moment!!! It's pure love!
Love it!!!

In-laws visit and such...

July 22nd-August 19th

I was lucky to have my mother in law and her husband come to town for an extended visit; they were so incredibly helpful and I'm so thankful for the time they spent with us...

Although they missed Gaby's birth, they were able to come to town a few days after she was born and spent some quality time with us and the girls... it was great!

My mother in law helped me with Olivia every day and gave her a lot of attention so that she wouldn't resent her little sister. She also helped me a lot around the house with things such as laundry, cooking, shopping and general housekeeping...

We did have a few disagreements here and there (as with any mother in law).. but all in all their visit was great....

They left a couple of days ago and I already miss them terribly... I can only hope they come back to visit rather sooner than later...

Today, as I reminisce about their visit, I realize that I was so lucky to have them around for almost a whole month...

I've felt a little lonely since they left and I continue to make efforts to adjust to my new life as a mommy of two, which is rather challenging... Although I know I can handle it, I can't help but feel overwhelmed at times....

Ouch! my back is killing me!!!

So... I hope this is not one of those "post-partum" ailments that are so called "normal" for someone who just gave birth... I've had a horrible back ache for the past 3 days, it's crazy!!!!

It feels like some intense shock in my lower back, that only gets worse every time I stand or even attempt to move. I'm officially afraid to change positions, thinking my back will snap or even break...it hurts so bad that I even had to dig out my Percocet prescription and start taking the meds to alleviate the pain!!!

I hope the pain goes away rather sooner than later because this is killing me!

Gaby's 1-month appointment

Today was Gaby's 1-month appointment, where she got a second dose of the Hep B vaccine.

The appointment went fairly well, she cried some when she got the shot and the doctor said that her development is right on track; he said, however, that Gaby has not gained enough weight since her last appointment and he expressed some concern because she's below the 50th percentile for her weight. She currently weighs 8lbs 14oz and measures 21 1/4 in; the doctor thinks she should be at least 9 1/2 lbs. He asked if she was eating right and I said yes; then he said I shouldn't worry too much since she might just be naturally skinny... Of course, I'm worried because I feel that I'm doing something wrong and it's my fault that she's not gaining enough weight...

As a reference, I decided to check Olivia's baby book and realized that by the time Oli was a month old, she was already 10lbs 4oz, which only makes me even more worried... I know it's just numbers and not all babies are the same, but I can't help but stress out about it... I can only hope Gaby starts to gain more weight and she continues to be a healthy baby....

Wordless Monday...and Olivia is 25 months today!

Gabriela is 1 month old!

We have officially survived Gaby's first month...phew!... what a month this has been....between the sleepless nights and trying to adjust to being a mother of two, time has really flown by.

Gaby is growing up way too fast already... she's out of most of her newborn clothes and into her 0-3 month stuff; I've already had to clean out her drawer twice this month and discard onesies that longer fit her, isn't that insane?

She is more alert every day and loves to "play" with me. We have a lot of eye contact and she seems to communicate well through crying and cooing...Her development is right on track and so is her growth.

Gaby does "tummy time" at least twice per day and she seems to be very strong and extremely active. She moves her arms and legs consistently and is just as "athletic" as her sister Olivia.

She eats like a champ, about 24oz of formula per day and her sleep schedule seems to be getting better as well... yay for good babies!

Happy 1-month Gaby!

A couple of good nights!!!

So, if you read my previous post you know that I've been going insane with the lack of sleep and Gaby's crazy schedule....

Well... I tried giving her cereal in the bottle.. and I also decided to mixed her formula in "rice water" instead of regular water... I've done this for her last "night" bottle during the past two nights and it has been wonderful...

Thursday night she slept from 11pm to 3am and then she went right back to sleep and woke up at 7am.. it was great... then last night, she slept from 11pm to 5am, had her bottle and went back to sleep and she didn't wake up until almost 10am... that was even better than the night before!!

I really hope I don't jinx it with this post, but I do think that her schedule is getting better and I also think that the cereal and rice water did the trick!... she is also sleeping on her tummy, which helps a lot because she's more comfortable and can avoid gas better...

Here's to hoping my sleeping beauty continues to sleep beautifully! ;)

Dad's farewell lunch!

After several months without a job, my dad recently got offered a teaching position at Tuskeegee University in Alabama so he will be relocating along with my mom and my sister; they will be moving to Auburn, AL within the next few weeks. Needless to say I am completely sad about it, although I know it is the best for them. I get incredibly teary eyed by the sole idea of having my family so far away since we've never been apart... but I guess this was long coming...
My parents are torn as well since this means they will not be able to enjoy their granddaughters and we won't see each other as often... it's a sad thought!
My father will be the first one to leave since he has to start work this coming Monday. He will be driving off tomorrow and is expected to arrive in Alabama on Saturday. As a farewell, we went to have lunch with him at "On the Border", where my sister works. It was nice to spend a few hours with my parents and sister; we talked about all the expectations my dad has about his new job and what this change means for our family... it was bittersweet....
I have plans to go visit my parents in Alabama within the next couple of months, however for now, I can only wish them well and get used to the idea of missing them!
Good luck dad! I will miss you so much but wish you so well in your new life!

Sleep?...what is that??

I'm officially a walking zombie... this is driving me insane!!!!

Gaby will not sleep at night and she refuses to let me sleep either. She is usually pretty good during the day but at night it's a whole different story....it goes like this.....

I usually give her a "night" bottle around 11pm and she falls asleep within 15 minutes... she's then up around 2am or so and that's when the party starts!!

She eats around 2am and then she wants to be up for 3 or 4 hours... it's horrible. I've tried everything to get her to fall back asleep but she refuses.... it's crazy.... Her eyes are usually wide open and as soon as I even attempt to put her down she starts to fuss, whine or cry hysterically!...

I need some serious help... I'm starting to resent her at times and it gets me so cranky. I cannot enjoy my days because of the miserable nights....

At this point, I'm willing to try anything....

My cousin recommended a book called "Secrets of the Baby Whisperer", which I plan to buy and read to see if it helps... I also plan to give Gaby some cereal in her bottle to make her sleep longer and make an attempt to get more than 3 hours of sleep at a time....

Wish me luck!! I can't do this much longer! I need some SLEEP!!!!!

Baby Blues...

Gaby will be 4 weeks old this coming Thursday and I still feel sad from time to time...

The "baby blues" are certainly doing a number on me because I feel a constant sadness that I can't fight. At times I believe the sadness is due to being at home alone and inevitably getting bored. I know boredom sounds impossible when there's a newborn in the mix, but since I'm such an active person, being at home all day doesn't really cut it...

Other times, I think I get sad because I feel overwhelmed and just plain exhausted. Gaby is very demanding and the sleepless nights are not helping either.

Hopefully I'll start feeling happy again very soon as I continue to adjust to my new life. I'm supposed to be on maternity leave until early October, but I have decided that I will play it by ear and might go back to work a bit earlier....we'll see!

Wordless Monday...

Pool party!

Today we attended a pool party at the Pacheco home to celebrate Alexander's 7th birthday. The party was great, with awesome food and fun games. Olivia loved swimming in the pool with her daddy and had tons of fun splashing around in the water. The weather was perfect and Oli even got a sun tan.... so cute! There were other kids and Olivia was able to play around and have fun with her little friends as well.....
I didn't go in the pool because I was watching Gaby, but I still had a lot of fun watching Iggy and Olivia play in the water....You gotta love summer days in Florida!

Big sisters rock!!!

Ever since Gaby was born, Olivia has done such a good job as a big sister! She is so protective of her little sister and loves it when I call her "big sister"... She smiles and starts screaming "yay! big sister!"... I think it's so cute!!
I bought her shirt that reads "Big Sisters Rock" and she loved it! She wore it with such pride... I took some cute pictures of her in her big sister shirt... I love it!
I'm so proud of my little girl for understanding the concept of having a baby sister and loving her every day! She makes my day every day!