Busy busy bees + First days at school + Review.

I must apologize for the silence that has come over my blog. Like most people, Summer makes everyone busy. Really busy. A ton of birthdays, BBQ's and family reunions. Right now we are in the midst, of said family reunion. Steve's brother is finally in town from the military and that means we get to meet nieces (two out of four) that we haven't met! It's been three years since we've seen them and it's fun getting to know them.

Also, my little man has begun preschool. Yes, folks, my baby boy is officially a big boy. I was nervous dropping him off and I'm still a wee bit apprehensive about him being there all day. He's been there before and loves going to hourly daycare, but this is the first time he will be there all day! The place is awesome! They have preschool session every day from 9-12 and afterward he can stay and hang out until he's ready to go home. Also, if I am ever in another city/location and they have a facility there, I can just drop him off if needed. How cool?! We love it there.

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Influenster did it again! I was asked to participate in a review for Mary Kay. When I got word about this review I said, "Hells Yeah! Free Makeup!" I got the box a week later. If you haven't heard of Influenster, you should check them out. They offer members products to review and the more you do the better your products get. I really recommend it. This is what I received in my box this time:

Left to Right on bottom picture: Lipstick in Pink Cherie, Mascara (wish it was water proof), Purple taupe cream eyeshadow (really pretty), eye lash primer for mascaras, and a brush to use for the cream shadow (which also works great for concealer!)

Everything in the box looks so pretty and I loved it all. I haven't tried the shadow yet but will this weekend.


Disclaimer: These opinions are my own. Influenster has not paid me for my opinions.

Midnight runs to the ER

Every where on the news we have heard that this Winter's Flu is a strong one. Advisories are every where for wee ones, pregnant women, and the elderly to get the flu shot. Unfortunately, the flu shot isn't quite helpful with all the different strains of flu that are floating around. This is all so true for us.

Last night at about 10pm we ended up taking Michael to the emergency room. He had been sick for only a few days and ever since Tuesday, his fever would not let up. It came back each and every time clinging on to my little boy. 102.8 read our thermometer. We decided to call the advice nurse and she, like most, advised us to check the following:

-Fever higher than 101? Check!
-Flushed cheeks? Check!
-Not taking any liquids? Check!
-Dry diapers? Check!

So in we went. Poor little guy was not having it. It broke our hearts to see him getting poked and prodded. The staff at UC Davis Medical Center were really great. They attended to him as if he were the only one there. They brought him juice in his own sippy cup, toys for him to keep and play. They even put in some dvds (Berenstein Bears!) for him to perk up a bit. Although he wasn't having it, it was nice to feel the support. After four hours of being at the hospital we were sent home. They wanted to make sure that he had taken in all of the IV fluid. Which he did, slowly but surely he did. Time to sleep!

Once at home, and after tucking Michael in, we get a phone call from the UC Davis staff. His white blood cells were abnormally high and he needed to come in ASAP. We told him that we just tucked him in but that if it was urgent we would. They said to let him sleep if he was already in bed since he needs that sleep but to come in at 9am. Surely at nine in the morning, we were there. Just as quickly as the morning sun rose, we were whisked inside. They took his vitals once more and set him up. Again the hospitality was rather welcoming. After giving us the details of his lab tests, we waited for the antibiotics to help his blood cells fight the infection he had inside.

Now we are home and will start the routine of Motrin and Tylenol until Monday's follow up appointment. My Michael. My dear sweet little boy, I hope you start to feel better and start to be your Michael self again. I don't regret taking you in to the ER despite the many hours of sleep lost. It's all "por tu bien." (All for your own good.)

Funderland was fun!

This past weekend was quite eventful. When we decided to go see and feed the ducks on Saturday, we thought it would be  fun to take Michael next door—to Funderland! So, those were our plans for Sunday. I think I was a wee bit more excited than Michael.  I’m a chatterbox. I’ve always been a talker by nature. It’s one quality that has always gotten me in trouble in grade school. Which is why I think that I probably talked my husband’s ear off with how excited I was about Michael going on his first train ride.

 

Funderland is an amusement park for the small kiddos. Even though it only has a small handful of rides, the kids quite enjoy it. Michael is only 33 1/2 inches tall, which meant he was only allowed to ride a few rides (the train ride, car ride, and carousel.) But this was okay, his eyes widened as we entered the park with things that went in circles. He wanted to see everything! He ran from one ride to the other trying to get all of the fun that the park had to offer. After he surveyed the park, off to the train ride we went. he '”choo-chooed” the entire time we waited in line (about 5 minutes.) He didn’t know what to make of it once we rode his favorite toy (he is enamored with trains right now and Thomas has taken over his love of Elmo.)

 

 

 

After we rode a few rides and played with rocks (okay, he did, I didn’t) we thought we would take a stroll through the park. Then Michael discovered the pony rides. He ran to them and barked. Yes, he barked. Kept calling him “doggies” and panted as he pointed at them. Obviously we kept trying to correct him with, “No honey. That’s a horse. Horses say ‘neigh! pffft!’” He didn’t care, to him, they looked like giant doggies.

 

The “doggies” were starting to retreat for the day. Their owners began walking them over to the trailer and asked Michael if he would like to ride Caramel over to the trailer. Michael answered with “bow-wow!” Which meant yes. He loved, and I mean LOVED the pony ride. Caramel was a wonderful pony. Michael seemed like a natural. He must get that from his momma.

 

Cowboy Michael from Analilia on Vimeo.

Michael has 4 ducks…

Our Saturday was zooming away so quickly, especially since Michael and I had taken an early afternoon two hour nap. We wanted to do something before Steve had to leave for work, so we grabbed some bread that had started to show signs of “You better eat me now or I’ll grow some mold” before leaving. We decided that going to the local Zoo’s park would be best for Michael’s first duck feeding.

 

Michael’s eyes opened wide when we approached the feathered creatures. He instantly recognized them and began quacking. He has been in love with “Elmo’s got 4 ducks” since he was 8 months old, so he knew what ducks were. Michael even bent his arms in wing form and quacked while we tossed pieces of bread to the ducks and geese.

 

It was a short visit since it was 90*degrees out and we had to rush home for Steve to get dressed for work. I am so glad we made this quick trip. It really lit me up inside seeing Michael’s face of enjoyment when he saw the ducks and geese. Next time we’ll bring more bread.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Abb-ee!

Growing up with my grandparents we always called them “Mami Angelina/Teodora” or “Papi Jose/Merre.” I don’t remember why or how that happened. They were always “Mami/Papi” to us. Now that I have my own child, Michael is learning to speak. We live with my parents which is a great thing for us right now since I love watching Michael bond with my parents, his grandparents. He has learned a lot from just hearing us, adults, talk (it’s my little family, my parents, and two brothers as well in this house.) I think the confusing part about Michael’s learning to talk is the labeling of people. Since we live with my family, obviously I still call my parents “Ma’” “Pa’” and my brother’s by name—this means that Michael hears those words instead of, “Abuelita”, “Abuelito”, “Tio Danny”, and “Tio Luis” (soon to be God-father.) This meant that he would always call my mom “Ama/Mama” as well. Until yesterday.

 

My mom had been gone all day with her own mother shopping, who is visiting from Mexico. This meant that for the day, we had the house to ourselves and decided to just lounge around. After a good few hours of playing around, you could see he was missing something. My mom. Then it happened. He started calling out for her, “Abbi!” Yes, Abbee. This is the nickname we came up with when I was pregnant with my parent’s first grandchild. My mom hated “Abuela” since she felt it made her feel older, so Abbee it is (a nickname of sorts.) When my mom had come home I pointed out, “Who is that?!” Michael lit up and began saying, “Abb-ee!!” My mom about cried.

 

I loved it!

 

I wore jeans to the beach my first time.

 

It’s been years since hubby and I had gone on vacation. This weekend, we had a little mini sized vacation. Okay, we were offered an all expense paid trip to Los Angeles to drive my Mother-in-law out from the Capitol to the City of Angels. It was only a two day trip, but it was “all expenses paid” and who can say no to that? So off we went on Sunday night…

 

After handling the business we came to do, we had a few hours left to do what we wanted before the 6 hour drive back to Sacramento. Where did we go? Huntington Beach of course!

 

I have been wanting to see Michael enjoy the beach for the first time since he’s a huge water fan. This picture is what his face looked like when he first saw the ocean. Priceless. I’m sure he was thinking, “Look at all of that water! All that water and I get to splash in it!”

 

He enjoyed every aspect of the beach. We vowed we would come back next year since Summer 2012 is practically over. Next year definitely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Family.

 

 

I have a confession to make:

 

These past two weeks, I have been having loads of fun. Seriously! All with family. However, I always forget to take pictures and or post. See, my grandparents (maternal) have flown in from out of the country and I am trying so hard to get in some quality time with them and have Michael love them as much as he can. He won't remember them at this age, but if I take a ton of pictures and tell him stories of when he met them, then only then will he be able to cherish the memories he made. Life can be beautiful and it can also be cruel. I thank God that he was able to give Michael the chance to meet his Great Grandparents, have pictures with them and have my them get to know my son. I only have one faint memory of my Great Grandmother (paternal) and all I remember is when we were all in the family car, she came up to the window and talked to my dad. I remember asking him who it was, he said, "That was my grandmother. Her name is 'Micaela.' Or like we like to call her, 'Miki' " Maybe that's why I fell in love with "Michael" who knows, but I want more than just faint memories for my son, I want pictures and stories. Something physical and emotional he can hold on to.

 

So forgive me for being MIA right now. I hope you guys can understand.

Off to the dentist we go…..

Yesterday was Michael’s first visit to the dentist. Anxiousness filled  my stomach as the 9am hour approached for his appointment. I knew deep down inside I was going to be told, “Let the night bottle go.” I was right.

 

The dental office we chose specialized in kids dental care. They had arcades and video games to entertain the wee ones as they waited for their turn. The staff was so nice and friendly, I liked it. Michael enjoyed playing with some pop up toys and before you knew it, it was our turn. We went into the back room where the Dr. Yee explained what she was going to do before she did anything. She also explained that he may cry, so not to fret. She had me place Michael on my lap facing me and then asked that he lay down. She opened his mouth and checked his teeth. Perfect! Everything was perfect and no cavities in sight. Whew! She asked about bottles and night time feeding. I couldn’t lie and told her about the bottle. I knew I was going to be asked and how it’s bad, I’ve just been putting it off for a while. It’s already hard enough putting him down for a nap or bedtime, the bottle was my ally—no more bottles I guess. So no more bottles.

 

Last night, was our first night sans bottles. Sigh. It took my over 45 minutes to finally get him to fall asleep without one. During the whole ordeal, “Leche!” (milk) was being yelled out. Mind you, he doesn’t quite say the word during the day, only when he really wants it. Unfortunately, it was decided that after his teeth were brushed and flossed for the night, nothing but water was to be given and in a sippy. Michael didn’t quite like that. Like I said, after about 45minutes or so, he finally surrendered to dear old Mr. Sandman.

 

Night one, complete.

There’s something I forgot to show you….

Since the posts seem to be of “Michael is walking finally!” lately, I thought I’d post a video that my brother, who was seeing it for the first time, recorded. Plus, a video of how my nephew and Michael play—with my mother’s curtains. Ha ha!

 

Michael taking his first steps. <3

 

…and just for laughs, baby cousins playing with a curtain.

Four Day Fun!

This post has been rewritten, been saved, and opened/closed one too many times. All because my dear son has decided to embrace the “Terrible Two’s” quite early on. His tantrums are just wow! He throws himself on the floor (we have tile mind you), lays on his tummy while screaming and hides his face in his hands. I am not liking this phase of mommyhood. My parents keep telling me to ignore it while he does it since time-outs won’t work yet for him. They tell me to just ignore it while it’s happening and finally pick him up (with a hug) and talk to him, after he calms himself down, in a nice calm tone. I really hope this doesn’t last too long. Then again, they wouldn’t be the Terrible Two’s for a reason, right?

 

What my original post should have been:

 

This past weekend was a blast! Michael is still recovering from it in some ways. He is finally sleeping through the night but he has gone down to 1 nap a day. You win some, you lose some. We went to a few birthday parties, Fairy Tale Town ( a children’s story book themed park), and did some shopping at the local outlets in the city of Folsom. Every day we did something and every day we had fun.

 

My mom and brother tagged along with us (Steve, Michael, and I) to our first trip (since I was a kid) to Fairy Tale Town. Michael loved it and it seems to be a place where we will be returning all Summer long to. I can’t complain.

 

Steve at the entrance of Fairy Tale Town

 

 

Michael sitting on King Arthur’s throne in King Arthur’s Castle.

 

The Prince and I.

 

The royal men.

 

About to go down Owl’s house fro Winnie the Pooh.

 

Fetching a pail of water (Jack and Jill.)

 

Did I ever mention that I love trees?!

 

My husband posing with the hippo water fountain.

 

 

 

 

Riding one of Cinderella’s horses. Errr, mice, right?

 

Little dude decided he wanted to get his flirt on’ at the Crooked House after the Crooked Mile.

 

Daddy and Michael walking the Crooked Mile.

 

“Daddy, how’d I do?”

 

 

Summer is here!

The first signs of Summer are starting to show up. Like today, it was quite warm (85*degrees) and after house hunting a bit (my parents are buying a new house) we decided it would be a nice treat for the babies (Michael and his 6mos old cousin Gabriel) to play in the kiddie pool a bit. This was their first time ever in a pool (bathtubs don’t count) and they loved it! Definitely can’t wait for summer be fully here.

 

First Hair Cut

This weekend hasn’t even been over and I can actually claim it as bittersweet. Today we went to get Michael’s first hair cut. His bangs were hitting his eyes and he desperately needed a new hair cut. Last time, Stevan and I did a terrible thing where we trimmed his hair and everyone ended up calling him Gohan from Dragon Ball Z. It wasn’t bad looking, just a little too straight and not so natural looking, but the bangs were bugging his eyes. Back to today, we went to Cool Cuts 4 Kids in Elk Grove where they “specialize” in first haircuts and kids hair-do’s. Figured since we kinda had an oopsie with his trim last time, we should let someone else work on his hair (and if they messed up, the blame belongs to them. Ha ha!)

 

Before we went in, I kept hearing this little line that one of my brother-in-laws had told me, “After boys have their first hair-cuts, they become tremendos! (They become “bad.”)” This ended up turning into today’s chant and it would not leave my head. 

 

So we go in. The hair lady sits him down in a little fire truck for him to entertain himself and plops in an Elmo movie. This was the trick. She begins by turning on the buzzer and placing it on the back of his hand and sings, “Tickle. Tickle.” Michael was amused, not by the clippers, but by the chord of the clippers.  She begins by buzzing off the back. I begin to slowly hold back my tears. My baby will no longer look like the “Michael” that I have known this past year, but like a 1 year old Michael. I didn’t want to be one of those mom’s who went snap happy with her camera so I didn’t take any pictures. Luckily, my husband could care less and he taped what he could on his blackberry. Love it!

 

Soon after, he was done. He did good. The hair lady saved us his hair clippings and placed them in a zip loc baggie. She said they were out of First Hair Cut kits, but that I could come back and pick one up whenever.  Which I definitely will.

 

After he was done, we debuted his new do’ to himself via the mirror. Michael did not know what to think—he just starred at it. I’m sure it will take some time for all of us to get used to it.

 

I can’t wait to show off his new do’ to everyone this week (from Grandma’s birthday, to his birthday on Wednesday, to his party on Saturday!

 

 

Oh, did I mention that he was a bad boy all day after we left the salon?. Yeesh!