Ten Month Update

Here we are yet again in disbelief that Bella is another month older...and to think that she will be 1 in less than two months brings a wave of emotions through us. Each day gets better and better, she gets funnier, smarter, and we get to know her a little more each day. She can be dramatic and emotional (like her momma!) and then she can be silly and laugh at the smallest things (like her daddy!). She is curious as interested in everything she catches her eye on...she loves to touch and point at anything. We tell her the name of what she is pointing at, she takes a minute to stare at it and process what we are telling her, then she moves on and points to something else, and we repeat this process over and over. These days she gets lots of exercise! She loves bouncing in her excersaucer (not sure how you spell that?) and she walks with her walker. She doesn't like to be held so much anymore, she would rather be holding on to your hands while she walks. She loves our Christmas tree and gets in to trouble grabbing and biting through all the presents under the tree. She finds it funny when we scold her and tell her no...we are working on that. She had a tough couple of weeks fighting a stomach bug then a cold, but now that she is better, she thinks she still has special treatment. We are trying new foods and its hit or miss whether she eats well or not. But she finally got the hang of holding her on bottle! Yup it took us 10 months to unspoil her and convince her that she can hold her own bottle! Daddy of course thinks we should still do it, but I convinced him that she needs to learn so she can graduate to a sippy cup in a few months. She loves drinking out of a juice box though. Jesus gets more emotional than me when it comes to seeing her do things independently...he still can't stand hearing her cry herself to sleep. He looks like he is going to die! I also get emotional thinking about her growing up..but since I'm with her all day every day I feel like its my job to teach her new things. I have my moments though, where I look at her or see her struggling to accomplish something and I forget how little she still is...and I scoop her up and kiss and hug on her till she pushes me away! Her slobber kisses are the best...she comes at you with a wide mouth and slaps you a good wet kiss! Its funny now, because she now notices when Jesus and I are kissing or hugging and she laughs and comes up to us. When we scoop her up and kiss her together she laughs and seems to happy. Its the best feeling to know that she loves us. This month she will be celebrating her 1st Christmas..we are so excited for her!
      My little angel is ten months now and I feel like it is too soon for her to already be two months away from being a year old. This month continues too be full of new experiences with her. It was a rough one for her though, the majority of this past month she was sick. She had too share her stomach bug twice with mommy and daddy. It's amazing how fast a stomach virus travels within this house now with a child. Our poor girl even spent her first Thanksgiving sick, but still stuffed her face with mashed potatoes. Through it all though she continued too have a happy spirit. She loves rolling a ball to you and you rolling it back to her makes her laugh a lot. She gives you a big smile, squinting her eyes real small and giving you a loud laugh. She is also very acrobatic because she loves too be bouncing real high in her bouncer. She bounces so hard in that thing that she makes herself fall asleep from all the energy she used bouncing. It's the funniest thing just seeing her bounce up and down with her eyes and head starting to slouch in it. I know it's not good that I do this, but making her jump on the sofa also makes her laugh real loud. I do tell her not too jump on the sofa while she is laughing, so it kind of makes up for her jumping on it. She is very attentive too, pointing at everything she sees. She points so much that as soon as you pick her up from her crib she's pointing away. One of the best things she does now is when I go and pick her up in the morning or from a nap out of her crib she rests her head on my chest on hugs me tight. It's the best feeling a dad can have, knowing she feels safe and loves you. Her first Christmas is coming up and we are both excited to celebrate it. Her first Christmas event was the capital tree lighting. She had a blast dancing too the Christmas caroling, playing on hills of the capital and was amazed with the huge tree a lit up. We will see how her first Christmas goes for her, I know she will be spoiled from all the grandparents. Santa will also be bringing her something special as well.

Bella's 1st Thanksgiving

I'm a week late writing this but better late than never! I have a good excuse though...baby Bella has been sick for the past week with congestion and a stomach bug and unfortunately it all started on Thanksgiving day :( We woke up Thursday so excited that she was going to experience her 1st Thanksgiving with all her family, but as soon as we got her out of the crib she threw up. From that point on she got sick after each bottle. She is, however, a good sick baby. She doesn't cry or fuss too much..just clingy! She continued this way through the weekend and on Monday we took her to the doctor. Dr said she has a stomach bug which she gave to daddy and me as well. Poor baby, a week later she is still recovering. Anyway....we managed to have a GREAT Thanksgiving. We got to see and spend time with Luana, Mikey, Niko, Nathaniel, Tio Danny, Tia Suzie and Lamar! Grandpa David Tish made us a delicious Thanksgiving meal (thank goodness since we were busy with a sick baby!) Later on that afternoon Tio Isaac, Tia Diana, Marcus, Tio Eli, Nana, Jody, Great Grandpa Mario, Great Grandma Chila, Tio Alex, Tia Martha, Tia Maryann, Gabriel, and Alexandra all came to visit as well! Lots of laughs, hugs, and memories created! Its such a great feeling to see everyone so happy and enjoying themselves. Seeing them all is bitter sweet, we love to spend time with them but we hate having to say good bye. Time flies so fast that we hardly get to see them. Well I will let the pictures explain the day! We pray you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Blessings!

Nine months with Bella!

Bella has reached her 9 month birthday! She now weighs 18 lbs and 2 oz and is the healthiest and happiest baby we could have ever asked for. She has her four top teeth coming in which will make 6 total teeth and she is cruise walking around the furniture! What a big girl! She loves to wave  bye-bye and say mama and dada. She talks gremlin when she has a lot to say and shouts when she is upset. She is eating much more solid foods...she loves mashed potatoes, carrots, cheerios, daddy's sopa, cheese, and beans. She finally holds her own bottle..but only when she wants to! We love watching her grow into her own personality, and when we explain things to her she says "huh?" She loves to read books and be read to. She turns the pages and gets upset if we don't re-read a book she likes. Her new thing is dancing..to anything! You clap, she dances, your phone rings, she dances, a commercial comes on, she dances, and of course if you put music on, she will bob her head and bounce her body! She knows the meaning of "come here", "besito", "ball", "down", "milk", "mama", "dada", and her name! Its so amazing how fast her brain is leaning things. Her laugh makes us laugh no matter the day we've had, and when you hear her patter down the hall its like music to our ears. I enjoy watching her play in her play room and figure things out and my heart melts when she spots me and gives me a big smile! I have to say this past month has been by far the most enjoyable one for me and I am looking forward to this next month. Her Dr is betting that she will be walking before her 1st birthday, we shall see!
This past month has been a different exciting adventure every day. She likes to be chased by me crawling after her, she gets very excited and can't crawl fast enough to get away because she is laughing at the same time. She has really become more attached to her best friend Hope (one of our dogs), constantly following her. Hope, however, is constantly on the move because when Bella catches up to her she pulls on her tail. It's hilarious to us, but apparently not to Hope. The walker has become another new toy to her. She has this huge smile when she starts to walk fast in it. Oh and bath time now has become a little bit harder because she pulls herself up in the tub and stands up with support with the bathtub edge. She also lets me know when she does not want to get out of the tub. When she gives me her hands to lift her up, she stands up half way then forces herself to sit back down in the tub and then looks up at me and smiles while she continues to splash. This month was also her first Halloween, she was a chick, we took her trick-or-treating and got lots of candy. Since she couldn't eat any of it, mommy and daddy didn't want it to go to waste so we ate it all. She also went to her first pumpkin patch. Every day when I come home from work I get excited to find out what else she has learned.

7 Days to Knock the Socks Off Your Spouse

Jesus and I promised each other that every Wednesday night after Bella goes to bed we will have marriage night, no T.V, no phone, just the two of us and whatever we want to talk about. The night ranges from talking about serious things to playing a game of chess (he usually beats me!) Anyway we found this link to a great idea that we are going to start doing for everyday of the week. Life gets busy (and tough at times) that making time for our spouse seems impossible, but its really the little things that count...and lots of little things add up to lots of love! Thought I'd share with everyone...and share the love!

Prettiful Designs: 7 Ways in 7 Days to Knock the Socks Off Your Spous...:

Say it isn't so...

cheese!

At the Little Gym

Running with Mommy and Daddy

Nap Time with my bears!

Say it isn't so I'm not 8 Months!

At Gymboree with Daddy and Mommy

Sea World with my cousins, Tia and Tio

Finding places to crawl into

Bella is 8 months now! Say its isn't so!!!! Each month goes by faster than the last and this month crept up so fast I haven't even had time to write about it! The girl is doing so much that it brings us to tears on how much she has grown in such a short time. Jesus knew without a doubt that I needed to stay home with her to enjoy each of her milestones and man was he right! I wouldn't take any of these days away! Bella learned how to crawl shortly after turning 7 months...and now she crawls with speed! She also loves to crawl over and under things! We made her an obstacle course in her play room that she loves to crawl over and through. She likes to crawl into a ball pit and bus that we have..but her favorite thing is chasing daddy around, she laughs and catches him quickly! She just started pulling up to stand yesterday! Now she stands in her crib and in our living room ottoman. She laughs and giggles when she stands with pride. When she is upset she lets out a growl that sounds like a dinosaur! She just got over her first sickness..the awful stomach bug! She was nice enough to give it to us as well, so we all spent daddy's 33rd birthday sick. It was awful but we made it through! She is eating three meals and naps twice a day. She refuses to hold her bottle but that's okay, we like snuggling with her. She enjoys dropping cheerios on the floor to see Hope come eat them! She has been sleeping on her tummy since 6 months but she still doesn't sleep through the entire night, she wakes up once or twice early in the morning around 3-4 am and then sleeps till 8am. This past month we took her to Sea World with her cousins Abby, AJ, Eli, Tia Sandra and Tio Marco! She really enjoyed the shows! She was very attentive watching their every move! We plan on going again before the year ends...but until then we are excited about the holidays to come! We took her to her first pumpkin patch and she didn't know what to think of all the pumpkins! We are so happy to be her parents and so proud of her! Love you baby girl :)

Guess who's crawling???!!!

Bella started showing signs of crawling a week ago, but yesterday was the first time she crawled at her great grandma Benita's house with daddy....all night we tried catching her on video but she wouldn't crawl for us when we had the video camera out! I finally caught her this morning, she was a baby on a mission to get my phone her new favorite toy! All afternoon she has been here and there...luckily we have most of the house baby proofed but we have some tweeking to do. Happy Crawling everyone!

7 month update

Okay seriously these months have got to slow down! Our precious baby girl has hit the 7 month mark and that means her 1st birthday is creeping up on us! Until then we are taking it a day at a time and enjoying everything about her. Lets see what has she accomplished up until now.....lots! I think this is by far the most she has learned in a months time. She went from being dependent on us to being little Ms. Independent over night! She sit's all by herself, she even figured out how to scoot on her butt to get her to where she wants to go! As for crawling, she has learned how to get on her knees and bounce, but hasn't quite figured out how to crawl forward, instead she creep crawls in circles. She squeals when she is excited and flaps her arms. She can smacks her lips and clicks her tongue. She has two teeth that show when she smiles and giggles. These days she smiles and laughs at anything that makes music or if she sees anybody she recognizes like Nana, daddy, Hope her dog, etc. She drinks 4-6oz every 3 hours and eats breakfast, lunch and dinner! We are still sleep training her but usually she sleeps from 8pm till 4am, drinks a bottle, then sleeps another four hours till 8am. She has two naps during the day (thank God b/c that's when mommy gets things done) and overall is a happy baby! We go to the Pflugerville library on Mondays and the Round Rock library on Thursdays for baby time, its where babies between the ages on birth to 12 months sing, dance, exercise and play! She loves it because she gets to play and see other babies her age, and mommy likes it b/c she gets to have adult conversations with other mommies! We also go to free events that include music class, shows, and interactions. This month is a busy month for us, we are celebrating Grandparents Day by making cards (as seen on picture above), and it's the start of football season! She still enjoys bath time every night before bed time and has out grown her infant bath...so tonight we are going to try her out in the big tub! Bath time is daddy time with her, so I will let him speak about his experiences with her...he's a little sad that she has outgrown her infant tub, he has so many memories of her in it! Daddy works hard and does side jobs so any time he gets with her is precious time and they have a lot of fun! The Texas heat is finally subsiding so we can do more things outdoors. Bella loves being outside so we plan to start going for jogs in her jogging stroller that Grandpa David bought for us. Mommy and Daddy took a weekend trip to Colorado last weekend and fell in love with the outdoors and life style there...our plan is to one day move there! It's a wonderful place to raise a family and lots to do. Well I wish I had more time to write but I have valuable time to spend with my family....Happy 7 months to all of you, I hope its been enjoyable just as it has been for us!

6 months in paradise

Mommy speaking- The words "I can't believe its been 6 months" doesn't express all the feelings I have behind it. It truly has been the best 6 months of my life. Bella is a joy each day. She is growing every day by leaps and bounds. When we see her each morning in her crib, she grows a bit bigger than when we laid her in it. She has a smile that will light up your heart and a laugh that is contagious. She is everything I dreamed and much more! She now sits by herself, she is reaching for things a few feet away, she eats solids like no other and loves to watch PJ and Hope. I am so happy being home with her each day....and yes there are some tough days, but we get by. By no means are we home much, when we aren't visiting daddy at work for lunch, I'm taking her to visit family and friends, puppet shows, baby lapsit activities, splash pads, walks and parks! By far her most favorite thing to do is go shopping, whether its grocery shopping or goodwill shopping she loves to look around and grab. She still enjoys bath time and her new hobby is swinging on her swing outside. I feel so lucky to have her. After so long of wanting to be a mother, its hard to believe I have been one for 6 months now. Some days it feels like she has always been part of our family, and other days we are surprised that she is finally here!

Daddy speaking- Our little girl is half way to her first birthday and even though it's just the beginning of a life time together. I already feel as if these past six months I should have spent more time with her. Today we were looking at her outfits when she was just a few weeks old and seeing just how tiny she was makes me miss those moments. When I see her now and think of how she was a couple of months ago, she has surprised me in every way. I love to see how she now sits and plays all by herself, stands up on her legs when you support her, or reaches for everything on the table while we try to eat. She is now eating solids at the table with us and that is one of my favorite times with her. Squash is one of her favorites, she barely gives you time to get another spoonful before opening her mouth for more. When I see her learn something new it brings the biggest smile to my face to see such an accomplishment made. Bath times are still her favorite, we have them every night. We also have swim days with her new little pool and she especially loves to swing on her little baby swing from the swing set. P.J. and Hope are her new best friends outside. P.J. brings her his toys and when we throw them to play fetch, Bella lights up with laughter when he brings it back to us. I cannot picture a day now without her, everyday I love to wake up to see and explore another day with her.

8 is GREAT!

Jesus speaking-It's hard to say that we have been married for 8 years and 11 years together as a couple. Sometimes it feels like we have been together for a long time, but others like we are still so young in this relationship. Overall our relationship has been filled with many memorable moments that I never thought I would experience. We have grown so much with each other in so many ways. I have been able to view things in life differently by opening my mind to each other's thoughts.We have and will always have tough times, but we will also always experience laughter, our ability to rely on each other. I look forward to all the challenges we continue to face and overcome. Our marriage has now grown in a different way with the addition of our daughter. Seeing Monica as a mother now has brought out different, stronger love for her I never knew I had. Our past 8 years will always be remembered, because those years with each other made us the strong parents we are now. I don't know how the next years will be, but I know they will continue to get even better than where we already are, as we continue to grow as a family.

Moni speaking- Eight years is how many years we have been married! WOW..and OMG! Over the past year we have learned so much about each other that we thought we already knew, and my love for Jesus couldn't be any stronger. He has truly been the most caring, loving, patient, and understanding husband and I have so much respect for him. I see him in a different light than I have over the past years. Remembering him as the young man I met 11 years ago and the young man I married, I realize how much we have grown as individuals and as a couple. Like any marriage, especially a young couple like ourselves, we had our challenging times, but God carried us and pulled us together. Jesus has taught me so much about myself and keeps me centered. He still makes me laugh, he still writes me romantic poems, he still makes my heart race when he does or says something so simple that means the world to me. Most of all I not only know he loves me, but I feel it deep in my blood. Seeing him as a father makes me so happy. He is such a natural father and Bella lights up when she hears and see's him. I couldn't be any happier or more loved than I am today. I thank God each day for the blessing in him. I am so excited for our life together as parents, but for now enjoy each moment with him and Bella. Thanks to Grandpa Sergio, Grandma Wendy and Tio's Noah and Nic for babysitting all day while we enjoyed lunch, a couples massage, dinner and dancing for our anniversary. We had some much needed quality time while Bella got spoiled!

Bella is 5 months already!

Bella jumping on the bed (we had no choice but to teach her b/c she was in a grumpy mood!)

All smiles :)

watching the dogs play

eating her carrots Yum!

At the park

first slide ride

Daddy and Bella

4th of July parade

cooling off after parade

I feel like we just posted about her turning 4 months! OMG time is going by tooo fast (and not to mention that I'm a week late in posting this and she is now 22 weeks old!) Anyhow, she is filled with so many changes. Last month she started to roll over and well now she's so good at it that they should make an olympic sport out of it! She is also sitting up pretty well. She can last up to 5 minutes without topping over. She is grabbing for things with both hands and has different personalities come out for how she feels. She wakes up in the best moods and most nights sleeps from 8:30 till 5am, then eats and goes back to sleep till 8am. She loves to sit outside in her chair and watch the dogs play. We go for our morning walks every morning and she talks the entire time (not sure what she says but she is so happy.) She is eating vegetables, her favorites are carrots and sweet potato, her least favorite is peas! She loves to play and look at kids but gets shy and seperation anxiety with adults, but we are working on it.

Mommy is officially a stay at home mom. It was a tough decision but the best for us. Mommy is going to take off one year and stay home with Bella and then go back to work. However, if it were up to daddy he prefers mommy stay home till Bella goes to Kindergarten! Daddy is such a great man, although he works hard and many hours, he always has a smile on his face and lights up when he gets home. He helps mommy out as much as he can and loves to play with Bella.

This month we plan on making our first trip to Dallas to see family at cousin Novi's party! We also want to go visit the Pinon family in San Antonio. But most of all we are looking forward to celebrating our 8th wedding anniversary! God is so good!

Blessing to all :)