Determination

Lately, Keira has been trying to develop her hand-mouth coordination. Until now it has been significantly lacking. She decided to take a direct approach to the task by testing out her own hand with particular focus on the thumb. I had a feeling she would one day decide to suck her thumb since I sucked mine relentlessly until the age of 4. Even in the womb we caught her with her hand suspiciously posed.

She tried for the better part of a week to fine tune her skills enough to get just her thumb in her mouth instead of her whole hand. She must have punched herself in the eye at least a dozen times, but in the end her determination paid off and she managed to get that thumb in there just long enough for a few gratifying sucks. I certainly don't want to encourage thumb sucking, but I don't want to discourage her from developing her hand-mouth coordination either, because the sooner she gets that down the sooner she can feed herself! If she does take to that hobby, I hope she is as decisive as I was the day I gave up my thumb.

Our friends Timmy and Tommy were teasing me calling me a baby for sucking my thumb and carrying around a blanket, and though I don't remember their bantering, I distinctly remember stomping into the kitchen where my parents were talking, put my fists straight down by my side and said, "I'm not a baby! I'm not sucking my thumb any more!" Then I threw my blanket in the garbage and declared my independence from it as well. My mom took it out of the trash and washed it, thinking I would be asking for it later, but I stayed true to my word. I never carried my blanket from that day forward, nor did my thumb ever part my lips again.

Love Thy Neighbor

Art and I have lived in our apartment for over 2 years, and our upstairs neighbor has been there since we moved in. We immediately noticed that our upstairs neighbor is very heavy footed and we assumed it was a large man, only to discover it is an average sized girl not much bigger than me. For reasons beyond my comprehension, she has the inability to HOLD STILL and stomps all over every square inch of the floor above us mercilessly day and night, as if she has no furniture. One day my family was at my house visiting and my brother Kyle asked me, "Have you ever considered that there might be a baby elephant living upstairs?" It's seriously that bad. To accentuate our dislike with her noise making, she has a very creaky bed that translates her sexual activity through the ceiling into quite a racket in our bedroom when combined with her love-making vocalizations. She only runs her dishwasher AFTER bedtime, and listens to loud music when I'm trying to take my Sunday afternoon nap. As heavy footed and irritating as she is, we had taught ourselves to tolerate "The Stomper" who had exercised her upstairs dominion over us these past 2 years.

The past few weeks, The Stomper has taken her noise making to a whole new level with the addition of surround sound TV and loud music until at least 2 am every night. God forgive us, for Art and I have now declared our pure hatred for her. I am trying really hard to literally love my neighbors, but she crossed the line with me and the only remedy I can see fit is for one of us to move. Oh what I wouldn't give for a house of my own! To not share a wall with ANYONE. To not be able to hear my neighbor pee in the toilet above my head! If only we had any money saved up for a down payment. It would be cheaper to buy a 3 bedroom house than to rent a 2 bedroom apartment. Donations are always welcome. :)

New Year's Eve couples as Art's birthday at my house. Unfortunately he had to work through his birthday so he didn't get to do anything special. He turned 25 this year and is sprouting a few gray hairs that he blames entirely on me. As much as I want to strangle him sometimes, I have been thinking lately about reasons why I love him. I used to picture myself married to someone who came home from work in a suit every day, but I love that my husband comes home so dirty and sweaty that I can't even touch him, because it shows me how hard he is willing to work for our family. It makes me appreciate him more when he does wear a suit. He cleans up quite nicely if I say so myself. Happy Birthday Baby Cakes.

Art's Birthday 2007 - Sacramemto Train Museum

Art's Birthday 2006 - F. McLintock's at Pismo Beach

Meet The Martinez Family

For some reason beyond my comprehension, I always get sick on Christmas. This year was no exception. As we gathered 'round the table at Grandpa's house on Christmas Eve I felt the impending doom of a cold closing in on me- starting with my throat. My illness did manage to put a bit of a damper on my holiday but did not entirely destroy my festivities.

Christmas morning began with opening presents at my house. Art surprised me with a gorgeous opal ring to match the opal necklace he bought me for our anniversary. I am sure he spent way more than I wanted him to, but somehow I couldn't bring myself to refuse his generous gift. As per my request, he bought me Microsoft Office for my computer since the bootleg version he previously installed on my computer was not registered and ran out of unregistered uses. He bought me System Mechanic for my computer too. I got an "IOU" for a book he ordered from Barnes and Noble that did not come in yet and a Christmas music CD. I gave him a T-shirt from the baby that says "This is what a really cool dad looks like." I also gave him a black Adidas hoodie just like he wanted, Season 1 of The History Channel- The Universe, and the 2009 Hubble Space Telescope calendar to coordinate with the space theme.

This is the ring Art gave me.

After we opened presents at our house, we headed over to my mom's house for breakfast burritos. My Uncle Mark came to spend Christmas with my family which was a pleasant surprise. We opened presents at my mom's house, then stopped by Art's parents' house to open presents there, then returned to my mom's house for a delicious dinner of homemade enchiladas and tostadas. It was heavenly. The baby was good all day, as usual, and I managed to make it through the day despite my party-crasher cold. Regretfully, I didn't get any pictures of us actually bathed and dressed because I didn't feel well enough to get off my butt and use the camera, but we do have some video footage as evidence that we weren't in our pajamas the entire day.

I can't let this Christmas pass without describing Art's lack of present-wrapping talent. I came home from grocery shopping a few days before Christmas and he was finishing up a couple presents for me. He was sitting on the floor carefully cutting a square of wrapping paper to cover each end and taping them to the package all the way around. He wraps every present differently but his most popular method of coverage is to wrap one sheet around the middle with the ends open then tape squares to the side. Despite the randomness of his wrapping style, the one thing all the gifts have in common is that they all look like they were wrapped by a kindergartener. He says it makes them "cute" but I think she should stick to bags and tissue paper.

On Saturday we went to a get together at Art's uncle's house. It was Keira's first time meeting The Martinez Family. She got to meet her Great Grandma Erminea Preciado, or "Nana" as the family calls her, who is said to have been born under a tree in Turlock. She is also estimated to be in her 90s and she is a live wire! It was a lot of fun visiting with her, Art's Aunts Angel, Nancy, Lucy, his Uncles Henry and Miguel, and a few cousins. They all LOVED the baby, of course. Keira now knows where her daddy gets his silliness and where she got her dark complexion.

I only have 2 more weeks before I go back to work so I am concentrating on getting Keira on a better schedule. She is already on a very regular schedule but it involves staying up much later at night than I can deal with if I have to get up and go to work in the morning. The earliest I can usually get her to sleep is 1 am- if I'm lucky, but it's usually closer to 3 am. THEN she sleeps for 6-8 hours, eats, and goes right back to sleep for several hours. She eats again at 6 pm, then between 10 and 11 pm she is wide awake and smiling, has her nighttime bottle, then wants to be awake for several hours. In order for me to be at work on time, she has to get up and eat at 6 am so I figured that's as good a place as any to start adjusting her routine. I am also waking her up during her 8 am to 3 pm nap and feeding her earlier. My goal is to get her down by 10 pm and up by 6 am so that I am not a brain dead zombie at work. I do expect to lose some degree of sleep, but would like to put forth every effort to avoid it.

Teach the Children

Christmas Eve is upon us and I will be spending it at Grandpa's house as is tradition. The only difference is we used to call it "Grandma's house" until she passed away this February. She would always read us the Christmas story every year and teach us the meanings of all the Christmas symbols. I came across this story that reminded me of her and thought I would share it in memory of Grandma Shirley Eslick this first Christmas without her.

Late one Christmas Eve I sank into my easy chair. Admiring the tree with its decorations, I couldn't help but feel that something was missing... The kids were in bed, the gifts were all wrapped, the milk and cookies were in their place for Santa. It wasn't long before the tiny twinkling tree lights lulled me into a deep sleep.

I don't know how long I slept, but all of a sudden I opened my eyes and there stood Santa Claus himself next to my Christmas tree.

He was dressed all in fur from his head to his foot just as the poem described him. But he was not the "jolly old elf" of Christmas legend. The man who stood before me looked sad and disappointed with tears in his eyes.

I had to ask, "Santa, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" "It's the children," Santa replied sadly. "But the children love you," I said. "Oh, I know they love me and the gifts I bring them," Santa said. "But the children of today seem to have somehow missed out on the true spirit of Christmas. It's not their fault. It's just that the adults, many of them not having been taught themselves, have forgotten to teach the children."

"Teach them what?" I asked. Santa's kind old face became soft, more gentle. His eyes began to shine with something more than tears. He spoke softly. "Teach the children the true meaning of Christmas. Teach them that the part of Christmas we can see, hear and touch is much more than meets the eye. Teach them the symbolism behind the customs and traditions of Christmas we now observe. Teach them what it is they truly represent."

Santa reached into his bag and pulled out a tiny Christmas tree and set it on the fireplace mantle. "Teach them about the Christmas tree. Green is the second color of Christmas. The stately evergreen with its unchanging color represents the hope of eternal life in Jesus. Its needles point heavenward as a reminder that man's thoughts should turn heavenward as well."

Santa reached into his bag again and pulled out a shiny star and placed it at the top of the small tree. "The star was the heavenly sign of promise. God promised a Savior for the world and the star was the sign of the fulfillment of that promise of the night that Jesus Christ was born. Teach the children that God always fulfills His promises and that the wise will still seek Him."

"Red," said Santa, "is the first color of Christmas." He pulled forth a red ornament for the tiny tree. "Red is deep, intense, vivid. It is the color of the life giving blood that flows through our veins. It is the symbol of God's greatest gift. Teach the children that Christ gave His life and shed his blood for them that they might have eternal life. When they see the color red it should remind them of that most wonderful gift."

Santa found a bell in his pack and placed it on the tree. "Just as lost sheep are guided to safety by the sound of the bell, it continues to ring today for all to be guided to the fold. Teach the children to follow the true Shepherd who gave His life for the sheep."

Santa placed a candle on the mantle and lit it. The soft glow from its one tiny flame brightened the room. "The glow of the candle represents how man can show his thanks for the gift of God's Son that Christmas Eve long ago. Teach the children to follow in Christ's footsteps... to go about doing good. Teach them to let their lights shine before men that all may see it and glorify God. This is what is symbolized when the twinkling lights shine on the tree like hundreds of bright, shining candles, each of them representing one of God's precious children, their light shining for all to see."

Again, Santa reached into his bag and this time he brought forth a tiny red and white striped candy cane. As he hung it on the tree, he spoke softly, "The candy cane is a stick of hard, white candy. White to symbolize the virgin birth and sinless nature of Jesus. The shape 'J' to represent the precious name of Jesus who came to earth as our Savior. It also represents the crook of the Good Shepherd which he uses to reach down into the ditches of the world to lift out the fallen lambs who, like sheep, have gone astray. The original candy cane had three small red stripes which are the stripes of the scourging Jesus received by which we are healed, and a large red stripe that represents the shed blood of Jesus so that we can have eternal life. Teach these things to the children."

Santa brought out a beautiful wreath made of fresh fragrant greenery and tied with a bright red bow. "The bow reminds us of the bond of perfection which is love. The wreath embodies all the good things about Christmas for those with eyes to see and hearts to understand. It contains the colors of red and green and the heaven turned needles of the evergreen. The bow tells the story of good will towards all and its color reminds us of Christ's sacrifice. Even the wreath's very shape is symbolic, representing eternity and the eternal nature of Christ's love. It is a circle without beginning and without end. These are the things you must teach the children."

"But where does that leave you Santa?" I asked. The tears gone now from his eyes, a smile broke over Santa's face. "Why, bless you, my dear," he laughed. "I, too, am only a symbol. I represent the spirit of family fun and the joy of giving and receiving. If the children are taught these other things, there is no danger that I'll ever be forgotten."

"I think I'm beginning to understand at last," I replied. That's why I came," said Santa. "If you don't teach the children these things, then who will?"

Author Unknown

Hip Hop Abs

Today I saw an infomercial for Shaun T's Hip Hop Abs workout and I was sold! Well, not sold enough to shell out three easy payments of $19.99 but sold enough to look up his videos on YouTube. I am so out of shape that I don't need any more resistance than my own body and the idea of getting my waistline back in pre-pregnancy shape without doing sit-ups sounded very appealing. I figured it would be best to try out the Last Minute Abs condensed workout to start with so as to not overwhelm myself. Baby watched with a smirk on her face as I did my workout. I am sure I looked quite silly. What little rhythm I have was not naturally instilled in me, it was very hard-earned. The more limbs you add into the equation, the worse my rhythm gets so as you can imagine it was not a pretty sight. As I jammed to the Lil' Jon and Usher imitators I almost lost my balance at least three times, but when all 5 minutes were said and done I was out of breath, my heart was pounding, and my whole body felt exercised. I think I will try out Hip Hop Abs for a while, just not when anyone is watching.

Deception

Now that I am a mother, I have been putting a lot of thought into whether or not I want to play Santa Claus with my kids. My sister and I had a rather entertaining conversation with my mom about the subject and she had no idea how long she had us fooled. We gave her a hard time about it claiming she ruined our lives. When I was a kid, I SWORE that the Tooth Fairy existed. As a matter of fact, I saw her. I must have been in second grade or better when I awoke one night after losing a tooth and looked out the window and saw a round glowing light hovering above the train tracks moving down the road and thought for sure it was the Tooth Fairy. So much so that I told all my friends at school and despite their response that they knew the Tooth Fairy was their mothers, my testimony could not be shaken. Then there's the Easter Bunny who magically delivered baskets of goodies every Easter Sunday. Quite frankly, I feel deceived and I'm not sure if I want to spread the deception any further, but I don't want my kids to feel like they missed out on anything because they had no Santa Claus. Art argues that believing in Santa helps build your imagination, but I'm not quite sure what I will do. I guess I have a couple of years to mull over the matter before my baby is old enough to have any idea who Santa Claus is. Try as I may to fight it, I will probably just give in and play along.

I am glad to report that I am done Christmas shopping already. I did most of my shopping online and the more I shop online, the more I believe I will never go real shopping again. Art wanted a very specific Adidas sweater and instead of running all over town to find it, I found it on sale on JC Penny's website, plus I found a promotion code for $15.00 off. That's the equivalent of free shipping plus $10.00 off. Then to make it even better, it was delivered to my door TWO DAYS LATER. That is record speed! I have been really happy with all of the money and time I have saved by shopping online this Christmas and all the more impressed with shipping speeds this year.

Well, my little girl turned 8 weeks old today and my womanhood is still out of order. I never imagined I would do anything in my whole life that could injure me for over 2 MONTHS, but I was sadly mistaken. I got on the scale with Keira this week and she is over 10 lbs now. She is outgrowing a lot of her newborn size clothes but she is still too small for the 0-3 month clothes. I don't know why there is such a huge difference in size between the two. I am also having wardrobe issues being that I am 20 lbs heavier than the last time I bought clothes. I have like two outfits that fit me- that's it. Though I am happy to have retained some weight, I am not happy about having nothing to wear and not enough money to replenish my closet.

Here are some pictures of Keira, 2 months old.

I can't believe how fast my baby is growing. She is still keeping me awake until about 3:00 AM but once she finally goes to sleep she will sleep for 5 or 6 hours. The first time she slept 6 hours I woke up in a panic checking for signs of life! She is still such a good baby and rarely cries, and certainly never cries if she isn't hungry. Her tears are starting to come in though, and it breaks my heart to see her with wet eyes. She spends her days talking to me and Daddy, smiling, playing with her toys in her bouncer, and kicking and talking on her rainforest play mat. Just when I thought she couldn't get any cuter, her eyelashes came in darker and longer just like her daddy's. Also, Art sometimes sleeps with his eyes open and she sleeps with one eye slightly ajar. She is definitely Daddy's girl.

Snaps

Daddy is NOT going to be happy when he sees this...

At least waited to scratch her face until after we took our family pictures.

Silly girl.