M-Kid's Survey

My name is M-Kid I really like to go to the park, go for walks, play with my trainset, watch Thomas & Friends DVD When I grow up, I am going to train engineer or soccer player My biggest talent is dancing, throwing a ball, doing animal sounds You will most often hear me say Mama, up, help (when he wants his trains connected), bye-bye, wawa (water) My best line so far is Cool Dude If I could meet one person/animal/character it would be Thomas the Train! If I could bring one item to a desert island with me and mom, I'd bring my Thomas & Percy trains The naughtiest thing I've ever done is Running ridealong toy into people at full speed, unrolling t.p roll, throwing or hitting things (after mama/dada said no) On Saturday mornings you can find me watching Thomas & Friends and eating breakfast w/ Mama & Dada If I could eat one food for the rest of my life, it would be anything dairy, goldfish crackers, cherry tomatoes, and pickles

Best Husband and Son Ever

M-Dad is the best. I come home from a job on Saturday, and he had flowers, birthday gift, and homemade card waiting for me on the table, and that is not all. He hung a "happy birthday" sign for me, and made me my favorite drink (version of a lemon drop). THEN, he told me to go check in our room for another gift. I walk in, look at my desk, and something is different about it. Not only is it clean and organized...there is a new flatscreen computer monitor! Wow, my desk is definitely a lot bigger now. Furthermore, on Sunday after church, we cleaned our place up a bit, including steam-cleaning our carpets, which M-Dad did the cleaning part, while I vacuumed and scrubbed the spots. Our carpet gets dirty REAL quick, especially with toddlers running around throughout the week! It is a light color, and once something spills on it, it stays! But it looks a lot better after the cleaning. Anyway, I just wanted to say how happy he made me.

Next...M-Kid, what a little sweety pie. I got my special birthday "gift" from him the night before last. He has known how to give kisses for awhile now. He even does it without asking. But this time, it was just extra special and loving. I was holding him, and he looked straight into my eyes, and gave me a kiss right smack on the lips, followed by two more kisses. And once he was done he gave me the sweetest smile that I've ever seen....a smile that meant "I Love You Mama." Anyways, I got tears in my eyes during these moments. I want to remember them forever. So, on to other subjects. My boys are sick...well, M-Dad's main condition (BP) has definitely gotten better, pretty much a full recovery now, thanks to God and all of the prayers. M-Dad has some sort of a cold though, and M-Kid has conjunctivitis and an ear infection. But they both seem to be doing a bit better. M-Cat is also doing much better (see post below). I am now officially 28. Do I feel different? Not really! I feel like my life is very full and blessed at this point. I do feel like 28 is a substantial age though. Late 20's. Married. Baby. Working. Hopefully a house one day (sooner or later?) Living life. Doing alright. Can't complain! Anyways, all I can pray for is many more years with my family, living life in happiness, good health, new experiences, and success.

Rough Week

It has been a rough couple of weeks for many it seems, but things are starting to look up. Any spare prayers are appreciated. M-Dad has been seeing the accupuncurist twice a week to help his condition, and taking herbs and some medicine that is supposed to help. He is starting to feel some improvement. We had a bit of a scare with M-Cat and had to take him to the emergency pet hospital...he had a urinary obstruction and was in a lot of pain...after an expensive visit to the hospital (who ripped me off) and a more reasonable visit at our regular vet the following day, is at home recovering now. God has given us many blessings...just have to remember that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Much love and prayers to all of our family and friends.

We have an 18 month old!

It has been a couple months since I have posted, didn't realize it has been that long. In the middle of doing a few things at once. Been busy! Well, we made it through the new year. M-Dad had his 30th birthday- we went to Catalina for the weekend and had a relaxing time! M-Dad and M-Kid's first time there (and M-Kid's first boat trip) and my umpteenth time there (used to go every summer as a kid). M-Kid's update: Have I mentioned that he loves trains, I mean LOVES. He has the Thomas the Train train set, and he takes "Thomas" and "Percy" the trains everywhere he goes. They are his friends :) He gets reaallllly excited when he sees any train-related thing, especially Thomas. We let him watch the Thomas and Friends show every Saturday morning, and ONCE in awhile he gets to watch the DVD. It is fun stuff. M-Kid just turned 18 months old on Saturday the 17th, and he continues to learn really quickly. He has been talking a lot more especially in the last month, some of his favorites include: choo-choo, animal sounds (dog, cat, duck, monkey, frog, lion, cow), bye-bye, water, juice, up, hot, hat, down, dog, night-night, out, no, hello, ow, help, mama, dada, bath, bubbles, shoes, walk, and a few others. He also is great at waving, clapping, giving hugs & kisses, giving high 5, dancing, following instructions, jumping on mama and dada, and letting you know what he wants! He is also learning right from wrong, and will look at you and shake his head or wave his finger around before he tries to get away with something- testing us! Anyway that is all for now. Blessings!

As the year comes to an end...

A lot has happened this year, but even more has happened in just these past 2 months alone. I haven't really had time or really felt like really sitting down and typing up something, so here it goes. First off, my Grandad passed on veterans day (very suiting since he was a war veteran). In a previous post I mentioned that he wasn't doing well. He passed in the comfort of his home. I was happy to have been able to spend a little extra time with him the week he passed. It was difficult to see him in so much anguish, but really good to speak to him and hold his hand. Death has always been a hard thing for me to grasp, as I am sure is the case for many people. It is so hard to say good bye, in the physical sense anyway. On one hand, it was a relief to know that he was no longer "living" that way, but on the other hand the people who are still living have to deal with the loss. We will miss Grandad's presence. Childhood memories of him have been popping in my head before and ever since his passing...like all those times he walked my cousins and I up to the nearby liquor store for some candy, the fact that he would always make a point of attending his grandchildren's events (ie. sporting events), and more. They will always be engrained in my memory. I am glad that he was able to meet M-Kid and his other two great grandchildren. I only hope and pray that I am blessed enough to make it to that stage in life. I pray for my family to get through this difficult time and that they are able to remain strong...and eventually be at peace. The holidays went pretty well this year. For Thanksgiving, we went up north to visit the Rodriguez side of the family. We had a really good, relaxing time, and Matthew had lots of fun hanging out with his grandma, cousins, and uncles. For the Christmas holiday, we stayed in So Cal. Matthew got to see a cool light show at Griffith Park, saw Santa at the mall, went to the Children's mass at our church on Christmas eve, and more. We spent time with the Albright and Wilson families on Christmas eve and Christmas, and Matthew had lots of fun hanging out with everyone! He made out well on the gifts. Thanks everyone! Also, Daddy gave him his first "real" haircut (Mommy trimmed his bangs a couple of times before), and it turned out pretty cute! It is pretty even all around with a little tail in the back. He continues to learn and grow so quickly, a little each day. His little personality is just developing so wonderfully! May we continue to be blessed enough to be able to be surrounded by great family and friends, celebrate engagements, weddings (Congratulations to you all!), births (Welcome babies!), birthdays (Happy 50th Birthday dad!), new jobs, etc....and enjoy more good times. That is all for now. Time for bed! Happy New Year everyone. May our beloved family and friends be blessed in the upcoming new year of 2007 (and all other years of course!) Thank you for always being there for us.

M-Kid's Halloween

Picture of us at the pumpkin patch and M-Kid on halloween in his lion costume. He loved being in his costume. He tried it on several times and ran around the house. He even kept the headpiece on (for the most part, but pretty good for a toddler!) We had a good time on Halloween. Went trick-or-treating and walked around the mall. Pretty low key, but perfect!

Life and Death

As our Grandad (M-Kid's great Grandad) is getting ready to pass...I ponder about my own life and life in general. I will consider myself more than blessed if I can have half of these things in my life in no particular order: To be able to watch my child(ren) grow up, with my husband by my side. Live to be an ol granny, surrounded by lots of family, and be able to tell stories of my oh so interesting life. Pass peacefully in my sleep, knowing that I have lived a long, happy life. Don't we all wish this! My family knowing how much I love them and appreciate them being in my life. My family to live a long, happy and healthy life. "Own" a home that my family and I think of as HOME. Enough money to live and be able to do things I want to do, and be financially secure. To live my life, enjoy each moment, create new memories and experiences, and not sit on the sidelines and wait for it to go by. To not always be bogged down with the stresses and anxiety of life...which is sometimes a challenge for me! Well, that is all for tonight. Off to bed. Any prayers of peace and healing that anyone who reads this can spare for Grandad are appreciated.

Just Checking In...

Just checking in. No real reason to be here, except for the fact that I typed the website, logged in, and well, here I am. I like to write sometimes...I have like a million journals dating back from when I was a young teen. Bet you would love to read thru some of those! I have read a few of those old entries and poems to M-Dad...haha. I don't think he likes to hear those. Anyway, M-Kid is sleeping, I just finished doing some work, M-Dad is online checking ebay I think. I have plenty of housework to do, but just wanted to get some random thoughts out of my head. Halloween is coming up...M-Kid will be a lion (because he is a leo). I don't know what we will do just yet- it is up in the air. We will probably do some sort of trick-or-treating, M-Kid collects the candy, Mommy and Daddy get to eat it :) Can't lose there! Can't wait. Who said you had to grow up when you become a parent? NOPE, you can just re-live some of those childhood experiences. Tee-hee. Well, I know that in many other cases you definitely have to act grown up. Like teaching right from wrong. And paying the bills. Stuff like that. Well, that is all for now...here is pic of M-Kid in his Halloween costume. He seems to like it...has worn it around the house a few times :) YAY. Oh yeah, and he just loves M-Cat. They are becoming great friends as you can see from the second pic.

Turning 1 was Fun!!!

Well, we made it through M-Kid's first birthday! He had 2 parties, one in Great Grammabelle's garden, and one in P-Town by the beach. Both parties turned out great and everyone had lots of fun! Thanks to all the family for all the hard work they put into helping these parties turn out so well!!! M-Kid is so lucky to have so many wonderful people in his life that love him so much. You can tell they love him from all the hugs and kisses, and well gifts...would you look at all this stuff! He is definitely set! No more toys PLEASE!! On his actual birthday, he went to the zoo with Mommy & Daddy. We also went to take professional portraits. It has been a crazy couple of weeks, but so fun. And now we no longer have a baby...we officially have a TODDLER! Well, he will always be our little baby :)

It has been awhile

The pic on the above left is of M-Baby at about a couple weeks old, and the pic on the above right is him recently at 11.5 months old, both taken in his crib! Look how much he has grown! I have been meaning to write a blog, but oh, how life keeps you busy, and how time flies when you are busy! These last couple of months have been great to say the least. "Can't complain" has been something I have caught myself saying a lot. Because I really can't! Let's see, here are the updates: M-Dad: As you know, got a job in his field. So far, so good. He is gaining valuable experience that will help him in his future career endeavors. He has also been working out a lot, really motivated to get in better shape. He doesn't like to admit it, but he has actually grown to like some aspects of G-Town life. Even though, nothing could replace P-Town of course (life by the beach)! M-Mom: Continuing on with taking care of babies by day, working for my environmental consulting firm by night. I am loving it. Whenever I have spare time, I love love love taking walks outside. That is our favorite thing to do on weekends as well. Walking all around, and we are lucky since there are many great places in walking distance. Especially when it starts to cool down. Thanks to these warm summer nights :) Okay, and saving the best for last....M-Baby! He is doing sooo many new things lately. The major one, of course, is WALKING! He actually started walking between 10.5 - 11 months, and is just mastering it as time goes on. Wow, a whole new world has opened up for him. He wants to explore and discover everything! He has also started talking a little bit (babbling for the most part), he is pointing at everything (his favorites have been airplanes, helicopters, the moon, lights, trees, and anything that makes noise, moves, and is shiny), and he has been mimicking behaviors a lot (he picks up a phone and puts it to his ear, takes a comb and runs it over his head, and things like that- IT IS SO CUTE!!), he has 7 teeth (4 on top, 3 on bottom), and the list goes on. Wow, this past year has flown by. This boy has such a beautiful personality. Being a parent has been the greatest gift. It's funny too, when they say that you get to relive your childhood again. This is true! Sometimes we catch ourselves just being big kids :) Yay for that. So, last but not least, M-Baby is turning one and will be a toddler (M-Kid). Ahhhhhhhh big sigh. This will mark the end of one year with our 1st baby. It has flown by, like I know I have said plenty of times. We are on a continued journey, though, learning and experiencing new things everyday. Every little smile, hug, kiss, word, step is just another blessing. A week from today will be M-Kid's 1st birthday PARTY (and then he will have another party up in P-Town two days after his actual birthday). And just 11 days from now he will be 1. Happy First Birthday M-Baby, our Gift from God.