Easter Sunday!

Today is Easter Sunday! Pj got a stuffed duck from his abuela and The Tale of Peter Rabbit from Pablo and I. 
I have always loved the classic illustrations in Beatrix Potter's books so I was pretty excited to add it to our collection. I cheated and broke it out on Saturday because I didn't know how much time we would have Sunday morning and I wanted to catch his reaction on camera. He LOVES books and I'm glad I captured his first moments with this one.  

My intuition served me right this time. Easter morning was rush, rush, rush for Pablo and I getting ready for church and packing our lessons up. With three callings between the two of us and the babes, we bring a LOT of materials and bags to church, haha. So we surprised Pj with his second Easter gift, the stuffed duck, and that left him content while we busied around him. I did manage to snatch the little grin in the lower right corner though ;)

 

I am really excited to show these next pictures. This is Pj's new FAVORITE thing to do in the world: Stand! With help, haha. He doesn't know how little he is. I'm thinking, "I'm little baby just learned to sit up by himself, now he wants to be standing too?!" It's too much for a new momma-- I don't want my babes growing too fast! But Pj is pretty stubborn once he decides to do something and when we stand him up a great grin lights up his face. Love this little man, haha.

 There are many things I love about my husband (of course!). But he is really talented at catching natural moments on camera. I'm always more in love with the pictures I didn't know he was taking more than the ones I posed for. What a blessing to get moments like these saved forever :)

 Tio Zeniff came down for the Easter holiday and spent some time with his nephew :) Pj is getting more and more playful every time Zeniff comes down and sees him! By the time he comes again, Pj will be passing the soccer ball between them! Haha, nah... But it is great to see Pj spending time with his Tio and I think they're going to have a lot of fun together when Pj grows a little older :)

And to close what is an already long and full post, I leave you with some shots of our mealtimes lately...

Green beans anyone?

Half-year Mark

It's been SIX MONTHS! 

A whole HALF of a YEAR has flown by already. Crazy! Here are some goings-on with our little big guy:

-- 15.5 lbs

-- 26.5 inches long

-- We discovered he is ticklish and that's been fun ;)

-- He used to sit in the bath and just chillax, but now he kicks his legs out

-- Sitting up on his own now! Wobbly, yes, but sitting!

-- No more night feedings. Down at 8 and up at 7 a.m. It's a great schedule :)

-- He has a new favorite consonant: b. So its a constant babbling of "bobb-bob-bbobob-bob-bob-bobbb"

-- Starts on vegetables this Monday! 

-- favorite toys: His toy box. The actual box, haha. Also a small mirror and a blue rattle ball. Once he's done playing with the box he'll grab one of those next :)

We call this his "cheese" face

 How is Momma 6 months later?  

   

I feel like a lucky girl :) I'm especially loving this age he's at right now. He's interactive, playful, and goofy. The best part is that it is only going to get better! I feel like we're such good friends and that makes everything just a joy to do. Pablo and I embrace being parents and love it. EVEN during the church tantrums, poopy diapers, and when he doesn't want to take his naps, haha :)

I'm starting to feel more like myself now that Pablo and I have been going to the gym at least 4-5 times a week. We put baby cakes to sleep for the night and let his Abuelos look after him in case he wakes up. Then we go running- usually 3 miles. I've been trying to burn more calories than a steady 9:00 minute mile, so I'm doing intervals every other day too. Going to the gym together is probably one of my favorite things we do. After being separated all day, it's comforting to see Pablo a couple treadmills over and it's relaxing on the car ride to catch up on each others day. I ran 3 miles in 26:16 last week and I'm only 8 lbs away from my pre-pregnancy weight, and 10 lbs away from my goal weight. Those last 10 lbs just LOVE to hang around, haha

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 Also, Pablo and I went to the opening night of the International Friendship Festival that is hosted between Eagle Pass, TX and Piedras Negras, Coahuila, MX. It takes place under the International Bridge on the U.S. side. It lasts about a week and there is dancing, music, food, parades, and a huge carnival. We ate tacos de tripa, fresh, hot gorditas, and funnel cake while walking around and enjoying each others company. It was a fun night and left us with some funny stories, haha :)

Mexico

Waiting in line for Tripas (fried pork intestine)

 

St. Paddy's

 I got to walk around church with this little cutie today!

  Unfortunately, PJ started running a low fever and a bit of a cough, so we cut church an hour short and have been taking care of him. I'm sure it doesn't matter how many kids you have, it's HARD to know your kid is hurting and uncomfortable. And since Pablo and I are first-timers, we're especially worried and overly concerned i'm sure! But hey, It means lots of cuddles with momma- something i'm always up for :)
 
This was also my first Sunday as Primary Chorister. And can I just say how blessed I feel? I love being able to teach the young adults and the great conversations about the Gospel we have, and then to spend the next hour of Church with the little ones and hear they'e sweet voices.  It's just proof that the Lord knows us better than we do, because it's NOT the first calling I would have chosen for myself.  We talked about being Lucky vs. Blessed and sang about all those things in life we're "lucky" to have. Then we found our way to the end of the rainbow to a special treasure, Jesus Christ...and Snickers bars. I think the kids had a good time with the activity and I can't wait to do it again next week! 


Happy Saint Patrick's Day! :)
 

The Jailbreak

Pablo and I ran a mudder in San Antonio this past Saturday! It was called the Jailbreak and it was fun to see them keep to the theme throughout the race. The volunteers' shirts said 'Prison Staff' and some of the obstacles along the 3.1 miles course were meant to feel like we were "escaping". Annnnnd...it was Pablo's first race!  I'll let the pictures do the talking, because there are a lot of them ;)

All packed the day before for an early morning

PJ's ready to conquer

C'mon, is this not the cutest thing?

What a STUD

Waiting at the gate, or "Prison"

And we're off!

Haha, we're technically still racing in this pic...

Muddy shoe donation

This last picture is the cleaning station. I'm serious. They had no showers or little hoses. Instead we all gathered around a fire truck and were hosed down from head to toe. When you finally got washed clean (as clean as you could get at least) you'd put your hands up and shout "Im Clean!" so that the muddy people around you could open up a path. Kinda funny :)

 The best part, and I mean the BEST part, was running it with Pablo. I've run race after race, but nothing beats crossing the finish line holding hands and completely and utterly HAPPY. During the race there had to have been 5 huge mud pits and he would grab my hand as we stepped through. It just makes the little girl in me get all these butterflies, haha. And we'd encourage each other as we climbed over high rope ladders and tire walls. So, yeah, this race takes the cake :)

Oh, there was this funny bit during the race. So Pablo had just slid down this wet slide, when we hear the someone shouting right behind him. Apparently the gentleman hadn't anticipated the slide being as fast as it was and had rushed  on after Pablo. Pablo began running with this guy sliding quickly behind him, getting closer. It was hilarious to watch and everyone around was having a good laugh, haha.
Another thing I like about these races is how people tend to work together on the harder obstacles. Shouting advice or encouragement, extending a hand. There are a lot of people who do these kinds of races who aren't "runners" and I love how, instead of judging or being impatient with them, they are cheered on when they make it over the high wall or climb the rope.  

We decided we're hooked on being "mudders" and can't wait to find another one!

The Jumper is Here!

With all the excitement going at his work (they are opening a Vegas-style buffet, a new hotel, and a steakhouse) Pablo is working a lot. Since he only gets one day off a week, we take turns planning something special for that day. It could be an all-day theme, to a movie night, or a picnic lunch.

This occasion was one of Pablo's days. He rearranged the spare room into a little picnic/camp space and made homemade, delicious hamburgers. He had me close my eyes to reveal the layout. The Pandora 'Michael Buble" channel was playing in the background while we ate. It's funny how sitting moving some furniture and sitting cross-legged on blankets/pillows can make something ordinary feel like a special occasion :) After lunch, we played a fun game of "What is your Love's....?" It was fun to see what random facts we knew about each other and what small details we've gathered across the years. I couldn't guess what his dream church calling was and we didn't know my favorite animal. Random things like that, haha. We ended up tied at the end, so I guess we're doing pretty good. 

And PJ is steady enough to use the jumper! We've had it since he was 3 1/2 months and wanted to wait until he felt a bit more solid holding himself up before trying it out. The first time he just sat there looking at us until he decided it was uncomfortable and cried. "Look baby, it's fun. And it bounces! Look!" He wasn't convinced. But 'take two' has been a blast. I whipped out the camera ( of course ;) so that you could share in a "first".