Choo Choo

Mateo was so excited to ride on the "choo choo". We took the metrolink train to San Juan Capistrano and checked out the mission. I had never been and it was amazing. It's incredible how much history has been preserved there.They have this amazing pond in the middle of the courtyard with the biggest Koi fish you've ever seen! Mateo wanted to get in it so bad!

Tag, I'm It!

Please copy and paste this list, obviously changing the answers to your own, and post a new blog.

A--Attached or Single? Attached. Married 2 years

B--Best friend/s? Shannon

C--Cake or Pie? Apple Pie

D--Day of Choice? Saturday or Sunday

E--Essential Item? Insulin

F--Favorite Color? Green

G--Gummy bears or worms? Worms all the way

H--Hometown? East Oly.

I--Indulgence(s)? Shoes and Starbucks ham and cheddar breakfast sandwich

J--January or July? July for sure.

K--Kids? 1 son Mateo

L--Life is incomplete without? My family, laughter, and an iced americano

M--Marriage date? July 29th, 2007

N--Number of siblings? 1 brother

O--Oranges or apples? Washington apples baby

P--Phobias or fears? Losing my son or any more family memebrs

Q--Quotes? "It's better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all"

R--Reason to Smile? Mateo's laugh

S--Season? Fall in California, Summer in Washington

T--Tag 5 people? Amy, Sue, Kim, Cherrise, and Brandie

U--Unknown Fact? I HATE seafood

V--Very Favorite Store? Right now it's ALDO

W--Worst Habit? biting my nails and never removing water bottles from my vehicle

X--X-ray or ultrasound? I've never had an x-ray and ultrasounds are so cool

Y--Your favorite food? Mexican all the way (maybe that's why I married one)

Z--Zodiac? Gemeni

That's Mama

So Cesar has this blonde Bud Light woman cut out in our garage and I was walking outside with Mateo when he points to her and says "mama" and smiles. I was ROLLING. So I ask him "Who's that Mateo?" and he looks at her and then me and says "mama"! Well at least he thinks his mom is that cute right?!? Here is the pic.

FYI- That's strawberry on his forehead!

Posing

So as many of you experience, sometimes it's so hard to get the perfect picture. By the time you execute, your child has since moved on to something else far more exciting. Well yesterday when Mateo woke up from his nap, he was just too precious to not try to get a snap. When he sweats his hair turns into crazy curls and he was in the best mood. It was like he was posing for his very own photo shoot.

Long Beach Aquarium

We decided to visit the Long Beach Aquarium again (we went when Mateo was 3 months old) and Mateo had a blast. I think he said "fish" a thousand times.This Nemo contraption kept him occupied for a long time. It had a trigger and Nemo would flutter his tail. Mateo thought it was so cool. hehe He's not too sure about the shark hat...
The sea otters kept swimming right by the window and Mateo kept reaching out like he was expecting to be able to touch them.


Mama giving her baby some lovin.

I MISS YOU MOM!

So who are these pictures of you might ask...well the first is my mom, next is my son, and the last is of me as a baby. Do you notice any resemblences? If I'm ever missing my mom, I just need to look at my son! The very last picture is my mommy and me the day I graduated from college. It was her proudest moment (on Earth).

What I Love About Being a Mommy...

So I just put Mateo down to sleep and I was thinking about all of the cool things he does and says that make me so proud to be a mommy...I knew that having a child would change my life but I didn't know the true impact it would have on my current reality. (CAUTION...Lots of rambling to come!) Literally overnight, nothing else mattered but making sure my baby was happy and healthy. I remember looking at his face for the first time and thinking "Holy Cow I created this little creature" and thinking that I could never love anyone more. Having a child makes you want to be a better person. It makes you put life in a true perspective. It makes you appreciate the little things.....LIKE...

1) Waking up and seeing that gorgeous face in the morning peeking through the crib slats

2) Listening to your baby cry for just you and only you (sorry dads)

3) Watching them figure out how to solve a problem, whether it may be getting down from a chair, walking, or getting a graham cracker out of the cupboard

4) Giving you a hug or kiss without prompting

5) Smiling from ear to ear and with food falling out of their mouth

6) Laughing at you because you are HILARIOUS

7) Hearing him say one of his current vocabulary words (woof woof (dog), (ggrrrr (tiger), (ooh ooh (gorilla), horse, rabbit, cracker, chapstick, fish, mama, da-da, delicous, turtle, shoes, nose, eyes, and teeth.

7) Trusting that you will keep them safe and love them unconditionally

I can't identify myself other than being a mom and a wife at this point, and mother first. It's freakin crazy. It's the most beautiful thing in the world. Mother's Day is next weekend and of course I'm thinking of my mom consistently but I'm reminded daily how she lives through Mateo. He has this frog blanket that nobody can mess with. (My mom was a frog fanatic). I always keep the thought in the back of my mind that I know my mom would be proud of me for the mommy I've become...she taught me well.

Well enough of the rambling, we made a fun trip to Toys-R-Us today and bought Mateo some great gifts from his birthday giftcards and the pics are below. (FYI Mateo would be just fine if you left him atop a hill with a shovel and some water...)

Cesar was set on buying Mateo a motorized vehicle and HAD to personalize it...I can't believe my 1 year old son is fully capable of riding this thing!

Next we have a water and sand exploratory center, 2 of my son's favorite things. As you can tell by the facial expression, he loves it.

And last but not least, we had to buy him his own swing for the play structure. He LOVES this thing so much. He actually cried when I took him out of it!