Catch up and Update!

there goes my bowl :0)

 wow! It has been months family since i have gotten to write on my blog again. After 2 moves and all the crazy drama that has been going on we are finally in a place that is bigger and better than what we had before, such a blessing! Gabriel is now 9 months old and just getting bigger and bigger by the day. Sometimes i can just stare at him for hours just in amazement at how much he has grown, and yet we have such a long way to go.
    Gabriel started crawling at 7 months and then at 9 months started walking. Man do we have our hands full..lol.. I have even caught him trying to "run", which normally leads to a face plant and a giggle (such a boy) lol. It's just watching him develop so fast and then looking in the mirror to see the changes i have made; needless to say it's humbling. During the past 5 months or so we had been dealing with a mold issue in our apartment building, and once realizing the extent of the damage and health hazards we had to move out on a 24 hour notice. Gabe had only started to test out crawling and i was so nervous and sad that i wouldn't be in my residence, my home when it came time to experience these major milestones. In October, Gabe turned 7 months while staying with my mother and started to crawl at her house. I was happy that even though we weren't at home, he was with his grandparents and they got to experience a first with us. Finally in November God blessed us with an amazing town home, giving us more space and allowing us to create a haven for Gabe to explore. Since then we have been unpacking and organizing the house to get ready for Gabe's first Christmas.
      Reflecting over that long and hard struggle we went through as a family made me appreciate my little family. Living out of suitcases bouncing from one house to the next, none of that mattered to Gabe, he was happy and flexible the whole time. All that just made me appreciate what an awesome little boy we have!! That during mommy and daddy's roughest time in our lives, our little angel kept us grounded spiritually and helped us focus on what really matter in life. Family!
      Going into this holiday season i have a deeper appreciation for family and most importantly love. It truly is a gift that continues to give over and over...
Merry Christmas!

Gabe:the Spirtual Healer

Over the past 4 1/2 months i have learned alot about myself as a woman and i have one person in particular to thank for it. Gabriel lives up to his name that is for sure, because he is truly a divine little human being. He puts me through test and tribulation but no matter how tired i am, or frustrated i may be, I can do nothing but smile in the face of adversity because it out of love that i do everything. He has taught me that when you have love as your driving force there is no such thing as saying I can't, or feeling a sense of depression..it's simply strap up the boots and let's get it!
   The past month our household has had financial woes just like many families out here, and i will not lie. I was discourage in the beginning, but then one night while we were chilling out before bed i just watched Gabe as he was interacting with my husband; laughing smiling, not a care in the world. Then it dawned on me, this is what God meant,

^{Matt 18:3}And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Gabe had not a worry in the world; not about how he would eat, be clothed, get diapers..nothing, he was happy smiling and in want for nothing because he trust in his providers to do that for him. A four month old grasp the concept of faith, something that we both had been struggling with for some time, and it was no problem at all. I could do nothing but cry, to be humbled by my four month old son is such a blessing within it's self, and i relish in the moment to be made anew by the most innocent of all man: A baby.

We take for granted so much in this life by worrying about what society says that we should have and do, cars, material things, money and success, but we to often forget that we were told to not build our treasures up here on earth because they don't matter. What matters is the love that we all share and the community that we build from that love and spreading that love across the world. I truly believe that we are given the blessing of creation in order for us to be humbled and to remind us of the innocence that we have lost and have given away in exchange for lesser important things.

I can truthfully say since that night Me and my husband faith has skyrocketed and i'm so blessed to have a constant reminder that is as cute as Gabe is :0) Yah bless!

Matthew 6:25-34

King James Version (KJV)

 ²⁵Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
 ²⁶Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
 ²⁷Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
 ²⁸And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
 ²⁹And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
 ³⁰Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
 ³¹Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
 ³²(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
 ³³But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
 ³⁴Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Amen

The Fairytale of the Sleeping Baby

Training a human is no joke; especially in the realms that we as adults take for granted such as going to sleep. So in the beginning as a newborn, he slept all the time and yet i was always so exhausted and tired. Now at 4 1/2 months, it's like " Gabe i thought we went thru this rodeo already!?", but i had to learn we really hadn't. At that young age they just fall asleep from their milk drunkenness and you salvage whatever time that you have left over to gain your sanity back. Now, he is a whole different baby; wanting to explore and talk to me more i should have known that the ride was far from over. So trying to draw on my own experience, i realized quickly this is going to be alot harder than i thought. As an adult, it's simple, your tired you go lay down and viola! But how do you teach someone and then how do you give them good habits of going to sleep so it becomes a normality...then do all this when only one of you speaks an actual language. So i decide, off to the internet i go to research what the "professionals" say. Dare i say that i probably only confused myself more.

To cry or not to cry; that is the question! Some people say let them cry themselves to sleep while others call you a monster for even thinking the thought. Needless to say after reading and reading, i needed the nap now, not Gabe! That's when it dawned on me, that i guess there is no right way to do this; which means &*%$ , i'm on my own..lol. So i figured it was time to experiment to see what me and his temperament was and we'd go the gentle route first.

Soothing and rocking, soothing and rocking..ugh it would take me forever to get him to sleep and then as soon as i put him down all hell would break loose. I then came face to face with the hard truth, he is just gonna have to cry and there is no gettin around that. But i wanted to make sure that his tears and mine were constructive in reaching our goal; a good night’s sleep.

Combining a little of the soothing and the crying it out method, my little boy was going to get the best of both worlds. I started with the naps first, being that it has been proven to me..good naps means good sleep!; perfect time to tackle the beast. Singing his favorite song "Twinkle Twinkle" this was to be our signal to say, Hey you it's sleep time! Then the big moment, the put down....needless to say he screamed bloody murder as if i had betrayed him and broken his heart. I patted his chest and fought back the tears and just reminded myself in my head that this was only temporary and this pain was going to help us all. I quickly left the room clutching the baby monitor, just to sulk in the chair two rooms away to watch the clock. Only 3 mins i said to myself, 3 mins and i can go and calm him down; every cry i can just translate it as "mommy!! why have you abandon me? Come get me!!"...two mins left. I started to countdown to the 3 min mark, and as soon as the clock would allow i ran to his room just to sooth him, but without picking him up. One min of kisses and hair strokes later, it was time for my departure, this time for 5 mins. I assumed my position back in my chair for what i thought for sure would be the continuation of my torture. Yet again i watched the clock as 1 min, then 2 mins, finally 3 mins passed, only to remind myself that i had 2 more to go this round. Holding on to the baby monitor much to my surprise, a few little whimpers then silence...Silence?, i rushed to his room (quietly of course :0) and there he was, hands over his head and peacefully asleep. We Did it!!

A few days later we have now incorporated this little method into our naps and now at night. And i am proud to say it only takes 3 mins for him to get to sleep and every day it gets shorter and shorter. The crying doesn't get any less hard to hear, but to me i now interpret it as " mommy i love you and i want to be held, but i'm tired and when i wake up i'm expecting tons of kisses". And tons of kisses you shall have my sweet sleeping prince!

I share this story because i know there are other moms who have either gone through this or going through it now, and i just want you women to know you are not alone! You are not a monster because your child crys, you are teaching your child early..that sometimes we must go through things we don't like to get a result we need...and i'd say we both learned that..

Until next time!

3 and 4...time flying!!

WOW! What a past couple of months it has been..so hectic i haven't even had a chance to update since his two month birthday :0( Well then it just means there is so much to catch up on!!
Gabe is just growing everyday in leaps and bounds that it continues to amaze me how fast his body and mind grows. It has been on more than one occasion that i am puttin him to bed only to look at his 20 pound body and just cry because it's gettin harder to remember him being so 7lbs. I know, it's all apart of life, but you just want to keep them so small so you can protect them and hug and cuddle without any objections..lol ::sigh:: God sure knows how to pace it though and gives us just enough time to enjoy our children in their most vulnerable stages of life. Just when i think i couldn't love him anymore, he gives me a smile or laugh and i just melt all over again. So what has my lil guy been up to you may ask...well lets give you the quick run down!
He is Laughing, smiling, coo, "holding conversations", giving kisses, i mean ...just leaps and bounds!..lol..His four month Birthday was today, and just looking at how he's sitting up better on his own and holding his bottle..i'm just so impressed at how fast he's learning. But out of everything that has come the most rewarding thing in the world to me now is that he recognizes me and Jerard. We were at my uncles house for the four of July and in the midst of everyone holding him and playing with him, when he saw me his world stop and he gave me the biggest smile. With Jerard, i love that when he comes home from work he will not lay down for his nap until he has grabbed the hair on his beard and they have done a lap around the house with Gabe as an airplane. It's just so rewarding, that no matter what is going on out here in the "real world" that it phases him none and he can still just be happy.
At month four not only am i proud of him, i am proud of us and i have no problem patting ourselves on the back. Since Gabriel has graced this planet, it has been just me and Jerard tackling and figuring this stuff out. No babysitter, no in town family coming to help...basically i should have never let the show baby story get my hopes up as to what support after a baby looks like..But we tackled it on our own nonetheless! And though we desperately need a vacation and I esp a unlimited refilled margarita; our son has helped us grow in ways that we couldn't have done on our own. Never would you catch me up at 6 am folding laundry; but now with that being my only "me time" , 6 am it is ..lol.So i embrace this part of my life help or not sometimes some of the best lessons are the ones that you learn on your own.
So as i close out the night, i would like to wish my beautiful baby boy a happy 4 month birthday...Mommy and Daddy just love you so much :0)

2 months already

So after a very eventful month, we finally look down on a calender only to see that his 2 month birthday is the day before mothers day. Have it all planned, taking him to the zoo since he's more alert and observant now; but why do i feel so sad?
This morning i was folding up two weeks worth of laundry for all three of us and then as i'm folding a little onesie it hits me...He can't wear his newborn clothes anymore and never will he again! Looking at this pile of clothes before me that have been demoted from current to memories, and the only time i'll see him in it again is in the pictures that i hopefully took while he had it on. It's just so symbolic in how we as people grow and change so fast, it gives you a deeper appreciation for your parents. If i feel like this at 2 months, i can only begin to imagine what my mother and father feel when they look at me 25 years later.
It is truly a blessing to watch my child grow and see him take in the world as a brand new experience. I have seen him eat his first meal outside the womb, gives us his first smile, watched his daddy give him his first bath; so many first that it's humbling. And to think he has so many more to come, first steps, first day of school, first job, even first girlfriend...::sigh:: I know it's going to be so hard not to see him as that little fragile newborn that me and his speed demon father brought home from the hospital only going 55 mph. I just have to accept that i will never be ready, but i just need to be ready to adapt.
After nights of hardly any sleep and days of trying to catch up on house cleaning, it's hard to remind yourself to look up and enjoy the time you have in front of you. But I will make every effort to LIVE in every moment, to relish in beauty of adaptation for the sake of not missing a thing. To let his first be my first and we experience the world together, Gabriel for the first time and me to relive the experiences that i have grown to forget. I love my little boy, and i am thankful that i get to help guide him through his journey of finding himself as a man.
As for these little newborn clothes that now have no use, what shall i do with these? I guess we'll just have to box them up in storage for a couple years, and if baby number 2 is a boy...well then i get to relive the memories and the blessing all over again! Until then, I vow Gabe will thoroughly enjoy his days as an only child, besides i'm in no rush to go back to living the nocturnal life :0)

Happy Birthday my little angel...Mommy and Daddy's loves you!

Keep it to yourself!: Managing Unwanted Advice

Parenthood is definitely a new experience for me and i'm sure many new parents would say it's rewarding but also a learning experience. One thing though, being a new parent and getting to know a new person that is your child you start to gain a certain confidence in know what he/she wants. Whether it's "mommy i'm hungry" or extreme tiredness, or even a messy diaper, we all get to a point as parents that we feel that we "know" what our child is asking for.
However, in some cases according to our parents, grandparents & elders, and every woman that has had a child before you, they think we haven't got the slightest clue and may even give off the perception that they feel we are incompetent for the job. At times I'm not sure whether to brush it off or be pissed off at the constant "advice".
I'll give you a few examples in my case: It's 80 degrees out; "put a hat on him or he'll catch the colic", " put socks on him, or he'll catch the colic"; "don't turn on that fan or he'll catch the colic"; "he looks fat you sure he needs to eat that much?" ; "Your breast milk is giving him gas, he's gonna catch the colic"; and it goes on and on. Well first off, if your still saying that a child can "catch the colic", you have already lost creditability with me especially because you showing the last time you updated your train of thought in reference to children hasn't been in decades; especially since you can't "catch it", doctors actually don't know what causes it. Secondly, give me some credit of anticipating my child's needs, i mean I DID carry him for 9+ months. Thirdly, times have and will continue to change in regards to children so it's you and not me that needs to adapt. These are things that run through my head, but the LAST thing I want to say to these people because I know they have the best intentions....So what do you do?
Giving and taking advice is such a touchy subject sometime, because to often people feel that just because you give advice the person has to take it. Sometimes depending on the person giving it, we the person receiving feels that we have an obligation to take the advice and use it exactly how it was given. Well after this month of advice and commands being throw out in the open in regards to my own child, i have come up with a fool proof resolution. A resolution that will allow that person to still feel needed and for you the parent to not feel guilty and to be confident in your decisions.
When embarking in a new journey, it's always good to do research yourself on the path you are about to embark on. There are tons of books and websites accessible to new parents to see what information has changed and what pertains to their child. The more you know, the more you can decipher through which advice you want to take and/or how you want to modify it. Then if someone gives you dated information or advice, you can use it as a time to educate the other person on the updated research.
For example: "You can just have the baby sleep with you guys in the bed, that's what we did when you were younger" Response: " Really? Well unfortunately new research has come out stating that having him sleep with us can result in SIDS, and that's just not a gamble that we're willing to take. But i really appreciate your advice on that"
Show them that you have a valid reason for not taking their advice, but you appreciate it nonetheless.
Also people give advice to feel needed and credible, try beating them to the chase. Figure out what you do find them credible in; for example: Where to find cheap baby gear, What age to potty train, or even family friendly restaurant locations. Ask them their advice about those specific topics at the beginning of your visit and i guarantee enough of that and the unwanted advice will slow down if not stop, in return you preserve your relationship and you sanity.
A child is such a blessing and many people are affected by their lights that they bring. Make it a joyous occasion for everyone even if the other party is being a party pooper, by planning ahead and setting expectations... until next time....

One Month

Hard to believe that I gave birth to my beautiful little boy a month ago tommorrow! Where does the time go? It has been a long a treacherous journey, but i wouldn't trade any day for nothing. Sleep deprived and yet i look into his little eyes and i can't help but to be overwhelmed with emotion. I guess it's true what they say, soak it all in now, because they will never be that size again and boy oh boy they were not lying!
He is already at least 9 pounds already and then he starting to make the little cooing and ah noises. It's the cutest thing, because he watches you move your mouth while your talking and belts out one of his new noises and all you can do is laugh and smile..lol I'll take anything over crying, it breaks my heart to hear him cry ever :0( But he's so smart, he already will reach for you to pick him up and even tries to hold his bottle. I just know that we are going to have our hands full with this little one..gotta get ready to start chasing him soon..lol
Well tomorrow Is his one month birthday, gotta see what shenanigans we are going to get into for his "birthday". I will post pictures! Until next time............