Love letters

Two days after I found out I was pregnant with Santi I started writing him letters. I wrote through my whole pregnancy and then since he was born I have continued to write about the fun things he is doing or learning. It is fun to look back and see what I was thinking and what he was doing what seems like forever ago. I have no idea when I will actually give him the letters. Maybe I will give them to him when I am old, or maybe Ill give them to his wife, or child. Who knows? But for now its fun writing just for me.

Todays entry.
April 8, 2013

My little love,
As always, its been way too long since I last wrote. You have become such a fun, funny little boy. You aren't a baby anymore. You are huge! Not only are you tall, but you have man-feet! You wear a size 8 or 9. You are so big! We got rid of your highchair last month. Now you eat at the table with us only using a booster seat.

You think big trucks, buses, tractors, and airplanes are the coolest ever! Oh, and bomberos too.

Cars 1 is your favorite movie and you ask to watch it every other second. Mater is your favorite. You have a little Mater truck and Lightning McQueen car and you basically carry them around everywhere.

You are such a happy child. You wake up smiling, brighten total strangers days all day long by smiling and waving at them and you even go to bed with a smile. I have never known a happier child. Papi and I and Nana and Granddad marvel at how happy and smart and funny you are. As you play we watch and laugh and love!

You dance and sing. You copy cat. You adore anything with a ball. You are amazing with a soccer ball. You can dribble, drop kick, and even bicycle kick while laying down. You mix Spanish and English (you mainly say either the begining or end of a word, but I mostly understand everything...others dont normally). Right now your new word is "keke". You learned that because of my birthday.

You utterly adore your Papi "Pa"! He rules your world. The second he walks in the house from work you scream and run to show him what you have been playing with.

A normal week:
Sunday: church (maybe lunch with Nana and Granddad at Garcias) home fellowhsip group at our house every 1st and 3rd Sunday. Sometimes a soccer game for Papi.
Monday: wake up at 8, breakfast, play, maybe grocery store, lunch at home with Papi 11-12, nap 1-3:30 or 4, 4:30 Papi leaves work to come home, 5:30-6 dinner, play some more, bath at 8, read books, 8:30 bed time.
Tuesday: same morning. I have Spanish class at FCS at 1:05. I take you to school and Auntie brings you home for a nap while I teach. I come home at 3. Same evening.
Wednesday: same morning, Auntie comes over after her work at 12:30. We hang out while you nap. Same evening.
Thursday: After breakfast I take you to Nanas. I pick you up after my Spanish class. Same evening.
Friday: Sometimes we go over to the Raymonds or they come here. Same afternoon and evening.
Saturday: Papi has off so we play all day or take you somewhere fun. Now that it is FINALLY warm outside (as of 2 days) we will be able to go to the park more and soon enough the pool!!

In a few weeks you will take your last free flight (under 2 years old) as we go see Papis Aunts and Uncles in Ft. Lauderdale. W will get to go to the beach again! Then at the end of July we will go with Nana and Granddad! This is going to be a great Spring and Summer!!

Words- (I won't be able to remember them all Im sure)

Español:
keke
chao
agua (aga)
mas
media (meme)
zapato (tapa)
leche (le)
bombero (bombom)
no ma (no mas)
bien
luna
luz (lu)
tractor (tra)
dame (dam)
pie
helados (lala)
Mama ven & Pa ven
Tio
Abuelo (lelo)
Abuela (lela)
celular (lar)
pelota (lota)
amo (amm)
casa (caca)
caca (also caca...they are said the same, but you do know the difference)
hielo (lelo-same as abuelo, but also know the difference)
bebe
gracias (gra)
tu (you say this while pointing at yoursef!)
llama (llam)

English:
bird (bir)
bear
duck (du)
car
bus
light (lie)
bye bye
more
no
Barnabus (Barn)
battery (bat, specifically for your trains)
NaaNaa (Brianna)
cup
block (bla)
buckle (buu)
diaper (die)
nose
brown (bown, for Brown bear book)
fire (ire)
play (lay)
ball
Elijah (Lie...said over and over and over...)
trash (tra)
ipad (pad)
Tom (for the Talking Tom cartoon)
Nana
Granddad (dad)
Joel (dol)
chair (chai)
clock (lock)
door
spoon (poon)
toy
slide (lide)
shoe
choo choo
T (auntie)
toes
night night (nigh nigh)
bed
yeah (you say this for EVERYTHING)
bar (for a cereal bar)
star (tar)
Matt (our next door neighbor who is 6 and you think is the greatest!)
OH NO!
boot (boo)
love (luu)
bee
book
mall (because of the play area)

You dont really like putting your toys away, but when you do, you do it perfectly! You like things to be exactly as they are supposed to be! Example- you like all the blocks and letters facing the same direction. Im a little scared!

As I write this there is a house being built out our front window AND our back window! The amount of tractors, dump trucks, and cranes is unbelievably wonderful for a little boy. There is always something exciting going on! Surprisingly none of the crazy construction has woken you up!

Auntie taught you how to make a "grouchy face". You look down at the ground, then keep your head down, but look up with your eyes! Hilarious!

You have ALWAYS kissed me and Papi every time we ask for besos, but now every once in a while you roll your eyes or run and throw yourself on furniture. Im terrified of you becoming a teenager! If I think its bad now, what will it be like then?!

I never knew I could love another human being so much! You are my world! My everything! Please stop growing up so fast! Im not ready to be the "mother of the groom"!

I love you to the luna and back!
Te amo SIEMPRE!

Mama

Some pictures of us!

Clase de Español

I have had so much more fun teaching Spanish than I ever thought possible! I have wonderful students and have had a blast teaching something I love so much! BUT, ever since the begining of this semester my students have become lazy. They do not read the directions on homework or tests. I have told them over and over and over that they need to follow the directions. Often times questions on a test are two part; conjugate the verb AND translate. I even capitalized and on the tests and the kids still often times missed it. So desperate times call for desperate measures. Today I gave my students my favorite test ever! I had a blast giving it!! AND I think I got my point across finally!! Would you have gotten a 100 or a 0 on this test?

Nombre:

Fecha:

1. No es un examen. Dame (dar me) tu papel* (*paper) con tu nombre y la fecha y sientate* (tu sentar…*sit) en tu silla. No respondes a las otras* (other) preguntas.

2. Escribir tres preguntas de “la hora” y responder:

3. Escribir tu nombre en Ingles y Español:

4. Responder y traducir:

¿Que hora es?

¿A que hora comes en la mañana?

5. Para que ustedes aprenden que tienen que leer todas las direcciones, estoy hacienda este examen. La verdad es que no tienen que hacer nada. Quiero ver quien lee todo y ralamente esta dando atenccion a lo que escribo.

¡Si solo escribes tu nombre y la fecha y despues me das tu papel te voy a dar cien puntos, pero si respondes a las preguntas no pasas! ¡Buena suerte!

6. ¿Donde esta tu nariz?

Think about it chair

So we have finally taken the plunge and started a "think about it chair". 99.9% of the time time is spent in the chair because Santi has grabbed the ipod off the dock. He LOVES electronics. Honestly if thats the worst he does then we are in good shape. But, he is still disobeying. So we have little talks while he sits in the chair with his hands folded. There is only one problem. He is TOO cute when he sits in the chair and folds his hands. All Nolan and I want to do when he folds his hands so adorably is laugh and cuddle him.

The other day Santi was being entirely too quiet in the livingroom while I was in the kitchen. So I walked into the livingroom to find Santi playing with the ipod. I took it from him, but wasn't in the mood to go through the whole process of the chair. Much to my surprise he walked over to the chair and folded his hands without me saying anything. After only a very few days he knew exactly what to do. Bless him and his sweet little heart.

Here is a picture of the "think about it chair". He was in fact sitting in the chair because of the ipod, but the reason I really HAD to take the picture was because he had gotten into my mascara a few minutes before and I hadn't washed it off yet. Notice he put it all around his eye...meaning he knew exactly what to do with it he just didn't have good aim! Hahahaa! Mascara and folded hands...ahhhh....edible!

H&M

I am so excited that we are finally getting an H&M in Nashville! Its about time! But, since we don't have one just yet, this weekend while I was in Atlanta I made a little stop. I found the cutest pants ever for Santi. They are so beyond 80's its not even funny! They are not only skinny jeans, but they have elastic AND a zipper on the bottom. I could die they are so great! I bought them a little big since Santi grows so fast. Since they are a little big they aren't as skinny as they are supposed to be just yet, but man they are still FANTASTIC!

Rockin' out the 80's pants!

Oh yeah, and I totally bought him a tank top to go with it, (Is it still called a tank top if its for a boy?
 Its not sleeveless, its a full on tank top.) but that (and his guns) will make its debut in the spring or summer!

Thank you H&M for amazing hilarious clothes!

Levels of success

I have talked about success before. We now have new levels of success. When I took Santi to the doctor for his 12 month check up the doctor asked me how good Santi was getting with a spoon. I sheepishly admitted that I hadn't tackled that yet. And then he called me out. "Too messy?" How does a  stranger know me so well? For the last 8 months I have looked the other way, bitten my tongue, and forced myself to let him get food everywhere!!! He still isn't perfect, far from it in fact, but I have to say I have seen a HUGE improvement. When he eats cereal, not only does he get cereal in his mouth, but milk too! Tonight as he ate an after dinner snack I realized how much he (and I) has changed! 10 months ago I spoon fed him everything. These days I cut up his food, blow on it, and put it on his tray...the end. SO MUCH EASIER! And when he gets food everywhere I kinda don't notice.

SUCCESS!!!!!!

And JOY!

Child locks?! HA!

Grown adults come to my house and can't open my cabinets. But what is a simple child lock to a 20 month old?! Not only has he decided he can open them, but he even knows how to then kindly close them back for me! AWESOME! The cleaning supplies are being moved today!!!!!

I see a little thing right here. Maybe if I press this part.

OH MY GOSH! I got it!!! I hope Im not in trouble!

Don't worry Mama! I know how to put it back!

Above, below, and in between!

When I worked at a preschool I noticed that there are 3 types of moms. 1. The moms who think their kids are amazing and above average in everything they do. Normally their kids were not! 2. The moms who think their kids do everything inccorectly or think their kids are below average in everything. Again, normally they weren't. 3. Down to earth moms who are chill about everything and realize their kids are above average in some things and below in others. Normally those moms had about 4 kids and had chilled out over the years of child rearing!

With all of the "types of moms" I had gotten to know over the years I have tried my hardest to not be mom 1 or 2. Its hard man!! When your son first arriving in Peru is able to understand everything and everyone with different Spanish accents at only 18 months, its hard not to think he is a genius. And when you go to a restauant and your son screams for no reason and is unconsolable, its hard to not think he has issues. Hahaha! Its always something I tell you! Its hard not to think he is either the greatest ever or the worst ever! Its hard to see the in between times. So I try and make myself see all, the above, below, and in between.

Here are some examples from this very morning.

Above: Santi found Papi's headphones. After adorably putting them in his ears and doing a little jig he looked at me and a lightbulb turned on. I saw it! He ran into his room, unplugged the sound machine cord (not from the wall, but from the back of the machine) and attempted to plug in his head phones. I was floored. Im not surprised he knows you have to plug in the headphones, he has seen us do that a million times. Im surprised he thought of something just his height that had the same type of cord. Bless his heart he tried and tried to get the cord to fit. Sadly, it isn't the same cord so it didn't fit. But I was still impressed. Its wonderful to see his brain working, problem solving, and figuring things out.

Below: This morning at breakfast Santi was screaming for "more". He still had half a banana and half a bowl of cereal. I couldn't figure out what he wanted more of. I asked if he wanted fresas or uvas (strawberries or grapes). "NO!" What the heck does he want? He needs to learn to speak more words, not just understand them. He kept telling me he wanted "more!" Ahhh!!! Finally somehow I understood he wanted more cereal. Yeah, like I said his bowl was still half full. All that and he still had everything he wanted. Oh and another below from just this morning. He enjoyed trying to stick his tiny fingers in the outlet behind my chair. AWESOME!! My outlets have plastic covers but he knows how to take them out. So helpful!

In between: These are the times Santi sits quietly and plays with his cars or blocks or books. These are the moments that are easily overlooked because whenever he isn't doing something amazing or horrible I like to actually DO things like...go to the bathroom, load the dishwasher, fold laundry, check email, you know...fun stuff!

Oh the joys of motherhood! The most rewarding and yet hardest job on the planet!

Santi with Papi's headphones.

These days

Only a few short years ago my life was VERY different! Getting a pedicure with my best friend, going to get a mocha frapachino, going to the zoo, or a Titans game brought me such joy. Ok, well those things still bring me joy, but not as much as a little boy discovering a batman cape!

I told him you have to run really fast when you are a super hero!

He took me very seriously!

He loves Batman!!!

What would be a picture of Santi without his beloved futbol!?

I bought Santi his batman pj's (with detachable cape) on sale at Target when he was about 6 months old. I thought he would NEVER fit into the massively huge 2T's. Santi has been wearing 2T's for a while now and just this week I rediscovered the amazing pj's. And now I have new joy in my life!

Peru with a 1 year old

How can I even begin to explain our trip? It was amazing and exhausting and wonderful and terrifying.

Nolan and I are so very blessed to have been able to go and visit his family for Christmas. Normally we make a yearly trip, but we didn't go last year because Santi was a baby. Santi was due to get his last hep shot at 18 months (November) so we decided to go to Peru as soon after that as we could.

December 21st we hopped on a jet plane with a very wiggly 1 year old. After a 2 hour flight to Houston then another 6 and a half our flight to Lima with about a 30 minute nap from Santi, he finally met his uncle Billy and granddad Alfonso in the airport. It was almost midnight by the time we arrived and Santi was red faced from all the crying, but thankfully he actually went to his granddad the second he held out his arms (its the little things). By the time we got all the way out to Nolan's grandmoms house (about an hour to an hour and a half taxi ride) Santi was passed out. We immediatly layed him down and then sat around a table talking with family. What a joy to see Nolan with his family again. Next thing I know Billy is yelling at me to go check on Santi. I freaked out thinking he was crying from having woken up, but to my surprise, nothing. Santi was sound asleep. I walked back in and said he was fine. And that is when they told me there had been an earthquake. I didn't even feel it! Hahaha! It was not very strong in Lima, although it apparently was a lot stronger in the jungle where Nolans mother lives. Soemtime around 2:30 AM we finally all went to bed.

The next several days were spent playing futbol, throwing the American football, or meeting up with some Aunt or Uncle or cousin or grandparent.

I have always heard of the amazing Christmas Eve celebrations that they have in Peru, but had never seen it first hand. OH MY, I saw it first hand this year. All the kids go to bed early (unless you have a 1 year old and no crib who only EVER went to bed when he could no longer keep his eyes open, noramally around 11:30) then everyone dresses up around 11 and starts getting ready for the fireworks. At 12 AM on the dot the entire world starts shooting off fireworks. And Im not talking about the fireworks we buy here for the 4th of July. Im talking bomb fireworks, the kind that blow off limbs! It was amazing and beautiful and terrifying to look in all directions and see fireworks. The crazy part of it all is that the fireworks lasted for over an hour. It was insane to look across the street and see little 3 and 4 year olds shooting off hard core fireworks. Just insane. Once we had shot off our fireworks we went inside for the huge Christmas feast! We had the most amazing turkey alongside many other amazing dishes. We obviously drank Inca Kola and ate Panatone!

The day after Christmas we went to see Nolan's mom in Moyobamba. We flew into Tarapoto and drove another 2 hours on the most dangerous, twisty, curvey road up into the mountainous jungle. The weather was utterly amazing. We were thinking it was going to be so hot, but since its up in the mountains it was in the 70s and 80s the whole time. Perfect weather!!! And we didn't see mosquitos! I can not even begin to describe the taste of the fresh fruits we ate while in Moyobamba. We ate bananas, pineapple, mangos....the list goes on. It was amazing! In the jungle most people have motorcycles, even all the taxis are moto-taxis. So the sound in the jungle is the constant sound of millions and millions of motorcycles! It was such a fun time with Nolan's mom and her side of the family.

When we got back to Lima Nolans sister had just flown in to visit from Cusco with her two kids. We went to the beach and the zoo with both of Nolan's siblings and kids. We all had a blast, including Santi.

I have to say, the hardest part of the trip was having a 1 year old without all of his normalcies! We did not have a carseat, which may sound nice, but only for a minute. A 1 year old doesn't want to sit still, so if he isn't strapped down it just isn't good. We didn't have a highchair. Also doesn't work very well. Santi is a great eater, but if he can get down from his chair and pick up his ball, then he is going to. We didn't have a bathtub either. Plus we couldn't use the shower water for Santi anyway because he might drink it or even just get a little in his mouth. So EVER SINGLE night we boiled water waited an hour or so for it to cool, but not get too cold and basically sponge bathed Santi. Not his favorite thing in the world! Worst of all, we didn't have a crib. Santi is a really great sleeper at home. We lay him down around 8 PM and he never fusses. He just quietly plays for a minute or two and passes out until 7:30 or so in the morning. Yeah, the EARLIEST he went to bed in Peru was 10:30, but most nights it was more like 11:30 or 12 with lots and lots of crying. OH, and guess who got to sleep in the same bed? Yeah, me AND Nolan. Lets just say, feet in the face!

The best things of being in Peru were getting to introduce Santi to everyone. Nolan's whole family got to meet Santi and kiss him and play with him. It was wonderful for them, but also for us. We got to see how much Spanish Santi actually knows. We speak mainly Spanish at home with Santi, but it was insane to see him interact with his family there. He really doesn't say many words still, but he says yes and no to things and can go and do whatever you say. He understood everyone! That made me so happy! His family was shocked by how much he could understand! That made us feel so good! Eating Peruvian food, thats allways one of the best things about the trip.

And that was our 2 week trip to Peru in a nut shell. Food, family, and fun.