Who does Santi really look like?

This has been the topic of discussion over and over again, who does Santi look like? Most of the time Americans think he looks like Nolan because he is tanner than white babies, but Latinos think he looks like me because he is so white! There are some things for sure. He has Nolan's ears, Nolan's dads forehead, and long eyelashes like Nolan's brother Aaron. I was told this past week by Nolan's family in FL that he looks exactly like my dad. I have people tell me all the time that he looks like my mom. Santi has started smirking instead of full on smiling and he looks so much like my nephew David when David doesn't want you to know he wants to smile. So who the heck does he look like?

Nolan and Santi have matching ears!

Nolan's Dad

Nolan's brother Aaron. Aren't his eyelashes amazing?
Santi has long lashes, but not this long.

My mom.

My dad.

The moment I saw Santi I said he looked like my older brother Joel. I can't say exactly what it was, but for some reason he looked like Joel to me and he still does. My mom and I were talking about it again the other day and she decided to pull out Joel's baby book. Oh my gosh I win!! He looks exactly like Joel! Its crazy! They could be twins! Who knows if he will continue to look like Joel in the future, but for now he sure does!

Joel. This looks so much like Santi to me!

This is the winner right here! This could be Santi!
Its fuzzy because he is inside a playpen.

Joel's twin. Santi's face is just a little rounder.

The correct way to pronounce Santiago

Bless poor little Santi. His name is going to be butchered his whole life...and it doesn't help that he has a "different" middle name and a crazy last name too!

Santi is much of the time the center of attention. I have never in my life spoken to so many strangers. Santi loves to be outside so Nolan and I take him on walks in downtown Franklin almost every night. We get stopped ALL the time. "Oh he is so adorable", "can you even believe that smile?", "oh my gosh his socks look like shoes, how cute!" Then the inevitable question is asked, what is his name? Everyone goes from a huge smile to a little bit of a confused face when we say Santiago. Then there is a bit of a pause, just to make things a little awkward, "Oooohhhhh, *pause again*, thats cute (said in a very why the heck would you name your child that kind of way). If Im with Nolan it isn't as bad, but when its just me and Santi people are totally weirded out. I always try and make things a little less awkward by saying, "its James in Spanish." How many times have people then said, "oh Ill just call him James then, thats so much easier." Umm....ok sure, thats not his name though. Thats like saying, oh your name is George? Well Ill just call you Jorge. Its the same, but not!

To make matters worse his middle name is hard for Spanish speakers to pronounce, Job. So the poor guy is going to loose in one language or the other. I on the other hand LOVE his names, all of them. Nolan and I really wanted a Spanish and English name, but we didn't want either to be common in either language...oh and they had to go together. Ahhhh! So much harder than we thought. Santi didn't have a name until the day after he was born when the doctors told us we had to decide! Santiago is a beautiful Spanish name meaning James, and Job is an amazing man in the Bible who never gave up his faith regardless of what horrible things happened to him.

I wont even go into the last name. Portuguese name, but from Peru. Oh my! I do have to say my absolute favorite is the way a computer tries to pronounce it! Hahaha! Always a good laugh!

So, how do you pronounce Santiago? S is normal (yipi), an is pronounced like on (turn on the light) not an like ant (thats the main way it is mispronounced!), ti like tea, a like you are opening your mouth for the dentist, go like you would think...go. We always call him Santi though.

Just for fun, here is a video of Santi laughing.

Also just for fun, here is Sanit's newest trick...DROOL! 

Everywhere and all the time!!!!

Bath time in a sink

Santi is officially outgrowing his baby tub, but he isn't sitting up yet so I haven't put him in the real bathtub or sink yet, well until last night. He plays with toys all the time, but he has never shown any interest in his bath toys until last night. It is really hard to play with bath toys when you are laying on your back, so we decided that even though Santi cant sit up on his own we would put him in the sink so he could play....and play did he ever! He had a blast! I am so excited to be moving on from the baby tub because Santi is so big he splashes half the water out by the end of each bath! Hopefully he will learn to sit up pretty quickly because it is hard to hold him and wash him at the same time. Oh well, for now sink time is a new fun thing.

Notice baby tub in the background.

Playing with his toys...well sort of...one pinkie at a time.

He wouldn't even look up for a picture. He was to excited about all the toys.
You know...the toys we have been trying to get him to play with for weeks!!!

La familia de Nolan

Santi finally got to meet some of Nolan's family. This past Saturday Nolan's cousin Lorena got married, so last Thursday we packed up and flew to Fort Lauderdale. Santi had many firsts. He flew on a plane (did amazingly), went to a new state, met Nolan's aunts, uncles, cousins, & grandmother, & went to the beach. We had a jam packed few days, but it was so much fun having Santi meet the Reategui side of the family and have so many people speaking Spanish to him. Lets just say he ended up being the center of attention most of the time! He is now used to being held all the time and any time he even begins to whimper he is kissed and hugged until he gets what he wants.

Now the food we had, OH MY GOSH! I can not even explain! I love Peruvian food with all my heart, but when real Peruvians make it it is to die for! Im sure Nolan and I both gained 10 pounds, but it was oh so worth it. Lomo saltado, aji de gallina, arroz chaufa, yes please and thank you!

Here is our timeline.
*Thursday evening flew to Ft. Lauderdale, arrived around 10:30 PM (past Santi's bedtime). Nolan's uncle picked us up and drove us to his house where everyone was hanging out after the rehearsal. We didn't get Santi or ourselves into bed until 1 AM. Not the greatest idea for a 4 month old.

*Friday we hung out at the house with everyone. That evening Nolan, Renato (his cousin), Santi and I went to the beach. It was dark and windy, but still very fun!

First time to see the ocean.

Santi, Nolan, me, and Renato.

*Saturday was the wedding 2:30-4:30 PM, reception from 5-10 PM. About 45 minutes before the wedding we started getting dressed and ready. Nolan searched and searched for his pants, but they were not in his bag. Yeah, I repacked his bag from a backpack to an actual bag because I needed him to carry some things for me. Somehow I didnt pack his pants. About 10 minutes before we HAD to leave for the wedding his uncle brought over some pants. It was a little stressful there for a minute! Santi did pretty good during the wedding. He slept for about the first 45 minutes until he was woken up by a soloist. Then he realized he really didn't want to be in his suit anymore and would rather not be quiet. The last hour was a bit of a struggle. As soon as we got to the reception we changed Santi into something a 4 month old would actually like to wear. Apparently it is custom for the families to dance with the bride and groom. Each family member steals the bride and groom from each other for a short dance. So Nolan went to go dance with his cousin and I held Santi, and MUCH to my surprise his aunt said I had to go dance with the groom. I was the ONLY gringo! How embarrassing! I can NOT dance. Oh well, it was fine! Then I look over and Lorena was dancing with Santi! ADORABLE! To bad I wasn't able to get a picture! Then the dance floor was opened for everyone. Once the (very loud) music started we took Santi down stairs for a nap. Surprisingly he was able to sleep even though you could hear everyone jumping and dancing. Latinos SERIOUSLY know how to dance and have a good time! Once we left the reception I took Santi home to go to sleep, but they all continued to party for several more hours!

Nolan almost had to go to the wedding in his swim suit! 

My little adorableness all ready for the wedding!
I love how he lifts his eyebrows and
makes it look like he has a unibrow!

Its wedding time!

Lorena & Chris Zayas!!

Nap time downstairs....

Party time upstairs!

Our little family.

Me with the bride.

*Sunday we hung out at the house again then Nolan had to go back home to work Monday. We dropped him off at the airport at 5 PM, went back to the house, had dinner, then got a phone call from Nolan asking us to come pick him up because the flight was full! I WAS SO EXCITED!! He got to stay a whole extra day AND South West gave us almost $500 to use on our next flight! Thankfully his boss let him have another day off.

*Monday we went to the beach for several hours in the morning. Santi thought the water was to cold and the sun was to bright. Lets just say it was rather difficult to get the sand out of all of his rolls too. He didn't even sit in the sand, but the wind got sand on him. Haha! He slept for the first 45 minutes to an hour though. That night Nolan actually left. For dinner we had a parrilla with the family next door.

Santi enjoying the beach as one should! 

Deerfield beach. 

Santi in the waves.

*Tuesday several of us went to Lorena's house for breakfast, then we went shopping.

*Wednesday we spent hanging out at the house again.

Santi playing with his great grandmother!

*Thursday morning early early Santi and I left for the airport. I was terrified of traveling alone, but Santi did sooooo good. He slept the first hour, then ate, then played on my lap.

Ready to board the plane.

What an amazing trip! We are all very exhausted, but full and happy!

Bienvenidos a Miami

I am so excited! We are leaving for Miami today! Nolan's cousin Lorena (who was in our wedding) is getting married on Saturday. Not only are we excited about the wedding, but Santi will get to meet some of Nolan's family for the first time. We have been so lucky that Santi has gotten to meet both sides of my family. We had TWO family reunions this year, my dads side of the family and my moms side. But until now Nolan's side of the family has only seen pictures and seen him on skype. So tonight Santi will get to meet cousins, aunts, uncles, and his great grandmother. He has no idea how much lovin' he is going to get over the next week. Sadly Nolan has to come back for work Sunday evening, but Santi and I will be in the sunshine state for a whole week. Please and thank you!!!

Pictures of the family, wedding, and Santi at the beach to come!

Blakley side of the family. We all got together for my granddads 90th birthday.
Jesse came in from Indonesia, Joel and the boys were in from MS, my cousin was in from India,
another cousin was in from Seattle, and my granddads brother drove in from TX.
We live all over the globe! Santi was 4 weeks old.

The Grant side of the family. We had family in from TX, IL, MO, TN, FL, & DC. Santi was 3 months old.

Texan-Peruvian

It is going to be so much fun teaching Santi about the places his family is from. Not only will we be able to teach him about the Incas from Peru, but also the cowboys from Texas!

In July we filed the paperwork for Santi to become a dual citizen, it was actually much easier than we thought. They hand wrote his birth certificate on the spot and sent off for his passport. We received his passport in the mail several weeks later and that was that. He is now a dual citizen with the most adorable passport picture EVER! I wish we could take Santi to Peru right now to meet Nolans whole family, but he cant get all the shots needed until he is 12 months old. So for now Skype will have to do.

My whole family is from Texas so I grew up with a huge respect for the lone star state. I was born in Texas, but only lived there for a few years, but there is still something in me that loves my birthplace. Everything in Texas is bigger and better, especially the food!!

We were given an adorable onsie with the Peruvian flag on it at a baby shower. Santi wore that onsie all the time (especially with his daddy when Peru was playing) until he finally outgrew it. Well, yesterday Santi got something Texan. Cowboy boots!!! I think any little boy in cowboy boots is adorable, maybe thats the Texan in me. But at the same time, I think anyone would think a little boy in cowboy boots is stinkin' cute. I can not wait to hear him stomping around the house in them pretending he is an outlawed cowboy with a broom horse! Oh the fun we are going to have!

Watching Peru play Uruguay on Independence day in the US. Ironic? I have
always worn red white and blue on July 4th, but I guess red and white will do.

Its official!

Thank you to whoever donated these beauties to Goodwill!
They will be loved well in their new home!!

Scream-laughs, crawling, and sitting up

Santi's newest thing is grabbing faces. He loves laying on the floor with you sitting over him letting him grab your face. He literally screams with excitement. He will grab my ears, nose, and mouth as long as I will let him. He sits there and makes goo goo sounds and then bursts out with the highest pitched scream-laugh you have ever heard. The first time he screamed I thought something was wrong then I realized he was laughing.

It is so fun to see his little mind working. Everything seems to be a progression. To think, just 17 weeks ago Santi hadn't even taken his first breath and now he is doing so much! Santi smiled from week one, then he moved on to laughing, now scream-laughing. He went from accidentally hitting his toys to intentionally playing with them to grabbing them and trying to stick them in his mouth. Now he grabs my face and hair (pony tails and stud earrings are a must).This morning he started lifting up his legs and hitting his toys with his feet. He went from just recently starting to suck him thumb when he was hungry to sucking his thumb just for fun. Now he likes to suck his thumb with his blanket, burp cloth, or my shirt in his mouth as well. He went from rolling over from his stomach to back at 12 weeks, then back to stomach at 13 weeks. Now he is really wanting to sit up, or is it me that wants him to sit up? Haha! I think its a little of both. He at least likes me to pull him up to the sitting position. He will sit there for minutes swaying back and forth while I hold his hands for support, it is really surprising how little support he needs though.

This morning I looked over while eating my breakfast and Santi was on his stomach with one of his toys about 2 inches out of reach. He kicked and kicked his legs trying to figure out how to get closer, sadly to no avail. Is crawling or scooting in our near future? I am actually not excited about crawling. Walking, yes, crawling, no. I feel like he sticks his hands in his mouth to much for me to be happy with him crawling. I am not a clean freak, I wish I were. I sweep the floor once a week, clean my bathroom probably once every two weeks (eww thats kinda gross), and I have no idea when the last time I dusted. When it comes to my baby I feel as though I am a little different. I want him to get natural immunities and I think its important to let him run outside barefoot and eat dirt when he is a little older, but considering he isn't allowed to have almost any medicines yet I am a little more cautious. I try not to be that crazy mom who wont let anyone touch their baby though. I took Santi out in public the first week. I will let pretty much anyone hold him, but I just have this thing about the floor. We live about 500 feet from a very busy street and have wood floors. I have never in my life seen such dirty dusty floors. It must be from the street! I am convinced. I can sweep the floors and 2 hours later all I can see is dirt and dust. It drives me crazy, not crazy enough to sweep everyday, but pretty crazy!

I guess we will see which comes first, crawling or sitting up...