17 Months

We're loving all the curls on this little boys head. He has little streaks of blond highlights just like his daddy.

He can say: 

"Shoe"-"patos" (zapatos)

"Shhhhhh" with his finger up to his mouth

"Dank u" -thank you

He prefers to grab our hand and lead us around the house to point out things rather than talk.

"oh!" while wildly shaking his head to tell us no

He's got four molars coming in along with his K9's. He'll be 18 months soon, we are so excited to put him in primary so that we can enjoy lessons in church.

He has become picky with food textures. Most days he will happily eat raisins, yogurt, apple sauce, a variety of fruit , cereal and bread. On good days he will eat a few bits of chicken and pork. Don't let his size fool you, he is picky!

He loves this little car, he is so happy when I let him ride it outside. It has been a mild winter, so we've enjoyed playing outside.

He's a climber, my anxiety level has jumped a few notches since he started jumping off of furniture. 

He loves to sing, whenever we sing in church he tries to out-sing everyone around us and he is so loud! We love to hear his little voice. We've replaced story time before bed with singing primary hymns and Christmas songs.

He's still in the 95% for height and weight. 

We love him so much, we are so excited to celebrate Christimas with him this year!

Lately...

I once heard that the sound of a crying baby was a form of torture. I didn't think much of that statement until this week.

I found this article online to confirm it, the following paragraph hit the nail on the head as to how I've been feeling:

Sheila Kitzinger, a British social anthropologist who studies pregnancy and childbirth, has written, "The sound of a crying baby...is just about the most disturbing, demanding, shattering noise we can hear." The United States military has reportedly used the sound of wailing infants as an instrument of psychological stress, piping recordings of their cries into cells of detainees at Guantanamo Bay. (www.daddytypes.com)

Am I the only mother who has felt helpless even after caring for all my child's basic needs? Based on the latest news reports, I know that I am not. I'm happy to report that Acalias is over his sickness but it has been replaced with a relentless crying. Oh how I wished that we lived closer to family so that I could just drop him off and know that he is loved and cared for so that I could take a breather.

Thank goodness for prayer and my treadmill I have my sanity. This week will be better, I know it:)

4 Month Mark

We went to our 4 month scheduled Dr. Visit earlier last week. Acalias weighs a whopping 19 lbs 14 oz and 27 inches long! He is in the 97% for both height and weight and 99% for head circumference. I was concerned but the Doctor said that Acalias is perfectly healthy.
I've already had to pack away some of his smaller clothes, now I'm having to pack even more. He is currently wearing 9 months to 24 month clothes. I'm hoping his weight gain will slow down, just 3 more lbs and we'll have to buy him a new car seat. I never thought I'd have to buy a bigger car seat at just 4 months.


He is so smiley and is as happy as can be. He loves it when we sing to him, his little giggles are so fun to hear.


This picture is for all of you who think our son looks like me and only me. I think he and his dad share a lot of features. They look so much a like in this picture. Look at those cheeks:)


Tummy torture time isn't so torturous when he's having a conversation with dad.


We've discovered that if the TV is on he is glued, I think he likes the colors. I put on Dora the Explorer and he seemed to enjoy it.


He likes to play with anything that makes a sound.


Acalias likes when I play with his little toes. In this picture, I'm telling him that he has stinky feet and he thinks its so hillarious to see mom make a face at his smelly feet.



He learning so much, he learns quickly. He mimicks just about anything Dad does with his mouth. He sticks his little tounge out, tries to blow and can babble "Da dah dah dah".

This past Sunday, I had to take him out of class because he was laughing so hard he was a distraction to the class. We have some video footage of him laughing, I'll include it in the next post.

Our Son's Blessing

Acalias had a beautiful blessing on Sunday. We took a lot of pictures for all of you at home to see how handsome he was.

Dad getting Acalias ready, I love watching the two of them together. Acalias has started to coo and so he and his daddy were having a conversation when this picture was taken.

Finnally, a smile. We love seeing him and his great big smiles, it makes us so happy.

It was a special day on Sunday, we really can't believe how fast he is growing. It seems like we just brought him home from the hospital. When his dad held him up high for the congregation to see him, I felt so much joy. Acalias has brought us so much happiness. We will strive to raise him so that he grows up to be an honorable young man, one who will always be close to his Heavenly Father. We love him so much.

We took a few pictures outside of our home, we have a two second delay on our camera remote but it was hard to get Acalias to look ahead rather than follow our voices.


Proud father.

Here are a few of our favorites of Acalias in his blessing outfit.




We are counting down the days to visit you all at home in December!

One Month Mark

I can't believe my baby is already one month old. It seems like we just barley brought him home from the hospital. I've stopped calling him "banana hands" and now call him "chunky monkey". He can eat...A LOT! It seems like every time he's awake he's eating. My nurse says he's going through a growth spurt so it's not unusual to feed him more often in the evening time.



Dad needs to get this book read before the first day of class. He is reading it to me but it's not as exciting as moms breast milk so I think I'll take a nap.


Mom and I having a conversation in Spanish. I like to be rocked in this glider while listening to Baby Mozart.


Although I've taken up all Mom and Dads attention, this is my protector. He's always by my side once I start crying.


Smiling at mama. He's been smiling a lot more often, typically after he eats. It's fun to see his dimples that are only revealed with a huge grin. His dimple is on his right cheek.


Adorable, need I say more?


Grandma Nativa has been helping out for 2 weeks now. It's been so VERY nice to have her. She's 79 years old, but the woman is like an energizer bunny. She cooks AMAZING food, no matter how hard I try I've never been able to make my food taste like hers. When she's not cooking, she's cleaning the house or doing laundry. Our dog Skofeild loves her because she pays attention to him. He now follows her around the house and asks her to be let out when he needs to potty. Grandma also goes on walks with me and baby almost every day.



Acalias is typically fussy from 11pm to about 1am. Derek and I try everything to comfort him but sometimes we get so tired and Grandma is always right there to take him off our hands. She has some kind of magical trick up her sleeve because as soon as he goes to her he falls asleep.

It's been so fun to watch Grandma and our son, she seems so content just holding him. She has told me stories of how she helped out when I was first born and how blessed she feels to be helping out with our son. I've convinced her to come back every year (if her health permits of course).


One last thing...check out our Basil! It's the only herb along with Oregano that has thrived to live. I think I over watered the seeds, I'll try again because I was really looking forward to all the other herbs that I had planted.

Good News Announcements!

GOOD NEWS ANNOUNCEMENT #1 Derek passed his Anatomy class!!!!!!!!!!!! and has moved on to Bio-Chemistry and Micro-Anatomy. No more gorey details on the extractions of body organs and onto topics that interest me like Nonmendelian genetics or inheritance. I'm curious to know what our children will look like since I'm such a mixture of races myself, who knows what the dominate features will be:)

GOOD NEWS ANNOUNCEMENT #2 I got a JOB!,I GOT A JOB hey HEY hey!!! Por Fin!!! I am the receptionist at the Greenbrier Academy School for Girls(http://www.greenbrieracademy.com/). I know it doesn't sound glorious considering the fact that I never imagined I'd be working as a receptionist after slaving to earn my Bachelors degree. I've had to step back an eat some HUMBLE pie because West Virginia is not Utah and I had reduce my high expectations. I've been job hunting since Derek got accepted to medical school back in January. My main disappointment in my job hunt was the high credential expectations, low pay and no benefits. I'm extremely thankful to say that this job offers benefits, which we can not live with out. The drive is a bit far, but it is so beautiful. Most of the drive I can see the Greenbrier River and the fall leaves are so bright. I'll be commuting 30 minutes to and 30 minutes from the Academy (I haven't done that since I commuted to the University of Utah each day from Taylorsville) so I plan to get a couple books on CD to maximize my time in the car. I'm so excited, it feels good to know that we will no longer have to totally live off our future unearned income.