I'm Thankful for my Husband

In Colombia, March 2009

I'm so thankful for my gorgeous husband. He's the best husband I could have ever hoped for. This is not just cheesy talk. It's true. And he's the best dad to our boys. They worship him.

There are a million reasons I am thankful for Marcelo. I'm thankful that he is a spiritual, kind hearted, generous, intelligent, handy guy. I'm thankful that he has embraced my Colombian culture and loves things like carne en bistec, arroz con pollo, obleas, maracuyá, and Manzana Postobón. I'm thankful that he's such a hands on dad and is so involved in everything the kids do. I'm thankful that he is so good at fixing things around the house so we never have to pay for anything. (That goes for cars, too.) I'm thankful that he is such a hard worker. I'm thankful for his goals for our future.

But right now there are a few things that I am thankful for more than anything else. I'm thankful that he has taken over the laundry while I'm pregnant and trying not to lift heavy things. (Remember that our washer is inside and our dryer is out in the garage.) I'm thankful that he changes Celo's stinky diaper when I'm feeling a little too nauseous. I'm thankful that he hasn't minded eating fast food for dinner when I've felt too sick to cook. I'm thankful that he is so supportive and 100% there for me.

It also doesn't hurt that his eyes are so dang beautiful.

I'm Thankful for a Bunch of Things

Last night we had a great family night. During the day, Diego, Celo, and I decorated the house for Christmas so we could surprise Marcelo when he came home. As we were doing this, I realized we didn't have a Christmas tree! Diego informed me that we gave it away last year. I was like, no we didn't. It's gotta be here somewhere. After searching high and low I remembered that we had indeed taken it to Goodwill last year! How did he remember??

When Marcelo got home, we went Christmas tree shopping! I was so happy to finally get a big Christmas tree. Up until now we've had a cheap little $15 tree. But I made some money last weekend and decided to spend it on a bigger tree. Here's Diego helping me fan out the branches. He was so into helping last night.
Here are the boys in front of the assembled tree.
After the tree was all set up, we had a lesson on being thankful. Growing up, my family had a tradition that we've kept alive in our little family. As we decorate our Christmas tree, for every ornament we put on the tree, we say something we're thankful for that year. Well, we combined this with an idea that I got from my friend Vanessa, of writing a list of the things we are thankful for. The idea is to write "From the ceiling to the floor, this is what we're grateful for" and then you make a list long enough to reach the floor. Here's our list, proudly displayed next to Diego's artwork on our front door:

Here are some of Diego and Celo's things:In case you can't read it, it says Tato and Tata, Grandpa and Grandma, Cars, Trains

Here are some that Marcelo and I wrote:

Jesus, DVR, Date Nights, Extended Family, Food Labels (to keep Diego safe), and Healthcare

And here is our tree. We're still going to add more, but this was as far as we got.
Afterwards, we made sugar cookies in the shape of the kids' hands and decorated them to look like turkeys. I took a picture, but they're pretty ugly so I'll spare you!

It was a great night! I love my family.

I'm Thankful for...

the teeny baby growing in my belly.

Baby #3 is on the way! We're very excited. I always thought I'd be terrified to have a third, and for a long time I was, but now I feel ready.

We just told Diego last week, when we heard the heartbeat at the 3 month check up. He had been asking me pretty much since the moment I found out, if I had a baby in my belly. I denied it because I wasn't ready to tell him yet. But he kept pushing it. "But you do! You do have a baby in your belly." It was so weird that he seemed to know. When we finally told him last week, he was really excited. I said, "That's why I've been sick." Then I gave him a timeline so he wouldn't ask me everyday if the baby was coming yet. I said, "First it's going to be Daddy's birthday, then Christmas, then your birthday, then Tata's birthday, then my birthday, then when it's almost Celo's birthday, that's when the baby will come." He was quiet for a minute and then said, "But are you going to be sick that whole whole whole whole time?" Poor kid. He's so sick of hearing me say, "Not right now, I don't feel good."

The day we told the boys was so sweet. Diego hugged my belly and kissed it. Celo lifted up my shirt and said, "Hi Baby!" I teared up seeing how happy they were. Diego then informed me that he wants a baby brother. At first he wanted to name it Buttercup after his school's hamster, but then he changed his mind to Baby Celo. I told him we already have a Celo and he said he wanted another. Then, worried that I might mistakenly assume that he meant he wanted to replace Celo with the new Baby Celo, he said, "But I still want to keep this Celo, too." When I told him that we didn't know what kind of baby we were going to get and that we might get a girl, he let out a huge disappointed sigh and grudgingly said, "Okay, we can have a girl baby." A few after we told them, Celo came up to me and pulled my shirt up again so he could say hi to the baby. Then he said, "Mommy, open you mouth so we can see da baby." Two-year-olds are so funny.

I've been SO sick this time. At first I thought, maybe it's the same as my other pregnancies but I just notice it more this time because I have two little kids constantly needing my attention. With Diego, I was working at a job that was flexible and perfect for pregnancy (read: two hour lunch breaks so I could take a nap). I had moments of nausea, but eating a granola bar and drinking some Propel fitness water helped me feel better. Then with Celo, I had a 10 month old baby when I was at my worst, so if I needed to lay down next to him while he played on the floor, it wasn't a big deal. This time, I try to stay still on the couch to avoid losing my last meal, and the kids jump on top of me. Not helpful. But besides that, I'm realizing that my "morning sickness" is just worse this time. I'm sick all day, everyday. I constantly have a disgusting taste in my mouth. The only thing that takes it away is eating or chewing fruity gum. Mint gum doesn't help. Trident Tropical Twist is my best friend. When I'm not chewing gum, I'm eating. I eat pretty much every half an hour. I'm going to be enormous by the end of this.

I can't complain too much about how crappy I feel, though, because it means the baby is growing. And I'm very very happy about that! Plus, my version of morning sickness is just constant nausea, as opposed to actual vomiting. I hate throwing up more than anything in life, so I should count my blessings that I haven't had to....yet. Now I've jinxed myself.

So the estimated date of arrival is the first week of June. If this baby is like my others, it will make an early appearance at the end of May, but we'll see.

Lots to be thankful for this Thanksgiving!

I'm Thankful for my Dad

Today, I'm especially thankful for my dad. He watched my boys for me this morning. The cutest part is that he knows they're a little under the weather and not eating great, so he went out last night and bought them some orange jello and had it all ready for them this morning. Even cuter? He added OJ to it for "added vitamin C". He's awesome. I love the way he is with the boys. And they love to hang out with him. I have such a great dad!

I'm grateful for how smart he is. He's my go-to for all kinds of information. He's taught me so much about computers over the years! And when I'm being too emotional and girly and need a logical answer to a question, I know I can count on him.

Being in the Spanish branch with him was an awesome experience. I'm thankful that I got to see more of his spiritual side. I miss seeing him and my mom on Sundays!

Even though he's all about tough love and "sucking it up", and isn't one to tell you things in a sugary, flowery, sweet little way, he's an incredibly kind-hearted man, a generous man, and I love him!

I'm Thankful for the Space Shuttle

Today I am grateful that I live in a place where I can watch the shuttle launch from my front yard.


I'm also grateful for a good zoom lens.


I tried to take a picture of the boys, but they wouldn't take their eyes off the thing, so all I got was the back of their heads. And trash cans.


These were Diego's thoughts on the shuttle launch. First, he didn't want to go outside because he was afraid it was going to be too loud. He was very happy when it wasn't. Then he told me that we can't touch the shuttle because it's very hot. And then he asked if we can touch the clouds. I said, "Well, they're very very high." So he said, "We can get a tall tall tall tall stool. Or Daddy can pick us up."

These were Celo's thoughts on the shuttle launch: "Three, two, one, bwast off!"

I'm Thankful for Good Food

Today I'm thankful for good friends and Makotos because that's what I'm doing for lunch! Mmmmmm, glazed carrots, seafood sauce, teriyaki chicken....can't wait! And I get to see one of my besties for the first time in a year. :) And THEN, I get to take lots and lots of pictures. (We'll see if I can top yesterday's whopping 938 pictures in 2 hours.)

Earlier this week, I saw one of my other bffs and went out to each Chicken Tikka Masala at an Indian restaurant. It's been a week of good food and food friends!

I'm Thankful for my Boys

Today I am thankful for my boys. More specifically, I'm thankful for the sweet moments I have with them that make the bad moments seem less terrible. A few recent moments:


One day while I was changing Celo's diaper, he looked at me and said, "You a boo-ee-fuw (beautiful) mommy."


Diego says, "Mommy....I think I love you," at least once a day.


Celo is really polite when he wants to be. The other day, I told him I was so proud of him for being a good listener at the playgroup we went to. His response: "Thank you, Mommy!" so emphatically, like I had just made his day by telling him how proud I was. Also, when he doesn't want to eat anymore of the food I give him, instead of turning his face away and giving me mean looks like he used to, he has started trying a new approach. He hands me his plate and very sweetly says, "No thank you."


Diego cannot see Marcelo and I hugging without coming and squishing himself in the middle. "I want a hug, too!" He's so affectionate and loving. I'm sure I will hate this quality when he's a teen. *Shudder.*


They always always always bring me flowers when they go on a walk with their daddy. Wherever they go and they see a flower, they say, "Flowers for Mommy!" Sometimes I have to stop them from picking flowers from other people's beautiful plants.


This week, since Diego has been sick, he hasn't been able to go to school. For the first few days, he and Celo had a blast together. They played SO well together this week. I was in shock. They were best buddies. Today, however, it was clear that they were sick of each other. They bickered all morning. But even the bickering had it's funny moments. At one point, Diego started taking one of his cars and raming it into one of Celo's cars to try to get a rise out of him. Celo made a dramatic little pouty face and said, "Awwww, you making me cry." It was so funny because it was so fake.


I'm soooo thankful that they seem to be getting along better for the most part. They really really want to start sharing a room, but I haven't been able to bring myself to do it, yet. I just know naptime will be a nightmare if I do that. Last night, I had them both in Diego's room before bed, and Celo said, "I sweep in Diego's woom." They laid down together and looked so dang cute. They were both really upset when I said it was time for bed and had to separate them. It makes me so happy when they act like they love each other! I might have to make the room transition soon.


They're crazy, they're hyper, and they frequently drive me insane. BUT, they also melt my heart. I'm so grateful I get to be their mommy.