Day 5: Health

<p>I'm thankful for the good health of my loved ones and for readily available medicine when we're not so healthy. I've had so many health issues over the last few years, so I really try not to take it for
granted when things are good. Above all I'm so grateful that my kids aren't the ones who have suffered health-wise. Diego, with all his allergies, has been healthy as a horse and growing like a weed. Aside from minor colds and seasonal allergies, we've been doing well and for that I am so so grateful. There are so many difficult health related things that people I know are going through. My prayers are with them.

Day 4: Parents

I'm oh so very grateful for my parents. They spoil me, my husband, and my kids ROTTEN. This weekend for example, they had the boys over for a sleepover, which meant we got to sleep in. It was heavenly. I know my kids will hold on to those bonding moments with Tato and Tata for years to come. I'm so grateful that I have parents who understand that these years where grandparents are the kids' favorite people on earth are short. I'd say they are taking full advantage of these years. I'd write out a million more reasons why I'm thankful for them, but my children are screaming for me to make them dinner. So I'll just say this: I love them so much!
(My dad wasn't feeling well today, which is why he's not in the first picture.)

Day 3: Publix

Publix is the best grocery store around. I'm thankful that I have one so close to me. I love their BOGO deals, the fact that they give my kids cookies and balloons, and the yummy "special day" treats they have like passion fruit gelato, sushi, Colombian soda, and more. I love that Publix can save me when I'm not feeling well and make my family a cheap dinner of rotisserie chicken with some bread and a couple of sides. (Happened this week.) It's a little, insignificant thing, but I love my neighborhood Publix! If only they carried Concord grapes...

Day 2: Camila

Day 2 goes to Mila because she was born on a 2nd. Three months old today! I'm so grateful for this sweet girl that came to us so unexpectedly. What a blessing...what a gift she is. I can't believe how little she cries. She puts up with so much noise and hugging, kissing, squishing from her siblings. And she's so easy to put to sleep. She sleeps about 9 hours straight a night during the week, 10 on the weekend. So so thankful for that! She's our happy, smiley, calm little cutie pie and we love her.

Day 1: Diego

http://instagr.am/p/RhtJOjD4Li/
Doing my 30 days of Thanksgiving via instagram because it's easy since I always have my phone. I'm already a day late, but that's pretty much my life right now. I'm not promising to keep it up for the whole month, but I'll try. It's nice to focus on what I'm thankful for.

Day 1 is for Diego because he was born on the 1st of the month, and because he's my first born. This boy made me a mom. I'm so grateful for the blessing I have of watching him grow up. It's heartbreaking to see how fast the time is going, but also amazing to see him become this sweet, thoughtful little person. I'm so impressed with his intelligence, increasing maturity, and desire to do good. I love the notes he leaves under our pillows, the way he is so willing to help Eliana, and the fact that he's always willing to pose for me when I whip out my camera. We love our Diego!

Tricky Tricky Halloween

"Tricky, tricky, Halloween." I have no idea what that's from, but I vaguely remember my cousins chanting it with a thick accent in Colombia.

Halloween is kind of a bust this year. We had our fall festival last night, but Mila and I were feeling deathly ill. I didn't even want to go, but felt like I had to for the kids. Marcelo was working a booth and had invited a friend, so he got there early while I stayed home with the kids for awhile longer. Poor Diego kept asking, "How much longer are you going to feed Camila?? When can we go??" We finally showed up with just an hour left. It was pretty breezy and cool outside, which made me want to just take Mila home, but alas, someone had to pass out candy while someone else took the kids trunk or treating. Thankfully my cousin helped and held the baby while I handed out candy to all the kids.

Before we left, I set up a tripod and begged my family to smile for one picture. When I got some eyerolls from my poor husband who probably gets quite sick of being married to a photographer, I said, "Come on, we'll never get this moment back!" He said, "We'll never get A LOT of moments back." Because I probably use that line a lot. BUT HE WILL THANK ME ONE DAY. :)

So here we are in our Cowboy and Indian get ups. A big thanks to my mom for scoring these costumes and to my mother-in-law for providing a shirt for my growing Diego who no longer fits in hardly any of his plaid shirts. I made Mila's outfit (I rock the glue gun), the "boots" for the boys (didn't quite work out, but I whipped out my mini sewing machine for them...I know, who am I?), and the headbands for both girls.

My handsome cowboys. Whoa there, smolder much? ;) As they were getting dressed, Celo decided he wanted to be Batman instead. Pretty sure one of his friends at school is going as Batman because Celo has zero interest in superheros. Anyway, he finally gave in and wore the cowboy stuff, but I'm guessing he's going to want to wear his Batman PJs on Wednesday for trick or treating.

I had too much fun making these braids for my sweet baby girl. Hilarious. Hoping I can get a better picture on Wednesday. And Eliana thought these boots were so awesome. She wanted us to be twins so she kept telling me to put on my boots, too.

On Wednesday Marcelo has school, so he won't be able to go trick or treating with us. The boys are sad about that. And we didn't do our usual family party this year for the first time in....I don't even know how many years. There's just been too much going on and no one was really up for it. Hopefully we'll bring the tradition back next year for the kids.

Camila

My smiliest baby ever:

Ohhhh, where to start. This girl. She's a doll. She's an angel. She's my sweet, smiley baby. It literally feels like someone is squeezing my heart when I think about what a good baby she is. She has made the transition to four easy. Thank. Goodness.

Camila puts up with so much torture. It's loud roughly 90% of the time at our house. Her siblings like to touch her, poke her, kiss her, squeeze her, and all around drive her crazy. But she mostly just takes it. Thankfully, the kids aren't doing this with bad intentions. They are just curious about what happens if they touch her eye, or pull her fingers really far back, or pull on her toes. The majority of the time I'm able to stop it before they hurt her. But occasionally, they (they meaning Eliana) slip one past me. The other day I was nursing Camila and Eliana came to sit next to me to play with her sister's toes like she usually does. I looked away from Eliana for a second to answer the phone, and Camila stopped nursing and just SCREAMED. On instinct I grabbed her foot away from Eliana thinking that maybe she had pulled on it too hard, only to see BITE MARKS on her pinky toe. I was furious. I yelled, "You do NOT bite your sister!!! That hurts her! You are going to time out!" And marched her to her room. I think my spastic reaction worked because she hasn't done it since.

When I say Camila is my smiliest baby, it is so true. Diego didn't smile a lot as a baby. He didn't even laugh until he was 5 months old. Celo and Eliana smiled more than Diego did, but they also had a grumpy side. So far, if Camila isn't sleeping, she's scrunching up her nose and smiling, cooing in the most adorable "ahh, gahhhh" way, or sitting peacefully with me or Marcelo. She really only cries when she's hungry, and sometimes when she's ready to go to sleep. A lot of times I just put her down in her bassinet and she talks to herself for a minute and then goes to sleep. I'm sorry for the all caps, but she's just SO STINKIN SWEET.

Am I in the honeymoon baby phase or what? I hope it lasts a good long time because I'm sure with the firecracker big sister she has, Camila will be talking back to me like a teenager in no time.