Sheila's 4th birthday

Mario had to travel for work this week (last time before the baby arrives!) So we were very sad that he would miss Sheila's actual 4th birthday. To make up for it, we celebrated early on Sunday. It turns out that Sheila is already too aware of things and that she knew she wasn't actually 4 yet. Celebrating on Sunday felt like walking around with two left shoes on your feet. Still, she got her specials decorations, the crepes she requested for breakfast, a special lunch, and she selected pumpkin pie for dessert. I combined this request with Joey's request to make a pumpkin pie from scratch using one of our little pumpkins. It was really fun to make it and also fun to eat.

So then on her REAL birthday, she was really ready to party. She had pink scrambled eggs (funny how the color really affects whether or not you think you'll like something) and pancakes in special shapes. She then went to the Franzonello's house while I volunteered with reading groups in Joey's classroom. Tara, Andrew, and James treated her very well.

Then we went to my OB appointment at 11:30 only to learn that when I changed times I got the time messed up and had to return at 2 for my scheduled appointment. We grabbed a quick bite to eat to recover from this mishap and enjoyed our meal outdoors on the beautiful day!

Then back to the midwives with a potentially overtired Isabel, but the girls really do enjoy the OB appointments and were so well-behaved. Sheila loves to hear her brother's heartbeat, and Isabel likes to hold my hand when they measure my belly. Everything is looking great and he is head-down as he should, for those who would like to keep track.   Exactly 6 weeks to go (although, I'm banking on 7).

While Isabel napped and we waited for the boys to return from school, Sheila helped me decorate her cake. She had some very specific details in mind, and I think our pinkest cake ever turned out to be very fun. She played more outside and then we dropped MJ off at piano (who deserves his own post from all that he has accomplished). Meanwhile we prepared her dinner selection of Dijon Mustard Chicken, orzos, and steamed broccoli.

She was so thankful for all her gifts, phone calls, and love from everyone. This girl really enjoyed her 4th birthday. I do remember being 4, and I think it's going to be a very fun year!

4 years of Sheila

God, who knew Sheila before she was born, sure made someone special. We love you, Sheila - our sweet, thoughtful, spunky, intelligent, athletic, and beautiful little girl.

BOY!!!
 

 

Here are his hands behind his head.  At first it looked like he was laying back and relaxing, but then with the picture on the left, it appears as though he is doing some sit-ups.  Never too early to work on your core.

Of course, we are all very happy.  Sheila really wanted another little sister and was a bit sad (so sad, it kind of put a downer on the video we took of the kids opening the envelope).  I think she will come around. She still seems to think there's another girl baby hiding in there.  We also working the angle that she is so lucky to be a big sister to a little sister and now a little brother.  MJ and Joey did a brother "mosh pit" in celebration of the new baby boy.  And Isabel just kept repeating "baby!" 

 

MVP

Thanks for the tip Sarah...that was so easy!  I can't believe I didn't notice the triangle edit buttons before.  Here is the minute long version of MJ telling his story.  And a very short video of Sheila describing how she does her hair in the morning.  (She got herself dressed, made her breakfast, and brushed her hair all by herself).  

A week ago, Mario completed his first basketball camp.  I was recommended this camp from a friend who homeschools her children (and I think in general it drew from a large homeschooling community).  Mario had a great time and by Wednesday was running warm-up stretches and drills with Joey and Sheila. 



Friday they gave out awards and MJ describes how they did it (I have a video but it is 2 minutes long and I can't figure out how to edit it).  He says the last trophy was given to the player who always worked hard, tried his best, and wanted to help his team win.  Out of the 100 players, they picked Mario James! 



We are so proud of him and his efforts.  It was a moment that made him really happy; which is hard for him because he doesn't take compliments well.  (He has a problem being too humble which he gets from his father.)



 

 

Happy 3rd Birthday Christian!

Happy Birthday, Christian David! We love you very much and hope you have a very fun birthday today! 


Sweet baby Christian David

Christian at 2 years

 

Looking handsome for Easter

I love everything about this picture.  The cookie, the bike, Christian's expression.   

Vacation fun

Mario has taken this week off from work and we have enjoyed a real family vacation.  More pictures about our week to come later, but our events from Thursday included a trip to see the new baby! 

 

Saying prayers

I had started to feel better and no longer pregnant about 2 weeks ago - and it seems I worry more with each pregnancy.  I guess because I remember so vividly the middle-to-end of pregnancy when the baby's movements and my size make the pregnancy very appearant.  The nebulous, I feel great and yet don't seem pregnant is odd and unsettling to me.  This ultrasound absolutely amazed me (not that I haven't seen this before) but to see this cute little baby swimming around, kicking, being cozy, saying some prayers and yet to not feel a thing at all is just pretty wild.  Prior to this ultrasound I was pretty certain this would be a girl.  However, I had a strong feeling upon seeing this baby that it is a boy.  I've only felt that once before with MJ and he is the only baby I was right about.  Our family votes are 5 to 1 boy to girl (Sheila is still holding out strong that this is a girl baby).     

My Secret

This is my Mother's Day present of our babies at 6 months old - I had to add another picture. 

We weren’t sure what would be the appropriate time to share our news, especially considering the important events happening this weekend for our extended family, but we just couldn’t contain it any longer. For the first time Mario was not with me when I got a positive result. He was actually on a plane to Minnesota for what I knew would be an important and busy week. So I was left to decide when I should tell him. When he called that he landed, I immediately asked about his work schedule and he confirmed the difficult week that he had. Over the next several days that we were apart I continued to question if it was right for me to keep this from him, but I figured it would be best to tell him in person. So, for several days the only people who knew my secret were the doctor’s office where I made the appt. and Isabel whom I whispered to in the middle of the night, and she seemed to understand as she stopped asking to nurse. A friend flat out asked me and I had to deny and dodge the question. It was an interesting few days, but I did enjoy the quiet time the new little one and I had to spend alone together.

When Mario arrived at the talent show he whispered between acts “Are you pregnant?” This was not at all how I planned this would go, but I couldn’t lie to him. So for the dozen or so acts before MJ’s performance we exchanged excited glances in the dimly lit gymnasium. And as I saw the excitement in his eyes, I knew it was right for me to wait to tell him in person. And then we got to tell the kids. They are SO happy and have already begun planning so many things for the new baby. Sheila said we will name her Sarah if she is a girl and MJ says John is a great boy’s name. Although when asked, MJ thinks we will have a girl because we already have a couple little girls together. Joey’s best guess is that we are having a boy. I think this baby is due around MJ and Isabel’s birthdays and I hope to get more information from my appointment on June 11th.

St. Patrick's Day

Saturday was packed with entirely too many exciting things for me.
A) I have always had a special love of St. Patrick's Day as I feel closely tied by name (nice day for you too, Patrick?) And as far as nationalities go, our children are Cuban followed by Irish.
B) The Catholic consignment sale was Saturday - I live for these sales which happen 2x a year. I get nearly all of my clothing shopping done for the kids and the proceeds support a great charity - the Divine Mercy Outreach. It is my treasure hunt
C) We were having my best friend from college (Andrea) and her family over to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

Having so many things in one day made for a flurry of fun and excitement, but we got through it, and then I passed out from exhaustion, and then I woke up and had another pint. :-)



Wish I could have had a fun Irish breakfast, but I was already out shopping before the kids woke up. Shepherd's pie for lunch, Green shamrock jello, Andrea brought an AMAZING homemade hummus and she made shamrock chips out of spinach tortilla with broccoli on the side. I am definitely adding this to my St. Patrick's day green foods. Corned beef and cabbage for dinner with green mashed potatoes and green mac n cheese (thanks Andrea) followed by the Suarez birthday cake - only slightly Irish style. Kids had green sprite, adults enjoyed Guinness, Harp, & Killians. The children played outside all day long and then enjoyed a bit of a dance party before dessert. Of course, we taught the kids a lot about St. Patrick earlier in the week which I think only made the festivities richer.

Happy Birthday Isabel Kiera!

Isabel's siblings really helped her enjoy her first birthday. Of our children, she may have understood her 1st birthday better than all of them because of this. The night before, they hyped it up for her, and all day long she heard praises to the "birthday girl." Sadly she had a cold on her birthday. We enjoyed our relaxing day, reminisced about her birth and looked at her newborn pictures. She played a lot with siblings and we had her "due date friend" Kelly & her family over to play in the afternoon. I selected Isabel's dinner which somehow became tradition for the 1st birthday -thought she eats everything I definitely could have picked something else.

After dinner all the kids were a bit crazy and poor Isabel bumped her head on an end table. But all was well again by the time she opened her presents. She was so loved by her godparents...thank you! Mary, I'm sorry I forgot to give her your present, so she'll get it this morning. Michael, I didn't give the Christmas gift at Christmas, so she got both on her birthday. We instructed the big kids several times to let her open her presents, and after much patience, she figured out the concept and was really enjoying each new gift. We had to carry her away kicking to have her cake, but once she saw it she reached for it and was excited about that too.

Our baby is 1!

I can't believe Isabel is 1 already! It was only 1 year ago that we were able to great the newest addition to our family - isn't having babies so exciting?! I've selected way too many pictures of Isabel, especially the ones which highlight how tiny she is.

7 years of MJ

We thank God for the blessing of our enthusiastic, caring, inquisitive first-born son. On Jan 16, 2005 you changed our lives for the better. We love you Mario!

The seventh birthday

We went a little crazy and decided that since MJ had no school on his actual birthday and since we hadn't played with cousins or the Franzonello's in a long time, we would maximize play time together by having a sleepover. Tommy, Peter, Catherine, Tony, & Xavier made Mario's birthday SO special. They had dinner together Sunday night, went to bed with a 6 year old MJ, and woke up with a 7 year old! We hear this may have been Xavier's first sleepover.

Our guests made all of the usual birthday fanfare so much more special. We had pancakes, eggs, and bacon for breakfast; ordered pizza (and had a few sides like blueberries which MJ loves) for lunch. The kids played well together - the weather was nice and they spent some time at St. Theresa as well.

Mario created another great cake based on MJ's request. The Kaza family was sure to bring 3 presents: a super bouncy ball, a soccer ball, and a super amazing water gun. The Franzonellos know our family well and got us some Cars 2 figures. By 4pm all of our young guests had left.

Our family party continued as MJ requested steak, rice, and broccoli for dinner. It was extra special that just as we were saying prayers and as Dad Mario was saying extra blessings for MJ, I looked at the clock and noticed it was 5:56pm -precisely the minute he was born. We all took a moment to enjoy that fun fact. Before we even cut into the steak, Joey had another greatly confusing line, "This pork looks like chicken?" Well, whatever it looked like, each person in the family licked their plates clean.

Thank you to the Franzonellos and Kazas for giving your kids to surround Mario on his birthday. Thank you for the notes on the blog and the phone calls. Mario really enjoyed giving the recap of his day and each time he shared his story it made him more excited about all that was done for him.

Now to get ready for our next birthday...