Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Katie xwas singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to Jacob yesterday,  Here is her version:

Twinkle twinkle little star
How I love you what you are
Up above the sky so high
Like a triangle in the sky
Twinkle twinkle little star
How I love you what you are

Germ Sharing

Last night Katie mixed her cup of water in with her cup of milk. Daniel thought this was hilarious, and when she proceeded to drink it, he laughed even harder. He asked excitedly, "What does it taste like?!?" Katie replied that it was good and offered him a sip. He refused, saying, "You shouldn't share drinks, Katie. You'll get Ebola."

Daniel's 6th birthday

Daniel did actually turn six this year.....I just didn't get around to documenting it.  :) 

We had a pretty low-key party this year, but with quite a few guests.  We kept it simple by just doing cake/ice cream and some dinosaur pudding cups.  The kids ran amok after cake, and we avoided doing too many presents. 

The birthday boy requested a dinosaur cake:

 We had the Calvo family, Black family, Jones family, and Sellers family here to celebrate.  Our playroom was absolute chaos, but the kids had fun!

 

For his birthday, Daniel got plenty of presents, despite his friends being told not to bring anything.

Daddy & Mommy: working engine replica and USA map to hang on his wall

Abuelo & Abuela: scooter

Grandpa & Grandma: shirt, pants, and Hexbug

Uncle Luis: safari hat and ant farm

Uncle Brian & Aunt Cristi: squigz building toy

Uncle Josh & Aunt Pam: Legos

Uncle Brian & Aunt Heather: fossil digging kit and dinosaur puzzle

Grandma Fox: money

Calvo family: frisbees

 

Sometimes it's hard to believe that Daniel is six.  He's a smart, determined, sweet boy, and I wouldn't trade the world for him. 



Silly Words

There have been a couple times this week that Katie's made funny word substitutions.

She was doing a somersault and kept saying, "Mommy, watch me do a cinnamon roll!"

Then one day we were reading a book together.  She was pointing to all the animals and naming them.  She came to an antelope and said "envelope." 

:)

Jacob's Birth Story

 

 

Jacob Elliott Sanchez was born on October 23, 2014 at 11:36 AM.  He weighed 8 pounds, 11 ounces and was 21 3/4 inches long, making him my heaviest and tallest baby yet. 

 

Jacob's official due date was October 28, but we decided to induce early to prevent any complications from him being too big.  During my last prenatal visit on 10-20-14, I had dilated to a "3," and Dr. Mascorro felt like I could be induced early without much risk. 

 

David's parents came in on Wednesday evening to take care of Daniel and Katie while we were at the hospital.  David and I checked in to Hendrick Medical Center at 5:00 AM on Thursday.  I was still dilated to a 3, and the baby was still very high up (-3).  I was having a few contractions on my own, but nothing much.  The nurse started my pitocin at about 6:30 AM and increased the dosage every 30 minutes after that.  My doctor came in just before 8:00 AM and broke my water.  I had a ton of fluid with this baby, so that part was fun.....  My contractions continued to get harder (thanks to the ever-increasing pitocin), and by 10:45 AM, I told the nurse that I was ready for my epidural.  I had increased only to about a 5 at this point, but I was starting to transition, which means that I was shaking uncontrollably, and Jacob was working hard to get out of there.  Both the anesthesiologists were working with someone else at that time, but the first available doctor showed up just after 11:00 AM.  He turned on my epidural at 11:17 AM and told me that the next few contractions would slowly begin to feel a little easier and that he would come check me in a short while to ensure that the epidural was working correctly. 

 

I had told my nurse that my last baby had come rather quickly after the epidural, so she thought it would be smart to check my progress again soon after the epidural.  We waited a few contractions, and then she checked me, and I was at an 8.  My doctor came in again at that point (she had been in several times already), and checked me on the very next contraction and said that I was at a 10 and ready to push.  What?!  As in push the baby out right now?  Yes, exactly that. 

 

Dr. Mascorro reminded me of how to push, and in 1.5 contractions, Jacob was out.  He was born just 19 minutes after my epidural was turned on.  Phew!  She held him up for me to see, and my first thought was, "He's huge!  I can't believe he was inside me!"  They cleaned him up a little, let David cut the cord, and laid him on my chest.  They actually let him stay on my chest for two whole hours before they took him to be measured, etc.  Shortly after he was born, everything was cleaned up, and David, Jacob, and I were alone for quite awhile, just soaking everything in.  My anesthesiologist poked his head in my room about noon to check to see how my epidural was working.  He looked in, saw us, and said, "Is that a baby??"  I told him that the baby had been born almost 30 minutes ago, and he was shocked.  :)  Good thing he did a good job with getting that epidural working quickly!  

 

We were transferred to the "mother care" wing around 3:30 PM.  My in-laws brought the two kids to the hospital a little after that.  Unfortunately, Daniel ended up having pink eye show up that morning, so he didn't get to spend much time with the baby.  Somehow we managed to not pass the pink eye around.  Thank heavens. 

 

Daniel was quite upset that he was no longer the biggest baby in the family and actually had a good cry over this fact.  I had to remind him that he was definitely my strongest baby and did the most kicking.  :)  Katie was just happy to see me more than the baby I think.  She was surprised when she sat on my lap, leaned back, and there was no huge belly to support her.  They were both happy when the nurse gave them each a bracelet that said "big brother" and "big sister."  My in-laws brought cupcakes to the hospital, and we all sang Jacob "happy birthday."  Eating cupcakes was probably the older kids' favorite part of the experience.  :) 

 



 

We kept Jacob with us most of that night, though of course, they took him out a few times for tests, etc.  He even had to have multiple heel sticks to check his glucose levels because he was considered big for his gestational age.  Sheesh.  There were absolutely no health problems though, and our pediatrician informed us Friday morning that he was "perfect."  Big sigh of relief since that was the same time that she had told us about Katie's heart defect, giving us a long and stressful day that time around.

We had zero complications with this baby, and David was eager to get out of the hospital.  We checked out about 1:30 PM on Friday, stopped by the drug store to pick up some medicine for pink eye, and were home with Jacob by 2:30.  We were greeted by two adorable pictures that Daniel and Katie had colored, welcoming Jacob home.  We feel incredibly blessed to have our family of five.  :) 
 

Who's the Smartest?

David was asking Daniel a bunch of questions about his new classmates the first week of school.......Who's the nicest? Who's the funniest? Who's the prettiest? When he got to "Who's the smartest?" Daniel said, "Me!"

David: You? How do you know that?
Daniel: Because the other kids ask silly questions.
David: Like what kind of questions?
Daniel: Like they'll ask, 'What's your name?'
David: That's not a silly question. They've never met you, and that's a nice question to ask a new friend. You don't ask them their names?
Daniel: No. I just read their name tags.

Mommy Look-Alike

The other day I was sitting at the table with Katie. David came by and gave me a big hug. As I was holding on to him, Katie started getting mad. She said, "Daddy, I don't like that!" David said, "But this is my wife." Katie was quick to respond with, "Well, it looks like my mommy!"

Boys' Camping Trip

 

David and Daniel took a camping trip to the Abilene State Park in May.  Daniel had been begging to do this forever.  He was ridiculously excited as they pulled out of the garage and kept reminding his sister how she was too little to go camping, but that he was big enough to do it.  They made chicken fajitas on their little cooktop stove.  They went hiking and saw an armadillo, deer, and many, many cardinals.  The night got extremely cold, and they'd wished they had taken warmer clothes/blankets, but they survived.  At one point during the night, there was apparently some sort of large animal right outside their tent.  They could hear it, but Daniel was too scared to let David turn on the flashlight and determine what it was.  Hoping it was a deer??  They cooked eggs in the morning, and Daniel told me that eggs when you're camping taste a lot better than the eggs you can cook at the house.  They weren't roughing it all that much as David brought his coffee maker and hooked it up so that he would enjoy the rest of their day.  ;)  I was glad to see the two of them get to spend time together.  

Jonestown Trip

 

We went to Jonestown, TX with David's side of the family in May.  We rented a pretty home there and spent all weekend at the community pool.  The kids both did well in the water.  We don't exactly have natural swimmers on our hands, but by the end of the trip, they both could have stayed in the pool all day.  Daniel took longer to warm up to swimming than Katie, but eventually Abuela convinced him that it wasn't so bad.  He pretty much stayed on a noodle all weekend and had a blast.  Katie loved jumping in off the side and did this over and over and over.  There was also a very shallow end of the pool that Katie and Daniel could walk in without any trouble.  Katie loved to sit and fill up buckets with water.  It was a very relaxing weekend!

 

The time that wasn't spent at the pool was spent back at the house we rented - eating (and eating and eating), playing cards, and competing in a water balloon toss game.  Daniel learned how to play Crazy 8's and joined in a few of the grown-up games too, making him feel extra special.  The whole weekend was definitely time well-spent, and it was nice to have such secluded time with our family.    

Potty Training

We potty trained Catherine back in May.  I need to write this post for so many reasons, but mainly to remember that potty training is very hard the first few days, but it gets easier.  Persevere!

Katie and I started potty training on a Saturday.  David and Daniel had gone on a camping trip, and we were home alone that morning.  We had been reading several potty training books and even watched a few potty videos the week before.  Then on Saturday morning, I decorated the bathroom with balloons and a sticker poster.  She got her "big-girl" panties that she had been pining over, and I hid all the diapers.  We started going to sit on the potty every 20 minutes or so, trying to have a few successes.  I don't remember now how many accidents there were that day, but they outweighed the successes.  It's always so frustrating to have the kid sit on the potty and do nothing for ten minutes and then pee the second he/she gets off it.  Argh!  Anyway, we did nothing but potty all weekend long.  David and I even alternated mass times so that she could stay home and potty instead of going to mass.  It was a breath of fresh air to be away from the bathroom on Sunday morning for me!  She continued to have accidents Sunday.  At one point over the weekend, she started crying and crying for a diaper.  She didn't want to use the potty like a big-girl, and she didn't want big-girl panties.  It was very hard to see her so upset.  :(   

Then Monday, I had to go to work.  I told the sitter to have Katie sit on the potty every 30 minutes or so and prayed for the best.  When I got home that afternoon, the sitter said that Katie had refused to sit on the potty.  What?!  And that she had had to abandon the 30 minute schedule because Katie wouldn't do it.  What?!  But that there had been no accidents all day because when she had needed to go to the potty, she just told the sitter.  WHAT?!  Katie figured it out in three days!  In retrospect, I think that Daniel was about the same way (with his pee.........#2 was a whole different story with him). 

This is not to say that we didn't still have accidents.  Scratch that - we still sometimes have accidents.  But overall, she got it figured out in three days.  It took her a few more days to figure out the poop thing, but not bad.  Then it took a few more weeks to transition out of stickers and candies as rewards. 

I still say potty training is one of the hardest things you'll have to do with your young child, but hopefully I'll remember with baby #3 that it's not hard forever.  Just a little while.  Better yet, hopefully that's the case with baby #3 and I don't set myself up for disappointment!   

It's Like Riding a Bike

I fell off the blog band-wagon, but there are a few things I want to document so that I don't forget them.  And I realize that in a short five weeks, I will have even less time than I have now.  So I'm going to write some posts that need to be documented so that some day, a long time from now, I can remember how these things happened!

First off - way back in May, Daniel learned how to ride his bike with no training wheels!  He had asked us multiple times to take the training wheels off (after he saw the neighbor girl riding without hers), but we figured we needed to wait until we had a decent amount of time to work on it with him.  So we decided to do it over Memorial Day since we'd have three days instead of two like a usual weekend. 

David took the training wheels off, and within an hour, Daniel had it down!  David and I were kind of shocked (and of course proud!) that he learned so quickly.  He seemed so much older already!

Daniel in Kindergarten

Daniel started kindergarten on Monday. 

 

His teacher's name is Elise Rocco.  He has 21 kids in his class.  There are 14 kindergarten classes at his campus!  He goes from 8:00 to 3:00.  Right now, I'm taking and picking him up.  We had planned to have him ride the bus, but when we saw he would be picked up at 6:54 am and dropped off at 4:47 pm, we changed our minds.  That's a long time on the bus as well as a long day for a 5-6 year old.  We may still have him start riding in the mornings......we'll see what happens.  He has a daily music class, PE class, and recess.  He also has a short rest-time and daily snack.

 

He's been nothing but excited about school, so we expected it to go well.  It did!  When Katie and I picked him up after the first day, we went to Wendy's to celebrate with a frosty.  I was surprised to learn that he loved his music class that day.  (He doesn't usually like singing at home.)  He even sang all the parts of the "Willy the Worm" song that he could remember.  He told me that he learned that "you only need a dabble of glue, not a glob."   He also told me, "Mommy, there are no bullies at my school!  They're all nice!"  (We've read several books about what to do when there is bullying at school.)  As we were leaving Wendy's, he told me, "I think I felt my legs getting taller while I was at school.  Do I look taller?"  :)  He does seem older as I see him walking toward his class with his little backpack on - just like a big kid.   

 

Aunt Cristi and Uncle Brian had sent Daniel "The Kissing Hand" to read before his first day of school.  It's a sweet book about a little raccoon who is afraid to go to school, but his mother puts a kiss in the palm of his hand to bring to his cheek any time he needs reassurance.  Before Daniel left for his first day, I gave him a kissing hand.  That afternoon I asked him if he had to use it.  He said, "Yeah, one time........well, maybe a few times."  I asked when he used it.  He said, "Well, like two minutes after you left for sure."  He hasn't needed to use his kissing hand again though.  He absolutely loves school!

 

We're excited about all the new challenges he'll overcome, new friends he'll make, and new experiences he'll face.

Allowance Money

Back in February, we started giving Daniel an allowance.  It all started because we decided to have him start doing more chores around here, and we thought we'd sweeten the pot a little.  So the night we told him about all his new chores (Mondays - vacuum the playroom and living room; Tuesdays - clean his bathroom; Wednesdays - clean all the door knobs/light switches; Thursdays - dust and vacuum his room; Fridays - clean the back porch), we also told him we'd be giving him a weekly allowance if he managed to get his chores done by noon each day. 

You should have seen how excited he was about this!  He hugged us both and kissed us repeatedly and said that this was the best thing ever!

For the record - we're paying him $1 per week.  Since he's never seen money before though, this seems like a large amount to him.

His first purchase was a kid-sized shovel that he picked up at Lowe's.  Good solid purchase for him.

His second purchase was a pack of two American flags, one of which he gave to his neighbor friend because, in his words, "Why would I need two?"  This also prompted him to give his older, smaller American flag to Katie.  Proud day for Mama.

His savings have been collecting for awhile now, and he thinks he's ready for his third purchase.  He saw in the orientaltrading.com catalog a set of 144 plastic gold coins.  They're $5.  I think he thought they were real gold at first, but even after telling him that they're just cheap pieces of plastic, he still wants them.  He says he needs them to help him complete his "king" outfit.  I'm not sure if he actually has any piece of this outfit yet because he says he also needs a crown and purple/gold robe.

Anyway, if he reminds me again, I'll let him buy the gold.  I think this might be his first case of buyer's remorse, but we'll see!  

Spilling the Beans

So we're not quite ready to tell people that we're pregnant. Especially people like our five year old son who would tell approximately 400 people in the first two days.

Unfortunately, we had a mishap.

Katie had to have a chest x-ray before her cardiology appointment. The x-ray tech wanted to take her back alone, which I knew probably wouldn't fly with Katie, but I said, "You can try!" Shortly after the door closed, I could hear Katie screaming her heart out. I waited and waited. The screaming was not quieting, so I knocked on the door to offer up her blankets. The x-ray tech said, "You can just come in too, as long as you're not pregnant." I said, "I actually am, but my husband's not. He'll go in."

The door shut behind David and Catherine, and Daniel and I stood alone in the hall. We had this conversation:

Daniel: Mommy, why did you say you were pregnant?
Me: Oh, I don't know.
Daniel: Mommy, are you pregnant?
Me: Well, you never know.
Daniel: So why did you say you were pregnant?
Me: You just never know when God is going to give you a baby.
Daniel: So did He give you another baby?
Me: I don't know.
Daniel: Then why couldn't you go in there?
Me: Because they do x-rays in there that have radiation.
Daniel: What's radiation?

Phew.....radiation.......a subject I can finally discuss!

Three!

We found out on February 24 that we're expecting our third baby!

Wow.

Three?  Three! 

We're super excited and can't wait to meet him/her. 

Due date is November 1st!

Thumbs Up!

Whenever you ask Katie to give a "thumbs up," she points her index finger up in the air and says, "Like this?"  It's pretty darn cute to watch her struggle to get an actual thumb up.  It usually takes several minutes of coaching as well as her other hand holding down her index finger that wants to pop up.  :)

Male Housekeepers

On our way home from the grocery store today:

Daniel: Do they call boy maids Joseph maids?
Me: No.
Daniel: Then why do they call girl maids Mary maids?

What? Ah, yes......Merry Maids.

Cardiology Update

We went to see the cardiologist on Thursday, and we got good news! The hole in Catherine's heart is smaller than it was last year and is no longer considered "moderate" in size, but he actually called it "tiny!"  He said that he feels the exact opposite of how he felt about it last year and that it most likely will not need surgery. If you remember, last year he had said that it was highly likely that the hole would not close on its own and that she would need open-heart surgery.

With this appointment, a huge weight has been taken from my shoulders, and I pray that things continue to trend this way. Thank you to all who kept her in your prayers this year and always. We'll go back to see the cardiologist again in a year.

Rock-a-bye Baby

Catherine loves her baby dolls. Loves rocking them.  Loves putting them to sleep.  Loves feeding them bottles.

But I didn't realize how she could turn almost anything into a baby.

In this week alone, I've seen her rocking and shushing a tower of blocks, a helicopter, a faux lemon, and a box of Triscuits. 

I kid you not.

Spoiler Alert

The kids have seen their grandparents 4 of the last 5 weekends.  To say they've been spoiled rotten is probably an understatement.  I've been hearing all sorts of things like, "I don't want to go to the grocery store.  I want to go to the zoo." and "But Grandma lets me!" 

We spent one quick night in Lubbock on the way to Dalhart at the beginning of February.  It happened to be Abuelo's birthday, so the kids got cupcakes.  And Daniel got to stay up late to watch a big portion of the Olympic Openeing Ceremony.  We didn't have much time in Lubbock that trip, so that's all the spoiling that happened that day. 

The next weekend Abuelo and Abuela came to help me out (in a big way!) by babysitting several days while I worked.  The kids got to do things like go to the zoo, play at the park, go out to eat, and just give-me-all-your-undivided-attention things.

The weekend after that we went to Lubbock again, this time for the RA reunion.  The kids spent a good portion of the time with Abuelo and Abuela, giving us a chance to visit with friends.  The highlight of that weekend was definitely going to the science museum.  Daniel has not stopped talking about the triceratops they saw.  They also got a big bag full of new clothes - that may have been more a spoiler for me.  :) 

The weekend after that it was just us.  The kids loved that.  Haha!

Last weeked David and I took a trip to Washington DC sans kiddos!  My parents came to babysit for four days, giving us a chance to feel like real people instead of Mommy and Daddy.  The kids hit the zoo, the library, and Nikki's Swirl Shoppe.  Grandma brought all kinds of junk from her house to ours, including a seashell collection, a big bag of buttons, and sticker books. 

We're super grateful that the kids were able to spend so much time with their grandparents and that they have them in their lives to love on them.  Too bad now they have such a big adjustment to our regular life!  David and I have been singing, "Back to life, back to reality."  The kids get a big kick out of that.... 

Catherine's 2nd Birthday

Katie turned two on January 9th, which I realize was more than a month ago.....  She got to pick the activities of the day, so we spent time at the library story time and at the mall playground.  She also got to pick her meals, so we ended up with pancakes for breakfast (still shocked she didn't pick eggs!), grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch, and broccoli with mac and cheese for dinner.  I don't think she actually ended up liking the mac and cheese all that much, but the girl put down the broccoli!

We had a small party for her on the 11th.  Abuelo and Abuela, the Calvo family, and a neighborhood girl, Tessa, came.  We ordered pizzas and kept it pretty low key.  She requested a "blue chocolate" cake and loved every bite of it.  She got all kinds of good presents:

Mommy & Daddy: hooded owl towel, owl "piggy" bank, owl purse, and chapstick
Abuelo & Abuela: foam puzzles and play cupcakes
Grandpa & Grandma: Magna Doodle
Uncle Luis: Apple Sprout (My Little Pony)
Uncle Brian & Aunt Cristi: purse with a ton of accessories
Uncle Josh & Aunt Pam: Minnie Mouse tea party set
Uncle Brian & Aunt Heather: wooden dress-up doll and animal sounds puzzle
Calvo family: Mrs. Potato Head, hair bows, and sunglasses
Tessa: toddler Elsa the Snow Queen doll

She is loving a lot of the new presents! 

Her current stats are 25.5 pounds and 33 inches tall.  She's talking up a storm these days, but a lot of it is hard to understand if you haven't been around her much.  I can understand most of what she says though, and if I can't, Daniel can interpret for me!  She's still a tough little girl and likes to wrestle and play outside.  She is sneaky and likes to pick on her older brother.  She loves, loves, loves babies - real or fake.  She also loves playing the game Perfection, reading books, going for walks, pushing her stroller, and dancing.  She'll dance to anything and likes to imitate other people dancing.  She's still very independent and likes to do things herself.  She can put on her own pants, socks, and shoes.  She can take off her pants, socks, shoes, and diaper (uh-oh!).  She sleeps so-so at night, frequently waking up at least once, just for the sake of waking up.  She takes an hour to an hour and fifteen minute nap in the afternoon.  She's a super sweet girl.  :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas

Here are a few pics of Christmas:

Daniel with his wheel loader

 Catherine with her baby and cradle

 Bryson with his Lightning slippers

Carly

 Catherine "cutting" her new fruits and vegetables

 Daniel opening his telescope

 Catherine with her new stroller and baby

 We spent Christmas with my family in Bosque Farms.  On our way there, we spent the night in Lubbock to break up the trip and make it easier for the kids (and us).  I was awoken in the middle of that first night because Daniel had a fever.  Fun way to start a trip!  In hindsight, we probably should have turned around and gone right back home because we ended up infecting not one, not two, but five people with the flu!  Catherine got it the day before Christmas.  They were both fairly miserable for good portions of the time.

Other than that......the trip was really fun!  We were with my parents and my sister's family.  We got to spend time with Bryson and Carly which was one of the highlights.  My parents fed us more food than you could possibly fathom, and it was all wonderful.  Too bad that Catherine wasn't feeling well on Christmas Eve.  I think she would have liked the lobster!

A funny highlight of the trip was seeing Santa Claus.  Helen (from my sister's side of the family) dressed up as Santa and surprised the kids by knocking on the window one evening.   All the kids just stood there staring at him and waving.  We even heard his sleigh bells ringing!  Pretty exciting stuff!  Catherine kept saying "Want see ho-ho-ho" after he left.  :)

This was the first time that Catherine really understood who all the people there were.  She learned all their names (sort of) and we practice them a lot by singing "happy birthday" (her latest favorite song) to them all on a daily basis.

We came home the day after Christmas, and the kids felt better in a few days' time.  David's parents spent New Year's with us and spoiled the kids with more presents.  It was like a second Christmas!

I don't know why, but I like to remember the gifts that the kids got, so here's the rundown:
Daniel:
Santa Claus - wheel loader, camera
Grandma Fox - money
Daddy & Mommy - Book of Heroes saint book
Grandpa & Grandma - coloring books and magazine subscription
Abuelo, Abuela, & Uncle Luis - telescope and microscope
Uncle Brian & Aunt Cristi - science experiment kit
Uncle Brian & Aunt Heather - magnet art kit
Ms. Marcy - Skippyjon Jones workbook
Ms. Ashley - science kit and book

Catherine:
Santa Claus: cradle and Cabbage Patch Kid (Pax Charlie)
Grandma Fox - money
Daddy & Mommy - lift the flap Bible
Grandpa & Grandma - coloring book and magazine subscription
Abuelo & Abuela - doll stroller and back pack
Uncle Luis - Violet the dog
Uncle Brian & Aunt Cristi - cash register
Uncle Josh & Aunt Pam - baby highchair and pretend food
Ms. Marcy - headband
Ms. Ashley - stuffed cat and stickers