Diego's 5th Birthday Party

This past Saturday we celebrated Diego's 5th Birthday. His actual birthday isn't until the 27th but due to the fact that my baby is due pretty soon, we decided to celebrate early so as not to ruin his day. So with that... we had ANOTHER Cars birthday party for him for the second year in a row. Diego thought it was awesome. And had a blast.

We invited all his cousins. And he was happy that most of them were able to make it. My husband even rented a Cars Bouncer to jump in as a complete surprise! I was not expecting it and by the look on Diego's face when he arrived to his party, he was pretty surprised as well.

His Godmother, who is also my very best friend, bought him a pinata. This also made him very excited. When it came time to hit it, of course he went first. And I must have one strong little boy because he was the ONLY one who got to hit it. After a few swings it cracked open and the candy went flying. Didn't seem like the kids cared much that they never got a turn... they all ran for the candy.

Here's the little sister Alayna after the pinata

So then it was time to open gifts. And oh my... why do these kids always score in this department? I wish I was a kid again. He got Cars toys and clothing galore. But among his favorite gifts had to be the Nintendo DS that his Nina bought him along with the Cars game and all the accessories that she bought. He's been wanting since Christmas and was so happy that she got it for him. Grandma and Grandpa obviously know their Grandson very well too because they bought him a digital camera! Not one for kids either, a REAL digital camera. He was beyond excited because he's constantly after my Dad and myself to use our cameras.

And the party is not complete without cake... and the traditional face smashing. So after we sang Happy Birthday, Diego's face was pushed into the cake. He was a good sport and laughed about it since he knows with his Daddy around... it's inevitable.

I'll post a slideshow soon with more pictures...

And I officially have dedicated my Thursday blog days to showcase some of the pictures Diego takes with his new camera. And believe me, we have quite a collection already.

Our New Dog

So Sunday Jr was at his aunt's house visiting. The kids and I stayed home because I was pretty tired from Saturday. Plus I wanted to clean the house from having my family and friends over.

When he came home he called the kids and I downstairs and said he had a surprise in the car for us. So we all went to the garage and Diego opened up the door to the backseat and to our surprise there was a beautiful black Lab laying there!

I turned to Jr and asked him why he had his aunt's dog. It turns out that they don't have the time to be taking care of him and giving him the attention he needs. And his uncle wanted to let him go. But Jr's aunt knew that Diego's birthday is coming up and that he's been wanting a dog for so long... so she asked Jr is he'd consider letting her give it to Diego as a gift. Jr loves dogs and is such a softy when it comes to his kids and immediately said yes. He's rather see the dog be loved here then thrown out to the streets. He's always had dogs growing up and truly believes every boy should have his dog.

Well the dog is so sweet! He was terrified to get out of the car at first. Jr literally had to pick him up and carry him outside to the back yard. We've been around the dog before many times so he seemed comfortable after a while with us. Diego was a little afraid of him at first because he's still a puppy so he's very playful. And he would get excited and jump on Diego to play. But the dog is bigger than Diego when he stands on his two legs. I can see how he could be intimidating. But I let the dog jump up on me and I played with him for an hour or so... so that Diego would understand that he didn't want to hurt him... he just wanted to play and he doesn't know his own strength. But Diego warmed up to him right away... and for the rest of the day he played in the backyard with him. He taught him to fetch. And they looked so cute together!

Alayna is deathly afraid of him. So I am hoping that little by little she gets to know the dog. I understand he's huge... but I've always had a fear of dogs and still do mostly... and I don't want her to be the same way. I think over time she will come to like him too. He really is the sweetest dog who just wants to be loved.

Funny Sidenote: We told Diego that when we had the money to get him a collar and a leash we'd take him out for walks regularly... until then Diego had to run around with him in the backyard so he could get some excercise. Diego was worried that it wouldn't be enough excercise for the dog. So a little while later I hear a lot of banging coming from his room. I thought he was still outside playing so I go into his room... and I find him emptying out his piggy bank with all the change my mom gave him this weekend. I asked him what he was doing and he said since it was HIS dog that he should take the responsibility of buying the collar and leash. He had a whole $1.43 in there and took it to Jr and explained what it was for. It was so cute! So today we took him to petsmart to get the leash. He was so excited to have enough money to buy the leash "all by himself" or so he thought. The cashier even gave him a handful of doggie bisquits in a plastic bag to bring home for him. Diego was beyond excited!

Now if we could just settle on a name! I like Harley... but Diego likes Dinoco McQueen (figures). But ultimately it's up to him and he hasn't quite decided yet.

San Xavier Mission

Wow... first off I'd like to say that I have been trying to post since Sunday with no luck! Blogger really hated me! Maybe they think I post too many pictures and wanted a break. But patience is a virtue because I finally am able to post about our trip to the San Xavier Mission.

So my husband turned 22 on Friday! So he asked me if we could invite family over from Phoenix and see if they would like to cook for him and celebrate his birthday. He texted his mom, 2 brothers, sister, and my parents. No one was interested except for my parents. I was disappointed for him although he expected it. His sister's birthday is 2 days after his so she's usually first priority being the only girl. But he didn't seem to mind and was pretty excited that my parents were coming at that my mom agreed to cook for him. So we also decided to invite our friends Felicia and James and their 2 kids to come on down. They accepted as well. And then my mom said that my aunt and her 3 kids would also be joining them. So we were going to have a full house after all!

So we decided that to get out of the house on Saturday... we'd take a trip to the San Xavier Mission. And it was indeed a good idea.

The church was small but gorgeous! So many photo opportunities there. Unfortunately being 35 weeks pregnant I couldn't run around and take as many pictures as I usually do. But I did take a lot of my family... as they all ran around exploring.

The ceiling in the church

Diego and Alayna... Not happy that I made them pose

My cousin Alexis and I
The two most important men in my life! My Daddy and my Husband Jr.
My Aunt Kika and I

The Juan Diego Chapel. My brother is name Juan Diego... and my son is named after him so we took a picture of him standing in front of it. Diego got a kick out of the fact that his name was on the sign.

So we then decide after touring the church to go into the gift shop. With so many of us in there we all split up and looked at all the different things. My mom decided to buy Jr and Diego, Alayna, and Ducky a cross necklace as a souvenir. And as we're picking them out... Diego loses sight of us for one second and all we he hear is a scream and cry. Jr being the quickest reacted quick to see what was going on. Diego panicked because he was holding Alayna and Ducky's hands and they walked a little too far away from us and he freaked out. Jr scooped him up and tried to calm him. He did as soon as he saw Jr. But boy did he scare us!

So we took him outside the store. When Jr asked him why he got so scared, Diego replied... "See daddy... I was trying not to let my little sister and little cousin get lost so I told them to hold my hand. But they were walking too far away and when I turned around you guys were gone!"

The lady at the counter who was next to the kids when he panicked even said. He screamed and cried but never once let go of Ducky and Alayna's hands. She was impressed.

Nothing like Diego to wake us up and do something memorable on our trip.

So here's Diego with his cross

And here's Alayna with hers

Then it was decided that everyone wanted to climb the hill where there was a big cross at the top. They climbed and played up there for a while. Unfortunately I didn't get to join in on the fun... but my mom and I stayed at the bottom and talked with Felicia for a while. And we got to sit and relax.

The King of the World... or so he thinks

Look at this handsome man hiding behind the bushes.

Daddy and his Princess posing
Daddy and his little man!

Soon it was getting later so we decided to head back towards the mission and have all the new rosaries and necklaces blessed with Holy Water before we headed home to the dinner that was promised would be cooked that night.

Jamma blessing Alayna

Daddy blessed Diego and his necklace
Jr almost took a bath in the Holy Water!

So as we were leaving we decided to eat some Indian fry bread to hold us over until dinner. It was good! But the kids were way tired and we ate quickly and headed back to my house to put them all down for a nap!

Thanks Mom, Dad, Kika, Felicia, and James for spending the weekend with us. We had a great time! And at least Jr got some fun his birthday weekend.

Riding the Quads

We're very into family activities as some of you may know. Jr and I love to find things to do with our kids or our whole family for that matter.

Well his old brother Luis just recently bought two quads... so of course we were dying to try them out! We invited his brothers and sisters to barbecue and go take them out for a spin.

The kids LOVED them! He only bought 2 so obviously we all had to take turns using them. And the kids would cry every time it was someone else's turn to ride.

Even I took a quick ride with my husband on flat ground of course! No hills and bumps for this pregnant lady!

So here's some pictures of our fun:

Diego and Daddy

Daddy and Alayna

Conversations With My Son Diego

A few weeks ago

Diego: Mom, I love my Grandma.
Me: I am pretty sure she loves you a lot too.
Diego: I love her even if she's old.
Me: (Laughing) I don't think she's that old!
Diego: But Mom she is because she goes to the Dr a lot. And she has brown pimples on her face. And sometimes she looks tired. But I love her.
Me: Well everyone gets older... but she still has a lot more growing to do. She'll live to be as old as Abuelita one day.
Diego: Wow I didn't know that Grandma could get that old.
Me: (Still laughing) Well everybody can live to be that old.
Diego: Next time she goes to the Dr I am going to tell him to give her juice to make her younger. Because I love her.

LOL. Well I established that he loves her.

Yesterday

Diego: Mom it's almost my birthday huh?
Me: Yes baby, in 24 days more. And how old will you be?
Diego: Well I'm 4 now so I'll be 5!!!
(Pause)
Diego: Mom I'm almost done...
Me: Done with what?
Diego: Growing. Cuz look... (then he proceeds to count to ten on his fingers)... See mom when I get to ten there's no more so I am done.
Me: Oh really?! In that case how is it that I am 23?
Diego: I dunno Mom, cuz I don't have that many fingers. I think it just means your old like my grandma and grandpa.

Today:

Diego overheard me telling my friend the other day that my husband and I have known eachother since we were kids.

Diego: Mom, how did you and Daddy meet?
Me: Daddy used to live in Tucson and Mommy lived in Phoenix, and when Daddy was in 4th grade he moved to Phoenix with your Nana and he started going to Mommy's school.
Diego: Really? And did you love him?
Me: No baby, I thought boys were yucky when I was little.
Diego: (starts laughing) My daddy wasn't yucky!
Me: Well he was to me!
Diego: But he loved you because he must have thought you were a beautiful woman. I think you're a beautiful woman.
Me: Aww well Thanks sweetheart! You make me feel beautiful. But Mommy was mean to Daddy at school until we got older.
Diego: Well if I liked a girl I would tell her she is a beautiful woman so she could love me and we could get married too like you and Daddy. And I would be mad if she was mean to me like you were mean to Daddy.
Me: I know I was mean to Daddy but eventually we loved eachother and we got married. And we're very happy now!
(Pause while Diego collects his thoughts)
Me: So does that mean you wanna get married?
Diego: I think I want to start dating.

(What? How does he even know the word dating!!!)

Me: You want to start dating now?!!
Diego: Yes Mom, I am almost 5 and I need to start thinking where I am going to get married.

(Long pause because I didn't know what to say.)

Diego: I think I'll get married at the park where you and Daddy got married because I love it there.
Me: It is a very pretty park. I like it to.
Diego: To tell you the truth Mom I wish you never got married. Because I think you're the most beautiful woman and I could have married you. But Daddy beat me and now you're his wife.
Me: (My heart fills with happiness) Aww baby! That's sweet! But you couldn't have married me anyways because I am your Mommy and that's even better!
Diego: I know but I wish I could.
Me: What are you thinking... you're too young to think about marriage anyway.
Diego: I'm getting older soon, and I have to think for the future.

The End

Jeez! Where does he think about half of this stuff? He's no normal 5 year old that's for sure!