Diego's 5th Birthday

Today my oldest baby turns 5! As I sit here pregnant and just about due with my third baby... I wonder... How the heck is time going by so fast? I just want to keep them all little forever and ever. But obviously that is never going to happen as Diego has proven. He is one independent little boy. He no longer wants to be called my "Baby"... even though I try to explain to him that he will ALWAYS be my baby no matter how old he gets. I feel with each and every day that he needs me less and less. I try and hold on to the baby in him but somehow I feel him slipping away. I understand he's starting a new point in his life... he'll be a kindergartner this fall and I will then have to share him with the world. But I must admit, I am selfish and wish I could just keep him home with me forever.

So in honor of my little man... I wrote a little poem and made a slide show for him. Happy Birthday Diego Ray... and many many more! Mommy loves you!

Yours was the first heart
I felt beating inside of me.

Yours was the first kick I
felt that warmed my heart.

Yours were the first eyes I
looked into and glimpsed a
small reflection of myself.

Yours were the first hands
that gripped my finger and
grabbed a hold of my soul.

Yours was the first smile
that filled me with joy.

Yours was the first cry that
was music to my ears.

Yours was the first laugh that
brought peace to my heart.

Yours was the first love that
made me understand the joy of
motherhood.

You Were First.

Diego,

I have always loved you. All my life I imagined having a child of my own. It was my greatest ambition to be a mom, and then you came along. And when you were born, I was born. The real me with a new reality, a new world, a new hope, a new purpose... That was you. So much a part of me and yet so completely you.

I love you.

Those words mean more than you’ll ever know. I carried you close to my heart all my life until I met you.I live my life for you, my first child, my first baby... The one who made my dream come true. I thank God for you. For who you are and who you are turning out to be.

There’s nothing you could do to make me love you more, except be who you are… forever!
I will live on through you whoever you turn out to be will always have a little part of me as well as your children, and their children. Our bond is immortal.

Sometimes I feel you put a lot of pressure on yourself to be perfect or to set the best example for your sister. I always want you to know that I love you just the way you are. In my eyes, you're as close to perfect as anyone can get.

I love you. I love you. I love you.

Easter Weekend

As usual we had a great time in Phoenix Easter weekend.

We started off by taking our kids and our nephew Noe to see the Easter bunny. The town of Verrado which is about 15 minutes west of where my parents live in Avondale, was having an Easter celebration. My friend Dawn whose Dad has a traveling petting zoo told us about it and invited us out to the event. I am glad we went.

Diego and Noe had so much fun feeding and petting the animals. There were chickens, sheep, chicks, bunnies, and even a Pig! the highlight was getting to feed the baby cows! They were so cute! Alayna though wanted no part of it. She was content sitting outside the pen in her stoller where they couldn't reach her.

They did get their pictures taken with the Easter bunny. The boys liked him... but again Alayna screamed her head off saying he was going to Bite Her! LOL. Jr had to sit with her for her picture and she's looking away screaming "Mommy!" It was hilarious and I'm glad I have proof. I would post the pictures but I need to scan them. Sorry!

There were more activities for the kids including an easter egg hunt where Diego only found 1 egg. Him and Noe were too slow and that's all they came back with. But they had fun regardless.

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After that we were all hungry so we went back to my sister's house to make some homemade hamburgers. YUM! And then we were off to the park to hang out with my best friend, her boyfriend, and our goddaughter. Jazmine brough Diego (her Godson) a big easter basket full of stuff and one for Alayna as well. We gave our goddaughter a new dress and a little bunny. The kids played and ate ice cream and had a good time. They got really tired and we went home to put them down for a nap.

Here's our precious Goddaughter Arianna.

Her Nino is certainly in love with her and hogs her from me! You'll hardly ever see me in a picture with her. But they look so cute together don't you think? He's preparing for for the fact that after the birth of his next daughter, him and Diego will be completely outnumbered, so he better get used to it.

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Then to keep going with our busy day... after the kids were down for a much needed nap at my Mother-in Law's house... Jr and I escaped for a while to attend the baptism ceremony for Jennifer's mom, Linda. It was beautiful. Good thing we didn't take the kids with us because it was 2 hours long and they would have bugged.

Easter Sunday

I made a slideshow to showcase the pictures. We had a lot of fun. The kids ate entirely too much candy but oh well.

Stranded on the way to Phoenix

Yup just our luck that we'd get stranded.

We had been waiting patiently all week for my Dr's appointment last friday to see if it would be ok for us to drive to Phoenix for Easter. We really didn't wanna spend it all alone here in Tucson. So when we got the ok... we were so excited. We drove home and packed and we're out of the house in about half an hour. I texted my mom and told her we were coming and got on the phone with my best friend Jazmine. About 45 minutes into our drive I felt the car a little shaky. It was kinda weird... so I ask my husband Jr... "Is that our car or the road?" Not a second after I spit out the last word we hear a pop and something slamming loudly against the car, so we pull to the side and get off. I thought we had a flat but fortunately just the tread came off the tire. So we're like in the middle of nowhere.

We tried calling my Brother-in Law Loyiel about 40 times but he didn't pick up once. So I know he hates to answer his phone when my husband calls him... so I text him and tell him we're stranded and he called back right away. Jerk... lol. We tell him the situation and he says he'll call us back.

So we're on the side of the highway with the kids and Jr didn't think that was safe... so he drives the car, as is, very slowly to the nest exit which was a mile and a half away. We get off and there's nothing out there! Not a gas station or anything. So we decide to press our luck and push forward to the next one. Finally we reach the next exit and stop and a Pilot Truck Stop. By this time Loyiel had talked to my mom, she called my Dad, and he was on his way to find a tire and come rescue us! Yay! Did I mention it decided to be the like first hot day of the year? LOL.

Well as I mentioned I was talking with my friend Jazmine when all of this happened and she was determined to come rescue us as well... despite me having told her that we were ok and my Daddy was coming. No! That wasn't enough for her. She beat my Dad to us with water and sodas for us. LOL.

My Dad arrived like 20 minutes later and we got the tire fixed. And we were all off on our merry way again. So we made it to Phoenix for Easter weekend.

Thanks Daddy and Jazmine!

Sorry...

Sorry that I haven't been blogging as much lately. I will get back on track soon. Just with our constant trips to Phoenix and being extremely busy I haven't had a chance to even get online much.

On top of that I'm 2 weeks from my due date and we're just kinda waiting around for this baby to make her arrival. Hopefully sooner rather than later because Mommy is tired!

Thanks for being patient with me... I will be back soon.

Babies, Babies, and more Babies!

Babies, Babies, and Babies... Oh my!

It's no secret that my family just keeps growing and growing. And I'm not talking about my intermediate family... I'm talking my extended family. My Dad's side is just getting bigger and bigger. Every year we have one or two births lately. And it hasn't stopped. I am due in about 2 weeks... my Uncle's wife is due right after me (it'll be a race to see which one of us pops first) and my cousin Vanessa is due in about 7 weeks. That'll bring two new little girls and another little boy into our family. How exciting.

But it seems like the whole world is having babies. A lot of my friends are either pregnant as well or just finding out they are expecting. My best friend just had a baby who is 3 months old. And my husband's sister is pregnant with twins. I will have a niece and nephew on his side of the family too. Kinda funny because my Mother-in-Law is going from 4 grandkids to 7 in just a couple more months. And my daughter Alayna, who has been the ONLY princess on my husband's side for the past almost 3 years... will now have to share the throne with her baby sister AND one of the twins. She has a hard enough time sharing my parents with her two older cousin Brianna and Tallynna... now she'll have to share my husband's parents too. I'm curious to see how she adjusts to that! So all in all... it's a happy time for both sides of my family. I hope all the grandparents are ready to have 7 grankids each. Because I for one am anxious to get this baby out already.

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Sunday was baby shower day for me. We attended my Sister-in-Law's baby shower in the early afternoon... and by late afternoon/evening we all gathered at my Grandma's house to celebrate my uncle's upcoming arrival.

Here's a few pictures... and many of the kids we ALREADY have running around!

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.