Turning a new leaf...

It's been awhile. I can think of a million and one excuses but I have done that a few times already and really there is no excuse. The best thing I can do is start again. So here goes... Things at home have been great. Ricky is almost 18 months now. He is big and very active. He went to Nursery (at church) for the first time yesterday. He cried a few times, got sent to his Mommy once, but over all he did great. I heard only good things from the Nursery Leader (all the crying stuff I heard from Daddy). He loves music. As soon as he hears anything with a beat he likes he is dancing. It can be a slow song, fast song, it makes no difference to him. He started singing too. He has me running around the house all day but it's such a joy being with him. I am loving every second of it. Mando is doing great. he is still working as the Ward Mission Leader in our ward. He is enjoying it very much. It truly has been a blessing have the Missionaries around all the time. It's always great having them in our home. He is enjoying work (well as much as work can be enjoyed). He is always super busy. He started working out more:) That is one hobby I am truly supportive on. I reap all the benefits:) As far as myself, well I have been busy at church with the Primary. I run around everywhere with Ricky. I am pregnant:) We will be joined by another little one in September. I was truly sick these last three months, but slowly have been doing a lot better. This pregnancy has been so different then Ricky's. I know everyone says that all pregnancies are different, but until you live it, you can only imagine it. Things have been good around here. Sometimes it is a little scary how great things can be. But we are enjoying the moment. I have a ton of pictures to share but it will have to wait until next time. Ricky broke my laptop (long story short, he dropped it) and all my pics are in that hard drive. But as soon as I get them again I'll put them up. Especially Ricky's Birthday Pics. Hasta Luego!!

Ricky is walking!

It's official! Ricky is walking. He started going on his own about three weeks ago. But now he gets up all on his own and walks where he wants. He is still a little shaky but that doesnt stop him. He even tries to run:) Needless to say, I have no break. He is napping less now since all he wants to do is walk. I have to take a shower, cook, clean, eat in like 30 mins! No wonder moms are always in a hurry!

We are getting ready to celebrate his first birthday. I am so excited. It is football themed and I have put in a lot of work into it. I made him a banner and the party favor bags and a bunch of other little things. I know he wont notice, but I will. :)

Also in a few weeks we will be going to Cali! I am so stoked. My dad is turning 50 this year (dont tell him I told you) and we want to do something for him (this too is a surprise!). I havent seen my dad since January when Ricky was blessed. It will be nice to see him again and for my parents and sibs to see Ricky.

He is sooo much taller now. When he wants me to put him down he starts saying "go! go! go!" Mando taught him how to do "touchdown" and he goes around with his hands over his head and yells. Then he claps. I tried teaching him how to blowout a candle. Now that he isnt learning very well. The flame calls his attention the most and he just wants to touch it.

He is getting a lot better with his tantrums. Timeout really works. Thank you "Super Nanny" Everything I have tried with Ricky I have learned it from that show.

Life is pretty busy in the Alvarado household. Mando is very busy with his calling. He is the Ward Mission Leader and the missionaries are working him hard. That is good but sometimes Ricky goes to bed without saying good night to Daddy. When he wakes up the following morning and sees his Daddy he get soooo happy. I know they say that boys are usually Momma's boys, but my Ricky sure loves his Daddy. I hope it stays like that. Even when Ricky gets older and thinks he's to cool for Mom and Dad. I try calling my parents everyday. He sears them and sees me talking to them. Hopefully that will set a good example and he will have the same relationship as I have with my parents.

And me, you might ask. Well I am doing ok. I found out that I might possible have an ulcer. I dont have any pains but now my diet had dramatically changed. All of you who really know me can imagine how hard this is for me. But I have to take care of myself in order to take care of Ricky and Mando. Mom's dont get a sick day. Well this is all for now. :) Ciao!

Starting over...

We have been very good. Ricky is growing sooo fast. He is taking steps all on his own. He says Momma and Pappa and means it. He LOVES chicken. It's his very favorite. He likes to feed himself. He is weighing 20 lbs. He loves music. In the car when he is fussy, I put in a Disney cd I have and he loves it. He loves it more when His Momma sings:)

We are getting ready for his 1st birthday. It's coming up in about a month. We still havent decided what to do, but it'll be fun.

We went to the Zoo today. It was Ricky's first Zoo trip. He was really good. Such a trooper. It was very hot and humid. And his Momma forgot to bring his formula, so no milk for him. Just water. It ended up being a good thing. He liked the monkeys a lot. They started screeching and he yelled right back.

We will be going to the pool tomorrow which I am excited for. He kicks his legs and moves his arms as if he knew how to swim. He also tries to move my hands so I can let him go. He thinks he is a big boy now.

The only trouble we are having is with tantrums. My goodness this kid has a temper! We are trying to figure out who he got it from. I say my mom. She doesnt know yet...

Hasta luego!

OK, I am Sorry!

Life has been crazy. The older he gets, the less time I have for me. He is walking around in his walker now. I thought this would free up some Mommy time...I was wrong. He tries to get into EVERYTHING! I leave him unattended for a second. I know they say you shouldnt cus they can get hurt, in reality I think they post that warning on things cus your house and everything around the baby gets hurt, or broken.

He will be 8 mo this Saturday. Ricky has his two bottom front teeth. He loves to bite anything that gets in or near his mouth. His little chompers hurt. ALOT. He said his first word. Mama. It was followed by Papa. He says Papa more...I think its easier for him, his Papa thinks its cus Ricky likes him more :)

Ricky still hates tummy time. Wont bother with it. Instead, he is almost sitting up all on his own. He starts by putting his elbow down and with all his strength pushes down to sit his self up. He loves to stand and see everything. He loves to walk around in his walker and terrorize his Mommy and Pelukas (our dog).

He is the Biggest flirt ever. Must get it from his Daddy ;)
His Mamita Lili and Uncle David came for a visit. It was sooo amazing having them here. Ricky LOVED it. David (my 16 yo Bro) changed his diapers and everything. We are looking forward to our upcoming vacations. We'll be going to LA at the end of May. I am a little sacred because I will be traveling alone with Ricky. Mando will join us there later in the week. We'll see how the trip goes.

On the bright side of my update, I am no longer sleep deprived. Ricky sleeps through the night like a champ. He is sleeping his full 12 hours and some times even more. I love it! Still 15 min naps during the day but I get to sleep at night. Good compromise I think:)

Well till nxt time...

Ricky update

So much time has passed since my last entry. Sorry Ricky. I will be better.

Ricky is 6 months now. He just had his 6 month check up. He is weighing 16 lbs 2 oz and measuring 26 in. He rolls over. Likes to sit up on my lap and stare at everything. He laughs and smiles very easily. All I have to do is look at him and smile and he smiles back. The nights he stays in bed with me, when I wake up I am rewarded with the biggest smile ever. Probably because to wake me him he likes to poke my eyes. He is eating solids now. He loves, loves, LOVES squash. Weird baby. He talks. My does he talk...well baby talk. Its the cutest thing ever. He is aware of my dog Pelukas. He follows her with his eyes and screams to get her attention. I am not sure how she feels about him but so far they get along.

He is such a joy. I have to make this a short one. Daddy just bathed him by himself for the first time and is trying to put him to bed all on his own for the first time. Both my guys are growing up so fast ;)

He is eating!!!

Ricky ate cereal for the first time today. It was sooo cute. He looked kinda confused the first few times. We waited until he was almost 5 months because we wanted to make sure his digestive system was ok. We will see how he does.

He has been sleeping all night now. His bedtime is 8:30pm. He gets a bath, then his bottle, then he sleeps. He is asleep by 9pm. I get to sleep until 7ish the next morning. I missed my sleep.

He fights me sometimes. I sing to him so he can fall asleep and lately he is reaching up and covering my mouth with his hand. Now, I know I dont have the best voice in the world but I dont think it's that bad...who knows.

I am having so much fun with him. He loves to sit up and see everything. He loves to talk and laugh. He is the biggest flirt in the world. He loves girls. Any girl that talks to him, he smiles and does his googly eyes. If he has a group of girls, his eyes always land on the prettiest one and its to her that he gives all his best smiles. I have seen him do that one to many times. I am already worrying:)

He will be 5 months this month....We moved his crib to our room. He was sleeping in a bassinet and he out grew it. The first night we put him there, I felt so sad. I realized that he was growing up so fast. In a matter of months, he will be in his own room. Then he will be starting school. Soon after that he'll be graduating, going on a mission, getting married and leaving me. In a blink of an eye, I will be a grandma. A little melodramatic? Maybe, but I know that all you moms will understand. I loved feeling him move inside me. I love carrying him in my arms and staring at him for hours. I love kissing and hugging him without him pushing me away. I am cherishing all these moments because he is growing up so fast.

I love this lil guy that I just met a few months ago. I hope he knows that.

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and much more!

So I took a very long vacation from blogging. Ricky has been more alert and awake during the day. He takes 2 naps and sleeps for about 10-15 min each nap. He is awake the rest of the time and demands constant attention. This makes blogging very hard:)

So Christmas was fun. We spent it with Mando's family. Ricky received tons of gifts. He slept most of Christmas but we took tons of pictures for him to see when he gets older.

We traveled to California on the 29th. He did amazing on the flights. He slept much of the time and the rest of the time he just talked to himself. He met my dad for the first time. It was amazing. I loved seeing my dad with him. And Ricky loved every minute of it. He also met Natalie (my sister) for the first time. He loved her instantly. I have never seen him react to someone the way he did with her. As soon as he saw he smiled and talked with her and you can see how happy he was with her. He was like that the whole time we were there.

We also had the opportunity to bless him. in our church, we don't baptize babies, we give them a blessing. We were able to do this in LA so that my father and brothers had the opportunity to be there.

We came back on the 11th. Mando started a new job at Rackspace. Ricky had his 4 month checkup and shots. He has grown sooo much. He is sleeping through the night beautifully. He sits up with a little help and hates tummy time. He is getting ready to start eating solids. We will begin with some cereal soon. He is so talkative. I love it. My lil chunker is growing up...