Shrek's Baby

Sunday, November 30, 2008

I don't know what it is about Ben...I hesitate to make blanket statements about baby boys...but Emma was definitely not like this.

Let's just say that he has a special talent for pooping outside his diaper and spitting outside the parameters of the burp cloth. Today we were getting ready for church and we were literally standing at the door to leave when Ben started crying like he was hurting. So I scurried to get him out of the car seat, put him on my clean ironed shoulder, and he threw up all over me. I had to change my entire outfit, but he managed to keep his clean?! Then, when we got to church he got fussy again and I mixed up a bottle for him. When he finished it, I again put him on my shoulder to burp him, and I felt something wet on my hand. I looked down and my lap and center was covered with mustard-colored poop. At this point I just started crying, I couldn't help it. There's something about poop that makes you feel especially dirty I guess - and they were in the middle of passing the sacrament, so we were stuck. I was mortified having walked in late, and then we had to leave as soon as we got our water! I was covered in poop, my mascara was running down my face, and everybody was staring at us.

And this is what Ben's face looked like after he got it all out of his system and got cleaned up...he's fast asleep on the couch right now...and mom's headed for a nap herself. What a day.

Thanksgiving

Friday, November 28, 2008

This Thanksgiving we split up the work with the neighbors and had a lot of fun over at their place. Emma loved having a buddy to play with, although I have to say that she was a bit of a bully :( She's still having a hard time adjusting to having to share her mom and I think that's making her a little bit irritable with everybody.

I have so much to be thankful for this year:

We welcomed our Benito into the family, and he is perfect and healthy. We shared an amazing and unforgettable experience leading up to his birth. Oh! And Ben slept 5 and then 4 hours last night - allowing me to only get up once! I love sleep!

Emma is so fast with her language skills that she can say her ABCs to "G" and can count from 1-10 in Spanish and English. She only hears a word once in context and remembers it forever. She recognizes and can spell her name. She also recognizes and can say 9 shapes (including rhombus and trapeziod!).

Emmanuel continues to recieve recognition at work for a job well done. And I say they had better recognize him - he went to work the week Ben was born and we moved! He has come such a long way as a Dad! There was a time he wouldn't change diapers. Now he jumps right anticipating the needs of the kids (and me) without hesitation. He has listened to me whine and cry and say crazy things as we moved, transitioned from 3 to 4/5 (mom-in-law). He probably doesn't care a rat's rump about breastfeeding, but he'll listen and act interested and he tells me what I need to hear - even if I have to tell him what it is I need to hear. I love you Emmanuel (I know you secretly read our blog) and this Thanksgiving and for the rest we will share together - I am thankful most for you. It is because of you that I feel strong and supported in what I believe is the most important work I will do in my life.

Chagua

Friday, November 21, 2008

Look at Ben's chubby cheeks - he's almost 10 lbs this week!
Abuela and Ben chillin' on the couch - I love how she always talks to him and tries to make him laugh.
Emma holding Ben's hand while she watches TV - so cute!
My little man after a bath.


My mother-in-law left on Tuesday. She was here with us for 4 weeks. I just have to take a minute to stop and think about how loving and selfless she was for giving up her life for a month to come be with us (mostly me and the kids). She doesn't speak English, so being here in the first place must be weird for her. And then, it's no secret that we've had our differences in the past, and she still bought her ticket for the amount of time she did. While she was here, she unpacked and organized almost the entire house, ironed Emmanuel's entire closet full of clothes (which is A LOT), and spent hours and hours in the kitchen cooking and washing dishes. We had fresh hand-pounded corn tortillas every day. Last week when Emma was sick, she pretty much took care for Ben for me. She was always willing to jump right in and change diapers, clothes, get snacks, water the lawn, whatever needed to be done. All she asked for in exchange were rides to her favorite shopping places and a few trips requiring endurance to Wal Mart. I am so grateful for her and everything she did for us when she was here.

Gracias Chagua por todo lo que hiciste mientras estabas aqui. Fue bonito tener dos mujeres pendiente de Emmanuel, Emma y Ben. Nunca te voy olvidar por tantas trastes que lavaste, panales que cambiaste, y por cuidar a Ben mientras Emma estaba enferma. Gracias por sacrificar tu tiempo con la familia en Veracruz para estar con nosotros. Seguro que te les extranaban muchisimo. Esperemos visitar muy pronto (febrero?). Con mucho amor y carino, Michelle, Emmanuel, Emma y Ben.

Our Two Babies

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Emma really wanted to hold Ben, and when I actually let her, she got a kick out of it.
Sometimes she needed a little help :) Check out his smile!
Ben covered in blocks and completely content with it.
Emma playing blocks with her brother...she actually says the word "share" while she is piling them on...

Ben is oficially 3 weeks now. Emma has been doing great with the transition. She needs a reminder or two to be gentle, but otherwise she's excited about her little pal Ben. Unfortunately, Emma has step throat right now and has been running a pretty high fever since Sat., so things aren't going as smoothly. I think last night was the worst of it (knock on wood). Thank goodness my mother in law is here for 6 more days, otherwise we'd all be crying. Poor Emma just wants mommy, so mom in law has taken over Ben for me.

Ben is getting chubbier and changing everyday. He turns his head to voices he knows now, and he smiles for me all the time. Nobody believes me though because I'm the only one who's noticed it. Today he was on my shoulder wide awake and he stretched up his neck straight up without help, leaned back a little, and looked right at me. Haha I guess he wanted to see my face. I loved that moment. I bet he's more than 8 pounds now. He finally fully fills (say that 5 times fast) the newborn and preemie clothing we have for him. We are bottle feeding and nursing at least for now. I don't know why I find nursing so hard! It seems so easy for the moms that exclusively breastfeed.

And that leads me to me and Mr. Garrido. You know, the second kid is way different for us. We don't feel as...hopeless haha. We know there will be an end to the fatigue. It's funny how the way you value your sleep and eating habits change with each kid. It was a shock with Emma to not be sleeping 8 hours a night. Now, we don't really care or pay that much attention to it. Like I said, it must be because we know it will pass. I think we kind of got converted into warrior parents or something with the birthing experience, too. If we can handle that intensity of an experience, these bouts of uncomfortable sleepy nights and days are nothing, right?

Happy Halloween!

Sunday, November 2, 2008

It's a miracle anything came together this Halloween...but we did manage to have some fun ;)
Emma getting ready to go out Halloween night.


I was trying to get her to smile!


Enjoying the rewards of having walked around the neighborhood for half hour...


The Wed. before Halloween we did Trunk or Treat at our old ward...this is the only family shot we have so far with Ben!