FBK

The title stands for "Fashions by Kathy." My mom's cousin works at the Agape house and when donations come in, she picks out little outfits she thinks all these new parents will be able to use. The majority of Isa's closet comes from her generosity and keen eye for child fashions. Every time my mom asks me where I got the cute outfit for Isa I always say FBK. Kathy has turned out to be such a blessing to my little girl, quite honestly when I lost my job I wasn't sure how I was going to outfit my princess appropriately and waiting for me at my mom's house before Isa was even born were 2 bags full of clothes. It was one of God's signs telling me that life would definitely change, but He would provide. In the pictures is one of about 5 Christmas outfits Isa has received from Kathy. Thanks Kathy from all of us!! (please note the scotty dog tights!!)

screamers

I'm sitting here listening to Sam and Isa scream themselves into dreamland for the afternoon. Each day it breaks my heart a little because when I was younger I hated going to bed. I was positive my mom was having a party that started at 8 pm sharp and I was never invited. I laid my sorry little head in my bed and cried for what seemed like hours after I had tried every trick in the book to stay up. I understand now that nap/bed time is just as important for the mom as it is for the kids. I have so much stuff to do while those 2 are asleep I barely get their snack ready before they wake up again. So for now I'm trying desperately to remember that this is for their own good as well as mine and soon I will be able to snuggle and love on my little girl again.

The little big girl!!

Isa took her first steps about an hour ago! We're so excited to have a little walker on our hands. I'm excited about Miguel being home not only to catch such a big moment live but also on video.

Also attached are pictures of Koren's visit with her daughter Katie. Sam, Katie, and Isa all had a blast playing with the piano on Friday. Again, these were the only pictures of all of them together I could get.

The 2 Cherubs

Sam and Isa are so cute together. They talk to one another and crack each other up with all their noises and the things they do. Isa's very into reading right now. She likes to read to her stuffed animals when Miguel and I can't sit on the floor and listen to her. In the picture is her favorite book that she got for Valentine's day. She loves how thick the pages are and all the bright colors. I hope this sparks a love for reading. Miguel and I were read to as children and we both like reading now.

The first picture is the best one of Isa and Sam I could get. They were not cooperating with the camera this afternoon. The next ones are of Isa reading to her lamb and then taking some reading time for herself.

Crafty Mama

OK, last night I had one of the most frustrating experiences that anyone who has sewn anything can completely relate to. For years I have said that I will make Christmas stockings for Miguel and me. I have put this task off because of the time-suck that is being a teacher. This year I do not have that burden so I thought that this year would be the perfect time to do this since I did not have to put my family on hold to make and grade finals and deal with coaching and all that other stuff that goes into working in a school. I bought the fabric and made the pattern and everything. Miguel bought me a sewing machine that does embroidery and I wanted to put our names on the top. I started Miguel's, the font I was using turned out to be terrible, I tried a different font, it stitched out wrong. I moved on to my stocking, I got to the LAST LETTER and all the bobbin thread spun out and I had to take the bottom half of the machine apart to extract what looked like a Sesame Street monster out of the machine. Isa's font was too big for the top of the stocking. At that point I had been working on 3 names (a task of about 20 minutes) for over 2 hours. I took a shower and went to bed where I had nightmares that some thread-laden being was chasing me down a hallway and making my baby cry.

I'm ready to try this again at nap time today but I'm only giving it 1 shot. If this does not work I'm putting it on hold until Miguel can deal with Isa and I have some more patience. The agony of being creative!!! If these stockings turn out they will be awesome though. Here's hoping!

2 Kiddos

When my sister asked me to babysit my nephew I had my reservations. She would be working long hours and Sam would be here A LOT. I had no idea how to deal with a 14 month old child and do my 10 month old child at the same time. The other factor of my nervousness came in seeing Sam's 2 older brothers be older brothers to him. Perfectly natural behavior, but unnerving to the mother of the world's calmest baby. Isa's not a screamer or a cry baby, and when she wants your attention she just crawls over to sit on your lap for a while. There's no battle for mommy time or lap real estate. Sam knows how to push and yell for these things, Isa has no clue.

When he started here I got worried because he wasn't napping well and cried a lot. I'm so happy to say that I think we all are on a new horizon. Sam is taking the same nap Isa does, they're eating more of the same foods, theyr'e both getting along with the dog and the yelling and crying for attention has all but stopped.

I might go so far as to say that being here is good for everyone. Sam is Uncle Miguel's alarm clock and morning greeting committee. He shows Miguel his stuffed rabbit and hugs Miguel's legs every morning before he leaves for work. Sam is my workout. There's nothing like chasing after a kid to really burn off those calories. And he is Isa's playmate. She looks for Sam every day and points to his booster chair when she's eating and he's not there.

I'm so glad this could work out for everyone, but for now...both babies are asleep and I have a huge to-do list today!

My 2 sweeties

It's not often that we get great shots of more than 1 person in our household. Either Isa decides at the last minute to look away or scrunch up her face or one of us looks like we have 2 chins or something else horrible but Lynn caught a couple of pics of Miguel and Isa that I just loved.
The first one is of Isa and me in front of the St. Louis Art Museum, it's one of my favorite expressions of hers that she makes.