Hoppy Easter/30 weeks!

Well I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter Sunday. We spent Easter Sunday morning at mass and then brunch downtown. Sofia had her Easter basket filled with some goodies. I think she could really care less. The Easter bunny visited Erik too, I guess he's been a good boy!

On another note,Whohooo! 30 weeks down 10 to go as of last Sunday. I still feel pretty energetic about 70% of the time, or at least Sofia pushes me to think I feel energetic. I really don't have a choice with her. But she is so fun. She is so happy all the time. We have some good times!I had my 30 week check up last week and Hektor is measuring perfectly.I am very anxious to see what he weighs at birth. Sofia measured small during my pregnancy and she was 6.15, so I'm hoping he's not much bigger, although daddy wants a monster. Time will tell. Less than 10 weeks to go!

Fiesta!

Well San Antonio has "Fiesta" every year, so Sofia had her own Baby Fiesta. We had about 10 baby friends come over to play. They were so cute, as always!

Sofia 11 months, Hektor 7 months... a little late.

Well time has flown by! I can't believe this time next month Sofia will be one year old!
Sofia at 11 months:

*She is talking aka babbling, A LOT!

*She is constantly on the move, crawling from one thing to another.

*She can climb up all the stairs in our home and fast. She knows she isn't allowed but she can't help herself. She sits at the bottom and smiles at me and then takes off. We just got gates last night so thats the end of her stair fun.

*She has 2 little teeth, the bottom ones. I know Jeanne said Hansons got teeth later than most but I am so surprised she was right on! Most babies her age have at least 4or more. This is really limiting what she can eat, still everything in puree form.

*She does not like new food. And does not like anything with texture. I'm just being patient on this one. I don't see the need to rush her into the chunky stuff. She eats well and is gaining weight well so I think its fine. I don't think she will want to eat any birthday cake. Maybe I'll give her ice cream instead. Everyone has to have a treat on their birthday!

*She still has a bottle for nap times and bed.

*She likes to dance to music.

*Her hair is getting long, you just can't tell because its curly and it curls up.

*She is currently sleeping well through the night. She naps about 1.5 hrs in the am and again around 4 pm.

* SHe is really independent. She will play for a good while by herself and then come looking for me. Not to worry I keep my eye on her at all times, she just doesn't realize it.

* She has been eating food I make in the food processor. This was a transition because I couldn't get it as smooth as baby food so she had to get used to some texture. PLus I leave the skin on all the veggies so that makes it a bit thicker. Most nutrients are found in the skin of veggies so I thought it was important to leave them on.

* She has had NO vaccinations and shes doing well. She has had one stomach virus, one ear infection, and runny nose and congestion so far. But her immune system is strong and shes doing fine now.

* She is very affectionate. She loves to cuddle with her teddy bear and her baby, and mom and dad of course!

* She says bbbbb when she sees her baby and pppppp when she plays with my make up. The PPPP sound is because I always say oh pretty when we play with make up. LOL

* She enjoys having her hair brushed and watching in the mirror. Its so cute.

* She has had more interaction with little ones her age, and shes developing better social skills. Its not so much that shes shy it seems she just likes to observe for a while, then she will join in.

* She is pretty dramatic. Erik has already said shes too dramatic for him. HAHA! When she doesn't get her way she has this fake cry and she puts her chin down to her chest and pretends to sob. I've noticed its worse when shes tired.

*She has stood alone total of 3 times. I think shes perfectly happy crawling, don't know when she will want to walk.

*She is in 12 month clothes and they seem to fit her perfect for now.

*She wakes up grumpy 50% of the time and 50% of the time she wakes up happy. I just never know. But she does enjoy her sesame street in the mornings while laying on a pillow until shes fully awake.

* Her appetite still comes and goes depending on her teething situation.

As far as Hektor goes, he is getting stronger and bigger. I can def feel his movements...and I can see my clothes move.He is very active. We have a check up on the 19th to monior progress. From here on I will begin check ups every two weeks.
I beleive he is now around 14.5 inches weighing over 2 pounds, the size of chinese cabbage!
As for myself I can tell we are into the third trimester. I'm a lot more tired than usual. I am not sleeping well at night due to discomfort. I have aweful heart burn. I remember heartburn with Sofia but not til the very end and not this bad. I can't even eat mustard! Which is really a bummer for me since I LOVE spicy food. So the countdown is on! As of today I've gained a total of 13 pounds and I think I am expected to gain 10-11 more in this last trimester. So good thing the gym has a daycare.
Erik's doing well. He took his PE exam last Friday, won't know any results until June. But he stays pretty busy with work, work around the house, and all his reading.
Overall we are all very healthy and happy (when we are rested, lol) :)

Encouragement for Today

I recieve these daily emails titled Encouragement for Today. Some days are better than others. I liked this one for some reason....
Shocked by My Own Advice
Lysa TerKeurst

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."
Matthew 7:13-14 (NIV)

Devotion:
The choice is mine. If I want to be a sold out somebody for God, I have to break away from the everybody crowd.

Today's key verses are not easy for a girl who wanted nothing more growing up than to fit in. Don't cause waves. Don't stand out. Don't stand up. Don't rock the boat of norm in anyway. Just go with the flow in the same direction as everyone else.

But somewhere along my Christian journey, going with the flow started to bother me.

Verses like the one above in Matthew 7 and Romans 12:2, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind," started to mess with my status quo existence.

Conformed or transformed? The choice is mine. If I want to be a sold out somebody for God, I have to break away from the everybody crowd.

This is a message I shared with my son one day when he came to me scared. He admitted things had gone a little too far with his girlfriend and wanted help processing what to do. They hadn't crossed every line but enough that he knew they were headed in a dangerous direction.

We sat on the back deck and processed the situation together. We read a list of empowering Scripture verses seeking to filter every part of this situation through God's truth. In the end, he and his girlfriend came to the realization they needed to break up. It's really hard to put things in reverse after certain lines have been crossed.

I walked back into the house after that conversation with two things running through my brain. I was thrilled my son came to me to talk about such a sensitive issue. What an honor to breathe Truth into his physical struggle.

But, I was also feeling a little panicked at the realities of parenting older teenagers. And that feeling led me straight to the pantry, convinced I needed some chocolate. I deserved some chips! As I loaded my arms full of treats, I was suddenly struck by a gut wrenching question. How can I expect my son to apply Truth to his area of physical struggle but refuse to apply it to my area of physical struggle?

Ouch. I was shocked by my own advice.

If I wanted to model what it looks like to live out truth in my physical struggles, I would have to break up with unhealthy choices. God made me to consume food, but food was never supposed to consume me.

Making healthy choices with my food would have to be part of my breaking away. I would have to distance myself from my distraction if I wanted to become truly transformed.

What's your distraction? What's the one way you can start to break away from the everybody crowd?

The everybody crowd says, "if it feels good it is good." The everybody crowd says, "don't deny yourself... that's so old school." The everybody crowd says, "everybody's living it up – so should you."

Conformed or transformed? The choice is ours. If we want to be a sold out somebody for God, we have to break away from the everybody crowd.Dear Lord, I want and need to live apart from the everybody crowd. Free me of my distractions. Remove my insecurities. Help me to follow You with my whole heart. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Erik's 33rd Birthday

eriks bday cake. decorations came out so lumpy! but it tasted sooo good. and im not even a chocolate lover. its a recipe for chocolate fudge cake from hersheys.com


lunch with daddy!

So today is Erik's 33rd birthday! I remember this day last year so well. His 32nd birthday fell on the same day I was 36 weeks with Sofia. Now one year later she was right there to celebrate with us! We took him to lunch, made him a cake, and got him a bottle of his favorite scotch. All in all I think he had a good birthday. Once he gets through this professional engineering exam this Friday I hope he can relax with some Glen Levit and a cigar. Prayers and positive thoughts would be appreciated Friday (4/8) as he takes his exam.

Pics of New House

FYI this house will be work in progress for sometime. The house is a great house, in great condition but the elderly couple living in it had everything plain white. The appliances are new but things like cabinets and counter tops are not. It was a very well taken care of home so nothing NEEDS replacing but in order to be a bit more modern I would like to replace some things. But I think Erik and I will have fun along the way with various home projects.
I'll add more pics as we complete rooms. My next project is the nursery. I will be painting it a pale yellow and we are using baby farm animals as the theme. I went with something gender neutral since Sofia and Hektor will be sharing the nursery so I can get them on the same sleep schedule. The next room will be the play room, decorated with Sesame Street or Dr. Suess I can't decide.
So basically the pics are of the downstairs, the 4 bedrooms upstairs are plain white and I didn't see any point in photographing them.Ialso didn't photograph the formal dining since it is currently empty.
Oh!Our master bedroom is downstairs but plain also. I can't decide what I want. Erik and I aren't are the same page either so we will see how it turns out. He wants brown blinds on the windows! Almost gave me a heart attack, absolutely not!
We are getting our kitchen and dining room tables this weekend, I am overly excited about that.Eating on TV trays gets old, quick!



Mom and Claudia hanging wall paper in formal dinning



Claudia painting the kitchen



Sofia supervising from her desk



Mom Painting


Dad Painting



more painting...ok this picture was staged, but I really did help.



family room...kitchen behind it, where the stripes are is where our kitchen table will go.



family room, view from kitchen



view from upstairs



Formal living



Guest restroom

First Dip of the Season

Sofia had her first taste of the swimming pool this past weekend! I didn't let her get in all the way because she has had some ear problems recently. She got in waist up and she loved it! I can't wait for her to start swim lessons!