life according to the diaz's

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Snow Days!!

Juan, Elena, and I had another wonderful four day weekend this weekend! Due to the snow storm that came through on Thursday, we ended up being home all day on Thursday and Friday. It was so much fun on Thursday to watch the snow as it moved in. We didn't have anything going on when we woke up on Thursday morning, but it didn't take long for it to move in and dump about 12 inches of snow when it was all said and done. The coolest part about it all was that we had thunder snow! I don't think I've ever experienced thunder snow like we had on Thursday. It repeatedly thundered for awhile and the snow just kept coming down like crazy. It was so much fun to watch with Elena. Over this past weekend, we just enjoyed a whole lot of lazy time at home. I thought I'd get so much accomplished around here, but in reality, not much got done except getting toys out and putting them away and laying on the couch. I must admit, it wasn't horrible ;) On Friday, we all spent some time in the afternoon outside. Juan got the front porch and driveway shoveled and Elena and I played in the snow. She had a good time. Now, we are getting ready for another snow storm that may give us another snow day this coming week...I'd rather not have another one, but will enjoy the day if we are at home yet again!! Getting to spend any whole day with Elena is a blessing for Juan and I...she is so much fun and teaches us so much about life and love everyday. Pictures and videos below of our girl! She's getting SO BIG!

Learning her opposites

This is where I fount Mittens this afternoon, and why Elena's door is CLOSED when she sleeps!!

Getting ready to play in her first snow!!

Our snow angel

"Pick me up!!"

Being a helper.

She is never happy when taking a picture with me!! Ha!

That's better.

We are funny.

Getting ready to open the oven.

Homer was teasing Elena :)

Monday, February 18, 2013

Four Day Weekend!

I have never been so ready for a four day weekend! It feels so wonderful sitting here on a Sunday night knowing we don't have to be anywhere in the morning. I am enjoying some quiet time tonight on the couch watching pointless TV...and loving every second! We have had a fabulous weekend so far. I was able to get some cleaning accomplished on Friday while Elena took a long nap before Parents As Teachers that afternoon. Elena's development is right on track and she has a strong "leader-like" temperament. In other words, she is THE BOSS in all she does...not surprising at all. We made a bean bag and practiced throwing it into a bowl. She is getting better at this skill each day. Elena is still working on using crayons and not putting them in her mouth. She still thinks it's funny to put the crayons in her mouth and quickly pull them away when we tell her no. I have to sternly tell her no and put the crayons and paper away. This seems to be a bit of a trend for Elena...thinking it's funny to be naughty. If I give her the evil eye or tell her to stop what she is doing, she just looks at me (or whoever is telling her to stop being naughty) and says "Hi," in her sweet little Elena voice. It is hard not to smile when she does this. We all just continue to love her to pieces!! On Saturday, we went up to visit family for my birthday and my day's birthday. We enjoyed some awesome Chinese food and had a blast watching everyone play with Elena. It was a great way to spend the evening.
Elena just continues to grow up too fast before our very eyes. She is running around everywhere and talking up a storm. She is saying words like "thank you, hi, here you go, more..." and others too...Elena definitely understands more words than she can say. I can tell her to get my shoes and she can go to the closet and get my tennis shoes...it cracks us up! She is doing so great at the babysitter's house and enjoys her days at home with Abuela and grandma. Juan and I are so thankful week after week that Elena gets the care that she gets...both out of the house and time with her grandmas at home. We are loving every single second with our baby girl...she is the sunshine in our lives everyday. Even when she is looking at us yelling and stomping her feet about something, it almost makes us love her even more because she is so dang smart about what she needs and wants and is able to communicate with us. Life is good and we count our blessings everyday!!

Pictures and videos from the last few weeks that tells more of what Elena is up to...I can't seem to keep up with all that she is doing!! :)

Her funny hat...actually a shape sorter toy :)

Who needs pants?

Just love her hair!

Vapor Bubble Baths are the best!!

Reading an awesome story!

Now grabbing another...

Mom wanted a picture...Elena wanted to finish eating her cracker.

Windy day!!

Puzzles with daddy

First time eating an Oreo! Mmmmm!!

This bite looks good...

Just a typical night in the kitchen...notice the oven mitts nicely filed on the refrigerator?

Elena thinks our animals are total entertainment.

Don't mind the club music in the background...I was cleaning while she was reading ;)

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Baby Girl Sick Day!

Elena and I stayed home today because she is running a fever. Yesterday in the morning, she woke up with a bit of a runny nose and cough. It happened overnight, it seems. So, we took Elena to daycare yesterday hoping it wouldn't turn into anything too crazy. Well, as luck would have it, I got a text at around 1pm that Elena had a fever. Juan was able to go pick her up early and bring her home so she could rest. He brought her home and put her to bed almost right away and she slept until almost 5pm...I guess all she needed was her own bed, huh? I suppose that is all any of us want when we are sick. Elena was SUPER crabby when she woke up and wanted nothing but to be held. She had a few drinks of her milk and some juice, which was great. We decided maybe she was hungry for some dinner and she did eat, but right as we were getting ready to get up from having some dinner, she just looked at me a little strangely and all of her dinner came right back up. I felt so badly for our little nugget. She just started crying because she was a mess and I'm sure it didn't feel all that great either. We immediately took her to the tub, where she proceeded to cry the entire time as well...this little girl is obviously not feeling well because usually the tub is one of her favorite places to hang out! So, we made it a quick one. We got all ready for bed, had another drink of milk, took some fever medicine, and just laid down. Elena fell asleep very quickly last night and slept through the night until almost 7 this morning. I felt so much better knowing I didn't have to wake her up; I could just let her wake up on her own today. She was still running a low grade fever this morning...right around 100. She was still crabby and her nose just won't stop running! But, we have read a few books, played a few toys, and that's it. I laid E back down for a nap again around 8:30 and she is still sleeping now, about 10:00. My hope is that she will rest as much as possible today so that whatever is keeping her down will go away. I must admit, while I have a TON of work to do at school, it feels kind of nice to be home on a random Tuesday. I got a pot roast in the crock pot going and I made home made fruit snacks too. I can't wait to see how everything turns out later on today. We have also been loving the warm weather, windows open a bit, and thunderstorms here and there throughout the morning. It's been a great morning to be home. I am excited for E to wake up again so I can check on how she's feeling...I have been checking on her so much since she went down for a nap. Say a prayer for our little girl that she can get better soon!!

Sunday, January 20, 2013

January!

I just realized this afternoon that I hadn't made any blog posts this month...oops!! I can't believe we have been so busy with things going on that I haven't even thought about making a blog post. It seems like we have been filling our weekends with family time. It's been a wonderful month. Now that it has been getting cold most of our days, we tend to stay in our cozy house just playing and having fun! It's been nice to just spend some quality time together. Juan and I are both staying busy with our school work. Right now I am in a transition with students as we graduate students out of Reading Recovery and begin our work with a new round of students that need some intense help getting on track as a reader. It's always a very busy, but fun time of year to see how much the students I began the year with have grown. Many of my students couldn't read anything at the beginning of the year and now they are reading books with actual characters, dialogue, and pages full of text. It really is amazing work. Juan is staying busy with all of his students at school too. What an inspiration he is to them everyday...I know the kids he has don't always know it now, but they will realize soon how awesome of a teacher he is for pushing them to accept nothing but the best for themselves. Tough love, guys!! Elena has been growing so much from week to week. She is doing so well at the babysitters and has some really great friends there. We couldn't be happier that she is enjoying herself while daddy and I are working! Elena is eating so many new foods it's hard to keep up with all the new ones. We have discovered, though, that she has fine taste...no room for generic items. This baby is all name brand...ha! We are still giving her some baby food purees to be sure she is getting all the fruits and veggies her little body needs since she isn't so fond of the actual veggies just yet. We keep trying, though! Her favorite food continues to be any kind of cheese. She just loves it. This past Friday night Juan and I got some pizza for dinner and she at a whole slice along with some fruits and veggies. She is quite the little piggie! Elena is clapping her hands and lifting both arms to show us she is "SO BIG!" Elena likes to talk on the phone and she frequently calls my mom "on accident"...somehow if Elena gets a hold of my phone, she pushes something and calls my mom...it's too funny. Elena knows to hold the phone up to her ear and say "hi!" Elena can pull herself up on our couch...she thinks it's quite hilarious to just stand up once she gets up there and run from one end to the other...NOT funny in mom and dad's eyes. Juan got stern with her yesterday and told her to sit down and she just looked at him with those gorgeous brown eyes and said, "Hi there" in her sweetest voice...oh geez..she starts now. How can we stay mad at that sweet little thing?!

So, Elena just continues to get bigger and bigger on us...she is wearing shoes when we go out places now, is almost too big for her infant car seat, and LOVES to sit in the cart when we go to the store and say "HI" to everyone we pass. She is a little girl now. Our little girl...how can it be that she's not our newborn baby anymore? Time is passing too quickly...I find myself everyday thanking God for her and keeping her safe, healthy, and happy. We are just so lucky to have this little human being to call ours. She is our joy, our inspiration to be better people, and she is love personified. She is our Elena...Love you, sweet girl!!