Back to reality!

School is officially in session and things are getting back to a regular routine around the Diaz home.  Elena has been doing great at the babysitter's this week and we are excited that grandma is coming tomorrow to give mom and dad a morning off from getting baby girl ready to go...we just leave that for grandma!  Ahhh, a few extra minutes of sleep in the morning...at least we hope!  Elena will be 9 months old next week and we just cannot believe it.  Before we know it we will be thinking about a first Halloween costume and first birthday...so many exciting memories awaiting us in the months to come. Elena is eating textured foods that abuela has made (pureed chicken soup, beef and noodles, and stews to name a few), and drinking bottles with no trouble at all and appears to be gaining some good weight.  Her belly is getting plump and her little legs are starting to get some serious rolls :)  Elena is just the cutest thing in the world.  She is now able to feed herself some Gerber puffs and it's just so hilarious to watch her pick one up and get it into her mouth.  Sometimes I will hold a puff thinking she will just take it out of my hand to eat it, but she just grabs my hand and pulls it towards her mouth so I can just put it in for her.  Smart girl. We love just watching her "gum" the puffs until it's gone.  Again, cutest thing in the world.
Elena is always on the go from the time she gets up in the morning to the time she falls asleep.  She is crawling everywhere and cruising with little trouble.  She continues to get into the dog bowls when we aren't looking and she enjoys trying to pull open cabinets that she shouldn't be into in the first place. Elena continues to find a love of books and stories.  We read a lot in the evenings after she eats dinner.  It's such a precious time. I hate that our evenings go by so fast, but our girl is SO tired by the time 7pm rolls around...she is asleep by 7:30pm without missing a beat and sleeps all night...Juan and I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful sleeper that loves sleep as much as we do. She is our sunshine in the mornings when she wakes up with a huge smile on her face and squeals of happiness to start a new day.
Below are some pictures from the last few weeks...we just continue to enjoy the "everyday life"...the simplicity of just being a family is was makes us so happy!

 Me and my Mittens

 Those carrots were delish.

 Grabbing a puff

 Stomp your feet...clap your hands...

 Love you, daddy!

 Muah!

 I'm cute

 Grabbing a good book...

 Clearly, she is an advanced reader.

First Days of School and Daycare...

Well, the Diaz family made it through the first full week back to work last week...I don't have time to upload pictures now, but will hopefully find a second sometime later this week!  Elena is starting to get back into her routine at the babysitter's house and mom and dad are getting back into school routines as well.  Elena had some good days and tougher days with her nap schedule and being crabby, but by the end of the week, she was doing well.  We hope this week she is her sweet self all day for Brenda!!  It was a great week back, but SO tiring.  I truly forget each year how tired you get after a full day taking care of kids.  But, there is no way I would trade my job for anything else.  I mean, seriously, getting to read with kids all day long and be outside on gorgeous days watching them play...and get paid for it?  Keep me signed up...
Elena continues to grow faster and faster.  She LOVES to crawl into the kitchen and open cabinets...we got latches for those today :)  She can pull herself up on our bookshelf and pick out books she likes...yesterday it was Harry Potter...she is obviously an advanced reader.  Elena is eating a variety of foods...including chicken soup, sweet potatoes, mixed veggies, and lots of different kinds of fruits. Juan's mom continues to make such great homemade food for Elena and then grinding it all up for her to eat.  What a treat for her to have homemade food at almost every meal! Elena is saying lots of sounds and getting close to an official "mama" sound.  Right now she is doing a lot of "gaga" and "ba" sounds, but every now and then we will get a "mama"...when we do we make sure to point to me in excitement!  Now to work on "dada"...
My mom was able to come out to watch Elena on Friday and I know Elena was happy to be able to stay home for the day to play with one of her grandmas!  They went out for walks, read lots of books, and played.  I know it was a great day for both.  I'm so excited that my mom and Juan's mom are able to come when they can to watch Elena and get some extra baby time in...it's also awesome because that means we can be kind of lazy on those mornings not having to get Elena ready to go anywhere.
We are on our way to our first full week of school with kids, meetings, etc...Here's to a great 2012-2013 school year for our family!  Pictures to come soon...

Summer Days Driftin' Away...

So, today is Juan and I's last weekday off for the summer.  I find myself secretly excited about starting school again next week, but then getting a bit sad about the fact that we won't be home together like we have been for a long time. Sure, weekends are awesome, but they are nothing like summer vacation.  I'm not kidding when I say this has been the most incredible summer.  Elena has blessed Juan and I's life in so many ways and by being able to spend so much extra time with her this summer and being able to see her make so many milestones has been so much fun.  From scooting to crawling to pulling herself up on anything, this summer has been full of activity for our baby girl. She is eating solids with no trouble and we are now moving into foods with texture to them...some of the homemade foods Elena has been eating have had textures to them, but now I am starting to leave a little extra so she starts getting that chewing motion under control. We gave her some Gerber puffs the other day for the first time and she loves them.  She's not quite there to putting it in her own mouth, but we help her out with that.  I know that will come soon enough.  I'm just glad she is working on her chewing motions while eating the banana puffs.
With summer days winding down, it makes me reminisce about all the wonderful things we got to do with Elena this summer because we were off from school...waking up to her noises, not an alarm clock...morning walks around the neighborhood and being drenched with sweat when we got back because it was a thousand degrees outside already at 8am...reading TONS of books all day long...banging on pans on the kitchen floor while mom cleaned up breakfast...getting on a daily nap schedule IN HER CRIB...sleeping through the night ALL SUMMER (we hope this continues)...spending lots of days in her diaper just because it was so hot...swimming in the pool for the first time...finding a new favorite TV show-Super Why! (8am PBS)...getting to see Elena crawl all over the house and get into things she shouldn't be getting into...going on a roadtrip to Florida with family...and most of all-just having our days to do whatever we wanted, even if that meant just sitting on the floor playing and talking. 
I LOVE LOVE LOVE summer and I cannot wait to spend many more in the years to come, but here's to another great school year coming up!

8 Months Old and Florida!!

Elena turned 8 months old on July 30th.  She spent her eight month birthday on the beaches of Ft. Walton Beach, Florida.  It was a beautiful family vacation.  Elena did AMAZING riding in the car for 14 hours...Juan and I couldn't believe it either that she was so well behaved.  The only time Elena fussed for an extended period of time was when she was tired and didn't really want to fall asleep.  Eventually she gave in on most occasions.  She even slept for a three hour stretch on the ride to Florida.  Needless to say, our little passenger was a trooper.  We have been spending our days since we got back from Florida getting back into our regular home routines and it hasn't been too bad.
While we were in Florida, Elena got to spend her days at the beach and pool.  She absolutely loved the water in both places.  Grandma bought her a mesh floatie that even had a top to it so she could have some shade while floating in the water.  Elena was in heaven!  While we were on the beach, we had a small blow up pool for Elena to sit in and play under an umbrella.  She loved that too.  Even I got in the pool with her a few times to play.  Elena was great at taking naps at the beach too.  Grandpa appeared to be the best at getting her to sleep.  She enjoyed the warm ocean breezes under our large canopy while she slept...I think grandpa snuck in some nap time too. 
Juan and I also celebrated our 8 year anniversary while in Florida.  We feel so blessed to have so many people surrounding us with unconditional love and support at all times.  We can't wait to spend many more anniversaries together.
There were many other highlights on this vacation too like eating Chick-Fil-A almost every other day, going deep sea fishing and catching 3 fish...two of them were mackerels, and having the best chicken fettucini I have ever had while watching the rest of the family chow down on buckets of seafood...Juan and I are not the biggest fans of seafood, but what an experience it was at the Old Bay Steamer...when I say buckets of seafood, I mean buckets of seafood...Juan and I were definitely entertained while I ate my pasta and he had his delicious steak.  Oh yeah...Elena slept through everything.  Ha!
All in all, it was nice to get out of town for awhile and spend some time away at the ocean.  The ocean is just so calming and makes you realize how beautiful our world truly is!  Surround that with family, food, and great drinks...you have a recipe for a great vacation.
Besides vacation, Elena has been making more and more milestones of her own this month.  She is crawling and pulling herself up on everything she possibly can.  She is addicted to Sesame Street. She has two bottom teeth that we have been trying to get a picture of, but haven't been successful yet!  Elena is drinking 8 oz bottles at most of her meals now, which should help her continue to put on the pounds...we go for a weight check this Wednesday!  We need to start working harder at using a cup to drink since that hasn't been her most favorite thing to try. Elena continues to sleep through the night...she goes to bed by 7:30 most evenings and wakes up between 6-7am. She is the most curious little thing now.  Everything is interesting to her. She gets very angry when you take something away from her that she is playing with or looking at.  If she has pulled herself up into a standing position on something dangerous, like a kitchen chair, she gets just as angry...until we distract her with something more interesting. Elena still uses her binkie to help her fall asleep at night.  She doesn't use it all night long, but it is still just as much of a soother now as it was when she was born...the only plus now is that she can put it in her mouth on her own!  I just put a few in her crib each night at bedtime and she is good to go just in case she needs it.  I know down the road it may be tricky to wean her off the binkie, but for now, it works.
Next week is the first week back to school.  This has been one of the best summers ever.  Being able to stay home and be with Elena most days has been a blessing. I can't believe it's already almost over. I know she will be happy to get back to her friends at her babysitter's house, but mom and dad are sure going to miss her everyday!  Don't get us wrong...Juan and I are both excited to see our students again and get back to our "real world" routines, but summer vacation is always a great time to just be home. Hoping to post more again soon...here are a bunch of pictures from the last few weeks.

 First day at the beach

 Getting ready to get in the ocean!

 She loves it!

 Fun times with Aunt Erin and Uncle John!

 A nap with Grandpa

 A bottle after some squash...mmmmm

 Precious girl sleeping on the beach

 Celebrating 35 years of marriage!!

 Diaz feet

Kisses from Aunt Michelle

 The ride home is boring.

Elena loves popcorn just as much as her mom :)

This was taken earlier today :)

Crawling, Cruising, and Pulling Up!

Even though it has only been a few weeks since I last posted a blog, SO much has happened between now and then with Elena!  It seems like every few days she has something new to show us.    First of all, Elena is no longer scooting everywhere...she is officially crawling around anywhere she wants to get...the dog toy basket, the dog bowl, on top of our cat Mittens...you name it, she wants to get into it.  We were warned many months ago about this stage and at times how we would long for the days when we could just lay her down to play on her tummy for awhile and she would still be in that same place when we returned just a few short minutes later...those days are officially LONG gone.  We have the most curious daughter. She wants to be a part of everything going on.  If she's not, she will definitely let you know with a loud scream or whine...if she is on the floor, she will drop her head to the carpet...face down...and cry until something distracts her.  And it begins...
Elena is also pulling herself up onto anything she can.  The couch, toys, baskets she has conveniently tipped over to make it easier to climb on, and even magazine racks.  This child is going to give us a run for our money!  We are so thankful that my mom had a toy at her house that was perfect for Elena to stand up with and play...it has become a staple in our living room now.  She cannot get enough of this Leap Frog play thing...it lights up, talks to her, sings...all in English or Spanish.  Even Juan and I can tolerate the noise it makes...it's not obnoxious, so it is a perfect addition to our play time with Elena.
Elena is eating all baby foods with no problems at all.  The mixed vegetables I made were not a hit until I mixed them with carrots.  Now, they are just fine.  Juan's mom made a whole bunch of home made baby food for Elena, so that is in our freezer just waiting to be eaten.  This child will NEVER go hungry, that's for sure.  Now, if we could only get this baby to pack on just a few more lbs!!  Elena goes back to the doctor in a few weeks for a quick weight check and that's it...no well baby check ups until September.  She has been just a happy, healthy baby since she was born...we thank God every single day for this.  Elena continues to amaze Juan and I everyday...we have no idea how we got so blessed with such a beautiful baby girl...we just hope we do our best everyday to make her happy and give her the life that she so deserves.  Below are lots of pictures and a few videos from the last few weeks...she is just getting so big!!

 Getting up

 Of course this is where I found her...

 Interesting.

 Love me some measuring spoons

 I said, "NO MORE PEAS, MOM!!"

 Fell asleep at abuela's

 Good Morning!

 This is how I play now.

 Sure, I can stand by myself now.

  

Homemade Baby Food!

So, I finally made the time to make some baby food.  Yesterday afternoon turned into a cooking afternoon of steaming and pureeing.  I started with a bag of frozen peas, steamed those, pureed them, and put the puree in an ice cube tray to freeze...those were super easy...I figured I'd keep going and try carrots.  I steamed a whole bag of baby carrots and followed the same process as the peas.  They look good...Elena hasn't tried them yet...maybe for dinner tonight.  I had some apples left over in the refrigerator, so I decided to cut them up, peel them, and cook them for awhile too in order to make applesauce.  Again, it looks like it turned out OK, but Elena hasn't tried it yet.  All of my veggies and fruit are in their nice little ice cube trays ready to be put into freezer bags now...just need to get out to the store to get some.  I think this is definitely something easy that I can do all the time.  It really didn't take long at all...and now that I've done it once, I know it will just get less and less time consuming.  I will always have some jars of baby food on hand, but I would say most days Juan and I will be using the home made stuff as much as possible.  Elena can almost eat 2 cubes of food, so I know it will go fast...I'm not complaining, though!  She's always been a great eater. 
Other than making baby food, we have just been enjoying our lazy summer days at home.  Taking naps, going for walks, sitting in the pool, and just watching some Sesame Street has been the extent of most of our days. We run errands here and there, but not often.  Just being at home has been wonderful...we don't get to do that very often, so we are enjoying while we have the time.  Juan and I have been taking turns during the day to get out and exercise as well.  It has been great to get back into running again.  Should be ready for a 5K this fall. 
I spent most of this morning straightening the house up and getting one bathroom (except tub) cleaned...the tubs always take me too long and I wasn't in the mood today... ;)  I stepped into Elena's room and finally got finished with a project I've been meaning to do for a few weeks now, but have been avoiding it...putting away MORE clothes that don't fit her anymore.  While she played with all her toys and crawled all over her room, I cleaned out her drawers and closet and folded up everything that she won't be able to wear anymore once it starts getting cold out again, or just plain doesn't fit her anymore...our girl is getting too big too fast!  So many cute clothes never to be worn by her again...total bummer!! We have two tubs full of clothes, socks, hats, receiving blankets, swaddles, etc. that we won't need for Elena anymore!  Don't get me wrong, this girl has a closet FULL of beautiful clothes still waiting to be worn.  But, some of the sentimental outfits and onesies had to be put away.  Just reminds me that we are continually moving on to the next step. Below are pictures of the last few days...the video is right before Elena had dinner, so she is in a fussy mood...all the chomping you hear in the background is Homer having his dinner...Elena wanted to get in on the action, so she is army crawling towards her big brother...

 Just me and my friend

 Elena loves to play with the plastic bag holder

 Milk beard

 Carrots!

 Applesauce/Apple-banana

 Peas

 On the move again...I promise mom doesn't let me get rug burn!

Apparently this is the cool way to hold a binkie now...