It's Been Awhile

Wow! It has been a long time since I've been able to sit down and put my fingers to the keyboard for anything other than an email here and there.
I am starting to feel the exhaustion of nursing - and being a mommy. I thought that maybe Augie would sleep a little bit late on Sunday - since we were all up a little late on Saturday night - NOPE! He was actually up earlier than usual. I did get in an hour nap, but it just wasn't enough. One of these days . . . I'll take a 2 hour nap!!!
Leading up to the weekend, Augie has been doing his "work out" in the mornings and really strengthening his back. Lots of trunk lifting going on:

Then the attention - of course - goes back to the hand!

Following our back strengtheners, we decided it was time to warm up the 'ol throwing arm! We're getting better at holding things!

And getting them to our mouth!

Other mornings we relax and just enjoy the fact that we can all be together as a family - we are so blessed!

And our favorite treat . . . any time of the day . . .
is AN AUGIE SANDWICH!!!


On to Saturday - We prepared to spend a day in the sun for Marathon Kids. Always fun to get outside when the temperature is in the mid to high 70s! Augie played while Mommy double checked if we had EVERYTHING we needed to make it through the day - stroller, hat, sun block, snacks for mom, milk for Augie, changeS of clothes (because of the constant diarhea he's had all weekend), and the essential diapers, etc.
HE IS SO HAPPY . . . WITH LIFE!!! LOOK AT THIS SMILE!!!


He looked older, like a little boy, in his outfit and hat.

He just keeps growing.

Putting the speed of his growth aside (so I can take things one day at a time), we prepared for our next holiday. EASTER! Time to take pictures for our family's gretting cards. We checked out our park on the way home from Marathon Kids - and returned later with Dad.
I say "our park" because it was where I took Gus when we had first started dating, where Gus proposed to me, where we took our engagement pictures, and now where Augie took his first Easter pictures. They always maintain the park beautifully AND the flowers at the beginning of Spring . . . are AMAZING!!!
It was ridiculously windy, but we did ok. We took lots of pictures.
We had some struggles:

Attempted to fix them:


Grabbed some pics with the parents!


And captured some really adorable moments in between!


And of course there was the one that made the card:


God bless this Easter season - and all of the living creatures we get to enjoy because of Him!

How Can You Feel So Deeply?

I will keep this short and sweet. I think you all - especially moms - will understand.

I looked at my son today, and my eyes filled with tears. Tears of amazement and love. I cannot believe that this wonderful little man is mine. He came from Gus and me, and I can barely remember my life before he arrived.

There is a sign above the receptionist's desk at Augie's doctor's office. It says:

"A Baby Fills a Place in Your Heart That You Never Knew Was Empty!"


How perfectly stated!!!

Getting More Transitions in Check - But Enjoying Every Ounce of Augie and His Rapidly Developing Personality

So, we have returned home from our mini vacation at Pops and Grandma's house. We are in our big boy bed permanently now - and doing well! Augie went to bed like this:

And woke up like this!:

Notice anything (besides how happy he is)? That's right, he did a full 180 degree turn during the night. That boy has some serious frog legs that keep him moving!!!

We're also eating cereal 2x a day! Messy, but we're doing well!
THIS IS MY FIRST TIME TO POST A VIDEO!!! You have to watch - you won't be disappointed - I love how happy our son is. He just seems to really love life - and it is AWESOMELY WONDERFUL!!! This video just shows a little bit of that wonderfulness!


Not to mention, we're noticing the little man in the mirror - and it's very exciting!!! And we're breaking in our new jogging stroller. I was SO excited to get it, and it was just too windy on our 1st try to use it. Augie wasn't gonna have anything to do with that! But today was beautiful outside (and tomorrow and Friday are supposed to be even better)! We strapped in and walked, happily, for 30 minutes!!! We have also put away a bunch of our "little man" clothes, re-arranged to fit some or our new toys, and will have to start child-proofing soon. I think he's pretty close to rolling over - and then he'll be that much closer to being mobile!!!

Here goes nothing - and everything!

Fun With The Fam!

Wow, the amount of "down time" I used to have (which wasn't much) has disappeared completely! We seriously have a list of events (all of them wonderful and exciting - and most with the family) that go pretty much up through Augie's 1st b-day in November!

This past weekend, a long awaited trip to see my family was a breath of fresh air that was greatly needed. We spent a few days in Temple enjoying family, looking at land (I think we found what we want to buy - still a few things to work out though!), and helping Marci move and get into her newly finished house!

Of course there was a little play time - a lot of rocks are now at the bottom of their pond! And Gus did more damage than Elena!!!

Augie didn't take part in the rock throwing, but still wore himself out. Pops has a comfortable shoulder to rest on too!

And Mom's not bad either!

And Daddy's there to protect us both - and that includes sharing his hat to protect Augie's eyes. One of these days we'll find his own that fits him correctly! Until then, he can keep looking cute in his Daddy's!



And after a long day enjoying the weather, we returned to inside and spent some time with GiGi! We actually got to see her twice this visit. It was a blessing - as always!

And of course, time with the cousins! Elena (will be 3 soon), Alexa (will be 1 soon - already walking though), and Augie (4 months) all know the camera and the saying "Cheese!" VERY WELL!!!

Then there is the constant comparisons that Marci and I feel the need to continue since our kiddos are somewhat close in age (it's all in good humor though). Alexa is 11 months, walking, and wearing 6-9 month clothes and size 4 diapers. Augie is 4 months, is almost rolling over, and is wearing 6 and 6-9 month clothes and size 3 diapers. They are pretty much the same size despite those 7 months difference and I don't think it'll be long before Augie passes up his cousin!!! Now do you see why we compare?! :)


Returning for more fun at Marci's the next day . . . we had the opportunity to play a little more with Elena. She is doing pretty good with sharing - as you can see her try to share her kaleidoscope with Augie . . .

. . . AND HER LOVE!!!


Then back to our "home base" at Pops and Grandma's house to spend a little time before having to leave the next day. They are both SO wonderful!!!



As we prepared dinner that night, my dad made Gus a cold beverage to enjoy. He thought he was auditioning for "The Hangover - Part 2!!!" Poor Augie! :)

It's much cuter without the drink in the picture!!! My 2 wonderful boys!!!


And - at the end of a short but wonderful trip, he slept like a baby!!!


Can't wait until Easter - and we'll do it all over again!!!

Thank God for Digital Cameras!!! - And the Blessings He gives us to take pictures of!!!

And the person that he gave the brain to be smart enough to create them - and then the person that was conventional enough to make them small enough to take with us everywhere we go!!!

I hope we can try to make the amount of pictures equal for #2. I would hate to make him/her jealous of big brother. (When the time comes . . . which is not right now!)

Here's a lot - we have been very busy!

We missed our weekend writing last weekend because we had the opportunity to go to the Houston Rodeo with Martin and Christina (my brother and his fiance). Augie did GREAT! We enjoyed all of the events with little interruption. We LOVE the Mutton Bustin'! It is a fan favorite!



We also enjoyed some nice, sunny weather - and just being able to get out and about after all of this crazy snow and cold, cold weather of the winter.
Thanks for letting us borrow your hat Mart Mart! Sun is good, but not in your eyes!



The week prior to the rodeo . . . we discovered that nothing fit us anymore! Over Spring Break we'll be putting away all of the 0-3 months AND the 3-6 months clothes!!! One day everything fit, the next . . . 3-6 months are a little tighter and shorter than they used to be!!! We were eager to get to our 4 month check-up on the 10th and find out all of the stats on our little Staats!
Here are some of his new duds that he fits into now! A cute "FireDog" outfit from Pops and Grandma Lopez (6-9 months).


And a wonderful OVERALL set (WE LOVE, LOVE, LOVE OVERALLS ON OUR LITTLE MAN!) from Aunt Michelle(6 months)!


And a cute set of "monster onesies" that are his Daddy's favorite!


So - then we made the trek (very short trek) to the doctor's office on Wednesday afternoon. This was ONE EVENTFUL DAY!!!
Augie has grown in every way - you can especially tell when he's only in a diaper!!!

The doctor informed us that our boy is doing GREAT!!!
15 lbs. 4oz.
24 3/4" tall
and in the 50th percentile for height, weight, and head circumference!
No complaints here!

Then . . . came the hard part . . . more shots! He was SO tired and SO hungry, and we definitely didn't do as good this time as we did the last 2 times. Augie was VERY red and VERY loud for the last half of this appointment. Poor little guy - it was quite tear wrenching for Mom too! And then they put those little tweety bird bandaids on his chubby little legs - and TRY to make it all better . . .


. . . but in the end . . . a full tummy and a nap are all he really wanted!

The doctor also informed us that it would be ok to start the little man on some rice cereal. It has the iron that he needs (for a nursing baby), but we can introduce any other mushed up food that we want to try as well. I also thought it pretty interesting - he told me about a recent study that was done - it turns out that babies that are introduced to real foods sooner than 7 months have a lower rate of childhood onset diabetes!
So . . . that night . . . we ate our rice cereal for the first time!!! Oh what a messy, sticky, wonderful challenge!





Next step to work on - evening out Augie's head! He lays on his right side a lot, so it's a bit flatter than his left. So, we're supposed to try to help him lay on his left side more. At the end of a long day - doctor, shots, cereal - he almost automatically turned to the left when he KNOCKED OUT for the day! Our good little sleeper!!!


Next . . . I KNOW . . . THERE'S ANOTHER NEXT! HE'S CHANGING SO QUICKLY! THIS WAS A HUGE WEEK FOR AUGIE - AND MOMMY!
So . . . Next, we had to make the transition of Augie moving into his own room, in his big boy bed, away from Mommy. He's been sleeping through the night, so it's was "now or never!" We were going to wait until we got back from Pop's and Grandma's house for our weekend visit - then I'd have Spring Break to adjust and get up and check on him at night - and take naps to catch up if I needed to.
We were also going to leave Friday night for that visit, but a huge accident on I-35 prevented us from going . . . and I had already packed up the pac-n-play. So - to the big boy bed he went. I think he did better than I did. He slept all night, no problem. Sorry no pictures of him in his own room yet. It wasn't a first thought of mine to take a picture during the challenge of leaving him in the room on his own . . . when we return, I will take pictures. I think I'm over the initial blow of my boy's week of constant changes and growth now. HE'LL ALWAYS BE MY BABY!!!

I am SOOOOOOO glad that I have a camera - and pictures - to help me remember all of the tiny, first moments with my little buddy!



OH HOW HE HAS GROWN!!!

Thank goodness I can capture these moments - I know it will only be a few more moments until he grows again!!!