Antigua, Guatemala Pt. 1

We recently returned from an amazing adventure in Antigua, Gautemala for my best friend and Jackson's godmother's, Sophia's wedding. To say we had a good time is an understatement. It was magical! 

The lion cub LOVED the sights, the streets, and especially the hand made toys :)

 

His favorite part about the trip however was the time he got to spend with his 'primitos'. My cousins came in all the way from Honduras JUST to meet our sweet boy and he was in heaven! He got to spend time with 'Tio Hector', Samuel and Jose Miguel and I got to spend time with their moms (my cousins) Lya and Ada. And my aunt & uncle of course. 

Jackson enjoyed some pool time, major car crashing, and even a short pajama party with his cousins.  

 

We got to tour all around the beautiful and very romantic city of Antigua, eat yummy food and even see a volcano or 3! Jackson and I even tried to blend in with the locals in our choice of attire--we were major hits amongst the wedding guests and the locals ;)

 

Cousins...

 Cousins...

 My dad, his brother, (Tio Leo) and my cousin, Ada and I. Ada and I are both expecting boys and only two weeks apart in our pregnancies. It was so great seeing her and especially seeing her pregnant.

 The beautiful ruins at Casa Santo Domingo...

 Complete with mummies...

 And Lion cubs! Playing with his cars no less...

 St. Joseph Cathedral in the main square...

The Santa Catalina arch...

 La Merced Church...

 And finally, and what left us all in awe, the Lenten procession. Each Sunday during Lent, one of the local churches sponsors a procession through the streets of Antigua. Elaborate carpets made up of sawdust and decorated with flowers, fruits and vegetables adorn the churches themselves and groups of individuals are asked to carry statues of the Virgin and Christ carrying the cross throughout the city streets.

Seeing this was most definitely a spiritually rewarding experience and one that I will never forget. I'm so glad I got to experience this with my family and especially with Jackson.

 

He was just as moved as I was, (despite his face in this picture) and couldn't wait to tell Gigi about how he saw, La 'Virgen Maria'! 

It's moments like that make me feel like I'm doing something right with this kid ;)

Antigua, Guatemala--an AMAZING experience and BEAUTIFUL city. Lots of love, laughter and just plain fun was had by all...

 Next up--Sophia and Gustavo tie the knot in Antigua! 

Early Valentine's

This year we won't be in town for Valentine's festivities so we had to make Jackson's Valentines ahead of time. I'm sad he's going to miss the party, but I'm hoping his teachers and peers love their cards!

On the well being of Dos.

Don't know if I've mentioned it before but we've been calling this 2nd baby 'Dos' because Jackson is 'bebe numero uno' and Dos is well....Dos. He's the 2nd baby :)

Dos deserves more attention, as this baby is getting bigger and bigger and Jackson is becoming more and more aware. We've told Jackson he's going to have a baby sibling that he gets to take care of and play with. Jackson doesn't really seem to understand there is a real life baby in momma's belly but he enjoys playing around. 

At first he thought everyone had a baby in their belly and went around telling everyone with bellies that  they were having a 'bebe'. It made for some pretty embarrassing moments but also some hilarious ones. About a month ago he grabbed Abuelo's belly and said, "Abuelo! Bebe en panza!". Needless to say my dad has (hopefully) been eating healthier. 

 I have to constantly remind our cub to please not pounce on my belly and it is so hard to NOT carry him ALL the time because he asks so sweetly and I just can't help but pick him up. He's been as sweet as ever, not jealous at all and as always, VERY attached to me.

The other day we asked Jackson what he wanted to name Dos and he said, 'Bebe Jackson!'. So this kid may be named Jackson as well ;). Besides being congested (due to severe allergies) this pregnancy has thankfully been easy and Jackson has (also) thankfully, been easier than usual.

I'm hoping this ease continues moving forward but I'm thinking it's only going to get more riled up as we found out recently Dos is another boy! 2 boys! We're thrilled! Me especially--as I'm fairly certain I'm better off surrounded by males and clearly, God thinks so as well!

This kid...

He's such a ham...

Jackson turns 2!

As y'all may have heard, our sweet boy turned the big 2 on Friday January 18, 2013! He awoke ready to conquer the day with his morning coffee milk and a surprise when we turned the lights on in his room. 

As soon as he finished his milk (he's VERY serious about getting his milk FIRST thing in the morning)  he enjoyed his streamers, balloon and got to open his first set of gifts. 

 He loved the super cute school bus and fire truck from Gigi & Abuelo and added it to his ongoing collection of Green Toys.

Next up was breakfast--Jackson got to eat his kolaches and scrambled eggs out of a dump truck! I normally don't incorporate his toys into his meals which is why he's looking a little confused instead of elated ;). 

We decided to keep the rest of the day low-key as we were gearing up to celebrate at his party that Sunday at Rolly Pollies. 

Rolly Pollies is a kids gym that I've taken Jackson to a few times and we decided to have his party there because he really goes nuts every time we go. 

Our cub definitely had a ROARING good time and I'm fairly certain his guests did as well! 

 I loved seeing all the kids at the table together eating their empanadas and cupcakes...

and then THE CAKE came out! If you recall, last year Jackson had the same cake--yup that's right peanut butter/banana or 'The Elvis' as the bakery calls it. Jackson's FAVE! 

We've noticed every time we sing him 'Happy Birthday' in front of his amigos he gets a little shy and puts his head down. I'm glad I got to capture it because it's a really sweet gesture and really, the only time he actually settles down and acts demure. Even lion cubs need to purrrr sometimes :)

 After a LONG nap (and another cup of milk) Jackson got to open the rest of his gifts. He loved each and every one and I'm SO thankful there weren't too many because y'all should seriously see our house. It's like a crazy toy store up in here!


Plus we've also noticed that he seems to appreciate and love things more when you give them to him one at a time instead of bombard him with a lot. He's pretty methodical about his stuff. I wonder where he gets it from?

All in all Jackson had a wonderful 2nd birthday and I am extremely thankful for all of the friends and family that constantly surrounds us in our boy's journey through life. He is truly blessed and I  can only hope that this is always the case. Every year his village gets bigger and bigger and my heart grows with love because of this.

Let the party begin!

This past week we celebrated our little cub's 2nd birthday. I'm soooo glad he was able to have multiple celebrations and more so that he enjoyed each one SO much! 

First up we had cupcakes and singing at school the day before his birthday. Jack and I showed up during the kids' lunch time and they were all finishing up just in time for us to hand out cupcakes to each one.  

 They all looked semi confused but elated to have chocolate in their little hands and went along with the singing. It was TOO cute!

Jackson was pleased to have all of his 'amigos' singing to him: 

That night we had a small family celebration and made Jackson's favorite--sea bass (with a side of butternut squash risotto). I know, he's so fancy ;).

Jack says he has an expensive family. Even Chaucer eats way-too-expensive dog food (Dr.'s orders). Sometimes I feel sorry for Jack...sometimes...

 After dinner we sang 'Happy Birthday' again and celebrated with some fancy Cars cupcakes Jack ordered especially for the boy.

 He of course LOVED them! 

 and dug right in! 

 He went straight to bed shortly afterwards and dreamt of chocolate cupcakes and being two. I'd say he had a GREAT start to his birthday! Next up--more celebrating!

New Year...New News!

 Happy 2013 everybody! A little late? Well, I'm only now getting back into the swing of things after a much needed RELAXING remainder of my 2012.

As previously stated, Jackson and I spent the rest of our 2012 (and so far the majority of our 2013) in El Paso. Jack flew up for New Year's weekend and we spent New Year's Eve as a family, quietly at home...

 Well, after a 5:30 dinner that is. These days it's pretty difficult to wrangle our cub in a restaurant so dinners have to be pushed up to senior citizen time. Once upon a time, we were eating dinners at 9pm, checking out parties by 10:30, and then hitting up some after parties around 1am. Those days are LONG gone and now we're home happily asleep by 9. What fun no? But I digress...

Dinner was fun, and most exciting? We were awoken at midnight by what sounded like gun shots and the dogs going mad. We couldn't figure out what was going on until we remembered, oh wait! Happy New Years and those guns are fireworks! Wow! Clearly we RANG in our New Year's ;)

And the news? Well...Jackson is going to be a big brother! The reason for the delay in sharing is; 1) It took me a while (like 12-14wks along) to actually believe I was pregnant and 2) We've been SO crazy busy, it seems like since September (month of conception) that I really haven't thought too much about it. 

That being said, we are OVER THE MOON excited, have been VERY thankful for a smooth, easy pregnancy thus far and cannot wait to meet the newest member of the family due June 5, 2013! I promise to post more updates on the pregnancy but I'm hoping that this remarkably easy pregnancy means a remarkably easy delivery/baby (yea right, right?!?!). 

Here's to an exciting 2013 full of love, laughter and a new baby!!!