Mother's Day

Mother's Day started a little early this year. Jackson decided to give me my present on Saturday because he just couldn't wait. I got some pretty rad sunglasses to match his and I absolutely love them. He really likes when I wear them too because he can see himself in the 'anaranjado' (orange) part of them. I secretly think this is why he got them for me ;)

Sunday, actual Mother's Day, we all woke up a little later than usual (THANK YOU BOY!) and headed to brunch. Not before having coffee though. You know how that goes.

I may need to stop going to Starbucks so much though as our lion cub has memorized my order and now asks me in the drive through, "Mama, cafe de mocha o latte?". He even knows I switch them up! Jack just stared at me when Jackson said this today. Busted. 

 We had brunch at one of our favorite restaurants, Perla's. They have a great patio and Jackson is fond of the fish tank and marlin hanging on the wall inside. It's the little things...

 Being a ham...

 After brunch we headed to the park, fed some ducks and ended our day by grilling and eating outside. The cub specifically asked to eat 'afuera' so he got what he wanted, and I have to say, it was PERFECT.

All in all a great day. Happy Mother's Day to all the lovely moms out there--especially mine and Jack's.

Jackson--thank you for choosing me as your momma, you are by far the best thing that has ever happened to me and I thank God daily for this. Love you Gordo!

Sea World

As mentioned in the previous post, Jackson had been asking to see dolphins/delfines daily. Along with flying on a plane, these requests were getting a little old because when he wants something Jackson will mention it all day, everyday until it gets done.  

 Since we can't take him to see dolphins in real life yet Jack decided Sea World would be the next best thing. I'm not gonna lie, I was skeptical. It's hard enough for me to even get out of bed these days and spending the day at Sea World seemed so daunting. I'm really glad I went though (I was this close to not) because otherwise you all wouldn't have a blog post to read and I would've missed the elation on Jackson's face the entire time we were there. 

Once there the lion cub meant business. He was R-E-A-D-Y to hit the park. 

 Not one to lose character however, he left his shades on for almost the entirety of our time there. He's recently discovered that they do, in fact keep the sun out of his eyes, (I haven't been making this up all along after all!) so he now feels that he NEEDS them constantly.

 After playing around on the crazy huge jungle gym, Jackson asked to go on a ride. His first ride ever! We thought he'd love it...

 Turns out he hated it and was screaming/crying for momma for the whole 15 seconds he was on it. 

 It was the saddest thing in the world and gut wrenching for the people watching and the operator handling it. We got him off straight away and he was fine after I hugged him and kissed him a few dozen times. Poor baby :(

After the traumatic event we told the boy we were going to see a show with dolphins. He was confused but curious as he thought dolphins only lived in the sea. I think he thought we were going to the ocean--turns out we were walking all of 20 ft. to an amphitheatre. Thank you America.

 I have NEVER seen Jackson enjoy something so much. It was worth every mile we drove and every penny we spent to see him thoroughly LOVE this show. He paid such close attention and took in everything with such amazement and awe that it almost (almost) brought tears to my eyes to see him so happy.

He got to see dolphins, beluga whales and beautiful macaws flying right over his head. He had NO IDEA what beluga whales were and didn't even fathom that dolphins could talk, 'walk on water' or jump so high.

After the show we took him to see the penguin/puffin exhibit. While it wasn't as exciting to him as the show was, he still took it all in and told us all about it. 

 The Cub was definitely more excited to see the 'tiburones, manta rayas and Dory fish'. Jackson has watched a lot of Finding Nemo recently so his associations are fascinating. He can pinpoint all sea animals and while a movie is admittedly not the best way to teach a child about the world, Finding Nemo has shown Jackson all about life under the sea.

He can tell you all about sea turtles, angler fish, clown fish, sea horses, starfish, pelicans, angel fish, sting rays, coral reefs, etc. etc. in English and Spanish. Ok, ok, I'm done bragging--but he can!

and here I am at almost 36 weeks pregnant. Yikes huh?!?! Jackson and I were fading FAST here...

 ...and speaking of fading. It took all of 53 seconds for Jackson to crash once we got in the car. It was crazy how fast he was out. Thank you Sea World for giving this boy the time of his life!

Baby brother's room

Since big brother Jackson got a new room I thought it would be nice to get baby brother a few new items. Mainly new bedding because Jackson made a true mess of his bedding and it was only fair for the newest guest in the house to have new sheets :)

His room is now complete with fresh sheets, laundered clothes (hung and folded) and even a new suitcase because Jackson is desperate to take his little brother on an 'avion' soon. 

Everyday he tells me, "Mama, vamos en avion, vamos a {insert city here}". It varies from El Paso to Chicago to "playa con delfines". He really wants to go to the beach recently and see dolphins. I keep telling him we have to wait for hermanito so now he reminds me of that every day. 

 

And speaking of hermanito--he is doing great. We are up to weekly Dr's visits and Dr. G has now assured me that unless we evict him, she is fairly certain he won't be coming until June. Everything is going according to schedule and besides being unbelievably exhausted and feeling massive I'm doing great. 

Jack, Jackson and I are ready to meet the newest guy in the house but not before he cooks a little bit longer. 

School Pictures

Jackson's school recently took class pictures and he was SO excited to get this done. We thought it was hilarious that he was running around yelling, "Picture Day!!! Fotos en escuela!" because I only take pictures of him almost daily and he never even bats an eye at me.

His class picture....

 And individual....

I thought they were cute and happy to purchase them. Jack is convinced they were taken by a blind lady who hates her life. Either way, we are pleased :) 

Healthy Ego

I know I'm prompting this particular situation by asking Jackson to perform, but I promise that this happens on a regular basis without me saying absolutely anything to him. He is constantly looking at himself in the mirror and giving himself 'affirmations' (as I've dubbed them) like, 'you look so cute' 'you are so cute' 'muy guapo Jackson' etc. etc.

While he is told on a constant basis how amazing he is,  I've never taught him to tell himself this. The mirror thing came entirely on its own.

I guess the self esteem thing was inevitable. I mean, he does have the most amazing parents like ever, period ;)

Potty Trained!

Not much more to be said right? Jackson has been officially potty trained! at 2 yrs and 3 months old our lion cub is D-O-N-E with diapers!

We started the process in El Paso during Easter weekend so he's actually been officially trained for a few weeks but I didn't want to say anything until I was certain he was free and clear of any/all accidents.

Well, it has been a whopping 10 days with NO accidents so I can scream it from the rooftops!

These pictures are of him showing off his big boy underwear (obviously) which he was happy to take because he is SO proud of himself. Just look at this stud ;)

Proud Punk!

I have to give all the thanks in the world to Jack, my mom, my dad, their 'people', my brother and sister-in-law. Without ALL of their help, none of this would have been possible. It was BY FAR one of the most difficult, excruciating things I have EVER done. ***Extra special thanks to my mom who read the most horribly written book of-all-time right along with Jack and I just to make sure we got the 'process' right.****

There were tears, there were cheers, but in the end there was LOTS of dancing, because you know what? WE ARE DONE WITH DIAPERS!!!!!

...Well except at night time, I don't expect lion cubs to hold it 12+hrs a night. He was doing well at night but it was because I was getting him up at 11pm and 3am to go. It wasn't good for this grumpy baby, and it definitely wasn't good for his momma. I need my sleep too. 

In the end, we are happy clams because I'm not dealing with changing tables/diapers/horrible smells/etc, etc. So no more diapers for this momma....That is until for another six weeks! YIKES! 

GREAT JOB JACKSON! You DANCE your underwear-wearing butt off boy! 

Hello Dos!

Recently I decided to get a 3D/4D ultrasound for Dos. It was a last minute decision and mostly done to put my mind at ease. My doctor doesn't do ultrasounds after 20 wks and I'm a curious person so as with Jackson,  I HAD to get one done to make certain things were going according to plan.

Turns out they're great! Baby is coming along nicely and thoroughly enjoys eating his hands, swallowing amniotic fluid and kicking his momma like crazy. Ahhhh the life of a fetus.

I'm thankful I don't have much more news than that. The sonogram itself was more eventful as Jack couldn't make the first one so both of my brothers went with me for moral support. We waited for an hour, the baby would NOT let us see him, the sonogram tech gave me apple juice to make the baby move, he didn't so then I did some jumping jacks. My brothers were not pleased, told me to stop jumping up and down and then the tech went ahead and rescheduled me.

The second time around Jack was able to attend and we got some pretty good movement from our little friend. I know the pictures themselves look like something out of Total Recall but like I said, I did for my peace of mind. Plus, it makes more sense in person. Trust me.

Also, we asked Jackson what he thought of the pictures of baby brother and he was more interested in the mint he saw in my purse. Dos, you are loved. Truly.