Christmas 2011

Christmas has officially come and gone and I can't tell you how sad that makes me.  The Christmas tree is due to be taken down, the presents have been opened and the awful month of January is looming.  But this Christmas has been one of the best ones yet...even though we had no snow!  We had two new additions to our families - Juan's cousin Miguel and his wife Alejandra had a baby, Madeline Angelina, and my cousin Irene and her husband Dan had a baby, Clair Zofia.  I'm hoping Sadie and her new cousins grow up to be good friends.  We also got to spend Christmas with my Grandpa who was released from the hospital the night before!

We put up our Christmas tree in record time this year thanks to our nephews Iziah and Ethan.  I was excited to show it to Sadie, but to my surprise she wasn't impressed with it.  She ignored it for the first week or so, however, after her friend Silas came over and showed her how fun it is to take the ornaments off she quickly followed suit and hasn't stopped since!  Opening presents seemed to confuse her a bit, she didn't understand why she couldn't play with one gift before moving on to open the next.  She also acquired a love for the classic Christmas movie A Christmas Story.

Here are some pictures from our Christmas.

Christmas Eve

Miguel, Ale and Maddy

Christmas morning by Abuela's...enjoying her new chair

Christmas Day by my Mom's side...can anyone find Sadie?

 Clapping for herself on a job well done

 Cousins on my Dad's side

 Sadie, me and Elle

 Irene, Clair, Sadie and Dan

Happy New Year!

Thankful

I know this blog is supposed to be about Sadie's adventures, but I think this story is a part of her adventure. 

For the last year, I've had the privilege of staying home to raise Sadie.  It's been a trying yet wonderfully fulfilling and rewarding experience.  A privilege I truly hold dear to my heart.  So a couple months ago when Juan and I realized our current financial situation may no longer make this possible I panicked a little.  We were exceeding our budget by about $400 a month.  It's not like we were on the verge of being homeless or hungry, but it was very hard to stay afloat, and with the holidays just around the corner timing wasn't ideal.  We tried thinking of every way to cut our budget and make additional income to make ends meet.  We both felt in our hearts that one of us staying home to raise Sadie is the best for our family, so we were challenged to learn to trust God to provide a way.  Not that we shouldn't do anything about it, but just that we should learn to trust him with the situation.  I've seen his faithfulness in this area to others, but I just wasn't sure if he would do it for me.

Earlier this month I found 3 one hundred dollar bills in my coat pocket.  I couldn't help but tear up.  I knew God was behind this no matter how they got there.  I was so encouraged to press on and few days later we received a letter from our mortgage company stating that our monthly payment will be lowered by about $400 a month!  And we got a "bonus" check from them for the difference of what we overpayed!  We were ecstatic to say the least.  Some may jokingly say that Santa came early, but I bet I'd be on the naughty list if that were true, wouldn't I Babe? ;)  All jokes aside, it's because of God's loving provision over my life, and luckily he loves me whether I'm naughty or nice.  He's my dad, he'll always love me.

I wasn't sure how he'd come through, and to be honest I struggled believing he would.  But he did.  And I just want to thank and acknowledge him for doing so.  Too often I am distracted by the busyness of life and don't spend time thanking the One who gives it to us in the first place. So here I go...thank you for a wonderful husband, for my precious little girl, for parents who love me and continue to lavish me with generosity, for two incredibly sweet brothers, for "in-laws" that blow stereotypes of in-laws out of the water with their love for and generosity toward me, for my grandparents and extended family who have always loved me.  Thank you for health, for financial blessing, a roof over my head, and for friends that speak the truth even when it hurts.  Thank you for sending your Son, his death on the cross, and resurrection to life.  Thank you for softening my heart to the gospel, thank you for your Word, thank you for your promises... thank you for today. 

"And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus."  Phil 4:19

"Not to us, O LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness." Psalm 115:1

So again sweet Sadie, let this be a reminder that God's got you no matter where you are, no matter what you do.  His love for you is neverending.  He has taken care of you since the beginning and will continue to do so until your last day.  Put the LORD before you, and you will not be shaken.  Love, Mom.

Fall is Fleeting

Fall is fleeting... which means that these shots of Sadie in the leaves might be the only leaf shots I get this year.  I'm hoping for one more nice day this weekend so we can take a family picture for our Christmas cards, but so far it's forecasted to snow.  At least I got these while I could!

Sadie loves being outside, so I expected this photo shoot to be a breeze.  But getting her to look at me, let alone smile, was a chore. Good thing she's cute whether she smiles or not!

 Mysterious

 

I love how she examines everything

 Never fails...she's got to taste EVERYTHING!  From sticks and stones to grass and dirt...she's tried it all!

 Why do I get the feeling I'll be seeing more of this look in the years to come?

 We took a break and went to the park in her new wheels - thanks Tio and Tia!

 Still lovin' the swing

Fall Photo Shoot - Take 2 with Papi

  There's a smile!

OK time to put the camera away

Latest Stroke of Genius

In our house, eating is an exploration.  We smell, touch and taste our food.  Though it’s not complete anarchy — we draw the line at spitting or throwing food, and I’m not too patient when Sadie wipes her greasy hands in her hair.  Nonetheless, she still manages to be covered head to toe with food.  And although she's mastered the art of eating with her hands, sometimes they just don't cut it.

Why use hands?  

Cut out the middle man

 So proud :)

 I realize we have quite a task ahead of us in teaching Sadie proper manners, but for the time being I’ll take my messy-handed vegetable lover over a well-mannered picky eater.  It’s not like she's an animal (though it appears like it sometimes), it’s just the way she gets the most pleasure out of eating.  :)  As long as she's eating, we're happy.  

Happy Halloween!

This year was Sadie's first official Halloween.  Juan's workplace invited the kids to trick-or-treat around the office in costume.  Being that Sadie is a bit too young to trick-or-treat and she's been under the weather, this was the perfect way to spend the day.  Sadie dressed up as a pink elephant and got a LOT of candy.  So much that we didn't have to buy any to pass out to our trick-or-treaters, and we had leftovers!  It was a lot of fun, but we mostly enjoyed the experience of seeing Sadie in her costume.  Here are some snapshots of our day.    

In case you can't figure it out, Juan was a whoopie cushion

 I was a supermodel ;)

Doesn't she make an adorable pink elephant?!

We are really looking forward to Halloween next year when we'll be able to take her out trick-or-treating.  I already have a costume in mind that I am going to make!  I just hope it's warm enough.  Happy Halloween!

Happy Birthday!

Sadie turned one a couple weeks ago. I keep getting comments that it's time to have another one! But for now we're just enjoying our little mama... and boy does she keep us busy! She's been a little clingy lately, maybe because she's been sick, but it's a bit challenging when its time to cook dinner or quickly straighten up the house.  I've been trying to cherish this time though because I know it's fleeting...it won't be long before she prefers dollhouses and barbies to sitting on my hip!

One of Sadie's favorite things to do is go to the park.  So when the weather turned out to be cold and rainy on her birthday we decided to take her to Little Beans Cafe, an indoor play space and coffee shop.  She had a blast!

We had a huge birthday party for her with our families and friends over the weekend.  We were expecting about 70 people so the frugal option was transforming our garage into a party room.  It's a good thing we had good weather otherwise people might've had to eat their dinner in the bathroom!  Sadie didn't ham it up quite as much as I had expected, but I think it's because she was starting to get sick (she had an ear infection in both ears by the end of the week).

Thanks so much to everyone who came and blessed Sadie so generously.  It was a bit overwhelming to be so showered with gifts.  I'm afraid she's well passed spoiled at this point.  Thanks to Juan's mom for getting the cake - it was so fun and special!  Thanks to my Mom, Mami Chuy, Tia Maricela, and Luis and Claudia for the delicious food.  Thanks to Brittney who tagged along with Sadie and me to the Dollar Store one too many times (and rolled the silverware in napkins...and cut the burlap for the favors!).  We would not have been able to do it without you guys.  And thanks to Evita (and my brother) for the adorable birthday outfits!

So, Happy Birthday Sadie.  You are one loved little girl!

At Little Beans Cafe

 She loved sliding down the slide, but also trying to crawl up it.

 DIY centerpieces

 Me and my Man

 Just woke up from her nap

 Taking it all in...poor thing looks so out of it :(

 We hired a magician!

 There were more than 20 kids at the party!  Polish/Mexican families for ya!

 The delicious cake!  

I wasn't going to post pictures of the guests but I made an exception for these guys since we don't get to see them very often.  From the left is Juan's Tia Loli, Sandy, Layla (his cousin), behind Layla - her daughter Jordyn and husband RaShaad, and to Juan's right - Layla's niece Payton.  Thanks so much for venturing out for Sadie's big day guys!

Jordyn was hiding behind her mama's head in the picture above and I just didn't think it would be right to keep you guys from seeing this beautiful face!  Isn't she a cutie?!