Memorial Day Weekend

I have been wanting to sit down and write a post, but just haven't had a long stretch of time to do it.

We had a really nice long weekend. It started off on Friday night with the decision to move Alexia to Diego's room. This meant our bedroom was OURS again. They cried each other to sleep, which took about 20 minutes and then they were both out...phew! Ricardo and I stayed up late and played our favorite board game (Settlers of Catan) for the first time since Alexia's birth. It was the perfect start to a long weekend. On Saturday we woke up early (not by choice!) and had a yummy breakfast, got dressed and headed out the door. We stopped by a French cafe and had a coffee and muffin, much to Diego's displeasure. We told him we were going to a festival where there would be clowns, so he was looking for clowns at the cafe. He was a little nervous about the clowns so he kept saying "No quiero ver los payasos" (I don't want to see the clowns). Ricardo and I bursted out in laughter when the people at the table next to us stood up and and left, Diego said "Mami! Ya se fueron los payasos!" (Mami, the clowns left!) He thought they were the clowns!

After our coffee break, we headed to Decatur for a Children's Arts Festival. It was HOT out and there were a ton of people. Diego enjoyed watching all the kids, climbing a tree with Ricardo, playing with hoola hoops, playing on a playground and hanging out on Ricardo's shoulders. Alexia was a champ and just hung out in the stroller the whole time.

On our way home we stopped by our favorite Indian restaurant to pick up lunch and headed home to pig out! The munchkins both took long naps which was great. After naptime, we went to the pool and Diego and Papi had a blast. Diego took his soccer ball with him and loved throwing it in the water and having Papi fetch it. There were big kids jumping and splashing all around so Diego was in paradise.

On Sunday we went to church and Ricardo kept Diego with him. When we take Diego into the service we have to split up because he behaves perfectly well if I'm not there (nice, huh!?) It was a special chidren's sermon so Ricardo took Diego to the front row and he did really well and loved being up with the big kids. After church, the whole congregation (or most of it) headed to our semi-annual church picnic. It was a blast. There was delicious food, awesome company and a park full of frisbees, dogs and wild kids. Diego didn't stay with us - he preferred to be in the middle of the frisbee games and swinging on the swings with his buddies. Everyone watched over him for us and I enjoyed a nice lunch, sitting on a blanket with Alexia and some good friends.
After naptime on Sunday we headed to a park once again, to play frisbee and soccer. This boy will be a pro before he's 4!

On Monday we went for a drive to look for some houses and then headed to the.......ZOOOO!!!! We arrived early enough to beat the crowds and the scorching heat. Our friends, Caitlin and Patricia met us there too so Diego had a blast. He was most enthralled by the gorillas and orangateans. Once again, Alexia was a superstar and did really well just hanging out in her stroller. She has become such a mellow baby, for which I am infinitely grateful. Outings are so much easier and I love knowing that she's enjoying herself along with Diego.

Diego didn't want to nap in the afternoon, but Alexia and I took an almost three-hour nap while the boys walked to the mall and did some errands. When they returned, we got ready and headed to our favorite dinner spot. Meals aren't as enjoyable as they used to be with Diego because he gets antsy and wants to get down to play. La Fonda Latina is the best place ever! As long as we get a booth table, we know that he'll be happy and we can enjoy our fabulous food. Diego ate a lot of rice and beans, but didn't want to touch his quesadilla. To end our special weekend, we went to get an ice cream cone and then headed home for some much needed rest.
We were sad to see Ricardo return to work on Tuesday, but we were thankful for such a fun weekend together as a family. Diego really loves having Papi around and I can see a difference in his mood, he is so happy with him.
I have a bunch of picutres on my new camera, but still haven't uploaded them to the computer, so here are only a few...more to come...!

Our favorite table at our favorite restaurant!

Heart-breaker or what?!

Ice cream break with the ducks

Saturday Tea

Oops! I thought I had published this post. We have some fun outings planned for the week so I will post again in a few days...! I don't have much time to write so will just leave the post where I had left it...

On Saturday we went to visit our special friends, Christy and Andre and they served TEA AND SCONES!!! As soon as Diego saw the scones on the platter, he said "Queiro un scone!" He knew exactly what they were.

Thank you for a special afternoon Christy and Andre!

Beauty hurts

Our baby girl is now a true Salvadoran, with pierced ears. Ricardo and I took her to get her ears pierced on Monday. We didn't want Diego to be present so we dropped him off at school and then went to the mall. It was so hard to sit there and hold her knowing I was making her endure pain for vanity. But she sure looks cute! She screamed and cried and was very upset, but I nursed her right away and she was fine. Baby girls get their ears pierced practically at birth in El Salvador so it was only fitting that Alexia get hers pierced.
Diego loves looking at her "aritos" (earrings) and asks to touch them, but has resisted the urge (so far).
We have had a good, but busy week so that's why there haven't been many posts. Diego's last day of school is on Monday so we're planning out our summer and what activities we'll be doing.
We are also back into the home-search because we terminated the contract on the house in Roswell. That has kept me very busy, looking for homes online and going out to see them with our realtor. Diego loves going to see homes so that makes it easier.
Tonight Ricardo and I are going out to dinner with some of his colleagues. I am really looking forward to an evening out!

Here she is...!

The best Mother's Day ever!

Yesterday was an extremely special day - my family made me feel very loved!
The morning started off with a breakfast of my favorite fruits and delicious pastries. We went to the early service at church to attend the baptism of our dear friend, Grayden Johnson. Following the baptism, we celebrated with the Johnson family at a wonderful restaurant. They had a tent in the gardens and it was such a special time. The outdoor pictures below are all in front of the tent where Diego ran for hours with a couple of his buddies. Grayden has a big brother who is close to Diego's age so it was special for us all! We were there for almost three hours and it was the best Mother's Day lunch I could have ever wanted. The food was truly outstanding and we ate sooo much!!
Diego and Alexia both zonked out in the car on the way home so Ricardo and I had a little bit of time to hang out together at home. Alexia was up before too long so Ricardo took her with him to do some errands. Since her birth, I had never been at home without her so it felt strange...but I enjoyed the chance to lay down for a snooze while Diego was still sleeping!
Ricardo came through the door with dinner from my favorite Indian restaurant. It's pretty far away so we don't get to go very often, but since Alexia fell asleep in the car, he jumped at the chance to drive a long distance.
I knew there were presents for me, but I had no idea what presents. Well, I was shocked to find that my sweet husband (on behalf of my sweet children) bought me a brand new camera...a digital canon SLR! I am soooo excited!!!! I love it! They also wrote me a card that made me cry and then to top the wonderful day off, Ricardo had an art project planned. We took the hand-prints and foot-prints of both kids and framed them with a picture of the two of them - very sweet.
We put the kids to bed around 7:00 and enjoyed our delicious Indian food!
Thank you family for a fabulous day!!!!!

Alexia's first feeding!!

After six months of exclusive breast milk, Alexia has now entered the world of solid foods. She loved it! I didn't think she would be very hungry, but I sure was wrong. The initial portions are tiny, but she gobbled up the 1 1/2 tablespoons of rice cereal that I prepared and I'm sure she would have eaten more had I let her. Now I am excited to feed her cereal in the evenings to see if it helps her sleep any better!
Last night I told Diego that Alexia was going to try food for the first time and that we had to set up her high chair. He was so excited and jumped right in to help. This morning he kept asking for Alexia to go in her high chair to eat.

Yesterday we met some friends for a Mother's Day Picnic and had a blast. Diego loves to play with soccer balls and one of the moms saw him and said "Oh wow, Diego is amazing with that ball." It's surprising to see how well he kicks the ball and how much control he has - he will make the Salvadoran family proud!!



I love the look on Alexia's face here, like "Oh yah, bring it on!"


"I'm ready!!"


She didn't get too messy - I was expecting worse.



Alexia's first time in a swing - she loved it and was cracking up


There was a toddler playground, but Diego only wanted to be on the side with the big boy slide


Alexia did so well putting up with the big kids!

SUMMER TIME!!!

Yesterday marked the beginning of the summer for the Lopez family - we went to the pool!!!! (Well, the boys went to the pool while the girls observed) Diego and Papi had a blast at the pool - Diego really really loved it. The water was freezing, but that didn't stop him one bit. He even went under the water with Ricardo. It was a blast.


I haven't posted this week because I am behind on everything...and I mean everything! It has been an adjustment to get settled back in after a month away, but we're getting there.


I will give more of an update tomorrow, but wanted to leave you with some pictures...!

We're home!!!

It feels so good to be home! Our trip was fabulous, but there really is no place like home. The flight back went really well and the kids did great. The flight had plenty of empty seats so we were able to take Alexia's carseat aboard and she took a 4-hour nap. Diego was very disappointed that there were no personal TV's (like on the way there), but he got over it quickly.

Today is Ricardo's birthday so we started the morning off with his favorite breakfast (apple-puffed pancakes) and will continue the celebration this evening. Diego asked to make cupcakes for Papi so we'll do that in the afternoon. For dinner we'll have blackened tuna with bok choy - our favorite!

We still don't have a camera so there are no pictures to share, but just wanted to check in and let you know we arrived safe and sound. Praise God!