We have decided we are going to make this a private blog so that only invited readers can view it. We are thrilled that so many people visit our blog and enjoy viewing it, but we would like to have a little more control over who that is.
So, if you are a reader who would like access to the blog, please post a comment and enter your email address so I can include you in the "invitation" to view the private blog. Don't be shy! Even if I don't know you read this blog, I will be thrilled to get an idea of who our audience is!
Sunday, January 30, 2011
We have had a really special, family weekend. On Friday, Ricardo and I enjoyed our date night in with steak (for him) and pasta (for me). On Saturday, Tio Aldo took Diego out to play soccer in the morning and then Ricardo went with them to a soccer store for Diego to pick out a bday present. He chose a soccer jersey and cleats.
Tio Aldo dropped them off at home and we headed straight out to lunch at a great hamburger place in our neighborhood. Diego had his first hamburger and loved it (Alexia has always loved them). The weather was glorious so we sat outside. We were there over an hour and a half and enjoyed our food, conversation and surroundings. We came home to play in the yard all afternoon and then made pizza from scratch for our family movie night.
Today we had a precious time of worship at church, then picked up lunch at Willy's and headed to a park near church. We ate, played and wallked around, staying there for almost 3 hours. The afternoon weather was splendid and we were thrilled be able to soak it in together.
We didn't have the camera (boo!) so I snapped a shot with Ricardo's blackberry:
Tio Aldo dropped them off at home and we headed straight out to lunch at a great hamburger place in our neighborhood. Diego had his first hamburger and loved it (Alexia has always loved them). The weather was glorious so we sat outside. We were there over an hour and a half and enjoyed our food, conversation and surroundings. We came home to play in the yard all afternoon and then made pizza from scratch for our family movie night.
Today we had a precious time of worship at church, then picked up lunch at Willy's and headed to a park near church. We ate, played and wallked around, staying there for almost 3 hours. The afternoon weather was splendid and we were thrilled be able to soak it in together.
We didn't have the camera (boo!) so I snapped a shot with Ricardo's blackberry:
Thursday, January 27, 2011
FIVE years old!!
Diego Tomas Lopez, is FIVE years old!! Wow, amazing. This child is such a precious gift from God. I'm not even quite sure what to write about him since I have about 10 minutes to write and probably 3 hours worth of things to say. He has always been a mellow guy, since the day he was born. He was a super easy baby and made 7 international trips by the time he was one since he was so easy to travel with (El Salvador twice, Canada twice, England twice and Mexico). He has a quiet spirit and is very reserved. He likes order, justice, peace, routine, but also loves to be hyper, wild and active. He can be just as active, hyper and crazy as a typical 5-year old, but more often than not, he is pensive and inquisitive. He loves, loves, loves his family and delights in spending time with all of us. He is passionate about soccer and plays every single day, whether inside or out. He loves to sing and recite memory verses and enjoys dancing and listening to music. If video games and TV were allowed in our house, he would definitely be hooked because he jumps at every chance he gets to play on friend's iphones. (We do watch videos and movies, but a limited amount). He is definitely the most handsome boy I know and I cannot wait to watch him develop into a charming young man. He is very smart and loves to learn new things. He is beyond just sounding out 3 letter words. He can now pick up a simple book and pretty much read through it. He can do all sorts of addition and subtraction and is learning about money. He loves to help out around the house, whether it's sorting laundry, sweeping the floor or cutting cucumbers. He has a great sense of humor and really loves to smile and laugh. He has some serious muscle tone and is quite strong. I am starting to ramble because I am running out of time and want to enjoy the bragging rights I have as the birthday boy's mom :)
It took longer to dry than expected so we are going to hit it on Saturday with Tio Aldo.
Making silly faces before opening presents
He showed us how he can jump higher, run faster and reach higher now that he is 5
Enjoying croissants bright and early
And the fun begins!
Alexia had a blast on this smaller slide
How big does he look here!?!?
Enjoying a game of air hockey
Ricardo tried to hang out and read a magazine, but Marco was determined to devour it. Check out the lil' lady. She wanted a break from the action and took this comfortable pose to hang with the boys. 
Enjoying ice cream after lunch. We didn't have lunch until 1pm so they were all so hungry that they did not leave a morsel of food on the table.
Sweet buddies
A car full of kids and balloons
Anjuli takes a hit...
...then Bennett...
...and Alexia...
...and the birthday boy.
The soccer cake 
I just had to post this picture of Alexia. This is a typical stance and expression of her and wanted to have it documented to remember it
Pizza with Aldo and Eliana
CAKE TIME!
Our greatest prayer for this incredible boy is that he will grow up to be a man of the Lord. We pray that he will walk with the Lord every day of his life and will not remember a time of not knowing Jesus. If it is God's will for him to be married, we pray he will marry a woman of God who will love him and respect him for who he is and the man God has created him to be. Dear Jesus, draw Diego to you and bless his path, may you be his saviour today and always.
Our new neighbor, Jamie, came over to help us make a home-made pinata on Tuesday afternoon. We dipped newspaper into a mixture of flour and water to make the paper mache and we just finished painting it today (Thursday). It's a soccer ball.
It took longer to dry than expected so we are going to hit it on Saturday with Tio Aldo.
Making silly faces before opening presents
He showed us how he can jump higher, run faster and reach higher now that he is 5
Putting the mark on the wall. He has grown 3 inches in the past year. Alexia has grown 4!
We let him create the agenda for the day, from breakfast to dinner and in between. The agenda went as follows: croissants and yogurt for breakfast, Jeronimo's mid-morning, Chik Fil A for lunch, bowling in the afternoon and presents, pizza and cake in the evening. We have always done parties in the past, but since most of his friends are in school now, we decided to make it a Family Fun Day. We invited Anjuli (she is homeschooled) and Bennett (his mom let him skip school for the day!) to join us for Jeronimo's and Chik Fil A and it was a blast! Ricardo and I were so pleased with how easy it all was with 5 kids. Lunch at Chik Fil A was a breeze because they were all so well behaved, sat quietly to eat their lunch and genuinely enjoyed the outing. What a blessing to be with well behaved children! After lunch we came home to do the pinata and then the kids went home. We met Aldo and Eliana at the bowling alley around 4pm and played one round. Diego and Alexia were very tired by that time, but had such a blast. Then we came home for pizza, cake and presents. Diego requested a strawberry cake so I made one from scratch and it was delicious. For presents he received a world globe from Grammie, a watch and adidas jacket from Mima and a set of soccer nets, adidas pants and t-shirts from us. He was thrilled!
We let him create the agenda for the day, from breakfast to dinner and in between. The agenda went as follows: croissants and yogurt for breakfast, Jeronimo's mid-morning, Chik Fil A for lunch, bowling in the afternoon and presents, pizza and cake in the evening. We have always done parties in the past, but since most of his friends are in school now, we decided to make it a Family Fun Day. We invited Anjuli (she is homeschooled) and Bennett (his mom let him skip school for the day!) to join us for Jeronimo's and Chik Fil A and it was a blast! Ricardo and I were so pleased with how easy it all was with 5 kids. Lunch at Chik Fil A was a breeze because they were all so well behaved, sat quietly to eat their lunch and genuinely enjoyed the outing. What a blessing to be with well behaved children! After lunch we came home to do the pinata and then the kids went home. We met Aldo and Eliana at the bowling alley around 4pm and played one round. Diego and Alexia were very tired by that time, but had such a blast. Then we came home for pizza, cake and presents. Diego requested a strawberry cake so I made one from scratch and it was delicious. For presents he received a world globe from Grammie, a watch and adidas jacket from Mima and a set of soccer nets, adidas pants and t-shirts from us. He was thrilled!
Enjoying croissants bright and early
And the fun begins!
Alexia had a blast on this smaller slide
How big does he look here!?!?
Marco LOVED going down the slide!
Enjoying a game of air hockey
Ricardo tried to hang out and read a magazine, but Marco was determined to devour it. Check out the lil' lady. She wanted a break from the action and took this comfortable pose to hang with the boys.
Enjoying ice cream after lunch. We didn't have lunch until 1pm so they were all so hungry that they did not leave a morsel of food on the table.
Sweet buddies
A car full of kids and balloons
Anjuli takes a hit...
...then Bennett...
...and Alexia...
...and the birthday boy.
The soccer cake
I just had to post this picture of Alexia. This is a typical stance and expression of her and wanted to have it documented to remember it
Pizza with Aldo and Eliana
CAKE TIME!
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Best Buds
Diego is big brother extraordinaire. He has done nothing else but pour love onto Marco since the day he came home from the hospital. He used to love to touch my belly and talk to his baby brother so I knew he would love having a baby brother, but I could have never imagined it would be so incredible. Diego has never once lost his patience with Marco, gotten upset with Marco or put his needs before Marco's needs. He only wants the best for his little buddy and is always willing to do whatever I ask of him to help me out (bring me a change of clothes, feed Marco his dinner, jump into Marco's crib to keep him happy until I can get there, etc).
Diego was so excited for me to take a picture of two of them with their hoodies:
Diego was so excited for me to take a picture of two of them with their hoodies:
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
A year ago
She was just a baby!!!!!! Oh how I love this girl. Ricardo and I have been commenting a lot lately how much she is growing and changing. She is so witty and comes up with the funniest things. I am always at a loss for examples, but I have one to share. Ricardo and Diego were building a fire last week and Diego pulled out an air pump with a hose. He pumped it up and down to get the fire going and it worked great. Alexia was watching him and said "Ah! Tengo un idea, voy a traer mi pump." (Ah, I have an idea. I am going to get my pump) She ran into the playroom and came out with her baby doll, put her on the floor, and started jumping up and down on her stomach, saying she had her pump. Ricardo and I laughed so hard and loved how quickly she came up with something so clever.
Rethinking the blog
I've decided that this blog is going to take on a new purpose: Photo album. I just don't have the time to sit down and write much and I don't like that that keeps me from posting at all. So, I've decided that I will just upload pictures more often and write less. Our family is very dedicated to checking the blog (probably on a daily basis) so I don't want to leave you all waiting for long stretches of time for pictures!
Ricardo is at prayer night at church and all the kids are in bed right now so I do have a little time to write.
I will try to think of some fun updates from the past couple of weeks:
- Diego and Alexia started gymnastics a few weeks ago. I was thrilled to find a class for each of their age groups at the SAME place and SAME time. It is awesome. Their classes do 10 minutes of warm up exercises together and then they break into their small classes for the last 35 minutes. They love it! Marco and I just hang out on the bleachers and watch. The class is at 3pm so it is in the middle of his afternoon nap time so he usually falls asleep nursing and naps in my arms.
- Marco is trying lots of yummy foods. He is not a big eater, but usually has at least one meal a day (or like today, a half of one). I've made him oatmeal with blueberries, corn and broccoli mash, sweet potatoes, black beans and then he's had the classics: banana, applesauce, peas, etc. He is allergic to avocado which we are majorly bummed about. He threw up (a lot!) after having it on two separate occasions so we won't be trying that again for awhile. He has no desire to crawl yet and is perfectly content sitting in one spot, chewing away on his toys, watching the action of his siblings. Diego and Alexia are great at getting him to giggle himself into exhaustion - it is adorable.
- We have joined an awesome home school group and are attending weekly playgroups with them. The kids have a blast playing with several kids their same ages and I enjoy talking with the moms.
- We are in the decision-making process of what to do for Diego's kindergarten year. If you think about it, pray for wisdom for us! The home school group has been a great way to get more information about that option.
- Diego's 5th birthday is next week and we are super excited! Since most of his friends go to school, we've decided not to have a party this year. We don't like to do weekend birthdays and I am a stickler for celebrating on the actual day. Ricardo is going to take the day off and we've let Diego plan the agenda.
On to the pictures...!
These pictures are from a few weeks ago when we went to Vanessa's house for a play date and tea date to celebrate Ruth's birthday. I didn't get any pictures of the birthday girl, but did get the babes.
Alexis is 4 months younger than Marco and this is their first real interaction. It won't be long until they are crawling around together...can't wait!
Alexis' big sister, Michaela was eager to sit with Marco and Callen. So sweet! I love how Marco and Callen are jammie bums together.
Here is a series of pictures from our snow week last week. The snow started falling on Sunday evening and we did not leave the house again until Friday morning, not even Ricardo (except for a quick trip I took to Publix by myself on Thursday evening). The week was CRAZY. There was SOOO much snow and ice that the roads were treacherous and the whole city was shut down. Ricardo's office did not open until Friday, yes, it was closed for FOUR days. Monday was our big "play in the snow" day and Diego had a blast. Alexia came down with a terrible tummy bug on Sunday night so spent all of Monday throwing up so she didn't get to enjoy the snow.
On Tuesday, we baked cookies, played games and just hung out inside. Then Tuesday night Diego and I came down with the tummy bug. It was terrible. God was so merciful though because I got sick the first time at 7pm on Tuesday and by the time Marco woke up at 5am on Wednesday, I was able to get out of bed and nurse him. Diego threw up about every 45 minutes the whole night and was miserable all of Wednesday. Ricardo was a superstar and tended to Diego all night on Tuesday so that I could rest and recover myself. So yes, we were snowed in, but at least our energy levels were low so we did not get cabin fever.
Here are some shots of Diego sledding down the driveway in the roasting pan:
Exploring the neighborhood with Papi.
Jeff, Kylie and Toby came over to play which was a blast. They came over to play in the snow last year too so we have a fun tradition going on!
Diego sitting on Kylie's lap to slide down the hill in the roasting pan. Jeff caught them before they crashed into a tree. After playing in the backyard, they all went out to the street to play. Diego sat on Jeff's lap in the pan and they slid all the way down Kings Down Road. Ricardo didn't get any pictures or videos of it, but it sounded awesome!
On Tuesday, the kids and I ventured out to get butter from a neighbor so we could make cookies.
Making chocolate chip cookies.
The snow was fun and games in the beginning, but as you can tell in this picture, it quickly turned to ice.
We've been seeing a ton of gorgeous birds on the dogwood tree outside the kitchen window.
Alexia and I were doing puzzles in the living room the other day and I had to run upstairs to do something with Diego. I asked Alexia to keep an eye on Marco and this is how I found them when I came back down. What a wonderful big sister he has!
Ricardo is at prayer night at church and all the kids are in bed right now so I do have a little time to write.
I will try to think of some fun updates from the past couple of weeks:
- Diego and Alexia started gymnastics a few weeks ago. I was thrilled to find a class for each of their age groups at the SAME place and SAME time. It is awesome. Their classes do 10 minutes of warm up exercises together and then they break into their small classes for the last 35 minutes. They love it! Marco and I just hang out on the bleachers and watch. The class is at 3pm so it is in the middle of his afternoon nap time so he usually falls asleep nursing and naps in my arms.
- Marco is trying lots of yummy foods. He is not a big eater, but usually has at least one meal a day (or like today, a half of one). I've made him oatmeal with blueberries, corn and broccoli mash, sweet potatoes, black beans and then he's had the classics: banana, applesauce, peas, etc. He is allergic to avocado which we are majorly bummed about. He threw up (a lot!) after having it on two separate occasions so we won't be trying that again for awhile. He has no desire to crawl yet and is perfectly content sitting in one spot, chewing away on his toys, watching the action of his siblings. Diego and Alexia are great at getting him to giggle himself into exhaustion - it is adorable.
- We have joined an awesome home school group and are attending weekly playgroups with them. The kids have a blast playing with several kids their same ages and I enjoy talking with the moms.
- We are in the decision-making process of what to do for Diego's kindergarten year. If you think about it, pray for wisdom for us! The home school group has been a great way to get more information about that option.
- Diego's 5th birthday is next week and we are super excited! Since most of his friends go to school, we've decided not to have a party this year. We don't like to do weekend birthdays and I am a stickler for celebrating on the actual day. Ricardo is going to take the day off and we've let Diego plan the agenda.
On to the pictures...!
These pictures are from a few weeks ago when we went to Vanessa's house for a play date and tea date to celebrate Ruth's birthday. I didn't get any pictures of the birthday girl, but did get the babes.
Alexis is 4 months younger than Marco and this is their first real interaction. It won't be long until they are crawling around together...can't wait!
Alexis' big sister, Michaela was eager to sit with Marco and Callen. So sweet! I love how Marco and Callen are jammie bums together.
Here is a series of pictures from our snow week last week. The snow started falling on Sunday evening and we did not leave the house again until Friday morning, not even Ricardo (except for a quick trip I took to Publix by myself on Thursday evening). The week was CRAZY. There was SOOO much snow and ice that the roads were treacherous and the whole city was shut down. Ricardo's office did not open until Friday, yes, it was closed for FOUR days. Monday was our big "play in the snow" day and Diego had a blast. Alexia came down with a terrible tummy bug on Sunday night so spent all of Monday throwing up so she didn't get to enjoy the snow.
On Tuesday, we baked cookies, played games and just hung out inside. Then Tuesday night Diego and I came down with the tummy bug. It was terrible. God was so merciful though because I got sick the first time at 7pm on Tuesday and by the time Marco woke up at 5am on Wednesday, I was able to get out of bed and nurse him. Diego threw up about every 45 minutes the whole night and was miserable all of Wednesday. Ricardo was a superstar and tended to Diego all night on Tuesday so that I could rest and recover myself. So yes, we were snowed in, but at least our energy levels were low so we did not get cabin fever.
Here are some shots of Diego sledding down the driveway in the roasting pan:
Exploring the neighborhood with Papi.
Jeff, Kylie and Toby came over to play which was a blast. They came over to play in the snow last year too so we have a fun tradition going on!
Diego sitting on Kylie's lap to slide down the hill in the roasting pan. Jeff caught them before they crashed into a tree. After playing in the backyard, they all went out to the street to play. Diego sat on Jeff's lap in the pan and they slid all the way down Kings Down Road. Ricardo didn't get any pictures or videos of it, but it sounded awesome!
While all the fun in the snow was going on, I stayed inside to take care of my sick lil' bug. I set this little bed up for her on the kitchen floor so she could still spend the day with the family. She was so weak and miserable.
On Tuesday, the kids and I ventured out to get butter from a neighbor so we could make cookies.
Making chocolate chip cookies.
On Wednesday, it was Diego's turn to have a bed set up on the kitchen floor. Poor kids!
The snow was fun and games in the beginning, but as you can tell in this picture, it quickly turned to ice.
We've been seeing a ton of gorgeous birds on the dogwood tree outside the kitchen window.
Alexia and I were doing puzzles in the living room the other day and I had to run upstairs to do something with Diego. I asked Alexia to keep an eye on Marco and this is how I found them when I came back down. What a wonderful big sister he has!
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