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!

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!