Christmas Past and Present

Tonight I find myself a bit nostalgic. I'm remembering past Christmases and giving silent thanks to my God for all He has given me through the years.

I remember Christmas in Minnesota when I was young. My eldest sister came over with my brother in law, their car overflowing with presents. I always obsessed by ordering them beneath the tree in bunches as to whom they were for and I was always in charge of handing them out after dinner. 

As like many families, my parents made a huge DELICIOUS dinner and after tasting tidbits here and there all afternoon, I was barely hungry when dinnertime came, but stuffed myself in spite of it.

This year, will be our first with Caleb, and I am so, SO excited. My family has never been much of the present-y kind, at least not much since we grew up and learned Santa didn't exist. Which is, by the way, one of the BIGGEST disappointments in my life. 

Last year my husband and I didn't even put up a tree. Caleb has changed so many things. It's so wonderful.

So this year, our Tree is up, the presents are wrapped and under the tree. Christmas dinner will be at my parents' house and it'll be the first with 2 babies at home. 

All the while, I'm missing my other three sisters that still live in the U.S.A., their husbands and my niece and nephews. 

But God is so good. And we have SO MUCH to be thankful for. 

First and foremost, the birth of my savior, Jesus Christ.

Between all the food, lights, music, presents and family, we MUSTN'T forget the REAL meaning of Christmas. 

A beautiful blog I follow, wrote about this Bible Verse:

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

who, being in very nature God,

did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 

but made himself nothing,

taking the very nature of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man, 

he humbled himself 

and became obedient to death -

even death on a cross!

Philippians 2:5-7

Quoting Mandy's blog, she says:

"When God became flesh, He wasn't welcomed into the world with much fanfare.  Instead, the Creator began His dwelling among His created as a tiny baby born in a stable.  It was a humble beginning, followed by a humble life and a humble death.  And, it was that willingness to be broken...to be killed...by the ones He made that made eternal life possible for us. "

Let us not forget this. EVER. Christmas is the celebration of Jesus's birth. That He made himself man. He made himself NOTHING, so that we could live by eternal life. 

Many non-believers (and even some believers) say that we shouldn't celebrate because it isn't the actual date Christ was born. To them I say, well no, because we don't have and exact date. But if YOU celebrate your birthday (or any other occasion) at another date than the actual one, does this disregard the meaning of the celebration? No.  

Please celebrate Him. Please remember what He is (our Savior), who He is (GOD), and why He died for you (LOVE), and rejoice in Him. 

Look around at what you have. Health, home, family, food etc. And remember that if He had not come. NONE of what you have, would have meaning. Your life would have began and ended here on earth. But it is BECAUSE He came, BECAUSE He was born, that life is not shackled to this earth, but we have the hope of an eternal life. 

Merry Christmas everyone. =) 

You can check out more of Mandy's blog HERE.

Friends

Last night I went for a much needed Toffee Nut Latte Venti at Starbucks with one of my best friends.
We had a long talk about lots of things, one of them our mommy experiences.

Her son is 5 years old, while mine, is barely 6 months.
She always talked about how it was for her, but I never truly understood as much as I do now, as I am just beginning to go through some of the same things.

I realize now how lost I was in what I imagined Motherhood to be. I had heard so many things, but one truly doesn't get it until you're a mother.
It's the hardest, most stressful job, but it's so amazing, so incredible. Seeing your baby is seriously breathtaking.

But people always talk about the good stuff. The gorgeous toothless smiles, learning to sit, or crawl, or walk. New words and new achievements.
People rarely talk about the hard things. Like postpartum depression, aching breasts while breastfeeding and how HARD it is in the beginning. The HUGE hormone changes. Feeling sad, VERY sad after birth and not understanding why. Losing your patience when your kid won't stop screaming. Nights when you just cry yourself to sleep, because well, it's so much, and no one understands. So we talked about that.
It's so great to have Mommy Friends. They are SO necessary. I am so thankful for all my mommy friends. And to be able to talk to someone who understands. And I'm thankful also for all the adventures and experiences I have encountered in the last 6 months. My first semester as a Mother. I'm a rookie. But I think I'm doing ok. =)

And then I think of God. Of my Jesus. My father. I think of how much love I have for my son, and then I think of how much more He loves me. The experiences I'm going through as a new mother, aren't easy, but they aren't because my son is mad at me, or wants to get back at me for scraping his leg with my engagement ring, or because I accidentally pinched him, or poked his eye. No. Caleb is not punishing me. He doesn't know better.
But what we do to God... WE know better. We know what hurts Him and we do it anyway. And things we bring upon ourselves, we blame on Him. If I hurt when my son cries, He hurts so much more when we suffer. He aches when we hurt Him, and yet, He has already forgiven us.
I would give anything for my son. God has already given EVERYTHING for me. How amazing is that??

He knows my struggles, but he gives me strength. Thank You Father.

He listens

Tonight I want to share something really awesome.

When we put Caleb down to bed, he started screaming bloody murder. He kept crying for about 10 minutes, which seemed like hours, while our hearts were breaking.

Then, Orson and I prayed.

All throughout our prayer, Caleb screamed.

The SECOND we said Amen, Caleb stopped crying, and has been silent since.

Thank you Lord, because you heard our plea. Because you know what we want, even before we ask. But you WANT us to ask. You want us to need you. And we do. We need you so much. Every day. Every hour. In everything we do.

"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him." 1 John 5:14-15

Some Days

Being a stay at home Mom, is no easy job.

I'm not going to lie. What good would that do? Nope, let's just call it as it is.

There are days I seriously want to pull my hair out from how tired I am.

Sometimes Caleb is very whiney, cries a lot, and is not happy in any position, playing, eating or napping.

Sometimes I question my ability to be a good mother, my ability to understand my son and his needs, or even my own.

Sometimes, I lose my patience. :0(

But some days are harder than others. 

Other days he is in such a good mood. Laughing at anything and everything. Napping on cue, eating well, and not crying at all. 

Either way... he is precious. And I love him.

And either way, I wouldn't change a thing.

It's amazing how time flies, and how our priorities and interests change. 

A couple years ago, I would have spent my Fridays (and Saturdays, and Sundays, and even some week days) clubbing, going to a bar or the movies with friends, or anything that would get me out of the house.

Today, I love being home. I love just cuddling with my husband, watching a movie (when Caleb lets us!), and being with my baby boy. Boring to some people. But for me… there is nothing that makes me happier. 

I’d rather be here to put Caleb to bed, than at any party anywhere else. 

Yes. I have changed. 

Yes. I have grown apart from some people.

Yes. I would rather sleep than go to a party.

but...

Yes. I am happier than I have ever been.

I am so thankful for this change in my life. To be able to experience it, and live it. Day by day.

I love my family.

I See Me

This is one of the presents we have gotten Caleb for his very first Christmas!!

It's a personalized book called "God Loves You!". I saw it on a web page of Mommy's favorite gifts for her kids and I loved it.
I checked out the web page called "I See Me", and it has some great stuff that you can personalize with a different name.
I loved this book in particular because as he gets older, it'll be pretty cool for him to see his name in the book and be able to show him that it says that God loves him!! =)

I think it's a pretty great gift for him to have his whole life. =)
And since it comes with a special message from Mom and Dad and the date we'll give it to him, it'll always be a great reminder of his first Christmas.

You can check out the book here. As well as other personalized items.
Pretty neat!! =)

VERY grateful tonight because God loves my son.
And me...
And my husband...

...

And YOU!

Thank you Lord, for your love.
I love You.

Miscellaneous

I've kind of been having some writers block these days. =( Bummer.
So here are just a few miscellaneous things of the past week.

We started Caleb on his first solid foods last week. Zucchini to start out with for the first few days, then carrots. He didn't like either much, shrugged, and kept spitting them out. It was so cute.
But then on Thursday, he kept throwing up his milk and had the hershey squirts, so we suspended the baby food. The pediatrician said it is normal intestinal behavior for his age, and has nothing to do with the baby food. Either way, we gave him a break.
We're thinking he might be teething, as he has just about all the symptoms. We'll see if any pop out soon.

Orson had a long weekend and it was SO great to be together three full days, just the three of us. I love seeing my husband and son together. Laughing, watching the NFL (Caleb LOVES it) and just being best buddies. It fills my heart to see them.

Orson and I put up our Christmas tree last week. It was a great night. Listening to Michael Bublé's Christmas Album (LOVE him). Corny... I know. But I love it. Christmas has always been my favorite time of year. And being able to share it with someone is the best. This year, being Caleb's first Christmas, makes everything that much more special.

Here is a photo of Caleb getting into the Christmas spirit. =) Cutest smile ever, I think.

I'm so grateful for Caleb's health. Even though we've had a not-so-easy few days, I'm NOT going to say they've been difficult. Because, even so, Caleb is PERFECT in every way. His symptoms are NOT life threatening and he still smiles and giggles and plays. Thank you Lord.

New Job

One week ago today, I changed jobs.
No longer will I be going to an office in high heels, doing my hair, or make-up, wearing my pretty office clothes.
No more will I be receiving phone calls from vendors, or receiving pay checks, getting payed vacation days or sick days.
No more will I stress over purchase orders or overdue dates. My days are no longer from 8AM to 5:30PM Monday through friday, but my shifts are now 24 hours long, 7 days a weeks. No days off.

My new job, consists of changing diapers, giving bottles, wiping away tears. Cleaning up baby food messes and making lunch /dinner for my small family.

My boss doesn't thank me for a job well done, and even screams at me when his food isn't made on time or if he's bored or tired.

But I am happier than I have ever been, or ever could be at any other job.
My rewards are not paychecks, but smiles, giggles and baby babble. My reward is seeing Caleb grow up, into what I hope, becomes an educated and polite young man. And even if he doesn't, my heart will love him more than anything.

I am blessed. This I know. I am so thankful for this opportunity to be at home with my baby boy.
Thank you Lord, for my husband, who understood my desire to be at home, and for providing always for our family.

Check-up

Today we went to Caleb's 5 month doctors' appointment and thank God he is PERFECT. Weighs 8.700 kilos (19.1Lbs) and is 71cm (28") long.
Happy, healthy, enormous baby!!

I am so proud of my little boy... which Momma isn't right??
Everywhere we go, people stop us to coo at our son. Asking how old he is (they never believe his age), always amazed at his size. Always saying what chubby cheeks and what beautiful big brown eyes he has.
And I beam with pride every single time. 

I am SO thankful to the Lord for giving me such a beautiful, healthy boy. And as I hear stories of heartbreak, and sick children, and parents losing their child... it makes me that much more thankful, that aside from his looks, he's here. With me.

So tonight, I want to hug him a little tighter, kiss him a few more times, and praise God over and over again for his life.

Milestones:
Yesterday we started him on his purees. Zucchini to begin with. Wasn't that thrilled with it. He kept spitting it out and making funny faces, then shriveling, and laughing. Today he ate a little more of it. Still spiting, shriveling and laughing. We're having a great time doing it and am excited to introduce new flavors! Any ideas?

FIL

Today, hubby, baby and I went to the "FIL" (Feria Internacional del Libro) which in English means International Book Fair.

I've been wanting to get Caleb some baby books for a while and I couldn't wait for it to be THAT time of the year! The fair has been coming to Guadalajara, Jalisco México every year since 1987. It starts the last saturday of November, and goes on for 9 days. It is a HUGE event and welcomes people, editorials, publishing houses, authors etc from all over the world.

Anyway, we got him a few really good baby books, to start out with to get him interested in the colors and textures. Also a Christmas book (which I absolutely loved, because Christmas is my very favorite time of the year), and some books for my husband and myself.
We also got Caleb his very first Baby Bible. =) It's a little book with some key verses with their illustrations. Basically so he can get into the storytelling part of the Bible, and then me and my husband will tell him more.
I really wanted to get him this so he starts hearing about the Bible from an early age. And it'll be perfect for him for the first few years of his life. We plan on reading to him every night, and praying with him afterwards. And once he's older, begin with the storytelling.  I'm very excited about this. =)

You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.
(Deuteronomy 6:7 ESV)

Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children– (Deuteronomy 4:9 ESV)


Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.  (Joshua 1:8 NIV)

Cry-it-out Update:
So, on my last post (thursday) we had put Caleb down and when I published the post, he hadn't cried or made any sound at all. Well, he stayed like that until 8AM the next morning!! I was in utter shock.

Friday though, it seemed we had taken a step back, because we put him down, he fell asleep immediately, then half an hour later he woke up crying. =( He cried for an hour and fifteen minutes, then fell back asleep. Woke up at 3AM for his bottle (we again gave him tea) and then slept until 8AM this morning.

Tonight, we put him down, he cried for 45 minutes then fell asleep.
We'll see how tonight goes...

Anyway, as always, I'm so thankful for:
My husband and son. They make me SO happy every single day. They are, without a doubt, the best part of my life.
That Caleb has been crying less every night. So proud of my little guy. He's so good. =)

Crying it out

For the past few weeks we'd been considering doing the Cry-it-out method with Caleb because he hadn't been sleeping very well and Mommy and Daddy were tired!! Besides, he had gotten used to being rocked to sleep and would NOT sleep if he wasn't held, so you can imagine that I was extremely sore from holding my very heavy 5 month old son. We HAD to teach him to fall asleep by himself!
We decided to do it, but to start until I wasn't working anymore. So since yesterday was my last day at the office we started last night.

We had prepared ourselves for some painful, sleepless, crying nights, but... Caleb has surprised us.
Here's how it has gone:

We bathed him a little past 7pm, changed him, gave him a little massage, gave him his bottle around 7:30, then put him down still awake. My husband and I prayed for him, prayed for us.
The crying began.
For the first hour, we went to him every five minutes, taking turns Orson and myself. The second hour we went every 7 minutes, then by the third hour, he started to get tired, the crying seemed to wind down so we went only a couple times so he'd know he wasn't alone.
He finally fell asleep a few minutes before 11 PM.
He slept until 2:30AM, but instead of his bottle of milk, we gave him Chamomile Herbal Tea (without caffeine) sweetened with a few drops of CARO syrup for babies. (Previously consulted with our pediatrician) This, we're told, helps babies sleep through the night. I'll update on that later, once we see how it goes. After his bottle, again I laid him in his crib still awake and crept out of the room. He cried again for a little less than half an hour and fell asleep.
He woke again at 5:30 for another bottle, but while Orson prepared his bottle, he fell asleep again! Waking at 7AM.

He did SO good, I am SO proud of him, and of us too! It's one thing writing about it, it's a completely different thing DOING it and hearing your baby cry. =(
Anyways, I wanted to be consistent and let him cry out his nap times also, so when the time came, again, I put him in his crib, still awake and walked out.
Nap #1: ZERO crying. Fell asleep really quickly, slept for about 45 minutes and woke up playing.
Nap #2: Cried for a looong while. Decided to wrap him up, and magic! Fell asleep almost immediately after laying him down. Slept for about an hour, woke up playing.
Nap #3: Zero crying, fell asleep quickly, slept for about half an hour, woke up crying. =( Oops.

Tonight: we did his normal bedtime routine, wrapped him up, shut off the lights, gave him his kiss and set him down. I walked out waiting for the crying to begin and now, an hour later we have not heard a peep out of him, and he is now sleeping like an angel.

I can't believe it! I'm utterly shocked. And truthfully, a bit ecstatic!!
The Lord, ONCE AGAIN, has heard our prayers and has answered them faithfully.

Let's see how future nights go. But for now, I'm one happy Momma!!

Tonight I'm thankful for my first day as a stay at home Mom. It is wonderful being home with Caleb, having lunch with my husband, and focusing solely on my family.
For silent bedtimes. Didn't think they existed!!
For the strength the Lord gave us when we asked for it.

Galatians 6:9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.