Randomestic Tales

7 Quick Takes

2010-09-24T12:47:00.000-07:00

1- I love hearing Roxy speak and watching her dance. She's been dancing a lot lately, and sings the songs she remembers after watching Barney. She really likes Barney these days. It used to be Elmo, now it's all about Barney! Here she is dancing with her cousin:

2- We went to the beach with friends last weekend. I would post some pictures, but I don't have any. Why? Well, it was raining all weekend. Can you believe it? We were in front of the beach, but it was wet, windy and cold outside. Roxy still had a good time getting wet in the rain and playing in the pool with daddy and her friends. Lucia and I stayed in our room when it was raining. Too cold and wet for my newborn. Our friend's company was what really made the trip fun, even though we didn't get to enjoy the beach that much.

3- We went to a puppet show with our friend A and her two sons. Roxy liked it and I liked it even better because Lucia slept in the Ergo carrier the whole time. Oh, how I love my Ergo carrier! We've had it since Roxy was born but I never used it with her. Now with two girls, I need to have my hands free more often, so the Ergo comes in very handy.

4- Lucia and her cousin were baptized last month. It was a beautiful ceremony. Here you can see a picture of my baby that day. She was wearing the same baptismal gown Roxy used. And it's the same one my brothers and I used on our baptisms. Very special!

5- I am convincing Gerardo to order one of these Rode IDs since he's been training for a marathon.

6- Yesterday we started to pray the novena to St. Therese of Lisieux who's feast day is on October 1st. St. Therese is one of my favorite saints. I read her "Story of a Soul" a few years ago. I think I might read it again, it was very inspirational to me.

7- Check out this website. It's an organization called "Planned Parenthood aborts African Americans". This is one of their videos, very intresting:

For more Quick Takes visit Jen!

Hello!

2010-09-22T14:05:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it has already been almost three months since Lucia was born and it has been almost the same since I've written here. Life has been busy and since my first language is not English, I need to think twice before writing. So, forgive me if I don't have good grammar, now you know why that is.

Lucia is such a sweet baby. She's been smiling a lot and she started babbling already. Roxy loves her. Sometimes she wants me to hold her while I am holding Lucia, and since I just can't, she's been learning to share mommy with her little sister. She loves giving her kisses, and hugging her, and has even started playing with her, even though Lucia has no idea what's going on, she only smiles when she hears Roxy laughing. My girls keep me very busy all day long. Thankfully Lucia has been taking a long nap while Roxy naps, so I'm definitely having some time for myself in the middle of the day. I use this time to pray a little, be on the computer, rest, and do some chores around the house that I can't do while they are awake. When Gerardo comes home at night we are all very excited to see him, especially Roxy, she can't wait to play with Papi all evening long.

Here you see how Roxy's face looks like when her papi can't play with her:

LOL!
Until next time everyone!

She is here!

2010-07-13T06:27:00.000-07:00

Lucia Clara was born on July 4th at 8:12 am! She weighed 8 pounds 7 ounces! We are all doing great trying to get used to our new life as a family of four!

Here are some pictures:

Lucia Clara

Adorable!

The big sister meeting her baby sister!

Playing outside wearing the same clothes!

Kiss!

We love you Lucia! Welcome to our family.

Third Anniversary

2010-06-09T07:37:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary to us!

Three years and two daughters later...couldn't get better. Thank you dear God for my husband and our growing family, we are blessed.

7 Quick Takes- almost 37 weeks!

2010-06-04T13:11:00.000-07:00

1- Hello world! It's been a while since I last posted and as you can imagine, things are about to change a lot around here.

2- I am a little less than 4 weeks away from my due date. Can you believe it? I can't. I can't believe I still have 4 weeks to go. I feel so ready for this baby to come out. I don't remember feeling this way when I was pregnant with Roxy. Maybe it's because this baby will come early? Maybe? Please? Roxy was 11 days late, so I am not getting too excited. Only God knows!

3- I don't think I ever posted the name of baby #2....so here it is: Lucia Clara! Lucia after Santa Lucia and Clara after her Grandmother (Gerardo's mom), and Santa Clara. =)

4- A couple of weekends ago we organized Roxy's closet. Now, it's Lucia's closet too. I enjoyed washing and folding all of Roxy's cute newborn clothes that Lucia is going to use. It felt like yesterday when I was just putting them away and now I was taking them out so our second daughter could use them! So now the closet has tiny newborn clothes, and toddler clothes. Roxy's clothes sure look huge compared to Lucia's. Where did my baby go?

5- Speaking of Roxy, her vocabulary is developing so much lately. She can say more than 80 words in Spanish and is already picking up on some English words like: milk, dog, cat, kick, ball, five, eat, sleep... I am very proud of her! She's only 19 months old and can already recognize FIVE colors too: blue, red, green, yellow, and white!

6- Here are some recent pictures.

Easter egg hunt:

After Mass:

She loves coloring:

And feeding her baby doll:

Playing with some clay:

And wearing mommy's flip flops!

7- Please keep us in your prayers for a safe and healthy labor and delivery. We'll let you know when Lucia gets here!

Visit Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes. Have a good weekend!

My Daughter, by Janet Jenkins

2010-03-24T14:10:00.000-07:00

You'll never really know, my dear,
Just how much you mean to me,
A mother's love, buried so deep,
That only my heart can see.

When I sit and really stare at you,
All I can do is grin,
Somewhere down deep inside,
I see myself within.

I'd never change a thing in you,
I thank God that your so fine,
Even when your at your worst,
I'm so proud that you are mine.

The roads we have traveled,
were not always that good,
I would take back all the pain you've felt,
Only if I could.

I know that I'm not perfect,
It's the best that I can do,
But everyday, I thank the Lord,

For a daughter as special as you.

Let it snow!

2010-02-24T19:19:00.000-08:00

We had snow yesterday! Unbelievable.

To satisfy Roxy's grandparents request, here are some pictures and a video of her first experience with snow!
Enjoy.

It's a...

2010-02-13T12:36:00.000-08:00

Girl!! We found out Friday that baby Roxy is going to have a little sister and we are very excited!

They are going to play with dolls together ~~and fight over who gets what doll,~~ wear matching clothes and bows, and laugh and learn so much from each other. I can just imagine the fun we'll have together. I am very happy that this is what God wanted for us. Gerardo said they'll both be Daddy's little girls and I've been daydreaming about our future with our two daughters since then.

Thanks be to God she looked healthy and happy!

Here are two pictures:

Yay! We can't wait to meet you beautiful!

Roxy visits her cousins

2010-02-10T19:35:00.000-08:00

We went to Santiago's Baptism this last weekend. While we were there, Roxy had a lot of fun playing with her cousins! Here's a video of Enriquito making her laugh. It's reminded me of this time, when she was laughing with her daddy.
Enjoy.

And here are some pictures:

Enriquito and Roxy playing

The three boys and my girl (she'll have plenty of cousins that will protect her)

Oh, and I want to share the bow I made for Roxy for Valentine's Day:

And here is Roxy with her new abacus helping Gerardo prepare our tax return ;)

Oh and FYI, this Friday we'll find out if we're having a boy or a girl! Stay tuned!

LOST

2010-02-02T11:09:00.000-08:00

I just want to say that we are VERY excited because the final season of LOST premiers tonight!! I really can't wait. Lost is one of my favorite shows of all times.

That's all. =)

Pictures

2010-02-01T12:14:00.000-08:00

I was going to write my first Simple Woman's Daybook, but it was going to take me too long. So instead, I'm just going to share three pictures of my wonderful husband and our daughter.

Reading a book together.

Roxy's cute Sunday outfit!

My favorite one. I love this picture!

Have to go! Roxy just woke up from her nap. =)

Godparents

2010-01-27T07:24:00.000-08:00

Here we are with our new Godsons who were baptized this past Saturday! May the Lord bless them today and always. We love you :)

You can see more pictures of their baptism here.

Santiago Jose is here!

2010-01-19T11:42:00.000-08:00

Our newest nephew was born on January 18, 2010 at 1:12am. We can't wait to meet him!!

Aren't they cute?

Felicidades Vero y Enrique!! :)

7 Quick Takes

2010-01-08T12:28:00.000-08:00

1- Hello again everyone. Happy New year 2010. We were out of town for two weeks visiting family during the holidays, but are now back home and adjusting to the routine again.

2- And suddenly...my nausea is gone. I'm SO glad! I'm still hungry all the time, but if I don't eat I don't feel sick, which is great. I'll be 16 weeks tomorrow. Unbelievable! I feel like this pregnancy is going really fast...I guess it's because I'm not thinking about being pregnant all the time, now I have to take care of little Roxy.

3- Speaking of little Roxy, she is growing so fast. She can now walk really well (and fast) and is using sign language really well too. She can sign water, all done, grapes, banana, thank you, friends, bye, more, and daddy. She can say: "No", "agua (water in spanish)", "elmo", "si", "asii (gracias- that's thank you in spanish) and that's it I think. Her hair is growing a lot too, and it's getting curly in the back, really cute. She's starting to play with dolls and I see her sometimes walking around the house carrying her doll- adorable!

4- We went to the Children's Museum with a friend today for the first time, and she had a blast! We were in the babies section most of the time, but that was enough for her. I loved being able to sit there, and observe how my little baby (I mean toddler, but she'll always be my baby) discovered the world.

Here's a picture I took there:

5- Can I just say that I have the best husband in the world? He made me the cutest Christmas card ever with pictures of him and little Roxy that were coupons for "free time for mommy". I love my husband very much.

6- I am trying to read two books at the same time, which is not going that well. I should probably just read one at a time, right? I am trying to read "A mother's rule of life", and "Having a Mary heart in a Martha world". Both books look really good, I hope I can finish them soon.

7- I want to congratulate my friends the Roses for their new baby, little Edmund! And also my friends the Nicholsons who had their baby girl, Helen, two days ago!

I also want to ask for prayers for my sister in law, Veronica, who will deliver her 4th baby any day now, we're so excited to finally meet little Santiago! And for all my other friends who are pregnant (it's amazing, I know at least 5 other pregnant ladies...there's going to be lots of new babies in 2010- thanks be to God).

Visit Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes!

Thanks for reading!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-18T17:14:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!

We haven't been blogging a lot lately because of the busy Advent season. So, before we forget we want to wish you and your loved ones a very blessed merry Christmas! We are very thankful for this past year, it's been great with baby Roxy and we look forward to next year's blessings.

Here are some pictures we took in from of our Christmas tree:

Feliz Navidad y feliz año nuevo 2010! :)

Our little one

2009-12-04T06:11:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we got to see our new little one for the first time. It was so amazing. Before that, it was all nausea and fatigue. Now I feel that the fact that there's a baby growing inside me is more real.

We saw the baby moving and everything, he/she is not even two inches long and it's already moving! I can't wait to feel those kicks.

So here she/he is: Baby G #2- 10 weeks and 4 days old:

Thanks be to God.

We love you baby.

Food and (fake) laughter

2009-11-30T19:51:00.000-08:00

We've been getting a kick out of all of little Roxy's antics while she eats, so we recorded some of her meal time greatest hits.

Bon appetit!

Giving Thanks

2009-11-30T10:05:00.000-08:00

I hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving!

We celebrated in Houston with the rest of the Garcia family. And guess what? Clarissa (Gerardo's sister) and Jesse surprised us with the great news that she's pregnant. We are all very excited... all of us will have new babies next year!

There is so much I am thankful for. God is good.

Here are a few pictures of the weekend:

Roxy walking with daddy (she has taken up to 14 steps alone, go Roxy!)

Fernandito and Roxy

The three pregnant ladies

The whole family!

Gig 'em!

Happy first week of Advent, also. We put up the Christmas tree yesterday, and it was fun to see Roxy's reaction. Last Christmas she was a newborn, so this is all new for her. It's fun!

Guess What?

2009-11-17T06:15:00.000-08:00

I think everyone who reads this blog already knows...but just in case.

I am pregnant! =)

Yep, we are expecting baby # 2 on July 2010. We are very happy and excited.
We appreciate your prayers for a healthy pregnancy and baby (and that my nausea goes away soon) ;)

Thanks!

Roxy's birthday party

2009-11-12T19:49:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures from Roxy's first birthday party. We had a lot of fun with friends and family at the park and the weather was just perfect.

The birthday girl with her cake:

With mommy and daddy:

We had a great turnout:

The birthday table:

Even Elmo was there:

Roxy with some friends:

Playing with daddy:

Here's the homemade birthday cake:

Happy First Birthday Roxanna Maria!

2009-11-04T06:51:00.000-08:00

Our little precious baby turns ONE today. I can't believe it's already been a year since I was pushing! Looking back, I realize that everyday has been an adventure. Everyday has good and bad moments, but now I confirm that it was and is always worth it. Looking at how my baby looks right now makes me feel so proud of her. She has learned so many things...from learning to smile and use her hands to eating solid foods, sleeping through the night and walking with some help! I am so happy and thankful that I got to be there every single day and celebrate every new accomplishment with her.

Today we celebrate her first birthday and I look forward to celebrating many, many more.

I can't believe how much I love you, Roxy bella. You will always be my precious little baby and I will love you forever.

May God bless you always and hold you safe in the palm of His hand.

Feliz Cumpleanos!!

Small Successes

2009-10-29T10:50:00.000-07:00

1- I am preparing everything for Roxy's first birthday party!! I am super excited...of course she has no idea what's going on, but I do... and she'll be excited to see pictures five years from now.

2- I was going to order a birthday cake, but then I decided to try and bake it myself. I already bought a cake pan of the number 1 and I bought everything to decorate it. I'll try to post some pictures of it after the party next week. Wish me luck!

3- I went to Hobby Lobby and didn't forget to print my coupon. NEVER go to Hobby Lobby without checking their webpage! They have a different coupon each week that you can print. This week it was 40% off any regular price item. So I bought the cake pan using the coupon and saved about $5 dlls. Not bad!

Visit Faith and Family for more Small Successes.

Have a fun weekend!

True Forgiveness

2009-10-24T07:57:00.000-07:00

Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

Matthew 18, 21-22

Forgiveness is something that I struggle with. How often have I told myself that I forgive someone only to let resentment creep into my heart the next time I see that person? How can we learn to truly forgive?

Jesus provides the best example as he forgives those who hand him over, those who condemn him, those who torture him, those who crucify him, and ultimately anyone who is willing to accept his forgiveness. But Jesus is the God-man. He can truly forgive, but we can't expect ourselves or others to live up to that standard, right?

Maybe not.

I was reminded this week that there are extraordinary examples of true forgiveness in our modern world. At the TAL benefit dinner a couple of nights ago, Gianna Jessen spoke of forgiving her mother that tried to abort her. Gianna's genuine testimony shows that through God's grace, she has truly forgiven her mother.

I was also reminded when I happened on this article about a documentary called As We Forgive that depicts the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide that occurred fifteen years ago.

In the uneasy peace that followed, over 100,000 suspects awaited trial, taxing both the Rwandan courts’ schedules and the country’s prison capacity. After ten years, only 10,000 cases had been tried. At that rate, it would take a century to get through them all. So Pres. Paul Kagame took an unusual step: He began to release prisoners who were willing to confess their crimes. So far, about 60,000 suspects have been released.

Imagine that your spouse, your mother, or your child was savagely murdered by your neighbors. And now they can walk free. How do you forgive them?

Small Successes

2009-10-22T14:24:00.000-07:00

1- I survived a very loud U2 concert, but I have to admit... it was a lot of fun!

2- I FINALLY organized my clothes by colors. My closet looks so clean and it makes it so much easier to choose what I'll wear.

3- When my mom and grandmother were in town visiting, we took some professional pictures of the four of us...four generations! Great-grandmother, grandmother, mother and daughter. What a blessing!

For more Small Successes visit Faith and Family!

My take on traffic lights

2009-10-13T10:58:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been driving on the road and see a traffic light far away that is green? You continue driving and as you are getting closer to the light, it suddenly turns yellow, with no warning at all! Then you have to make a very quick decision: do I accelerate more to catch the last milliseconds of the yellow light, or do I hit the brakes hard and pray that I won't end up in the middle of the intersection.
Don't you hate it when that happens? Well, I don't like to use the word hate, but in this case I'll use it. I hate traffic lights in the US.

If I ever become the President of the United States (which I don't think possible), one of the first things I would do is: change traffic lights to the way they work in Mexico.

Yep. You see, this is how lights work over there: When the light is green, you continue driving peacefully because you know that it is not going to suddenly change to a yellow light then a second later to red. Instead, green lights start BLINKING (the magic word) when they are about to turn yellow. They blink three times, then there's two seconds of yellow and then red. So when you see the traffic light far away and you notice the green light is blinking, you'll start lowering your speed calmly, without waiting for a surprise.

So my whole point is that we need a sign, a little hint, that will tell us when the green light will turn yellow. I'm just writing this because it has been in my mind since forever and I'm tired of complaining to the air.
Thanks for reading my complaint. =)

Small Successes

2009-10-08T07:23:00.000-07:00

1- I survived one week without Gerardo while he went hunting. I got sick, baby got sick, but we're all fine now...we survived that too.

2- I finally bought some baskets to organize a box full of...let's just call it stuff. It's a white box that doesn't look pretty at all in the living room. After I organize everything in these baskets that I bought, it will look pretty and I'll actually know what's in there.

3- We went to the beach last weekend. I controlled myself and didn't start screaming like a crazy mom when baby Roxy started crawling right into the ocean! She's an adventurer. She loved the beach, and I loved watching her love it. We enjoyed our little vacation!

Go to Faith and Family for more Small Successes.
Thanks for visiting!

Today...

2009-10-07T15:00:00.000-07:00

our home started changing from Spring...

to Fall...

And I'm having lots of fun in the process!

She's keeping me busy! ;)

2009-10-06T11:53:00.000-07:00

Happy Feast Day!

2009-10-01T07:48:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone visiting from Devin and Katie's blog, welcome!

Happy Feast of St. Therese of Lisieux! Oh, the little flower...one of my favorite saints. I made a blog post a couple of years ago about my visit to St. Therese's home in Lisieux. Go to the link if you want to see pictures of how it looks like. It was such a blessing to be able to make that trip.

Anyway, as you can see from Gerardo's post, he was hunting all last week and Roxy and I spent the week with family. We're now back home recovering from our trip and trying to get used to our routine again. Oh, and before I forget, Roxy said her first word yesterday! Yep, I asked her if she wanted to eat, and she said "si" (that's "yes" in Spanish- we speak in Spanish at home). I couldn't believe it, so I asked again and she answered back again. During dinner time she did it again. Gerardo, my brother (who came over for dinner) and I were just amazed. I don't know if she knows what she's saying, but it looks like she's answering our questions because she's not saying it randomly all day. We'll see.

Going back to the little flower, I want to recommend a CD that I like: Praying the Rosary with St. Therese. It is really inspiring and makes praying the rosary easier.

"Therese of Lisieux counters a rational culture, so often overcome by practical materialism, with the disarming simplicity of the "little way" which, by returning to the essentials, leads to the secret of all life: the divine love that surrounds and penetrates every human venture" - Pope John Paul II

Elk Hunt 2009 - Providence

2009-09-27T11:49:00.000-07:00

My brother and I just got back from our annual elk hunting trip to Colorado - and it was the most successful yet. We indeed got a bull elk - my brother put an arrow through it after I imitated an elk bugle to coax it into my brother's bow range. Enrique then put an arrow where it counted, and the rest is history.

A picture of the massive bull elk that we took

While taking a bull was a great time (it was our first), I considered this trip a success because our father was able to be there with us. Dad served as the camp cook, the director of our skinning efforts, and most importantly, our spiritual counselor on the trip. He took along his Magnificat, which we used to do morning and evening prayers.

The hunting trio was all smiles

After taking the bull, the fun began as we skinned and quartered the beautiful animal which likely weighed over 800 pounds. It took us a full two and a half hours to take most of the meat. We even got the tenderloins per my dad's insistence.

It takes some time to skin an elk

Next we packed one of our horses with close to 200 pounds of elk meat to take back to camp. We rented our equines from a local outfitter that has always delivered seasoned animals with good climbing ability and a gentle ride.

Our horses did an outstanding job

Finally it was time to make the trip back to camp through the beautiful early autumn terrain of the northern Colorado mountains. Majestic pines, rows of towering Aspens, and thick fields of grass cover the valleys and peaks of this country which is surely a foretaste of heaven.

Making our way through God's country

We were greeted the next morning with a light snow that convinced us to have an extra cup of coffee and recount the events from the previous day. My brother and I eventually headed out to look for a cow (a female elk). A couple of hours into the hunt we soon huddled under a pine tree to rest and take shelter from the wind and snow.

Taking a break from the hunt

The cow eluded my arrow that day and the next, though we did have fun watching a mule deer doe get confused by our camouflage and get within 20 yards of us. My brother was able to snap a picture of it as it stared us down.

This muley didn't know what to make of us

What made the trip most successful, however, wasn't the elk, the scenery, or even the company. It was God teaching us to trust in his Divine Providence. On the drive from Texas to Colorado, we started reading Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence, a set of writings by a couple of Jesuit priests in the 17th century.

Fr. Baptise and Saint Claude were a couple of wise French priests

Little did we know how God would show us examples of his Divine Providence throughout the trip. We saw his hand in many of the occurrences, big and small, throughout the week. The Lord gave, and then he taketh away.

We wanted to bring back some elk meat from this trip, yet God providentially had it donated to needier people through no merit of our own. We didn't come home with the meat, but we came home with much, much more.

Break

2009-09-18T07:53:00.000-07:00

As you can see, I'm taking a little blogging break. Lots of things going on over here.
But visit The Little Way to enjoy some cute videos of my nephews! Too cute.

I'll leave you with a cute picture of Roxy with her new bow:

"See" you soon everyone!
God bless!

Small Successes Aggie Edition

2009-09-10T07:14:00.000-07:00

1- I bought everything I needed to start making some more bows. I am working on new bows already, including football ones! Like this one for Texas A&M:

2- Speaking of Texas A&M, we went to the game last weekend, and Roxy did mmm...well, not so well, but she she enjoyed looking at the band and clapped several times when everyone else was clapping! I spent parts of the game feeding her snacks and moving to different places so she could play (didn't she look super cute?!)
It was fun spending some time at A&M with family! And we won, so =)
By the way, I graduated from UT so officially I should be a Longhorn, but I started going to A&M games with Gerardo before being a Longhorn, so I consider myself more Aggie than Longhorn...people find that funny.

3- Seven family members, including 3 kids, stayed over at our house last weekend. We had fun. Everyone was happy, that's a success!

Visit Faith and Family for more Small Successes!

Yesterday I wore my apron

2009-09-09T16:51:00.000-07:00

It was almost dinner time and I knew Gerardo would be arriving home any minute. Baby Roxy was playing and watching a Baby Einstein video while I cooked dinner in the kitchen. I realized that making fried fish while wearing a black top wasn't the best idea, since I didn't want to get my top all covered with flour. So, I decided to wear my apron. It had been a while since I'd worn it, and it felt good.
There's something about aprons that make me feel like a very good housewife. Maybe it's the old, cute pictures like this one on your left, where the woman looks like a lady, cooking and lovingly taking care of her home.

I don't wear my apron everyday like my grandma used to when she was young. Maybe if I had one like this I would wear it more often ;)

Behold, a modern apron:

But who wants to get THAT all covered with flour? I'll stick to my old apron instead, thank you!

My first 7 Quick Takes!!

2009-09-04T14:43:00.000-07:00

1- I've been reading Conversion Diary for a while now. Isn't she funny and so intelligent?! I love your blog Jennifer, I learn so much from you.

2- Gerardo showed me a meditation from our Magnificat that reminded me how important it is to have the peace that only comes from God: "You should remember all your life that one of the principle causes of the small progress made by certain good people is that the devil continually fills their souls with disquiet, perplexities, and troubles, which render them incapable of serious, gentle, and constant application to the practice of virtue. The great principle of the interior life lies in peace of the heart: it must be preserved with such care that the moment it is lost, everything else should be abandoned for its re-establishment, just as when the house is on fire, one leaves everything in order to extinguish it…"

You can read the rest of the meditation in this blog that I found.

3- FYI: Baby Roxy turns 10 months TODAY! =)

4- I discovered a blog that I REALLY liked. Another blogger linked to it, so I clicked and became a fan right away. Go check it out, it is truly inspiring.

5- I don't know what else to write about.

6- As you can see in the video of Gerardo's last post, Roxy is starting to take a few steps with the help of things like laundry baskets.

I wanted to buy a pair of shoes for her. I was going to buy some Robeez for $29.99, but ended up buying the imitation that they sell at target for $12.99, and they've been working good so far. Roxy looks cute with little shoes. =)

7- I love it when I get Sonic coupons on the mail. That makes my day. =) Have a great labor day weekend!

Go here for more 7 Quick Takes!

Baby LOL

2009-09-01T18:24:00.000-07:00

Grabbing a little beach ball is hilarious. You didn't know that?

With a little help from a laundry basket

2009-09-01T18:19:00.000-07:00

Baby Roxy can walk!

See for yourself.

Little Bows for Girls

2009-08-28T13:23:00.000-07:00

I started making bows for baby Roxy about 7 months ago, and I enjoyed it so much that I decided to make more and see if I could sell some.
I mail the bows to people who live out of town and if you want other colors, I'll make the bow the way you want it. You'll choose between headband, alligator clip or barrette clip to go with your bow.
They make a great birthday, Christmas, or just-because present!

Here's the link to my facebook fan page of Little Bows for Girls. If you have facebook, you can become a fan if you want :) To see all the bows, view the pictures.

Also, here's the website. I haven't updated it yet, so not all of my new Fall and Winter bows are there.

Thanks for visiting and have a great weekend!

My First Small Successes

2009-08-27T06:33:00.000-07:00

This is the first time I participate in something like this, I'm excited!

1- Couple of weeks ago, wait was it last week? I don't remember when, but I hosted TWO playdates in one week, and my house was fairly clean. Thankyou!

2- I started blogging more often and I asked my husband to help me with the look of our blog. He did a really nice job, but it was MY small success being patient with my perfectionist dear husband. =)

3- I washed TWO loads of laundry in one day AND folded it AND put it all away before Gerardo came home from work. This might be smaller than a small success for some moms out there, but not for me. I didn't leave it in the basket to put it away "later"...that's huge!

Go visit Faith and Family LIVE for more Small Successes!

Thanks for reading!

Rename Subscription

2009-08-26T14:06:00.000-07:00

For those of you (few people) who use Google Reader to read our blog, I think you have to change the name of our blog manually, it doesn't do it automatically.

I just figured out how to do that, so in case you don't know how, here it goes:

1- Click on Newlywed Adventures on the list of your subscriptions (to the left).
2- Click on Feed Setting at the top.
3- Click on Rename Subscription.
4- Write Randomestic Tales or whatever you want to call our blog. :P

Thanks!

Cause and Effect

2009-08-25T19:23:00.001-07:00

Among other things, little Roxy is learning cause and effect. Here she discovers this phenomenon with the windshield wipers.

Pigtails and naps

2009-08-25T12:23:00.000-07:00

I was crawling on the floor all over the house with one hand, and my cellphone on the other hand, chasing baby Roxy. Just to take some pictures of her hair. Totally worth it.

After taking about 30, these two I liked the most.

Her first pigtails and her first ponytail:

Oh, how much fun I have with this girl, who, by the way, is starting to take only one nap a day. She'll be 10 months in around 10 days. Aren't kids supposed to drop to one nap until they turn 1? I'm still figuring out if this is temporary, or if she's officially taking only one 2-hour nap a day. We'll see.

New name New look

2009-08-24T20:01:00.000-07:00

We FINALLY have a new name for our blog and a new look (thanks to my dear husband). Since we're not newlyweds anymore, we cannot have newlywed adventures. So, we came up with a different name: Randomestic Tales.

Hope you like it! =)

Hello again!

2009-08-24T12:16:00.000-07:00

Ok everyone, I know I haven't posted in a while, but I feel like posting right now, so here it goes.

Baby Roxy is 9 months and 3 weeks, so when they ask me, I just say she's almost 10 months old. Life with her is so much fun. Everyday she does something new, or discovers a little part of our world. I am thankful for having the opportunity to stay home with her and witness every little one of her accomplishments. Her more recent ones are:

Sleeping through the night (we're so happy about that one), eating finger food, pulling up and taking small steps around the coffee tables, clapping, waving bye bye, doing the "give me 5 (I don't know another way of explaining that), putting her head under the water (we took swim classes this summer), crawling ALL OVER the house and closing the doors, and signing "more".

We went to her 9 month check-up a couple of weeks ago, and she is 80 percentile in height, but only 20 percentile in weight. Doctor said she's going to be tall and skinny and we don't have to worry about her weight. She's really active and likes to eat everything, so I guess she just has a fast metabolism.

Anyway, here are some recent pictures:

As you can see, she's daddy's little girl:
Here she is with the little bow that mommy made for her (yes, I'm selling bows, I'll post about that soon!!)
After bathtime:
With her new crocs:

Priceless:And yesterday we went with our friends The Roses to a really cool aquatic center for kids. We had lots of fun.

So that's it for today. I want to post more often, but sometimes I just don't know what to write about. But since I'm not taking classes anymore (I graduated in May. Don't remember if we posted about that), I need somewhere to practice writing in English, and blogging is a good way of doing that. So pardon me if I misspell a word or use an incorrect verb tense. Blogging would be easier if everyone understood Spanish, but that's okay, I'll go ahead and practice my English.

Standing, Crawling, Clapping

2009-07-09T18:53:00.000-07:00

Mini Roxy has had a lot of firsts recently. Here's a little collection of clips where she demonstrates her new feats.

Jeopardy!

2009-07-08T20:08:00.000-07:00

For some reason, mini Roxy found the Jeopardy theme song pretty funny about a month ago. Enjoy!

Roxy 8 month update

2009-07-07T19:25:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since we've posted, so this one is jam-packed. First we had a lot of family in over. My brother and his family was visiting from the middle east and they finally met mini Roxy in person. Roxy couldn't get enough of her cousins and here's she's hanging out with two of them.

Here I'm posing with my nephews and their new John Deere tractor toys.

A week or two later we took mini Roxy on her first photo shoot. Here's a taste of some of the pics:

The week after that we headed to Monterrey to hang out with Roxy's dad while celebrating her birthday.

Here's mini Roxy with Jorge and Christian, her uncles.

And here's a random picture that was too cute not to post.

Last week I got a couple of days off for Independence Day so we took a quick trip to New Braunfels just to get away. Mini Roxy got her first taste of a swimming pool.

Little Roxy is 6 months old!

2009-05-08T19:37:00.000-07:00

(by Roxy using Gerardo's account)

Little Roxy is 6 months old...and mommy and daddy are falling more in love with her everyday. She has two teeth already and is semi-crawling which is making us baby-proof the house!

Here she is on her 6 month birthday:

On her new highchair eating carrots. She has eaten carrots, bananas and green beans so far. So far, so good!

Here she is with Daddy- totally in love with her.

And today we went to a sprinkler park with the Andrews and the girls looked VERY cute in their swimming suits!

Happy Spring!

A Turtle Visitor

2009-05-08T19:16:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, was just a normal day ... make some returns, do some shopping, go to the park, and a watch a turtle lay eggs in our front yard (that's the not normal part).

Here's Little Roxy at the park:

And here's our turtle visitor that was hanging out on our front yard when we got back from the park.

After taking a couple of photos, we left the turtle alone and it made it's way out. The next day I came back to the area we saw the turtle and voila - she had laid some eggs!

We'll let you know if and when they hatch.

Baby's First Easter Pictures and More

2009-04-14T21:13:00.001-07:00

Happy Easter! Enjoy the photos!

Happy birthday Sierra, and thanks for letting me play in the jumper.

I'm waving my hand so fast, you can't even see it!

What an outfit!

First ride on the mower for baby Roxy. As soon as she turns one, she has mowing duty every two weeks.

What I've been up to

2009-04-01T15:34:00.000-07:00

I started making bows for little Roxy. I'm having a lot of fun! Here are some pictures and a link to the album with some of the other bows. If you want to buy one for a little girl in your family I'll mail it to you, just e-mail me!

Little Roxy's 5 month update coming soon. Can you believe she'll be 5 months in three days?!

Roxy 4 Month Videos

2009-03-15T18:30:00.000-07:00

We have some new videos of our baby girl. The first one is her enjoying a bouncer seat that her grandfather Jorge gave her. You can tell she gets the hang of it real quick.

The next one is Roxy laughing as Dad makes some dog-like noises. You can tell I'm beyond shame in making noises that she enjoys. Towards the end of the video she lets out a long babble-shriek, which is fast becoming her trademark.

Four Months!

2009-03-14T20:14:00.000-07:00

Little Roxy's ear piercing, first hershey's and jean dress...You can see it all in our new Photo Album!

Four Month Adventures!

Happy Birthday to my husband!

2009-02-24T10:06:00.000-08:00

Gerardo's birthday was on Saturday and we celebrated with the family. We ate Carne Asada, cake with strawberries and ice cream, and then went to eat dinner at a yummi Mexican restaurant with Clarissa and Jesse.
May God give Gerardo many more happy years! Dios te bendiga babe!

Here's everyone (little Roxy was not very happy)

Family of three:
Mama Clarita and Papa grande with their grandaughter:
And here are some pictures of last week:

I'm smiling!
I love my doll!

Rolling Over

2009-02-24T09:49:00.000-08:00

Little Roxy rolled over for the first time!! She was three months and a week!! In this video she rolls over for the third time:

It's been great celebrating every new thing she learns to do. I love being by her side every day and seeing how she learns and changes. It's always different, sometimes difficult, but truly wonderful.

three months!

2009-02-04T07:32:00.000-08:00

Little Roxy is THREE months old today. I feel that she has been with us for more than that, and at the same time I am amazed at how fast time has gone by. Everyday is different and challenging with this baby girl, and every night when I see her sleeping peacefully I can't believe she is my daughter and how much I love her.

Here are a few pictures from last Saturday at the park:

Happy three months little roxy! You are our perfect gift from God.

Someone's Babbling Now

2009-01-29T19:15:00.000-08:00

Almost three months!

2009-01-29T18:17:00.000-08:00

Check out my latest photos!

Almost three months!

FYI: We need to find a new name for our blog.

2009-01-14T09:42:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!

Happy New Year 2009!
Little Roxy is already two months and two weeks old and she is doing great! On her two months check up we discovered that she gained 2 pounds and is healthy and happy. She started smiling more and more recently; her smile makes my day! She loves to be entertained with toys and stares at everything to process it in her little brain. She sleeps between 4 and 6 hours during the night, and goes back to sleep right away after nursing! That is much better compared to 2 or 3 hours and then having to rock her to go back to sleep. I am a happy mama!

We had her Baptism on December 27, Feast of St. John!

Here are some pictures of our recent adventures:

"What do I do now?" face:
With Uncle Robert:

Photo session- Cute Smile!:Is she comfortable or what?
Her first bottle of breastmilk (so Gerardo and I could go out on a date =), we went to The Melting Pot, we loved it!)

Her Baptism! With her Godparents, Clarissa and Jesse. Father Mary-David did a beautiful ceremony:With her grandparents, Godparents, parents, and Father:
Didn't she look beautiful!!! That was the baptismal gown my brothers and I used for our baptisms!

Christmas with her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother!
We love you!
With Fr. Michael-Therese who came to visit:
Cute clothes after all the Christmas gifts she received! =)That's it for today. =)

Christmas Smiles

2008-12-26T10:43:00.000-08:00

Feliz Navidad

2008-12-26T10:25:00.001-08:00

We didn't quite get a Christmas card made this year, but perhaps next year, so this picture will have to do.

"Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger." Luke 2, 10-12

Merry Christmas to all from the Garcia Ibarrola Family.

Thanksgiving Pictures and More

2008-12-02T20:05:00.000-08:00

Sorry we haven't posted much. For now, pictures will have to do!

Mini Roxy's almost a month old

2 week pictures

2008-11-20T20:06:00.000-08:00

Baby Roxy turned 2 weeks on Tuesday. Here are a few photos from this week.

Little Roxy - two weeks and counting

Maria Roxy - now she's home

2008-11-07T12:02:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we left the hospital after lunch and brought Maria Roxy home. She quickly adjusted to her new home and has been doing great! Here's a few pictures from yesterday.

Roxy is now at home

Maria Roxy's First Album

2008-11-05T16:30:00.000-08:00

Roxy's First Album

Introducing Maria Roxanna Garcia Ibarrola

2008-11-04T11:31:00.001-08:00

We like to call her Maria-Roxy.

8:58 AM November 4, 2008

8lbs 14 oz (4.03 kg)

20.25 inches, 51 cm

St. David's Medical Center

If you'd like to come and visit - just give us a ring. We'll be there until Thursday afternoon or so.

D+10

2008-11-03T07:39:00.000-08:00

And still waiting!
Thanks for all your prayers =)

41 weeks!

2008-10-31T06:30:00.000-07:00

I was going to start counting, am I D+7? Then I realized...oh, today I'm 41 weeks.

She's still not ready to come out. Family is getting anxious! I'm just trying to relax and pray that she'll come alone! We have an appointment with the doctor today, I'm kidn of excited because he'll do an ultrasound to make sure she's fine and can stay inside for a couple of more days. We haven't had an ultrasound done since like the 23rd week! I can't wait to see her, at least through there! I'll try to post pictures of the ultrasound OR pictures of a real baby if she decides to show up =)

Oh, and happy halloween! I always said that I didn't want her to be born on halloween, but at this point, it doesn't matter! Of course I would prefer tomorrow, All Saints Day, but if she comes today I'll be more than happy to welcome her into our world! Who cares about the date, right?

D+5

2008-10-29T06:28:00.001-07:00

She's still inside me. It's getting colder and colder outside...why would she want to come out?

PLEASE pray so she comes alone, I don't want to be induced and that would happen next week. We still have time, though, and we have HOPE! =)

Thanks for all the comments and advice. I am trying to rest, but I don't want to rest too much because they say walking helps get labor started, so I am balancing both.

Oh, and at this point, you should look at people's faces when I answer that I was due "mmm...4 days ago!", they just say, "Oh goodness, any moment now, then!!".
Yep, any moment now, that's what we've been saying too.

D+3

2008-10-27T06:19:00.000-07:00

Three days late already?!?!?!? I didn't think it possible, but it's happening.

Gerardo just left for work, and I am not having contractions. Today I woke up with a lot of energy, I feel totally ready to start labor, but apparently baby is not ready.
It's hard to wait with patience. Yesterday while we were praying I just asked God to help me accept His will, and I know that He knows what he's doing, so I just have to trust and let it go. This baby will come sooner or later and the good thing is that she is doing great, she is comfortable, with a good heart rate and moving a lot, so she'll come when she's ready, that's the beauty of nature! God, help me remember that!

In the meantime, here's a picture of us in the baby's room. I don't think I posted a picture of the room all ready with furniture, so here we are.

We can't wait to meet you sweet, little baby! All your daddy and I talk about is you! We love you SO much!

My Letter to Apple Inc.

2008-10-24T19:18:00.000-07:00

I have always been a big fan of Apple products. I can remember our beloved Apple IIc computer that my parents bought when we were little so that we would be exposed to the future of technology. Later on, we bought a Performa 405, then another Mac that I personally picked out from a MacMall catalog (I can't remember the model).

When I was in college I saved up enough to buy my self a PowerMac G3. I have then bought a PowerBook G3, a PowerBook G4 (which I recently sold for about $500 five years after I got it!), and most recently a MacBook for my wife. I also bought one of the very first iPods, back when it was only supported on a Mac and had a black and white screen. And you wouldn't believe how much money I have spent on the iTunes music store over the years.

All my support of Apple products made me that much more disappointed when I learned that Apple has publicly taken a political position in opposition of Proposition 8 in California. Proposition 8 would amend the constitution to state the following: "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid and recognized in California".

I went to Apple's website and submitted the following letter:

To whom it may concern:

I have been an avid Apple user since I was in grade school and a shareholder for close to ten years. I was very disappointed to learn that Apple Inc. has taken a public position to oppose Proposition 8.

Apple Inc. claims that it is a civil rights issue, however Proposition 8 does not infringe on the civil rights of California citizens. In fact, California's domestic partner law already protects the same rights of gay couples that are afforded to married couples.

By taking a position on Proposition 8, Apple Inc. is supporting a redefinition of marriage. Apple Inc., should allow the people of California to decide the definition of marriage.

Additionally, by taking a corporate position, Apple Inc. is creating a hostile working environment for it's own employees who support proposition 8. Finally, Apple Inc. is also incurring unnecessary business risk by taking a political position that is not in support of a business interest.

Sincerely,

Gerardo Garcia

Unfortunately, Google has also taken a similar position.

TODAY?

2008-10-24T14:21:00.000-07:00

I just came back from Starbucks. It was so funny. I went in and I think the lady recognized me.
"How are you?", she said.
"Fine, thank you!", I said. "Can I have a tall iced latte with only half a shot and whipped cream, please"
"Ok!", at this point, the lady that prepares the coffee was listening to me saying what I wanted. So she asked: "When are you due?"
"Today!"
"TODAY?!", both ladies said at the same time with a very, VERY loud voice.
"I can totally see your water breaking right now!", one of them said.
"Oh, can you imagine!", I said.

I guess everyone studying, reading, or just chatting at that Starbucks must have turned around and looked at what was happening, but I just smiled and payed for my coffee. =)

And no, my water didn't brake at Starbucks, thankfully!

Due date -1 day

2008-10-23T20:18:00.000-07:00

So, tomorrow is my due date. It's funny when people ask "When's your baby due?" and I'm like "mm..tomorrow!". I REALLY don't think tomorrow will be her birthday, I haven't had any strong contractions or anything, but you never know right? Although, my doctor said only 3% of women deliver on their due dates. We'll see.
Tomorrow we finish our novena to San Gerardo, and even if the baby is not born tomorrow, I am sure we have received and will continue to receive a lot of graces thanks to his intercession.

We'll keep you posted and I'll try to post some pictures tomorrow of my big belly. =)
Thanks for all your comments and for checking our blog for updates.

San Gerardo

2008-10-15T14:49:00.000-07:00

St. Gerard Majella is the patron saint of expectant mothers. His feast day is tomorrow, October 16. My due date is October 24, exactly 9 days after St. Gerard's feast day. Isn't that funny?
Now, my husband's name is Gerardo, so tomorrow I will celebrate him to =)

Ok, so we are going to start a novena to St. Gerard tomorrow the 16. I wanted to share that here just in case you want to pray it too =) We will pray for a safe labor and delivery.

Thank you all! And thanks Sharon, for the link.

Family Retreat!

2008-10-11T14:41:00.000-07:00

The community of St. John hosted the 2nd annual family day near Buda, Texas today at the beautiful Follet Ranch. Roxy and I got a new camera in preparation for the baby, so I took it along for it's maiden voyage. We got a Panasonic Lumix TZ5 which is a digital point and shoot with a nice lens and up to 10x optical zoom. It also can record video in HD.

We got to the Follet Ranch around mid morning, in time to catch Fr. John Jesus' talk to the adults about the paradox of the Gospel. He spent a lot of time reflecting on the story of Job as well.

We had a wonderful time seeing a lot of our friends, and of course they were excited to know we were only two weeks from our due date.

I got a chance to use the camera burst mode during "Dunk a Monk". Here's Brother Gabriel getting going under.

The quote of the day came from Therese Hebert, who after hearing us tell someone that our baby would be a girl, looks up at Roxy and says "How do you know, did God tell you?"

Due date-16 Days

2008-10-08T09:14:00.000-07:00

Hello, I'm still here, pregnant! Everything is going well, I haven't had any complications, so at this point, we are just waiting. My due date is in 16 days, but like the doctor said yesterday, it can be two weeks before, or even two weeks AFTER my due date. He said only 3% of women have their babies on their due dates. It's strange to think about it, the baby could come tomorrow, or could come until the first week of November! I'm just wondering when her birthday will be. We are all ready, though. Well we are waiting for the car seat and stroller to come in the mail. We have the room ready, clothes ready, the suitcase that we'll take to the hospital is almost ready. We bought a swing from craigslist last saturday, so we have that. I already washed all the new clothes and blankets and towels, etc. They are nice and clean and that makes me feel good, it's all part of the nesting, that's what they told me.
I haven't had any contractions yet, and I'm not looking forward to having them, but at the same time I hope they'll come soon.

Ok- so here's my progress:

First Trimester:

Second trimester:
Third Trimester:I'll try to post another update soon. I want to thank Sharon, Katie and Jenny for the beautiful baby shower they organized for me. I'll have a lot of Saints praying for me during labor thanks to them. =)
I also want to thank Veronica and Blair for staying with me while our husbands were hunting in Colorado. It was a busy week having 6 kids around, but it would've been boring being all alone here. I learned a lot from you two great moms. =)

Oh, and I almost forgot: When do you think Baby Garcia will come? How much will she weigh? Just for fun, leave us a comment if you want! We'll give you a price if you guess correctly...maybe a kiss from a newborn baby girl? Or a picture?
Gerardo and I already have our guesses, what's yours?

Video

2008-09-11T07:40:00.000-07:00

Just in case you haven't see it in another blog. Totally worth it:

FYI

2008-09-04T10:19:00.000-07:00

My favorite part of Sarah Palin's speech last night:

"Here's how I look at the choice Americans face in this election: In politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers, and there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change"

And you can read a mom's perspective here.

=) Go Sarah, Go!

FYI#2: This is the first time I will vote as an American citizen!

FYI#3: We have "McCain" magnetic bumper stickers, let me know if you want one.

Baby's Room is Ready!

2008-08-27T05:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, after almost two weeks of hard work, our baby's room is ready! I am so excited! I have to say that my husband worked really hard on this. First he had to be patient with me deciding the colors for the walls. Then he bought the materials, read online how to do it, asked friends for advice, borrowed tools from those friends (thanks JR and Cory), bought some tools for himself, and then the hard work began.

So, enough of me talking, here are the pictures~

The room before:

And....

After! (at night)

(during the day):
The process:

First, putting the famous blue tape all over the place for painting with three different colors: yellow, green and pink!

Richard came to help:

My brother Christian and Devin came to help the next day:

Then the next several days...

The painting was done and it was time for painting and cutting the chair rail:
Then we had a chair rail:

Then we had these (what do you call them babe?) in between each color:

Then we had a carpet to take off:

And a floor to put:

Then some other stuff that I don't even know how to say in english...
And now we have a happy couple with a remodeled room! Yay! =)

I thank God for husbands who know how to do a man's work with their big hands!

This and that, and that too.

2008-08-13T08:14:00.000-07:00

So here I am. Sitting on the couch drinking a cup of milk with sugar a little bit of coffee just to give it that flavor that I miss so much. It's passed 10AM, I am supposed to be in class, but yesterday was my final exam, so summer session II is over. Today, I get to relax before starting my next and last class before graduating. I will start this on-line extension course as soon as possible and try to finish it before our baby is born. Anyway, getting four classes out of the way this summer was tough, but totally worth it.

I am feeling fine these days. I'll be 30 weeks this Friday, I feel very big and cannot imagine getting even bigger. How does that happen?
My lower back hurts sometimes. I try to do pelvic rocks everyday, and they help. It's getting difficult picking things up from the floor, so I use my toes a lot, it looks funny but it's better than having back pain after bending down.

My husband painted the nursery this past weekend. I'll post pictures soon, but we'll have to wait until he puts the chair rail this coming weekend. I really liked the colors we chose. It's light yellow, light green and light pink. I wanted the room to look peaceful and my husband is doing a really good job! Sometimes I go in there and even though it smells a lot like paint, I stand still and imagine all the moments ahead of us with this baby. We are preparing this room just for her, because we are excited and love her so much and we want our nest to be pretty, safe, and peaceful. We want her to feel loved!

Baby moves a lot these days. She is a good kicker. I hope she is moving in the correct direction, with her head at the bottom and facing my back- that's the position we want little girl, you can do it!
I'm getting excited about the upcoming baby showers. I will have two in Laredo. One from my friends from high school and the other one from my mom and my mom-in law. Here in Austin we'll have a couples one from Gerardo's co-workers and a girls one from my friends here. It's going to be so fun to celebrate the coming of this little baby. Thanks to everyone for sharing this happiness with us.

Now I'll stand up and stretch after writing this long post. My cup has no more milk and that has consequences... I need to go to the restroom, again!

4th of July and growing belly

2008-07-18T12:16:00.000-07:00

We spent 4th of July weekend in Laredo and we got to see Vero, Enrique, Enriquito, Palito and Fernandito! It was so much fun. Enrique bought a cowboy hat and some boots for Enriquito and I took a picture with his Godfather, my husband! Aren't they handsome? I just love this picture!

In other news, I can't believe I missed the day when I had 100 more days to go. I now have 98 days, can't believe it! Today I'm 26 weeks pregnant. I had to take a picture of my growing belly. I feel very pregnant now, and the baby grew a lot in two months, thanks be to God! Here's a look at 4 months and then 6 months and two weeks. I'm wearing the same pink shirt on both pictures but I don't wear it to go out anymore, it's too tight! =)

It's funny to remember how I felt when I was 4 months pregnant, I thought belly was big! I see it now and I laugh at myself, I was so small. I guess I'll laugh again when I see myself in three more months, almost ready to give birth and meet our baby girl!

My new favorite place

2008-07-01T08:34:00.000-07:00

If you live around Austin and you likefrozen yogurt, you got to try my new favorite place: Tomunchi Frozen Yogurt- click HERE for directions, etc.

I was driving through Parmer one day and saw "frozen yogurt". I decided to go in and try it, since it was so hot outside and yogurt sounded healthy. I discovered that this is a self-serve place. They have machines with yogurts of different flavors. You can sample all of them, just ask for a small cup to sample. When you decide which one you want, get a cup, get as much yogurt as you want, then go to the bar of toppings with fresh fruits and candies and cookies and SPRINKLES! You choose whatever you want to go with your yogurt. Then they weight the cup and charge you 39 cents and ounce.
The good thing is that you get as much as you want, be sure to serve yourself just what you'll eat, and it's not expensive at all! The first time I went, it cost me like $2.20 and then $2.88 and then $3.50 (I was hungry).
I recommend the plain tart flavor with strawberries, pineapple, and granola.

Enjoy people! =)

This and That

2008-06-26T08:45:00.001-07:00

I said I was going to post more often since I'm out of school and don't have morning sickness anymore, but I do have summer school, so that's why I haven't been posting a lot.

Anyway, life is good here at the Garcia Ibarrola's. It's amazing how everyday I feel like my belly is growing and growing, is it really growing every single day or it's just my imagination? I don't know. But I do feel baby kick every day! Thank God I haven't had to worry about not feeling anything. I enjoy being able to feel AND see some baby moves. I think I am discovering the difference between feeling kicks and just feeling baby move. Gerardo has been able to feel/see the baby moving now, and it's nice because it definitely helps to BELIEVE that a baby is there inside of me. It's just so amazing and hard to imagine.

I've been taking summer classes and I'll finish first summer session, then go to Laredo to visit family (Garcia Saenz are coming!), and then come back and start summer session two. It's nice to think that it's almost over, only need second summer session and one more class that I'll take online after that. Then I'll be done!

We went to Home Depot this weekend to look at colors to paint the walls of the baby's future room and floors to change that carpet. It's going to be difficult to decide, but Gerardo has been really patient and has had great ideas! We also went to Babies 'r us to see bedding and cribs. It was so much fun...that place is HUGE! It drives me crazy wanting to buy all those cute little outfits, but I didn't, I controlled myself! The beddings didn't convince me though, I think I'll try someplace else for that. I want something more calm and peaceful instead of bright colors and large dark figures everywhere. I still have time to decide that, so no pressure, just enjoying it! =)

I was reading some of my very old posts from before we got married. It was nice to read and remember how excited I was. I want to remember how I feel these months of my first pregnancy. I started to write a diary with letters to my daughter. I'll remember what I was feeling and hopefully one day we'll sit down and read them together enjoying a glass of chocolate milk and cookies!
YUM!

Birthday!

2008-06-21T18:06:00.000-07:00

Friday was my 22nd birthday! The funny thing was that exactly that day I was 22 weeks pregnant.=) We had to take a picture of the belly to remember that day.

I enjoyed eating Kolaches for breakfast that my husband brought as a surprise together with flowers, a balloon and a card. My day couldn't have started in a better way. Then I spent the rest of the day on the phone with friends and family, went to Mass, the mall with a friend and then to Red Robin with a lot of friends and their kids. There were FOUR pregnant ladies in the group and lots of kids! It was fun! We had burgers, milkshakes, and cake...what else could I ask for?

Thanks to everyone for coming and thanks to my husband for organizing it. Here are some pics:

Therese with a funny hat:
Half of the group-
Jenny, Olivia, Molly and me:
Other half of the group:
First birthday pregnant and last one before baby comes!!

First Anniversary!

2008-06-09T12:51:00.001-07:00

Today, a year ago Gerardo and I got married!

A year ago I could dream about our life together, but couldn't be certain of how it would be. Today I realize how much I've learned and grown in a year and how happy I've been. How blessed I am to have the person I love beside me every morning.

Marriage is beautiful and with God all things are possible, so baby, I want to continue walking by your side many many many more years.

I love you!

It's a ......

2008-05-30T18:54:00.000-07:00

Today was the day we were waiting for. Today we saw our baby's head, hands, feet, spine, ribs, heart, etc. Today I feel more like a mom than yesterday. Today we found out our baby is ...

an AGGIE:
(notice the words gig'em in the middle of the ultrasound, just above the arm with the hand doing the Aggie gig'em sign- that was the doctor's idea, we loved it!)

We have a baby waving hello with a tiny hand and we loved waving back:

We have a baby with a perfect face and a cute little nose that we loved: (Notice the profile of the baby. The baby is looking up and you can see the nose and the lips just below the word "profile" in the middle of the ultrasound)

Oh, and we are going to have a baby GIRL!!!!!!!!!
That's what the doctor said, and we're loving it! =)

New Look

2008-05-16T12:39:00.000-07:00

So, I was getting tired of my super long hair. It's getting really hot these days, and being pregnant during the whole summer was going to be even warmer, especially with super long hair. So, I decided to donate it! Locks of Love is an organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children under age 18 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis.
Here's a good picture I found where you can see my hair from the back and front, this was in February:

Here's the braid:

Here's my new look:

I still have to get used to it. But I have to admit that life got much easier and cooler!
I really hope my hair donation brings a smile to a child's face!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Laundry solutions

2008-05-14T07:41:00.000-07:00

I wanted something practical to separate dirty clothes. Since it's only Gerardo and me, I only do laundry about once a week. So, I was getting tired of separating the clothes by colors and then having the big piles on the floor and then grabbing them and putting into a basket and then carrying the huge basket to the laundry room. Everything took too much time. SOOOO, we bought this:

Time to do laundry? Just take the bag of the clothes you want to wash, there's whites, black, and different colors and an extra bag for towels. I love it. =)

I wonder if this is part of the "nesting" everyone talks about....

Baby Update

2008-05-12T11:19:00.000-07:00

That's my first mother's day gift from Vero, and the pictures of the first and only ultrasound so far.

Somehow my inspiration for blogging is coming back. I think it's the fact that first trimester is over and I am not feeling sick all day anymore. We are now 4 months pregnant! I can't believe how fast time is flying. Since I just finished this semester and I am not starting summer classes until later, I will try to post more often, besides, I need to practice writing in English too!

We've had the opportunity to hear the baby's heartbeat twice now, it was beautiful! Every time I've heard it, I've had watery eyes, it's just so amazing and truly a blessing.

Pregnancy is going well, I need to gain more weight though, because I haven't gained any, but now that I am out of school, with no stress, I am definitely eating more, so I don't worry about that! I never thought I would say that I need to gain weight, only happens to pregnant women I guess! I'll enjoy drinking all the milkshakes I want while it lasts!

We'll have a second ultrasound done on the end of May, and hopefully we'll now if we have a baby girl or baby boy, I'm SO excited!!!

I am not sure if I am feeling the baby move already, because I don't know how it feels, hopefully I'll recognize the feeling soon.

Yesterday during Mother's Day mass I realized how much I love this baby already, it's a beautiful new feeling. I still have a hard time believing I have a baby in my tummy, but the fact that I had to buy maternity clothes, helps.

So, here are two pictures of my little belly, even though it's little, it's growing fast. =)

Thanks for your prayers!

Introducing the "Jorge y Benedicto" Patio

2008-04-20T17:31:00.000-07:00

My gracious father-in-law gave us a gift in sponsoring the new furniture of our outdoor patio. In his honor and in honor of Pope Benedict's visit to the U.S. during this time (which Roxy and I have been following on EWTN most of the weekend), we have named our patio the "Jorge y Benedicto" area.

Flower Garden!

2008-04-20T16:21:00.000-07:00

Planting a flower garden is definitely a newlywed adventure!

I've never had a very green thumb, but for some reason, I got it in me to start a flower garden in front of our home. I talked to Roxy about it and she got pretty excited, so last weekend, I got after it.

The area where we were planting the flowers had some juniper and some weeds I needed to get rid of before planting the flowers.

Here I'm digging up some of the weeds

This was the juniper that took a lot longer than I expected to dig up.

After digging it up, here I started prepping the ground by mixing in some organic soil from Lowe's

It got dark before we were able to start planting our flowers. We picked the flowers up at Lowe's and pretty much decided on the flowers on a whim. We planted a Winter Gem Boxwood, a couple of Stella de Oro Daylilies, a Raspberry Surprise Dianthus, some Aztec grass, and finally, Roxy couldn't pass up getting a Farolito Lily.

Here's Roxy watering the plants.

Here I am adding some mulch

This was the next afternoon.

A week later, our Farolito Lily was already blooming!

And here's our Raspberry Surprise Dianthus.

Welcome!!!!

2008-04-15T15:05:00.000-07:00

Pope Benedict XV! Welcome! =)

Video

2008-04-07T14:23:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to share this with you. Let's open our eyes Christians, and be an example to the world!

You can do it!

2008-03-10T08:20:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone for your good wishes and prayers.
So, yeah, like my husband mentioned, we are pregnant! We were very surprised at God's plan, but now we are starting to see how He has everything figured out for us. We are SO excited and happy. I can't believe I have someone inside of me growing every second.
I've been feeling the famous morning sickness ALL DAY, why didn't anyone tell me it was not just in the morning?? Oh well, I'm getting used to it. My husband is being really helpful reminding me to eat something before I even get out of bed to avoid feeling nausea. I don't want to complain because all this nausea means that the baby is still doing it's thing inside of me, and that's what we want! "You can do it!", I tell him/her as much as I can.

I have Spring Break this week, so I'm already enjoying it a lot. Resting feels good!

So this was my update!

YAY! I'm pregnant!!!!!! =)

Unexpectedly Expecting

2008-03-05T18:01:00.000-08:00

When you get this:

That leads to this:

And I thought I just got a cake for my 30th birthday!

We are very excited and appreciate your prayers for Bebe Garcia!

Nuestro Padre

2008-02-06T18:59:00.001-08:00

As some of you may know, the founder of the Legionaries of Christ and Regnum Christi, Fr. Marcial Maciel, passed away last week. I've learned from him since I was a little girl, and I respect him and admire him a lot. I will miss having our founder alive, but I am sure he is praying for us in heaven.
In this link , there is a GREAT and TRUE summary of the history of Nuestro Padre (Devin, you did a great job, I am impressed).

Below is a video in Spanish, but with beautiful images showing just a little of his wonderful life.

Meme

2008-01-31T07:54:00.000-08:00

Since Veronica tagged me and I FINALLY have some free time, I will answer this meme thing.

1. WERE YOU NAMED FOR ANYONE? Yes! My mom.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? mmm...don't remember. I cry pretty often, because happy things make me cry =)

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Sometimes. I like my husband's better.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? a like all of them, can't really taste the difference.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? We really REALLY want kids, but God wants us to wait a little. HE works in mysterious ways.

6. WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Yes

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Sometimes, especially when I want to motivate myself and say :"Oh its gonna be GREAT doing homework this weekend!"

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? No! Not even for a million dollars.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? I love cereal! Any cereal, except the really boring ones with fiber and all that. I like the happy ones designed for kids. Lately I have been trying to eat Cheerios though...I'm not a kid anymore!

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? I try to.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Nope! That's why I have my husband to open the bottles and cans for me.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Same as Blair and Vero...Cookies and Cream. I also like vanilla with colorful sprinkles!

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? I am not sure...their face I guess.

15. RED OR PINK? Pink!

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF? That I cry for everything and sometimes I can't control myself. Also, thinking that I know someone just by being around them...don't judge and you will not be judged Roxy!

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My husband when he is out of town...I could be with him 24/7 and never get tired.

18. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? All brown.

19. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? corn pops with milk! I didn't follow my Cheerios rule this morning...oops!

20. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? A tutor teaching some students the letter "C"-I am at an elementary school library.

21. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? mmm...maybe purple or pink

22. FAVORITE SMELLS? Fresh and Clean clothes.

23. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Gerardo

24. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Ice skating, gymnastics and Aggie football with my husband.

25. HAIR COLOR? Light brown

26. EYE COLOR? Brown

27. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Nope

28. FAVORITE FOOD? Real Mexican tacos in Mexico with limon y salsa! yummi!!

29. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? happy endings =)

30. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Evan Almighty

31. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Maroon sweater.

32. SUMMER OR WINTER? Spring!

33. HUGS OR KISSES? Can I say both?

34. FAVORITE DESSERT? Maybe lemon pie with meringue on top. Also Apple pie a la mode!

35. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? Like 8 books for my 5 classes. No time for other kind of books for now.

36. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? I use laptop. But Gerardo has a mouse pad with a picture of us that I gave him our first Valentine's day. Cute!

37. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? Aggies playing basketball. Aggies winning the game.

38. FAVORITE SOUNDS? mmm...I like to hear someone laughing. I can't think of anything else.

39. BEATLES OR ROLLING STONES? Neither

40. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Malta: A tiny island below Italy where we went for our honeymoon.

41. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? mmm...I can change moods pretty randomly. Is that a talent?

42. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Monterrey, Mexico!

Viva Mexico!

I tag Devin and Katie! Your turn.

March For Life 2008

2008-01-23T19:10:00.000-08:00

We had the chance to go to D.C. for the wonderful March for Life! I had never seen so many persons in one place. There were hundreds of thousands! It was so inspiring to see so many pro-life people gathered for the same cause. It proves to me how God is always going to win. Even though sometimes we don't see it, I had it there in front of my eyes.

We went with our friends Jorge and Laura who hosted us. It was so much fun spending time with them and their friends. =)

I used this slide thing to put some of the hundreds of pictures I took like a crazy women. I was just having so much fun trying to capture in pictures as much as I could.

You see us riding the subway, listening to the speakers, marching, in front of the Supreme Court holding our signs. You see Clinton and Obama, Christ in front of the Capitol and you see some of my favorite signs. Oh, and you see how cold it was...at least it wasn't snowing.

I leave you with a quote from President Bush: "And the fingers and toes and beating hearts that we can see on an unborn child's ultrasound come with something that we cannot see: a soul."

Enjoy! =)

Have you ever considered...

2008-01-15T18:15:00.000-08:00

sponsoring a child?
That was something that I always wanted to do, and this year Gerardo and I decided to do it. So now we have a picture up on the fridge with a magnet. This picture of a little, humble 7 year old girl from Mexico reminds me to thank my God for so many things.
For living in a safe and warm house. For never worrying about what we will eat tonight. For my loving family. For the work of my husband and his responsibility. For the hope and many possibilities ahead of me. For my faith.

Thank you my God for giving us the privilege to help a little soul. Don't let us take for granted anything and remind us that everything we have is yours and you want us to share it with others.
May God protect you and bless you Rubi! Thank you for teaching us SO much only with your existence!

If you would like to sponsor a child or an elderly friend go HERE. Only $30 dlls. a month make all the difference. Please consider it. They need us.

Christmas Gifts

2008-01-07T14:27:00.000-08:00

After our vacations around everywhere, we are back! My husband did a pretty good job sharing what we did (thanks baby). And yes, I know, I can't believe either that I went hunting. But I did!
It was an interesting experience, and I think I can be brave enough to repeat it sometime in the future...maybe.

On another note, I want to recommend two movies that I received as Christmas gifts from my mother-in-law and from Gerardo. You can get them at Amazon.com or ignatius.com.

The first one is "Inside the Vatican". It's a documentary that National Geographic did, and it really, literally takes you Inside the Vatican. They show all the different things that are happening behind what people see. For example: nuns are restoring really old paints and statues, they have printing machines that are printing programs for upcoming events, the Pope is having an audience with someone, the Missionaries of Charity that have a house inside the Vatican are serving food to poor poeple, a man is trying to digitalize secret documents from the secret archives like for example, the only letter left that Michelangelo wrote!
Pretty good documentary, I totally recommend it!
The other movie I received is "The Life of St. Gianna Molla". This wife, mother, and doctor is a great Saint to know about. She inspires me so much!
The movie is also like a documentary and it shows the Saint's life with real pictures, family videos, and stories told by her friends, her youngest daughter and her husband! You also get to see her whole family at the canonization ceremony and when her husband and the youngest daughter (she is the one that was born before St. Gianna died) receive a blessing from the great John Paul II and when they share a few words.
The whole documentary is very inspiring and it moves your heart and can make you cry...of happiness. Totally recommend it too!
Happy movie shopping!

Back from Christmas Vacation!

2008-01-01T20:08:00.000-08:00

And I’m ready for the weekend. Unfortunately I’m going to work tomorrow, but Roxy’s still on vacation. She’ll get to spend her day unpacking our luggage, doing the laundry, and restocking our refrigerator after being us being out for the last twelve days.

Our trip was a bit long, 3 days in Laredo, 2 days in Monterrey, 3 days in a ranch in Mexico, another day in Monterrey, another in Laredo, a quick trip to Houston for New Year’s Eve, and then back home to Round Rock Pflugerville. (It turns out that our neighborhood changed cities while we were gone!)

I got a couple of posts below with highlights from the trip. I’m sure Roxy will add more soon.