Cutting his first tooth

Joshua is cutting his first tooth!! how exciting is that?? He has been drooling like crazy and sticking things in his mouth all the time. He's always seemed to be a drooler, but lately it has been a whole lot more drooling than normal. He's been a little fussy, and he's had a runny nose; which I thought were just remnants from his flu last week. Now, I'm beginning to think that some of the fussiness and runny nose is attributed to his tooth coming in. Today, as he sat down playing with toys and sticking just about anything in his mouth I decided to feel his gums and try to take a peek. I feel something, but it's really tiny so I had to look closely! Yep, he's got a bottom tooth coming in!! Kateli didn't cut her first tooth until about 2 days before she turned 9 months. I remember we were coming home from the gym, when she grinned at me and I saw that little tooth for the first time! Joshua is just getting them a lot earlier, which is surprising--but I guess no kid is the same right!??

Katherine sings her ABCs; Joshua is 6 months old and eating

We've had quite a bit going on at home the last few weeks that I had not been able to update just our general family blog. To see what we have been up to, check out our other blog--http://allingodshands.blogspot.com

Today, though I wanted to do a little bit of catching up.

Kateli started singing her ABCs about a week ago. It's so cute, she does it pretty much on her own...there are a few letters that she SLURS together; but what kid doesn't?? Especially the "K L M N O P"? She's awesome, and we are extremely proud of her!! I don't know when kids really start singing their ABC's but to us, she seems pretty young and super smart (we're just a bit biased! :) ) She's started counting in spanish at 26months, and singing her ABCs at 26 1/2 months! She is talking up a storm now. It's amazing!! She is repeating EVERYTHING!! I mean EVERYTHING!! and she comes up with new words all the time. The first time she says something, it takes me a little bit to figure out what she is referring to. She is speaking both languages; so when she says something new, I have to figure out if she's talking in spanish or in english.

Joshua was 6 months on the 12th. We finally took him in for his 6 month checkup, while Kateli was in the hospital last week. Little man weighed in at 19lbs 10ozs!! His length measurement was screwed up, so the doctor didn't bother to have him measure him a second time. We'll have to do that here at home sometime, when I get a minute. Joshua started eating rice cereal two weeks ago. He loved it. At first he was not QUITE sure that he wanted it; but it only took a couple of spoonfuls for him to figure out that if he opened his mouth he got more food! Last week we started him on Oatmeal cereal, and he likes it; but he doesn't like it as much as the rice cereal. I remember that Kateli was the same way. She always preferred the rice cereal over oatmeal. Joshua has been eating with us at breakfast, and dinner time. He is still nursing; just not as much or often. He's sleeping better through the night, which is great! Last night, I decided it was time for him to taste veggies. I bought his first veggies--got green beans, sweet peas, squash and carrots. Last night we started with the green beans. My goal is to start the kids on the green veggies first; the taste is a bit harder for our palate, then say fruits or anything sweet! So, last night I poured about two teaspoons of the green stuff because I was expecting a grimace, and it getting spit out each time I put a spoonful in his mouth! Much to my surprise he didn't even make a face. He ate the entire "1st stage" green beans package!! I was so surprised and proud of Joshua. He is a champ eater!! I remember with Kateli, we would toss out about half the little package because she could hardly eat 2 spoonfuls at each sitting!! Little man may just be my veggie eater! We'll see!

Joshua is 6 months old!

Yep, today our little man is 6 months old!! YIKES!! Time flies, doesn't it?? Well, it has for us!! Anyway, we don't go in for our 6 month appt until sometime next week, so I don't know his stats right now. I can guess at his weight; somewhere around 19 1/2 lbs give or take a few ounces. I know, I always go on and on about how happy and content this little boy is...but I can't help it!! I can't emphasize it enough! He loves to be sitting, playing with anything that is in front of him--which I think I mentioned the last update that I wrote about him. Somethings that are new though... He finally sucks his toes! There for a while, I was thinking he was never going to be able to do that given that his tummy is huge. Turns out it's all MUSCLE and he is able to contort himself to pulling the toes into his mouth. Kateli and I witnessed this feat this morning as I was changing his diaper. He has had his first taste of solids! Yep, this morning Kateli, Joshua and I all sat down to breakfast. Kateli ate cheerios, I had cereal and Joshua had rice cereal for the first time. I got it on video, and I wish I had one of those little point and shoots so that I could easily download the video and post. However, I've got to download it from the video cam and edit it to put it up on the web. I'll see if I can get that done soon! But, take my word for it...it was funny!! He did great and ate well. In the beginning he was not quite sure about that "stuff" in his mouth and he would make a funny face and push it back out with his tongue. He did manage to eat a little bit though. Then, tonight as we all sat down for dinner, Joshua ate a whole lot better! Well, that's it for now...I'll update more later!
Here he is after breakfast this morning. Not too messy, right?

Abuelos visit!

We have had a fun time this weekend, sharing time with abuela and abuelo. They came to visit and arrived on Saturday morning. The kids had so much fun with them, and it seemed abuela and abuelo had lots of fun playing with the kiddos. I didn't expect gifts, myself, but I was pleasantly surprised when abuelo presented me with new "glass" for my photography collection! I got a longer zoom lens than what I had on my camera and I'm enjoying it a lot! While my parents were here, we mostly hung around the house, as it was too cold out. However, Saturday it was beautiful and warm enough to get the kids out for a bit to the park--so we did that! Hubby and I got to go out on a date Saturday night! Mom and dad stayed with the kids, while we went out to dinner and to get some ice cream. Sunday, dad and I, as well as Maria went to a photography seminar, which was very informative--but much to my chagrin, I didn't walk away with any free gifts as I was hoping! Oh, well!! But I did walk away with a lot of useful info and tips! We came home after the seminar to eat cake and celebrate my mom's birthday! Yum, Yum, we had Tres Leches!! Abuela and abuelo have returned home, and we are missing them. HOpefully they will come visit again, soon!

Joshua is sitting up!

I know, my little guy gets a little slighted with the updates and postings! But here is one, even though it's short, all about him! Our little guy is now a few days short of 6 months!! Yes, that's 6 months!! I'm still pulling my jaw up from the floor, I'm in awe of how fast his first 6 months have gone by! Joshua is an angel. He is so, so, so (I can't emphasize it enough) content!! He is such a sweetheart, and he's got a smile to melt for!! I only have to look at him for him to smile at me--how cute is that. He's always smiling (well, seems that way to me). His sleep at night could be better, but I shouldn't complain. That little guy wakes up, eats and goes right back to sleep (I should knock on wood now, before I jinx myself). The last couple of nights, he's been waking up only twice. His day naps are awesome, he takes 3 a day. I am not quite sure how long the naps are, because he could be in his swing wide awake and content as can be. kateli was never like that; I think our baby girl would start screaming as soon as her eyes opened after naptime! Anyway, our little guy loves to play. He doesn't enjoy tummy time as much as his little cousin does, ( I think Daniela could spend all day playing on her tummy), but he does last a good few minutes. Joshua loves to play in his exersaucer, and on his playmat. He also really enjoys laying on his quilt playing with either his feet or any toy that I give to him. Now, as of a few days ago he really enjoys sitting up and playing with toys in front of him. He's sitting up--well, not technically sitting up by himself--I put him down in a sitting position, but he sits there by himself for a while playing. He's got some really strong abs because he rocks back and forth and maintains his balance. Now, I still have to stay close by because sometimes he gets a bit too excited and will push back--so I have to be there to catch him!! I'll have to post some pics of the kids next time.

Lali counts, puts her shoes on and Oh oh, opens the door to her room!! YIKES!

I should begin by explaining part of the title to this posting. You may wonder who "lali" is, right?? Well, this is what has stuck with me to call our little girl. When she began saying her name, she would say "kateli" but over time, she's shortened it and while she may still say "Kateli", rather quickly, it sounds to me like she's saying "lali", so you'll read me refer to her as either "Kateli" or "Lali"...

So, a couple of nights ago Lali showed us that she has learned how to open the door to her room--in the middle of the night, mind you! Yes, she's been opening doors for weeks now, but the one to her room was one that she had not been able to pry open--mainly because it sticks shut and you have to push pretty hard to open. We should have known this fateful day was coming, and prepared a strategy for this particular event. Well, we didn't and we paid for it! Kateli decided on Monday morning about 2:00am to take a stroll downstairs!! Yes, she came down the steps, in the dark, all by herself! I remember hearing her awake on the monitor, but usually she falls back asleep--not this night! I must have dozed off for a few mins or so, and then I remember hearing her again--I looked over at the monitor and realized it was not coming over the monitor, I was hearing her downstairs!! I leaped up, startled hubby awake and proceeded to send him out to check on her--or put her back in bed. Let's just say that it was not until about 4:30am that we gave up and hubby brought her into our bed so that we would get the last few hours of sleep before it was time for Joshua to wake up and start the day. Our tactic was to wait for Kateli to open the door and walk toward the stairs, at which time we proceeded to grab her little hand, lead her back into her room, tuck her back into bed, and walk out with out SAYING a single word--I really thought that would work. It did, a couple of times, but it was not our solution for the incident. The next night she did fine, and went to bed without protesting and didn't get up in the middle of the night. So, that's one new thing that our 2 year old is up to these days.

Something else that she is doing now, she puts on her shoes, all by herself and she does it RIGHT!! Her favorite phrase right now, which doesn't surprise us, is "Kateli help"--this translates into "Kateli will do it all by herself" so, everything we do, she says "Kateli help", and she gets her space. For a long time, she was putting on her shoes, but she would put them on the wrong foot; so I'd have to fix them after she was done putting them on. But yesterday, we were going out and I said "Lali, put your shoes on"; her response, "Lali, help" and proceeded to put them on. When I went to fix them I was pleasantly surprised to find that she had put them on correctly!

Finally, today she surprised me by counting 1 through 7 in spanish all by herself. Daddy and I have been working with numbers with her. Daddy does them in english; I do them in spanish. This afternoon, we were reading a book and there were items to count, so I started off and said "uno..." pointed to the next item and she continued "dos, tes, catro, cinco, seis, sete", and then we did "ocho, nueve and diez" together!! I had her do it again, just to make sure she knew what she was doing, this time counting out with my fingers. Sure enough, she did it again!! So, she counts, at least 1 through 7 in spanish--I'm not sure about in english! Smart cookie our little princess!

Our visit with "alela" and "tia pata"

I posted a picture of the cousins the other day, but didn't have much time to write anything. Tia Marta, or "tia pata" as Kateli calls her, and Daniela, or "alela" as Kateli calls her cousin, had just arrived in our home. We were overly excited that they were here and would be here for an entire week. Yesterday was the end of their week with us, and sadly we had to take them both to the airport. Throughout the rest of the afternoon, after they left, Kateli asked several times for "tia pata" and when I would try to explain to her that she and Daniela had gotten in a big plane and flown home, she would look at me a little puzzled; and then she would say "tia pata, peek a boo?" She thought tia Marta and Daniela were hiding, or as she calls it "peek a boo" So, needless to say Kateli was very sad when she couldn't find Tia Marta and Daniela in our house!!

We had a great week with them though; well as great as it could have been, given that we all got a little bit of a cold. I was the worse one off, I think I had a sinus infection. But I toughed it out and opted to do things rather than just sit at home and try to get better. So, we went out to eat a couple of times, we took Kateli to the mall playing area one afternoon, we drove to Edmond to visit with Maria and the kids and we played with the kids a lot when we were indoors. Daniela is such a happy baby, it was so much fun to get to know her a little bit better during the time that they were here. I hope that we can see them again soon; but I've already been warned by Marta that we shouldn't expect them again during the winter months. They will limit their visits to us to warm seasons!! Fair enough!! I have lots and lots of picture that I would love to post but I'll do that later!

Daniela is visiting

Still enjoying the new camera!

You've been getting mostly pictures, without much text lately because I'm still in awe of my new acquisition! I'm having so much fun taking pictures of the kids! I'm trying, though, to be mindful that NOT all the pictures that I take are great, and therefore not all of them should stay on the hard-drive after the download. So, I've been intentional about just keeping the ones that I really like and hitting that "delete" button on the rest of the pics. For your enjoyment, here are some more pictures that have been recently taken of the kiddos.

These were taken today. Joshua is our little giggle monster...all I have to do, sometimes is just look at him and he smiles or giggles...

Really wish you could get the audio that goes with this visual!! So CUTE, so CUTE!

Is that an angel face or what!!??

Here is "Lali" hearing grandma's voice over the phone--she was so happy remembering "hand bone hand bone...."

and here is "Lali" with her "do" after naptime when mommy teases her hair up! Fun times!!

I took the kids to the mall the other afternoon and got some shots of Kateli playing. I love this one!

Here is another shot of Kateli at the mall play area. She loves to just sit in that little tunnel!

Here is Joshua a couple of weeks ago doing tummy time!

Watch out!! incoming sneeze!! "Lali" still has not learned to cover her mouth when she coughs or sneeze--but we will get there!

And here is "Lali" looking like a big girl. This was today after she indulged in a couple of Cheetoh's

More pictures

Here is a practice shot at capturing shallow Depth of Field

Our big boy in his All Star outfit

Another shot of this little guy

Our beautiful kids

Cute or what?

Another shot of our kids

Kiddos

These are a few shots that I took of the kids this morning. "depth of field" plays a part in the first two shots... :)

Behind the camera

So, I've attended my second photo class tonight. Tonight's class was mostly centered around looking at people's pictures that were taken for assignment one. So, you can imagine that it took about the entire class time to go through them, but there were some really good shots taken. It was all about getting the exposure right--exposure is most obvious when you have sky in the frame...

This week's assignment is on Depth of Field. I'll post some shots when I figure out a clever way of depicting that. For now, see who's behind the camera!!

Hm...do they look alike?

Hm, do you think our kids resemble each other? Here are pics of Joshua and Kateli at bath time.Joshua is near 5 mos, Kateli was 3 mos old.

Pics

I'll post some more pics tomorrow.

First Photo assignment

Photography class started last Thursday. I've done a lot of reading since getting the camera to learn about exposure--aperture, shutterspeed and ISO sensitivity. I've read my manual at least once from cover to cover, so I'm somewhat familiar with the buttons on the camera--that is not to say that I can find what I'm looking for at the drop of a hat. I need to get to that point, though, I think. So, photo class last week was a reinforcement on the stuff that I've been reading up on--which was great. This week's assignment was to take pics in Manual mode--learning how to meter the camera for correct exposure. Here are some that I took in manual (I also took a few in auto mode, just to see the difference)....

Manual Mode
ISO 100
1/125
F14 at 34mm

Auto Mode

Manual Mode
ISO 100
1/125
F16 at 34mm
This one could have benefited from a little fill light

Manual Mode
ISO 100
1/125
F9 at 34mm

Auto Mode

Auto Mode

Manual Mode

ISO 100
1/125
F11 at 34mm

Joshua is almost 5 months old!

WOW!! Joshua is now three days shy of 5 months old!! This little guy continues to be a joy in our home. Kateli continues to love on her little brother, and sometimes forgets that she's bigger than he is. Tonight she went to give him a kiss and hug, while he was in his car seat, and she basically just laid on top of him!! The little guy was not too happy about that, granted he's got his big sister on top of him, but add to that that he got 4 shots this morning at the doctor's. I took him in for his 4 month well baby checkup--yes, I know he's closer to 5 months now, but we had to wait on the shots. We originally had his 4 month well baby check up scheduled before christmas, but couldn't do it then because our little guy came down with RSV. He was sick through Christmas and coming out of it for New Year's. Now that he has recovered and is feeling all better, I took him in for his checkup. The little guy, who is not so LITTLE anymore, is now weighing 17 lbs 12 ozs, and measuring 25 3/4 inches; he is in the 75%ile for weigh and 50%ile for height. I'm not sure which explains his dropping into the 75%ile for weight (he was at the 90-95%ile at 2 months)--could be that he was sick for 2 weeks, or that he's just evening out and slowing down on his weight gain--who knows!! Nevertheless, the doctor said it's not to worry, he's growing fine, taking into account that when he was born at 6lbs 60zs, he was in the 5th %ile!!

Joshua is a giggle monster, he loves to smile, laugh and to tell stories!! He's not too fond of tummy time, but will last a good few minutes as long as there are lots of toys to entice him or if his sister is around to make him smile! He is grabbing at things and taking them to his mouth; but he prefers to kick at things rather than bat at them. He can also be content just sitting still playing with and watching his chubby hands! Here are some pics that I took of the kids today.

Eyes

Potty Trained?

Hm....that's a good question to be pondered in our home right now. We have a two year old, who for the FIRST time pottied in the toilet over our New Year's vacation!!! WooHoo!! I'd say, if it had happened more than once, but what the heck, once is better than none at all. Kateli saved the first poop in the toilet for abuela to witness--yep, neither mommy or daddy were there to cheer her on, but she got tons of cheering from her loving abuela who was ecstatic (I know, I know--the things that make us excited for our kids at the tender age of 2! ). Anyway, it happened Dec 30th. Kateli went up with abuela for her bath and night-time. She said "Kateli poopoo" and abuela obliged, as we often do at home, by sitting her on the toilet and waiting to see if she will actually go...this time?? SUCCESS!! She sat there, and a couple of minutes later.... "plop" ...Ah, music to the ears!! My mom said Kateli heard the "plop" and immediately looked up at her with a grin but a surprise look on her face as if wondering "what was that?" My mom the cheerleader did a great job in encouraging her!!

Kateli has resorted to pooping in her diaper again, but we still run to the potty when she says "Kateli poopoo"....we'll see!!!

Our New Years Pics

We are back home now after traveling to H-town to visit my family! It was so much fun to see my parents, brother, sister, brother-in-law, and finally meeting our niece--who is just 2 wks 2 days younger than our little guy!! The kids did awesome on the drive, both there and back. Hubby changed the seat arrangements in the back, and Kateli enjoyed much more being able to see out of the front window, rather than the boring view of the back of daddy's seat. We didn't do a whole lot, but relaxed tons. The grandparents, I think, really enjoyed their time with all the grandkids together. My dad got lots of good shots of the kids, and I practiced using my new SLR. I have a lot to learn, but I got quite a few tips from my dad while we were home. He uses the D200, which is very similar to mine (except mine is a step or two down from his :) ).

Our New Year's day celebration consisted of a get together that my brother had planned for us and a few friends. He grilled out and we had fun visiting with some people that we had not seen in a while--however, with all the talking and catching up, we didn't get the camera out for many pics....I'll have to post some of the great shots that my dad got at midnight, New Year's :).

Here are some of the pics that we got while on our vacation at home....