Caleb "singing" in the new year

He kept taking the mic away from his Tia Esthela

A day in the life of Caleb

Waking up

Play time

mmmm...donuts

 

brushing his teeth for Wal-Mart

on our way to Wal-Mart

Woah, toys!

nap!

caldo de pollo for lunch

going to catch butterflies

swings!

new ball from Target

loved his dinner

bath before bed

late night streaking

Napping in his tent

Let's just ignore the fact that he STILL won't give up his teta.

Someone has too many toys

Since I forgot my camera this weekend...

I'm going to post pics Cata took.

Caleb trying out Sarita's doll stroller

Christmas 2010 - Sarita, Caleb and Liam

Caleb was way too distracted to enjoy opening presents.  Here he's trying to play fetch with Fozzy.

Garcia family

Caleb sharing his new scooter from Santa with Liam

Caleb ignoring the fact he shouldn't be using his new toy as a scooter until 24 months.  I think we'll be lucky if he doesn't get stitches by age 3.  He's such a daredevil!

I hate to admit it...

I reactivated my stupid facebook account.  Why?  I had many requests to at least activate it and let everyone know when there's a new blog entry.  So, it's back.  This time I will be more disciplined with how I use it.  I will only go on there to notify family about a new blog entry.  I will NOT add the app to my phone.  I will only check it once a day when I'm doing my notification.  If I break any of my rules, it's off again.  This time for good.

Big chair

Merry Christmas

I hope everyone has a safe, warm, happy Christmas.  I feel so blessed. 

ugh.

I forgot the camera! 

He's "helping" his Tia

The reason it takes so long to pack

This Christmas

All I want for Christmas is for all kids to wake up happy, warm, well-fed and loved on Christmas morning.  It's a tall order, and I know it's one that won't happen, and it just really breaks my heart.  It seems like every other school year I get a group of students who have nothing but the clothes on their backs.  Even then, those clothes were donated.  I wanted to share something that has really put this season into perspective for me.

I have a little boy in my class who's always been known as the class clown.  He doesn't like to read and sometimes he really struggles with authority.  I've been blessed that when there's a kid with a bad reputation, for some reason, they usually behave with me.  Anyway, this little boy has been really sick.  He gets these coughing spells where he needs his inhaler or he vomits.  I found out from him that he needed a nebulizer for his prescription and that's the reason he hasn't gotten any better.  I managed to get one donated to him and he seemed really grateful, and his cough really improved.  On Monday he got called to the office by the Social Worker.  When he came back he was beaming.  He came straight to me and showed me this little red blanket and a Wal-Mart gift card for $20.00.  He said, "Look Miss!  I got my Christmas wish!  Not only that, I got this cool box (a checkbook box) to put my stuff in!"  Wow.  That really made me think about my life and all that I have and all that my son has.  I throw the boxes checks come in away.  I don't think Caleb would show that much excitement for a dollar store fleece blanket.  I don't know that many kids would show that kind of excitement for a Christmas present like that.  In this day and age, even in a recession, Christmas is a time for buy, buy, buy.  Gimme, gimme, gimme.  I had already decided that I don't want to make Christmas about the presents for my family, this just made that decision much more clear to me.  The next day my student came and asked me if I could find him a ride to Wal-Mart.  I said, "I'll see what I can do.  Are you going to use your card to get a cool toy or something?"  He said, "No Miss, I want to buy my mom something really nice for Christmas.  That's why I need a ride, I want to surprise her."  It took all I had not to just cry right then and there.  He got a gift he could use for himself, but he'd much rather use it for his mom.  I hope and pray that I raise Caleb to be that giving at Christmas time. 

So this Christmas I'm grateful that I can give my son what he needs.  I'm grateful that I have a house.  I'm grateful for food.  I'm grateful for getting to spend time with my family.  I'm grateful that Jesus was born and that he loves all of us, even those with nothing this Christmas.  Those things, things that you can't put a price on, are what make Christmas special.  That's why I'll be happy with my gifts, but I'd be happy without them. 

Next year, I'm going to give more to the needy families in my area.  I'm going to get involved in the Red Cross's Christmas program, and I'm going to take Caleb with me when we go to those colonias to give gifts to those families that need it the most.  I think if everyone did the same, or if everyone decided to donate one item to a toy, food, or clothing drive, we can eventually get the spirit of Christmas spread to everyone.  Take your kids to see those kids that have nothing.  Trust me, it'll make a huge difference in their lives. 

I hope everyone has a happy holiday season.  I know I'm going to.

Helping wash the car

Grr

I wish Caleb had a phone. I know he'd answer it.

Sent from my iPhone

You know you're a mom when you keep a corndog in your Coach purse

mmmm milkshake

Fun weekend

This weekend we went to San Marcos to visit my sister and we went to Houston for my aunt's wedding.  I had so much fun with my family.  I wish Cata could have been there too.  We missed her.  My boys looked very handsome!

Every girl's crazy about a sharp dressed man

"Hey, Jorge!"

If Dada doesn't respond to Dada, someone yells, "Hey, Jorge!"  Needless to say Jorge and I will be calling each other Mama and Dada permanently now.

Trip to the Mall

So apparently Caleb likes to dance in stores.  He got quite a crowd of fans at NY&Co today too.

Bath!

This boy has a tub full of toys and he's playing with a spoon.

He's too funny!

Caleb Dancing

I love my boys.

They keep me smiling.

I made this!

In case you can't tell, I'm proud of myself.

so proud of myself

I'm actually following a crochet pattern, and it's coming out pretty good.  The things you can learn with time on your hands...

Caleb loves facing forward

A picture of Caleb

Caleb and Mama were playing chase. 

I did it!

No more facebook for me.  I'm sure the withdrawal process will be difficult, but I'm through. 

I was finding out way too much about people I didn't even really know or remember.  There also comes a point where I'd like some privacy back.  I don't need to tell everyone where I am or where I'm going.  That was getting to be a little unsettling.

The main reason I kept it so long was to update my family and friends on Caleb.  This blog serves the same purpose without divulging too much information.  I also like that Carli is super talented and can make my blog look pretty.  The prettiness inspires me.

New look

Carli did an awesome job with the blog.  I love the Christmas trees.  Now if only we could get our act together and get one put up at the house.  It's up for debate at the moment.  Dada think C will pull it down.  I'm pretty sure he'll try, but I think he deserves at least a little tree.  Maybe we can get a Charlie Brown tree. 

It was another LONG day for Mama at work.  I'm so glad it was the last of the testing days.  Tomorrow should be a lot better. 

I really wish we had a maid at home.  It's like my piles of laundry get larger.  The piles of dishes get dirtier.  The amount of toys around the house are endless....

I need a nap.

Two Days in a Row!

So, you only need 30 days to create a habit right? I am so ready to get rid of facebook. I should just do it now.

Anyway...

My life at work today:
In a word, BORING. I got everything I needed accomplished, but it was a testing day. Testing day means I have to "actively monitor" my students test. I have nothing to do but watch kids, and think. Lately, I've had nothing to think about. Not a thing to plan for. It's a weird feeling for me. When the kids finish their test they're supposed to silently read and test on Reading Renaissance. The group I have this year is so good, I actually got to read myself. I just finished Beastly and I loved it. It might be too mature for my students, but then again that might actually get their attention.

C today:
He went to get his skin test read, and you couldn't even see where they poked him. He healed really quickly. I joked that he must have werewolf skin. (I spend WAY too much time with teens.) For some reason he was really whiny and needy today. I'm not sure what that was about. I did have a good time playing "bla" (blocks) with him. Last night I taught him that stacking the blocks was as much fun as knocking them down. So today we stacked a pretty impressive tower. Then he kicked it down with a roar. It was cute.

Have I mentioned that I just love this age? He's so much fun to play with. I wish I could just stay with him all day.

One year!

I still can't believe Caleb is one. I feel like he was born a few weeks ago. I didn't get to update his eleventh month, it was just crazy. We had way too many things going on around here. There was no eleventh month check up either, so we didn't get his weight or height. He did learn how to walk at eleven months. Now, he's go, go, go, all the time!

Caleb's updates:
weight: 21 pounds and 9 ounces
height: 30 inches
teeth: 7 visible, and an 8th is peeking out
walking: yes
running: just about
words: mama, dada, car, catch, ball, hot, gooooooooaaaaaalllll, go, ita, "that one", hey, bye
Illnesses: He got his first fever EVER on his birthday. It was only about 100.8, but still it had me worried.

He is a healthy eater. He eats just about anything. We haven't gotten him off the bottle yet. (That sounds funny.) He just loves to have his formula while he sleeps. The thing I'm most excited about is that he sleeps on his own bed now. Granted his mattress is on the floor right next to ours, but still, that's a start. He loves to sing. He LOVES to dance. He loves to play with iPhones. He is definitely attached to his dada.

I've really enjoyed watching him play with his little cousins. He gets so excited to see kids. He's not a TV watcher, but he will watch most of Sesame Street if it's on. He doesn't like kiddie movies. He did sit and watch parts of Eclipse and Avatar. I guess he likes the action.

This age is my favorite. I'm going to enjoy this next year. I love playing with him, reading to him, singing to him, dancing with him, and kissing his sweet face.

I love being Caleb's Mama.

Let's see how this goes.

I'm on a mission to get rid of my facebook account. Well, just deactivate it. I don't think you can actually delete it entirely. I could be wrong, but I'm under that impression. If I can regularly update this blog, regularly post pics, and keep it up for a month...bye bye facebook.

It's just getting to be such a time waster. Plus, there comes a point where other people know way too much about your personal life. There should be some mystery as to what you do in the privacy of your own home.

This blog has also been very neglected. I've had a crazy fall. I'm so busy at work this year. Administrators expect teachers to spend so much time doing paperwork, we hardly have time to teach. Stress is a common part of my life these days.

All this just to say, I'm going to try to update on the happenings in the Valverde-Garcia household, and spare myself the drama.

10 Months!

I can't believe how big my baby is now! You weigh 20.4 pounds. We don't have your height cause there's no check-up for you this month.

Monthly updates:
* You are getting two more teeth on top, so that makes it a total of four on the top, and two on the bottom.
* We've had trouble with rashes and colds this month. Luckily, you've been healthy for the past week.
* You can stand on your own for about 2 seconds until you freak out and fall down.
* You're a crawl monster. You will crawl anywhere!
* You will put anything in your mouth. We had a choking scare with a vinyl sticker, so now we are extra vigilant with what you decide should be in your mouth.
* You say words like "mama", "dada", "ba" (ball), and "wawa" (water). You went through a phase where you would call me ba, or dada, or wawa, but not mama. Luckily that has passed.
* Your new favorite toy is the piano. You like to go up to it and play with both hands. I see piano lessons in your future.
* You make the cutest face now when you're going to laugh. You squint your eyes together and show your teeth.

I love you so much, and am so proud of you. You're my smart, handsome, big boy. Mostly I'm proud of myself for making it through 10 months successfully. Love you Bug Bean!

Rant

1. I didn't tell you how to raise your kids, don't tell me how to
raise mine.
2. I can tell which students have parents who care about their
education. Out of my 100, it's about 5.
3. Why are doctor's offices so cold?
4. Teaching is getting harder to do when administration requires so
much paperwork. Our lessons have to be engaging, we have to maintain
discipline, and fill out 10,000 forms! I need more time and money!

On a positive note: Caleb is so cute! I love my smart bug!

Sent from my iPhone

9 Months!

Caleb is so active! This is how hard it is to take his monthly shot now. He can't stay still.

The past three weeks have been stressful. I went back to work, and I guess I'm bring home germs. We've gone to the doctor every week. The first one was with a stomach virus, second a rash and sore throat, and now the rash is back.

Poor baby. Caleb is so tough though. He's acting like he's perfectly normal and not covered in tiny red bumps.

Caleb has two teeth, crawls, stands, walks while holding on to things, runs in his walker, his top two teeth are peeking out now, and he claps! He's getting so big!

Here are his stats: 19 pounds and 13 ounces and 28.5 inches long.

Looking forward to month 10.

Clash of the Titans

I HATE when movies are totally different from the original story! The
script took total liberties with Greek mythology.

Nellie-2
Jorge-7 (I ruined it for him because I kept pointing out inaccuracies.)

Sent from my iPhone

2 more movies

Despicable Me
I loved it! It's a great family movie, and I always love it when the "bad guy" is lovable.

Nellie - 10
Jorge - 9

The Book of Eli
The message was good. I would have liked it better with a lot less violence.

Nellie - 7
Jorge - 7.5

Caleb crawling

7 Months

I'm so horribly late with this post. I shouldn't be cause it's my Summer break, but oh well. Caleb is such a blessing. I'm going to miss him so much when I go back to school. During his six month, he began to crawl. He walks forward in his walker. He eats all kinds of baby food now, but he's not a fan of fruit or juice. He LOVES vegetables. I hope he keeps that up as he gets older. He "talks" a whole lot, and he does this incredibly cute growling noise when he's upset. He's going to be a super crawler in the next few days, I can already see the signs. We're going to have to seriously de-clutter around here when that happens! I'm not sure what he weighs, or how long he is, cause his next appointment isn't until 9 months. He's about 20 pounds we're guessing. I can't believe my teeny little baby is already so big!

Hot Tub Time Machine

This movie is a guy movie. I watched it, but was never really into it. Jorge was laughing through a lot of it. Personally, I don't think any time travel movies will ever be better than Back to the Future.

Nellie - 2

First tooth...

...has made its appearance!

Sent from my iPhone

Movies during Hurricane Alex

The Crazies
Movies with blood and gore, are just too disturbing for me to sit through.

Nellie - 4
Jorge - 7

Wolfman
I liked Wolfman a whole lot at the beginning. Then it lost me, then it got me back.

Nellie - 7
Jorge - 7

A reminder for the baby book...

Caleb walked forward and followed me in his walker today! I know, he doesn't crawl yet, but we're still proud of him for that accomplishment.

Jorge's birthday

Jorge's wish list:

* Button down shirts size 16 32/33

* Ties

*Desktop Carnivorous plant Set (They have this at Toys 'R Us too.)
http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/science/76c9/

* One Man Wolf Pack t-shirt size Large
http://101tees.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/wolf-pack-full1.gif

That's all he can think of for now. Updates to follow.

Update:
*eBay photo studio
http://www.amazon.com/Get-Organized-EBAY-PHOTO-STUDIO/dp/B0010YRXEQ

* http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/watches/c16c/

Sherlock Holmes

I love movies that take place in London. That said,

Nellie - 8

She's out of my League

This was kind of funny, but in a teenage boy kind of way. I was also really distracted by the lead girl's different colored eyes.

Nellie - 4
Jorge - 6.5

Father's Day French Toast

Caleb is a very lucky boy because he has a great daddy. Since the day he was born, Jorge has changed his diapers, fed him, bathed him, played with him, rocked him to sleep, and pretty much loved on him nonstop. We had to do something special that will become a tradition, so "we" decided to make daddy stuffed French toast.

I had seen them make French toast on TV, and decided to try it out. It was really simple, and Jorge really liked it. From now on, Caleb and I are going to make Jorge Father's Day breakfast. We were going to make his daddy a card, but there has been no time. Here's the recipe for Caleb's Father's Day French Toast.

Ingredients:
4 slices of whole wheat bread
2 eggs
1/8 cup of heavy cream
dash of cinnamon
dash of salt
dash of nutmeg
butter or oil for frying the toast
peanut butter
sliced bananas
honey

1. Remove the crusts from the bread.
2. Put peanut butter on each bread slice. On every other slice put sliced bananas on top of the peanut butter. Drizzle honey on the other two pieces.
3. Put together one slice of bread with bananas and one slice of bread with honey to make a sandwich. You will have two sandwiches.
4. Mix together the cream, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, and eggs in a shallow bowl.
5. Dip the sandwich in the batter, make sure you coat both sides.
6. When the frying pan has melted the butter or heated the oil, fry up the sandwiches, at least 3 minutes on each side.
7. Remove the sandwiches, and cut them diagonally.
8. You can top with fresh bananas, syrup, and powdered sugar.

Enjoy!

When in Rome

If you want to see a cute romantic comedy, you should see this one. I was pleasantly surprised by all the quirky actors in this movie. I had no idea Jon Heder and Will Arnett were in it. Those are two of my favorite funny guys.

Nellie - 9 (I'm going to take off 1 point, cause of how disgustingly tiny Kristen Bell is. Ugh. Jealous.)

Invictus

Let me start by saying I do NOT like sports movies. This one would have been great without the rugby scenes.

Nellie- 4

More Movies

Youth in Revolt
Okay, this movie had some really inappropriate parts, but, it was pretty funny. I couldn't stop laughing. I love Michael Cera.

Nellie - 9

Valentine's Day
They tried really hard to make this movie like Love Actually. It's not. It's not bad, but it's not great.

Nellie - 6

Warning

To me that look is a warning. "Watch out Mama. Once I start crawling, it's all over...."