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.