The Gonzalez Family Update

And he WALKS!!!

2011-02-15T20:18:00.009-05:00

Noah started walking again last Thursday!!! And through the weekend he kept going and going and now he walks more than he crawls or scoots. He looks really proud when he walks too... what a big boy now!

Noah Scooting

2011-02-11T19:44:00.013-05:00

Noah learned to crawl at 7 months. We thought for sure he would be walking WAY before his 1 year birthday. He did take his first steps on December 20th, but stopped practicing after that day. He then started this silly scoot, and after a month of doing it he really gets around fast. Everyone who watches him finds it hilarious and we think so too!!

Coming...

Going...

Noah 1 year

2011-01-31T15:09:00.003-05:00

Noah had his 12 month check up this week. He weighed in at 26.6 pounds!!! That is a whole 3 pounds more than Susanna weighed at 12 months old. I could tell Noah was heavy just because my arm gets so tired when I carry him around but I had no idea his was THAT MUCH bigger than his sister!! He does not have a lot of fat rolls but is just super solid, muscular, and strong. His belly is quite cute and does get a lot of pats because it is soo round.

It is hard to believe but now there is only 10 pounds seperating Noah and Susanna (she is 36 pounds). Watch out Susanna, your brother is going to be bigger than you soon!!

Noah's 1st Birthday

2011-01-29T21:06:00.030-05:00

Noah is now 1 years old!! We celebrated his first birthday with a big party with all our friends and family. It is hard to believe he is already 1 years old, where oh where did this year go?? I keep thinking back to last year at this same time, we were just home from the hospital with our newborn son. And now he has grown and changed and become a little boy right before our eyes. He is a very funny, playful, loving little boy. Noah adores his big sister and Susanna LOVES her little brother. I love having a boy and a girl, it has been even more fun than I could ever imagine!!

Here are a few pics from his birthday party. Just like with Susanna, Noah did not have many sweets in his first year. So his first taste of cake was his birthday cake and HE LOVED IT!! He ate it all and wanted more. Watch out Daddy... this kid definitely has a sweet tooth!!

Noah had a lot of fun opening his presents and he was definitely spoiled rotten with gifts!

Noah's Favorites at One Year Old:
Food: Any red sauce pasta and he loves to make a BIG MESS with sauce all over his face and hands! On his own he decided to stop taking his milk bottles so he only drinks from sippy cups now.
Toy: His ride-on car he got at Christmas. He and Susanna love to race around the kitchen.
Mischievous: He LOVES to get into the pots and pans and take them all out of the drawers, spreading them around the kitchen floor. He also will grab ahold of the cabinet handles and pull and pull and pull trying to bang the child locks off.
Abilities: He climbs stairs by himself, stands and walks, starting to point at everything, can show you where his belly is, and give a high five!
Walking: He is able to walk but doesn't practice much. He has instead perfected a one legged scoot and can really go fast.

Sir Buds

2011-01-02T20:40:00.031-05:00

Yesterday marked the beginning of Noah's pre-birthday week. Next Saturday, January 8th, he will be turning ONE YEAR OLD!! It is unbelievable to me that a year has passed so quickly. Susanna's first year seemed to last forever, with each new milestone and adventure. Noah's first year has just flown by!! We are all getting very excited to celebrate his big day!

Noah update:
Food - If it is up to him he will eat everything and anything we eat all by himself! He loves to self feed!!

Walking - On December 20th Noah took his first steps. He continued to walk multiple times that day, taking up to 6 steps at a time. Since that day of mastering a new skill he has decided NOT to practice anymore. He will stand on his own and if you encourage him to walk he smiles over his shoulder at you and then sits down and crawls. It is almost as if he knows HOW MUCH I really want him to walk and he is NOT doing it on purpose. He gets this attitude from his daddy!

Talking - He says DaDa, Momma (every once in a while), Dog (which sounds more like Gog), and Bye Bye with a cute little wave.

Teeth - He has four teeth on the top, 3 on the bottom and his top and bottom incisors are almost cut through. He definitely puts those chompers to work too

Play - Susanna and Noah LOVE to play together and Noah will copy anything Susanna does.

He now has his own push car to ride-on and can get on and off by himself. He and Susanna drive their cars around the kitchen and have soo much fun.

It is amazing he has changed from this...

To this in just a year....

Happy Pre-Birthday Week Noah Bear! We love you Buddy

Mommy's Helper

2010-12-12T14:32:00.004-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2010-11-24T14:59:00.002-05:00

My computer is broken but I hope to be able to update the blog soon. We would like to wish everyone a wonderful turkey day!!

Angel

2010-11-01T12:35:00.004-04:00

J: Susanna, do you know what today is? It is Grandma Sue's birthday!
Susanna: It is? It is Gigi and Grandma Sue's birthday?
J: Yes it is.
Susanna: Mom, where is Grandma Sue?
Me: She is in heaven.
Susanna: After a pause.... She is my angel. She is our family angel. I love Grandma Sue.
Me: Yes she is Susanna and she loves you too.

Happy Birthday Mom. I love you and miss you soo much everyday.

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T21:30:00.021-04:00

This is the first year Susanna REALLY understood Trick or Treating and she LOVED IT!!! She kept saying, "More Trick or Treat Mommy, Lets do another house!" Noah joined in too and both kids had a great night!

"This is a nice ghost Mommy"

Posing with her candy after we got back home, she was VERY happy and proud of her full pumpkin!

"I wanna eat this one first please"

Even though the lolly was still covered Noah was trying to eat it through the paper!

Check out the candy stash!!!!

Happy Halloween Everyone!!!

Clap Clap Noah

2010-10-17T22:04:00.009-04:00

Noah has been practicing clapping for a while now and finally figured out how it really works. And he has been clapping ever since, sooo cute!!!

Whoops, sorry!

2010-10-11T21:41:00.019-04:00

I realize it has been a while since my last post and after logging onto the blog I now see it has been over a month, WOW!! Since coming home from our trip to Ohio we have been busy busy busy getting back into our normal routine. Susanna is back to her gymnastics class and playgroups. Noah's crawling VERY fast now and pulling up on anything and everything. He has not started walking along the furniture yet but I know it could be any day now. He had his 9 month appointment and weighed in at 23.1 pounds!!! So far he has been right on track with Susanna's growth but this time he weighed almost a half a pound more. He doesnt have fat rolls like many babies do but he is VERY solid and VERY strong!! He is trying new foods everyday and this week he ate his first spaghetti and loved it!! He looked soo cute all covered in noodles and sauce.

A few weeks ago we visited Hillridge Farms pumpkin patch. This trip has become a tradition for us and this year we went with The Rutkowski Family. We had a wonderful time with wonderful weather.

We now have four pumpkins decorating the front of our house and Susanna likes to point out which pumpkin belongs to each of us!

Two weekends ago Susanna and Noah met their cousin Sophia for the first time. Gabriel and Meagan came to visit and spent three fun days with us. Sophia was born in July and is almost 3 months old now. She is such a great baby with the cutest chubbiest little legs and we all loved having her here. Susanna and Noah love their newest cousin and look forward to growing bigger so they can play with her even more!!

Over the weekend Miguel and Gabriel smoked a pork shoulder, Meagan and I drank wine as we cooked lots of food, the kids played and napped, and we all enjoyed the first fire in our new patio firepit! Fun was had by all and we really enjoyed their visit and cant wait to see them again very soon!!

In other baby news I want to say a big CONGRATS to my friends Cara and Daryl as they are expecting their first baby due May 2011!! Cant wait to find out if I should be buying pink or blue for you!!!
Also, my best friend Vicki found out that her baby due in January is a GIRL! They are very excited to be adding another girl to their family, Congrats big sister Ava!!

We are back!!!

2010-09-08T20:51:00.011-04:00

We are finally home from Ohio. The kids and I had a WONDERFUL time visiting with family, adventures to the farm and fair, and simply spending many lazy days with Jane and Grandma. We had our share of craziness with Noah cutting his top four teeth, Susanna FULLY entering the terrible twos, accidentally locking both kids in the car with the keys in the ignition, and a visit to the ER with Susanna for tummy issues. We all survived for Daddy to fly up to help drive us home. We are happy to be back but miss Jane, Grandma Hoelscher, Louie, Mindy, Eric, Morgan, Jada, Grandpa and Grandma Hoying and all the Hoying clan soooo much already.

We took many pics, here are some of my favorites....

Belly Laughs

2010-08-05T21:36:00.023-04:00

Noah has the best laugh ever! I bet you cant watch this without smiling...

Noah, 7 months old

6 month Birthday!!

2010-07-09T22:05:00.013-04:00

Noah bear is now 6 months old!!! It is hard to believe we have arrived at half a year already. The time has passed VERY quickly!! I am sad and don't want him to grow up so fast but also am loving his age. He can now sit up on his own, is eating all sorts of baby food fruits and veggies (stage 2 foods), is moving around on his belly reaching for toys, babbles alot, and LOVES to watch every move his sister makes!! He really loves to sit next to her and grab at her hair and laugh! They also hold hands and smile at each other. It really is such an an amazing feeling watching them smile at each other as they are forming a bond they will carry through life!

At Noah's 6 month appointment today he weighed in at 19 pounds, 6.5 ounces. He was 80% for weight, 90% for length, and his head is off the charts!!! I had been talking to Susanna about how he would have to get shots today and we needed to help distract him and help him feel better afterwards. When the time came and he was given his shots she quickly jumped up and started dancing saying "Watch me Noah, I'm dancing". This was her distraction technique and it was ADORABLE!!! And it actually worked too, what a thoughtful big sister :)

We have had a hot couple of weeks lately so the kids have been cooling off the best that they can. Popsicles and rides in Daddy's Jeep are Susanna's favorite!

Noah, hasn't had a popsicle yet, but looks like he is ready to borrow the Jeep for bit.

We have all been fighting colds this week and the Dr did notice some fluid in his ears. By the end of today he was refusing his bottle, smacking at his ear, and overall pretty cranky. So we are now treating him with antibiotics and we hope this helps.

Noah and Miguel have been pretty excited to watch the World Cup. Although I don't watch much soccer, its the only sport Miguel really watches and it makes Noah pretty happy, so I can't complain.

Oh, did I mention he's teething too? His front bottom teeth are in and you can tell he wasn't happy when they were pushing through. This last pic is a good "teething" pic.....

Fishy Fishy

2010-06-25T22:19:00.037-04:00

Sometime between last Fall and now Susanna has turned into a fish!!! She is in love with the water and the pool. We have been having such a great time and every time we go Susanna impresses us with a new skill. This last time she swam under water!!! So far she has been jumping off the side, jumping off the diving board, learning to dive, holding her breath underwater, and now swimming under water!

She still needs help coming back up to the surface and is not an independent swimmer, but she is on her way!! We are so proud of our fishy!

Sometimes we think Susanna's main reason to go to the pool is to snack. When the whistle blows for break, Susanna's screams "Its snack time now". This is her giving a thumbs up to snack time and thumbs down to hearing the news that she ate all the snacks!! The girl loves to snack!

We celebrated Fathers Day with my dad and LaDonna at the pool this year. Susanna LOVED showing off her skills and Noah looked very handsome in his bathing suit. It was a very fun Fathers Day Pool Party for all!!!

Pickle Time

2010-06-25T21:53:00.024-04:00

Noah has his first tooth! It is the front bottom left and he looks ADORABLE!! He has been drooling non stop and chewing on EVERYTHING for a little over a month now. I am soo excited that his first chomper is finally here and that the next one is on the way very soon!!!

To help with his chewing needs, we are passing on the pickle tradition from Susanna's baby days. He REALLY likes it too. He tends to get mad when it slips out of his hands so we have to be nearby to help him retrieve it. Susanna insists that Noah has a pickle each night with dinner. She says he NEEDS ONE but I suspect she just wants one too!!! And of course, she had to pose for a pickle pic.. cutie pie!!

Last week we took a trip to Marbles Museum with Vicki, Ava, and Claudia. The girls had soooo much fun and I hope we can go many more times this summer.

This is how Noah spent most of the time while we were at the museum. Even though he may not look happy here, he really had a great time watching all the excitement around him!!

Susanna's First Haircut

2010-06-19T21:42:00.019-04:00

We have been talking about Susanna getting her first haircut for a while now but it has only been talk. We keep thinking we should let it grow more ... she is too young ... we like it long, on and on. Recently, on a whim, I decided that it was time. Miguel and I talked and we agreed it was go time!!

The next day I took her to my hair salon and she got her first haircut!!! They cut it right below her ears and it looks FABULOUS!! She did soo good too, she really impressed me. She walked right in, climbed into the chair, and followed all the instructions from the hairstylist.

I was worried she would be timid but she sure proved me wrong! I need to learn my lesson not to underestimate her!!! She really is a big girl now!!!

Dance Dance Dance

2010-06-08T15:16:00.023-04:00

Susanna LOVES to dance. Lately she is making up her own dance moves to any music she hears. And she has no fear of people watching her. She dances EVERYWHERE and for EVERYONE!! It is really cute to watch. And I think she has been blessed by NOT inheriting my lack of rhythm, good for her!!

Susanna and Noah love being together. They are really bonding as sister and brother. She ALWAYS wants him to play with her and he watches her EVERY move. I am a proud momma watching them together, such love!!

At the beach we did a quick photoshoot with Susanna dressed in her gymnastics leotard and Noah in his tux. I have to say, these are some good looking kids!!! Now we just need to get them to smile at the same time :)

Also wanted to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my Grandma Hoelscher, 87 years young today, as well as to Miguel's grandmother. They both share this day with Noah as it is his 5 month birthday today also! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ALL!!

Summer Fun

2010-05-31T21:28:00.043-04:00

The hot temperatures have arrived and we are cooling off with as many water activities as possible. Susanna loves to put on her bathing suit and run around in the sprinkler and play with the water table.

Look how cute!!

Our pool has just opened and we plan to spend many afternoons there too. Susanna is already impressing us with her water skills (blowing bubbles, jumping into the pool from the side and even from the diving board, going all the way under the water with open eyes and holding her breath, floating on her back, swimming independently with her floatie). Noah is a water baby too! Susanna taught him to splash and ever since it is his favorite thing to do. Good teacher, fast learner! Pool pics to come soon!

We have taken two beach trips so far this year and are looking forward to many more. Susanna REALLY loves the beach including the sand and ocean. She has come a long way since last summer when she REFUSED to even touch the sand with her toes. Now she is happily digging and burying her own legs in the sand. She especially loves to play paddle ball with GiGi and Grandaddy!!

Noah is a great beach baby too. He just chills and listens to the beach sounds and watches his sister for entertainment. And check out how smoooooth he looks in his shades...

Twins

2010-05-30T22:10:00.001-04:00

Lately Susanna wants to do everything Noah does. Before long this will reverse and Noah will be trying to copy everything his sister does. He already watches her every move, Susanna better watch out!!

Stunting with Daddy

Watching TV

Love

2010-05-14T22:38:00.017-04:00

Susanna and Noah are having LOTS of fun as sister and brother.

She loves to read to him, play with him, and give him toys to play with.

She is a great helper and if he is fussing likes to go "check" on him by yelling "WHATS WRONG BABY NOAH!". It really is funny and surprisingly calms him most of the time. She likes to tiptoe into his room during nap time and we have to remind her to whisper or else she will scream "WAKE UP BABY NOAH!" Luckily both their afternoon naps tend to be at the same time so he gets to sleep in peace most days :)

It is really fun watching these two bond as brother and sister, we are such proud parents!!

Noah's 4 months old

2010-05-11T14:53:00.038-04:00

Noah is now 18 weeks old and had his 4 month appointment on Monday . He weighed in at 16 pounds, 8.5 ounces and 25 inches long. He is a growing, super happy and healthy little boy!! Our next adventure is starting cereal!

So far he has had rice cereal (didn't like it at all) and is now trying oatmeal cereal and he LOVES IT!! He is still learning how to swallow and is soooooooo messy but we are having a lot of fun practicing!

He is now big enough to start enjoying the fun baby toys!

Play hard, sleep hard!!

In the last month he has started drooling and shoving both hands and anything he can reach into his mouth. I can see a tooth coming in but apparently am the only one!! Miguel and even the doctor were unable to see that he was teething. I bet that tooth is going to be here within the next 3 weeks, just wait and see!!!

Noah is a REALLY happy and smiley boy. He LOVES attention and if you make eye contact he will flash you a gummy grin! Check out our handsome little man...

ABC Song

2010-05-02T22:21:00.006-04:00

Since her birthday Susanna has been singing everything!! She loves Itsy Bitsy Spider, Patty Cake, and ABC's. And she is really doing great with her ABC's, we are soo proud!

Daddy and his new toys...

2010-04-14T22:34:00.016-04:00

Spring is here and Miguel has the urge to get outside! Susanna is his little helper and gathers her tools to help him fix up his Jeep.

She even helped him put together his new grill and smoke his first shoulder.

As a reward she gets to go for a ride in her new bike trailer and explore the neighborhood with Daddy! They are having a lot of fun spending time outdoors and she sure is a DADDY'S GIRL!!

Both Daddy and Susanna have a sweet tooth for chocolate and she loves helping daddy stir. As she was stirring she kept saying "Daddy, I want to bite it!"

And check out Daddy's girl in the T-shirt he bought her... she LOVES the dancing bears :)

Noah's Baptism

2010-04-12T21:52:00.050-04:00

Noah Luis was baptised Saturday April 10th at Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic Church. We were blessed by our family and friends attending to help us celebrate.

He arrived in style wearing his Tuxedo onesie!!

We choose Miguel's brother Gabriel as Noah's Godfather and our good friend Chessica Logue as his Godmother. We are honored to have both share in his life!!

Father recently had surgery on his shoulder and was uncomfortable lowering the babies into the baptismal fountain and Miguel was asked to assist. It is really neat for Miguel to be such a special part of the baptism. Good thing Miguel didnt drop him... wet babies can be very slippery :)

My relatives (Grandma Hoelscher, Aunt Jane, and Uncle Louis) traveled from Ohio to share in our special day.

They stayed for almost a week and we REALLY enjoyed spending every minute with them! Noah loved meeting his extended family and enjoyed many naps with Great Grandma. Susanna loved playing games, reading books, and being her general busy self with everyone!! Thank you soooo much for coming to visit, we miss you all already :)

After the ceremony we all gathered at my dads house for lunch and ice cream cake! Thank you Dad and LaDonna for hosting and to all for coming to help us celebrate. And thank you Uncle Joey for yet again being the designated photographer, YOU ARE THE BEST!!!

Susanna's is 2!!!

2010-03-31T22:33:00.026-04:00

Susanna is TWO YEARS OLD!!! We celebrated with family and she loved celebrating her special day!!! Her party had a Dora, Sesame Street, and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme (these are her current favorite shows)!

Overall the day was a GREAT celebration. She REALLY loved blowing out the candle on her cake and has been asking for more candles every day since. Miguel made the cake and Susanna loved it... way to go Daddy!!!

And just like she had been asking for, she received her tricycle and helmet as her big birthday gift! She is still learning to peddle but LOVES going for walks and being pushed on her new bike.

It is hard to believe our baby girl is already two years old!! She has grown into quite a cute, funny, sassy, smart, talkative, adventurous, busy little girl. We are very proud of her and love watching her grow every day!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUSANNA!!!

Oh, BTW... it was also Joey's birthday. Susanna was nice enough to share her party with her Uncle YoYo!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOEY!!

A little bit of Noah...

2010-03-08T16:52:00.015-05:00

Noah is now 9 weeks old. He had his 2 month appointment today and weighed in at 13 pounds, 15 ounces... ALMOST 14 POUNDS ALREADY!! I cant believe how fast he is growing. I looked back at the blog and Susanna at 2 months old was 12 pounds, 15 ounces so Noah is exactly 1 pound bigger than she was at this same time. He sure is cute and chubby!! He got 2 shots but handled them really well, MUCH better than his sister usually does. He continues to wake twice during the night for feedings and will sleep for around 5 hours at his longest stretch from 9pm till 2am. I am hoping that within the next month he will drop one of his nighttime feedings and I will be able to post that he is sleeping through the night!!!!! Susanna started sleeping through the night between 3-4 months old and I hope Noah follows her lead!!!

This post is all about Noah, so check out some of his best pictures from the last couple weeks. He is sooo alert now and awake most of the day, except for a few naps. We finally have some pictures of him with his eyes open!!! He has started to smile back at us and we can almost hear a little giggle!

Mr. Smiley...

Still not sure if his eyes will be blue or brown, they havnet changed much in either direction since birth. At this time Susanna's were already turning lighter so I knew hers would be blue... so I am still guessing his will be brown like his Daddy!

Sad face :( We promise we dont torment him but he does make the best sad face I have ever seen.

Bath time! Just like his sister he LOVES his bath. His favorite is after his small baby bath is done and he gets to join Miguel and Susanna in the big whirlpool tub. Miguel will hold him in the water and he just LOVES it.

Noah wake up...

He's awake!!

Such a happy and handsome little boy

WATCH OUT, HERE COMES BIG SISTER SUSANNA!!!! :)

Chillin at playgroup. We are loving the warm weather and playing outdoors!

It's March and she is almost 2... sooo exciting!

2010-03-07T10:00:00.005-05:00

Elephants and Sunglasses...

Happy Birthday Song...

A week in the life of Susanna...

2010-02-26T22:09:00.019-05:00

Susanna will be 2 in just a month. It is SOOO HARD to believe she is growing up so fast right before our eyes. She is so smart, loves to dance, talks constantly, laughs A LOT, gives GREAT hugs, and so much more!!! Here are some pictures of her enjoying being a toddler... she is a wild and crazy girl :)

Playing the drums... ROCK AND ROLL Susanna!!

Pucker up for a kiss cause here comes some Susanna lovin!!

Painting like "Olivia"... one of her favorite Nick Jr. shows

Yummy, Yummy yogurt... and she can do it all by herself, what a big girl!

Making cookies with daddy

Sitting on the big girl potty... not training yet but she does like to take her diaper off and try out her special potty. The drum sticks and headband are just some rockstar accessories!

Wearing a fuzzy hat while eating dinner, why not!

CHUBBA CHUBBA

2010-02-14T15:32:00.015-05:00

Noah had his 1 month appointment this past week and guess how much he weighed... 11 pounds 11 ounces!!!! I WAS SHOCKED! Miguel and I made guesses but both were in the 10 pound range. I guess those nighttime feedings every 2 hours are really adding on the chubs! The doctor said he was doing great and just a big boy in the 90th percentile for both weight and head circumference! He got his first shot since the hospital and handled it pretty well, minimal crying and calmed down within a few seconds. His next appointment will be his 2-month visit and will receive multiple shots... hope he does just as good then too!!!

He has started sleeping a little better at night with occasional 3 hour blocks between feedings. Miguel has been helping me on the weekends so I have been able to get a little more sleep which is GREATLY appreciated! However, coffee has become my new best friend as I discovered this was the secret to being a mom to a toddler and a newborn :)

Susanna continues to be a WONDERFUL big sister!! She follows/helps me whenever he needs a diaper change, brings me pacifiers, burp clothes, bottles, and will climb up on my lap while I am feeding him so we can all sit and snuggle! She is growing up soo fast and becoming a little girl and no longer a baby. In a month she will be turning 2 and I cant believe it! If you ask her what she wants for her birthday she will tell you a bicycle... I think her wish will come true!!!

I have been comparing pictures of Susanna at 5 weeks old with Noah and they are starting to look soo much alike. At times they even look like twins, just separated by 2 years!!! I am starting to wonder if I am going to have another blonde hair, blue eyed child! Tell me what you think?!?!?

SNOW!!

2010-01-30T21:29:00.028-05:00

We have been waiting all winter for snow and it finally arrived!!! Friday night it started to fall and continued through the day on Saturday. It was a mix of snow and sleet and covered everything in a blanket of white, SOOO BEAUTIFUL!! Miguel and Susanna went exploring and playing each morning and even went sledding together. It is not great packing snow but GREAT sledding snow.

It is WAY too cold for Noah so he and I have been watching all the fun from the window. He did venture out for a few minutes just to take a few pics in the snow but then it was back inside again for us!

It has been fun being stuck at home this weekend. Miguel and I are winter people and are soooo happy to see snow this year and to be able to share the fun with Susanna. Next year Noah will be old enough to play too and big sister Susanna will be able to show him the way!

This upcoming Friday Noah will be 4 weeks old! I am amazed at how quickly the time is passing. He really is growing and changing everyday. Next week will be his 1-month appointment and I am really excited to see how much he weighs. He is really getting cute and chubby!! He still only sleeps 3 hour blocks at night, sometimes even less :( I wish I could say I am getting adjusted to the lack of sleep but I am not! I hope he soon drops a nighttime feeding or just starts sleeping longer... come on buddy, give me at least a 4-5 hour block PLEASE!!! Otherwise he is really a great baby and LOVES his big sister! Susanna always wants to be around her "baby Noah" and loves tickling him on his belly. It is really cute watching the two together... I love being a mom of two!

Starting next week I am going to try and get back to our normal routine of Susanna's playgroups and normal activities. I am realistic and know that we wont be able to do it all, but am hoping to get her out of the house at least twice a week! The past few weeks we haven't been ready to leave the house until about 10:30, which is about 30 min late to playgroup and an hour late to library. Hopefully next week I will find a way to move us along a little faster so we can be on time!!

Susanna has FINALLY allowed me to start styling her hair... our favorite is pigtails, DON'T YOU LOVE IT?!?!

Happy 1 week Birthday Noah!!

2010-01-15T20:47:00.022-05:00

Today is Noah's 1 week birthday!! It is hard to believe that just one week ago today he was born and we were just getting to know all about him! He is a really good baby, super cuddly and cute. I am feeling really good too, recovering much quicker from this C-section than last time. It has been wonderful having Miguel home this week to help me and with both kids. This week has really passed by quickly though and next week I will be on my own, hope it all goes well!!

Miguel has been spending a lot of GREAT quality time with Susanna this week. She has definitely turned into even more of a Daddy's girl!!! Each day they go on an outing together... they have gone to the mall, run errands, gone on long walks, played in the yard, out to lunch, and to the park. She has definitely enjoyed her Daddy time!!

Noah received his first bath at home and BOY DID HE SCREAM!! Susanna hated her first bath too so we were prepared.

Last week Miguel and I watched some home videos of Susanna's first days in the hospital and at home and we watched a video of her first bath. We both laughed at how long her first bath took and how slow I was! Even with her crying and screaming and being cold I still kept taking my time. We have learned a lot since those days as first time parents! And even though Noah hated his first bath too he should be thankful it only lasted 5 minutes instead of 15 like his sister!!!!!

Here are some pics from our first week at home as a family of four!!! We will try and post again soon but things are BUSY BUSY BUSY!!!

We Are Home!

2010-01-10T23:18:00.001-05:00

Miguel signing in for a quick post here......
We are all back home and trying to get settled in for the night.
I will update with pics when I get the chance and a more thorough update.
For now......
Sleep...
zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Happy Birthday Noah Luis Gonzalez!

2010-01-08T22:37:00.007-05:00

The day has come! He's finally here! Noah Luis Gonzalez was born on Jan. 8th at 10:15am via scheduled C-Section. The surgery went very well and with no complications. Mom, Dad, and son are resting well and enjoying each other's company.

Noah was born 9.0lbs and 22 inches long! As a comparison, Susanna was 8lbs 15oz and 21 3/4" long. So they were both very close in size. I think they look similar in the face, obviously not the waist down. So far, the consensus from the nursing staff and Jessie is that he looks like me (daddy). I have no idea, I can never tell until kids become toddlers who they favor.

Jessie is off to a MUCH faster recovering than last time. She is not experiencing very much pain and she has a good appetite. She is excited about eating some real food though; ice chips, jello, and broth aren't very filling...or so I'm told. Unlike our first delivery, we are looking forward to leaving as soon as they will let us, so we can be back in our own house.

While Jessie has been resting, I decided to update the blog to satisfy our biggest fans. More pictures will be posted later with more information. Consider this a little taste test....hoping for a good night.....
Signed, Dad

Christmas and More...

2010-01-06T20:29:00.020-05:00

It has been a while since our last post and I must apologize! This last month of pregnancy has been EXHAUSTING and my nighttime energy is nonexistent. Miguel has been hard at work taking care of the household "honey do" list. Therefore, no blogging, SO SORRY!! However, we are only 2 days away from baby boy's arrival and I thought I better post now before things REALLY get crazy around here!!!

We had a wonderful Christmas holiday! Susanna visited with Santa at the mall and got another GREAT picture! It was such a surprise to us that she did not cry and we were very proud she was such a good girl! We had been talking to her about him and she was very excited to see him in person. It also helped that he tickled her cheek with his beard! Her other favorite character this holiday season was Frosty the Snowman. I think we watched the movie Frosty and Frosty Returns AT LEAST 40 times, she loved it!!! It was hard to explain to Susanna when all the decorations, tree, and blow-up Santa and snowman had to be taken down. Since then we have called Santa and Frosty DAILY at the North Pole and she is slowly accepting the fact they wont be back until next Christmas... good thing she doesnt really understand that is 11 months away!!!

It was amazing experiencing Christmas through Susanna's eyes. Miguel and I loved waking her up on Christmas morning and telling her Santa had come to our house and left presents under the tree. She was soooo excited and we were excited watching her open each present!!! Oh, if you asked her what she wanted from Santa this year her answer was "Stickers to my house"... and she got a whole stocking full!!! Her big presents this year were a play kitchen with play food and grocery cart, baby doll stroller, and play mop, broom, and other cleaning essentials. We really had a wonderful celebration and are already looking forward to Christmas next year with an almost 3 year old and 1 year old.... it just keeps getting better!!!

We have a C-section scheduled for Friday... 2 days away! Susanna is going to be a WONDERFUL big sister and we can't wait to introduce her to her baby brother. Our life as a family of 3 has been more blessed, exciting, and love filled than either Miguel or I ever imagined. Our adventures with Susanna have been the best times of our lives. It is sad to say this chapter of life is closing but we are both VERY excited and anticipating all the new adventures that lie ahead as a family of 4. We will now have both a daughter and a son to experience all the joys of life!

Baby Shower

2009-12-14T19:46:00.026-05:00

Last weekend Baby Boy Gonzalez was "showered" again with love and gifts from many wonderful friends. LaDonna hosted this wonderful party and she really did a GREAT job. The decorations, games, food and everything little thing she did really made me feel very special!

My brother was there to capture the day in photos and he even joined in on one of the baby games and HE WON!! It was the string game when you guess how much string it takes to go around the pregnant belly.

Joey was the closest match and there were a few (who shall remain nameless) who guessed SOOO big I could of wrapped the string around 2 times!!! I know I grow a big belly but COME ON, be nice to the pregnant lady :)

Overall the party was a great success... lots of fun and baby boy received many gifts from our loving and generous friends and family!!! No worry of him having to wear Susanna's old PINK clothes, he now has plenty of BLUE!!!

Thanksgiving 2009 Sunset Beach, NC

2009-12-07T21:08:00.005-05:00

I've decided to lend a helping hand with the blog tonight as I've been trying to give Jessie a hand with more and more things. This year we decided to get out of town for a few days during my Thanksgiving break. We headed down to Sunset Beach, NC and joined my parents and younger brother Gabriel for a Thansgiving change of pace. It was fun being down at the beach during a quieter time of year.

Susanna loved walking.....running....and jumping along the beach. She was sure to point out every dog, seagull, and seashell she could spot. We had a great Thanksgiving dinner with all the traditional dishes and took a few trips into Calabash to get some tasty seafood. Anybody who has ever been to Calabash knows that it is pretty much required that you take a trip to Callahan's Nautical gift shop to check out all the random gifts and trinkets. Susanna LOVED the Christmas shop and is OBSESSED with Santa and Snowmen.

Although I will admit we are a little short on pictures from the beach, I will post a few random ones to make up for it. Things have been hectic here lately as we prepare for the arrival of Susanna's baby brother. Jessie and I have been busy painting, assembling furniture, decorating for Christmas, entertaining Susanna, and washing bottles and baby clothes. We are only a few weeks away and have lots still to do!

Ready for Winter...

2009-11-20T21:06:00.039-05:00

I am now officially 32 weeks pregnant. It is sooo hard to believe that I am already in the 3rd trimester and only have about 7 weeks until baby boy arrives as we have a scheduled C-section for January 8th. I know with Thanksgiving next week and then Christmas just around the corner the time is going to fly by!! At my last appointment my belly was measuring big at 34 weeks, which didn't surprise me as the same happened when pregnant with Susanna. I guess it either means we will have a big baby boy or I just am really good at growing a big belly :)

Mommy has been a little tired lately and not cooking as often. Susanna is now in charge of ordering take-out... this night it was Chinese!

We are already in the Christmas spirit at our house. Two weeks ago we put up our Christmas tree and decorations. We have limited our decorating this year since Miguel will be taking it all down himself right after Christmas to prepare for babies arrival. But we still put up the essentials... tree, stockings, nativity. We normally decorate mid December and leave it up until late January but since they have to come down early this year we want to enjoy them as long as we possibly can this year!!!

We LOVE how warm the house feels decorated for Christmas, our FAVORITE time of year!!! Susanna LOVES the tree and when we turn on the lights she always says "Pretty Tree". She even insists that when she goes upstairs for nap or at night for bed that we turn the tree off because the tree is going "Night Night" too. Soooo cute!! She can tell you what Santa says and LOVES her snowman stuffies. Miguel and I LOVE this time of year and I believe we have successfully filled Susanna with same Christmas Spirit!!

Our Johnston Mommies friends blessed us this week with a 2nd Time Around baby shower. It was sooo much fun to have them share in our celebration of baby boy. We received soo many cute clothes and I thank everyone. A GREAT BIG THANKS to Lisa for planning and hosting and making us feel so extra special, you truly are a great friend!!

3d/4d Ultrasound

2009-11-03T20:19:00.018-05:00

This afternoon we had the 3d ultrasound for baby boy. Just like we experienced with Susanna, it was amazing!!! Also, we were able to reconfirm that he is indeed still a boy!!!! He didn't start off very cooperative though... he is head down facing inward with his spine and bottom following the curve of my belly. The tech said he was sitting "Buddha" style with his little legs crossed and his arms and hands near his knees. Plus, he was practically using the placenta as a pillow!!! The issue was it was difficult to get a face view due to his positioning however with some interesting maneuvering with my belly from side to side the tech finally got a good view. HE IS SOOOOO CUTE!!! I think he looks just like Miguel!! But then I compared a newborn pic of Susanna and they look very similar too! So I guess we will just have to wait and see!!!!!!! Enjoy :)

Here is a newborn pic of Susanna and then today's pic of her baby brother... looks pretty similar to me?!!?!?

Happy Halloween!!

2009-11-02T19:54:00.010-05:00

On Saturday we participated in a Trunk or Treat event at St. Raphael's in honor of my moms endowment. It was A LOT of fun and Susanna had a blast. We dressed in a family theme costume... Susanna the Dentist, Miguel her Assistant, and Me the patient!!! She was a GREAT dentist!!

When it came time to trick or treat she was a little unsure of what to do, but quickly caught on. Soon enough she was walking from car to car as if on a mission to collect her candy and put it in her pumpkin! Everytime she would say "Trick or Treat" and even remembered her manners and said "Thank You" as she walked away! Good for us she still doesnt know what candy actually is... wonder how long we can keep this a secret from her??!! We had a wonderful day and I know my mom was very happy to see the smiling faces of all the children having so much fun together!

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-17T17:08:00.029-04:00

Last weekend we went to Hillridge Farms Fall Festival to visit the pumpkin patch. This is the same farm we went to last year and loved it again!
2009

2008

Susanna loved feeding the animals and playing in the corn hut with Daddy.

When it came time to pick out our pumpkin she was actually more interested in the pumpkins' stickers rather than the actual pumpkins! She kept taking off the stickers and making sure we all had a sticker on our hands! It was really cute :)

She loved the Halloween "Meow Meow" on her shirt, doesnt she look sooo cute??

I am now 27 weeks, CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!?! I am about to enter the third trimester and am in shock of where the time has gone. I have been feeling pretty good but am starting to slow down a bit. I definitely feel like my belly is huge and I am already uncomfortable and cant believe it has 13 more weeks to grow! My next doctor appointment is at the end of this month and will be when I have my glucose test, YUCK! Susanna will be coming with me and I am hoping she is able to behave during this extra long appointment... luckily my OB office has a small play area so I hope this helps us pass the time!! We have scheduled baby boy's 3-D ultrasound for the beginning of November and are SOOO EXCITED. We cant wait to see what baby boy looks like... will he look similar to Susanna or be completely different??? Susanna's 3-D pics really looked just like her as a newborn so we are very excited to see baby boy too!

Tomorrow we are headed to the NC State Fair. Miguel and I LOVE THE FAIR and count down the days till it comes around again. This is our FAVORITE fall event. We know Susanna is going to love seeing all the farm animals and eating the fair food with us. I predict her favorite food will be the roasted corn and her favorite animal will be the pigs! We will let ya know how it goes!!

Chit Chat

2009-09-20T20:57:00.007-04:00

Kinda Lazy

2009-09-09T20:47:00.028-04:00

I have been pretty bad about updating the blog, so sorry. Cant really explain why but I promise to be better! Lately I have been enjoying mindless TV watching with Miguel at night, eating popcorn, and just relaxing after the day. I will try to focus on the blog more often :)

We spent Labor Day weekend at Sunset Beach, NC. Although the weather wasn't the best we had a WONDERFUL time. Our first day was beautiful and sunny with perfect temps so we thought it would be a great day for Susanna to get to know the beach! However, she wasn't in the mood AT ALL! She was tired and would much rather of been napping and wasn't going to just go with the flow. Basically, she HATED everything. She hated the water, the birds, and she REALLY REALLY REALLY HATED the sand. She refused to touch the sand in any way with her feet or hands. This is kinda difficult AT THE BEACH!! She ended up falling asleep on my shoulder for an hour but then was ready for lunch so we called it a day.

The next day we followed a tip to keep her CROCS on her feet and this really made a big difference, however she still didn't touch the sand with her hands. The weather on Sunday was gray, rainy, and windy but it proved to be perfect beach weather for Susanna. Miguel and I have always enjoyed cloudy, cooler days and were happy Susanna did as well. She was in the best mood and loved running in and out of the waves with Daddy, jumping in tide tide pools, and feeding the seagulls. We even got to walk home in the rain, it was the best ever and a wonderful memory!!

This past weekend we attended the SRCS church fair and Susanna had a BLAST. She danced for hours to the live music and would have danced till they closed if we had let her. We thought for sure she would crash on the drive home but she must of been sooo worked up from the music and her jumping, flapping, wiggling, and spinning that she talked the entire 40 minutes home! We had a wonderful time and are already looking forward to next years fair!! Click on the videos below...

Ultrasound results!

2009-08-24T22:13:00.004-04:00

This past Friday we had the development and gender ultrasound and found out we are having a BOY!! All along I had a feeling it was a boy this time and was shocked to find out it was really true. Miguel caught a glimpse of the "boy parts" early in the ultrasound so he already knew when we actually got to the big reveal! Honestly I am having mixed emotions.... I am sooo used to having Susanna and am not sure what to do with a little boy! But the baby is developing normally and healthy and that is what is most important. Plus I know my mom would of wanted me to have have one of each, so now Miguel and I get to have a daughter and a son!

Ohio

2009-08-24T19:36:00.020-04:00

Well Susanna and I have been home from Ohio for a week now and I thought it was about time I updated the blog. We had a WONDERFUL time and were very sad to leave. It was amazing how quickly the two weeks passed and on my last day I wished we had planned to stay even longer! In our last week we visited the farm with Grandpa and Grandma Hoying, had a picnic and tried to feed the ducks at Lake Loramie, and swam in the pool with Morgan and Jada. Here are some of our favorite pics...

Susanna and I had a REALLY rough day flying home (due to thunderstorms and delays at the airport) and were SOO HAPPY to see daddy when we landed. We are now all unpacked, laundry clean, and settled in at home. I think Susanna was happy to be in her house and rediscover all her toys. However she is already getting used to it all again and has the most fun when we are active and get out of the house to play or attend playgroups. Back to the busy schedule!

One week in Ohio

2009-08-08T20:32:00.008-04:00

Well I have no pics to update but thought I would let yall know how Susanna and I are doing on our vacation to Ohio. We are having a great time with Aunt Jane and Grandma!! So far we have not been too busy... our biggest adventures have been to the park, lunch in Fort Loramie with Grandma and Grandpa Hoying, and shopping. I keep telling myself I need to take more pictures but honestly we have not done too much to photograph!! Next week we will have my cousins daughters (Morgan and Jada) to help entertain us and Susanna!! Hopefully we will make a trip to the pool, the farm, and Lake Loramie.

The weather (except for today that is) has been SOOO BEAUTIFUL!! No humidity, perfect temperatures and sunny skies. Jane and I have enjoyed a few morning and evening walks with Susanna in her stroller. Susanna just loves being outside and has had a great time exploring Janes yard. Her favorites are the Versailles tiger statue (which she ROARS at), the Doggy statue (which she pets, feeds, and gives kisses), the toddler play set we are borrowing from Mindy and Eric with a swing and slide (which she has figured out how to do all by herself), and the tether ball court. As you can tell she keeps herself and us busy when we are outside. And when you say the word "OUTSIDE" you better be ready to go that second because if she hears you she will run to the door and keep saying outside, outside, outside until you finally take her. She just loves it!!

Her other favorite thing to do around Janes house is point to everything and say "Uhnasee, Uhnasee", translated to "I wanna see". She is super curious and interested in everything. She wants to touch, kiss, or play with it all!! She really likes the wind chime in the kitchen, which I found out was a gift to Jane from my mom! Although I love Susanna's inquisitiveness, the constant "I wanna see" DRIVES ME CRAZY. I told Jane I needed to document how ANNOYING this phrase is to me so I can look back someday and remember how cute it really was!

My plan was to keep Susanna on her normal schedule but OF COURSE she is already all out of whack. She has even taken 2 morning naps, which is totally out of her normal routine. Everyday seems to be a different nap time and schedule but she is adjusting and managing well. I just hope that when we get home we can get her back on track.

Update - 16 week appt

2009-07-31T20:29:00.007-04:00

My dr appointment this past Wed was great. I got to hear the baby's heartbeat (157 bpm) and everything was measuring as expected. Susanna was soooo good during the whole visit too. She sat in her stroller and just observed. This was one of the quickie appointments so it only lasted 5-10 minute total, and it was a good first experience with Susanna overall! Our next appointment is scheduled for August 21st, which is when we will have the Level II ultrasound and find out the gender!! I am getting really excited!! From now until then I am going to try and force myself to have baby dreams, and maybe the gender will be magically revealed!! I just have no idea if this is a boy or girl and am soo anxious to know!!! I cant believe at our next visit I will be close to 20 weeks, half way through this pregnancy!!! It is amazing how fast it is passing by with Susanna keeping us busy. Before we know it the baby will be fully baked and time to join the family!!

In other news, a huge CONGRATULATIONS to our friends Chessie and Jason on the birth of their daughter Brooke Ashley, born on Monday 7/27... 8 pounds 3 ounces, 22 inches. After hours of labor momma Chessie had a Csection so we are praying for a quick and healthy recovery for her. They are home now and settling in as a new family of three. We can not wait to meet baby Brooke and give her a hug and kiss!! Congrats yall, we love you and are so happy for you :)

I will be traveling with Susanna to Ohio the 2nd through the 16th. Miguel and Sissy will be holding down the fort and hopefully missing us a ton. Unless Miguel surprises me we probably wont get a chance to update until we return. I am sure we will have lots of fun pictures to show off then!!

"Jogee" Visits

2009-07-27T20:57:00.024-04:00

We were so lucky to have Uncle YoYo visiting with us last week. Susanna loved coming downstairs and playing with him while I made breakfast. As soon as her feet would touch the ground she would run back to his bedroom, looking for "Jogee", sooo cute!!

While he was here we had many fun adventures including the grocery store, pool, shopping, and a trip to the emergency room! Joey has a history of kidney stones, something he unfortunately inherited from my mom, and passed another stone on Friday. Susanna and I tried to help him the best we could but the only thing Joey really needed was some pain killers and FAST!! At the Urgent Care Joey was REALLY rolling around in pain and he was sure he was traumatizing Susanna. She definitely knew something was wrong with him but just sat and watched... I think she was worried about him!! Luckily he passed the stone Friday night and was back to normal on Saturday. We were sad to see him leave on Sunday and hope he comes to visit again soon :)

Susanna and I will be traveling to Ohio to visit with my extended family on Sunday. We will be flying and this will be our first plane trip without Daddy :( I hope everything goes smoothly and pray for a happy, healthy baby during our travels. We will be staying for 2 weeks and I am really excited! We will have plenty of time to have lots of fun with everyone!! I haven't started packing yet but really need to get on it! I have to remember whatever I pack I have to drag around the airport all by myself, AHHHHH!!!

I am now almost 16 weeks pregnant. I have another Dr appointment this upcoming Wednesday, just a routine/ 15 minute visit. I will be taking Susanna with me since I know it will be so quick. At my next appt, which will be when I am 20 weeks, we will be finding out the gender... I CANT WAIT!! Both Miguel and I have had a feeling from the beginning that this baby is a boy, wonder if we are right?!?!

Sunday marked the 2 year anniversary of my moms passing... I miss you mom, more and more each day. I love you

Summer Fun

2009-07-05T20:05:00.007-04:00

We are sooo happy to have our yard complete and Susanna is really enjoying the new grass. She has a lot of fun helping daddy with the yard work. She moves handfuls of pine straw and/or leaves from one spot to the next. And now that we have the new mulch, plants, and flowers she will have have fun discovering the bumblebees and other bugs!

It is funny to watch her and try and figure out her reasoning but it keeps her occupied and that's all that matters!!!

We have been spending most weekends at the pool and Susanna is loving it!

She is getting more comfortable with the kiddy area and loves splashing around. We just love watching her explore and are ever amazed at her comfort in the water! Miguel is confident she will be a swimmer just like him!

Miguel has been working on his summer projects around the house. First he installed under cabinet lighting, then rope lighting in the screen porch, and finally a hammock in the back yard. Recently he installed a gate in the yard fence and built another gate for the top of the deck stairs. It is soo nice to be able to close the deck gate and Susanna can enjoy being outside with us and not fall down the stairs!! He has been working sooo hard and everything looks great!!

In other news, I am now 13 weeks pregnant. The past 2 weeks have been the hardest by far! I don't know if it was recovering from our trip to San Diego or what but I have been more exhausted and drained than ever. Luckily Susanna is still napping twice a day and it is the only thing that saves me from breaking down and crying. As long as I get to sleep while she naps I am ok. I feel sooo bad for Susanna though... we usually have multiple park adventures and playgroups throughout the week but I have not had the energy to attend any lately. I can tell she is getting bored being stuck at home all the time. I have signed up to attend a playgroup this week and I sure hope my energy returns so we are able to make it. If it doesn't, you know where to find us.... at home, snug in our beds taking naps :)

San Diego and more

2009-07-03T22:14:00.022-04:00

We are back fron sunny CA, but NO Sissy did not get to join us. She just wanted to wear some ROCK STAR shades just like Susanna, what cute sisters!!!

Last week we traveled to San Diego to visit with Uncle Ric, Aunt Nessa, and Cousin Rich. We had a wonderful visit and had a lot of fun! It took a day to adjust to the time change and by the time we were back to normal it was time to go home. Next time we will have to make our trip longer! While in CA we were able to visit Seal Beach in La Jolla, the San Diego Zoo, and participate in baby Richs' baptism. What a great trip... we miss yall already!

The flights were LONG but Susanna was amazing!! She really surprised both Miguel and I with how well she behaved on the plane. She would sit patiently on our laps, eat a snack, take a nap, and LOVE take-off and landings! She actually loved the landings sooooo much she would grin ear to ear, clap her hands, and squeal in delight! The more turbulence and the rougher the landing the more she enjoyed it! She definitely put on a show for the other passengers.

The first day after we arrived was mostly spent sleeping and adjusting the time change. Susanna was SERIOUSLY jet-lagged and spent the entire day catching up on her beauty rest. It was nice and allowed Miguel and I to take naps as well. By Friday we were all feeling more rested and able to leave the house and do some touring. Ric and Nessa brought us to Seal Beach in La Jolla... it was beautiful! The poor seals had been chased off their beach but we could see them resting on a rock nearby. I wish Susanna could of seen them but maybe next time! Otherwise we enjoyed a nice walk and the views of the ocean and beach.

Next was the San Diego Zoo. This was Susanna's first zoo trip and both Miguel and I were very excited for her. She has recently become very interested in her animal books so we knew she would have a great time. Her favorite of the day were the gorillas and the elephants. At the gorilla exhibit she even had one of the gorillas come directly up to her as if it saw her through the glass and wanted to touch her. She LOVED IT and it was so neat watching her face as she discovered the animals. She pointed to many of the animals, even the elephants, and called them "Sissy" and we had to remind her that Sissy was back home in NC. We had no idea how much she loved her doggie until she was without her, they truly are best friends :)

We spent our last day celebrating baby Richs' baptism. The ceremony was wonderful and Miguel and I are proud to be his godparents. Rich looked very cute and handsome in his all white attire! After the baptism Ric and Nessa had a cookout at their house and all the food was wonderful.

We had a great time visiting with Ric and Nessa and loved meeting Rich. Susanna really had a lot of fun with her cousin, sharing toys, books, and showing him how he can someday run around his house! Susanna is now 15 months and Rich is 6 months but despite the age difference they really entertained each other and were really cute together.

Susanna's Surprise

2009-06-10T19:52:00.030-04:00

Susanna has a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT, Can you guess what it is??? Here is a hint, what does her shirt say????

We are happy to announce that Susanna (and Sissy too) are going to be BIG SISTERS!! I had my first doctor appointment this past week and Miguel and I were able to see the newest bean via ultrasound. It is amazing how tiny they appear on the first ultrasound! The baby was wiggling around and we got to hear the heartbeat, which was 171 bpm. I am measuring right on schedule at 8w5d and the estimated due date is 1/15/10. We are sooo very excited and pray for a healthy pregnancy and 9 months. My next appointment is in 3 weeks and there will be many more to come! The ultrasound pictures are REALLY zoomed in so they are even harder to see than normal... but here is our newest addition

So far I have been feeling VERY tired. More than just sleepy tired, completely and totally drained. I have moments of queasiness, but nothing consistent. The only way I have been able to function lately is to nap when Susanna naps. She occasionally takes 2 naps a day (which is HEAVEN for me) but most days it is just one afternoon nap. Thank goodness she is a good napper, otherwise I would be in tears from exhaustion by the time Miguel gets home from work. Miguel has been a wonderful help too. Many nights and weekends he totally takes over and lets me rest, what a great daddy!!!

We told our parents the good news today (Saturday) when we had them over to participate in Susanna's Little Gym graduation and for brunch afterwards. Susanna was a STAR at her final performances, showed off all her gym skills, and even got a medal during the award ceremony. It is soo much fun to watch her and she really loved showing off to her grandparents!

After we had everyone to our house for brunch and Susanna changed into her "I am a Big Sister" shirt.

Our plan was to see who noticed her shirt first but NOBODY NOTICED!!! She had it on for over an hour and nothing! Finally my dad was getting ready to go and I told him he couldn't leave until he read her shirt. FINALLY everyone caught on and were very excited and happy! We are so happy to be able to share the news with everyone now :)

Daddy and Susanna talked about being a BIG SISTER today and Susanna has agreed to share her toys and stuffed animals... we will see!

Bubbles

2009-06-08T20:43:00.004-04:00

Susanna is becoming more and more comfortable with water. Daddy has been working with her on blowing bubbles and up until now he would demonstrate and she just watched. Well for the first time the other night she showed off her bubble blowing skills in the bath... and she did GREAT!!! We are so proud and happy she is not scared of the water!!!

Sunset Beach

2009-06-01T20:55:00.001-04:00

Almost 3 weeks ago we traveled to Sunset Beach for Miguel to attend the the NC Dental Society meeting. While he was busy attending the conference and meetings Susanna had a lot of fun playing on the beach with Grandad and GiGi. She loved walking along the water and sitting in the wet sand.

However she HATED the dry sand. This made her daddy really happy because he hates the dry sand too and is a water boy himself!! As of now it seems Susanna is going to be a water baby too and all the sand toys will have to wait till she is older!!

While we were at Sunset Beach Susanna got sick and spent the last two days feeling kinda yucky. When we got home I brought her to the dr, thinking she had another ear infection, but it ended up only being a virus she was fighting off. She is back to normal now and her only ailment is cutting lots of teeth. Miguel thinks she is cutting 4 molars and her canines as well. I guess it is best to just get it all done at once, huh?!?!

After we got home our neighborhood pool opened and just like last summer Susanna loved it! The water was a little cold but she didnt seem to mind at all. I think we are going to have a great summer at the pool. Do you like her new floatie??!

Flamingo Invasion

2009-05-27T20:44:00.000-04:00

Our neighbors are raising money for a local gym and this years fundraiser involves flamingo yard art. It is soo much fun!! They sneak around and put lots of plastic flamingos in your yard and you have the choice to remove them or send them to a neighbors yard. Last night we were invaded by the flamingos!!!

Miguel and I actually caught them in the act. I saw a shadow go by the front door and thought someone was trying to break in. So Miguel rushed over and turned on all our outdoor lights and foyer light to try and scare them off. He heard lots of yelps and giggles and quickly realized it was the flamingo squad! I think we really gave them a fright!!

Susanna enjoyed exploring all the flamingos today. She was so cute walking around with them since some were the same height as she is.

She kept calling them ducks, but I think that is because duck is the only bird name she knows right now, haha!!

By the way, did you notice in the pics that we have grass now! The yard is finally finished and we love it!!!

Party Animal

2009-05-05T21:27:00.016-04:00

For those who havent seen this in person, Susanna is really walking now!!! What a big girl :)

Susanna had a VERY busy weekend!! It all started Friday night with dinner out with Mommy and Daddy. She generally does pretty good at restaurants and this was another good trip. However she was seated right in the walk-way so as everyone passed she would either tap their back or rub their belly... it was funny for whoever walked by but really embarrassing to Miguel and I bc we had no way to get her to stop... she has really fast hands! Another new restaurant trick is saying "HI" to everyone and she will not stop until they say "HI" back. She will turn around in her seat and make sure she talks to everyone!! This too is a little embarrassing but we decided that only mean people would get annoyed with a cute baby saying HI :)

On Saturday Susanna started the day at Little Gym. Then after a LONG nap we headed to her friend Mackenzie's first birthday party. It was sooo much fun and Susanna had a great time playing with the birthday girl and all her other friends.

As soon as we got home from this party we went straight to the next... another first bday party for a neighbor. Susanna had her first taste of watermelon and LOVED it!! She was soo cute to watch eat it too, yummy yummy.

We also recently learned that Susanna can eat an apple all by herself. Until now I have been pealing the skin and cutting it into bite size pieces for her. Well no more work for me, she can do it all by herself!!! Once again, she is really cute to watch eat :)

Is it summer already??

2009-04-26T20:48:00.014-04:00

Susanna has been fighting off allergies for the past 2 weeks and I have been right there with her! The poor girl has a runny nose and cough that seems to just get worse after being outside. I think we are coming to an end of the pollen invasion and I hope she is back to normal soon. She is still acting like her normal self... having fun, practicing her walking, and discovering new tricks everyday!!

Susanna decided to climb inside her toy basket but then got VERY upset when she discovered she she was stuck, soo funny!!!

Sissy and Susanna are having more and more fun together lately. Here is an example of the girls working together...

We have had to limit some of our outdoor activities but still are enjoying the beautiful weather in NC... mid to upper 80's and we even hit 90's this weekend. Since the 90's are kinda too hot and the sun is extra bright I have payed close attention to try and figure out how the shade travels around our house. I worry about my little blonde baby girl getting burnt!!! We are lucky to have morning shade in the back yard and afternoon shade on the driveway. I know we will have a fun spring and summer playing outdoors. Some of Susanna's new outdoor toys are a water table that she loves splashing, a bubble blowing lawn mower, a kid size picnic table, sidewalk chalk, bubble machine, and sand toys. We are REALLY going to have a good time!!! Check out Susanna's cute turtle swimsuit while playing at her water table, what a cutie!!!

These Boots Are Made For Walking....

2009-04-16T20:19:00.005-04:00

Happy Easter

2009-04-14T20:43:00.028-04:00

We hope that everyone had a wonderful Easter celebration. We had a great trip to Sunset Beach. The weather was so-so but we had a lot of fun taking walks on the beach, visiting Calabash and eating seafood, and just relaxing at the house.

Susanna even got a chance to REALLY discover the sand for the first time. She was at the beach last summer but too little to understand where she was. This time, she had a BLAST!! She loved the open space and just kept crawling everywhere!!!

She ate sand and I kinda think she liked it, yuck!!! At first I didn't want her to get too sandy but then decided she should be allowed to really explore... so she ended up in the tide pools and LOVED IT!!

She splashed and giggled and really really liked it. She was fully clothed and the weather and water were kinda chilly so I know she will like it even more this summer when the weather is better. After this adventure I am REALLY looking forward to our summer beach trips!!

Check out this video of her on the beach... eating sand!!

The Easter Bunny visited Susanna and she was very excited to see her Easter baskets. We tried to set up an egg hunt but she only made it to one egg and then was done, maybe next year right?!?! We gave her this hippo squirt gun and she kept chewing on it and, in my opinion, RUINING all the good pictures.

So I took it away from her in order to try and get a good shot of her Easter dress... well this is what happened, so sad :(

Speaking of Easter dresses... I had received the cutest, best Easter dress last year at one of my baby showers. I had been saving it for a year now, knowing that this would be the BEST Easter dress! Well, I was packing everything Thursday night and thought, hmmm maybe I should try this on her just in case. And guess what, IT DIDN'T FIT!! She was toooooo big and the buttons were not even close to being closed. I planned for her to wear a sweater and thought for a sec, "she could still wear this as long as we didn't take the sweater off. yeah, the back would be completely open but who would know but me" Then I came to my senses and decided it is just wrong to dress your 1 year old in too small of clothes just cause they are cute and haven't been worn. I have learned my lesson though.... never wait to wear an outfit, if it fits her now she is going to wear it; even if that means wearing an Easter dress to the park!!!

Susanna has been learning new tricks, and they all just started this weekend! She has begun to let go and stand on her own. When she does it she gets a HUGE smile on her face... you can tell she is proud of herself!! She has even begun to take a few steps. The most we have seen so far is about 5 steps. She will start by balancing herself and standing without holding on, then she will take a few steps with a HUGE grin on her face, and after she loses her balance and PLOPS down she starts to giggle. She LOVES the praise she gets too... lots of clapping and kisses from mommy and daddy!!! I cant wait to catch this on video, right now it happens soo sporadically that we haven't even got a pic. This is just the beginning of a new phase... and I CANT WAIT to have a walking toddler!!!

First Birthday Party!!

2009-03-28T23:24:00.024-04:00

Saturday was Susanna and Ava's first birthday party!! Here are some pics from the day... we had a GREAT time and hope everyone enjoyed it as well. Thank you to all who came out out to the big event. Both Susanna and Ava had a BLAST, thank you for joining in our fun!!!

Susanna's Birthday Tutu!!! And look, she is wearing a hair bow too :)

This icing is squishy!

Uncle YoYo made me look like this :(

Yum Yum, chocolate cake!!

Check out Ava's new ride, Susanna loves it too!!

Daddy's and their birthday girls. HAPPY BIRTHDAY... WE LOVE YOU!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUSANNA

2009-03-24T22:00:00.008-04:00

Susanna is officially one year old!!! I can not believe how fast the year has gone. I still see her as a little baby but she is practically a toddler now. She has grown and changed soo much in the past year... she went from a tiny squishy sleepy newborn to a chubby talking crawling beautiful little girl. We feel so blessed every day to be her parents and pray that we are teaching and helping guide her to be the best person she can be!

We have BIG plans to celebrate her special day. First we have decorated the house with all our birthday signs and Susanna will be SURPRISED by all of them when she wakes in the morning. She is going to love them!!! Next we will go to our favorite park, Pullen Park, with a group of our friends. We will get to ride the carousel, the train, and play on the playground too. We really love Pullen Park and are so happy we get to spend her birthday at such a fun place. After we are going to pick up dinner at daddy's favorite sub shop, Subconscious. When we get home Susanna has some special presents waiting for her. Miguel and I picked out some REALLY cute Little People play sets and are excited to watch her play with her new barn, airport, construction zone, school bus, and zoo. Oh the fun we will have!!!

Here are some pictures from the past year... then and now :)

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY BEAUTIFUL GIRL... WE LOVE YOU!!!

Busy Busy

2009-03-15T20:48:00.005-04:00

It has been a while since our last update. That is mostly because my computer is still broken. It is difficult to find the time to update the blog during the day with Susanna getting into everything and then the night seems to go soo quickly before I know it the clock says 10 and it is time for bed!! After looking into getting my computer fixed we discovered it is too expensive and just better to buy a new laptop. And as a surprise today Miguel bought me a new computer and it is up and running!! Now that I have my own hopefully the weekly posts will be consistent again!

We have been having a lot of fun lately... going to playgroups, taking walks, and getting ready for her big birthday party. Susanna is now 11.5 months and still doing a GREAT job cruising along the furniture. She is not walking on her own yet but just started walking behind her ride-on car and will push her learning table around the house. She definitely is impressing both Miguel and I every day!!! It really seems that everyday she is learning/practicing a new trick. She is just sooo amazing!

Susanna loves weeknights after Daddy gets home from work, they just have soo much fun together. Check out some of the fun adventures...

Daddy recently bought Susanna her FIRST TRACTOR. She loves pushing it around the kitchen and it really makes him happy she loves the farm too:) I think this picture shows her loving the tractor with a girly flare!!

Ohio and back

2009-03-02T19:37:00.025-05:00

I have loaded the Ohio trip pictures to Miguel's computer and can now do the update as promised!!! BTW, I am feeling better, Miguel is on the mend, and Susanna is doing better on her Amoxicillin. It took a while to kick in but today she was fever free so I think that is a good sign!

We had a WONDERFUL time on our trip to Ohio. Joey, Susanna, and I drove up and everything went great in the car. She was soo well behaved in her car seat and I know that must of been very difficult considering it was a 9 hour drive. She entertained herself with her toys, enjoyed delicious snacks, and even got to watch a movie on Aunt Jill's DVD player! Grandma Hoelscher was very excited for our arrival. She had made many special treats for Susanna included vegetable soup, jello, and pumpkin cheesecake. This was Susanna's first jello experience so we decided it was best go without a shirt. She REALLY liked it!

While we were visiting we got to celebrate Grandpa Hoying's birthday. Susanna enjoyed visiting with all of my extended family.

Her new word favorite word is "HI" and she REALLY practiced A LOT. It is cute and she almost has a southern twang already!!

Grandpa Hoying brought us to the farm so Susanna could visit with all the animals. She saw the cows, a horse, chickens, lots of kittens, a farm dog, tractors, and the big red barn. She LOVED the farm and didn't even seem to be bothered by the smell :)

I had to be VERY flexible with Susanna's schedule since we were always on the go with lots of family to visit. Because of this she had many baths on location! She got to bathe at Cousin Mindy's house and Aunt Jane's! Both nights we had lots of fun with a little naked baby crawling around wanting to be chased. Mindy's daughters Morgan and Jada were WONDERFUL helpers with Susanna... playing with her, feeding her, and giving her bath. They will be GREAT babysitters one day :)

Susanna may be 11 months old but she has never been interested in holding her own bottle. I guess she decided it is our job and has never changed her mind. But to my surprise when Aunt Jane fed her she took the bottle from her and held it HERSELF!! I was shocked and amazed and proud of my little girl for finally being more independent.

However, since that time she has not even tried... IT WAS A ONE TIME THING I GUESS!! Apparently only Aunt Jane has the magic touch!

Yuck

2009-02-28T15:15:00.003-05:00

Since we got home from Ohio (last Wed.) I have been sick, Miguel is super sick, and poor Susanna is sick. The whole family is sick together. Susanna has a really bad cold and cough plus a double ear infection, and the Dr. said she was cutting a molar. She is now on antibiotics but still not feeling so great and having fevers. Hopefully by next week we all will be back to normal.

Also, my computer is broken! It has all my pictures from our trip to Ohio so that combined with our family sickness is why I havent updated the blog. If I can figure out how to get the pictures on Miguels computer and get some energy tonight I might do a nice update with pics. Just wanted to let everyone know we are sorry it has been so long since any updates!

On the Road again...

2009-02-13T08:46:00.002-05:00

Susanna, Uncle Yo Yo, and I are driving to Ohio to visit family tomorrow. We are leaving after Susanna's Little Gym class and it will probably take 8+ hours. Hopefully we will not have to stop too many times and I have stocked up on snacks to keep Susie occupied. We will be back mid next week and will update then. Have a nice weekend everyone :)

Its been a long week...

2009-02-07T22:09:00.011-05:00

Sorry it has been a while since our last post. This has been a yucky week. First, Susanna had her first stomach bug starting on Sunday night. She had vomiting and diarrhea (I know, TMI) and I eventually brought her to the doctor on Friday morning because it seemed to be getting worse instead of better as the days passed. I was worried it might be an ear infection as well, but thankfully it wasn't. Just a yucky stomach virus that she had to slowly work through. She has been doing better and hopefully is over the worst. I just wonder... how does this girl get soo sick even though she is home with me all the time?? What would happen to her if she was in daycare, I don't even want to know!! Well to top off having to care for a sick baby, I got sick as well. I must of caught her bug and was up sick ALL Tuesday night. It was soo bad that as I was crawling back into bed after one of my many runs to the bathroom I woke Miguel to tell him he had to stay home from work to take care of both of us. I was just too sick to even move, let alone chase after our crazy monkey!! Thankfully Miguel was able to stay home and took very good care of us, THANKS DADDY :) We are both doing better and almost back to normal.

In other news, Susanna has started classes at The Little Gym. She really loves it and we are loving watching her learn and explore. We are looking forward to this semester of fun in the Birds class!

Today was BEAUTIFUL weather so Miguel and I took a walk to our neighborhood park and Susanna enjoyed the swing once again. She just loves it, cant you tell?!?!

Here are some random pics...

Susanna and Sissy looking out the window... these sisters have so much fun together!

Daddy and Susanna hiking and checking out the river

Now that Susanna has learned to pull up on my legs this is the face that I see ALL DAY LONG!!

Susanna-Saurus Rex

2009-01-26T20:14:00.012-05:00

Susanna is always learning new tricks. Our latest favorite makes us think of her as a little dinosaur coming to get ya! Lately she LOVES knocking down anything that daddy stacks. We were lucky to capture a wonderful video of this... check it out!

Daddy found a great deal on a baby backpack carrier and we were able to try it out for a short while around the house. She seemed to be very comfortable and secure and Miguel was impressed as well. We are looking forward to the spring when we can go for a family hike at Umstead!

Susanna and Daddy have also been having a lot of fun with a toy daddy said he got for her but I really suspect it was just as much for him too. On a random trip to Walmart he bought a remote control Jeep. It really does look just like his Jeep and is a lot of fun!! In the days before Susanna we would of LOVED to chase Sissy around with this new toy but now a days it is used for Susanna's enjoyment. And actually, the dog barely paid attention except for the times she was being chased by the Jeep and frantically trying to get away!! I loved watching dad and daughter smile and laugh, they had a blast!!

Snow Day!!

2009-01-20T15:03:00.004-05:00

Not only is today the first snow day for NC but it is Susanna's First Snow too!! It started snowing very early this morning and has continued throughout the day. We woke up to about 2" on the ground and it was really snowing hard. Right now we have 6" of snow and it has just started to slow down. We took Susanna for a snow walk and she LOVED IT!! She really does enjoy cold, windy air so the blowing snow was great for her. Miguel and I are both winter people and today was such a wonderful treat!!! We LOVE snow and it was soo special to be able to share her first snow moment together as a family. We look forward to future years when she is old enough to play in the snow and Miguel is going to teach her his sledding skills :)

Here are some pictures from our snowy adventure today. We had soo much fun and are sad to see it stop snowing (Miguel is the saddest of us all).

Fuzzy

2009-01-13T20:54:00.004-05:00

Yes, we DO brush her hair... it just has a mind of its own :)

Happy New Year

2009-01-05T20:24:00.009-05:00

Happy 2009 everyone!! It is really hard to believe 2008 is already over. 2008 was the year Miguel graduated, passed his dental boards, became a real dentist, and the year Susanna was born!! Now I have to say she was born LAST YEAR, so sad :( She really is growing up so fast. Her crawling is getting faster everyday. She seems to get faster every time she wakes up. It is like she has stored up some energy and it is putting it to use. She loves to explore the house and has recently started exploring our cabinets as well.

We are starting to baby proof and are having a little trouble finding gates that fit our stairs. Why can't it just be easy!!

Miguel was lucky to have some extended time off during the holidays to spend with us but he has now gone back to work. It is sad not to have him home with us anymore, we sure miss Daddy!

Susanna has cut another tooth, this one on the bottom. And the matching tooth is on its way as well. So her tooth count very soon will be 8, 4 on top and 4 on the bottom. She has been extra cranky and you can tell those poor gums hurt her. She has become VERY PROTECTIVE of her mouth and brushing her teeth is now a two person job. We try not to make it too traumatic for her but sometimes she really puts up a fight. She has a child size tooth brush that we let her chew on every so often to help clean those teeth and doing it herself is much easier for her. Now Miguel just needs to teach her The Bass Method: Sulcular Brushing Technique. HeHe :)

Susanna is really enjoying her Christmas presents, especially her new learning table. Look at how well she stands and plays, what a big girl!! She also loves her new music car. She loves to go for a ride!!

Tomorrow is her 9 month check-up with more shots, boo

We Are Back!!

2008-12-26T09:54:00.018-05:00

Merry Christmas Everyone!! We are back from Miami and very happy to be home. While we were there we got to see many sights including South Beach, Miami Beach and Fort Lauderdale. We had a WONDERFUL time in Miami visiting with Miguel's extended family. Susanna was able to meet many of his relatives for the first time and SHE LOVED EVERYONE!! You should of seen her face the first time Noni (Miguel's grandmother from Venezuela) spoke Spanish to her. She looked SOO CONFUSED and really was trying to figure out what was going on. But very quickly she was adjusted to the new sounds and having so much fun.

Susanna got to spend a lot of time with her Grandad and GiGi Gonzalez. She was definitely spoiled by all their attention!

Christmas Eve was the night of our big celebration. We went to Clara's house (Miguel's Aunt) and enjoyed family and festivities. Susanna wore her favorite red dress and was the most beautiful at the party!

When Susanna changed from her party dress to her PJ's we tricked Noni. We brought Susanna out in her diaper and a Santa bib and pretended it was her PJ's. It was REALLY funny and Susanna liked playing tricks on everyone :)

The traditional Christmas dinner is Hallaca (pronouced ayaca) which is corn meal dough stuffed with raisins, olives, pork, spices and wrapped in banana leaves. It is VERY DELICIOUS and a wonderful treat to eat. Everyone kept saying how the hallaca's were extra big and needed to eat only half... but I ate a whole one myself bc they were soo good!! YUM YUM :)
Around Midnight we passed out presents and received many wonderful gifts.

You may be wondering how Susanna managed to stay awake until Midnight for presents.... well she didn't quite make it. She fell asleep on Miguel's shoulder and missed everything.

We had a wonderful time and hope to see everyone again VERY soon.

Susanna was GREAT the whole trip. She did amazingly on the plane, even laughing and smiling during take-off! Her whole nap and sleeping schedule was COMPLETELY off and she adjusted and went with the flow.

We are both sooo proud of how well she did. Last night was our first night home and Susanna slept 12 hours and after only 2 hours of being awake this morning she was ready for her morning nap. Obviously she is super tired and is catching up on all her missed sleep!

Susanna is REALLY crawling now and getter faster every day so we are off to buy baby gates and other baby proofing items today. Our little girl is growing up soo fast!! Check her out climbing on on box after opening presents...

Miami

2008-12-21T14:13:00.002-05:00

We are off to Miami tomorrow morning to visit with Miguel's extended family from Venezuela. This is the first time they meet Susanna and even the first time I meet some of them. We are really excited for our trip :) I am sure we will have a great post of our adventures after we return. Right now we are busy busy busy packing and preparing for flying with a 9 month old.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!

Santa

2008-12-16T19:36:00.007-05:00

Susanna met Santa today!!! She of course had no idea what was in store for her but both Miguel and I were super excited for this first meeting.

As soon as we got to Santa's Village she saw him and started staring him down. I couldn't tell if she thought he looked fun or scary. Miguel sat her on Santa's lap and at first she seemed confused and unsure. No crying and she never looked scared... just like she was wondering why she was sitting there and why does this man have such a long beard! As soon as the happy elves started jingling bells and being silly she smiled and we got a GREAT SHOT!!

After all the pressure of a good pic with Santa was over she took a good long look at him. I could tell he was talking to her and whatever he was saying really had her attention.

When Miguel took her from his lap he said "She never told me what she wanted for Christmas" and Miguel said "I think she wants more teeth" SOOOO CUTE!!

I missed my mom a lot today. I remember her always dressing Joey and I in matching outfits to see Santa... wonderful memories!! Watching Susanna with Santa and seeing her great picture really overwhelmed me. I just feel so happy and proud of her and can't believe how much she has grown already. She looks like such a big girl in her picture, WHERE DID MY BABY GO???

ALMOST...

2008-12-12T21:43:00.007-05:00

We are ALMOST all back to being healthy and over our sickness. Susanna and I had it the worst and with the exception of some lingering congestion and runny nose we are doing MUCH better. It has been a rough 2 weeks and I am happy things are going back to normal. She is getting her appetite back and is in a phase now where she only wants to feed herself.

It is making mealtime a bit more complicated and I definitely have to be more creative. Most days she will clamp her mouth shut and GRUNT at me if I try to feed her from a spoon. So I am dicing fruits, small veggies, cheese, puffs, small pieces of meat anything I can think of that is age appropriate for a balanced diet. If anyone has good suggestions I would LOVE TO KNOW!!!

It is ALMOST Christmas and we are VERY EXCITED!! I tried to take some holiday photos with Susanna in front of the Christmas tree but she was kinda mischievous. I cant blame her... I did place her in front of a shiny shimmery tree with all sorts of sparkly ornaments just SCREAMING to her to be grabbed. I got a few cute shots...

Susanna is ALMOST crawling. Every day she is getting better and better at her creeping around. She LOVES to go after the doggy toys or try and climb into Sissy's bed. This time I helped her out and SHE WAS REALLY HAPPY!

Sad Susie

2008-12-07T09:57:00.014-05:00

Susanna is sick again :o( The doctor thinks she has the same virus that I have been fighting off all week. Friday night she woke up at 1:30am SCREAMING and Miguel and I went to check on her and she was soo hot. She had a fever of 102.2 and with meds and some extra cuddles and snuggles we were able to calm her back to sleep. It was a rough night and in the morning, after the meds were starting to wear off, her fever was coming back so I decided we better go to the dr just in case it was her ears. Her ears are fine and the dr confirmed it was probably just the same virus I had. The dr said her throat was really red which explains why she starts to cry whenever she trys to swallow her solid foods, so sad. Last night was a little better but she did have a high fever (102.9) in the middle of the night again. I am hoping we are over the worst and she will be feeling better soon. I hope this happy smiling face returns to our house very soon.... she is sooo cute!

In other news, she is starting to perfect her army crawl and getting around even more. She is pulling herself forward soldier style, with her belly dragging on the floor. This was her first adventure onto the hardwoods!

I think her chubby budda belly might just be too much to lift off the ground just yet!! However, with her rolling and army crawl she can get herself across the room... just not too fast! Of course anything that she isn't supposed to touch (cords, electronics, plastic wrapper, trash, paper, etc) are what draw her attention the most and SHE GOES FOR IT!!

Last week Susanna had her first baby play date at our house. We invited our friends from Johnston Mommies to join us and all the babies had a fabulous time. I just love watching the little ones roll around together... they really do have a lot of fun! I don't want to post pics of other babies without their mommies permission so I will just post Susanna playing...

Is it Christmas Yet?

2008-11-29T21:48:00.007-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! We hope you all had a wonderful day with family and full bellies. We ate wonderful food and enjoyed spending time together. Miguel and I have been decorating the house for Christmas and now that we are finished we LOVE IT!!

This is our first Christmas at this house so it took a while to figure out exactly where everything fits best. After a lot of work we finally have it all in place. Susanna has been super whiny ... I think she realized how busy both Miguel and I were in trying to get the decorations set so she decided it was the PERFECT time to be EXTRA difficult. She is either teething again or on the verge of getting sick. Whatever it is we honestly cant take much more, ahhhhh!

Due to the baby attitude problem we have no pictures of Susanna to post (So Sorry), but we do have a couple pics of Sissy the Schnauzer. Miguel gave her a bath today and she wanted to be just like her sister and get a bubble bath. So Miguel gave her a bubble Mohawk and she loved it too. Isn't she adorable?!?!

Baby Flower

2008-11-22T20:34:00.010-05:00

CONGRATULATIONS to my dad and LaDonna on their wedding last weekend. We are so very happy for you and love that our family has now grown! Both the wedding and reception were beautiful and everyone had a wonderful day.

In our opinion the VERY best part of the wedding was Susanna being the baby flower girl. She did a WONDERFUL job and mommy and daddy were soo proud.

We were able to capture Susanna's little giggle on video... it is sooo precious to hear! We will keep trying to capture more memories. Do you hear that SQUEAL?!?! I LOVE IT :)

About once a week we fill up our large whirl tub and either Miguel or I jump in the bath with Susanna. We like to call it "Family Bath" time. We are so lucky that our doodle loves the water as much as we do.

We really have a lot of fun in our big tub! Susanna loves being able to share bath time with us :) If she gets many more bath toys we are going to run out of room :)

It is amazing how fast time flies...take a look at how much our monkey has grown. The first picture was taken back in May and the second just a week ago. And she still loves gazing at her daddy :)

Super Chunk

2008-11-11T09:10:00.001-05:00

I went to wake up Susanna from a nap this afternoon and this is what I found... her chubby legs STUCK between the crib slats. They were stuck sooo tight that later she got a little bruise.

I was sneaking up on her to take the pictures when she caught me!!

Good thing she was SOO HAPPY to see Mommy :)

Fair, Halloween, and More...

2008-11-05T21:17:00.010-05:00

I am a little behind on my posts so hopefully this one will catch you up on all the fun we have been having. First, for those of you that don't know, Miguel and I LOVE the NC State Fair and countdown the days every year until it comes around again. We love to walk around, eat TONS of food, and check out all the farm animals. This year we were very excited to bring Susanna to our favorite fall fair. She did great in the crowds and rode in her stroller most of the time.

She loved watching the momma and baby pigs and got very excited looking at the goats. I think they might of reminded her of our Sissy Sas!! Daddy loved showing off his favorite cows to his girl...she loved them too :)

She even had a special "WHAT DOES THE COW SAY" shirt to wear to the fair. What a cutie pie

This was Susanna's first Halloween and she had TWO COSTUMES!! Daddy picked out both of them and she was soo adorable. Her first costume was a spider... and she was the best little spider!!

Her second costume also doubles for Thanksgiving... she was a TURKEY!! The Turkey is my FAVORITE and just soo darn cute.

Susanna, Miguel, and I all went to vote for the Presidential Election. Her first election... and she even got her own I JUST VOTED sticker!

I love my bath :)

2008-10-19T21:22:00.006-04:00

Susanna LOVES bath time. Now that she is such a big girl she gets to sit in her big girl tub and play with her new favorite animal bath toys. And Mommy always does something fun with the bubbles... someday this may even be her future hair do!!

Today we hosted an early Thanksgiving with both sides of our families. We had so much fun but are absolutely exhausted! Pics and an update will come later.

Fun with Daddy

2008-10-19T20:59:00.007-04:00

Those of you who recently spent any time with Susanna know that she is quite the adventurous little baby. She loves flying through the air and Daddy loves to toss her high. I recently witnessed them playing together and had to take pics of how much fun they were having. Susanna is learning very early that Daddy is the Fun Guy!!

Daddy even took her out to his Jeep for a photo shoot, I think she is ready to drive it now!!

Pickle anyone??

2008-10-19T20:50:00.005-04:00

Susanna is cutting her top four teeth and we were told that sometimes a whole dill pickle is a fun food to try to help with teething. Well, we decided to try it and SHE LOVED IT!!

It was really cute watching her go to town on that pickle. She got her little teeth into it and sucked out all the juice too, yum yum.

Who would of known that a 7 month old would like a dill pickle?!?! I guess ya learn sometime new every day huh??

Fun on the Farm

2008-10-19T20:12:00.005-04:00

Today we ventured out to Hill Ridge Farm in Youngsville, NC. We had so much fun. There were animals, a hay ride, a pumpkin patch, and so much more. Susanna's favorite was the hay ride!! We were joined by Vicki, Claudia and Ava too :) The girls really liked spending the day together.

The girls even got to take pictures together in their Halloween costumes, what cuties!

While we were changing them we decided some naked pics were in order due to the chubbiness and check it out... the girls were holding hands!!

Volunteers Needed

2008-10-15T22:42:00.004-04:00

We are in DESPERATE need of volunteers, any takers????
In a few short weeks the Saint Raphael community will remember Sue Hoying and her commitment to Catholic education. The Susan A. Hoying Fun Run and 5K will be held the morning of Saturday, November 1, 2008 with proceeds to benefit the Sue Hoying Endowment.

If you are interested in participating please visit the following site... http://www.saintraphaelschool.org/Hoying5k/hoying5k.html

If you are not participating in the event, consider showing your support by volunteering the day of the event. If you would like to Volunteer, please send an e-mail to Kathleen Tardif at ktardif@bellsouth.net Please put in the subject line “Volunteer”.

5k and 1 Mile Fun Run

2008-10-11T20:20:00.007-04:00

On November 1st, my Mom's birthday, the 1st annual Susan A. Hoying 5k and 1 Mile Fun Run will be taking place. The funds benefit children in financial need at Saint Raphael Catholic School, where my mom taught for many years. Please come join us for this very special event!! For more information, registration, etc. please visit the following site... http://www.saintraphaelschool.org/Hoying5k/hoying5k.html

If you have any questions please feel free to ask!

Fall Fun

2008-10-07T20:46:00.003-04:00

It is hard to believe it is October already. 2008 is FLYING by!! To enjoy our first fall as a family of three we brought Susanna to a local pumpkin patch. We were lucky enough to be the only ones there at the time so we got some really cute pics.

We picked out really cute pumpkins to decorate our house too!! It was a beautiful day and a lot of fun. Getting ready for Halloween has really gotten me excited for Christmas decorations!!!!

Susanna is cutting her top four front teeth ALL AT ONCE!! Three of them are now through the gum and we are just waiting on one more. It has been VERY tough on her and on us!! The last time we went through this she was only cutting two teeth and we thought that was bad, HA... we had no idea! Restless days and nights, LOTS of vocalizing letting us know she hurts, and TONS of drool. I keep telling myself that at least we are close to being 6 teeth down. Oh wait, Miguel told me we have 14 more to go soooo we are not even half way through... sad face :(

NEW PICTURES!

2008-10-04T11:04:00.003-04:00

So this is what happens after a long week at work, followed by staying up late painting on a Friday night. It's Saturday morning and Dad's got access to the Blog. I thought I'd post a few pictures I "found" of Jessica and myself. While I was at it, I made a picture of Susanna. Hope everyone enjoys the product of my lack of sleep and a great deal of what I like to call "creativity".

6 months old

2008-09-30T22:00:00.008-04:00

Susanna had her 6 month check-up today. She weighed in at 19 pounds 3 ounces. Her appointment went great and she is doing wonderfully. She is developing right on track and the doctor was very impressed at how smiley she was!! She received 3 shots and one oral med. She really gave the nurse the "stink eye" when those shots were over... NO MORE SMILES FOR HER! She has been given the go ahead to start trying basic finger foods and to move onto 2nd baby foods. She also is allowed to try some of the table foods we eat like mashed potatoes or cooked veggies. I cant wait to see how she will react!!!

Here is a pic from the day she was born and one taken on her 6 month birthday. My Oh My she has changed!!! I hardly remember the dark hair :)

Swing

2008-09-20T21:31:00.008-04:00

The weather has started to turn to fall and is beautiful!! Susanna and I took a walk on Friday to one of the neighborhood parks and it was great fun. It was so wonderful we took Daddy back there today! She enjoyed swinging with us

swinging alone

going down the slide

and sitting in the grass.

(Notice Daddy's new car in the background... he wanted all of his girls in one pic).
It was a wonderful afternoon and I look forward to many more trips to the park this fall. I can just imagine how much fun we will have at this park come next fall when she is really moving around!!!

I ended up taking Susanna back to the dr last week and she did indeed have an ear infection in her left ear. She has been on antibiotics for 10 days now and almost finished the bottle. However I am not so sure they are working. She is still pulling on her left ear and now messing with her right as well. It might still be an infection or maybe she just needs her ears cleaned. She goes for her 6 month check-up on the 30th and I will be sure to have them check this out. I am nervous about this next appointment because I know she will be getting her regular shots as well as a few extra. Susanna DOES NOT HANDLE SHOTS WELL!!! The night after shots results in a VERY cranky, SUPER sad, and overall heartbreaking little girl. I know what we are in for but it doesnt make it any easier :(

Pink Photoshoot

2008-09-10T17:04:00.006-04:00

Well it has been FOREVER since we have posted!! Susanna is still sick but slowly getting better. I believe the worst of the cold is past us but she continues to have congestion and a runny nose. Oh and the worst part... she STILL isn't sleeping well at night, which means that momma isn't sleeping well either. Basically, we are all exhausted over here at the Gonzalez house. Miguel and I are now realizing how spoiled we were when she was sleeping through the night and DREAM of the days when that will return again! I am reassured from many other moms that once she kicks this cold she should go back to her old sleeping routine... we are keeping our fingers crossed!!!!

Before Susanna got sick we took another trip to Sunset Beach for Labor Day weekend with Miguel's parents (GiGi and Grandad). We had a wonderful time! Miguel and I even got to go on our very first date alone since Susanna was born. It was really nice going to dinner and not having to shovel food in our mouth as soon as she started to get fussy! I would love to go on another date... hopefully he will ask me soon?!?!?
Sissy came along to the beach too and check out her favorite look-out spot.... we caught her!

And look at Susanna getting greased up for her trip to the beach.... shiny baby!!! And she has just enough hair for a tiny Mohawk, we love it!!!

Susanna is learning to sit on her own and is doing a pretty good job. She still weeble wobbles so we usually have pillows surrounding her. Isn't she such a big girl!

Mommy and Susanna had a super fun time doing a pink photo shoot in her room! This was the morning before she got sick and amazingly they turned out soo cute. These are some of my favs!!

Sick

2008-09-04T21:13:00.002-04:00

Susanna is sick with her very first cold. She is MISERABLE which is making both Miguel and I miserable. It is heartbreaking watching her and not being able to explain to her what is going on or do more to help her. She went from sleeping through the night to waking up every 2-3 hours screaming and so sad bc the poor girl cant breathe. She is extremely congested, runny nose, sneezing, and a cough which I am sure is due to all the drainage. This all started on Monday night so we are a few days in already. Please oh please keep us in your thoughts as we try and survive this. If anyone has any suggestions on how we can make our beautiful angel more comfortable let us know... we are first timers here and completely clueless!!

I will do a longer entry with pics once I have had more than 3 hours of sleep, right now I am too tired :(

Bounce Bounce Bounce

2008-08-23T23:18:00.012-04:00

A few weeks ago we bought Susanna a doorway jumper. She REALLY likes it!! I will try to attach a video of her showing off. Watch as she FREEZES as soon as she notices Daddy recording her. She is soo cute!!

This past week Susanna REALLY started teething. Last Friday and Sunday were horrible days and the poor girl was in soo much pain. We did our best to help her out and Miguel and I tried to keep each other sane as well through all the screaming and whining. We have made it through the worst (I HOPE) and she now has one cute little tooth that has cut through her gums. It is the front left bottom tooth and I think the one right next to it is soon on the way too. We hope to get a pic soon but she is so hard to catch on film smiling. Before you know it she will be having her first dental visit to Dr. Daddy!

Susanna has learned to roll from her back to her belly. I really thought this would NEVER happen because of how much she hates tummy time. But she has figured it out and two nights in a row we were awoken by a crying baby who was on her belly and couldnt get back to her back! Miguel and I were wondering when we were actually going to get the chance to witness this new accomplishment and FINALLY 2 days after its first occurence we got to see her do her new trick. I am sooo impressed!!! I have regained confidence that she will crawl and is going to be mobile before we know it!!

Susanna and Daddy visited with Gigi and Grandad last weekend. They had a lot of fun together playing and smiling. Check out what happens when Grandad is in charge of baby.... soo cute :)

Susanna and I have daily photoshoots... check out our latest pics.

SQUASH!

2008-08-12T21:45:00.006-04:00

Susanna and I have been having a lot of fun since our last update. She has been trying new foods and is really LOVING IT!! So far she has eaten rice cereal, bananas, sweet potatoes, squash, and peas. She really likes bananas and we recently discovered she LOVES SQUASH!!! She has eaten that twice and each time wants to eat the whole container. I just let her, hope that is ok?!?!?

She sure has started off to be a good eater. I shouldn't be surprised... both her parents are good eaters too :)

We bought her a doorway jumper and she loves being able to move, jump and swing. It is also another great toy to try and distract her while I try to get something done in the kitchen. She is soo cute!

Many of you know that little Susie does not enjoy tummy time. We have been working on it and she is getting better. Now, instead of IMMEDIATELY screaming her head off, she tolerates it for a minute and is even learning to push up a bit more and hold her head higher. She is doing a fantastic job!

I am excited for when she is able to crawl and we are trying out other exercises to help her on becoming more mobile. I will probably look back some day and think I am crazy for wishing this now!!!

We have had many visits from Joey (Uncle Yo Yo) lately and Susanna is enjoying her time with him. Joey is also making sure to pay attention to the other forgotten fuzzy child. What a good uncle!!

Susie loves spending "chill" time with daddy... they are so cute together!