Happy Birthday to Luz!

Yesterday we celebrated Luz' 4th birthday.  I know, she is practically all grown up and saving China!  We had a pleasant morning.  Juan made breakfast burritos with eggs and stuff.  Then I left to do a couple of errands while she, Ezra, and Juan all played. 

We had her birthday party from 2-4.  It was a Dora theme.  All the local cousins came.  (I am thankful for the internet and people who post such fabulous and creative ideas for me to copy and/or modify!)  When they arrived they each got a Dora bag filled with necessities for the adventure and got right to work coloring a picture of Dora or one of her friends. (crayons were in the bag) Our next stop was the story blanket to read a Dora book.  Then we headed downstairs and had to blow bubbles to cross the train table that was in our way. (bubbles were in the bag)  Then there were some more obstacles in our way (the Dancing Forest) and we had to dance our way through. (instruments were in the bag)  Then we headed back upstairs to the blanket for a snack. (cup and plate were in the bag)  And learned an English/Spanish song.  And had cupcakes.  And opened presents.  It was a blast!

After the party we headed out to "The Birthday Place" for dinner.  Earlier in the week I had asked Luz what she wanted for her birthday dinner.  She replied very quickly, "I want to go to the birthday place, Mom."  Which birthday place?  Tucanos, of course.  We go there to celebrate Dad's birthday, and Mom's birthday, and now, Luz' birthday.  So cute!  She stood on my lap and shook the tambourine when they sang to her.  Oh, and she insisted that she needed to wear her new princess dress there.

My little Luz is growing up.  She has brought so much happiness into my life these past 4 years.  I seriously don't know what I would do without her.  I get her.  I mean even when I am frustrated with her, I [most of the time] understand what is going through her mind.  She is truly a mini me in so many ways.  I love, love, love her and can't wait for our next adventures together!

Luz' First Primary Program

Luz participated in her first Primary program today.  She said her part well.  She's known it for weeks now.  "Puedo saber que las escrituras son [la palabra] de Dios."  (I can know that the scriptures are [the word] of God.)  The words in brackets are ones she decided didn't belong and never included in her rehearsal of this part.  I'm not sure why.  I would say the entire phrase and she would repeat it exactly, purposely leaving out that part.  I decided after a few days that it still made sense without it and I didn't want to push it.  So she delivered her version of her part. :)  She sang all the songs.  She looked cute.  I was back in the corner playing the piano and couldn't see her face.  Ezra was mesmerized the entire program and actually sat and watched/listened.  I don't think Juan had to take him out at all.  That's a first!

In an effort to make the Primary program a big deal and because she only has 1 dress that fits her anyway, we got a new dress to wear today.  I picked out 4 that I liked.  We took them into the dressing room.  I had her pick her 2 favorites to try on.  Juan and I both told her we liked the brown and pink one better.  She said she really wanted the purple one.  I let her choose.  It's cute.  The sleeves are a little weird for my taste.  Our mission was to find a cute dress that went with brown shoes because her already-existing, still-fitting church shoes are brown.  Most winter dresses go better with black, but I thought this was just fine.  We had the same mission for Mr. Ezra who has brown shoes.  Apparently we like brown shoes around here and do not want to buy millions of shoes in a size that the kids only wear for a couple of months.  Luz has 2 pair of shoes and some flip-flops.  Ezra has 1 pair of shoes.  The end.  Anyway, Ezra has been wearing some blue cords and a red polo shirt for church for a couple of months now.  They are both too small and not warm enough.  I picked up this outfit at the store in size 18 months... (Luz' dress is size 5, by the way.  Apparently our children are giants.)  ...and showed Juan.  He looked at me like I was nuts, and then I explained the brown shoe plan.  He was on board with that.  Let's buy clothes around already existing shoes. :)  We're weird parents.

Sunbeam Adventures

While it is not so exciting to take a 12-18 month baby to church, things do improve!  Nursery is fun!  And then comes Sunbeams!!!  I have a feeling this will be a multiple part series for me during the coming year.  Today 3 things happened.

During Sharing time I was sitting on the back row.  Well, Miss Luz was sitting next to her friend Justin and put her arm slyly over the back of his chair.  The next thing I knew, he also had his arm up on her chair and then started playing with her hair.  Meanwhile I was just watching this thinking, "That is cute!" and "This is Primary, kids...and you are only 3!"  Finally I went up and told them both to fold their arms and listen. :)

Later I was talking with the Primary secretary.  She handed me a piece of paper and told me I had to read it.  It was a spotlight form they had given each of the teachers to help the children in their class fill out.  Luz had said the following:
Favorite food: pasta
Favorite animal: bunny (???)
When I grow up I want to be: I want to be like Jesus
Doesn't that just bring tears to your eyes?

After lunch Luz was playing downstairs.  Juan went down to find her standing on the table talking.  He asked what she was doing.  She said that she was giving a talk in church.  [This may have been prompted because Juan spoke in Sacrament Meeting today.]  So cute!  I guess we will be helping her give a talk in church this year.  Glad she's preparing for it. :)

Luz: First night in a big girl bed

We finally did it!  Juan and I got up the courage to move Luz out of a crib and onto a mattress (temporarily until she gets used to sleeping on it and then onto a real bed that's waiting for her in our basement).  She was very excited and helped rearrange the bedroom this afternoon.  Here she is all tucked in.  As I write this a couple of hours later, I must say that she did quite well.  She laid down shortly before 8:00.  She did her routine call for us to help her go to the bathroom about 15 minutes later.  Then she called for a drink of water.  And then she was quiet and at some point around 9 fell asleep.  Yeah!  When I tucked her in, I told her that when she wakes up in the morning she can call me to come help her get up.  She replied, "I big girl Mommy.  I can get up myself!"  Well, alright then.

Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam!

My baby went to Sunbeams for the first time today!  I can't believe it.  I am so proud of her.  Not that she had much choice in going, but she did have lots of choices in her behavior.  She did GREAT!  The leaders had all of the Sunbeams and their parents stay after in the chapel for a few minutes and then took the kids upstairs to sharing time.  I gave her a few minutes head-start and then I went up there to sit in Primary like I normally do.  At one point during sharing time, Sis. Elguera was showing different books and held up a cook book.  She asked the kids if they had one of those at home.  Luz turned around and asked me if we have one at home.  I nodded.  She was sitting next to her teacher and then touched his arm and said, "Yeah, my mom said I have one at home."  TOO CUTE!  Later, I was downstairs changing Ezra in the bathroom.  Her teacher brought her in to go and saw me.  I helped Luz go to the bathroom.  Well, on our way out she grabbed hands with the other 2 kids in her class (one on each side of her) and said, "Come on, friends.  Let's go to our class."  Such a cheerful, friendly Sunbeam!

Family fun at the Doctor!

Luz had her 3 year check-up and Ezra his 2 month.  Here are our stats:

Luz 

Weight: 32.2 pounds; 70%

Height: 39 inches; 80%

Head: 51 cm; 95%

Ezra

Weight: 14 pounds; 95%

Length: 23.5 inches; 75%

Head: 40 cm; 50%

Happy Birthday to Luz - Part 3

Today we wrapped up Luz' 3rd birthday.  After her Sunday nap, she got to lick the spoon and then frosted (and sprinkled) the cupcakes I had baked while she was sleeping.

 

Then she got to open her card from Grandma M. and her presents from Abuela.  Thank you!  And then we read all of the books.  By the way, the reason I have never before read The Mitten could be that it was published in 1989 (I was 13).

And finally, we sang and ate cake and ice cream.  She picked white cake with pink frosting and cherry vanilla ice cream because it was pink.

Happy Birthday to Luz!

Happy Birthday to Luz - Part 2

We asked Luz a couple of weeks ago what she wanted for her birthday and she replied, "A haircut."  Well, alright then.  This all came about because last month I was combing her hair and mentioned to Juan that I thought it would be good to give her a trim.  She has never had a haircut and her ends often tangle up during the course of the day.  We do what we can to avoid tangles and such, but sometimes you just need to trim those ends.  Anyway, when I mentioned it to Juan, he replied that we should take her to a place.  I was curious as to why.  I am pretty sure I could trim her hair and do an ok job for a 3 year old at least.  He said that it would be good to teach her that we go to places to get our hair cut and that we absolutely DO NOT do this at home.  Good point.  So, we went.  She was nervous, but was a trooper.  We went the same place Juan goes and I was not happy with them at all.  The girl was incompetent and mean to Luz.  I do not like either of those qualities.  We will be going to a "just for kids" place next time.  I forgot to take a "before" picture.  The other thing was that I had told the girl 1 inch and she just kept chopping away.  I think she ended up getting about 3 inches off.

Happy Birthday to Luz - Part 1

Happy Birthday to our sweet little girl Luz.  Today she is 3 years old.  As I rocked her to sleep for her nap today I thought to myself that there may not be that many more times I can rock her.  She's growing up and hardly fits on my lap anymore.  She will be moving into a big girl bed soon.  She may not want me to rock her in the not too distant future.  Sad.  I hugged her a little bit tighter and felt thankful that today I could rock her to sleep.  It's hard to believe that she's 3 already.

Happily, the guys were coming over today for piano.  Luz adores many people, but "the guys" are still on the top of the list.  They came bearing a gift...Dora Memory Game.  We have already played it several times.  She LOVES it!  Thank you!

Then we got ready to go to Macey's grocery store.  There, she got to buy her own ice cream cone.  She loves to order it herself and pay for it herself.  Best 50 cents I spent today.  She also picked out a cake mix, frosting, and ice cream (more to follow on that).

Yesterday I asked her what she wanted for her birthday dinner.  She thought for a moment, and then I suggested burritos (you know, something different).  She emphatically stated that she wanted hot dogs and happy birthday salad (orange fluff) and then I suggested we also have uvas (grapes) to pretend there was something healthy in the meal. :)  She made the happy birthday salad.

Here she is with her 3rd birthday dinner.  Looks like Luz and Matthew have something in common.

So, we were planning to make the cake together when we got home from Macey's.  However, Luz was just too tired and needed a nap.  So, I put Luz her down for a nap.  Meanwhile, I decided that we could bake the cake together either tonight or tomorrow.  Also, our cute little neighbor's 5th birthday is also today, and when he found out it was also Luz' birthday, he brought some of his birthday cupcakes over to share.  So, tonight we sang, "Happy Birthday," and ate those cupcakes.  Thanks Che!  Ours will get made and eaten sometime this weekend.

A big "thank you," to Tio Matthew, Abuela, and Tia Stephanie for the special phone calls!

So happy together!

The Family is of God

I am sort-of combining different things in this post.  This afternoon, Luz and Ezra were playing and I thought it would be a perfect time to snap some photos.  Then I teared up and thought of one of my all-time favorite songs that talks about families.  I hope you enjoy both the photo and the song!

Happy Halloween!

We are pretty much the most awesome parents ever!  Right...we recycle Halloween costumes.  I'm not sure why I even used the plural form of costume, actually.  Luz has had a total of ONE costume in her entire Halloween life...3 years worth.  She was a cute little mariposa again this year. :)  Ezra did not get a costume.  He wore a sleeper and a Jack-o-lantern bib (which I don't think we got a picture of because it was removed once he started trying to eat it).

We are famous!

We made in Robyn's blog!!! 
http://www.greensmoothiegirl.com/blog/2010/09/29/a-cute-green-smoothie-mustache-on-luz/

Bye Tia! :(

Today Tia Stephanie left for Maryland.  We are very sad that she won't be around for Luz to cuddle with in the mornings, paint toenails, make cookies, read stories, and the many other fun things that we have done together this summer.  On the other hand, we are excited for her to experience new and exciting things such as rooming with Mom again, going back to school, dating, etc.  Good luck Tia!

Bye Tio! :(

Today Tio Matthew left for Rexburg.  We are very sad that he won't be around to help Luz go potty, play purses and babies, eat paletas after nap, help us start the car, and the many other fun things that we have done together this summer.  On the other hand, my baby brother has grown up and is off to live with roommates, study, buy his own food, clean his own apartment, and all of the other exciting adventures that come with being a FRESHMAN in college!

Panty Update

Luz woke up today and said she wanted a diaper on instead of panties.  Ok fine.  Then about 11:30 she brought me the panties and said she was ready.  Not sure what to think of this.  Maybe all the activities this weekend have her tired and wanting less stress in her life?

Panty Post #8

One week since the fun began.  I will no longer be posting daily about potty-training.  Only the really eventful moments will show up now.  

Today we (Luz, Tio Matthew, Tia Stephanie, and I) had a few things to do.  As it turns out, I think Luz checked out the bathrooms in each and every place.  The Quilted Bear, JoAnn's, and Old Navy.  Old Navy was very frustrating so I'll write about that one.  Luz turns to me amidst looking at clothes and says that she has to go.  I grab her hand and run to the bathroom, which is occupied.  Well, the lady took a little too long and sadly, Luz didn't quite hold it long enough.  Then the auto-flush toilet in Old Navy really ticked me off! There Luz was just sitting there trying to go to the bathroom and it kept flushing, scaring her half to death. Then when I wanted it to flush...nothing!  Tia Stephanie came to the rescue and brought our supplies from the car.  Luz changed panties and everything turned out fine.

Panty Post #7

Church in panties today...went WELL!  I actually had to go to a meeting in another building, so Juan and Luz were off to church together and she was fine.  Once I got over there, I took her out of Nursery to go to the bathroom and talked to her teacher who said that she had told her she had to go once before also.  I was surprised that she had told her teacher and let her take her.  I guess when you gotta go, you gotta go! :)

Panty Post #6

Luz doesn't even care about treats.  She loves going potty in the toilet.  We went to the Llama Fest in Spanish Fork today in panties!!!  (First time out of the house without a diaper on.)  Upon our arrival we scoped out the bathrooms and found port-a-potties outside.  At first she wanted to check them out.  One step in, however, she decided she was above using them and wanted to wait.  Who can blame the girl?  Thankfully, she really was able to wait.  Later on we found some indoor bathrooms and she made it every single time.  I am a proud mom today!

Panty Post #5

This morning we switched the treat of choice from sugared liquid to a fruit snack.  Not a package, but a single one, in a bowl on the counter.  We magically ran out of juice.  I also decided that we should play upstairs all morning.  Amazingly, Luz has eaten normally again and been her pleasant and happy self.  She is also going to the bathroom much more normally, you know once every 30 to 45 minutes instead of every 2 or 3 minutes.  She recognizes when she needs to go in advance.  We are making LOTS of progress today!