Bustin' a move with Thomas!

Liam and Neftali are having fun with this new toy!
Watch them boogie!

Christmas 2010

What a blessed Christmas we had this year! Not only was my husband home to celebrate with us (hooray!), but we were able to celebrate with visits to Grandma Elena's house, and Grandma Ethel's house. Christmas lasted a whole week this year, and what a memorable Christmas it was indeed.

We drove down to Springfield, stayed with Grandma Elena and drove to Eugene to have dinner with Grandma Ethel. I was also able to have coffee with a dear friend and colleague from the school where I used to teach, as well as pizza with the whole gang and our dear friends Matthew and Michelle Boltz and their daughter, Savannah (Nefty's best friend).

Traveling around with three small kiddos isn't an easy task,
and we weren't able to get to a few friends. But we truly hope all of our friends and loved ones had as special a time celebrating love and friendships - and the most important Gift of all as our family did.

Grandma Elena hits the jackpot every year.
Both Neftali and Solomon received new Iron Man 2 toys -
and stylish Iron Man jammies too!

Liam opening a present from Grandma Elena -

he knew exactly what to do!

Thomas the Tank Engine seems to be
a popular gift in our house each year. Liam
wasn't sure what to make of his coveted
(by his big brothers)
new toy...

...until he realized it's great for helping him to stand and walk!

Plus, it makes some pretty fun noises, pops out balls, and talks to him too!

Munching on a Christmas cookie?

A special Christmas visit with my Grandma,
the boys' only living great grandparent on my side. We had
a nice dinner (compliments of Costco) and then a great visit.
Of course, Grandma sent us on our way with treats for the boys
(and mom and dad too!).

Look at our pretty set up! Five perfect stockings hung on the mantle,
above a crackling fire. "Twas the night before Christmas..."

Christmas morning, with a few more presents
from Santa.

The Menendez Family, though you can barely
see Solomon, who is still waking up and wanting to
snuggle. (Mommy wants to snuggle too!)

Neftali and Solomon working as a team to unwrap

a gift for both of them from Santa

A gift-unwrapping duel - looks like Solomon won this round!

The boys received a cool trio of Spiderman puzzles
and a checkers game. We love our Marvel comic
book heroes!!

An educational toy (hooray!). A computerized map
that teaches facts about each of the 50 states. Can you tell
I'm a teacher?

Liam's on the move!

The Brotherhood

Daddy and Solomon
Look at those smiles!

Me and Neftali - isn't he a handsome little man?
(Looks just like his daddy)

As expected, the boys are growing so fast. Neftali and Solomon are the best of friends - even while they're sleeping!

Soon enough, the three boys will truly be the three amigos!

Christmas already?

It's hard to believe it's already Christmas...again. How does the time fly by so fast? At least this year, we are back together as a family. It's amazing how, with each year, traditions and celebrations become more meaningful as the children grow and have a greater understanding of what goes on around them. The boys are more aware of Santa, as they are to the REAL REASON we celebrate Christmas. We purchased our tree through our church and brought it home one Sunday. When we got the box of decorations down, Nefty and Sol couldn't wait to get started with hanging the ornaments. It sure was sweet! Now that the house is ready for Santa, Solomon tells me he wants Santa to come. And of course, like any parent would, we remind him that Santa will only come if he obeys mommy and daddy and plays nice with his brothers. :) Only 12 days to go!

Wouldn't this make a great Swagger Wagon commercial?

Hanging the ornaments with great care

Trying to untangle the lights

What a team!

The finished product! Wow... and check out those 5 stockings on the mantel!
We are so blessed!

Standing

Yes, it was just yesterday that I posted about Liam's improved crawling skills. So you can imagine my surprise when I came home from work to see him crawl over to his exersaucer and pull himself to a modified standing position! He is growing up so fast - and working so hard to keep up with his big brothers! I'm pretty sure he'll be walking by Christmas. Oh, and like his brothers, he loves food! We've been adding solids little by little, and he can't get enough! He'll scream if you don't keep it coming. He's even getting his lateral incisors already - before the centrals! He can't wait to eat that Christmas prime rib!

Three teeth (and 3 more coming in)... practically standing... and only 8 months old...

New look

As I enter another year of life, I enjoyed an evening home with my boys (big and small!) after a very hectic day at work. I even was given my special request of a chocolate cake from Costco bakery (if you've had it, you know what I'm talking about!). Yum! It's hard to believe that I'm well into my 30s now. Oh, how time flies. And thanks to my grandma, I was also able to treat myself to an afternoon at the salon for a new look. I already feel a few years younger! :)

It's a layered bob (I think). Bless my new stylist, Sarah.
She did a great job, and straightened it for me too (which I'll probably
never do myself with 3 boys!)

The back is pretty short...but it really lets my wave
do it's think without being unruly.

What a blessed woman I am! My hubby surprised me
with a birthday note on our bathroom mirror and "Las mananitas"
(the birthday song in South/Central America) early in the morning. He even spoiled me
with chocolate cake and a glass of red wine. What more could a girl want?

Crawling... then and now

Here was the early crawl, which looked more like an inchworm creeping along the floor.


This is Liam crawling now, like a real pro on all fours!

Painting Fun

One of the many things that Emilio has done with the kiddos while I've been working is some fun art. Awhile back, we got a free dresser off of craigslist, and though it was a big disappointment as a dresser (I guess that's what you get when you go check out something for free!), Emilio started to demolish it with ideas of creating a bookshelf out of it. Instead, one of the pieces of wood from the back of the unit became a canvas upon which Neftali and Solomon would unleash their creativity. After several days of painting, the finished product is a beautiful mural that is now hanging above our living room couch!

Along the Columbia River

A few weekends ago, we ventured out to explore more of our new home. We went to a beautiful park along the Vancouver waterfront, where there are many restaurants and opportunities to go out on the water. Gorgeous! It was a warm, sunny day, and Emilio's family was up for a visit. After walking along for a bit, we stopped and grabbed a bite from a hot dog vendor. Yum! Everyone was out enjoying the day, bikers, people walking their dogs, roller bladers. We felt right at home!

Neftali, Jonathan (cousin) and Solomon. Note the big ship passing
in the background. It's carrying a huge shipment of sand.

Beautiful sunny day

The bridge between Oregon and Washington

Solomon being coy - don't let it fool you! :)

The Columbia River "beach" with a hint of
Mt. Hood in the background

Yummy hot dogs!

Daddy's helper

Nefty is such a little helper! Now that Liam is getting so big and strong,
Nefty can help daddy give him his bottle.

School

The school year is in full swing. It's hard to believe that September is almost over. But is also a relief, since the first month of school is loaded with late evenings at school - and LOTS of meetings! The kids have already won me over, and I am eager to move forward into the adventures of second grade with them!

I am very blessed to teach at Sarah J Anderson Elementary. The enrollment is approximately 750 students! Huge for an elementary school! About half of those students are in the dual language program, and half in the regular ed program. The school is basically 4 times as large as the school I taught at in Eugene, so needless to say, there are many adjustments for me to make regarding the building, procedures, moving around, and other things in addition to the large number of students! But the staff is great and I feel very much at home. And I think I'm finally getting my classroom the way I want it... maybe. :)

Now to start preparing for conferences - only one month away!

Church Picnic

Our church has an annual picnic on Labor Day weekend, and since we're new to the congregation, we thought we'd go check things out (and hopefully meet some people). We caught the 9 o'clock service Sunday morning, headed home to rest up and prepare a picnic meal, and then headed to Lewisville Park in Battle Ground, Washington. Battle Ground is a town about 20 minutes north of us, in a beautiful country setting.

Liam is thoroughly enjoying the music at the picnic.
If you look close enough, you can almost see his two bottom teeth!

I must say, I have three handsome little men! (and one handsome MAN!)

Nefty's practicing his soccer moves. He has his "soccer face" on.

Me trying to get a pic of the worship band that blessed us with great music while folks munched, played games, and chatted with each other.

Solomon, a.k.a. The Cookie Monster


We showed up too late to catch the water baptisms in the river (bummer), but were there just in time to hear the results of the church bake off. I'm going to have to start planning for what I'll enter next year (definitely not my chocolate cookies, though my boys don't seem to mind that they're not perfect).

As new additions to the congregation, we don't know many people. We were enjoying the beauty of our surroundings, but yearning to make connections with some other young families. And God is so faithful! A gal, Anna, came over to us with whom both Emilio and I had talked to briefly before. She re-introduced herself and her husband and 7 1/2 month old son. She also introduced her dad, who interestingly enough, was born in Guatemala to missionary parents! Then we met the pianist, his wife and three sons. He, Jason, is an avid soccer fan and his sons all play. God just plain blessed our socks off, knowing how much we wanted to meet people, but also how scary it can be to go and introduce yourself to unfamiliar faces. Right when we started to become discouraged, He sent Anna to encourage us. God is good - ALL THE TIME!

Family time

While we enjoy the last few days before I go back to school, we decided to visit the Portland Saturday Market. We frequented the Eugene version (mostly for the delicious food!), and wow! The Portland market is 3 or 4 times as big! Lots of vendors, lots of food, music, and all along the beautiful waterfront. What a great day we had! I tried to catch a few images of the market and our time there, but didn't quite come out with what I wanted.




One of the many bridges along the Portland Waterfront

This guy was frozen until a person or group of people came along.
Then he would move like a robot. Pretty cool to watch.

Walking back to the car. As you can see, Nefty was pretty wiped out.
And Solomon is hiding behind daddy in the backpack.

There he is...

While we enjoy the last few days before I go back to school, we decided to visit the Portland Saturday Market. We frequented the Eugene version (mostly for the delicious food!), and wow! The Portland market is 3 or 4 times as big! Lots of vendors, lots of food, music, and all along the beautiful waterfront. What a great day we had! I tried to catch a few images of the market and our time there, but didn't quite come out with what I wanted.

My little drummer boys

My husband has a proclivity to want to learn every instrument there is, including the guitar, harmonica and drum to name a few. He brought a djembe drum home with him from Guatemala, and has been teaching the boys a few rhythms.


Practicing the rhythm for "Another One Bites the Dust"

Of course, Liam wants to bang too...

Demonstrating his sitting skills as well as his rhythm abilities
(with dad behind him just in case)

No, he's not grumpy. He's concentrating while he plays along
with a latin song (reggaeton is popular in our house)

Still concentrating...

Liam is waiting his turn... and supportively chewing on the drum rope while Nefty plays