Marine Corps Ball, Thanksgiving, and other happenings

Ok, I meant to get this post up earlier this past weekend, but it just didn't happen.

So I hope all our friends and family had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. It was quiet and small for us this year, but it was still good.

The main event......the meal. As I am 8 months pregnant and suffering all the usual late pregnancy pains and other details that I will not share, I decided I would not be cooking a ham this holiday. My wonderful husband used his lunch break on Wednesday to drive an hour away to Honey Baked Ham and purchase a premade ham. I LOVE their hams. They are fabulous. Pricey, but fabulous. So all I had to do was make the sides. I made the usual suspects. Cornbread dressing, green bean casserole, candied yams, rolls, and a pecan pie. It was all scrumptious down the last bite. The only down side was that we didn't have anyone else to share it with.

This year, it was just Javier, myself and the boys. All our other friends had plans and we have no nearby family. Thanksgiving is one of my most favorite meals and I love sharing it with loved ones, but this year it was just us. That's ok. We still enjoyed the food and each other.

The boys liked the food too, especially the ham. I hope they are not disappointed come Christmas when we bake a ham at home. Joaquin could not eat the dressing or the pie because they contain eggs of course, but he indulged in most everything else.

Outside of Thanksgiving, it was a great weekend for football fans. On Thursday, we watched the Cowboys game. We also watched the Aggies win their rivalry game against Texas University. It was a great game for sure. I think we watched good football games everyday this weekend.

So, now that the holiday recap is taken care of, I have to back up a bit. We went to the Marine Corps Ball on November 19th. Javier took a photo of me in our hotel room before we left for the festivities. It was a good time overall. My best friend came over to our house to spend the night and watch the twins. It was my first night away from the boys since they've been born. And it was heavenly. The ball itself was a pretty good time. We sat with friends and had good conversation. The food wasn't very good and the band selected for the music was absolutely horrible. There was a hospitality room set up in the hotel with an open bar and space to hang out, so we ended up there most of the evening. Javier played dice with his fellow Marines and I had a chance to chit chat with other wives.

In other news, we are 36 weeks pregnant now. It's hard to believe that 3 weeks from tomorrow, I will be meeting Sebi face to face. I am excited and nervous. Excited to hold Sebi in my arms, but nervous about having a newborn in the house again, especially with my wild animal twins. I'm sure it will be an adjustment. I can only hope that we make the transition as smoothly as possible. I am officially in pain and misery most of the time now. The baby kicks really hard and it hurts. I have aches and pains all over. I can't sleep well at night, so I'm tired all day. Just the price a mother pays to bring a life into the world I guess. Just 3 more weeks though.

We started decorating for Christmas. I think we will get a tree this coming weekend. We are also having the boys' birthday party at Chuck E Cheese on Saturday. We also have to go take a tour of the hospital where Sebi will be born. His room is almost done and we are very close to having everything ready for his arrival. I can hardly wait to see my mother in law and sister in law in a few weeks. I love having family and friends for visits.

Well, I will try to get more photos posted as I have time and can remember. Until then, I hope everyone enjoys these photos.

~Latrice

Halloween 2010 and things

It was a nice and simple Halloween for the Garcia family. We ordered some costumes online because the selection out in town was terrible. We dressed Jacob as a golfer because he loves to play with his golf set. We also think it fits his personality. For Joaquin we went with a pirate because it fits his personality and his gorgeous long locks of hair. We had a heck of a time trying to get them in the costume. And then, once we went outside it was like a jail break. Those boys were running around trying to get out of their costumes and trying to get into all sorts of trouble. Man, those boys can run!
We had a hard time trying to get some nice pictures of them. Latrice was having a hard time because she recently sprained her ankle going down some steps, AGAIN. This time it is not a broken left foot but a high ankle sprain on her right leg. She has to wear a walking boot for the next 3 weeks. But, it is much better than being in crutches. So, chasing down the boys was a huge challenge for her. Luckily, Joa was slowed down by some super over-sized boots that came with the costume, so that helped.
Today we also did some work around the house to prepare for Sebastian's arrival. We put the boys in twin size beds so we can start trying to sleep train them to go to sleep by themselves. We finally put up all of the decorations in their room and it looks much more like a toddler room now.
Today, Latrice is 32 weeks pregnant. The pregnancy is going well and Latrice has been getting around pretty good. We do have a mommy's helper coming to give Latrice a hand about 3 times a week. It really helps and she has been good about staying on top of the house work and keeping the boys entertained.
Anyway, we hope yall enjoy the pictures. Our boys are growing and the picture where Jacob has a huge smile as he is going away really turned out well. He looks like such a big boy and it offers us a peek into the future. It's hard to imagine that they will be 2 years old in a month. In many ways they are still our babies, but we know that they are growing fast and soon we will be taking their kindergarten pictures, etc. We love our boys!

~Javier

Fall, pumpkins and Aggie football

This is my favorite season. I love fall because it's the end of a long hot summer. The leaves start changing color. The weather is cool and perfect for opening all the windows to let the breeze in the house. Honey crisp apples are finally available. Pumpkins everywhere hail the coming of Halloween. And college football season begins. This is particularly special for Javier who bleeds maroon. It hasn't been the best Aggie football season so far, but we're die hard fans no matter what. We can't wait til we live in Texas and can go to the games as a family.

This past weekend, we took a trip out to a nearby pumpkin farm. Since it was a Saturday and the Aggies were playing, we decided to all wear our Aggie gear. A few people noticed and made comments. We took a hayride out to the pumpkin patch and tried to get some photos of the boys and of us... with the help of my friend who also joined us. Well, there was so much for the boys to look at and explore, that they paid no attention to the camera. So....we didn't end up with any good photos of us all looking or smiling at the camera. Guess that's what happens when you have two active and curious toddlers.

Normally, I'm the one taking all the photos, but after much harassment from the family to see my belly bump, I decided to get in some of the photos. Yes, I know it looks small. It looks bigger in person. I don't think I was standing at good angles to get a good picture of my belly.

Speaking of my belly bump, we are now 29 weeks along. That means in just 10 weeks, we will be meeting Sebi. It seems so close and also so far away. I can't imagine how our little family will change with the addition of a baby boy.

Oh, and I know many of you that still view this site will take notice of Joaquin's hair. It's still long. We have never cut it. Yes, people still think he's a girl, but we love his hair. It fits his personality and I think he looks great. Jacob still has a short haircut because he is just too active and sweaty. I recently tried my hand at cutting his hair. I was very nervous to do it because he kept wiggling and I was afraid I would cut his ear or something. Well, it wasn't the most even of haircuts, but it's shorter and when it's combed, it looks fine enough for us.

These days are busy with getting the house ready for baby Sebi's arrival. The crib is together and I'm digging out the boys' newborn clothes and cloth diapers to be washed and put away. I guess I'm entering the nesting stage of this pregnancy. Tomorrow, Javier and I will go to my doctor's office for a 3d/4d ultrasound. We are hoping to see some good footage of our little boy. If we get some really good ones, I'll post them here tomorrow, so cross your fingers that Sebi isn't a shy guy.

Well, it's almost time for the bedtime routine and tonight is bath night, so I'll wrap this up and wish everyone a good night.

~Latrice

Papi's Boys

I know, I know. It has been a long time since we posted. Life gets busy. The boys have been growing a little day by day. Each days brings a new first and reveals a little bit about their futures. Jacob is athletic and Joaquin is quite the free thinker. I love them both so much!
We recently bought the boys an indoor gym. Spent a lot more than I thought we would. But, it's hard not to when you know how much they are going to like it. So, we set it up in the garage and lately the weather has been perfect for the garage. So, now I don't have to worry about getting them out to the park as often. We also treated our lawn, so we feel more comfortable about letting them play in the grass. And to spend more time with them, I hired a lawn service to cut our monster lawn twice a month. It is worth it knowing that I don't have to spend 3 hours mowing the grass as Latrice tries to keep the boys busy. Also, the boys really want to go outside when they see me through the window cutting the grass in the rider mower. They scream and kick and cry and look at me with tear filled eyes through the windows as I go in circles for 3 hours mowing the grass. It makes me want to stop, but I can't. So, I hired a lawn service and we spend those 3 hours doing something together as a family.
Every weekend we make an effort to get out of the house and do something with the boys. We go to breakfast and then off to the park or some other activity. The pictures are actually of the 2 weekend events we did this weekend. Yesterday, we took them to Emerald Isle to a kids fair. It was a really good time. The weather was perfect and the event was free. They set up a lot of bouncy houses and stuff for the kids. It was also at a park with swings, slides, etc. It worked out great. Today we took them to the park. Spent some time on the gym but they were more interested in running around in the large grass field. So, off they went. They just run and look back to see who is chasing them. It's one of their favorite games- run away from papi and mommy.
I recently changed jobs. I am still in the same unit, but I took the billet of a Major. No, I have not been promoted yet (still waiting for my number), but the Major that was in the job is getting deployed to Afghanistan in 2 weeks. So, the Commanding Officer asked me to take the job. I am the senior Captain and he trusts that I can get it done. He said he wasn't worried about the rank since I had 18 years of service in the Corps. I agree.
There is still no decision on whether I will be deployed next year. My name was submitted to go, but the final decision has not been made. I expect that this week the decision will be made and I will know. I am excited to go. I was nominated to go as the Operations Officer for the MALS. It is a Major's billet and I anticipate that I will be promoted by the time it is my time to go.
We are really looking forward to the birth of our 3rd boy. We never thought that we would be the parents of 3 boys. This house is going to stink! But, we are excited. So, we finally picked a name. Latrice had a huge part in it. She needed to call the baby something every time he moved, so she calls him Sebbi. Sebbi is short for Sebastian. We like it. We are still debating over a middle name. We don't know what it is yet, but I would like to honor his and Latrice's Korean heritage and give him a Korean middle name.
Latrice is doing well with the pregnancy. Her sickness has been mild. She is actually doing a lot of cooking and she is taking care of the boys well. We adjusted really well to the absence of her mother. We now only hire help twice a week for 3 to 4 hours max. We are able to put the boys down with the use of 1 parent now instead of 2. Yes, we still have to get up in the middle of night to take care of them, but it is a 1 person job instead of 2 since they are now in the same room. I stay home on the weekends while Latrice goes out and does the shopping etc. I have also been able to sneak out to the golf course on the weekends during the boys nap times. I have been out enough now that my golf game is improving. Yes, I am really happy about that. I missed golf.
That is all for now. We hope everyone is doing well.

~Javier

A visit from Popo

So August has been a fun month for us so far. Popo Sammy came out to visit us and we all had a great time. The boys immediately remembered their grandpa and the playtime began and lasted for the whole 12 days that he was here.

One day, we went to a local place that has bouncy playhouses for kids to play on. At first, Jacob and Joaquin were apprehensive, but after my mom and their grandpa started jumping and playing around, the boys soon followed suit. They all had a great time climbing and jumping on the bouncy houses.

Another day, Popo went with us to the swimming pool on base. At first, Popo did not want to get in the pool because he was the only guy there, but the boys persuaded him. It was a good time and the boys really liked having their Popo to play with in the water.

On the weekend, it was Popo's birthday, so Javier decided to smoke a brisket. I had a friend over and it was a good Texas style meal for everyone.

The day before Popo left, we made a trip to an aquarium. That was a good visit too, and we even ate at a decent Mexican restaurant for lunch. It was a really good meal especially because Popo treated us to that one. Thanks Grandpa!

All in all, it was a great chance for the boys to get reacquainted with their grandpa. They can hardly wait for the next visit.

Oh, I almost forgot about another important event that happened. Jacob got his first haircut. He has a very sweaty head and it has been clear for a while that having long locks was not an ideal hairstyle for him. So went all went to Fantastic Sams. Jacob was a little apprehensive, so he sat on Javier's lap during the haircut. He wasn't thrilled about the stylist cutting his hair, but he got through it. The poor stylist even cut her own finger trying to cut Jacob's hair and avoid snipping his little ears that stick out. I'm not sure if I like the haircut yet, but at least he is not sweating as much anymore.

So in other news, my mom no longer lives with us. For a lot of reasons, she decided it was best for her to move back to Washington. She plans to visit in the future, but for now, she is going to live out there and we are back to being a family of four. ...Well, I should say four and a half. We are still baking a bun in the oven. In two weeks, we should find out if we are having a girl or a boy. We are very excited to get that news and I'm sure we'll share it as soon as we find out.

Speaking of my pregnancy, it has been going well lately. I'm not feeling nauseated much. I'm still tired a lot, but I don't know if it's so much from the pregnancy or trying to keep up with the boys. I'm just starting to show, but my small baby bump is easily mistaken for a fat roll. I have started wearing my maternity clothes, especially the pants. Elastic waistbands are my best friends lately.

There is not much else to report on our homefront. I'm looking forward to the end of summer and this awful heat. Our lives are busy with preparing for our new family addition and enjoying the boys during this fun age.

Life is good.

Until next time,
~Latrice