Sebi's first birthday

Wow. I can hardly believe that my sweet baby boy just turned 1 year old!! I cannot say the time has flown. I am very much still in the loooong days and nights phase of his childhood, but it has been such a sweet year with him. My dad, stepmother, and little sister arrived a few days ago in time to celebrate Sebi's first birthday and spend the holiday with us. It's nice having family to share this time with. We would give anything for Javier to be here, but that's not possible. I'm just happy and grateful to not have to do everything alone.


As we did with his big brothers, we decided to celebrate Sebi's first birthday with Korean style. He wore his traditional Hanbok which is worn on special occasions. I made Korean food to include Kalbi ribs, Pajun (korean pancake), rice, and Mandoo (korean dumplings). 

As for Sebi wearing his hanbok.... well. He's a quick little squirt. It was very hard to get a good picture of him. These were the best I could do.

It's hard to tell from those pictures, but he really looks so handsome in his hanbok. To me, he looks like a little Korean prince. ...But he hated wearing it. It's a bit stiff and he just didn't want to be in it. 


This winter has been unseasonably warm, so we put comfortable clothes on all the boys and let them outside to play. Sebi was actually barefoot. He had a great time running around with his brothers and his aunt. I'm not sure why, but he became very attached to an orange plate and insisted on carrying it around with him a lot of the time.

Finally, we lit the candle on the cake and sang happy birthday. It was the first time I have ever given Sebi a bite of cake (german chocolate). He loved it!

Yesterday I took him to his 1 year checkup. He is 29 and 3/4 inches tall (50th%) and weighs 20 lbs 15 oz (20th%). He still has not cut any teeth. For months I have thought it would be any day because he's always rubbing his gums and gnawing on everything, but he's still a gummy smiler. He says "mama", but mostly when he's mad and wants to be picked up. He's an old pro at walking, and spends most of his time trying to run after his brothers and climbing anything he can hoist his chubby leg over. He has started eating table food because he grunts and reaches for our food until I can't take it anymore. So far he likes toast, mashed potatoes, green beans, ramen, cake, and chocolate. While he does not wake to eat at night anymore, he does still frequently wake and wants to be cuddled or be given his pacifier. He likes to dance to music and he LOVES taking toys away from his older brothers. He also loves stealing my heart every day. I cannot look into his smiling eyes and big gummy grin and not feel total elation. He has made me a better mother than I was before I had him. Seeing all 3 of my baby boys makes me feel so happy and proud. 


Even though Papi was not physically here for Sebi's birthday, he was here in thought and spirit. We hope this is the last birthday that he has to miss.


~Latrice

3rd birthday and other happenings

3 years ago, my life changed. The sun ceased to be the center of the universe. Instead of gravity holding me to the earth, our twin sons were born and they became my reason for existence. I can't believe how much my life has changed and how much my heart has changed because I have the pleasure of being their mother. Watching them grow feels like watching myself as a child. Loving them feels like nurturing my own inner child. Protecting and teaching and guiding them is my duty now and forever more. I cannot say that the 3 years have flown by. On the contrary, many days have felt long and unending. The boys are so different from each other, but one thing they have in common is their ability to show love and affection in the sweetest and most unexpected ways.

On Dec. 1, the twins turned 3 years old! Today we had the party to celebrate that fact. Wow. It was a chaotic day filled with smiles, laughs, screams, cries, and a few meltdowns. All in all, I think most of the kids had a good time even if it wasn't good all the time. It was the first and hopefully the last birthday party without Javier here to celebrate with us. He was missed. We had the computer set up to allow him to skype in and watch the party, but alas, his internet connection was uncooperative and we were unable to see him.

We started the party with lunch, which was pizza and sandwiches and a fruit tray. Then we lit the candles and sang the happy birthday song. Jacob and Joaquin did not like that very  much. Joaquin ran out of the room and Jacob started crying. Oiy. With a little help, we finally got the candle blown out and cake distributed to everyone. The boys needed help opening their gifts. They didn't really understand the concept of tearing off the wrapping paper. Then once the paper was off, they wanted to play with the paper. They liked all the toys, but I think they liked the balloons even more. Since we only had the party room for an hour, it was time to pack up before we knew it. Then we headed out into the main play area to let all the kiddos run around like wild animals. Even Sebi got in on the fun.

And here are a few pictures from their actual birthday that we spent at home:

I love it when the boys hang out. Joaquin and Jacob frequently sit on the recliner and watch tv together. It's really cute. Sebi plays with them too, but his favorite place to be is on my hip.

And for Javier's viewing pleasure, here are a few more pictures.

I love this picture of Jacob. This is how he likes to lounge on the couch. This is how I tell he is tired and ready for a nap.

And here is Joaquin about to have a meltdown over something I have said or done.

And here is my sweet baby Sebi and also Jacob.

Life is such a blur lately. The days and nights are long, but time is passing. I have so much to do, but there never seems to be enough hours in the day to accomodate all the things I need to do. For now, I need to get to bed because it is after midnight and my eyes are burning and watering because I'm so darned sleepy.

~Latrice

Photos from afar

The above picture is Javier's unit in Afghanistan. I know it's hard to tell, but Javier is there. The guy in the center front of the red sign is the commanding officer. To his left, but on the right as you are viewing the picture, and slightly behind him.....is Javier. And all those people standing at attention makes up the rest of the unit. MALS 40.

He has been able to send me a few photos.

I believe this is right outside of Javier's work trailer. He is to the far right.

These photos are of the Marine Corps Birthday cake ceremony they held. Marines always celebrate the birthday of the Corps. Although they did not have a ball, at least they had a cake. In the photo directly below, Javier is the man in the very front, facing the left. He was part of the ceremony.

This photo is neat because you can see the helicopter flying in the distance. It may have been the Marine Corps birthday, but the missions continued.

Halloween 2011

It came, it went, and now I'm so glad it's over. Some friends of our who have a little girl the same age as Jacob and Joaquin, came over to go trick or treating with us. They also came to help me because I don't know that I would have attempted to take my 3 critters out by myself. When they arrived, I started getting the boys dressed. That alone was a huge undertaking.

And then we hit the streets. At first, the boys were hesitant, but after they realized that people were giving them candy, they became pros.

I pushed Sebi around in the stroller while the big boys walked around collecting candy. Sebi was not very happy about this arrangement. The only time he didn't cry was when the stroller was moving, so I had to keep his stroller moving constantly to keep him quiet.

So in case it's hard for some people to tell, Jacob was a pirate, Joaquin was a little Native American boy, Sebi was a monkey and I was a Native American momma. It was quite a chilly night so Sebi's costume was perfectly warm. Myself and the big boys had to wear a few layers of clothing underneath our costumes to stay warm and avoid needing jackets. We only walked down about 6 houses and turned back. It was a good distance for the boys to be able to walk themselves and because it was so chilly, I didn't want to have the boys out too long. And we made good time because it started to rain hard about 15 minutes after we returned home. Immediately, the boys started digging through their sugar loot and found lollipops to suck on. Somehow, we were able to wrangle everyone together for a group picture. Here is the best shot I could manage.

The boys had fun, but I think I'll leave the trick or treating to Javier. He can take them out to hit the streets while I stay at home and pass out candy. Sounds like a good plan to me.

~Latrice

Fall has arrived

It has technically been Fall for a while now, but recently the weather has announced the true arrival of fall. The air is crisp and brisk. The smell of burning foliage is most pungent in the late afternoon. The grocery store is full of my favorite fall vegetables. The weather is cool enough to wear sweaters and scarves. I LOVE IT.

So the base had a fall festival and I decided to take the boys. I hadn't taken them to any fun social event like this the whole summer, so I really wanted to do this. I found out that a family we knew would be there and they offered to help me with serving the meal. And they did, and thank goodness because holding the baby and helping feed two toddlers while trying to feed myself...... was very hard.

 You can see from the pictures, that I had the boys strapped into their stroller. That was on purpose of course. If they weren't strapped in their stroller, they would have been running around the place like wild animals..... like the other children that were there. I was holding Sebi in my baby carrier most of the time except during the meal. And it was quite warm inside the building, so I had to take his arms out of the fleece sweatshirt he was wearing. He was pretty hot and really sucking down that water.

The boys didn't really eat much at all. They normally love hotdogs, but they really wanted to play. So after I finished eating, we headed outside.

The boys had fun hula hooping and throwing fake bananas and just running around. I had them bundled up with undershirts, long sleeve polos and big sweaters and hats, but it was still a bit chilly for Jacob. Once in a while his little teeth would chatter and he would shiver. We didn't stay long. Towards the end, Joaquin lost interest in the games and discovered that picking up pine needles and throwing them in the air was pretty fun. And I was able to get a photo of myself with Sebi.

We ended up staying for about an hour and a half. It wasn't long, but it was a great time for the boys and I'm glad we went. I didn't get pictures because my hands were full, but Jacob absolutely loved jumping in the bouncy house. He was squealing with delight and having the time of his life. I asked Joaquin if he wanted to get inside and he said "Nope. No way momma." That little boy is something else.

In other news, Jacob is making progress in his speech. I recently changed speech therapy facilities and I have seen a big difference. Jacob has progressed more in just 2 sessions than he did in 6 months at the other place we were going. I'm so happy with his new speech therapist. Some things he's saying these days.....
"Mommy, look!"
"Want chocolate milk"
"No Mommy"
"Key"
"Keyhole"
"Red ball"
"No baby"
"Jacob"
"More Papi"
This list may seem short, but for us, it is really excellent and long for Jacob. I have renewed hope that he will be up to speed in a very short time.

Ok, it's late and I need to go to bed. I just wanted to get a quick post in and add some photos for Javier and family and friends. I know Javier checks this website often to view the pictures, so here they are. I hope you like them babe. We all miss you very much.

~Latrice