Marissa is 18, 19...20 Months

Yes I had every intention of posting an 18 month update on my little lady. Didn't happen. Oh well. She is now 20+ months and keeping me on my toes. Here are a few little updates of Marissa during her early toddler time.

• She started getting her canine teeth in January (at 18 months) and pretty much had one come in every month after that. At 20 months, the chomper count is now up to 16. And yes, she occasionally uses them to chomp with...YIKES!
• Marissa is sweet and snuggly. She loves lying on your shoulder, especially when she's a bit tired.
• She also loves blankets and stuffed animals and will carry one around with her often.
• Her favorite thing to carry, however, is a purse. The girl will put anything over her shoulder to tote it around. She is such a girl that way!
• She LOVES her binkies!! It is like Christmas when she finds a long lost binkie and like the end of the world when she doesn't have one. I've got my work cut out for me in the post-binkie department for sure. Chupete is the word for binkie in Spanish and she calls them her chupies (chew-pees). She will whine, squeal or laugh saying the name, depending on her emotion towards finding or losing one. Bad news for sure! She recently figured out that she could put two in her mouth at once. Although not nearly as soothing, she realized it got a good chuckle out of her parents and will often shove two in her mouth simultaneously hoping for a good laugh.
• She started going to nursery in January. She is slightly dramatic and cries every time for a brief moment and then forgets completely that we ever left her. Unfortunately she seems to schedule her pooping during nursery so we get to experience two very dramatic drop-offs each week (one after sacrament meeting and one after the inevitable diaper change).
• She has forgotten how to smile for real. The second she sees a camera, she squints her eyes, sticks out her bottom jaw and gives you a real cheesy smile. Not sure how long this will last, but it is pretty much what every single picture of her looks like if she knows you have the camera (or video camera) out. Hilarious!
• The kid is a walking parrot. She repeats everything...and I do mean everything! I wish I had a list of words written down, but she went from a handful to a ton overnight. Her first few words were ma-ma, book, pop-pop (for Papi), baw (ball), fu-fa (her sound for dog), and duck.
• She uses her head to nod in agreement all the time rather than saying yes.
• One of her favorite phrases us uh-uh. Yeah, not my favorite, but hers.
• She gets sad if you just mention she's in trouble. She doesn't need much more than that.
• She already sits really well on time-out and knows when she is warned that she does not want to sit on the mat.
• She loves her brothers. Dylan is her protector and Preston is the one that tolerates anything from her (although lately she has had to tolerate a lot from him as his loves have become slightly too aggressive).
• She is a HUGE fan of water. She loves baths, swimming and playing in the sink. She also really likes to help with dishes (which is not really helpful, but I try to allow to some degree so she can learn).
• She has been an awesome sleeper at night and great at taking naps. She thrives on her routine. She is going through a kind of I-don't-need-or-want-naps phase though. I've got news for her though. Whether you nap or not, you get to do quiet time every day. It's the only way my day flows well with all the children home with me all day every day.
• When she coughs or chokes while she's drinking, I will often ask her, "Are you okay?" She just nods her head in true Marissa style. Now she watches for similar cues and when I cough will turn and look in my eyes and say, "Okay?" It melts my heart every time!
• There is a recently developed sibling rivalry between Marissa and Preston. I think it is Preston's rapid brain development mixed with a pretty feisty and determined toddler. Preston has somehow "learned" how to tease and is way too loving. And Marissa has learned to to scream louder and make herself heard. I always know something is awry when I hear "No! Pesss-ton! No!"
• Yeah, her s's are a little "th" sounding. And extra long.
• She can turn anything into a blanket for her baby. Her favorite thing is taking washcloths out of my kitchen drawer and bundling her little baby up with those.
• She is also a HUGE fan of her baby stroller. She could push that thing forever. Um, but she's not great at sharing yet. At all. We are working hard on that one.
• She jumps on the tramp with her brothers and is a pretty tough cookie.
• She loves to be outside and could play in the sandbox for hours. She lets you know when she's full of sand or needing to unload the extra weight in her diaper though. :)
• She loves walking up and and down the stairs now. She has always been a good little stair climber, but now tries to climb them unassisted or barely touching the wall.
• Which brings me to my next point. She is independent. Very independent! Already wants to put her pants on by herself and lets you know when you try to help her.
• She also has discovered a love of the potty. For now, we just put her on there before her baths. It's a start, but I'm not pushing her. I'm not sure I'm ready for potty training again. Just finished up with Preston last year.
• Loving and spunky. Those are the two words that describe my lady bug best.

This is most likely the face you will capture on film the minute Marissa realizes there is a camera around

The sweet, nurturing, cuddly side of our little lady

Trying to tolerate her older brother's love, but screaming for help when necessary

The princess in her fancy skirt Aunt Angie bought her with food and a sippy cup...pretty typical

Eating pizza. Sees the camera and goes for the cheesy face. This is mid-cheese and cracks me up. I'm pretty sure that is a face only a mother could love! :)

Evidence of her pure love of the binkie

Cheesy grin in the tub...one of her favorite places to be

Climbing. Yes, she can be mischievous...and adventurous. Apparently that's how we make them. I swear I'm a fairly strict and consistent disciplinarian.

Parties, parties, parties...

Two birthdays right in a row makes for some busy, but fun weeks. We pretty much spoiled the kids this year. Last year they didn't get parties with friends, just a family day filled with fun. This year we let them do both...and they got a bit spoiled with presents. The truth is, we didn't spend any more money (actually maybe less). They just got smaller parties and presents, but it seemed bigger by the time all was said and done.

Dylan woke up to fun party decorations the Birthday Bear set up the night before. He decided he wanted waffles for his birthday so we had smiley face waffles. We went up to my sister's for haircuts and then took Dylan out for lunch at a Mexican restaurant we all love. My sister and her kids joined us with made it even more special for Dylan. I took the younger kids home while Marcos took Dylan to see Star Wars episode 1 in 3D. That afternoon. he opened his many presents (most Star Wars or Ninjago related...and some cool binoculars for his bird watching). Marcos and I had a class to go to that night so we got our darling neighbor (one of my former Beehives) to come babysit. Dylan's birthday happens to fall on Dr. Seuss' birthday so cute thing that she is she came prepared with all things Dr. Seuss. She brought marshmallows dipped in white chocolate that looked like hats from Cat in the Hat and brought The Cat in the Hat to read and One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish to read with a handful of sweedish fish for each kid to eat during the story. How cool is that? You should all be so lucky to have an amazing babysitter like Kylee! He got to wrap up the night with a movie of his choice, which I believe was Spookie Buddies (one of the Buddy movies...you know, the dogs). Anyway, pretty awesome day!

The next day was his friend party. We kept it simple. Pizza, a playdate, presents and cupcakes. Cheap and fun. I tried to throw in a couple games when the sword fighting and wrestling seemed beyond my capabilities to endure as a mother, but they soon decided that the human pretzel was not their cup of tea and changed to a round of duck, duck, goose. Who knew? Basically they knew what they wanted to do and required very little supervision or direction. I love that about Dylan! He is a natural leader and full of creativity and imagination. He can lead a group of kids without any trouble at all. One of my favorite things was watching his friends. He really has chosen great kids as his playmates. They all cleared their plates after eating, thanked me for the food and party and were darling with the younger kids. I looked over during presents and Kelby (Dylan's buddy) was playing with Marissa. She was sitting on his lap throwing herself back. He would pull her up again and she would giggle and giggle. I love that! Skills we are trying very hard to instill in our own children.

He was spoiled once again by his party guests. Lucky little man! Hope he realizes not all birthdays are going to be this amazing! ;)

Preston decided early on he wanted to go to the Dinosaur Park. Score! My Ogden Nature Center pass gets us in there for free. I love those multi-use passes. That one has been totally worth the money. It was preschool that day so we spent the morning at the dinosaur park, grabbed a corn dog on our way out, and dropped him off at preschool. Since his birthday comes right before St. Patrick's Day, they did a leprechaun treasure hunt that day. I'm sure he thought it was all for him! ;) He wore his Toys R Us crown I picked up for him all day and was given another birthday crown at school. What a lucky kid! He had 10 gifts from us! When I was wrapping them, I thought I'd seriously overdone it until I recapped. He's obsessed with Cars 2 and still a huge fan of Toy Story. So he's easy to shop for. Basically he got 10 small gifts all with Cars or Toy Story stuff on them and was thrilled. Most of them were educational or for church too. Bonus! Stuff like colored pencils with Toy Story characters on them, Cars 2 sticker/coloring books, and he got one actual toy...a cool Mater truck.

His friend party was also on the day after his birthday. We had all things Cars for decorations and the Birthday Bear threw in a Toy Story banner for good measure. The kids enjoyed their pizza and then headed outside to play. Milli (Preston's cousin) was jumping on the tramp with Kylie (another cousin) and hurt her leg. I think it ended up being a pulled muscle or sprain of some sort. Poor girl! Kind of ruined the party for her. We turned on a movie to take her mind off it and opened presents next to her on the couch. It helped a bit, but she was still in quite a bit of pain.

The kids LOVED the bubbles I picked up at the dollar store. Two bucks got everyone a thing of bubbles that they played with forever! We headed in for a Cars 2 cupcake and turned on Cars 2 to watch as we were waiting for moms to pick the kids up from the party. Other than Milli's hurt leg, it was a great party. Super cheap, super easy and totally fun. Preston's favorite people were there. His two buddies from church, Gabe and Owen, and two of his cousins, Milli and Kylie. He also adores his cousins Kenya and Tanner, but Kenya couldn't make it and Tanner lives in Idaho. But it really was perfect! Unlike Dylan who had to narrow down his list of 50 people he wanted to invite, Preston plays with the same people all the time so it was easy to figure out who to invite. Gotta love this kid! It was the first friend party he's ever had and he was so excited! I'm glad we went ahead and did a party for him this year. It was lots of fun for everyone!

Dylan's Baptism Announcement

Happy Birthday, Preston Santiago!

Preston turned 5 last Thursday - March 15th. I can't believe this kid is 5 already. We have had so many ups and downs with him, but he brings so much joy to our family. He is loving and guileless. He is mellow and happy. I probably say this a lot, but to know Preston really is to love him.

Preston during his 5 days in the NICU

The day he got to come home (March 19th)

6 months old - with his cousin Tony during a trip to Flaming Gorge

One year old - eating licorice at grandma's house

2 years old - climbing on the table

3 years old - playing at the park

4 years old - loving sunglasses and his own sense of style

5 years old - playing with his cousin Tanner

While we're talking about Preston, I guess I ought to update you on the therapy we have been doing. After having him go through two rounds of The Listening Program I was actually talking to his Primary teacher and trying to explain his challenges. I mentioned how much progress he had made with the listening program and how excited and hopeful we were. This lead to a conversation about a similar type of therapy her good friend does. She brought me over a pamphlet and I couldn't believe the testimonials. It was expensive so we knew it would have to wait, but I knew it was something I was going to have Preston participate in. It was one of those moments where you know you were supposed to have that exact conversation. It was an answer to prayer. Well, January came and we decided to sign both boys up for the therapy. It is called Sensory Learning. The link is to the website of the founder. The lady we went through is Mae Jae Storrs. She operates out of her home in Utah and then helps her son run a larger clinic in Kansas. Her website is in the works or I'd direct you there. Anyway, it was intense. For kids, they can't go the full hour so you take them twice a day for a half hour each time for twelve days. It was a huge commitment. After that, you take the lights home for 18 more days to finish up the therapy. Essentially it combines light, sound and motion therapy for maximum results. It helps form new neural pathways in the brain. Strange, but true. I'll be honest, it has been hard. Both the boys' behavior has had many off days (particularly Preston) but as time passes, the on days far outnumber the off days. You can see changes for up to a year as the neural pathways develop and learning increases. We finished the program just over a month ago - Feb 9 was our last day of lights. And it has been incredible to see the progress he has made. His preschool teachers asked me if I had changed his medication because he is so much more attentive and seems to follow what they are doing. I told them he isn't on meds and they were shocked. He was holding an airplane in his hand and not really talking to anyone. Out of nowhere he says, "I wonder how this airplane flies. Does it change into a rocket or something." Okay, I'm sure that seems like a normal 5 year old question, but Preston does not ask inquisitive questions like that and he definitely does not connect two concepts like that either. I was shocked! The following Sunday, he handed me his paper from Primary. He has taken an interest to coloring, but that is the extent of it. I saw the paper and started sobbing. Not crying...sobbing. Poor Preston couldn't figure out what he had done wrong. I assured him I was crying because I was happy and he just looked at me like I was crazy. He had drawn a picture of two people. Heads, eyes, mouths and a stick body. That is HUGE! He has NEVER EVER drawn a picture of people in his life. Never drawn anything. He colors and scribbles, but doesn't put a concept on paper with crayons. It still amazes me just talking about it. Anyway, we have bad days still, but we are so excited about his progress. We don't know what it all means long-term, but there is a very good chance we will have him do the therapy again next year in hopes of continuing his progress even further.

Dylan Turns 8

My "baby" turns 8 today. I still can't believe I have a kid that old. What is going on here? Dylan is a smart, curious, intense, emotional, sensitive, caring, inquisitive, spiritual, responsible kid. He is strong-willed and fights me on a lot of things, but is protective and kind-hearted. He is the biggest helper I could ever have hoped for in an oldest child. He LOVES his brother and sister and can pretty much help them with everything. He changes diapers, helps them get dressed, teaches Preston how to do his chores, and can't wait to learn about EVERYTHING! He empties his dishwasher every morning, makes his bed, takes out the trash and then comes in and gets mad when I forget to let him help me vacuum or clean the bathroom as part of his "celestial service." Everything is "EXTREME" with Dylan. His highs are high and his lows are low. He is fun and exciting and fairly dramatic for a boy. He is a natural leader and NEVER says he is bored. His imagination and innovation could keep him occupied forever. :) I never thought my strong-willed, stubborn toddler could be such a loving, helpful boy, but I can honestly say that Dylan is my buddy. I'm his mom and he even answers "yes ma'am" when speaking to me (something he learned from some polite friends of ours) but I enjoy teaching and re-experiencing life with my Dylan more than I ever thought possible. Here's to eight years that flew by... Happy Birthday, Dylan Alberto!

(It's a big year for him so he pretty much has a weekend of fun and celebration planned. I will post all about the birthday happenings when I have some pictures.)

Dylan - 1 day old

6 months old

1 year old

2 years old

3 years old

4 years old

(See that mischievous little grin? He hasn't outgrown that.)

5 years old

6 years old

7 years old

8 years old