christmas photos, finally

another year full of blessings and traditions, beginnings and ends. gosh, it was such a good year!

this is the final installment of christmas guys, i don't want to bore you anymore with stuff from 'so last year'! it's 2015 and let's start new! yes! but in a minute....

our family gets together christmas eve to make tamales. we've done it for years and this year, they were the best ones yet. tamales de rajas, de rojo, de todo! boy they were good! 

i helped a bit (really, a lot) and i reaped the benefits. i ate entirely way too many tamales. 

 

i think a couple of years ago we took a picture but with a missing sister. here we are again, but with a missing cousin (missing you Nat!) and by the way, look how grown up my little sis is (second from left)!!! 

this was our first christmas with all the babies born + together and i'm so happy we sat them down to document!

that whole day was so exhausting. never mind that because i still had to wrap the last of my gifts to the people i love, fill up stockings and pretend to be santa. unfortunately, we completely forgot to make cookies for the big guy, so scones had to do. i really hate scones. 

the sun wasn't even up on christmas and these guys could not contain their excitement about their gifts from good ol' st. nick. tenkai knights for andrew and big huge monster truck legos for jonah.

told y'all i gifted photos this year :) 

the husband managed to surprise me with a new lens this year. it was pretty amazing actually. i mean, since i sent him the link where to purchase it ;) 

christmas gets pretty boring in previous years...but this year, the boys spent the entire day playing with their legos and being outdoors since it was such a beautiful day.

there's always something fun to do at moomies. we also went to watch dreamworks' Penguins of Madagascar. it was hilarious. 

and these sweet pictures, i managed to take while my nephew was still with us. i will always cherish these! 

you guys, elena does not like moomie. this is what she does when moomie carries her: all day long. it's pitiful really. by the end of our vacation there, she did fine with my mom. no more screaming, but oh lord!

don't fear mom, it's phase. she has to love you. 

and that's the end of that! onto new beginnings now! 

i've been binge watching Call the Midwife (and crying every.single.episide) and finishing up projects around the house because enough is enough! 

we have been making plans on what to do this year like planning a family vacation during hubby's only true vacation: spring break. 

house plans and budgeting our projects by prioritizing (anyone have any good advice on this? i feel so scatter brained with this!)

and elena's 1st birthday party next month, whaaaaat? yeah, 1st birthday--already almost here (freak out now!)

and we've been talking about where to take our handmade store: Shop Witty next.

we also want to hop back on our diet, since we fell off it so hard during the holidays and hopefully keep on the journey of tightening up! 

what plans have you got going around your head?! 

have a great week everyone! 

long trip fun stay

My mom, sis and brothers live about 5 hours away from us...while it's hard, it makes our visits much sweeter and meaningful. But you know what? Moomie doesn't care, she puts you to work! After all, there's a lot of work to be done on the farm. 

Mom's got a freezer packed full of vegetables either grown from her garden or donated from other kind people...

and you know what vegetable we got to eat at dinner that night {and the night after, and the night after that}?? you got it! corn. But we eat it the Mexican way. Corn with butter, cream or mayo, some salt, and chili powder which is the best part! elote con chile, crema y mantequilla! freakin' delicious, especially in a vasito. 

The boys beg to be let outside just like the dogs do--every. day. Their love for the trampoline is unreal. 

and that afternoon, the sun just happened to be in the perfect spot to take some sweet pictures of my nephew, Leo. I will post those separately but here are a couple of teasers ;)

the pool was also fun, we layed out and soaked some sun {it was bloody hot} and then cooled down with water and the shade of the massive oak tree in the front yard.

there is never a shortage of animals on Moomie's farm: cats and rats and horses and cows and ducks and chickens and snakes....oh, and dogs. oh and fishes too {inside the fish tank of course!}

this baby got passed around like a ragdoll, many volunteers with open arms and soft touches. he consumed a million ounces while we were there and slept about 400 hours too. the sweetest grunter in the whole world you ever did hear...no crying. just grunt. grunt. GRUNT! 

and one afternoon, everyone just. crashed. hardcore. except for me and Andrew {it's weird that I wasn't involved, this pregnancy is completely ignoring my no-nap rule}. the house was so quiet for 2 hours.

some little kid wanted so badly to roast marshmallows. Moomie totally caved and made his wish come true...well, sorta. She got the marshmallows but Tio Carlos and Tio James totally helped with the fire. The most awesome part, duh.

I forced the kids to take a photo with their cousin Leo before we left. Jonah is still confused about why baby Leo is out in the world after he had just gotten used to the idea that he was inside my sister's belly. Andrew was never keen on Jonah as a baby, he hardly ever came near him. So it only made sense that no way in hell was he gonna touch Leo--hence the pillow he rests on and Andrew's lovely face. Jonah was just curious and sweet. I love the way he says baby Leo. We still love you Leo and can't wait for you to play with your cousins! 

sorry that i've been taking a small hiatus from blogging because i've been busy DIY'ing outside in this decent weather. some sprinkles, lots of clouds, some sun, and cooler nights! bring on the low 70's now!!!
can't wait to post those projects here soon!

baby leo

It's been such a roller-coaster ride these past few weeks for my family, but it hasn't hit anyone harder than my own sister. She became a mother way too soon but I know that God has amazing plans for her and her little boy, Leo. She is a great aunt to my boys and I expect her to be nothing else but a great mother to her own little offspring. This is me, documenting her first time having skin to skin contact with Leo after several days of gloves and plastic aprons. Caren, enjoy.

Since then, it's been almost a week and Leo has done wonderful in the NICU. Below are a couple of pictures of what the little changuito looks like now!!! Note that I did not take the photos. 

Photo by Caren Sandoval

Photo by Betsy Robinett

I can't wait to hold him for the first time as his tia!!!