happy easter eggs!

yesterday was the day we dyed easter eggs. natalie had been looking forward to this for DAYS! she was so excited. titi celena happened to stop by and was a huge help :)

all he wanted to do was play with the water

here's natalie writing her name on the egg

showing off their eggs!

we'll be using these eggs in our easter egg hunt on Easter Sunday...

but we are having another egg hunt today with our friends isaac and isabella :)

a day in the life of russell

* russell wakes up about an hour later than his sister every morning. he definitely inherited this trait from his mommy :)


*although he is not completely potty-trained, his pull-up is dry every morning and he makes a nice long peepee in the potty!


* russell LOVES food. it is such a joy to feed this kid because he'll eat just about anything. unlike natalie, who has a short list of foods she WILL eat, russell has a short list of foods that he WON'T eat! he loves fruits and veggies too, which is such a blessing -- apples, grapes, strawberries and cucumbers are some of his favorites


* his favorite toys are his cars and his legos. and he has several LEGOS CARS too :)


* russell likes to play independently but also loves to "rough house" with his sister! they chase, tackle, wrestle each other...natalie loves it too, but of course, she's the one who usually ends up getting "hurt"...


*he is a sturdy and careful kid and hardly ever gets hurt... but i always know when something's wrong because he'll cry that "hurt" cry which is different from the standard whine. like the time he bumped his tooth... twice...


* he is a little particular about his wardrobe. some times, not always, he will protest an article of clothing that i just put on him. sometimes i just ignore it and let him get over it (because after all, MOMMY picks out the clothes in this household--at least, for now...) but there are times when i will just give in because he is so serious about not liking his pants or whatever it is


*russell is moody. plain and simple. (also gets this from his mommy...)


*he HATES getting his hair cut. i took him to a kids salon for his first cut a long time ago and even with a movie playing and a lollipop in his hand, he screamed and cried the entire time. two years later he is STILL giving us a fight!


* russell just started to show an interest in coloring, especially in his mickey mouse book, but he doesn't care to do it for long. he also really LOVES to paint and do crafts!


* he is a good little helper in the kitchen and loves to help mommy when he can


* russell has made leaps and bounds in his vocabulary over the last year, but we still have a long way to go. he still attends speech therapy every other week and we are working on getting him into a different program, called Child Find, which the state provides to children who are "developmentally" behind to get them ready for school. some days i worry about his [lack of] talking but at this point this isn't a major concern. and it helps when i hear from other people about how their kid didn't start talking until they were 3 or 4, and they're completely normal now! (if any of you have a story like this to share, by all means, i would appreciate the encouragement! :D)


* russell is so incredibly sweet. he gives the best hugs (wraps his arms around your neck tight) and don't even get me started on those sweet kisses with his fat lips! all i have to do is ask (even in spanish) and he is very generous with them


*he hates brushing his teeth. he will tolerate it up until i try to get the brush behind his front lower teeth, then the battle's on!


* russell falls soundly asleep within minutes of "lights out" (most nights), just like his sister... and mommy couldn't ask for more :)




the little things about russell that i love:

- his dreamy light brown eyes
- his ever so kissable lips
- his beauty mark to the left of his left eye

- the peach fuzz on his jaw line
- his "sponge bob square/fred flintstone" feet (that's what i like to refer to them as)
- the sweet baby smell of his head that i can smell on him no matter if he is freshly clean or has skipped a bath

- the special bond that him and i share. it must be that mother/son connection you always hear about but i can't help it, he is hands-down a momma's boy


this is how he plays with his cars. every day.

natalie...

...spent the night at grandma and grandpa's house again last friday. these are a few pics my mom sent me:

my mom said she told natalie she wanted to take a picture of her, and natalie got on the floor and struck this pose:

after bath on friday night, my mom braided natalie's hair and she slept in her braids (something i used to do when i was little so that i could have "curly" hair the next day).

these are her braids (and it looks like she is wearing a flower hat with that pot behind her!):

natalie played play-doh with her grandpa. here she is lookin all stylish in her snow white dress and cute apron:

and here is natalie's "curly" hair :)

soaking it in

on saturday night we had one of the craziest thunderstorms ever. at around 2am i was awakened by the rumbling of the thunder AND the flashes of lightning. it lasted for over two hours and i was so sure that the kids would wake up screaming and scared to death, but they slept right through it! as i lay in bed, it was like watching a light show. our bedroom curtains were drawn but this lightning was so bright, it was lighting up the whole room, and it was one after the other! along with the insane lightning, there was the constant rumbling of thunder that didn't seem to end! i was a little frightened (more so i was terrified that our AC would get hit by lightning, which actually DID happen to us about a year ago!) but what a magnificent experience altogether!

as if last night never happened, sunday was one of those glorious spring days -- another one of those "perfect park days", so guess where we headed...

one of our favorite parks in the beautiful san marco area of jacksonville, right across the street from the river:

peek-a-boo natalie

i wished i could take this gorgeous magnolia tree home with me

i love this old school slide!

russ was imagining all the things he could build onto a tree like this!

rose garden inside the park

we walked over to the river

it was extremely windy so the water was very choppy

the beauty of jacksonville truly lies in its waters

happy birthday nana!

although nana's birthday is today, we and went out for a yummy dinner at chilli's yesterday.

TODAY, nana and papa are in disney world, quite possibly the best place to celebrate your birthday!

XOXO

*nana's birthday card*

(i spelled out the words for natalie to write in the card, and she added the rest all on her own! i thought it was so cute that i took a picture)

...

SHE helps her daddy make coffee every morning...

...while HE sleeps in til 9:30!

he's just like his mommy!

re-vamping the backyard for spring

every year the kids get older, and so do the "toys". since we spend a lot of time in the backyard during the warm/hot season, we try to keep the backyard fun for the kids. our lot is a little small and i don't think a playground would fit well, and they've outgrown their small playset, so we decided to put a sandbox back there instead. i knew the kids would love playing in the sand, it was just the messy part i was worried about! but alas their interests won over mine, and i will just have to DEAL!

we also have an inflatable kiddie pool to set up and russ has plans to "build" a tire swing! i can't wait to see what happens with that!

in addition to the "toys", russ has been busy freshening up the back yard and making it look pretty. he is in the middle of freshening up the paint on the house trim and awning, adding new mulch to the front walkway, trimming the bushes, and my favorite part - buying new flowers for the front and back of the house, that russ, of course will plant :) his honey-do list is just never-ending!

take a look at our new sandbox:

thanks to nana and papa for helping with the costs :)

the random things kids do

i have no idea what inspired her to step inside a hanger and pull it up around her waist.

weekend update

another busy weekend to report...

russ ran in the jacksonville gate river run which is a very popular race here -- actually it is the largest 15k in the United States! the winner came in under 45 minutes (INSANE) and russ ran the race in 76+ minutes, which was a minute slower than last year but unfortunately he wasn't able to train like he wanted to. his goal was to beat his cousin michael in the race but as it turns out michael beat his time by 15 SECONDS!!! that was tough to swallow. there's always next year :)

later on saturday afternoon, my sister and i took the kids to a little park right up the street:

my aunt mildred flew to orlando to visit her daughter and fam. for the week and they all decided to drive up here to visit with us on sunday. we had a lot of fun catching up and of course ate lots of delicious puerto rican food thanks to mom and dad! natalie even helped prepare the tostones (tos-toe-nez) (fried plantains). she had fun being in the kitchen with us older girls!

it was russ's first time meeting my aunt mildred and now there are only two aunts (out of 9) to go -- mercedes (my mom's oldest sister) who lives in NY, and my dad's sister abby who lives in venezuela. rumor has it that we are planning a [soto] family reunion in spain some time this year and maybe they will have the chance to meet then. also, russ and i keep talking about taking a trip to NY since we both have family there so maybe that will happen one of these days!

so far this week has been busy yet, slow. i haven't had specific plans set but i've been busy catching up with things like bills/tax stuff and cleaning. looking forward to getting our tax returns...

for st. patrick's day the kids wore their green, of course, they had fun working on a holiday craft, and we ate spinach with dinner last night. it's the weirdest thing: both of my kids LOVE spinach!!! of course i mix in some parmesan cheese and garlic salt so i'm sure that helps, but even my picky natalie can't get enough of it! they must have inherited that from their mommy and daddy, b/c that is one of our favorite veggies :)

now that i have kids, i think it's neat to actually learn about each holiday and teach them what they mean, so they understand that we are not just spending money and celebrating for no significant reason, aside from the fun :)

so, because i just recently learned these tidbits, i will pass them along to you!

st. patrick is the patron saint who brought christianity to the country of ireland. he used the shamrock to explain about God and compared it to the Trinity. each of the 3 leaves represented the 3 devine beings, The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. and we wear green to represent the beautiful green countryside in Ireland. plus we don't want to get pinched!

hope you all had a fun st. patrick's day!

playing on nana and papa's driveway

we attempted to go for a walk after dinner last night but instead ended up across the street at nana and papa's house...russell was having fun riding his bike down the driveway and natalie had fun chatting with her papa :)

p.s.

{click on the mosaic pictures to enlarge and get a better view!}

st. augustine

the weather was absolutely perfect on sunday so decided to take a ride out to st. augustine with my mom and dad. alex decided to join us too! we had lots of fun at the park and then walked around st. george street for some ice cream that was TO-DIE-FOR :)

chuck-e-cheese

we were invited to celebrate hannah's 4th birthday at chuck-e-cheese on saturday! it was the kids' first time going there but they knew all about the place and were so excited. since russ had to work, celena came along to help :-)

it goes without saying that the kids had a blast and i think we'll be planning a trip out there again, this time with daddy, who was sad he had to miss the event.

thanks for all the fun, Princess Hannah!

a day in the life of natalie

* she wakes up around 7:30 every morning and comes in the room to get her daddy to lay on the couch with her, AFTER he gets her her morning cup of strawberry milk, then they watch morning cartoons

* before breakfast time, she likes to change once or twice into her dress up clothes to be some sort of princess

* although i give the kids bananas with their breakfast, she hates to eat them, and hates fruits in general (just like her mommy...). i try to make her eat one little box of raisins every day to help with her BMs (isn't she too young to have this problem!)

* she has a love-hate relationship with her brother: loves to laugh and horseplay with him, loves to antagonize him for no reason while he's playing by himself, and hates when he comes within 5 feet of her playing with her toys

* she will find ANY excuse to laugh -- even if it means her starting random laughter for no reason. her laugh is contagious and you can't help but laugh with her, even if you have no idea what is so funny.

*her fake laugh sounds like the "Gonzalez" laugh! (my mom's side of the fam)

* she loves to be tickled - probably because she just wants to laugh

* she has become quite the chatterbox these days; asks all the "why" questions, which why i even bother to answer them, i do not know, because she always follows up with another "why?"...

* sometimes she likes to touch your face and get in your face when she is talking to you, and is so sweet she'll even caress your face (if you're lucky)

* she has the shortest attention span, and will zone out sometimes when you are talking to her (this worries me with her starting pre-school this year!)

* she doesn't forget ANYTHING. do not tell her something like "one day we should do this or do that together" because she won't rest 'til it happens

* natalie is not a fan of food. unless it is a cookie. cake. candy. and ice cream (which is always a treat for them, not something we eat a lot of in our house)

* she takes FOREVER to eat. while we're eating at the table, she talks, worries about the way russell is eating, or hugs and kisses on her daddy (who sits in the chair next to her). when we're done eating and realize that her plate is still full, of COLD food by now, we repeatedly remind her to finish her food, and we're lucky if we can get about 10 bites down...

*natalie counts down her bites of food she "has to eat" ("ten more bites left, mommy?...nine more bites left...")

* natalie loves babies. when she sees one (usually a stranger at a store) she says [loudly]: "is that a baby mommy? is that a girl or a boy? oh, she's so cute!!" and of course, i am forced to awkwardly look at the mommy (who i'm sure feels just as awkward as me) and smile.

* natalie's favorite movie right now is Monsters, Inc. even though the first scene of the movie scares her (and russell) so she turns her head to keep from watching it.

* her favorite movie character is Wheezy from Toy Story 2, whose role in the movie is very minimal (yet cute). finding a wheezy toy was nearly impossible, since he is not one of the main characters, so since he is a penguin i found every penguin toy i had and told her that it was wheezy. she slept with them on her headboard every night. she also turned wheezy into her imaginary friend and will talk to him at random times when we are out, or will pretend that he is next to her

* natalie's favorite book is a "step into reading" book called "what is a princess" that titi bought her recently. she does not yet know how to read but has that book memorized and acts like she is reading it like a pro

* she is very sensitive and cries easily if her feelings are hurt. if someone else is crying, she will go and hide because she doesn't like to be around that

* she LOVES to color and is REALLY good at it. she uses lots of different colors and stays within the lines, which is not something i necessarily taught her but i've always noticed her trying to do

* she is super clumsy and will trip over her own two feet if there is nothing else in the way. also, she runs into a wall just about once day, seriously.

* she has good manners. sometimes i have to remind her but usually she will say please and thank you all on her own :)

* her new thing is when asking for something that she really really wants, she says: PLEEEEEEEASE mommy [or daddy], can i have it? PLEEEEEEEASE?

* natalie stopped napping about 2 years ago but never acts like she needs a nap during the day (you know when you can tell your kid needs a nap...). her bedtime is at 8:00 and she never fights it, she goes right to bed like a good girl -- after she puts her jammies on by herself (god forbid mommy tried to help her!), brushes her teeth and says her prayers :)

ADDENDUMS (since my original post):

*natalie is TERRIFIED of bugs. whenever she sees something that she cannot identify, like a string, peice of lint on the floor, crumb in the kitchen, etc... she calls it a bug and yells for me to come get it. if she sees a REAL bug, she screams and squeals out of pure terror and cannot sit/stand still. this is definitely something i have to work on... i mean, i know i don't like bugs either, but her reactions are getting out of hand... lol

* natalie is overly-friendly with strangers. she says hi to, and wants to befriend any kid she sees just about where ever we go. and while we're out shopping, she likes to say hi to the people we walk by or who happen to be standing in the same aisle as ours. again, this is something i need to work on...you can never be too trusting of strangers these days!

*natalie somehow knows the days of the week... or at least she knows her fridays because that is the day we normally go eat at "brooklyn pizza" with the family. when she says its friday and mentions brooklyn pizza i think to myself, how on earth does she know that when i can hardly keep track of my own days!

the little things about natalie that i love:

- her beauty mark in between her right eye and her nose

- her eyebrows that she inherited from her grandma

- the dimple under her right eye when she smiles that she got from her grandpa

- her cute little pointy chin that she got from her daddy

- her hands which still look so baby-ish to me even though she is growing up so fast

- her smile.

- her tiny little voice and the way she accents certain words when talking

- the way she pronounces certain words, for example: "broken" for brooklyn [pizza]; "what's wrom?" as in "what's wrong"; and "grampas be-tired" as in "grandpa's retired"

- her big heart and fun loving personality

showing off her corky sense of style, this is how she gets herself dressed...

showing off her tooth crown (no pun intended) that she made at the library.

she loves crafts time!

celebrating "baby lauren"

on saturday i hosted a baby shower for my dear friend heather. when i found out she was pregnant a few months ago, i was so excited that she would be joining the "mommy-of-2" club :) i knew [and told her] immediately that i would be throwing her a shower. and just like everything else...there is a little story behind this:

back when she was pregnant with logan about 3 years ago, i told her i would plan a baby shower for her. i was so excited -- i mailed out the invitations, bought all the supplies and goodies and was getting into party mode. Then about 2 weeks before the date of the shower my gall bladder issues had worsened and were so severe that my doctor told me i should have my gall bladder removed immediately. they scheduled me for their soonest surgery appointment and it was to be on the day before the shower! i was crushed and didn't know what to do, but obviously my health was too important for me to postpone the surgery. so with a broken heart, i had to cancel the shower. i told heather (and this was extremely premature since she was still pregnant with her first baby) that the next time she became pregnant, I WOULD BE GIVING HER A SHOWER. needless to say, when i found out the news, there was no question in my mind, or anything i wanted to do more than to honor her with a shower in celebration of "baby lauren". yes, that's right, a GIRL! i must admit that finding out it was a girl made everything more special, because for one thing, now she would have a boy and a girl, and secondly, baby girls are so much fun to shop for!!! i got nervous about how i would pull off a shower when the week before i was terribly sick and out of commission, but somehow i managed to do it, and it turned out to be a beautiful celebration all around. i know she has told me over and over again how i "did too much" or how "good i am to her" but in all honesty, I felt honored to be able to host this shower for her, my dear friend who means so much to me.

a plethora of food -- don't you wish you were here!

celena and mom were also in attendance :-)

natalie was so excited about the shower!
and she was a good helper with opening gifts too

heather's kids are so incredibly blessed to have
ALL FOUR of the their great-grandparents with them!

i made this... ok just kidding

(YUM)