Updates

I decided to attempt logging into my blog today and couldn't hardly remember what my email address and password were. Oops...I suppose that's a sign that I haven't been a very good blogger for quite some time. Now that I am logged in, I am seeing that the background and all sorts of things need to be updated, but we'll save that for a later date. Until then, let's take a sneak peek inside the Garza Family and see what's been going on.

I finally put in my notice at work so the 30th will be my last and final day of commuting the insane 80 miles each way to and from work. I can't hardly wait to be able to spend more time with Enzo as well as more time with Alabe when he is home. I haven't had this opportunity, pretty much ever, and I am going to give it my all and make the best of being at home. I'm excited to finally be able to enjoy my family, my home and my pregnancy without the added stress. 16 more work days to go, you better bet I'm counting. I went to my prenatal appointment yesterday and met up with my new Dr. I am very sad to leave what I was so familiar with and I didn't realize how much I appreciated the previous Doctor's office until now, but I'm looking at the positive and looking forward to more appointments, starting next week. My blood pressure has taken a hike up, so it's nice to know my new Doctor is staying on top of it and watching over me.

Aside from Alabe's work schedule, he is now taking on the role of staying with Enzo while I work and he is off work. It's been working out great, Enzo adores him and Alabe is such a good daddy to him. I couldn't ask for a better man in our life, we are super blessed. The Railroad work is chuggin' along, but in this Economy you never know what can happen next. I'm praying that all goes well and we will be blessed in all aspects.

Enzo, oh Enzo! His sure is a JOY in our life. This little guy thinks about candy and cookies from sun up to sun down. Where is he getting all this junk? I tend to give him one piece a day and remind him that he can only have one, but he never stops asking and freaking out because he can't have it. I have recently started with the "time out" method of child rearing and as much as it makes me sad, I'm hoping for some postive results out of it. I ask my lil' guy if he wants to go in time out and he will shake his head yes, so I say "ok go" and he walks to his spot and sits down. It took him no time to figure out that was the "time out" spot. Sometimes he balls his eyes out, gets red faced with alligator tears, but mama stays strong and makes sure he understands why he is there and make him apologize. It's so sweet to hear his "sorry" after he has done something and get the sweet kiss from him. On another note, Enzo is SMART! He counts with me, usually only one, two repeatedly on his own, we sing our ABC's together, he sings songs, acts out songs, has an amazing vocabularly and sure does try to manipulate. I had to refrain from laughing the other day when I told him it was bedtime and he hid under his bed. After dragging him out and lying him down, he pops up and starts laughing while jumping up and down. Oh my, I kept a straight face while laughing on the inside and got him to go back down. Speaking of beds, we bought Enzo a Tikes Toddler Car Bed and are excited to transition him soon.

So much more to share, but so little time to do so...unti next time.

My Sweet Joy In Life

EnZo

It has been quite the experience watching Enzo grow lately. I was finally able to spend an entire week with him, I don't think I have since he was 6 weeks old. I can honestly say I learned a lot from our time together and I'm so very grateful for every moment we had. Enzo truly is a character, full of smiles and is constantly trying to be a little show off toward whomever is around. He likes the attention, there is no doubt about that. If you are laying on the ground, watch out, he will come up and body slam you without warning. Not only will he do this to you, but almost whatever is laying around on the floor, couch or even from your body to the floor. He once was standing on my stomach and took a huge dive and face planted in to the carpet. He didn't move for a moment and then got up and ran like nothing happened as I laughed uncontrollably wondering what on Earth he was thinking.

While on our vacation Enzo started with the "I want..." It's any where from "I want bite to I want cereal" I love it when it talks to me and his vocabulary is growing more and more every day. He will pretty much copy whatever you say, so watch what you say in front of this lil' guy. HE WILL REPEAT! He shows a love for dinosaurs which brings a smile to my face because of Danny. I think his 2 favorite toys are dinosaurs and cars. When he has a dinosaur in hand, most times you will find him saying Rawwwrrrrr!

Aside from being a joy and growing more and more every day, I learned it's time to start setting boundaries for the little man. Enzo thinks it's funny to slap people, whether it's me, kids at daycare or just some one playing around with him. I don't think his intensions are to be harsh, I think it's all in fun and to get a reaction, but none the less it's something we are working on. Also, if you are eating dinner with him, watch your plate, he will without warning reach over and steal your food.

This is just Enzo being his cute self...

Enzo's 1st ride in the MUSTANG! His smirk was out of JOY!

1st ride in the MUSTANG and a little unsure of the sound and power!

Enzo pulling the MINE card

A sneak peak in to our vacation

I will be downloading more pictures next week. On my trip to California, A BIG THANKS TO KEITH FOR MAKING IT HAPPEN, we were able to visit the Sequoia National Forest. It was a long windy road up, but once there it was pretty amazing to see. On our way down we saw a Black Bear which made the entire trip up the Mountain that much more worth it. Poor Alex got car sick and we had to pull over, good thing the bear wasn't present at that moment.

Just Married!

Yup yup, we ran off, got hitched and are loving every day of it. What was originally going to be just Alabe and I, turned out to be Alabe and I, a part of his Railroad Family and my brother Ethan and Sister in Law Melanie. I'm so grateful for those that were able to come celebrate with us last minute and for those who couldn't, we are "trying" to plan a reception to celebrate this day, but we'll see what happens in the planning process. It's been a hectic past few weeks with a ton going on in our lives, vacations, baby coming, work, process of buying a home, etc. So, the planning of a reception has taken the back burner and less of the priorities when it comes to money. We will let you know what happens with that though. In the meantime, enjoy some pictures...free of charge. =)

I can't believe it...

It's amazing to think that almost 14 years ago I gave birth to a beautiful son, Daniel Allen. If you are some one that didn't know me 6 years ago, you might not be able to fathom the fact that I am a mother of a teenager, better yet, going on 14. I met Danny's dad when I was 14 years old, well not for the first time, but that's when we "fell in love", ha ha ha! Even though his passing happened 7 years ago this July, not a day goes by that I don't think about him and his sweet spirit.

It's that time of year again with his birthday coming on April 7th. As the time approaches I notice a change in me, I'm more stressed, depressed, lonely, confused, etc. I try not to feel this way, but it is just the way of it. In feeling this way, I try to focus on the positive, the good times and on his special birthday, celebrate for him. Being that his birthday falls on a weekday, I'll be forced to go in to work, but have a plan of what Enzo and I will do to celebrate his brother that day. I will pick him up from daycare, go through the McDonalds drive through and order him Danny's favorite meal there and then we are going to the graveside to have our picnic dinner. I'm actually excited to celebrate this day with Enzo, having Danny in thought.

I wish more of you had the opportunity to meet my special son. I think God takes the best which in turn leaves a lasting impression on each one of us that were involved in his life to live and learn from the example of who he was and is. Danny was my little man that was full of love, adored his mommy to the fullest, always greeted me with huge hugs and kisses, we sang, we danced, we learned together and played together...he was my right hand through out a huge part of my teenage and early twenties, memories that stay with me forever. You are missed and will always be missed Danny. No matter how much Faith I have, you will never know how a mother feels when she looses a piece of her, it's with her forever.

And brudder (you know who you are) if you are reading this, know that I love you very much. Please know that things happen for a reason and all the while you were strucken with a huge amount of pain and memories, Danny lives within us and wants us to be happy and remember the good times we had. We had so many great times together, he loved his Uncle so much and I'll never forget everything that he gave to Danny and the love that he showed to him. From Pringles to Reese's peanut butter cups, Uncle treated Danny as his own. I'll never forget conversations we had where Uncle was concerned about Danny as he got older, not knowing how he would turn out as a teenager because of the situations he was raised in...we know now that Danny is safe and where he needs to be, where we all will strive to be one day, in peace and wanting the best for us.

Happy Birthday Danny, Mommy loves you dearly!

First Boo Boo...

It's part of being a kid right? Enzo got his first boo boo and it was sad. All it takes is one little fall, lose of balance, etc. and this is what happens. Fortunately the rod iron stair rail cleared his ear and only affected the upper portion. I thought I was going to have to run in for stitches, but the bleeding stopped and we were ok. I have a better picture I'll have to post when it's downloaded, until then, you get the point...ouchieeeeeeeI've had some back pain since Saturday, but am hoping it goes away soon. It's real frustrating when I can barely pick up my child, let alone feel pain every time I get up, walk, stand, etc.

Things are going great these days, we couldn't be happier. Like a lot of people out there, we are struggling with the money situation, but life always works out and I'm not going to let myself get worked up over it at this time.

Just a note...

I've been so amazed at Enzo lately, he seems to be scooting along in the intelligence department and it makes me a proud mama. He's been trying, and doing a great job at it, to repeat what I say. I wanted update you on his new words...

Cheese
Teeth
Cracker
Dog
Truck
Duck
Apple
Up

Yes, he says all of these words, on and Banana of course. When I read to him, he repeats the things I say.

I found it awkward that when his father came over the other day, he looked at him, gave him a half smile and then put his head down with a pouty face. It's not often that Enzo ever does those things to ANY ONE, so it always makes me wonder what his thoughts are. There is a slight possibility that his father may be going back to Uruguay, while it will be interesting to explain things to Enzo as he gets older, I think it's the best thing for his father and I know without a doubt that Enzo will be ok. We'll see what happens in time. I will miss the child support, it's rough without, but we always seem to manage in some sort of a way. If only daycare and medical weren't so expensive, we'd be doing great.

What's been going on in our life...

It seems like forever, well it has been forever. I just wanted to stop in and fill every one in on what's new in our world, or what has been going on.

Enzo is finally walking away at 14 months. He takes pride in his skills and likes to be noticed and show off, he is definitely an attention getter everywhere we go and he knows it. Yesterday we were at Old Navy and every time I put him down to do a little walking he headed straight for the door...hmmm, was he trying to tell me something? NO SHOPPING MOM! Needless to say, I wasn't there to spend money, just to be with family while they shopped.

We have an appointment tomorrow morning with an ENT Doctor to talk about getting tubes put in his ears. I'm almost positive we'll be scheduling the surgery tomorrow, which I'm a little nervous about, but I do know that this is what he needs. We have battled many ear infections and even RSV recently. It's never fun to miss out on work due to a sick child and it's happened more than enough times for me this past year. I am ready to have this procedure done, but not ready to be away from my baby while he's in surgery. Things will be ok, this I know. I'll keep you updated on when the surgery will be.

Enzo is the "popular" one in daycare. The other morning we walk in the door and he immediately starts his cute little wave to every one. My goodness, what a charmer. Of course all the girls ewwww and awwwwed over him and he just took it all in. It's nice to know how adored your child is while he's away in some one elses care, it brings me comfort. My theory with daycare is...you better have a cute kid and dress him cute, they'll more than likely take better care of yours. Sad, but think about it, pretty true.

Enzo is talking up a storm, of course only some of it is understood by me, but regardless it's cute. I love when we're driving in the car and he babbles on for days and his facial expressions go with whatever he is saying, he seems so serious. I ask him about his day and he tells me, or I ask if he had a good day and he'll shake his head yes...most the time. He loves to shake his head no and let me know that he really doesn't want something when I ask. He loves to read and lately I've found him in his room reading books to himself, I'm sure glad that I started the book routine young. His new thing is to point to things as I read. I ask him where the cat is and he will piont to it. Learning is FUN! Words that Enzo speaks on a normal basis are...

Mom
MA MA (Grandma)
Baba (milk, he no longer has a bottle)
Woof Woof
Dog
Ball
Book
Hi (as he waves)
...that's all I can think of at this moment.

Enzo loves to stand in his car, what is he thinking? You can't stand and drive, you sit and drive. Not only does he love to do this, but he looks at me like "hey mom ck me out"... and smiles big.

As for me, as you can see I've dealt with a sick child a lot, but enjoyed our time together. I started a new diet about a week and a half ago and am pretty excited about some new results. In that time I think I've lost a minimum of 5 lbs. but need to weigh myself and find out. Aside from the lbs. lost, others around me have noticed a difference which gives me more reason to keep going and obtaining my goal. I'd like to feel better about myself and be more healthy at the same time. I've been "TRYING" to do go to the gym as well, but it's first of all hard to get up at 4:30 a.m., second it's an expensive in GAS that can put a damper in my pocket book at this time and third it's just plain hard to find time to do everything in one day. I feel like my days pass by me so quickly and I barely get to enjoy the simple things in life because I'm constantly on the run/go. With Enzo's dad being out of work and having a hard time finding a job, money has been real tight and I'm doing my best to make it. I pray that things will get better soon for us, otherwise I need to look in to doing more for myself, find another job or something to get by.

Other than all that, we are Happy and Healty and can't hardly wait for Spring to arrive. I am excited to be able to take evening walks with Enzo and catch a breathe of fresh air.

Rambling

This is Enzo's new thing! When I say "UP", the puts his hands on his head and expects me to tickle him, it's too cute. It seems the past few weeks have been filled with so many new things.

Enzo is taking a few steps, woot woot! It's only a matter of days/weeks before he takes off.

Enzo's New Words
UP
Ball
Book
Mama
Ama (Grandma)
Dad (he has no idea what he's saying)
and I believe a few more I'm missing...

He loves to stand up in the Radio Flyer car pictured in previous posts. Enzo climbs in through the open, door, turns around, stands up and looks at you like "hey mom look what I can do!" The other day he actually stood up, held on to the handle as usual, but then let go and thought he was the coolest kid around standing all by himself in his car. I'm waiting for him to fall so maybe he'll learn a lesson or two. This child LOVES to climb.

Enzo loves Sesame Street! When he sees the show come on, he bounces up and down, claps his hands and smiles real big. Althought t.v. might not be the best thing for a child, I think there is some learning involved and it sure gives me a minute to get a few things done. Although when I'm away for a minute, he seems to find me in the kitchen and crawls up, holds on to my jeans and stands up. He's learning to get in to all the cupboards or anything else possible to get in to.

I have a singer on my hands. When we are driving in the car Enzo loves to sing "la la laaa la la la" It's absolutely adorable to say the least. I can only hope his love for music continues on.

Last but not least, Enzo is growing new teeth like there's no tomorrow. Two of his upper molars have popped through, but not the entire way yet...OUCH! Now the bottom two are swollen ready to make way. I can't imagine the pain, but I'm glad it's something we don't remember as we get older. He'll get over it, but for now it can be a struggle.


As for me, well I'm just working and mothering my son!

Anonymous

I've had a few unknown blog comments, maybe I should be more up to date and add site meter. Anyway, for whoever left the last comments about more pictures of mom, I almost took a picture of my mother and added it, but she laughed at me and told me they were asking for more of me. Hmmm...if that's the case, here you go! And when anonymous, leave your name, it would be nice. Until then, maybe I'll attempt site meter.

Thanks to all that come to my blog.

I imagine this is why I never put ones of myself up...look at how WELL they turn out!

Christmas Fun!

Enz

It was a ton of fun to watch Enzo open gifts this year and enjoy his new presents. I love this last picture because he's sitting on his knees and for some reason I just think it's too adorable. He's growing up way too fast. Hope you all had a Great Christmas and have a Happy New Year.

Merry Chrismtas!

I think I'm finally in the Spirit of Christmas. It took me awhile this year, maybe because of Enzo's birthday, us being sick, etc. Decorating our tree definitely helped me to feel like the Season is actually amongst us as well. I think we the economic struggles in the World today, a lot of people are doing things different. I rarely send out Christmas cards anyway, but for sure won't be able to this time around. I want to wish all that come to my blog a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I'm so very grateful for each and every family member and friend that I have. I believe people come in to your life, some for a short time, some for a long time...but I cherish every one that I've encountered for I've learned from or been able teach many.

Let's not forget about the True Meaning of Christmas this year.

Love to all!

The Downhill Slope

Just when you think it will never end, things start looking better. Enzo has had a rough week, to say the least. The stomach flu/virus he caught was saddening and no fun for the both of us. To see a tiny one going through such a thing is heart breaking. On top of it, Enzo is cutting (3) new teeth at once. Not only have I had a rough week, but I can only imagine what he is feeling. The past few days though have been wonderful, he is finally feeling back to normal, so he acts. We've got back into our nighttime routine which I believe helps him in getting to sleep at night. We are back on track with one bath time before bed instead of 3 or so through out the day. I've started reading books to him before bed which I feel calms him and in turn will be a good learning experience.
I also wanted to tell you about a funny experience I've had with him recently. I remember chasing (crawling) babies around the house saying "I'm gonna get you" and seeing them crawl even faster while laughing. Being Enzo is a 'beginner' in his crawling stages I wasn't sure he would be even understand what I was trying to do, but I did it anyway. Oh boy did he catch on quick. So I start chasing after my boy, laughing and telling him I was going to get him. Enzo turned his head back, started laughing, looks forward, tries to crawl as fast as he can and *kirplunk* falls flat on his face, side, etc. It's too funny! It's a great time to watch him learn and grow.

P.S. He loves to sing!

Happy 1st Birthday Enzo!

Don't mistake this for Christmas Morning!

Because of the flu, Enzo's party that was for today had to be re-scheduled until next weekend. Jakey insisted that Enzo open his presents TODAY! And of course Grandma has a hard time holding off on her surprises as well. So all in all Enzo was able to celebrate a little bit of his birthday today and he'll have another big celebration next week. This is for you Jakey! Thanks for all the cool gifts, he loves them.

Enzo's 1st set of Hot Wheels

First Train Set, YEAH!

He was having a blast ripping the presents open, at times he was trying with all his might, too cute!

Enzo's First car, Jakey you did well! 3 Firsts!

Next time you buy a present, be sure I don't have to hire a mechanic to put it together! Luckily I rock and had it together in about 20 minutes. I was tempted to leave is unassembled.

My First Chair from Grandma, thanks love ya!

Enzo loves his car. The coolest part is the radio and blinkers, love it!

Check out that stud!

I think we'll be going on quite a few walks with this thing. It might actually be fun to walk to the mailbox now, for both of us.

Thank you Jakey and Grandma for the wonderful gifts.

I can't believe a year has already passed by since I had Enzo. I'll never forget a year ago today when I went in to the hospital to be induced. I was more scared than anything, not to feel the labor pain, but I had a strong fear (the entire pregnancy) of losing another child because of losing Danny. To top it off, I suffered a few complications during labor where his heart rate was dropping, mine was exceeding his by far, I had to be put on oxygen, etc. It turned out the cord was wrapped around his neck, it seems to happen a lot. I am so very grateful to have a Healthy and Happy Baby Boy that bring joy to my life and a smile to my heart. Mothering can have it's trials, but the blessings are truly greater than one can imagine. To many more years to come Enzo, mama loves you.

When will it ever end...

In all my years of mothering, never have I had to deal with such a sick child. Sometimes I wonder if I'm being challenged? Needless to say, I picked Enzo up from daycare yesterday evening to find him on the floor crying. The provider said he had been crying all day, but did take a good nap, so she wasn't sure what the deal was. I took him home, tried to feed him as I normally do, but he refused to eat. Enzo seemed overly tired, so I gave him his bottle and held him close to comfort him...and then, he threw up ALL over me! *HERE'S YOUR SIGN* In between the vomiting, the scrubbing of floors, the multiple loads of laundry, the changing of sheets, etc. I enjoyed and took advantage of the "cuddle time" that he gave me. I can only hope that his immune system is becoming more and more strong throughout all this.

I also wanted to share with you the above picture of Enzo in his new car seat, he absolutely loves it. It's so cute to look in my rear view mirror and watch him smile, dance and sing. Throughout all the ups and downs of mothering, the blessings are far greater.

The Day Has Finally Come

Enzo is...
CRAWLING
I don't have any pictures as proof, but trust my word!

As we all know...

Enzo is one of the more slow babies when it comes to being mobile. Although he is taking his time in that sense, the boy sure does talk up a storm and sometimes it seems as if he's actually repeating what you say. I just wanted to drop in and tell you what's been going on in our world.

1. It seems like Enzo is always sick, since birth we've had very few weeks that he has been with out a runny nose or some other sort of illness. Being he's in daycare, I am aware he is more apt to getting whatever is going around, which in turn he shall have a stronger immune system over the next years. For now it can be tough, but hopefully it will be for the better in the long run. Look at the positive right. I took him in to the doctors for goopey eyes and it turned out he had an ear infection as well. I'm just grateful I was able to take him in before things got any worse.

2. Speaking of doctors, he had his 2nd dose of the flu vaccine today. I'm glad that's over with. We're good on shots for another 2 weeks, then he's in for his 12 month check up and THREE shots.

This picture below is the day we found out about the ear infection. Enzo was still in great spirits as we waited for his RX to be filled. He was playing peek a boo with the pharmacist, who in turn got so carried away with my adorable child that he forgot to mix up the medication and he had to walk me through over the phone. NOTICE: Grandma walking up in the background, she was on her way to work and we just so happened to be there.


I saw this hat at Target and had to capture a photo. I think it's darling, but would feel like the mom on "A Christmas Story" if I made him wear it.


For the first time EVER, I VOTED! I'm proud to be an American and have the right. I have also decided that it's probably best to keep Political Views to a minimum when talking to certain people. I, myself can get worked up, just as well as they.


3. On another note, I went to get Enzo from his nap yesterday and found him sitting up in his bed. That was a HAPPY first for me. He finally went from a laying position to sitting up on his own. I'm so grateful for his daycare, they have took part in helping him out in these areas.

4. I finally found a new car seat. Enzo is about to be a year old and is still in the infant seat. Being he's only 18 lbs. it's not a big deal right now, but soon enough he will need it. He seems so bored lately and pretty much DONE with staring at the back seat, so I'll be switching it out soon. I'm excited that I got such a great deal on it as well. I found one on sale and rcvd my mom's discount on top of it.

5. Enzo is about to be a year and I'm overly excited for the day. I've been planning out his party on a budget and excited for what it's going to be like. Party ON! I got him some educational books, puzzles and a DVD and can't wait to take part in helping him learn.

I'm so grateful for my lil' man and look forward to much more time together learning and growing.

Thank You Megan!