I stayed up till 12:45 am last night reading a blog written by a friend of a friend....regretting it when Tai woke me up an hour later. The blog is about Amanda's journey through life over the past three years. Her struggles with her husband's addiction, the joy she found in her three beautiful children (ages from 2 to 8), her heartbreaks when she came to term with having to end her marriage to save her children and herself and her happiness when she found love again a year later. This year is a new beginning for her and her family. Her story got me thinking of how awesome it will be for her children to be able to read and see pictures of these precious years later on in life. Her story inspired me to blog!
For those who know me know that I do not keep a journal or write letters. Heck I don't even response to personal emails promptly! I do not like to live in the past & do not like to reminisce. But with so much going on in our lives and how fast time is fleeing by I feel the need to capture it some how. So here is my feeble attempt to take snap shots of our daily lives and journal about it. Hopefully, my kids will appreciate it when they are older. I hope you will enjoy it! All five of you.
This past year has been life changing for us. Our family expanded with the addition of Tai Joshua Castillo. Tai was born on October 1, 2009. He was our "Peanut", weighting in at 6lb 2oz. Our lives have not been the same since. Kevin & I are still in awe at how God can create such a perfect creature. I know all parents feel this way when they look at their baby. Tai is so much fun! I was so fortunate to get to stay home with him for three months. I loved being able to pick Ellie up from school with the baby & go for whatever snack Ellie was in the mood for before we headed home to do homework and make dinner. The last four months have gone by in the blink of an eye. Tai is growing too fast. With every stage he mastered we mourned the one he left behind. He rolled over about a couple of weeks ago, though he did it twice after Christmas for my sister & I, but no one believed us. He is drooling so much, we never seem to have enough bibs. We introduced him to rice cereal this past weekend. He is so cute sitting in his Bumbo chair eating solid food for the 1st time. He does not seem to care for the cereal. I will try out some home made apple sauce this weekend. Maybe he will like the cereal better if we add it to the apple sauce. I've been coming home late the last couple of nights so we skipped the cereal. All he wanted to do is nurse when he sees me. Tonight when I walked in the door he started chuckling-it was so pure that it melted my heart. He is getting so big that he has out grown his co-sleeper so Kevin had to bring out Ellie's old crib. We moved him into the crib on Monday. In the last two days he's been reaching out to grab things that are in front of him. He especially likes the remote control. Kevin is very proud of this! I guess it is a guy thing.
I can't believe our Ellie Bug is 8! She is a great big sister & so helpful. She has a huge heart and is very sensitive towards her big sister Vy. Her sensitivity reminds me of her dad. She is doing great in school, getting all A's and a B on her last report card. We are so proud. One of Kevin's & my favorite thing to do is to take Ellie to gymnastics & Jazz lessons on Sat morning. She is doing really well in gymnastics. She has mastered the round off & it only took three years! She loves to play school & put on shows with her friends Katelyn and Shannon. Along with gymnastics and jazz, Ellie is also keeping busy with ballet, The Little Flower Girl club and Catechism classes. Funny story-I got a phone call from Vy at work on Tue asking if it is ok that Ellie stay home from ballet that day because it was raining so hard. Of course being the "mean" mom that I'm I said "no". Vy said she was low on gas so I offered her the $20 bill in a red envelope in my bed side table. Vy looked & couldn't find the red envelope. Remembering that Ellie had questioned me a couple of weeks ago on who the money belong to; I told Vy to ask Ellie if she had it. Sure enough she did. When asked why she took the money...she responded that it was Tai's money, she asked him if she could have it & he smiled...which to her meant "YES" so she took the money!
This is also a big year for Vy. Matt proposed on New Years Eve. I'm still in denial that she is engaged! I figured I have three more years to get used to the engagement...so I don't have to accept it for now. Matt is in Germany serving his country. We are so very proud of him. We pray diligently for his safe return. We couldn't ask for a better guy for our daughter. Vy has been extremely helpful in the last few years. She takes Ellie to school & picks her up for us. We are very grateful. She is attending college full time & work part time at Macy's. I have yet to get a deal from her! She coaches basketball at her old elementary school WCCS. I'm glad that she still has passion for the game.
As for Kevin & I, we are busier than ever. As I juggle family and work I'm so grateful for my partner in life. I can't imagine doing all of this without him. I love and appreciate every moment of our lives. Our 9 year anniversary is coming up in a couple of weeks. It has been the best 9 years of my life. I wouldn't change a minute of it!
So as we turn the page to a new chapter in our lives, with a new baby & a new future son-in-law, I hope to capture some of the moments and milestones on these pages.
Determined..
Succeeded...
I love our WEEKENDS.
I love our WEEKENDS.
