Month Three {Marcelo's Monthly Photo}

Los Hermanos!

Im sure that I am doing what every mother does...Comparing her kids.  Moms, you do that right? 
After 3 months, I am noticing how Marcelo is different than Mateo.  Looks and behavior wise.  

Let me start off by saying, minus the first 5 months of painful breastfeeding with Mateo, I considered him a pretty easy baby.  I mean, I was a new mother, so a bit nervous, but his signals were pretty clear.  When he cried, he was hungry, wet or tired.  He slept through the night around 3 months,  and was (and still is) able to adjust to change very easily and quickly.

Marcelo is different.  This little guy doesn't cry for days.  

So what do you think?  Do they look like brothers?

Marcelo y Mateo:  Week one

Marcelo y Mateo: Week two

Mateo y Marcelo : One month (obvs)

Here I compare their one month [photoshoot] photos and boy do they look different! 

Marcelo was already a chunk at one month.  When I took his photo, I decided I would take another pic with Marcelo wearing the same shirt that Mateo wore at one month.  It was stretched tight.  He definitely has some pounds on Mateo at that age.

Marcelo y Mateo:  One month  

Month two really shows some differences:  Mateo was still pretty tiny and Marcelo was wearing 3 month onsies and was too long for 3 month sleepers.

Mateo y Marcelo:  Month two

No matter how different these little guys are, I love them just the way they are .....
Especially right now...a calm, no trouble 3 month old and a FULLl of trouble 2 year old.

*photo taken a month ago in San Diego.

And Im so happy that they are going to be buddies. Mateo is already

Mateo's Fire Truck 2nd Birthday!

I can't believe my little boy is two!  I can't believe I have another little boy.  Life is good, but time is flying by too quickly!

We woke Mateo up by playing/singing "Las Mañanitas" outside his door, a tradition that started when Ernesto was a kid.  We followed that by Feliz Cumpleaños and presents.  This was the first time that Mateo was interested in opening presents.  That made it really fun. He opened a Melissa & Doug number puzzle and a wooden train for his set.  

Pardon the low light pics.

 All day this Birthday Boy had a lot of sweets.  How could I deprive him on his birthday?  He doesn't really ever get any, and I wanted today to feel special.  He licked the cake batter and ate chocolate chips right out of the bag.  He made a beautiful mess.

 We invited our neighbors over for cake and ice cream.  Something simple.   It turned out to be a great little party, planned in one day.  (unlike his one year fiesta, which also was great but a lot more planning/prep work)

In the afternoon before everyone got to our house, we did round two of presents.  (Ernesto insisted on not opening in front of the other kids!?)  As you can see, the little mexi-can was pretty excited.

He opened a Thomas the Train fire engine and a BIG Tonka fire truck! He is obsessed with them at the moment.  It was love at first sight.

 Yes, I baked the cake (my mom's delicious chocolate zucchini cake recipe & Martha Stewart's cream cheese frosting), but Ernesto really made it special.  We wanted a fire truck birthday cake (of course!) and googled some images for inspiration.  It took him less than 30 minutes and...look at this cake!
He did an awesome job, right?

Ernesto was working (doing landscape lighting) till about 2p and I must have sang happy birthday to Mateo about 25 times.  We also practiced blowing out candles.  After about 6 times, he had it down and was ready for the real thing.  

 Mateo watched everyone while they sang to him and was ready to clap at the end.  Upon his request, we re-lit the candles for him to blow out again.

After everyone left we sang one last time and Mateo got to blow out two more candles...in his birthday suit!  Check it out! He stayed up till 9pm!

This morning we stopped by the Grant Park Fire station [#10] and the guys there were really friendly.  Mateo of course instantly got really shy!?  They opened the door of the huge red truck and Mateo didn't want to let go of us.  I climbed up and sat with him.  They let him toot the horn and they turned on all the lights too.  I think Ill take him back again soon! 

After we left he was wanting to see it again all day.  Mas mas and putting his hand up to his ear.  That is what we do when we are listening for things like...garbage trucks, airplanes, trains and yes, big red firetrucks.  I think he had a great birthday and we enjoyed watching him.  My big baby boy. 

I love that guy so much. 

2 YEARS {Mateo's Monthly Photo}

**This completes Mateo's Monthly Photo Series.

Adios San Diego

Adios San Diego!  After 4 weeks at mis suegras house, we hopped on a plane back to Atlanta yesterday.  Plane trip could have been a lot worse.  I mean Mateo actually slept for the last 15 minutes of the 4 hour flight.  Just imagine if he didn't sleep at all. Ha!  Seriously he wasn't bad, just restless after a couple hours, as any two year old might be.  Thank God for the ipad!  Marcelo? So easy. 

But what a great trip! Lots of quality family time, delicious food and fun in the sun! 

 Yes, this is what my husband calls playing with his son in the pool.  Do you think this looks like a safe height to throw a [n almost] 2 year old?  Me neither!
Mateo loved it though.  Mas mas.  A true dare devil.

Mateo was a little water bug and Marcelo was a snuggle bug.

This little guy is a dream come true.  He loves to cuddle with his mama...or anyone else for that matter.

We are happy to be home, but will miss everyone out in SD.  Until next time...we love you!

Happy 70th Birthday Dad!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!!

  When my mom turned 65, we made a book for her.  Each of my siblings/in laws designed a page.  Some were sappy and some were funny, but all were heartfelt.  She laughed and she cried while reading it...and so did we.  It was so special.  

A few weeks ago I was chatting with my brother Bill.  We came up with an idea for a birthday surprise for my dad.  After all, turning 70 is a big deal, right?!  I knew he was going to be in San Diego with us, so we decided we should throw together a video for him to watch there.  I volunteered to put it together.  A video producer I am not, but with imovie, it is pretty easy to  make something cool.  Plus it is really fun.  I only wish I had had more time to mess around with it.
Nonetheless, it turned out so nice.
We made my dad sit down at the table in the morning to watch his surprise.  He laughed uncontrollably and cried a lot of tears as well.  That is success in my book.  Here is the proof.

You can watch the video here.  There are some privacy settings so just email me for the password if you would like to watch.  (friends & family)

My parents have been out here in San Diego with us for the last week.  This is my dad's favorite coffee mug out here.  This just makes me laugh.  

 We've done a lot...of relaxing.  Cook outs, beach time, pool, walking in the park, playing cards, lounging in the back yard and chasing Mateo.

{playing at Pacific Beach}

Since my dad loves seafood,  we headed south of the border to Puerto Nuevo for lobster to celebrate his birthday.   We ate at Sandra's, a recommendation from Ernesto's cousin who lives in Tijuana.  It looked like my dream house from the outside.  White stucco, brick/stonework and large wood windows.  Oh and the gorgeous ficus trees outside. 

It wasn't on the water, which is why it is overlooked by most tourists, but the locals know this is where to come for the best food.  It was quite a bit more expensive than the other restaurants and since I have never had a bad lobster in Puerto Nuevo, I was skeptical of the higher prices.  

But I have two words for you.  

Snail.  Salad. 

Besides the typical menu of lobster, beans and tortillas,  Sandra's had creative dishes that aren't served at any of the other places.  This salad will be a regular item for me now whenever we go to Puerto Nuevo.  The snails were cut in thin slices, and paired with chopped tomatoes, avocado, onion and....wait for it.....blue cheese.  All that tossed in a vinegar dressing.  So unexpected and sooooooo delicious!  We ordered 6 lobsters which were steamed then finished off on the grill.  The.  Bomb.

Im glad our parents like hanging out together.  Also, Ernesto and I are extremely lucky that both of us love being around our in-laws.  They are a lot of fun!

We made the obligatory stroll around the shops in Puerto Nuevo.  

I wanted a bag of fruit with lime & chile.  My dad wanted to find a hat.

I tried to convince him to get this hat...I mean when in Rome, right?

 The Mexican for a day and the Mexican for life. 

Instead my dad treated himself to a birthday fedora.  He looked so cute in it......and so did Mateo.

 Afterward we stopped up the coast at Calafia and sat outside for a few drinks and the sunset.  Perfect!

We topped the night off with an interesting wait at the border.  It took us an hour and 10 minutes.  My parents were impressed by Ernesto's mom's driving in all the crazy traffic.  Due to a lane closing, we had to fight our way over a couple lanes to the checkpoint, and people are bumper to bumper as to not let any cutters in.  We were all entertained by these characters...

tijuana border crossing entertainment from Cindy Espinoza on Vimeo.

My dad said that he had a great birthday, and I believe him.  How could he not? It was a perfect day! I love you dad! Im so glad we got to spend your birthday together! 

Greetings from San Diego

Ahhh...If only we could live on this street [in Point Loma].  We have been in sunny San Diego for just over a week now and the weather has been surprisingly hot and humid.  Not like Atlanta, but unusual for here.  No one has air conditioning either, so it has been a bit uncomfortable. We are enjoying being outside anyway. Mateo is loving hanging out with his cousins Jimena and Juliana.  Juliana is 6 months older and and Jimena is 6 months younger.  The 2 older kids are very into kissing! 

So cute how she lovingly holds his cheeks.  They love playing in abuelas fountain in the back yard, watering plants, getting in and out of the wagon, throwing balls and cooling off in the pool/sprinkler.

Trying to get all the little cousins to look at the camera at the same time is nearly impossible.  Would you believe that the craziest of all the little kids was the only one who looked when I snapped this?

Little Marcelo has been snoozing a lot in this new little bouncy seat that we picked up at Target once we got here.  This was a great purchase and will be coming back to Atlanta with us.  Its easily moved from room to room, to outside and to other people's houses.   

He has also had no problems with the 3 hour time change.  He actually started sleeping even longer.  He is up to 9-10 hours straight at night! yeah!  (He started sleeping through the night at 7 weeks!)
Mateo did not adjust as smoothly.  After 5 nights of waking up at 6 or 7am...Atlanta time...he is now on track again sleeping until 630am San Diego time.  whew!

We've made it to the beach twice so far.  After seeing the OB Noodle House on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, we chose Ocean Beach to hang out so we could eat lunch there.  Good choice!  The beach is really close to parking (as opposed to the long haul at Coronado) and this makes all the difference when you have 2 kids, bags, and an umbrella.  Once you set up camp though....it's pretty darn nice.  Oh! and the OB Noodle House was excellent.  Check it out!

[Pacific Beach Breastfeeding} 

We've had lots of carne asadas (cookouts) with family.  The biggest one at the Navarrada family reunion in Mexico a couple weeks ago.  You would not believe the amount of food.  It was there I saw the biggest bowl of guacamole in the world.   

It always feels like a vacation here.  It doesn't hurt that mis suegras have a resort-like back yard complete with posh furniture, lush tropical plants, and a gorgeous fountain surrounded by walls covered with creeping fig.  Food is all-inclusive and you never get sick of it [like at other all inclusive resorts].

Mateo is really taking advantage of the relaxed California lifestyle.  Outdoor living at it's best.

Ernestos cousins Pepe and Veronica have an awesome outdoor area with pool, hot tub, and a great view. It's perfect for hanging out and enjoying sunsets.  

Although that is not what entices us to their house.  Can you say shrimp ceviche and calamari cocktail? Ridiculous!!  Pepe is always cooking up something delicious and loves to share!  Ok, twist my arm, I'll eat it! (I guess I should mention that they are fun to be with too:)

Mateo was quite timid in the water, but after repeated teasing and persistence from his papi he is loving it.

Brace yourself....Im about to show you the cutest photo ever.

Yep, more of the kissing cousins.  Isn't this the most romantic pic? (albeit fuzzy)

Neto had to watch the first OSU football game at the Moondoggies (a sports bar in Pacific Beach where OSU fans go) Even though I am not a big sports fan, the bar had great energy.  The game started at 9am west coast time, and everyone was cheering and having a blast.
It made me want to get drunk.  wah wah:(
I had one IPA and half way into the glass - mission accomplished.  Ok, not really, but I did I feel a buzz. Ha! I am such a cheap date now.

We will probably be out here a couple more weeks, hopefully Atlanta will cool down by then.
My parents flew in Sunday night so I'll have more adventures and pictures to share...on the next post:)