MARCELO TURNS FIVE!!

This little guy is FIVE?!?! Oh he makes me want to pull my hair out laugh every day!  He is pushing my buttons testing limits and I have to use every ounce of self control to NOT get into an arguing match with him making me a better parent.  Five is a fun age!  My patience is drained at the end of each day.  There! I said it!  Parenting a five year old [along with a 6 and 2 yo] is HARD!  That being said, I love my little family, and wouldn't change a thing!

I don't want you to have to read between the lines. You are a TOUGH COOKIE MARCELO!  But man oh man you are soooooooooooooooo cute.  You are super sweet too.

"Mami, I have to tell you a secret. [I lean in] You're beautiful!"

Although you try to use this compliment thinking it will erase any misbehavior, you also randomly say it and I just LOVE it so much!  On the other hand, sometimes you tell me "Im never telling you 'you're beautiful' ever again!"  LOL
Luckily, by the end of the day, I am always back to beautiful.

 
We were in San Diego last year for his birthday and threw together a beach party...which was AWESOME!

Again, we are in San Diego, but this year, we wanted to try something different.
We did repeat presents though. You loved your VANS, so we got you another pair...

You also got your first REAL tool set.  You love fiddling with papa's tools and have misplaced a few too many, so we thought this would be a great gift.  I can't wait to see what you will fix/build with it.

The real treat was surprising you when we pulled into Aquatica, Seaworld's waterpark.  Screams of excitement filled the car once they saw the huge water slides, and we knew we had made a good choice.

The ENORMOUS wave pool was a big hit as well, and also our home base. The park isn't that big, so hitting a few slides and then popping back to the wave pool was super easy.  We pretty much stayed together all day.

All 13 of us (only missing a couple cousins) had a blast and it was pure joy to see my little birthday boy so happy.  He sure loves a thrill ride, that is for sure.

He also love TAKIS [spicy rolled chips] which is why I added 5 of them to his birthday cake. LOL

He got a kick out of that. Something about San Diego and TAKIS go hand in hand.  Probably because their cousins introduced them last year, but we are going to keep them as "the San Diego Treat" (sung like the commercial).

The kids were ready for bed early that night.  In fact, Mateo was sleeping during the cake eating/birthday singing (despite Ernesto trying to wake him).

Happy birthday my little Celli-cell. I hope you had a great day.  We love you so much!!!

Marcelo Turns FOUR!

Marcelo got kind of lucky this year with his birthday. I mean this Georgia boy had a BEACH birthday party.  And because his birthday was on a Wednesday, we held it the Saturday before his actual birthday.  Well, then what?? Were we going to just sit around that day and pretend it's not his birthday because we already celebrated it??  Yeah right! 

TWO Celebrations!!

The beach party was a no-brainer.  Get all the cousins together to play at the beach all day! 

Of course getting a good spot on the beach on a Saturday in the Summer means going a liiiiiiittle bit early. 

Perfect location. Right in-between the playground and the water. 

Even after our LAST MINUTE invitations, we had a nice little crowd to celebrate!

We packed a table, chairs, blankets and a few decorations for the tent.  
Food wise, we played the easy card with pizza, fresh fruit and veges, and a buy-it-off-the-shelf Minions cake from Ralphs!
It was perfect!  The birthday boy was so happy!

On his actual birthday, the following Wednesday, the boys woke up early to a couple presents on the table.

Mateo had already negotiated his job as "assistant unwrapper" the night before.  

"Marcelo can I help you open your presents?" Big brother asked.

Marcelo said  "Sur"

Shocker!  More Imaginext on the wish list.  The morning flew by, the boys occupied with the new spoils. 

We wanted to do something fun and different to celebrate the day.  And the San Diego County Fair was up and running in Del Mar.  Done and done.

We caught a western cowboys skit and they were fascinated!  

Guns were blasting and questions flying.  "Mami is that a real gun? Are they bad guys?" Although a little uneasy, Marcelo wanted to be up close with these villains. 

Also, very random, we witnessed a turkey race.  Whaaaaaa??

When we arrived back to abuela's, all the cousins and neighbors were waiting for us, ready to celebrate!  Again with the store bought cupcakes. 

My beautiful boy!  FOUR and looking so BIG.....and stylish in his new Vans!  (thanks Alex!)

I forgot to include in his "likes" above: CUTTING HAIR!  UGH!  No, I didn't cut his bangs that short. Please.  Still, is it me or is he just super cute even with the uneven hack job??  

The Boys are Back in School!!!

Wow! That was a quick Summer, wasn't it?  Georgia's school year starts SO. EARLY.
August 3rd?  Are you kidding me?  It's still 90 some degrees out.
I guess I remember Summer being so long when I was young.  I don't think we started until after Labor Day back then.

Oh well, I think we made the most of our Summer.  Swimming, swimming and more swimming!
Oh and that trip to Mexico was THE BOMB!  I haven't even finished part II of the Mexico blog yet, but it is on the way my faithful readers!!

So yes, although short, Summer was fabulous!

Mateo started Pre-K this year.  Due to his late birthday, he will start Kinder next year (when he is almost 6!)  Marcelo will be one year behind him, and I like that.

The state of Georgia funds a "full time" pre-k program for 4 year olds.  That is awesome!  Full time and FREE!?  Yes!  It is a lottery to get in and we unfortunately didn't get in our 1st or 2nd choice of schools.  But hey! 3rd's a charm right?  He is now enrolled in Hope-Hill Elementary School, and loving it!  HHES is in the Old Fourth Ward so while not walkable, like our first choice Parkside Elementary, it is just a 10 minute drive.

I kind of hated pulling him out of the Language Garden pre-school, where he has been immersed in Spanish, again...full time and free!
His best friends Ben and Gabriel are also leaving and starting new schools.  The change will be good for him.

He has come home from school each day saying that he had a great time and is already talking about a couple friends.

He never remembers what went on at school or what he ate for lunch, but he seems to like it and he's not starving when I pick him up at 2:30 everyday.

They actually have a one hour nap time, but he's says he doesn't sleep.  

His teachers Ms. Miller and Ms. Tolen are very friendly and Mateo has nothing but nice things to say about them. They definitely have their hands full with 22 kids in the class. 

Ms Dorsey brings him out to the car everyday.

He looks like such a big boy coming out of school with his HUGE backpack.  

This little guy is continuing year two of pre-school at the Language Garden.  We just love it so much there!  He is going three days a week and loving it.  He "wiwy wiwy" misses Mateo though.

When I pick him up from school, he is often not in the clothes that I dropped him off in.  

This boy gets down and dirty. 

Although drop off and pick-ups are different times, with two parents home it is a breeze.  When xmas lights start rolling it is going to be a challenge, but we still have some time before I need to worry about that.

I think I will just enjoy my free time with a little girl named Paloma, who is little to no trouble at all. 

In fact this is how I feel about both my boys being in school: 

Don't.  Judge. 

Happy 3rd Birthday Marcelo!

Yes my little Marcelo is getting BIG!  He turned the big 0-3!! I would say this little collage is a great homage to my funny boy. His smile in the above picture says it all.  I am gonna start some trouble!!! 

He was talking about a Superman party for months. A black and white Superman party to be exact. However, the black and white Superman (an Imaginext figure) was set to be his prize when he goes poopie in the potty. (which actually happened the day AFTER he turned three, but has not happened again since)

We invited Grandma and Grandpa down and they came a couple days early to hang out. Just in time for the Sunday farmers market.

My mom and Ernesto started a puzzle (1000 piecer and a backwards picture) and this sucked up all of the party prep time!  (haha just kidding mom!)

We did go the simple route on this party though. We hung out and let the boys play with "their" new toys. Big brother was right in there helping to tear open each present and was just as excited as the birthday boy (probably more!)

Grandma gave the puzzle a break (haha) and built LEGOS eeeearly in the morning.

 

Marcelo opened camo shorts and a shirt from grandma and grandpa, a new paint set, a "field microscope" for captured bugs and such. (This boy loves him some bugs!) A new book Harry the Dirty Dog.  Do you know it?  Its really cute. 

Oh and a few packages came in the mail which is always exciting. 

Did you send him these blocks? It didnt have a note so we have no idea who sent them??

Thanks if it was you and please let me know who you are in the comments below!

 
This new Spiderman "dart board" was a hit! (really magnets)
Like I said, we went simple for the party with an ice cream cake.  (thanks dad!)

 I plopped those figures on the cake and he was super excited!

Easy! (hey, I went all out on his party last year, so cut me some slack!)

Again with the big brother helping.  Mateo had been asking everyday if he could help with blowing out the candle (and opening presents) Marcelo always answered "sir" (meaning sure)

Of course whenever Marcelo got mad at Mateo (or me for that matter) he would tell us "You cant come to my birthday party!"  

You know what time it is right?

Yes all our parties are the same! Ha. We did switch up the dinner this time and serve chicken and carne asada tacos instead of our shredded pork, which has been a neighborhood favorite.

But the pinata ....always a pinata! 

Eight kids and 11 adults makes a good party, but I think in the future we are going to do parties in the park...or better yet our HUGE back yard that will have a pool, playground and trampoline!!! 

nope, no news on the house hunting.  Stay tuned!