Carmelita Turns 1!!!

On March 30th, Carmelita turned one year old! On the 29th, we celebrated her first year of life with family and friends and had a great time. Here are some pictures from the party.

Here is her princess cake. She is known in our family either as the queen or princess. The cake came with a crown and sceptor!

Carmelita couldn't believe her eyes! Look at her "Princess" sash! She was so cute.

"Hmm, what is this?"

"Ewww! Get it off my hands! This is disgusting! Hurry!"


"Mommy, that was terrible. Please don't get that stuff near me!"

After a few hours of partying, Carmelita conked out snuggled up with Auntie Jennifer.

Carmelita, what a precious gift from the Lord you are! You are so very cherished.

We had a wonderful time. Thank you to everyone who was able to come. You really made it special. Ruslyn, thank you for cooking the pancit and lumpia. It was delicious! Mom and Dad, thank you for all of the drinks!

We love you all!

*** I will post more pictures from the party in an album soon.

"Where, O death, is your sting?

EASTER 2008!

"13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.
14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.
16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.
17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.
19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all others.
20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead

55Where, O death, is your victory
Where, O death, is your sting?"


56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

*** 1 Corinthians 15: 13,14,16,17,19,20,55,56,57

What a blessing it is to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ! We really try to emphasize to our kids the great importance this holiday is to us. Knowing that our Saviour conquered death and lives even today is what our hearts rejoice in. It is because of this that we, as believers, can hold on to the promise that we will join Him as heirs in heaven! Hallelujah!!!

We were blessed to have a great lunch/dinner with MyLove's family. Afterward, the kids went out to hunt eggs. We had a wonderful time! Thank you, Mike and Ruslyn, for the wonderful grilled food and for hosting!

I will post pictures soon!

A Breastfeeding Home

Yesterday, it was raining so much here that we had a leak coming down from our vent. I yelled to MyLove in the other room, "Babe! The vent is leaking!" As I was walking to the kitchen to get something to catch it, Ethanael asks, "Mommy, your baba's are leaking?"

"No, Sweetie. The ceiling is leaking water!"

MyLove and I started cracking up because he's obviously heard us discussing my "baba's leaking" many times before.

Three Fords in a Basket

Since I've been catching up on the blog, I have discovered some precious photos of our wee ones.

One night, I was desperate to get the laundry moved down the line so I could wash Carmelita's diapers (yes, we use cloth, but let me tell you, they are the easiest cloth diapers ever. I absolutely love them!). So, I took some warm clothes out of the dryer and laid Carmelita right on top of them. She made the transfer from my shoulder to the warm clothes beautifully and I had to capture it.


Doesn't she look so peaceful?

Here are Martini, Ethanael and Carmelita taking a ride in the laundry basket. My three Fords in a basket! I was pushing them around the living room and they would have had me do it for hours if I could have. Instead, it was probably for about a minute ;-)

Wearing My Babes

I have been talking to a dear friend of mine who shares a special interest with me: babywearing! I love to wear my little babes. It has been such a blessing to share another type of bonding with my little ones. With my poor Martini, I just didn't know anything about it, and I tried the Snuggli, but it actually broke on the side while he was in it!!! I would have loved to know about babywearing with him because I held him so much.

With Ethan, I was desperate and my back was killing me. MyLove did some research and learned about the sling. It took me a whole week of crying and determination to get comfortable with it and it became Ethan's home. He would just slide into the sling and conk out. It would literally take him seconds to fall asleep. I used a NoJo sling that we purchased at Babies R Us.

When I was pregnant with Carmelita, I did a ton of research on different slings because I wanted a new girly one and happened upon the blessed WRAP!!!! My mom purchased my first wrap, a MobyWrap, and I absolutely loved it. It was so stretchy and warm and it snuggled my little newborn so close to me. My sister, Jennifer, bought me a Kanga wrap when she went on her mission trip to Kenya, and I used that one as well. Currently, I am using a Sequoia Waves Didymos wrap that MyLove bought me for my birthday last year. It is fantastic. I put her in it all the time, especially when we are out and about.

Wraps are great for the zoo, grocery shopping, the park, while I am cooking, vacuuming or doing laundry. The uses are endless and it keeps my little one close and satisfied.


Carmelita is just chillin' in the NoJo sling here. She has her hands so neatly folded.
Here she is again in the NoJo sling.
Here we are at the Houston Zoo. I am carrying Carmelita in the MobyWrap in a front-cross carry. I don't recommend this carry anymore because I have read that it can cause hip-displacia.

I couldn't wait to carry Carmelita on my back. It completely frees up my arms and I am able to carry on as usual. I waited until she could support her head to carry her on my back. This is my Sequoia Waves Didymos that I love . . . and so does Carmelita!

Daddy carrying Carmelita in the MobyWrap.

Carmelita has even been worn by her big brother, Martini!

A couple of times, I have worn Ethan, at three years old! And two of the three times, he conked out! I definitely needed my Didymos for him because he is so heavy. The Didymos is a knit fabric, so it doesn't stretch like the MobyWrap.

Here is MyLove with Ethan in the sling when he was a newborn.

The problem with babywearing is that it is addicting! I would love to also own a beautiful Storchenwiege wrap and I am interested in the mei tai's. I praise the Lord that I have been able to wear and carry my babies in such a special way. It has been such a blessing. What great gifts are my precious little babes! Gifts from the Lord.

Valentine's Day '08

For Valentine's Day this year, MyLove surprised me with beautiful, yellow tulips, some dark chocolates (I love dark chocolate) and a precious card. I got MyLove a card and a huge chocolate bar that I wrapped in lovey-lovey heart paper.

Here is a picture of Carmelita that night. I believe it's one of her best. Check out that pink camo!

That night, we fed the boys and I made them ice cream sundaes for dessert and here is a picture of them enjoying it to the fullest. They sure do love sweets!

Our Cleaning Baby (not Lady!)

Yesterday, Carmelita found a napkin on the floor and started sliding her hand on the tile. Upon closer observation, we found that she was actually wiping the floor! No particular area. She just moved from one spot to the next wiping the floor. It was so cute. In these pictures you can see her move from the back door to under the table to the high chair!