3 Month Post ( One day late )

Has it seriously been 3 months since I gave birth to a "tiny" ten pound baby?!
Time if flying by way too fast and it freaks me out. I am not ready for Noah to grow up. He is my last baby and I want him to stay little. Sadly, that isn't going to happen, so I just need to make sure to document everything so I can remember my sweet tiny chunk...



Noah James, You are 3 months old!

- You are wearing size 3 diapers
- You are a little over 16lbs now.
- You are wearing 6-9 month clothes.
- You are taking a bottle pretty good, but there are sometimes you feel like a bottle just isn't going to cut it. You love to nurse.
- You are smiling more and more.
- You are trying to laugh. You kind of sound like Woody Wood Pecker when you do. It is so cute.
- You are not shy at all. You will smile at anyone especially little old ladies. ;)
- You are sleeping better. You go down around 9pm and sleep until about 3am. Then you get in bed with me, and nurse and sleep the rest of the night.
- You only take good naps, when I am laying with you. Sometimes, I wish you would take a nap by yourself, but most of the time I enjoy laying with you watching you sleep. I am typing this post right now with you sleeping next to me.
- Your eyes are still browish green. Yay for that.
- You have finally started liking the swing a little. Not nearly as much as your sister, but at least we can put you in it for a little bit.
- You love your new activity mat that Santa brought you.
- Tummy time is kinda a bust. You aren't a fan and we don't make you do it as often as we should.
- You love to be held. Not just anyway though. You want to be upright and facing out so you can see everything.
- You are still a momma's boy, but you are really starting to bond with your daddy and that makes my heart happy.
- You have a big sister who you love looking at and smiling at. :)
- You have a couple nicknames.... Squishy, and GusGus
- You are still a little crabby patty, but I am head over heals in love with you and I find myself doing whatever to make you happy 24/7.
- You complete our family and we love you so much.

Wordless Wednesday

Ramblings...

There has been a lot of changes going on around here. Things have been harder than I like for them to be.
When I got pregnant with Noah we discussed me not going back to work. It would be pointless for us to put two kids in daycare, it would be more than our mortgage.
I had originally intended on working up until it was time for Noah to be born. Well, my blood pressure was starting to go up and up, and I had already had some previous issues with contractions and I had started dilating when I was only 23 weeks pregnant. So in July, my doctor decided that it would be best if I stopped working. That took away 3 months of pay that I had originally planned on.

We are adjusting to living off of one paycheck, and although we are making it, sometimes it seems harder than I thought it would be.

We need to stop eating out all the time, and start making a meal plan at home and actually stick with it. We need to stop buying stupid things, and start living like we are totally broke.

I am hoping that Damian can find a new job soon that pays more and offers better benefits. In January I will start watching our nephew, and that will bring in a little extra money.

Things will be ok, I just have small freak outs occasionally and need to be told that it will all work out....

I am just stressed right now, and need to realsese some of these emotions

Oh the cuteness

I know that everyone and their mother are doing these pics, but I had to give it a try. It is my new goal to actually learn to use my Nikon D90 this year. Check out my squishy........





My next goal will be to learn how to use photoshop. I think these would look a lot better if they were photoshoped, but the baby is oh so cute!

Happy Monthday Faithie

YES.. I still take pictures of her on the 11th of every month. Call me crazy, but I just can't let it go. She loves it, and so do I.

I haven't posted an update on Faith in quite some time, and it is long over due.

So, what is new in the world of Faith?

Well....

-You are about 28 lbs now. Still a little thing.
- You are starting to be able to fit into 2T clothes finally
- Your foot is still so tiny, you are wearing a 6 1/2
- You are so bossy now. Some days it drives me crazy and some days you remind me of myself when I was little.
- You love dance class so much. You will dance all day if we let you.
- You are really coming out of your shell and aren't as shy anymore.
- You had a check up with Dr. Shapiro at the end of November, and your heart is doing great. You don't have to go back to see him for a whole year!!!! We are so excited for this.
- You love helping with Noah.
- You are really enjoying getting to watch the little bit of TV I allow you every now and again.
- You really miss going to school, and your friends. :(
- You can not wait for Santa! That is all we hear about.
- You asked me if you could have your toe nails painted this past weekend and so I painted them a pale sparkly pink. This is the first time you had ever had them painted. I always said that I would paint them when you asked me, and you finally did.:)
- Your vocabulary is out of this world. Dr. Collins and Dr. Lincoln are amazed at how well you can speak and carry on a conversation with people.

I am enjoying spending my days with you and love watching you grow. You are the love of my life....

2 month post

Today you are two months old. I seriously can't believe how fast it has gone by.

-You are still a fussy guy, and we have tried a ton of things for you. Zantac, mylecon, and most recently we started taking you in for chiropractic adjustments. ( That is another post all to itself )
- You started smiling and cooing 2 days before you turned 6 weeks old. You don't smile as much as your sister, but when you do, it melts my heart and I cherish each and every smile.
- You are a momma's boy to the MAX. I have never seen anything like it before and although it is so nice to be so loved and wanted, you wear me out, because you only want your momma.
- You still hate the swing. You tolerate the bouncer, and you actually kinda enjoy the activity mat.
- You are going to bed around 8pm , waking up around 11pm to be nursed, then again around 3am, and then again around 6am.
- You have found your hands and they are always in your mouth.
- You are wearing 3-6 month clothes
- Wearing size 2 diapers
- Your eyes are still a greenish brown.
-You had your first cold.
-We started trying to give you a bottle starting at 7 weeks, and you hated it. You wouldn't take a Dr. Brown's bottle, a Breastflow bottle, we finally got you you to take a playtex drop in. You don't love it, but you will take it.
- You are 15lbs 1oz ( 95% )24 inches long ( 90% )

Domestic Engineer

So as of yesterday I am officially a stay at home mom. Or as I would like to say , a " domestic engineer"

I went by work yesterday to turn in my resignation. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be.As much as I want to stay at home with my babies, I am sacred that I won't do a good job, and that I will loose the person that I am.
I need as much advice on what a typical day is for other stay at home moms. When do you find time to pick up the house, and when do you find time to teach your toddler with a fussy baby?

I do not like the TV as a baby sitter, so that really isn't an option for me. I am willing to let Faith watch maybe 20 minutes or so of a show that I have approved and think isn't a bunch of crap. I figure I will have to get my cleaning done when the kids are taking a nap. That is if they nap at the same time.

I am sure once I get used to everything, I will be ok, but right now I am scared and don't want to fail.
I also want to make sure that Faith still has other friends she can play with so she is still well socialized. She does take dance class once a week, so she is around a bunch of other girls, but there is no free play there.
Any tips or ideas would be lovely. Gotta get back to these kidlets.

One Month Post

You are a month old today. I was terrible with updating these kinds of things with Faith, so I am going to try really hard and do this for you.

- You are a fussy little guy.
- Your umbilical cord fell off at 15 days, and then started bleeding a week later. You had to have it coterized.
- You are only really happy when you are eating and sometimes being held.
- You have your daddy's lips, but other than that you look a lot like your mommy.
-You are a big boy, You wear 0-3 month clothes and some 3 month stuff.
- You are wearing a size one diaper, but as soon as we finish this box of diapers, we are putting you into cloth.
- You are extremely hot natured.
- You have a big sister who is in LOVE with you
-You are teaching your mommy to have more patience
- You really enjoy bath time
- Your eyes are a greenish grey.
- You are only sleeping, no more than 3 hours at a time
-You are a hairy little guy. Hair all down your back and shoulders.
- You are so loved, and we are so happy you are part of our family.

He is here!!!

Noah James Cuellar was born September 27, 2011 at 12:44pm.
He weighed 9 lbs 15 oz, and was 21 1/2 inches long. Can you believe it? I had a 10lb baby!! I kept telling everyone that I was going to have a ten pounder, but no one believed me. LOL
The C section went beautifully. No complications, Faith spent the night with us every night while we were in the hospital. I am so happy that Damian finally gave in and let me keep her there with us. I hear him tell people that he is glad that we kept her with us while we were there. It made her feel special, like she was a part of what was going on. I am so happy with the way everything turned out.
Margaret, our awesome photographer came to the hospital to capture Faith's reactions to meeting her brother for the first time. I am so glad she did, because I was in recovery and I would have never seen the look on her face. The pictures are beautiful and I will cherish them forever.


Noah like to eat. At first I was nursing him for HOURS!!! Crying every time I had to nurse him, because my nipples were so painful. They were bleeding, because of how much he was nursing and how often I was nursing him. We are slowly starting to get on a schudule and "my girls" are feeling better.

Noah is also nothing like Faith. After having Faith we thought we were SUPER Parents. She was so easy, and so good. Noah is giving us a run for our money. His nick name already from my in laws is " grumpy". My mother in law says that Damian was the same way when he was a baby. He cries a lot, wants to be held a lot, what makes him happy one time wont cut it the next time. He is a handful, but I guess that is boys for you. Faith has been so helpful and patient. I am so glad that I have her and Damian around to help out. I am not typically a person who asks for help or who accepts help, but I sure am this time. I will take whatever I can get. haha

I don't know how other new moms out there have time to blog all day, dress up their babies and take eight thousand pictures of them, take care of another child and their home. Blows my mind. Hopefully I will get there someday. Right now I am healing from my c section and trying to adjust to no sleep and a crazy life with two kids, two dogs, a fish and a husband. That is a lot to handle.
Now time for some pictures!

Tomorrow is the day!!

Tomorrow we will be welcoming our son into the world! I am so excited and so nervous. This weekend was bittersweet. It was our last weekend with Faith by herself. We took her to see Lion King in 3D and she was so good. We are so lucky to be blessed with a child who has patience, and manners and can sit through the entire movie and be a good girl. We only had to get up once to go potty.

Tomorrow we check in to the hospital at 9:30am, and by noon they will take me back for my c section. I am hoping all goes well, and I can't wait to meet my little boy.

Faith will be staying with us at the hospital at night and I am happy with my decision to keep her there. I think it will make her feel more a part of things. She is also an old pro at hospitals because she has spent so much time there herself.

I have always regretted that I didn't write a letter to Faith when she was born, so I think today I am going to write her a letter and let her know how much she means to me. I will see if I can get Damian to write her one too.

I will try and update tomorrow or the next few days with Noah's arrival.

2 1/2 years old

Holy Smokes! My baby girl is 2 1/2. It just doesn't seem real. At times I am shocked that she is already 2 1/2 and then there are times where I feel like she is older than she really is.

I am so excited to see what the next 6 months will bring. In just a couple weeks she will be a big sister, and I can't wait to see how we all adjust to it. I am sure that Faith will handle it better than all of us. She has been asking me lately if Noah is going to be born today. She is so smart.


Some funny things that Faith has said lately :
" Mommy, I need some cash in my pockets"
" Is Noah gonna come out of your gina?"
" Daddy, Gracie is Mommy's dog. Don't yell at her"
"Mommy, I want to be Ariel for Halloween, Daddy can be King Trition, Noah came be Sebastian and you can be Ursula " Thanks for that Faith ;)


She loves to dance. Every chance she gets she asks us if she can dance. She wants us to turn the radio on and rock out. She asks us to take pictures of her all the time while she is dancing.
She is in a dance class once a week in Buda, and she loves it. She does really well at following the instructions, and listening to her teacher. I am very proud.

She has been in panties now since the end of February. She is doing awesome. I haven't pushed overnights yet, because I just don't think she is ready for it. She will wake up dry from naps usually, but not overnight yet.

She still has her "P" ( pacifier )ONLY at night and during naps though. I want to wean her off of it all together and we tried cutting the tip of it, but she just looked at it, told us that is was broken, and then still sucked what she could of it. That didn't work. LOL
Right now, we aren't going to push the "P" thing too much. I am hoping that after Noah comes we will be able to explain to her that babies need a "P" and hope that she gives them all up to Noah. We will see.

She knows all her shapes and colors, and most of her alphabet. She can sing the whole thing, but letter recognition is a little harder.

She is wearing 18-24 months still. I have been buying her some 2T for the fall/ winter, and hope that she will fit into them.

We got her feet measured last weekend at Stride Rite and she is measuring a size 6. Tiny little feet.

She is really fun right now. We have had a couple times where we think " is this the terrible twos?" But it is short lived, and overall she is an awesome little girl.

happy 1/2 birthday Baby Girl!


I love this one!






Yes, we still have a half birthday cake, WITH two and a half candles. :)

Has it really been a year?

One year ago today I lost part of my heart. I still can't believe that he is gone. My heart hurts so badly today. I am sure that these pregnancy hormones don't help things out. Conway was a once in a lifetime kind of dog. He was terrible. Hardly listened, got into everything, had little man syndrome,the list goes on and on. He was a bad little dog, but he was my dog. I wish that Noah got to meet him.

Is it weird that I kinda wish Noah has some of those same naughty traits as Conway? ;)

Crabby Venting BEWARE!

I am almost 37 weeks pregnant and still haven't finished our son's nursery. I never really finished Faith's, and this time I wanted to do it right. Don't get me wrong, it is painted, there is a crib etc, but it is not decorated like I want it to be. Bottom line is, I don't have the money, time, or help to do what I want to do. I read other blogs and look at their nursery's, and they look like something out of a magazine. I am super jealous at how crafty and thrifty they say they are, and how it was done on a budget. Even thrifting, crafting and being on a strict budget is expensive. WE do not have the luxury of having our mom's, grandmas, sisters etc helping with our nursery. They have their own bills, and things to do.

Money is tight for everyone around here and I need to accept the fact that it isn't going to be done exactly how I want. Noah won't even be in his nursery for at least 6 months. He will sleep with us in our bedroom and it will all work out.
I need to quit looking at other people's blogs and pictures and realize that they actually didn't do it on their own. We are doing it on our own, and even though it is hard now, it will make us stronger in the long run.
VENT OVER. Sorry

Rough couple of days.

I have been having horrible cramps and some contractions for the past couple of days. Yesterday I went to the doctor and got checked out. Only 1 cm dilated still ( been that way since 23 weeks ). My cervix is a little more thinned out, but still looks good. They checked my amniotic fluid levels, hooked me up to the fetal monitors and everything looked pretty good. They also did another FFN test and it came back negative. So, my doctor feels pretty confident that I won't go into labor in the next week or so, but doesn't think I will make it until my planned c section on September 27th. We will see I guess. Damian has been at home with me over the past couple of days and I am so happy to have him here with me. He has been busy with all the honey do's, and has gotten most of Noah's room put together. :) I will post some pictures soon.

Getting Crafty

Since I am at home now, and not on strict bed rest yet, I have decided to start getting crafty. I have also enjoyed doing crafts, but working full time, taking care of a toddler, a husband and two dogs doesn't always leave me the time for crafting.

I got this idea from my friend Elizabeth. She tye dyed some diaper flats, and they looked awesome. Since I want to try several different methods of cloth diapers this time, I decided to give it a try and tye dye some flats for Noah. I really like how they came out. Check out how AWESOME they look!




I am so excited to keep crafting while I have the time. Working on Noah's wall letters for his room now, so I will post pics of them as soon as I finish them.

Trying to keep up

I was MIA for a while and have kinda updated a little. I was going to try and update everything that has happened in the last 8 months, but it just isn't going to happen. You saw pics from Faith's birthday and now you know that we are having a baby boy in September. His name will be Noah James, and we are so excited!
I have had some complications with this pregnancy just like I did with Faith, and am at home. No more work for me as of right now, because my blood pressure has been getting too high. So I am taking it easy at home and trying to become more domesticated.
Trying to learn how to save money, and live thrifty. :) If you have any good tips, let me know.

Luckily we have almost everything we need for Noah. At least all the big stuff except the car seat. We are getting everything ready for his big debut, and Faith has been an awesome helper.

My work was so kind and threw us a baby shower. They even made Faith a little mini mum to wear for being the big sister. We are so blessed to have such amazing people in our life.
Here are some pics from the baby Noah Shower. Enjoy...


Aren't these sock monkey cupcakes too cute??

Aimee got Faith her own big sister gift.

Our Family






So many wonderful gifts

Yummy Cupcake!


all of our wonderful gifts from some awesome people.

Big exciting NEWS

In just a couple more weeks Faith will be a big sister!! We are so excited for our family to grow and for Faith to get a little BROTHER!!!!

Faith Turned Two!

Faith turned two March 11, 2011. I can't believe that my baby is already two. It goes by so fast. On her actual birthday we took her to SeaWorld. We had a cowgirl birthday for her this year. FaithiePalooza II. Bigger than last year. I keep saying that we will have small parties, but it never works out that way. Here are a couple of pics from the party. I am going to keep these posts short and sweet right now, until I get caught up. I have a lot of catching up to do. :)

Long time no see. Lots of updates!

OMG. Has it really been since February that I have blogged? I am awful. We have had so much happen and go on since then. I am going to need about 100 different posts just to catch up. I am off of work this week, so I am hoping to be able to catch up on a lot of things. Blogging, housework, spending time with my sweet girl. Stay tuned for mega blog posts.

Look at this beauty

After Conway passed away, I told Damian that I wanted to get a portrait done of him. One of my friends that I do agility with got one done of his dogs for Christmas. I got the information from him and just yesterday I received an email from Julie with this. I was in SHOCK. It is amazing.

I can't wait to get it. I am counting down the days until this beautiful portrait of my sweet baby is hanging on the wall.


What do ya'll think? Faith knew who it was as soon as I showed her. She said " BROTHER!!!!!" Makes me smile and cry all at the same time.

SNOW DAY 2011

We got snow here in central Texas. I am not a huge fan of the cold, but we decided to get up and take all the kiddos outside to play in the snow.

Last year was the first time Faith saw snow, but we didn't get to enjoy it much. That was the day she was admitted into Dell Children's Hospital for her PJRT.




This year we were all at home, safe,and healthy. Faith wasn't too fond of the snow, but the dogs liked it.





You like that white trash snow sled don't ya?! Keeping it classy here!




Nothing cuter than paw prints in the snow.

Hoping and praying

That one day I can be a stay at home mom. The only reason I really work is for our insurance. I am hoping that I can find a good independent policy that will be adorable with Faith's pre existing conditions.

I know that once I am a SAHM I will have to cut down on our spending, but is seems so worth it to me if I was able to stay at home with my kids.

If we have two kids, and they went to daycare, we would be paying more in daycare than our mortgage. Doesn't seem right huh?

Ways that I think I could cut down my spending:

I wouldn't be driving to and from work everyday and be using a lot of gas in my beautiful SUV.

If I had another baby, I would breastfeed again. So there is no charge for breast milk.

If I had another baby, I would cloth diaper again, so I would not be constantly buying diapers.

If I had another baby I would be making my own baby food again, and wouldn't be spending endless amounts of money on jarred food.

I wouldn't be eating out everyday for lunch because I would be at home making lunch.

If I stayed at home, we wouldn't need a housekeeper to come clean the house because I would have more time to actually pick up and keep it clean.

I wish I could just find something I could do from home to bring in a little extra income, so Damian wouldn't be freaking out about it.


I am off today( because I work this Saturday )and enjoying every second of it.

I am trying to clean the house, do the laundry etc so Damian comes home and sees how productive I was. I need to get him to see that it would be a great idea if i stayed at home. :)


Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my job. I get annoyed with it at times, but overall I work for a great company, and with great people. I couldn't ask for anything better. But I just really wish I could stay at home with my family. I also know that at my current job, I have no options of going back to school, or finding something I am really passionate about in life. I need a career. I have been racking my brain trying to think what I would really like to be, and so far I have nothing.
I think right now, I just want to be a mom. A good mom, who is there for her kids. Makes them home cooked meals, kisses boo boos, sings songs and gives bathes. Sounds good huh?

How could I not want to stay home with this CUTE CUTE little girl?

worst.blogger.in.the.world.

That is me. I am just not good at this. I really want to be a good blogger, and I want to be able to update often, but I just don't think it is going to happen for me.
Let's be honest. I work 40 hours a week, take care of a toddler, two dogs and a husband and I just can't find the time to always blog. So shoot me. I really do hope that things calm down around here so I can update more.

We have been so busy

I am sorry for my lack of blogging lately. With the holidays etc, I have been crazy busy.

Faith is getting over RSV and I am recovering from lack of sleep and being stressed to the max.

I have been super busy planning baby girl's 2nd ( GASP! ) birthday party. I can't freakin' believe it.

I am very excited about this year's theme. I have a million ideas running through my head and having hard time finalizing things. I gotta get a move on.

I watch Faith and think to myself where did my baby girl go and who is this beautiful little girl in front of me?! Everyday is a blessing, and even though she drives me crazy at times, I wouldn't change it for the world.

All is well in the Cuellar house. Busy Busy Busy. Here are a couple of pictures for your enjoyment. :)


Christmas pics! Better late then never, right?!



My beautiful family, minus the pups


This one I love. It's the dogs waiting for faith to come downstairs Christmas morning



Faith and her great grandma ( my MeeMee )



Where are my gifts?!


Cousins

Faith over the past year

I have seen several other moms who blog do this and I thought it would be fun. So here is Faithie over the past year.
PS sorry I have been the worst blogger EVER!


January- still crawling around


February- Faith had her second trip to Dell Children's Hospital. The first day we got there it snowed in Austin! The nurse was so nice,she let us unhook Faith, get her dressed and go out to play and take pictures.



March- My pretty turned ONE! And at the end of this month she took her first steps.



April- Spring time in Texas. Faith also got tubes put in her ears this month.



May- Faith's hair started getting CURLY!!!!!


June- Faith took her first set of swimming lessons.



July- We took our first family vacation to the coast.



August- It was a very hot summer, so we played outside in the water a lot.


September- Faith turned 18 months old. We also lost Conway this month. AND we also rescued Emilio this month.



October- Busy month for Faith. She visited 3 different pumpkin patches, was a flower girl in her Godmother's wedding and dressed up like a gmone for Halloween.


November- Busy busy girl. Talking more and more, and getting very SASSY!!!



December- We celebrated Faith's second Christmas. This year was awesome. Seeing her face and hearing her say "Sansa", "cancane" and "HoHoHo" was too cute!