A Little Chuckle ...

I was reading a list of what celebrity moms consider to be "essentials" ... and this made me laugh:

JESSICA ALBA

Though she's not yet a mom, Jessica Alba knows what she's going to need when her little girl arrives: "A night nanny! Or someone to take care of the baby at night when the baby first comes home, to help you get acclimated," says the expectant actress.

Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm ... or you just suck it up, be a parent and deal with it like billions of other mothers (and fathers) have througout time.

Geeze ... celebrities ...

:) Jennifer

Christian's Six Month Checkup

Here are the stats from Christian's six month checkup:

Weight: 17.2 ponds (50th percentile)
Length: 25.5 inches (25th percentile)
Head: 47.5 cm (100th percentile)

He's grown by 3/4 of an inch and 2.2 pounds in the past two months.

Christian is still not crawling, but he rolls all over the place. He can sit up on his own for a few moments before tumbling over in a move that would make any stuntman proud. :)

He's doing okay with his rice cereal. I try to give him cereal in the mornings and evenings. Sometimes he's in the mood for it, other times his mouth is closed tighter than Fort Knox. We can introduce one new food a week (to help us better detect food allergies). And so this weekeend, we'll start our little sweet pea on some sweet peas.

We've been working with him on the sippy cup (we're going to bypass using a bottle for water / juice, etc. and go straight for the sippy cup) and he's starting to grab it and bring it towards his mouth. Our one advantage is that he likes to bring pretty much anything to his mouth to chew / suck on ... including the sippy cup.

Christian continues to sleep through the night - yay! He pretty much wakes up any time after 5:30am. And he's usually babbling to himself or making some other self-entertaining noises. So, we just stay in bed and listen to him in his crib ... its so cute! And there is nothing better than peering into the crib and having a happy, smiley baby look up at you first thing in the morning.

Jennifer

Christian Turns Six Months Old and Eats Like a Big Kid

Christian turned six months old on May 2, so it was time to start him on "solids."

Of course, I did all sorts of reading in my books in the weeks leading up to this milestone. So I was prepared for him to resist the rice cereal. However, he surprised me and did remarkably well! Tonight's dinner marked his third rice cereal meal, and he ate most of it!

I think the huge red mark on his cheek is from the stroller harness rubbing against his face (we had just taken a walk prior to dinner). Either that, or he's having a reaction to the rice from the first two meals over the weekend. They say that rice cereal is the least offensive "solid" out there, so I really hope its not the rice.

As any parent can tell you, it sure is a messy experience. And this is just the beginning ... :)

Lastly, we got our new camera ... so we hope the picutres, and especially the video, will turn out much better from now on.

Our Little Swimmer

We took Christian for his first dip in a swimming pool this week. He was sooooooooooo cute!

Our Third Anniversary

Today marks our third wedding anniverary. My goodness, three years have gone by quickly!

We celebrated the grand occasion by going out for a nice sushi / sashimi dinner here in the D.C. area. It was the first such dinner I've had since before becoming pregnant ... and it was WONDERFUL!

We sure have come a long way in the past three years. We went from two single apartment dwellers in ABQ to a couple who owns a home in Santa Fe, has a fabulous dog and the most wonderful baby ever! God has certainly blessed us!

Taking a Baby to a Nice Restaurant

We only have two restaurant options at this hotel: a pub and a nice resturant. We planned to have dinner with a colleague of Jonathan's, so we opted for the nice restaurant.

We arrived to find only one table was occupied by people. I was relieved, because Christian was a wee bit cranky tonight. The hostess sat us in a "quiet corner," but I knew that wasn't enough distance between us an the other restaurant patrons. I suggested she could move us to another part of the rather large restuarant, but she told me she had to seat us in that section.

Long-story-short, we decided not to interrupt the people already eating dinner, and opted to eat in the pub. I'm sure the hostess was relieved.

The pub had more people and was a bit louder, so we figured we'd be okay. But in addition to Jonathan's colleague joining us, her boss and an acquaintance of her boss also joined us. It quickly became apparent to us that Christian would be a distraction for one and all.

The waitress was very kind and boxed up our meals and we returned to the room.

Have you seen those commercials on TV that say, "Having a baby changes everything"?

Its true. :)

Jennifer

We made it!

Christian was fabulous during our flights yesterday. The only problem was Christian's diaper blowout when we got to the ABQ airport. But the nice thing was that Jonathan just ran the soiled clothing out to the car so I didn't have to carry it across the country.

It is so incredibly green out here! Coming from Santa Fe, it as if we walked into the Garden of Eden. I recall a co-worker's sister once came to Albuquerque for a visit and he told me she proclaimed, "Those poor people don't have any trees out there!" And I thought, "Well, of course we have trees ... look around."

But, now I see what she's sayin'. In most of Albuquerque / Santa Fe, the trees you see were intentionally planted by somebody at some point in time. We are, after all, living in a desert. But out there, the trees just grow "wherever." I suppose if you're used to seeing trees like this, its not that fascinating. But since I live in a brand new neighbornood where everybody just has "baby trees," I am just amazed at the trees out here.

I had a bit of an "incident" this morning with Christian ... and it just broke my heart. I had placed Christian in the middle of the king sized bed and he was just happily hanging out. So I sat down at my computer to get some work done. A few minutes later, I heard a "thud" and looked to see Christian wasn't on the bed anymore. He had a delayed reaction to the fall, and it took a moment for him to start crying. I picked him up so quickly that I don't even recall what position he was in when he landed. Fortuantely, he was fine and his tears lasted for a brief time.

He's become quite good at rolling around and using his legs to push himself backwards when he's on his back. Obvsiosly, he can move himself a longer distance than I was aware of. I am so thankful Christian wasn't hurt.

He's one tough little kid ... and already very energetic. Christian is "all boy," he definitley isn't delicate. I'm sure we'll be in for a lot of adventures as he gets older. :)

Jennifer

Those Traveling Luceros

We're off again! Tomorrow we depart for Washington D.C. for a few days because Jonathan has a conference to attend.

Christian is just about two months older than he was when we flew to Washington State in March. He's much more energetic these days! So, this trip should be interesting.

I know I've been slacking on the blog postings, so I'll try to get some pictures up of our trip as we go along.

Wish us luck!

Jennifer

Christian: Then and Now

Aw, just look at our chunky little baby with his big ol' head (and I write that with complete love and adoration for the lil' guy).

Christian continues to bring so much love and happiness and entertainment to our lives! He's got an amazing little personality and is all-smiles these days.

Happy Birthday, Jonathan!

Jonathan's birthday was on Sunday, so I'm a little late in getting a "Happy Birthday!" posted for him.

Happy Birthday, Jonathan!

Jonathan's parents, brother, nieces Rebecca and Brianna, and niece Ashleigh, her boyfriend Jorge and their kids Lexi and Anthony all came to visit this weekend. So that is my excuse for the late posting. :)

Christian and Brianna

Anthony and Christian

second cousins

Lexi and "Uncle Monkey"

Christian and his "Uncle Eldon"

Anthony and his "Grandpa"

Anthony and Christian again

April Fool's Day ... The Joke that Wasn't

I've had several people who read the April 1 blog entry e-mail me to offer congratulations for being pregnant again.

I thought the statement in parenthesis at the bottom of the entry would clue people into the April Fool's Day joke, but I think they just got so excited to read that I was pregnant that they didn't notice my reference to the date.

So I apologize to those of you who truly thought baby #2 was on its way. If it makes you feel any better, even Jonathan believed it momentarily. :)

Jennifer

A Funny Little Milestone

My baby books talk about how at this point, Christian should be doing "raspberries" with his mouth. He hadn't been and then out of the blue, he started ... and seems to really impress himself with his new-found talent!

Makes for some really wet clothing ... but its oh-so-cute for now!

(As always, the sound quailty is poor ... the camera clicks are too audible and Christian can't be heard clearly. We're getting a new camera soon)

Daily Exercises

Christian has discovered a new way to get in his daily exercises: banging the wall with his feet. As you will see, he's quite talented!

Lightening Strikes ... Twice!

We have received the most amazing news. We certainly could have never expected this news, especially considering all the work that had to go into conceiving Christian. We decided if Christian was the only child we'd ever have, then we'd praise God for our little blessing and just continue to get him dogs for siblings.

But all of those thoughts got pushed aside when we discovered today that I'm pregnant again!

Glory be!

The due date is late December. I hope its a bit after that, though. I was born a bit too close to Christmas. And its hard to be a little kid and have your birthday during the holiday season.

We hope this pregnancy will go just as smoothly as the first one!

YAY!

(Has your jaw hit the floor yet? If so, take a look at the date of this blog entry ... and give it a few moments to sink in)

Christian's First Easter

There really isn't much to be done with a 20 week old baby for Easter. But we got some cute pics in the Easter outfit his Granny got him.

Saturday night, Christian was playing on the floor and we noticed he started bending his legs and putting his butt up into the air. He's on the verge of crawling!

Yesterday at church, I was in the cry room with another mother and her baby who is a week older than Christian. She asked me if he'd started to roll over yet, because her baby was just barely starting to do that. I told her he's been rolling over like crazy, and he's on the verge of crawling.

We must have an advanced baby. :)

Jennifer

Christian and Grandma Debba

Christian and Auntie Carrie

Christian's Four Month Checkup

This week was Christian's four month checkup. Actually, it was his four month, three week checkup ... he turns five months (20 weeks) old next week!

Here are his stats:

• Weight: 15 pounds 6 oz (he gained 3 pounds for ounces since his two month check up and is in the 70th percentile for his weight)
• Length: 24 3/4 inches (up 1 and 1/3 inch from his two month check up and he's in the 50th percentile for his length ... although Jonathan says the nurse didn't fully stretch Christian out when she measured him)
• Head: 46.5 centimeters (up an inch from his two month check up. Not surprisingly, his head size is in the 100th percentile. Those of you who have seen Christian recently will not be at all surprised by that).

Typically at this stage, babies are started on solids. However, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends starting solids at 6 months for babies who have a family history of food allergies and/or eczema. There's lots of that on Jonathan's side of the family, so we're holding off for a few more weeks on introduction of solid foods - and the Dr. said that was fine. We may not be able to prevent allergies and eczema entirely, but we want to do what we can to either delay or lessen them for Christian.

We were also told that soon we should start giving Christian water. I'm not sure how that will work out. Although, so far Christian has been a very adaptable baby, so maybe it won't be a big deal.

We're learning new things about babies all the time. For example, ever since Christian came home, he's been in his co-sleeper basinett sleeping on a memory foam wedge pillow with side bolsters to keep him on his back He had been sleeping through the night and the suddenly, he was waking up hyserical and we had no idea why.

Jonathan's mom suggested simply removing the pillow, suggesting that it might be restricting his nighttime movements. So we did and VOILA! The very first night, he slept like ... well, like a baby! :) And we realized that he was indeed moving a lot while he slept. So, thanks for the tip, Granny!

And he's pretty much outgrown his basinett now. The manual says it'll hold a baby until he's 23 pounds. But Christian rotates himself so that he sleeps diagonally. And he has a habit of lifiting up both legs together and slamming them down - he does it while sleeping and while awake (he inherited these moving legs from his mommy!). And there's just not enough room him to do that.

So our next step is to move the pack-and-play (the new name for play pens) upstairs and make it his bed. It has a basinette that is much larger than his current basinette. So that'll do for a while, until we get around to buying a mattress for his crib.

We are amazed at how quickly Christian is growing! In addition to outgrowing his basinett, he's also outgrowing his bathtub that is supposedly big enough to hold a toddler. And it seems like I'm forever packing away clothing that is now too small. Good thing his Grandmas are keeping him well-stocked with clothing!

He can also now support his own weight while standing up. Of course, we provide the support for him to stand up. He really likes standing up tall and looking around! And he's rolling over a lot ... front to back, back to front. Its just amazing! I'll look down and he's in one position ... and then I'll look away for a few moments ... look back at him and he's in a totally different position on his blanket. He amazes me!

Jonathan and I have a friendly little wager going on: since January, he's been certain that Christian will be crawling in March. He's rolling around like crazy, so crawling is the next step. There are seventeen more days in March ... so we'll see.

Jennifer

The Luceros Return!

We are back in good ol' Santa Fe after spending nearly a week in Washington State. Its nice to travel and visit family and friends ... but its always so good to be home and back to a routine.

For the flight home, we had two separate ticket agents who were insistent on seeing proof of Christian's age before he could board the plane. We weren't aware we needed proof for such a young baby ... and it wasn't asked of us when we departed Albuquerque. Long-story-short, we were able to board the flight with the understanding that for future flights, we need to be sure to bring a copy of his birth certificate.

Christian slept through most of the flight home, so that worked out nicely for all of us.

We really enjoyed our visit with family and friends, none of whom had met Christian prior to our visit. He got to meet all three of his great-grandparents, and his Grandma Janet, his great-aunts and uncles, his cousins and our dear friends, Ben and Donna. Our goal is to get back to Washington at least once a year from now on.

Christian, Ben and Donna

Grandma Janet, Christian and the Cows

Our Travel Adventures

We set out yesterday for Washington state. I have a meeting to attend, and then on Thursday we're traveling up to NW Washington to visit my family.

Overall, the trip went very well ... despite an anxious mommy and daddy who didn't know what to expect when traveling with a baby.

Christian had one diaper blowout, but thankfully we weren't on the plane at the time (and had two backup outfits ready). And we did a successful diaper change on the plane (just a wet diaper - easy!).

He was mildy fussy here and there, but overall he handled everything nicely. Whenever he did fuss, Jonathan and I looked at eachother with horrified looks as if to say, "Oh, no! What do we do now!?!?!?" But it all worked out.

I was surprised by the attention we got having a baby with us. Lots of looks and smiles from passers-by, a few comments by the airline staff. A mom with a baby who approached us in the airport wondering if we knew where to heat up a bottle, a wandering toddler who wanted to see the baby ... people on the plane who sat near us.

On our flight from Denver to Seattle, there were people in the two rows next to us who kept looking over at Christian. He hadn't been crying hysterically or anything and I suspect the noises from his fussiness could only be heard in our immediate vicinity. Because they kept looking over at Christian, I thought for sure they'd end up getting annoyed with him. I kept the words of my boss in mind, "When traveling with a baby, don't worry about what other people think."

All three of us had finally dozed off. When I woke up a few minutes later, the man across the aisle who, for some reason, I thought might be the most annoyed looked at me kindly, smiled, put his thumbs up and motioned to a sleeping Jonathan (who was holding a sleeping Christian), "He did a good job!"

And then when we landed, the couple next to Jonathan commented on how good Christian was. So perhaps the stares we were getting from our plane-mates was just because Christian is so darn-tootin' cute! :)

Stay tuned for updates on our trip!

Jennifer

"Motherhood Isn't Always Pretty"

... That is the new ad campaign from Suave ... "Motherhood Isn't Always Pretty." The ad goes on to say, "89% of moms admit they've let themselves go. 100% can get themselves back. See how at www.suave.com."

Everytime I see these ads, I think, "Hmm ... I wonder how much I fit into the 89% ..." And then I have all sorts of random thoughts about what it means to let oneself "go."

Motherhood brings on all sorts of changes ... some we new mom's expect, others that take us by surprise. Case in point: I love to shop. I love getting new clothes, new shoes, new makeup, etc. I'm a typical girly girl.

That changed a bit when I was pregnant. I didn't buy shoes because my feet were expanding ... why bother? I only bought enough maternty clothes to get me by. And I decided that when I was done being pregnnat, I'd start treating myself to some new clothes ... and definitely some new shoes.

But shopping for clothing as a post-pregnant woman ... well, its hard. And I have a hard time justifying it nowadays. I work from home five days a week. Not many people see me, and I certainly have enough clothing to get me to the grocery store, or to the Dr., or to church.

So I try to get myself all excited to go clothing shopping ... but a few minutes into my supposed shopping spree, I think, "Shouldn't this money I'm about to spend go for diapers ... or something else for Christian ... or maybe towards a credit card payment ..."

Gasp! This thought who comes from a girl who used to have regular shopping sprees at Dillard's just because I could (pre-marriage, pre-baby).

Another case in point: My recent trip to Sephora.

My sister, Liz, Christian and I went to Sephora (www.sephora.com) when we were in Phoenix last month. I love Sephora with a passion ... its like Disneyland for "girly girls." The makeup, the perfume, the lotions, etc. I love it! I could spend hours in Sephora.

Since Sephora is so perfume (and mighty croweded!), Liz offered to keep Christian amused outside the store whilst I shopped

I had no idea what I was going to get myself. I did, however, need to purchase a couple of items for a friend ... so there was a purpose to my being in the store.

As I started moving around the store, I was offered a complimentary make-over. I just about accepted it until that little voice in my head said, "Hello ... Christian and Liz are out in the mall ... waiting ..." As soon as that thought hit me, I lost all interest in shopping at Sephora ... for the first time ever. And I wondered what kind of a mother was I that I left my baby boy out in the mall (albeit with my sister ... remember, she offered).

I promptly made the purchse for my friend and left Sephora without buying a single thing for myself. WOW! And since there is no Sephora in New Mexico, I wans't sure when I'd be at another Sephora

That might count as "letting myself go." :) :)

And then something marvelous happened this week!

I have befriended a wonderful woman named Brooke. I've never met Brooke in person, as she works for a company that my comany does business with that is out East. But she and I have become friends over e-mails and stories shared.

Brooke and I both love Sephora (as any woman would!) and I had shared with her my story about Christian, the mall, and Sephora.

Yesterday sweet Brooke, on behalf of her company, sent me a generous e-certificate to Sephora as a thank you for having worked with them.

I was taken aback at the incredibly kind and thoughtful gift. I never saw it coming ... and isn't life grand when we get such happy, unexpected surprises!?

The wonderful thing about this gift is two-fold:

1. I can shop at Sephora.com here at home, without feeling like I've pawned Christian off onto somebody
2. I can get some things for myself that are totally indulgent, and not feel guilty about it

All day, I've been recalling my trips to Sephora and the many times I have drooled over the catalog ... and remembering the things I wanted to get, but denied myself. Now I can indulge ... HOW EXCITING!

"Motherhood isn't always pretty" the ad says. True ... but a little Sephora can go a long way for a new Mommy ... both inside and out.

Brooke, I thank you again for treating me to Sephora! You have no idea how uplifting your gift is to me ... on so many levels!

Jennifer

Dealing with Telemarketers - The Mommy Way

I am never rude to telemarketers, because I used to be one (which explains why I really don't like to talk in the phone nowdays. I'm probably one of the few women in America who isn't a phone talker ... crazy, I know!). If I choose to answer the phone when a telemarketer calls, sometimes I'll even have a nice, pleasant conversation with them. Its just how I roll.

Today a telemarketer called wanting a bit of money from me and help in mailing out pledge cards to friend and neighbors. The call was legit, but I am not going to give to them money this time.

So I politely listened to her script and when she asked if I could help them out this time, I said, "Actually, I'm not going to be able to this time."

Right away, she followed her script and said, "I understand, Mrs. Lucero, but we really need your help this year. All we're asking you to do is mail out the information we send you to 10 of your friends and neighbors and encourage them to contribute."

I looked down at Christian and was inspired!

I said to her, "Tell me, have you ever had a baby?"

She said, "Yes, I have three children!"

I said, "So then you understand how busy the mother of a newborn is and why I can't help out this year."

She laughed and said, "Yes, ma'am! I sure do understand what its like!"

And with that, she wished me a nice day and stopped pressing me help them out this year and ended the call.

Well, that was easy! :)

Come to think of it, I used a similar tactic the other day when I got my semi-annual call from the NM State Police wanting a donation in exchange for a groovy window sticker. This caller was a man and when I declined, he pushed harder. So I said, "I just had a baby and any extra money we have now goes towards diapers."

He replied, "Oh, I understand how that goes ... I have two kids at home." And then he, too, ended the call without pushing me any further to give money.

Feel free to use my tactics yourself. I won't charge you for the idea. :)

Jennifer

Cherishing These Days ...

People tell me all the time to cherish these days when Christian is just a baby, because time will fly by so quickly. And so Jonathan and I just gobble our little baby up and delight in everything he does (Jonathan even laughs when Christian cries!).

Today I got up at 5:00am after feeling a cold wet nose nudge me (Bella's, of course). Since Jonathan and Christian were asleep, it was time for Mommy to be productive!

So I set out to go through Christian's clothes to take out those outfits which are now too small. This week, I noticed that many of his pairs of pants were too tight around Christian's fat little tummy, and too short for those legs that are getting some adorable chunky thighs.

As the box filled up, I got choked up ... and I have been choked up for the past couple of hours. My little baby is growing and he'll never, ever be this tiny again.

We are just amazed at how he's changing, and how quickly its happening. On Feb. 1, he rolled from his tummy to his back for the first time ... and he's been rolling like that every since. The other day, I looked down, and he had rolled from his back to his tummy with his head fully upright and looking around.

I was shocked! I said to Jonathan, "Did you see that? That was a first!"

Jonathan replied, "Oh, he did that for me yesterday. I thought he'd been doing that already."

Jonathan is certain Christian will be crawling sometime in March. My books suggest the crawling timeframe starts at around six months, so I keep telling Jonathan, "No way ..." However, Christian has very strong legs and if we put him on his stomach, and on a blanket that will give him good traction, he can start pushing himself along a tiny bit. So, he's on his way.

And lastly ... the other day, I noticed a white spot on Christian's gums towards the back the other day. I figured it was maybe just spit or some other oddity, but I gave it a feel and I do believe its a tooth!!! Seems odd that a first tooth would be back there, but who knows! It just might be.

Just fifteen weeks and our little champ is wearing six month clothing, rolling over like crazy, showing the first signs of wanting to crawl, and possibly getting his first tooth!

Pardon me whilst I find a tissue to dab my tears away.

Jennifer

We Don't Want to Brag, But ...

For two nights in a row, Christian has slept until 5:30am! That tops the night he slept until 4:00am, as reported in the last post.

How about dem apples! :)

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a sleeper!

Christian just keeps getting better with sleeping at night - yay!

Last night he went down at close to 8:00pm. He did not wake up needing to eat until 4:00 a.m.! Do the math: that is EIGHT HOURS.

He started stirring prior to 4:00 a.m., but Jonathan quickly soothed him and gave him his new pacifier ... which Christian ended up accepting, for once.

I think we'll keep him. :)

Jennifer

Christian Rolls Over for the First Time

So there we were ... I had just put Christian on the floor for some "tummy time." He's just recently been able to lift his head up for a few seconds while on his tummy. So I put him down, and he lifted his head, arched his back ... and ROLLED OVER! I couldn't believe it!

Here are a couple of videos that capture the very exciting moments after his first roll ...