Cute Little Booty

Today I took Santiago to Sam's to do a little back to school shopping with two of my lovely co-worker friends. We had fun buying binders and such that we need for our classes and then had a great lunch at Lupe Tortilla. Here is Santiago taking his first ride in a shopping cart at Sam's. He had a great time flirting with Kristine and Jennifer and riding in the cart (for awhile). He loves to sit up and this was perfect for him. I can't wait to get my shopping cart cover from my mom that she made for Santiago.

When we got home from shopping, I put Santiago in his jumper and he had a great time bouncing away in our office doorway that leads into our master bedroom. We have found that this is the best place to hang his bouncer because it has carpet below him and he has a lot of space with the french doors open. He is really getting the hang of jumping and he loves it! Around 2:00 this afternoon, Santiago and I both were tired from our long morning and lunch outing so I laid him down in our bed with me and he quickly turned over to his tummy and fell right asleep. This is the first time he has gone to sleep on his tummy not counting when he was in the Pediatric ICU after surgery. He took a 2 hour nap on his stomach.

Tomorrow we are heading to the lakehouse for a little over a week so I most likely will not be posting anything until we get back.

A Day with Daddy

Today I had to attend a math workshop so Santiago spent the day with his Daddy. They went to breakfast at the grandparents house and then spent the rest of the day playing and napping at home. Hector said that Santiago really went to town in his jumper. Santi is really getting the hang of bouncing around in the doorway and it is quite amusing to see! I was able to come home during my lunch break to see my boys, eat and pump. I didn't want to go to the workshop but having a few before I officially return to work is going to help me ease back into working and being away from Santiago all day. It was nice to see some of my teacher friends today and the best part was getting home to my boys!

Bubble Bath

Basket of Fun

Low Key

This week has been a very low key week. We have enjoyed just hanging out at home and going on just a few outings. I got my hair cut earlier this week and it was my first cut since Santiago has been born. I needed it badly! I also went to lunch with a friend and did a little back to school supply shopping with her. Santiago spent the afternoon with his grandparents while I was out and about and Hector did some cleaning around the house. Other than that, we have just been hanging out at home and relaxing as a family. It's been real nice!Santiago is wearing a shirt my mom embroidered with an anchor and his name on it. He gets so proud of himself when he pulls himself up to the sitting position using my hands. He can also pull himself all the way from his back to sitting to standing now.

Santiago really LOVES Roxie. He loves watching her run around the house and play with her toys. He really likes it when she gets close to him too. Here I captured the first time Santi made Roxie squeal by pulling on her ears. It scared Santiago but he was ok and so was Rox. I think he wanted to give her a kiss.

He is getting really good at kissing people. I can hold him in my lap and say "Give Momma a kiss" or "Can Momma have a kiss?" and he will lay one right on my lips....or cheek, or nose, or forehead! He gives Daddy kisses too and he has given Grandma Linda one as well when she asked for one. I love it! Here he is trying to give me one while pulling my hair.

Santiago can officially sit up now. He cannot get himself to the sitting position by himself yet but if I sit him up, he can stay there for a good amount of time. Ever since we have started putting him in his exersaucer to play, he doesn't enjoy being on the floor as much. Today I laid newspaper under his blanket to give it a crinkly effect to see if he would stay happy and roll around on the floor today. It worked pretty well. The other day Santiago flipped from his back to his tummy and then back to his back but he hasn't been able to do it again. I was hoping the crinkle in the paper would make him want to roll and roll. Eventually I know he will!

He will tip himself over from the sitting position sometimes landing on his back and sometimes landing on his stomach. It scared him a lot the first time but I think he is getting used to it. Today when he fell to his back he quickly flipped himself to his stomach.

Santiago is still drooling all the time as you can see in this picture. He gets pretty wet when he is playing. He still doesn't have any teeth yet though - just a lot of drool!

Happy Birthday Grandma

Today is Grandma Linda's birthday and we celebrated by going to dinner at Landry's in the Woodlands. Happy Birthday!

Hector and I put together the pictures in this frame to give to his mom for her birthday. She cried when she opened it because she liked it so much. It has Santiago's monthly pictures as well as some of my favorite close ups!

After dinner we went outside to feed some ducks leftover bread from dinner. It was Santiago's first time to see real ducks. He watched them very closely and we were afraid the ducks were going to peck at his toes - but they didn't.

Santiago meets Bella

Yesterday we went to our friend Chris' house so Santiago could meet his new puppy Bella. Santiago really loves dogs these days - Roxie and Jager can make him laugh hard so we thought he would enjoy seeing a little puppy. Bella is a biter right now so we had to be careful not to let her bite Santi. He screamed and squealed at her (both in a happy way). They were very cute together.

Want a Kiss

This is what Santiago looks like as he is coming straight for your face to give you the wettest sweetest baby kisses in the world. He grunts and comes at you with an open mouth and sucks on your cheek or chin. It makes me laugh every time he does it. I don't mind getting soaked in slobber either! He smiles so big when he finishes with one kiss then comes back for more. It's so funny!


Grandma Karen made this little yellow stuffed duck before Santiago was born and gave it to me for Christmas inside a diaper bag (that she also made) full of baby goodies.

Santiago really loves his yellow ducky! We have been playing with it almost every day for awhile. Thanks Mom!

5 Months Old

Santiago turned five months old on the 4th of July. We weren't home to take his picture in his crib so I did it yesterday. Here is our cutie pie! He is growing so fast and changing every day. Here is what Santiago is up to lately:

• Wears a size 3 diaper and 12 month clothes. Some 9 months still fit.
• Has curly hair on top - most of the sides were rubbed off when wearing the helmet so it is still trying to grow in.
• Has big brown eyes like his daddy.
• Sleeps from 9 PM -7:30 AM or 8 AM and takes 2-3 short naps during the day.
• Still sucks on his bottom lip sometimes.
• Grabs at everything in sight and puts it straight in his mouth. He loves momma and daddy's cups lately especially if they are cold.
• Holds his head up high and looks around.
• Loves watching dogs, especially Roxie, and laughing hysterically at them.
• Loves the sound of someone singing to him. Momma sings "Hello Neighbor"by Dr. Jean all the time and he loves it.
• Bath time - He smiles, coos, squeals and kicks his legs in the water. We started bathing him in a hammock in the big bath tub instead of his infant tub. He is too big for it now!
• Loves to play in his exersaucer and can turn himself completely around in it to see all the toys.
• Likes to go outside and stare at the trees blowing in the wind.
• Can pull himself into a sitting position by grabbing your hands and pulling up.
• Stands up by putting weight on your lap and smiles and grunts at you!
• Sucks on your face and gives the sweetest wet kisses!
• Flips over quickly from back to tummy.
• Turns entire body around in crib when sleeping at night - his head will be at the opposite end of the bed when he wakes up than where I laid him down.
• When on his tummy, he can hold his head and body up high and is beginning to try to scoot using his legs.
• Grabs his feet and tries to get them in his mouth, especially if he has shoes on his feet.
• Knows his name and loves to hear people say it. Will turn and look at you if you say his name.
• Beginning to play peek-a-boo. Looks for you when you hide from him and gets excited when you pop out. Last night we put Santiago in his highchair for the first time with a teething ring. He loves to suck on it when it has been frozen. He stayed in there the whole time Hector and I ate our dinner. Santiago is very curious about what he sees us eating and drinking and loves to grab at our food and drinks so since he is beginning to show these signs we are thinking he may be ready to start eating some solids. I will introduce him to rice cereal real soon and then move on from there.
  

Quick Trip to San Antonio

On Sunday we had to make a quick day trip to San Antonio to go see Hector's Grandma O who was admitted to the hospital after she took a fall on Saturday. It was the first time for her to meet Santiago and it was nice to see her face light up at him. Hector's parents and Bianca also were there and many of their extended family members.

Fourth of July

On the 4th of July we ate a delicious brisket cooked by Hector and enjoyed the fireworks. Santiago slept right through all the loud popping - maybe next year he will stay up for the show. Santiago learned how to sit this week. He can't do it for long but he is getting stronger all the time and he can sit up for a few seconds now. He doesn't like to lay on his back much anymore now that he has learned how to flip to his stomach and hold his head high.

Our Week at the Lake

We spent the first two days at the lake by ourselves and then my parents came on Thursday. Travis and Austin Ruppaner also came for the weekend. The water is really low at the lake but we still enjoyed the water. Santiago loved swimming too. He was a little cautious at first and wasn't so sure about it - it's definitely colder than his bath water but it felt so good. He got where he would kick his legs and squeal in delight. We all took turns holding him in the water and he floated in a floaty too.

We caught two bass on a trot line by the boat dock. When we caught the first one, we all thought it was a great size fish but then when we caught the second we were all very excited! We caught a bass that was 22 or 23 inches long and weighed about 5 pounds - it was the biggest fish we have ever caught at the lake! It fried up nicely and fed 5 people with left overs. YUM!

Santiago got to spend a lot of time with his Grandma and Pappaw this trip and that makes going to the lake that much more special. Pappaw was great at putting Santiago to sleep for his naps this trip and even took a few naps with Santi. Both Grandma and Pappaw made Santiago laugh a lot this trip and loved hearing him make his sounds. Grandma brought her new embroidery machine and made Santiago a couple special shirts. We love the lakehouse and being able to go there to relax and have fun but what I love the most is that it is a place for my family to spend time together since we live hours apart. It's a long drive from Spring to Midland and the lakehouse is almost in the middle. Thank goodness for that!