Happy Fall!

Greetings to everyone!

Just wanted to post an update on what's beem going on with the Serranos -

We just passed Halloween and Jason was an adorable Musketeer.  Here are a couple of pics:

We had a great time, but that is not all the fun we had in October.  We had a fabulous visit from our dear friends the Lawson family, and we played tourist in our own town.  Highlights were the San Diego Zoo and Disney Land! 

Such a great time and we were thrilled to get our kids together again!

Jason loved Mickey and now he sleeps with his new stuffed Mickey doll every night.  He has also asked us to go back to Mickey's house several times.

 

We have also been enjoying attending Alberto's soccer games.

He is now Captain for the top team of his league, and won a trophy in the spring for making the most goals out all the league's players.

I have been working on my own as an independent consultant for CRM since June 1.  I am really enjoying the freedom it allows me, and the opportunity for rest when I need it. 

I am 25 weeks pregnant now, and can feel little Baby Serrano moving many times every day.  He is quite active and never kicks in the same place twice.  I think he is going to be just like his big brother, which means another several years of non-stop running around for me and Alberto!

This weekend, Alberto attends a 2 day prep course for taking his California licensing exam.  This is for him to finally launch his own business as a tile contractor.  We've been preparing marketing materials and planning for business growth for a few months.  Once we get past the exam, we'll be ready to get everything published and reaching out to the community.

Finally, once we get Alberto up and running I'll have the time to start focusing on completing my Montessori internship and observation requirements.  This will be a big accomplishment for me and will finally clear the path for me to start planning on opening a school.

Happy Fall to you and have an awesome holiday season!

Photo Book

Click here to view this photo book larger

And now for a Serrano family announcement......

The Serrano family is excited to share with you that we are expecting Baby #2!  Baby Serrano is due on February 14, 2012, and promises to be the sweetest Valentine's Day gift imaginable.

We are doing well!  Jason is excited about the baby in Mommy's tummy and has recently started to say he has a baby in his tummy too.  Natasha is getting as much sleep as possible and enjoying a bit of downtime from work to get caught up on projects and stay grounded.  Alberto is ramping up for a busy fall and we are hoping to launch his own business for tile and stone work in the coming months.

We have had a great year so far, and have a few photos to share with you -




You can take the boy out of Texas, but you can't take Texas out of the boy! March 2011

 




Jason is a great helper in the garden. April 2011

 


I've got Easter candy in my pocket! Easter 2011

 



Jason and his first Chuck E Cheese experience (or as he call it, "the giant mouse") May 2011



 




All finished with Montessori training! July 2011





An awesome visit from his Houston friend, Sasha! August 2011

  


Goofing around with our neighbors Alyson and Case August 2011

 

2011 is going to be full of activity!

Greetings all -

We hope that everyone had a fabulous holiday at the end of the year and that you are still resolutely sticking to your resolutions! :)

We expect 2011 to be a big year for us both personally and professionally.

Alberto is studying hard to prepare for his contractor license for the awesome tile work he does.
I am working to expand my skillset into SRS Reporting, javascrpting, and becoming the resident expert of all things CRM 2011 (which, by the way, releases one week from today in case anyone is waiting...)

Jason is making leaps and bounds at his wonderful school, Montessori School of Oceanside.
He is 2 now, and has started potty training in earnest.  He is entering the last stage of the unconscious absorbent mind, and often treads briefly into the world of self-awareness and expression.  It is awesome to witness this transformation, and I am grateful for my extracurricular classes in the Montessori Method to help me identify these milestones.

I made my new commitment to Christ known on December 5 and have now been baptized, or "born again".  I don't particularly like that term since I associate many negative connotations to it.  But it is true that I feel like a new person and I know that the Holy Spirit is at work inside of me.  It's a wonderful feeling to be embraced and loved and I am making efforts to reach out to the church I am now attending so that I can have a support network in this still very new journey.

Alberto is hard at work finding new ways to damage his mountain bike and loves to be outdoors and riding through the trails on the nature preserve behind our home.  Jason still occasionally rides with him, but at 34 1/2 pounds, Alberto isn't as eager to cart him around as he once was!

I am also working on learning to sew and quilt, and am having a great time with it, even if I move slower than a snail's pace.  :)  And of course, I am beginning to plan my new season of gardening and hope to have an even more fruitful bounty of veggies in the back yard this year.

And, in our spare time, we are hard at work trying to stay in contact with our beloved friends and family all over the U.S. and Mexico and make sure we do a better job at keeping in touch.

So, we are busy and loving every minute of it. 

What are your plans for 2011?