Summer is coming

Summer is coming and we at the Serrano house are finding all sorts of new ways to view summer activities.  Jason, now 3 1/2, will be continuing at his preschool, Vista Christian Pre School, but I might take him out one week for vacation bible school (aka VBS).  I have never done VBS, and have no idea what it is like yet, but judging by the flurry of activity from my Christian mom friends, it's apparently very popular.  I am learning more about it now.

Congratulations on becoming a licensed contractor!

Alberto is knee deep in work with his new business, J3 Services.  He passed the state exam to become a California licensed contractor earlier this year, and we have now begun efforts to get in touch with his old customers, collect testimonials, and get started on new projects.   He is also networking with a few general contractors in the San Diego area that are also beginning to send work his way.  Take a look at the J3 website when you can:  http://www.j3contractorservices.com

I am busy learning how to be a stay-at-home mom, even though I am still doing some contract consulting work.  More often than not, though, I find myself trying to remember what my routine should be.  Between laundry, housework, cooking and taking care of Elliott, it is a full-time job! 

And speaking of Elliott, he is (as always) AWESOME! :)  We had his 4 month check-up today, and I learned the following stats:


Such a happy boy!  Elliott on May 28, 2012

Age - 4 months, 3 days
Height - 26 inches (75-90 th percentile)
Weight - 16 lbs 6 oz (75 th percentile)
Head circumference - 41.5 cm (just below 50 th percentile)

Everyone remarks on how big he is, which is ironic since he was so little when he was born.  It has literally been in the last month that he has grown out of 3 month clothing and is now in 6 to 9 month clothing!!

His pediatrician says he is excellent in every way and couldn't be better.  He also recommended I start him on eating solids (starting with cereal of course).  What do you think?  I know that it's normal to start between 4 & 6 months, but I don't know if I am ready yet!  :)

Here are some lovely photos of our beautiful boys.  Some are better than others, as we had to buy a new and improved camera after I accidentally dropped ours on the pier in Oceanside.  I only went without a camera for a week and was still about to go stircrazy!  I guess I really am a technology junkie.



The Serrano Family - May 6, 2012

I believe this is the first full family photo we have taken. We are at the Carlsbad Street Fair in May.

Me and my boys on Mother's Day



Our friend Mimi turned us on to Dream Dinners - this is one of the meals: "Family Pizza Night".  The boys had so much fun making their own pizzas! April 21, 2012

What a big boy!  We are still amazed at how fast Jason is growing.  May 27, 2012

And speaking of technology, here is my new hobby - Pinterest!   Have you been on Pinterest yet?  It took me about a day to figure it out, but it is really fun to see all the cool ideas and images from people, and I have already benefitted from it by finding some amazing blogs on being a great housewife and mom, easy quilting tips and ideas and recipes to try for the family. 

We are enjoying our new home immensely, and have the friendliest and most considerate neighbors possible.  The multiple playgrounds around the neighborhood are going to be great for Elliott as he starts to be mobile.  I am looking forward to an awesome summertime with him!

Welcome Elliott Theodore!

A quiet baby, right from the start

We have been blessed and honored with a new baby boy!  Born February 1, 2012, Elliott Theodore Serrano came into the world with no complications, and is a sweet angel of a baby. 

We are thrilled to have this new addition to our family.  Jason is a wonderful big brother and showers him with gentle kisses and head rubs.  He sleeps very well and has not shown any signs of the GERD that plagued his big brother so much.

Elliott loves to be in the arms of his family, and has begun to smile and vocalize with us.  He is a great communicator who seems to instinctively understand what Mommy needs to see or hear to know what he needs.  He and I have been getting along famously!


Elliott came a bit early for us - He was due on February 14.  When I went to my weekly doctor visit on Monday, January 30, the report was that I was not dilated at all, and so we would be waiting a bit longer.

Much to everyone's surprise, I began having contractions the very next morning, at around 3:15 am.  At least, this is when they started waking me up!  The contractions did not increase in intensity, and tapered off around 7 am.  Convinced that I still had a long labor process ahead of me, I went ahead and drove to Fallbrook (30 miles away) to visit a client for the day.  Instead, Elliott decided to start contractions again around 9 am and they continued throughout the morning. 

Brothers!

At lunchtime, I called the doctor's office to let them know that things had started, and asked if they wanted to check me again.  We agreed for me to be back at the doctor's office at 2:30 to see how far I had dilated.  Still anticipating a long process, I was not overly concerned and was looking forward to see what the dilation was! 

So, it was quite a shock when, after the exam, the nurse-practicioner urged me to go home and get my bag and then go straight to the hospital!  I had dilated almost 4 centimeters in 24 hours, and she was concerned I'd miss my opportunity to deliver at the hospital if I waited any longer.

The first time Elliott saw his Daddy

Left with few options (my parents weren't due to arrive for several more days!  We hadn't packed a bag yet!  We had no plans for how to get Jason to and from school!), we scrambled to come up with a game plan.  Enter our wonderful friends! We are eternally grateful to  Denise and Connor Cook and Bonnie and Mark Regalado who jumped into the adventure with us! They embraced our situation with love and grace and did anything we asked to make sure the family was taken care of.  

Mommy and Elliott in our recovery room

Elliott's delivery was easy and fun.  Our labor nurse, Liz, was awesome and really made the delivery a beautiful and fulfilling experience.  Our wonderful doctor, Dr. Murillo, was a joy to be with and she was very excited to be able to deliver our son.  Even Tri-City Hospital and its employees surpassed our expectations with their professionalism, efficiency, and nurturing bedside manner.

Overall, we are thrilled with how everything happened and are thankful to God for providing us with such wonderful people and resources throughout the experience.

Elliott is now home with us and is a joy to us all each and every day.  We look forward to you meeting him one day!

Ready to go home!

Baby Update and More

Greetings all!

Baby Serrano 2

We have made it through the holidays and are looking forward to a very exciting next 30-45 days.  Baby Serrano #2, aka Our Little Watermelon, is coming soon and we have been busy getting ready!  Due on February 14, he is definitely growing and taking up as much space as possible in Natasha's tummy.  It is very difficult to do things like.....well, just about everything actually.  I have continued to have a very light workload, so my daily naps and restful work in front of the sewing machine have made the days reasonably easy. 

At Daddy's soccer game

Jason is starting to ask if and when the baby is coming out of Mommy's tummy now, and we are trying to find situations where he can see very small babies so he is prepared for his tiny little brother.  He is a natural caretaker and loves to nurture people, so we know he is going to do a fabulous job as big brother.

Jason is 3 now and is fully developed person, walking, talking, and not afraid to express his opinions to anyone who in his general proximity.  He loves trains and cars now, and insists on carrying his TWO Lightning McQueen matchbox cars with him wherever he goes.

He is continuing at Vista Christian Preschool, a Montessori school near our home, and he is really excelling.  He has also begun to show that he can easily and quickly memorize song lyrics and is always singing his favorite songs under his breath as he goes about his day.

At his school's Thanksgiving Lunch

Alberto is doing well, and work is starting to pick up again after the holidays.  He has also made a nice network of friends in the area and he and Jason are constantly off to baby showers and birthday parties and the like.  Jason will go anywhere there is a pinata!

We are looking forward to seeing family and friends over the next few months and introducing our youngest son to everyone!



Cookies, cookies for everyone!



29 weeks pregnant on my birthday

Rain, rain, doesn't keep us away!

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!

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?

Time to find a dentist!

I found a little something extra in Jason's mouth this morning - his first tooth is starting to come in! I was feeding him some mashed banana with my finger when my fingertip scraped up against the little tooth on the bottom of his mouth.

This was a surprise! Jason hasn't really shown many external signs of teething, though he has been a bit more fussy while nursing and when going to sleep. I hope all of his teeth come in as well!

We've had a really busy few weeks with Jason. After first introducing him to solids he rewarded us that night by doing his first roll from tummy to back. Then, the next day he upped the ante by rolling from back to tummy. Then he just showed off by doing it again and again for the next ten minutes. Within a day he'd learned to put the two together and now he is just a roly poly all over the place!

We went to the Aquarium over Memorial Day weekend and despite the crowds Jason did great. He really loved looking at and reaching for the little rays with his Daddy:

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Jason has now tasted Pears, Peaches and Peas. He loves the Pears, absolutely hates the Peaches and tolerates the Peas. That's progress!

First Food experience

We had a great time with Jason this past Sunday May 17, 2009 when we gave him his very first taste of food!

I mixed up some rice cereal for him and the fun commenced at breakfast time. He didn't know what to make of it and.....well, see for yourself!




As the days go on, I am thickening the cereal a little each day. By day 3, Jason was over his inital reticence and now he *loves* it! Wants more of it and actually fusses at me if I don't shovel it into his mouth fast enough! What a big boy!

three month milestone!

I am writing this blog entry on my blackberry from under my blanket so that I don't wake Jason up with the light from the device :)
Jason is three months old today! I can't believe this much time has already passed. He has grown so much in so many ways. Not only is he rapidly on his way to weighing 14 pounds, but he is also developing in a variety of ways.
He talks to us with many different sounds now, including a few different coos, a whispered "ya", a lilting "ah-aa-ah", and screeches. He has become very adept at using the different noises to communicate different things to us including frustration, hunger, impatience and delight. And on March 5 we were graced with his very first laugh!
We have begun experimenting with leaving one or both of his arms out of his swaddle blanket while he naps since he is demonstrating increased control over his arms. He is very cute when he does this as he concentrates very hard on keeping both of his arms elevated over his body in what looks like a ready-to-fight pose. He'll stay like that for a very long time, all the while watching me to make sure I notice and give him encouragement.
And today for the first time he was fascinated with his own image in the mirror.
Jason is an incredibly happy baby as long as he gets enough sleep. This isn't always the case as he seems to have decided recently that he doesn't like to go to sleep and fights it at most naptimes.
Our digital camera has decided to break at this most inopportune time, so I am relying on an old 35mm camera for photos. In the meantime Alberto Jason and I took some family photos a couple of weeks ago that turned out lovely. If I can get them scanned into the computer I'll post some for you to see.
I return to work on March 16 (one week from today) and I am of course nervous about that. My mom will be taking care of Jason during the week while I work so I feel pretty good about the situation, its still just difficult to accept that in 6 more days my life won't center around raising such an awesome kid. Fortunately, I am very lucky to have the opportunity to work from home when I am not traveling so that will make it much more bearable.

We have also booked our family trip to mazatlan, where Jason will get to meet all of his Mexican relatives. We will be there the week leading up to Easter, called Semana Santa or Holy Week. I am really looking forward to seeing mazatlan again. We haven't been there since our wedding in 2006!

2009 so far...

So far 2009 has been pretty full. Jason keeps us on our toes pretty regularly, and Alberto is staying busy working side jobs and doing his regular work as well. I am busy with...well just Jason, but that is quite enough! It's been difficult to get things together, but with a little help from Liz and Mom we have finally got our house back in order, our bills paid (including our *mountain* of medical bills) and are looking forward instead of just catching up.

Mom just came and visited for two weeks, and it was a great help to us in every way. She and Jason really bonded, and today when she left Jason cried for almost an hour because he desperately wanted his Nana to hold him and didn't understand why she wasn't here. A little snack finally calmed him down and I managed to get him down for a nice long nap.

While Mom was here we took Jason (when he was 7 weeks) to get his first photo portraits done at JC Penney! Though we couldn't get him to smile on cue, they are still adorable. I learned to fully feed the baby immediately before the photo session, and things go a lot more smoothly! I'll be more prepared next time.

We also got some wonderful photos of Jason at home, and I have posted a few of them here. It's amazing to see how much he has changed - he doesn't look like a newborn at all anymore. In fact, sometimes he doesn't even look like a baby to me, but more like a child!

We have also learned something really important about him - after weeks of congestion and painful cries and restless sleep, a visit to Jason's pediatrician finally revealed the problem - He has GERD, otherwise known as acid reflux. She prescribed .6 mL of Zantac to him three times a day and within a few days there was a very noticeable improvement. Now, for the last four nights he has slept for 6 to 7 hours at a time, and he is much more happy and comfortable while he is awake. Thank goodness for Zantac!

Rub a dub dub in the kitchen sink!

Jason's Super Bowl photo!

Practicing his soap star pose!

Watching the Beisbol Serie de Caribe with Daddy

Jason and his Rainforest buddies

All dressed up and ready to see the other babies at Mommy's Baby Group

Hanging with Mommy

At long last - Jason Dominic Serrano has arrived!

Alberto and I are ecstatic to announce that our beautiful son has finally arrived!

Jason Dominic Serrano arrived on Tuesday, December 9, 2008 at 8:12 pm.

He was 7 lbs 3.5 oz and 19 inches in length.

Here is a picture of him after getting his footprints taken, alongside his parents' fingerprints:

We had quite an eventful day on Tuesday the 9th. I was continuing to have intermittent contractions after the post made on Sunday December 7th, but they kept going away only to come back in the middle of the night.

But on Tuesday December 9th, there was no turning back. Mom and Stephanie, having been kept updated throughout the process, decided to go ahead and head into Houston on Monday afternoon in anticipation of a delivery in the near future. We all wokeup on Tuesday morning and started counting my contractions at 6 am.

I had a doctor appointment that morning anyway, and at 9:30 am Dr. Behrmann measured me at 4 centimeters dilated. She recommended that with the new dilation and the contractions, that I should come back later in the day for a recheck and then she could evaluate if it was time to head to the hospital. We made arrangements for me to come back at 2 pm, and Mom, Steph and I headed to lunch.

Between 11:00 and 1:00 things really got interesting. The contractions were starting to come closer together and pretty intense. Our waitress at Luby's kept coming by the table to check on us and make sure that I was going to be ok! I am so glad I had such a good lunch at that time, because that was the last opportunity I got!

After lunch we decided to go home and pack our hospital bags into the car just in case we'd be going straight to the hospital from the doctor appointment. Well, by the time we got home, I'd already progressed to the point that I decided for all of us there would be no doctor visit. It was straight to labor and delivery for me! We called Alberto and within 10 minutes he had joined us at home.

Alberto, Stephanie and I arrived at the hospital to find that there were no labor and delivery rooms available. Must have been a busy day! Alberto and I did the slow dance in the waiting room for about 20 minutes until there was one available and met our labor nurse, named Jennifer. Mom and Elizabeth joined us there a few minutes later, and every started to get settled in for the wait.

Once I was situated in my hospital gown and bed, I was rechecked, and I had dilated to 6 centimeters. Things were really coming along! I had also made the critical decision to go ahead with an epidural, and the anesthesiologist showed up about 20 minutes later with the blessed cocktail.

I say blessed cocktail, and I mean it! I was incredibly thankful for the pain relief. The doctor did a great job of administering just enough to get rid of the pain, but I could still feel the contractions and know when to push during delivery. I will never doubt the wonderful properties of the epidural again! :)

At 5:15 I was 10 centimeters and ready to push, and everyone was shooed out of the room except the doctor, nurse, Alberto and me.

Everything was going great with the delivery with one exception - the baby was in a sideways position and didn't want to turn!

It took almost 3 hours to get him out, and some extra effort from Dr. Behrmann to encourage him to rotate. Every time we had gotten him rotated a bit, he went right back to his sideways position. This kid was not ready to leave his nest!

Finally, at 8:12 Jason Dominic arrived and he looked great!

He is a really beautiful baby, with dark brown hair and cobalt blue eyes. He is the spitting image of his Daddy, though Alberto says he has my nose and chin. He has long fingers and toes and is incredibly strong! We have all marveled at how this days-old baby is already able to lift his own head, and practically rolls himself over!

Our stay in the hospital was fine, though we were all exhausted, even the baby! Check out this great photo we got of him, as if to say "Wow, what a day I've had!"

We went home on Thursday night, December 11th, and have been getting adjusted to life with baby ever since.

I have had a bit more difficulty recovering than the baby has, which is why it has taken so long to get this posted and to start calling friends and family. I apologize for the delay, but it really was necessary for me to get back on my feet.

I am still in bed most of each day, just trying to heal, but we anticipate being able to start receiving visitors to meet the baby next week.

Thank you to everyone who has been so thoughtful and kind to send us flowers and well wishes and gifts! We feel very blessed to have such a wonderful network of friends and family and we love each of you as well!

Holiday Season 2008 begins and baby updates

I guess we've officially entered the holiday season - the mall traffic definitely indicates as much! Alberto and I took a long 3 hour stroll around the Galleria last night, trying to see if we could kickstart the baby's arrival. I am 39 weeks today and my due date is 6 days away!

We had a great Thanksgiving this year in Houston. I was really happy to be able to spend time with friends and my sister too, and grateful that Alberto enjoyed himself as well.

We had a small Thanksgiving dinner at home with Elizabeth and our friend Erik. I cooked Cornish game hens again, and this time I did it Cajun injector style. I had no idea what I would end up with, but everyone agreed that the birds were juicy and delicious. Erik was also sweet enough to send flowers after the weekend to thank us for having him over. Thank you Erik for spending the day with us! We really enjoyed your company.

That night, Alberto and I went to see Bartek and Edyta for their Italian-themed Thanksgiving party.

We met some really fabulous people as well, and hope to be able to hang out with them some more.

They were friendly, gracious, and fun-loving, and we had a super time!











We also celebrated Edyta's birthday which is just around the corner, since she won't be able to celebrate here in Houston.
















A week later, it was my 33rd birthday on December 3.

Quite different from last year, I firmly stayed put at home! I am way too pregnant to be going anywhere fast, even on my birthday! :)

My sisters were so cool to commemorate the day too! Stephanie sent a lovely bouquet of flowers and Elizabeth showed up after work with a decadent chocolate cake. Thank you ladies!




Also on my birthday, Andrea's baby finally made his big appearance! Dylan is adorable, and takes after Andrea with his dark hair, dark eyes and dark skin. He is going to be a ladykiller.

In between and after all of this, Liz has tried her hand at some photography with me. I asked her to take some maternity photos before the baby comes and I must say she has done really well! A few of the unedited photos are below. We'll be choosing our most favorites to touch up and print. Thank you Liz for your hard work! Everything is beautiful.












So, where does that leave us? Waiting for the baby!

Like I said at the beginning of this post, we are looking for ways to encourage Baby Serrano to make his debut. I have been working on the exercise ball and finding ways to squat down for things (thanks to a timely tip from Andrea! :) ). We also did our 3 hour walk around the Galleria last night.

By all indications, it's beginning to work! But since this period of time is totally unpredictable, I'll have to leave it at that.

The next post you see from us should be post-delivery!