Like Grandfather, Like Grandson

 

Luka is a pretty amazing little boy...well he is not that little anymore he is 7! But every since I can remember I am constantly finding "love" notes around the house. He always comes home with a note for Sam or JJ and I from school. If he misbehaves he most likely will write an apology note. 

Our son loves to write notes! I was thinking about it this morning and it totally reminds me of my dad. Funny that even with genetics and distance as barriers kids pick up on things and develop habits of family members (parents, siblings and even grandparents).

My father has always been BIG on notes. I can't tell you the amount of letters/cards he wrote to my mom and continues to write to her 40+ years later. It is very corny, but so beautiful. He never misses a chance to write Luka and Sam his little love notes from Miami. Many we have up in our house. Luka really treasures his thoughts and silly drawings and I guess he has picked up the tradition. 

Here are two notes I found yesterday after we spoke to him about listening to mommy and the babysitter. The one for Sam..well that was just spontaneous brotherly love. I love the little Ninja Turtle he drew at the top (Sam's favorite).

 

Sam can't write yet, but he does get excited when his brother comes home and says "Sam, I have a surprise for you." This usually means Luka has a note or drawing for him. Sam feels like the most special little brother in the world at that moment.

Wouldn't it be great if I had the time to scan all these notes and make a book...for now the blog will have to do. Dad, you should gather all your notes/letters/cards. That would be a real page turner!

The Chilean Condiment - Pebre

 

I am not much of a cook. During the last year I have learned to cook out of necessity, I don't love it and for some reason I never like anything I cook (does that happen to anyone else). I also think that this pregnancy has ruined my taste buds. 

But this weekend I finally made something Chilean, even if it was only a condiment..the infamous Pebre.

We had Sam's 4th Birthday Party this weekend and the menu was simple to say the least, but we did have choripans and here in Chile you can't eat a choripan without the nations favorite topping - pebre.

It is basically cilantro, garlic, onion, olive oil and ground aji chili peppers. Like the link the recipe says, " If Mexican pico de gallo and Argentinian chimichurri had a baby, it might look something like pebre."

Well, I love it on chorizo, bread, crackers...it is delicious!

Here is the link to the recipe. It is super easy to make and super yummy...ENJOY! 

34 Weeks...In the Home Stretch Now

 

Here is our baby boy at 34 weeks. Isn't it amazing how much detail you can see. I think this little guy is going to be our Cuban baby, but you can never really now from these scans. He just seems like he is going to have dark hair and darker complexion than Sam.

The 34-Week Scan was a total family affair yesterday. The boys love to go and see their little brother. Every time we go Sam asks if they are going to take the baby out now? He is so excited to meet him...I don't think he will be able to contain himself the day he is actually born. Luka is also very anxious and tells me all the things he is going to help with. He says he even wants to sleep in his room and let me know when he cries and needs milk...so sweet, but I won't put him through that torture.

So everything is going great. I would say everything is normal, but the only thing that doesn't seem to be normal about this beautiful baby boy is his size. At 34 weeks I am carrying a baby of 38.5 weeks. He is 2.8 kg (6.2 lbs) and 48 cm (18.9 in). I don't know about you but that seems quite large considering I still have 6 weeks to go! No wonder I am feeling this constant pressure...this little guy is quite LONG and doesn't have a lot of room.

I have a feeling he might keep growing and we might end up with another long skinny baby. Sam was 54 cm and weighed 3.5 kg. I don't remember how big Sam was in the weeks leading up. With this baby the scans have been super hi-tech. We have had 4D scans since week 12 with super detailed information. With Sam we NEVER had one..maybe one I can't remember. Oh here was a 3D scan of Sam at 33 Weeks.

So there he is...I think this is the last photo we will see of him in my belly. No scans scheduled anymore...now we wait for him to grace us with his presence some time around July 1st.

Any bets on his birthday? I am thinking the week of June 23rd...it would be great if he waits for his brothers to finish their last week of school. But he could want to wait around...

P.S. I forgot to tell you the best news...well not really...the best news is that he is healthy and everything is great. The most surprising news and the one that made me do the happy dance at the doctor's office today was that I actually lost .5 kg (1.1 lbs) in the last two weeks. He is growing and I am shrinking. Listen I know it isn't a lot but I feel like I weigh as much as a house. I will take the .5 kgs. The nausea at 34 weeks might have something to do with it...but that is ok.

WARNING: Proud Momma Bragging

 

 I was spoiled this year on Mother's Day with tons of cards and artwork the boys did. I love every bit of it. So I thought I would make a mini "mommy expo" of all my beautiful things. The top you will see the front of the card that Luka made for me at school. Don't you love that he included the word "scrapbook" since he knows I love to make photo books. Actually the reason I love to create the photo books is because Luka is my best client. I find him looking at the photo books ALL THE TIME!

Here is the inside of the card..

 

 Look I even get a card in Spanish!

 

I even got a personalized gift bag... 

 

 And what was in this beautiful gift bag you asked....drum roll please...it is a jewelery holder OF COURSE! 

 

Sam was also busy at school and it appears they had a Mother's Day photo session. Who knew he looked so good in a tie! The gold macaroni is very classy. 

 

He also made me a personalized gift bag for the beautiful picture. When I asked him what it was he said, "Mami, it is a dragon FIGHTING!" 

 

 He was also very proud of his Mother's Day butterfly.

 

 I hope everyone had a beautiful Mother's Day. I know I did!

A Few Weeks Left to "Baby" My Baby

I think Sam is the most excited with this baby. He is always kissing my belly...asking me questions about the baby...telling me what he is going to do with his little brother. It really melts my heart when he walks into my room just to kiss my belly.

In addition to the excitement we also have had a couple of behavior issues. He is very whiny, wants all of my attention, is jealous of his big brother, it takes forever to get him to agree on outfits in the morning... I know this is completely normal and I really have to try to look at the big picture on why he is acting like this, but man this parenting this is hard sometimes. Luka wasn't jealous at all so this is new territory for me.

I am trying to do things with him alone before the baby comes and once he arrives I will try and find time to do things with Luka and Sam individually...is that even possible? I would love to hear from other parents of 3+ kids out there.

When Sam arrived it was fairly easy for me to carve out time to spend alone with Luka...but now I suspect it will be VERY hard.

I love my little Sammy and he is always going to be my baby...just like Luka is as well. But Baby Boy will need extra attention for awhile and I am worried that my other boys will feel neglected...

Photo strip was taken at Kidzania a couple of weeks ago while Luka was running around with his friends. Sam and I stepped in for a private photo session for just the two of us. He loved it!

The Baby & The Bump

 

I have not been doing a very good job at documenting this pregnancy. I realized I had no photos of me standing showing off my belly (with my head included in the photo). Thankfully I managed to snap some of the bump with my iPhone...whewww.

This pregnancy has literally flown by and been filled with its share of craziness. The first month that I knew I was pregnant JJ was away. I have gone on several trips. This baby bump has boarded on a airplane 8 times. Daddy was also in the hospital and has been recovering...so lets just say that picture taking has been put on the back burner.

Nonetheless it is important to chronicle our little bundle of joy and his progress so I managed to put this collage together to share with everyone. I know folks have been asking for photos...here you go!

I love the sonogram at 28 weeks. Do you see his hands on his forehead? I can already see him saying, "Mom, please no more photos."

I will update the collage at the end of the pregnancy to see the full belly. At the moment I am at 32 weeks and counting. Yesterday was my check-up and all is normal and the baby is healthy and doing great in mommy's tummy...although I feel like he wants to pop out at any moment, the doctor says there are no signs of that. He is scheduled to arrive July 1st (if full term).

Want to hear a funny story...In Chile (or at least at my hospital) I have my main OBGYN and then another OBGYN that specializes in the sonograms. My regular doctor has an old 2D machine in his office with an extremely small grainy screen and the "sonogram" doc is a bit of an expert with his super awesome 4D machine. Sonogram doc told us it was a boy at week 12 and has been confirming this fact with every sonogram since then.

Yesterday at my 32 week appointment (after I had spent the day painting our nursery BLUE) my regular doctor is doing the sonogram and says, "You are having a girl, right?". NOOOOOOO!!! It is a boy. He asked if the other doctor had confirmed that. I reassured him that it had been confirmed several times and I even had a photo with the proof. He said to go with what the other doctor had said. Can you imagine if he is a girl? In two weeks we will have another 4D scan...but in the end I feel it in my heart that it is a boy and he has a unisex name...so it is all good. If it is a girl I hope she likes her light blue, lime green and grey nursery.