Jose Montaño fundraising 5k

We participated in the 2nd annual Jose montaño 5k fundraising walk today. Jose was a very special boy who lost his battle with cancer. It was my pleasure to know him as he was an amazing and giving kid despite all the odds being against him. His family has continued his mission and legacy even after he is gone. You can read tons of news articles on this inspirational little guy if you just google his name.

So we set out to walk in the 5k early in the morning. There were quite a few CCS folks there too. I only walked half of the 5k as I had two kids and a cut on the back of my heel. After they had a clown doing face painting and balloons and music. 

We stayed even later as I let Callie play on the playground for nearly 2 hours. She had somuch fun and D was pretty well behaved too. She fell asleep in the car in the way home. She slept 3 hours! But then when she woke up she refused to eat and said she was still tired then didn't feel good. She just layed around on the couch and became worse and worse until she had a fever and was vomiting. This is the first time she has ever thrown up from being sick besides as a baby. I gave her a bath and watched cartoons most of the afternoon and daddy rushed home to be with her. She threw up some more and still didn't want to eat. Eventually she had a Popsicle and crackers and seemed much better at bedtime. What an odd illness to go from totally fine to so sick and then ok again in just a few hours. I hope she is feeling better tomorrow but she will stay home from school with daddy either way.

Playtime with Friends

Last night Callie had a sleepover at her grandparents as she didn't want to go home with us when Diego was crying. She had a fun night and a fun morning before we picked her up. Diego had his best night to date, crying only 7 minutes and went without eating for nearly 4.5 hours! Now I know he can go a long time I feel better about this cry it out idea. It's actually the best thing I did for either of us. We both get more rest and D is actually happier and more rested despite the short crying bouts. They are growing shorter and shorter, except nap time, he's a consistent 30 min of crying.

Today we went to a end of summer BBQ at the Schneiders today. The kids had a great time playing together and it was the perfect weather, a cool breezy 75. I have missed this weather with our 80 and 90 degree weather for weeks. The Milani's brought their new baby, Stefano, who is two months younger than Diego and they matched!  We also got a photo with all 5 kids together. Not too shabby!

Callie's first chore

The other day I was cleaning up and putting away the dishes while Diego was taking a nap. Callie walks right over and says mommy I help you with the dishes and takes the silverware basket out. She started dropping silverware in the correct drawer but just putting over the edge as it's over her head. Instead I said here let me get the organizer tray out for you so you can do it like a big girl. Just match up the forks, spoons and knives and showed her where each one goes. Then she miraculously did it, every single one! Here she is in action as I had to get a video. I told her it was her first chore and she was such a big helper to me. Of course because she is way to smart she says for helping can I have some gummy bears because I did a good job? How could I say no? I gave in. I'm thinking of starting a simple chore chart and getting her to start helping out with some basic cleaning tasks. I figure if she is willing and it's still fun to start it as part of the routine as soon as possible. I think I finally have her cleaning upher toys better as I threatened to give all the blocks that didn't get cleaned up away to other kids that would want them more and then she picked every one up. That probably wasn't the best idea because I actually want to get her to choose some old toys to donate to start her learning about helping others and selflessness, but for the time being it worked for the clean up. Sometimes my mouth works faster than my brain on planning the next step and manipulating her actions with my words. And sometimes I think she still outsmarts me!

These are all photos fromWednesday when I took the kids to Balboa park puppet theatre and to the playground. Callie had a hard time sitting still through the puppet show but still said she liked it. I doubt I would go back for at least 6 months until I think it would be more enjoyable for her. But for a quiet Wednesday it gave us something to do to get out of the house.

And on update for today, Diego received the Dtap vaccine without incident today which was good news AND even better he went to bed tonight with almost no crying! Cry it out is definitely working and he is sleeping better at night with less and less crying. I still need to work on naptime, specially the late afternoon nap but we are getting there.

First full CIO night

Well cry it out went better than I expected. Diego cried initially at bedtime and then fell asleep after 15 min. He woke up two hours later to eat and I fed him as he didn't eat much at bedtime because he was so tired. After that he woke up again in 90 min. At that point we started cry it out as I was not going to feed him again. He cried, screamed rather, at the top of his lungs for a full 30 minutes until he fell asleep sobbing. I felt bad and wondered if he was really hungry, but he was asleep again so I went back to sleep too. He woke up 90 min later but by then it had been nearly 3.5 hrs since he last ate, the longest stretch he had ever gone. So I picked him up fed him and put him back to bed. I should mention that he goes right back to sleep after I feed him without a single fuss. Then he slept another 3 hours, and then he slept until I woke up for work at 5. So he did really well for his first night. It's the most sleep either of us has gotten in months. Granted I was still tired and took a nap today but I am still catching up.

Tonight he is crying again but hopefully it will be even shorter than last night. His naps were longer today but again his evening nap didn't go well but he fell asleep in his car seat at dinner out at Souplantation. I don't know why but the bustle of a busing restaurant always puts him to sleep. Before I even finished writing this post Diego is asleep, 7 minutes of crying and I gave him his pacifier and a stuffed bear and he went right to sleep. Wow! This cry it out thing is actually working and fast! Pretty soon I might have a regular baby that sleeps, fingers crossed.

I took these photos of Callie and D Wednesday playing blocks together. Callie doesn't want to share but lets him have the car and I was impressed by his ability to push it around.

Also I put together Callie and Diego's photos from 4 months in the same exact spot on my bed so you can see the comparison. Callie was quite a bit chunkier and stronger to hold her head up as D is propped on a boppy pillow. I see some resemblance but they look more different than I thought they would. Callie had wayyy more hair too. I think it's their eyes nose and eyebrows that are the most similar, but very different head shapes and skin coloring.

Cry It Out

Diego is officially starting sleep training. He is a terrible sleeper with short naps and very frequent night wakings. Tuesday night I was up with him 7 times after bedtime. He can't go back to sleep without nursing even though he's not hungry and barely eats. I've been putting him down in his bed rather than rocking him to sleep but then pat his back so I've really just traded one thing for another. The rolling over issue is also still there but he can roll to his side and is comfy there.

So last night I started cry it out. It's modified slightly in that you go in and soothe without picking up at 7, 14, and 21 min if necessary. At bedtime he's sleepy and wasn't too bad. With his pacifier he was asleep in 15 min. But to be consistent it applies to naps too. Today he cried for 30 min before falling asleep for 45 which is a little better than his usual 30 min nap. But his late afternoon nap he screamed for 50 min so he never got a nap. That means a crabby afternoon and exhausted bedtime.

I don't expect him to sleep through the night but will be working on extending time between feeds, hoping for at least 4 hours. So now I'm wiring this while he cries it out in his crib nearby. Let's see how long he cries now, he's very tired so I predict less time. UPDATE: at 7 min I gave him his cow and pacifier to hold and he went right to sleep. Hopefully that's not starting another issue, needs to have paci to sleep. Cross that bridge when I get there.

Here are photos of him sleeping which make him look like an angel. I think I snap all these photos because it calms me despite his terrible screaming to bed.hopefully in a few weeks he will be a pro and know how to put himself to sleep. For the next few days or weeks though it's going to be rough, lots of crying and not a lot of sleep.

Sibling Bracelets

Callie and Diego now both have super adorable gold baby bracelets with their names on them. These are extra special because they were Juan's bracelets when he was a baby. When Callie was born Nena had Callie's polished down and engraved with her name. I didn't realize Juan had two gold baby bracelets so I was surprised to find out Diego would get a special one too. Diego's is extra unique because instead of engraving it has raised or embossed gold letters. I have no idea how you do this but Nenas family in Mexico had it made like this for him. It's really cool and gives it a different, more manly, look ;)

A big thank you to Nena and her uncle for having this made special for Diego. We love it and so do Callie and Diego. Aren't they so cute together?

Sheriff Woody

Jeana bought Diego this adorable toy story Woodie onsie awhile back but it's been so hot D hadn't worn it yet. Luckily with the cool nights we got him in it before he got too much bigger. This is possibly the most hysterical set of pjs I've ever seen! Callie cried because she was jealous and wanted a pair like this. I gave her footie pjs but she wasn't satisfied because Diegos were a cowboy and hers weren't. I couldn't help but laugh. It was still a little dark out so many of the photos aren't great but still so funny.

Ford has a set that are buzz light year but I bet he outgrew his already so they won't get a photo together :(

Sunday football

Callie and D had on their Charger jerseys to cheer for the game today. Having D in his jersey reminded me of the photo of Callie in the bumbo in her jersey so I took a few of Diego in the same position. Callie was a LOT chunkier and they were about the same age. I think they weighed about the same but Diego is longer.

Also I got some of the two of them together in their matching jerseys. I tried to get one with two kids smiling but instead I got Callie making all kinds of odd faces.

Either way the Chargers won!! Callie was cheering Go Chargers for football Ames later in the day that weren't the chargers and couldn't understand why we told her it wasn't daddy's team anymore. Also she couldn't understand why you put your arms in the air to signal touchdown as she says you should touch down to the floor not up. Well that makes a lot of sense but I can't explain why we have the symbol.

I combined the photos into little collages so it's easier to see them together. Let me know if you like that or not.

Saturday at the Zoo

For the first time in a few weeks we had a whole day with no plans and all family members home. We decided to let Callie choose and she picked the zoo. It was actually a cooler morning, less than 80 degrees and slightly overcast, which was so nice compared to earlier in the week.

We wandered and saw a few animals but Callie started complaining her ear hurt and she was tired so we didn't stay too long. She's had a cold for most of the week so I think it's sinus pressure in her ear. I'm hoping it's not an ear infection but she doesn't have a fever so for now I am just trying to clear the congestion. By the afternoon she was acting totally fine and wasn't touching her ear or saying it hurt as much.

Her favorite thing at the zoo today was the photo booth lol. I know not even anything to do with the animals... I am cheap and refused to pay $5 for a photo but snapped a selfie of all of us in the booth!

Even though Callie is sick we still had a good time and when the zoo and parking are free since we are members you don't feel obligated to stay just enjoy as much or as little in this case as you want.

Curb Appeal

We have been working on the curb appeal of our house for awhile. It's gone through some rough patches and we didn't get everything done at once but I think we are finally there! Recently we had the yard redone so the grass looks nice and today we had the stone veneer repaired. It's looking really good! Now I just need to thin and seperate my succulents and plants in the main bed.

Since we had people working on the house all day we pretty much just stayed home with the exception of a trip to Home Depot for a special drill bit for granite.

Callie was hanging out watching tv with Diego laying with her on the couch. Cute when they get along well huh?

Besides that we played and Callie and I put the fourth side on Ds crib in my room. He's just way to crazy to have it with three sides even if my bed is the last side. I can't leave his side like that so we put the crib together the right way and he is still right next to my bed. This will require me to get out of bed to get him for feedings so I may need to adjust. Currently I just roll over pull him into bed with me and sometimes asleep feed him then push him back into his bed. Maybe this will force me to start working on the night wakings/feedings and getting him down to a reasonable number.

He has also decided he prefers to lay on his side to sleep. I put him down on his belly and he rolls over to his side. He hasn't quite mastered this half roll and occasionally rolls to his back where he is like a beetle, pissed off and can't roll back. So he wakes himself sometimes rolling over and wiggling around. Here he is in his own crib.

Wiggly man

Just this week Diego has started moving around. We put him to sleep on his belly and he moves all around the crib a seven rolls over. Usually when he rolls over its on accident and he cries because he didn't want to roll over. I've had to remove the wedge from under his bed because he just rolls down the hill now. And I think this weekend I'll have to put the side of the crib back on. He wiggles himself into my bed sometimes right over the crack! This morning he was head first creeping his way into my bed. I don't mind when I'm right there sleeping with him but I can't leave him alone upstairs now that he can wiggle his way out.

Ever since I hurt my back bathing Diego in the shower I started putting his bath right on the kitchen counter. It's actually quite nice as it drains right down the sink and I can feed the dogs or pack the dishwasher while standing with him in the kitchen. He loves the bath and is amazed with his feet lately. He holds them and puts them to his mouth. I couldn't get a photo of feet to the mouth or else you had a wide open crutch shot but here he is happy boy.

Grandma's Glasses

Whoa heat wave! It was 101 today and just unbearable. Luckily grandma and grandpa AC got fixed and so we hung out there all afternoon. It was so hot that Callie's school closed early! I took vacation to go pick her up before they closed.

There is no AC in the sunroom where Callies toys are so she had to play in the house only. She got creative! Callie was playing pretend to go on vacation with her pretend suitcase and also was looking at photo albulms from my wedding. She also wanted to wear glasses with Grandma so she got an old pair and took the lenses out so she could match. Diego even got in on the fun!

I'm missing the CT fall weather more than ever right now. Cool crisp apple picking  fall weather with leaves blowing off the trees. Ahh imagery to cool me down.

And even now at 8:30 pm it's still 80 degrees. It's going to be a warm night at our house. Hoping for cooler weather soon!

Go Chargers!

Sunday football day today.i didn't actually see more than 10 minutes of the game as I was busy with the kids, but either way they won.

It was hot hot hot today. In the morning before it was too hot, Callie swam whole D and I played in the shade on the deck. After nap time we just had to. Get out of the house as it was 94 degrees. I guess that was better than the 100 I predicted but still very hot.

We went to the Chula Vista library for the first time as we always went to the County library instead of the city one. It was really great. The kids library is more separate and private so if the kids are loud it's less disturbing. There were a lot of kids there, probably because everyone wanted to be in the AC. They had a pet gecko, cool pirate treasure chest, a boat that holds all the kids computers ( all have awesome kid friendly games like Dora, Calilou, Curious George, Clifford, etc) and a LOT of books. We had a fun time and made friends with another little girl who pretended to read stories to Callie and just played with her. They also had these really cool paintings of Chargers girl and boy where you can put your head through. I'll have to try to get another photo that's less blurry another day but still cute.

After we went to Marshall's and Callie picked out a Halloween costume. I tried to talk her into a bumblebee with wings and a tutu but she insisted on her choice. I will leave you all hanging to see what that is.... She said she wanted to be a tiger, but they didn't have that and sheforgotall about it when she saw this costume. Let's see if anyone has the winning guess. She's already wearing it today, so hopefully it lasts until Halloween or we will have to get another costume!

Then I was brave and took both kids out to dinner at Daphne's. My goal was to be easy and stay cool, but it didn't go too smoothly. D was out of the house too long without a good nap and he had a meltdown while Calliehad to pee twice during dinner so I had to manage both him crying and getting her on the toilet all while stepping away from our dinner. We survived, are fed and stayed cool but I think the other customers probably thought I was nuts. For 5-10 min it was really bad but then it all settled and by the end of dinner everyone was happy and behaving :)

It was a very short one day weekend for me when I am used to 3.5 days usually, but tomorrow I will only work a half day so it won't feel too bad. Hopefully the heat goes away soon as I can't take it. Otherwise we will have to get at least one small ac unit and just hang out in Callie's playroom all the time.