Familia Cabrera

Fifth day of preschool

2011-10-22T13:23:00.000-07:00

RE doing laundry.

Amelia started preschool on August 15, but due to being busy, we didn't get pictures until her fifth day. She loved school from day 1 and has not had any problems going. There are only 6 kids, a few are 4 and a few are 3, which I think has helped her to really learn more than I ever taught her in our coop.

Davy's blessing

2011-10-22T13:09:00.000-07:00

Davy was blessed on September 11, 2011 by Ricky. It was so great that Abuelo could come and be in the circle. We also had Bro. Amoureaux, Bro. Chipman, and Bishop Rustand. Ricky blessed Davy in Spanish and showed great emotion. Davy was a good boy, but Amelia and RE were not, so I actually didn't hear most of the blessing. Ricky told me all about it later.

Sleepyhead before church. This was RE's blessing outfit we bought in PR.

Davy was really hungry.

This is as good as it gets right now.

Abuelo y Abuela

2011-10-22T13:02:00.000-07:00

Ricky's parents were able to come spend a few days with us in September. The kids loved having their grandparents!

Kids

2011-10-22T12:46:00.000-07:00

Davy is growing fast. At his 2 month check up he weighed 13 8, 75th %, which for me is new. I've never had such a fat baby! He is eating well and smiling like crazy. He still has blue eyes and his hair has a slight red tint to it. We love him so much.
RE is talking quite a bit for his age. It's amazing what he can say and do. He climbs all over the couches and falls off on purpose. He loves to go outside and play in the dirt and rocks. He loves Davy and Amelia.
Amelia is doing great at preschool. She is writing a lot more and had started drawing pictures of actual things as opposed to just lines and colors. She can sing a song after hearing it once or twice and she loves to read books. She will have a book memorized after I read it to her a few times. She loves to sing songs and make up songs. She has been dry every night except one in the last month and a half.

Dentist

2011-10-22T12:06:00.001-07:00

Amelia had her first visit to the dentist. She was so excited to go because we read Charlie and the loose tooth a few months ago. She has not enjoyed visits to the doctor, so I thought she might not like the dentist. I had my cleaning first and then she literally pushed me out of the chair for her turn. She did a great job opening her mouth while they cleaned and checked everything. I was really proud of her. She has been brushing her teeth 10 times a day with the new toothbrush they gave her.

Dance Class

2011-06-22T16:09:00.000-07:00

Amelia started a little dance class at the rec center in March. These pictures are from their last day in May. She is doing the summer session now with the same teacher and really loves it.

May

2011-06-22T14:58:00.000-07:00

The highlight of our month was moving into our new house, but here's a few things we did before that. Amelia went to a sprinkler party and enjoyed her first time on a slip'n slide. She actually just crawled back and forth, but enjoyed it nonetheless.

We went walking in Sabino Canyon. This was before we hit 100 degrees.

RE with his papi.

I think I'm about 29 weeks in this picture. (Thanks for the hat Tracy.)

Just eating snacks outside on our little patio.

Pool Time

2011-05-04T14:16:00.000-07:00

Things are heating up here already and we got the wading pool out to cool off. Amelia loves to jump inside and splash everyone. RE is still deciding, I think he'll like the big pool better.

Preschool Zoo Trip and Easter Party

2011-05-04T14:08:00.000-07:00

We had a great Easter Party for preschool last week. The kids had a great time painting chicks, finding easter eggs, making bunny ears and painting egg shaped waffles.

We also had an outing to the zoo. Here's the girls looking at the ducks/flamingoes/fish.

Always have to get a picture in the egg.

Preschool has been a blast and we're going to be very sad when it ends!

Pima County Fair 2011

2011-05-04T13:57:00.000-07:00

We went to the Pima County Fair this month and had a great time. We ate our turkey legs first and then headed over to the tractors and petting zoo. We're not up for rides yet, maybe next year.

The kids loved the animals and a goat tried to eat my shirt. I stood up and tried to get him to let go and I really had to pull. Amelia was talking about that "silly goat" for days.

Amelia loves tractors, don't ask me why. She had to sit on every tractor and put on the seat belt and push the buttons.

We also saw a shark exhibit and all the 4H animals. We topped it off with some ice cream and headed home exhausted!

Of late...

2011-04-12T07:36:00.000-07:00

We've been trying to get RE to sleep in his crib. He'll take a nap there, but he cries at night and I usually take him out because I don't want him to wake Amelia up. I think it will be better when he has his own room. Amelia gets so excited when he wakes up and wants to get in the crib with him. This is how I found them on a rare morning where they both slept through the night.

My good friend gave me steak for my birthday, isn't that awesome? We got a raspberry cheesecake coldstone cake for my birthday. Was it worth $25? Why yes it was.

Amelia started a little dance class at the rec center a few weeks ago. It's so cute watching the little girls run around. She did not want this picture taken, so it's all I have. They are supposed to have a little recital at the end, so hopefully I'll get some pictures there.

Enjoying a popsicle, I believe this was a 95 degree day, although we did have rain and cold this week.

Desert Museum

2011-04-12T07:25:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago for preschool we went on an excursion to the Desert Musuem. It's a bit of a drive, but Amelia loves the mountains so she was happy driving over the mountain and seeing the pokey-pokeys (cactus). It was very warm and RE has decided that he doesn't like the stroller anymore, but we had a great time and saw lots of desert animals. Thanks to our friends for getting us in for free!

The "train" helped us keep everyone together.

Amelia and her best friend, that she picks fights with most of the time.

Digging for fossils. These few pictures give a poor sample of what the museum is like. We saw javelinas, coyotes, bears, mountain lions, goats, tarantulas, snakes, and more. The kids had a great time!

Cookies and such

2011-03-22T15:00:00.000-07:00

Ready for church.
Playing after their bath.

She loves to help cook! She can really be a sweetheart when she wants to be.

Sabino Canyon

2011-03-09T07:25:00.000-08:00

We went walking up in Sabino Canyon last week. It's really warming up and we're so excited to do more stuff outside!

Such a happy boy!

Happy 3rd Birthday Amelia!

2011-02-21T14:49:00.001-08:00

Just to show that she has grown a little, I took a picture of her in this dress that is size 12 months, I couldn't even button all the buttons in the back. She loves to get out the bins with her old clothes and put them on. She makes a mess, but she's getting really good at putting her own clothes on.

It's nice having her birthday around Valentine's because we can always find a heart cake.

The boys at the party. RE is getting ready to enjoy some white cake. Notice his haircut?

She's 3!! She's grown up so much in the last few months. She can be such a sweetheart when she wants to be. My favorite is when RE is upset and she says "que paso mi amor" in a sweet voice. She had her checkup and only screamed during the weigh in. She's almost 30 pounds and still in the 10th percentile for hieght. She didn't cry at all during her vaccine.

She was very excited to have her "happy birthday". We love her so much and we're so lucky to have her as part of our family.

Here she is reading "A Splendid Friend Indeed".

Happy 1st Birthday RE!

2011-01-22T10:07:00.000-08:00

RE turned one this past week! He LOVED his cupcake as you will see. He got a forward facing car seat from us and some clothes from Nana. He is such a sweet boy. At his checkup yesterday he weighed 21 lbs and 12 ozs, which bumped him up to the next percentile category. He is 27 3/4 inces tall which also bumped him up. We love him so much and are so happy he's part of our family!

January 2011

2011-01-22T09:43:00.000-08:00

We can't believe that it's already 2011! We've been having fun, even though we've been a little cold (for AZ), but things are warming up and we are staying busy. The best news is that Ricky has started workig early days, so he's home around 4 and we have him all evening. He'll be on this schedule for a year, so no more rotations for a while. It has really made a difference in my mood!
Amelia posing for a preschool picture. We did "F is for friends" and the kids made a collage of pictures of their preschool friends. Amelia is learning the letter sounds and is making great progress. Although she thinks a lot of things start with the letter "b". Ricky tries to speak Spanish to her most of the time, but she understands more than she speaks. She always says "elephante" and "china" instead of elephant and orange. I think she'll get things worked out as time goes on.

Amelia likes to run around and be silly. She put her beanie on and was running around the kitchen. She's obsessed with saying who is a boy and who is a girl. It's what she talks about most of the time.

RE has discovered Amelia's old pasttime of taking all the tupperware out and sitting in the cupboard. His increased mobility has made him quite mischievous and he always wants to be where he can cause some chaos. But he is so smiley and happy I could never be upset with him.

This is the first time this has ever happened. RE loves to eat, eat, eat.

Ricky plays with Amelia every waking hour he is home, he even plays dollhouse with her. These kids sure love their Papi. You should see RE light up when he walks through the door.

This is how they play "boats". RE loves to climb into any bin he can find.

Amelia has found a new love of cutting from preschool.

RE has been crusing for about 2 months now. He loves to chase and be chased. He loves to make funny faces too.

We don't have ice cream very often, so Amelia is still learning how to eat from a cone without making a mess. This is after I already wiped her face.

He's starting to walk!

2010-11-22T19:16:00.000-08:00

As of late...

2010-10-19T16:44:00.000-07:00

We've been busy this month! Amelia LOVES preschool and blesses her schoolmates in every prayer. Arie is growing like crazy! Here's a few pictures...

Arie loves to grab Amelia's food and throw it on the floor.
At the zoo they have an enclosed aviary, and we got pretty close to these birds.

The egg.

He's getting some cheeks.

This is picture from preschool at her friend's house.

She makes Arie play this game all the time, I'm not sure what it is.

We made pretzels for FHE, they were delicious!

Amelia eating her noodles with a giant spoon.

Our good friends gave us this car and Amelia LOVES it. Arie thought he'd take a little ride.

Between Abuela and Camilla, I never get to buy dresses for Amelia!

Waiting for the pizza to cook.

They love their Papi.

8 months

2010-09-22T11:11:00.000-07:00

Arie turned 8 months on Monday. That sure went by fast. He's such a good boy. He started crawling last week and he pulls himself up on everything. His balance isn't that great, especially when he pulls himself up on the rocking chair, so he's had a few tumbles. But he's getting stronger every day.

He's steadily growing more hair.
Here's a video of Arie crawling.

Preschool!

2010-09-22T08:24:00.000-07:00

Amelia started preschool at the beginning of this month. We have a little co-op with 3 other kids. We do Tues and Thurs for 2 hours and I teach it the second and fourth Thursday of each month. She's sad when I drop her off, but is usually happy by the time I pick her up. I think the time apart has been good for both of us. I can actually get stuff done and she's learning to be away from me. On that note, she went to nursery for the full 2 hours last Sunday! Slowly and steadily she's getting better. I'm dreaming of leaving her with a babysitter so Ricky and I can got out!

Here she is in her first day of school glory!
She was excited to be home with Arie, she missed him a little bit, even though his crawling and pulling himself up on everything is starting to cramp her style.

An attempt at a nap on the couch, yeah right.

This huge caterpillar was on the balcony yesterday, Amelia was fascinated, but wouldn't touch it.

The twins came over for a playdate last week. We are sad that they are moving, but we're happy for them because they are buying a house with a yard! We'll miss them, but they're not going that far so hopefully we can still have some playdates.

Self Timer Family Pictures

2010-09-17T14:51:00.000-07:00

A few Sundays ago, we were ready for church a little early, so we set up the self timer and tried to get some pictures. This was the best one, even though Arie's not even looking.

Isnt' he handsome?

Abuela made this dress and headband for Amelia. Thanks Abuela!

Family Reunion Day 5

2010-09-17T14:39:00.000-07:00

Sisters.

On Thursday August 19th, we headed to the lake with the boat. I tubed slowly and without getting very wet. Amelia loved the boat.

On Friday morning we woke up, cleaned and took off for Utah! Thanks Winnie and Linny for a great reunion.

Family Reunion Day 4

2010-09-17T14:24:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday August 18th, we had a fun day at the house. Here's Arie taking his morning nap with Shawny.
We got ready for family pictures in our awesome shirts.

Everyone except RIcky and JJ.

Uncle Marq, Aunt Marvene, Pompie, Donna, Marq, Melody and their kids all came up to have fun with us.

In the evening, Lindsey planned some awesome Olympics and let's just say it was awesome. Yellow team ruled. Ask Corey to see the chocolate pudding video.

Amelia stayed inside while the other kids had fun with the pinata.

Family Reunion Day 3

2010-09-17T14:17:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday August 17th, I stayed home with the kiddos while everyone went river rafting.

Family Reunion Day 2

2010-09-17T14:13:00.000-07:00

Amelia and Linc watching a movie.

On Monday August 16th, we drove up to Silver Creek Plunge. I have very vague memories of going here as a child. The water is naturally heated. There was a very shallow end and Amelia had fun with the cousins.

Family Reunion Day 1

2010-09-17T13:49:00.000-07:00

We left the house at 5:30 am on Sunday August 15th with Haylee and Megan and headed for the airport. The flights actually weren't two bad with my helpers. Amelia insisted on pulling Megan's suitcase through the airport and everyone was laughing at her.

At the end of the unbirthday party, Amelia ate her delicious chocolate cake with GJ.

All the grandkids.

Juju, Linny, Arie, Ryan and FC.

Linny and Arie

Amelia spent most of the reunion watching movies.

By far Amelia's favorite activity was 4wheeling, but her legs were too short to reach the gas, so someone had to drive her around, usually Kamilla.

She also stole Oli's scooter and said it was hers.

Haylee and Megan

2010-09-17T13:17:00.000-07:00

Haylee and Megan came to help me the week before the reunion and then they flew with the kids and me. They were such a big help!

We went to the zoo when it was 100 degrees, we were so hot.

Megan liked to take care of that baby.

I was surprised Amelia actually let Haylee do her hair.

Story time before bed.

Mt. Lemmon

2010-09-17T12:50:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of August, we drove up to Mt. Lemmon to enjoy nature and the cooler temperatures.

Beginning of August

2010-09-17T11:51:00.000-07:00

Here's a few pictures of us hanging out at the beginning of August!

Amelia at scouts, I was taking pictures of each of the boys and she had to have one too. She loves to go to scouts.

Playing in the crib together, you'll notice Arie likes to put things in his mouth.

Sitting together.

Amelia is very flexible and loves to do the splits.

My boy and me, check out those rolls!

6 months

2010-07-29T07:43:00.000-07:00

Arie had his 6 month checkup yesterday. He is 15 pounds 6 ounces and 25 inches long. He's in the lower percentile for size, but the doctor said he's healthy and his thighs are in the 100th percentile. He's almost sitting up by himself and he's army crawling everywhere. He's saying b's and p's and we're starting in on the vegetables, squash and carrots are a hit so far. We love him so much, he is such a good baby compared to some others, but I won't mention any names. He loves his big sister and it is so funny when she gets him laughing. He can't wait to get hugs from his family in a few weeks!

Swimming

2010-07-29T07:38:00.000-07:00

We had the twins over for a little pool time last week and Amelia had a great time splashing with them.
Arie is starting to like the water more and Amelia won't even let us touch her with her new floatie.

We've actually had some clouds and rain this week which has really cut into our pool time, but I'm not complaining. 99 degrees is better than 107.

Happy Anniversary

2010-07-29T07:32:00.000-07:00

We celebrated our 4th anniversay on July 15th. I got flowers and Ricky got socks. I'm a little more practical than he is. For those of you who know our story, it's quite a miracle that we met and got married. I won't get mushy here more than saying I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have found such a wonderful guy!

Staying Cool

2010-07-29T07:16:00.000-07:00

We stay inside as much as we can these days because of the hot weather, so here's a few pics of us around the house. Amelia's hair is really pretty when I actually do it, but this is a morning hair shot.
Walking in papi's dirty boots. Don't ask me why she has a coat on.

Arie likes to open his mouth very wide, it's not exactly a smile, but it's how he shows he can't contain his excitement.

Amelia got a new bed a few weeks ago. The first few nights she did really well, but I think the newness is wearing off. She usually comes looking for me at about 2 am.

She loves to run around in the apron nana made her and stuff her backpack full of stuff. She walks around telling me "bye" while she pushes the stroller.

She fell and scraped her nose on the sidewalk last week. She was pretty traumatized, but I think we're going to make it through.

Arie has masterd the army crawl and can get where ever he wants and what ever he wants.

Horse at the Library

2010-07-13T12:42:00.000-07:00

Today after story time at the library, they had some horses for the kids to pet. Amelia thought they were great! I couldn't believe how small this one was. They had other horses, but not in the shade, so we just stayed by this one.

Fourth of July Weekend

2010-07-13T12:34:00.001-07:00

Well, I didn't take a lot of pictures during the weekend, but here's what I do have from this month so far. Here's Amelia after she was eating a crayon the other day. You can see the blue on her teeth. I was on the phone with Wendy and I think she was trying to get some attention.

Relaxing with Papi.

We've been swimming a lot lately. Amelia is getting better every time we go.

Here's the Jell-o cake I made for our friend's bbq.

Arie in his new hat, it's a little big, but it keeps him out of the sun.

June

2010-07-09T09:02:00.000-07:00

Well, we made it through June with temperatures over 100 degrees. Only 3 more months to go, I think we can make it. I've decided the dry heat is better than humidity, so I'm trying to appreciate it. Here's a few random pictures. Amelia has been in swimming lessons and she is really improving. Ricky finally switched to early days, so we have somewhat of a schedule now. Pottytraining is on hold, again. I just don't feel like fighting her and maybe she'll do it when she's ready.

Arie isn't too sure about this.

She doesn't like to eat alone.

I know the flash is bad, but can you see the funny face he is making? He smacks his lips together, it is so funny. He has one tooth out on the bottom.

Arie found a girlfriend.

He is such a happy boy!

We started some rice cereal and he really likes eating.

Let's see if we can keep cool for a few more weeks! We can't wait for the family reunion!

Itsy Bitsy Spider

2010-07-09T08:31:00.000-07:00

Kids

2010-06-04T13:49:00.000-07:00

Amelia got a hold of Ricky's ear things he wears for shooting.

She put all this on herself. That's a tshirt on the bottom half.

I love this picture. He is so smiley.

Her new favorite phrase is "Watch a movie? OK"

My handsome boy. He is growing so much. He can roll both ways now. At his 4 month check up he was 14 pounds.

Children's Museum

2010-06-04T13:21:00.000-07:00

We had one free pass for the children's museum, so we decided to go on Friday, May 28th. It wasn't crowded and Amelia really had fun.

Outside looking cool in her glasses.

Even RE had fun!

Home

2010-06-04T13:11:00.000-07:00

After 15 hours of travelling, we finally made it home. After a day of laundry and cleaning we are a little more recovered and getting back to normal. We really miss the beach though!

He's chunking up a bit.

Amelia is so sweet with RE. She says "I lub you" all the time.

New chalk for the patio.

This is outside the zoo. She spent 15 minutes getting on and off.

The pediatrician said we could start giving RE water in a sippy cup, but Amelia thinks she needs to help him. "He's thirsty" she says.

May 21: Goodbyes

2010-06-04T12:36:00.000-07:00

Some of Ricky's family came over to say goodbye to us the morning we left. It was sad, but nice to see everyone.

Tio Willy

Cousins

Abuelo y Abuela with all their grandkids.

Abuela y RE

Ricky, RE, and Abuelos

Annette

We had a wonderful time in PR and we can't wait to go back. Our house is there if anyone wants to go stay!

May 19-20: Tia and Splash Park

2010-06-04T12:23:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, we went to Lajas to busy some bread and visit Ricky's aunt and cousin.

On Thursday we went to the splash park in Aguadilla.

We were a little early, so we played at the park for a while.

Last time we took her to the splash park in Tucson, she was still a little timid, but she wanted to go through every splash she could. She wants you to hold her hand and go with her, but usually I just pushed her through.

I hung out with RE on the sidelines until Amelia wanted me. We had fun, but it was sad knowing it was our last real day.

After the splash park we got pollo al carbon and arroz con gandules on the side of the road and took it to crashboat. I couldn't get any pictures because we had both kids. The water is deeper there and Amelia wouldn't let me touch her. The rain moved in so we had to go home.

May 17 : Beach

2010-06-04T12:11:00.000-07:00

On Monday, we went to a different beach that has a little better snorkeling, Montones.

We had her legs buried, but she got up before I could get the camera.

This is where the Grimmers were living when I went to see them after my mission.

When we got home we played with the cousins, Eliazar and

Adrian.

May 15-16: Rio Mar and Earthquake

2010-06-04T11:29:00.000-07:00

Some of Ricky's friends invited us to go to the bioluminescent bay in Fajardo, but it was late at night and I couldn't take the kids. So we decided to go spend the day at a resort and then Ricky went with his friends at night. We went to the Rio Mar beach resort, which was actually where Karli took me on my first trip to PR. It was fun to be back.

They have iguanas ALL over the place.

This is what RE did while we swam.

Amelia literally went on this slide 100 times.

Our little fish.

Ricky teases me about my teeth in this picture. He says he's never seen me that happy.

This one actually swam in the pool, got out, and then climbed a tree.

Ricky left at about 6:00 pm, because you have to go to the bio bay when its dark. He got back around 1:00 am and went to bed. I got up to feed RE and while I was feeding him, everything started shaking. We were on the 6th floor and it was pretty scary. The earthquake was only a 5.8, but it felt really strong. It took me a while to go back to sleep, but I finally did. I kept worrying about a tsunami, but then I realized that's from earthquakes that happen under the ocean, so we were safe.

On Sunday we found a little branch to go to church and headed home. We had a fast, but great mini vacation.

May 13-14 : Arecibo lighthouse

2010-06-04T11:07:00.000-07:00

It was rainy on Friday again, so we just hung out with the family. Here's RE with his cousing Adrian.
Abuelo y Abuela with their grandkids.

On Thursday, we let Amelia sleep in a little and then we went to the lighthouse in Arecibo.

They have a playground which was great because Amelia is really into climbing now. She grabs onto anything she can and says "climb up".

They have replicas of the nina, pinta, and santa maria and a pirate ship.

Why is my picture sideways?

The lighthouse from down below. I couldn't get any when we walked up to see it because Amelia was trying to jump off the deck into the ocean.

Chasing the chickens.

May 10-12: Boat

2010-05-25T15:45:00.000-07:00

We relaxed at home on Monday and Tuesday, it was a little rainy again.

On Wednesday, Ricky went with his friends Luis and Ramon in the boat around Aguadilla. Luis got a cover for the boat, but Ricky got sunburnt very bad. They went to this old sugar bridge and snorkeled. Ramon caught this fish with the spear gun and then we ate it for dinner.

May 8-9: RE's Blessing

2010-05-25T15:37:00.000-07:00

On Saturday it was rainy so we stayed in and spent time with Ricky's family. On Sunday, Ricky gave RE his baby blessing. He was a little emotional when he was doing the blessing, I think he was a little overwhelmed at how wonderful it is to have a son and to see our family growing. I truly hope RE turns out like his Papi. What a great Mother's day to have my little boy blessed!

I just think this picture is funny.

May 7: Beach

2010-05-25T15:31:00.000-07:00

On Friday we went to the beach again. It was so nice and the water was so warm and clear. Amelia loves "swimming". She runs to me and then to Papi and back and forth. We made some turtles in the sand and found some shells. We did a great job of using sunscreen this trip. I got a nice little tan.

May 5-6: Beach and Zoo

2010-05-25T15:17:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday we finally went to the beach! But I didn't take my camera out because we were too busy keeping Amelia from drowning. RE stayed with Abuela while we had fun. We did take this one picture on the way home. We passed a cemetery and we saw a coffin in the dumpster. Ricky said it was very common for this cemetery to dump old coffins to make room for new ones.

On Thursday we tried the zoo again. It was hot, but fun, Amelia loves animals.
Sorry, that's the best shot of the elephant I could get.

Emu, not an ostrich.
10 points if you can you spot the iguana.

Hippos cooling off.

RE slept most of the time, as usual.

But he was happy when we told him the tigers wanted to eat him.

Papi loves the hippos. It's kind of hard to see them there in the back. They were so purple.

May 2 - 4 : Church and Park

2010-05-25T15:08:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, we woke up very tired, and headed to church. It was so great to see everyone and to see how our little branch was doing.

On Monday we relaxed with Ricky's family and Amelia got to know her cousin Adrian. It rained quite a bit.

On Tuesday, we tried to go to the zoo in Mayaguez, but it was closed. So instead we headed to Parque Colon in Aguadilla. Here's Amelia playing. She kept saying Hola to a little boy there, but he wouldn't talk to her.

Here's a picture of RE. He is usually asleep in the stroller when we do things and Winnie says we don't post enough pictures of him.

After the park, we went home and got out Amelia's baby pool for her and Adrian to cool off in.

May 1 - Getting to PR

2010-05-25T14:53:00.000-07:00

We left Tucson at 7:30 am. Getting to Isabela actually wasn't too bad. The hardest part was the first plane trip to Houston. The seats were 2 and 1. So Ricky sat in the 1, but they wouldn't let him hold RE because of the oxygen masks. Amelia can't sit on the aisle because she runs away, so I basically had both kids to myself. Luckily, RE is an angel.

Amelia loves airplanes. When she sees them take off she says "there it goes" and gets very excited. We got to San Juan about 10:30 pm local time, and got the rental car and drove the 2 hours to Isabela. Abuelos were waiting up for us, but we were so tired, we just crashed.

The best part was when I walked to the house and saw a coqui right on the wall! These are very small frogs that make a sound like "coqui". I've only seen one during my time in PR and here one was to greet me!

Recovering and Getting ready to GO!

2010-04-24T11:12:00.000-07:00

We've all been sick the past two weeks, but we are all feeling much better. Here's a few pictures of us hanging around the house.
Amelia loves spaghetti right now. She's still learning how to stay clean when she eats. We usually strip her down for spaghetti.

RE is getting bigger everyday. He loves to smile and laugh, especially at Amelia.

My boys, are they twins or what?

He is liking tummy time more and more. He can roll from his tummy to his back.

Amelia is still a very good sister. She loves to give hugs and kisses. She says hola and shakes RE's hand. I hope they always get along this well.

He wasn't very long when he was born, only 18 inches, but he is growing a lot.

It seems like I'm the one always taking the picture, so I wanted to be in one, but Amelia wasn't very cooperative.

We got Amelia a little table and she likes the freedom, now she can take a bite and run around before the next bite.

She loves to rub his head. A lot of his hair has fallen out, I'm interested to see if it will grow back the same, he doesn't seem to have any curl. We still don't know what color his eyes are, they're just dark if that makes sense.

My sleepy boys. We leave for PR next Saturday and we can't wait!

VIdeo

2010-04-13T18:11:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter!

2010-04-07T15:00:00.001-07:00

We had a great Easter. Amelia woke up and found what the Easter bunny brought her, then we enjoyed conference, and then we went to our friend's house for dinner. We were so glad that Papi had the day off work.

Amelia finding eggs around the living room.

The Easter bunny grout RE and Amelia some new clothes, puzzles and a bowling set.

RE continues to be a great baby. He rarely cries and he's only waking up once a night now. He is getting bigger and fatter every day. He loves to smile and talk. We sure do love him!

We had our ward Easter party the week before Easter. Amelia really got the concept of finding the eggs to get the candy.

Waiting for the hunt to start.
Her first egg, she can tell there's something inside.

Thanks for the cute basket Winnie!

Easter dress.

We really enjoyed the Easter holiday, but we can't wait for our trip to PR, less than a month!

Amelia

2010-04-07T14:56:00.000-07:00

Air Show

2010-03-21T16:08:00.000-07:00

We headed out to the Air Show at the air force base yesterday. We spent most of the time in traffic, but we had a great time. The airplanes were amazing and Amelia loved them.

Her favorite part was playing in the helicopter.

Family Fun

2010-03-19T15:47:00.000-07:00

Amelia loves to have her picture taken.

He is definitely getting some cheeks.

RE has been a great baby. He is still sleeping and eating most of the day. He is starting to smile, but it is very hard to capture it on camera.

It's very tight on this chair with 3 people, but that's hard to explain to Amelia.

She loves her papi.

2 months

2010-03-19T15:40:00.000-07:00

We sure love our little boy!

Amelia and RE

2010-03-19T15:33:00.000-07:00

Here's a few pics of sister and brother!

2 Year Old

2010-03-19T15:25:00.000-07:00

Amelia is having a lot of fun being two. She loves to sing songs, read books, and play with her toys. She is a great sister and takes good care of RE. Here's another crazy hair picture, I really don't know what to do, but I don't want to cut it.

Amelia wore her Easter dress a little early this year.

I bought a big pack of toilet paper and Amelia used it as a bed.

We're trying to use headbands to keep her hair out of her face. This is what happens when she puts it on herself.

Shelly sent us a big box of potato heads and parts and she is having a blast!

Mt. Lemmon

2010-03-19T15:15:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we headed up to the mountain to see the snow. Unfortunately, the ranger wouldn't let us pass because we didn't have 4 wheel drive or chains. So we headed back down and stopped at a lookout. No snow, but it was fun. Here's Amelia all bundled up.

Nana's here!

2010-02-19T13:55:00.000-08:00

Having Fun with the baby

2010-02-19T13:36:00.000-08:00

I can't believe he's 4 weeks old. We are having fun and adjusting well. A little tired, but that's expected.

Brother and sister.

Papi y RE.

She's nursing her baby.

She wants to touch and kiss him all the time, but she's been very nice so far.

Cruising on her new bike.

Nana brought her neck pillow, but A thinks its a baby boppy. She is really into nursing. If she didn't have a onsie on, her shirt would be down.

Waking up.

Sleepy boy.

Papi y Amelia.

Upside down.

Being silly. Check out the Olympics in the back.

So happy together, although RE doesn't look so sure.

Double chin.

I'm a big boy.

Happy 2nd Birthday

2010-02-19T13:28:00.000-08:00

She got this bear from Abuelo y Abuela, she also got 2 beautiful dresses that Abuela made, look for them in future posts.

She had a little trouble blowing out the trick candles. I accidentally bought a whole pack.

Enjoying the goods.

Her new tricycle, she's not quite strong enough to pedal yet.

She also got a flashlight because she is always playing with Ricky's, and more food for her play kitchen.

Bye Lin, Hello Shelly

2010-02-19T13:18:00.000-08:00

Going Home

2010-02-18T14:22:00.000-08:00

Ricardo Evan Cabrera

2010-02-18T14:07:00.000-08:00

We checked in to the hospital at 8:00 am. My doctor broke my water at 9:00 and started me on the pitocin. By about 11 the contractions were pretty bad so I had some drugs through my IV. They helped for a while, I had a funny converstation with Ricky about our future farm in Puerto Rico. At about 12:45 I asked for an epidural and they had it in by 1:00. As soon as that took effect, I was ready to go and we just waited for the doctor. I pushed for less than 10 minutes and he was out. Ricardo Evan Cabrera was born at 1:38 pm on January 20, 2010. He was 6 pounds 11 ounces and 18 inches long.

Lin came to see me the next morning.

Ricky was very happy to be able to hold the baby this time!

On our way home!

Amelia and Lincoln

2010-02-18T13:56:00.000-08:00

Thanks for coming Lin and Linc. We had a great time with you!

Baby Shower

2010-02-18T13:47:00.000-08:00

My friends Katie and Amber threw me the nicest baby shower! No games, just food and talking, I loved it! THis was on Jan. 16, the saturday before RE was born.

It was so nice to have Lin there. Ricky watched A and Linc for us.

Random

2010-02-18T13:40:00.000-08:00

Looking cool with her sunglasses.

Sleeping on the kitchen floor with my shoes on.

Her shirt is full of crayons.

In her cage, again with my shoes on.

The only picture I got when the Grimmers were here.

Christmas

2010-02-18T13:33:00.000-08:00

Here's a few pictures of A opening presents.

Amelia's Quiet Book

2009-12-24T13:31:00.000-08:00

Thanks to ideas and links from Wendy, I was able to make this Quiet book for Amelia. It only took me a few days and I really only used felt and the glue gun.

Here's the cover, I don't know if you can tell, but those are pictures of Amelia.
Page 1: You can button, tie the bow, and zip the zipper, which is the pocket where you keep the shapes for page 2.
Page 2: Shape matching, one set of shapes is glued down and you match with the other set.

Pages 3 and 4: The Ocean, the bottom left is the pocket

Page 5: Rainbow, clouds, sun, mountains which are the pocket.

Page 6: Barn with animals, I'm not very good at cutting out animals freehand, I need to use a template. The doors on the bottome open too, but the top part is actually the pocket.

Page 7: Letters, Amelia's name (all in pink) and the alphabet in various colors.
Page 8: Flowers and leaves, the pot is the pocket.

We'll see tomorrow if she likes it! Thanks for the help Winnie!

Gingerbread House

2009-12-22T10:36:00.000-08:00

Amelia felt the need to get cozy the other afternoon. She wanted her jammies and hat on. She was very cozy for the rest of the day.

We decorated a gingerbread house for family home evening last night. Amelia hasn't really had candy before, but she loved it.

Can you see the blue candy in her mouth?

Papi did most of the frosting and I did most of the candy. I think it turned out pretty good!

Here's my angel that my mom made me. I had to lay a pretty heavy guilt trip, but I got it! Now we are ready for Christmas!

Christmas Pictures

2009-12-22T10:29:00.000-08:00

We were trying to use self timer.

Is it weird that one ponytail is longer than the other?

Red Dress

2009-12-22T10:23:00.000-08:00

Karli said this was Haylee's dress and has been through her girls and now Amelia. She got a lot of compliments at church and just looked ready for Christmas.

She hasn't tasted a candy cane yet, but she loves to break them.

Zoo Lights

2009-12-22T10:21:00.000-08:00

Children's Museum

2009-12-22T10:13:00.000-08:00

Our playgroup went to the Children's Museum in November and Amelia had a great time. She's learning to interact a little more with the exhibits. Rolling in the rain forest room. They have a dance dance revolution game, but I couldn't get an action shot.

Building in the rain forest room.

THis is a new exhibit they put in called Veterinarian. They have stuffed animals and Amelia is actually sitting in one of the cages. They have an area to "wash" the animals and take their x-rays, it's pretty cool.

Backpack and French Braids

2009-12-22T10:07:00.000-08:00

Amelia loves to wear Papi's backpack, but it is way too big. We got her a little one for Christmas so we'll see how she likes it. This is her french braids at the end of the day.

Can you see how she is crossing her legs like Papi? She copies everything he does.

Front view of braids.

Back view of braids. I have to put on a movie so she is hypnotized enough to let me do it.

Puerto Rican

2009-11-19T13:12:00.000-08:00

Abuelo y Abuela sent Amelia a typical Puerto Rican outfit.

Just Having Fun

2009-11-19T13:08:00.000-08:00

New Camera

2009-11-05T12:28:00.000-08:00

Just testing out the new camera!

Cheese!
Julie gave me some great instruction on how to cut Ricky's hair and it really turned out good! Thanks Juju!

"I can actually hear you getting fatter."

Trip to Washington

2009-11-05T12:15:00.000-08:00

Ricky had to go to camp last weekend, so Amelia and I went to Washington for a few days (thanks to Nana!) We had a great time seeing everyone and celebrating Halloween.

Steven didn't want to look at the camera, so Shawn helped him.

Amelia on Oliver's bed.

Cousins!

More cousins!
I'm not sure why they are grabbing their feet.

Quite the little model.

Bye Nana, thanks for a great trip!

Growing

2009-10-26T16:10:00.001-07:00

Amelia and I are both growing a lot!

Halloween Preview

2009-10-26T16:09:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin Carving

2009-10-26T16:02:00.000-07:00

Ricky has never carved a pumpkin before, so we let him do it all this year!

We think he did a pretty great job! Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-19T12:10:00.000-07:00

Amelia and I headed to the pumpkin patch last Saturday. It turned out to be 98 degrees, which broke the record so we didn't stay too long. We bought Amelia a little pumpkin from the store last week and she walks around calling it her "cunkin". So she was very excited when she saw the fields full of big pumpkins.

She had a little trouble walking around all the brambles.

She really wanted this one but it was broken.

This is us on the tractor ride out to the fields. I broke my camera so I was taking pictures with the video camera.

They also had a petting zoo that Amelia loved. Here she is with a little lop.

They gave us a cup of food and none of the animals wanted to eat except for this llama. I was worried at first because his teeth were huge, but he actually sucked the food up with his lips.

This goat was baaing like crazy and Amelia was copying it.

We ended up with a 12 pound pumpkin, that was all I could carry by myself. We had a fun day!

Last month

2009-10-19T11:53:00.000-07:00

We have been busy this month. Amelia is growing and having fun. She is talking a lot more and is always doing silly things. She loves being wrapped up in her "cankie" even though it is still hot here all the time.
You can see my cheeks are getting fatter.

She got this baby from Nana for Christmas, but has just recently started taking care of her.

We finally got her swimmies and then our pool closed. I can't understand why they would close the pool with the hot weather still here.

I can't believe in four months she'll be two and she'll be a big sister!

Ultrasound

2009-09-09T15:03:00.000-07:00

Here he is! Now we just need a name.

The technician typed that on the picture, not me.

They said everything looked good!

That's a foot, if you can't tell.

Trail Dust Town

2009-09-09T14:53:00.000-07:00

There's this place close to where we live called Trail Dust Town. I think it used to be like a movie set for westerns or something. So you can walk around and see all the little shops and there's a restaurant that mainly serves steak. They also have a little train you can ride around and a carousel. We had a great time!

We went on a Monday night and there weren't very many people there. The carousel cost $1 and the guy let us ride forever! Ricky finally asked him how long it was and the guy said as long as we wanted not bad for a buck.

My camera is very slow on the action shots, but you can kind of see the excitement on her face.

On the train.

Ricky and Amelia in jail.

Zoom in if you can, she has some funny expressions.

Zoo and other things

2009-09-09T14:48:00.000-07:00

Steamroller action shots.

18 months

2009-08-16T14:33:00.000-07:00

Amelia turned 18 months this past Wednesday! She is such a big girl. She is talking a lot and loves to copy what I say. I accidentally called her a psycho the other day and now she walks around saying "psycho, psycho, psycho." She loves to swim and play in the water, do puzzles, help clean up and do laundry. Today was her first day in nursery and she could have cared less that we were gone and didn't want to leave at the end. She did have a small battle wound on the top of her head, but it was really nice to hear a lesson in church. God bless those nursery leaders. Here are a few pictures of her in her new strawberry dress. I wish you could see her hair better, she has cute red bows in her pigtails. She loves to give hugs and kisses and every night after scriptures she sits down on the floor and folds her arms for family prayer. She then proceeds to sit on my lap and then switches to Ricky's lap, and on and on until the prayer is over. If you ask her where the baby is she points to her stomach. She is a nut most of the time and we love her so much!

Bye

2009-08-16T14:26:00.000-07:00

One day last week, Amelia grabbed a hat, one shoe, a bag and headed for the door. She kept trying to open the door by squeezing her fingers between the door and frame and saying "Bye" over and over again. I'm not sure where her shirt was.

She's grabbing her belly in case you didn't notice how big it was.

We got this hat from Millie and it's a little tight, but Amelia insists on wearing it.

Needless to say, we did not go out until she was fully clothed and hat both shoes.

Splash Park

2009-08-16T14:21:00.000-07:00

We found this new little splash park that's close to our house and Amelia loves it. We went early in the morning on a Monday and there was no one there at first. She was a little scared of some of the things, especially after she got a bucket of water dumped on her, but by the end she was running through everything. The water was so cold and it felt so good in the heat. We would live there if we had the car everyday.

Random pictures

2009-08-16T14:16:00.000-07:00

Her hair is always a mess, but she's just so cute. I guess my hair is always a mess too. My cheeks aren't getting too fat yet.

Shelly?

Fun with a box.

She loves riding on dad's shoulders.

Zoom in on her face if you can, it's a classic.

Playing at the Park

2009-08-16T14:08:00.000-07:00

Her eyes are definitely on the greener side, but she might just have weasel eyes yet.

She can slide pretty well on her own, but we still like to be there to catch her.

These stairs aren't very safe for her, she could fall right off the side! I did that once at Star Elementary.

Cheese!

We rarely get to the park these days because of the heat, but we were actually under 100 one day last week. We might just make it through the summer.

Fun with cousins

2009-07-04T12:18:00.000-07:00

Amelia and I had a great vacation with the family. We started out in Oregon with the Grimmers. We had a lot of fun with them. Then we all drove up to Seattle to see Shawn, Emma, Stevie, Nana, and the Irish family. JJ showed up that day too. We went to Ethan's party, which was very fun and a little cold, thanks for moving the date Julie. Then Amelia and I flew to Atlanta to spend the week with the Denisons. We had a great time, thanks everyone!

Enjoying a Smoothie

2009-06-08T13:10:00.000-07:00

Amelia really enjoys her banana smoothies!

Books

2009-06-08T13:07:00.001-07:00

Amelia's really getting "in"to books.

Giraffe

2009-06-08T12:47:00.000-07:00

Amelia got a little giraffe tricycle and loves it! She's still learning how to go forward, but she can go backward. Sometimes she just pushes it by the handles and steamrolls everything.