Owen's First Halloween

It's no secret that my husband and I are Star Wars fanatics - during our wedding recessional, we walked down the aisle to the Star Wars theme song; our firstborn son was either going to be named Luke, Lucas, or Owen; and there are just dozens and dozens of Star Wars toys, posters, figurines, etc. in our home.

So when family and friends were asking what Owen was going to be for his first Halloween, it didn't take very long for me to decide that he was going to be a Star Wars character...and it didn't take very long after that for me to decide that he was going to be Wicket, the Ewok.

Of course, I wanted to incorporate Ralph, Wendy, and myself in the Halloween fun, so I was going to be Princess Leia (Endor outfit, of course), Ralph was going to be Han, and Wendy was going to be Darth Vader. And since Star Wars costumes are usually expensive, I wanted to try and make as many of the outfits as I can.

Having ZERO experience with a sewing machine and never even been at the "Fabrics" section at Joann's, I came to the conclusion (almost right away) that I was in way over my head. I mean, I wanted to make our costumes from SCRATCH, for crying out loud! And by "scratch", I do mean buy-yards-of-fabric-and-cut-them-into-pieces-then-sew-them-together "scratch". After trying (and failing) with Owen's, I realized that the only outfit that I could make was Leia's poncho. And I did.

So what was I to do about Owen's outfit? I found a DIY tutorial on how to make an Ewok costume on Pinterest, and it sounded sooo easy - just combine a bear costume with an orange t-shirt, and voila! You're done! Uhhh, no. For the life of me, I could not find an inexpensive dark brown bear costume NOR an orange t-shirt. Luckily, Owen had a dark brown onesie, and I just bought a bright orange t-shirt and used brown dye to tone down the color. Here is a more detailed step-by-step of how I made Owen's Wicket Costume.

It's a good thing Ralph's was easy to make because I was OVER IT after finishing mine and Owen's. Overall, I'm happy with the outcome. Ralph's pants should have been brown, but dark brown slacks (just like dark brown bear outfits and orange t-shirts) were hard to come by.

We went to my parents' house in Irvine to have dinner and go Trick-or-Treating around the neighborhood. We were joined by Ralph's mom and cousin Bella! I didn't get any good pictures while we were Trick-or-Treating because it was too dark...but Owen didn't last very long anyway. We only went to about a dozen houses before he rested his head on his Daddy's shoulders, which means he has "tapped out".

His "Can you stop taking pictures of me so I can go to sleep?" face.

Of course, the candy that Owen collected today is really for his mommy and daddy (sorry, son), but my mom was kind enough to make him a Halloween basket with baby-friendly snacks. :)

Until next year! Hope everyone had a Happy (and safe!) Halloweeeeeen!

Ralph's 30th Birthday

I've known Ralph for 10 years, been with him for 9 years, and been married to him for 2 years. Do you know how many Christmases, Valentine's Days, and Anniversaries we've celebrated together? A LOT. And by now, you'd think I would've run out of things to do/buy for him, but I'm very fortunate that Ralph is easy to please and has a never-ending wish list of nerdy things he wants.

But for his 30th birthday, I knew I had to do something awesome. I wanted to do a scavenger hunt! So this morning, Owen woke up at his usual time (5:30am), and I had him wake up his dad with a birthday card. It read:

Good morning, Daddy! Happy Birthday!

Be prepared to do lots of searching, okay?

For around our home are little bags hidden,

And inside each one is a clue and a token.

These clues will lead you to your new toy.

Mommy, Wendy, and I hope it brings you much joy!

So now it's time for you to get outta bed.

The first clue is right under your head!

Each clue had a Disney Star Wars Pin. Time for Ralph to start another collection! :)

So the first clue was right under Ralph's pillow, and I had to sneak that in there right before he woke up. Here are the rest of the clues. (I had so much fun writing them in Owen's perspective!)

CLUE #1

This white basket is full

of lots of fun things.

Clue #2 may be under 

my teething rings.

(Answer: Owen's toy basket in the living room.)

CLUE #2

I'm immediately taken here

if I've had a massive poo.

Draw back the curtain,

and you'll find the next clue.

(Answer: The bath tub.)

CLUE #3

You're more than halfway there!

Isn't this fun?

You buckle me in here

when we go for a run.

(Answer: Owen's jogging stroller.)

CLUE #4

Put on your shoes.

You need to take a walk.

I'm usually strapped in here

whenever I hear the Ace Man* talk.

(Answer: Owen's car seat. In my car.)

*Ralph and I usually listen to Adam Carolla's (aka The Ace Man) podcast in the car.

FINAL CLUE

Are you getting excited?

This is the last clue!

Come back and find me.

I have something for you!

I needed Ralph to leave the apartment so I could take out his present from its hiding spot (and also to take a quick snap of this little dude.)

Even Owen helped Daddy open his present.

Needless to stay, Ralph is stoked about his new toy. I'm pretty sure he'll start building that thing later today.

After the scavenger hunt, I took Ralph to eat at Stacks Pancake House. Luckily for us, we arrived a little before 7am, and it wasn't busy at all.

Nutella S'Mores French Toast was uh-mazing.

And after that, Ralph wanted to take Owen down the street to the park while it was still cool. Of course, no one else was there, so we had the whole playground to ourselves. It was Owen's first time, and he really enjoyed the swings. Ralph and I took him down a few slides, but he wasn't really into it...but I think he was just sleepy.

AND THEN AFTER THAT...we went to Target to do some grocery shopping. So a scavenger hunt, breakfast, fun at the park, and a trip to Target...all by 9am on a Saturday. I think we'll spend the rest of this hot SoCal day indoors, watching sports and eating junk.

Oh, and HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY, RALPH! Can't wait to celebrate the next 30 birthdays (and more) with you. :)

"Sun's Out, Guns Out!" - Four Months

Fun Facts About Owen:

• Started rolling from back to tummy (June 12th).
• Had his first laughing session (June 23rd).
• Still loves watching his "Heffalumps and Woozles" scene.

The month of June has been very eventful! 

FIRST off, I went back to work earlier this month. It was a Thursday, which was great, since I only had to work two days before it was the weekend...it made for an easier transition. Surprisingly, I didn't cry at all that day, but I think it's because I cried the night before and the night before that. And it was also comforting to know that Owen was with Ralph, who had the day off.

I tell ya...working full-time as a nurse and taking care of a baby is exhausting! And I absolutely hate pumping...not that it hurts or anything; it's just time-consuming. I pump 2 to 3 times at work, and I'm constantly washing bottles and breast pump accessories. I was really worried that I wouldn't be able to pump enough milk for the baby, but it seems to be going well. I planned on breastfeeding Owen for a year, so let's hope I can keep it up.

But you know what I recently learned about breastfed babies? They don't typically sleep through the night. Why? Because breast milk digests faster than formula, so breastfed babies need to eat more frequently...oy vey. So, because of that (and the fact that I'm practically a zombie at the end of the day), I have developed this horrible habit of breastfeeding Owen lying down (in bed) and NOT moving him back to his crib after he falls asleep because either A) I fall asleep too, or B) I don't want to wake him up so I CAN sleep.

I know, I know...I'm setting myself up for failure for when Owen needs to sleep on his own when he's older, but I cannot help it - I. Need. Sleep. And I know experts say that co-sleeping is bad, but I actually feel more comfortable when Owen sleeps next to me. Since he started rolling, he is able to do so WHILE HE'S ASLEEP! And I have woken up a couple of times at night to check up on him when he's in his crib, only to find him sleeping facedown, which is obviously terrifying! So when he sleeps next to me, I'm able to wake up whenever I feel him attempting to roll onto his tummy.

And he's generally in a better mood when he wakes up next to his Mama. :)

SECOND, my baby brother Matthew graduated from high school! With Honors! He'll be going to CSULB this Fall, and I cannot be more proud of him. It's gonna be a busy and emotional summer for my folks, since Matthew will be living on campus, thus leaving my folks all alone! But I'm sure they'll get over it soon, haha!

And THIRD, it was Ralph's first Father's Day and my dad's first Father's Day as a grandpa. Unfortunately, Ralph had work, but we were able to celebrate the day before by having lunch at BJ's. On the actual Father's Day, my parents and brother came over, and we just hung out and watched some World Cup games (Go Team USA! Duh...).

Owen's gift to Daddy - a gigantic "itty bitty" Darth Vader...which can hold other Star Wars "itty bitty"s!

Owen's gift to Lolo - "How to Babysit a Grandpa".

On top of all these events and milestones, Owen has also attended his cousin Destiny's graduation party and his other cousin Samiya's birthday party in the SAME weekend! This kid has a full schedule already, lol! Owen has his 4-month appointment next week, and I'm hoping his doctor will give us the okay to start feeding him rice cereal and pureed foods. He has been more observant while Ralph and I are eating, and he tries to grab our food if he's sitting on our laps. I just hope he's not a picky eater like his Daddy. :)

I'll try to blog more frequently and not just when it's time to share Owen's monthly photo. In the mean time, here are a few of my favorite photos of him within the past month.

Notice the pink lipstick mark on his forehead. Thanks, Auntie Jen!

Wendy and Owen sharing secrets.

39 Weeks...STILL PREGNANT

Oh my goodness...with the way everything has been going, I thought I'd have the baby by now, but nope! Baby boy is STILL residing in my belly, and there have been absolutely no other signs of labor. I saw my doctor last Thursday, and he said I'm still 60% effaced and only 1 cm dilated. So much for having this baby before his due date. *Sigh* It's alright. The baby will come out when he's ready, and, unfortunately, he's not quite ready as Mama is.

How far along?: 39 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +25 lbs (AHHHH!!!)
Sleep: A LOT more tossing and turning, that's for sure. The BHC wake me up at night, not to mention all the dreams I'm having of going into labor.
Best moment this week: Probably getting our home ready for this baby. It's been a long and tiring process, but the nursery is done, and our entire apartment is CLEAN! It just gives me peace of mind, knowing that I can go into labor at any moment and not worry about bringing baby home to a clean environment.
Movement: He's still tumbling around in there.
Symptoms: Refer to "Labor Signs".
Symptoms I DON'T have: Itchy skin, heartburn, and sciatica.
Food cravings: Nothing in particular...same ol' stuff.

Food aversions: Nothing!
Gender: Boy!
Labor Signs: Dilation and effacement; low back pain, pubic pain, BHC, "nesting".
Belly Button in or out?: Flat. I'm already 39 weeks - pretty sure it's not going to pop out.
What I miss: Sleeping comfortably!
What I am looking forward to: This baby coming OUT.
Weekly Wisdom: BE PATIENT.
Milestones: Mama is officially on maternity leave! I'm pretty proud of myself for working till 39 weeks. I would have kept going, but everyone is telling me that I need to prepare and rest for labor.

And here are some more pictures of the nursery. It's preeeettttttyy much done - just gotta move the Death Star from the desk to a side table to the left of the dresser. I may put up more Star Wars decor, but, for now, it's good to go. (Still missing are a fan and a humidifier.)

38 Weeks - Baby Shower #2, Nursery, and Other Updates

Baby Herrera Update

I went to see my OB-GYN this past Wednesday for my 37-week check-up. I was looking forward to this appointment since I saw him 6 days before...because I wanted to know if I was dilated/effaced! (Dilation is the gradual opening of the cervix, and effacement is the thinning of the cervix.) To my surprise, I was 60% effaced, which means...I'm in the very early stages of labor. HURRAY! Unfortunately, I am not yet dilated, but my doctor thinks that I may actually deliver before my due date. Fine by me!

Finding out whether I was dilated/effaced or not also helped me to decide when I'd take off for maternity leave. If I was dilated, I'd just finish off the week; if I wasn't dilated, then I'd work until I was 39 weeks - so...yes, I'm working one more week. Am I crazy? Yeah, probably, but I don't want to take off too early because you only get 6 weeks of paid maternity leave. And I'd rather have more time off after the baby is born than before.

Baby Shower #2

Yesterday, Ralph's mom, sister, and grandmother threw us another baby shower! This one was held at Papa Joe's Pizza in Riverside, and in attendance were Ralph's side of the family. We had so much fun, and the decorations were AWESOME! A huge thank you to Ralph's mom, sister, and grandma for setting up and hosting the shower. And, of course, a big thank you to all of those who came and gave the baby more burp cloths, wash cloths, and diapers than we could ever hope for! Here are a few pictures from yesterday:

I mean...c'mon. COOLEST CAKE EVER! I was given the difficult task of cutting this amazing cake...I really didn't want to! Thank you, Liz Perez! Check out her Instagram: @kustomgoodies.

AND we had stormtrooper cupcakes!

With Ralph's Grandma Mary...

...and his cousins Valerie and Angela!

Thank you, Becky/Nana, Jen, and our gift opener Desirae! And Grandma Angelina (not pictured...bummer)!

Fatso Peanut received so many gifts that my poor husband had to make several trips to and from our car to bring all the gifts inside the apartment. Once everything was in our living room, I was absolutely pumped to get things organized. Some people call this is "the nesting instinct",  but I'm just one of those people who can only stand clutter to a certain degree. I mean, honestly, you'd want to clean this up too, pregnant or not!

Let the organizing begin!

I stayed up until 3:00am organizing everything and even started washing some of the clothes, blankets, cloths (burp/wash), bibs, etc...and boy, did I knock out when I went to bed.

Nursery Preview

Fast forward to this morning...

I woke up surprisingly early, but lying in bed isn't so comfortable these days...so I got up and got to work. While clothes/blankets/cloths/bibs were being washed, I decided to give Ralph a break and assemble the last piece of furniture that needed assembling - a desk. Oh. My. Goodness. I don't know what the heck I was thinking, but I just wanted to get it done, especially since Ralph was back to working his regular schedule.

It was simple enough, but I had to take several breaks. And I PROMISE you...the whole thing was not that heavy, and I did not overexert myself. :)

And then afterwards, I washed, folded, and organized all this stuff and more!

I should have taken a picture of the second room before we started setting it up as the baby's nursery, but the second room was basically Ralph's "office" and storage room. Right now, it looks like this:

If I could only put up curtains...

Ralph and I thought it'd be best to pick Marvel or Star Wars as the theme for the nursery because Ralph already has a bunch of Marvel/Star Wars stuff...so it would be a lot easier to decorate the room. But I love neutral colors, so I thought Star Wars would be the better option (when I think of Marvel, I think of vibrant colors). 

The nursery is still a work-in-progress, but I hope to get everything done by this week - 

Things to Do: 

1. Purchase shelf organizers, rug, lamps, mirror, and books

2. Possibly set up wall shelves for books (yeah, I know we already have a bookshelf, but it's full of Ralph's Lego Star Wars sets lol!)

3. Hang pictures

4. Organize the baby's toiletries

And if I don't get everything done...then I definitely will when I go on maternity leave!

Weekly Update

How far along?: 38 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +23 lbs
Sleep: If it's not the contractions keeping me up at night, it's definitely the lower back pain...kinda feels like my lower back/tailbone needs to be cracked/popped, buuuut it won't.
Best moment this week: Baby Shower #2, for sure!
Movement: Always! And it seems like he's always in the same position - head down towards the pelvis, feet/legs on my left side, and his butt on my right side.
Symptoms: I think, at this point, we'll just refer to the "Labor Signs" portion.
Symptoms I DON'T have: Sciatica, nausea, heartburn, itchy skin
Food cravings: Cold and crunchy stuff - salad, cereal and milk, chips with pico de gallo, etc.

Food aversions: I actually ate guacamole the other day...so...nothing? I'll eat anything now.
Gender: Boy!
Labor Signs: Lower back pain, pubic pain, contractions, "nesting" (I guess), and uh...other gross bodily stuff...
Belly Button in or out?: Flat-ish.
What I miss: Now, more than ever, caffeine.
What I am looking forward to: MATERNITY LEAVE.
Weekly Wisdom: Buy a mini crib. The full-sized one seems rather big and takes up a lot of room.
Milestones: All baby furniture has been assembled!