Home Sweet Home

It all started the weekend before when Dave, Alex and I went to Indiana for our niece, Julia's Birthday and Dave's Dad's Birthday! After School on Friday, Dave come home, we ate dinner finished packing and we were on our way. Alex must of been to excited to sleep, for he us awake for the whole three hours! Mind you, we left at 7:00, which is his bed time! We had Dave's Dan's Birthday Saturday morning and Julia's Sunday afternoon. In between, we had a blast with family. Alex decided that playing with his cousins was more important then naps.


After Dave's Dad's Birthday, Alex decided not to nap. So, we all got to go watch Jack play football Saturday afternoon. Isn't he cute in his uniform?
Sunday afternoon, we packed up the car again and headed home just in time for Small group!

Alex and I spent that next week getting ready for our weekend trip to Ohio. Dave had to stay in Illinois for golf. So, Friday morning, I packed up the car and headed out yet again. My friend, Kim was getting married and I was not going to miss it! Alex spent the weekend visiting great grandparents and playing with my friend Melissa's two kids. By Monday morning, Alex and I both were ready to go home! With a short stop in South Bend to visit a friend, we completed our 11 hour trip home with much relief. I have never seen Alex get so excited to be at home and play with his toys again! The boy went down for the night like butter!!

Dinner and a nap

Alex ate a chili dog

You can see Alex's fifth and sixth teeth

Dave and Mia took a nap

I wish I had a picture of this

Eating time with Alex is getting interesting. He is developing specific tastes to certain foods and he loves to eat what we are eating. Well today at lunch, I gave him some meatballs, corn and peaches. He polished off the meatballs, when he sat there long enough he ate the peaches, and would not touch the corn. I had made myself a chicken sandwich and when I sat down to eat it...he got really excited. I cut off a few pieces for him but he kept eyeing my big sandwich. I gave him a quarter piece of my sandwich and sat there in awe of my son polishing off the sandwich, big chucks of chicken and all. He loved it! No choking or gagging. He chewed it up with 5 1/2 teeth and some powerful gums!

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for.....
1. Alex is now pulling himself up to stand and every so often you might get lucky and see him slowly walk along the coach (I have seen him do it twice!)
2. Dave's heart for trying to make his family a priority, even with his very busy schedule.
3. Our sitter, Angela, who comes and watches Alex when I am at work and Dave is with the golf team. It is great to have someone who is flexiable and is great with our kid.
4. Alex signs "more" and "hungry" to me. When you have a son who does not have words....it is wonderful when he is able learn other ways to communicate without just yelling at you! Even if it is only two words.
5. The cool weather is wonderful. The other week, I stopped by Starbucks for a little treat. I got a Pumpkin Spice Latte, the taste just made me long for Fall and everything it brings with it! BRING ON THE FALL!

Time with friends

Brian and Sarah, from Indiana, came for a visit this weekend. Dave and I enjoy our time with them. Last time we hung out, out kids where maybe a month or two old. Lauren was born two weeks after Alex. I think Alex spent the first 15 minutes watching Lauren play with his toys! And Lauren was having a blast playing with Alex toys! As you can see below, they did have some fun together.

It was a great break for Dave and I to spend some time with friends hanging out, eating, playing games, laughing. Thanks for spending time with us Brian and Sarah!

Wanted: An Ark

It just keeps raining and there appears to be no end in sight. That is all I have to say about that! (I should be thankful that it is not a hurricane, right?)

Two great pictures

We took these a few weeks ago, but I just never got around to post them.

Thanks Gramma Miriam for the hat. This was Dave's hat that HE bought when he was a kid. His mom found it and brought it to us.

Yes, My son is wearing shorts!

Thankful Thursday

I should just start calling this "Thankful Thursday on Friday." Anyways....

1. We had Alexander's year wellness Dr. appointment on Thurday. He is a healthy little man! For that, I am very thankful.
2. Alexander faces forward in the car! I love being able to see his cute little face when I look back. I feel like he is in the car with me instead of in his own room in the back of the car!
3. Living so close to Target. Alex and I went shopping yesterday, and just wandered around Target. I found a few things to buy and a few things to put back! I figured I needed to keep something there others to buy!

Has it been a year???

This past Saturday, Alexander turned one year old! What a great weekend we had with family. I had just a great time watching my son having so much fun with his cousins. He enjoyed laughing at them when they did silly things! Alexander laughed so much! I do need to give a shout out to the moms in my life! They helped me so much this weekend with the food! Wow, I have never fed so many people for a weekend! If you ever need to find room in your frig for more food, call Miriam! She is amazing!

Here are some picture to enjoy !

Alexander's cake and my first time making a layered cake (4 layers to be exact!)

He was not sure about the cake. He got a few good hand fulls in

The boy has not offically eaten until he has sucked this thumb.

The only present he helped open up

Thankful Thursday

I have 15 more minutes to have this done on time!!

- I have a great house that I enjoying spending time in (which is good since I spend ALOT of time in it) God provided for us in mighty ways with this house!
- Internet, to help keep me in touch with outside world while I stay inside the great house that I live in
- My job! I enjoy getting out in the evening and building relationships with co-workers and my clients (professionaly of course)
- That I am not longer the only family member in the United States! For the past week, my parents, brother and sister in law where in Costa Rica. That left me and Dave alone in USA! I am thankful they had a good time and that they made it home (At least I am assuming Joel and Lisa made it home, I have not talked with them yet?!)

Speaking of Trader Joe's (see the following post)

I love Trader Joe's I would love to hear from the blog world what is yours (or your family's) favorite thing to buy at Trader Joe's? I would love to hear what other people love from TJ's, Then I can try them also!

Pacheco Favorites
- Roasted black bean salsa
- TJ white corn tortilla chips
- TJ flour tortillas
- TJ Jelly (any fruit)
- Orange Juice
- 1 lb block of Dark Chocolate

In case you do not know, at the bottom of every post, you can click on the work comment. You can then post a comment on our blog. You do not have to be a member of Blogger, you can post anonymously.

Thankful Thursday

I know, it is Saturday morning! But since I have missed the past few Thursday, I figured it was not a big deal!

- That I am a Mom!
- My son is able to crawl. I have just loved watching him crawl around and get into everything! He loves to open and close doors. He has recently found the kitchen cabinets. He will open and close them while I am cooking. It is a riot!
- I have a husband that thinks I am the greatest. It just makes a married work better when both people think the other the best since sliced bread!
- For two naps! There are some days that Alex will only take one nap. but that means I am just that much more thankful for the two nap days!
- My parents and brother and sister-in-law are able to go to Costa Rica together on a missions trip with my brother and sister-in-law's church. They get back on Tuesday night
- Soymilk! Alex loves it.
- Trader Joe's, they have good stuff. I love their salsa.

Not much of anything

Well, I got my wish. We were really busy during June, so I told Dave that I do not want to go anywhere in July. I just want to stay home and enjoy our house! That is what happened and boy am I bored! I am just looking for things for Alex and I to do between naps just to get out of the house! So, that being said, there is not much to bring you up to date with. This is a picture from a picnic that Alex and I went on the other day.

So how about some mundane Pacheco facts.
1. Alex is officially allergic to Milk.
2. I have been unable to fall asleep until midnight for the past two nights
3. Dave played golf yesterday
4. Dave played golf today
5. Alex ate bits of carrots tonight for dinner.
6. I changed 4 diapers today
7. During Alex's morning nap, I cleaned bathrooms
8. Alex was asleep tonight by 7:10

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'

Dave here. Well, our son is rolling over like there's no tomorrow. In fact, he said to me the other day, "Dad, I just love rolling over." Okay, that last sentence isn't true, but if he could talk, I'm sure that's what he would say.

Well, we've been working out now for almost two weeks and I have already lost 62 pounds. They're literally falling off. I now weigh less than Esther, it's weird. :)

We had a crazy storm on Wednesday, with horizontal rain, a lighting display was akin to Chicago's Fourth of July show and some deep rumbling thunder. I have never driven in such heavy rain before. I had the wipers going full tilt and there times when I still just could not see.

I just wanted to get something on the blog so our faithful readers didn't think we had perished.

Just for a laugh

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for....

1. Alex is finally crawling and he is so cute when he crawls. He started about two weeks ago. After practicing for a few days, he is a pro!
2. A great husband who made a wonderful dinner tonight; steak on the grill, sweet potatoes, broccoli, and biscuits.
3. I am going to have a nephew (not to exclude Dave's nephew, Jack, because he is way cool). I never thought Alex would have a cousin on my side of the family.
4. The Rain. It is so great to see green grass!

Where does the time go?

This is what I looked like a year ago. The picture is with my mom and my mom's mom at a baby shower I had last July 3rd. In a month from yesterday, my son (who was inside me a year ago) will be a YEAR OLD! Unbelieveable! Ohhh how different my life was a year ago. Alex was contained nicely and cutely in my belly and now I can not keep him out of the cat food!

He is an amazing kid and a true gift from God!

Fighting the Fat!

Dave here. Normally Esther would be writing her "Thankful Thursday" column today, but there is a minor glitch to that happening this week. You see, since Tuesday, Esther has had a bad case of "liftedweightsforthefirsttimeinalongtime-itis", more commonly known as sore muscles. I don't think she's been out of bed since Tuesday.

We joined Core Fitness on Monday night and the race to emaciate is on! Okay, we won't take it that far. As my dad is fond of saying, "I'm going to be a lean, mean, teaching machine." (You can substitute "counseling" or "communicating" for "teaching" depending on if you're talking about Esther or me.)

Anyway, I swam on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings and I lifted weights this morning. Esther dove right into a class on Tuesday morning called "Pump & Flex". My wife cannot climb a stair, laugh, or even walk for that matter without her whole body just aching. I laugh only because I've been there before and I will probably be there tomorrow morning, although I probably did not lift today as hard as she did in her class on Tuesday.

Core Fitness is so inexpensive compared to other gyms that we looked at and they have exactly what we need, including a hot tub! It really is a blessing that we can join a club and not bust our budget. Although our muscles are sore, in Esther's case it goes way beyond sore, it feels great to get back into workout mode.

Britains Got Talent - A Star Is Born

If you have not seen this...it is a must watch. It gives you "goosepimples"

It was great to have the 4th in the middle of the week. Gave us a little break, and we had Dave home for a day! I just wanted to share with you how Alex spend this 4th of July morning.

He sat there and watched Dave mow the back yard. He was a little fussy inside, so I went outside with him and he just sat there and watched. Every so often he would get excited and laugh and kick. It was really cute. I was able to got some things done inside while he just watched!

Dave and I had our friends, Sarah and Wille Bosque over for Ribs that night. They have a son, Jonathon, who is about 4 months older then Alex. They had so much fun just playing with each other. Ok, they really played next to each other, but it was fun to watch thim enjoy having each other around. Jonathon loved to share things with Alex. It was great to watch Alex recieve things from Jonathon and then just laugh! How fun it is to watch little kids get so excited when they see other little kids just like them. It is like they are saying "Yeah, I am not alone in this world full of big people!"

Say Cheese

Alex loves and camera and loves to smile for it. Our camera beeps when it is in focus. When Alex hears the beep, he turn and gives us this really cheesey smile!!! We love it!!!

7+1=Family

As you can see, there are only 7 people in this picture. So, who is this other family member. Well, it may be hard to believe but Baby Boy Robinson belongs to Joel and Lisa! Isn't that the coolest news!!! I think I am more excited then when I found out I was expecting!!!

No word on what his name but we will get to see him at the end of November. I can not wait to see Joel and Lisa as parents...how fun! They will be wonderful parents!!!

We went to Kentucky after our time in Akron to spend time as a family. We decided to spend a day at Natural Bridg State Park. My parents have talked about it alot and have made several trips there. Now I know why.....it was beautiful. But be prepared for a hike if you every go. There is no easy way up!!!

This is my son at the begining of the hike

And this is my son at the end of the hike

Where have you been?

Oh wait a minute...it is been me that has been gone!!! I know, it has been a long time since I have updated our blog. I have not figured out why I have not been doing it. It could be that there is too much going on and therefore too much to write about or my writing creativity gets depleted and I just have nothing for a post. Whatever the reason...I am back again! So let me see...where did we leave off?

Two weekends ago, Dave, Alex and I headed to Akron for a "Robinson Family Reunion," or so my Grandma Robinson thought. Little did she know, her daughters had planned a surprise 80th birthday party for her. It was a great weekend.

Dave, Alex and I stayed with my Uncle Steve and Aunt Nancy (my mom's brother). They were very gracious to us...especially since I did not call them until Thursday before we left, to see if we could stay with them! Thank you Uncle Steve and Aunt Nancy!! It was great to hang out with them and their family; Ben and Joanna! I can't forget about Josh, for it would have been fun to hang out with him also...but alas he is living in Huntington Indiana. By the way, Congrats Josh on the new job!!

Anyways, at the actually birthday part, Alex had a blast with everyone and I had fun catching up with the family. I do not get to see all my cousins often, so it is always a good time.

Here is Alex with my cousins Halie and Nikki (can you tell they are sisters!)

My cousin Jonathon (3 years old) enjoying his piece of cake. He was so focused on each bit. It was hard to get the cake on this fork then to his mouth!!

This picture was taken as Jonathon was walking to his spot to eat his cake. Apparently he was not holding his plate very straight. Note that his mom (standing in the back in the orange)is laughing. This is a picture of my grandparents and all their children and spouses.

Meet Emma, she is my cousin Marianne's daughter (I am not sure what cousin that makes her to me, I always get confused!) She is 16 months and looks just like her Dad!
Well, that concludes that update for now...more later. Alex is awake and the store is calling us!!!

Great Pics

Dave was playing with the camera the other day and these pics are the product of that. I love my boys

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for....

1. Time out of the house. My fours hours of work each week plus an evening out with friends makes for a wonderful week

2. A wonderful weekend with my husband, childless, celebrating 5 wonderful years!!!

3. All the great help that Dave's mom received last weekend with Alex. Alex had so much fun with everyone!

4. Cheesy smiles! Alex has started to give big cheesy smiles full of gums and his four teeth.

5. Alex still has two solid naps a day! I treasure those few hours!

6. Garage sales. Today I was able to get Alex some great toys for just $20

It has been five years!

Marriage bliss!!! Dave and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary this weekend! Dave started planning this last year. I had no idea what he was up to until about a month ago. Being the great guy that he is...he decided to take me to Indy. We stayed in Indy our first night. He was able to get the same room we stayed in also! It was very romantic! So, on Friday we dropped Alex off at his parents house and drove down to Indy. Yes, you read that right. It was a weekend with no Alex. It was a little strange, yet very much needed. It was wonderful to just enjoy being with Dave and not have to think about feeding, naps and bedtime! We could go and do anything we wanted! It was just like life pre-kid! I would post pictures but half way to Dave's parents house, he remembered that we forgot the camera!! I told him we will have to do this in another 5 years so we can take pictures then. Thanks Dave and Dave's parents for such a wonderful weekend! Back to everyday life now!

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for.....

1. Wheaton Academy! They are the reason we ended up here in Chicago. Because of them, Dave has a job he enjoys, we are a part of Crossroads Community Church, we have this great house, and ohhh the friends we have met!
2. All the rain we have received the last week. Things were looking really brown around here until the rains came.
3. Babies R US. They have everything you could need for a baby. One stop shopping!

Is it stealing?

I was out for my run this morning, and noticed a dresser and a trundle bed box springs out by the road. I will admit, I got a little excited. "Did I find a treasure that someone put out for the trash?" I stopped and opened all the drawers to see if they worked and they did! Then I walked around to see the outside condition of the dresser....and then I found it. A piece of paper, saying that if you leave items out to be donated, they will be picked up on Wednesday June 6th. I WAS SO BUMMED! It would have been stealing if I would have taken it, right???

I just checked, they are still sitting there!!! Ohhh what should it do???

I am not in this alone!

So often as a mom, I get so selfish about my own time and so consumed by what everyone thinks of me. Read Tuesday's entry on Beth's Moore's blog. It does my heart good sometimes to hear that I am not the only one who struggles!

Alexander and the Train

On Saturday, Dave and I witnessed our second class graduate from Wheaton Academy. We did get a little nervous, the ceremony was outside and the day called for thunderstorms. But, like always, it was a beautiful and sunny day! The sun was shinning throughout the ceremony and as soon as it was over, the sun hid behind clouds the rest of the day.
Don't you remember graduating from high school, so excited for what your future held; college, job, independence, future spouse, independence!

After graduation, Dave, Alex and I headed out for lunch. As we were walking out a train was coming down the tracks. Instead of just sitting in the car waiting for it to pass by, Dave decided to introduce Alex to a big train. Dave said Alex just watched, did not smile or cry, just observed the train going by.

Best Friends forever....

A good friend of mine sent me this picture of her two girls. Isn't it precious! Ohhh the memories these girls will make over their life together!!!

Thankful Thursday

I am Thankful for.....

1. My "new" living room furniture (I will blog about it later)
2. Doctors who figure out what is wrong with your child. Alex has been sick for the past two weeks. The first week, he did not have many symptoms except for not wanting to eat and being really crabby and clingy. When you are used to a laid back, content kid, it really wears you out!
3. That God has given me, yet another year of my life. For those who do not know, I turned 30 this past Friday! I think back at this past year...what a year!
4. Baby Monitors are great. I am very thankful to be able to sit here and listen to my son talk himself to sleep as I am typing this. I just smile and laugh when I hear him having fun!

Friends

As I mentioned in the previous post, Dave and I went to Akron the other weekend for a wedding. What a great time it was to see a great friend of mine get married and hang out with some college friends that I have not seen for awhile! It was once said that High School is the best time of your life. My time in college was better than High School! (of course I would say my life now is the best time of my life. I love being married with one kid!) What great people that God brought into my life and I am so glad that I can call them friends!

This is Megan and her new husband Jonathon. We met our Freshman year and were roommates our Senior year. Then since Megan and I had so much fun our Senior year, we just had to go to Mexico together and room there also! What fun!

Laura and Liz were there also! I hung out ALOT with these two my Senior year. I love that I still get to hang out with them every so often. Laura just recently moved to my neck of the woods...so I get to see her even more (hopefully)!

This is Josi, I was supposed to room with her my Junior year, but she decided to go to Nursing school in Cleveland...but I still think she is awesome! She is holding her daughter, Ruthie, who is 8 mos(?).

It always does my heart good to hang out with good friends!

Catch up

So often Dave and I take pictures to put on the blog and then we never post them. So let me take some time to post some of these pictures!

Dave and I went back to Indiana for a quick visit when Dave's mom had surgery. Dave snapped this picture of Alex, notice how he looks just like this outfit (The bull's nose ring??....maybe??).

OK, so our kid does not roll over, crawl, or walk but he can do a push up!

A few weeks ago, Dave and I were in Akron for my friend Megan's wedding. We stopped by to see another friend, Melissa, who just had a new baby! Alex was playing with her older daughter, Natalie (17 mons). Apparently Alex had a toy that she wanted to play with, so she just ploped herself on Alex's lap to get the toy. Alex just sat there and did not seem to care. I find it fun to watch Alex with other kids since he does not have a lot of interaction with other kids. All he has is me and I do not need to sit on his lap to play with his toys!

This is Kaylee (Natalie's little sister)



That is all for now...stay tuned for more!

Thankful Thursday

OK, this is not going well for me. My second Thankful Thursday and I am a day late! Better late than never, here we go....

1. Got to love disposable diapers! I know, they are filling up the landfill, but as I change my 3rd poopy diaper of the day, I am glad that I do not have to clean the diaper (just the butt that it was on!). I just wrap it up and throw it away!
2. Attached garages are wonderful. It started to rain last night on my way home from work. I just pulled into my garage and stayed nice and dry. Last time I was able to do that was when I was still living with me parents, 12 years ago!
3. Whoever has completed a Beth Moore study knows why I am thankful for her! God has used her in mighty ways in my life! I am reminded everyday that I too live in a Babylon as Daniel lived in his. The question is "how am I living for God in my Babylon?"

They are here

I had a new riding companion today on the way home from Bible Study. I was sitting at a stop light and noticed something moving at the bottom of my windshield, a cicada. I quickly rolled up all my windows...I was a little freaked out that it might fly in. I know that they are harmless...but a bug that size flying at you would make anyone scream and jump! I then got hot and rolled down my window, but did not reopen my sunroof! It stayed on my windshield the rest of the way home (about 30 min). When I got home, I jumped out of the car and ran in the house for the camera. I had to document the first Pacheco Cicada sighting! I remember when I was much younger and they were out in Ohio. All I remember is seeing their skins all over the place! The crazy thing is that the next time they are out in Chicago, Alex will be on his way to college!!! Ohhhh how the world changes in those 17 years they spend underground!
(Dave's Editorial: I wonder why Esther did not just turn the air conditioning on if she was hot and also scared of opening the windows. I'm just saying.....)

Thankful Thursdays

A friend of mine started blogging about what she was thankful for that week every Thursday and I thought that it was a great idea. So, Deanna, I hope you don't mind that I am going to follow your lead and do that same thing! Granted, I can guarantee that I will miss a few Thursdays here and there, but I will try to remain faithful! I hope you enjoy them:

1) That my friend Megan found a Godly man and got married this past weekend. The wedding was beautiful and I also was able to see some college friends of mine.
2) How great it is to have family in cities that you are visiting so you can stay at their house for free! Dave and I stayed with his Tio Eloy and Tia Patsy in Akron this past weekend (the wedding was in Akron). We also loved hanging out with them! Great conversation!
3) And of course, Our mom's! Thank you for finding us important enough to invest in our lives! And now, you are investing in our kid's life (I think I treasure that more)
(Proofreader's note: Esther wrote this entry on Thursday, but as the proofreader of the family, I, Dave did not get to it until Friday.)

Poor Guy

Well about midnight last night, a cry was heard over the baby monitor! Being that Alex sleeps through the night all the time, I sprang into action because when he does cry, you know that there is a big reason. When I reached in for him, I knew why he was crying. He was so hot (temp of 103). So we sat down in the chair to rock for a bit to calm down. Then it happened, he vomited all down the front of my shirt. Dave got called in: "Make up a bath for him!" What a night.

Around 4 in the morning, we were all back in bed. Well kind of, Alex was asleep width wise in our bed (that is were Dave finally got him asleep)with me next to him and Dave was downstairs on the couch since there was not room for him in our bed. Poor guy! Dave is such a trooper. He gave up his bed to his son and only got a few hours of sleep. We was up by 5:30 to get ready for work, and I sent him on an errand to get Pedialite for Alex before going to work (while I slept).

No worries. Except for some tired parents! All is well in the Pacheco household. Alex is good today. His fever is good and he is taking in his liquids. Now let's hope Dave nor I get what Alex had!

Spring is in the air

FYI: The picture has nothing to do with what I am going to write about. I figure what is a blog post without a picture of Alex. Right?

After living in an apartment for the last two years, I am really looking forward to planting flowers in my yard. Though the person who previously lived here did not take care of the flower beds, someone at one point in time knew what they were doing and planted some wonderful plants. There is one that I am enjoying today! They planted a lilac bush right outside the Living Room window. Since it is so nice today, I opened the windows and the smell of lilacs is filling the house!! How wonderful! Dave took the camera to work today, so I can not post any pictures today of my flowers, but maybe tomorrow!

So, last week I spent some time pulling the weeds that have been growing freely in the flower beds for the last two years. Not only did I find weeds but I found something living under the mulch. I have no confirmation of what it is but I know that it is alive, small and it moves. Here is how the story goes; I was squating down digging up dandelions when I noticed the mulch about 5 inches from me appeared to be moving. I stopped and watched just to make sure that I was not imagining it! I was not, something was displacing the mulch as it was moving around between the mulch and the ground. Talk about freaky!! I stepped back and watched it for about 5 minutes. I did not know what else to do but stand there and watch! I was thinking "should I step on it? Should I stab it with the scissors that are in my hand?" I did not do either, for I was more afraid of the noise it would make if I got it than of the animal itself! Can I get an Amen to that? I eventually saw it move under the bushes. The next day, that same thing happened. Anybody have any ideas of what it could be or what I should do about it? Help me get rid of this unwanted overnight guest living in my flower beds!!