My Baby is 4!?!

I'm going to make this short because, well, the combination of post-pregnancy hormones with lack of sleep does not make it easy to reflect on the fourth year of your firstborn's life without getting all weepy and frankly, losing it.

Alizea Ann,

You are such a wonderful little girl! Your zeal for life is a very special, very unique gift and makes living this life with you, an absolutely exhilarating ride. Daddy and I are constantly and prayerfully attempting to help refine the passion within you and channel it from wild recklessness to virtuous love.  Whew, what a challenge!

This last year has been filled with changes. You started the CLAA Petty (Pre) School and are now reading in Latin, counting to 100 in both Latin and English, beginning to add and subtract and excelling in your writing skills. You make momma work for the title of "mommy teacher" but I am learning to love the fight  tantrums challenges you bring to the table. You also started the "Catechism of the Good Shepherd" program, did very well for being one of the youngest and have made some special friendships (mommy included which has been an incredible blessing). You welcomed another sibling with incredible maturity, pride and excitement and you are just bursting with love for your baby brother. You continue to thoroughly enjoy dancing and ballet and anything that involves painting and messy crafts. You can go from 0 to 10 in seconds and because of this (despite your contending because you now know the meaning of this nickname) you are still our Spicy one. Another big change has been in your relationship with Daddy. What a turn about from the difficult transition 2 years ago upon his return from deployment. Now, you prefer his arms, his company, his stories, even his My Little Pony voices. As you enjoy your special day with him at Disneyland, your mommy is having a hard time finding the words to describe how proud I am of you and how much I love you! 

You bring me life and love that keeps on giving and knows no end. 

You make me laugh and cry and experience emotions in the depths of my soul that could only come from God's love. 

Through my many mistakes and failings, you ultimately make me a better mommy and a better follower of Christ!

 
You are just beautiful! 
Happy Birthday, my princess!

Spicylocks

 For months years now I've been trying to get Spicy's hair to look the way it does after Mimi sends her home, bathed with this glamorous mane of golden locks. She would say she doesn't do anything special... shampoo only and comb it through with a pic instead of a brush. Hum! Well, even after doing exactly what she says she does, I haven't been able to get it as soft and as bouncy. I've tried everything. Shampoo only; conditioner only; shampoo, conditioner and detangler; baby shampoo, expensive stuff; combing with a pic; combing with a brush; you get the picture. Well, today, I think I struck gold. I'm not exactly sure what I did differently, other than brush it while she was laying down on the couch, hair on top of the pillow, rather than while she is sitting or standing in front of me, but it dried so soft, so curly, so naturally beautiful! This curly hair thing is an art, I tell you.  I couldn't resist running to grab my camera and snapping until I got a decent shot (or 2).

So for documenting purposes, just in case it doesn't stay this way or heaven forbid, she gets a hair cut and the curly golden locks never return...

...My cooperative model 
(oh did I forget to mention this required bribing her with jelly belly's? Whatever it takes!)

Goodbye to my cute toddler, hello to my pretty little girl. (tear) 

**I just marvel at the difference in hair gene from sister (compare to post just below).
Getting SO anxious to see what our little guy looks like. Black wavy hair this time? hehe

Nailing it down

This is precisely why I wouldn't just not mind having another girl, but I would be thrilled! 

After dinner, making S'mores with daddy in our firepit (this is becoming a favorite bonding activity of theirs and mommy doesn't mind the results they bring in!) and a nice, long bath, in place of 2 bedtime stories, this was our bedtime activity tonight. It came totally from Spicy and after much deliberation, sapphire blue coming in a close 2nd, she settled on the familiar shade of cherry red!  
Very fitting for the month of February!

As a mom, I just can't get enough of these moments....

I was amazed at the difference in her ability to sit still from 6 months ago, the last time we did this. The 1st thought that popped in my head with excitement was "she's totally ready for the salon!" Not only did she sit still, she inquired about a second coat of sparkles and was warning me not to smudge them, sitting patiently until I assured her they were completely dry. Although we were encroaching  upon the sacred "lights out" time, there was no cutting short this special moment.

It's such an interesting study to observe a 3 1/2 year old's body language after a good manicure. C'mon, ladies, you know what I'm talking about...you just feel prettier which transcends into your movements! 

Well, without much exposure, this little one was definitely showing a more feminine side to her.

Case in point...

A glimpse into our precious interactions (but visualize her hands doing all the talking)

"Mommy, I want to be a princess. A real princess. Can I put my ballerina outfit on a be a princess for daddy?"

Melt. 

Me. 

**A week from Friday we will find out TreSoto's gender and we are Oh So excited (Spicy included)!!!!**

A new year, A new approach

A new year. A fresh start. The beginning of something great. I've always had the desire to create a resolution, something to improve upon in the coming year but either got lazy and never made it a priority or like many others, fell so short on day 2 that I would get discouraged and give up altogether. Ironically, this year, unintentionally, two huge resolutions have been created and implemented with surprising success in just the first few days...

(check with me in a few months to keep me accountable!) 

The difference? I teamed up with Daddy and together we are keeping each other responsible and helping each other through every step of the process via constructive criticism or just plain encouragement (& lots of humor!)

 The 1st subject of change: Spicy Ann Soto A.k.a. Alizea

A rambunctious beautiful 3 1/2 year old with curly golden locks and a sparkle in her eyes that will melt you.

Looks innocent enough, right?

 Well, unfortunately, because of many known, admittingly bad parenting moves on my/our part, a side effect of the difficult dark abyss of 1st trimester fatigue and sickness and other unknown factors, she has developed some bad sleeping habits which began to take a toll on my emotional and physical health and even our relationship.

"You musn't be speaking about me, Mother dear?"

 Oh yes, my darling. Your charm has gotten the best of me along with your mischievous ways and extreme intelligence that I underestimated terribly.

Inspired by the book, "Discipline that lasts a Lifetime" by Dr. Ray Guarendi and much much dialogue with Daddy, I came to a sort of revelation about how I was approaching and handling the dreaded nighttime routine cycle. I realized my thinking was all wrong. I love it when that happens. I was confusing coddling with comforting  and discipline with punishment just to give an example. But back to my point.

 Enter the scene. Staff Sergeant Soto. A.k.a. Big D. 

A firm, fun-loving, wonderful father who is a man of principle striving for obedient children par excellence .

We are in nighttime bootcamp folks, and it. is. intense.

But surprisingly, despite the tough love method that I was horrified of trying and more importantly sticking to it, their bond has deepened and strengthened like never before

  (and as for Spicy & me, well, let's just say, I am no longer her sleepy time drug.)

The ingredients behind the Spice

With all of Sweet's publicity lately, I feel as though Spicy has been somewhat neglected. And with all my talk of her "spicy-ness" I figured it was due time to expand on her little person hood.

Alizea Ann, you are an absolute jewel.

The more and more I see you amongst your peers and with others of varying temperaments and  personalities, the more I appreciate and love your individual characteristics and traits which make up the special, unique person you are...

*You have such a spirit of LIFE! A spirit of laughter, of showing love to all, of jumping and dancing at all times (like David dancing before the Lord), of making friends, of getting out and trying new things, of happiness, of JOY! Your eyes sparkle with this life. 

This picture sums up your personality...joyful!

(an oldie from over a year ago but since you didn't get in the family blog until you were 2 1/2, I thought it appropriate and fitting on this Veteran's Day)


*You are unselfish and take pleasure in seeing others rejoice (except, that is, when you are ripping a toy out of your sisters hands!) While this is partly due to constant instruction on sharing and the like, at the young age of 3, I realize you have a generous spirit and for that, I praise the Lord. 

*You take instruction seriously and to heart. In your classes, be it ballet, pottery or catechism, your teachers all report how impressed they are by your focus and attention. You are intense and you go 100% in whatever it is you are doing. For example, in ballet, you don't lolly gag around or get silly waving to mommy (or Mimi) like a lot of the other girls do. Oh no, you are completely immersed in your activity, focused, intense, as if you are the prima ballerina and all others are your back up dancers in the performance of the year.
(When watching you, we are assured every penny spent is well worth it).

3 going on 13! 
Even at home, you practice with such intensity

*You have a thirst for learning. You must get this from daddy but you love to understand, to gain knowledge, to be taught. Mimi is by far your most beloved instructor and as a trilingual distinguished teacher of 30 years, I'd say we have a great match!

*You have a special interest in all things "techy" but especially lately in video games which most definitely comes from daddy. You literally beg him to play his games calling out the characters: Demo Man, Engineer, Spy, etc. I think he is secretly bribing you because it just doesn't seem right. Why don't you beg to watch me blog or sew??? The other night you asked daddy to play with you and he responded that he was going to eat dinner and talk to mommy. Your response, "And don't forget to play your Batman game af(t)er!"

 *You are still so so incredibly lovable with your baby sister and so proud to be her big sister. At random times, I hear you announce "That's Genevieve, my baby sister" which melts me and it truly is hard for me to talk sternly and discipline you for smothering her with tight hugs and kisses because you still don't know your strength (& strong you are!).

*You are extremely competitive and this you must get from your Bapa. When daddy or I are racing with you (short sprints on the sidewalk) you get very upset when you lose. We are working on not becoming a "sore loser" and teaching you that to be a good sport you need to give a "good job (say person's name)" and high five to the other person. But you skim over this as quickly as possible in a monotone unemotional voice and follow it up with a "let's race again!" running even harder the next time! Daddy and I have fun talking about the possible activities in which your competitive nature would thrive.

*You are very mature when it comes to interacting with others, be it babies, older kids or adults. You are a people person and love the human spirit. You remind me a lot of your Mimi in this way. There is something special about the way you see and love others. 

 *You are so inquisitive and your little mind is always at work. Case in point. While in the car, you are constantly asking "what's that sign mean?" to which we go through a process where you explain to me what is on it, color, shape, etc. and I try and explain to you the meaning (or make my best guess). No sooner am I finishing and you fire away with the the infamous question again, and again, and again. 
The other example...Lately, I've been tuning into a classical music station, you know, thinking it would create a quiet, peaceful, soothing environment. Well, you aren't satisfied merely taking in the relaxing harmonies, you ask what instrument is playing and you don't simply want me to tell you but describe it with shape and color so you can guess! It's definitely forcing me to brush up on my ear training skills.

*You are a nature girl. You love sand, dirt, leaves, sticks, mud, using your hands. You love rolling in the dirt especially after you have just taken a bath. You also love tools and helping Bapa do anything that involves manual labor (That comes from mommy). 

*You do have a stubborn streak and a bit of a temper. I understand this may be a gene inherited from Grandma Sandra (daddy's mommy). However, you also seem to have acquired her full, beautiful, voluptuous lips so I guess that's a fair trade.

*You are becoming so independent. As I write this, you are next to me on your computer surfing around the PBS & Nick Jr. sites, stumbling upon new math & art games to try out. If we let you, you would stay there hours on end. Until midnight. And no, we don't know this from experience. (wink, wink) At the same time, you will never turn down some "play time" with anyone who is interested

* You love to help out and you are not afraid of work. Be it, putting silverware away, helping to fold little towels, clean mirrors and windows, you do it cheerfully and with a great deal of concentration (let's hope it stays this way into your teens)

* You are quite the negotiator. There are many examples daddy and I share and laugh about but here's a recent dialogue to show my point:
A: I wanna watch a movie just a little tiny bit!?

M: I don't think so. Do you remember when you threw a big fit on the floor just a little bit ago?

A: Do you remember when I was so nice to Genevieve? 

So, yes, while everything you do from give a hug to your verbosity contains some extra spice, there is clearly so much more to you that we treasure and cherish, deeper and wider than we can even imagine.

And in years to come when you stumble upon this, know that you are such an incredible blessing to your mommy & daddy & siblings & we are so in love with you and consider it a privilege and honor to teach you, to help form your character and to help you discern God's will for your life.

A Friendly, Fun, Fruitful Filled Friday Review

It's been a busy week over here at the Soto dwelling. The girls & I had not 1, but 2 lunch dates with dear friends from the old work family; Spicy's regular weekly classes; Aunt Tita's distant birthday celebration that involved a morning birthday card-making craft, a trip to the post office not once but twice & a loud obnoxious lovely singing assemblage; lots of little, fun projects around the house like showcasing our most recent family photo shoot pics & a 2nd hand-made chalkboard...

 painting & relocating this mirror...

 and making some art work (finally) & moving hand-made chalkboard #1 into Spicy's room. 

 It's also been a very busy and productive week on the exterior remodel: digging trenches, laying pipes for electrical, gas, drainage, sprinklers, etc, leveling dirt, breaking up concrete, forming and more all to get ready for pouring cement a week from tomorrow! So excited for that day. Not only will it make a huge difference aesthetically but also functionally (meaning I won't have to vacuum/sweep/mop floors daily. No joke. Not fun!)  This guy is still going strong.

And well, in my down time, I've got a toddler climbing on my back or yanking on twirling my hair to fall asleep while baby numero dos is on my breast. Yes, I am aware it sounds like they are leeches. The thought does cross my mind, you know.  

Phew.  Pause to catch my breath.

The other big event happening over here is that Spicy is now officially enrolled in school! Daddy and I teamed up to teach her first lesson last night. Yes, as in homeschooling.  Shriek! Gasp! Cough! Yes, I am very aware of the typical, oh so common, knee-jerk reactions in response to that blasphemous "h" word. Trust me, we've heard it all. But for those of you that are immediately flooded with negative images, like say, an antisocial freak wearing braids and long skirts, let me ease your anguish. Think of it rather as a distance learning, online Academy in which Big D & I are the facilitators & will be assured that our children receive the best (Orthodox) Catholic education possible that we believe even (& especially nowadays) traditional Catholic private schools can not achieve. And I assure you, our kids will be anything but antisocial and unfashionable. Pinky swear. As for weird, I can't make any promises. ha! Anyway, we now have in our possession the curriculum for Reading (to begin with Latin), Writing and Arithmetic. It may take her one year to master or (more than likely) three years but the beauty is we can take it at our pace, tailor it to her specific learning style and maximize her potential accelerating as much as we see fit. I must admit I am both nervous and excited but when my negative, intimidated, anxious nature gets the best of me, Daddy sure has an incredible way using reason, logic and emotion to edify and empower me, refocusing me on my primary purpose to teach my children in the way of holiness. 

Have I stated lately how much I looooove taking care of these two? Well, just in case I haven't and for the scrapbook recording, I absolutely, positively LOVE my job of loving them all day every day! 

But I better not blog the whole nap time break away. I've gotta prep for dinner. We have a special guest coming over tonight...  Give up? Ok, I'll tell you...It's Auntie Neenee!! We have much to catch up on over baked Wild Alaskan salmon, grilled veggies, rice pilaf and wine, of course. Maybe we will end the night with a group trip over to our favorite nearby yogurt shop.

Have a splendid weekend everyone!