Happy Father's Day 2

Father's Day was awesome... Actually, I just realized this was not Emerson's first Father's Day, but for whatever reason we didn't do anything last year. It was probably the fact that we had just had a baby who was 4 weeks old. My parents were still here, so we didn't even remember, I guess...

The day started with Elizabeth waking up around 6 or 6:30 am. I was in the living room, since she has been crying lately in the middle of the night. I guess she just has dreams, who knows? But she always goes back to sleep. Emerson, of course, doesn't hear a thing. But mommy has to immigrate to the couch in hopes of a better place to sleep. Ha ha ha! This sounded like, in hopes of a better future.

Emerson was awake, I guess, but didn't want to get up since he knew his presents were going to be hidden - he didn't want to mess up in case I was hiding them. As Libby drank her milk, they got into the closet so I could hide the present that was supposed to be in the living room (we have the search on video, children, for whenever you want to watch it).

These were his gifts: a 4-pack of Karbach Brewing Co. Rodeo Clown IPA (from Libby), a 4-pack of Great Divide Brewing Co. Yeti Imperial Stout (from Baby), and a $25 gift card for Northern Brewer (from me). He liked them all, he said :)

Daddy's gifts

I had to make bread that morning for lunch, we had hot dogs which he LOVES. So I skipped the usual Saturday morning pancakes, again. I didn't do them on Saturday because I had to make the cheesecake for Sunday. I was finished with the fist part of the dough by 8:30 am. I love my mixer... she does everything for me now. It's one of those things that you buy and you have all the time in the world to focus on more important stuff, like cook, or spend time with your daughter. So it is absolutely worth the money my husband paid for it as my Christmas gift. Thank you, Emerson. 

So we had this free time in our hands, and we went swimming with Libby for the first time. I think we had taken her before, but the water was colder and she didn't like it. She didn't like it a lot this time either, but at least she got to be there for a longer time, and although she cried for a bit, she got used to it after 5 minutes. At the end, I think she really enjoyed it.  

Holding Daddy

"I'm trusting you, Dad"

Feeling safer

Interested in Daddy's lips

Enjoying herself

All this time, Libby has been very attached to me. And I love it. I enjoy it, most of the time. She has never feel like a burden to me, but I've wondered if Emerson has felt, like, unloved by her. Not that Elizabeth doesn't love him, but you know, like she wants to be only with me... I don't think he has, but I have never asked him. Whatever the answer is, I am in love with the fact that lately Elizabeth looks at him with love in her eyes. It's like she just knows he is her Daddy, and like she is in love with him.

I don't know, I'm probably exaggerating, but I wonder if Libby knows now that she can trust Dad, that Daddy has her back, that it is true all that he has said to her. When they were swimming, Emerson would move her around, and if she was afraid, he would hug her tightly, and then let her go "free" again, and so on. I think there was a point where she actually enjoyed being with him in the water. It was a new experience, but she felt safe.  She tried to touch the floor several times, and as soon as she realized she couldn't, she would hold on tight to Daddy.

There was something about this in my book, about how God would catch you forever when we jump into the pool with faith in that He would never let us drown. I wonder if Elizabeth, in a way, tested Emerson. I am glad Emerson didn't let her go down the water or try to make her "lose" her fear that way. That is not what she needed. She needed just what she got. She needed to explore the waters with Daddy, feeling that connection with him. She needed to be sure he was going to be there for her. I wonder if in her spirit, her mind, her subconsciousness - whatever- those messages registered as "I can trust this man who says he loves me".

I wonder if I will ever get to know the answer to my questions... Probably, when I get to heaven. But they say that the way we relate to our earthly parents has an outstanding impact in the way we would eventually relate to God. I can verify that's totally true. I guess that's why I love Emerson spending time with her. What Libby got to experience  in the pool was the perfect Father-Daughter relationship, and so, like this AMLO guy from Mexico usually says, "Vamos bien" 

There's always this moment when I start writing a post when I say, "It won't be long, I don't have too much to say", and then I surprise myself with everything that comes out of my mind. We saw this movie Limitless yesterday. I can't imagine what would come out of my brain with a pill which could give me 100% access to all the things I had learned in my entire life. Emerson joked around and said I would probably write Proverbs 32. He is silly... But I actually thought it would be very neat to see and apply all that I know, which I have to say, is a lot :)

Out of the pool she goes :)

Anyway... we came back and Libby fell asleep while Daddy was giving her a shower. She fell asleep in the shower!! I changed her clothes, put her down for a nap so we could all go together to church. I had to leave at 10:50 am because I had to teach a class, and when I came back, at 1 pm, Emerson said she had probably taken a very short nap. She didn't make any noises, but when  he went to look at her, she wasn't actually sleeping. He said she had been very active since 11:30 am when he took her out of the crib (two hours after I had put her down). 

We prepared everything for lunch, and after we had eaten, and Libby was almost finished, she began falling asleep in the high chair. Poor baby! She never slept in the morning, that Pinga!!

After waking up

Happy not to sit in Mommy's lap

Just chatting with Daddy on his day

We had cheesecake, then we had dinner, but it was very late because we were stuffed. Libby did eat dinner at her usual time, around 5:30 pm. We got to talk with my dad to say Happy Father's Day. Emerson had already talked with his while I was at church. I skipped dinner, or, I had another cheesecake slice as my dinner and a cup of coffee. That was a bad idea... 

I got up at 10:30 pm because I couldn't sleep, plus I had this awful nausea for not eating a real dinner. I ended up eating an apple in the darkness of my living room, and was in the bathroom for good 20 minutes... it was all the grease from the hot dogs and the cheesecake, because after all, cream cheese is not real cheese.

We are very blessed, we have a wonderful daughter that is every day learning and growing, we have another baby on the way. We are healthy, and we love each other. Yes, we do have problems, but nothing impossible to solve.

 We have God after all, the best Dad of all :))

Yummy...

Happy Father's Day

I am a woman, not a man. Great discovery, huh? But it is for that same reason that I cannot describe what being a dad feels or even means for Emerson. 

I am not a mind reader either. Even if I were, my husband's mind is so complex that I don't understand how he tackles some issues in our relationship in the complete opposite way that I do. I have seen his "brain" at work, and he is just a very intriguing person. He once tried to explain to me how he memorizes the highways and streets in a given city. He said in his mind/brain -whatever- he had like this map, and that it had connections, like he could see the intersections and everything... I need the GPS, and even that thing gets me lost. 

So I guess this post is not about what I think Emerson should feel, nor I will try to philosophy about fatherhood. This post is just about what I see in Emerson that makes him the best man, husband, and Daddy in the world. Especially, it is about what I saw on Tuesday, June 12, 2012.

By the way, isn't she super cute??     

Just like Daddy

So beautiful

But before telling you, let me share with you that I don't ever save money. I can tell you right now my husband is shaking his head saying, "Tsk, tsk, tsk". Lately, however, I've been doing it, but pretty much because he is making me. I am also sticking to my grocery budget. That money that I saved came in handy now that Father's Day was coming. I was able to buy three gifts for Dad. 

Did I say I? Oh, excuse me, I meant we were able to buy Dad three gifts, each one of us, Mom, Libby, and Baby. This post is a gift to you also, Emerson. Your other three gifts you have to find around the house :)

"Go find your gifts, Daddy!!"

So anyway... On Tuesday morning we went for our usual morning walk. I asked Merrith to pray for me, for my marriage. I told her sometimes I feel like everything is fine between Emerson and I, but that I assume it is fine. It's like I have this assurance that the plant will never die, because we are committed for life, but still I felt that I needed to water the plant. 

So I asked her to pray for a very good evening in the garage since my husband was gonna brew some Witbier. I don't know, just intimacy, whatever the water was. Elizabeth is more mobile now, and I didn't want her to be crying or anything, I just wanted peace and quiet, you know? Enjoying each other's company, spending time together, even if we didn't talk much.

I think God answered that prayer in many ways. Even ways that go far beyond what I have asked for. I've heard people say that you should be very specific when you ask God for something. And I kind of understand what they mean, but not really. In my perspective, when I say that I should have been more specific with my prayers, I am just joking. I mean, God knows what I need.

Let me illustrate this. Say you are involved in a car accident, and your life is in danger when you get to the hospital. The  doctor tells your family you might die. And so your family and all your friends pray for you, for wisdom for the doctors, for healing, for a miracle. And you are healed, you get to live, and the doctors don't understand how you made it. Oh, but there is this little, tiny problem. Your leg got so severed in the car accident that you, well, you lost your leg, and you'll get to wear a prosthesis for the rest of your life.

Raw materials

Are you really telling me that you lost your leg because your family and friends weren't really specific? And so, just because they didn't specifically asked for your leg, God said something like, "Oh, well, let's not save his leg because they didn't ask for this."

That's plain bull. That is not how God works or thinks. I am not God's spokesperson to know absolutely everything that goes on with Him, but thinking like that of Him would show me that you do not know absolutely anything about His goodness or His love. Why did you lose your leg? I don't freaking know! But it is not because you weren't specific.  

So, yes, we did have a wonderful time brewing, or at least, for most of the brewing process. I guess I will say then -now that you know I'm joking- that I wasn't specific in asking Merrith to pray also that we didn't have any complications during chilling time :) 

Getting ready

Boiling water

Ephesians 3:20 says that God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine... and He did. The answer to my prayer came in a way that left me with a Whaaat? in my face. So I guess I will get to philosophy a little bit in this post. It wouldn't be my blog if I didn't. 

We had pizza for dinner. Libby ate outside with us. Emerson was busy. I took care of the dishes, and he  continued working. There was no crying at all since Libby was watching a Baby Einstein show on the laptop. Everybody was minding their own business. I was on Facebook, I was also reading Mexico's newspaper on my iPhone, and I was taking photos because this was Emerson first beer with his new RIMS system. He had run it before with water, and it worked perfectly fine. Everything was working great.

Einstein girl :)

Long story short, when the wort was boiling, he added the hops, some orange peel, and some coriander seeds. The process was over, and now he just needed to start the pump, so that by vacuum, the wort would be filtrated by passing through the hop rocket. Then it would reach the chiller, and get all the way to the  carboy for the primary fermentation. After checking the temperature, you add the yeast, put the air lock and bless your beer. That happened, we blessed it... The process, though, took longer than it should have.

Just pretend you are watching It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Sweet Dee is saying, "God damn it! God damn you, orange peel!!"

Some wort came out, then nothing would come out. The dip tube got clogged, and the hoses would shake because of the intense vacuum the pump was making. Emerson unclogged the dip tube, and it worked... for a minute. It was like that for almost an hour. He was trying to find out what was happening. We know now it was the orange peel or a combination of everything that got stuck into the dip tube. We saw these huge pellets of debris passing through the hose. He managed to get most of the beer to the carboy, but not all of it. 

Helping the system do its work

Chilling the wort

While all this was happening, I could see his face with that expression that says, "This is not happening -to me-". But it was happening, and I was smart enough not to say anything that could add more stress. At least I think so. I offered help every now and then, but I didn't mess with him. By this time Libby was sleeping, by the way. I didn't get on his way whenever he was walking, and I just prayed for him, I mean, what else could I do? He knows his system, there was nothing I could do.

I prayed that God would give him patience to work through this unfortunate event. That Emerson would have perseverance, diligence, and that God would give him wisdom to solve the problem. I also told God I felt like an idiot for praying about beer, but that I knew that He cared about everything in our lives. See, during this time, there was something happening, there were values being revealed, there was a story of a great man at work, solving a problem. 

I know most of the people who read my blog -if any followers other than my husband- sometimes laugh, and say, "Ohhh", or "Ahhh, that's cute". But I don't care about that, I mean, it's nice to know that maybe someone feel encouraged or whatever after reading something I wrote, but I don't mean that for this post.

This post is about a life lesson, a lesson for my children.  

Dear Libby and Baby,

I am very thankful that you will not get to know the Mom I could have been. What I mean is that every day I thank God for reaching out to me, and find my heart. You will only know the mom I am with the help of Jesus. And although I won't be the perfect mom, I can assure you that following Him has made a difference in my world, and it will make a difference in yours. 

Most of my life growing up, I dealt with negative feelings and emotions. I still have low tolerance to frustration, still sometimes I feel discouragement wanting to get a hold of  me, but I am getting better at thinking positive. Hopefully by the time you read this, I will have conquered those struggles in my life. I tell you this because I was taught a lesson by your Dad that night. Your dad will never quit on you or me. Never.

Watching him deal with a clogged tool made me think of how my reaction would have been if I had been in his shoes. I would have probably stop trying after ten minutes. Do not get me wrong. I was praying for your Daddy, I asked God to help Him, but nothing was really happening; the pump always worked, but the dip tube was still clogged. There was a point when I actually thought about telling him that he had tried enough, that he also needed to learn when to quit. But I was able to shut my mouth. I knew that wasn't what Dad needed to hear. 

I couldn't care less about his beer, to be honest. I love his beer, but for me this meant more than beer... I saw a man fighting for something that was very important for him. I saw your Dad being self controlled and remaining in control of a situation that could have angered him very much, because up to this point his processes in brewing had always been perfect.

But Daddy kept his cool. Of course he was stressed out, but he never let discouragement overcome him. He was never afraid, he knew what to do. When you were children we began praying that your Daddy would become the spiritual leader of this house, and that he would never give away to fear. Do you remember? We wrote that prayer in our log on May 2, 2012. God is answering that prayer day by day. 

If he fought for his beer, children, could you imagine how much you mean to them? Could you imagine how he would fight for you, or for Mommy? Could you grasp how much he loves us? You will see it with time. You will get to see his determination, and his love for you. You will get to know your Daddy, and love him for who he is, and realize how right I am in saying he is the best dad in the whole world.

Love, 

Mom

The yeast looked healthy the next day. There was no foul smell, like bacteria, after three days, and three days is a very good time for bacteria to show up, if it were present. If the beer is good, as usual, Daddy still will compete.What's bad, though, is that if f Dad wins, he will never be able to reproduce that same beer again :)))

God did answer that morning prayer in many ways, far above my imagination as you can see. Not only did we spend a wonderful time together with Libby and Baby (in my belly), but we also got to spend this stressful time together. I guess those are the things you never forget. 

Emerson, thank you for always showing me what a great man your are, thank you for loving me as you do, and thank you for being the Daddy you are. God, I thank you for my husband. 

Mess after the stress

Wort getting into the carboy

June12, 2012. Angry Daddy posing

Daddy, by the way, your gifts are in places that you are never really in much contact with on a daily basis.

Hints:  One is in the bedroom, the other one is in the living room, and the third one is on the bookshelf.

Protein synthesis and faith :))

I heard at church once that faith is like a muscle. God has to stretch it, and sometimes He goes very heavy on you to stretch it all the way, just like a personal trainer does at a gym. Eventually the faith muscle grows.

I also took a physiology class in college, and we learned about how muscles grow... but I don't remember any of that. So I decided to do a little research, so I could remember.

Article Reviewed:

Charge, S. B. P., and Rudnicki, M.A. (2004). Cellular and molecular regulation of muscle regeneration. Physiological Reviews, Volume 84, 209-238.

"When muscles undergo intense exercise, as from a resistance training bout, there is trauma to the muscle fibers that is referred to as muscle injury or damage in scientific investigations. In essence, a biological effort to repair or replace damaged muscle fibers begins with the satellite cells fusing together and to the muscles fibers, often leading to increases in muscle fiber cross-sectional area or hypertrophy. As the satellite cells multiply, some remain as organelles on the muscle fiber where as the majority differentiate (the process cells undergo as they mature into normal cells) and fuse to muscle fibers to form new muscle protein stands (or myofibrils) and/or repair damaged fibers. 

It is suggested that the new, popular periodization models of exercise training, which include light, moderate and high intensity training phases, satisfactorily overload the different muscle fiber types of the body while also providing sufficient rest for protein synthesis to occur."

Aha!! 

In other words, intense training breaks your muscles. These microfibers then begin to create new fibers, and adhere each other together leading to an increase in size in your muscle. The creation of this new fibers requires protein synthesis (which is why you need meat, or beans, or the popular protein shakes), but you also need rest, plenty of rest. The muscle doesn't grow while exercising, actually if you keep on exercising forever, you will only damage your muscles. The muscle grows with training, diet, AND rest. 

I kinda read again my past post about El Viaje del Terror (The Horror Trip) as Emerson refers to our Mexico trip now. It was bad. A week later Libby got sick when we got here, had an awful fever for her ear infection, and then she actually was unlucky enough (according to her own pediatrician), that she got a viral rash, and I had to take her to the doctor again so he could see if the rash was due to the antibiotics or not, but no, it was a virus. I'll give you my theory on her bad "luck" later.

June7, 2012. Pinga

Mommy loves her babies :)

With Dadda at the Hay Merchant

Dr. Pope advised her to stay clear until her 15 month check up. Anyway, with all this that happened, I felt stretched. I know... I know. It wasn't like her life was in danger at any point, and I'm thankful for that. But it was difficult for me to see her sick, and with fever, and clingy, and needy, just tired all the time, and sleeping a lot. By the way, I guess I mentioned her appetite never changed :)

But I just wanted it to stop, I wanted to come back to normal, and we are back. She finished her treatment, and she is walking for real now. She doesn't need help anymore to stand up, she doesn't need to hold to the couch or anything, she can stand up her own. That happened on Thursday, Jun 7, 2012.

She looks so cute going around the house, and of course, she doesn't stop...

Her bad "luck" was just a combination of different factors, like the fact that I didn't wash her hands very often, so we're doing that now. The viral rash, well, that I can't explain. My point is that praying helped me. My prayer walks with Merrith in the mornings helped me to trust God more, and to have faith that this was not going to last forever.

I don't really know if this things with Libby happened for a purpose. I mean, I know they had a purpose, you can always learn from everything. I just mean that I realized I need to be more tolerant with  many things. I need more self-control. I still need to change in many aspects of my life, and I think it is good that I know this now. My daughter is one year old, and I have another baby in my belly. I am going to need tolerance :)

I felt that I needed the rest. I need to rest. I am done with the book in Spanish, now I need to be done with it in English, and the copyright. And then I have to start Libby's scrapbook for her first year, and I have to be done by the time Baby arrives. And then I have to start the Baby's scrapbook... it never ends. But that is life.

The more you focus on the things you do and forget the reason you do them, the more you worry about it, and the less peace you have. The moment you stop looking at Jesus, you drown, like Peter. This life is not a life of easiness, Jesus said we would have trouble, but life can be fulfilling if you have the right perspective, and if your mind and heart are focused on heavenly things. If you set your heart on earthly things, you feel like crap, tired most of the time, desperate, overwhelmed with the demands of life. I know how that feels.

Resting

Relaxing with Harry

Jesus said, "But take heart! I have overcome the world"

I remember a girl I used to babysit, her name was Kara. One day I took her to the pool, and made her lie on a chair, fold her arms behind her head, and just relax. She was very shy, like afraid to have fun. I made her repeat many times, "This is the life of a child of God". She said it like ten times, without feeling it, then she started believing it, and she ended up laughing very hard. I guess she got the point.

Lying besides a pool, relaxing, is the life of a child of God (not in Texas weather, tough). That doesn't mean you don't have to come home and still clean you house, or make dinner, or take care of your children- your newly walking toddler. But what I am trying to say is that we have all we need for this life.

2 Peter 1:3 says that God has given us everything we need for a godly life, through the knowledge of Him. We have to know Him and have a relationship with Him, otherwise it doesn't work. If you don't, you will never be able to really rest. You'll be worn out.

So back to my point... Nobody is sick now. There was intense training in Mexico, and a healthy diet coming back. We have to rest now, and focus on Him to let that faith muscle grow, until the next training begins :)

La Nena and Blue Blue with Raikiki.

Welcome home, Libby

Something has happened to my daughter. It seems that she just found out she is one year old, and decided to go full blast with the temper tantrums, and the separation anxiety.

This week after coming back from Mexico has been rough. She cries whenever I don't pick her up, and if Daddy is with her, she cries like if someone were killing her. Dr. Pope said today that it is about to get worse.

My baby is sick

I love her with all my heart, but she's been behaving like a little tyrant, and I feel overwhelmed when she cries. She has developed this cry/whining noise that she does almost all the time, like if something were hurting. To be honest, it drives me crazy. 

Today I needed a change of attitude, because the last two days I've been awful. But today I got much better, much, much better. I just needed to be in her shoes. I tried to remember how I was treated as a child. I don't remember much cuddling, much love just because. I was probably given it, I just don't remember. I want her to remember that I was there for her, no matter how annoying she could be. I want her to know that that is how the love of God is. 

I put my mind into being with her the kind of Mommy she needs, even if she cries. Just as God has been the kind of Daddy I need, even when I have been the most obnoxious daughter.  

Libby, 

Do not take offense of what your Mommy wrote in this post about you. You are one of my biggest blessings. Know that I love you with all my heart. I will always love you no matter what you do, no matter what you say. You will understand my feelings when you have a baby of your own in your arms. And God willing, I will be there to tell you, "See what I meant when I wrote that post?"

Love,

Mommy

So Mexico gave my baby her Happy Birthday. Oz gave her her Welcome Home. She was acting normally, having fun, and eating okay, but very clinging to me. For the last couple of days it was like if something was off. She was pulling on one ear, but she had done that before, but didn't look like yesterday or today. She was extremely tired, and today, I thought she was very warm this morning. Emerson said to wait to see the doctor.

I love Dr.Pope. I've always thought he was too direct and to the point. He doesn't chat, just like Emerson. Actually that's why Emerson likes him so much. But today, I absolutely, absolutely felt like I had missed him so much. He was right to the point, and so my daughter has now an ear infection. 

What the heck? We are under attack... See, this is the kind of spiritual thing that makes me laugh. I know this is a spiritual world, I freaking know. But life is messy. Sickness happens (mainly for spiritual things, The Fall, etc.).

But was it Satan who brought this on my daughter? Who cares? She is sick. And it was probably that I haven't washed her hands often enough. Some things happen as discipline from God. But random stuff happens also as a natural consequence of our actions. I am not saying Satan doesn't mess with you, but if you had an car accident because you were texting, how dare you say it was Satan? Did Satan also make you overspend, and now you are in huge debt?

See what I mean? The other day I read about a kid's computer of some kind being broken because it fell or something,  and it was attributed to Satan. Really? I don't know, let's just drop it there...

I might be in some sort of super Let's go kick his butt, butt, butt (as in our song) since we came back from Mexico, because whether we are under attack or not, I won't let this stop me for praising God. Years ago, I would've cried out , "Why, God? Why is this happening to us?" I would've thrown the biggest pity party in history, and I would've gotten depressed. Ask my husband if not. Was I concerned? Yes, I was. 

But after we left the doctor's office, I had peace of mind knowing that he took care of it. That at least we knew now that something was wrong, that she was overly tired because she was hurting from her ear for God only knows how long, until the fever showed up. We knew, as Emerson pointed out, the root cause, and we were gonna attack it. 

We had lunch at a Chinese buffet (while we waited for the prescription). Libby was very tired, but ate. She was laughing, and sticking her tongue out. I couldn't but praise God, and be thankful for keeping her healthy, after all, she is healthy. Daddy has a job that allows him to pay those prescriptions, and Mommy is healthy too to take care of them. And as with her Daddy, food takes all the pains away from her.

  

Waiting for food

Fun with the tongue

We lost her on the way home

Smiling with La Nena

We came home at 1 pm. I gave her the medicine, and Tylenol. She took an hour and a half nap. After that we watched Harry The Bunny, cuddling because she wouldn't let me go. She would freak out if I went to the bathroom, but I tried to understand. It made all the difference in the world. I love that little girl. She is in the 50th percentile for weight, and head circumference. She is in the 60th or so for height. She is growing just fine. See what I mean? We are blessed, she is healthy. She only has an ear infection.  

"Look at Harry, Mom!"

Watching Harry

After an hour or so after the first nap, she became very irritable and tired. We cuddled in the bed and fell asleep together. Emerson got home and took us a picture I will post for posterity: Sick baby, tired pregnant Mom.

Baby and Mommy: OUT!

She was kind of clingy when she woke up, she had dinner, and cried a little bit. But as we talked with Pamela and my in-laws she warmed up, and began being her normal self. "We should have her on Tylenol all the time", I told Emerson. She was great during her bath, compared to the last two nights, and she laughed with Grandpa and Grandma on Skype. We saw a difference in her behavior. 

Clinging to Mommy after dinner

Drinking her milk

Taking her meds

I know her behavior, I mean, the temper tantrums, anxiety and stuff won't go away overnight, but I feel safe in knowing that she is not sick anymore, that she is being treated, and that whatever happens God will give us the strength to go through it.

 I am happy she is back. I am really happy we are back. 

"Un año" 

Mexico Trip 2012. Day 7- Day 9

DAY 7: BACK TO NORMAL

There were no major developments this day. The doctor checked Libby one more time and asked us to come back on Saturday to give her more shots, vacciones and stuff so she wouldn't get sick as much as she was getting. But we didn't come back. 

I am not a doctor, but my short experience in college told me that you just don't give medicine when there is no need for it, especially with a baby. Dr.Pope would take care of her when we came back, and he did. 

Please feel free to read WELCOME HOME LIBBY.

DAY 8: THE PARTY

Saturday morning I woke up at 6 am to fix my hair. A friend of mine told me I looked like a mother. Well, I am a mother. Libby was very tired in the morning even though she had slept from 9 pm to 7 am. She fell asleep in my arms on the way to the park where her party took place. 

Birthday girl resting before her ordeal :)

We made a lot of noise getting the tables ready, but she never woke up. She slept for two hours. That was good, my princess needed to be well rested before the whole family arrived.

We had 70 or so guests. There was plenty of food, after all. I guess you remember that was the whole point of my stress before going to Mexico, as I wrote in one of the previous posts.

Before

After

My princess woke up at 11 am sharp as her Mommy had predicted when she decided to change the shcedule for how the party was gonna work out. Daddy and Grandma had planned something really good, but they are not all day long with Libby, so they don't really know the details of her sleeping hours, and the times when she is most comfortable and enjoyable :))

I said she would be her happiest between 11 am - 3 pm, and that's how it happened. She totally lost it after we cut the cake, as I had said, and took a nap right there in the middle of everybody. What can I say? I'm the pillar of this house, am I not?

Enjoying her new dress

My father in law had been vomiting and with diarrhea the night before. I'm telling you, there was this virus or something running around. Medicine my sister brought for him didn't help. 

We had two cakes, thanks to my mom. Libby had, of course, a Harry The Bunny strawberry cake. Daddy had a Beer, tres leches one. Libby also had a Harry Piñata that Pamela made for her, and she also made Bunny souvenirs.

Daddy's cake

Libby's cake

Piñata

Bunnies with candy

We had a really good time and sang Las Mañanitas to both Emerson and Libby. Each one blew their candles. We came back to the hotel around 6 pm since we needed to pack for next day's flight. And the cleaning lady had just started to clean my room... at 6 pm!

Libby had an accident with poop again, she needed a shower right away, me too. But there were no clean towels. The lady had to go get them. I was so mad. So, I know I have to be thankful, but that has nothing to do with the fact that if you pay for a service, you have the right to expect a good one. 

Anyways, this was an email I wrote pretending to be Emerson. They asked him to grade the hotel, and he said they were regular. They asked him again to tell them what had happened that he didn't grade them excellent, and so Emerson told me, "This is your chance, fire away..."  

"Well, I have stayed at different hotels all of them with excellent service. Your hotel didn't provide the service I was expecting.  To start with, I was told they would email me as soon as my room was ready (I got there before check-in time), but they never emailed me. Later during the week, we ran out of Kleenex and shampoo, and the cleaning lady didn't leave any for us. My wife had to ask the person at the lobby to please tell the person cleaning our room what we were missing. She had to do this two days in a row without an answer.  Actually, after two days in a row without shampoo,  my wife had to tell the cleaning lady in person what we needed.  The day before last my wife needed a band aid, and you don't have a first aid kit at the lobby. The last day, my wife needed to take a shower very fast, since our daughter had diarrhea, and she had an accident. But the person in charge of cleaning the room was beginning to clean it at 6 pm.  My wife needed to wait for the person to get the towels so she could have a shower and give a shower to our daughter. We were also told you only had one crib for babies, and the first person to ask for it would take it, and so we had to bring our pack n play all the way from the US so that our daughter would be able to sleep. What would happen if you have multiple guests with babies? You should have a handful of them. You cannot tell a guest you only have one crib, and the first person asking for it will take it. That is about it.  I was very kind in saying it was regular, trying to understand it could have been a lot of major bad coincidences. My wife would have graded it as awful, not even bad."

 Thank you,

 Mr . Nunez

I got us two free nights in a Deluxe Room and free breakfast next time we visit. Too bad we are not coming back for 2012. I also forgot to mention in the email that on Saturday night, after the party, we ate at their restaurant and my husband got the runs for eating their enchiladas. But, we are not sure it was their enchiladas, so I couldn't told them that. They would've given us a whole week :))

Emerson threw up all night, and had diarrhea all night long. He is just recovering. I think yesterday (Thursday) was his first day with normal, more solid poop. Of course, I didn't get sick, although I tried them.

Posing with Mommy

Birthday people

Beautiful

Playing with my necklace

Resting a little bit before the cake

Hitting the piñata

Happy 1st Birthday!!

Happy 29th Birthday!!

Lost the glamour after the cake

DAY 9: FLYING HOME

So we didn't pack that night since Emerson was sick, but the next morning while Libby took her morning nap. At the airport she was exhausted, but after crying for ten minutes, she fell asleep before take off. She woke up before landing, and was very active and whiny, but nothing really bad. We just wanted to get home...

Waiting to board

So the trip was fun...NOT!! 

It was a good trip though, we learned many tings that we needed to learn, I guess. God strengthened us in many ways. At least I feel my faith grew, and that I made a difference in some people's lives. Don't know when we will get back, but this time I just hope at least my husband gives me an upgrade to the Marriott or similar :))  

Thank you, God, for my family. And thank you also for giving us the opportunity to live in this country.