19 weeks 3 days

Almost half of my pregnancy is over...YAY! And technically, my doctor will perform a c-section at week 39, so it's already half over. :-) In 4 days, we'll know whether we're expecting a little girl or a little boy. We'd be happy with either so I'm just looking forward to knowing if we need to go shopping for new pink stuff and get rid of all of Alex's old stuff or bust out all the blue stuff again. The belly is growing more quickly than I thought it would so fortunately I went shopping for maternity clothes and am enjoying the comfort of all the room in the pants and shirts.

Otherwise, so far so good with the pregnancy. I'm just getting kinda tired of taking all of my vitamins all of the time. Look out for another post on Tuesday the 9th to find out the gender and help me with some names. :-)

Roly & Marissa are getting married in 2 weeks, and we're really looking forward to it. Crossing my fingers that I don't outgrow my altered bridesmaid dress. HA!

So long 2009

2009 brought about many changes in our life, and I'm thankful for all of them. To start off, I was a stay at home mom with Alex. In late June, Alex started preschool. This was heart-wrenching for me, but the changes I've seen in him have been amazing. In August, I finally started working after a year and a half long break with Alex. Finally, we found out that we are expecting baby #2 and couldn't be happier about all the great things that 2010 has to bring.

In 2010, we are looking forward to a lot of family weddings and celebrations including Roly & Marissa's wedding as well as the birth of our newest family member. We are really excited, and I look forward to blogging all about my experience as I did with Alex. :-)

In the meantime, we are amazed every day at the wonderful little person that Alex is becoming. He is a kind and loving soul although he can be a bit hyper and crazy sometimes. :-) He loves to sing like his mama and enjoys wrestling with anyone who will indulge him. He is currently in a phase of pulling off his shorts all the time, and we're still working on potty training him. We haven't gone full force yet because he's not yet ready but we are adamant about having him out of diapers by the time his little sister or brother arrives in June.

Work is work although it keeps me so busy that I hardly recognize the time flying by. I enjoy working with children. They keep me on my toes. I have a tremendous respect for teachers and challenge anyone that has never worked in the public schools to try to doing the job of anyone in public schools for a day. I might scream the next time I hear someone proclaim how wonderful our job is because of all the vacation we get. SHEESH! It's a tough job!

No more whining! My resolution for 2010. Happy New Year All!

Grateful for our blessings

Just a quick post to give a little update. We are on Christmas break for 2 weeks so we're trying to get plenty of rest while accomplishing all the things we don't have the time to tend to during the regular craziness of our lives. I am officially 13 weeks, 1 day pregnant and very grateful to almost be past the first trimester. I've managed to catch an infection and virus all within a week's time so hoping to be feeling better once I've finished taking my antibiotics. In the meantime, I'm enjoying every minute of being at home with Alex (and Eddy of course but that goes without saying.) :-) I'm posting a picture of my sonogram from my 12 week appointment. Usually a sonogram isn't necessary at this appt, but baby decided to be uncooperative so doctor had to do a sono to hear the heartbeat.



We got to spend some time in the Valley with Eddy's family and will be spending some time with my family this week. Looking forward to eating lots of tamales and feeling no guilt over my holiday eating. :-)

It's been a while...update

The last time I posted, we were working on getting Alex adjusted to preschool, and I'm happy to report that we have all adjusted. He still doesn't love it but since he started with a new teacher this past week, he's doing much better when we drop him off. Alex definitely takes after the Contreras introverted personality, at least around strangers.

I can't believe the semester is winding down and we're getting ready for winter break. I'm looking forward to some time for rest. I posted it on facebook already, but we are expecting another addition to the Contreras family, and we couldn't be more excited! The baby is due June 29, 2010 although he/she will probably be about a week early because of a c-section. Needless to say, I am exhausted, especially since I wake up at 5:40 a.m. Monday thru Friday, but the morning sickness seems to have subsided. I definitely haven't experienced the morning sickness with this baby that I did with Alex so that's been great for me. Those who were around me when I was pregnant with Alex know how hard it was on my body.

I made it a point to keep track of my pregnancy with Alex using my blog on myspace, and when Alex is older I will give him a copy of all of my entries. So, I am going to attempt to do the same with this baby only through Blogger now. If you are interested, feel free to read and I hope you enjoy my craziness and whining. Have a great week!

Preschool update

We began week 2 of part time preschool this week. Last week, Alex went Tuesday and Thursday, and this week we increased his attendance to three times a week on Mon, Tues, and Thursday to help his adjustment. He's been having a hard time adjusting, but his teacher promises his behavior is perfectly normal. He tends to stand in corners by himself, doesn't eat much of his food, and cries when we drop him off and pick him up. Madness!

He is slowly improving but his behavior at home is very nervous and kinda whiny/cranky. Oh well! Mama's gotta go to work! Otherwise, I'm getting ready to start work this August and I'm both excited and nervous but I'm ready to finish this CFY that's been looming over my head since finishing my master's last May.

I'm trying to post pictures of Alex in school but my scanner is being difficult...I will post as soon as I get this scanner to cooperate.

First Day of School

I knew this day would come sooner than later, and I have to admit that some days I was eager for it to come when Alex would misbehave, but I'd have to say that I underestimated how difficult this day would be for me. It's a feeling I can't explain, but it just broke my heart leaving him in an unfamiliar place all day with unfamiliar people. I was able to watch from home on the center's internet video monitoring site, and I witnessed a few occasions where Alex was still getting comfortable, and it broke my heart. Like I said, I can't explain. I cried multiple times, and I even find myself crying after picking him up...motherhood has turned me into such a softie..UGH! :-)

When I went into his classroom to pick him up, he started crying...I hope Thursday goes smoother than today for both of us...I can't imagine what the owner and Alex's teacher would say if she saw me crying two days in a row.

This day is over, and for that, I am grateful. I pray that the Lord give me the strength and perseverance to make it over this hurdle. Pretty soon, I hope that both Alex and I love his school experience as much as his daddy does.

Summer time

It seems like only yesterday that I was graduating with my master's and having over a year to stay at home with Alex. That was a year and almost 2 months ago...my, how time flies! Next Tuesday, the 30th, Alex will be starting preschool, and I'm so nervous about the change that's going to bring. I'll be starting my job in a little over a month so we're starting Alex with a few days a week of preschool so that he adjusts to being away from home during the day. I'm nervous and anxious...I know leaving him at a school all day is going to be rough but if he's happy there, I'll be happy knowing that he's filling his days with social interaction, knowledge, and fun. I pray for his well-being, and I believe the Lord will allow everything else to fall into place as it should be.

Otherwise, we've been keeping busy with getting preschool supplies (diapers, wipes, clothes, backpack, etc.,) and I've been brushing up on speech therapy literature. We spent a few days in the Valley with Eddy's family this past week and had a blast. We're getting ready to go to my 10 year high school reunion in a couple of weeks where I will get to hang with my homey, Danielle for the first time in over 7 years...I miss that girl!

Alex had his first haircut a few weeks ago, and here is one of my favorite "after" pics. :-) Enjoy!