Back to reality!

Boy was I spoiled with DJ's family over the Christmas weekend! I hardly held/changed/rocked/touched Nate at all while we were there. At the time I was really missing him, but wanted his whole family to be able to spend as much time with him as possible. Now I would give anything for just one person to be here with me at home to help me with him! I am still having a hard time juggling him and all of the other things that need to get done. He has been crying so much lately and needing to be held, and it's all I can do to brush my teeth and eat every once in a while! Forget the laundry, dishes, job search, and general household maintanence!! It really makes you appreciate having a day job! My hat is off to all the stay at home moms out there...it's the hardest job on earth!

I promise I will post some new pics soon. I just haven't downloaded them yet but it will happen eventually! Happy Holidays and much love to you all!

Merry Christmas!

I have to say that Nate's first Christmas has been VERY fruitful! Not only did he get TONS of presents from the Vargas side of his family, but he has finally gotten to meet all of his family! I don't think I've held him more than 30 minutes in the last 2 days because he has an army of family members waiting to hold him and love on him. It has been amazing to watch his family with him....they just love him to pieces. And he looks SO MUCH like his Uncle Rene and Aunt Christy, it's amazing!

We are so thankful for family. Much love to you all and a very Merry Christmas! Pictures from our trip will come soon!

One month old today!!

After his bath, so cute!

Such a serious face!

First time daddy gave him a bottle

With mommy

His "babysitters", Ramsey and Ava

A pic from mommy's lap

I cannot believe that our little boy is already one month old! Time is passing so fast. Some days I want him to hurry up and get a little bigger so he can hold his head up on his own or be big enough to play with toys. But at the same time I want him to stay tiny forever! Happy One Month, Little Man!!

God is GREAT!!

We all knew this already, but we have been blessed with another small miracle: Nate's hips were healed!!! Completely fine. Our doctor was even surprised!! She said she was expecting to hear the clicking, but was pleasantly surprised that she didn't. Said there had been a whole rash of babies with loose hips lately and all of them had been referred to an orthopedic specialist. Nate was the first baby who didn't have to be referred! Yay for Nate!! We are so happy. Thanks to all of you who prayed for him...it definitely worked.

Also, I had an interview today with Bank of America. It was for a customer service call center position and it went fairly well. I only got the interview because my friend Val referred me...I'm sure of that. We'll see what happens...after all the interviews I've been to in the last year I am not holding my breath. But it does help to know someone when you're looking for a job, so I am very grateful to Val for passing on my resume! Tomorrow I'll keep on applying. I really think that looking for a job is one of the worst things in the world. It can really make you feel bad about yourself if you let it! I'm just lucky to have such a great husband who takes care of me and Nate. I love you, hubby! :)

Good friends and those darn Cowboys!!

We were so happy that our friends Kristin and Zach from Irving were able to come hang out with us today. The guys were pumped to watch the Cowboys game together, and they came bearing pizza and beer. Too bad the Cowboys stink in December and can't seem to ever win at the end of the season....DJ is so disappointed in his beloved team and has pretty much given up on this season. But at least we had some great company and were able to catch up with them and show off Nate to more of our friends! For the most part Nate was a very good baby...but I don't think we sold them on the whole "parenting" thing. They were all too happy to get home to their animal children and leave the infant needing a diaper change with us! :)

Even though DJ only got one day off this weekend, it was a great weekend and we got a bit of shopping done last night. This is going to be a hard week with DJ having to work very late nights and neither of us is looking forward to it. But these late nights are temporary and we'll be back to a normal schedule soon. And Christmas will be here before we know it, so he'll get some more time off then! I just wish we had more time to spend together when we're not sleeping. Oh well....like I said, it's all temporary. Tomorrow is Nate's next doctor's appointment when she will evaluate his hips again. I'm very nervous about it and have been trying not to worry too much. We will see what happens tomorrow, and I will update you all when I can. More later....

Christmas is almost here??!!??!!

Ok...how is it almost Christmas already? I realize that I've been quite secluded from the outside world recently, but time is just going by SO FAST!! My pregnancy went by super quickly and now Nate is already 3 1/2 weeks old and it's December 10th! Only 15 more days to shop and we haven't really even started!! We have a few gifts bought, but still have much to do. I just hope we get it all done before we leave for our Vargas family Christmas in San Marcos!! By the way, we are so excited to get down south so that Nate can meet the rest of his family! His aunts, uncles and cousins are also anxious to finally meet him and DJ and I are both looking forward to spending time with everyone down there.

I guess I'm going to have to get out there in the world and go shopping pretty soon! I have to admit that I have enjoyed this time at home where I don't have to get dressed, put on makeup, fix my hair or any of that stuff. However, I have been a little lonely by myself all these days while DJ is at work. Today I went to Jennifer's house for some company and so she could watch Nate while I looked online for jobs. It was SO GREAT to have someone to talk to who could talk back! It was also great Monday when Lori brought the kids by for a bit. The girls (Ramsey and her BFF Ava) were so cute-they took turns holding and kissing Nate while Bryson ransacked the place! Other than that I haven't had much company, so I guess a shopping adventure will be good for both Nate and me! We'll get some practice tomorrow night when the three of us go to the grocery store for the first time, woohoo! More later! Hope you're all doing well and getting all of your holiday preparations done! Love to all!

I need a JOB!!!

Unfortunately, the economy has claimed two more casualties...Learning Express in McKinney and Allen. It is sad to see these two wonderful stores go, but I am just so sad for my sister and her family. They have worked so hard and invested so much into this business...and all for nothing. It's just heartbreaking. But now I must find a new job to start in the next few weeks because we cannot survive on just one paycheck. So the search is on...and let me tell you it is NOT EASY in this economy to find a job! I was having a hard time before I got pregnant, but now it is do or die! So...if anyone knows of anything I can do PLEASE let me know!!

In other news - Nate had his doctor's appointment this morning. She needed to check his hips to see if they are still clicking...and unfortunately they are. He has one more week to keep growing and progressing. After next week if his hips are still clicking we will have to get some tests done to see how bad they are. He might have to wear a harness so that his hips can form correctly. The doctor had a positive attitude about this, and said that by catching it early in his life he should be fine after wearing a harness...if it comes to that. We are just praying that his hips will be fine next week and we won't have to worry about this anymore!!! I just can't imagine putting my tiny baby in a harness that he will have to wear for several weeks. It can't be comfortable. The good news is he gained half a pound and now weighs 7.25 lbs! I guess I've been supplying enough milk for him on my own to this point, which I was worried about. Yay mommy!

That's all for now. Please pray for little Nate and his hips. We could use some good news next week!

New pics!

Daddy and his son....so sweet!

Nana and Pepo with Nate

In his bouncy chair

This is Nate on his way home from the hospital! First time in the car seat...we were so excited, and doesn't he look so cute? :)

Making progress....

The week isn't over yet, but I am starting to feel more confident about what I'm doing. And I know DJ is too. When he finally gets home from his long work day the first thing he wants to do is hold Nate. Usually by this point of the evening, Nate and I could use a break from each other and Nate is always very content laying on his daddy. The sight of it brings tears to my eyes, it's so beautiful! Here are some funny (although not-so-funny at the time!) things that have happened to us since we brought him home:

1. Nate "hosed" his daddy and grammie while they were changing his diaper. All over their clothes and arms. Lesson learned!! We all laughed on this one because it was just bound to happen eventually.

2. During his first bath at home, we were almost finished when.....OOPS!! Nate poops all in the water and all over the blanket we had him wrapped in! This was a frustrating yet hilarious situation and we couldn't help but laugh at our naivity.

3. This one wasn't quite so funny because it has happened a few times now...at some point in the middle of the night Nate managed to squirm out of his diaper while wrapped up in his swaddling blankets. Wouldn't have been a big deal if he hadn't pooped explosively through both his sleeper and the 2 blankets around him! He truly is his father's child with all this poop!!

I'm sure there will be many more learning experiences for us along the way. As for me....I'm just trying to figure out how to find time to do housework while he's awake because I know I need to sleep while he's sleeping. But guess what he's doing right now as I type this? Sleeping of course! It's just so much easier to put him in his bassinet with the monitor on and go about some of my business when he isn't needing to eat or a diaper change! It will get easier I hear, I just hope it happens soon! Even though this is the hardest thing I have ever done I love being a mommy. He is so precious, I just want to hold him all day and stare at his adorable face. More pictures to come soon...I promise!

Day 1 was a success!

Well I made it through my first day by myself with Nate. I had a practice day last Monday, but my friend Jennifer did come over for a little bit to let me nap so it doesn't really count! At least now I know I can manage to get him taken care of....even if I don't get to eat lunch until 3 or 4 in the afternoon! I even got him to and from the doctor's office on time! :)

We had our 2 week checkup today and Nate is doing great. He's still tiny, but he has gained his birth weight back plus 1/2 oz so the doctor was happy about that. His umbilical cord has healed, so now we can give him regular baths instead of sponge baths. All is well, except we have to go back in 2 weeks so she can check his hips...they are still clicking, which she said has something to do with his tendons not being connected yet or something? I don't really know, but they should be good by his 4th week. If not, I guess we'll deal with that when we get there. Tomorrow I have to take him to the hospital for his 2nd PKG test where they prick his heel. He won't like that for sure! Hopefully it won't be too cold to get him out and about.

I'm still getting used to this "mommy" business. It sure is hard work, but it is worth it to see him smile.

My first attempt

Ok, so I've been reading my sister's blog and several other friends and family members blogs for a long time now and always wanted to start one of my own. The problem was I didn't really have anything to blog about that I wanted out on the world wide web! BUT.....now I have a wonderful, caring, responsible, and all around AWESOME husband-Domingo Vargas, Jr. (aka DJ) And somehow we created the most perfect and precious little baby boy, Nathaniel Luke. Nate is absolutely the light of our lives and we couldn't be more proud. I can't believe he is almost 2 weeks old already!! Most of this blog will be about Nate and all of the exciting things we will witness as he has all of his "first" moments. Forgive me if I brag on him too much...I'm just a proud new mommy, excited to share my son's life with you all...our family and friends. Please enjoy the pictures that my sister Lori helped me post so far. If not for Lori this blog would not exist, so I need to thank her for creating it for me. There will be many more pictures to come as soon as I learn how to do this!

As we wrap up this Thanksgiving weekend, I would just like to say how much we love our families. We didn't get to see all of DJ's family this weekend, but we were extremely happy to have spent the weekend with his mom and dad, Nana and Pepo. They helped us out so much...more than they even know. And I know they loved getting to meet their newest grandson and spoiling him....and us! We were also able to spend some time with my family, and Gramps got to meet Nate too. It was a great weekend and I'm sad that it's over.

I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving with your loved ones. More later!

some pictures of Nate!

These are all from Nate's first day!