We Bought a House!

When we moved to Miami in August, or situation had not yet been determined. We could continue renting an apartment as we had in Greenville or we could live at the in-laws house, save money and eventually buy a house of our own. And that's just what we did.

Initially, I didn't want to live with my in-laws. I loved them and I thought that living together would change that. (But this topic is a post for another time).  I wanted to be out as soon as possible... But Mauricio made me agree to stick it out for 6 months. Those 6 months came and went and we stayed. On August 1, in just a few short days, it'll be a year that we've been living here!

Back in December, we started looking for a house to buy. We knew that since our current living situation was good and we were saving a good deal of money every month, that we could take our time looking and not have to settle on the first thing that came along. We could wait for the hidden gem... And we did!

Finally after months of searching, we came across a home that was in our #1 desired location.  Pinecrest.  A location that has the best schools, the best restaurants, the best malls, the best parks.  It's centralized and nice.  It was available.  It was at the top of our designated budget.  Our budget was only as high as we wanted to go... not as high as we could go.  Plus we wanted to have the option of having a 15 year mortgage.

All along, I felt like God's hand was over this entire process.  It was all a little too easy, a little too planned, a little too perfect to be coincidence.  I knew, from the moment we walked in the door that THIS was the house that had been set aside for us!

When we came across it, we immediately jumped on it and was inside within hours of finding it online. Right after seeing it, we told our realtor we wanted to put an offer for list price.  She was hesitant, because given the location, the list price was very low and it was an UNapproved short sale.  For those of you who don't know, a short sale can either be approved or unapproved.  If it's approved, then the list price is basically the bottom price a bank will accept.  If it's unapproved, as ours was, the list price is a GUESS as to what the bank may or may not accept.  A lot of times, an unapproved shortsale will go for months before either becoming approved by the bank, or rejected.  So, our agent wanted us to offer much higher than the list price, but the list price, although unapproved was still at the top of our threshold, which we didn't intend on passing.  We basically told her that that was all we could offer, and if it was rejected, then it wasn't the house for us and that it would be ok.

But that's not what happened.  Within 3 days of placing our offer, it was accepted by the sellers!  And within a week later, the bank had approved it!  We had been expecting to wait months and months before even hearing a yes or no, and all of it came together in a week!  We were ready to roll!

So a few days after that, we had our inspection done.  To our disappointment the house needed a new roof.  But after having some roofers come out and quote it, we figured out that we could still afford to do it!  And thankfully, that was the only real issue with the house... and even though the roof has been compromised, there is no internal damage, mold or termites!  The house was built in 1956, so that's pretty solid!

We continued to work with all the necessary parties in order to close, and had a few bumps in the road with getting insurance coverage (I'll talk about that in another post too) and getting the seller's cooperation, but eventually we did it.  We closed!

We are homeowners!

We have a home in Miami to call our own!
A home to raise our boys in.

And the funniest part is that if we stay there for the life of the loan (15 years), we'll pay it off the same year that Marco graduates from high school!  Isn't that incredible!?

So now what you've all been waiting for.  Pictures!!!
Keep in mind, the house is FILTHY!
And we have a LOT of work to do!

Here's a video of my manly husband doing the honors of removing our for sale sign.  And you can see the front of the house.

Entrance:  This is the view from when you open the door.  To the left you have a small living space and beyond it a converted garage into a large living space.  To the right is the hall to the bedrooms and straight back is the dining and kitchen.

Dining Room.  Sorry, no lights yet.

Kitchen:  We really like the cabinets, but will be adding some handles.  We would eventually like to change out the countertops and get a nice backsplash, but that'll have to wait.  We would also like new appliances. 

This is the converted garage.  It's huge.  We'll be using it as our family room. 

This is the boys' bathroom. We hate the pedestal sinks, but love that there are two of them.  Eventually this bathroom will need a makeover, but not for many years to come.  It's not on the top of my list.

This dump will eventually be my precious children's room.  They will be sharing.  This room needs new carpet because this one smells like a homeless man.  And obviously we'll clean and beautify it.  Stay tuned.

This will be the office.  We decided to have the boys share because this room is really small and the closet is practically non existent.  But it'll make a great office!

And this dump is going to be our master bedroom.  It's small but we like it.  I can't wait to get all Pinterested up in here!

Master bath... there's nothing "master" about it.  But we'll fix it and it'll be fabulous.  This picture sucks, by the way... it shows nothing! haha.

This is the BEST part.  A screened in (dirty) pool AND a MASSIVE yard behind it.  I mean, look at my land!  Can you see the boys playing out there?!  I can.  I can SEE IT!  Wooooo!!!

 So there you have it.  Your tour.  Don't worry, I will keep you updated through our decorating, cleaning, fixing and everything else.  I'm so excited to get started!  I already picked up every paint magazine at Home Depot!
Who wants to help?!

2 Boys in a Movie Theatre

Did you know that Regal Theaters did $1 movies every Tuesday and Wednesday throughout the summer?  Pretty awesome, right?! (here's a link to check out their schedule)

I've known about that for a few years now and I've always wanted to go, but never have.  My first summer as a mom, Marco was a newborn.  My second summer as a mom, Marco was a non-stop 1 year old... too young and too crazy.  My third summer as a mom, Marco was ok, but Jonas was still too young and me alone with two babies... thanks but NO thanks.  My fourth summer as a mom... this summer... this was going to be MY year... I was going to give it a shot!

And I did.
Yesterday.

My mother-in-law and I decided that we could make this work... two adults, two kids... man to man defense.  We could do this.  So we went this morning and were shocked to find that this wasn't a "best kept secret"... the theatre was packed.  The line went down all the rows, down the steps and into the mall area!  We waited anyway... I mean, it's only $1, right?!

Marco is really into movies and can easily sit through an entire one... if it's the right one.  Jonas' attention varies... he can watch about 30 minutes of the right movie, but if there are snacks, he can go for longer.

Unfortunately, we didn't see the right movie.

This is the movie we saw:

It was not funny, not captivating and not colorful.  It was beautiful... for adults.  But it just didn't hold my children's attention.  In fact, the first half hour was so dark and scary that it turned them off from the start.  The topic is very serious as well.  Not a good choice for our first ever movie experience.

Within 15 minutes, Jonas started wiggle worming and yelling out "MAMA!" in a packed movie theatre.  So I decided to step outside with him in an attempt to buy a snack.  They had given me a coupon for a $2 popcorn, but once I got down the register, I realized I had left it in my purse... at my seat.  So we went back up.  Once there, I find Marco standing and sitting and standing and sitting.  Then when my mother-in-law got up to go get the popcorn (2nd attempt), both kids jumped up to go with her.  Only 45 minutes into it and we were done.  

So we left.  But hey, 45 minutes for $3 is STILL a good deal!

We took advantage of being at the mall and went to the free kids play area for about an hour to allow them to release their pent up energy.  Whew.

My BIG summer movie going plans were short lived.  Maybe next year will be my year.  Maybe next year both my boys will be ready to sit still and pay attention.  And maybe next year, I'll choose our movie a little more wisely.  

We will be venturing to the movies one more time this summer to watch Rio... but this time, without Jonas. 

Steps to Success

You heard it here first... Jonas is almost a walker!

It all started on Friday.  He began taking a few steps at a time!  And thanks to our nifty new iPhone 4S's, we were able to catch and record it right away!

This is very rare footage.  Jonas' actual first steps ever.  Enjoy!

What was that? Two, maybe three steps?!  Success!!!

Since Friday, he's gotten more brave.  Now he can stand alone (when placed) and ranges between 7-10 steps at a time!  He still doesn't want to walk though.  He'd rather crawl... because it's faster, duh.

Now, Marco walked at 13 months and 7 days.  I thought that was genius, considering he was a one-month-premie.  But Jonas... my little champion... he walked at 14 months and 4 days!  Incredible for a two-month-premie, no?  And they say it takes up to two years for premies to catch up... pashaw... not MY premies! They're rolling and sitting and walking and talking with the rest of them.

Proud Mama, right here guys!

And here we go... a new phase.  Life with 2 under 2 is long gone.  Here comes life with 2 toddlers.  And I say, bring it on!

Potty Training: Day 1

After an entire weekend of potty prep time, today was our first official potty training day... and it went GREAT!  Either my son is a genius or this Potty Boot Camp method is miraculous!  (I like to think it's the former). 

We started right after breakfast... I took Marco to the bathroom and explained to him what I was doing.  I then put on a clean new Mickey Mouse underwear, and he immediately peed into it.  OH NO!  I again explained what we were doing and put a new underwear on him... not 2 minutes later, he peed again.  Oh geez, this was gonna be a long day!  We cleaned up and put yet another underwear on him... 3 more minutes and he peed yet again!  At this rate, I was gonna run out of underwear and have to do laundry mid-day.  

So I decided to drill.  The drilling is the hardest and harshest part of the method.  But it works.  It's sort of a "tough love" thing, but I figured I'd do it so long as Marco was accepting it... I'd let him gauge it.  We did 10 drills straight.  I held his hand and walked away from the bathroom and asked, "What do we say when we have to go pee-pee?", to which he replied, "Mama, pee-pee" and then I'd walk him to the bathroom and say, "then we go to the bathroom, take off your pants, sit on the toilet, and do pee-pee, in the toilet, not in your pants", all while doing the motions.  That... 10 times.  Brainwashing much?  Yup... and it worked.  We drilled twice overall.  

After that, he'd say, "Mama, caca" and run to the bathroom.  Well, it got me thinking... he was using the word "caca" for both pee and poop.  Now a lot of things were coming together... he has been saying "Mama, caca" for months now... sometimes when he's pooped and sometimes when he hasn't.  I thought he was using it to get attention or just faking it, but now I realize that he was telling us when he peed as well as when he pooped.  If only I'd known, I would have assumed he was ready for potty training months ago!  

The goal for the end of day 1 is for them to begin self initiating... meaning they tell YOU when they have to go to the bathroom.  Marco was doing it by noon!  The only problem after that was that he was saying "Mama, caca" every 5-10 minutes and going in for just a trickle.  Sure, he was doing it, but he wasn't holding at all.  I assume this will get better in a few days time. 

Around 1:45 I put him down for his nap with a diaper.  He was a little confused by this and came out of the room several times to tell me he had to go to the bathroom and I had to explain that he could pee in his diaper because it was nap time.  I was afraid that when he woke up, he would have regressed, but he didn't.  We put his undies back on and he was good to go.  

Unfortunately he didn't poop on the potty at all today... both times was right after waking up, so he went in his diaper.  But overall, today was  a monumental success!  If I had known it was going to be this easy, I wouldn't have been so terrified.  He was SOOO excited to show Mau how he could go pee-pee on the toilet!  I was beaming with pride.  

Here's the proof:

(he'll be thanking me for this one, I'm sure)

the future in underwear modeling

Oh, also Mau started his new job today... today was a good day! 

Potty Training: Prep

I've been avoiding potty training like the plague.  Honestly, I'm scared of it.  I don't know how to handle it. I don't want to spend days, weeks, months picking up poop and changing wet clothes.  I don't want to have to soak up carpet stains or mop up the floor.  So, it's been on the back burner.  I figured, eventually he'll be potty trained... you know, by the time he's 12.

But lately, he's been much more vocal about when and if he needs a diaper change.  He's been able to tell us immediately after he poops and sometimes before.  He's asked to sit on the toilet... although once he does, he just tries to play with the water.

Many people have told me, "he's ready", but I still felt apprehensive.  I've heard horror stories about children being potty trained too early and then spending the next 2 years cleaning up accidents because they never "got it".  Or worse even, boys potty trained too early and then spend the rest of their lives touching themselves and adjusting themselves in public because they've developed a habit of it.  Yuck.  But the flip side is potty training too late and being turned down at pre-school, or having detachment issues with the diaper.  I don't know if any of this is actually accurate but it still gave me a cause for concern.  So when is the "right" time?  Gosh, if only these kids came with instruction manuals!

Well, I decided it is now the "right time" for Marco.  On Monday, we begin hard core potty training.  And here's why:  First is the fact that he's been vocal about being wet/dry, but most importantly is the fact that I have support.  With my mother-in-law home for one more week, she'll be able to help me reinforce the technique and also be with Jonas while I concentrate on Marco.  Also, we're living in their house, which is tiled or laminate wood throughout... no carpet!  Now is the time.

I read The Potty Boot Camp and it claims that by the end of the first day, your child should be 90% potty trained.  Basically by the end of day 1, they "get it".  That sounds good to me.  I know it's not a miracle worker, and I'm not expecting it to run smoothly, or be easy by any means, but it's worth a try.  It means 2-3 days stuck in the house, cleaning up messes.  Yippee... can't wait.  I went to Target today and armed myself with a few bribes and some special big boy undies!

Leading up to the BIG day (Monday), we'll be doing some prep work.  Every single time I or Mauricio go to the bathroom, we ask Marco to come with us.  Then we explain to him what we're doing... step by step.  (Some of this may be TMI, sorry).  "Here's the toilet, I'm taking down my pants, now I'm doing pee-pee, look!"  Then I stand up, we look in the bowl and I let him flush as we say "bye bye pee-pee".  Then we've been asking him, "Does Mama wear a diaper?"... and he thinks that's funny, "Noooooooooo"... "Marco's not gonna wear a diaper any more either because he's a big boy now".  Hopefully after 3 days of this, he'll be ready and know what's coming.  

I'm nervous.  I'll keep you updated on our daily progress.  This is BIG news!  Pray for me. 

Mobile

I now have 2 mobile children!

About a week ago, Jonas began scooting.  He's still not fully crawling, but it's not a scoot either.  Instead of moving one leg and then the other, he moves both and then his arms while using his belly in between.  It looks like a frog leap or a butterfly swim motion... so cute!

Since being able to get around, he's become a much happier baby.  He doesn't mind being put on the floor because he's no longer taunted by the toys just out of reach... now he can go for them.  The only problem is that when he goes for Marco's toys, we hear Marco repeating "no, brother"... we're trying to teach him to share.

This morning, I called him from the kitchen when it was time for breakfast.  It took him a few minutes, but he came all the way up to the gate and waited for me to scoop him up and put him in his high chair.  He was so proud of himself!

On top of being able to get around, he is now more able to play with other babies.  He can interact and almost keep up with babies his age.  He's much happier this way!

People always look at him funny because he's SO tiny, and yet doing all these "big baby things".  I just smile and tell them he's a lot older than they think he is.  My small and mighty boy!

Big Boy Bed

On Thursday I became even more certain that my now 2 year old is really becoming a BIG boy.  I put him down for his nap as usual, and returned downstairs to nurse and rock Jonas to sleep.  That's our routine.  All of a sudden, I hear some movement and the tap-tap-tap of little feet racing across the floor.  Then the sound of a door knob rattling, and finally, "Mama, da dow is stuck!"  He climbed out of his crib!!!

I went up to see just how he did it, and with a huge smile, he proudly displayed his climbing abilities.  I was impressed.  But, I told him it was nap time and he had to stay in bed.  I tucked him in, said a prayer, told him I loved him and left.  Not 3 minutes later, he was walking down the stairs.  We repeated this 6 or 7 times and finally resulted in punishment.  An hour and a half later, he took his nap. 

When Mau got home, he showed him his newly acquired skills.  And we recorded it for your viewing pleasures:

So, for two days we were allowing him to climb out, but it was annoying because he coudn't get back in.  Also, my Mama instinct was telling me this was probably a bad idea.  It only takes ONE slip to make a broken arm, or worse.  Besides, we bought a convertible crib for just this reason... so it could convert once we needed it to.  Climbing out is a sure sign that it's time.

We went to Buy Buy Baby and bought a bed rail, and took off the front panel of the crib.  Marco now has a BIG Boy Bed.

We have also heard stories of children escaping their rooms in the middle of the night, eating from the fridge or waking up their parents.  Some people lock the door from the inside, others put the childproof door handles on the inside... we chose to put up a gate.  Seriously, I could be a world class hurdler with all the gates we have up in our house... 2 that we jump over to get to the kitchen, 2 that swing for the stairs and now one to get into the boys' room.  

Our first night in the BBB (Big Boy Bed) went better than expected.  Our problem was not having an escapee, but having a wakey.  Marco does not let Jonas sleep.  Within a few minutes of leaving their room, Marco had gotten out of bed, overturned a basket and climbed on top of it to be able to reach into Jonas' crib.  Then, screaming.  Jonas was not happy to have been woken up.  I had to bring Jonas downstairs until I was certain that Marco had fallen asleep.  In the morning, we realized that the gate at the door was not going to stop him.  Duh... if he can climb out of a crib, how is a gate going to stop him?!  He was in our room by 8:30, asking for a diaper change.  

Marco was so excited to be in a BBB.  He's so proud of himself!  We keep pumping him up and telling him that he's SO BIG.  Our next stop on the road to Big Boyhood is getting rid of the paci.  We're already talking about it, so it shouldn't be too long now.  

Accidents Happen

I guess it's ok for me to post this today, since it's a Friday... Friday's are flame free, so you're not allowed to judge me.  Just so you know.

Today I did something rather dumb.  Not my proudest Mama Moment.  In fact, I've been ladened with guilt all day.  Jonas fell down.

I took Marco to get a haircut today.  Being that it was only his second one ever, he was rather skittish.  Actually, that's an understatement.  He FLIPPED out.  The moment his butt landed in the barber chair, which by the way was adorable, small and blue, with a tv screen, kid music playing and puzzles, he went bonkers.  So while I'm holding Jonas, I try to ease Marco's stress.  We offer him a lollypop, even a sip from my Frappuccino (another superior parenting moment), yet nothing would calm him down.  

Here's where I made my mistake.  I put Jonas down... on a bench, sitting up.  The bench wasn't too high off the floor (like knee level), and I was "watching him" and I was "right there", what could happen?  So, I start to give Marco more of my attention, trusting Jonas to stay put.  Marco started to calm down and things were looking better.  Then it happened, so fast that I didn't even realize what happened till my little baby was face down on the floor.  He rolled forward off the bench and fell on his face.  

Well, naturally he started screaming... which in turn got Marco freaked out again and he started screaming as well.  I immediately broke out into a nervous sweat and started cursing myself, all the while checking for broken bones or bruises.  Thankfully, there were none.  

Then I'm questioning, should I go to the hospital?  What if he has a concussion?  What if something is internally wrong and I can't see it?  What if I just caused brain damage? What if he's got organ bleeding?  What if........  

But I decided to head home and keep a careful eye on him.  I'm happy to report that he's been acting normally, his eyes are not dilated and he has no redness, swelling or bruising.  God is GOOD!  

I just keep reminding myself that I'm a total dumb@ss.  This could have been avoided... if I had only brought the stroller down.  If I had only brought down the carrier.  If I had not been so bothered by Marco's melt down.  I know accidents happen, but this could have been avoided.  

To console me, my mom recalled a time she fell down the stairs with me and had to call 911.  Then my step-mom told me of a time she dropped my step-brother from the highchair and ran outside so her husband wouldn't hear the screams and know what a horrible mother she was!  Yeah, it actually does make me feel a little better... my accident wasn't nearly as bad as either of theirs! 

Marco's First Haircut

Marco's hair has been a subject of argument in our house.  It's beautiful.  I love it.  But it was too long.  Mauricio didn't think so.  The fact that it was in his eyes and was like a rat's nest every morning didn't seem to matter.  Mauricio did not want him to get a haircut.  Actually, he didn't want him to GO get a haircut... because he wanted to give him a haircut.  I don't know when Mauricio went to cosmetology school, but he thinks that because he cuts his own hair, with clippers, that he can cut Marco's fresh never-seen-a-sheer- hair with ease.  I did not agree.

Luckily, this past weekend I had back up... HIS MOTHER!  Immediately she agreed that he needed a haircut and we agreed to take him on Saturday.  When Mauricio began protesting, I asked his mom, "do you go to a salon to get your haircut?" To which she replied, "yes".  Then I asked his dad the same question and again we got a "yes".  EVERYONE goes to a professional... well, everyone but Mau.  I mean, take a look at his hair... here he was last week.  Cute as a button, but the hair was just too long.

So we took him, against my husbands wishes, to the kiddie salon, called Jelly Beans.  The place is great for kids.  Toys, video games, cars, etc.  Marco immediately felt at home.  The best part is that for the 1st haircut, they only charge a penny... ONE CENT!  What?!  And they give a cute little certificate with a lock of hair attached.  It was very sweet.














First she attempted to wash his hair, but he wouldn't lay still, so instead she just wet it.  She sat him in the 4 wheeler, and he was good to go.


















He did super well.  He didn't mind getting his hair cut at all.  The only time he fussed was when she was cutting his bangs.  He was too busy playing with the 4 wheeler, saying "beep beep, vrooom", and she was getting in his way!

















Here's the final product.  I thought it was pretty good... until I got home and it settled.  Mauricio immediately didn't like it.  Said it looked silly.  Said he could have done a better job.  Said he looked nerdy...

Said it looked a little like... Dumb and Dumber.  Oh no!

And now that a few days have passed, maybe it's true?  But he needed a haircut... but why does it have to look awkward?  I want him to have a cute surfer look... not a bowl cut!  Eeek.  What do you think?

My baby is ONE!

Today, not only do we celebrate Father's Day, but also the day my beautiful boy came into this world.  One year ago, at 1:09 am, he changed my world forever.  Let's take a little walk down memory lane, as I remember his birth day.

It was June 19, 2009 at 9am when I woke up feeling strange.  I knew I shouldn't be in labor, being only 35 weeks pregnant, but still something wasn't right.  I felt like I was leaking, but only when laying down.  I called into the OB and they asked me to come in.  Since I'd had several "false alarms" throughout the week, I told Mauricio to stay at work and if it was the "real thing", I'd call him to leave.  Little did I know that I really was in labor!  When I arrived at the doctor and they did the oh, so comfortable internal exam, they told me I was 1 cm dilated and 90% effaced.  I was definitely having this baby today!
They wheeled me down to the hospital, but FIRST to the BILLING department!  Can you believe they make you take care of your bill BEFORE you have the baby WHILE you're in labor?  That's a crime!  When I finally got up to the maternity ward, and hooked up, I called Mau and told him it was the real deal. I then called my parents, who immediately took off in the car, a 12 hour drive, to try to make it before the baby arrived!  Then as we all know, is the waiting game.

Once Mau arrived, I was much happier, as he always puts me in such a good mood.  He snuck in some Chick-fil-a, which I devoured (against all recommendations).  But, it was a mistake... as soon as my contractions became a little stronger, up came all my food!  Carol arrived to be another moral support for me, since she's a veteran, and the three of us were having a great time.  I was able to walk, move around and sit in a chair... until my water broke... all over the floor.  Then the dr came in, checked me and said those 3 horrifying words... "Let's start Pitocin".  HOLD THE PHONE!  No one is giving me Pitocin without an Epidural!  Even though my contractions were not unmanageable... yes, I was grunting through them, but not screaming/crying... I refused to have the Pitocin make my body a mad woman.  I had my wonderful, fantastic, lovely Epidural (and I don't regret it one bit)!

After the Epi, it was a REAL waiting game.  There was nothing to do but hang out, watch tv (which is nice because we don't have cable at home, so we take advantage of it at the hospital!) and talk.  At around 9pm, the dr came in and told me that we were going to wait till I was at 10 cm and let the baby come down as far as possible on his own, before I started to push.  He estimated it would be about 4 am before that would happen and he told me to get some sleep.  Well, I didn't take his advice and continued to talk and watch tv for another few hours.  At around 11:30 pm we finally decided to try to go to sleep, but were all very excited.  So we turned off the lights and the tv, and all of a sudden I had an extreme amount of pressure... in my butt.  It was so uncomfortable that I COULD NOT sleep.  I told Carol to run out into the hall and tell the nurse that I wasn't feeling right, and to come check on me.  When she finally got there and checked, it was midnight.  She told me that the baby was already down and I had to begin pushing!  It was time!!

The way you see the pushing in movies and on tv is not at all how my experience went.  Mine was so easy and pleasant that I really didn't feel like I was having a baby.  It was all so surreal!  I would ask the nurse, calmly, "Can I push now", and she'd say yes, so I'd push 3 times.  Then we'd take a rest, talk and laugh, make jokes, and then I'd ask to push again.  It's really amazing how your body knows what to do. It's not just that you want to push... you HAVE to... your body is pushing for you!

At first Mauricio was standing to the side, feeling a little apprehensive about getting up close and personal with what was going on down there, but by half way, he was bent over, looking straight at it, screaming "I SEE THE HEAD!" Carol, on the other hand, was not at all apprehensive.  She was ALL UP in that bizness... we reached a WHOLE new level of friendship that day!

After 55 minutes of on and off pushing, at 1:09 am on June 20th, my beautiful boy was born.  He came right into my arms and even with all that goo and yuck on him, I gave him a little kiss on the head.  I knew something was not right immediately.  He wasn't crying, just whimpering.  I knew, being born 4 weeks early, that something was not right with his lungs.  After cleaning him up and having the pediatrician come in to see him, they sent him to the NICU.

You always dream that after you have your baby, you'll be allowed to hold him and cuddle and breast feed, but that was not the case with me.  After that initial hold, I did not get to hold him again for 2 days.  They didn't even want me to touch him.  He was breathing really laboriously and fast.  He was given a mask that had additional air coming into his face so he wouldn't have to pull it so hard from our atmosphere.  He had the mask on all day, with the exception of twice a day for a few minutes.  Here is the only picture we got of Marco without the mask while in the hospital.

He stayed in the NICU for 6 days... the hardest 6 days of my life. (It really gave me an appreciation and admiration for the parents who spend months in the NICU).  You never think you'll go home without your baby and when you do, it's a very empty and sad feeling.  But, we had our homecoming!  

Marco thrived throughout his first year!  Even though he was a premie, he kept up with all of his milestones.  He's been a little low on the curve chart, but that's a blessing for me!  I'm not strong and have loved having a light weight baby! 

He smiled at 7 weeks:

Had a fun loving personality right from the start:

Sat up (tripod) at 5 months:

Always wants to be just like Dad:

Future musician:

And as we celebrate his very first birthday, we took a few photos to commemorate! 

The first birthday is bitter-sweet.  I'm going to miss my itty-bitty baby, but at the same time, I've been so blessed to have watched him grow and flourish.  May God bless Marco with many more birthdays, and may He give me the health and life to see it as well.