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It's January 4th and I'm finally feeling like I am on my semesters break. I only have 10 days left and I'm planning on taking in every moment. Everything was so busy right after I finished my semester a few weeks ago, that I finally feel like I'm in a rested state.

Since I've been on break I've been keeping Gabriel mostly at home. I love it so much. I really miss being a stay at home mom and have still not gotten used to the idea that I'm not at home with Gabriel all the time. I have loved my journey in grad school but it's so intense and this past semester has left me nostalgic of my stay at home mom days. Today was one of those days that I've been especially grateful to be on break. I've loved on my Gabriel all day long. At this moment he is napping on me while I blog via my phone.

I just needed to dedicate a blog post to my gratitude over the very special spirit David and I have. He brightens my day every day. He melts me with his sweetness and big brown eyes. He has taught me so much about unconditional love. Words can't express the deep love and connection Gabriel and I have. Best way to describe it is that he is my baby soulmate. I see so much of myself in him, yet he is an individual...apart from me. Because of this, I understand Gabriel in ways no other person ever will, and vice versa. I don't take any of his smiles, tears, or hugs for granted.

Every minute of the day I am grateful and fortunate to be his mama. I love the two quotes below:

"A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path." -Agatha Christie

"Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother." -Lin Yutang

Happy new years everyone! I start 2012 with my renewed appreciation for motherhood and love. I will blog about the holidays later this week.

Sleeping on me while I blog

Thanksgiving Thanks

We had such a fun thanksgiving that i've been trying to think how to blog about it. Normally, I like to focus on all the gratefulness my favorite holiday evokes. But this thanksgiving was not only a nice one because of all the gratitude I focused on but also because we did so many fun things.

I'm in the most stressful part of my semester. The part where I question whether I can make it til graduation. The part of the semester that has me having nightmares at night on paper's I forgot to write, or weird stuff like that. The part of the semester where I procrastinate til the last minute because I am so stressed out. It's not my favorite time. The last couple of weeks prior to thanksgiving were so busy and I felt like I was losing my mind. So, when we drove up to spend a few days at my parents house for thanksgiving, I was looking forward to disconnect as much as possible from school, and all my worries. That was going to be my thanksgiving.

My mom is an amazing cook. Neither one of us works off recipes. We just cook what comes to mind and our hands work intuitively to create yummy things. So I was looking forward to her delicious turkey. I'm not a big meat eater. I mostly unintentionally eat vegetarian type dishes for myself. But for some reason, that turkey she makes is so good. Dave also loves my mom's cooking, and looks forward to her turkey. So thanksgiving consisted of what we all do around the country. We sat down as a family and ate a scrumptious meal. Gabriel was actually quite the terror during this sit down dinner, so parts of it are a blur. After dinner, we kept up with some some traditions and played thanksgiving bingo! It was such a blast. I won twice! Everyone in my family was able to win at least a game, except for my brother, it was kind of funny.

My mom shared that she was grateful for all her children, and their better halves that love them and take good care of them. She was sure to include a little threat in her toasts, and said "You better love them, or else!" It was so cute. I love how much my mom loves all 3 of us (and treats our respective halves as her children too), and that she makes sure that all our significant others know we are her babies and they need to take care of us. I'm really grateful for both my parents this thanksgiving. Our family's journey has not always been easy at times, but that does not take anything away from how great of parents and grandparents they are. My appreciation for them has exponentially grown as I've had a child of my own. Sometimes, I'm in awe of how hard working my parents were and still are. How they always tried their hardest to provide the best for us. It's not easy to immigrate to another country, away from all your support system and essentially start over, with three little children. My parents are a true success story.

I'm so glad that we were able to drive up to their house, just an hour and a half away, and feel at home. Gabriel loves spending time there and it brings me so much comfort to see. This thanksgiving I'm especially grateful for my family. Honestly, they are a breath of fresh air for me, during this busy time in David and I's life. They are providing that support to us that we really need as we try to finish our respective careers. I think the best way to sum up my gratitude over this particular thanksgiving is this poem:

At Grandma's House

I like the taste of turkey
Any time throughout the year
But it never
seems to taste as good
As when Thanksgiving's here.

Could be it's all the trimmings
That are cooked with it to eat-
But I think it's
eating at Grandma's house
That makes it such a treat!

~Author Unknown

And here are some pictures depicting our fun times:

After the festivities were over, our only family pic!

The boys

The girls

Giving my mama some love.

This is my multi-cultural family. I love it!

Playing Thanksgiving bingo. Josselyn is the best bingo caller ever! It's hilarious.

David and I love making pies together on Thankgiving. It's our tradition.

We hope your thanksgiving was happy and full of gratitude.

Genius Gabriel

I've often talked about Gabriel being so smart. We are told by his teachers at preschool that he is so smart a lot. Every day that Gabriel goes to school we get a little note that is specific to what he did that day, and today this is what we got:

"I am convinced that Gabe is a baby-genius! He was playing with different shapes and sizes of blocks and figured out (on his own) that 3 little blue blocks (diamond shaped) can be put together to match the same size and shape of the big octogon! It's super impressive for his age". :)

Can I just say that I was not surprised to get a note like this...but I was so proud. To me, Gabriel is so special, from his intellect, to his kindness, to our mother and son bond, to the way he treats other people. I don't want him to grow up. I want him to be my baby forever. At the same time, I am so excited to see who this child will grow into. I have a suspicion that he is going to continue to be a bigger, more amazing version of what he is now.

Oh and today, he told David, "Mama is the best person in the world". How can your heart not melt over and over for him? I get teary eye'd just thinking about it.

Update time!

It's been a really long time since I've posted, I needed a break from blogging, but I don't want to miss sharing what life has been like since May. So I decided to share a photo to depict each month since May. This doesn't show e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. we've done, but it's some of our funnest memories!

May-A month for celebrations. We celebrated me turning 27. We celebrated the end of my first year of graduate school. We celebrated my mom's birthday. It was a fun month.

At my celebratory birthday/end of semester dinner with friends.

June-More celebrations! David turns 32! My old man really is getting old, hehe!

My family came down and we celebrated the birthdays by having habachi, and then engaging in capture the flag with water balloons! It was a blast, and it will become a family tradition! My dad took the picture, while my brother watched Gabriel inside our house.

July-The month of fun in the sun. We went on beach trips, and parks, and did fun barbecues.

We went to an awesome July 4th party and Gabriel enjoyed the slip and slide!

August-squeezing in as much fun before my last year of grad school begins, and Dave's first year of graduate school begins!

Family fishing, what a joy, another family tradition.

September-The start of our school semester's, while still enjoying beautiful weather.

My amazing cousin Kimie came to visit, and we took a trip to Charlottesville, the beach, and also did some urban white water rafting!

October-Such a fun month to look forward to, halloween! We love dressing up.

David is Fred, I'm his Daphne, and Gabriel is Scooby-doo! Gabriel inspired us, because he loves Scooby-doo.

We have had fun through all the seasons of the year. Life is great, and we are thankful. This doesn't mean we don't have struggles like everyone else. The last few months have been quite the roller coaster ride, and we are making the best of our life's adventure!

Tune in soon, for a post on my favorite holiday of the year, Thanksgiving!!!!