Fair Days

In Sacramento Mid-August to Labor days means hot weather, but its also a time for the State Fair. We enjoy going to see the animals and exhibits. Carlos and I aren't into the roller coasters or spending $20 to get a small stuffed animal in some carny-game, but we do like to walk around and eat the fried food. (Its bad I know, but hey, at least we draw the line at the fried twinky on a stick). As the kids get older they are able to enjoy and understand more, which always makes it enjoyable.

As always, we decided to go see the farm animals. Maya loved it! She gave kisses to the baby chicks and got to see and pet a chinchilla. At the petting zoo, a baby goat tried to eat Maya's dress, she liked petting and feeding all the animals. Meanwhile, Sofia did not want to touch the animals ... at all. She didn't really like being around all the farm animals and opted to stand where no animals could touch her, it was cute to watch. This year Maya was tall enough to ride some of the roller coaster's, she barely made the cut-off by an inch. But being the big adventurous girl that she is, she wanted to ride the roller coaster all by herself, I must admit, I was proud. Little Baby was not up for any roller coasters, opting instead for a nice cool ice cream....yummmy.

Of course being the suckers that we are, Carlos and I stopped at a carny game and spent $10 in order to win two stuffed animals which were probably made in a Chinese sweatshop for $.50 cents... what can I say, we are suckers when it comes to our kids.

Happy Days

Hello. Just wanted to send out a quick update on the Gutierrez Family.

Maya is getting smarter by the day. She has transitioned into Pre-school classroom and is doing great. She had her dentist apt. this month and the dentist said she is doing great. She is expanding her knowledge of letter recognition and alphabet phonics. She loves to read books and sing and dance. When asked what her name is she responds, "Maya Cu-ter-rez", its too cute. She's our superstar.

Sofia has 2 new teeth this month, she is now able to chew more food, which is great. Her vocabulary expands every single day. She turned 18 months this week, and is growing up too fast. She uses her baby sign language as well, she had no problem telling us when she is hungry and wants "special chips" (that's what we call our rice cakes). She loves her older sister-- its a real case of can't live with her and can't live without her. Those two are inseparable.

Life is never dull in the Gutierrez house, with two children and one on the way, we rarely find a quiet moment to ourselves. Carlos has been very patient with all my pregnancy mood swings, and even though I don't say it enough, I love and appreciate him very much.

'Sugar and Spice' Trifecta

Girls are made with sugar and spice and everything nice.... Apparently Carlos and I have plenty sugar and spice, because we will be expecting our third Girl. Yup, we went and had our ultrasound last week and guess what. ITS A GIRL!!!! We could not be happier. Of course, we would have been happy regardless of boy or girl. Maya is excited about her new baby sister, she wants to see it...NOW. We can't wait to see what our newest edition of the family will be like. But for now, we just pray for her to be healthy. New Baby will be 20 weeks this Monday 8/18/08 and doing great. We Thank God for our blessing and for filling our home with beautiful little girls!!!!

Abuelita's Tortillas

Nothing can compare to home cooking. In the Moreno house home cooking involves "tortillas hechas a mano". Mom's tortillas are the best!
My mom, Josefa Moreno, is a very special woman. Now that I am a mother too, I am barely starting to understand the breadth of her inner strength and wisdom. Every time I visit her, I learn something new about what truly matters most. It has been priceless watching my mother in the role of Abuelita as she interacts with my two girls.
This weekend we were able to spend time with Abuelita Moreno. She was able to teach Maya, the art of making the traditional tortillas. The beauty of it is that I know that every grandchild has taken part in the same bonding moment, I myself can remember standing on a chair making tortilla's next to her, or eating some of those delicious mushed up tortillas she would call, 'ranas'. My mom is a true blessing in my life, and I am glad she's around to pass on this beautiful tradition to my little girls.

Van Gogh moment

When you have two active little girls in the house, there is never a dull moment. They are constantly learning, experimenting and having innocent fun. Last Friday, we had finished dinner, Carlos and I were cleaning up the kitchen and Maya and Sofia were painting outside in the back yard. What we failed to see was what they were painting. They were supposed to be painting the paper on the easel --- in an ideal world, perhaps this would have happened. But my girls are way too creative for just paper. Apparently, Maya and Sofia were painting each other's face. Thank god the paint was non-toxic and water soluble. Little Baby walked into the house looking like a super-hero. I had to bite my tongue so that I wouldn't just start laughing and encourage 'improper' behavior. Does this mean, my girls are preparing for future careers as body artists, or make-up artists... Maybe its just a Van Gogh moment.