Pinkles

The growth, memories, happy hearts, and even tears have been exponential. Regardless of the day, our critical path remains: to breath life into our little boy. And he returns the favor.

Christian continues to command our presence in his life in such a way that I swear, he gets the fact that it is our job, our most important job, to fulfill him in every way. I understand now as our son grows into a little boy, that while his clothes, toys and interests not only become more expensive but that his spirit becomes more impressionable. We are responsible, yes, for making sure he has warm clothes for the winter, toys from which he can learn, and an environment he can call home. But oh my god, we are ultimately responsible for how healthy his spirit becomes. It hits me like a ton of bricks. And even though he doesn't understand right now why we just stare at him sometimes, each time he smiles back, he confirms every hope that we are bringing him up right. And even though we are well into the Terrible 2 season, the single most important milestone is understanding that it's no longer enough to just show up in his life. Reciprocity. Conversation. New sensations. What a wonderful and awesome time in his life! Just hearing him get excited about something as he lets out an "Oh ya!" is such a reward. And suddenly, I'm able to rotate my memories and replace that equally-yoked memory of watching him yawn as an infant with the energy and growth that being a toddler brings.

With all the sunshine, there is sure to be some clouds. And we will never be experts. That's what grandparents are for. But I can say with 100% confidence that I did not appreciate the true meaning of what we call "small victories" until I became a mommy. They are truly God's little energy banks he trickles down our journey - each one is worth at least another 10 rounds.

On Thanksgiving Eve, I finally took a break from the kitchen, plopped myself on the sofa and took my shoes off. My doggies were barking and as I groaned a bit about how they ached, Christian took notice. He walks over to me, bends down on both knees and with his little hands, attempts to rub my feet. I melted. And indirectly, he was paying his father the compliment of following such a strong example. That's just what great men are made of and I'm surrounded by them.

His loves in life are without a doubt, his routine and our attention. The rest are toddler details. He has grown very partial to Toy Story so much that within a month of watching the Toy Story 1, we purchased all three.

Woody and the gang!

one big toy story family

His first big boy bathroom transition :)

This one stung a little bit but it's nothing compared to when we get his first big boy bed...

all dolled up and ready for school

Even though "pinkles" means sprinkles, by octopus he means "Optimus Prime," and cheetos is synonomous with cheetah, communication is Christian's favoriate game to play. We are both firm believers in talking with our kid - not to him, but with him. In fact, his sentences are so well constructed now that he mimics, just for kicks, how babies talk. He always gets a good laugh when we react wildly to his "da da da da dah" baby talk. He knows it's officially a thing of the past. Even though conversation is something that seems to go hand-in-hand with trust and comfort, as far as Christian is concerned, he is always listening and learning. His vocabulary is enormous and we have all had our fair share of eyebrow-raising moments. You just never know what he's going to say. And suddenly, you enter the world of censorship and are forced into watching the world through the eyes of a 2-year-old.

Christian plays hard and chills hard. We make sure he has plenty of time for this built into his week. He is quite the graham cracker affectionado so a "big cracker" and "big milk" are always nearby during this critical time. Add one of his favorite movies to the scene - Little Giants, Toy Story 3, Thomas the Train - and as Daddy would say, he's just gravy, baby!

shamefully, this is how mommy gets cleaning done on the weekends sometimes

this is the life

sometimes chill time means being spontaneous and diving into a big ice cream with "pinkles"

or just plain being a silly goose

He makes a great errand buddy which helps tremendously come the weekend when we're basicallly nonstop, especially when Grandma joins us. Costco, Whole Foods, the mall, the park - you name it and we hit it up. Each trip is special to him, no matter how short the visit. In fact, he'll make a field trip out of going to 7-Eleven as long as it means spending time witih us. I love that he found his simple side so early. And of course, a hallmark of this time in his life is marked with mommy and daddy immediately scouting for the buggies with the car attached - it enhances any routine trip by ten fold!

BUT, of all the places out there,TARGET is the family hub. Our weekly trips to the big red store are as much a comfort zone as Elmo and no trip is complete without sitting down for some pizza. Because of this, I will never commit myself to going "in and out" of Target. To do so would sabotage part of his childhood. So you see, I HAVE to invest time at Target. It's for our son's happiness...

Affectionately known as "the bus"

Every time is like the first time - Target pizza rocks!

after shot

Like Daddy, Christian maintains his love of cars and trucks. I was humbly corrected one day when he confirmed that what I thought was just a regular truck was in fact, a Hummer. A black one at that. And whenever we see Daddy's next new truck (FJ Cruiser), Christian makes sure to comment that he wants a blue "bumblebee" car. We know he means a Camaro like the famous (Transformer) autobot, Bumblebee.

not exactly an autobot but firetrucks are big and colorful so we like those too!

He's taken a huge fancy to football. Mind you, we don't have a shred of football glory inside either one of us so Christian just might be the author of a great football legacy. And we are more than okay with that :)

No fear!

Passing off to Aunt Kerstin

schooling uncle tris on a few football maneuvers

Looking natural with a football

Future Hall of Famer? If so, Mommy's gonna have to brush up on some football 101.

Down. Set. Hut, hut!

And That's a Wrap!

Summer 2010

The summer was so good to us and I anticipate each year will only grow more memorable. We seized every opportunity (some free of cost, some not so free) for enrichment and memory-making and Christian remains partial to a few things - walking, aminals, sports (or any sport having anything to do with a ball), nature, and his movies. He loves field trips to just about anywhere except the doctor so we took every kind there was to take!

He's always good for some nature bonding with Ma.

This picture seems to sum up the kid in all of us. One of my favorites.

Duck watching with Mommy...

... and Daddy.

Christian is always vulnerable near a big, fresh piece of bread.

Thanks to some great coaching from Daddy, Christian has mastered the overhanded throw. Something the Parenting mags tell us we wouldn't see for another year :)

And of course, Christian mastered the "normal" version of a throw many moons ago!

taking the jeep out for a spin on a perfect summer day

monkeying around at little gym

Daaaaddyyy, hurry.... it's windy out here!

on yet another summer nature walk with daddy

THE men in my life. Chillin on a Sunday afternoon.

On the train with Ma and Papa going to the arts festival

Mexican-American pride! Funny thing is that the festival was a spontaneous trip so the fact that Christian was representing was an added bonus :)

Awesome African dance demo

Making himself at home at the Cafe Express water fountain! lol

The highly recommended Plano Balloon Festival

This picture doesn't do it any justice. When they opened the field, we got up close and personal and even visited the ladybug, mushroom and pirate balloons :)

Christian enjoyed the sounds of the local live "moosic"

And of course, we all enjoyed some good eats!

Enjoying his trusty Pizza Hut cheese combo:)

Daddy/Daughter time :)

Content. Happy. Peaceful me.

The "Aminals"!

Christian is so ready to see AMINALS!

Christian surprised both of us and socialized with the goats!

Lil Country and Big Country.

Father/son time :)

Mommy, where's the tiger? Grrrrrrrr!

Christian's first elephant ride. This should buy us some time while we save up for the real Safari - only $9,000 away...

Zebra spotting with Daddy

Now THAT'S a CUP! Thanks Grandpa!

Had to take a pic of the Penguin snack stand. I'm penguin and proud :)

Christian's elephant "hello" :)

What a Circus!

Trying to take a picture while being distracted by all the cool stuff going on

whoa...

At the awesome Heard Museum and Butterfly Garden

Learning about rocks

Butterfly spotting

Digging up fossils with mommy

Pretty cool displays...very educational.

... but still hanging on to mommy. Can't be too sure.

At face value, grandparents are just priceless. Their total "in-kind" effort they put forward - from babysitting and carpooling to rescuing you from a frustrated state, to being the comic relief even when things aren't so funny, to just saying things that only a grandparent would say - they don't get nearly the amount of credit that they are owed. They bring an incredible level of meaning, light and love into Christian's life and I am forever grateful to the the Master Planner for working it out in our lives to be able to share such great times together. Whether it be just a spontaneous field trip or the sometimes difficult day-to-day, my parents are my backbone. And Christian thinks the world of them.

On the Frisco Square with Ma and Papa on a beautiful sunny day

With a little coaxing from Papa, Christian visited with the police horse

Papa and Christian are both suckers for a good bag of popcorn :)

A Day on the Lake

Lakeside with the Gramps. Moments to cherish.

Why not? You're only 2 once!

But you're a kid the rest of your life!

Christian and daddy striking their hulk pose!

tickle monster

Cheese everyone!

Best buddies

And of course, Christian has his own personal random escapades with Ma and Papa. Sometimes it's to help out mommy or daddy but most of the time, it's because either Christian or Ma and Papa need a little "fix."

This one started out with some good grub at a local diner

Working off some of those pancake calories!

Then catching a little football action.

Patience, my love, soon enough you'll be on that field.

More birthdays and anniversaries is definitely my idea of wrapping up an awesome summer!!

Seems just like yesterday I was a Divine 29.

But come on 30, I said. I've been waiting for you!

I had to commit to something big for my big 30.

Thanks to a dear friend, Denise, I thoroughly enjoyed real sushi for the FIRST time!

Being consistent with the 30 and not looking back theme, I convinced the fam to do something different for my birthday.

At least I got the first squirt!

Christian preparing for the World Series :)

His first go kart ride with Daddy!! No fear!

Tio Jojo's chocolate cake

Beer and a grill. Life is good for Grandpa.

One of them is wishing for the world. The other one is wishing he can give it to him.

Whoo hoo!

"Chocolate cake and family is all you need."

-Christian Selmon

First Day of School

And just like that, the words "first day of school" took on a whole new meaning.

My personal learning-to-let-go curve has been steep these last few months. It's not just the new bathroom or going up a size in shoes. It's watching him walk to his classroom with his little lunchbox all by himself; for this one, I cried in the privacy of my own car and in the comfort of my husband. Independence is a concept you read about in all the parenting mags but I found nothing about coping with what I call "premature independence." We're all thinking in the back of our minds, how gifted and even advanced, we hope our kids are. Then when it happens, we're asking, "where did my baby go?"

Even though his first day was not uniform day, it still made for great picture-taking!

Ready to go!

C-A-T-E-R-P-I-L-L-A-R

And the learning doesn't stop when we get home...

... but the playing definitely begins!

One Fine Day

Every so often, we escape. Without a schedule or a destination. It helps all of us maintain our sanity from the day-to-day and makes for excellent bonding time. There's something about spontenaity and the weekday that go hand-in-hand.

Eagerly anticipating to board our train!

Happy commuter :)

This time we gravitated towards Downtown and decided to take a detour to the Dallas World Aquarium.

"Look Mommy! A turkey!" lol

Pretty lizard.

A purely educational moment. View discretion advised...

Random day out with mommy and daddy started out at Borders Books. Sipping on some cold milk after purchasing some great selections :)

A few hours and a bag of popcorn later at Northpark and it's nap time!

He killed the bag all by himself

Sweet Autumn, Oh how I missed you!

And when the summer curtains close, the autumn appears! For me, the fall makes it easy to let the summer memories stay where they lay. God is truly a painter and the Fall is his masterpiece. Pumpkin patches, Halloween, beautiful crisp weather at the zoo, Thanksgiving, hot cocoa on cool nights, amazing sunsets... the list goes on and on.

The big orange symbol that fall has arrived!

Made for the outdoors

Our Halloween decor coming together :)

Ooooooh Frankenstein....

... and ghouly ghosts

acting up at Target with the boys

Cousin Zyrein

and Maudre having fun in the dollar section

Christian's first trick-or-treat excursion of the fall at Tucker on the Hill

"Hey, I like your hair."

If you ever hear Christian mention Michael and Mark, here they are

Cheesing with Mike and Mark.

Grandma moment.

Go MJ!

Pumpkin Painting with da boyz!

Real men do arts and crafts so kudos to Daddy for orchestrating the best ever pumpkin painting session!

Christian's MASTERPIECE!! WAY TO GO POPPA!

Tio is quite the artist...

... and so is his protege!

About to discover the inner workings of a pumpkin...

... and the unveiling ...

... reveals a not-so-desireable reaction from Christian!

Tio getting a good laugh at Christian's expense! lol

Our pumpkin family! Way to go guys, what a blast!

FAMILY FUN DAY AT THE ARBORETUM was classic.

A beautiful day, lots of walking, live music and an animal farm. Couldn't ask for more.

Grateful to those cheerful folks at the Arboretum that graciously took our family portrait :)

Jumpin off haystacks comes natural to this country boy!

Christian's favorite - brushing the sheep's coat :

Live music, one of Christian's favorites.

Awesome times that I'll never forget.

October Birthdays

Make a wish Tia!

Every birthday celebration is Christian's birthday. We're teaching him the how to cope when the birthday song isn't directed at him. This time he "let" Tia Lexi have the spotlight. It was her birthday, after all.

Miya's big princess birthday. I remember the day she was born.

Delish princess cake :)

Father and Daughter

Annual Halloween Bash!

Getting into character

Daddies are great!

The Gramps sneaking a pre-Halloween snack

Nessa helping with the setup and brewing up some tasty eyeballs!

Our LITTLE GIANT with his homemade jersey! Grandma did the stitching of course :)

Tio is one of my biggest fans

The stardom is just too much sometimes.

The crew

They go all out in our neighborhood!

Christian wasn't shy at all asking for candy. In fact, he would say trick-or-treat three times just to make sure they heard him!

Cousin "Tink" aka Batgirl

Daddy's name, Mommy's number. Good compromise.

Getting full on candy :)

Great chaperones

Granny acting silly

Tia lugging around "baby cousin" :)

Trying to keep up with the big boys

As always, Uncle Tris is there to ruin yet another picture.

The only way to wake Mommy is with a kiss :)

Cousin Scooter

Cousin Maudre

Cousin Zyrein

Cousin Tink

And Christian - all enjoying their yummy cupcakes

Granny and all her princesses

We've got history, me and you

November 22, 2010 - another year married. And come Spring, will be another year together - eleven total. When it hits you that you can't even remember the person you were before your life began, it's confirmation that you're no longer supposed to. It is purely an educational moment when you can watch the small things in your marriage take over - the small things that were overlooked at one point - but somehow, over time, piece themselves together and cover your relationship like a warm blanket. The simple acts of kindness that refuse to fade, the art of acknowledgment, the compliments, keeping up with each other's personal items, and the arms and ears that are open around the clock. My love, thank you for always taking care of me. With all that I am, I love and adore you.

Gobble, Gobble!

Christian assisting with the floral layout for the big night

taking great pride in his job

cousin Diego having some Thanksgiving fun

cousin Emily cheesing

good stuff

me and mama

Familia

Me, sis, and baby cousin

Tia Lena and her granddaughters (minus Lucy)

Lukie!

Baby Stella having fun with Daddy

kids will make a game out of anything!

and Christian is right there to join the fun

you always get a few of these every Thanksgiving :)

Christian chillin with his Uncle Tris and Uncle Dre

Granny

Brothers

The newest addition to the Rincon familia - baby Lydia

and her bros - Seth and Joel

Grandpa about to get down!

ROAD TRIP!!!

A family road trip - be it 200 or 2000 miles aways - requires precision planning. Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa, our Austin roadie experience was the best!

Our first pitstop - yes, that's Christian in his PJs and no shoes. That's what road trips are all about!

Christian meets a Shipley's donut for the first time

He managed to eat all of the chocolate and pinkles without eating the donut...

The kids

Having a blast at the impressive resting station :)

Tio, Tia, and baby cousin

Us (minus Tio Jojo who was taking the picture)

Gotta love Austin. This is the view from our hotel window.

Christian approves

Where's Christian?? LOL - his PJs match the hotel carpet!

Breaking in the room!

Puppy goes everywhere with Christian :)

Me and mama at the posh hotel restaurant ready for some lunch - then a nap then off to Zilker Park!

At the infamous Zilker Park where Tio Jojo used to roam

Picturesque

Ma and Papa

Christian fell in love with the old firetruck at the playground

The grand choo-choo train around the park. Thanks to Ma and Papa, we made the LAST train ride of the evening :)

All aboard!

We ended the trip with a beautiful Austin sunset...

... and some good eats at a local pizzeria.

Cheese!

Christian enjoying watching the guys make the pizza

Job well done Ma and Papa

Christian performed before we left.

Us

With cousins and Austin locals, Mandy and Scott - great seeing you guys!

We wrapped up our trip with some chillaxing time down Congress Street

She stole my Shonuff glasses so I opted for a retro theme :)

Gummy worms!

'Tis the Season

December is kind of like last call. When it comes you think, oh no, it's December already? Then you think of how the next year of your life is going to look. For us, it's an incredibly special milestone in the family. This year presented many challenges that we met together as a family head on and it marks a pivotal point in Damion's life as a college graduate. And since he's been in school as long as we've been together, Graduation Day will inevitably be an emotional time.

Even though it may all seem surreal to him now, I've always been able to see the bigger picture. My husband is a poster child for persistence and aside from being a workhorse, he is one of the smartest cookies I know that all along, knew exactly what he wanted. And he got it. He managed well - with a wedding, a new baby, getting laid off, and all the details that those life events imply - he managed.

For the longest time, the same argument would rear its head in the midst of his most frustrating times. And that is, my recommendations for getting through the stress and what seemed at the time, uncontrollable and impractical scenarios, always stemmed from the type of student he thought I was - "I am not you," he would tell me. After several times of not getting anywhere with that platform, we both gave it up and agreed to disagree with the type of students we both were and how either one of us would react in the situations he found himself in throughout the course of his academic career.

But I save the best argument for last and that is, that he is much stronger than I. Only it would have done him no good to confess to him that as ironclad as I like to think I am, that I could not have done what he has accomplished. His level of sacrifice to get this far is beyond admirable. And as much as he wanted to scratch this off of his list before Christian was born, it was without a doubt, supposed to happen this way. I may have come first in the order of things, but that little boy is his #1 fan and to be a witness to his Daddy's success is food to his soul. Congratulations, my love!

"I like where you're going with this concept but may I suggest something..."

And of course, there's the Christmas planning. We are making every effort to create an awareness for Christian about the special holiday and what it means. He has taken a liking to the idea and this year should be the most memorable as he seems to be fully aware of what to expect.

Christmas (catalog) shopping with the boys

In closing, I defer to one of my favorite poets of all time which sums up my heart at this point in the year, in my life, and in motherhood. Cheers!

I love you

because you

with all your magic powers

were

determined that

I should love you

because there was nothing for you but that

I would love you

I love you

because you made me

want to love you

more than I love my privacy

my freedom my commitments

and responsibilities

I love you `cause I changed my life

to love you

I love you I love you I love you

On the Camera Roll

tio jojo and daddy

just tickled : )

Deep thoughts.

Another fine summer day

Literally stealing a sip from mommy's tea glass.

Falling out. Take two.

Soup and straw meet for the first time :)

Silly goose

Master Chef in training.

His first kitchen battle wound. I couldn't be prouder :) LOL

Learning ops are in every room of the house

I'll expect the same enthusiasm when he's 15 and mowing the real lawn :)

Happy times at Cici's - one of Daddy's favs.

Doing some spring cleaning with mommy

Thank you Naynay for my birthday boots! Now, if we can just get some rain :)

Very happy with his new aminals - thanks Ma!

This is called - relaxing.

Rollin with the big boys at Granny's

Cheesin with big cousin, Diego

Mom, really? I'm watching my show...

I love my Tio Jojo

Caught in the act! LOL

"This helmet thing is tough to balance."

What's better than late night pancakes with the boys?!

I took this picture because 10 minutes prior to taking this, these bell peppers were clumped together on the counter. When I came back into the kitchen they were strategically (and quite artistically) constructed in a linear fashion according to a very precise color-oriented perspective. Go Christian!

I'm pretty sure there are some child labor laws against this but it seems Uncle Tris can get away with it.

Christian LOVES farm animals!

Playtime at Granny's is always fun

Enjoying some live music

Bout to get these push-ups out the way!

This picture tugs at my heart just a bit. He looks too grown up. Happy. But just grown.

acting silly with Ma in the car

real men get tattoos (or stamps)

christian has toy selection down to an art

maybe we'll do baby gap next year :)

riding the choo-choo inside the mall

mommy, bro (tio jojo) and Christian acting silly on the set

3 ladies and a gent - christian's first dinner party :)

cousins

stealing some camera time with granny

mommy look! i found breakfast!

this is supposed to be nap time!

tink always takes care of her little poppa

big cousin diego

hanging out with cousins at granny's

acting up at Dairy Queen!

This is one of those smile-for-mommy-so-i-can-get-back-to-watching-TV kind of smiles...

Zilker park - keeping Austin weird :)

Cuddle time just doesn't get any better.

Like Daddy says, this is what it's all about!

Paddy cake with Mommy after catching some dinner and early ice cream with the Gramps