All Allen, All the Time

Allen is now 8 months old and super fun! Here are some of my favorite pictures from the last month (in reverse chronological order... I need blogging tutorials.)


When I went into the bathroom he was sitting up facing the other way.


"I can get my own toys now."

"Don't worry, I'm watching them."

Allen loves electronics.

Buddies - Trace & Andrew

Play with Cason is a little rougher.

"We have fun together!"

Allen is almost crawling.

"I love to stand, and Ms. Devon got this cool new toy!"

Lil C and Daddy at 8 months old.

"I'm a big boy now."

So excited on his 8 month b-day

"I know the drill now."

This is how I spend most of the time I'm with my sweet baby.

Sweet angel sleeping

Daddy has since confiscated and hidden the doll, but Allen liked to see another baby like him.

"What?"

"Aunt Jill took me swimming, and I like it!"

Sweet friends - Allen & Kylie

Brynlee shared lots of toys with Allen.

World Cup time!

Cute boy!

"I'm a happy boy!"

Welcome to the Family

Today we welcomed Nathan DeAngelo Baez to the family. Born to Christian's brother, Luis, and Deana, we were thrilled to meet our first nephew and Allen's only boy cousin. He's a healthy boy at almost 11 pounds and 23 inches long! We are thankful to God for his and Deana's healthy delivery and this precious gift of life.

My Mama

Today is my mom's birthday. I'm not allowed to say how old she is, but in honor of her today on this special birthday, I have made a list of 60 great things about her. These are just 60 of the many.


1. Christmas cookies
2. reading children’s books
3. saving money and/or getting things free
4. sewing special Christmas stockings
5. teaching us responsibility
6. childhood birthday parties
7. family vacations
8. knowing and teaching us about good nutrition
9. remembering and giving special cards
10. Christmas breakfast
11. involved with grandkids
12. good researcher
13. holiday traditions
14. strong with authority
15. thoughtful of others
16. honored your mother and father
17. encouraged our spiritual development through good church programs
18. chicken n dumplins
19. always having a clean house
20. allowed us to participate in every activity we wanted
21. blessed us with no debt from school loans
22. great decorator
23. detail-oriented perfectionist
24. homemade delicious desserts (I could probably list 60 of these!)
25. never gives up
26. sacrifices for our family
27. gives special gifts that are really wanted
28. always tries to be fair
29. Thanksgiving dinner
30. set up and encouraged good friendships for us
31. made sure we knew how to swim
32. kept our childhood innocent and joyful
33. allowed slumber parties
34. plays games with kids and grandkids
35. great speller
36. taught us good financial practices
37. kept our family in touch with extended family
38. keeps learning
39. is great with babies
40. somehow got all 3 of us through high school and college
41. keeps us safe
42. bought us new school clothes for us instead of for herself
43. knows everyone’s personal food preferences
44. studies the Bible
45. skillfully uses the computer
46. grows and cooks fresh vegetables
47. grew up on a farm with a one-room school house and graduated with a bachelors degree from OU
48. always supports her kids and grandkids by going to performances and games
49. homemade children’s dresses
50. patience with special children
51. doesn’t settle for convenience
52. kept us healthy
53. gave me two sisters
54. very organized
55. master crossword puzzle solver
56. rejoices in others success
57. makes her own draperies
58. fun Facebook friend
59. took and kept great family photos and videos
60. loves us and we love her!!

Allen's 7 Month Update

Allen was seven months old last Sunday, and we have so much to celebrate! He is healthy, beautiful, and so happy. We love every moment we get to spend with him. Here are some updates and pictures of Allen.

Allen

- is really ticklish on his thighs

- can throw toys pretty far

- claps his hands

- loves to eat (veggies more than fruit)

- snuggles with Mama every morning

- still wakes up at least twice a night

- loves to jump and has really strong legs

- has 8 teeth! (the bottom 4 have come in really easily, but top 4 have given him lots of trouble)

- loves animals

- steals his friends toys and pacifiers

- loves music and has rhythm

- is so good when we go out (even in church)

- loves people

- wears size 12 months clothes

- squeezes his legs to hold on when he is on my leg or hip

- has lots of fun splashing in the bath

- pushes his arms through his shirt to help dress himself

- drinks water from his sippy cup

- eats food twice a day, nurses 3 or 4 times a day (once in the night), and drinks from his bottle 2 or 3 times a day

- does not like to be on his tummy, tolerates laying on his back, and likes sitting up

- chews on everything

- can make very loud, high-pitched noises

- loves when his Daddy sings to him

- takes 3 naps a day and goes to bed at 8pm

- makes a "skunk" face

- weighs over 20 lbs and has outgrown his infant "stuff"

- helps feed himself by guiding the spoon to his mouth

- is talking a lot and uses some consonants

- laughs at surprises (noises, jumps, faces, etc.)

- is very much loved by his Daddy, Mama, and lots of others!

Since Spring Break

We celebrated Allen's 6 month birthday last Friday! It was an extra special day because it was also my niece's, Alyssa, 8th birthday. We went to Chuck E Cheese and all had a great time! The last month has been super busy in the Baez world. I'm having to look at my calendar to remember what all we did. I have a note on March 23rd that Allen slept through the night... I can't even remember that because he has been sleeping like a newborn the past few weeks. We're going to work on that. Christian and I (especially Christian) have been taking Allen to bed with us sometime in the middle of the night. Christian thinks its a great solution, but I'm way too anxious to actually sleep when he is with us. I love to cuddle with him and would be happy to snuggle every morning, but we all have to sleep sometime before that. :) I have had lots of drill team events including spring show, share night, officer tryouts, middle school visits, and jv showoffs. They're always bittersweet because I love my drill teams but I hate leaving Allen, but, on the plus side, Christian has stepped in and learned how to put Allen to bed, feed him, and what to do with him in between. He is a good daddy! We hosted a shower/party for our nephew who is due May 12th; I'm excited that Allen will have a cousin his age. Two Baez boys can have lots of fun together! Allen celebrated his first Easter with a basket full of toys, books, socks, and sunglasses. We went to church, and he loved the music! He had always been asleep before so this was the first time he really experienced it. He got so excited he was jumping up and down and screeching; Christian had to take him in the hall for a bit. After Easter, I officially started the big change - this will be my last year as a drill team director/teacher and my first as a grad student in speech/language pathology. More on this later, but it was a very hard decision but one I think will be best for my family in the future. I told everyone at GHS and registered for summer classes and practicum at UTD. Allen had his first trip to the grocery store, resturant, drill team party, Alyssa and Kayla's softball games at the park, and has started eating food. He is a champion eater! From the first spoonful, he knew what to do. He had rice cereal for a week, oatmeal for a week, and this past week he got real food! First green peas, then acorn squash, and now butternut squash. He loves them all! I can't wait to feed him something I actually like! Pears and sweet potatoes are both coming up; we'll see if he likes them as much as I do. Last Tuesday, 20th, we had Allen's 6 month appointment with Dr. Rosen. We went with one of Allen's best friends, Cason, whose Mommy, Devon, takes care of Allen and their other friend, Braylon, during the days. Both boys are healthy and doing great! We are so thankful for God's blessing of a healthy baby! He is weighing in at 18lbs 14oz. (78%) and 28inches (94%). Enjoy some pictures of our super-cute baby:

Do you think I'm ready to start eating food?!?

5 months old & spring break

Today Allen is 5 months old! We had a great day! Since I'm on spring break, I got to spend the entire day with him, and it was wonderful. He is such a happy, sweet, lovable baby! I don't know how we're so lucky to have such an angel. This morning we had a super fun playdate with Parker (Kelly's son), Annabelle, Airyonna, and Suzy (Jocelyn's girls). Yesterday we had our first set of pictures taken and spent the afternoon at the Arboretum with the Inman family. Sunday was the first day that we went shopping with Allen. He got some new clothes and a cute hat. Since he was being so good, Christian and I decided to have lunch at Firewheel. We got some sandwiches and ate outside. The weather was beautiful. Allen fell asleep in my arms, and it might have been the best moment ever. We are loving every minute of spring break together; I'm very jealous of stay-at-home moms who get to do this all the time. Tomorrow we're meeting up with Ms. Devon and Cason for storytime at the Wylie library. According to our scale, Allen is weighing in at 18.5 lbs; I'm going to try and measure his length too. A few other things about Allen at 5 months:

- yesterday he started making a motorboat noise and did it all day today

- he really likes sitting up and tries to do it all the time (even in the bath)

- in new situations he becomes very contemplative

- his favorite toy is his glowworm

- he pratically posed while getting his pictures taken

- he's starting to be happy to see his friends (Cason and Braylon) in the mornings

- we have a game that cracks him up: he lays on my legs facing me and "kicks" my head back, when I bring it forward and smile at him, he laughs

- he loves to jump in his jumper

- he fake coughs when he doesn't like something

- during the middle of feeding, he stops, turns and looks at me, smiles, then goes back to eating

-he is wearing 9 month clothes

- he just starting sleeping in his crib in his room and is doing very well (mommy and daddy are sleeping in the guest room to be a bit closer) :)

- he loves other babies and kids

Enjoy some pictures of today's 5 month mark and other spring break fun: