Nice to meet you Mr. Independent

More than half a year has passed since the last blog update, so it's time for some fresh material. So many things have transpired from then to now... Jett's first Halloween and Thanksgiving, J and I got married, Jett turned one and although Jett was around last Christmas, he didn't get to spend it with us at home. He was still in the hospital, hooked up to all sorts of machinery. So we called this his 1st Christmas. He's grown to be such an independent little boy, he amazes me each and every day with something new he's discovered. 

Around his 6th month Birthday, Jett started to sit up on his own. He would sit like a tripod for a few seconds, then topple over like a big headed doll. Closer to his 7th month Birthday he actually started sitting up unsupported for long periods of time. He also started eating more solids as opposed to only milk. 

Here's dad feeding him so carrots which he loved

at this age. Now, not so much

April.2011 4 Months

Here he is trying his had at drinking from a cup. He didn't quite understand that he needed to tilt his head back to drink so he didn't get much on his own. Surprisingly enough, he does really well with a straw.

May.2011 5 Months 

JUNE 2011 
J got to experience his first Father's Day. As always I didn't know what to get him so instead of buying something impersonal, I opted for something he'd cherish for a very long time. My parents helped me make a plaster print of Jett's hand and foot. After about 15 attempts, we got a decent enough print. I had a mini shoot with Jett where he was holding a Sign that says, " I love my Papa" I printed and framed a few, painted the plaster prints and handed over the goods. The look on his face was priceless! He has the pictures on his night stand and looks at them every night before bed and every morning. He loves that child with everything he's got. 

June.2011 6 Months

Look at that fat little face. He was still wobbly on his own so I sat him in the Bumbo for a mini shoot.


JULY 2011 

July.2011 7 Months

 Anyone who knows J knows that he LOVES to cook. So what better way to celebrate our independence from Britain than with some delicious food cooked by the best chef I know. We had all of our close friends and family over and tons of fun was had. Of course of all the holiday's we've celebrated this year, this is the only one I didn't photograph. So the picture below is of Jett about 2 weeks after the 4th. 

Jett's 1st pool. He was a bit hesitant at first, but after a few minutes he was in love. We've got a fish on our hands.

AUGUST 2011 
Jett turned 8 months old and the independent steak has started. He started to rock on his knees back and forth at the beginining of the month, then about half way through he started to figure out that he could get to places if he "crawled" to them. However, he didn't start the crawling like most children do. Instead of going forward, he crawled like an army man backwards. Took him forever to get where he wanted to be but he's as stubborn and determined as an ox. He screamed, yelled and clawed until he got where and what he wanted.

Aug.2011 8 Months

Here he is sitting so perfectly still for his papa. 

He's a little cowboy.

SEPTEMBER.2011
September was a fun filled month. The daily weather was 110. My bestie came down from NYC to visit with her awesome fiance Shaun. We ran around Soco, ate tons of food, visited the Capital and even went under the Congress   bridge to see all the bats. It was awesome!

J and Jett being silly at the Capitol Sept.2011

Meli and Shaun Sept.2011

 Benjamin turned One in September so we went to Amy's Ice Cream for his partay. Kids had fun, parents had fun. It was awesome. 

Sept.2011 Reading some Elmo while waiting for food.

Weee, Happy Birthday Ben :)

Pecan Street Festival was the last week of September so of course I asked Chani to accompany Jett and I to sweat about 100lbs. It was a blast. J's mom came with us and helped with the boys. We walked around Pecan Street in Down Town Austin for a good hour. We saw all types of people, from strange to just pain out of this world. We even saw a girl wearing leather socks over her flip flops in 1000 degree weather. WTH is wrong with people? Jett and Ben got a caricature drawn of them. At first I thought it was the cutest thing ever. Now that I look at it, it makes me laugh. Jett looks like Bush and Ben looks like Conan. Every time I see it, I'm reminded of that day. I suppose that the purpose of a drawing or a picture. It's to hold on to that moment in time.  

Sept.2011 Pecan Street Festival

The Beginning of our long walk. My goodness it was so hot that day.

Sept.2011 Pecan Street Festival

 Jett and Ben posing in front of one of the many artistic cows living in Austin TX. Poor dudes were so hot. Jett is even pant less.


OCTOBER 2011


A month full of Falling leaves, pumpkins, cool fall breeze. And Jett's 1st Thanksgiving and Halloween. Pumpkin patches are synonymous with cool weather, cute babies or puppies and their proud parents taking some super cute pictures. This year, we've got just that. One cute baby to sit and pose in front of pumpkins to snap those pictures. We took a trip out to the Elgin Christmas Tree farm in, well, Elgin TX. We rode the Haunted Hay ride, walked around the corn maze, and then stopped by the petting zoo on our way out. Jett was laughing hysterically at the baby goats so I let him pet one. Yikes, probably not the best idea. One of the goats nibbled on his finger and the melt down began. He wasn't pleased with that goat after that. 


After leaving the Tree farm we headed into town to get some elgin BBQ. I believe the name of the place was Meyer's. It wasn't very good. The Brisket was dry, the BBQ sauce was watery and the sausage was... well enough about the bad. The experience as a whole was wonderful. 

Oct.2011 Elgin, TX

J and Jett at the farm

Father son moment. Look at those smiles 

Jett telling me that he doesn't want any more pictures :p

That baby's got 4 arms! 

For Halloween, we dressed Jett up at Batman. It was only fitting since his father is a total comic geek. He would not wear the mask for anything. I think it's a guy thing. He hates hats too. I have to trick him to wear it when it's cold out. We went over to J's mom's neighborhood to trick or treat. By that I mean, mom would ask for candies and dad would take more than the sign said to take when they left them out in a pot. I've got proof! 

Grucho, the Bat Signal has gone off... I must be leaving. 

I lied, he wore it for 5 seconds before ripping it off and throwing it on the ground

His first score. Malted Milk Balls 

He looks so busted! That was after taking the 3rd candy when the sign clearly says 2!

There he goes again

Batman back in his Bat Cave after a long night of crime solving

And he crawls away into the darkness errrr.... kitchen.

NOVEMBER 2011

Gooble Gobble time. We spent our Thanksgiving at my parents house where of course I ate entirely too much. That's what holidays are about right? Eating so much you wish you hadn't eaten so much... He ate a little bit of everything but not without putting up a fight. He's so picky! 

He's a crawler now, but he had been properly crawling since about 9 months. He's also a stander. He literally starts to do new things right after his Dr's Appointments. Never fails. The Pedi asks, ' Is he pulling up to get to toys? or does he stand?' um no he doesn't. He'll stand if I stand him up and he's holding on to something but never on his own accord. 2 days later, Bam! Look at me, I'm standing! Look at me, I'm cursing around while holding on to furniture. He's amazing! 

He wanted something I had. Remote or my phone. Both amazing in his eyes.

That's a mighty big leg you've got there fella.

Oh almost forgot. J and I got married(again) on November 11th. It was a beautiful ceremony with all of our friends and family. People came from all over to see us unite for the second time. If you're scratching your head like, what the marbles are you talking about, well let me explain. In March of 2010 J and I took a very nice but long drive to Amarillo TX to visit Palo Duro Canyon. We had every intention of going, however mother earth had other plans. It started to rain like madness so we weren't able to go. Instead we enojyed eachother's company and had a late breakfast. The night we drove into town, we settled in and ordered some much needed food. While waiting for said food to arrive, we opened a bottle of wine. Yada yada yada, we're lying in bed and he looks over at me and asks 'wanna marry me'? So romantic eh... I said yea sure buddy because he's a jokester. But he wasn't joking and so we came back from Amarillo an engaged couple. So, while planning the wedding, we came with 11.11.11 would be the day we got married. Well late May we found out we were expecting, so we headed over to the JP and got hitched in July. The ceremony was still booked for us in Nov.2011 so we got to get married all over again. :p 

Mr and Mrs Salinas 

The love of our lives

My beautiful Bridesmaids. 

And the Nerds aka The Groomsmen

DECEMBER 2011 




Is a very bitter sweet month for me. It was the month our boy was born, 7 weeks ahead of schedule. He was a tiny little thing, weighing less than 4lbs. This time last year he was still in the NICU learning how to eat on his own and growing. We would drive up to see him every single day, rain or shine, hail, snow, blizzard, the world was coming to an end. Didn't matter, we were there. It was an emotional roller coaster for all of us, but it hit me the hardest. At least it seemed that way. I know my friends and family stayed strong for me. I was a wreck in every sense of the word. I couldn't sleep, eat or think. My life consisted of pumping milk to take to the hospital, calling to check up on him and crying. It was the hardest 23 days of my life. He finally was able to come home on January 7th my best friends birthday and 4 days before mine. It was THE BEST gift in the world. I was able to cuddle with my lion cub on my birthday. 


After coming home, he was a different child. He seemed so different to me, because he was. He was growing and he was growing at an alarmingly fast pace. He seemed to want to catch up on all he had missed. He amazed me from day one and continues to do so now. I couldn't ask for a better boy to call my son. He's smart, sweet and a tad bit hard headed like his, um dad, yea dad... lol. He's stubborn, clever, sneaky, and a flirt. All the things that make him who he is and I love every single one of them. 

Under the Tree

We visited the Zilker park Tree since they lights weren't up this year. Hopefully they come back in 2012.

Zilker Tree

Just the 3 of us, we can make it we try.. just the 3 of us you, him and I......

Birthday Meal. Spaghetti and Meatballs and garlic bread. 

I've got everything on my face and shirt

Gotta get every last piece

I'm one so it's okay if I nom on this candle 

Jett 1 Day old

Jett's 1st Christmas Dec.19.2011

1st Birthday!

2nd Christmas




Just looking back at all these photos brings me to tears. How much our son has grown.  We love you so much Jett. 

I can't believe it's almost time for presents. 

Why do you have me standing here like this???

I got blocks, an abacus, a T-Rex roaring head, an old school top and a metal lunch box. I'm the luckiest child ever~

There's more blocks in there!!!! OMG.

All mine!!!

















Thanks for reading!
♥ Salinas Family

Hey, um watch it with the paint job buddy

My sweet new ride

Birthday Party! Woohoo

3 Months!

Oh my how time has flown. It's been 3 months since Jett came into our lives and it's been an emotional roller coaster. He was only 3 lbs 7.5 oz but a fighter from day one. The first month was the hardest time in not only my life but J and most importantly Jett. He spent 23 days in the NICU getting big and learning how to eat. When he finally was able to drink from a bottle, we would celebrate the ounce he took down. His preemie clothes were still too big for him and he fit perfectly in one arm. Fast forward to today, he's 10lbs 4 oz and taking in 5/6 ounces at every feed. He's able to sit up for short periods of time in his Bumbo, and is a rolling over champ.He's much more alert. He stays up for the better part of the day and just wants to play. He makes all sorts of noises and kicks his feet and swings his arms around like he's dancing.I got him a little toy the other day and he just stares at it and occasionally smacks it with his hand and makes faces. Last night(his birthday) he also graced us with his first laugh. He scrunched up his nose opened his mouth and let out a big giggle. My heart melted. I know what it feels like to love someone so much it seems to make your heart grow. Our little monkey, munchkin, pumpkin, Jettster is an amazing little boy. I'm so honored to be his mommy and I wouldn't trade it for anything in this world. 

Happy Birthday Monkey! Momma Loves you!

Tuesday Morning

What a nice chilly morning for me to wear sandals :/ Isn't this weather going to change for warmth any time soon?? I'm a total winter lover, but this year I cannot wait til summer. It has a lot to do with the fact that I want to be able to take Jett out and not have to worry about him being cold and getting sick. RSV season is almost over!!!! Thank Goodness. I'm back to work and it feels amazing. I get a few hours during the day to work, talk to other adults and best of all get paid to do it. I was really gung ho about being a stay at home mommy but due to the terrible state our country is in, I wasn't able to do so. J's paycheck would be enough to pay all the bills but then we would have nothing left over for even a .99 cent burger :/ and that's just not going to fly. I have a new passion well I'd say it's more of an obsession now... I'm so into sewing I can barley contain myself. I walk into a craft store and I feel like a little kid in a candy store. All the fabrics and thread and I can't even complete a sentence because I'm getting super excited as we speak. I love it. Yesterday after work I headed over to Hobby Lobby to buy some materials to make Jett a Mobile for his room. I spent 1 1/2 in that store and didn't even notice. It's a vicious cycle I tell ya. 

Jett is doing amazing! I took him over to my parents house this past Saturday and he spent the night with his grandparents. It's a bitter sweet moment for me because I love the time to do me but I also missed the little booger like crazy. I called her about a million times just to see how he was doing. He's eating a lot more now and it's because we've changed his formula. He was on NeoSure with is designed especially for kiddo's that are born prematurely. It was 2 extra calories per ounce to help them "catch up" quicker. The only problem was that it was a super thick formula and my poor baby was having some difficulties with it. He wouldn't eat as much and when he did, he would throw up. Not spit up but stomach churning, gaging throwing up. I was petrified when I saw him doing this so I changed his formula to the Sensitive kind and he's doing so much better. His feeds have gone up so much he can go through a can of formula in 2 days. He takes in about 4 oz every 2 hours :) I weighed him last night and he's at 9lb 13oz! 3 oz to go to reach the big 10. So exciting! 

2months

Amazing! Yesterday Jett turned 2 months old. Seems like just yesterday I was having to drive back and forth from the Hospital to visit him. He's been home for a month 1/2 and it's been an amazing ride. He's currently weighing 8lbs 4oz and is 21 inches long. He went through a two day phase where he would eat 5oz and not eat again until 5 hours later, however for the last 3 days he's been back to his normal feeding schedule. He's still taking in a considerable amount of food IMO. He's taking 4oz every 3-31/2 hours. Today I'm trying to see if I can get him on some sort of napping/sleep schedule. He woke up this morning at 6am to eat but seeing as how I myself had only had 4 hours of sleep, I woke up to feed him and ended up just passing out on the couch with him after he ate. He slept for about 2 hours and he woke up to get his dipe changed. He ate again at 11 and then at 2. He's been napping in his crib for the last hour. I'm taking this time to update you guys on what's going on since I'll have to feed him again in about 30 min. Yesterday while I was changing his diaper, he made a noise that I've never heard before and he'd never heard it either because he looked at me like "did I just do that" It was pretty adorable.

I haven't made any diapers in a while, so today I'm busting out the sewing machine and getting to work. I'm also going to test out my snap pliers! Very exciting stuff happening over here today. :)

Will you be my friend?

Today was a good day.... ya know like that song... Ice Cube... Anyways, It was a great day. Jett and I went to visit my friend and partner in most of my crimes, Chantal. We spent the whole evening chit chatting about all things babies among other things. I've come to a point in my life where I needed to essentially grow up! I needed to put all my negativity and issues in a bag and dispose of them and that's what I've done. Life is entirely too short to fuss and complain about every little thing. Be grateful for what you've got and don't spend precious energy and time on envying anyone or saying "why me". Play the cards you've been dealt the best that you can and learn from your mistakes. I was very selfish in my actions and my attitude as a whole and it nearly cost me a very meaningful relationship. I'm grateful that we've been able to grow and learn from the situation and will continue on our Journey as has been planned by fate. There is a propose for everything in life. People come and go but the ones that stick by your side no matter how much of an ass you may be are the ones that are put there to make you a better person. I feel very lucky to have people like that in my life and each one of them has helped me in one way or another. There's a saying my mom use to say " Dime con quien andas, y te dire quen sos" Translated to English it's " Tell me who you're friends are, and I'll tell you who you are" And I truly believe that. Like they say, You are what you eat, well the same goes with the people you let into your life. You're friends are just an extension of who you are. Life isn't easy, and at times it can seem like you'll never get past all the hurdles thrown at you, but that's when you have to turn to your friends, family or whoever will be there to help you. That's what friends are for. For all my friends, Thank you for being there for me when I've needed you the most. Thank you for letting me cry and not judge me for my stupid mistakes. Thank you for being you! My new year's resolution is to be a better friend, wife, mother, child, sister. I want to right all my wrongs. Here's to a fantastic 2011. A year of love, peace and babies!

♥ You all!

Free Baby Clothes Patterns

Free Baby Clothes Patterns

Baby Whipped

How is it that someone so small can have such power over me. He knows how to work the system and isn't even old enough to know about the system. He can fool me to do just about anything and guess what, I'll fall for it every time. He likes to play this game with me that's called, Hey mom I see you are about to sit down to eat your breakfast well guess what??? I'm hungry!! NOW!!!!!! So I go warm up his bottle take him out of his bassinet, put a bib on and he refuses to take the damn thing. I sit there and try for 15 min and he'll take perhaps 1oz then I just give up and put the bottle back in the fridge. I go warm up my now cold food, sit down to eat and get about 5 bites in when WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHhhh I'm hungry again! OMG are you serious child???? He does this to me at least twice a day. It's really quite hilarious. But he's gotten to the point where he can recognize my smell and lets say I step outside or leave the room and leave him with J. He'll be a perfect angel, not one peep. The second I come around the corner he starts yelling at the top of his lungs and wanting me to pick him up and of course I comply. He's so incredibly spoiled!!! It's like he knows I'm talking about him, he just started crying for no reason. That's the life of a mother though and I wouldn't trade it for anything in this world.

The Dr's Appointment went well. She said he possibly had a slight cold but nothing to be concerned with. More than likely it's just the weather that's causing him to have a stuffy nose. That and the fact that we turn the heater on when it gets too cold could be drying out his sinuses. I got him a vaporizer today, hoping it helps a bit with the stuffiness. Since yesterday he's been consistantly taking in 4oz in his bottle every 3 1/2 hours or so. He's weighing 7lbs 12oz! At this rate he'll be 8lbs by the weekend. :) Knowing my child is growing so well makes me feel so good. The Pedi said he should be caught up with his peers by month 3! That's my boy ^_^

Smokey and the baby

A few days ago, I was on my way to Walmart to pick up a humidifier for Jett. He's been a little congested for the last week and with good reason. The weather here has been erratic to say the least. Two days of frigid cold even snow then the next day it's 70 degrees :/ Well on my way back to the house I see this mini van trying to merge to the lane next to mine but being cautious of Austin drivers I reduced my speed in the event she wanted to swing over to my lane. Well they didn't and I picked up my speed to match the other cars. Well as I'm approaching this van I see that the woman is smoking a cigarette with the window slightly cracked. I'm not going to deny anyone a cigarette because I would be a hypocrite. I also smoke but there is one key difference between that lady and myself. I would NEVER smoke in front of my child much less while driving with my child in the back seat. I was so incredibly angry when I saw that this woman had not one but TWO children in the car with her, not to mention her tit of a husband sitting next to her. You'd think that in a situation like this where one parent cannot seem to make the right decision that perhaps the partner would step up and say "Hey, at least wait til we get out of the car to smoke" but no, he just sat there being complacent. Nothing gets my blood boiling more than irresponsible parents. If you can't see that's not okay to do GOD knows what else you could have done while pregnant with these kiddos and what you're possibly doing now. That's my rant of the week, I just couldn't believe what I had seen and I wanted to share with you guys.

On baby news, Jett is doing well. He's a bit congested like I mentioned earlier and the humidifier doesn't seem to be working as well as I had hoped so I've scheduled a Dr's Appointment for tomorrow morning. Other than that and the occasional sneeze he's doing marvelous. He's at 7lbs10oz and 20 1/2 inches long. He's eating quite a bit more than before.  This morning I fed him 2 oz, then 1 1/2 hours later he took 4oz then an hour after that he took an additional oz. So total in a span of 2 1/2 hours he had consumed 6 1/2 oz. At the latest feeding at 2:30 he only took in 2oz :/ he's still getting used to the larger amounts. He's been sleeping in his own crib since Saturday but not for the whole night. J stays up later and keeps him downstairs with him until he comes up. He only stays in there for about 3 hours until I wake up and take him with me.

On sewing news, I've made 3 diapers so far but only the last one was one that actually worked. I finally gave in a purchased a pattern and I gotta say I'm very pleased with it. It's got very detailed explinations and pictures along with tons and tons of patterns for different types of dipes. The one I made with the new pattern still isn't great but it's much better than the other ones and it actually fits Jett. I wasn't able to finish it because my sewing machine decided to stop working at the last min. I'll fix tonight and perhaps get a couple of diapers in before I hit the hay.

I'm making dinner right now and I've got Jett in my baby carrier. I was afraid to use with him for a little while because he was so small and the recomended weight was 8lbs. I decided to give it a shot and he fits just fine. He's so calm and I get to carry him right next to my heart as I make dinner for us.


♥ my life!

7 weeks today.

Feb.5th is when our little bundle of joy was suppose to enter this world. However, he had other plans and came 7 weeks ahead of schedule. As I might not know the reasoning behind his early arrival right now, I'm sure there is a very good reason for him being early but only time will tell. Last night, rather this morning Jett slept in his crib for the first time. I took him upstairs to his bedroom around 2am after feeding him and I headed to bed. He woke up right around 5am I'm assuming because when I got up to use the restroom and he wasn't in his crib, he was downstairs with J. I feel bad because he was probably crying and I just didn't hear him. Luckly J is on FMLA at the moment and has been breaking dawn for the last week so I can go to bed and he'll take care of Jett.

So I weighed him this afternoon and he's at 7lbs 7oz! and 20in long! He's 7weeks actual and 0days adjusted. He still wakes up every 3 hours to eat and he's taking in 3 to 3 1/2 oz, sometimes he'll even take 4. He's still using his sposies until we run out and I can complete his diaper covers. I've got one done like I said in my previous post and tried it on him a few days ago. It didn't go as planned but I think I know what I did wrong. First off I didn't have the snappi's for the pre-fold, the pre-fold it's self is huge and it's difficult to fold when he's wiggling all over the place and lastly the elastic. That damn elastic will be the death of me. I've got to make it more scrunchy. There is too much of a gap between the cover and his legs. That could also be due to the fact that Jett has slender legs IDK, but i'm revising the pattern and will be making another tonight.


OH oh oh, I put Jett down for some tummy time today and he completely surprised me. He was really upset with me because he was hungry and I was too busy filming him. He was squirming on the ground and was getting really really mad and all of a sudden he starts turning and stayed for a bit then wham, he's flat on his back. HE ROLLED OVER!!!!!!!!!! OMG I couldn't believe it. Here is the video...

That's it for today, here are some recent pictures of Jett

First time wearing his Pocket Diapers

With his uncle Chris and a candy bar that's called Jet

The first time he didn't flip out while getting a bath.

After his bath and the first time being in his crib

Jett and Ronin on his Due Date