Maria's Birthday!

Maria is 15 today.

How in the world did 15 years fly by so quickly? I am so blessed to have a daughter like Maria. She is an awesome big sister to her three brothers. She is out and about with one of her best friends, Sonja, to celebrate her birthday. They are going to the movies, eating at Red Robin, hanging out at the mall, and then coming home for a sleepover....not that there will be a lot of sleeping going on!

Here is a picture of her holding Joseph as a newborn....it is amazing that he already looks different in less than 4 weeks.

Rest is good

Life continues. It is amazing what rest does to restore oneself. I find if I am able to get a nap in the middle of the day, the nights are much more bearable. Plus, going to bed earlier when Joseph goes to sleep for the first shift is also good. It is hard though....there are other things that I want to do....but I need to remind myself continually that this is such a short season and I just need to enjoy the time with a newborn. So, resting, reading, relaxing, gazing at Joseph, playing with James, and maintaining the basics of the household are what occupy the bulk of my time nowadays. And, I couldn't do it without the amazing help of Maria and William. They are both so incredibly willing to serve and to either hold Joseph or play with James....it is a wonderful thing to watch.

Today was a harder day....not as much sleep and James was BUSY! I think this is probably more the reality I will be living in coming up as opposed to the easy first two weeks.

Here is a picture of Joseph next to a black and white picture of William when he was a newborn. See any resemblance?

It sure is fun to watch James love on Joseph. My sister Annabelle has summed them up correctly....Godzilla and the Potato!

James definitely loves his baby brother....and even is starting to say his name!

Here is a video taken December 31 of James and Joseph. The video isn't long....but it is obviously done by an amateur!

Christmas in January

Today we celebrated Christmas with my sister Annabelle, her hubby Ethan and their daughter Sarah. It was kinda fun to have Christmas in January....plus it was the first Christmas for Joseph.

Earlier today we went to Joseph's first doctor's appointment, where everything checked out great. That is always reassuring. We then went to Costco to pick up the birth announcements and the timing was impeccable...they had just finished printing by the time we got to the front of the line. We were able to get the pictures into the envelopes and send them out today. Some of you reading this blog may even be getting one in the mail.

Welcome Joseph Balderrama

Is it already 2010? How did that happen? The only thing I have kept up on in my blog is the list of books I read.....125 for 2009. Some months more, some months less. I really enjoyed being able to see what I had read and review the list at the end of the year. So, I know I will be continuing the book list....and hopefully post more frequently than I did in the past.

But, the big news in our household is Joseph Balderrama joined our family on December 29 at 11:11 pm.