May 27-May 31, 2011
Hugo has become quite the traveler, and Memorial Day was no exception. To celebrate what would have been my brother's 29th birthday, Hugo and I traveled to the UP to spend the weekend with my family. We had a birthday dinner in AJ's honor at Bonanza with family and some of AJ's closest friends. While Cash and Gatlin enjoyed the endless amount of ice cream, Hugo enjoyed all of the attention from his cousins.
Although not predicted, we got lucky with some beautiful weather while we were in the UP, which meant Gatlin and Cash got some time to show off their bike riding skills.
Hugo enjoyed the new toys on the walker at Grandmas house. Gatlin got a kick out of making funny faces at Hugo. Hard to believe that I can remember when it was Gatlin that was the baby using that walker....
Hugo loves sitting on laps, and has started this new thing when he's sitting up on someone's knee. He will sway himself front to back and start rocking, almost like he's riding a horse. Here he's just about to buck himself right off of Grandpas knee!
We made it back from the UP safe and sound. Every day Hugo does something new that amazes me. Here, he's demonstrating how he has learned to pull himself into an upright sitting position in his vibrating chair using the toy bar to hang on. Looks like I'll have to be careful about using the chair as a place to "put" him!
With all of the traveling lately, we needed some time to catch up with our friends. We met Shannon, Tim and Connor at Pizza House for dinner Tuesday (5/31) to hear all about their trip to California. Tonight's new activity --- trying a high chair for the first time!
June 1-June 7, 2011
So I have been dealing with this pain in my right lower abdomen for about 2 weeks now. I was unconcerned about it at first but by Wednesday night, I was in so much pain I couldn't even get out of the car so I headed to the ER to get it checked out. Long story short, it was my appendix and I had to have surgery to remove it. The silver lining --- Grandma and Grandpa came to help Jaime with Hugo since I was in the hospital and then couldn't lift anything once coming home. Hugo was very happy to get to see them again and I was very grateful to have them here. No matter how old you are, when you aren't feeling good, sometimes nothing is better than having your mommy and daddy there.
Look at how happy he is with his Grandma!
We have been having great weather lately --- which means, playtime outside and flip flops!
And pretty much doing everything outside - even eating! Hugo is getting so good at eating from a spoon and I think really likes the rice cereal. I also think the likes his new high chair - our garage sale bargain!
Sunday was another beautiful day so we decided to head to downtown Ann Arbor to check out "Taste of Ann Arbor" with Shannon and Tim so I could get some walking in, per doctor's orders. We had a great time and ate some delicious food, and got some sun since it was HOT outside!
The last few days have been kind of lazy around the house. It has been really hot outside and I've been spending a good bit of time sleeping while recovering. Hugo has enjoyed having the time at home to play with his toys. He especially likes his exersaucer --- check out how good he is getting at standing up in there! His little legs are getting so strong. He definitely likes to stand and if you hold his hands and assist him just a little he will put himself into a standing position.
The month of May 2011 started off VERY exciting...Baby Liam (William Lawrence Auker) was born on Sunday morning, May 1st. Congrats to Toni and Joe and welcome Liam!
Then, on Monday night (May 2nd) ANOTHER very exciting thing happened --- we took Hugo to his very 1st Tigers game. They played the Yankees, and sadly, lost - but Hugo was great and had a great time. I'm sure this is his first of many Tigers games, but this one was special not only because it was his first but also because Grandpa was there to join us.
I guess this week was full of firsts, because then Tuesday night (5/3/11), Hugo tried rice cereal from a spoon for the very first time. He did great, despite the nasty look he gave me the first time the spoon crossed his lips. I think the video says it all. (Sorry, I can't figure out how to get it "upright").
He got much better with a little practice, and I think his babbling is him telling us he liked it!
On Friday, the festivities for Andrea and Brian's wedding began with the rehearsal dinner at Cottage Inn. The food and company were delicious, and Jaime's favorite word - buffet - were involved. Hugo was a champ, as always.
Saturday was the big day - the wedding! The weather was absolutely perfect for an outdoor wedding, and the location at Island Park in Ann Arbor was perfect. The ceremony was beautiful and Andrea was a gorgeous bride. Congrats to the happy couple! It was a fabulous day!
Us bridesmaids weren't too bad ourselves!
My dad was still in town so got to join us at the wedding and helped Jaime with Hugo.
Tina was also in town for the wedding! It was great to spend time with her, and notice how handsome Hugo looked in his dress clothes.
Thanks to Hugo for making me a mom, I got to celebrate my first Mother's Day this year and had a GREAT day. To start, Jaime and Hugo took me to breakfast at Holidays where we met up with Shannon, Tim, Connor and Erin. When we came home, it was beautiful weather so we spent some time hanging out on the deck and then took a walk to Ice Cream Time to meet Toni, Joe and Liam for ice cream. For dinner, my dad treated us to Jets Pizza (another favorite)! Hugo picked out the perfect gift for me, too - a new book for us to read together. It's called "I Love you More" and its about a mom and her little boy. We love it already.
Hugo is getting so big and really enjoying play time. Here are a few favorites of him having fun!
By mid-month, the weather has finally started to turn out for the better so Hugo doesn't have to be dressed in layers of clothing. I wanted to share his first adorable outfit of the summer. His t-shirt is organic cotton from the Oprah store (a splurge with Oni while I was pregnant) and it is sooo soft!
Hugo playing with his favorite toy, his cow who we affectionately call Bessie. What else would a cow be called? I don't know what it is about her, but he took a liking to her from the very start and so now she goes everywhere with us.
We finally had a weekend nothing to do and so took some time to meet Toni, Joe and Liam for Mexican Food at Los Amigos. Speaking of adorable outfits, check out Liam's sweater vest!
A quiet Saturday night for us ---- I used the time to catch up on Celebrity Apprentice. Jaime and Hugo used it to snooze and snuggle on the couch. Look at how cute my boys are!
May 19th-23rd --- the time we had been long anticipating --- taking Hugo to Texas to meet the Gutierrez family! We flew out of Detroit after work on Thursday, which meant a late night for Hugo (but it was better than leaving at 5 AM). Hugo seemed a little leery of the tram at Houston airport.
When we went to Alabama, Hugo was a champ on the airplane - we even got compliments from other travelers how good he was. For this trip, he is now 3 months older, so we weren't sure if we would get the same result. The good news is that he loves flying, and the hum of the engines puts him right to sleep. Lucky for us, we have a great little traveler!
In addition to the excitement of meeting 1 new grandma, 5 new uncles, 5 new aunts and 8 new cousins, the main event of the trip was to get Hugo baptized. This is something we have been meaning to do for a long time, but all things considered, it seemed to make most sense for us to do it in Texas so that Jaime's siblings could be godparents and so that his family could be there to help us celebrate. Although the lead-up to his baptism was very lengthy (due to a dual first-communion mass), Hugo was so well behaved in church and spent a good part of the time playing with his lamb, a baptism gift from Grandma Rosa. His newly-discovered piggies also added a lot of entertainment value.
The mass was twice as special for our family because Jaime's niece, Megan, was also making her first communion at the same time.
Hugo posing with dad, cousin Stephanie and Grandma.
Success! Our little boy is now baptized!
Hugo with Jaime's sister Melissa, her husband Jose Luis, and their daughter Lexi.
All of the cousins on this side of the family (minus one). From top to bottom, left to right: Stephanie, Megan, Hugo, Lexi, Alyssa, Frankie, JJ, and Max.
After the service, we all went out to enjoy a great dinner at Antonios. I didn't grow up in a big family, so being part of a family big as this is definitely fun at times, especially for meals like this ---- family style fajitas, rice, beans, tortillas --- YUM! It took two pictures to get us all in the frame!
Hugo hanging out with Grandma (and Bessie) at dinner.
All pooped out from his big day.
In my opinion, the weather in Texas was GREAT while we were there --- it was high 80's, low 90's and sunny the entire time. Perfect weather to enjoy an outdoor pool, which meant Hugo's first swimming trip! Although his dad may not be a big fan of swimming (check out that scowl on his face!), Hugo seemed to love the pool. His legs were moving constantly, and he loved to splash with his hands. He didn't fuss or cry once as we immersed him into the pool. Hopefully I have a water baby!
Our last night in Texas - hanging out with Lexi, Megan, and Sylvia. We are so glad we made the trip - we had a great time and I know Hugo loved getting to meet everyone (and getting all of the attention!). We'll definitely be back soon.
Last one for this post. This was just during tubby time the other night and the expression on his face was so dang cute, I just had to share.
