words be said.....

Raphael is eager to learn. He learns sign language words like a sponge. Here in the video above, he looks for the picture of a fish and a dog, which he then attemps to say "fish" and "woof." He is a very smart boy, who loves to learn. Enjoy the video, i sure got a laugh out of it!!

why do birds suddenly appear?

Raphael is growing up! In the past two months, we have moved into a new appartment, had a lil family vacation to newport/ lincoln city, made friends with a stray cat, gone to the zoo, and of course many trips to the park. Raphael is now sleeping through the night in his crib. he learned to brush his 4 teeth, take his shoes off, and a few sign language words. he's been trying to kiss me on the cheek. He loves to watch sesame street in the morning, his favorite is elmo! he has a favorite hat, which he HAS to wear to go out. He is obssesed with hot wheel cars, trucks and monstertrucks (just cars in general) His mini piano is entertaining too. The zoo was very crowded, but that didn't stop us from seeing the monkeys, which happens to be raphaels favorite animal next to the cat. He did pet a dog though....not his favorite. He is a wonderful, happy, beautiful littleboy. as each day goes by he is looking like his dad more and more everyday. We are still working on spanish words...so far no luck, but there is no rush. i could go on and on about how great he is, but i think i'll stop here for now.....enjoy the pictures ;)

he's a-walkin'

Raphael is finally mobile! He has surprised not only himself but his dad and I, with how fast he learned to walk. He took six steps all by himself about a month ago, and he hasn't slowed down since! He loves to walk towards me and give me hugs. His big smile brings joy to my heart. His baby "talk" is increasing by the day,I only wish i could understand what he yells about to the birds out side. Raphael loves attention, not only from us, but from strangers he sees when we take him out. If someone goes by and they don't acknowledge him...he bursts out a BIG yell and points at them. Somewhere along the way Raphael learned to dis-like baths, but loves to be outside playing in the grass. He points at the birds and the occasional car driving by. He still only has 4 teeth and he knows how to use them to bite down into his favorite fruit....bananas! He loves to cuddle into bed with us. My hair is his new obsession, not to pull, but to caress and feel between his tiny fingers. His pointing finger is used very often to let me know where the ceiling is or to point at food he wants to nibble on. His new ticklish spots are his feet and toes. He absolutely loves to eat fruit and pasta...not together though. I love to spoil him with home made tortillas and beans...he goes crazy eating them!! His dad on the other hand spoils him with pop-cycles and occasional brownie. One morning he surprised me when he said "yeah baby!" I'm still trying to figure out where he learned this or what exactly he meant by it. Raphael is very active. The brain in his round head is sucking up everything around him like a sponge. Raphael is growing too fast....makes me get misty eyed and all. I am considering starting to potty train him soon....I'll let you know how things go along :)

family

Our very first family vacation was a success. the weather was very warm and sunny. we visited the Santa Monica beach/ pier, Raphael did not enjoy his first encounter with the sand. We saw dolphins, in the ocean water far away....at least i hope they were dolphins. On Raphael's birthday we spent the day at the Los Angeles Zoo, he loved to see the animals. I think his favorite animal was the two hump camello, he pointed at him and yelled some baby language things. Universal studios was amazing and full of interesting/entertaining-mind-puzzling things to look at, the weather how ever was a bit too warm for us Oregonians to handle so we cut party short. the flights were calm. to my surprise Raphael behaved very well and slept through most of the flight. He sure enjoyed taking those walks around the block and to the park with Oma. They both met for the first time! Raphael filled Oma house with plenty of talk, and cabinet door banging. He absolutely loved Omas home made applesauce, and the famous California-grown watermelon. we sure enjoyed the whole experience. i will defiantly look forward to our next vacation whenever it happens.

Sunshine!

We could not let this warm weather go by with out going out and blow some bubbles! Raphael loved it! He was fascinated by them and kept trying to grab them, even though the silent "pop" confused him a little bit. Raphael broke in his fourth tooth, I am convinced he is trying to catch up with the rest of the kids his age. We have been working on walking......he is getting close! He is still a wee-bit wobbly, i think he discovered gravity and the saying; what goes up must come down! He has gained the two pounds he lost after being sick. He loves music. I am talking to him in Spanish, one of the biggest things i can do is to teach him Spanish, like my mom did with me. I've noticed how he takes a little bit longer to process what i tell him. In about a week we are flying down to California to celebrate his first birthday! I am so shocked to think how fast his first year has gone by! He has learned so much. gotten so big! I can only wait patiently and see what else he discovers tomorrow! I am so excited to celebrate his first birthday, and the fun we're going to have at disneyland....not to mention our first family vacation! Thank you Jesus for the many blessings in my life!

raphael communicates!

Raphael, now 11 months, surprised me the other day with his third word "up," he said demanding i get him out of his crib! His first word at 7 months was of course "da-da." The second a few days after was "mamma." He is constanly learning new things like; to nod "yes," to wave good-bye, wave hello, and blink his eyes in a flirty way. He loves to blow kisses or as i call them "besitos." When he is hungry he goes to the kitchen and bangs on the refridgiator door and waits very patiently for me to find him. He officially has three teeth, two on the bottom one on top. He loves; when it read him books, to crawl around, going out to the park, pop cicles, bananas and baths! I am looking forward to see what else he discovers, and will try to keep this up dated!