Happy Birthday Gabriel!!

My Little Gabriel you are FOUR!
I can't believe how fast you are growing up.
I remember when you were a little baby snuggling in my arms.

Oh... I still remember your tiny little hands and feet.

This year has really flown by. You are growing up so quickly before my eyes.

Here are some things about you.

1.You are such a charmer.

2.You have a good heart and can be so sweet.

3. I love how you play so nicely with you little brother. You are doing such a good job at being a big brother!!

4.You love to dress up in your superhero costumes and pretend to be them.

5. I love when I ask you how much you love me, you say,"I love you 10"!

And I say," I love you to the moon and back."
You say, "I love you to moon and earth."

Some of your cute phrases that you call me are:
"Hello darling!"
" Hello sweetheart"
"Hello young lady"

6. I often wonder how old are you. You can seem so wise at times! Lately, you have been asking me if you are being a good boy.
This week you asked me if Jesus is watching you and I said, "yes, he is always watching you."
Then you said,"why, I'm a good boy?"
I told you that Jesus is watching over you to protect you and to see if you are being a good boy.
You said, " Well I'm a good boy so he can watch over me to make sure I'm safe, that will be fine."
You seem to be really trying to be good.
And just so you know, you are a good boy.

7.You are not shy and are very out going. You have a ton and I mean a TON of energy. I wish you'd give me some. You are very confident and never scared to try.  There are many times I wish I could be like you.

8. You love to dance to any type of music.

9. You love to talk and tell me stories.

10. You love to snuggle & give kisses.

I'm so happy & blessed to be your mommy!
I love you with all my heart. We ALL do!

Happy 4th Birthday Gabriel!

Love,
Mommy

thirty-two

This past week I turned thirty-two! I knew it would probably be a typical week since my hubby had to work. So I didn't expect much and was surprised when my hubby told me he had arranged to be off for the day. The kids gave me lots of hugs and homemade cards......which are the best! I love seeing their drawings.

Earlier in the week we celebrated with my MIL because she would be out of town on my birthday. She made a wonderful Chinese dinner. She is so sweet!

On my birthday we had a great dinner at my parents house. My mom made me carnitas, rice, beans and tres leches cake!! ( I guess I can say good-bye to my diet) All so yummy!!

The kids were on their best behavior and I didn't even have to ask.

I'm really blessed to have such a great family who love me.

Thank you guys for such a great day!!

Changes

This past year has been filled with many changes... Daniel was born,  4 kids turned into 5, mommy started a business, mommy started a blog.  And just when I'm starting to feel comfortable to the new routine and starting to get the hang of things....Bam! A new adventure is awaiting us, a new path is in front of us and we need to decide whether to walk down that path.

But there are so many unanswered questions about the future that lays ahead of us. 

 To be honest I'm not sure and I don't know what to do. We have a decision to make and a timely one at that. I'm so scared to make the wrong decision but if we don't, we might let a good opportunity pass us by. Oh, how I hate change! It can be so scary.

Right now there are so many things changing around us. The season is changing as you can now see in the leaves on the trees, that Fall is awaiting us around the corner. It seems like everyone around us is going through a change. Whether it be moving, marrying, retiring, growing up, having a baby or just entering a new chapter in their life.

But one thing that remains the same is that God will always be by our side. He is the one thing that is constant. His endless love for us remains the same.

It is hard but what I do know is that whatever we decide I know that God will be there. I will trust in Him to guide our hearts to show us the right path. 

He has always been with us through all of our trials & triumphs. We will continue to TRUST in the LORD.

Goodbye August

So August has come and gone, just like that! I thought I'd share with you guys lots of pictures of whats been happening around here.

We went to the beach one last time before all the kids went back to school.

This month the older kids started school. That means I have two at home.

We had a baby shower for my sister. Who is having a GIRL, which is so exciting because it's been a long time since we've had a baby GIRL in the family.

Gabriel picked out his Halloween costume. CAPTAIN AMERICA. One down 4 to go! I only hope he doesn't change his mind.  Halloween is still two months away.

We went to our first ever Family Reunion.

The boys went back to Tae Kwon Do after a summer break.

Catching up with old friends!

Continuing to take advantage of the summer heat and swim in our pool.

I worked on some new designs for my shop.

Desi started her Cross Country training. Oh, how I admire her running in this heat. I don't know how she does it!

Daniel is getting more confident with his walking. Which he means he is getting quicker and soon will be running from me......uh..oh! So soon I'll be chasing him around.

Jorge plays racket ball weekly and he is sporting the bruises to prove it!

Lots and lots of laundry and towels to fold.

Harvest America was AWESOME!

Daniel has loves playing in the fridge. Anytime someone opens it, he dashes towards.

He also tasted his first ice cream cone.

More fun in the pool!!

Jimmy broke a board at Tae Kwon Do with his elbow strike! 

Daniel is getting more confident in his walking, exploring and trying new foods.

Just trying to enjoy the last days of summer.

 I have decided to do Pre-School at home with Gabriel. So I have been trying to prepare for that. Since we've been busy, I decided to start after Labor Day.

I hope you have been enjoying your summer!

Daniel's 1st Birthday Party!

I can't believe my baby is turning one! I know I always say this but time flies by. This is why I try to cherish and live in the moment because it is just that, a moment. So I wanted to share Daniel's first birthday party.

I made Daniel a Very Hungry Caterpillar 1st Birthday party! I love reading that book to my kids and they love it too. I think it turned out so cute. I found so much inspiration on..... Pinterest...... where else! And this made my party planning so much easier! There were great ideas from so many bloggers and I will list their sites so you can see the original idea.
Rachel had some GREAT printables that saved me so much time! Her party for her little guy was adorable so head on over to Rachel's blog. Also from Tamsin's blog and from Kayla's blog  both had such wonderful inspiration.


The party was simple but very cute. Here is a look at his birthday party.  

Here is the invitation I made using PicMonkey. I love PicMonkey, its so easy to use!

                       

 All of the food was related to the book. Which was lots of fruit, crackers and cheese.

Here are the adorable printables from Rachel's blog, which were perfect!

And more Fruit, which Daniel loved!!

I gave the little guys a new cup with their goody bags.

I also got the idea to have the guest fill out a Happy Birthday Wishes sheet for Daniel from Kayla's blog. I thought this would be really nice to add to his memory book. 

I also made signs that say, "Happy First Birthday Daniel", had them printed out & hung everywhere.  

I also taped some wrapping paper with polka dots on the tables to use as table runners.

I love my Hungry Caterpillar Picture Banner, it featured a picture of every month from Daniel's First year. 

I got that idea from  Tamsin's blog, thank you Tamsin!

I loved how his Very Hungry Caterpillar Ice Cream Cake turned out! It was really hot and as soon as we got it out it started to melt. So I tried to snap a few pictures before it melted away. 

                               I thought it was so cute and precious. It was delicious!  

Daniel was so happy, he clapped after we sang to him and after every present he opened. So Precious!!

He loved his cake too!!

Happy Birthday Daniel!!

Our week in pics.

Last weekend we went to My hubby's baseball tournament with the church which lasted 3 hours. Which I know isn't long but when you have 5 kids and it's HOT, it seems like it lasted forever. But I'm so glad we went to cheer him on. I know he had a good time.

Since we are Annual Passholders at Disneyland we were eligible to enter the park an Hour earlier before they opened. So my hubby registered us for that. At first I thought, what were you thinking? We live an hour away and we have 5 kids!!! That means we have to get up at 4 a.m and be in the car by 5:30. Which I know it is possible but when you have to drag the kids out of bed and throw them in the car... It can be a challenge!

But you know what we did it!! WooHoo!! I'm not sure if we'll ever see that sign again....lol!

The older ones got up and got dressed without any complaining. The little guys I just put them in the car seats while they were sleeping. I changed their clothes after they woke up. The stroller, diaper bag and lunches were all packed in the car the night before. So it can be done with team work and planning!

And here we are in line with the hundreds of people that want to get in early to see the new Cars Land!

Everyone had the same idea and speed walked to Radiator Springs Racers, because there were many employees telling everyone to walk. 

Look at those cute Cozy Cones! They sell snacks at the window and you can get a drink in a Cozy Cone.....Too Cute!! 

So this week we painted the house and when I mean WE I mean my Hubby and his Dad. I wish I would've taken a before picture but I didn't. The house really needed to be painted. I believe that it had never been painted and it is probably over 30 yrs. old. The new paint makes the house look like new.

My baby turned ONE!! So we've also been preparing for the baby's first birthday party. Which of course I leave everything to the last minute because I love to stress myself out. I didn't get all the things I wanted done but I think it turned out cute! I'll post about the details later.

 My hubby went back to work from his vacation break. I don't like him to work, I wish he could stay home with us all day.  So the kids & I have been swimming and relaxing. We are enjoying these last days of summer that we have left.

    I hope you all are enjoying your summer!

Birthday Letter {to my one year old}

My little baby is now ONE, I can't believe how fast a year has went by. Celebrating his birthday was a happy event but kind of sad because he is ONE. That means my baby is growing up and sometimes I wish I could just freeze time. This year I have really been trying to savor the moments with him. Because he is No. 5, I do know how fast the kids grow up. In a blink of an eye a whole year has went by.  I know that we will be having new experiences together and that will be exciting in itself, teaching him how to walk, trying new foods and talking...but I'm still a little sad that the baby stage is coming to an end. It just all goes too quickly. So I've decided to write a Birthday Letter to my baby.

My sweet Daniel,

Here is our first picture together. You are just perfect in every way. So precious.

Today you turned one! You are growing up so fast, I can't believe that a year has come and gone. I have treasured all of our moments together from the late night feedings and diaper changes to the cuddling and kisses.

You are such a sweet and gentle little guy. You are very mellow and just go with the flow. Now, that's my kind of baby. You seem to only cry when you are hungry and need to be changed. At night you'd wake up to be changed and eat, then go straight to sleep. Aww.......what a blessing! I think God knew we needed a gentle little guy in our crazy bunch of kids. I'm so blessed to be your mama!

Some special things about you are:

~You got your first tooth when you were 5 months. 

~ You currently have 8 1/2 teeth. 8 1/2 because your top left molar is half way out on one side.

~ Rice Cereal and veggies were your first baby foods that you tried. Fruit soon followed as well as baby Puffs.

~ We soon realized that you loved homemade baby food after you refused to it it from the jars. I made fresh veggies and you ate it up without a fight. Yay!!

~You love to give kisses.

~You can wave Hi & Bye, with both hands at the same time.

~You give High-Fives!

~You can Clap!

~Started army crawling at 7 1/2 months. 

~ Started real crawling at 9 months!

~You are cruising around the furniture. But haven't started walking yet. 

~You have taken one step and then decided it's faster to just crawl. 

~You say dadada, gaw, aah, yaaa, and a couple of times ma.

  

~You are very serious and seem to always be thinking.

~Sometimes it can be a challenge to get you to look up and smile because you are focusing on what you are doing.

~But when we do get you to smile. You look SO CUTE!!

Love your smile.

I have cherished all of the many moments of your first year.  

And look forward to the many new adventures to come. 

Happy Birthday Daniel!!!

I love you to infinity & beyond! 

Love,

Mommy

Winner, winner, winner!

Thank you to everyone who participated in our first giveaway! I had so much fun reading about what everyone is enjoying this summer. For me, I love just being around my kids and no more school school schedule. We can slow down and relax. I hope everyone is having a great summer!

My little man helped me with the entries and the winner is:

Naomi 

who said:

I love being able to take the kids on trips
nbellowsdove at gmail dot com

Please email me to claim your prize at:

reginaanndesigns@gmail.com

Again, thank you all SO much for participating in my first giveaway!!

Giveaway Time!

I'm so excited!!! It's our first GIVEAWAY here on the blog!!! Yay!! I made this beautiful hand stamped square copper necklace with a pink swarovski stone and freshwater pearl. It is stamped with "Love And Be Loved."
It is hung on a stainless steel chain. Which is very strong! I love how this turned out! All pieces have been oxidized to give it a rustic appearance which is something new I haven't done. And I'm just loving how it turned out!
This would make a great gift for a mom, friend, sister, aunt, birthday gift, grandma or Yourself!

Ok,Ok, so on to the GIVEAWAY!!

So all you have to do to be entered into the Giveaway is:

1. "Like" my Facebook page & leave a comment on my Blog that you did so.
( Please leave your comment here on my blog, Facebook has very strict rules about giveaways)

Extra Entries:

2.  Leave a comment on the blog about what you love about your Summer.

3.  Become a Follower of my Blog and leave a comment that you did so!

That's it! Easy Peasy! Do all of them and you have 3 chances to win!!!



***Giveaway will close on Monday July 16th at 12:00p.m. (Noon) PST***
The winner will be announced here on my Facebook page this Monday!!


Winner will need to contact me within a week about claiming their prize.

So let's get started!

Good luck everyone! 

I hope you all enjoy your weekend :)

***GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED***