Spanish As A Second Language

So a week ago I gave my first lesson in Spanish in Relief Society. It freaked me out let me tell you! I'm still not comfortable with the language even after all this time. I understand it very well but I have an awful time trying to respond. When someone asks me a question, I answer in English. It's frustrating for me because I feel I should be more fluent by now. The words just stick in my head though and refuse to come out of my mouth which is a real switch from how I am in English since almost everything I think comes out my mouth! Anyway, I prepared the lesson in English and then Ever helped me translate it. I have to say that it actually went pretty good though I can't take any credit for that; it was because of all the prayer that went into it beforehand and because of the patience and help of the hermanas in RS. Most of them are in the same boat I am and are trying to master English. We kind of just teach each other and use a lot of 'spanglish!'

We're excited that Ezra will grow up having the best (I hope) of both cultures. We're already teaching him some Spanish and it gives my mom an opportunity to practice hers again! We're not sure how old Ezra will be when we head back to an English-speaking ward but I'm sure he'll have some memorable experiences during the time we're attending the Spanish Branch. Ever and I joke that he'll learn Spanish and English from us and then serve a mission in Tokyo or something! A half Mexican-half white boy speaking Japanese! Ha!

We're really enjoying being in the Spanish Branch and having Ever serve in the Presidency gives us a lot of wonderful opportunities. I love being able to see him baptize and confirm some of our new members! The Branch is growing pretty quickly, we have baptisms about twice a month right now! The Church is true no matter where you live or what language you hear the Gospel in and that's just one of the many things I love about it! It's continually a strength to our testimonies!

A Word About Bathing Suits

Ok, so I know it's the end of November and it's 50 degrees out but I've been thinking... What is up with women's swimwear these days?? I mean really! It seems the goal is to show as much skin, in as many places as possible without actually being nude. Now, lest anyone think that I'm bitter over the addition of a series of lovely stretch marks that have appeared post-baby, let me first say that I've never been a fan of bathing suits, have never worn a bikini and have done my best to keep as covered as possible. Boys board shorts are far more preferable than those ride-up-in-all-the-wrong-places ones they sell for girls. Anyway, I digress. As I was saying, what is up with swimwear? I've been thinking that I should start a petition to bring back turn of the century bathing suits.

I mean they're very practical. First of all, they'd cover stretch marks beautifully. I don't know many women who have stretch marks on their knees or wrists. You could prance out in one of those beauties and not worry about a stretch mark sneaking out from under your suit to betray you! Second, I don't know if you've noticed but I'm a bit, well fair-skinned. Ok, ok, so I'm as pasty as a cooked spaghetti noodle. As you can imagine I burn very easily. These lovely suits cover so much more of the body that there is less of an area exposed to those harmful UV rays. That means less sunburns which means less skin cancer! It's a win-win! Plus I wouldn't have to spend 45 minutes trying to cover every square inch of me with sun block (and now unfortunately there are a few more square inches to cover than there used to be). Finally, check out their feet. What other bathing suits these days can you wear black socks with and still look that chic? These are the world's perfect bathing suits! No more stressing about cellulite or love handles. No more worries about tan lines or a bit of flab. These babies hide it all! So what do you say?? Who's with me? Bring back the 1900's bathing suit!!

3 Months Already!

So today Ezra is 3 months old and looking back I can't believe that it's been that long and at the same time it seems like just yesterday! He's getting so big so quickly that it's scary! He's been able to roll over from tummy to back for several weeks and now he's getting to the point where he can flip from his back to his tummy too. I'll never be able to take my eyes off him! He also holds his head up so well and loves to look around at everything going on and today he discovered his reflection in the mirror. Apparently he thinks he's one handsome dude because he was all smiles. He also "talks" up a storm. Today he's been particularly vocal, making all kinds of noises and sounds. He seems to like making the really high pitched ones the best; it even gets the dog's attention! Ok, thanks for being patient while I expounded on all my son's talents. I can't help but be the proud mamma once in a while! Happy 3 month birthday to our little boy!

Ode to Sleep

Since Ever posted about Spencer, his neglected friend, I thought I could post on a neglected friend of my own...sleep. Ah, sleep and I used to be such good friends, I looked forward to it every night. I thought about sleeping in on the weekends with an excitement that almost equaled that created by a trip to Disneyland. I could stay up late (well late for me anyway) on Friday and Saturday nights because there was no rush to get up early the next morning. I would snuggle down beneath the covers and slip off into blissful dreamland, a happy escape from the long day just finished. Alas, times have changed! Sleep is no longer a welcome break between days but is now something squeezed in between night time feedings and sunrise. I've become something of a "sleep Nazi," enforcing my bedtime with military-like precision. There is no staying up late even on the weekends because the baby does not seem to realize that mommy would like to sleep more than 6 hours during the course of the night. He finds it equally unconcerning that I would dearly love to have those 6 hours be consecutive. Yes sleep deprivation does strange things to people. I've never had such bizarre dreams before! The other night I dreamed that I was in China, alone, and that I'd manged to get separated from the only woman there who spoke English in a giant, underground shopping mall that was made up of miles of narrow tunnels lit by neon blue lights. Weird! Now if anyone out there is worried that perhaps Ever's sleep is being disrupted as much as mine, I can safely report that he is completely unaware of what goes on over on my side of the bed with all the ups and downs and tuckings-in and feedings and diaper changes. I honestly don't know how he can get up in the morning and have the nerve to tell me he's tired. It's a wonder I haven't done him bodily injury! To sum up my feelings on this matter, I have penned a short poem. Ahem...

Sleep, dear sleep you once were my friend,
Though now our sweet moments have come to an end.
While others at nighttime do still dream and snore,
I wake with the baby 'til I can take it no more.
Someone please tell me when will this boy sleep
Through the night so my poor mind I'll be able to keep.
On that happy night I'll be heard to exclaim
"At long last my sanity now I'll reclaim!"

A pathetic rhyme perhaps but the best one my befuddled mind can come up with. I must say though that no matter how tired I am, Ezra is worth it all. He's such a joy and a blessing in our lives that when I stand over his crib at night so tired I literally can't see straight and he smiles up at me, I know that every second is worth it and that I wouldn't trade motherhood for anything in the world.

Ode to Spencer

With all the attention being paid to Ezra, the newest member of our little family and the heir to the "Casa de Gonzalez" throne, Spencer our beautiful black lab hasn't been receiving the attention he was used to before the baby came. Feeling a little guilty I decided to dedicate an entire post to my first boy - Spencer the Great.

Spencer came into our lives two years ago this month when Kelsey decided she wanted a dog for her birthday. I've never been much of an animal lover unless they came medium rare with a large baked potato on the side, but decided it might be a good idea since we live in Utah and all our friends are in California.

Anyway, when we saw him at the pound he was already a year old and Kels knew instantly that he was the "one" just like she said she knew I was the "one" when she first saw me. He already had the name Spencer and we tried to come up with different names because we really didn't like it. Spencer sounds like a grumpy old man's name (no offense to all the Spencers or grumpy old men out there). I wanted to name him Goose...I'm Maverick and he's Goose, you know my wing man, but Kels said NO. Needless to say his name is still Spencer.

Spencer isn't perfect, ask Kelsey she'll give you a list. He eats food off the counter, he sheds like a mother, he sleeps on our leather couch and he will lick you to death if you let him. The thing that I love about him though is that he's loyal and I know he loves us and that's good enough for me. Long live Saint Spencer!

Life is good right now (even though we're stuck in St George for another year or so). I feel Kels and I are starting to hit our prime, we're young, strong and fearless and without sounding too cheesy the world is up for the taking. We're taking it! Walking next to Kelsey, carrying my boy Ezra in one hand, holding a Dr. Pepper in the other and having Spencer run around us...who could ask for anything more.

Enjoy a few pictures of the last two years with the Goose.

- Ever

Austin!

Our little aviator

She doesn't get out much

Barton Springs

Downtown Austin

Ezra the Longhorn

On the train with mama

Thanya & Sean at County Line Restaurant

Two weeks ago, Ever, the baby and I flew out to Austin, Texas to visit his sister Thanya and her boyfriend Sean. I was a bit nervous about the trip since we had a layover in Denver both ways. We'd booked the trip last minute and it was all we could get! Ezra did great though, he had no problems flying at all and didn't even seem to realize he wasn't at home! We had a blast in Austin! We looked at a lot of model homes, ate at a lot of fantasitic restaurants (something we really miss living in St. George), did some shopping, did the tourist thing downtown, and went to Barton Springs to get the whole outdoor experience. Ezra was wonderful the whole trip! He especially seemed to enjoy Barton Springs, I think he likes being outside. We feel lucky that we were able to take this trip and go someplace we haven't before. I know Ezra won't remember it but Ever and I have always enjoyed traveling and we're excited to now include our son in our trips. We'd like to go back again soon and maybe see some of San Antonio next time too. Thanks Thanya and Sean for making it such a great experience! The next time we move, Austin may be our new home town!

Ezra's First Halloween

A year ago when we found out we were expecting, I told Ever the baby was going to be Eeyore for the first Halloween whether we had a boy or a girl. I don't think he took me seriously because he was surprised when my sister ordered Ezra his little Eeyore costume a month ago. He had to admit that the baby looked adorable once he saw him, though he also said Ezra reminded him of the kid in the movie A Christmas Story that was forced to dress up in the pink bunny outfit. On Halloween night we took the baby over to my parent's house along with my grandma, my sister and her husband. They get over 200 people Trick-or-Treating in their neighborhood and we thought it would be the perfect place to show off the baby! I know we're biased but we really thought he looked cute! He'd just had his two month set of shots that evening but did great anyway! He ended up falling asleep while I held him on the front porch as we passed out candy. I've always loved Halloween and Ever and I really enjoyed it this year since we're experiencing life all over again through Ezra. He's such a blessing in our lives and makes everyday an adventure!