Feliz Dia del Niño!

Dia del Niño:
was created when the UN officially declared the rights of children: health, education, respectful and responsible care, and a special day full of glucose, presents, and games (that's to say, other than the other 364.25 days of special treatment). Next month is dia del maestro, because apparently teachers have similar rights, but I'm sure instead of being created by the UN, it was created by a union. The 2 days combined equals a 5.5 day weekend, a huge party at school complete with clowns and jumping castles, a party at church (although E will go to Avengers with David), and at home we will celebrate by practicing piano and conducting reading lessons: the gift of knowledge is eternal.

School pictures

First Grade

 Third Grade. Notice the untied shoe: very typical

 And a passport picture.

This Mexican needs to lay off the Tequila.

And no tequila is required for this one (I'm not sure why she didn't get school pics):

Stake Conference Today

Sybil won the reverence contest.

The cord is cut

Sybil's umbilical cord fell off a few days before my mom left. It's symbolic. After 3.5 weeks with us, my mom flew home. And David has returned to work after 2.5 weeks of paternity leave. Full disclosure: I haven't showered since then and don't foresee shampoo in my near future.
Before my mom left, I celebrated Sybil's 2 weeks in this world with a run. 4.6 miles. It was the 4th time I've run since giving birth. Don't worry, no prolapse yet. I passed a jogger who had about 1-2 centuries on me.  I'll take what I can get. I was proud.

Some sibling reaction in the first weeks:

E: As he tried to put her pants on: "She's too wiggly."
C: Always making up songs and dances for her.
I: "It's ok if she cries, that's how she exercises," and as she shoved a pacifier into Sybil's mouth, saying repetitively, "It has milk in it, I promise."

Grandma Lovin'

 My mom, one of the most selfless people I know, helped with the piano practicing, reading, homework, food, cleaning, and keeping general peace. Love her. Miss her.

Since my metaphorical cord has been cut, the pic below is the "G" rated version of what Sybil has been doing 24/7. The good news is that the little vampire no longer has bloody-red spit-up (I forgot how much feeding a baby can hurt) and her yellowed eyes aren't as bright.
Babies help you realize what's really important in life: 1) Love, 2) A clean bum, 3) Nipples.

And Claire wants the world to know that although no tooth has fallen out (she tried to convince the school nurse to pull her non-loose teeth out), a new one is coming in. The evidence is hard to see.

 

Answer to the test

I know you have probably been holding your breath, waiting for the answer to the baby identification test (a few posts back).

Top left:

 Top right:

 Bottom right:

 Bottom left:

I think she looks a lot like her great-grandpa Hector.

Last name update: It's Garcia Udall. "Feminism" is a loaded word, so I'll just say: Udall is back in the game...until she becomes an official American citizen...maybe a few weeks or months.
GLORIOUS weeks or months.

Easter Break

Living in a religious country = 2 weeks of Easter break and it's not euphemized as "Spring Break." It's Holy Week.

The kids with their favorite creations

We also went to La Marquesa with neighbors.

That's David's natural chest size. Double D. serious.

Also done during break: daily academic checklists, lego kits, playdates, reading with grandma (we've been reading The Chronicles of Narnia--started book #4), Kidzania, parks, ice skating, snail hunting, hiking, carpentry... I think there was a baby born somewhere in there too.

Garcia Garcia Garcia Garcia Garcia

Can you just take a minute and look at all 4 of the noses in the last post?
Those are 100% Marguerite Sessum Garcia.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When we told people the intended name of our baby, many thought a name with 7 words and 15 syllables was too much. You see, her last name was going to be "Garcia Udall." I jumped at the opportunity of living in a country where women keep both maternal and paternal surnames regardless of marital status. Maybe it was my feminism jumping to the forefront: UDALL POWER!!!
But it all backfired.
Big time.
We went to get her birth certificate today (which didn't happen of course--bureaucracy at it's finest). But the little piece of information they did impart is that our baby's last name will be "Garcia Garcia."
Just wrap my feminism butt in a poodle skirt and slap me back into the 50s please. Not only is Udall lost, my motherhood takes a backseat and David's fatherhood is reaffirmed x2.
This is not a good thing to tell a woman who has very recently walked the line of deathly pain to bring this child into the world.

Ok. Done complaining.

Love my kids. Love my Sybil Maria de los Angeles. I'd love her just as much and maybe even more even if her name were  Sybil Maria de los Angeles Garcia Garcia Garcia Garcia Garcia.
Because that would just be weird.

This is a test, this is only a test

GUESS WHO ???

The winners will get a surprise!!!!!!*

 

*Disclaimer: My children have learned that "surprise" means 1 of the following:

1) hug
2) kiss
3) tickle torture
4) piece of candy I found at the bottom, back corner of the pantry that I am blowing the dust-bunnies off of on the way to the trash can.

Of course, these will all be virtual surprises--even more enticing.
Hint: Elijah's picture is when he's past the newborn/alien phase. He looked a lot more like his youngest sister when he was an alien.

Sybil Maria de los Angeles

We just got home from the hospital, and after a nap I'm ready to do a picture dump. I know there are some anxious grandparents waiting.

Name:
Sybil: my paternal grandmother. She was the ladiest lady I have ever had the privilege of knowing.
Maria de los Angeles: David's paternal grandmother who almost shares the same birthday with her namesake. She is one of the most caring and selfless women whom we love dearly.

Stats:
weight: 3.21kg
length: 49 cm

Proof of Religious Destiny (3 of the following were a coincidence):
OB who delivered her: Jesus
Pediatrician: Zion
Name: Maria
Birthday: shared with Jesus and the church

That's Jesus handing her to me for the first time. She truly is a gift from God.

 It's a Mexican tradition that the new baby brings presents for the siblings. An interesting conversation ensued about a store in my uterus and where she learned how to write.
Elijah took Sybil's request very seriously. I am kinda surprised, considering how disinterested he was when I was pregnant, at how extremely interested and memorized E is by his new sister. Iris and Claire are too, of course, but I expected that.

 

 Home at last!

This is how I found the kids. Just staring at her. I gave them 10 minutes of staring time before bed. They wanted more and then fought about who got to sleep in her room.

This child is popular.

40 weeks

40 weeks pregnant =
going on hikes and runs to force the child down and out.
But the child won't be forced.
My mom flew out a week early bc of the doc's warnings. We should have known better. Compliance doesn't run in this child's blood.

Also, installment #2 of Embarazada = Embarassing (there could have been many more instalments, but I'll spare you):
Being seated at a restaurant but the belly not fitting into a booth so having to be re-seated.
I am officially ripe and overdue in 2.5 hours.

A first and last

This is the first and last pregnancy selfie I will ever take.

EVER.

39.9 weeks

 

I've been told that Iris gets her character from Abuelo Hector's mother (which isn't exactly a compliment). Although Iris loves my mother fiercely, for the past 2 days, she has made my mom maintain her distance and pretend she doesn't know her when going out in public. Did I ever mention that we had Iris in piano lessons, but I couldn't force them on her for more than a few weeks because she detested the teacher's beard. I'm glad she's already taken a liking to the unborn child, although that really guarantees nothing for their future relationship.



I'm an April Fool

Not sure if it counts as a successful April Fools if those pranked actually like the "nasty" prank. Who knew toothpaste-filled Oreos would be such a hit.