Another Sylvie story

I have to write this one down so I don’t forget it. Yesterday in church, one of the speakers didn’t show up, so the bishop said he would be calling people from the congregation to get up and share their testimony. Julio kept saying-he’s going to call you up there. I was in denial. First the bishop called up four men. Then another teenage boy, then me. I handed Tessa to Julio and started the long walk from the back of the chapel to the pulpit. Sylvie freaked out of course and followed me up to the front row where I sat waiting for my turn to speak. She kept saying to me, “You have to go up there mommy, sorry!”  I told her to stay on the bench and I would go up there and then come back and get her. Of course, that didn’t fly with her. When I got up to go up to the pulpit, she started screaming, “No mommy! Don’t go!” I picked her up and her screaming was heard through the microphone. I looked out at the congregation-some people were smiling, some had looks of horror on their faces. I was so embarrassed, I couldn’t speak. After what seemed like an eternity, Julio passed the baby off to someone and came up and took Sylvie out-screaming the whole way!  I got lots of comments from people afterwards saying things like, “You’ve got your hands full” or “She’s got a lot of energy and spunk.” But, someone also asked me, “Where is the little wild one?”    and another lady said, “It will be interesting to watch her grow up and be able to express her emotions and wants more effectively.” That was a very diplomatic way of saying, “Hopefully she’ll grow out of her craziness!” Oh Sylvie.

Tessa at 2 months

She weighs 9 lbs. 5 oz. and is in the 15% for weight and the 25% for height. She has had a hard time with her vaccinations-she was up all night fussing. She sleeps great as long as I don’t eat salsa ! She has had a couple of nights where she has slept 7 to 8 hours straight! She is a night owl and doesn’t ever go down for the night before 11 pm. She likes to nap in her swing and is calmed by white noise and lying on the floor kicking her legs.

  I  need to monitor what I eat to make sure it doesn’t bother her tummy because she is still spitting up quite a bit. She smiles and coos at everyone and is very alert.   Her siblings love her. Sylvie likes to scream and demand stuff when I’m feeding her and says, “Put the baby down!” Tessa is oblivious to it though. She’s a very pleasant baby and sleeps through our outings.  She enjoys being outside too. Above is a picture of her in her stroller when we went to the temple.

I <3 July!

So last week was Independence Day and the Mom’s birthday. It was a busy week. We celebrated the 4th at Mom and Dad’s swimming and relaxing. Callie and Brian were there for a while and some friend’s of my parents. (I forgot the camera). We did sparklers and a couple of fireworks in the street when it got dark finally at 9:30 and then we headed home.  Lucia bawled because we didn’t go see the fireworks, but it was late and everyone was tired. We did get to see some from our car, but apparently that wasn’t good enough for her because she said, “This is the worse 4th of July ever!” Oh well, maybe next year will be better. 
On Wed., we decided to go surprise Mom at work for her birthday with balloons. The kids got to eat some of the birthday cake a co-worker had made for her and they were so happy! 

Since poor little baby cousin had been in the hospital (she’s ok) we only got together for dessert that night to celebrate Mom’s birthday.

Another thing that happened last week is Julio’s car overheated and was in the shop all week. After $2k it was fixed. UGH! I was so mad!

Here is a cousin picture. I just love that Eden gets so excited to come to Aunt Nikki’s house to play with her cousins!

Kids playing in the backyard.

All 4 of them together.

Tessa and Totoro (I think Lucia took this picture)

Tessa and Lucia.

Tessa and Marco

Tessa and Sylvie.

*Update on the job situation. On Friday, Julio got an email from a firm he interviewed with 6 months ago. They said they now had an open position that they thought would be a good fit for him. So he has another interview today. Another option to think about.

What to do, what to do?

We were planning on being unemployed this month. They have now told him they’re bringing him back to the Sacramento office permanently. No more driving to San Francisco! We had all the plans in place to open a business-law practice doing bankruptcy for Spanish speaking clients. Julio got his business license, got an office space, staff and software with his former employer, and advertising in a Spanish circular. So, what do we do now? Move along with our plan to open a business, or accept the offer to stay on at Borton Petrini? It’s a big decision. We aren’t sure what to do. The independence and flexibility of having your own business is very appealing, but so is the security of a steady pay check and not having to worry about finding clients.  Hmmmm….

Summer Fun

She’s not afraid of the water-she jumps right in and sticks her face in the water.

Giddy-up water horse!

Last weekend we went to Leatherby’s for ice cream. As we were finishing, the waiter came over to ask how we were and if we needed anything else. He was standing right behind Sylvie and she turned around and yelled, “GO AWAY!” at him. Fortunately he had a sense of humor because I heard him laughing about it as he told some of his co-workers.

This is one of our nightly rituals (when Julio is home). Tessa will fuss and Julio will hold her in this position while he’s watching tv. (Notice the contrast in their complexion).

She loves being held like this and it calms her and gets her relaxed. I can’t hold her like this because my arm is too short-so it’s definitely a daddy job. I love those cheeks!

Our summer is turning out to be a good mix of lazy and fun. We’ve gone swimming quite a bit and hung out with some friends. We also stay inside most of the afternoon and nap and do schoolwork. (Marco is learning his letters). Then in the evening after dinner, the kids play outside until dark and go to bed late. It’s nice not having to be on a schedule. I love summer…

We’ve got a new cousin!

Little Riley Ann Hill was born last night at 1:30 am. She weighed 6 lbs. 1 oz.-only 1 oz. less than Tessa. Look how much Tessa has grown in 5 1/2 weeks!

Scary times are coming...

We've known it was going to happen, we were warned about six months ago. Julio wasn't permanent at his current job. They hired him last August and then quickly realized they didn't have enough work to keep him busy. His boss had a managing partner of the firm breathing down his neck to get Julio to fulfill his 180 hours billing per month. He didn't ever get it-not his fault. The boss wouldn't give him the work, too busy doing his own thing to bother with giving Julio stuff to do. Then they sent him to San Francisco, saying they had plenty of work there to keep him busy. But, it was the same situation-the boss was too busy to bother finding stuff for Julio or there wasn't enough work. They've been stringing him along, not allowing him to have his own files since he wasn't permanent in SF, and not giving him enough to fulfill his hours. Again, Julio was more than willing to take on whatever they gave him, but they weren't giving him the opportunity. They told him the beginning of this month that if he didn't do 150 billable hours, he would be laid off at the end of the month. Wednesday, they told him he would be let go in two weeks. That sent us spinning-what are we going to do? Julio has been applying for jobs for the past six months and nothing has come of any of it. The only logical solution is to start his own business. It makes sense, why work for someone else slaving away and not growing professionally or making good money? Why pay $500 a month to commute to a dead end job? So, we are setting the wheels in motion. They did tell us today that they will let him stay one more month, so that will give us more time to get things figured out. We've got a few options and we'll keep everyone posted. In the meantime, please pray that everything works out for us. I am hopeful, but Julio says, "I'm assured."