On Sunday night we were able to have a nice dinner together with all of the men that work with Aaron, in honor of Pedro's retirement. Pedro (with the plaque) has worked for my dad for 20 years. We had a quiet, fancy meal at the Natural Bridge hotel about 45 minutes north of Roanoke. What a treat for me that the wives were invited!
Vivian has done so well learning to use the bathroom this past week. We stayed home for 4 days and she was doing great by Tuesday. Without too many details to bore you, we stopped using the timer midday Tuesday because she was telling me when she needed to go. She had several accidents on Monday, one on Tuesday, one on Wednesday, zero on Thursday, one on Friday. On Thursday and Friday we ventured out in public and she didn't have any problems. We are so happy for her (and for us!).
Here's the proud underwear-wearing toddler!
Here's the proud underwear-wearing toddler!Stop reading now if you don't want to hear about the poop side of the story.
She had a poop accident on Tuesday morning. After that, she didn't go for the rest of the week. I was so worried about her. I guess she was holding it, and then it got to the point where it had been so long that she couldn't go. She didn't complain about her stomach hurting until Saturday morning, and I went to get something from Walgreens. After some help, she went within minutes. I put her diaper on so she could feel comfortable and go. But she cried to take it off and ran to the bathroom to get on the toilet. So even though we had some problems getting to that point, at least she didn't revert back to using a diaper.
All in all, it was a lot easier than I was expecting and I'm glad I waited until she was older. I'm sure we'll still have lots of accidents (she had one this morning at church), but she seems to be catching on to it well!
On New Years Eve after the church service we had a fun time hanging out with dear friends in our small group. It was our original night to meet anyway, but this time everyone got sitters so they could stay late and ring in the new year together. 
We played Catchphrase after we ate
We missed the Harris, Smith, and Williams families! We love this group and look forward to growing closer and encouraging each other in our mutual faith in the new year.
We played Catchphrase after we ate
We missed the Harris, Smith, and Williams families! We love this group and look forward to growing closer and encouraging each other in our mutual faith in the new year.
One last post about Christmas!
Several people asked us this year about the place of Santa Claus in our family. I'll quote Noel Piper, who is much better with words and explanations than I could be, and then I'll try to sum up.
This may seem like a lot of text to read, but if you're a relative of ours it will be worth it so you'll maybe better understand our decision!
"For several reasons, we have chosen not to include Santa Claus in our Christmas stories and decorations. First, fairy tales are fun, but we don't ask our children to believe them. Second, celebrating with Santa and manger will postpone a child's clear understanding of what the real truth of God is. It's very difficult for a young child to pick through a marble cake of part truth and part imagination to find the crumbs of reality. We want our children to understand God as fully as they're able, at whatever age they are. So we try to avoid anything that would inhibit or distort that understanding.
Third, think how confusing it must be to a literal-thinking, uncritical preschooler. Santa is so much like what we're tying all year to teach our children about God. Look at the "attributes" of Santa:
-He's omniscient...he sees everything you do.
-He rewards you if you're good.
-He's omnipresent...at least, he can be everywhere in one night.
-He gives you good gifts.
-He's the most famous "old man in the sky" figure.
But at a deeper level that young children can't comprehend yet, he is not like God at all. For example, does Santa really care if we're bad or good? Think of the most awful kid you can remember. Did he or she ever not get gifts from Santa? What about Santa's spying and then rewarding you if you're good enough? That's not the way God operates. He gave us his gift- His Son-even though we weren't good at all. "God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). He gave his gift to us to make us good, not because we had proved ourselves good enough."
-Treasuring God in our Traditions, page 80
Another thing that I could add to that last paragraph is that our goal in teaching our kids obedience is that they do it out of love for God and out of thankfulness for what He has done, not because they want to be rewarded with presents.
Does this all make sense? Maybe you think we are being too strict or thinking too hard about things. But we believe that if our goal in parenting is to evangelize our kids, then we must consider and analyze everything we are teaching them and try not to hinder them from learning the truth.
The other thought we've had is that, how can you avoid Santa? Obviously they know about him because they've seen him everywhere. We can't just pretend that he isn't around. Our plan basically is to treat Santa just like we do other characters that they love...Elmo, Grover, etc are good examples. It's fun to pretend and enjoy these characters! We've had their picture taken with Elmo, so maybe next year we could do the same with Santa. The point is, though, that we won't be telling them that he is real, is watching them, and will bring them presents on Christmas if they're good enough.
Let's talk about it next time we see you!
Okay, a couple of more Christmas posts!
On Sunday night Aaron made Christmas cookies with Vivian. She was very delighted. Thanks to Phyllis Ertel from church for the cool cookie cutters!
"Can I have a turn, Daddy?"
After 5 accidents within the first two hours this morning and being pretty upset about peeing all over herself, Vivian really got the hang of using the potty and has gone 7 times in a row on the toilet...and that's all before naptime! It's amazing how often she's using the bathroom...that's the power of Capri Sun :)
She started out wearing just underwear for the excitement of it but after messing up 3 pair, she went bare bottomed for the rest of the morning.
She got a small digital timer in her stocking on Saturday, and we set it for every 20 minutes. Whenever the timer goes off, she runs to the bathroom very enthusiastically and sits on her Tinker Bell potty seat (sits on top of the regular toilet). She is doing great. I am shocked that it has been so easy. One time she even told me she needed to use the potty before the timer went off...she knows when she has to go! I'm sure we'll have setbacks but at least we're off to a good start.
We are planning on sticking with this for the rest of the week to see where it gets us in the training. I won't bore you with the details everyday, but I might do a post at the end of the week just for my records.
Today we went over to Julia and Mason's house to make Christmas crafts! I can tell Vivian really enjoys doing crafts because she concentrates so hard. Erin so graciously prepared the materials for us to make a manger scene on paper, and she also cooked an awesome lunch for us!
Working hard on their mangers (I loved the 3-D effect...twigs for the stable, pine needles for the hay where Jesus was sleeping, and cotton balls for the sheep out on the hills...Erin is so creative. Can you tell she used to be an elementary school teacher?).
Every once in a while Vivian would show off her work. "I did it!!!!"We also made candy canes like we saw on Kristin's blog...red and white beads on pipe cleaners. It was a good idea for Julia and Vivian, but not for Kate. She kept trying to eat the beads.
Kate spent a lot of time talking to baby Mason. He was a sweetheart.
Kate spent a lot of time talking to baby Mason. He was a sweetheart. We wrecked their house :( Beads, crayons, and markers rolling under the couches, pine needles all over the rug, etc., but it was super fun and we LOVE spending time with our dear friends.
Hooray for lots of Christmas craft ideas! I have a few more, but we only have a couple more days left to do them! Stay tuned for more.
Hooray for lots of Christmas craft ideas! I have a few more, but we only have a couple more days left to do them! Stay tuned for more.
As gospel believers, there is a desire to do everything with excellence (1 Cor. 10:31). For me, most of the time this plays out in one of my roles as either wife or mother since those are my highest callings. I fall short of this desire a lot, all day long, in a variety of areas. But does gift-wrapping count?! Aren't I supposed to be good at this? 
The picture actually makes it look better; it looks worse in real life. All of the gifts that I wrap look awful. I just don't have it in me. I keep thinking, "It's just going to get torn open anyway."
This one is also a joke. About halfway through I gave up on trying to make clean creases.
Speaking of presents, Aaron wins for biggest this year! His came today and I had to wrap it with plastic tablecloths. Can anyone guess what it is? Don't worry about spoiling it if you get it right...he already knows what it is. He just doesn't know specifically which one, what color, what type, etc. I am very excited.
"Ughh Papi's trying to steal my apple, Mom"
We stayed in a hotel on Saturday night and had some pretty lazy (but cute) bellhops to help with our bags...
On Sunday morning, we drove from Hope Mills to Lucama to visit my dad's side of the family. We met at Granny's house, as we've done every year for my whole life! I love traditions that really stick...for a long time. This particular tradition means that my Granny has had to open up her home faithfully and graciously every single year, and she always does...such an example to me of loving your family. What a legacy.
Uncle Larry and Aunt Stella were there with smiles (only after I got on them for not smiling for the camera...:) )
After we ate, gifts were given...mainly to Granny and the kids.
This was V and K's first Christmas gift opening experience of the year...they loved it. It makes me think that Friday and Saturday are going to be really fun!
Sweet Hannah waited so patiently for Vivian to open the gift she gave her before she opened her own. I thought it was precious! She was genuinely excited to see Vivian's reaction to the gift she gave (a play cleaning set...broom, mop, bucket, etc, which she loves! She has been sweeping constantly the last two days).
On Saturday we drove down to Hope Mills, NC (close to Fayetteville) for the annual Fernandez Enchilada Christmas lunch and all-day, all-night celebration. We got there just in time for Kate to lay down for a nap, and we started partying. I could tell Vivian was a little overwhelmed by all the people (40+) but she handled it well and was outgoing with everyone.
Aaron and I were able to escape around 5 o'clock for about 45 minutes to go out and celebrate our anniversary. When we came back, it was time for the entertainment and Dirty Santa to begin!
It was a fun, packed day. Thanks to Aunt Julie for having us!
Happy 6th anniversary to us!We will be celebrating by driving to NC for the Fernandez Christmas party :)
Vivian is two and a half today! Yesterday Aaron was saying that she is growing way too fast, and I agree. He said it's getting to the point where he can see differences in her daily. I want to remember lots of things about her at this special, fun age, but I'm sure I'll forget some things, so I might be updating this post over the next few days.
-She weighs close to 30 lbs. She's on the thin side, and I love her tiny, pinchable little hiney. Not sure about her height, but I can measure soon and add it. She seems to be pretty average.
-Her hair is still the same color...light, little bit of red in it. Her eyes are hazel like mine.
-She still has the strawberry birthmark on her right jawline. It has gotten smaller, but that might be only because her face has grown. I don't know if it will fade or not.
-She wears size 4 diapers, just like her sister. Hopefully that will be changing in 2 weeks when we potty train! She's a little late on the potty training, but we aren't worried at all. There just hasn't been a good time.
-She gets up around 7 or 7:30, and goes to bed around 7:30 or 8.
-Unfortunately, she only naps about 4 days out of the week. Some days she just talks and sings and plays in her bed and when I go in to check on her, she says, "I can't sweep". She is so young to be missing her nap, but there isn't anything I can do about it. If it's 3 o'clock and she still hasn't fallen asleep, I give her books to read or flashcards to look at until the naptime is over. I haven't noticed that missing the nap has affected her behavior, so that's good.
-She goes to Preschool 2 days a week and really loves it. She had a hard time with separation anxiety about a month ago (that lasted a month), but it's getting better. They say she only cries for a few seconds after I drop her off. She seems to be learning a lot; the other day I realized that she can say the entire Pledge of Allegiance (she mumbles through "United States" and leaves out the word "liberty" though).
-She recognizes all capital letters, and is starting to ask about letter sounds ("what does this letter say?") She knows that V is for Vivian, K is for Kate, and M is for Mommy. She can spell her name.
-She is not very good at coloring. She loves stickers.
-She loves to sing and dance. It is hilarious to watch her dance. She does a lot of ballerina-type moves. Maybe we should think about ballet classes next year? :)
-She gets jealous when Aaron is tickling or wrestling with Kate. She'll say, "Get me, Daddy!"
-She likes for things to be just right. The books have to be put in the box a certain way, things have to be straight and in the middle, etc.
-She isn't very good about cleaning up her toys. She takes forever and gets easily distracted from cleaning up.
-She enjoys desserts. Loves anything chocolate, like her Mommy.
-Her language is so impressive to us. I can see so much growth in the last couple of months. She is now using prepositions and articles in her sentences. This is the part about her that makes her seem so grown up!
-She can sing the Doxology in English and Spanish:
Praise God from whom all blessings flow,
Praise Him all creatures here below.
Praise Him above ye heavenly host,
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
Amar al Padre Celestial,
Criaturas todas del Senor.
A Jesus que su via dio,
Y al Eternal Consolador. Amen.
-She knows her address and days of the week. She knows the first section of her catechism book ("God"). She has memorized Galatians 5:22-23 and Ephesians 6:1-3.
-She knows how to manipulate her sister to get what she wants. If they both want the same toy, Vivian knows that she can offer Kate something else to distract her. Kate doesn't even know what hit her.
-She is FINALLY going up and down the stairs without me having to hold her hand. This is such a relief to me. In fact, today was the first time EVER that she went to another level of the house without me going with her. She went 2 flights up to go get her pocketbook in the attic playroom, and came back down. That may seem unimportant, but to me it was a big deal.
-My absolute favorite thing about her right now is when she gets a high-pitched mommy voice when she's talking to Kate. Can you picture it? "You wanna go upstairs to play, Kate? Huh? You do?!"
-Sometimes she calls me "mom" and sometimes it's "mommy". Same for Aaron...she switches up between "Dad" and "Daddy" (and she just recently started pronouncing "Daddy" correctly)
-When Aaron comes home from work, she says "thank you for working for me, Dad" unprompted. It's so sweet for him.
That's a lot, I know. Sorry for such a long post, but to be honest, I'm sure there are things that I left out and will be adding to it later! Thanks for loving our little girl along with us!
Aaron, we want to post some pictures of what we're doing today (we're at home all day), so that you can see us while you are at work. We are praying for you, that things go as smoothly as possible with the snow.
Here is our photo diary! Make sure you check throughout the day, because you never know when I'll add new pictures. You'll need to start at the bottom of the post each time, since the most recent pictures appear first when I upload.
We are thinking about you!
I just finished preparing our dinner for tonight...sausage and egg casserole. Breakfast for dinner! Hope you are looking forward to it! Mine doesn't have such a great presentation as this picture shows (got it online), but I'm sure it will taste just as good.
This was taken during lunch while we were waiting for the macaroni to cool off. They had a big lunch. I had a Klondike bar for lunch :)
Vivian took time during lunch to tell me about the Gingerbread house she made at church last night. They had a huge birthday party for Jesus with the kids. She has talked about it a lot today, and all day has carried around her "God is Faithful" book that Mrs. Jill gave as Christmas presents.
While they napped, I also took some time to check up on your anniversary gift online. Can't wait (it's Saturday, by the way...I'm sure you already knew that though, right?)!
We just watched an episode of Sid the Science Kid and now we're going downstairs to eat lunch.
We've been playing upstairs for about an hour. Kate wanted to swing like a baby, so Vivian pushed her in it.
They played in their rooms while I took a shower. Instead of playing in her bed like she usually does, Vivian played in the whole room and made a big mess.
We played hide and seek. Vivian loved it but couldn't understand that she needed to wait and give me some time to hide before she came to find me. Kate loved their hiding place (they hid in the same place every time).
I gave Kate another dose of Benadryl to try and dry her up. Her eye looks much better today and she is acting more like herself...not so pitiful like last night.
I didn't look when I set the bottle down, and I guess I smashed this stink bug's head. Ha! Victory!
We made a snowman together.
Ta-da! Look at my snowman, Daddy!
The field out back is almost covered, and it's still coming down strong Today Vivian had a Christmas party with her library friends. Every Tuesday we go to the library for storytime with Mrs. Harrill and Vivian is really starting to participate and interact with the other kids. She was very excited about the party today.
Jax, Lilah, and Melody
Julia dressed up as a reindeer! So cute :)
Jax, Lilah, and Melody
Julia dressed up as a reindeer! So cute :)Last night I met the girls of our small group out to eat. We were celebrating Christmas, but also Ashely and Shannon's December birthdays (Ashely's was actually yesterday, and Shannon's is the 26th). We stayed for about 3 hours. It was very encouraging. We are continuing to get to know each other better every day!
We missed you Jody! Hope you are feeling better.
Kristin brought the birthday girls a special get-up :)
Thanks to all the husbands for staying home with the babies!
We missed you Jody! Hope you are feeling better.
Kristin brought the birthday girls a special get-up :)Thanks to all the husbands for staying home with the babies!
Fernandez Family
About
-
This blog is a way for us to journal about the fun events and milestones of our days as husband and wife and new parents. Enjoy catching up with what's going on in the Fernandez family!
Aaron and Lisa
Married December 18, 2004
Vivian Gray: born June 18, 2008
Kate Leigh: born August 5, 2009
Hank Michael: born August 8, 2012
Search
