Almost Crawling!

Tiago has mastered the art of moving backward.  It should be only a little bit more time before he can move forward too.  Then we are in trouble!  But it will be ok, I know he is ready to be able to move around more independently.

Amarillo to Long Beach

After 2 weeks in Amarillo, it was time to head out to California.  Jaime was still living in a hotel, but we were in the process of  buying a new place and thought it would be easier to get things done if Tiago and I were in California. 

How Tiago spent the trip

We planned the trip to make it as easy for Tiago as we could.  We stopped twice, once in Albuquerque, New Mexico and once in Flagstaff, Arizona.  Tiago got to "see" two new states - he had been to California before - and got to see how much he really did enjoy the car seat.  At the end of the first day, which was a 4 hour drive, he spent a full 30 minutes stretching with Gram.  He turned out to be a great traveler, but we did have a few moments.

Entering New Mexico



Entering Arizona

Painted Desert

Petrified Forest

Raven in the Petrified Forest.

THE CORNER - in Winslow Arizona.

Finally we found Dad!

 The final tally - 1170 miles driven over 3 days.



Houston to Amarillo

We decided that it was time to pack up the Houston condo and move out to California, even though we didn't have a house in Long Beach yet, and Jaime was still in the hotel where he had been for several months. Over Memorial Day weekend, he flew to Texas and packed us up. We drove to Dallas on Sunday, and went on to Amarillo on Monday , where Tiago and I were going to stay for a little while, visiting my parents. Jaime went back to Houston to meet the movers, and on Tuesday we vacated our first home in Houston. The movers were great, and it's a great way to move, especially with a baby to deal with. It was still a really long day for Jaime though.

Leaving Number 34 for the last time.

Tiago's agenda for the trip.

Tiago and I stayed in Amarillo for about 2 weeks, until Mom and I got on the road to LA.

Napping with Shamrock on the living room floor.

Getting used to the new swing...it took some time, but is now a favorite.

Backyard time with Gram and Jack.

Watering the compost with Jack.

Zoo Napping

Since we like the Houston Zoo, and because we are first time parents who think that their 2 month old needs to be stimulated and educated, we took Tiago to the zoo - twice - before we moved away. The first time I went with my friends and their daughter for an evening at the zoo for members only.

The second time, Jaime and I took Tiago with some free passes we got from a friend. Tiago basically just napped through the zoo. But at least he was there!

Sleeping at the giraffes...and sleeping at the sea lions.

Tiago's Baptism

We wanted to get Tiago baptized in Houston before we left so we could have as many people as possible attend - and since both godparents live in Houston. St. Michael has group baptisms on the first and last Sundays of the month, in the afternoon. We selected March 27th since that was a day Jaime was able to be in town. We went to mass at 12:45 PM, and met everyone at the church before the 2:30 PM ceremony. Jaime's brother Orlando is Tiago's godfather, and my sister Anne is his godmother.


Everything went well, and it was interesting to have so many babies baptized at once. Assembly line efficiency. I was glad we were at St Michael, since Jaime and I got married there, and that's also where my parents were married.

We went back to our place, and Jaime's mom had cooked for everyone. Her food was as great as usual, and we enjoyed the afternoon with our families.

Tiago's Birthday

Since we are moving to California, it seemed like a good idea to start a blog so everyone can see what we are up to, and so we can post pictures of Tiago as he grows. I will start with the story of his birth, since that's where his story really begins, and we will try to keep updating from there. Tiago was actually due on March 15th, which would have been an interesting birthday, the Ides of March . We were also thinking that St. Patrick's Day would be a good birthday for a part-Irish baby. But at some point, he decided that he preferred to be born in February. Which was a surprise. And, as it turned out, it was ok with me, since the time of comfortable resting was long gone. I wonder if he will be surprising me for the rest of my life. Probably.
I also wonder if he's also going to be chronically early, like his Dad. Probably...

Jaime had been in town for a long weekend in February to get the condo ready to sell. He flew back to California on Wednesday morning, spent the weekend in Bakersfield with some of his relatives, and got back to Long Beach and went to work on Monday morning. I went to work as usual on Monday morning, looking forward to my last week of work. At 10:30 AM, I was in a meeting with someone about a current project, and my water broke. I sent Jaime a text to tell him that he should start working on getting back to Houston, called my doctor, and headed to her office. She confirmed that I was definitely in labor, and sent me on to the hospital. I did drive myself, and have had lots of people weigh in and tell me that probably I shouldn't have. But it made sense at the time, and was very practical. By 1 PM I was checked into the hospital and in bed, waiting for baby to arrive.

I wasn't really ready to be at the hospital, so I had to call my aunt and sister-in-law to ask for some help, packing a bag and bringing it to the hospital, and keeping me company until Jaime was able to get there. He had been in training from 6 - 8 AM, then headed to the airport when he got my message. He arrived in Houston at 5:30 PM and his brother got him to the hospital at 6:30 PM. Tiago Colin Villatoro was born at 9:11 PM, healthy and with no complications. He was 6 lb, 13 oz, and 19.5 inches long.

I expected him to have more hair based on what we had seen on the ultrasounds, but he's easier to clean this way! We had tons of family at the hospital for support and to welcome him into the world, which was wonderful, and a big part of the reason I stayed in Texas until he was born. We were in the hospital for a few days after, and Jaime stayed in Houston for about 2 weeks helping me to adjust before he headed back to California.