momma mondays: meet button

Our sweet little "Button" is here and doing so much better than I anticipated. He is three weeks old today!

We knew our little guy was going to be joining us a bit earlier than his August 24th due date, but I was not expecting it to be as early as it was, July 13th. I went to the specialist on a Thursday and was supposed to see my doctor on the following Monday, but on Friday morning she called me and told me rather than my regular appointment on Monday morning, I would be having my c-section! He didn't even have an official name, other than Button! 

But he's here and he does have a real name! 

Meet David Pio Agustin, aka Button

When my father-in-law passed away back in May, Button still was just Button. We had not thought of any names, first or middle. But within a few days after he passed away and my mind was thinking again, I knew I wanted to name him David. I just didn't know when I could bring it up with my husband to see if he was okay with it and liked the name. While we were up there over the three weeks, he came to me and asked if we could put David in his name somewhere and that is when I asked him if he was okay with naming him after his Dad, using David as his first name. He really liked that and wanted to be sure I didn't feel like we had to name him that. I knew we didn't have to. But I really, really wanted to. So from then on, he was almost officially David, but we didn't tell anyone. We didn't talk about names again for the most part for a while. Our minds were elsewhere with everything going on. In my heart, Pio, after St. Padre Pio, was tugging. It's not the actual name that I love, but more the meaning behind it. As soon as I found out about David's condition I started to lean on Padre Pio, for my worries and his health. And I was blessed twice from that day on and each priest, without knowing of my prayers to Padre Pio, blessed me with his relic. We went back and forth with other names and nothing hit us real well. The night before he was born, the Hubs kept looking through the lists of thousands of names online and we were still back and forth. I still wanted to put Pio in it because I knew he really was a big part of David's journey. After he was born, we knew he was David and then the Hubs said to me (I think in the OR still) that he thought Pio should be his middle name too because David was born so healthy. It was kind of a confirmation to him, to us, that St. Pio was Button's little patron. And the Agustin was a no brainer. Each of our boys has an English and a Spanish name in their name, and each boy has Agustin somewhere in his name so I wanted to carry that on to him. 

David was born weighing only 2 pounds and 8 ounces. So, so tiny. But he was incredibly healthy. He did not even need a minute of breathing help. Everyone was stunned at how healthy he was and how little "help" he needed. He was born strong but tiny, a fighter for sure. 

He has grown so much in the past three weeks and now weighs 3 pounds 9.7 ounces. I'm hoping at the rate he is going he hits the big 4 pounds by the end of this week. 

Thank you all for your prayers for him and the support you have given our family. Though he is healthy and doing so well, it has been a very tiring and difficult time for our family so we appreciate all of the love we have received. If you would like to follow along with his sweet journey, you can follow him at @teambabybutton on Instagram!

momma mondays: baby button

Life has certainly thrown a lot at our family lately. A lot. Honestly, somedays it is more than I feel capable of handling. From the terrible twos to the passing of my father-in-law and everything in between. And then we found out that our sweet boy was not quite up to speed in his growth rate and that there were some complications to monitor. Normally, I would go into complete and utter panic mode. I am a worry wort to the core. I worry about things my kids will do in their teens. They are not even three yet. Not being hysterical with worry and anxiety is a complete miracle in and of itself. Of course I'm on the edge of my seat at each appointment for the latest news and I've left with tears in my eyes at a few of them, but all in all, St. Padre Pio is totally holding me up here with "Pray, Hope, and Don't Worry." He has been my lifeline through it all. 

I have been so weak and broken from losing my father-in-law and trying to help my husband deal with life without his dad, and then adding on the incredibly tiring days with our three little ones right now, that maybe all I can be is strong through this. But it has certainly been hard. I will continue to have bi-weekly appointments with two doctors up until "Button's" arrival. They will monitor the issue and at one of those appointments they will pretty much just tell me it's a go. I may have no warning as to when he is coming, whether it be this week or in four.

Chances are, even though his scheduled arrival date is supposed to be August 24th, he will be showing up even within the next few weeks. So if you all would, please do us a favor and pray that things don't continue to go downhill and that our littlest guy can stay inside as long as possible. We are gearing up for a long road and learning what life in the NICU will be like, but hopefully with all of the prayers, he won't need to spend as much time as I am preparing for. If any of you have experience with a preemie/NICU baby, please send any tips my way! 

So many people are so kind to us, asking how things are going already and if there is a way they can be updated along the way, so I created an Instagram account. I think it may be the easiest and quickest way for me to keep everyone updated. Feel free to follow along at @teambabybutton and #teambabybutton

We will know more in the days and weeks to come as to what life will be like and when he will be arriving and I will try to keep everyone as updated as I can there. And as for my blog... Oh, how I do hope to keep up with this some how and in some way. But please continue to be patient with me as we figure out what is next for us. 

Momma Mondays: I'm Back!

I've been gone for a long time, but I was gone for a reason. 

Yep! We will be a family of six comes August! Life has been c r a z y! A newborn, two two year olds, morning sickness and first trimester exhaustion. I wish I could get my mind in order enough to be back on a regular basis, but it may still be a bit off and on. Bear with me if you would. I just wanted to come back today, as a fresh start in June to let you know CiaoMarezy was still alive. 

We will have four children under the age of three when our little "Button" comes. Baby four has been affectionately named "Button" by the boys. The scary thing. It's sticking. But there is no way we are going with a celebrity-like name. Apple, North, Button... Nope. We'll share soon whether we are having a boy or a girl, but I have a feeling Button will remain it's name for a while.

I really can't wrap my mind around the fact that I will have four such young children. Four kids doesn't scare me at all, it's the fact that our two oldest will not even have celebrated their third birthday yet! A few people have said, "Oh, three is a lot harder than four! You'll be fine." But my oldest isn't going to be a helpful seven year old and the one under isn't five. I'll have two soon-to-be three year olds, an almost one year old and a newborn. If any of you have littles so young and close in age, I welcome any tips! 

While this is going to be one wild ride, we are so excited to add to our family! Hopefully sooner than later I will figure out this crazy life and get back on the blogging schedule! I certainly miss it!

first halloween

My little men celebrated their first Halloween with their sister this year. In years past, we just handed out candy at our house, but didn't dress up. This year, we kept it super simple. I didn't want to pay a ton of money for a costume they would wear for a couple hours max. Two costumes at once adds up. And I knew I didn't have the time to really make much of anything. So this year, they went as Batman and all I had to buy was the Batman shirt, which they can wear other days during the year anyway. It's their Papi's favorite character so it's a good thing to have in their wardrobe... along with their Redskin's clothes and Alabama hat. *wink* I cut capes out of black fabric and just pinned it to their shirts and took yellow strips of fabric and tied it around their waist as a belt. Wallah. They also wore their Batman sunglasses part of the time. They were not fans of masks.

Zelie was part of the fun too. My sweet cousin sent her an adorable black cat onesie that she wore with black tights. Simple and so cute!

We went out with a friend of mine and her daughter and hit about 10 or 12 houses before a huge front of wind and cold air hit. We turned around to make the walk back to our cars and just made it before the heavens opened and poured down rain. That would have been awful with three little ones and two babies! They kids had a ton of fun with the houses we did make it to and definitely got enough candy. The boys had never had candy before so they had absolutely no idea what they were getting. They knew it was called candy, but didn't know what it really was. They still don't. I didn't let them have any of it. Not that I don't let my kids have any sugar, but candy is off limits for them right now. They have cake on special occasions and cookies from time to time. I don't really want to start them on candy. And most of the stuff they got, a two year old couldn't really eat. Momma and Papi didn't mind eating it for them though. *wink*

The boys had such a great time and I was so pleased as their Momma to hear them use their manners. I try hard to raise them well, but my word, it is not easy. Manners came easiest so far. We have please and thank you, yes please, no thank you, excuse me, no sir and yes ma'am going quite well. So when they went up to the door and said "trick treat" it was followed by a sweet please and then thank you. My heart swelled watching their smiles and hearing their kind words.

When we got home, the boys thought they would show and share their sweet treats with their little sister. They are so giving. I am loving their bond already and I know it is only going to be sweeter as they grow.

 Next year I want us all to dress up! I haven't dressed up in years and think it would be kind of fun. We will see. It would be something I'd really have to plan ahead for! Do you go all out for Halloween, not celebrate at all or something in between?

five things friday: momma favorites

Good morning, ladies. And gents? Or ladies and my Hubs? *wink*

Join me for my Five Things Friday featuring current Momma favorites!

I may or may not still be in this same outfit as yesterday...which was the same outfit as the day before...and it is possible the day before's outfit as well. But I can't really remember that far back. I'm just keeping it real here.

For this Friday's edition, I am sharing five of my current faves as a mom.

1. Enfamil to go. If they had these when I had the boys I totally did not know about them! It makes life on the go, especially with my hands full with two toddlers as well, so so much easier. I don't have to worry about lugging along icepacks to keep formula cold, which then also makes for an unhappy baby girl, who prefers warm drinks. I can fill her bottles with pre-warmed water and then just pop in a packet of her formal already measured and ready to go! It's a mini lifesaver!

2. I never go out on my own, without the Hubs or kiddos in tow. That's not a complaint, it's just a fact. I am a homebody and most of my friends don't live nearby so I'm usually enjoying time at home with the fam. But this one particular night I needed to get out and I had errands that had to be run. The Hubs happily offered to watch the three littles for me while I headed out. So, out I went. One of my stops was Home Goods. While I was there I perused through the children's section and I found a little goodie to bring home to my little ones; the book Wherever You Are My Love Will Find You. I had seen this book before, but never opened it. Y'all, I'm in love. It is the sweetest book by Nancy Tillman. I can't wait to get my hands on her other books.

3. I have worn these bracelets for each of my kiddos almost every day since they were each born. I love them. They are thin and simple and each gold disc has their initials on it. I may have to think of using names that start with G, W, or Z again so I don't have an armful of bracelets. ;) I gave my best friend one with a J on it and she is able to use it for both of her little guys, and maybe her third too! She's having baby three and I am oh so excited! When I was pregnant with Zelie, I knew I loved that name, but it wasn't something we decided 100%, but one day while I was walking by the store I bought the G and W at, I thought I'd pop by and see if they just so happened to have a Z. When I went in to check, they didn't, but they offered to check all the other stores in the country and only one store had one Z left. I had them order it via phone for me and it was at that point that I was certain we'd have a Zelie. I love these bracelets because they are constant reminders of my little loves. 

4. These magnetic locking devices are fabulous. I wish I had just invested in them from the get go. I cannot stand those regular cabinet safety locks you put on drawers and cabinets. Whether it be the exterior slide locks on double cabinets or the little hooks that you slightly open doors and drawers and then have to stick your finger in to push down. We have both of those everywhere in our home and they are the death of me. But now the boys learned how to open those so I was desperate for a more toddler proofing option and that is when I discovered these. I am a much happier and frazzled momma knowing my cabinets are still safe and in turn, the little guys are safe. We only have locks on places they can harm themselves, like knives, chemical detergents, etc. Do yourself a favor and just get these from the start! You'll save money and work in the long run by not having to buy two different sets. 

5. When Gus and Will were born we did everything to get them to both sleep and stay asleep. They were swaddled, held a certain way, rocked... you name it. They also slept with a sound machine. It would help when one boy woke up at random so the other baby had a chance of not being disturbed. It has really helped even to this day when they sleep, at nap time and overnight. As it turned out, it has helped their sister very much too. Since the boys use our only sound machine, I decided I'd try out an app on my old iPod so I didn't have to bother buying a new machine and it also is a lot more convenient since it is portable and can go anywhere. I can bring it in the car with me which has been a great lifesaver at times on longer drives or long days of errands. I also have the app on my phone in case I need it while out and I don't have my iPod on hand. This is the one I downloaded, but any sound app would work. Zelie's favorite is Calm Rainfall. 

So, these are some random current faves that revolve around my life as Momma to my two little men and sweet baby girl. What are some current momma musts in your life? Or, if you aren't a momma, what are some of your musts that you love on a daily or regular basis?

And, Happy Halloween everyone! I will be back with a little recap on our little's first Halloween!

thrive moms

Have you connected with the Thrive Moms community? If you are a momma, and you haven't, you should. I'm loving it. I'm loving a lot of little blogs lately that inspire moms and wives. We have a very important role in our family and in society and receiving inspiration and boosts from other women like ourselves is a great encouragement. Something I would really love to do is be a part of a community with other ladies to use my gifts to encourage others. Today I found out about an opportunity to be on the team of photographers at Thrive Moms. I am far from professional in my photography, but I put my heart into it, just like I put my heart into being a momma. I am not a professional at that either, even though I have three littles. I still have a lot to learn, but I hope to always grow in both mothering and photography. Here are a few photos I am sharing with the team at Thrive Moms. And, you can follow me on Instagram @ciaomarezy to see more glimpses at life our little life!