My Story.

Another weekend came and went...oh well at least we get a three-day weekend this week thanks to Memorial Day yay! One of the few holidays Jack gets to take off since they really don't give them any but they get one whole week off during Christmas. ONE. Who gets that? HIM. Boooo. I get one day off. ONE DAY. Oh well. At least I get all the holidays off. All of them. Take that Jack! :)

This weekend was great! Lots of new things going on...

We finally put the coffee maker we got on our wedding to good use and made us some coffee this morning (much needed). I lost my debit card (it's never happened before!) which I think is a sign for me to stop online shopping so much and we worked on our yard for the first time since we bought our house.
 

Best coffee ever!

We switched Elliot's bottles from newborn to the Avent 4+ months. How can such a small change make me so sad? He's growing up so fast he needs to slow down! Today he is 4 months old and I just can't believe my little tiny almost six pound baby is now thirteen pounds, he laughs, smiles, talks up a storm, can almost roll over from back to tummy and can almost sit up! Unbelievable. He's already on #2 diapers and it drives me nuts to see him getting so big right before my eyes. It has been so much fun though. My itty bitty newborn is no longer itty bitty or a newborn for that matter, he is a baby, drinking from bigger bottles, wearing bigger clothes, knows when mama and daddy are home and loves to snuggle with. How can that already be? I am loving it though. I love to hear his little giggle that I know will turn into full fledged laughter in a matter of weeks (maybe days). That little boy couldn't make me happier. I love his little smile when I baby-talk to him and tickle him or hold him up airplane style and fly him around the house and see how mesmerized he is by it all. Man does time go by fast. He now sleeps through the night which I had been wanting and asking for since he was born and now I feel like this stage and part of him is so "grown up" I want him to be my tiny baby again! Don't get me wrong, I'm loving it! It's bittersweet because I also can't wait to see what the months will bring and be able to experience every milestone he will reach with him. I'm so lucky and blessed to be his mom.

So, this baby is our United Nations baby...I will explain...

Jack and I come from such diverse family that we still don't know what race we should put our baby under. Ok, not really, but once I tell you my story, our story, you'll know what I'm talking about.

I was born in Mexico (very proud of it) to my Mexican mother and my Arab father. I know. Weird. My mom is Mexican born and raised and my dad is from Jordan born and raised as well. My dad was in the Air Force and came to El Paso to Fort Bliss for a training. Like a good young kid, went to a club and met my mom. Get this, my mom didn't speak English and my dad didn't speak Spanish. What? To this day I have no idea how they communicated in the beginning. They tell me and my siblings that they just did what they could and also had friends translate for them. That deserves some major kudos right there. They were together for two months and decided to get married. After two months. Most of us would freak out at the thought of that! Well my parents did it. Three years after that I was born. So I am half Arab and half Mexican. And fully bilingual.

To say I grew up in a very diverse environment would be an understatement. The difference in mindsets, beliefs, culture, religion was crazy, but I wouldn't change it for the world. I've learned so much from both backgrounds and both are such culturally rich countries I love it. My parents let us pick what we wanted to be and believe in since we were little and I thank them for that! I have no complaints about my childhood. Having hummus for breakfast and enchiladas for dinner was awesome. I learned to make so many dishes from both countries, lived in one and visited the other a few times. Jordan has a beautiful culture despite all the negative beliefs about Islam. Every religion will have its fanatics. We came to the U.S. where my mom is an RN working in labor in delivery and my dad an engineer turned business man. I also love that our family was very close. That's something I will teach my children for sure. So Elliot has those two. Onto the other two.

Jack also comes from two different races. His mother is Korean and his father White. Told you. His mother is born and raised Korean from Seoul (the good Korea ha) and his father born and raised here in the U.S. Also two rich cultures that Jack has been able to incorporate into our household, more to teach our son and eventually our other kids (or kid). When we found out I was expecting, the first thing that popped into our heads was "what is this kid going to be?" We can't say he's more of one than the other because he's perfectly a quarter of each. So what is he? Well I grew up speaking Spanish, my dad knows Spanish, so I can say I was more of that culture. I grew up in Mexico so okay, I always check the Hispanic option when asked. I've also done a few "two or more races" since that option is now given, and although I can't say I'm more one than the other, I do feel more of my mother's culture than my dad's although my name and maiden name are completely Arab.

Jack on the other hand, could say that since he grew up here, he checks the White box when asked. He does have a lot of Korean culture in him though and I absolutely love it. The food is one of my favorites and I wouldn't have known about it if it weren't for him! I've even learned to make a few dishes myself. Yum. I guess it all depends on which culture you're "more of" and you check that box as you deem appropriate right?

I went to HS then I went to the university here and graduated with a Bachelor's in Graphic Design with a minor in Printmaking. So now, I am married to an amazing man, have a kid and work for a great company. Life seriously can't get any better than that for me. If I could do it all over again, I would do it the exact same way. I want that for my kids, I want them to have all the great opportunities I had, the morals I grew up with, the culture, the family-oriented environment. I want them to be able to know what Kimchi is, and if they want to eat hummus for breakfast and enchiladas for dinner, you better believe they will. Elliot comes from that because of Jack and I. I love that his eyes are a little ragged, his skin is the perfect combination of Jack and I and his little face is a mix of all four races. We get to share something with our little Button (and when we have more) a little bit from all four. We will tell him about the similarities and differences, the culture, the religion he will try all the foods and we will let him pick whatever he wants from each and every one of those things and make them his own, we will teach him the languages, how beautiful the places where we come from are (hopefully take him one day), and as I said, it can't get any better than that.

Did I mention that this little one can almost sit up? Such a big boy.