The Herreras in Canada

Geedo's 80th Birthday

2010-02-08T10:43:00.000-08:00

Just a couple days after all of that snow, was Geedo's Birthday. We ventured out on the windy day to visit Boba and Geedo, who were still snowed in.

The Birthday Boy :)

Geedo and Boba

Geedo, Boba and Mom

Geedo, Boba and Homer

Geedo, Gregory, Layla, Ben and Me

The kids :)

We had a great time! The cake was delicious and the visit was even better :)

Happy 80th Birthday, Geedo!

Snowstorm 2010

2010-02-08T09:58:00.000-08:00

On the weekend of January 23-24, we got a ton of snow. There was probably 2 feet of snow, but it was blowing so much it is hard to tell.

Our house, Sunday morning

It kept on snowing and blowing...

Monday morning, after we got plowed out

All that fresh snow makes everything so pretty tho

Sun dog

Mr. Trouble!

2010-02-08T08:39:00.001-08:00

Ever since Benny has learned to walk, he has been nothing but trouble. I mean, he always has been a handful, but now there's no stopping him. He is into everything :)

Getting into the fridge

He has to climb everything!!

Escaping from the highchair

He knows how to get water from the water cooler too

He loves to play with the dishwasher!

He may be cute, but don't let that fool you!

Having fun

2010-02-08T07:34:00.000-08:00

The kids got lots of toys for Christmas

Layla got a Mrs. PotatoHead. She decided that she could wear the glasses too :)

Doing a little reading :)

Layla and her pony

Ben and his activity table

So cute...matching pjs from Boba and Geedo :)

Benny playing ball

More of our Christmas..

2010-02-08T06:24:00.000-08:00

We had our Christmas dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's. That meant even more presents :)

A few pictures from our Christmas there

Gregory handing out the presents

Grandpa and Layla

Kaylea, Ben and Uncle Steven

Natalie, Ben and Homer Jr

Me and Layla

Kaylea, Uncle Steven and Natalie

Grandma and Grandpa

Homer Jr

Natalie and Uncle Steven

Ben, Layla and me

Kaylea and Layla

Ben's First Christmas

2010-02-08T05:49:00.000-08:00

It was an exciting Christmas this year at our house. It was Benny's first Christmas.

Santa brought Layla and Ben a wagon

Benny got a walker and Layla got a rocking puppy

Opening presents

It was soooo much fun!

A visit to see Santa

2010-02-08T05:33:00.000-08:00

Yes....I know its February and I'm barely putting up Christmas pictures! But better late than never :)

Pics from when the kids saw Santa :)

Halloween 2009

2009-11-02T09:41:00.000-08:00

We had a super fun Halloween this year!

Friday evening we carved our pumpkins. Layla really hated touching the pumpkin insides, but Benny loved it. He wanted to eat everything! :)

Carving the pumpkins

The finished products...

On Saturday, all of the kids got dressed up! Layla loved her costume. Benny actually didn't mind wearing his, but he was not too happy to be held by Natalie or Homer while they were in their costumes!

Layla the puppy...

and Benny the pumpkin :)

Happy Halloween!

September Birthdays

2009-09-28T09:53:00.000-07:00

The 20th of September was Daddy's and Layla's Birthday. I can't believe my little girl already turned 2!!

Layla opening her presents

Daddy opening his :)

The whole crew

After opening presents, we went and had a party at grandma and grandpa's house.

Layla's cake

At the party

We bought Layla a trike for her birthday. She is too short to reach the pedals! But she really enjoyed that it blows bubbles :)

Happy birthday to Layla & Daddy!

Our Summer Vacation

2009-09-21T15:44:00.001-07:00

We went on a little vacation in mid-August to Alberta.
We stayed with Auntie Judy for a few nights. We went to the Calgary zoo one day and we did a whole pile of shopping! It was nice to visit and relax for a few days!

Some pics from the zoo..

August Birthdays....

2009-09-21T15:19:00.000-07:00

Oh man! Have I fallen behind...again?? I have been so busy with work, schoolwork and kids...I have been crazy busy!

Well...a little late...but... Here are our August birthdays!

My Bday. I turned 26!!

And Homer Jr's bday!! He turned 16..

Happy Birthday to us :)

Gregory's 8th Birthday

2009-07-11T13:04:00.000-07:00

Gregory had two parties this year. We had a few of Greg's friends over for a party on Friday. There were five boys, plus Gregory. They were pretty excited about the party!!
Smashing the pinatas!!

Playing in the pool

Playing Rock Band

Opening presents

Eating cake

On Saturday we had another party with family.

The Spongebob cake!!(I love decorating cakes :)

Opening presents

All of the kids

Gregory

And here are some other pictures from those two days :)

Auntie Judy & Benny

Uncle Steven & Layla

Kaylea & Layla

Great Grandma & Ben

Boba & Layla

A little update....

2009-07-02T13:00:00.000-07:00

I have been falling WAY behind on my blog....so much to do and no time to do it! Let's see....

Layla had her first haircut June 4th. That was pretty exciting. She actually sat really nice for the hairdresser.

Benny is growing up so fast. He no longer just lays in one place he is rolling over and he can pull himself anywhere he wants to go. A couple times he has even crawled a little. He is almost sitting on his own, too.

Natalie, Homer Jr and Gregory all worked really hard in school. And each of them passed their grades. So...Natalie will go into the 12th grade...Homer into the 11th grade...and Gregory into the 3rd grade in the fall!!

I think that is all for now... I will try to update more often :P

Our May Birthdays

2009-05-17T20:38:00.000-07:00

Today is Natalie's 17th birthday!!! Here are some pictures from today.
The cake (decorated by myself)

Opening presents

All the kids

Singing "Happy Birthday"

Blowing out the candles

Yesterday was Grandma's birthday. Here are some of the pictures from that party.
The cake (another of my creations)

The birthday girl and Benny

Opening presents

Natalie & Layla blowing bubbles

Four Generations

We sure had a busy couple of days. We are all partied out!!!

A growing boy

2009-04-19T17:25:00.000-07:00

Benjamin had to have his 2 month shots on Friday. Yes, two months old already! I can hardly believe it myself! Anyways, he is weighing in at 12lbs 10oz!! That means he has already gained 5lbs!!! Gregory and Layla were such slow weight-gainers. Gregory weighed 13lbs at four months old and Layla weighed 12lbs at four and a half months! I guess that means that Benny is going to be a healthy boy:)
A pic of him in his bouncer

And a pic of him smiling. What a beautiful smile:)

Anyway, Benji is doing great. The needle didn't bother him at all! He's one tough baby:)

Easter 2009

2009-04-19T13:25:00.000-07:00

We had a great time on Easter. No one was sick so that was an added bonus:)

Some pics from the egg hunt Sunday morning.

Opening their presents from the Easter Bunny!!

And the kids with our beautifully dyed Easter eggs!!

10lbs 14oz

2009-03-28T18:03:00.000-07:00

Benji and I had our 6 week checkup this past week. I can't believe that he is already weighing 10lbs 14oz. He is growing too fast! The Dr put him on medication for reflux. His tummy has been really bothering him. The meds seem to be working now, though. Overall he has been doing alright. Like I said, growing like a weed. And he has been smiling more and more.

Everyone, including Layla, is LOVING having Benny around. He is a great baby brother!

One month old!!!

2009-03-12T08:35:00.000-07:00

So my little baby Benji is one month old today! I can't believe that a month has already passed by! He is a good baby. And he has just started to smile. He is weighing 9lbs 8oz. He has really grown! Here are a few pics from the last couple days!

Happy One-Month to you, Benjamin!

February 12th, 2009

2009-02-18T18:49:00.000-08:00

Gregory’s due date was on Friday June 15th. He was born six days late, on June 21st.
Layla’s due date was on Friday Sept 14th. She was born six days late, on Sept 20th.
This baby was due on Friday February 6th. Benjamin was born six days late, on Feb 12th.
How weird is that?!?!

I started having contractions early Thursday morning. I woke up Homer and we started timing them. They were 8-10minutes apart. So I decided to get up and get Gregory ready for school. I made him breakfast and packed his lunch and got him ready and the contractions started coming every 6minutes then and they were painful!! I knew it would still be awhile, but we had about a half-hour drive to the hospital. We decided that we should leave early in case the highways were bad. (And they were. They were covered with ice and snow.) It ended up taking us close to an hour to get there. By then, my contractions seemed to be easing off and only every 10-12minutes again. I was pretty upset because I really didn’t want to be sent back home. We got to the hospital at 10:30am. They put me on the monitors and it showed that I was having contractions every 5-6 minutes, but I wasn’t feeling all of them. I was having more back cramps by then. The nurse checked me and I was 4cm dilated. She called my doctor who was at the clinic. The doctor said that she would be over at lunch hour to see how I was doing. So I walked around for about an hour. My doctor showed up at 12:00pm and she checked me. I was 5cm dilated then. She said if I wanted an epidural she would put it in then. So I got prepped and the epidural was in by 1:00pm. It worked really well this time. I was able to relax for about an hour and a half. At 2:40pm my doctor came back to check me. I was 8cm dilated. She decided to break my water then. And she gave me my next round of epidural. The doctor left back for the clinic at around 3:00pm. At 3:15, I had the urge to push. I told the nurse and she thought it was too soon. So she said she wanted to see how the next contraction went. By the next contraction, I NEEDED to push! She called my doctor and she didn’t think it should be time yet either. So the nurse checked me and I was 10cm. She called my doctor back and told her. Meanwhile, I was almost screaming because I needed to push so badly. The nurses got everything set up and the doctor walked in around 3:35. Three pushes later, Benjamin was born at 3:43pm.

Afterwards, I was feeling pretty good. At 6:30pm, I needed to go to the bathroom. As I was getting up, I felt a big gush and I looked down and I was standing in a puddle of blood. The nurses came running. They laid me down and started massaging my uterus. I was hooked back up to the IV. I was given meds to make me start having contractions again. My uterus firmed up and my bleeding was back under control within a few minutes. I had a lot of pain with the contractions all night, but I was relieved that I was alright and that I hadn’t lost too much blood!

By the next morning I was feeling a lot better. I was a little weak and tired. But I was up and walking around the hospital. I begged my doctor to let us come home that afternoon. So, on Friday, we came home! I was happy to resting in my own bed.

6 days old...

2009-02-18T14:00:00.000-08:00

Benjamin had to go to the doctor yesterday for a weight check. He is not up to his birth weight yet. Yesterday, he weighed 7lbs 8oz. But the doctor said he is doing alright and that he looked great!

His big brothers and sister are so happy to have him around!! Layla is not too sure yet, though:)

Benjamin John-Manuel

2009-02-13T17:31:00.000-08:00

Born: February 12,2009 at 3:43pm
7lbs 11oz 21 inches long
We are so happy he is FINALLY here!

Almost There

2009-02-03T06:41:00.000-08:00

Well, my due date is this Friday. But, who knows?!? I am pretty sure this baby won't show up before then. Gregory and Layla were both born 6 days after their due dates. So we are betting this little guy will make his appearance sometime next week.
Me @ 39 weeks, 5 days!!

Ugh!! Layla has had one heck of a bad cold!! She hasn't been able to sleep through the night for the last week because she wakes up coughing. Plus, she is TEETHING!! She cut her two top molars so far, but the bottom ones are coming up. Plus, she cut one of her four eye teeth!! Eight teeth all coming in at one time?!?! Can you say miserable?? I sure hope that she is feeling better soon.
A couple of pictures of her at happier times!

All of the kids are busy at school again. Natalie and Homer just started a new semester. Gregory is keeping busy with his schoolwork and piano lessons. Everyone has a lot to do. Plus they are anxiously awaiting the arrival of their little brother!!

A farewell...

2009-01-20T15:18:00.000-08:00

Last week, we decided that it was time to find a new home for our puppy, Bella. It was a pretty hard decision to make. She was so playful and full of energy. And she really enjoyed chewing on our couch!! But, it was just getting too stressful for our other two dogs. Bailey was always hiding on Bella in our bedroom. And Buster and Bella would always get into fights. They would fight over toys or chewies. Bella even ended up with a few cuts and bites! It was just getting to be too much for us to be constantly watching over them. So we decided before this baby comes that we needed everything to settle down. We found her a great home and we are sure that everyone will be better off this way.

Now on a happier note, here are some pictures of the kids from the weekend. Enjoy!

She Got It!!!!

2009-01-13T06:41:00.000-08:00

So last Thursday, Natalie went for her driving test. And...........

she got her driver's license!!! She did a great job and only had two points taken off for hesitation. Congratulations, Natalie!!!!!! We are so proud!!

35 weeks

2009-01-02T19:54:00.000-08:00

I am now 35 weeks pregnant. Just 5 weeks left, as long as I don't go overdue.

Here I am at 18 weeks

27 weeks

33 weeks

And tonight (35 weeks)

I sure can't wait for it to be February!

Christmas 2008

2009-01-02T18:23:00.000-08:00

Christmas was lots of fun! Everyone got tons of presents.
We woke up early in the morning to see what Santa brought. As always, he was very good to everyone!

Once all of our presents were opened, we packed up and went to Grandma Patty & Grandpa Jim's house.
Uncle Steven & Kaylea bought the kids RockBand. They had fun with that!

Layla got a NEW CAR from Grandma & Grandpa!! She looked pretty cool riding in her car!

All-in-all, we all had a great Christmas!

Gregory's Christmas Concert

2008-12-29T19:28:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted anything since FOREVER!! I can't believe how fast Christmas came and went. We had lots of stuff to do. The middle of December, we got to watch Gregory perform in his annual Christmas concert.

New Puppy

2008-11-11T20:30:00.000-08:00

So we have been busy getting ready for the new baby. And as if we were busy enough, we decided to get a new puppy. She is a pure bred beagle and super cute. She seems to be very smart. Once we get her trained I am sure she will be a great dog. That makes it three dogs in our house!! Are we crazy?!?
Here are a few pictures of her and our other two dogs!

Layla loves following the puppies around!

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-07T11:39:00.000-08:00

So, I took a little while to post this. Last Friday was Halloween. The kids had a great time. Gregory went trick-or-treating for about an hour after school. We only took Layla to a couple of houses. I was kind of worried about her wearing her costume. I thought she would just cry and try to take it off. But, she loved it!
Natalie & Homer Jr went trick-or-treating after supper. So it was a busy day for everyone!
Here are a few of the pictures from the "big" night:)!

It's a boy!!!

2008-09-29T20:19:00.000-07:00

So today I got the "official" results of my ultrasound. Everything looked good. There was nothing for me to be worried about. So now I am super excited and very relieved! Here's a picture of the little guy:)!

I can't wait until February!!

The Past Year

2008-09-25T06:47:00.000-07:00

I have spent the last few days thinking. I just don't know where the past year has gone! My baby girl so tiny and helpless grew up.

After Gregory had chicken pox over Christmas vacation, Layla caught it! Only 3 months old and so sick!

In February we all went on a wild adventure. We bravely made our way clear across the US. Spending time in Texas with family was priceless! So many memories...

In March, Layla learned to sit up all on her own. She would love to sit and play with toys.

At seven months old, Layla could crawl and get into trouble.

The end of July, Layla took her first steps! Ten months old and there was no stopping her!

Now I see her and I see that she isn't a baby anymore. She turned into an adorably sweet, but stubborn, little girl. I am so excited to see how the next year will go!

Layla's Big Day!

2008-09-22T07:44:00.000-07:00

Saturday was my baby girl's 1st birthday! I was so excited for it. More excited than she was! On Thursday, I baked her cake. On Friday, I decorated it. After about 3 hours, my masterpiece was finally finished!

Saturday morning she opened her presents. She needed alot of help from her brother and sister. Once the toys were open, she was more excited!

After her afternoon nap, we headed to grandma and grandpa's for the party! When we sang "Happy Birthday" she didn't know what to think. But she sure loved eating the cake!

We all had a great day and alot of fun! So Happy 1st Birthday, Layla! Oh yeah, I almost forgot! Saturday was also Homer Sr's Birthday. Happy Birthday to you too, Homie!

Welcome

2008-06-11T07:39:00.000-07:00

We decided to start this blog to keep our family updated on our kids. Hope you enjoy reading about us!