Getting into a Groove...

Getting 2 adults and 2 (small) children ready each morning is no easy task. Our day begins around 6 a.m. or so. Usually, Mi has gotten up once or twice already to feed Jacinta. She might be in bed with us...or in her bed...and she might be up. This can complicate things.

Jacinta might need to be fed or changed...and she'll mostly stay up for the rest of the morning...till we drop her off at the sitter's.

Our goal is to be somewhat caffeinated (my goal) and have at least one adult dressed and ready to take care of the baby, before we go get Joaquin.

Joaquin will wake up on his own and will "sing" out to us. We might leave him alone for up to 10 minutes to complete the goals...and for the most part, Joaquin will entertain himself with some of the soft (and noisy) books he has in the crib. Whoever (someone in FL, maybe?) got him the Clifford Soft Plush book -- Thank you again! He loves it.

When we get Joaquin in the morning around 7-730a, usually he's not standing and in fact, he's under the crib rail kinda hiding behind the bumpers. He'll hear the door open, turn his head with his ear in the direction of the door but still able to see it and when he sees either Mi or I, he smiles!

'Tis a great thing...his smile. It's usually behind the binky...but that's a story for another day.

Lately, Joaquin needs to assimilate wakefulness...what I mean is...he's not ready to be put down immediately after coming out of the crib. If we try and immediately change him or put him down to walk around the house, he usually cries.

I have developed a strategy to cope with this. It's pure bribery. I'll bring one of his breakfast foods (that are somewhat easy to eat and not TOO messy) and let him hold onto them and eat while we go through our morning routine. So far this bribery with bananas and granola bars seems to work. I'm keeping my fingers crossed...

If we can get him dressed and eating something, he might start exploring the rest of the house, to see how things have changed while he was sleeping--the elves came and picked up the toys and put them back into the basket, his rideable train/car thingie moved, and dagnabit, the TV remote is on the high mantle again.

Sometimes, if we're lucky, he'll sit and watch Baby Einstein (his kryptonite) and we'll have a calm morning for 20-30 more minutes.

Granola bar in hand.
Another thing that we try to do every morning is take a snapshot of Joaquin and Jacinta on the couch. For now, sitting Jacinta down is not a problem. Usually, once we place her on the couch she won't move, unless gravity pulls her down on her side and her whole body rolls to her tummy.

Joaquin, on the other hand... Well, let's just say that we need to give him something to play with or distract him long enough for us to take pictures. Sometimes, we tell him to kiss or hug Jacinta and he does it. Most of the time, he will have nothing to do with this part of the morning ritual.

Stay there, Jacinta. I'm going down.
We're still trying to figure this stuff out...it's a riot!

Jqn & Jcnt

I think I was doing something to get them to look up.
What's new with Joaquin?

Alex and Tasha were witnesses to this one. While we were having dinner -- thanks for dinner, guys! -- one night this week, and Joaquin was walking around in the kitchen, I asked Joaquin to "throw this (a used paper towel) away, please." Joaquin walked toward me, grabbed the paper towel, walked to the garbage can, opened the lid and attempted to put it inside the garbage can. It was only half inside. But, with encouragement from everyone, Joaquin opened the lid again and successfully threw away the paper towel. Good job, Joaquin!

Aside from successfully throwing away garbage, Joaquin has also thrown away my cell phone. One day, I couldn't find my cell phone. I asked Georgie to help me look for it. Georgie called my cell phone and heard it ringing. He followed the sound... to the kitchen... in the garbage can. Fortunately, the can was empty -- no garbage bag. But, I still sanitized my cell phone because Joaquin continuous to be obsessed with my cell phone.

Joaquin has also learned about his high-octave voice. He'll walk around just testing out what he can do with his pipes. It's funny because Joaquin will keep trying to get a higher pitch each time.

As soon as we get home from picking them up from the babysitter, Jqn either asks for the car keys or goes straight to the living room and asks for the tv remote. At this time, the way that Joaquin asks is by first looking up at the tv and then looking around the room. He loves to wait for the picture to come on. But, Joaquin also loves to press the "red" button that turns the tv on and off. Georgie usually tries to hide the remote while we're watching. If Jqn notices that the remote is not around, he'll start whining for it.

Joaquin likes to ride on his train car backwards. I suppose he hasn't figured out yet that he can go forward AND maneuver the car. Can't wait for that!

He also still likes the ac adapter to the Mac. Well, it could also be because he rarely sees it anymore that when he does, it's almost like something new again.


What's new with Jacinta?

For the past few days, Jacinta has realized that she has a hand/fingers. We catch her sometimes just totally focused on watching her hand and fingers move around.

Jacinta continues to smile when smiled upon.

She pays attention to our facial expressions and when one amuses her, she gives her approval by lifting up her eyebrows and making her eyes bigger than they already are.

We started to put her in the Tiny Love mat. She doesn't love it yet, but I think she will, soon enough.



Just for fun... Jqn on the mat for the first time last year.

There have been a lot of family events that I haven't blogged about these past few days. I need to catch up! There are just not enough hours in the evening after we get home.

Jqn and Sand

Yesterday, we celebrated a mega birthday celebration for Tita Lily and Tito Ed (Dr. D). The party was held at the Maple St. Beach House in Winnetka. It was great day, we were able to visit the beach which is the reason for this post.

Taken during the week of the 4th of July.
At first, Joaquin didn't want to walk on the sand. Since he's been walking less than half his life, he still is not 100% confident in his abilities. I don't blame him...anywhere but home is unexpected walking environment...and he's got the scrapes on his knees to prove it.

As Joaquin watched others walk on the sand, he took his first uneasy (and uneven) step on the sand. I contemplated taking off his shoes and socks, but I hesitated, remembering his first time walking on grass barefoot. Jqn, don't worry buddy, I was/am the very same way. As a matter of fact, Mom can tell you that it wasn't till we were married a few years that you could get me to wear flipflops for longer than a couple of hours. Now, when we go on vacation, it's my standard attire, weather permitting.

So Joaquin was on the sand...and getting comfortable. So comfortable, that he squatted down to touch this "sand", this new type of land he was traveling on. He had experienced something similar here. Joaquin realized he could easily grab this sand and throw it into the air. How fun! Long story short, he picked up at least 10 handfuls of sand and threw it all. A lot went into the air...a lot went into his hair, some in his shoes, some even into his diaper! I'm sure it was a lot of fun. For me and him.

Later that night at bath time, as we got him undressed, the sandiness was revealed! About 2 teaspoons in each shoe and at least that much left in the bathtub. Ah...the joys of new experience.

I'll report back to see how he treats the sand next time he's around it...Sandcastles...anyone?

The past week or so, in pictures

It seems like a long time since I've posted pictures of Joaquin and Jacinta, but it's only been a little over a week. Here are a few shots that we took over the past week or so. We missed a few days because my camera kept getting forgotten to be taken out of the car.

Jacinta, stop leaning on me!
Listen, kid. This is how things are gonna work around here.
Alright, you can play with my credit cards.

Jacinta's very first piece of mail... And, it isn't her Social Security card!
Jacinta with Jiyoung (holding her) and Sue.
Last week, we were able to re-connect with our good friends from high school, Jiyoung and Sue. We lost touch about three years ago, mainly on my part. But, I was able to track down Sue and contact her through a web site of all places. Georgie and I are so happy and excited to be able to pick-up where we last left things and also to begin anew with Jiyoung and Sue.

What's really cool is that Jiyoung and Sue have also become in contact with other friends from high school! You know who you guys are: Pangela, Leila, Thom, Shimi, Janice... We can't wait to see you guys again!

Taken this morning. Jqn having his breakfast chocolate chip granola bar.
Jqn intently watching Baby Einstein. I love how he's sitting on the floor.

Jacinta's 2-month doctor's visit

12.75, 23, 2 pokes left leg, 1 poke right leg. What a brave girl you are!

Co-sleeping no more

Last night, we started to have Jacinta sleep by herself in the playpen that we have set-up in our bedroom. It was a sad night for me. I really enjoy having Jacinta on our bed, between us. I will miss it.

Some memories that I want to jot down from our co-sleeping with Jacinta:

1. Jacinta rotating so that her head is on George's back and her feet are on my chest, and vice-versa.

2. Jacinta seemingly gravitates toward me -- the one with the milk supply -- most of the time.

3. Jacinta moving her arms and legs and making "noises" because: a. she is wet or b. she smells me. If b., then I turn away and have my back towards her. It's funny because she'll stop moving around and stop making noises when I'm not facing her.

4. How much easier it is because when I do a 2-4AM zombie nursing , I just place Jacinta on our bed and she'll just go back to sleep. No slowly-and-quietly putting Jacinta back into her bed hoping she doesn't wake up.

5. How much easier it is to not have to go to another room to change Jacinta's diaper and nurse her.

6. When I do the 2-4AM zombie nursing, I sometimes fall asleep on the ottoman where I nurse Jacinta with Jacinta on my chest from my burping her. It's not always a good idea to fall asleep there because my neck gets stiff. I've fallen asleep for over an hour a couple of times. Ouch.

7. Just being able to see her there whenever I wake up in the middle of the night and in the morning.

Jacinta is in the playpen sleeping as I write this. I haven't yet started to put her in the playpen while she is still semi-awake. I will probably be putting her there when she's already sleeping from nursing for a few more weeks. Hey, maybe a few more months -- whatever works. Or, when we can no longer take the nighttime feedings/wakefulness, then we'll probably start the sleep training (way earlier than when we sleep-trained Jqn. We know better this time.) We also swaddled her tonight because I think it will help her feel more secure.

In a few weeks, we hope to get (convert) the computer room into Jacinta's bedroom. It will be another sad day when Jacinta starts sleeping in her own bedroom. For now, I will cherish these nights that Jacinta sleeps in our bedroom.

I'm sure I'll be sneaking Jacinta into our bed if she wakes up between 5-6AM.

Jqn: 19 months old!

As was previously blogged by Georgie, Jqn is more interested in watching the Baby Einstein dvds. He also likes watching Muzzy while in the car. "...a, e, i, o, u, I love you."

Jqn is still not saying too many words, but I want to mention that he says, "Nai nai" when we say, "Night night" to him.

It still takes an incredible amount of time and energy for us to be able to do any kind of cleaning on Jqn's body, except for when the "cleaning" is bath time. Jqn extremely dislikes having his face cleaned. And his hands. And having his diaper changed.

Ah, having Jqn's diaper changed in the morning. That's a whole other story. Well, there's no way Jqn will let us change his diaper after he wakes up even though his diaper is super full. So, what Georgie has been doing is giving Jqn some breakfast first trying to buy some time from the inevitable. Perhaps Jqn will be more willing to have his diaper changed *after* breakfast.

Jqn and I play this game of tilting our heads on opposite sides while looking into each other's eyes. Sometimes it is Jqn who initiates the game. He gets my attention by tilting his head to the side first and smiling at me.

This is going to be a short entry. I'm a little tired and sleepy. (So sorry, Joaquin!)

Wow, this is Jqn's last "-teen" month.

Happy nineteen months, Jqn!

Super Joaquin's Kryptonite

If you've ever spent any time around Joaquin you know he never stops unless he gets hurt -- which knock on wood hasn't happened -- Thank goodness.

Joaquin will often keep running and smiling and running and smiling till his tiny legs can hold him no more. He's only been walking for about 108 days so in my eyes he's still practicing.

Recently, we've discovered together that there is something that can slow this always-on-the-go boy down a bit. It's related to TV - EGADS!

It seems Baby Einstein is finally getting his attention (only after 18 months!) and he will sit for up to 20 minutes watching the show. That might let Dad do a blog post (which happens rarely) but am working on this...or help mom get ready to get out of the house...or just a small break!

Blogging this from the living room as quickly as possible because 20 minutes is almost over!

Jcnt: 2 months and 2 days old!

Today, Jacinta is 2 months and 2 days old.

She and I have been having conversations about her life experiences, so far. She is especially talkative after I nurse her for a little bit. She'll stop and then look at me with only her eyes and then turn her head towards me. I can't describe how I feel when I hear her coo. I just feel so filled with joy. It really seems like she is telling me what she's thinking. And, from what I see in her face and hear in her voice, she seems like a happy little baby girl.

Jacinta has been a very good baby. She'll complain mostly if her diaper needs to be changed or if she needs to be with us. Otherwise, she is able to entertain herself by looking at her surroundings or if we place something in front of her. When she's done looking at things, then she'll call for us by cry-talking.

Jacinta likes being around people, which is a characteristic we hope to nurture in both our children.

Her skin has gotten a lot better, although there are still some days when her cheeks and forehead are reddish and dry.

Pretty soon, we will have to bring out her 3-6 months size jammies. I really like the Gerber brand long-sleeve, zip-up pajamas. They're easy to put on and also it is fitted closely to Jacinta's body.

We can now get smiles more easily from Jacinta by playing with her. She especially likes the smile-at-me play; we smile at her and she smiles back. Jacinta, like her older brother, Joaquin, has dimples which they inherited from Georgie. I love seeing their dimples -- all three of them!

Jacinta nurses and sleeps very well. We have a schedule pinned down for now. I nurse Jacinta when she wakes up in the morning between 5-5:30AM. Then, she goes back to sleep. At around 7:30AM, I wake her to try to nurse her again before we head out to work. Often-times, she will only nurse a little bit. I pump two times at work.* When we get home, I nurse Jacinta again but not until after we start preparing dinner. Georgie usually takes over preparing dinner while I nurse Jacinta. This is around 6:30PM. After I nurse her, she either falls asleep or I place her in the swing or bouncy chair if she's awake. We eat dinner. Some time between 8:30-9:30PM -- I let Jacinta decide -- is Jacinta's last nursing for the night. Then, we start our day again. Jacinta wakes between 5-5:30AM...

* While Jacinta and Joaquin are with our babysitter, Jacinta is given two bottles of breast milk and one bottle of formula.

At Tracey & Kevin's House

This past Saturday, we went to Tracey and Kevin's house. Yes, we were late.


At the get-together were Scott, Nicci and their two kids, Jaden and Danielle (whom we just met), Tony and their two kids, Harry and Sam, Tracey, Kevin and their two kids, Brandon and Brooklyn and us. What was amazing was we all have two kids and all our sons are the older sibling.

Toyland. Being in your basement was amazing.
It was nice to see all the kids running around their backyard. There was a mini-pool, a sandbox, a swing/slide set and a standalone slide.

Joaquin and Brooklyn were the youngest toddlers. And, being the youngest, they didn't really acknowledge each other. Kevin and I agreed that in about six months from now, they'll be better playmates. They may even hit each other or pull each other's hair.

Joaquin was very entertained with the toy Dirt Devil vacuum cleaner. Tracey even noticed that Jqn was doing the correct "vacuuming" action.

Sam in the far background with Brooklyn and Joaquin in the foreground.
I wasn't able to take too many pictures. I know Nicci did. I think Georgie even recognized that we had the same camera. I hope to get photos from Nicci of her children, Sam and Brandon. And, maybe Jqn!

Harry.
The few pictures that I was able to take were taken at Tracey and Kevin's basement. Unfortunately, the setting I chose to take these photos was probably not the right one because most of the photos are blurred. Well, that and the fact that the kids were moving non-stop.


Thank you for hosting a fantastic gathering, Tracey and Kevin!

And that's why Metra beats CTA

The A/C was broken inside the car that Georgie and I went into on our way to work. We didn't bother transferring to another car because as we waited for the train to stop at the station, we noticed that most of the seats were filled in the other cars.

After a couple of stops, the conductor came into the car and announced that, "if anyone does not feel comfortable in this car, please move to another car. The A/C is broken. It is terribly hot in here and I don't want anyone passing out. I want everyone to put away their tickets. I will not be collecting money." Something to that effect and said with a comical bent.

Avatars

Some of you may have noticed the two images at the top left. They are avatars for Jacinta and Joaquin, respectively.


Jacinta's avatar (left) is composed of the letters "t" and "d". The letters are criss-crossed with "d" reflected horizontally. Born in the month of June, Jacinta is a Gemini. As Jacinta gets older and her personality becomes more prominent, her alter-ego -- her twin -- shall be named "Jacinda".

Joaquin's avatar (right) is his silhouette. Not one for just sitting around, it seems that when one watches Joaquin, all one really sees is Joaquin's profile as he continuously moves around. Even when he is ridiculously tired -- falling down every 3 to 4 steps -- Joaquin tries to keep going.

This is 2007. I may change the history of their avatars in the future. Maybe I'll ask them to help me.

Becky, Sammie & Lawrence Visit (part 2)

Thursday: Lincoln Park Zoo and dinner at Emilio's

The heat was oppressive that day. It was in the 90's and very humid.

The day at the zoo had a promising start. We all had a shaved ice snow cone to cool us off. We hadn't even seen any of the animals, except for one.

Becky getting the video camera ready.
Then, when we were finally ready to start walking around, Jacinta got hungry. I didn't expect that the buildings that had animals inside would have no air-conditioning. I was really looking forward to going into one of those buildings and nurse Jacinta. No such luck. So, we found a bench that overlooked the wild dogs -- kind of like a hyena. (I can't recall the actual name of the species.) Outside. In the heat. We were a sticky mess. And, my poor Jacinta was sweating so much.

A meerkat.
While I nursed Jacinta, Becky, Sammie and Lawrence were able to take Joaquin to see the penguins. There was a street musician playing in the background while I nursed Jacinta. We noticed that she only played three songs that she kept repeating.

Georgie was able to carry Jacinta using one of our slings. Jacinta being in the sling was much better than her being in the stroller laying down on her back. At least when the breeze came, her body was exposed to it.

For some reason, Jqn decided that on that day he would like to be carried. Ugh. I carried him almost throughout our stay there. Thankfully, we didn't stay too long. We really couldn't.

At 3PM, we had lunch. After lunch, Georgie and I decided to just drive around in our air-conditioned car until it was time to go to dinner. We gave Becky, Sammie and Lawrence directions to the Belmont area so they can enjoy some "alone" time away from us. They were good sports in that they were patient enough with us through our frequent nursing and changing diapers stops while at the zoo.

This Andean bear's facial expression says it all about that day.
Because Georgie and I had our hands full for most of our time at the zoo, we weren't able to take many pictures. Well, the animals were mostly nowhere to be found anyway because most were trying to keep cool in the shade.

Outside Lincoln Park Zoo. Jqn was already in the car.
At around 6:30PM, we all met at Emilio's. Georgie, Jqn, Jcnt and I arrived before you guys. When you guys arrived, Georgie and I had already enjoyed a glass of white wine for me and a glass of sangria for him.

It was great to hear that Becky, Sammie and Lawrence enjoyed themselves going around the Belmont area. And, each of them was able to buy something. Becky bought a neat purple shirt. (Becky, you said you'd like to wear more clothes that aren't black.) Lawrence bought a checkered(?) cap. Sammie bought a pair of cute, pink shoes, which she was already wearing, a key(?) necklace and a couple of stickers.

Alex joined us later.
Everyone seemed to like the tuna salad and the beef dishes. I really like their bread and butter. Oh, especially the butter. For dessert, we had platanos con helado, profiteroles and I think some kind of creme brulee. Joaquin enjoyed eating the ice cream that came with the platanos. He dropped the first scoop on the floor. (Thanks to Alex for cleaning up the mess on the floor.) Fortunately, we were able to ask the server for another scoop.

It was another fabulous day. It's so nice to have you guys around.

Becky, Sammie & Lawrence Visit (part 1)

Becky, Sammie and Lawrence arrived Tuesday, 31 July 2007, for a week-long vacation in Chicago. Welcome home, guys! As I begin writing this, you are probably listening to The Rapture at Lollapalooza.

It is now Saturday night. I just posted an entry about Tio Marco's arrival. Everyone is asleep now. I hope to get this entry posted before the weekend is over. We'll see.

Our itinerary for taking you guys out was as follows:

Wednesday -- Art Institute and Millennium Park
Thursday -- Lincoln Park Zoo and dinner at Emilio's

This entry is all about Wednesday's events. [Note: When I refer to "you guys", I'm referring to Becky, Sammie and Lawrence.]

We started out the morning by going to Starbuck's for some much needed caffeine. It was fortunate that Tio Gus and Tia Marie lent you their car. Otherwise, we would have taken public transportation.

We arrived at the Art Institute at around 11:30AM. It was a good thing that Georgie did some research about getting into the museum for free using his library card. Although the entry fee to the Art Institute is not too expensive, it's still nice to be able to get in for free.


I was able to take some pictures of paintings that I found interesting thanks to Georgie taking care of both Jacinta and Joaquin with Sammie, Becky and Lawrence's help. I don't recall when I got separated from all of you guys, but it was during this separation that I was able to take the pictures.

Georgie directed and you guys complied.
I can't believe you guys actually did this!
--

In an elevator going down to the first floor...

Floor 1... Ding!

Becky: "First floor mens wear."

Older gentleman (entering the elevator as we exit): "That's very good," he said while smiling, amused at Becky's commentary.

--

We stayed at the Art Institute for about 2.50 to 3 hours.

Then, we headed towards Millennium Park. We had a quick lunch at the hotdog stand outside of Park Grill. Georgie and I agreed that we've had better in Chicago, but you guys thought they were good enough. And, that was good enough for us.

A little side note: Since you guys arrived, the temperature has been pretty hot -- in the mid- to upper-80's and lower-90's and quite humid. And, we've had sunny, cloudy and rainy days. You brought the hot weather from Arizona. Yay!

After lunch, we changed Jqn to his swim diapers and went to the Crown Fountain. It was the perfect weather to be splashing around and we were very excited to bring Joaquin there. The park was very crowded. Below are some pictures that we took. The main photographer at the fountain was Becky. Georgie took a couple of videos also and I will post those on our Youtube.com account. Joaquin was the epitome of a toddler having the best time of his life. I wish you all could have been there because it truly was enjoyable to watch him just be happy. While all this excitement was happening, Jacinta was nursing and eventually fell asleep in my arms. The poor baby girl was sweating.

"Where is Joaquin?"




Jqn and his Auntie Becky.
Sammie in the background talking on her cell.
"We're not leaving yet, are we?"
A cool photo. Check out the splash.
On the go. Splash, splash, splash.
One of my favorite shots to take is when Georgie and Jqn are walking ahead of me.
Every few minutes, the fountain pours a deluge of water from the top of the structure. The weight of the water falling from that height is pretty strong, especially when it lands on childrens' bodies. But, the children there didn't seem to mind as they waited for this persistent cycle. Joaquin was expectedly afraid when he watched the kids getting pummeled by the falling water. We were able to bring Joaquin close enough to where the water fell at the end of the cyle when the water wasn't as voluminous.

A brave Joaquin.
Jqn and me.

Our family.
You guys.
Next, we went to The Bean (to Chicagoans), aka Cloud Gate.

Jqn and Jcnt.

I like that we can see Becky's reflection on The Bean.
"Group shot" using the timer. Look at Jqn!
Afterwards, we went to the Lurie Garden.

Pictures of you guys each peeking through the slot.
A little homage to "Jurassic Park".
Do something silly.
We headed home at around 5:30PM, I think. On our way home, Georgie ordered pizza from Lou Malnati's to appease your guys' taste for Chicago-style pizza.

At home, the late afternoon/early evening light in the living room was perfect for taking pictures.


Sammie and Jacinta.
We had you guys watch our trip to PV. Jme made a dvd about our trip.
Jqn ate really well that night. I remember telling you guys how you would have to have dinner at our house every night while you're here because he ate so well. Everyone had either an ice cream sandwich, a drumstick or a popsicle for dessert. Jqn had all of the above.

Later that night, Alex came by to visit with you guys and also to watch the last two innings of the Cubs game. Cubs win!

Sitting around looking at old photos and reminiscing about the past and talking about the present was a nice ending to an amazing day.

Tio Marco Arrives From Ecuador

Welcome back to Chicago, Tio Marco!

Today, Tio Marco, along with Steve and Paola, came to our house to visit and also to meet Jacinta for the very first time.

And, as promised, Tio Marco, here are the pictures we took tonight. Hopefully, Tia Michita will be awake to view them tonight. Hola, Tia!


Jacinta's whole hand fits on the tip of Tio Marco's thumb.


After Tio Marco, Steve and Paola left, Georgie popped in a Baby Einstein dvd. Joaquin sat with Georgie and Jacinta was in my arms.

[Tonight and last night were a particularly special "watching" night because Joaquin actually focused on the TV for more than 10 seconds. Up until last night, Joaquin was a TV glance-r; he would only glance at the TV to see what Georgie and I were looking at.]

We decided to order in dinner tonight. And, what comes next was pretty amazing to me.

Georgie went to Joaquin's room to order and left Joaquin on the couch with me and Jacinta. The next thing I know, Joaquin started to scoot towards us. So, I motioned to him to sit by me, wishfully thinking that he might instead of getting off the couch which he usually did. My wish came true. He sat right by me and I held him close with my left arm while holding Jacinta with my right. It was truly an unforgettable moment for me.

Another big step happened for Joaquin tonight towards adapting to the lifestyle change that is "Jacinta". I sat him right next to Jacinta and asked him to kiss his little sister. And, he did without hesitation. I felt so bad for him because he was really trying to be very close to her. But, unfortunately, because he cannot yet control his actions to be more gentle towards a smaller, more fragile being he was pushing on Jacinta a little bit too rough and she started to cry. And, before we knew it, the moment was over and both children were crying.

Smile, Jacinta!

First time on (digital) film.