Return of the Cake Queen

After a short stint away from cake making (no one told me having a little one was so much work..ha!), I returned to slinging frosting this past Saturday for Jen's son Wyatt's 3rd birthday. He's ga-ga over trains right now so I decided to make him a Choo-Choo train cake.

Since I'm easing back into the cake life, I decided to keep the design simple and sweet. And to my pleasant surprise I thought it turned out great! Oh she's back! Enjoy!

Happy 3rd Birthday Wyatt

NOW #3 - It's All In The Name

My parents have officially declared their grandparent names for Nicholas to call them. Any guesses? Nope not FooFoo and Mr. Becker (though highly favored by those who have known my dad for a long time). Not Grandma and Grandpa. Or Gran and Gramps. Give Up? Please meet:

Granny

(second generation as my Grandma MacQueen was called Granny as well)

Opa

(German for Grandpa)

As you might be able to tell, Nicholas already has Granny and Opa wrapped around his teeny tiny pinky!

Pumpkins, Pumpkins Everywhere

This past Sunday, we went to the Cal Poly Pomona Pumpkin Patch to fetch us some pumpkins to turn into Jack O Lanterns. Gabe, myself and Nicholas joined Gabe's brother's family (Pete, Claudia, Sophia and little Joaquin) on the venture.

I can't remember the last time I have been to an actual patch (or more like field) rather than the local Vons or Target parking lot to pick out my pumpkin. It was a lot of fun, tons of people, tons of pumpkins. Brought back great memories of going pumpkin hunting with my dad when I was a kid.

Gabe and I were excited to share the experience with Nicholas. As you can see he slept through the whole thing. I didn't have the heart to wake him up. He looked so peaceful just hanging out.

I think Gabe and his brother Pete made up for Nicholas and had the most fun...look at those two 'kids' picking up pumpkins (now I know how Gabe and I ended up with 4 yes 4 pumpkins for just the three of us. Oh well guess we have a lot of carving and toasted pumpkin seeds in our future).

After we picked our perfect pumpkins, we even had time for a family photo op!

All in all a great day. I'll let you know how the pumpkins turned out once we carve them.

NOW #2 - Male Model

I have wanted to get some professional pictures taken of Nicholas since he was born but it took me until last weekend to finally do it. My sister Moira recommended a friend of hers and I am so glad as I think she did a fabulous job.

And Nicholas did a faboulous job too...if professional athlete doesn't pan out I think he might have a future as a male model. What do you think?

If you want to see a few more shots go to Mandi Horn Photography Blog where she has posted a few shots of Nicholas on her blog. I just love the one with Nicholas and his Granny. Mandi is a great photographer and her blog is filled with wonderful shots of families, weddings and babies etc.

Once I get a CD full of the rest of the pictures (she took tons!) I'm hoping to share a few more. So be prepared to be bombared with all that is Nicholas!

NOW #1: Fishing Hat

I'm trying to keep up a little more with my postings as I'm sure everyone is curious to know what's going on in my little sector of the world. As evidenced by my last couple of postings, Nicholas is now the center of my world & universe and as such most everything I do these days involves him in some fashion.

So taking a cue from my co-worker's wife, Beth, I thought I would start a picture of the week (or as Beth affectionately calls it POW). Beth has been doing this on her blog for a while now and it's always a fun way to peek into her world of days gone by.

For my effort, I am going to modify the POW to a NOW (Nicholas picture Of the Week of course) and try and do a posting once a week.

Here we go...........................

This first NOW #1 is Nicholas in a WAY TO BIG but damn adorable fishing hat this past Saturday. His Aunt Lil wanted to take him outside and needed a hat because of the sun, and this is what I came up with (it was this or a beanie). Doesn't he looked thrilled?

I think he looks frickin' adorable.. (biased but on the mark..hehehe)

Nicholas's First Month

It appears I have very little precious time in between naps, feedings, and holding/ staring/ kissing/ entertaining my little bundle of joy, Nicholas....but thought I would share a few of my favorite pictures of the little monkey taken over the past month. I can't believe how much he has changed in such a little amount of time.

Here's what I think Nicholas was thinking in these photos:

"What you looking at Willis?"

"Ooh it's naked Tuesday already?"

"I am so not digging this hat/onsie combo..though I do look cute as can be!"

"Ah this is the life. Free room and board...comfy"

"In the jungle the mighty jungle..."

I have taken tons of pictures but have uploaded most of them to Kodakgallery. I will try and go through them and post some more as soon as possible.

I can't believe a month has flown by so quickly and that I'm a mom to such a wonderful little human being...how lucky am I?

Welcome to the World Nicholas!

On Wednesday, August 26th, Gabe and I welcomed our new baby boy, Nicholas Phillip Becker Ruiz into the world at 12:32pm (via c-section). He weighed 8lbs 2oz and measured 20 inches long. Of course he is perfect!

Since that day, Gabe and I have enjoyed every moment of being parents to Nicholas. We have learned that you really can survive off of 45 minutes sleep if need be; that we are on Nicholas' schedule (at least for the first couple of weeks); we've learned that we make a pretty good tag team for diapers, burpings, comforting and well cracking ourselves up (that might be due to the lack of sleep, but either way we are two funny people at least to each other!)

I've also learned that I still don't like belly buttons (the umbilical cord is disgusting) , breastfeeding is totally rewarding but hurts like hell those first few weeks; dirty diapers are disgusting but a necessary evil and smiles from my baby are the most wonderful sight (you can say it's just baby gas...but I like to think it's Nicholas laughing at his parents)!

Overall, this has been the most precious and rewarding time of my life. I feel so lucky to have been able to bring Nicholas into our lives. And thank you to all of you for the congratulations and well wishes...Gabe and I are really touched by everyone's excitement and genuine interest in our new bundle of joy.

So welcome Nicholas Phillip Becker Ruiz...you are so loved!