New Chapters

You may notice that the blog is surrounded by books. I chose this new background for two reasons:
1. The books are a reflection of all my free time. Nap time on 6 out of 7 days is spent either reading or writing an essay about what I have read. Good news: I have maintained an A in both classes...and thank goodness because I will eventually be taking classes at Creighton and apparently transfer students need a 3.70 or higher to get in....also they need $$$$ and lots of it....thank God since Jorge is a prof there his family gets to take classes for FREE. And this will also be a good time to let you know that in 15 years Jorgito will be going to Creighton Medical School :)

2: The Zuniga family is entering a "New Chapter". We have had an amazing year here in New Mexico and we are very thankful for this experience....HOWEVER....we are super excited about moving HOME!!! I will now answer some FAQs:
- Yes, we are moving back into our house in Walton, NE. (the one my great-grandfather built with his 2 hands out of mostly recycled/repurposed materials)
-Yes, Haley (the grad student from Jorge's UNL lab) will continue to live in our basement. She did an amazing job taking care of our house for us while we were in NM & she makes the best monster cookies ever.
-No, I am not going to find a job when I move home. I have the best job in the whole world raising Jorgito, and even though the pay is lousy, there is NOT a better rewarding job on the market. The days are long but the years are short!
-Yes, Jorge will be commuting to Omaha on a daily basis to Creighton University. Luckily he has some super friends who live near the University and on the way home so if the weather gets bad he always has an option of staying with them.
-No, Jorge will not be teaching evening classes or any classes at all in the summer. Other than the awesome fact that this position was in Nebraska, the no teaching summers and nights was the icing on the cake! I have already made dozens of honey-do lists in my head for the summers :)

And now because no blog post is complete without a photo....
Jorgito's professional (if that's what you call the Walmart studio) 3 year old photo:

Here fishy fishy

Swimming Lessons:

He started by just farting around on the stairs and jumping into trusting arms.

Then the discovery of goggles changed his life in the pool.....that and Papa taking him to the pool nearly every night.

 In no time at all the little fishy took off full speed to the wall.

Jorge party at the bottom of the pool.

Jorgito will have a whole new appreciation for the 2012 summer Olympics! Go USA!!!!!

Eastery Fun

Easter Weekend

 Jorgito is pretty clear about his favorite color being blue.

 We made sugar cookies and a variety of nests.

Since turning 3, Ito no longer thinks he "needs" naps.  Fortunately the carrot cookies can only be eaten after you wake up from a nap.

 Ito had to burn off those cookies on the tennis court at his private lessons for a fundraiser for the WNMU team.

 Who needs the Easter Bunny when you've got Grandma?  This package was delivered directly from NE by the Easter bunny on Easter morning. 

The Easter bunny did show up later that afternoon when we hosted Easter dinner for Ito's best friend Keanu and his family. 

Spring Breaks (yeah plural)

For my much needed time off and away from WNMU classes, Ito and I packed our bags and headed to Grandma and Grandpa's house in NE for Spring Break. (Jorge stayed for some much needed "uninterrupted" research time)

 Of course grandma and grandpa Fountain did super big awesome fun stuff like Coco-Keys indoor water park and the Omaha Zoo...

but we also spent lots of low key relaxing quality time together flying kites and

 hanging out with family and

friends.  Here Ito is getting a ride from Landen while Uncle Tyler "supervises"

It just so happened that my spring break finished the same weekend that Katie and Ellie's spring break started, so the girls returned to NM with us for the following week.  (these are the girls whose family took my to Chile as their nanny when I met Jorge) BTW these airport trains are a God send for multi-hour layovers with a 3 year old!

 Ito showed the girls all his favorite hiking trails and other southwest NM highlights.

We had a true taste of what raising teen/preteens is like.....Ito loved having extra playmates in the house and has asked about having a sister ever since :)

 

January and February

Since it is already April and I have only blogged once in all of 2012, I have decided to just hit the highlights thus far.......

 We spent the holidays at my parents house in NE.  Jorge's sister Jessica from Chile also joined us for her first trip to the U.S.

 After New Years the Zunigas headed back to New Mexico, where Jessica spent an additional 2 weeks with us.

 Jorgito gave me flowers (which we later planted) and chocolates for Valentines Day!

My parents, brother Tyler and his wife Jamie came to New Mexico to help us celebrate Ito's 3rd Birthday.  We went on a birthday hike here at the Catwalk.

2/18/2012

As you can see Ito is thrilled about turning 3.