Our Little Tax Write-Off

Cool Jacob

I love this picture of Jacob from this morning. He woke up happy and ready to attack the weekend.

Jacob is such a happy kid and is always ready for his next adventure. Since turning two, he is starting to have a bit of a naughty streak, really trying to test the limits at times. Overall though, he is still such a great kid. He has so much energy and is always ready to go go go.

We love hearing him sing (mostly the Itsy Bitsy Spider), have fun with his drums, ask for more ‘dance’ (which is music), and get excited for ‘more Amen’ (heading to church). His hugs, kisses, and ‘love you daddy’ fills my heart with joy.

We are so blessed to have him in our lives.

Baby Bean’s first photo

It has been 4 weeks since Valerie gave me the good news. Yesterday, we got our first look an our new little addition, who I have affectionately nicknamed ‘Baby Bean’ for now. Seeing that little heart flicker was just as magical as it was when we first saw it with Jacob.

Valerie is about 8 weeks along right now and we are taking things one day at a time. She seems to be more nauseous than she was with Jacob. She’ll have some cravings. Nothing crazy. Pepperoni pizza here, chips and salsa there. More than cravings, it seems to be “everything except this one food that I want right now makes me feel sick.” I am just rolling with it. Tonight, she could not think of what she wanted for dinner until pretty late and sent me out to Carson for some carnitas from Diana’s. I had forgotten about some of the food runs from Jacob. It’s all part of the fun.

Jacob is going to make a fantastic big brother. He loves seeing babies so hopefully he loves our new little one. He has such a kind heart and we can only hope that he welcomes being a big brother and having Team Bonilla going from a roster of three to four.

We have not told anyone yet. Not even our families. We wanted to wait until after the first doctor appointment, which was yesterday. As things happen, we are reminded by the familiarity of it all and are feeling blessed beyond belief.

Lord, please watch over our little Baby Bean. Grow grow grow.

Team Bonilla at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park

Everyone says that you should enjoy every moment with your children because the time passes so fast. It’s tough to believe that it was two years ago today that Valerie and I were in the hospital awaiting Jacob’s arrival. We knew our lives would change. What I did not realize was how much.

Fast forward to two years later and I can’t imagine our lives without this little two year old toddler. How did we get along before without his smiles and laughs? How did we just observe common every day things without seeing it through the wonder in his eyes. Things like music, animals, trees, the moon. They are all just so magical to him.

Since today was so very special and we love seeing the world through his eyes, we decided to take him on a little birthday trip.

He woke up in San Diego. We went to breakfast in the Mission Beach area. From there, the Bonilla family headed to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in Escondido where Jacob had an amazing full day filled with running and seeing all kinds of animals. We even booked a private tour … which he fell asleep halfway through. It was nap time after all. Then, after waking up, it was more running and even more animals. Lions and tigers and bears — oh my! Ok, there were no bears and the lions were off exhibit for some reason. However, there were tigers. Once we returned to our resort, we walked along the beach and then headed back to our room to relax before going downstairs to eat dinner. They even gave him his own little ice cream with a candle in it.

Grandma, grandpa and even auntie Linda called to sing happy birthday to him. Auntie Erica, uncle Eddie and his cousins called to wish him a happy birthday and show him, via FaceTime, the card that they had made for him. It was a long and busy day for our little guy that ended with mommy telling him the story of the day he was born as he fell asleep for the night.

And now Valerie and I have time to reflect on what a wild and fun filled time the past two years have been. We can’t wait to see what the future holds.