Ojitos has nothing on baby Alessandro
I met my 3-month old nephew when I arrived in Houston last Friday. It was noon and he was still wearing his Astros pajamas (his mom is a big fan).
I sat in the backseat of Vero’s black truck with the baby. He held my finger with his tiny fist and stared at me with his huge eyes.
I fell in love.
“Who do you think he looks like,” I asked Vero.
“Oh, he’s all Julio. He has the Mosqueda lips and everything. And when he smiles, you can definitely tell he has the Mosqueda smile. All of you have that big smile,” she responded nodding toward her husband/my cousin.
“Yeah, we do. Pero siempre estamos enojados, so we don’t show it,” I joked.
Julio laughed.
I studied Alessandro’s face some more. I have no clue what Julio looked like as a baby since he’s a few years older than me and he didn’t have any baby pictures on hand. However, I did notice that Alessandro’s eyes were like Eddie’s (Julio’s younger brother) and my tía Mari’s.
I miss Alessandro already. Of course, I miss my cousin and his wife too. They’re good people and I’m grateful I’ve gotten the chance to reconnect with them in recent years.
Lotería Chicana 
HE IS ADORABLE!
he is absolutely too handsome for words! it’s good that you got a chance to see him and catch up w/ your family a bit. that’s a wondrous thing.
What a look, such character!
BTW, have you all ever researched the origins of your last name?
I always find it incredible how our genes can be passed on and be noticeable in the future of our kind.
Chispa,
It’s the Mosqueda genes. Heh.
Tremaine,
Yeah, I had to make Houston a stop on my trip simply to meet the little guy. My cousins are great too.
Chimatli,
Nope. I’ve never looked into it. Any suggestions on where to look for that kinda stuff?
Jeff,
Yeah. I think it’s weird when people tell me I look like my mom a lot ’cause I don’t really see it. I also don’t think my sister and I look a lot a like, but others say that. I think others’ perceptions are interesting.
Hmmm, this is all I could find on your last name:
http://www.houseofnames.com/xq/asp.fc/qx/mosqueda-family-crest.htm
If anything else turns up, I’ll let you know! 🙂
What a beautiful baby.
Is this your cousin’s baby? I ask because I have noticed that we Latinos call our cousin’s kids “neices” and “nephews,” but aren’t they really second cousins?
Chimatli,
Thanks.
Adriana,
Yup, he’s actually my second cousin’s baby. I know there’s a difference between the way Latinos refer to cousins’ children and the way white people do. I’m gonna stick with the Latino way of doing things. We had a whole discussion on that question in a previous question of the week.
Cindy,
I hadn’t noticed that you already hashed out that discussion. I have always been instructed to call my parents’ cousins, Tia/Tio or aunt/uncle. I remember when I was little being confused, so I called one of my father’s cousins, Tia-Prima Elena.