Happy 4th Birthday Princess!!!

Four years ago to the minute mommy and daddy were on their way out to Costco to buy a few things to celebrate your brother's 2nd birthday.  We had waited to the last minute because we did not know when you would make your grand entrance.  Little did I know that we would never make it there because you wanted to get out.  My contractions started at around 11:15 am and 12 hours later I was holding you in my arms.

Today, my princess, I wanted to wish you the best in everything you do.

What is a Baby Shower????

This past Saturday I attended a friend's baby shower.  The day that I got the invitation I showed it to Adrian and told him about it.  The kids overheard me so they asked what a Baby Shower was. Then with all the innocence that exists in their mind and hearts they came up with their own answer...  Apparently at a baby shower you get a baby and each guests showers a different part of the child.

I thought it was so funny but I explained to them that you "shower" the parents-to-be with gifts for the new baby they are expecting... They understood that it was a party so I left it at that but a few days later when I went to buy the gifts Francesca insisted I buy shampoo and soap because that is what you need for a shower.  So it was the running joke, whenever someone me about my plans for Saturday I would say that I was going to shower a baby.

DIY Memory Box

I’m participating in Smarty Pants Mama’s SmartMamaLUTION.

SmartMama-Lution #1 is a do-it-yourself memory box.  I loved the box she used but since I couldn't find it I chose a CD storage case.  I decided on the storage box because when I went to Target and the only one that I liked was actually the same one my friend was using.  I ended up buying mine at Walmart along with 5x7 index cards.  I figured the larger cards would give me more space to write and also be able to include various years on one card.

For less than $12 (the box was $2.99, the index cards were $1.88 per pack and the divider tabs were $2.00) and about an hour (sorry but I am a perfectionist) I finished my box.

I have finished filling in all my cards to date and will continue to do so every night just before bedtime.

What do you think? 
All the tabs are evenly distributed and I also made sure that certain months got specific colors but they are all alternating in the same pattern. I did say I was a perfectionist.
 
All in all I love how cute and easy it was to create this memory box.  I just wish I would have known about this idea before my kids were born... It would have made it easier to remember when they did something specific.

Happy Anniversary to us!

Today we celebrate our 7 year wedding anniversary with the same love that we shared on our wedding day.

We have been there for each other through thick and thin. That is what marriage and love are meant to be.

Baby, Thank you for all the happiness we have shared throughout the years and the two beautiful kids you have given me.

I love you!

Alegria's Visit

Adrian's cousin Alegria was visiting Miami this past week and today they went to the zoo... It was a short trip because Adrian had to go to work in the afternoon but they had lots of fun. Alegria had lots of fun taking pictures with my camera and she also fed a giraffe. Hopefully Felipe and I will be able to go to the zoo soon. We both missed this little trip because he was in school and I was working.

Happy 90th Birthday

Today I want to wish Maria, my mom's mother-in-law, a Happy 90th Birthday.  Eventhough her birthday was a few days ago today we had a big celebration for her with family and friends.

It was a surprise party and it turned out great.  At first when she arrived she didn't realize it was for her...  She said hi to everyone and then when she finally sat down she looks at my mom and asks "Is this party really for me?".

It was nice to be able to celebrate such a huge milestone.

A day at the beach

Today decided to go to the beach to enjoy a relaxing morning. We were so lucky that the water was CALM and delicious. Both kids enjoyed the water and had a fun time...

Francesca even played on the sand by the shore.

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10 years have passed but it seems like yesterday

March 21, 2000 will be forever etched in my mind as a very sad day. On this day 10 years ago I lost a very special man, my maternal grandfather. Panchito was a great husband, father and grandfather I sometimes wish that he was still around to play with my kids. I am sure he would have shown them as much love as he had for his grandkids.

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Congrats to the Lam Family

Today our good friends Lilyan & Jayme welcomed their first baby.

Arthur Lam

February 18, 2010

12:44 pm

Happy Valentines Day

May this Valentine's day be filled with love and happiness. It is a day to celebrate with loved ones. Hope everyone has a good day.

Francesca's Baptism

Earlier today was Francesca's baptism. To keep with the tradition, she was baptized at Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Miami and Father Gerardo performed the ceremony. Her godparents were Adrian's cousins (Lauri & Sebastian)... Unfortunately earlier this morning Sebastian was called away on a EMERGENCY business trip so he couldn't attend the baptism but luckily Joaquin, my brother-in-law was able to step-in as a substitute.

Our baby girl was well behaved during the whole ceremony. She did get a bit fussy when Father Gerardo poured the water over her head but she calmed down quickly.

After the ceremony, we all took pictures with Francesca and then headed home for the reception.

We had set-up a tent with tables in our backyard just like we did for Felipe's baptism. The whole week we had been praying for a beautiful day because the weather outlook said it was suppose to rain today. Luckily the weather was really nice so it was fun to be outdoors. My mother-in-law had prepared some Salmon and Chicken spreads, we bought some brushetta and a Tortilla Española. We served all this to the guests until the food was ready to be eaten. As the main course, Adrian had prepared some Pumpkin Raviolis, 4 cheese Tortellinis and Proscuitto di Parma Tortellinis.

In the end I think everyone had a great time.

Francesca's Baptism Photo Album

I got a new car

This weekend I realized why people always tell you "never say never".
I have always been against being the owner of a minivan but after I had Francesca I realized that my Sportage was not going to be a big enough vehicle if we ever needed to take somene else with us.

I started to look into how much a used minivan would be but of course it was out of my budget. Then one day I remembered my dad was trying to sell his so I called him. When I asked him if he was still selling it he told me that if I wanted it I could just have it as long as I went to pick it up.

It took us about a month to finally take the drive to Lady Lake but this past weekend I became the owner of a Chrysler Voyager.

Deep Fried Turkey

Last night my husband's Thanksgiving dream came true... He was able to make a deep fried turkey. At first I was skeptical because I thought it would be dry but on the contrary it was very moist and tasty.
We had dinner at my mom's house and Adrian fried the turkey in their backyard.

It was Francesca's 1st Thanksgiving but it was very uneventful considering Felipe had been sick the week before and my grandmother was battling the flu.

Baby shower for Francesca

After much planning and preparing today we celebrated my baby shower at Killian Palms Country Club.  I would like to thank my mom for making all the party favors, centerpieces and the cake topper.  Today was a fun filled day with lots of family and friends.

We played lots of games but I think the most exciting one was "What's in your purse".  In this game you create a list of items with a certain point value per item then you have the guests look for these items in their purse and then whoever gets the most points wins.  We decided to group everyone up by tables so it was hilarious to see all these piles of items on each table.

I want to thank everyone who attended because you all made this a memorable day in one way or another.

Francesca received lots of gifts and most importantly LOVE!!

Happy Grandparents Day

When God created grandparents

the world was truly blessed

with all the special joys

that make a family happiest...

For grandparents know how to do

the things that warm a heart,

They touch our lives with loving care

right from the very start...

They show that they believe in us

and all we're dreaming of...

When God created grandparents,

He blessed our lives with love.

~author unknown

HAPPY GRANDPARENTS DAY!!!

Happy Labor Day

I hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend....

Ours was very relaxing... Thankfully Adrian did not work on Saturday so we just slept in until 9:00 am. Later on in the day we headed to the new Pembroke Pines Mall (The Shoppes at Pembroke Gardens) with my mom and her husband.

On yesterday, we headed to the Florida City mall but before that we made a quick stop at the Mejia household just to say HELLO to them because we hadn't seen them in almost a month.

Today was extremely relaxing. We were planning on going to do some grocery shopping but that didn't work out because we just vegitated in our backyard. I think all our plans went downhill when we decided to have lunch in our backyard under a mango tree... The shade made it feel really nice and when we were done with lunch we laid out a blanket and the three of us just sat there admiring our surroundings for about an hour and then we came in and took a nap.

I don't want this weekend to end because it has been perfect.

Felipe got to meet his aunt and uncle from Spain

Little by little Felipe is meeting all this family members.

Today he met Tia Pilar and Tio Santiago.

It will probably be a while before we see them again because they live in Spain. Whenever they come to the US they go straight to Denver to visit their son. We were fortunate enough to see them this time because they were coming from Quito and their flight had a 4 hour layover in Miami. We took advantage of this and picked them up, had lunch and then took them back to the airport.

Eventhough it was a short visit they got to enjoy each other.

Nachito meet his uncle Raul

My Uncle Raul, from NYC, has been meaning to come meet Felipe or as he calls him "Nachito" but has never had the time. Today him and my cousin Fabian were going to Guayaquil and they had a day to spend in Miami so we all went out to eat and then took them to the airport.

As you can see from the picture they were both having lots of fun with each other. Felipe immediately wanted to be with my uncle and that is shocking because he doesn't usually go with people he doesn't know. I guess he just thought this faces looks familiar, my uncle and mom look a lot alike.

Although it took a year, I am glad that my uncle finally got to meet Felipe.

Happy Birthday Viejita

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ABUELA!!!

Hope you have a great day celebrating it with everyone around you especially Felipe... He will see you later to give you a big hug.

I LOVE YOU!!!

TRANSLATION:

Feliz Cumpleaños Abuela!!!

Espero que tengas un dia spectacular rodiada de todos los que te quieren, especialmente Felipe... El te vera mas tarde para darte un abrazote.

TE QUIERO

A weekend of Festivities

This past weekend was full of festivities...

On Friday night we celebrated my father's 10 year wedding anniversary with a dinner at La Hacienda Country Club in The Villages.

Saturday morning before leaving Lady Lake, my father did a small party for Felipe at his Villa. Laura's family and mine sang Happy Birthday and cut him a cake. At night when we got back home, my mother-in-law had baked a bundt cake for Felipe.

Yesterday, we had a party for all the family and close friends.... I would like to say that it was a small party but when you have 16 kids and about 45 adults in your house it can not be considered SMALL.

I will post more details and photos later today but for now this is all you are getting....