oh girl, 11 months today!

The official countdown has begun, Valentina is a month away from the big ol' 1!!! Are you coming to her b-day fiesta on Saturday September 24th? Well here is your invite if you were waiting for one :) Lots of planning is underway...from the food, to the entertainment, we're getting lots of help from everywhere which is so greatly appreciated! Now, if only we knew someone who could make a delicious cake...Any lovely readers from say oh the OC area wanna make a b-day cake? :) If you have any b-day ideas to share or want to help out in ANY way, hit us up!

Vale is a walkin', talkin' grubbin' happy baby to say the least. I won't even attempt the list of things she likes to eat, anything we're eating, she's eating too! She splits her mode of transport 50/50, but everyday that passes she walks longer distances with less of a drunk girl wobble. I'm pretty sure she's thinking of leaving the crawl very soon :( I better video tape it before its too late. She empties her clothes drawers like she's preppin for a photo shoot, she loves putting stuff in boxes, she thinks sneezing is hilarious, and is ticklish to no end, a block or lego tower has to be destroyed immediately, and diaper changes are evil! Oh girl, you're almost not a baby anymore, in fact, now that you're walking I think you're a toddler!

She has a tiny cold and wasn't very smily this morning for her monthly photo, I tried the biscuit, no success, tried Eli (her chosen favorite toy, I was rooting for rosita, but nope) he was thrown overboard. At least she looked cute!




Thought I'd throw in a few happy Vale pictures from this weekend. One of her favorite treats are frozen blueberries by the dozen. Yum!






Stay tuned for a little more blogging this month. maybe a birthing story a year later...maybe a video a year in the making, maybe some mommy insight on all things first year!

all in one

hi dear readers, my apologies for the unannounced hiatus..my computer is acting up and refusing to charge but I tried again this afternoon and like magic it started charging! So I quickly did a backup to my external hard drive, down loaded photos from my camera, and now I'm blogging in a hurry in case it decides to die again! The big announcement over here is that VALE IS WALKING!!!! she started really going for it about two weeks ago, and just this week she started walking across her abuelitas and grandparents living rooms. She prefers to crawl to get from place to place in a hurry but once she gets up she really doesn't hold back! For Kevin and I its been really exciting and anytime she gets into walking position we call for each other, sometimes they are false alarms but others we have just enough time to grab the camera to record a little video. We cheer for her and clap (oh she's clapping too, it's the freakin best)

Here are some pictures of our recent family outtings...
We couldn't believe it, but she was charging into the water, didn't care that the waves were getting her in the face, it was the strangest/cutest/funniest!







Vale likes to stand at the door and bang on it, she yells at people as they come home from work, laughs with kids, and calls dogs over with baby chirping, we never really let her play outside, except for this one time. She was so happy playing with the kids and her Eli the elephant, I think she might have earned permission to play outside again. P.s. the chalk washed right of her new clothes, phewf!



Kevin and I sat on this same exact hill in Balboa park days after finding out we were expecting Vale, so every time we go there we sit in that same spot. It feels so surreal. Lovin' those Valentina Ballerina pants!



We took her hiking, a whopping mile uphill! The best workout ever since she was carried the whole way! And yes she wore that ugly hat the whole way up and down! She needs a new one ASAP

Adams Avenue park

Reasons why I love this park:
Kevin and I came here several times while Vale was still in my belly
theres a huge green, grassy area
nature everywhere
its on the way to the coffee house, farmers market, whole foods. We can stop here w/o much of a detour on our way to just about anywhere.
The playground floor is rubber ( no annoying wood chips or sand)


reasons they love the park:
lots of swings
cool, fast slides to race on
three water fountains
and my favorite: no kids to share the park with!

Vale, Big C, and little I at their happiest!





p.s. I only recently figured this out...you can click on the pictures to make Vale be more up close and personal.

Up, Up and stuck

Baby foot stool- A la Vale. Similar to high heels only easier on the back. 28.5 inches plus 2 more.


She had to see what was on the other side of the little stone wall, and then she got stuck. doh!

Perfect 10

Now this is more like it! it just struck me, that she'll only be posing for 2 more of these monthly pictures, unless we become those parents (and we just might) that keep track of their child's age in months up until they are 24 months...ooopppssss, I just did it, I mean 2 years! yikes....It drives me a little nuts when I ask a babies age and the response is 18 months.. Can't you just do the math for us and say 1 1/2 years???

Anyway, all that aside, here is a proper picture of Vale at 10 months. I let her keep her teething biscuit since I thought she'd sit patiently, and it totally worked. She's looking very content, and is it just me or is there a trace of mischief in her smile?

You've been kissed! Happy Monday

The pucker


and the release...the Vale kiss!



having fun at the park