mariquita Vale

Our very first repeat holiday!(Is halloween a holiday?) Last year Vale was a sleeping M&M, this year a ravenous ladybug. Vale strongly dislikes beanies, hats or anything covering her head so we weren't too sure she'd let us pull the hood over her head...but once the ooo's and ahhh's started she couldn't be more excited about wearing the super cute antennae.

The first set of pics are from tita Kristin's soul session partaay, (which was a total blast btw) and the last two pics are from the 31st. We got together with our apartment buddies to watch the Chargers game and pass out candy. Vale munched on a delicious apple cinnamon rice cake throughout the evening completely unaware of the delicious chocolate she was carrying around the whole time.. sneaky parents, mwahaha!


It doesn't look like we dressed up, but we did...I was a leaf and Kevin a gardener-the perfect accessories to our little bug.

September 29, 2011

Having thrown the house out the window, an expression in Spanish meaning to throw a big party, to celebrate Valentina's 1st birthday, we wanted to make her real day of birth fun for her on her terms. We started the day off with a trip around the neighborhood to visit all the dogs, cats and birds, followed by lots of reading and her fav snacks throughout the morning.

Her favorite cousins came over a bit later with balloons and lots and lots of hugs and kisses. Then we did what any girl would do on her birthday, we went shopping and she got a pair of new kicks, her first pair of big kid shoes she loved them so much that she wore them out.

Kevin and I agreed the previous night that if Vale could say so, she'd want to hang out at the beach on her day. So we went.. and I really don't think we misread her, she loved it (as usual)! After the beach we paid her grandparents a visit to wish them luck on their trip as well as get b-day kisses. Vale's b-day concluded with an apple sauce cake and since we topped it with her favorite: strawberries and yogurt she dug into it big time making it a super sweet moment and one we had really hoped to see!










p.s. I can almost be sure that this is most likely probably the last b-day related post, we'll be back to regularly scheduled fun times posts real soon here :)

Viva Mexico!

The family just returned from a little getaway to Rosarito located in beautiful Mexico. My cousin Cindy married her dream man, Kaneo, in a lovely ceremony right on the beach! Those pics are on my facebook if you care to check them out, I might share a few cause I did have a few favs..

the next morning we wondered onto the beach for fresh coconuts and a little family fun. My sister got her hair braided while the rest of us ate mangos, cocos and corn in a cup! My brother in law even had a beer, right on the beach! it was a beautiful relaxing time. Vale was so happy she couldn't sit still...enjoy...













I love Mexico! I know it's not the safest, but we've never encountered any problems. We always travel in a group, dress down and stay in busy areas. You also need a passport now! but if you have a free weekend, and a little extra cash, I totally recommend a trip to Rosarito and Ensenada, its so cheap and theres lots to see, eat, do and buy! I bought a reboso to help me carry Vale on my hip, I can't wait to hand wash it and start using it!

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!

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?

Four times a year, thank you SP!

The event that I look forward to as much as payday-the Southpark walkabout- free food and booze, live music, open house at every shop, a nice stroll through SP, we love it all! Here are a few pictures of Vale eating all our food while we posed :)


My parents came out to enjoy the evening with us but having brought Big C and little I along, who fell asleep on the ride up, and waking up sleeping kids is completely out of the question, they just pulled over for a sec for my mom to run over and cuddle Vale before they headed back home. It sounds funny now that I'm typing it out, seriously parents, you drove up, the kids fell asleep so you drove back home- but as a new mom, I'm gonna confess that I've sat in my parked car w/ a sleeping Vale at henry's, vons, the rack, you name it, we found the shade and Vale took her up to 2 hour nap in peace while her mom relaxed and surfed the net or read a book in silence.

food thief



the long day dreamed about huge brownie plate-half gone!

she loves walking about as long as she can have a walker--she's not a huge shoe fan but these robeez she doesn't mind, the soft leather makes for easy strolling-her grandmama just got her a girlee pair that is still a tiny bit too big, but soon, real soon.

And at 8:30ish sharpish, she fell asleep...so we stayed for another hour or so and ate pizza, enjoying ourselves- just the two of us.