1.8 plus tutu tumbling

Hellooo, we're on vacay for a little while and just in time to pick up the camera for stills and video of Vale as she's become quite the parrot and budding entertainer. She says words she's never said before on a daily basis and we have to listen carefully and even ask each other what she is saying because we know its a word, its something she wants, something she's heard us say before. Something important to her. Her favorite words (that we can identify at least) are parque, afuera, arriba, up, down, smoothie, dora, casco, bicicleta, backpack, ambre, juice, turtle, kiwi, beckham, queso, fresa, sandia, blueberry, Killacky, pintar, chanclitas, shoes, zapatos, 5,8,9,10, galletitas, nieve, rojo, verde, azul, amarillo, chicos, chicas, niños, niñas, señora, señor, patineta, sticker, pelo, perro, doggie, see you, hello, bye bye, ta ta, mas please, de nada, agua, keys, nariz, pies, mail, poppa, coche, brinca, caca, peepee...I'm hoping to try the potty training again this month...I think she's ready since she tells us when she's finished and usually wants her diaper changed except for when she doesn't cause sometimes she doesn't. I bought her a little doll that drinks water from a bottle and pees into a little potty to teacher her, her name is Annie and she has quickly become one of vale's favorite toys to play with especially the part where she gets to dump Annie's "peepee" in to the toilet and then flush it. Anyway, in other Vale news, this Thursday we took her to her second gymventures class where she gets to jump on a super long trampoline, walk the balance beam, and hang on the rings and parallel bars. The class is through the YMCA which Mr. K was nice enough to sign Vale up for (many thanks) and Vale just has the time of her life...Ms. Sandra, her teacher, is super sweet with the girls and even gives them stamps on their hands and feet after class which Vale makes sure to show us throughout the day. I can't wait till next Thursday!

p.s. it's hard not to notice the band-aid so here goes- She pulled a conga on to herself. There was lots of blood and one scary trip to the ER, stitches were avoided, a special glue used instead. In the end Vale walked out with a popsicle in one hand, stickers in the other with no tears in her eyes and hopefully with no memory of mommy and daddy holding her down in her already restricted board and all body wrap hold while the doctor cleaned and fixed her wound. We still haven't gotten a good look at what the healing is looking like since the glue is pretty thick but with all the lotions and home remedies I'm planning on using on her, I hope the scarring will be minimal, also, as my cousin's wife said- It could have been a lot worse, it could have hit her eye. Scary words but oh so true, and for that I'm thankful.

Bate's

It's been too long dear friends, so sorry. But before I can put up the uber cute snow pictures from the other day I must, MUST share the pictures we took at Bate's nut farm way back in mid November :) We had a blast, mobbing the perfectly selected and neatly arranged pumpkins with a less than eager baby trying to get the shot. We even walked the entire field looking for the biggest and brightest pumpkin and totally found one, which Vale showed her approval off by planting a big wet one on it. Last year she was two months old and barely awake, Next year she'll probably want to ride the ponies and run through the corn maze, but this year she was soo happy just running through the pumpkin field, kissing pumpkins, bird watching, and staring in awe at the animals in the mini zoo.

Last year at Bate's, she was so little!

tres punto cinco

3.5 years ago: we met at the Otay Ranch High School library, we shared our first drink at starbucks, we exchanged phone numbers, we smiled at each other through rear view mirrors as we drove away. 3.5 years ago I met the one. I love love love you to the moon and back!


picture crasher

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!

Congrats Blanca and Ryan!!!!!

I'd like to share a few pictures of my dear friend Blanca's wedding as well as a few engagement pictures I shot for my cousin Cindy who is getting married in Rosarito this August.

Kevin and I enjoyed ourselves like it was 2009, no baby, just the two of us! It's been a bit of a challenge to schedule in baby free time but we've managed to squeeze in a few of these getaways over the past month and oh dear gosh do we have fuuun! It's made us realize that we have to spend time alone, even if it's just a couple of hours. We came back to pick up Vale feeling so happy and revitalized, ready to be even better parents (if you can believe that ;)

The first of these baby free dates consisted of a trip to La jolla for burgers, shakes and fries followed by a swim in the Pacific..It's been years since I swam in the ocean, and not just getting in thigh high, I'm talking can't-touch-the bottom-I- hope-there-aren't-any-sharks-out-here-today type of swimming. It was a perfect few hours spent with my love, imagine this, we parked the car and walked away from it seconds later, no baby set up necessary! Whoa! But of course when it was finally time to collect Vale, we were so ready to have our little tyke back in our arms.

Our second date was to celebrate Blanca and Ryan's nuptials! Everything was absolutely beautiful and perfect. From the bride and groom, to the food, the DJ, and the cake. The speeches made by the siblings of the bride and groom were funny and heartfelt. I'm always amazed how people can deliver such touching speeches without tearing up. Maybe I'm just a total sap but there is no way I will ever be able to do that! I'm looking forward to hearing where these two honeymoon, I'm sure it'll be super romantic.














How cute are these two?? Meet my cousin Cindy and her fiancee Kaneo. She's like a sister to me, we spent most of our childhood summers running around Mexicali going to parks, the mall and eating countless raspados to beat the heat! I love her to pieces and I can't wait to see her tie the knot in Rosarito later this summer....