lovely baby humps

hi there..with summer less than a month away Vale got an early dose of pool action at the beautiful Aviara in Carlsbad a few months back and ever since one of her favorite words is "berca" her way of saying "alberca" which is the Mexican word for swimming pool, I say Mexican because other spanish speaking countries call it piscina. I guess we sometimes call is that too, when we want to sound fancy and stuff. Vale had a blast splashing in the 1 foot pool which was fun even for the adults. Kevin and I took turns playing with Vale in the pool while the other parent lounged and sipped cold beverages. It was super relaxing and a lovely time spent with the family it was also a little preview in to what our summer is gonna look like, Vale is currently signed up for daily swim lessons that start in a couple weeks. I'm a little terrified that they'll make us dunk her. yikes, poor V. but alas, she's gotta learn since my parents pool has always been a source of worry. I'll be sure to share some of the many pictures we'll be taking of Vale as she begins her swimming career :)

p.s. thanks to tita J for letting us crash her relaxing vacation a bunch of times, and a shout out to tita Kalani for the awesome mommy and baby swimsuits! gracias!

Have I mentioned...

that Vale is OBSESSED with dogs? She points at them and squeals as loud as she can and if she's in arms, she demands to be put down so she can touch the located dog. Lately, telling her we're gonna go see the dogs is the only way to make her lay still during a diaper change or when strapping her into her car seat but in all honesty I'm weary of all dogs. They can't tell you that they don't like babies, I pray we'll get growled at before anything else. I always like to ask if the dog is friendly, but I got bit by a dog when I was young and I remember how scared I was and how much it hurt, so I'll continue to be weary, just to be on the safe side.... woof!











Have you checked out the Little Italy farmers market? it has such a beautiful view of the embarcadero!

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!

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.