choo choo

hi lovely loyal readers! The fam is on vacay from work for 6 weeks so we've been enjoying every second of our down time with Vale. We have so many pictures to share and promise to catch up with you guys this week..In the meantime, I'd like to share a little video I made from small clips from my phone, quality isn't the best but still worth a watch.
xoxo -mami

Untitled from KarlaB on Vimeo.

editors note: I would have liked to clip the videos a bit more to make the video short(er) and sweet(er) but cutting out video of Vale feels criminal.

videographers note: the train Vale is enjoying herself on, was her dad's toy when he was an infant. How crazy is that!

Father knows jack

A thought came to me today that I feel I must share. File this one in the "been there, done that" category if you already know. Here goes. So, the micro-fam (Karla, Vale y yo) was in the living room just hangin, talking to the bebe, talking between the adults. Ya know, the usual. There was some baby talk, some goofy laughs, and a range of personal topics being discussed.

Here's the epiphany: We've got a third party involved here, people. Vale is going to be a real, actual person one day, and we're conversating like she's in the background most of the time. I'm not going to say that we're always talking about inappropriate things around the child. We just talk about inappropriate things very frequently... tee-hee ;) But, what if she were to go public??

Obviously this isn't happening yet. And it won't for some time, me thinks. But as a parent, when do you start to censor your conversations for the sake of the little one(s)? When do you start to do that weird parenty thing where you spell out certain words mid-sentence because you don't want the kiddies to catch on? Like if you've ever had a dog and you say you're going to go for a WALK, and when they hear that word they know what's up, and then they start to go nuts*... that's what I'm saying.

Bonus survey question: Do you ever recall any of these terms being spelled out in your presence as a child?

1) I-C-E C-R-E-A-M
2) P-A-R-K
3) B-A-T-H
4) S-?-X
5) C-A-N-D-Y


*more on babies as human puppies in a future installment ...jk :{

Soul Sistah success

Big cosas were cookin at the Soul Lab Project's debut celebration yesterday. The menu was power packed with poetry, dance, song, familia and friends, and Brazilian BBQ in a major way. Errything BIG!

But in cereal, the Soul Lab Project is the latest creation Tita Kwistin and company. Its kinda like a supe-cool, artsy, hip, fun performance group-ish project and more type of thing. Words cannot describe their butt-kickingness. Check them out on F-book and Twitta.

We got a bunch of pics with Vale and many of her loving peeps that were in attendance yesterday. Oh, and the photos were already cool but we made 'em even mas cool with instagram

:{

8 meses

She picked out her own outfit, I had a selection for Kevin and I to deliberate over when Vale casually crawled over and picked up and started chewing the items you see in this picture. Well problem resolved.

she's sick in this picture, but through the magic of procrastination, she is now 90% all better since this was taken on the 29th!

She's crawling, standing up on stuff, doing the back arch when I take away something she shouldn't be playing with, such as the computer charger (ruined) the car keys (nasty) my phone (propensity for water damage), her parents shoes (nastier), She's even learned the word "no" making this the second word she very noticably reacts to, second to "leche". She gets a no, no, no when she tries to follow us into the kitchen or restroom. I think this makes her want to go in even more.

She eats blueberries, grapes, cherries, watermelon and mango either in her mesh baggie or in small pieces ALL DAY LONG. Mango especially makes her hyperventilate, and at 5 mangos for a buck, she's a cheap date.

Happy 8 months you purple faced, conga playing, back arching, moco faced, happy, laughing baby, we love ya to the moon and back.

The Social Network (less annoying, real-life, baby version)

What follows was a kewt little moment that we had the opportunity to witness and photo-document a few days ago. It actually had nothing to do with that movie mentioned in the blog title, which was pretty annoying btw imo, but it was some babies socializing.

The dialogue is possibly rooted in truth, and is based on my interpretation of the situation. Cuz ya... a picture may be worth a thousand words, but that's just too many words.

Enyoi :{


DANGER: (playin it cool) "Hey."
VALE: (playin it cute) "Hi."


DANGER: "That's a cool bike."
VALE: "Ya. It's mine."


DANGER: "Can I play with it?"
VALE: "Don't touch my bike, fool!"

pony tails or horns?

Anyone up in the LA area looking forward to seein some of ^this^ next weekend??

Maybe we should do this too!

Greetings from our dark and quiet apartment, Vale is 40 minutes into her nap and she'll either be up in 5 minutes or she'll go for an extra half hour. I'm tiptoeing around here hoping for the latter. She has a cold and has not been sleeping very well so naps are super important or she'll be a grumpy, snotty mess all day.

Her cousin Tommy was baptized on Saturday at the Greek Orthodox church in North Park, it was a lovely ceremony followed by a party at my tia Ana's house. There was a ton of food, a jumper, mimosas, music, and lots of family. Unfortunately, I think Vale might have picked up her cold in the jumper.




She totally loved being in here with all the big kids

instagram on iphone

I can't get over how cool these pictures look with a little help from the filters on instagram, such a cool app, and it's free!

Vale's new hobby is to clear surfaces.. Up she goes and away goes the clutter. Don't you love the little spit on her chin? hehe.


bella durmiente..


The sleep fairy was minutes away from paying her a visit.


primas <3

Hotel Del is swell

My gf, her hubby and their A-dorable baby Ale stayed in the Nado ( as Kevin calls it) for a few nights, so naturally we had to go check it out. I gotta say, the rooms are not as grandiose as I would have expected but the hotel from the outside it gorgeous as is the view. The beach out there might just be my favorite in San Diego, never too crowded, always sunny, clean, y todo eso. Vale loved the sand, wanted to stick it in her mouth, but the cold pacific water made her tuck her feet right up as soon as she felt it.
Update: I just heard on the news that Coronado was awarded the 2nd best beach in the nation. sweet!

Father knows best... Part Deux

Everyone is always saying how, "It happens so fast," or, "They grow up so quick," and, "Before you know it...yada yada yada." And they're right. That little baby that I held on my forearm just a few months ago is growing like a weed.

Its easy to see in all the photos, or in person when you see her crawl around and try to stand up on stuff, or when you hear her talk, if you can call it that (and if you do, her first word was "dada" btw). But, a thought occurred to me today that may not be entirely original, although I dare say that I may be the first to try to describe it in this great blog-o-sphere; if I were blind (disclaimer: NOT PC), in what ways would I remember her early months in my own mind?

Obviously, I really have no idea. Now that that's outta the way, I think I would do it by sense of smell, the most powerful and memory-invoking of all our senses. And of what mystical aromas do I speak? Hmmm... for lack of a better term, her poo. That's correct, I'm talking about smelling the Deux. Eww, gross! Sure it is, but intriguing nonetheless.

When she was a fresh out the womb, up through a few months, her #2s smelled like fresh biscuits. No joke. They smelled wholesome and natural, and more than slightly like a pastry. I had to run to La Concha on a few occasions post diaper change. Following her biscuit-deuce phase, we've gone through a period of neutrality for quite some time. The diapes are nothing special to sniff. At least, in that way.

Enter this morning. Now, Vale usually has about two morning movements that aren't too far apart, and both are substantial enough to deserve their own diaper change. Each of these diapers generally shows proof of her most recently consumed foods. I'm not sure what she had last night, but that first poop this morning smelled like s**t! Cereally, that girl huffed a mean, steamy deux. That odor that I cannot describe adequately in written word, singed the inner recesses of my memory bank. Never before today had I experienced one like that, although I'm sure many more will follow :)

Yes, our little girl is growing up and I intend to savor ever moment of it, no matter how quick it may pass. And no matter how friendly or foul these memories are, I will remember them with a smile and look forward to the next.