Feliz Navidad

"...and to all the merriest!"

...one funny story to share with you. C is sick right now---and I left her sleeping in our bed with D when I left for work. I couldn't bare the thought of her gurgling through snot in her crib---its better to be snotty in good company. So D tells me that she slept for another 30 minutes after I left, and when she woke up she must have been hungry---so she got herself off the bed, walked down the hall, found our diaper bag on the kitchen floor, found her snack pack and within about 2 minutes of initially leaving our room was on D's side of the bed staring at him while eating her cheerios.

Resourcefulness! ... as Patrick Swayze once said, "Nobody puts baby in the corner."

A Year in a Flash!

I am so happy to share the picture slide show from our 1 year photo shoot with the ever talented

Sheri Mazariegos.

If you click on this link and then enter the password "ceci" you will be able to see it. She set it to nice music, so feel free to turn your speakers up.

We hope you are having a stress free December as you prep for holiday celebrations!

A Year through Sheri's Lense

I have often mentioned here and on cSd Art& Design, that my friend Sheri Mazariegos is a talented photographer. Yesterday, we had our final session with her (from our belly to babies package). It was surreal...I remember our maternity pictures in September of 2010 with Maggie at our side...and our newborn session when C was about 10 days old and I was a tired mess...then our 6 month session at one of the most iconic places in Coral Gables, Country Club Prado...now yesterday at Matheson Hammock, there we were with this beautiful, happy, playful walking babbling girl. We never made it to the beach at Matheson Hammock because C was tired and needed a nap--- but the pictures we got at the park I think capture the spirit of our little family. Fun, playful and always ready for a picture.Sheri previewed the pictures on her blog here. Feel free to take a look--and when the full slide show is ready I will let you know. Again, I will say if you live in South Florida and want to capture your event, your family, anything...please look up Sheri Mazariegos Photography. You won't regret it.

In the Past Week...

In the past week C's become so much more like...dare I say...a toddler! This post was going to be about how she prefers being an independent walker to being carried in our arms (most of the time), how she loves feeding herself--even trying out the spoon on her own and successfully. It was going to be about the 3 pesky upper middle teeth that are coming in and putting her in cranky moods with fevers off and on...(which now means she asks for her advil!). This post was going to be about how she is saying more now, like "gracias", "alo" in addition to the standard, "pato", "papo" (shoe), "papa" and "mama". Tonight, Tia Kiki walked into the room at a JOBC social and she cheerfully said "Kiki!" while extending her arms out to her. It was so sweet.
But this post is not going to be about that...it going to be about the unforgettable thing that happened tonight...and I wanted to write it down before I forgot. After the JOBC social, C and I dropped Papa off at St.P for his second to last vestry meeting as Junior Warden. When we got home she ate a yummy dinner, and then we hopped in the tub. Tonight was probably one of the last times she bathes in her duck...especially after what happened. There she was in the duck tub enjoying herself when she made a face...you know...a reddish face...next thing I know she's not alone in the tub with her rubber ducky... "C! OMG! OH NO! OH NO!" and since D was not home, I had to figure this one out all by myself...and QUICKLY!...so I pull her out (naturally she quickly slips and falls...and cries) while I try to life the mega heavy duck tub out of the tub to pour all the" contents" into the toilet. ...But that thing was HEAVY! so I pour a little of the "water" out and then scrub the skid pad down with soap rinse that and set her back in the big and run a mini bath while I pour the "contents" of the duck tub out...and naturally spill some on the floor...EWWWW!!... So I bathe her as fast as fast can be, put her to bed and then head to the kitchen to gather supplies to clean. Pinesol (check), rags (check)...mommy in work clothes (check). Clean floor...done. Sleeping baby...yep. Dirty mommy...naturally.
Oh the joys of motherhood!

Party People Make Some Noise!

Happy Birthday Babykins! Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the weekend long celebration.

I hung pictures up of her first year and invited people to take the ones they liked most home.


With her Tia Tania and Alessandra
Smiling with Tia Tex
Cozy with Tia Ana
Grandmother and D with the birthday girl
Tia Antonella
Cake time!
She knew exactly what to do...and she didn't get any on HER clothes...just mine.
The girls...
Some of our favorite play date buds
Pooped from the party

Birthday morning, enjoying her favorite gift bag...pretty color eh?!

All tuckered out from a morning of "falling back" and church
Pressies at Coco's with Toto
The last of our month labels from Texas Aunt Amanda...they were such a great gift and we used them all year long!
Our last cupcake of the weekend! (We shortly thereafter discovered she's got a NEW tooth!)
Our 1 year anniversary of being a family.

Thanks to everyone for following along from pregnancy through year 1...stay tuned for our adventures as we approach year 2!

xoxo

They Grow Up So Fast....Babykins 1 Year Later

Here we are, the parents of a 1 year old! On this special day, I wish my baby girl all the love, courage, strength and wisdom in the world so that she may grow up to be an amazing woman!

Enjoy this sneak preview...party pictures will come soon! ...promise!

October in Miami (Our First Halloween!!)

October came and went so quickly---and now we are DAYS away from C's FIRST birthday! This is amazing, and I am so glad that we created this blog to document our journey, and our family. Here are some of the highlights...including our first HALLOWEEN! EEEK! BOO!

C is not the only one turning 1 this year. Her friend Dale turned 1 a few weeks ago. Here we are at his birthday party. This year the Coral Gables Community Foundation was honoring Don II (Babo) at their annual Gala. The theme was Homecoming/ Prom... so D III went in his Gables High Band jacket...the drum line was very impressed, as were most gala guests (because DIII still fits in it!).
Here is Babo surrounded by "Tia Kiki" and my friends from the Junior League. He definitely enjoyed being with us.
One Saturday morning we hopped in the car, and onto the turnpike and headed WAY south to Goulds to the infamous "Little Farm". Our friends Melissa, Pete, Katie and Brette came with their wee ones. We had a really fun time...and C and her BF Miles shared lots of giggles in the pumpkin patch. They la-la-love each other. It's super cute!
Here are the 3 kiddos in the pumpkin patch. Ads, C and Milo...a very focused group as you can see. I will also add it was like 68 degrees, sunny and beautiful on this morning.
Here's C with DII in the patch... and below you'll see her with me. I loved this picture of us so much, it's currently my Facebook profile picture. Honestly...how did we make such a cute kid?!

With Tia Kiki and C's birthday coming up... Uncle Bill and Chippy came down from Ft.L to pre-birthday celebrate. Uncle Bill's birthday is the day after C's birthday (which is also Babo's birthday). Here we are the navy bunch all matchy matchy.
Here's one of the cutest going to church outfits of the month. I will say I love Sundays at St. Philip's...she puts on her pretty pretty dresses, we see the family and it's just a lovely way to end the week.
Another great highlight was having Victor "Toto" over for dinner. These two were instant friends and it was a lot of fun catching up with Victor.
There was a fun Lechon Asado sinner at St. Philip's this month. Here is C having a blast with her Tia Kiki.
...and finally, Halloween. Baby costumes are tough...so we opted for something easy to pull on and off...AND was cool for Miami (temperature cool). So, as you can see C was a fairy ballerina. It was fun and cute and she was so enthralled with the other kids. Above is a picture of us at the St. Philip's Halloween Block Party, and below is a picture of her on Halloween at Mimi and Babo's.
We hope you had a great month with you family in your corner of the world. C will be 1 on Sunday, her birthday fete is going to be on Saturday and will be documented and shared here soon. Until then, be good and safe!

XOXO

September in Miami (and California)

First steps were taken in August and come September we were walking around the house. Laps! Walking up and down the front walk to and from the house. At first she looked like a zombie...you know...slow and with arms extended in front of her...but by the end of the month there was more stability in the walking.
Here she is at her "Titi Ivon's" baby shower, playing with John who is 3 months her junior. They had a great time together. Now that she's walking play dates have been coming more frequently.
The start of NCAA football season and the SMU and UF shirts have started coming out. Here she is at Publix riding the grocery cart for the first time. She had a super fun time!
Here we are after church (Don't get jelly over my Missoni for Target).
Another major milestone in September was that we went out of town...WITHOUT her! C stayed home with Coco while D & I went to San Francisco, Napa and Sonoma for one of my BFF's weddings. There are over 300 pictures, so it was hard to pick just a few...for a fuller post on our trip please visit CSD Art& Illustration where I wrote about the trip and shared more pictures.
Here I am with the beautiful bride and the rest of the SMU Gamma Phi gang! The wedding was at the most spectacular farm. Here we are with the Californian side of the Slesnick clan!
Here we are in Sonoma at a fly fishing ranch for the rehearsal dinner.

Back home in the Gables, D and C had good times around the playpen...
...and we went to a few birthday parties. Here we are with our friends Melissa and Miles at Addie's 2nd birthday party.
Most special this month was Grandmother's 89th birthday! Here are Kathleen and Don with the birthday girl at her cocktail party.
...same night---Mimi with her 3 girls.

...and that's all folks! We had another memorable month in Miami and are inching closer and closer to C's 1st birthday! Amazing how quickly the first year went...yet it does seem like forever ago all at the same time.