A New and Exciting Year

2012 sure did start off with a bang! First of all we want to thank everyone for keeping D in their prayers as he was sick at the beginning of the year. He is doing much better and enjoying the weight loss he involuntarily experienced.  Other than that...January was your normal ordinary run of the mill January...promises to keep a tidier home, get healthier, and enjoy more time with the family were made while Coco and Ceci both blew candles out on their birthday cakes.  Lil C added more words to her vocabulary, and has started saying "COCO" and "MIMI" when we arrive at their respective homes. She's grown fond of dolls, calling them "Nunu" and rocking them to sleep. She's still fascinated with our phones (a.k.a. "Alo"), loves to dance to the music and go on mommy's runs in the evening. Here are some of our favorite pictures from the month of January. We hope you enjoy them...

 Junior Orange Bowl Parade---reception at Venetian Pool and then in the Grandstands with Tio Chris.

 Mommy's night out with friends at the Beaux Arts Bare Bones Bash---this year's theme was "Royal or Not" lots of fun costumes!

 Enjoying a fun Saturday morning at Books and Books. Did I mention she loves her books?!

 Off to church!

 Church ladies, Mimi and C

 At Pinecrest Gardens with Mami and Tia Ana (who she calls by name and adores). Look at that hair!

 Snuggling with Tio Chino at Coco's

 Making Daddy feel better

The last 3 pictures are from fun times with friends at our friends Jimi and Allison's wedding in Islamorada and then Ceci's 17+17 birthday dinner with friends.

So there you go---a great month, a start to a wonderful year. Happy and healthy wishes from us to you!

xoxo

Papapos

Yesterday started off like any day at Casa S. I woke up before anyone, got ready, packed lunches, and before I could even think about eating breakfast at home the sweet serenade of "Mama...Mama....Ummmmm Mama" started to fill the hall. "She's up" is the first thing I think "Milk" is the next...

So I went in and as usual there she was standing, holding onto the rail of her crib and bouncing "Mmmmaaamaaammmmaaaa" being repeated over and over again as I say "Buenos dias amor, como dormistes" turn off the bird nightlight, put down the bottle of milk, open the curtains and finally sweeo her into my warms where we hug until she points to the bottle and says "eche...eche" meaning "leche" (milk).

So she has her "eche" we get dressed and then I see one of her red glittery flats..."Nos ponemos papos?" (Should we put our shoes on?) I ask her as I slip it on and realize...I don't know where the other one is. OK...easy, we'll just change shoes. So I go into her closet and get her cute silver Tom's. As I take off the red glittery flat she looks at me confused and says "No...no...papapo" I put on the Toms's and set her down and before I know it she has walked over to the red glittery shoe picks it up and says "Papapo! Papapo!" So I ask her "Te queres poner ESTOS zapatos?" (You want to wear THESE shoes?) and she continues to bounce and faux cry with red shoe in hand "papapo" (I will say she normally says papo...so the fact she is saying papapo is one step closer to the actual word...zapato). I quickly remember where the other red glittery shoe is and go get it...ask her to sit down and swap shoes.

Papapo in question

This makes C very happy...she smiles at me points at the shoes and says "papapo!" ...and that's when I realize it. My mini-me has just made her first fashionable decision. 15 months in less than 2 weeks going on 15 years!



December in Miami

December! Definitely late...sorry! It was a very busy month for Los S...here are some of our favorite pictures. The month started with beacoup Art Basel events... Vernissage was technically November 30...but it kicked off the events quite nicely.
Here we are at Vernissage.
I took a group of friends to Art Miami, Scope and Pulse for the day with VIP passes.
At the MAM Party on the Plaza, I met the immensely talented Faith Ringold who was exhibiting her paintings at the museum. Still in awe of meeting such an American treasure.

Here is Mimi with C at the Coral Gables Tree Lighting Ceremony.
C and Miles dancing to the music at the tree lighting.
Fun times with mommy and daddy at the tree lighting.

We went to our friend Alessandra's baptism--- didn't we look smashing?
Here I am with my "lunch lady" friends at Alessandra's baptism. Her proud mama is in the white pants.
Enjoying our friend Alegra's birthday party after the baptism.
Momma got to go to Chicago with the museum for a seminar. It was a lot of fun and allowed me to see some of my favorite sites and people.
Dinner with Sara was one of the Chicago highlights.
View of Chicago from the ladies room in the John Hancock building.

It was very very cold in Chicago, it snowed and one day the high was 14!
Back in sunny and warm Miami we held our 11th annual Holiday Party, which now that we live on Navarre is called, Navidad on Navarre.


Here we are at the Tolmach-Johnson Holiday party with Melissa and Miles.
At the annual Lesson in Carols at St. Philip's C and her Tia Kiki had a great time together.
D and Tio Chris playing some Christmas favorites.
Over the winter break we had a lot of fun times with friends. Here we are making more playground memories with Miles.
Christmas Eve at Mimi and Babo's. Babo read "The Night Before Christmas" to the girls.



Christmas Day on the Key and at our house with family.

Tio Derek was also in town over the holiday!



And the year...as you would assume ended up with a small New Year's soiree at our house. Hope 2011 was as wonderful for you and yours as it was for us!

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!