Fav Picture Thursday...

Today's picture is another one of those that brings me back to some happy times...

It was taken in July of 05, a few days before we got "legally" married...

We were happily dating and just having fun... this particular picture was taken on a party night, when we were leaving our apartment to go to a night club...

We had so much fun that night! Wow! I miss those times... careless and crazy!

New Blog idea.

This age has proven to be the funniest of all in the life of Olivia.. Wow! She says and does the most hilarious things every day and I just can't contain my laughter...

When I tell the stories to friends or families, they usually can't stop laughing and are often in disbelief about her creativeness!

So... I have decided to start a new blog (or maybe a new blog category) titled "Said by Olivia"... I want her to have some memories of her childhood and think this would be a great "gift" for the future...

Now am wondering... does this sound like something you would read??

So sick of this rain!!!!

This weather is so depressing!!! It has been raining for 24+ hours straight.. I can't take it anymore.. the rain just makes me sick!!

Currently there's a tropical depression (TD 16) going over South Florida...it is causing some crazy rain, as expected.. and many of the streets are flooded.. I can't wait for it to be gone...

Hopefully it will be finished by the weekend so we can enjoy some family time together...

This is one of the things that I HATE about Florida.. no seasons and on top of that crazy heat and rain!!

Rain, rain go away.. and don't come back EVER again!!!!

Wordless Monday...

Shakira in concert!

What a wonderful night I had last night with my friends! Wow! I hadn't had that much fun in a long time...

We went to see Shakira in concert at the Bank Atlantic Center and I must say I was pretty impressed with her show, even though the song choice wasn't that great...meaning she didn't sing my favorite songs!

Before the concert, we had dinner at the Grand Lux and then we just danced the night away...

Shakira is such a great artist...not only does she sing wonderfully, but she's also an amazing dancer and a great show woman!

At the end of the show, she sang Waka-Waka and everyone was going nuts.... what an amazing night!

Giselle's Baby Shower

Today we went to my friend Giselle's baby shower...yet another amazing day with wonderful friends...

I met Gigi in hight school so it's always great to see her and her growing family...

Giselle is expecting her second child, due in January..

Baby Lucas will join big brother Jordan, who is almost 4 years old...The baby shower was beautiful and the food and games were great...I even won a gift card after a memory game.. how great is that!!?

Both Giselle and her husband Alex are so ecstatic about the arrival of their 2nd bundle of joy, and of course, so are all of their friends, since they make such beautiful babies...

Congrats Gigi and thanks for a wonderful celebration!

Fav Picture Thursday...

Today's picture is another one of those that melt my heart and bring so many memories...

This one was taken in August 2007, when Olivia was about 3 weeks old.. I spent so much time with her and was just in love with this beautiful, cuddly baby that had been put into my arms...

This picture is so sweet... it is such a good representation of that incredible and so hard to describe "mother-daughter" bond..

Photo Shoot with Carmen

Yesterday the girls served as models in a photo shoot with my friend Carmen, who is an amazing photographer....

She is renewing her portfolio so she asked us to volunteer for pictures... and of course, we did!

The photo shoot was done at the Spanish Monastery, located in North Miami Beach; it is such an awesome setting for pictures and the weather was perfect as well...

The girls (and I) had so much fun posing for pictures and walking around the monastery...

Gaby and Olivia were wearing matching ruffled outfits, they looked so cute!

Today, I got one picture back and tomorrow I'll get the rest of them...

I can't wait to see the final result.. I'm sure she did a wonderful job... and I just love pictures!

Wordless Monday...

Happy Birthday Grandma!!

Happy 82nd birthday to my amazing grandma, who is one of the most awesome people I know!

She is now in Venezuela recovering from cancer and doing so much better than she was last year...

She is also getting ready to come to Florida and spend Christmas with us, which will be the most amazing Christmas present ever!

Happy Birthday Grandma!!! I love you so much!

Yogen Früz

When I lived in Venezuela, I used to go to this awesome frozen yogurt shop, called "Yogen Früz", which was simply amazing...I was so in love with that frozen yogurt, so when we moved to the US it was hard for me not to have that guilty pleasure so readily available.

During a trip to DC last year, I "discovered" that Yogen Früz had some franchises in the US and one of them was there.. I, of course, delighted myself with this wonderful treat, but still wasn't completely happy since there were no stores in my town.... or SO I THOUGHT!

The other day, I went on www.yogenfruz.com and came to find out there are several stores in Miami and a few other ones coming soon! Oh my God! I was in heaven!

We went to get some frozen yogurt last night and I was the happiest woman on earth.. that ice cream is to die for!!!

I strongly recommend this treat to anyone who has a franchise near them.. so yummy!!

Connie's baby shower

Today was a very busy day! After "Disney on Ice" we went to Connie's baby shower....

Connie is the wife of Iggy's good friend Enzo... they are having their 2nd baby, who will be joining big sister Daniela this coming October.

The shower was so wonderful, it was held in a beautiful beach house by Ft. Lauderdale beach, which was a great place for the girls to run around, because the house was huge.

Everything was so beautiful and the food was delicious... Connie got some wonderful gifts and now we're all just waiting for Valentina to arrive. C-section is scheduled for Oct. 25th, which is only 4 days before Daniela's 2nd birthday .. how cool is that?!!

Congrats Connie and Enzo, as you get ready for baby #2!!

Disney on Ice

Today I took the girls to "Disney on Ice: Mickey and Minnie's Magical Journey"...

It was Olivia's third time at this type of show, but only Gaby's first...and they LOVED it...

I thought, however, that the show was not as entertaining as other ones we've been to before... This one was included Peter Pan, Lilo and Stitch and other characters that are not necessarily Olivia's favorites.. I also thought the show lacked music and dancing so at times it was a little "boring"...

The girls, obviously, didn't see all these flaws and they just kept dancing, clapping and laughing.. so that's all that matters to me!

Meeting some good 'ole friends!

Today was awesome!

I got to meet up with my long lost friend Emily, whom I met at my first ever job!

I hadn't seen Emily in almost 4 years so it was great to finally meet up with her and her husband Joe...

We met for dinner at a Cuban restaurant and had an amazing time just catching up...

They now have a baby, Olive, who was born just 2 days before Gaby.. and are currently trying for their 2nd baby... they are living in Ft. Myers, just an hour and a half from here...so we'll be sure to visit them very soon!

It was so great to see them!! Such a wonderful feeling to meet up with loved ones!

Gaby is 14 months!

My little cutie is 14 months today and she's definitely more of a toddler than a baby now!

This has been a great month for accomplishments and milestones....

First off (as you all probably already know), she now WALKS... and she loves it too.. Every time I'm holding her, she wants me to put her down so she can walk around..

She has started to follow her sister around and I think that's just too cute..

She also loves to walk around carrying a purse and a "phone"... She often has very deep conversations with imaginary friends on her imaginary phones, while toting her purse... I love it!

It's so amazing how much a baby can change and grow in a matter of months...

Gaby is turning into an independent little toddler whose energy never runs out... although I must say she's still very cuddly and sweet!

Happy 14 months Gaby!

Fav Picture Thursday...

It is no surprise that I LOVE my husband to pieces... he is the most wonderful thing that has happened to me and I could never thank God enough for putting him in my way...

With that said, today's fav picture is one my favorites of Iggy and I... I just love that it's such a good representation of what we feel for each other...

It was taken in September 2006, right when we decided to have a baby... a month after this picture was taken, I got pregnant with Olivia! God is great.. and this picture is amazing!

Wordless Monday...

Fun @ Busy Bee Kidz

We took the girls to Busy Bee Kidz today and it was wonderful...

I love that place because it's an indoor playground where the kids can run free and have all the fun they want...

Olivia had a wonderful time playing dress up and jumping around.. and Gaby had so much fun with her friend Adina... and of course walking around.. since that's all she wants to do now!

What a great Sunday afternoon!

Remembering 9/11

Today marks the 9th anniversary of one of the saddest days in history.... It was on 09/11/2001 that the USA was attacked by terrorists and thousands of innocent people died as a result of these attacks...

I still can remember the exact moment when I found out that the Twin Towers had been knocked down and the whole world was terrorized... I remember exactly what I felt and the shock I was in... it was such a sad day!

I will take a moment today to remember that sad day and I will continue to feel proud to be an American and honor my country until the day I die....and teach my children the love for the land they were born in!

On a happier note, today is my father in law's 63rd birthday... Happy Birthday Jose Luis!

Gaby Walks!!!!

Just a few days after writing this post, my little one surprised me (yet again!) and just took off walking...

Exactly like I (and everyone else) predicted... on her own time, at her own pace, whenever she felt like it... and totally unexpectedly....She literally just got up and started walking....

Granted, she still falls a lot, but she's definitely a walker now! Yay Gaby... I'm one proud mama!

Here'a little clip of Gaby's big accomplishment!

Fav Picture Thursday...

Today's picture is one that brings tons of happy memories... it was taken the day of my confirmation in April 2006.

I happened to do my confirmation AFTER we got married, which is very unusual. It was on April 15th, 2006, when I got confirmed along with Ignacio.... such a happy day...

In this picture I'm smiling with my cousin's daughter Irene Victoria, who is now 8 years old...this was taken a few days before her 4th birthday.. it is such a cute picture....she was such a happy little girl... and to think she'll soon be a teenager.. ha!

Luis' 29th birthday...

Happy 29th birthday to my dear friend Luis, who happens to be visiting from Canada!

Luis is one of my best friends...we met in college over 10 years ago and have managed to stay in touch throughout the years despite the distance and the many challenges of life...

He currently lives in Montreal, Canada and has been there for over 8 years!

Today, we were lucky enough to celebrate his birthday together.... it was a great night!

Happy Birthday Luis!

Afternoon at the playground...

So much for a "Wordless Monday".....

We had so much fun today @ the playground in Aventura Mall, where we met our friends Delphine, Ron and Adina...

Adina is about 2 months older than Gaby so it's always great to see the babies interact, especially when they're so close in age...

Although they didn't play together much (which is very typical at this age), we had a blast just seeing them together...

Also.. Gaby decided to stand on her own and she walked some more!... I think she's starting to actually like walking... ha ha ha!... It's funny because I just blogged about her not wanting to walk but she really surprised me today...so I guess my walking paranoia is pointless!

Anyways, it was great to see our friends and of course to see the girls have to much fun!

Wordless Monday...

This Monday is not entirely wordless since I need to acknowledge that this is my 500th post! Wow.. I've been blogging consistently for almost 2 years so getting to this post is somewhat of an "accomplishment".

Thanks so much to everyone who has been following my blog and putting up with my life stories... I sure hope you continue to follow me through the next 500 posts! ..who knows what those will be about!!! :0)

Ok, on to the pictures....and Happy Labor Day to everyone!

More "walking"

Although Gaby is not officially a "walker", she has made some improvement towards the ultimate goal...

She has started to take more and more isolated steps and lets go off my hand at times...

But despite all the "improvement", I'm starting to think she's never going to fully walk, it frustrates me so much that she just won't let go for real...

I know she CAN walk, considering she has taken full steps on her own...and I also know she has the balance to let go and just get going, but she just doesn't want to do it...

She has bee cruising since she was about 10 months and that cruising has gotten a lot better as she gets older..but.. No Walking! ahhh!!

She will be 14 months on the 16th, so I'm hoping she'll walk within a month or so since I have plans to visit my parents in mid-October and I REALLY would like for them to see Gaby take off! Oh well.. here's to hoping!

Play date with friends!

Hanging out with my friends and their kids is one of my favorite things to do! .. and today was one of those awesome days in which I could figure out how to get together with a couple of my good friends and their little ones! yay!

We had a wonderful day at the park and then we went to Yogurtland for some ice cream...

Olivia enjoyed the company of her friends Melissa and Jose Miguel and Gaby spent some time with her friend Carlota (born just a day before her)... I also had fun with my good friends Pechy and Roxana.. it was great!

I love days like today! I wish we could do this more often!

Any takers for a play date?

Fav Picture Thursday...

This picture was taken in May 2008, when Olivia was about 10 months old...

I've always loved this one so much because of her smile and her expression.. it's her signature face... always happy and smiley even when she was so young...

She didn't mind wearing hats back then and doesn't mind them now either.. always into fashion!

A new sense of self

It has been a mere two weeks since I came back to grad school and I already feel so much better about my personal goals and myself.

Not only do I feel a sense of self improvement and personal growth, but I also feel much more productive and highly stimulated, which I had been craving for some time…

It had been forever since I was assigned a task to do, or a book to read, or a paper to write… It almost feels strange to look at the class syllabus and read words such as exam, term paper, group project, etc… but wow! I really needed this!

I must admit that it has been very difficult to adapt to my “new life” and assume all the new responsibilities that I now have… It’s a challenge to juggle a full time job, two kids, a husband and now grad school, but it’s certainly something that makes me very happy and makes me feel satisfied about my life decisions and the journey I’ve embarked on.

This semester I’m taking 2 classes, which seem to be interesting enough to keep me motivated… The expected time to finish this Master’s program is about 2 years… hopefully I will keep the motivation to go on and achieve my ultimate goal!

I’ll keep you posted!

No more dancing?

So Olivia had another dance class today and while she seemed to have fun, she said she no longer wants to attend dancing… wow! That was fast!

After 35 minutes of class (it’s supposed to last 45 minutes), she came out of the studio and said to me, “I’m tired! I want to go home”… I bribed her into going back in and finishing her class and she did! BUT when we were in the car, she sincerely told me “Mommy, I don’t like ballet! I don’t want to go back to that class!”…

What am I supposed to do in this situation? I obviously don’t want to force her to like ballet, but I can’t help to ask myself “does she really mean it? Is she really aware of what she’s saying?”

I know she likes dancing, but maybe ballet just isn’t for her? What if I take her one more time and test it out again?? Would that be ok? I know she loves to dance, so why is ballet so wrong for her?

I really want her to be enrolled in “extra-curricular” activities and I thought ballet would be a sure bet but now I’m thinking I was wrong…

What’s next then? What do you recommend for a very active 3 year old? Gymnastics? Swimming? Anything else??

Update on Gaby's rash...

Gaby’s rash seems to be here to stay since there has been NO CHANGE at all with my poor baby’s skin….

I have applied the cream the doctor prescribed (which is supposed to take 7 days to work) and I have also given her a couple of doses of Benadryl….

You would think SOMETHING would change, right? Well… no!

Poor little Gaby still has a rash and the spots seem to be getting worse (although I’m sure I’m being slightly exaggerated)…

The thing that frustrates me the most is that her pediatrician doesn’t seem to have a plan… he didn’t even give me a follow up appointment and when I left the office on Monday he just said “Call me on Friday!”…

What does he mean by “call me”? I’m planning on taking her back if there is no change by Tuesday morning… I guess I’d rather be that creepy mom that wants a solution right away! If her pediatrician doesn’t give me an answer, I’m determined to take her in to see either an allergist or a dermatologist!... Does that sound like a plan?