Wordless Monday...

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day...

So far it has been great to be in my home town (Caracas, Venezuela), celebrating the holidays with Iggy's family...

We got in last night at around 9pm and after a crazy flight and ride from the airport, we got dressed up just in time for Christmas Eve's special dinner.. We had all the typical Venezuelan foods of this time a year (Hallacas, Pan de Jamon, Pernil, etc) and enjoyed a good night with the family..

Olivia had a blast dancing to Christmas music and opening presents... Gaby went to bed at around midnight and enjoyed her first ever Christmas eve.

Today, we celebrated Christmas day with a special lunch with more family members. Olivia had a fun time playing with some of her cousins and we also had a great time with the rest of the family...also, the food and desserts were specially yummy! ... that's one of the reasons I LOVE coming here! ;)

So far it has been a great trip and wonderful holiday season!

Gaby's first plane ride...

Yesterday was Gaby's first plane ride and it was quite the experience...

Although she was good for the most part, she was not too fond of taking off and landing.. apparently her ears were bothering her and she could not hide it.. she cried hysterically for great part of the ride and did not seem to be enjoying herself...

In addition to Gaby's crying, we also had to deal with Olivia being less than good.. She was not sitting still and kept misbehaving to the point of driving us nuts...

In the end... we made it to Caracas safely and were able to forget all the inconveniences of our crazy plane ride!

Memory Thursday...

Today is about Adriana's Childhood Pictures part II. I am going to post some more of my favorite pictures from when I was a kid... I really enjoy looking at these...

This one is my sister Erika and I in Montgomery, AL in 1984 (we lived in Alabama for a few years when I was kid)
This one is the three of us sometime around 1987

This is my mom with me and my younger sister Claudia... around 1984

This one is an awesome picture of my mom and the 3 of us.. taken around 1987... I simply love Erika's smile in this picture...

My dad and us in Canada in 1995...

This is me in 1984...

... and this one is one of my ultimate favorites because I can see a resemblance with Olivia...so awesome...

Remembering my sister Erika...

Today marks 11 years since my sister Erika passed away... She died unexpectedly at age 20, just a couple of days before Christmas, so needless to say it was a very sad holiday that year..

Erika was a very special angel and a big part of our family.. She was born with mental retardation so she was the most innocent soul of all..

Not one day passes that I don't think of her but today I specially remember her and the kind of blessing she was in the lives of all the people that knew her...

We were certainly blessed with her presence and I miss her and love her more every day...

May you keep enjoying heaven and may you keep watching over all of us!

I love you forever sister!

Visit from Alejandro Pares and family

Tonight we had a wonderful time with Alejandro, his wife Marianella and daughter Maria Alejandra. Alejandro and family are visiting from Toronto, Canada, since they decided they wanted a little break from the cold/snow.
Alejandro is related to Iggy... He is one of Iggy's mom's first cousins... His daughter Maria Alejandra is 3 years old and hit it off with Olivia right away.. They had a great time playing together and running around...
We all had dinner at Lime Mexican Grill and walked around the Shops of Pembroke Gardens..
What a wonderful night!

My 28th Birthday!

Today is my birthday.. one of my favorite days of the year... Not only do I get to thank God for another year of life, but I also get special messages and attention from my loved ones... what else can a girl ask for?

This year was a bit different since my parents and sister are not around... I must admit I was a bit sad during part of the day because I miss them so much, but I know they were with my in spirit and that's all the really matters...

I had a wonderful day... my cousin Carolina took me to lunch and then Iggy took me to dinner at my favorite restaurant (Mazza: Mediterranean Cuisine)...mmmm!! so yummy!

Olivia sang "Happy Birthday" to me and my cake was delicious...

I got tons of calls and messages from my friends and family and I felt special throughout the day... it was a wonderful birthday!

Wordless Monday...

Melissa's Birthday Party

Today we went to Meli's 2nd birthday party, celebrated in a park in Weston. Melissa turned 2 on Dec. 11th, however, the party was held today since December is such a hectic month...
Meli is the daughter of my good friend Pechy, who is one of my closest friends. Olivia and Melissa are great friends, since they are only 5 months apart.. we go on weekly play dates and they love playing together...
The party was so much fun; there was a bouncy house and a great park for the kids... the food was yummy and the weather was perfect... what a fun day...
Melissa had a blast licking her birthday cake.. so cute!

Olivia loved sliding in the park... she did not want to leave!

And of course, Gaby was there as well.. just smiling away...

Christmas play!

Today was Olivia's school Christmas play, where all the kids got to sing and dance for their parents... It was so cute to see Olivia with her classmates singing Christmas songs and showing off! So adorable!!!

After the show, Santa came to give gifts to all the kids.. Olivia wasn't too sure about him and refused to smile for the pictures!

Gaby, on the other hand, was just mesmerized by Santa.. she could not stop looking at him.. it was so cute!

Memory Thursday...

Today is about "Me", specifically pictures of me when I was a child.. so I will title this Adriana's Childhood Pictures. My mom was nice enough to keep a bunch of pictures of me and she even scanned them all so I could have them.. how sweet is that?
I will only post 5 pictures on this occasion, and will do a "part II" next week!
Here's a few of my favorite ones...

This is me in 1982, I was about 7 months...

This one is in 1985, I was 3 and a half.. and that was one of my favorite dresses...

This one was also in the early 80's.. Hanging out with my sister Erika...

This one is my ultimate favorite... I just love the way I'm touching Erika's shoulder and the way she's looking at me.. I like to think that's how she looks on me from heaven... I miss her so much.. I can't believe it has been almost 11 years since she parted...

And of course, one in my sexy bathing suit.. ha ha!.. I was about 7 or 8... I used to love going to the pool with my sisters... fun times!

Olivia is 29 months!

My beautiful princess is 29 months, which means we're closer and closer to another birthday! I get so sad every time I think of her growing up so fast... but then I see her and my heart fills up with joy and pride... she is so amazing!!!

Olivia is definitely my best friend, she is so amazingly loving and incredibly smart! We hang out together all the time and I enjoy her company so much...

Olivia loves to sing and dance and really enjoys listening to music in the car... she knows the lyrics to so many songs and even demands some songs to be played for her.. so cute! She also loves to play dress up and wear all kinds of costumes!

She loves to play with her little sister and shares all of her toys with her... She loves to pose for pictures and is a very creative little girl..

She is really looking forward to Santa coming to bring her toys and other gifts... So adorable!

Happy 29 months baby girl!

Play date with Lindsay and Brooke

Today we had a fun play date with Lindsay and her baby Brooke, who was born just 4 days after Gaby was...
I met Lindsay through "What to Expect" and we started exchanging emails during our pregnancies. We had met once before without the babies, so of course this 2nd time was much more fun since both girls met.
It was so cute to see them "talk" to each other; they kept looking around and smiling to one another.. Gaby even tried to grab Brooke's hands and play with her toys...so adorable!
Here's a couple of pictures from today's little meeting...

Gaby is 5 months!

Today our baby girl is turning 5 months! how time flies! She gets more adorable every day and she is so incredibly smart! She is almost sitting unsupported and has gotten very good at interacting with toys and people...it is so cute to see her play with Olivia and it's so funny how they "talk" to each other...

Gaby also started eating solids about 10 days ago. She has gone through all the green veggies and specially enjoys peas! We will soon start with the orange veggies and will then move on to the fruits... I can't wait for her to taste bananas and pears... those were Olivia's favorites when she was little...

Gaby loves to play with rattles and of course she loves to bring everything to her mouth. She really likes teething rings and stuffed animals that make noises...too cute!

On the not so good side, Gaby was diagnosed with reflux and although the doctor said it was a "silent" reflux, this explains many things, like her constant crying, her hate for the car seat and her need to be help upright.. She was prescribed a medication called Axid, which should make things better... She now weighs 13lbs 6oz and is 25 3/4 in....

Happy 5 months Gaby!

Long time no see!

Last night was a great night and very special since I got to see my long time friend Luis, who moved to Canada over 7 years ago. Luis and I was used to be really close friends in college and shared so many special moments... He's a really good friend and I was sad to see him move so far away when he did, however, I'm happy just knowing he's happy...
We went to eat dinner at Chili's, where he met Iggy and the girls.. I was so happy to introduce my family to him and his girlfriend Jessica...He told me all the good things about Canada and his life there...
I was so happy to see Luis again and I hope to visit him in Canada very soon!

Wordless Monday...

Weight Loss Journal: Week 13

This week there's no weight loss update since I'm on a diet break due to the holidays...
I don't want to lie to myself or anyone about dieting during the holiday because I'm certainly not making any efforts to lose weight around this time...
I will be back to my weight loss updates after the holidays!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Happy Birthday to my wonderful father, who's turning 58 today...He is the most awesome father anyone can ask for...

This is the first birthday ever that I don't spend with my dad, so needless to say it has been very emotional for both of us...

I talked to him on the phone several times today and he seemed to be having a happy day....

Every year I thank God for blessing me with such a wonderful father!

Happy Birthday Daddy! I love you so much!

Holiday Parties...

We had a busy night yesterday, since both our companies' holiday parties were held last night and needless to say we were in a very festive mood...
We left the girls with a babysitter at home and headed out to the first party of the night, the Evercare party (my job)... It was held in a ballroom, where they had sit down dinner and some dancing... we were there for a couple of hours and it was nice to spend some time with my co-workers in a different setting...
Then we headed out to the CTT party (Iggy's job), which was held in Blue Martini in downtown Miami... We danced a bit and spent some time with Iggy's co-workers.. it was fun..
After an hour or so, we headed back home... we had a very fun night!!