A day at the zoo

Today was such a beautiful day, the weather was perfect and I woke up happy. Since all the conditions were aligned, we decided to go to Miami Metro Zoo, what a great place to be!

The zoo was amazing; all of the animals were so well kept and the whole zoo was just beautiful. Olivia had a great time walking around and looking at all the animals and we just enjoyed learning about all these wonderful creatures.

All of the animals were amazing and they had a great variety of creatures to observe. We had lunch at the zoo and enjoyed the beautiful weather. It was such a great family day! Here are some pictures we took at the zoo. I hope you enjoy them!

The baby is a....

GIRL!! That's right! My dream has come true and I couldn't be happier...
When I first heard the news I couldn't believe my ears... God is so good to me!
The same day I heard the news of our next baby girl, my parents took me out to lunch at Brimstone; I had a delicious Shrimp Pesto Pasta and then went to Carter's with my mom to buy a "Little Sister" onesie... so cute! I had bought a "Big Sister" shirt for Olivia a few weeks ago and went running to buy another one for the new baby...(I'll be posting pictures of the matching outfits very soon!)
Iggy and I have decided to name the baby Gabriela Isabel...

My growing belly...

Well I'm almost 15 weeks pregnant and I still can't believe how fast time is passing.. It's all crazy and exciting at the same time!

I've been feeling lots of flutters and isolated kicks.. it feels so awesome!

My belly is starting to show so I thought I'd post a picture of it and show my progress...

Enjoy!

Our family Saturday!

We had a wonderful day today and enjoyed lots of family time. We got up very early and went to run some errands. Then we went to visit my friend Martyna since she was moving and needed some help with the big couches.

We had lunch at one my favorite Greek places and helped her boyfriend move the stuff into the new place. Olivia had some fun walking around the "mess" and I took some pictures of her...

After all the craziness from Martyna's move, we came home and watched Australian Open tennis together... We really didn't do anything special today but did have a lot of quality time as family! I love homey Saturdays!!!

President Obama's Inauguration

Today has been a very historic day since the 44th president of the United States was inaugurated in Washington, DC.

Not only was this day important because of the inauguration but also because Barack Obama is the first African-American man to be elected president of this country.

The inauguration celebration started very early in the capital city and lasted all day long. It included speeches, parades and ball dances. Although some people argue that the celebration was too lavish for the hard financial times...it was very fun to watch and very inspiring as well.

Congratulations to our new president. We are looking forward to what you have to offer to our country!

Pony Ride with Olivia

My good friend Rosanna told me about a place I could take Olivia for pony rides... I thought it was fun so we decided to take the girls for some fun. Since we're both pregnant with our second we need to get out as often as possible before we get really busy with the newborns. The day was beautiful so it was very fun to enjoy the outdoors for a while....

The pony rides are very fun and extremely cheap...they cost $5 for an unlimited time and the ponies were very friendly. Olivia got on her pony and Iggy guided her around; she was strapped to the pony very tight to prevent any falls....she was having a blast....The pony even stopped to eat some grass and Olivia just looked at him.... She felt like a big girl! When it came time to come off the pony, Olivia got very upset....she was not happy about leaving and wanted another pony ride, however, we thought one was enough...

The pony rides were a great idea for the girls and definitely a different activity that kept them entertained for a while! What a fun day!

Carolina's 28th birthday

Today is my cousin's 28th birthday and I'm bummed out because she's out of town so we couldn't celebrate with her.

For those of you who don't know, Carolina not only is my cousin but she's also my best friend. We're only 11 months apart and grew up together, always very close. She lives about 5 minutes from our house so we get to see her very often.

Today, for her 28th birthday she decided to go to Disney World to spend the day (considering she gets in for free on her birthday... it wasn't such a bad idea!)...

I want to wish her a very Happy Birthday and many more to come! I love you cuz!

Olivia is a year and a half!!!

Wow! Time sure does fly... in only 6 months Olivia will be two! What an amazing time we've had with her...every day is a blessing and she's so much fun!

Olivia is a very smart little girl and I think she'll be a social butterfly (just like mommy!). She enjoys playing with all of her toys, especially when her cousin Erika is around...

Her favorite activities include taking baths, coloring, dancing and singing...she's so active!

Her vocabulary is rather extensive, she has over 30 words including English and Spanish; she has a very clear understanding of basic commands and can answer to some of our questions.

We're in the process of getting her ready to be a big sister. Also, within the next few months we'll begin potty training by introducing the concept of the potty seat and similar ideas....

Thank you God for this blessing!

A night out with friends...

After a very long time, Iggy and I decided to go out to a club with some friends. This time we were celebrating our friend Flaco's birthday so I can say we had a very good excuse.
My sister was nice enough to keep Olivia for a night so I dropped her off around 8pm; she was happy to stay with her cousin Erika in her first official "Pajama Party"...what a fun night for them.. maybe not so much for my sister but I'm sure the girls had a blast....
We first went to eat with my friend Martyna and her boyfriend at Lime Mexican Grill; we had a great time talking about kids and other fun topics...
Then we drove to downtown Miami and arrived at a club called "Kukaramakara" where the party was being held. We got there a little before midnight and ordered a couple of drinks (my drink being water, of course).... It was a great atmosphere; the night was filled with good music and great friends. There was even a live band at the club and the performers were very entertaining. We danced for a while and spent a few good hours with great friends, when I finally got exhausted we decided to come back home (that was around 3am)... what a great night!

Happy Anniversary Mommy and Daddy!

Today is my parent's 35th wedding anniversary! Wow! Amazing!
My parents met when they were only 14 years old and have been together ever since. They got married on January 12th, 1974 and although they've had a marriage that is far from perfect, they have been able to remain together and endure all the difficult times that have come along in all those years.
Today, they weren't able to have a big celebration because they were both recovering from a very bad stomach virus, however, I'm proud to have acknowledged this special date for them and also proud of being part of this family.
I love them both profoundly and wish them many more happy years together!
Happy Anniversary!!!

Visit to the doctor

I had a wonderful prenatal appointment today and once again I got to see the baby!! Oh my God! what a great experience!!! I just love seeing that little thing growing inside of me. Everything looks perfect, heart rate is about 170 beats per minute, perfect shape, perfect measures! The baby kept moving around and scratching his/her face, it was too cute! I am about 12 wks along now, so we won't find out the sex until a few more weeks but it was great seeing him/her for a few minutes. I'm glad it was a good appointment and once again I thank God for such a miracle!!!

Meeting baby Sophia

Today we met baby Sophia, daughter of my very good friend Eva who lives in Tampa with her fiancee Fitz. Sophia was born on December 16th early in the morning. She is a healthy and beautiful baby girl that is making her parents very happy. According to Eva, she is a very good eater but not such a great sleeper; she says she is having a hard time getting up in the middle of the night to feed her because it is so exhausting. Olivia loved seeing baby Sophia and she got very anxious when the baby cried; I think she's going to be such a good big sister! It was great spending some time with Eva and baby Sophia! Welcome to the world Sophia!

A day at Disney World

Today we had a wonderful day at Disney World. We arrived at around 11am and bought a one day "park hopper" pass, which allowed us to visit Magic Kingdom, Epcot Center and Disney's Hollywood Studios.

We started off at Magic Kingdom, where we saw the character parade and went on several rides with Olivia. We then went to Disney's Hollywood Studios and enjoyed the light spectacle, where they had more than 5 million lights dancing to holiday music. Lastly we went to Epcot Center and saw the Illuminations firework show. It was wonderful. Olivia had a wonderful time, she laughed, cried, ran around and just had a blast! We were so lucky to be able to enjoy a family day at the magical world of Disney World!