Gaby's rash!

I've been so worried about a weird rash that appeared on Gaby's skin late Saturday afternoon...

It all started with a horrible diaper rash..my poor girl literally had blisters that were bleeding...he diaper area was on fire! wow! I made some home remedies with corn starch and the rash seemed to get better...

When that was under control, her legs, arms, back and face flared up with another weird rash..

I took her in to see her doctor today and he thought she had "Scabies"... I was shocked when he said this and VERY disappointed to say the least...

He also said, it could be an allergic reaction or some kind of virus...hopefully it's one of the last two...

I applied a special medicated cream that he prescribed and gave her some Benadryl as he suggested...

Hopefully she'll feel better soon and the rash will go away...

On the bright side, Gaby is now 20 lbs and 30 in long! yay!

Wordless Monday...

Busy weekend...

This was a fun and very busy weekend... I had very little time to be on the computer, which isn't necessarily a bad thing since I'm trying to get rid of my internet addiction...

Oh well.. let me tell you about our weekend...

On Saturday we had a play date with Olivia's friend, Sophie, who used to go to her school but since she moved she no longer goes there.. Olivia always asks about her so her mom and I arranged to meet up... We went to their house and the girls had a blast playing together.. it was so much fun....

Today, we celebrated my aunt Marisa's birthday at my cousin's house... We had a wonderful afternoon, ate some awesome tacos, yummy cake and Olivia had a wonderful time playing with her little cousin, Valeria....

Gaby also had a great time playing with all the toys at my cousin's house.... it's always great to spend time with loved ones.. and today was not the exception..

Thank God for weekends like this one!

Fav Picture Thursday...

This picture is simply amazing, therefore one of my ultimate favorites... wow!

It was taken during our trip to Grand Canyon in Arizona, one of the most beautiful places I've seen in my life...

We visited Grand Canyon in February of 2008, when Olivia was just 7 months old.. it was one of our first family trips and we enjoyed it so much....

The picture is a dream come true...so beautiful!

Wordless Monday...

Gaby took 5 steps!!!

Yes!!! It's finally happening... Gaby has decided to give it a go and take a few steps on her own!

It all happened yesterday during "Pizza Night" at my friend's house... She decided to let go and just walk...

Granted, it was only 5 steps, but she walked and that's all that matters to me!

It was so cute to see her go..she seemed so confident for a while and of course, she loved all the attention...

Now I know she can do it, which gives me a lot of confidence to keep encouraging her to walk a little more!

Yay Gaby! Keep walking!!!

"Pizza Night"

Tonight was "Pizza Night" at my best friend's house....

This is a night where we all gather to make pizza from scratch...everyone brings toppings and creates their own pizza.. it's very fun...

Olivia had a blast making a pineapple/ham pizza and rolling the dough on the table...it was great....

The night was great but most importantly, Gaby WALKED 5 STEPS.... which deserves its own post...

Beach Day

Today was an incredibly beautiful day... it was so sunny and bright so we had to enjoy it outdoors...

We decided to spend a few hours at the beach with the girls and it was wonderful..

The beach was nice and quite and the water was just perfect.. It was Gaby's first time in the ocean and she was just fascinated and wanted to swim the whole time...

Olivia had blast playing with the sand and Gaby enjoyed eating it... too much fun!

Here are some pictures of our wonderful afternoon...

The love for a child...

Before I was a mother, I always heard people say "a child is the greatest blessing" or "you don't know how to be a daughter, until you're a mother" or "the love for a child is the greatest in the world", and many other things along those lines...

Well, the truth is that there is not greater love than the love for your child and what that child represents simply cannot be put into words... it is so amazing and so surreal...

When I was pregnant I certainly didn't know what was coming... I sometimes even doubted people when they told me "you will love her right away"... until I held my girls in my arms for the first time... that feeling is the best example of "love at first sight" wow!

So... yesterday I attended an Open House for Olivia's new school year and started to make some comments about the school policies... As I was speaking, I realized that no one can love my children like I do and it made me sad to think that a stranger gets to spend 8 hours a day with this wonderful little being that is my daughter! I got really emotional and once again the supreme love I feel for my children was reassured...

For all the mommies out there and mommies to be, enjoy the love for your child, it is indeed the greatest of all loves and every moment spent with your children is so priceless...

Here are two pictures of the first moments I spent with my children...these memories will forever live in my mind... I love my children like I will never love anything or anyone else in this world!

Fav Picture Thursday...

This picture is another favorite of mine....
It was taking during Christmas '07, when my niece Erika was about 9 months old...
I love her angelical face in this picture... it's just too cute...
This was her first Christmas (and Olivia's 1st too).. we took so many pictures of them together.. it seems like it was yesterday.. I can't believe this was almost 3 years ago...
I still love this picture as much as I did when I first took it...

Back to school soon!

So... it's finally happening! I'm going back to grad school and I'm super happy and nervous at the same time!

Wow! It's been a long time since I have been in grad school... I remember it is very challenging but it is also very rewarding...

I will be getting a Master of Science in Conflict Analysis and Resolution, which will help me expand my skills of mediation, conflict resolution and interpersonal relations...

The program is offered at Nova Southeastern University....

I am happy for the challenge and have many expectations....hopefully they will all be fulfilled within the next 2 years!

My life is about the get crazier and a lot busier!!! Wish me luck!

Can't wait!

Olivia's first dance lesson...

After much consideration, I decided to enroll Olivia in dance lessons and boy was she happy about this...

Today a "preview" class was held at the studio so I took Olivia for a little taste....

The class is called "Creative Movement/Pre-ballet" and is designed for 3-4 year olds... In this class, little girls are taught creative movement, learn right and left and get started on basic ballet techniques...it's really cute...

I have to be honest and say that Olivia wasn't the best student and was actually quite disruptive... all she wanted to do was jump up and down and was horrible at following directions...however, the teacher (who is a professional dancer from Miami City Ballet) said that behavior was normal when little girls just start to dance... (I really hope she's right)...

Classes start on August 30th....I can't wait to see Olivia dance again!

Gaby is 13 months!

Yes... I will keep counting the months because Gaby is still a baby in my eyes and will probably be one forever...so here it goes.. the best way to talk about her development and milestones...

My little baby is still NOT walking and very lazy to even think of it.. She still cruises along furniture (faster and faster each time) and does stand for longer periods of time...but NO walking..oh well... As soon as she realizes she's standing on her own, she will slowly bend her legs and drop her butt on the floor... is this normal for babies her age???... probably so.. being that the average age kids walk is anywhere between 10 and 18 months....

Gaby is a great eater, loves to play, loves to dance and has recently become obsessed with Minnie...so much that when we took her to Disney, she started yelling "Minnie, Minnie, Minnie" as soon as she saw her and threw her arms at her... it was adorable..

She also "talks" a lot and knows quite a few words...

She is now all better from her throat infection and fever and is currently nearing 20 lbs and 30 in long... still on the smaller size, but growing and thriving.. super healthy....

Happy 13 months Gaby! We love you so much!

Disney Weekend

This weekend we went to Disney World.. We visited the Magic Kingdom with the girls and it was amazing!

Of course it was SUPER hot and crowded but the girls (and us) had an amazing time... We went on several rides and met several characters...

Olivia got a chance to personally meet some of the princesses and she was on "Cloud 9".. I loved seeing her smile like that and see her dream come true... it was amazing.. I took a lot of pictures and will cherish the memories forever...

At night, there was a special firework display, a great way to end our day....

For pictures, click here

Fav Picture Thursday...

Today's picture is another one of my favorites (of course, they all are!)...

This one was taken during our honeymoon in San Francisco in November of 2005.....

As a newlywed, as I was off to enjoy our big trip and of course I was super happy to be showing off my new married status!

In this picture, I am on a tour boat, which took us around the bay and under the famous Golden Gate Bridge...the weather was perfect and the breeze just made the picture all better.. I felt like I was flying... and somehow I was... because I was on "cloud 9"

My poor little baby!

Gaby is so sick!

It all started with some sneezing and coughing... no big deal.. right??...WRONG!

With the awful combination of a sick Iggy and horrible weather (and possibly all the germs Olivia brings home from school on a daily basis), Gaby started getting progressively sicker!

First she got a low grade fever and then she started sounding very hoarse and super congested... then she started pulling on her ears and that's when it got worse...

Her fever got higher and that's when it was time to see Dr. M.

Well.. turns out she has a horrible throat infection AND bronchiolitis! Dr. M said he could see pus down her throat! Nasty!!

My poor baby!

She's now on antibiotics for 10 days and nebulizer treatments twice a day.. Just awful!

Get well soon baby! We need your happy and healthy self back!

Wordless Monday...

Target... one stop shop??

According to Olivia, apparently so....

We were having this "deep" conversation about Gaby and the importance of her job as a big sister and all of a sudden she tells me: "Mommy, I want another baby sister"... I obviously started laughing and told her "I guess we have to talk to your daddy about it"... she went on to say "Let's go buy a baby sister"... to which I laughed some more and responded "Ok, where do we get one?"... and she promptly responded: "let's go to Target! they have everything!"....

Granted, Olivia says a lot of funny stuff, but this one was just TOO funny... her reasoning was just something worth telling...

I wish things were that easy!

My little mannequin...

Olivia is so hilarious! She manages to make me laugh every day...

Yesterday was about her acting like a mannequin... She decided to stand with the Old Navy mannequins and pose for a picture...

She literally stood there for a few minutes pretending to be a mannequin and making people laugh... it was hilarious!

"12th and Delaware"

Very rarely do I use my blog to post about my personal or political views... although it is MY blog and I can post whatever I want.. .right?

Well, this post is one of those exceptions because I will write about a documentary I watched today, that really shocked me.... it is titled "12th and Delaware"....

This HBO documentary is about the struggle between pro-life and pro-abortion groups, which battle their issues in the corner of "12th and Delaware", two streets that intersect in the city of Ft. Pierce, FL, where an abortion clinic and a "pregnancy center" face each other on opposite sides of the street....

While I am openly and 100% a PRO-LIFE person, I thought this documentary took the wrong approach...I mean, I am all for defending the rights of the unborn and advocating for those who have no voice... I am also in favor of further educating those women seeking abortion about its consequences, not only physical but emotional....

What I am against is not thinking about what comes after someone has the "unwanted" baby, why doesn't this documentary touch on available options such as adoption? You know how many people out there would DIE to be able to have a baby?

Having the baby isn't the issue, it is what comes after it that makes things complicated...

Why aren't these women seeking abortions offered a different option when it comes to raising their "unwanted" children?.... it made me really sad...

Being a pro-lifer is not about brain washing someone not to have an abortion, it is about thinking about the life of the "unwanted, unborn"... it is about providing a solution to that life, it is about offering options and guaranteeing a good LIFE to those "unwanted babies"...

This subject really makes my blood boil...so I think I will stop now...

The documentary was so bad, that I didn't even pick up which side they were favoring...go figure!

I guess I just needed to vent....

Are we closer to walking??

You be the judge....

Danny's Birthday

Yesterday we attended Danny's 4th birthday at Chuckee Cheese and the girls had a blast...

Danny is the son of my good friend Jessica, who works with me so it was great to spend some time with her and her baby in a setting other than work...

Olivia played some video games, ate some pizza and sang "Happy Birthday" to Danny who had a blast dancing with Chuckee Cheese.. .it was fun...

Happy 4th Birthday Danny!

Baby Matteo

Today I finally met baby Matteo, who was born on June 3rd, 2010.

He is the son of Dorota, who is my best friend's sister....

What a cute baby he is...so chubby and huggable....He is a big boy too, almost 15 lbs and he's only 2 months old!

Every time I see a newborn, I feel like having another baby! ha ha!

Wedding Planning

No, I'm not getting married again, although all this wedding planning brings back some awesome memories and sure makes me want to do it again!

My best friend is engaged to be married next April and since she's such a planner, she spends pretty much every day planning all the details and getting everything ready for her big day...

Of course, I enjoy visiting venues, looking at chairs and catering menus probably as much as she does and today was a full on wedding planning day...

We visited a few venues in Miami as well as the church...

The top choices are two buildings in Miami, one in Coral Gables and one in Coconut Grove...she'll make a decision within the next few days and so we can move on to other wedding details...

I can't wait for the big day!!!

Here are some pictures of the venues we visited...

Fav Picture Thursday...

To begin this new blog category, I will post one of my absolute favorite pictures...

This is one of my dad and I on my wedding day...

It was taken the moment that was "giving me away" to my husband, right at the altar...wow!

This picture brings back some awesome memories of that day.. This was one of the happiest moments of my life...it was so emotional... I get tears just looking at it...(too bad it has a date stamp, I think that's so tacky!)

New blogger fun!

So, I normally do "Wordless Monday" and for a while I did "Memory Thursday", which I stopped because I realized most pictures I posted were Olivia's and I got a little bored of always posting the same...

In trying to come up with a new category, I decided I will now do "Fav Picture Thursday", where I will post ONE picture every Thursday out of my favorite pictures of all times...

There won't be a specific theme for these pictures, it will just be A picture every Thursday...

Hopefully this will be fun and I will be able to share some of my favorite pics!

"Fav Picture Thursday" will begin tomorrow!

Dress up Wednesday...

During the summer, every Wednesday is "dress up day" at Olivia's school and today wasn't the exception...

Today's theme was "When I grow up I want to be..."..

I thought it was it's pretty funny because I don't think a 3 year old even understands the concept of growing up and wanting to be something/someone...

Oh well, a few days ago I asked Olivia "what do you want to be when you're older?".. to what she replied "I'm already older, I'm the big sister"... so I said "what about when you're much older?".. and she said "I'm already much older!"... so I said, "what about when you're much much older?"... and she continued to say "I'm already much much older!"...

Of course, this went on for a few minutes and she finally said "I want to be a dancer"... a decision which made things easier for me.. I dressed her up with a tutu and a dancer's body suit.. it was cute..

She left for school all excited this morning and said to me "I'm a dancer, I'll teach my friends how to dance".. she's adorable! (sorry about the blurry cell phone picture)

Gone... again!

Today has been a sad day! But don't fret! Nothing bad happened to me (thank God!).. I'm just sad because my parents are leaving tomorrow morning...again!

As some of you may recall, my parents moved to Alabama almost a year ago due to work reasons... they were here all summer and I easily got used to having them around again... I love to spend time with my lovely parents and the thought of them leaving again, makes me SO SAD!

Granted, we don't always get along, but it's such a great feeling to know that they're only a "5-minute car ride" away... to know that I can run to them if I need to.. I guess I took it for granted when we lived in the same town! :(

Well, not anymore.. now they'll be hundreds of miles away and that's reason enough for me to cry today... and again tomorrow.. and the day after... right?

Hope this empty feeling goes away... because it sucks!

I'll miss you papi and mami! Love you both so much!