Wordless Monday...

My baby is PERFECT!

...yes, she is!

So, here's the story...

Last week Gaby had her 18-month check-up, she was 22 lbs and 31.5 in; the doctor found her very advanced and super healthy...

After the check up, he decided to do a routine blood count, so I agreed... once the test was done I waited for the results...

10 minutes went by and Dr. M walked in the door, his face looked pale and his worry was evident.. he showed me the results and told me Gaby's white blood cells were VERY high (normal range is 5-10, hers was at 20).. Please take into consideration that a high blood count could mean anything from an infection to leukemia!

I freaked out (of course) and then got mad, because I really hate it when doctors scare me.. He insisted on sending Gaby to a hematologist RIGHT AWAY...

Fast forward a week (turns out the hematologist appointment wasn't such an emergency), I took Gaby to see Dr. L to get some more testing done. Dr. L assessed her and said everything looked just "fine", she then proceeded to repeat the blood count to verify last week's results... Well, after an hour of waiting, her results came up and everything was PERFECT! Her count was down to 14 and I was informed the normal range for kids Gaby's age is actually 6-17 and it gets elevated when kids have a cold or when they get too excited (or irritated, which Gaby did when her little finger got poked)... all of which my "lovely" pediatrician neglected to tell me.. how SUCKY is that??? How could you put me through a week of hell for no reason?? Is that what you call good medical care??

Needless to say I was more than relieved when I heard the news and mad at Dr. M for scaring me and making me waste my time (and Gaby's)... very, very crappy... but yeah, she's PERFECT and I'm happy for that!

Wordless Monday...

Is it time yet??

... for "potty training"?? I've been thinking a lot about the biggest challenge in mommy life (to me anyways).. P O T T Y T R A I N I N G!!! I hate it but we MUST do it...

By the time Olivia was 18 months she would *at least* pee in the potty when I sat her down, she would even enjoy sitting in the potty just because...

Gaby? She's another story.. she basically thinks it's a game and when I ask her "do you want to go pee pee in the potty?".. all she says is "no potty, no potty"... it's quite hilarious but very frustrating... I really want to be done with diapers by the time she's 2!. it's NOT looking good! Ha!

But she's SUCH a BABY still, or at least that's what Iggy seems to think... He keeps saying "..but she's so little"... and she is, but should I invest (or waste) my time taking on this task? Now.. THAT's the question!

We shall see!... hopefully soon!

Meeting baby Cecilia...

Wow it has taken me a while to post this one, but here it is...

This past weekend we went to Naples to visit our friends Jicham and Alejandra... We finally met baby Cecilia, who was born in October... She is the cutest thing ever! So beautiful and so smiley! It was great to meet her, hold her, feed her, change her.. too cute!

I took so many pictures of her.. I just couldn't get enough!

Why are newborns so darn adorable???

Happy Birthday Caro!

Happy 30th birthday to my wonderful cousin Carolina!

We grew up together and have always been so close!

She's my best friend, my confidant, my partner in crime and such a fun person to be around!

I'm so happy to have her in my life and so happy to be able to share this day with her!

Happy 30th birthday Caro! I love you!

My little artist!

Olivia is turning into quite the artist.. She has gotten so creative when it comes to drawing and coloring...

This is her latest drawing..her very own version of Mickey Mouse...

Impressive?? I totally think so! ;)

Wordless Monday...

Gaby is 18 months!

My little Gaby is a year and a half today!... in just 6 months she will be 2 years old! wow!

Gaby is such a good sport...always in a great mood and willing to make everyone laugh...

She talks SO MUCH and knows so many words and phrases.. She also loves music, balls, dogs and older kids!

Gaby also loves TV, especially Dora and Mickey Mouse and enjoys playing with her dolls, coloring and watching videos on the computer...

We haven't started potty training yet and I'm honestly in no rush.. I will probably start around her 2nd birthday if she doesn't give me any signs of readiness before then...

It is so amazing to see her grow up and become a little lady...I love her so much!

Happy 18 months little Gaby!!!

Miami tour

It's not too often that I get to tour Miami and it's such a shame.. I mean, it's my town and it's so beautiful too...there's so much to see...some people actually dream of coming to Miami and I take it for granted...

So.. this week, since my friend Marianna was visiting from Spain, I decided to go on a little tour of beautiful Miami with her..and it was so wonderful... The weather was perfect and the scenery was pretty.. as usual...

"Black Swan"

Yesterday I saw "Black Swan"; the latest Natalie Portman movie and one of those with lots of hype and buzz!
As usual, I was less than impressed with it...
The story line was interesting and the concept of the movie made a lot of sense...
Aronofsky does a great job at depicting the idea of "killing whatever represses you" and "unleashing your inner evil", but to my taste, the movie is overly sexualized and the plot got lost in the shuffle...
In addition to that, I was less than impressed with Natalie Portman; she looks extremely skinny (to the point of looking unhealthy) and her acting was exaggerated and off!
On a good note, both the cinematography and sound editing were amazing.. and the dancing was beautiful! Great art direction too!
In my book, the movie gets 2 out of 5 stars!

Happy Anniversary, mom and dad!

What a beatiful day! What a joyous day!
Today is the day my parents celebrate 37 years of marriage!
I'm so proud of them and so happy for them.. I also feel so priviledged for being part of their lives and for being able to see their love throughout the years....
There have been many downs, but many more ups... and I'm sure they're enjoying the ride!
Happy Anniversary to the best parents in this world... the best that God has given me!
I love you so much!

Welcome baby Lucas!!

Welcome baby Lucas Andrew, the newest addition to the Castro family.
Lucas was born yesterday 01/11/11 (cool birth date too!) in Pembroke Pines, FL. He was 7 lbs 2oz and 20 1/2 in long... both him and mommy are doing great!
Lucas joins big brother Jordan, who is 4 years old and who I'm sure we'll be a great brother and friend.
Proud parents Alex and Giselle are so happy with their new bundle of joy.. Congrats guys!
I was able to hold baby Lucas today and he is the most adorable little thing... so cute and so peaceful!
Welcome baby Lucas!!!

Wordless Monday...

Birthday parties weekend!

What a fun, fun, fun weekend this was... full of birthday action and kiddie fun!

On Saturday we attended Santiago's 4th birthday party.. It was held in a big house in Pinecrest and it was so great...

There were bouncy houses, a cute playground and a ton of good food and sweets... The girls had a blast and were pooped by the end of the night... so much fun!

Today, we attended Caetano's 2nd birthday party, which was held at Cafe Bambini in Aventura. It is such a cute play cafe, where the kids had a blast.. The birthday boy enjoyed all the attention and of course it was great to meet up with old friends...

..such a fun and dynamic weekend.. I'm beyond exhausted but it was definitely worth it!!

Crazy, busy week!

This was such a crazy week! So busy and so odd!!

I felt incredibly exhausted every day and had so many things to do...

I started back at work on Tuesday and went back to school on Wednesday...

Work was "ok", but school was a little more than challenging... Both professors are a little crazy and the work load is insane!

I entered into somewhat of an emotional crisis, feeling like I just can't handle so much...

I had way too many of "those" moments this week and I didn't like it!

I hope the weeks get better and the work gets lighter!

Friends and cousins...

Great days with great friends keep coming and I love it...

Dec. 12th- Jan. 2nd

My cousin Andreina came to visit us from Baton Rouge, LA. She stayed with us for 3 weeks and it was great having someone around to keep us company...The girls really took to her so we were sad when she left... Let's hope we see her again soon.. very soon!

Yesterday I met my friend Mariamelia and her husband Jose Carlos, who live in Austin and are currently visiting Miami... We had dinner at Chipotle and then some drinks at Starbucks...

I met Mariamelia when I was 5 years old and we've been friends ever since... it was great to see her and hang out with her and her hubby!

..today was another wonderful day since my cousin Ana came to visit with her two kids (Fabiola and Jesus)... She is my oldest cousin and is currently living in Bogota, Colombia...Her kids are so cute and the girls enjoyed their company so much... the house was a mess after they left, but I know they had fun so it's ok.

...so it continues, more and more gatherings with friends and family...

This coming weekend we have two birthday parties, so I'm sure the fun will continue....

Sad Monday...

Today was not a good day! It was such a sad and lonely Monday...

I took the day off as a way to extend my holiday break and slept for a while..ha! That felt good, but, at some point I had to get up and face reality again....

I'm so sad because my parents left yesterday.. they're now back in Auburn and I miss them so much...

Also, Iggy went back to work today and my cousin, who stayed with us for 3 weeks, also left... the house feels very lonely and quite... oh.. and on top of that I have to go back to work tomorrow!

Boo for that!

I will get back to my happy stories and cute pictures when I get over this down!

Happy Blogging!

Happy New Year and then some!

Happy New Year! I can't believe it's 2011 already...I'm sure it's going to be a wonderful year and I can't wait to see what it will bring!

With that said.. let me get back to blogging matters...

Since I neglected my blog so much during the holidays, it is due for some updates...Let me start by blogging about the last events of 2010...

This picture was taken during a visit to my friend Eva, who lives in Tampa.. I got the chance to see her and her kids (Sophia and Sebastian) on our way down home when we went to Orlando.. it was a short visit, but it's always great to see them..

On Thursday December 30th, Iggy and I went to see "Kooza" (a Cirque du Soleil show) in downtown Miami.. The show was amazing.. one of the best we've seen out of these productions (we've seen 6 so far).. definitely worth it...and an awesome date too!

..here's Iggy playing with one of the masks.. which has turned into a tradition!

On the last day of 2010, we had breakfast with my wonderful friend Marianna and her husband Placido, who are currently visiting from Madrid, Spain! It was so awesome to see them and hang out with them for a few hours... I love hanging out with nice people...plus, Marianna was my first friend ever.. (we met when we were 3 years old)...

.. finally, yesterday night, we went to the Hard Rock Casino to celebrate New Year's Eve... It was a challenge since it was the first time we were taking the girls out for this kind of celebration and that meant forcing them past their bedtime and having them in an atmosphere that is not necessarily all that "kid-friendly"....

Surprisingly, they did pretty well (all things considered)... Gaby was *semi-close* to a meltdown and Olivia was getting whinny at the end, but we were still able to ring in the new year together and enjoy the "party".

Here's a family picture, taken a few minutes before midnight.. It is very blurry because whoever took it (a random stranger), had no idea how to operate my camera.. but oh well, it's the best we got!

... now I guess I'm up to date with all my blogging.. I will try to make my best not to neglect my blog and record all of our adventures timely!

Happy New Year everyone!! ...and Happy Blogging!