Meet Coco

Coco was a gift from Santa Claus to Bella this past Christmas, and has become a very special doll. Both Bella and Sofia really like it, and I would be lying if I said that I didn't like it as well. It is supposed to be a Hispanic baby, which is probably what makes me so fond of her. Sometimes she goes with Bella to school, but even if she does not, she always sleeps with her.

Moving on, and moving in

After 6 years as a nursery, Bella's room became today the bedroom of both my girls.
It all happened so quickly that I didn't even have time to shed a tear. Last week we bought them a bunk bed, which was delivered today. That meant the crib had to go, along with the changing table and the rocking chair. Gabi and Raj came to pick those up as they have now become theirs, for the little one on the way.

Bella really loved the crib, and it is not like we gave her a lot of time to get used to the idea, or repeated to her over and over that she would have a new bed. But just like Sofia she seemed excited about it and actually stayed in it after they went to sleep.

Sofia's bedroom will now become their play room, which will hopefully give them more space to run around, and will contain more of their stuff so it does not end up all over the place.

The new bed

Entrance to the girl's room

New entrance to the play room

Kid size reading corner

Teaching moments

My teaching moments with Sofia always backfire on me, as I always seem to end up teaching her the wrong thing. This morning, as we were driving to Bella's school, Sofia saw a car that had a somewhat big dent in the front, sure sign that it had been in an accident. Here is how it all went down:

Sofia: Mami, look at that car! I think they don't know where to take it to get it fixed.
Me: Well, maybe they do know where to take it, but they don't have the money to fix it. You know, to fix your car you need money, and sometimes people don't have that extra money.
Sofia: But we have LOTS of money, because when Papi had his accident we went and got a new car!
Me: Well, not exactly. You can't just assume that.
Sofia [already distracted]: Hmmm. Ok .... Did you see that dog walking by?

Pretty in pink

Rolling with it...

As an early mother's day gift I decided to buy myself a spinning bike. Truth be told it was kind of an impulse buy, but it is good for my health so I don't feel too bad about that. Since tomorrow I don't have my tennis class Lionel and I are getting up at 5:30 to work out together, perfect opportunity to use the bike for the very first time.

Easter

Today we had a lazy Easter Sunday. We actually made it to church for 9:30 mass, but took it pretty easy afterward. In the afternoon we went to get some ice cream not because the weather was all that great, but because it seemed to be a good idea to get out of the house. Tio and tia also showed up, and even though she insists that she still does not have a belly, she at least let me took a picture to prove her otherwise.

The colors of spring

The winters in Cincinnati can be really depressing with the cold weather, the dark skies, and the back to back sickness we experience most of the time. But the spring? The spring is simply gorgeous! It dresses the trees in multicolored flowers, and some greens so vivid that make me feel like I must be dreaming them up. But by far the most beautiful spring sight must be the Cincinnati zoo, with all those tulips in bloom.

Grateful!

I am incredibly grateful for the three day weekend that is ending today. I have been working so much in the last few months that my body and my mind really, really needed a break. Having that extra day allowed me to rest ... or rest from work anyway.

Blank

Lately I've been working so much that I feel I have totally lost my inspiration to write. It's a shame, and I hope to get it back.

Cookie

This is one of our favorite books nowadays. Sofia knows how to read it, and Bella knows it by heart. It's a short story about using your manners to get what you want. I love the story, and the illustrations are also fun.

Weekend

The weekend is finally here. Even though it was a short week, the long work hours and the lack of sleep were really getting to me. And now it's time to rest...

Rusty

It has been a very long time since I last cried for a pet, but this past Friday I almost did.

Rusty had his vet appointment and as she was checking him out, I could read in her face what she really did not want to say: "He is old, and he is starting to ache, and he probably doesn't have that much time ahead of him".

Knowing that he won't be around for long made me sad, and it made me feel extremely guilty as well. We have always given him what he needs. He has never lacked food, or a nice warm bed, but since the girls were born he took a very distant second place.

He now has to go back on Thursday to remove a small tumor from inside his mouth, which will require him to be sedated for the very first time. I hope everything goes well, and he doesn't have to be in pain. We may not always give him a lot of attention, but he is still our boy, and we want him to be Ok.

The Pictures - Birthday Party #3

The Pictures - Birthday Party #2

Lost! Lost Forever! Bella deleted them from my iPhone, so I no longer have pictures or the video I made while Sofia's classmates were singing happy birthday to her.

The Pictures - Birthday Party #1

Field Trip

Today I took the morning off to go with Sofia to her field trip to the zoo. The weather  was beautiful, Sofia was happy to have me there, and I was delighted to, for once, not worry about work and just enjoy the day with her.

Working mom gives it a try

This morning, as I quickly made my way to the local Kroger to pick up the cup cakes and the pre-cut, pre-packaged fruit I would then take to school, I had a vision of what a stay at home mom would have done instead. She may have made from scratch all the cup cakes the night before. She may have carefully selected the frosting she would put on top. She may have bought the fruit separately, and lovingly wash it and cut one by one, all in preparation for her daughter's big celebration at school.

Hmmmm, I thought, .... not this mom. This mom had to rush through it all. But not because of a lack of interest, or certainly NOT because of a lack of love.

Working moms really try hard ... so maybe not all the details are perfect,  but I think that we are lucky in that kids still appreciate the end result.

Sofia turns 6!

Today is Sofia's birthday, and even though she already had her party with her friends, we still celebrated all over again. It is a tradition! I always insist on celebrating - and eating cake - on the exact birthday date.

Since it was her special day I went to her school for a little while, and brought cup cakes and fruit. I had also chosen a few pictures of her at different ages so she could show them to her friends. And I got to see how they celebrate the birthdays at her school, which is really sweet. They take the opportunity to teach them about the months, days, and seasons that have occurred since they were born, and as parents we get the opportunity to read aloud something our kids learned, or a particular milestone, of each year of their lives so far.

Her friends sang happy birthday for her in both English and Spanish, and I took a few pictures and made a video of it with my phone. I stayed with her at the school's cafeteria while she ate, before heading back home. I then picked her up at 4, just like I  promised, and even Abuelita came along. We then went to get her cake and pick up Bella, before again going home.

Abuelito, tio and tia, and other close friends came to have dinner with us and cut the cake, to celebrate this very special day. I took several pictures and a short video with my camera, which is particularly great considering that I just noticed Bella managed to delete the video and pictures I took earlier today at Sofia's school. Having lost those memories makes me sad, but as the Fresh Beat Band would say: It was a great day!

Happy Birthday to my beautiful little girl! Feliz Cumple Princesa!!

Music to my ears

Around the neighborhood

Since the weather finally turned around today we took our very first spring walk as a family. I  am not on the pictures because of course I was the one taking them.

My baby ... no more

Sofia is turning 6 years old in 3 short days. It's hard to believe but it is true, my very first baby is my baby no more.

Since her birthday this year is on a Wednesday we had her party this Saturday, with all her little friends from daycare, her new school, and the neighborhood kids. Everybody we invited came, all but one who apparently misplaced the invitation and didn't know the exact address of the place. In total we had 23 kids running around, and it is fair to say that there were plenty of screams, laughs, some tears, and after all the running around, one tired and sweaty, but also very happy bunch.

We of course will still celebrate with the family on the exact day of her birthday. How couldn't we? It is and will always be her very special day.

Bella Speaks

Bella is talking a lot, and really well. Now she only needs to learn some manners:

Lionel: Bella, it is time to go upstairs to take a shower
Bella: I don't want to

...

Me: Rusty is hungry. Who is going to feed him?
Bella: Not me!

Siblings - Part 2

Tonight was shower night and as usual the girls took one together. Afterwards, when it was time to come out, I had Sofia's gray head wrap ready to go. To ensure Bella would not feel left out I also had my white head wrap ready for her. Here is how it all went down:

Bella: I want the gray one!!
Sofia: No! The gray one is mine!
Me: Bella, the gray one is Sofia's
Bella: [Really starting to whine] I want the gray one!!
Me: Fifi, can you please let your sister have the gray one today?
Sofia: [Also starting to whine] But the gray one is mine!
Me: I know, but your sister is little and she does not understand. Can you please share with her?
Sofia: Okay
Me: Thank you sweetie. That is really nice of you. Thanks for helping mami.

I then put the gray head wrap on Bella, and the white one on Sofia. But not even one minute went by when Bella took hers off and started to cry to the sound of "I want the white one. The white one is MINE!".

Siblings - Part 1

Yesterday morning Bella had a meltdown because at breakfast she wanted the yellow plate, which I had already given to Sofia, who refused to give it up because "she had it first!".

Little Devil

At the tender age or 2 Isabella already knows how to get what she wants ... with a big sweet contagious smile.

Summary of a wasted weekend

Sofia: Sick, sick, sick. Didn't get off the couch and whined all weekend. Too tired to eat or play with her sister.
Bella: Bored to tears because Sofia couldn't play with her. Misbehaved all weekend, more than usual.
Lionel and I: Tired, stressed, disappointed that we couldn't make Sofia feel better, and afraid we would also catch the bug. 
Rusty: Oblivious.

Cute and hilarious

The most hilarious (and darkest) snow white

"Tangled", the movie about the girl with very long blond hair

Ariel, the little mermaid, who has red hair

I think Sofia meant "Minnie and Mickey Mouse"

In your face

Everyone I know has had, at one point or another, someone special in their lives that for whatever reason couldn't or decided not to stick around. Maybe it was timing, maybe it was distance, maybe it was something we will never know about. Some got closure, some did not.

When these special people left us we were probably sad, desperate, frustrated, angry and disappointed ... all at once. To this day I still vividly remember some of those bad times. Not that I want to spend too much time or effort thinking about that. Even though those experiences ended up on a bad note, there were also good memories that I will treasure and that in their own little way contributed to the person I am today.

The reason that got me thinking about this is the fact that my favorite artist got married today. Since he is very famous and so is his now wife the date of their wedding was no secret, and I can only image how much news coverage it got in their respective home lands. So I think it is safe to assume that their corresponding exes were well aware of it, which makes me wonder how they felt about that, and how I would have felt if I had known the exact wedding day, or other special event, of someone that never noticed me, that gave me false hope, or that flat out broke my heart.

It is a good thing I moved away, so for those who decided not to be part of my life hopefully I will never have to run into them again.

Hanging in there...

What is worse than spending a sleepless night with a sick child? Your child still being sick and whiny the following day.

And what would make it an even more "interesting" day? Setting off the fire alarm while you are trying to cook.

The saving grace is when your child finally feels good enough to smile at the end of the day.