birthday blast!

We are recovering from Emilia's birthday party. We had a great time with all 11 babies and 30+ adults. The pools were filled, the Price's Chicken was extra crispy and the salads and beer were a hit as well. Best part - the weather held off and we could be outside - no rain!!!! (Thank goodness we didn't have the party today - it's pouring!)

The birthday girl poses before her party, wearing her bracelet from Nana.

Wearing the birthday hat knitted by yours truly.

Emilia and her "oldest" friend Maisie - friends since the womb and 18 hours apart in age.



More pictures at http://catalinaphotography.blogspot.com/2008/08/emilias-1yr-birthday-party.html

visita!!!!!

We love it when we have visitors and this weekend was no exception. Our most esteemed and beloved Nanasha came to visit us with Sir Richard & Gaby all the way from Samboze (San Jose, CR) and Miami, FL! We had a great time with them, showing them the sights, having lunch at The Penguin, dinner at Las Ramblas and getting some birthday shopping for a certain little girl out of the way. We can't wait to see them again in a couple of weeks when we are DC bound!

Nana & Emilia outside The Penguin (above) and Richard & Emilia (below).

How many last names can you fit around a table - L to R - Castro Mattas, Glaser Serrano, Serrano Velasco, Maggs & Bruna Serrano.

A picture is worth a thousand words - someone's serious and someone's not!

the countdown begins

I'm completely and utterly overwhelmed that my baby puchis is about to turn 1. As I frantically try to get the party favors made (note to self: next year when I think it'll be great to make party favors instead of buying them like a normal person, shoot self first!) look at this transformation. It's breathtaking (at least to me)...

Still in the hospital with the very new and very proud Papa.

About 1 month old. Clearly it was nighttime and she's in Mama Mama's arms. I'm guessing it was probably late at night!

November 2007 - check out the lack of hair!

February 2008 - Back when we still used the playmat to roll around on.

My baby gardener at 9 months old. There are no words.

dancing queen

Hopefully you can tell what an amazing singer and dancer our girl is!

britax baby!

That's the brand of Emilia's new carseat. After much complaining, harassment, whining and in general being a pain-in-the behind, Marcus finally broke down and got our girl the Mercedes Benz of carseats - a Britax Marathon. (I originally wanted the Boulevard, but it's just so darn big I could barely pick it up). We went with the Marathon because it's a little smaller but is the only carseat brand that provides true side impact protection. The carseat cover is removable which means it can be washed easily. The seat itself reclines a bit, we can use the LATCH system to install it which is so much easier than using the seatbelt. En fin... there are a host of reasons why I love this carseat already even after all the hassle of getting it into the car and actually installed. She's even up high enough now that she can look out the window plus she's so much more comfy. Finally, even though it was expensive it's the last car seat she'll get - it's good until she's 65 pounds then she swaps out for a $20 booster seat!

It does make me sad though that she's so big now that she can't fit in the much beloved and much used Chicco carseat. I remember when she used to look like this in it...

Summer in the Park

We went to one of our favorite parks today - Latta Park. They have a fantastic spray park that's free for the kiddies but Emilia is still too little, too unstable on her feet and it was too crowded for her to go in. She didn't seem to mind though as we took her little car with us and enjoyed a nice picnic lunch with our friends.

Just Peachy

It's peach season here in the Carolinas... white or yellow, Emilia's not picky. Unfortunately for her however they're awfully darn slippery! So I remembered I had these solid food feeders - little mesh baggies that have a handle attached to them. You put the food in and then the babes can just suck on the baggie to get at the "good stuff." It's a little messy but a much less frustrating experience for our girl.