Memorial Day Weekend

We’ve had some busy days around here. Ricardo’s mom came to visit from Wednesday to Sunday and we had a great time. She’s supposed to be “Mima,” but Diego quickly adapted it to “Mimi.” He loved saying it! Diego loved the attention of his Mimi and kept her very busy. Tia MaJo gave Diego a toddler bicycle for his birthday, but we had to leave it in Miami last time we were there so Mimi brought it with her and Diego LOVED it. He learned how to get on it, put his feet in the proper place and get off of it all by himself.
On Saturday we took him to his first swim lesson and he was ecstatic. He was the only one in the class who didn’t cry or fuss once. Both Papi and I were in the water with him so we all had a blast. Of course he thought it was all fun and games and didn’t pay much attention when we were trying to do structured activities.
Mimi left early Sunday morning and when Diego woke up he kept asking for her. As we were getting ready to leave for church we decided that we should do something fun for the night so we made last-minute plans to spend the night at a bed and breakfast near the mountains about 90 miles away. We went to our church spring picnic after service and then rushed home to pack bags and we were out the door again in 25 minutes. I don’t think we could have done it so quickly when Diego was smaller because I would have been too nervous about forgetting something, but we’ve traveled so much with him that now I know exactly what we need and have a mental list. The place was absolutely beautiful and we had such a great time. Diego loved running around the gardens and exploring all of the new surroundings. He threw a tantrum at dinner so we had to eat our meal very fast, but other than that, he did great. Yesterday we woke up early and strolled around the grounds, ate a fabulous breakfast and went for a short hike to a waterfall. Diego loved being outside and pointing to the birds, trees, water, etc.


Enjoying a cracker on the terrace


Posing with Mimi



Diego loved this exercise of scooting off the side of the pool into the water


"Vroom, vroom" is all he says when he sees his bicycle


Enjoying an early morning stroll in the gardens of the B&B



Taking it all in!


Cooling off with a dip in the pool after hiking - the water was freezing and Diego still loved it

A week full of fun!

We have had a busy week! It started off Monday with a prenatal checkup with our midwife and everything looks perfect. We heard the baby’s heartbeat and were so thankful to know that our baby is healthy and growing quickly.
On Tuesday Jana and her 17-month old daughter Mara Kate came over to garden with Diego and I which was a lot of fun. Jana was sweet to offer to go to Home Depot with us to help pick out flowers for our container gardens. This was Diego’s first gardening experience and he loved it! He picked up handfuls of dirt and tried to help put it in the right place, but obviously didn’t always make it. I’m bummed that I didn’t get any pictures of the actual planting of the containers, but took some of him playing in the dirt yesterday. Mara Kate, being the sweet little girl that she is, didn’t even touch the dirt – boys will be boys! Ricardo is usually the gardener of the family so he was really happy to come home and find new plants!
Another highlight of the week was lunch with Susanna and Micah yesterday. We went to a great town square in Marietta and enjoyed the gorgeous day by enjoying pizza outside. Micah is 8 months so still a bit too young to run around with Diego, but as you will see below, they did a great job posing together!
Diego had a very high temperature yesterday which continued on into this morning so I was going to take him to the doctor. This afternoon I put my finger in his mouth and discovered his molars cut through his gums so I was relieved to find the culprit of the fever. He is such a trooper and has barely complained of the pain.
He has learned a few more words this week: agua (water), choo-choo, arbol (tree), uh-oh, ropa (clothes) and doggy. Ricardo sat down to read a picture book to him yesterday and he tried to repeat almost every other word that Ricardo said.
It is supposed to be a beautiful weekend so we’re hoping to get out and do some hiking…!



Diego and Mara Kate at Home Depot. Notice the adorable chubs on both their legs!

As Jana says, this pot has a thriller, filler and spiller

Herb garden that Diego is having a hard time keeping his hands off of






Stepping into Mami's sequin shoes!


This is Diego's blankie and if we would let him, he would walk around all day with it. He is holding it here because he pulled it out of his crib, but he's only allowed to have it at bedtime.

Micah and Diego, soaking in the sun!

Mother's Day Weekend

We had a wonderful Mother’s Day weekend. On Saturday we headed out early to Historic Roswell which is only about 20 minutes from where we live. It was a glorious day and we had a delicious lunch there. We sat on a beautiful terrace on the second floor of a restaurant and had a perfect table. Diego loved it because he was able to say “vroom vroom” to all the motorcycles and trucks that passed by. He went through a stage where it was tough to take him out to eat, but now he does great. As long as there is yummy food that he enjoys, he can last for a long time. After lunch we went for a long walk in the neighborhood and really enjoyed ourselves. We let Diego walk most of the way which he loved. It is nice not to have a rush in the world and to let him explore everything at his own pace. It was a really hot day so we only walked for an hour or so before we decided to head back. We went home for Diego’s nap and then headed out again in the afternoon noon in an attempt to go for a short hike near the river, but when we arrived, it was raining with thunder so we decided to cancel the plans.
On Sunday we went to the 11:00 church service. We take Diego into the service with us for the opening songs and announcements and he really enjoys it. He snaps his fingers and dances to the music and is entertained watching all of the people. He usually starts to get antsy just as the sermon is to begin so it’s perfect timing to take him back to the nursery.
After church we went to buy picnic goodies and went to our favorite park for a wonderful picnic. We had the entire park to ourselves and Diego loved running around and chasing the squirrels. It was exactly what I wanted to do for Mother’s Day so it was very special. My boys gave me an organic cotton bathrobe which is something that I’ve wanted for awhile so I was very excited!


Enjoying a garden in Historic Roswell

My mom bought this shirt in Nicaragua and he looked adorable in it! Thanks Mom!



Some special Mother's Day photos:

Mr chatterbox

Diego's vocabulary is expanding by the day and it's really exciting. He is trying harder and harder to repeat words that we say and he has a repertoire of words that he uses regularly:

English: Bubble, Up, Hi, Bye, Ball, Boo, Boom, No

Spanish: Amen, Mama, Papa, Bebe (baby), Mas (more), Bus, Uva (grape), nino (boy), pan (bread)

Whenever it's time to eat or he sees food he says "Mmmmm." He makes sounds for dogs, cats, cows, horses, fish, ducks, pigs and actions for giraffe, penguin, bunny and lobster.

Some of his favorites:

Favorite food: Melon and grapes
Favorite drink: YoBaby drinkable yogurts
Favorite toy: Animal train
Favorite books: "Oso Pardo", Richard Scary's "Best Word Book" and "Como Cuentan hasta Diez los Dinosaurios"
Favorite object: "My Blankee" blue blanket
Favorite music: Rondas Infantiles CD
Favorite outing: A walk in the stroller
Favorite restaurant: La Fonda Latina (Mexican place)
Favorite person: PAPA!
Favorite words: No! and Up
Favorite time of the day: 7:00am to naptime
Favorite article of clothing: Shoes (he tries hard to say "zapato")




Here's a picture of the lil' guy exactly one year ago:

Diego goes to Boston

We had a fabulous week in Boston. Our time there was full of outings and activities. Diego and I spent countless hours walking the city. He loved exploring the gardens and parks, but was also content riding in his stroller, taking in all of the action.
I took him to the children’s museum one day which was incredible. It is HUGE and could have kept us busy for a good 6 hours (although we only stayed 2 ½).
I took Diego swimming in the hotel pool a couple of times which he really enjoyed. He was becoming quite the daredevil and wanted me to let go of him so he could “swim” on his own. He also enjoyed hanging out in our hotel room because we had a great view of the water with boats and he would take his snacks over to the window and sit down to munch on goodies and enjoy the view.
Ricardo finished early on Friday so we were able to spend the afternoon together which was great. I am so thankful that Diego and I had the opportunity to travel with Ricardo and that we could all be together as a family for the week.
Enjoy the pictures!
P.S. You may think all of these pictures are from the same day because of the sweater, but they're not - we just really love the sweater :)


Diego wore himself out running around this area. He did not want to leave!


Lovin' the city life



These are seals outside of the aquarium, but Diego thought they were big fish and made fish faces at them



Driving a bobcat at the children's museum. He wasn't quite sure what to think :)


He wanted to drive absolutely every steering wheel he saw at the museun - such a boy!


Mama's sweet boy!

This is how he asks where Papi is



Baker Library at HBS