Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a great Thanksgiving. In the nine years that we’ve been together, this was the first Thanksgiving that we spent by ourselves and we really enjoyed it. It was awesome to know that we now have our own nuclear family and to enjoy our first holiday on our own. Of course, we would have loved to be with family, but this was definitely the next-best thing. Ricardo and Diego headed to the grocery store early in the morning (yes, very last-minute!) and stocked up on all the goodies. We started cooking around lunch time and had a great time. We cooked a 4-pound turkey breast (for Ricardo), sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green beans and for the first time ever, we bought ready-made stuffing which ended up to be quite good. We made pecan pie for dessert and Ricardo even whipped fresh cream to top it off. Delicious!!! We had planned on eating around 6:00, but of course got busy doing other things with the kids (it’s so fun to refer to our “children” – in plural now!) and we ate around 8:30. Everything turned out great and Ricardo was thrilled with his turkey (which we prepared with an herb and citrus rub).
Ricardo was able to take Friday off of work as well so we loved having him home. The boys went out to do errands, but the girls stayed in all day. Yesterday (Saturday) was our big outing day. We ventured out to Piedmont Park in FREEZING weather. It was in the high-30’s when we left our apartment and I thought we were crazy taking our children out into the bitter cold of Atlanta, but it really wasn’t that bad. By the time we got to the park and were in the sun, it was much more comfortable. Alexia slept the entire time and Diego had a blast at the playground. We came home for a relaxing afternoon of naps for everyone, 25+ stories for Diego (all he wants to do is read these days!), yummy Thanksgiving leftovers and an early bedtime.
The boys are at church right now and Alexia just had a bath, which she didn’t mind too much. She’s had a cold all week so she vomits during feedings because she has a hard time swallowing and breathing so she was overdue for a good bath.




Having a blast at the playground


He loved this "hoja GRANDE" (big leaf) and carried it with him while he stomped through the leaves




Alexia all bundled up, sleeping peacefully while her big brother was running wild at the playground


Whenever we put a new outfit on and tell him he looks handsome, he says "espejo!" (mirror) and runs into our bedroom to check himself out in the mirror!

All dressed up to run errands with Papi :)


Our little tango dancer



A favorite spot - resting on mami's chest



Mami's big helper - sweeping up the dust pile


Supervising the whipping of the potatoes



Alexia at 2-weeks

Diego at 2-days (this was his homecoming outfit)

First week alone

We're doing great. Ricardo went back to work this week and everything has gone much better than I expected. I thought it would be challenging to entertain Diego while having to take care of Alexia, but Diego has been such a champ and is doing well playing by himself. We've also had visitors every day this week so that has helped the days go by. Alexia takes good naps during the day which gives me a chance to spend quality time with Diego. A couple from church came over today and the plan was for them to take Diego out for a walk. I had something I wanted to get at the mall so we ended up all walking to the mall together and it was really nice to get out. Alexia slept the entire time and Diego loved having new friends to play with.
Here are a few pics from this week...

I don't have much time to write, but wanted to share some new pictures...!

Baby Alexia is here!!!!!!!!!!!

We have been blessed with the arrival of our beautiful baby girl! Alexia was born on Sunday, November 11th at 11:44am. She weighed 7lbs and 13oz and measured 20+ inches.

I started having contractions on Saturday morning and knew it would be the big day, but that we had a while to go. We took Diego to the zoo and came home for a nap in the afternoon. When I woke up from our nap around 4pm, the contractions were more painful and were every 6-7 minutes. I was still comfortable and wasn't bothered by the pain so we carried on with dinner, etc. I layed down around 9:30 and was able to sleep for about an hour before I woke up feeling like things were moving along more quickly. At midnight we decided to head to the hospital. On our way there, I got cold feet and said, "let's pull into the mall parking lot and walk around a bit before going to the hospital." So, we walked around the mall (at midnight!) for about 20 minutes and I felt ready so we were back on our way. The short version of our time at the hospital is that they checked me and I was only 1cm dilated, they declared I was in "false labor" and sent us home. The nurse said "Girl, you come back when you're screaming in pain and can't talk through contractions." So...back home we went. It was around 2:30am when we got home and we tried to lay down, but I could not sleep. By 4:00am, I was in a lot of pain and was having a hard time talking during the contractions. At 6:00am I took a bath and was in extreme pain. At 7:30 we decided it was time to return to the hospital and knew we would be meeting our baby girl in a few hours. My water broke in the car, which we were very thankful for since that got things progressing even quicker. We checked in at 8:00am and I was 4cm dilated. I got the epidural at 9:00am and by 10:00am I was 8cm dilated. At 11:30 I started pushing and she was born at 11:44am!!!!!!!!!!!! It is exhilarating to experience the miracle of life and feel so close to God's creation. She was absolutely perfect and Ricardo and I were in awe. The hospital was backed up with a lot of births so we were left alone in the delivery room for almost 2 hours after she was born and it was such a special time. She nursed for almost an hour and we just reveled in the excitement of having a daughter!

Diego came to meet her in the afternoon and didn't enjoy his hospital visit. He was very concerned to see me in a hospital gown with tubes and band aids on my arm. He didn't want to sit in bed with me or even give me a kiss. Papi took him home after a short while because he wasn't happy at all. Ricardo's mom was here to take care of Diego the whole time we were at the hospital which was such a blessing.

Alexia and I were discharged from the hospital yesterday (Monday) afternoon and arrived home around 5:00pm. Diego was ECSTATIC to see me and would constantly look up at me and say "Mami! Mami!" He has been an absolute treasure and has accepted his sister with so much affection and excitement. We are a very proud family of FOUR!

Fall is here!

We really enjoyed the fall weather this weekend. The trees around here are stunning! On Saturday we went to a park in the morning and then to another park in the afternoon for a long stroll. In the morning, we went to the grocery store to buy goodies and went to one of our favorite parks for a picnic and playground fun. Diego loved it! Papi and him had a blast climbing everything while mami relaxed and took pictures.
Our afternoon park outing was a lot of fun and Diego was fascinated by the roller-bladers. He would run around trying to imitate them by swaying his hips back and forth and it was SO cute! Every time a jogger would pass, he would say "run, run" and take off running.
Papi carved a pumpkin in the afternoon (while I took a nap) and Diego was amazed. He loved playing with the "iangles" (triangles) that papi carved out and wants to have the candle lit inside all day long.
After church on Sunday we went to our favorite Indian restaurant and had a fabulous meal. Diego ate really spicy chicken and loved it. His mouth hurt him after each bite and he would just ask for a sip of water and then continue eating. He also ate a lot of naan and saffron rice.
We are really excited for the arrival of our baby girl. We had an appointment with the midwife today (Ricardo went along because he was dying to find out if there was any progress) and there's been no progress since last week...BUT that doesn't mean that I can't go into labor any minute! I'm so thankful that I still feel good and know that she will be born in God's perfect timing.

The series of watching Papi walk across the playground and going down the slide:

"Rocky! rocky!"

On his way down the slide

He loved running up to the trees and peering up to the very top

He was dying to climb this wall after he saw Papi do it

Now on to the park in the afternoon: