Retreat

This weekend we were away for our church-wide retreat in northern Georgia and had a wonderful time. We drove up on Friday afternoon and returned late Sunday afternoon. Our guest speaker was Richard Pratt and the theme of the weekend was defining what God's call is for our church in Atlanta and how we, as the congregation, need to get moving in spreading the good news. We were challenged, refreshed and encouraged.
Especially with this economic scare that we are amidst, it is ever-more important to remember that God is in control and He gives us the hope that will never be found in the things of this world.
Diego had soooooo much fun during the weekend. He has an absolute blast with the big kids and loved running around with them. He got to sleep in his own queen-sized bed which was a big deal! The biggest excitement of the weekend was that he went in a canoe for the first time. Ricardo took him out in a canoe and he did so well. He sat as still as can be for the long ride and took in all the beautiful scenery and really enjoyed it. He was so still and observant that I think he could've been happy for hours.
Alexia didn't have so much fun :( She didn't get any naps and was in nursery while we were in our sessions (most of Saturday and Sunday morning). She didn't sleep well at night since we were all in the same hotel room. Despite her sleeplessness and fussiness, she was so happy to be around people and loved mealtimes when we all got together. It's amazing to see what a social baby she is. She can be tired, hungry, cranky and restless, but as soon as there are people to talk to and look at, she is all smiles. A big development over the weekend is that she is pulling up now. She crawls up to anything and pulls herself up to standing and just grins with pride. She is also saying "Uh oh" when she drops something and displays an expression of concern.
I'm sure I've said this many times, but this little girl has her daddy upside-down, crazy and just silly with love. He melts every time he's with her :)
The kids and I went to the grocery store today and I let Diego do something that he always wants to do, but I've never let him do before: put all the groceries away. I put all the bags on the kitchen floor and he took out each item (I quickly snuck the eggs up onto the counter) and found a place for them in the fridge and in the cupboards. He was so delighted with himself that he had such an important task. Yes, there is bread in the vegetable drawer and lettuce in the shelf on the door, but he did a great job. It's awesome to see how he loves to help and really gets into high spirits when he is doing something important. He is a superstar!!


Can't you tell by this grin that he was just giddy with excitement!?









The resort had a petting zoo that we visited on Sat afternoon and Diego loved the goats and pigs.


Alexia was very popular amongst the young girls - they loved having a baby to tote around :)


Three of these children are siblings and Anjuli, on the left is one of Diego's good friends


My friend Bobbi-Jo took this picture and I "borrowed" it to post here because I thought it was precious

Fall!

Today is an absolutely gorgeous day. We are so excited Fall is here!! I took Diego to get his haircut and on the way home we picked up lunch to eat at home with Papi. Ricardo worked from home this morning so we enjoyed lunch outside in the yard. These are some pictures we took after lunch:

You can see Diego's haircut in this picture. Notice the pictures below, his hair was so long. After they finished cutting his hair in the salon he looked in the mirror and said "Ay, mira que lindo!" (Ah, look how cute!)

While the kids were napping yesterday I decided to unpack 4 boxes of papers, supplies, etc. I had a ton of stuff spread out all over the family room and kitchen when....."MAMI! MAMI!" The kids were up! I still had a lot to do and didn't want to stop in the middle so I put Diego in his booster (which, by the way, he hasn't sat in since we moved here) with three tubs of play-doh and I put Alexia in her booster with a baby cookie, cheerios and sippy cup. They were both as happy as can be and allowed me to work for a WHOLE HOUR! It was fabulous. Diego hadn't played with play-doh in months so it was very entertaining for him. He used his imagination really well and made buildings, boats, fish, dinosaurs and birds. :)


I was trying to get through the piles of paper on the far table. They each sat in their chairs doing their own thing.










Alexia loved this cookie and probably ate way too many cheerios, but she was happy


This is was getting close to the end and she was ready to get out!


Having fun together!
Diego has entered an awesome stage where he loves to play with Alexia and takes good care of her. Today we were driving in the car and he said, "Mami, no se llama Alexia. Se llama MI HERMANA." (Mom, her name's not Alexia. Her name is MY SISTER."


My sweet baby girl!

Playgroup

Before Alexia was born, Diego and I would occasionally attend a playgroup that gets together on Friday mornings. I had never hosted the group and always promised that as soon as we moved, we'd host at our place. Well, today was the day we hosted and we had so much fun. Only 3 friends (and their moms) were able to make it, but it still felt like a big group since the kids were so busy. I only got a couple of shots, but thought they were cute enough to share.

Diego and Caitlin drawing together before the others arrived. This is the playroom where we spend many hours of our days.

Clockwise from the bottom: Claire, Diego, Brock and Caitlin enjoying lunch.

On Wednesday we hosted Ricardo's men's bible study group and invited families to come along as well. This is a cute shot of Sean and Michaela (2-months) with Ricardo and Alexia:

Quick update

We haven't disappeared! I've had a hard time finding time to blog lately because we have been SO busy. You'd think it's because I'm unpacking boxes and getting settled into the house, but it's not. I must admit that I still have boxes to unpack and my closet is a disaster, BUT we've been having so much fun lately just keeping busy with life. Diego and Alexia are both at ages where I just don't have the spare time to unpack and organize while they're awake so I just treasure my time with them and know that the house will eventually be in order.
Alexia is changing so much. She has learned how to play "peek a boo" and it is the cutest thing ever. When I say "Peek a boo!" she puts her hands over her ears (with the best intentions of getting them over her eyes, but for some reason they make it to her ears). Every once in awhile she gets them over her eyes and she squeals with delight. She is trying to say "Uh-oh," but has only mastered the "Uh" so when she drops something (which, much to my dismay, happens at every mealtime), she says "UH!" She says "Papa" with perfect clarity and has become such a daddy's girl. Last night I handed her over to Ricardo as soon as he came home and she was all smiley, chatty and giggly. As soon as I put my arms out to take her back, she hit me and started to cry. So, I backed off and she calmed down and cuddled into Papi's arms. Once again, I put my arms out to get her and she hit me and screamed. This happened FOUR times. You can certainly guess who was feeling very loved! It didn't bother me because I just loved seeing how her personality is blossoming and how smart she is!



Our friends Nina and Deven came to visit yesterday. I love how this picture captures each child doing their own thing.


Alexia LOVES stuffed animals and baby-dolls. She empties this bag of stuffed animals every time she enters the playroom.


Last Friday we had Addie (pictured above) and her mom and baby brother over for dinner while the dads were at a BBQ together. We celebrated Addie's third birthday and it was a lot of fun.
(Addie is standing on a stool in the pictures, they're actually about the same height)

Riding with Luke

Playing with Papi

WE'VE MOVED!

Well, I finally have internet connection and about two seconds to upload some pictures. We moved into our new house last Tuesday and we are having a great time settling in and making it our home. Diego and Alexia are as happy as can be and are doing great. Diego is sleeping in a big boy bed and LOVES it. He fell out of it three times the first night, but hasn't fallen out since then.


Ricardo's dear sister, Maria Jose came up from Miami last weekend to help us pack, move and take care of the kids. She was an enormous help. She departed on Wednesday and my mom arrived that night to help me get settled in since Ricardo was out of town until Friday. She did so much work around the house and was also an enormous help.

Alexia is crawling!!!! She is now a very busy girl and we can't let her leave our sight for a second because she is also mischievous. Yesterday I fished a magnet out of her mouth and the previous day it was a piece of aluminum foil. She is getting her two front teeth which has made for some sleepless nights, but overall she is being a champ with the teething.

I have to get back to unpacking, but wanted to leave you with some shots of our first days here!


MOVING DAY!!!!


We've had a special bottle of champagne that we've been saving for a couple of years and we finally got to open it!!!


This is what happens when you decide to cook the first meal in the new house. Ricardo had to open the can of tomatoes with a screwdriver and hammer! Take-out pizza would've been a more practical option, but we sure had a delicious meal.


Alexia's first meal was on the floor, surrounded by boxes and clutter


Diego's first ride in his bike in the new garden - he is in heaven! He calls it the park.



Helping Grammie put weather-protectant on the picnic table




He was really into "painting" with his brush.


The finished result. We had a wonderful first BBQ!




We were testing the alarm and Diego sat like this for about two minutes after the last test alarm. He wanted us to set it off over and over


Alexia has now discovered the wonders of the tupperware cabinet. She loves to pull out all of it's contents and play - a great way to keep her busy for a long time!