hi/ola'

christmas brunch

2008-12-25T15:56:00.000-08:00

we patiently waited until everyone came over for brunch to open presents from the distant relatives. yay more presents, and lots of wrapping paper to play with!

christmas eve at bo'bo' & bobo's

2008-12-24T22:08:00.000-08:00

we opened part of our presents at my mom & dad's tonight. parker looked so cute in his christmas outfit. he also seemed to enjoy the wrapping paper more than the actual gifts!

the presents are under the tree (finally!)

2008-12-22T21:20:00.000-08:00

today, i decided it was time to finally put the presents under the tree. they had been residing on top of the dining room table for days!! hopefully we'll be able to keep parker away!

lunch with titi claud & sofia

2008-12-19T17:47:00.000-08:00

titi claud & sofia babysat parker in the morning yesterday and today since i had an usborne books preschool bookfair. so today par & i treated the girls to lunch. here is a photo of cousin sofia and parker after lunch (titi claud had gone out to the car to get the stroller).

parker is 10 whole months

2008-12-15T19:58:00.000-08:00

i know i say this often, but time really is flying by! i can't believe this little guy is already 10 months. unbelieveable!! it seems like yesterday that he was born. it felt like life was literally flashing before our eyes and from that moment on we knew everything would change. of course, for the best way possible. i can only speak for myself, but i get the feeling that jay is loving being a new daddy as much as i am loving being a new mommy! :) he is such a fun little guy to hang out with! always smiling.

new library books & mom's yoga strap

pjs and hot cocoa at mason's

2008-12-15T12:53:00.000-08:00

we attended a pj & hot cocoa party at mason's this morning. the kids looked all so cute in their pjs. we moms took advantage of the event and dressed accordingly as well. it was soo nice to be in pjs until noon!

it feels like christmas all thru the town

2008-12-08T15:46:00.000-08:00

we went downtown for lunch today. it was great to see all the storefronts decorated for the holiday season. i absolutely loooove christmastime and this year i'm filled with a little more glee than usual - maybe it's because jay and i have a very special person to celebrate this time of year with!

here is par and dadda at cafe' 225 observing their christmas tree...

its begining to look a lot like christmas

2008-12-07T16:10:00.000-08:00

we went out with bobo & bo'bo' and got our christmas tree today. we then came home and decorated the house and the perfect little tree for our growing family. par was so excited when we were putting up the lights - i can forsee that it will be difficult in these coming weeks to get him away from the sparkling tree!

thanksgiving...

2008-11-28T23:11:00.000-08:00

our little luv-bug's first thanksgiving has come and gone! it was also sofia's first thanksgiving event! she got to be part of behind-the-scenes experience since she is staying at my mom & dads. my mom loves this time of year and i'm sure in the next few days all the christmas decor will be up! parker stayed up a little past his bedtime and enjoyed dinner with all of us - he had sweet potatoes, stuffing, and steamed broccoli. he seemed soo tired (repeatedly rubbing his little eyes) that halfway thru the meal i had to go put him to bed though.

par w/ mom & dad

par checking out little addison during dinner

mom & prima sofia

cousin mario, his wife lily & baby addison

titia claud & her beau brett

cousin michael & his girlfriend jaquelyn

bo'bo' lulu always over-bundling our little guy

2008-11-26T21:19:00.000-08:00

it'd been raining all day today and i was not complaining! i love a rainy day - just wish they'd come around here more often. i called my mom about 5 to ask what they were having for dinner. leftovers is on the menu since thanksgiving is tomorrow - i told her i would be going over with par to pick some up for us - really didn't feel like getting anything together here at home and it seemed like a perfect solution. bo'bo' lulu gave par a bath while i ate then i made a plate to bring home for jay. below are some photos of par completely over-bundled - my mom was freakin' out because it was raining and she was sooooo afraid he'd get sick. ay ay ay!!

mommy's first night without her little luv-bug

2008-11-23T22:54:00.000-08:00

yesterday claudia and i drove to san francisco to pick up sofia from the airport - she is here for 6 weeks from terceira and we are all excited to be spending time with her over the holidays. i had been getting mentally prepared for the last few days to leave parker overnight with my mom - i knew everything would be fine but still the worry of a new mom could not be escaped. my mom kept in touch with me throughtout the night and even called me this morning at 7am shortly after par woke up - no nightwakings! (whew, thank god.) i was glad to hear it all went well. even though i love san francisco, i was very anxious to return today and see my little boy! i really, really missed him! =) below are some photos of hangin' out in the city.

back yard photos with mom & dad

2008-11-21T17:10:00.000-08:00

we decided the take advantage of the nice weather today and take some photos of par in the backyard - the weather has been quite dreary and foggy lately so it was nice to get out there and play outside

our little luv-bug is 9 months

2008-11-15T15:56:00.000-08:00

we can't believe our little guy is already 9 months. par was "not havin' it" today during photo time. he's been a little cranky lately with teething - his second tooth should be breaking thru any day...

some recent photos...

2008-11-14T21:32:00.000-08:00

below are some recent photos taken randomly in the last few days...we've been working hard lately and barely having any time for "fun". however, today we did manage to take etta-choo to the dog-park. she was a little anti-social and didn't interact with the other dogs until we gave her a little encouragement.

a visit from brynlee-bear

2008-11-09T17:33:00.000-08:00

marci brought brynlee-bear over for a playdate today. par and brynlee are soo funny together - par just kicks back as brynlee hangs all over him! we captured a few kissing moments -- my oh my, we got trouble on our hands!

look who's in their big boy seat!

2008-11-07T08:45:00.000-08:00

we have finally moved our little luv-bug to his big boy seat! he seems to like it a lot better since he is sitting up now. my, how time is flyin' before our eyes!!

day at the zoo

2008-11-03T17:13:00.000-08:00

today was my birthday and we decided that it'd be a perfect day to take our little luv-bug to the zoo. the weather was fabulous and we all enjoyed the morning strolling thru the zoo checking out all the animals. we even got to pet sheep and goats!

halloween brunch with our new playgroup

2008-10-31T17:34:00.000-07:00

we are so blessed to have become part of an awesome playgroup here in visalia. the moms are awesome girls and all the kiddies are so well-behaved and needless to say, adorable!! on wednesday we had a halloween cookie decorating playdate at sidney's (carter's mom) to kick off the halloween extravaganza, and this morning katie (mason's mom & playgroup organizer) hosted a halloween brunch! we all contributed to the menu and also decorated mini pumpkins with cute halloween stickers. parker really seems to enjoy hangin' out with his new friends!

story-time with dadda

2008-10-27T08:16:00.000-07:00

sunday afternoon story-time with dadda. par looooves his books!

the dragon & the ladybug

2008-10-27T08:06:00.000-07:00

we met my cousin mario, his wife lily, and their baby addison at the pumpking patch yesterday for a photo op. i will be sending the photos to our grandpa and grandma in terceira. parker and addison are their only great-grandchildren and i know they will be delighted to see the kids dressed up in their costumes. par & addison were getting so much attention from lots of onlookers. i have to admit, they did look adorable! par also got some sunglasses this weekend from his bo'bo' and surpringly enough keeps them on! what a cool kid!

a weekend without dada =(

2008-10-19T23:47:00.000-07:00

dada met uncle decar in vegas this weekend. uncle decar's buddy from college who is a manager at a casino in vegas got them tickets to saturday's justin timberlake's shriner's hospital golf tournament. dada hasn't got home yet, but managed to email us some photos of today's golf outing. he shot a 77 and said the course was incredible! par and i went to the farmer's market with grandma yesterday and then went over to pick up titi kk so she could stay the night with us. this afternoon we went back to grandma and grandpa's and then decided to go to the pumpkin patch for snacks.

look who just turned 8 months!

2008-10-15T17:09:00.000-07:00

par turned 8 months today! no teeth yet, just lots of slobber! :) we celebrated the day by going to visalia's annual breastfeeding awareness walk. they gave awards to some local businesses that had been nominated for being extremely supportive of breastfeeding moms. par and i walked a few laps and also made friends with kirsten who is 6 months old and her mom lauri. lauri and her hubby, who is a high school teacher moved here 3 years ago. They also live really close to us so we're planning to go for our morning walk with them tomorrow!

@ the breastfeeding awareness walk

hangin' out in my room

par & etta-choo assisting mom & dad in the office

an activity-packed weekend

2008-10-13T06:45:00.000-07:00

we went to haley's birthday celebration on friday afternoon and then to rosemary and michael's wedding on saturday. the bride looked beautiful and the groom seemed in awe! parker enjoyed the large crowd but was ready for bed soon after the meal. on sunday, marci and brynlee-bear invited us to the pumpkin patch. both babies had a good time checking out all the pumpkins and looking at all the animals. they saw a goat, several chickens, a bunny, and a turtle.

par & brynlee @ haley's b-day

rose & michael's wedding

playdate w/ brynlee @ the pumpkin patch

a trip to the central coast

2008-10-05T19:11:00.000-07:00

we went to the central coast this weekend and enjoyed a much needed relaxing, lazy weekend. we stayed in cambria at the vacation home of one the nurses who is in charge of the mommy group at the hospital where par was born in b-field. she and her husband make it available for the mommies in the group. it was a fab little 2 bedroom cottage and quite charming-- just perfect for our little family.

our little luv-monkey acclimated well to sleeping in his pak-n-play which was a big plus! jay and i stayed up and drank wine and talked the night away -- yup, just sat there and yapped away -- there was absolutely no tv in sight!!! even though we spend more time together than the average couple, i realize we talk about work a lot and not so much about life's sweet nothings! it was definately nice to get back on track!

saturday was quite an eventful day for all of us! we got up, went out for coffee, then headed to san luis obispo. after walking around for a while we were all ready for some lunch. i had been raving about the clam chowder at splash cafe in pismo beach, so we headed over and indeed proved my point on its goodness! later we headed back to the "cambria cottage" for a little down-time. after feeling pretty rested, we went for a walk in moonstone beach where they have a nice wooden boardwalk along the ocean. we even got to see lots of harbor seals swimmning around and resting on the rocks! we then went to the seachest restaurant & oyster bar (on a recommendation by a couple that we met on our walk). the seafood and atmosphere was phenomenal! par was so well-behaved that he left quite an impression on the waitress! she kept commenting on what a good, happy baby he was!

this morning, we packed up, went out for coffee again then headed to san simeon to possibly tour hearst castle. however, par fell asleep. so instead we stopped at a few breathtaking vistas and just headed towards morro bay to check out the morro bay golf course and get some breakfast. by then par was well rested from his nap and ready for some activity time! after breakfast was over, it was time to get back home and hopefully settle for a few more weeks...until we come up with another excuse to get away...

da da da....

2008-09-28T21:57:00.000-07:00

this week, par's new vocabulary word has been the highlight! daddy is soo delighted that our little luv-monkey has learned to say "dada"! he wakes up in the morning saying "dadadadada" and it's just music to his daddy's ears. amongst "dada" par also enjoys saying "bobo", "bahbah", "lala", "nuhnuh", "gahgah", and a couple more which i can't really think of right now!

we had a busy weekend! "uncle decar" came to town from pittsburgh to visit. i took par to his grandparents around bedtime and us grown-ups went out to dinner at this great brazilian restaurant downtown, and then to a new-orleans-inspired bar for some sippy! by the time we got back i was ready to head on over to my parents to go stay the night with my little love-monkey but jay and decar insisted that i "sober" up! the funny thing is -- i was NOT drunk - c'mon (sigh)!! i ended up hangin' out until 1:30 in the morning with those fools until they finally gave me "permission" to leave! ugh - ay ay ay!!!

saturday night we had a bbq at our new house for the ones that graciously helped us move. my parents, tia benilde & tio jose antonio, maria & joao, claudia & brett were all the guests of honor! katelin & monica were also here but complained that it was the boring-est bbq that they have ever been to in their whole 13 years of life! i mean, what can you expect from two 8th grade girls who would rather be chatting away online with their ever-so-important friends rather than hangin' out with family?? besides the two mentioned above - we all had a great time and the food was fabulous!

today is also uncle e's b-day -- he's a big 1-0 today! happy b-day ej! hope you celebrated in style in the burgh today! =) we love you!

a quick update...

2008-09-20T19:08:00.000-07:00

yesterday we went and saw my cousin mario & lily's baby, addison. she just turned 2 weeks and already looks different from when we saw her at the hospital. she is going to be one cute little girl! mario is already playing the piano for her and trying to determine which instruments she'll be playing! we're all hoping we can go to terceira next summer around the same time to introduce our little ones to our grandparents. by that time our little luv-bug will be close to 18 months and little addy will be close 10 months!

today we went to the other farmers market in town - this one was much bigger than thursday's but didn't have a live band, however music was heard from some of the trucks of the vendors on site. we saw a local chef shopping for goods and giving tips to some of the buyers. we stood back for a while and listened! par was due for a nap so we didn't stay long. we came home, par took his nap, and then we headed to grandma & grandpa's for about an hour. dad stayed home most of the day and watched the ryder cup - dad's going for the u.s team and mom (of course) is going for the european team! the day ended with the u.s. up 2 points, but we'll see how it'll close out tomorrow!

the farmer's market

2008-09-18T20:44:00.000-07:00

we headed to the downtown farmers market this evening with grandma & grandpa. they had a live jazz band and lots of fresh fruit, veggies, and various artists selling their goods! we came home with fuji and granny smith apples, basil, eggplant, cherry tomoatoes, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and garlic parmesan foccacia bread! half of the raspberries and blackberries are already gone -- they are sooo tasty!! our little luv-monkey fell asleep on the way home and went straight to bed -- no bath tonight which is very unusual for him, but he was sooo sleepy! after putting him to bed we enjoyed the fresh breeze out in the backyard along with some coffee. below is a photo of par with vovo' lulu from tonight's event.

a new hat

2008-09-16T12:44:00.000-07:00

our little luv-bug got a new hat from his vovo' lulu for his 7 month b-day -- he likes to take it off and chew on it! wish he'd keep it on because it's adorable on him! vovo' lulu says he looks like his daddy with it on! :)

jordan gave par lauren's old exersaucer - he absolutely loves it! below is a photo from this morning during activity time!

our little luv-bug is 7 months today

2008-09-15T17:09:00.000-07:00

we thought the new house's front yard would be great for par's 7 month photo-op. this was the first time we sat him on grass! usually he's on a blankie. he was a little freaked out but soon acclimated to the new texture!

the last few weeks have flown by

2008-09-14T20:25:00.000-07:00

wow! time has flown since we returned from our trip to oregon! i guess that's what happens when there is so much to do and so little time!! the last few weeks have been quite eventful. we have been busy packing up our house and moving. labor day weekend was spent packing, but nonetheless we semi-celebrated by having kickin' chicken sausages on the bbq along with potato salad and also dressing up par in a cute red/white/blue outfit that his nana had sent him. we are now settled in the new place and new town and extremely happy! the new house is about 70 years newer than the last and it's soo much brighter!! the character of an older home is great but the perks of a newer one is outstanding! par has been teething -- every morning his daddy and i are looking to see if the first tooth has arrived, but nothing yet.... below are some random photos taken in the last few weeks!

shopping for new robeez!

2008-08-31T20:42:00.000-07:00

par and i went shopping for new robeez today. here is par sitting in the play area at the kids store!

our trip to sunriver

2008-08-19T06:22:00.000-07:00

we just got back from a relaxing long weekend in sunriver, oregon. we stayed at kimberly & lee's vacation home and parker finally got to meet his cousins riley and ryder! parker celebrated his 6 month b-day with his first swim. he really liked it and was splish-splashin' all over the place. it was awesome to have both of the babies together and it was so endearing to see lee and jay playing with their boys. they both seemed like such proud dads. riley really loves her little brother and seemed to really love her little cousin parker as well! one of the days, riley went to guppy camp for a few hours and she was very eager after sign-in to introduce her camp friends to her little brother, ryder and her little cousin, parker! it was soooo cute! she seemed so proud.

parker impressing his friends...

2008-08-06T21:33:00.000-07:00

parker decided to impress all his friends today at the mommy/baby group by sitting up for a long period of time! i couldn't believe how long he maintained such good balance -- what a good kiddo!

bustin' out the jogging stroller

2008-07-25T08:32:00.000-07:00

look...par is finally old enough to go in the jogging stroller!! no more morning walks in the baby-bjorn. he had such a good time and screamed and giggled along the way...

trying out the high chair and sippy cup

2008-07-19T15:07:00.000-07:00

we decided that it was time to try out the high chair and sippy cup today. par was content with the new seating arrangement but was mostly into the sippy cup! he naturally put it up to his mouth -- what a big boy!

our little luv-bug is 5 months today!

2008-07-15T21:41:00.000-07:00

par is 5 months today! time is flying by us and he is getting so big and such a fun little guy!

jordan's little kiddies - hunter and lauren (striking a pose!) -- celebrated par's 5th month b-day with a lunchtime playdate at the mall.

hunter introducing julie turtlely to parker

2008-07-11T18:33:00.000-07:00

hunter was eager to introduce his toy turtle to parker. he told us that her name was julie turtlely. parker loves hunter -- he just smiles at his big friend. i can't believe one day our little luv-monkey will be as big as hunter!

playdate with lolo

2008-07-09T20:46:00.000-07:00

jordan and her little girl, lauren came to visit today. jordan said she'd been having parker withdrawls - thought that was so hilarious! while she was here our listing agent's office called and said that some potential buyers wanted to come by in 1/2 hour to look at the house!!! eeeek!!! fortunately, i had jordan here to help me with par for a few minutes while i redded-up the house (i've been learning pittsburghese in my spare time!) the photo above is of lolo sitting in par's bumbo. she is such a cutie pie!

parker's rollover attempt

2008-07-06T06:04:00.000-07:00

here is a video of our little luv-bug attempting to roll over - it would have been his 4th rollover...he's still not quite the pro yet...

parker's rollover moment

2008-07-05T10:00:00.000-07:00

par rolled over onto his belly on thursday! the photo is of his achieved outcome. he looks surprised! yesterday - he rolled over twice after many attempts!

trip to pittsburgh

2008-06-17T10:25:00.000-07:00

we went to pittsburgh - daddy's hometown - to celebrate his b-day and his first father's day! we visited friends, grandpa stan and nana, and also went to the arts festival. here is parker and daddy at 'the point'.

lemme introduce myself

2008-06-09T17:00:00.000-07:00

- new mommie to parker - born on 2.15.2008
- in love w/ my sweet hubby who also happens to be my bff
- excited about this new blogging adventure