Our Mexico Life

Nina de la Semana!!!

2012-01-16T08:44:00.000-08:00

On Friday when we picked Sophia up at school, we were told that she was chosen Girl of the Week based on her excellent behavior, attitude and participation! She had the assignment of pasting five pictures of her on a big piece of paper and bringing it to school this morning! (We, of course, added some pink glitter - sooo Soph!)

Congratulations Sophia! We are sooo proud of you!
Love, Mom and Dad

p.s. (Now perhaps we could work on excellent behavior and attitude at home.)

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas ...

2012-01-09T20:32:00.001-08:00

As soon as the October and November holidays were over, we started to get ready for Christmas! We get our tree and decorate early on in December since we leave mid-month for Minocqua. We've got to get our tree time in!

Both kids were eager to help this year, and Sophia even snapped away on the camera to get a photo of the tree tied to the top of the car outside Costco!

Jake tried to help with the lights and the decorating while Sophia supervised and gave instructions (as usual).

Thanksgiving 2011

2012-01-09T20:21:00.000-08:00

Last year we had our first big feast of a dinner and invited friends over to celebrate and share this tradition. This year, we were prepping for a wedding on Thanksgiving, so we didn't have time to handle all the bells and whistles, but we didn't let it go by uncelebrated either. Pablo, Sophia, Jake, Michelle and I ate Thanksgiving dinner quickly after wedding prep was done and before kids were ready for bed! (No time for photos. Oops!)

Sophia also had a Thanksgiving project at school and came home with this creation!

Tia Lala

2012-01-09T20:13:00.000-08:00

Pablo's sister Claudia (otherwise known as Tia Lala) came to visit us in November for a few days! We walked the Malecon, went to Bucerias beach - pretty much played tourist with her for a weekend. (Unfortunately, we don't have great photos because we took them all on her camera and forgot to get them before she left!) So even if we don't have the proof in photos, we had so much fun and can't wait for her to visit again!

We also found out in the first weeks of November that Jake takes after Sophia in ways beyond their physical similarities. Soph is our beach bum, and it seems that Jakey is following in her footsteps!

Day of the Dead 2011

2012-01-09T19:53:00.000-08:00

Pablo and I made a pact when our kids were born that we would do our best to instill in them elements of both of our cultures - including holidays! So the day after Halloween, we celebrate Day of the Dead. We set up our altar in remembrance of loved ones. While we find intricately-decorated and uber-complicated altars around town, ours is sweet, simple and special (due to the age group creating it!) and a way to teach our kids to take time to remember the people in our families who we loved and miss.

Flowers, photos, candles and pan de muertos - special sweet breads made for this day only! - adorn the altar.

Sophia can name everyone in the photos even though she's never met any of them - so if nothing else, this altar helps us keep the memory of our loved ones alive in our kids.

Feliz Dia de los Muertos!

Halloween 2011 - Fruit and a Burger

2012-01-09T19:33:00.001-08:00

Despite it not being an official holiday in Mexico, Halloween has definitely gained popularity over the years!

Soph and Jake dressed in their gifts from Grammy Crawford for school, and Michelle made a Halloween cake that Sophia had no qualms about digging into!

We had our annual Halloween trick-or-treating outing with friends at the Marina boardwalk. Our group is growing! This photo was taken at the beginning of the evening, but by the end of the night, our numbers had doubled!

Soph went as a Strawberry, and Jake went as a Cheeseburger. While I thought they were really cute costumes, for weeks leading up to the big night Sophia was traumatized thinking that everyone in the Marina would want to eat she and her little brother. An imagination that won't quit.

And while it was Jake's first Halloween, we had an even younger trick-or-treater this year! Santiago was just three weeks old but dressed to celebrate in a super cute Halloween onesie we brought him back from the US!

Happy Halloween!

October in Minocqua!

2012-01-09T17:16:00.000-08:00

For the first time in eleven years, I was able to get a taste of the Fall! One of the things I most miss living in Mexico is the change of seasons. In Puerto Vallarta we have warm and sunny and then we have steamy and sunny with rain in the afternoons. So I suppose you can say we have seasons, but I really miss the crisp and colorful fall, the lush spring, the oh-so-fun-summer sunshine and well, I guess I miss the chilly winters (but just a little). Mostly, I miss the fall.

Our wedding season took a bit of a strange turn with respect to scheduling, and our normally-full October ended up being empty. So we took advantage of that extra time and took off for the US - my first fall in 11 years and my husband and kiddos' first fall EVER.

We went hiking with the family - two babies and a three-year-old divided by seven adults seemed a breeze when we intended to stay on the beginners circle for a 45-minute hike. Somehow, however, after about 2 1/2 hours and an accidental stint on the expert trail, we were exhausted, the kids were very heavy and the hiking had taken a lot longer than we thought! Nevertheless, it was fun and beautiful!

At mom and dad's house, we spent time as much time outside in the fall weather as we could!

And spent some quality time with the youngest family member!

We headed up to Bayfield to Apple Festival - a place we visited many times as children! As adults, it was still super fun!

The trip was quick but so worth it! On our way back home, we spent the night in Chicago before flying out early the following morning. Daily we get to see how much our kiddos love each other, but this was too cute. Even sleeping, they show it.

Fall in October. Done. And fun.

Way Back at the Beginning of September - Sophia's Story!

2012-01-07T05:11:00.000-08:00

Sophia was a terrible sleeper as a baby. Nothing changed as she turned into a toddler. We tried everything to get her to sleep through the night. At three years old, she was still waking several times a night, crying, wanting someone to sleep with her. But finally, I decided it was enough. No one in the house was getting a good night's sleep. So one night I put her in bed determined to make her fall asleep by herself - no one sitting with her, no one laying down with her. Just tuck her in and make her sleep by herself. She did not like it - at all. She screamed, kicked, screamed some more, kicked even more. About an hour and a half later, she had fallen asleep - very upset with me! We continued this for a couple nights with slow improvement. Finally, a few nights later, Soph went to sleep by herself and stayed asleep by herself all night long. We were sooo happy! Pablo and I got up early that morning and prepared a special surprise for her - a card and balloons on her breakfast chair. Since then, its been smooth sailing. Good job Sophia!!!

What We Do When it's Hot Outside

2011-12-05T20:19:00.000-08:00

Back to PV after summer in Minocqua and once again we have to adjust ourselves to the intense heat and humidity. I always feel a little guilty about not posting too many summer in PV pics, but to be honest, the kids are constantly running around in underwear (and I would be if I could), and I'm just not sure if posting those pics are apropo! Anyway, I dug up a few photos that show us in the everyday heat. Enjoy (and try not to notice the lack of clothes!)

There are dance parties:

There are sprinkler parties:

We try to occupy ourselves by playing in the shadiest and coolest spaces:

We try very hard to make each other laugh despite the heat (by putting the defenseless one in a box):

Now that it is November, these photos seem cute, but I feel confident that in about seven months, I'll be ranting again - something like this.

Hurricane Jake

2011-12-02T20:53:00.000-08:00

It appears that a hurricane hit our house last week. Toys, blankets, coasters, dolls - too many items to mention, really - were left strewn down the hallway and across the living room floor. And at the end of the trail of debris, we were left with one very exhausted nine-month-old.

Summer 2011

2011-11-30T22:00:00.000-08:00

Summer in Minocqua 2011 was super fun. Every moment was filled with outdoor fun – two fairs, eating lunch by the lake, walking the trails, watching water ski shows, riding bikes, playing in the yard, sitting outside and watching the kids play or sitting outside around a bonfire – all new and firsts for Jakers while Soph is on her third Minocqua summer and quite the pro. I love summer in Minocqua and am so happy that we are able to share that experience with our kids.
So without further adieu, a slew of photos from our fun in the sun!

Our yearly trip to good ole Paul Bunyan for breakfast!

And we brought a little Paul Bunyan love home with us to share. Poor Javi.

And though we missed his actual birth by just hours (!!!), our first nephew was born a few days after we got to the US! We finally got to meet him when he was only a few weeks old and spent some snuggle time with him! The kids together:

Mom and Dad also threw a “Meet the Babies” party while we were home to show off their grandkids. Lots of family and friends showed up for the yard party, and the day was perfect. Mom even had a family tree cake made, and of course, we got our photo taken around the cake. Haha!

We spent some time with my grandma and grandpa which I am always so thankful for.

And for a very brief 24 hours, we were able to visit my BFFs in Mpls. We drove over one morning and spent the day and night at Jill’s house. It was so fun to hang with Cameron and Brooke and finally meet Anders! While we didn’t get much adult time in, the whirlwind trip was totally worth it to see the ladies who have been my best friends for . . . 17 years!!! That ages me a bit. But I couldn’t be more blessed – despite us being miles apart, I have the very best friends in the world. (The group picture didn’t go well – mostly due to a Sophia meltdown, but this group of kids is so cute it doesn’t even matter!)

Then it was back home to Vallarta where a couple exciting things happened (in kiddo world). Next post, coming soon . . .

Sunday Morning Love

2011-11-13T18:03:00.001-08:00

I am super behind on blogging but have decided not to get further behind. So my current posts from now on will be interspersed with "catch up posts" including Summer 2011, Fall 2011 and Halloween 2011. Oh dear, I am behind.

But I love mornings in my house. When everyone is fresh from a night-long sleep (or not) - but when everyone has grins from ear to ear. I woke up this morning to find Sophia had crawled in to Jake's crib and they were chatting with each other. Love them.

Chicago - Summer 2011

2011-10-25T23:29:00.000-07:00

This summer flights were so expensive that we decided to save a little money and fly into Chicago on our way to summer in Wisconsin! And why not take advantage of being there and see the sights? So we had it all planned out - three days, our family of four, Navy Pier, Sears Tower, deep dish pizza, the works! Only . . . things didn't quite go as planned!

The night before we left, Jake came down with a stomach flu. As cute as he is himself, the result of the flu was anything BUT cute. And the fun continued allllll day traveling!

Soph was rockin' the Strawberry Shortcake carry on). . .

Three entire clothing changes, one discarded onesie (there was NO way to save it) and lots and lots of crying later, we were only in Dallas. Yes, Dallas. That summarized only the first 2 1/2 hours of the trip.

Eight hours later . . .

Yes. We were still on airplanes.

After a short delay in Dallas, circling an impressive lightning storm outside of Chicago for an hour, running low on fuel and being rerouted to Missouri to refuel, we finally made it to Chicago - at 1:30 in the morning. Yippee!

The next morning after a few hours sleep, Jake was still sick (from the bottom end), we were all really tired, but nevertheless, we were ready to hit Navy Pier! Our hotel was only about a mile from the Pier, so we walked Michigan Avenue and took pictures along the way!

Even sick, Jake is such a happy trooper!

We think of Soph as such a little beach bum, so it was entertaining to watch her in a big city and see little her against the backdrop of such large buildings.

Totally dug this window with antique sewing machines. The display was impressive (this photo only shows one little part of it). There had to be at least 200 machines in the display of the store, and each of them different. (Couldn't get back far enough to take a photo of the entire front of the place without getting hit by traffic. Oh well. Save a life, sacrifice a photo.)

When we got to the entrance of Navy Pier, we had just enough kid time to get one photo, then they both fell fast asleep (remember, we had gotten to bed at 2:30ish the night before). So we sat outside on a park bench and let them sleep, people watched and enjoyed the warm and balmy weather, a welcome change from the horrible heat and humidity of PV.

After the nap, we went to the Children's Museum (super fun!) and spent a few hours singing karaoke, crawling through what seemed like hundreds of connected forts, pretend grocery shopping, tree climbing, building and constructing and so much more!

When the kids started drooping again, we decided to end the afternoon, jumped in a taxi and headed to Giordano's (which was supposed to offer up some of the best deep dish pizza around). But, just as we made it no further on to Navy Pier than this:

We made it no further than the entrance of Giordano's before Sophia started throwing up. Lovely. So we spent a while apologizing profusely to the appalled hostess and then dashed out to the street and around the corner to our hotel to put our sickos (one from the bottom and now one from the top) to bed early.

But we didn't give up. Later on, we called back to Giordano's (keeping our identity top secret of course) and ordered deep dish pizza. Only the woman on the line was SO mean that I got flustered and actually ordered ingredients we don't even like! She was so rude that I couldn't believe it and just ordered whatever the first pizza on the menu was. Nevertheless, we ate deep dish. In the bed watching TV on our first night of summer vaca! Not quite what we had planned, but fun anyway!

Day two everyone seemed to wake up healthier and ready for action!

We let the kids have some downtime in the morning just to be sure we wouldn't be faced with any unwelcome surprises (from the top or bottom) once we left the hotel, but everything seemed to be under control, so off we went to the John Hancock Conservatory which we heard had an equally great view as the old Sears Tower but less expensive tickets and shorter lines.

We walked around Chicago some more and ended up at the Billy Goat Tavern for some Cheeseburger, Cheeseburger. Again, right on cue, the kids both crashed.

We gobbled up the burgers and headed back to the hotel for our last night! Chicago is a beautiful city, but in all honesty, it just wasn't the right place or time for us! Jake was really sick almost the whole time we were there, and it was really stressful feeling helpless without his pediatrician or even a familiar doctor around. We weren't sad when it was time to hop the Amtrak and head to Milwaukee to see the Uncles!

Amtrak was a fun experience - we were a little unsure of what we were doing! I feel like we can get through airports blindfolded at this point, but the train was a whole other thing! But once we had our luggage hauled up and stored, it was super fun! Soph's only complaint was that the the train didn't say ChooChoo.

Mini Vaca

2011-07-31T03:13:00.000-07:00

Each year for the past four summers, we have been gifted a few days stay at a Nuevo Vallarta hotel from the travel agent who works with many of our wedding clients. Seriously, the best trips ever. Imagine, packing suitcases and getting all ready, hopping in the car and being at the hotel in 30 minutes! Only half an hour from home but it feels like a different world! Particularly, the air-conditioning. Aaaah.

This summer we spent six days and five nights at Vallarta Palace - Love. the. Hotel. Live music and shows every night, yummy food, endless hours of pool time (and then nap time for the kiddos), and AC set at 75 degrees (a very welcome change from the 95 degrees/Real Feel 108 degrees with 120% humidity we suffer through every other day).

We checked in to the hotel and got settled in our room. The kids snuggled on the bed while we got organized.

Then it was straight into swimsuits and down to the pool! Jakers showed off his new swimgear for the first time!

Our stint at the pool was short-lived, however, as the rain started to fall about 30 minutes after we arrived!

But the timing was perfect as both kids crashed - Jake in the stroller on the way back to the room, and Soph the moment her head hit the pillow!

The next morning, there was a bit more snuggling in bed, and then Soph could barely wait to pick out our pool chairs (from the balcony, half-dressed)!

We chose prime spots at the pool and settled in for a day of sunshine, relaxation and cold drinks!

Soph is quite a fish and pretty brave in the water. Ever since Pablo and I returned from Vegas over a year ago and talked to her about Cirque du Soleil, she tends to think she is an acrobatic performer. And apparently her skills can also be displayed in the water.

Hmmm. Someone's having fun.

And another someone is fast asleep.

And then there was a problem. Like the non-alcoholic pina colada service wasn't fast enough. Or dad said 'NO' to the five-hundredth jump in the pool. Or her swimsuit was up her booty. Don't recall what the actual situation was, but Soph was not happy. For about a minute.

And if the pool water for four hours were not enough, Soph jumped in the double jacuzzi when we got back to the room!

Jakers and I settled in for a nap and were all smiles an hour or two later!

And on the agenda that night, dinner and a show! Soph was in her glory. A decorated dessert plate and then dancing princesses (who were actually just dancers with pretty skirts, but apparently a skirt makes a princess).

And, as always, a family selfie. Except we aren't quite used to trying to get four of us to look at the camera yet, so in the majority of our selfies, someone is looking the other way. Oh well, practice makes perfect!

Twelve hours later, and we do it all over again. The abbreviated documentation:

Soph in a swimsuit.

Soph all tired out.

Yummy dinner (seafoooood!) and the cracking of it. (I made Pablo do it for me.) And the nightly show. Our selfie, again with one family member looking the other direction.

Then bed, and repeat.

What you lookin' at fool?

While Soph waded around the pool, Jake and I hung as well.

The guys at our final dinner.

The last night of A/C. Booooo.

And, of course, our final balcony selfie - just caaaan't quite get it right yet.
Need much more practice.

Back to HOT HOT PV for 10 days and then off to Chicago, Milwaukee and Minocqua for summer!

How you feeling? Hot! Hot! Hot!

2011-07-15T09:35:00.001-07:00

Summer is in full swing folks, and as usual per my annual July-ish rant, its waaaay too hot. But the kids were off today to their last day of school (again -haha!), for a week at least! On Monday we depart for four nights and five refreshing days in air conditioning and a swimming pool at Vallarta Palace! Picture us here:

This is actually our second time at the resort - we Vallarta Palaced it three years ago when Soph was only two months old!

So this weekend, we'll be packing our bags and getting ready for next week! Summer is here, the summer wardrobe is out and we are READY TO GO!

Circus Kiddos

2011-07-08T18:44:00.000-07:00

Today was the last day of "school" before summer vacation! (Of course, it isn't much of a vacation for the kids as the "summer program" starts on Monday, and they'll be there bright and early!) Nevertheless, their grand end-of-the-year performance was this morning; the school presented parents with a circus - each group showing off their acrobatics and new (and oh-so-amazing skills)!

Soph and Jake were SO CUTE it hurt. I can barely handle what a talkative, know-it-all, super smart and affectionate little girl Sophia has become. And Jake is so laid-back, so amazingly easygoing (except when he's hungry), that I sometimes forget he's around. Except he is so cute that you can't help but notice him!

On our way out the door to the circus - my little clown and bigger acrobat!

Jake's group was up first - he's the littlest one in the whole school and got lots of oohs! and aahs! - particularly when he grabbed his tie and started chewing on it.

Next up was the Ringleader - with his magic rabbit flying through a flaming hoop. Oh the imagination.

Then Circus Soph was on!

Proud dad and brother looked on as . . .

. . . she performed a perfect somersault! Yeah Soph! (She's been practicing for weeks and gets sooo frustrated with herself if it isn't perfectly straight!)

Then, of course, posing with the BFF's for photos! Yikes! Do you SEE that pose?

Then a photo with some friends and her teacher Miriam.

Followed by a little dancing around, more gymnastic stunts and hugs goodbye to her friends. (I mean, they really think they are on summer vacation! Won't they be surprised when they meet again on Monday!!!)

This was, by far, the cutest little performance yet at the school! Just 10 more days and we're off to our annual Nuevo Vallarta escape for a few days - can you say Air Conditioning?!? Then home for 10 days and off again to Chicago where we see the sites and FINALLY arrive to Milwaukee - hopefully to meet what-will-be our newborn nephew (still nameless)!

Summer is here!!!! (Except, of course, for the kids who have parents who still must work and therefore will be at the school's doorstep at 8:30 am on Monday morning!)

Sophia Loves Kung Fuuuuu!

2011-06-25T04:46:00.000-07:00

Sophia is not a fan of TV; even the best cartoons keep her entertained for 10 minutes max (which is something I'm happy about), but for some reason, she is obsessed with the Kung Fu Panda movie. One evening, almost a year ago, we put it on to watch for ourselves and she was entranced. The charm of Po, the lively music and the bright colors were enough to make her fall in love. Nightly, she requested the movie, and we granted her wish - giving her 10 blissful minutes of Kung Fu before teeth-brushing every night! At times, we even got her to eat her fruits and veggies by naming them Tigress Broccoli, Master Shifu Salad and Kung Fu Carrots!

When we saw that Kung Fu Panda 2 was coming out, Pablo and I were so excited to take Soph to the theater for the first time! She LOVED it! She felt so special as we left Jakers behind with Michelle and took off to the theater! A few photos from her first movie experience:

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-18T20:07:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day to the two most important fathers in my life! Love you guys so much!

Soph's Third Birthday Party at Home!

2011-06-18T14:05:00.000-07:00

Sophia's birthday fell on a Thursday, and so she was able to enjoy a semi-party at daycare with her school friends! That following Sunday afternoon, we had a little party at the house for her other friends!

All ready to pass out balloons and stickers to her invited guests!

Catching up on the gossip with Chloe (out-of-school BFF), Melany and Valeria.

The kiddos took shifts playing with every toy on the shelf in the bedroom and eating/chatting in the living room with the adults!

Pablo kept everyone happy with hot dogs and hamburgers off the grill!

And what party could be complete without a pinata! This time - a Hello Kitty theme!

And when the littlest ones can't break it, its time to bring in the big kids!

And when they can't break it, we bring in the even bigger kids!

Then came the many presents (known as "surprises" to Soph)!

Chloe really really wanted it to be her birthday!

More presents as the group crowds in closer!

A pink umbrella for the rain to come this summer!

A camera from Grammy and Grampy! (Thank you!)

Then time for the cake. No, it is not homemade. We worked a wedding the night before the party. That is a valid excuse.

An action shot of the candle being blown out!

Who the heck ordered carrot cake with fresh pineapple and nuts for a three-year-old's birthday party?!? Apparently if we cannot make a cake, we should at least learn to order a cake for the age group!

Although . . . not everyone complained!

Jakers and Pablo hanging out watching the excitement!

Soph ditched her cake for flan.

And when the party was done, Michelle still had energy to clean with a birthday hat on! What spirit!

Happy Birthday Soph! We love you Mucho!

Jakers

2011-06-05T11:54:00.000-07:00

A couple of the little guy. He is such a chill baby. I love it. Already sleeping about 8 hours at night - from 8:30 - 4:30 or so. Sometimes even 9 until 5 or 6. We used to joke about how he would sleep through the night before Sophia. Not such a joke. I'm so glad he is so easy.

Right now he is bald, chunky and so happy. Could you possibly ask for more in a baby?

A New Do

2011-06-05T11:35:00.000-07:00

A Sunday at home. This is what happens to me when the boys fall asleep and leave me alone with a very imaginative three year old. (If I get any comments on the grays, I swear I'll quit blogging.)

Am I done yet?

Apparently not. The final touch was missing - a sparkly head band wrapped around my forehead. I feel like a pink 80's rock star.

Six Years

2011-05-24T20:52:00.000-07:00

No, this time I'm not talking about a birthday. Pablo and I celebrated our six-year anniversary this past May 9th! As always, I received my roses (despite us being absolutely insane in preparation for an around-the-corner wedding).

Love you!

Soph's School Birthday Party - Three Years Old!

2011-05-22T15:18:00.000-07:00

Soph's third birthday fell on a Thursday this year, so she (very happily) got to celebrate at school with her friends! Things south-of-the-border are a little different, and I'm having to learn the kids' birthday thing a whole new way! The parents silently "host" a birthday party for the child at school - meaning we aren't present at the party, but we send all the supplies for the making of a good time!

So May 12th, off we went to school - Strawberry Shortcake pinata, goodie bags (with oreo cookies, banana sun chips, chocolate milk, stickers, etc.), party hats and cake in tow for 40 youngsters! We were able to leave our camera, and her teachers took lots of pics for us!

Photos from her Birthday Party at Home to come!

Easter Morning

2011-05-22T15:05:00.000-07:00

Have to go back a few weeks to catch up! Remember, April - June is wedding season, so while we are doing fun things and taking pics of it, there isn't much time to blog about the goings-on! So we're going to play a little catch up!

Easter morning brought the keeping of new traditions with it. First, of course, a beautiful church service to hear the whole reason for the day! I'll be honest, with a wedding the night before, we were all super-tired, baggy-eyed and a little out of it. But the entire band of live musicians at church brought that to a quick halt!

And after church we headed to Michelle's house (for the third year in a row) for Easter brunch and the search for those darn baskets!

No basket here!

Nothing here either!

I found it!

Hmmm, obvious that there was some playdoh in that basket?!?

And then Soph moved on to find Jake's basket! Thankfully, he was sound asleep!

Thanks for a great Easter at your home again Tia Michelada!

Tres Anos

2011-05-12T07:26:00.000-07:00

Up at 6 a.m., this birthday girl was sooo excited for her big day! A phone call to Grandma and Grandpa Crawford, a pink dress (a requirement by the princess herself for her birthday!) and a couple hours later, and she was off to day care for her school party! Lots more photos to come!

The Twosome

2011-04-22T19:50:00.000-07:00

I'm two months old today. So far I like being here. I love my mom and dad. My sister is pretty cool but sometimes she squeezes my cheeks when she gets excited.

Uh oh. I hear her now. I think she's coming. Shhhh! If I'm quiet maybe she won't see me.

Oh no. She saw me. She's coming. She's getting closer.

Here we go again.

Outnumbered!

2011-04-18T15:17:00.000-07:00

A little get-together at our house this past Sunday with some friends and their families. And if you notice, there are a few groups outnumbered!

First, the gents are absolutely outnumbered by the ladies (only one guy was missing from the group photo, so even with him included, it's all about the girl power)!

And then, somehow, somewhere along the way, the adults became outnumbered by the youngsters. And as our neighbors can most likely attest, the noise level coming from the kids' bedroom is proof that the little ones are the majority!

And again, so fun to have photographer friends who tote their cameras with them everywhere!

And another shot (plus Paulina the photographer, minus Pablo who's taking the picture!

A few other photos from the get-together!

It's Official!

2011-04-15T14:21:00.000-07:00

Today Jake became an official (or at least officially recognized by the law) person! In Mexico, the hospital where a baby is born issues a document of birth, but it isn't an official record - only a hospital record. With that document, we have to collect about a billion other documents and then take him to register here at the gov't offices. Well today, the civil court judge came to the house to get signatures and fingerprints and issue the official and legal birth certificate! He didn't like the idea of being fingerprinted and cried his way through! Apparently, however, he got over it quite quickly and is now sleeping like a baby. Oh wait . . . he is a baby. Wish I could sleep like a baby.

Next up: American and Mexican passports! And then, whew, I think we're done.

Yawn!

2011-04-12T10:36:00.001-07:00

The Pink Pompom Girl

2011-04-11T20:51:00.000-07:00

So Sophia is in love with pink. And when I say "in love," I mean absolutely completely 100% obsessed with pink. Anything pink. She even gets mad if you won't pretend that cheese is pink and broccoli is pink and her brother is pink. It is really ridiculous, and I'm praying often that it is a phase. Good Lord, do I wish we could move along to purple or orange or ANYTHING. BUT. PINK.

Anyhow, pink comes into the story when her school's second music festival involved her classmates and pompoms. There was a song that highlighted each of the colors; different kids were assigned different colors and well, short story, they shake their pompoms when their color is called. Soph brought home a note requesting that we send her with a week early with a pair of light blue pompoms to practice for the concert. Two days later, Pablo came home from picking her up and said her blue pompoms now needed to be pink. Wonder why. Could it have been a tantrum at school when, HOW DARE THEY, assign her the color blue? So it be - Sophia was the pink pompom soloist at her concert last Friday.

The whole family all ready to go and see Soph be a star!

Soph and her classmates - of course, she is the pink pompom girl!

And this was the moment when we knew it should be over. They are done singing and behaving. Its time to move on.

Here are Soph's best girl friends - Vica and Dana - unfortunately, I couldn't get a good shot of the three of them for the life of me! And as you can tell, I really tried!

And last but not least, because every occasion should have one - a family selfie!

The Perks

2011-04-09T03:51:00.000-07:00

There are some perks to my job. The one I am very grateful for today ... having friends who are photographers.

Kickin' it at Home

2011-04-08T04:32:00.000-07:00

Since our rounds of grandparent visits ended a couple weeks ago, we've pretty much been hanging at home in our free time, trying like mad to get into a routine with the two kiddos before high wedding season begins and we get thrown out of any sort of routine we've put in place. Why then, you may ask, would we even try to establish a routine only to know that in a couple weeks it will all go down the drain?

I don't know. It seems like a good idea. But I'll get back to you all in June on whether or not we were able to maintain a routine or just went with the wedding flow.

So while no exciting photos have been taken, here are just a few from hangtime at the house.

Soph has developed a real affinity for high-heeled princess shoes lately. She can't manage to take them off!

A Fling with Spring!

2011-04-08T04:23:00.000-07:00

Soph's school had a contest last week to celebrate spring! Each child had to work on a spring mask/headgear thingie in honor of the season. Last Friday they wore their creations to school; Soph didn't win the prize for best mask/headgear thingie, but she did look absolutely adorable! (Click to see her bigger!)

Oh, and that is supposed to be a flower around her head. But when we put alllll the tissue paper on that she wanted, it lost its shape so it looks like she's just a big tissue-paper-head!

Proud Jakey Keeps on Rollin'

2011-04-07T20:52:00.001-07:00

So I know this picture looks bad. Kind of like we torture our child or something. I promise we don't.

He was laying on the floor today getting in a little tummy time (otherwise known as bobbing on the carpet) when all of a sudden he started grunting. What we first thought was Jakey working up to a loaded diaper turned out to be him pushing up on to his side . . . and then, just as we realized what was about to happen, grabbed the camera, pointed and shot - he rolled over on to his back! His first rollover! (And a very fuzzy photo to prove it!)

After we all applauded and Soph squealed a bit in excitement, we realized he was crying on the floor! He got picked up, hugged and super loved!

It was probably an intentional first rollover in honor of his Uncle Dan and Uncle David's 31st birthday today!!! :)

Grammy and Grampy in the House

2011-04-07T20:02:00.001-07:00

The Crawford grandparents made a mid-March visit to good ole PV to meet Jake and hang out with Sophia! They were here for 10 days that flew by faster than the blink of an eye. So different than our visits years ago when we tromped around town searching out new fun restaurants and places on the beach to drink buckets of beer! Now its stroller rides around the block, mornings spent watching cartoons in jammies, reading books and snuggling on the couch. Every now and again we got out of the house . . one very WINDY day hanging at the beach, a night or two out for dinner and ummm, one breakfast by the beach!

More importantly since we don't have a home church here in PV that we love, we asked my dad to baptize Jakers. It was amazing and special to have him do it, and as we can all attest, many tears were shed (and NOT just by the girls), right dad? Hee hee!

Alright, so without further adieu, the photos from when Grammy and Grampy were in-da-house! (Why do I think I'm a rapper all of a sudden?)
(Oh, and P.S. - These photos are SERIOUSLY out of order and all mixed up, but who can blame me? I'm on six weeks of barely any sleep!)
Enjoy!

Do you mind?!?

2011-03-28T22:32:00.001-07:00

A little privacy please. I'm trying to take a shower!

A Favorite Moment

2011-03-06T16:01:00.000-08:00

Sarcasm.

Not sure if you can tell or not, but this is me washing the wall.

Yes, when people laugh as you tell them you're having a boy and constantly comment on how different it is to change their diapers, take heed. I have been peed on more in Jake's two weeks of life than in Sophia's entire childhood. Luckily for me on this particular day, he aimed right past me and hit the wall instead. I'd rather be washing the wall down than changing my shirt!

A Final Hurrah!

2011-03-06T15:53:00.001-08:00

Just days before Jake was born, Pablo and I took Soph to ride the carousel inside our mall. She loves it and hadn't been on it for a longgggg time! Little did she know that these were her final moments as an only child!!!

With the exception of . . .

2011-03-06T15:47:00.000-08:00

. . . a slightly different nose and Jake's complete and utter lack of eyelashes, I'd say Baby Soph and Baby Jake look pretty much the same!

What a week it was . . .

2011-03-02T12:22:00.000-08:00

Last Tuesday night Jake turned one week old (yes, I've been meaning to post this for several days and now just getting around to it, but better late than never). And what a first week it was. He's pretty much the only member of this family that escaped unscathed. The rest of us were a mess.

My experience with his birth and the c-section had its bumps along the way thanks to the very endearing nursing staff at the hospital (which I will write about later in the story of his birth) and it caused a few extra days of good ole surgery pain that I wasn't quite expecting (or wanting, for that matter)!

By Thursday afternoon we were home from the hospital and the next two days were Ouch, Ouch and Ouch.

By Saturday evening, I was feeling high on life again - the extra Ouches were on their way out, we had a sweet new baby in the house and our mild state of chaos was at least tolerable!

By Sunday morning, we were at our pediatrician's office as Soph woke up magically with pink eye.

By Sunday night, I was in the emergency room after eight hours of extreme dizziness and ringing ears as my blood pressure spiked to sky-high levels.

By Monday night, Pablo was dead in bed with a respiratory infection.

And then it was Tuesday. One week since the arrival of our baby boy. Fortunately, there were some good moments along the way.

A very tired (but happy) family!

Jake got the infant blood tests taken and looked really sweet with his little hand bandaid!

A first bath!

And then Soph jumped in!

Sleepin'

And more sleepin'

Gettin' some serious lovin' from the whole family!

5 p.m. and All is Calm

2011-02-25T15:54:00.000-08:00

The most peaceful moment of the day.

Sophia, Meet Jake.

2011-02-25T10:28:00.000-08:00

We arrived home yesterday early afternoon following some havoc at the hospital (which I'm sure I'll find time to write about next year at some point), and we're starting to get settled in at the house. It feels really nice to be home - no more nosy nurses or nurses who flash the bright lights on at 3am or nurses who forget what time you need pain meds or nurses who are just plain irritating. (Rachel, I would LOVE you as a nurse, but the nurses I happened to have were plain ole crappy and when I DO explain what happened, you'll understand, so don't take the nurse comment personally. I think nurses rock. Just not the ones specifically attending to room 102 at San Javier Hospital on Feb 22- 24. Whew!)

Anyhoo, before we came home, Soph made a trip to the hospital to visit us! She was really sweet and curious about the baby and wanted to help as much as she could!

Since we've been home, she seems to be extra whimpery, bouncing between excitement and tears constantly, but we're doing our best to give her extra attention and hugs!

And a couple of the little guy:

Introducing . . .

2011-02-23T09:51:00.000-08:00

Jacob Ethan Vargas Crawford
(only named a little bit after Jacob from the Twilight series...)
February 22, 2011 - 8pm
7lb 11oz (a big bah humbug to the Dr. that made me keep him in a week longer to gain weight)and tall. (I forget what he measured. Sorry!)

The Before . . .

2011-02-22T09:49:00.001-08:00

Still waiting . . .

But DANG. There better be an After photo to this before one by the end of the week or I'm gonna crawl in there.

The Online Version of Nesting - Christmas 2010

2011-02-21T16:11:00.001-08:00

Yep. This new little one is still hanging in there. And I continue to "nest." That word sounds so funny. I imagine all these little penguin-like-waddling ladies running around scrubbing their floors with a toothbrush and making even more lasagnas to stick in the fridge. Still not me. But my "nesting" (haha!) brings you a quick photo update of Christmas 2010. There are so many photos from our pre-holiday prep here and our fast and furious five days (two of which were complete travel) in Wisconsin, but I chose a few just to share some of the hightlights! So back yourselves up to Decking the Halls, Jingling the Bells and Roasting the Chestnuts. Flashback to December 2010! (That sounded really cool in my head with a Casey Kasem Top 40s voice and an intergalactic swooshing sound in the background.)

Soph was a big helper decorating the tree this year. She hung all the ornaments on the bottom few branches and then insisted we leave them there. I moved them up slowly, a few a day, which she didn't seem to notice at all! Whew!

Soph has her Christmas program for school. Very fortunately her Abuelita (Mexican grandma) had come for a quick visit and managed to help us sew Soph's costume - a metallic fish - as we had NO idea how to do it! The school had a surprise in store for us as well - the adults actually participated in their OWN version of the nativity as they spontaneously called up parents, dressed them in costumes and instructed them on how to behave and what to say. It was pretty comedic, and Pablo was called upon to be a Wiseman. Not sure how Wise he actually is, but he looked ok in the purple cape! Haha!

And of course a quick trip to see Santa - only Soph was MUCH more interested in the life-size gingerbread house than sitting on Santa's lap!

Then we were off to Wisconsin for a quick trip - being 31 weeks pregnant at the time, we were instructed to make the trip short and sweet. I had heard horror stories about all these new-fangled things I would need to prevent swelling, aleviate pressure, etc. I felt nothing. The trip was totally fine. I think we could have stayed longer. But I'll let bygones be bygones. (Oh, and Soph was an excellent flyer once again. I chalk that up to experience. Lucky girl.)

We got home just in time for the baking (pretty much mom and the guys do this part)! Dad, Soph and I just kind of sample. Pablo tries to blend in to appear to be helping, but let's face it, he's just there to sample too.

And then it was snuggle-time with the uncles . . .

. . . around mom and dad's beauuuuutiful Christmas tree (again)!

Before we knew it, Christmas Eve was upon us. We all raced around the house to get ready in time (Two bathrooms. Eight people. You do the math.) And as we literally RAN out the door to church, we managed to get a few photos. Or was it when we got home from church? Hmmm... Seriously, the whole trip is a bit of a blur. It went by soo fast. (Ummm, don't pay too much attention to the big fam photo. Eyes closed, lips pursed, a good 25% of us not paying attention. Not sure what went wrong this year. Perhaps it was the powdered sugar overdose getting to us.)

Soph went to bed. The rest of the fam stacked box after box under the tree. You know what I mean. I hope that she still "BELIEVES" when she can start reading this and I just don't want to give too much away too soon.

And on Christmas morning, we woke early, and all in jammies gathered around the tree and watched Soph open her stocking!

Then it was off to the showers to look presentable. (Again, two bathrooms. Eight people.) We started opening presents late! But oooh so much fun!

And then evening dinner with Aunt Vicki, Uncle Jack and some strange Aussie who came along for the ride and decided to pose with us! Haha!

There was, of course, the annual APPETIZER EXTRAVAGANZA at Aunt Karen's house (to which I obviously forgot my camera as I have not a single photo. Or maybe I was too busy extravaganza-ing on appetizers?) Nevertheless, it certainly deserves honorable mention. Of the highest honors. Particularly the shrimp cocktail. And the mini meatballs. And those new thingie dingies which were hot and cheesy and yummmmmmmmmmmmy as they came out of the oven.

And of course a romp in the collllld snow. The guys REALLY romped. The girls did NOT so much romp. Soph is a beach girl. Simple as that.

And before you know it, we were back on an airplane and headed home. Aaaah! Thank goodness for Kung Foo Panda which kept you-know-who quite entertained for quite some time!

Merry Christmas everyone! (Kidding. I know it is the end of February. I thought maybe I could trick some of you.)

Final days of pregnancy and airplanes

2011-02-17T15:10:00.001-08:00

I somehow have come to compare the final days of pregnancy to an airplane in a holding pattern. Just circling round and round. Waiting and waiting and waiting some more for something to happen. My clothes all seem to either roll up or roll down but don't necessarily fit. Soph's babies have taken over the REAL baby's things. And bags are packed and just taking up floor space. Just waiting for our holding pattern to end.

The Online Version of Nesting - Summer 2010

2011-02-13T14:29:00.000-08:00

We are counting down the days to the birth of our new baby boy. And we are excited! Soph is really excited to have a REAL baby to play with. Pablo is excited to have some testosterone around this place (Seriously, poor guy. Wife, daughter, female dog, one male dog we are pretty sure has very high estrogen levels, my female cousin and her female dog.) It's time for him to have a boy around. And I'm excited to see my feet again.

But I have some goals this time around. Things I reallllly want to get done before I go in to the hospital. Lots of work stuff, of course. Seeing as though I took about a total of 24 hours off when Soph was born, this time I am determined to double that - 48 hours . . . at least! And I've made progress on that end with all weddings designed through the end of April! Yippee! Lots more to do for work, but I'm light years ahead this time around compared to last.

My other goal was to be ready on the homefront for this baby. And I have found that this is potentially a goal that I have to let go, at least a little bit. I have found that prepping a house for a newborn when there is a two-year old running around just isn't as simple as prepping the house for the first-born. Peanut-buttery hands are eager to hold and touch everything for the new baby. So I'm secretly hoping that while we are off at hospital-land having the baby, a possy of fairies will descend on my house with, well, no pixel dust please, but maybe the opposite? Pixel dust remover? Pixel Pledge? Does that exist? Nevertheless, considering that Sophia was brought home to a house-still-in-progress (in a biiiig way), I don't feel so bad about bringing this little one home to a house, well, still-in-progress in a little less of a biiiiig way.

And my final goal was to BLOG. To catch up on the promised summer post and then more recently, the Christmas post. I don't want Soph to look back and think that her terrible twos were soooo terrible that I couldn't bear to post any photos or share any anecdotes. And then WHAM! A new baby arrives and all the sweet cuddly photos of a newborn activate my blogging world again.

I'm not one to prepare and freeze five lasagnas. And while I have organized the house, done laundry and re-organized the house, my ankles call for a time out. So this is my online version of nesting - Blog-Catching-Up.

So I am literally backtracking to post photos of Summer 2010 - our amazing lazy hazy summer days that began with a round-the-corner trip to a hotel north of PV and then moved even further north - to the Crawford home in Minocqua for a few weeks.

First, my favorite family photo of the summer!

So without further adieu . . . a wonderland of photos (not necessarily in order) documenting Summer 2010 - from the zoo to the waterfalls, visits with uncles and cousins and more, evening rides around the lake, baking with grandma and lots and LOTS of swinging!

After a long and very-warm day at the zoo, Soph's favorite part was cooling off in the spray shower! She had TONS of fun!

Back home in Minocqua, the swingset went up under careful supervision of Sophia! And lots of outdoor playtime!

Hangin' on the porch with grampy, playing with cousin Dawson, salon time with grampy and baking with grandma!

Of course not all our time was spent in the backyard and at the zoo! Lots of time hanging in Minocqua (at allll the tourist traps) and at the lake!

Although a pro at tubing, Pablo didn't make it up skiing. Maybe next year!

And of course a trip to some really rough waters!

And then a quick trip to the little zoo!

A quick summary of photos, I realize, but at least I accomplished half of my online-nesting! Perhaps in the next twenty-four hours, I'll skip from Summer 2010 to a photo montage of Christmas 2010. And my online-nesting will be complete.

Week Thirty-Four . . .

2011-01-21T13:16:00.000-08:00

Week 34 brought a quick visit from Pablo's sisters who really loved rubbing my big belly and got all giggly when they felt him move!

And yes, I know the following photo is horrible quality. But what do you expect from a half-in-the-bag tourist with really thick glasses stumbling out of a nearby restaurant? She was the best we could do to get our photo taken, and really, at first she was so confused she thought we wanted to take a photo of her. Ummmm, we probably should have known right them that this kodak moment would not be captured well. Nevertheless, here we are in the Marina before Claudia and Lupe took off on Wednesday evening!

And of course, our 34-week appt this morning. All is well (at least on the inside). I have a few complaints on the outside but I suppose that is normal as the end nears! We've got a name all picked out (Daniel and David, no telling!!!!) and we're on wedding break until March so I've got the next month and a week to do my best to get ahead with work so the spring Craze (14 weeks of weddings in a row!) will be as easy on us as possible with a new little one around the house!

Soph seems to be taking this all in stride, and we just hope that her easy-going-ness continues once the little guy comes home! We keep telling her that all her grandparents are coming soon to play with her (so hoping they ignore the new baby for at least a while so Soph actually thinks we were telling the truth!) As long as she has sand toys/dollhouse/hopscotch/puzzles/books, etc. she seems to occupy herself quite well, so hoping that continues!

Thirty-three weeks!

2011-01-12T18:15:00.000-08:00

Lots to update on - Christmas, New Years and so much more (including um, embarrassingly, photos from our trip home last summer). But my protruding stomach doesn't really allow me to ignore the fact that these photos are like a ticking time bomb (with only a little over a month left to go!)

While I was home for Christmas, I received lots of comments about how my stomach didn't appear to be 30 weeks prego. Well, no fear my concerned loved ones, in the last two weeks my tummy has exploded. I think it has grown by the day. Literally. So here you go - at thirty-three weeks!

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-12-04T21:46:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Thanksgiving a day late, but the date difference didn't make it any less special and fun! A small group of friends came over and we feasted on turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, all the trimmings and pumpkin pie! (For the record, I've never liked pumpkin pie in my entire life, but this year, I ate about four pieces - not that anyone's counting - and then mayyyybe one more for breakfast. I'm not 100% sure if all of a sudden pumkin pie is great or perhaps I never actually tried it before but just looked at it and assumed I wouldn't like it. Maybe it is pregnancy taste buds (do those exist?) or it could have just been this specific pumkin pie. But it tasted like pure heaven.) Anyhoo, anyone who makes a killer pumpkin pie is definitely welcome to try it out on me! We can test my theories above and find out if my newfound love of pumkin pie continues or if it was just a one-time-thing!

After we were all stuffed, a Wii bowling tournament ensued - with the adults cheering, the "middle kids" playing and the youngest just kind of screaming and jumping around from all the excitement!

Twenty-six weeks and counting!

2010-11-24T17:39:00.000-08:00

We had an appointment yesterday with my ob and brought home some very sketchy looking photos of our soon-to-be-new-baby! While I very clearly can pick out the head, nose and spinal cord, the rest is really a great big blur! Nevertheless, I happen to have a dad who knows how to spot the littlest detail on these things, so for his viewing pleasure (and that of anyone within a few feet of him to whom he can be a know-it-all and explain all the blur) - a few shots from our ultrasound yesterday! (And apologies in advance for the discoloration. I was too lazy to scan and just photographed the images; my lighting was not the best off the shiny glaring ultrasound paper!)

And a few photos of the transformation of what used to be Sophia's room and now will be a shared room (until either they are too big to share a room or Pablo and I figure out how to fit a growing family into a static home)!

And here was a little surprise we found on top of Sophia's closet as we cleaned away! Wonder how long we've shared our home with him? He was NOT happy to be evicted!

The room is just about done as we've gotten even more completed in the last day or two (since these photos were taken) so stay tuned, and we'll post more photos soon!

Life's Quirks

2010-11-22T17:49:00.000-08:00

Back in the day . . . (and by that I mean about two and a half years ago), grocery shopping took under an hour. And that was groceries for a week. With a few extras thrown in from the fun accessories/house/plant/makeup aisles of Walmart.

Today . . . (and by that I mean this past Sunday), grocery shopping took about two and a half hours. No special treats. Not even a gander at the accessories/house/plant/makeup aisles.

I usually am a fan of Walmart, however, they have possibly made shopping MORE difficult and time-consuming (which results in LESS purchases as I leave sans the fun stuff from the accessories/house/plant/makeup aisles) when they introduced to my world the MINI SHOPPING CART.

Aaaaah, the good ole days when the only carts were for big people.

Day of the Dead 2010

2010-11-03T07:28:00.000-07:00

This was the first year we celebrated Day of the Dead with Sophia. In past years, she just seemed too young to really understand (and frankly, when something isn't necessary around here during high wedding season, it sometimes just doesn't get done!) This year, though, we spent so much time with her Halloween party, trick-or-treating and pumkin-carving, that Pablo and I both really wanted to make sure to dedicate some time to the November 2nd Mexican celebration of Day of the Dead.

This day, if witnessed in some of the more colonial cities in Mexico, is truly amazing! (Puerto Vallarta, being so Americanized does about 70% Halloween and 30% Day of the Dead, so in order for Soph to really learn about it, we have to make sure and honor the day at home.) On November 2nd, families build little "altars" in their homes and on the streets in dedication of their loved ones who have passed away. It isn't a cult-type altar - haha - we aren't trying to bring them back - it is just a special day to remember them and honor their lives. The altars can become really elaborate (for those who have loooots of time on their hands)! Ours was simple but Sophia was really excited about it, so I'm glad we did it with her!

On our little altar, we placed a photo of my Jung Grandparents and photos of Pablo's grandparents who have all passed away. The only picture missing was a photo of my Dad's dad who died when he was a teenager, but well, that was before digital times and no photo was easily available to email. (Will need to work ahead on that for next year!)

We hung papel picado (decoratively cut tissue paper) around the edge of the altar and decorated with bright flowers and a hanging calavera (dancing skeleton) mobile. Soph also brought home from school a calavera head "worksheet" decorated with glitter yesterday, so that also got hung proudly next to the altar. Last but not least, a Pan de Muertos, famous all over Mexico in early November. This is a sweet bread that is only made for this particular day!

(Soph was quite frankly very interested in the Pan de Muertos and thought her finger should be permanently placed in the sugar coating.)

Oh, and this morning when Soph woke up to find the Pan de Muertos missing from the altar, she assumed that the grandparents had eaten it all up! (And they hadn't even shared with her - which brought tears and a minor meltdown. Whatever will happen when Santa eats all the cookies and drinks up all the milk!?!)

Alright, that wraps it up for end-of-October-beginning-of-November celebrations! We have three weddings in the next week so we'll be absent until mid-November when I'm sure we'll be back to try to put together a quazi-Thanksgiving dinner! Aaaah, what I wouldn't do for a stuffed turkey right now.

Halloween 2010 - The Flight of a Butterfly

2010-11-02T19:17:00.000-07:00

Sophia's third Halloween began with the Carving of the Pumpkin on Wednesday evening! This was her first Jack O' Lantern (and Pablo's too)! They both were a little grossed out by the inside, and Soph quickly switched to cleaning out the little guy with a spoon! Such a princess!

The Carving of the Pumpkin was followed by the Evening of Costumes at her school on Friday! We woke her from her nap to get all dressed up - crossing both fingers and toes that the butterfly costume would be appealing to her that particular evening. We dressed her with success (well, bribing with chocolate, really), but success nevertheless and off to the school party we went!

One parade of costumes, one dance, one ceramic painting, one pretend pond fishing, one texture experimenting (with pasta) and one prize raffle, one snack and two hours later - we were on our way home! (Oh, and yes, the wings did come off about halfway through the party!)

The Halloween party was our third group activity at school and Soph continues to be the same in large groups - fingers in the mouth, clammed up not speaking a word and clinging to our legs! She's usually so rambunctious, so babbly and so smily that it is strange to see her like that! Perhaps she'll be shy in front of large groups or maybe its something she'll grow out of - only time will tell!

On Sunday, Soph dressed in her pumpkin shirt from Grandma Crawford in preparation for the fun day ahead!

Trick or Treating for our third year was the best by far! We headed to the Marina boardwalk (not a bad place to trick or treat!), and Soph started out quiet and reserved but soon enough warmed up to the whole concept of smiling for sweets! As in past years, the other girls in our group dove right in to their candy and Soph didn't even pay any attention. At the end of the night I told her she could choose one piece. She pulled out a little bag of mini-marshmallows and chewed happily away! I saved her three pieces and gave the rest away over the past couple days. She has no idea and doesn't miss it at all! (Hoping this will be a trend for years to come although I do have my doubts!)

Aaaah! Halloween success!

The decorations came down, the pumpkin got tossed (and just in time) and Halloween was officially over as of Monday morning. But the week's celebration was just half-way through - Nov 2nd is Day of the Dead in Mexico, and lucky little Soph gets to learn about both cultures, both celebrations! So onward we went - stay tuned . . .

The Making of a Butterfly

2010-10-28T05:55:00.000-07:00

So I debated. Long and hard about what Sophia should transform herself into this lovely October for Halloween (yes, very rarely do those words - lovely and October - go together in Puerto Vallarta, but surprisingly the weather has done its official switch and we are no longer sweaty, sweating, pure sweat. I digress.)

After talking with her about it daily for two weeks and realizing that she was NEVER going to decide between a princess, a ballerina, a cat and a pumpkin and knowing FULL WELL that if I didn't have the right costume on October 31st when it came time to get dressed up, she simply wouldn't put it on. She is that stubborn. (Putting anything besides panties on her is a battle.) I decided to take the bull by the horns (I don't think I've ever said that before, but this was a bull-horn situation), so I took that bull by its horns and decided she was going to be a butterfly. And then I searched for DIY costumes knowing I had only five short days to the school Halloween party!

And so the Making of a Butterfly began. Monday morning, we purchased supplies. We cut and sewed the skirt. (A Spaaahkly skirt, according to Soph.) We glued the head bonkers.

Tuesday afternoon and evening, we shaped the wings, traced and cut the wings, sewed the wings.

Wednesday night, Michelle came over. We drew out the wing design. We painted. Coat upon coat upon coat of fabric paint.

And tonight, we finish the Making of a Butterfly. Stay tuned. Friday is the school Halloween party and Sunday night is our outing with friends to the Marina Malecon for trick-or-treating!

I hope we have a very pretty butterfly in tow. (Although I have mentally prepared myself for the stripping of the wings and the tearing-off of the head bonkers. I'm hoping that at least the Spaaaahkly Skirt makes it longer than five minutes.)

A peek at past Halloween's:

Halloween 2008 (5 months)

Halloween 2009 (1 year, 5 months)

Stay tuned for Halloween 2010!!!

Five Weeks Later . . .

2010-10-25T19:26:00.000-07:00

...and growing bigger and bigger by the day. Both Sophia and myself!

We had our fifth appointment and ultrasound today, and our baby boy is growing and looking good in utero! Due date: late February!

Still have summer photos to share, but there are hundreds so the sifting and sorting process goes on bit by bit as I have time! In the meantime, a few photos of our recent fun - park time:

home-gymnastics:

shoe-shopping:

and a few photos of the small addition we built on to Sophia's room (soon-to-be-a-shared-room)!

OH! And did I forget to mention that Sophia is completely potty-trained! At home, at school, out on the town! (Nightime diapers are still a must, but we're good to go on the rest!) This was actually quite simple with her as she quickly became obsessed with panties - so much so, in fact, that there were days when everyone and everything in her sight had panties on (including Sophia - not necessarily on the right body parts sometimes!)

Summer photo montage to come soon!

Family Day!!!

2010-09-26T15:19:00.001-07:00

Today was family day! Sweet and simple!

And without really intending to, we also welcomed (early!) our little guy!

Last Christmas season, in a very unfortunate laundry accident, the snowman, reindeer and santa heads that bobbled so festively from our stockings came, well, undone. Emerging from the dryer were three headless stockings with a little less festive feel.

So this afternoon we found super sweet hand-knit stockings in all the right colors. And what da ya know? They were on sale. Well, not really. But they were priced really low in a way-too-expensive store so the way I calculate things, they were technically almost on sale. So we picked out four.

I suppose this Christmas the fourth stocking will be stuffed with goodies for a newborn that one very mischievous two-year-old who I know will most likely unstuff very quickly. But next year, there will be four stockings stuffed - each with a rightful owner present!

It's a . . .

2010-09-24T14:30:00.000-07:00

I am supposing that everyone knows by now as good news spreads like wildfire, but just in case some are still in the dark, we are anticipating the arrival of a new baby near the end of February! We're super excited to be parents again and Soph is very much looking forward to having a new brother/sister/baby/girl/boy (how she finishes that sentence changes daily)! We, however, no longer have to wonder HOW to correctly complete her phrase as today we had the ultrasound which showed, first and foremost, that everything is developing wonderfully and our baby looks to be in good shape thus far! And secondly, we learned whether we'll be painting more pink or if we'll be switching to a blue hue this time!

Here's Soph lovin' up my belly this morning pre-appointment!

Oh, I almost forgot. Our new little arrival will be donning outfits such as this:

and this:

and this:

It's a BOY!
I felt the first flutters in my tummy last Saturday so now it is real, real, real! Now to boys' names . . . Jacob? Edward? Emmett? Jasper? Hmmm . . . I see a theme here*, but I am truly hoping that our child doesn't emerge a vampire or a werewolf (although, if I had to choose, I would go vampire all the way!)

*For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, pick up a copy of Twilight or the world will soon leave you behind.

Yippee - a BOY!

A Getaway Close to Home

2010-09-18T13:44:00.000-07:00

Before we roll into fall's activities, I wanted to post some quick photos of our summer fun! First up, our family's mini-trip north of PV to Hotel Villa La Estancia - a resort waaaaay too fancy for us (but it was free), food sooo yummy I could have eaten nonstop, a pool sooo beautiful and refreshing that we pretty much spent all day every day in it! Aaaah, good memories! A few photos from our stay!

As soon as we checked in, we walked the grounds to check the place out! Soph managed to wiggle out of her shirt, plop down on the stone wall and request we take a photo of her. She was just getting revved up for the week of playing in the sunshine!

And when I say this place was fancy, I mean it. Seriously, our room was the size of our house! This was the living room, dining room and full kitchen. We had a hugggge bedroom, two bathrooms, private laundry room and full balcony as well. Hmmm... I'm thinking of just moving in permanently. Did I mention they had awesome A/C. Oh yes, in case you don't remember, it is THAT time of year again in PV. In fact, pretty soon I'll blog one of my ranting posts in which I can no longer tolerate the heat. It's coming... I feel it. But I digress. I LOVED the A/C.

Then it was just days of fun, relaxation, pooltime and sunshine!

The next-door sister hotel had a Sea Lion Performance one day in their main pool! It was super fun to watch, and then Pablo and Soph stood in line to get a fishy kiss from the big guy. Sophia was pretty nervous and wouldn't take her fingers out of her mouth (her newest nerve thing), but she came back feeling quite excited about her cheek stinking of fresh fish. Mmmm.

The hotel, besides its other fantastic restaurants, had a super lovely Steakhouse where we dared to dine one night. (Dress code required dresses so I'm sure you can imagine why it was only one night. Seriously, Soph and I in dresses for several dinners? I think not. Especially when we can dine poolside - aaah.) Nevertheless, we did eat there one night and it was FAB. The best service ever - with the waiters bringing Sophia exactly what she requested - mashed potatoes and veggies! She couldn't have been more excited when they set the plate in front of her! And our meals weren't too shabby either. (Again, note the sarcasm. Shabby is not even an option on the comment card. It ranges only from The-Best-Steak-I've-Ever-Had to The-Steak-Was-SOOOOO-Amazing-I-Almost-Died-from-the-Cholesterol-and-Went-to-Heaven.)

And because no blog post is really complete without one of these . . . our last day Selfie. Aaaah, won't be too long until there are four of us in these selfie shots! :)

We headed home on a Thursday with 24 hours to pack and get ready for our flight to WI the following day! Summertime!!!!

For Luna!

2010-09-07T06:15:00.001-07:00

Luna, Michelle's furry friend and our sometimes-adopted-puppy, is having surgery today for hip displasia. We'll be thinking about her and kind of wondering if hobbling around on only three legs for a couple weeks will slow her down at all or if she'll be her usual spirited self despite her temporary handicap! Good luck Luna, we love you!

Summer Vacation, here we come!

2010-07-18T07:35:00.000-07:00

Today begins our summer vacation whirlwind! (This is a GOOD kind of whirlwind, not that crappy tornado kind that ruins vacations!)

We are heading to our annual summer mini-vaca about 45 minutes north of PV! This year, we'll be staying at Villa la Estancia which looks like it will do.

(Either you know me enough to know that the comment "it will do" was purely sarcastic OR you think I am a total snob!)

We are super excited and can't wait to be lounging in the pool! Our first vacation in the area when Soph was only 4 months old was a bit more challenging as she was too little to handle the heat and humidity of summer. Last year was much more fun as she became quite the little fish in the pool, and we were also able to enjoy ourselves a bit more! This year, we're expecting full-on fun - she is super psyched for vacation, and so are we!

We'll be back on Thursday afternoon and have 24 hours to do laundry and repack, then it is off to Wisconsin on Friday for a full month of family fun beginning with a trip to the Milwaukee zoo with the Uncles and Gram and Gramps! Obviously, trying to pack for two consecutive trips (with different weather) has been a challenge! This is what our bedroom looked like yesterday! (Where in the world is Waldo . . . I mean, Sophia!)

She did a great job of playing amidst the mess while we packed!

This won't be the first summer trip to the states - I was so fortunate to visit Minneapolis in June for Raphaela's bridal shower and then last weekend for her wedding! Lots of photos to post from those events, but you'll have to wait until we're de-vacationed! Happy Summer!

White Wonderland

2010-07-18T07:27:00.000-07:00

Sophia is learning to open everything.

Things she can now open that are helpful:

Playdough Containers
Yogurt Cartons
Doors

Things she can now open that are the opposite of helpful:

Powder

Rockin' and Rollin' . . . or not!

2010-07-16T10:47:00.001-07:00

Most of you know that we enrolled Sophia in her first "school" back in February. (See here for the story of her first day.) This May, they invited all the parents to their first Music Festival - a supposed demonstration by all the musically-talented children of what they had learned in the past few months! I must admit, the school has an extremely talented music teacher who is a gift to the youngsters, and as excited as they were pre-concert, things quickly changed once they had an audience!

(Of course, being that I am all American and punctual, we were among the first parents there! I must remember showing up 20 minutes late actually means right on time. Nearly 10 years, and I still haven't gotten the hang of that!)

Both the older and younger groups were quite lively, clapping, laughing and dancing around the garden!

But as soon as Sophia's group emerged, they sat in their chairs, stone-cold, no smiles cracked, no funny facial expressions, no clapping, no singing. Nothing. Stares. Four whole songs they sat there like that - these lively rambuctious creatures who normally won't sit still for 8 seconds much less 8 minutes. At one point they were given instruments, and again, they listlessly banged on them (still with stone-cold stares) while their teachers sang away happily (and a little embarrassed) to the songs!

Nevertheless, they received a huge applause from all of the in-love-with-their-two-year-old-parents, and of course the second they were done, they ran for their parents and watched another group perform.

And then ... suddenly, they all came to life! Jumping and dancing and shrieking - most likely making up for the eight torturous moments of silence they had endured earlier!

I suppose Sophia wanted to set the bar low so that if she cracks a smile in her next performance we'll see it as a grand improvement! Smart girl.

May Celebrations!

2010-07-15T12:58:00.000-07:00

Seems like every summer I am playing catch-up to update the blog! Perhaps that happens because every spring is known to us as wedding bonanza, and while I'd love to have time to post photos, eat dinner, sleep and go to the bathroom, let's be honest. Our business just doesn't allow for it! There are a few May days, however, that can't go by without recognition!

First, Pablo and I celebrated 5 years of marriage on May 9th! Yippee for us! Only we were working - our anniversary happened to be squished in between May 8th and May 10th weddings so there wasn't much time for celebrating! He didn't, however, forget to bring me roses (as he has done every year thus far)!

Second, my third Mother's Day fell on May 10th (while we were at a wedding), so while I didn't actually get to spend it with my daughter OR my mom, lots of summer days are coming in which I get to make up for it! (And we did take off on the 11th, so I got to spend the day lazing around, reading books with Soph and recovering from the busy early May weeks!)

And last but not least, Sophia turned two years old on May 12th! Her real birthday fell midweek so we only celebrated a bit - she ate breakfast with dad and opened her birthday gift from grandma and grandpa Crawford and then her bff Melany (daughter of one of our employees) came over and we made sugar cookie ice cream sandwiches.

The following weekend, we held Sophia's second birthday party at our house and invited her friends - most of whom are adult friends of the family and her grandma and grandpa Vargas - along with her BFF's Melany, Junior and Eduardo. (She does have lots of little friends at school, but this was more of a "family" party, and these are the people we consider family here in Mexico!)

While Soph took her nap, we decorated the house with balloons and readied for a complete Backyardigans celebration! Sophia's nanny Lorena even brought her a Tasha pinata that we hung on the balcony! When she woke from her nap, she was a little dazed and confused, but soon warmed up to the new and colorful decor!

What followed was lots of fun - lots of chocolate-dipped pretzels, Backyardigan-mask wearing, burgers and dogs, fruit kabobs, presents galore (she got 3 baby dolls - her favorittte!) and cupcakes for dessert! And while we had been practicing blowing out the candles for days, she became camera shy and turned all serious on us. I eventually blew them out; not a moment hesitation once that was done, however, and she was digging right into the cupcake! After cupcakes, we headed downstairs for the breaking of the pinata; the kids (and a few adults) filled their pockets with goodies and then we all headed back upstairs to chill. I mean chill. It was hot; we were tired. Everyone couched while Soph sat around and played with her new toys. A perfect day!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SOPHIA! WE LOVE YOU!

Go here for A reminder of Sophia's first birthday party!

Dos Anos.

2010-05-29T22:37:00.000-07:00

Sophia's favorite saying about two weeks ago was Dos Anos (two years). She finally figured out how to hold up two fingers and was extremely proud of the fact that she was having a birthday, a party of her own and so very proud of her two fingers. Party photos to come!

Happy 2nd Birthday Baby Girl (on May 12th)!

I scream, you scream . . .

2010-04-26T21:34:00.000-07:00

We all scream for ice cream!

Adoption Help

2010-04-13T07:02:00.001-07:00

I know we haven't updated in a while - we've been too busy doing fun stuff as well as getting ready for high-wedding-season! But this is important to me and calls for immediate attention!!!

Some of you may know this and some not, but my friend Rachel and her husband Brian have been in the adoption process for a long time - they started the process at the same time I was pregnant with Sophia. And Soph is about to turn 2. Obviously, they have waited a long long time and had some very difficult and unfortunate experiences throughout the process. Russia is currently considering closing adoption to American couples due to a recent incident with an adopted child, but truly, this would be a very sad ending for so many families about to be united. These children need families who will love and care for them, and I know that Rachel and Brian would be the best parents ever. So there is something that you can do.

Please sign this petition - it literally takes 1 minute - and will be delivered to Presidents Obama and Medvedev while they meet requesting that a child's basic right to a loving family not be taken away through the suspension of international adoption between the US and Russia.

You can read more about Rachel and Brian's adoption journey on their blog.

Ice Ice Baby

2010-03-04T09:04:00.000-08:00

If this isn't a G-rated rapper, then I don't know what is! Here you see Sophia rockin' out to the radio, and her wardrobe choice . . . well that is alllll her!

Today the Crawford Grandparents arrive for some sunshine, Sophia love and good times!
Can't wait!

The Boardwalk - Sophia-style

2010-02-24T18:59:00.000-08:00

We've been trying to take advantage of the February wedding-free weekends. They don't happen often! This past weekend we took a walk on the Malecon, and I swear I thought I took some photos of Pablo and I as well, but now that I look at them, Sophia seems to be the star in every one. Hmmm... could it be that she is cuter than us? So, here you go - a walk on the Malecon - Sophia-style.

Home Improvements

2010-02-18T15:04:00.000-08:00

I never realized that maintaining a home in good shape was a full time job. Now I know.

Remember two days ago when our bathroom had a dirt floor?

Well, my husband has literally been burning the midnight oil to finish this . . . and soon! Let's just put it this way, we don't have a bathtub in our main bathroom and Sophia, well, she doesn't fit in the sink anymore! Haha! This is what it looks like today! And our tile arrived!

And . . . due to another rainy day in Vallarta (in March!?!?!?! What the heck!!?!?!), we actually got our new piece of framed art hung as well! Gosh I love red. (Don't mind the rest of the incredibly dusty house - what do you expect in a construction zone in which all materials are brought up through the main entrance?)

Question of the Day:

2010-02-16T15:17:00.000-08:00

Is it always true that things get worse before they get better?

Ponder that for a moment.

Answer: In the case of my house and all-that-is-Mexican-construction, the answer is a clear and resounding "YES." Case in point, my bathroom. Which just a couple weeks ago was unfinished but an unfinished room. Today, my bathroom is not a room but more of a cave in the corner of my house. A very scary, dusty OH-SO-DUSTY cave.

In a While

2010-02-15T07:05:00.000-08:00

This morning was a little different around our house! We got up 1/2 an hour earlier, played a little less and were rushed a little more! (This is going to take some practice!) Today is Sophia's first day at Daycare, known to her as School-with-lots-of-new-friends! She picked out her turtle shirt to wear on her first day and smiled big for the camera as she played this morning before we headed off.

I love the daycare. It is cute and bright and colorful and energetic and full of happy, smiling kids - which I'm taking as a good sign. Yes, we were the only two-parent drop off this morning; everyone else just pushed their kids through the door, smiled, waved and were off to work. We lingered. Took pictures. Watched her play. Oh, did I mention she took off immediately, running to play with her teacher Miriam and give the kids hugs? Not even a glance backward.

When it was time for us to go, we blew her a kiss and said, "Bye Soph! We'll be back in a while! Have fun!" And she responded, "In a while!"

So we've got an early start to our work day but will most likely be the first parents there at 2pm waiting to pick her up, and yes, we will most likely BOTH go to pick her up. Come on . . . it's the first day!

I'm 1 3/4 years old!

2010-02-12T17:59:00.001-08:00

We did a similar post last year on this same date. So I thought we'd update!

This was me 1 and 3/4 years ago.

This was me last February 12th.

And this is me today!

I just keep growing!

On Monday, Sophia starts "school." We are enrolling her in an early-stimulation style day care from 8:30 - 2 pm three days a week! She is super excited every time we tell her she is going to make new friends; she claps her hands and shouts "amigos, amigos, amigos!" So I guess that means it is time. We have to pick up "school supplies" on Sunday - we've got a long list!

Big Girl Sick

2010-02-11T18:35:00.000-08:00

This week brought a pretty rough day for Sophia - sick with a temperature and bad cold. And while I felt really badly for her, she was just too cute to resist. It was the first time she was sick as a "big girl." At 21 months, she laid on the couch with her sippy water, her favorite friend Pablo and her blanket and watched Backyardigans while sniffling.

The good news is that it was a 24-hour bug and she is back to her rambunctious self.

And, in other news, we finally picked out tile for our master bathroom (which has been plain cement and not functional for two years now!) The goal is to get the bathroom up and running by the Grandparents Crawford visit in early March!

Tim Mahoo?

2010-02-10T00:55:00.000-08:00

Soo... a couple weeks ago, Michelle's eyes lit up and her cheeks glowed as she commented to me that a local Twin Cities musician was coming to Puerto Vallarta to play at one of the night clubs. I thought to myself, "Tim Mahoo-who?" But she seemed in utter crush of this mysterious music man, so I said to myself again, "Hmmm ... after free babysitting, Soph's free haircut, enchiladas upon demand and so many other special things she does for us, who am I to deny her the joy of going to sing and dance to the magical musicals of Tony Mahoney (or whatever his name is)." So we went. First to dinner at Pipi's where a giant margarita made even me excited about this late-night musical entertainment (yes, any live music that requires I be out of bed at 11 pm is really just silly!)

Or so I thought. We saw Tim Mahoney (apparently not Tim Mahoo-who? nor Tony Mahoney - excuuuuuse me!) sing a few songs ...

... then danced the night away to Cities musician GB Leighton as well!

Home at 2:30 am (after convincing Michelle it was absolutely time to go home!) Seriously, unless I'm working a wedding or answering late-night emails, I haven't seen 2:30 roll around in ages!

A Quick Trim

2010-02-10T00:49:00.000-08:00

Near the end of January, Sophia got her first hair trim by Michelle! Just a little snip here and there to take care of that unruly mess on the top of her pretty head! Hee hee!

It's very handy having a cousin who grew up in a salon!

Birthday #2 and #3

2010-02-10T00:08:00.000-08:00

My birthday came and went without much fanfare (just the way I like it!) Seriously, I don't really like celebrating birthdays; I don't feel old or hate telling people my age, I guess I just like to hang out with my family and relax - aaah, relax . . .something that we don't get to do on non-birthday days!!! This year my birthday was the day after a wedding, so in addition to being a bit older and decrepit, I was also exhausted! So we literally laid around the house, I blew out candles on a cupcake, played with Soph (i.e. stuck stickers all over our faces) and just chilled (watching Twilight, of course).

We made up for my not-so-exciting day with over-the-top-excitement for Pablo's birthday less than a week later! We took a quick weekend tour around the world . . . first stopping in New York, seeing the sights and chomping on an awesome deli sandwich . . .

Then it was off to Venice for a walk along the canals and through St. Mark's Plaza and to listen to the yodeling of the gondola singers.

Then we raced off to Paris where we feasted on crepes and checked out some very speedy cars (and I mean Pablo really checked out the cars!)

Alright, so we weren't so much jet-setting as we were wandering the hotels in Vegas, but did I have you going for a moment at least? (Until you saw the show banners hanging off the Venetian buildings? Haha!)

We made our way over to the Bellagio where I was fascinated with the lobby ceiling art! It was literally one of the prettiest things I've ever seen!

We spent the early evening listening to the dueling pianos - sooo much fun!

The night of Pablo's birthday, we went to see O by Cirque du Soleil! (It was kind of the whole point of our trip!)

After the AMAZING show inside the Bellagio theater, we wandered outside to catch the fountain performance which was actually much more stunning and romantic than I anticipated (so I only took one picture - a blurry one - and then just stood and took it all in for a couple minutes!)

The next morning, we headed home to spend Sunday afternoon with Sophia! Happy Birthday to Us (and thanks Chelle for watching Soph so we could jet-set! Haha!)

Birthday #1

2010-02-10T00:00:00.000-08:00

January brings many birthdays for our group - Michelle on the 6th, me on the 11th and Pablo on the 16th - each exactly 5 days apart! Last month we celebrated Michelle's bday with a dinner with a few friends at Banana Cantina! A few pics from the celebration! Happy birthday Michelada!

This one was taken by Doryan's 7-year-old . . . hence the blur!