Sunday Fun Day

It's Sunday afternoon and I can barely keep my eyes open! Yesterday we had a wedding on the beach at Dreams Resort, and while feeling eternally grateful that it didn't rain, it was impossibly hot. We're talking heat-stroke-hot. We worked from 9 am until 2 am directly on the beach, ten of those hours were in the intese heat and beating-down sun! I'm sure lots of you are thinking "that doesn't sound so bad!" I guarantee you, it was! Our entire staff applied SPF 30 several times and we still ended up looking like lobsters, most likely very dehydrated and exhausted. It was a very tough day - not one of our best - but we got through it.

After finally getting home late, I went to bed at 2 am and Pablo took the staff home and got to bed at 4 am. Sophia, who apparently cannot adjust her schedule to accommodate ours, woke up at 6 am to start her day! I dragged myself out of bed and did the best I possibly could to be entertaining to a five-month old! She, however, found her foot and that kept her pretty busy for quite a while!




This afternoon we hopped in the car and delivered some welcome bags for a group we have coming in for next weekend's wedding then decided to take a detour to Mismaloya Beach and have some chips and guac! I happened to toss the camera in the diaper bag in the morning, and thank goodness! We caught a few pics of Sophia's first foot-dip in the ocean and a squat in the sand with me!

Firsts for Sophia - USA and Solids!

Life has been just nuts. It seems like ages since Sophia and I returned from our quick jaunt to the good ole US of A, but looking at the calendar, I see it has been less than 10 days. It feels like forever. Soph has grown and changed so much in just the last few weeks! Everyone told us that things would just keep getting better and better – and were all of you right!


After receiving Soph’s passport in late September, we scheduled a quick trip to the US to visit The Grams and Gramps Crawford as well as to meet Daniel, David, Stacy and Tiffany and other gobs of important family peeps!

So after endless sleepless nights worrying about Sophia on the airplane, we actually boarded one and off we flew! Soph was a doll – seriously, not a mere squawk through the first plane and just a few on the second.

While she behaved perfectly, I think Continental Airlines and Houston’s Customs Agents could do well with some serious lessons on assisting travelers with babies. They could not have done LESS to help. I was nearly in tears in Houston as I attempted to remove my shoes, laptop, 8 baby bottles filled with yes . . . a harmless liquid called WATER, balance Soph on one knee, fold up the monster stroller (which seriously requires three hands alone) and get through the security doorframe only to have to pack it all up again with Soph balanced on one knee while attempting to fumble open the stroller whose button had been jammed in the x-ray machine. Needless to say, not fun. Now if the US would just give my husband a visitor’s visa, perhaps I wouldn’t have to rant against Continental and Customs, but until that happens, I will fairly express my rage!

Anyway, waiting on the other end of the trip were her Uncle David and Aunt Stacy! They held an adorable sign that said “Welcome to America Baby Sophia!” which every other passenger (including the flight crew) got to see before us as we were, yes, the VERY last people up the long hallway and out of airport world into the real one! Dave and Stacy later told us that they were sure some of the people on the plane thought they were adopting Sophia from another country due to the sign, and once my brother and sister-in-law met Soph, they said the adoption was complete. I did sneak her back home with me though! (And on a side note, my awesome friend Rachel and her husband Brian who are adopting are in Russia RIGHT NOW meeting a baby. You can follow their trip and baby news on their blog – The Russian Thiele.)

Ok, once safely in Milwaukee with family, we had a fantastic weekend – having lunch on Saturday at an outdoor restaurant (in 80 degree weather) and then bundling up on Sunday at the Family Farm to brave the . . . oh gosh, I don’t know – it felt like below zero weather although I’m positive my family will say I’m exaggerating and assure me it was near 70 or something like that. All I know is that it was COLD!












Then Sunday night following Sophia’s BBB routine (bath, bottle, bed), we hopped in the car for a long trip up north to mom and dad’s house! With only one minor issue (mom and dad’s black-as-night dog Farley deciding to visit the back seat from the waaay back seat to stand on top of Sophia in her car seat. Being black-as-night, I didn’t notice he was there until he was on top of her. A little bit of harmless wrestling in a moving vehicle and he was back in the waaay back seat and Soph didn’t make a peep.

Back home in Minocqua, the parade of visitors and visits began! Visits to the hospital to see dad, visits to the eye clinic to see mom, visit to Gran-Grandma’s house (in an oddball conversation with Pablo, somehow Great-Grandma turned into Gran Grandma, and so it is), visits from the entire family (some of which who drove quite a ways to meet my little Bean)!







We had a great time (despite the below zero temperatures!) and took nice walks as the leaves were just starting to change color and spent time with Grandma and Grandpa (who spoiled Sophia with post-bath body massages, middle-of-the-night playtime, sleeping for hours in-arm time and tv-watching on grandpa’s lap – although to be honest, I’m not sure that the History and Discovery channels nor Golf really qualify as entertainment!).








All of a sudden it was Friday night (what do you expect? Between visiting and visits, bottle-feeding and sleep, we kept busy and before we knew it, the week was over!) and we made the late-night trek back to Milwaukee for one more day spent churching, eating, shopping and relaxing with Dan, David and Stacy! So much fun!




Early the next morning, we were back on a plane and heading home. (Kudos, by the way, to the Milwaukee airport employees who DO know how to help a woman travelling with a baby!) Soph was again a doll despite pooping-it-up on not one, but both planes! Changing diapers in turbulence is so much fun. (Note the sarcasm.)

Pablo, who awaited us at the airport, swooped Sophia into his arms and practically took off without me. I’m thinking he missed his baby, and maybe me . . . just a little. He had surprises waiting for us at home – an almost-completely-painted-living-room, an almost-completed-window-seat, a completely retiled balcony . . . and then a few new holes here and there for electrical work he deemed necessary. But what’re a few holes, right? (Er, trying to convince myself. Not working.)




The first night home was rough – Soph had a really difficult time readjusting to the heat and humidity; she even broke out with heat rash a couple hours after we landed in hot hot hot PV. She seems to be well-adjusted at this point and sweats right along with the rest of us! The only difference is that the humidity makes my hair frizzy and uncontrollable; the humidity makes her hair all curly and cute.

Oh, and without all the blankets and bundling for cold Wisconsin weather, Soph has returned to the roast-chicken-sleep.


Since we’ve been home, Sophia started solids – we’ve gotten through chayote squash -um, yeah. Apparently you don’t start with peas when you live in Mexico), we’re on carrots and soon we’ll be graduating to mini zucchini. We are, as long as time allows, attempting to puree our own veggies although I am still working on determining how many carrots make enough puree for a week. I’m not doing well. I have enough carrots frozen for approximately three months. Note to self: do not boil 4 carrots if intent is to have carrots for only one week.



The first solids-feeding was relatively uneventful. Little spoon to lips, chayote in mouth and swallow. Repeat. No ugly faces. My girl’s an eater. And not much of a discriminating one!

Carrots got a bit more of a reaction from her, but still not all that exciting! I suppose we’re supposed to be thankful although we truly have waited five months to see those adorable what-the-heck-are-you-putting-in-my-mouth faces . . . and nothing.



We had our first wedding this past Saturday and started off the season with success (hot, humid, rainy success, but a success nonetheless)! For those of you who give a tweedle-dee about the business and weddings, you can see a few early pics on The Dazzling Details blog. For those of you who don’t, you can tweedle off! (Notice the vocab changes having a five-month old has caused.)

The two oddball tropical storms out along our coast are giving us some strangely intense rainstorms the past . . . (counting) nine afternoons/evenings, but thankfully, they are keeping things somewhat cool at night (like in the 80’s) before heating and humiding things up (to the high 90’s) during the daytime. Nothing like living in a steamer for four months.

That’s all for tonight/this morning – not even sure what 4:30 am qualifies as anymore!

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

Holy Smokes! Time has flown, and the blog has fallen by the wayside the last few weeks – not because nothing is happening, but because too much has been keeping us busy! Catching up will definitely need to happen in a series of posts – impossible to share all the news in just one (especially as I’m writing this at 10:30pm and already tired!) but here’s a quick start!

The Dazzling Details staff is back in the office in full swing and getting ready for our 2008-2009 wedding season! We kick off this fall with four October weddings and really don’t have a break until Christmas time! We’re excited that despite the sketchy and a-bit-scary US economy, we have a full wedding season!

After a summer full of brainstorming and design, drafts and modifications, our new The Dazzling Details website is up and running! We’re really happy with it! Check it out, and we’d be happy to hear any feedback you may have!

And on to the really important news!!!

Sophia has grown like crazy in the last month – she now weighs a whopping (Get ready for this!!!) – 18 pounds!!! Her legs and cheeks are so chunky and adorable, I cannot help but squeeze them every time she gets close (which is often . . . so there is LOTS of squeezing going on!)


We had our first bout of the flu with her a few weeks ago, and she was placed on antibiotics, nasal spray and Tempra – yikes! So much to keep track of! But she recovered quickly and is back to her happy healthy self!

Soph hosted her first pool party a couple weeks ago and invited only Michelle and Mom. It was a hot, sticky day and the pool helped cool Soph off! Unfortunately, there was not enough space for Michelle OR Mom in the pool, so Sophia swam ‘solo’ at this party!



She also graduated from laying-in-the-crib-watching-mobile to bouncing-endlessely-in-the-exersaucer! After much trial and tribulation, our exersaucer finally arrived after having travelled across a good portion of the US and then Mexico to arrive to our house on the little gravel street in PV! Soph anxiously awaited as Pablo (who can pretty much assemble anything in under a minute) struggled with 30 little Fisher Price pieces until they fit together and made his spoiled baby girl super happy!



For those of you who want more, there is a new video of Sophia and her exersaucer in action – check out the top left corner of the blog!

The last time I wrote on the blog, we had just gotten Sophia’s picture taken in an antique photo session! We were told we had to wait nearly a month to receive the photos, and it seemed like forever! But we’ve finally got them in hand, and boy!, were they worth the wait! Here are a few peaks at “Antique Sophia!” (Click on the photos to see the larger version – they are just too cute to not see in “Grande Size!”)




Sophia’s passport arrived on September 19th (Woo hoo!), and we took advantage of our final couple weeks prior to wedding season to visit family in the United States!

Hopefully this is the last time we need to leave Pablo behind as we’ll be trying again for a visa in November (please say extra prayers for us!)

We arrived this past Friday and spent the weekend with David, Dan, Stacy and Tiffany (and grandma and grandpa!) in Milwaukee and then headed up north to Minocqua to make the family rounds! We’re having a great time and have been super busy, but we’re taking lots of pictures and will post next week once we are back and settled in good-ole-piping-hot-Mexico! Until then, here’s a quick peek at Sophia all bundled up for the first time in warm winter clothes! It hasn’t been less than 80 degrees in PV since she’s been born, so the cold rainy days up north have been quite a surprise to her! But she is one adorable bundled baby!

Sophia Goes Antiquing

Pablo and I are doing our best to spend "quality time" with Soph during the afternoons and weekends as we know very shortly our days will be become crazed.

This morning we took her to an antique photo session where she dressed in lace, donned some pearls and sat in a basket! The photos for proofing won't be ready until the end of September, but I snapped a very quick shot as they were posing her (and got in trouble for it!) so there's only one!

If this isn't a "teaser," I don't know what is!


I was able to crop and bring her a little closer to give you a peek at her adorable wardrobe!

"Sophia Meet Nanny, Nanny Meet Sophia"

Today was a big day at the Vargas - Crawford household! After nearly a week and a half of not-much-news, nothing-too-exciting and the same-ole-same-ole, today brought a whole new experience for Baby Sophia and her parents!

The story actually begins about three weeks ago when Pablo and I decided it was time to nanny-hunt! Things in wedding-world have been picking up a bit and keeping both brides and Sophia content at the same time is like juggling five spiked flaming balls in the air. At times I have trouble just walking down the cobblestone street, so needless to say, juggling spiked flaming balls is not my cup of tea. We realized that things were only going to get more complicated as weddings get closer, brides get less patient and Sophia does the same!

We started by telling everyone we know to keep their eyes and ears open as we were looking for an excellent, reliable, responsible, fun, near-perfect person to be our daughter’s nanny for six hours a day in our home while we work downstairs in the office. We got a couple recommendations.

I called the first on Friday afternoon. She answered the phone. She sounded nice and responsible . . . but was she really near-perfect? She was meditating by the river. I cringed. I pictured my daughter levitating off her bedroom floor, hovering in the air somewhere above the colorful noisy toys she should be playing with instead of doing baby yoga. I hung up the phone and called the second.

She answered and had experience. She nannied for years for a lovely family. She said all the right things. We met. She wanted a bedroom and a bathroom and to live in our house. I took her home and said Goodbye.

Sophia (not to mention mom and dad) was feeling quite sad about the lack of prospects.


So we put an ad in the local newspaper and waited for Friday when it would come out, the phone would ring and Mary Poppins would enter our lives. Except that the paper made a mistake, and our ad never appeared, the phone never rang and well, Mary Poppins . . . you get the idea.

So we placed another ad the following week and waited anxiously for Friday to arrive. Friday didn’t come soon enough; by Tuesday I had a meltdown. Brides’ emails were filling my inbox and Sophia simply wasn’t content to sit by and watch me answer them! So I called the river meditator out of desperation. I figured levitating wasn’t the worst thing that could happen to my daughter, and she had been highly recommended! So we made an appointment to meet the following morning at 10 am at a café (across the street from Office Depot).

The next day, I woke, showered, fed, played with, dressed and packed up Soph and hauled her to Café Canela where I anticipated our grand meeting with M. Poppins. Around 11 a.m., my dream nanny had not arrived. Angry at the world, I packed up Sophia once again and headed home. On the way I received a phone call from Nanny. She had waited for an hour across from Home Depot. I still am unclear on exactly what was going through her head as there is certainly NO café in front of Home Depot as HD is located 15 miles out of town on the main highway with nothing nearby. Nevertheless, I figured perhaps her head was in the yoga clouds and we made another appointment to try again the next day.

Soooo, you guessed it . . . the following morning I woke, showered, fed, played with, dressed and packed up Soph and hauled her to Café Canela where Nanny Lorena awaited. Sophia immediately smiled and the rest is history. We talked over coffee (well, Chai – I hate coffee!), then I drove her to her house where she invited me in to see her home which was cute, organized, clean and cozy – I was convinced.
Today Nanny Lorena and Sophia spent their first day together (with mom and dad peeking in occasionally . . . ok, often, to see how things were going). I plugged in the baby monitor downstairs and heard lots of singing, cooing, baby talk and silence! Silence! My baby who doesn’t nap for more than 20 minutes took three 40-minute naps – most likely due to the exhaustion from having someone playing exclusively with her (without any emails to answer on the side!)

So today, being Friday, our ad appeared in the local paper, and we have received about 30-35 phone calls from women interested in the position, but our family has already settled on Nanny Lorena.

We’ve always believed that things happen for a reason, and this time, I’m thinking my Tuesday meltdown led us to the phone call that led us to Lorena just in time - before today, when we would have set up 35 interviews with 35 women and not have found our Mary Poppins because she was meditating by the river rather than answering ads. So once again, we find ourselves feeling so fortunate and blessed to have found the near-perfect person to take care of our perfect baby!

Oh . . . and there was no levitating today. All play took place at ground level.

Here is the new addition to our family – Sophia and Nanny Lorena: