And they grow fast

It's true what they say, kids do grow up fast, and even though it doesn't feel like it because you are in the everyday, one day you look and they are already doing new things, and the old things are just old. One day they play with fruits, and the next day all they want to do is "read" books.  Next month she will be one year and 6 months old. 

Emilu: 12 months of life

We came back home on Wednesday, and Thursday we had a Pediatrician appointment. She was given her shots, and they drew blood for the first time. Emilu kicked her legs and cried like never before, but thank goodness she was poked once only. She weighs 21 and half pounds and her height is 30 inches tall. Where did the months go?  I remember bringing her home from the hospital, the sleepless nights that followed and all the giggling and babbling she learned to do after.  Here's a month by month (12) picture strip of her first year of life. My baby is a now a toddler.

Emilu's first birthday

Yesterday we celebrated Emilu's first birthday.  It was to be a Spring fete in the cozy yard of my family's home in Miami, but instead we ended up indoors due to a severe rain and thunder storm that flooded the streets for several hours.  But it turned out well, we enjoyed ourselves and it became a more intimate get together. 

She was very shy at the start of it, waking up from a long afternoon nap.  But then she got to play with my in-laws and her cousins.  We prepared appetizers and small plated dishes, which included Argentian empanadas, mediterranean salad, hummus and casava, peppered cheese mini sandwiches and a lorraine quiche.  The cake was prepared by a Dominican baker.  It was a vanilla/almond cake with hazelnut and vanilla frosting and a creme filling. Very yummy!  Emilu had cake for the first time, and she of course, loved it.  We are so grateful for a healthy and vibrant one year old in our lives.

Party time!

Source: shyscout.blogspot.com

Happy Monday! We arrived late afternoon on Sunday, and already feel so grateful and happy to be back home. Tomorrow is Emilu's birthday and we are planning a small get together with my husband's family and my parents. Very small, indeed. We'll have cake and a few bites, as well as cold, freshing drinks. I will post pictures soon. By the way, it's so hot in here, I think I might have a frozen cocktail!

A birthday is soon approaching

 I still cannot believe our daughter is turning one next week. She was born on May 8th of last year. Her arrival was nothing short of exciting and miraculous. After three days of labor, a birth becomes extraordinary. In this short amount of time she has become a headstrong little lady with a luminous personality and a physical presence. At the playground, she's the one wanting to be close to other kids to touch them, chat them up (more like babble) and just to "experience" them. This, I find fascinating, because being a Taurus is about experiencing things with your whole body. It's the most sensuous sign of the zodiac, the one with the need to use its five senses simultaneously or you run the risk of getting scratched off easily.

My little lady here has been slowly graduating from being a high needs baby to becoming an independent, observant and intense toddler. Where does she get this temperament?  I can't wait to find out more.  In the meantime, I'm starting a letter for her about our lives together this past year, and all the hidden lessons I've come to learn by being a mother to her.  I hope she's proud of it, and one day can read it to her own children.


PS: If it was up to her, she'd be content being on top of me the whole day. I included this picture of her in the baby wrap to show you how attached she still is to her mami, even though she's excited about learning to walk, choosing more often than before to do this on her own (proud momma grin!)