HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Its been so long since i've blogged - but HAPPY HAPPY 1st birthday to my baby boy, Gabriel!!!! I can't believe how fast this year flew by. We had a week long celebration in beautiful Hiltonhead Island. We shared a HUGE home with our close family and friends and enjoyed a wonderful week together. Pictures to come soon. In the meantime, this is a picture of my beautiful baby boy enjoying his cupcakes. Photo courtesy of Blowup Babies Photography.

Sleep, Happy Baby, Happy Mom

Just when i thought the battle to sleep through the night was coming to an end, i find out that 9 months is a tough time for babies to sleep through the night. Most people say its the separation anxiety the babies are feeling. Others say its their discomfort from teething. Yet others say babies cry because they know they're going to be picked up. Its so hard to decipher whether or not Gabe really needs me or if he just wants to be picked up.

2 recommendations I got from people:

1) a book by Dr. Marc Weissbluth, "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child"

2) Fischer Price's light up seahorse that lights up and plays soothing lullabies.

I recommend them both 100%. For the sake of your own health/happiness and that of your baby, you both need a good night's sleep. I learned how important it is to instill good sleeping habits early on.

3 months of love

Here are 3 month's worth of baby Gabe growing up :) These pictures are snippets of our life from December 2010 to March 2011 so Gabe is between 6 to 9 months old. They flew by way too fast if you ask me: (disclaimer - i have to apologize for Gabe's wacky hair - it has a mind of its own :) )

Far Away From Home

Gabriel Viggo 9 months

The month of February was filled with a lot of traveling for our little family. The month began with a road trip to Tampa, FL. The middle of the month we found ourselves on a plane New Jersey-bound for a trip that was meant to last 1 week but ended up as three weeks. And to end February, we flew to snowy Minnesota to celebrate Wil's birthday with friends and family. Its been fun, but i'm kind of looking forward to time off here in quiet Atlanta. We'll be flying overseas within a few weeks so i really want Gabe to be able to enjoy his own crib for a little bit.

While we were in NJ, I was able to do a lot - see a lot of friends, catch up with people i haven't seen in awhile, spend time with family. We were also able to attend one of my good friend, Archieline's son, Connor's baptism. Its always so nice to catch up with everyone. Here Wil, Gabe and I are getting ready to party for Baby Connor. As you can tell from Gabe's smile, he's excited to party and meet his buddy.

Bye Bye Baby

Gabriel Viggo Cayetano Leano

9 months

There's my little baby, proving that he's not a baby anymore. Gabe is so determined to walk and see the world. Its so amazing to be able to see your child's personality already. I'm not worried about him, Gabe is very strong minded and goes for what he wants so I know the future is his. As a mom though, its so tough knowing that he'll want to leave and do bigger and better things. I want to just hold onto him forever.

At this stage Gabe is crawling all over the place. He just learned to climb the stairs which was exciting - but scary. He doesn't know how to go down quite yet. He's eating A LOT - he's still on his rice cereal and his baby food. I haven't taken the jump to feeding him from my plate yet. Maybe in a month or so. He's copying us more and more. His new tricks of the week are clapping his hands and pointing to the light in the room. He's such a smiley baby. He smiles and laughs all the time. I'm calling it now - he's going to be such a flirt. Again, I'm not happy about this. lol. He's got 4 teeth now. 2 on the bottom and 2 on top. His grin is absolutely adorable.

He is at the stage where stranger anxiety is kicking in. I have to admit, i like it when he looks for me. hehehe. But of course, its also tough leaving him.

We're still teaching him sign language. He hasn't fully grasped it yet, but i think now that he's mimicking us a little more, he might understand sign language soon.

Gabe's sleeping has gotten a lot better. He sleeps through the night now. My only regret is he still needs a bottle before he sleeps. I have a feeling weaning him off will be an issue. We'll see. I'll save that for another post when the time comes.

My favorite toy for him at this point is this little gumball machine toy from fischer price. I got it for him from a garage sale awhile back. It spits out little plastic balls when you press the lever down. Gabe pressed the lever once by accident and ever since then he knew how to play with it. I guess it just amazes me how babies can now comprehend cause and effect, and how they now have minds of their own.

I could watch him for hours, watching what he does, how he does it, why he does it. I'm so lucky to be able to work from home and share all his firsts with him.

To my baby Gabe, you are such a joy to your daddy and I. You amaze us everyday. We love you. mwah.

Happy Valentine's Day

Greetings from NYC! Have a beautiful Valentine's day!! Looking forward to spending the day with my wonderful husband and with my sister and brother in law. I know my parents are enjoying theirs seeing baby Gabe's smile in person. It feels great to be home.

Baby Talk

Gabriel Viggo - 38 weeks

We just came back from a wonderful, relaxing trip to Florida. Our small vacation home there can be described as shabby chic. Much of the decor was left from the previous owners so a lot of the vintage looking lamp fixtures, cabinetry, and finishes exude history.

We had a great time watching my parents play with Gabe. Its amazing how much joy he brings them. Of course its no surprise since we love every minute with him, but watching our parents play with him and interact with him makes it extra special.

One morning as I drank my coffee in our sunroom, i read a magazine i stumbled across called, "Working Mother." It had a great article about children and learning to talk. It said that from age 0-36 months babies should be listening to at least 30,000 words a day - A DAY! I already thought i spoke to him a lot. So, the article advised that we speak to our babies as much as we can, since they're brain can soak in so much. While cooking, talking about all the ingredients we're using. While doing chores, explain what we're doing, why we're doing it. Even though they can't talk back, hold conversations with them. Read at least one book a day to our children.

Reading to Gabe is one of my absolute favorite pastimes. He loves reading books. He'll sit in my lap, look at the colorful pictures, look at me while I read and snuggle. Not only is it helping his development but its filling my quota of baby hugs for the day :) I have no clue if this is why, but i read to Gabe every night while he was in my belly - so its been a ritual for quite some time now. Maybe that's why he loves it. Who knows - i hope his love for reading contiues throughout his life.

Gabe's favorite book

"Bunnies are for Kissing"

by: Allia Zobel Nolan

Happy Friday

image from www.weheartit.com

Its a been dark and gloomy these past few days in atlanta. Its those type of days where you just want to drink you coffee, and snuggle up in your warm cozy blanket and catch up with your favorite characters in your paperbacks that have been piling up. But of course, this isn't possible in mommy-ville. Rainy days means placing a slew of the baby's toys all over the floor and playing with him all day long to keep him occupied. I love those types of rainy days instead. I could watch him smile and laugh forever.

Although its rainy, we still have a bright weekend ahead that we're all looking forward to. My parents are flying in tomorrow and we're driving to our vacation house in Florda. I'm looking forward to spending time with my parents and watching them play with Gabriel. He's their first grandchild so of course he brings them so much joy. Having them around means.....date for Wil and I :)

We're planning to head to Orlando to visit Universal Studios! umm..hello - Harry Potter World!!! Can't wait.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend doing something that brings you joy.

Paper Hearts

Working on homemade Valentine's cards from Baby Gabe.

Of course his contribution to making the cards is zilch at this point -but next year you can bet he's going to get down and dirty with the glue and paper hearts. Love spending time with him and watching him grow and learn.

Its so rewarding sitting there teaching him something and watching him copy me or repeat it the next day on his own. I say this all the time but he's growing up so fast. So, as much as it would've been fun to have him work on these cards with me, i'm ok with him sitting there watching me make these cards while he plays with his Discovery toys "Go Go Caterpillar." I'm savoring his baby days as much as I can.

Serendipity

Serendipity - by definition from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/

1. The faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident.
2. The fact or occurrence of such discoveries.
3. An instance of making such a discovery.

Life is all about making discoveries. Going down different paths of life opens doors for different opportunities. I completely believe that everything happens for a reason. Circumstances and situations push us to go down certain paths and towards a certain destiny. Its up to you to find happiness in that destiny. Don't take anything for granted. Appreciate life and where its brought you.

I'm so fortunate to be where I am today. Of course, I have a supporting family with a beautiful baby boy. I have so many friends in different states that I never thought I would meet had i not moved around a bit. It always bring me joy to see my different groups of friends together.

One of my fondest memories was from March 2009. My closest girlfriends from Minneapolis came to visit NYC so I could show them around for a few days. Not only did I play tourist with them, but my closest friends from NJ came too! It was such a blast. The weather, although gloomy, was surprisingly warm and we had so much fun wandering the streets of midtown, enjoying the hustle and bustle of the city. There's an energy within those streets that you cannot find anywhere else in the world. I remember passing through Rockerfeller Center, Radio City, St. Patricks Cathedral, Tiffany's on 5th, Magnolia's Cupcakes, Central Park...so many great landmarks all shared with many great friends.

As much as I had fun, i didn't truly appreciate it until we were all sitting in the famous Serendipity cafe. There they all were, friends from different states, in my favorite city in the world, all laughing, bonding, having fun all while sharing their famous "Frozen Hot Chocolate." I literally took a step back to soak it in. I was lucky, I am lucky.

Well, although i'm faraway in Atlanta, yesterday, i was able to recreate a piece of that in my mind. I took my first spoonful of Starbucks "Signature frozen hot chocolate." It was divine to say the least. I'm happy :)

Snow Day

(image from www.weheartit.com)

I have to admit i was laughing prior to today. The state of Georgia had a "winter weather alert" for today. Everyone's facebook status's and tweets were talking about stocking up and getting ready for the "big storm." I even heard there was a line just to park at the grocery stores yesterday because everyone was panicking to get food. When i checked the weather to see what was expected, it said 3-4" of snow was expected.....I literally thought this was a joke. 3-4" in MN or NJ is nothing!! we drive in 3-4". Here, before the storm even came, they announced that school was closed and that flights for today were cancelled. Don't get me wrong. I understand that the south is not used to this type of weather and isn't equipped to handle snow removal, but its just funny in comparison.

Anyway, i woke up this morning to winter white outside, while the snow on my deck railing only shows about 3" of snow, its still nice to think of it as a snow day. Luckily its Wil's weekend so he, I and Gabe are spending quality time at home lounging around in our pjs. Perfect day for hot chocolate :)

I love the feeling of being in our home watching our baby play. Gabe is so cute crawling around the house. As i was cooking he crawled into the kitchen, crawled by my legs and sat down. It was such a priceless moment for me. I love snow days in with my family.

Here's to many hot chocolate happiness days.

You Light Up My Life

Gabriel Viggo 7 months - December 29, 2010

The joy I feel everytime I see Gabe's smile is indescribable. He's grown so much from being this helpless little being to a little baby boy crawling all over the place flaunting his smile to the world. He's such a cutie pie. Whenever there's a camera in front of him and you say cheese, he'll flash his big toothless grin. This is him all decked out for my dad's birthday and my mom's retirement celebration. It was just an intimate dinner with our immediate family. Gabe was absolutely adorable in his little button down shirt, vest and tie. He had matching pants but they were a bit big so he rocked his jeans instead. Its ok - its the modern look right?

(Gabe's 3 piece suit is by Nautica. His jeans are from Old Navy.)

Snow in the City

"Let it Snow, let it snow, let it snow." Its absolutely gorgeous here in NJ/NY. We had a huge snow storm last night -just one day shy of making it a White Christmas but thats ok - if it came earlier our guests and family wouldn't have been able to celebrate the holidays with us so I'm glad it worked out the way it did.

Now my whole family is home, including baby Gabe, we're all in our pajamas relaxing, watching movies, baking, eating, laughing.....everything that reminds me of home.

If i were to guess we had about 10 inches last night and everything in sight is pristine white. Love it. I've already seen snow in MN - they had 20 inches afterall, but nothing beats the first snowfall of the year. Its when everybody still appreciates the snow. After this though, when it prevents people from going to work, when kids stay home from school, and when the roads are slippery, people are going to start coursing this weather. So for now, I'm enjoying it with everyone.

Stay warm everybody

Happy Holidays!

(Gabriel - 6 months)

Happy Holidays!!

Merry Christmas!!

Happy New Year!!!

Here's to another fabulous year - cheers!!

This little piggie

Gabe's my little piggie. As most of you know, Gabe has an extensive pig collection (courtesy of his dad's love for all things round and pink.) So, it was only right that Gabe have a piggie hat for the cold weather. here we are with my sister visiting Athen, GA this past week. Its a great college town where the University of Georgia is located. It has cute boutiques and pubs in its downtown area. Gail's boyfriend Jim went to Supply training there for the Navy years ago so we decided to visit it for the day. It was a nice day trip for us. Gabe had a great time showing off his hat :)

I'm wearing an H&M turtleneck sweater with my David Yurman ring. Gabe's wearing a graphic tee with a Carter's l/s onesie. I ordered his hat from etsy.com. Gail is wearing an American apparel top with a United Colors of Benneton scarf.

Gabriel - 30 weeks

Gabriel 30 weeks

Its starting....he's transforming into a little boy. This week a huge week for Gabe. Not only did he start sitting up on his own, but he started crawling! I wasn't ready for that. I knew he was going to start sitting up at some point but i didn't expect him to start crawling! I can't help but hold him a little tighter at night- he's just growing up so fast - i wish i could hold him forever.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Stuffed Cupcakes

I made the most amazing treats to celebrate Gabe's 6 month birthday and I wanted to share the recipe with you. I got it from:


http://picky-palate.com/2009/08/17/chocolate-chip-cookie-stuffed-cupcakes/

Chocolate Chip Cookie Stuffed Cupcakes

1 box butter/yellow cake mix

1 small box instant chocolate pudding mix

4 eggs

1/2 Cup water

1/2 Cup vegetable oil

1/2 Cup sour cream

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

8 oz softened cream cheese

1 stick softened butter

3 Cups powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, water, oil and sour cream into a stand or electric mixer. Beat on medium speed for close to 2 minutes or until well combined. Scoop into 24 paper lined cupcake cups just over 1/2 full. Next, press 1 Tablespoon prepared cookie dough into the center of each cupcake batter. Bake for 18-24 minutes or until toothpick comes out mostly clean from center. Let cool completely.

2. Place cream cheese and butter into mixer, beat until well combined. Slowly add in powdered sugar until good frosting consistency then spread with cream cheese frosting or chcolate ganache.

Enjoy this tasty treat!!

Lazy Moments

Hope you're all having a great week! I spent the last week in Minnesota and LOVED it. It was so nice being around friends and family and especially having people to watch Gabe for awhile. Of course I loved every second with him, but its also nice to just be lazy and bum around for a bit without having to worry about the baby. Wil's parents were eating Gabe up like candy. He was always smiling and laughing with them. I know they wish they could see him more often. Trust me, with the rest i get when they're there to help me, i wish we were there more often too!!

Half a year of Happiness

I can't believe I'm even saying this but our little Gabriel is now 6 months old!!! Where the heck is time going?? People always say it flies by fast but you really don't realize it until it passes you by. He's growing right before our very eyes. Every morning when i pick him up from his crib i swear that he grew overnight.

He's doing so many fun things now:

- he can sit up on his own now for a few seconds

- he grabs for things on the table or toys that are farther than arms length

- he giggles all the time

- he sits in his highchair and eats his rice cereal

- he bounces around in his Baby Einstein jumper

- he can hold his baby bottle

- he loves being tickled on his tummy or being kissed a million times on his cheek

- he can squirm from one of the room to the other in less than a minute (i don't think i enjoy this very much though - lol)

- he loves reading books

- he talks and babbles all the time

- Wil and I think he says mama and dada but we have no clue if he knows what it means or if he's just saying jibberish

Its been a half year of learning so much from such a little person. But we can't wait to see what the other half of the year will bring.

So in honor of Mr. Gabe's birthday I baked CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE STUFFED CUPCAKES. They were amazing. I'll post the recipe for them as soon as I can.

Happy 6 months to my son Gabriel. Words can even explain how much i love you. Thank you for being our angel.

So Thankful

Sorry for the lack of posts - Mr. Gabe and I were sick with the flu! What a horrible feeling. I haven't had the flu in a long time - a cold, yes, the flu, no. It wouldn't have been so bad if i just had a simple cold but taking care of a baby when you're feeling naseuous, achy, and tired is not fun - especially a sick baby. There was nothing we could really do but rest it out and drink lots of fluids. Luckily, we're A LOT better. So i learned with adults the flu bug lasts only about 24 hours but with baby's, it can last from 3-5 days. I'm fine now and Mr. Gabe is about 90% better. yey! Wil and I have been waiting for him to feel better for awhile! He had a cold for a few weeks and he just ended his flu bug. I'm hoping these boosted up his immune system. we'll see.

Anyway, we were able to celebrate our first thanksgiving as a family. It was so nice having the 3 of us together to start our own traditions. It was nice and quiet. We had Christmas music on, Wil played with the baby, I wrapped Christmas presents and cooked a nice dinner.

I haven't conquered the turkey yet so i was going to bake some cornish hens for us. I even got Gabe some sweet potato to try as his first baby food :) But since he was still under the weather, I held off. Anyway, Wil's not a big fan of thanksgiving food (neither am I) and so we had a Thai Thanksgiving. I cooked thai basil beef and chicken pad thai. Yum - it was soooo good.

This thanksgiving was also special because Wil and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary. I can NOT believe its been 4 years since our wedding in Aruba. I still remember it like it was yesterday. It was a vacation for everyone - including us.

This year I'm so thankful for everything in my life. I know how lucky I am. I have an amazing husband who would do anything to give me the world. I have wonderful friends and family. We're so lucky my husband has a job that allows us to see the world. And the best part, is our adorable son - Gabriel. We've been waiting so long for him to come into our lives. And its still so surreal that he's finally here. Our lives are finally complete.

Hope you all had a wonderful and special thanksgiving.