Happy 4th of July!

We had a quiet 4th of July. We spent most of the afternoon at my parent's house eating food, Javi played with the water table (& cousins!) and we finished the evening off with a walk down to the ice cream truck. Things are bit different now... since Javi goes to bed at 7 (and I'm pretty strict about it!) there were no fireworks to be seen by us. Maybe next year!

// toddler cutoffs (similar) // mickey rashguard // havaianas //

Happy Easter weekend!

We've had such a fun couple of days and a perfect holiday! I hope you and your family had a peaceful weekend, too.

It all started on Thursday night when we baked some cookies from Foodstirs! Not exactly like the photo but pretty close and so delicious! On Saturday morning, we took Javi to the Easter bunny - he was not a fan and truth be told it's the scariest bunny I've ever seen.

After meeting the Easter bunny, or clutching to us making sure we weren't leaving him with the Easter bunny -- we took Javi to the marathon start line. The Boston Marathon is tomorrow (Monday) and we're fortunate to live close to the beginning. Every year we visit the weekend before to take some pictures and they have lots of fun things to do and good food to eat. 

As we were trying to take photos from the sidewalk the police officer standing nearby asked us if we wanted a picture of "the baby" on the start line. I nodded yes and next thing I knew we were summoned into the middle of street and the officer stopped traffic going in all directions so Javi could stand on the paint. 

After lunch we passed the playground and couldn't believe there was no one there! The weather hasn't been all that great so it's been a long time since I've taken Javi to a playground. I was amazed that he knows how to use everything!

Once home, I left to get a pedicure -- such fun (!) but not before Javi bit my arm. How do you stop biters?! It's the third time and it's 3 times too many! I need help! After my pedicure, Sean and I went out to dinner together (I was still pretty bummed about my little piranha) and then (of course) Javi decided to wake up the night before Easter (clearly we didn't have anything to do like fill and hide easter eggs) and he was up for way too long in the middle of the night. Why is it that he wakes up during busy times? Holidays... trips... you name it. 

// Javi's easter basket //

On Easter morning, Javi slept in (since he was up in the middle of the night) so I got up at 8 and quickly filled eggs and tossed them into the yard. He was so excited to open his basket in the morning and the bubbles and sidewalk chalk were definitely hits. 

After looking through his basket and eating breakfast together we showered and then headed out into the backyard for his hunt! This one went a lot better than the town egg hunt last weekend because he knew to put his eggs in his bucket.

Our Easter afternoon was a whirlwind of grandparents and other family members, more gift baskets and lots of food! We're so lucky to live so close to so many family members and Javi has so much fun getting all the attention!

// braided lace-up sandals // free people denim leggings //

// ruffle blouse //

Happy Easter!

Yearly Recap: 2016!

What?! It's already time for the yearly recap?!

2010 // 2011 // 2012 // 2013 // 2014 // 2015

I'll admit that this year's yearly recap will be mostly from memory since I wasn't that strong at blogging and what I did blog, I often wrote weeks and sometimes months after the fact and just back dated the posts. Oops. But here goes, anyway...

January: We brought in the New Year with my family. If I remember, Sean was still working at the liquor store and had to work that night but managed to get out in time to celebrate. My uncle Chucky leaned on a candle and caught on FIRE and my aunt Regina put out the fire with her hand. It was funny because it was all good, and she covered her hand in mustard the rest of the night because someone was positive that helps burns?! January also meant that maternity leave was over and I had to go back to work. It was rough. Javi started school and got his first (?) real cough and it was horrible. We watched a lot of Pats games, but I think they ended up losing? We celebrated my dad's 50th birthday.

February: It snowed a bit in February and Javi was invited to his first child's birthday party! Sean's grandmother passed away and we attended her wake and funeral. Javi made his first Valentines (foot prints in the shape of a heart), and we took him to the park for the first time even though it was FREEZING.  I started to Konmari.

March: Javi took his first school pictures :) and we started to give him baby food. He started to roll over for the first time, and I took him to the White Mountains for scrapbook weekend. We spent some time outside and he went on a swing for the first time. We celebrated Sean's 30th birthday, and Javi met the Easter bunny!

April: Javi was all about rolling over and rolling across the room! Sean stopped working at the liquor store. It started to become nice weather and we went for a lot of walks. We went to the marathon start line, and Javi wore his first track suit. We went out with friends for Sean's delayed birthday celebration and we got locked in a room with a zombie that we had to escape from! We went into Boston with Sean's family for dinner. 

May: I celebrated my first Mother's Day. We signed up for a 5k and went but since it was pouring we didn't actually run. It got hot out and Javi enjoyed sitting in a dishpan outside on the deck. (I don't remember much else...)

June: Javi got a crazy diaper burn and it was awful! I survived my first week with Javi... without Sean when he went to Florida. It was hard. So hard. We took him to the aquarium. I finished my 7th year of teaching and summer break started. The cats caught colds... seriously. I started taking Javi to story time at the library and swimming classes. Sean and I had a date night and saw Macklemore in concert. Sean celebrated his first Father's Day. We spent a lot of time outside and Javi LOVED my parent's pool. 

July: Javi went swimming almost every day. We celebrated the 4th of July. We flew to Seattle and did A LOT of stuff while there. Javi started drinking from a straw (which is one of my favorite memories). We rode on a ferry and a ferris wheel. We celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. We vacationed in Puerto Rico and Javi loved the pool... but didn't enjoy the ocean. Our luggage was lost but then recovered. We celebrated my mom's birthday. We saw my great-grandmother. 

August: I continued to Konmari. I started to plan Javi's birthday party. I took Javi to Touch-a-truck. We got a new car and become a one car family. We went to Maine with friends and left Javi for the weekend for the first time. Javi finished swim class and got his first (of many, I'm sure -- ha!) ribbon. I started my eighth year of teaching. 

September: I turned 30 and Javi turned 1! We celebrated him with a "you are my sunshine" theme party. He started to walk. We painted a few rooms in our house. Javi found his lovey -- a stuffed dachshund from Ikea we named Frank. My parents and Barb sold their house and Barb moved in with us!

October: We went to a pumpkin patch that was all out of pumpkins. We "ran" a 5K. Javi got his first basket (in his basketball hoop). We went to Patriots place and community day. Javi was dracula for Halloween and we went to the zoo! We went trick-or-treating at trunk-or-treat. My great-grandmother passed away. 

November: We went to our friend's wedding. I tried to purge our basement. Joe and Kim visited for an early Thanksgiving. I colored my hair for the first time in 5 years. We went to the Cape for Thanksgiving. I spent an entire weekend watching the Gilmore Girls revival and hated it. I was totally devastated after the election. 

December: I tried to get my act together after weeks of being pretty angry over the election. We decorated for Christmas and did all sorts of fun things that we'll turn into traditions. We took Javi to see Santa 3 times, just to get a good picture. We went sledding. I started posting on my cat instagram account again. I also started Konmari, again. We bought a lot of furniture from Ikea and moved around the rooms in our house. We celebrated NYE at home, with family and actually stayed up until 1AM! Javi was in bed at 9 (very late for him!)

It was a tricky year. I won't lie. Sometimes world events and things out of my control get me down. But it's also really easy to look around and be so thankful for our little family. I'm excited for what 2017 will bring and to watch Javi-man grow!

Happy new year!

Christmas, finally!

To say that Javi was a fan of Christmas, would be an understatement. He was a loving, maniac all of Christmas day. :) He woke up at his regular time around 7AM. Our normal routine is to change his diaper, then go downstairs and I pour milk into his bottle, we sit on the couch together and watch Mickey. So when he walked into the kitchen, with both me and Sean... to an audience of Barb and Christine (who couldn't wait to see his face on Christmas morning!) he was a little confused and started to cry. He quickly realized his new kitchen set was all his and he was ALL about it the rest of the day. He is obsessed with his kitchen... and his pots and pans... and tasting the wooden spoons. It's so funny. 

Sean's family joined us for the morning and my parents joined us in the afternoon. It was wonderful that everyone came to us and Javi stayed in jammies ALL DAY long. He also enjoyed that the gates were down and he had free range of the whole house (pretty much). There was a period of the day that he just ran from the kitchen to the dining room shouting. But, hey, it's Christmas! 

Sean and I gave him the kitchen set, with the dishes along with his Christmas Eve box (and then his stocking from Santa :) ) but that was it. We didn't want to go overboard! But he is so lucky and definitely got his fair share of gifts. Our families were incredibly generous and it's hard to remember what Christmas was like before Javi-man. He makes the holidays so much more exciting and full!

Christmas Eve.

I love Christmas Eve! We visited Sean's family and had dinner and then came home to Javi's "Christmas Eve box". He got in bed (on time) so that Santa could come. :) In his Christmas eve box, we put 2 pairs of jammies, a new sippy cup, a reindeer stuffed animal, The Night Before Christmas book, and cozy socks. 

First week of vacation.

It really is such a perk to have two weeks off during the holidays. Sean was able to take a few days off as well and it was so much fun to be off together. We were able to hang out with friends (a few times!), go to dinner together, see Star Wars (his pick..) -- I made cookies, and Javi helped me shop for gifts, we ate way too many donuts, wrapped all the presents and Javi took his very first "big guy bath". I can't believe it. Tears...

We also went to the Enchanted Village which was a lot of fun! The line was like Disneyworld (woah! so long!) but they have an entire village you can walk through, ice skating indoors, Santa was there (and Javi didn't cry!! third time is a charm, I guess) -- it was so much fun and I would love to make it a tradition. :)

Thanksgiving.

This Thanksgiving we joined my family down the Cape. Since my parents and aunt are still not in their new house, we all decided it would be fun to rent a house so that we could all be together (and not in my house with 3 cats and people who are allergic). It was a lot of fun, and really nice weather. Unfortunately, Javi choose those 2 nights (when the house was filled with people) to cry all night... isn't that just the way?? Normally, he's a 7-7 sleeper. But, nope!

I did go out on Black Friday (at midnight!) but I didn't know that stores down the Cape don't open until 1AM... so that was a bit of a bummer. I didn't get much (never do) but I love the excitement and the kick-off to Christmas!

Zoo Boo Day!

The weekend of Halloween, our little Dracula dressed up in his costume and we visited the zoo! He was so excited because he was able to walk by himself (he has quite the stomp)! We took him to the zoo when he was a baby but this was so much fun because he actually noticed the animals (though everyone was called "cat"). Also, Gramma came with us! He loved the deer forest and the petting zoo!

Happy 4th of July!

We spent the 4th with my family! I took lots of photos of Javi in the morning, most are blurry because he no longer sits still for pictures. :) He loved spending most of the day in the pool and we spent most of the day making sure he didn't overheat and didn't get sunburnt!

All in all it was a great day and a wonderful way to celebrate the 4th. We didn't see any fireworks since Javi was in bed but we may have set off a few in the backyard. :)

Happy Mother's Day.

My first Mother's Day, as a mom, was calm and family oriented. We had lunch with Sean's family and dinner with my family. My mom and I had fun with a selfie stick, even though there were many people in the house who could have taken our picture. But where's the fun in that? :)

Being a mom hasn't really set in yet for me. Maybe not until Javi actually speaks and calls out "mama" to me. But I'm enjoying it :) I love the smiles, and the giggles, and don't even mind the 4AM wake ups. (I mean, I could do without them...) I love witnessing milestones, singing nursery rhymes, and playing peekaboo. I love the face he makes when he tries new foods, the way he runs his tongue over his BRAND NEW tooth, how he rolls and scoots and climbs and tumbles. I love the way he hugs me, stares at my face like I'm the one who's brand new, and the way he rubs his eyes when he's tired. I love that he wakes up with a smile every day, chases the cats, and trusts me to catch him when he dives off the bed. He's my most favorite and even though I don't feel like a mom yet, I can't wait for the feeling to catch up with me. 

Happy 2016.

Sean worked till 8PM on New Years and then met me and Javi at my parent's house for a celebration. It was festive and fun and a good time was had by all. Well, Javi slept almost the entire time but had fun nonetheless. We were home by 10:30 and since Javi was sleeping... and we don't have cable (to watch the ball drop), we were asleep by 11. No sense in missing out on an hour of sleep when an infant is in the house. 

This year, I hope to document lots and lots. I didn't do well with this in 2015. I regret it now (not having all the pictures and updates about my pregnancy) and I barely have any blog posts about the year. So in 2016, I hope to jump back on the blog wagon and write about things, big and small. I also hope to instagram more often (and not just baby pics). I also paid for the app, 1 second every day and hope to put together movies of Javi (1 second everyday). I think those "goals" are manageable. But we'll see. Happy 2016!