Carolina is 2 years old!

Our little C grew up over night! Literally the night B was born, it seemed like she aged a ton. The past 6 months have flown by- she is little Miss Independant. Everything is "sola". As always, she loves to sing (with the sweetest little voice) and loves to dance (the living room table is her "stage"). She talks up a storm- sometimes in sentences, sometimes just with every word she knows thrown together. She is speaking spanish and english both, depending on the words (more spanish than english). In spanish she is "dos", english "three" :-). She can count to 10 in both languages, but skips "six"?? She knows her spanish days of the week. Everything is "aqui" or "que susto" and "cookie" seems to top it all. This girl can eat! And eats anything you put in front of her, except pieces of fruit. She aaaaadores Begoña- kisses her, lays on her and says "i hold you". She is attached to chupe (her paci) and lamb lamb. In the past few months C has moved houses, gained a sister and started a new school- and has been such a trooper!! Precious and a joy to be around and well.....all this surpasses the recent tantrums that have started (the "mios", "no's" and screams). Who would ever know from this sweet face?!!

Carolina Lola- 18 months old!

Our little girl has grown so much since her last monthly post (at 12 months). She is a talker, a singer, a dancer and never EVER sits still- so full if energy and so full of life. She repeats nearly every word you say, but her favorites are cookie, turkey, no, mami, papi, hola, chupe (spanish for paci), pato (duck), all gone, mas (more). She's about half and half now with spanish and english. Climbing on everything and standing on chairs are her big thing these days. If you ask her to sing, she says "happy" and starts to sing "happpy to youuuu"- adorable! She's still loving daycare, as the others sit and play when they arrive- she grabs your hand (or anyone's) and dances around the room (so super cute!). She really enjoys being outside, swinging, pushing her baby in the striller, sitting in the jogger.... She eats everything (still) and still getting her beauty sleep of 12hrs, though naps are verrrry unpredictable. Her lamb lamb and chupe are her life! If asked, she'll give Baby Begoña a kiss (on the belly) and occasionally to Mami and Papi too. Peppa Pig and Little Einsteins are her favorite cartoons, especially the opening song. So much action for her these days and we couldn't be more in love! Can't wait for her every next move.

You Are My Sunshine!

We had so much fun throwing this big bash for the Birthday Girl! We held a "You are my Sunshine" theme party, full of lots of yellow and orange, on the terrace. Despite a week of bad weather, there was sunshine! BBQ and Lemonade Bar on the top terrace and the Sweets bar and play area on the lower deck. It came together perfectly! Carolina was joined by 15 of her closest little friends and many of our friends. It was quite a crowd! and we loved it!! Ricardo of course did a great job with a themed play list and with the help of Pinterest and Grammy- Carolina was decked out to the fullest! Though it looked a little ehhh.... the smash cake was a huge hit for both C and her little friends (no sugar, whole wheat flour, apple sauce, bananas, cream cheese and vanilla). I'm sure she'll forever remember her 1st Birthday!! =)

inside Sweets Table

C's healthy smash cake



Candy Bouquet

The Stats!

Downstairs kid snacks

Lemonade Bar to accompany the BBQ



Getting ready for her guests!



Kiddos in the swimming pool

attempt at a group shot

This was pretty much her "shocked" look the whole cake session

digging in!

Our sweet little sunshine!

Showing off her new walking skills

with a little help from mama and papa

Opening the gifts- a group effort

Celia- my best friend for life (This is Javi and Ani's20 month old daughter)

 

12 months old

Carolina Lola turns 1!! ohhhhh it just flew by! Full of many wonderful memories and absolutely the best year of our lives! I remember so well the day you were born and us holding you for the first time and I look at you now and just can't believe what a big girl you are growing into. What absolute joy you have brought to this world!! And just in time for your 1st birthday- you started to grow a tooth and are walking (a bit ;-) You can make it from the couch to the T.V. You weigh 21 lbs 8oz and are 29 inches tall. You call for Mama and Papa all the time and can say Hola (sounds like oh ah). You follow me around the house all- the- time and love to play in the kitchen with the tupperware and any bottles or cans you can find. You love giving kisses and now when we're out with your friends, love playing with everyone. You enjoyed a fun trip to Berlin to see Daddy run a marathon and loved being strolled around the big city. Our little adventurer! We love you. Have loved every single day with you this first year of your life. And we can't wait for all the wonderful memories you continue to bring to our lives! Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

11 months old

This monthly picture tested my skills. Wheweee what a go-getter. I have shots of you from every angle with every sort of face and mood (more of those later....). In 11 short months, your sweet and independant personality is shining thru. Daddy says your just like me- isn't he sweet =). You sometimes will lay on the floor beside me and give kisses like no tomorrow. Other times you want nothing to do with any of it and like to push us away with your hands. When I give you the phone, you'll put it to your ear and start talking. You can stand so well on your own, push your little walker all over the house and even took your first 1-2 steps. It doesn't seem there's much interest yet to go further. You're still a champion sleeper and those naps are even getting longer. You love to snack on spanish baguettes, it'll keep you entertained for hours. You weigh 21 pounds, are 29 inches tall and 100% adorable. We love you to pieces. Just quit growing so quickly!!

10 months old

Little Miss Personality- you are 10 months old and full of energy! You spend most of the time on your feet and are starting to balance for a few seconds on your own. Though the word "no" means nothing to you (actually you like to smile and wave when i say it =) you can start to give kisses when we say "da me un beso", you will jump when we say "salta" and you wave whenever anyone says "adios". Looks like month 11 we'll have to work on your english a bit more!! You spend most of your days pulling down daddy's cd's and wondering off into different rooms. You love to lay on the floor with me and pull my hair, balance on my head and bite my nose. Weird- but adorable! You're still loving everything you eat, even the fish with veggies and hard spanish bread you like to chew on. This is the month of crazy Carolina faces- twisted tongue, biting your lip- you are quite the character. Lucky doesn't begin to describe how wonderful it is to spend the day with you and see you grow up right before my eyes.

9 Months Old

The month you grew up. We left for Tennessee with one baby and came back with another. What a growing month! You were already crawling, but now you are racing. You were occasionally pulling up on the crib, couch, etc. Now- you pull up on everything in site! and all the time!! Though we´ve been trying to master the art of clapping, you´ve decided to focus your hand skills on the wave. And it´s super cute to watch you wave backwards, when you´re playing or at any old time you please. The most common sounds these days- ma ma ma, my ma ma, over and over. Lovin´ it. You went to the beach for the first time. I loved watching you explore the sand and daddy was fine until you rubbed it in your eye.  You like splashing in the water. You love your food- any food will do. And the more people the merrier- but there is no one who can entertain you more than your cousin Addie. You adore her and she adores you. You two will be great buddies. Though you eat like a horse, you haven´t gained an ounce- still at 19.6lbs- must be all that standing and crawling. You are always on the move. Lucky for us, you sleep 11-12 hrs a night and are napping 3 times a day for 30min. You are 2 feet 3.5 inches tall. Everyone in Spain calls you "la rubia", the blonde- but I´d say you´re more of a blondish brown with blueish greyish kinda greenish color eyes. Either way you are the most wonderful little baby to have around- happy and content 99% of the time!

Daddy´s Little Girl

7 months old

Hey sweet baby girl! I could eat up those cheeks all day long.... 17.6 lbs and 26.7 inches tall. You started fruits (pears, apples and bananas) this month and I can't shovel them in fast enough. Finally you've figured out this thing called napping- come on, you're in Spain- siesta's are what they do best! You get in about 3- 30 minute naps during the day and are still sleeping away thru the night. You love to grab at Mommy and Daddy's face and rolling is your favorite mode of transportation. Grammy came to visit and has been teaching you to crawl- at this point, you're just moving backwards =) You like to scream and you've got this new grunt that just started where you slap your legs at the same time. The most precious though is when you get sleepy and lay your head on my shoulder. What smiles you bring. And my oh my, how fast you are growing!

6 months old

Who is this big girl? This month has flown by! Half a year old and you are just the most precious thing I could ever imagine. You are sitting up all by yourself, rolling over anytime we put you down, pulling yourself up in the bath and in your chair and grabbing at everything in sight. I love it when you hold tight around my neck. You love to grab and hold your bottle at night time and of course you are still chewing on your and my fingers like crazy. After a few nights of training.... you are the sleep champion and in your own room! You hold tight to your little lamb and off you go. We put you down around 9pm, feed once and I patiently wait on you to wake up around 9:30am, sometimes later. There go our morning playdates! I love it when you wake up these days. Happy as can be, blabbering and all. You've just started making some baba, wawa and dada sounds as well. It happened overnight and once you get going- usually last a few hours. You now weigh 15.98 pounds and are 25.6 inches tall. Growing like a weed! I guess everyone says this- but every moment is just absolutely the best.

5 months old

Carolina, Carolina Lola, Caracola (snail), Pumpkin, Monkey, Carino- you are 5 months old (March 22)! You lived it up big time celebrating in Panama. You've now been in 3 countries in just 5 short months! My little travel companion. Again, you did amazing on the flights. Sleeping..... well you're a little bit crazy in that area. I thought we had won the battle in month 3 when you were sleeping thru the night. Hmmmm you're back to your 2 and 3 hour wake-ups. Napping? No time for that. You are way too interested in the world around you. You weigh 15.12 pounds and are 2 ft 1inch tall. You LOVE LOVE LOVE to hold hands. It gets you to sleep and keeps you company on long car rides. You are talking up a storm, playing and sucking on your sweet toes and if there is a finger anywhere around- it ends up in your mouth. You hold yourself up so straight, almost sitting and are just 1 small kick away from rolling over. You like your voice, screams, blabbers, slobbers, all of it. Once you make one noise, you just keep on going..... You found your ears and grab them sometimes- and they might be somewhat noticeably larger =). Your hair is getting blonder and so much longer on top. Whoooweee this is getting fun. Love love love you in our lives.

4 months old

Our little hand holder! We have spent the past month holding hands the whole day long. At times I´ve even had to push you down the street holding your hand- in order to avoid meltdowns! You and your hair are growing so much. I don´t even recognize the little baby from 1 month old. You have the sweetest darkest eyes (now a bit blueish/brownish) and you keep those things wide open at all times. You weigh 13.85 lbs and are 24.6 inches tall. You are finally starting to nap during the day, eating every 4 hours and sleeping 7-9 hours thru the night. You can easily hold your head up, flip from your stomach to your back and when holding on to the couch you can stand on your own. You talk up a storm, but your sweet and new little giggles are my favorite. Everything you do now is my favorite.

3 Months Old

All smiles! Sweet girl is 3 months old (Jan 22nd) and happy as can be. You weigh 11 pounds, 14 ounces and are 22.6 inches tall. What a change between month 2 and 3. We're finally on a nice routine that includes sleeping 6 (sometimes 8) hours in a row at night! and then another 3 or 4!! (going to sleep to your Rock-a-bye Baby cd's has helped a ton!) You don't seem to very interested in daytime naps- there is way too much else to see. Lucky for us the nights spent by the kitchen fan have dwindled down and you now spend your evenings practicing your vowel sounds and perfecting those dimples. Your eyes are wide open at all times (still blueish/grey), very often without blinking and now that you can hold your head up straight you love to look around and see the world. You spent Christmas in Tennessee and New Years in Bilbao- our traveling little girl. You had your first cold, but stayed so happy the whole time. 3 months old suits you well sweet girl.

2 Months Old

Eyes wide open! 2 months have passed (on Dec 22) and oh what fun you have been. You are focusing so much and have the biggest (blueish grey) eyes. You´re throwing your arms around and still kicking up a storm. You weigh 10.14 pounds and are 21.25 inches tall. Your first smile came on Skype talking to Babaw- you love Skype actually and we talk to our families all the time to watch you grow. Lots of little noises you´re making, but we can´t tell if it´s spanish or english. =) Funny enough, I find myself speaking to you alot in spanish when we´re at home due to all the spanish baby talk I hear from daddy, his family and friends. Gotta change that! but you will definately be a bi-lingual baby. We go out every day for walks and coffees and playdates and shopping- this has been a busy social month for you. You love being out of the house. Perfect angel during the day...... a bit fussy at night but that´s starting to change. Naps only occur when you´re in the car and stroller, but you´re only waking once during the night- so fair enough! You took your first trip to Bilbao this month, watched Daddy run a marathon and had your 1st airplane ride!!! With both passports in hand you were off to the US to meet all your family and friends who were dying to meet you.You slept more on that plane ride than you do at home- sweet precious angel! At this point everyone in Spain says you look like me, everyone in the US thinks you look like your daddy. Either way- you are as precious as can be.

2 months old

Santa Claus European Style

So this is our 2012 picture with Santa. It's the closest formal picture we could get with Santa Claus, but we were just so happy to find one in Spain. Papa Noel that is. Here in Spain, Santa Claus is just on the rise. The Three Kings are much more important and bring the kids their gifts on January 6th. Carolina seemed to be very intrigued. And in true European fashion he walks around the mall rather than sitting. Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

Meet Carolina's new friends

Here's an introduction to Carolina's(/my) new friends- or what I like to call a very crazy past 2 weeks! Before C was born, I met up with 2 groups of girls- 1, American chicas who just had or were getting ready to have babies and the 2nd group I found on meetup.com for Int'l moms/babies. What a lifesaver! It has been so much fun to venture out for lunches, coffee, playdates (though we just watch) and Christmas parties. I know this will come in super handy when Carolina starts to play around a bit as well.  

Brande and Phillip (from Mississippi) and expecting another in March



The meet-up group out for coffee- Sarah from Australia, Kristin from Chicago, Pip from the UK, Simone from Germany and Katie from Australia

with Jessica and Isabella (from PA) at Starbucks

Secret Santa at Simone's with Katie, Simone, Lorena and Carissa

  

The International ladies and their babies- Silvia and Lorena from Spain, Maria from the UK and Karyn from Chicago. We had a Cookie Exchange party and tried our best for a group photo. Love the action shot!



1st Roadtrip

Last weekend was our 1st trip out of Madrid with Carolina. We headed to Bilbao, packed for 3 months away (though we were only there for 3 nights) and enjoyed a weekend with the de Abiega´s, all our Bilbao friends and the grand finale of cheering on Ricardo in the San Sebastian Marathon. While C had a bit of trouble adjusting to her new surroundings and ultra large crib, Ricardo rocked the marathon! Goal of 3hr 45 min- yet finished in 3hr 29 min! We were sooo proud of Ricardo and well C will eventually adjust to her traveling lifestyle I´m sure :-)

posing at Aunt Maria´s

a stroll along the water 

Smiles and all

at the finish line

 





Getting Ready for the Holidays

Lovin´ this lil ornament! Tree is up and Christmas is near.

1 month

Yes, indeed time is flying by. Carolina is 1 month old today! She is such a joy to have around and is growing like a weed. At our last dr visit, she was back to her weight when she left the hospital, 3.7 kilos (8.159lbs),  and almost 52.5cm (21 inches) tall. She loves going out for walks and car rides (as does her mommy), falling asleep in her daddy´s arms, the kitchen fan (a lifesaver for us!) and is starting to focus more and more every day. I soooo love watching her sleep- with her crazy faces, sweet smiles and arms that stick straight up in the air. What a blessing to spend the day with this little girl.

1 month old

1 week old

at the Hospital.....

Oh how I would love to have shared this special day with everyone so much. Luckily our friends from Madrid stopped by and kept us company. It was so nice to show off our little princess and we can´t wait to get home in December to spend the holidays in Tennessee!!

Cheers to Carolina! (Gracias Almu for the Champagne!)

w/ Javi, Ani, Natalia and Marga