We all know I'm a big talker.. No surprise Valentina is too.....
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Monday, October 29, 2012
Morning, sunshine!
Mama: hi my little frog! good morning! what does a frog say? ribbit ribbit!!
Vivi: (huge mansized burp)
Vivi: (huge mansized burp)
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Saturday Morning
I'm about to start my pumpkin cheesecake from scratch... But as I was creeping out of my room, I snuck this quick photo... We officially have a Thumb Sucker!! I am so happy about this because just 5 months ago, the lovely NICU nurses were helping me teach Valentina to self-soothe and "reorient" herself by teaching her to suck her thumb. I've seen her do it before from time to time, but twice in two days... I feel like this is a milestone in the neurological development department.. Maybe I'm wrong, but I feel like it is a sign that our little miracle baby is doing beautifully (I mean, I already KNEW she was PERFECT but you know.) :D
Friday, October 26, 2012
Little Monsters
Scroll through the photos of this Blog... I think you will recognize one of these little monsters...
http://blogs.babycenter.com/mom_stories/102512-what-not-to-wear-the-halloween-edition/
Halloween 1987.
"I'm a GIRL. Not a BOY!"
http://blogs.babycenter.com/mom_stories/102512-what-not-to-wear-the-halloween-edition/
Halloween 1987.
"I'm a GIRL. Not a BOY!"
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Friday, October 19, 2012
Hilarious..
I just thought I'd share the 53258744 photos I took in attempts to capture Valentina's future passport photo... Hahahaha
Friday 19 Oct. 2012
Happy Friday, World!
It's 9 am and baby is in her bassinet sorta- napping, sorta- playing.... Valentina is a happy, healthy little girl and I am oh so in love... While the weather here is FINALLY changing and cooling down, we are happily snuggling and keeping warm! I think baby may be coming down with a little cough/cold, but generally, she is alert, observant, giggly, and as playful as a "two month old" can be. Every morning baby wakes up just before my alarm to get big sister Bianca up and ready for school, so I spend the first 15 minutes of my day running up and down the stairs, hustling Bia out of bed and supervising her getting dressed in less than 2 hours (ok slight exaggeration), changing diapers, nursing/ pumping/ warming bottles/ feeding baby a bottle, etc... Sometimes Victor needs to wake up during the morning rush, then it's pure chaos! Two coffee pots running (I like my soy lattes, Vic likes his American drip coffee in his "to go" mug, toast and cereal, breast milk, oh you know, just the usual mad dash before the school bus....
We had to reschedule our trip to the American Embassy, but we need Daddy to be there with us, and sometimes Daddies have to work! We ended up rebooking out appointment for October 31st- so we will be wearing a Halloween costume that used to be mine... :D
Other than that, we are looking forward to booking our first trip to the US in early January (I hope!) I am still apprehensive about flying in that airplane air... But Vivi's doctor gave us the OK!
Gonna hop on the elliptical when I can... I am skating again so I've gotta shed some baby weight. I put on more weight sitting at the hospital in front of an incubator than I did actually being pregnant. So I am recommitting to a super healthy diet and epic exercising. I have yet to figure our how to do this, while maintaining my borderline- enough level of breast milk, but you know.. I really miss my size 26 Levi's, so something has GOT to change...
Anyhow .. It's official! I'm doing roller derby again! Check out
http://www.facebook.com/7evenHillsCityRollers
And LIKE our page, to keep up with our evolving team and of course I will keep you posted so you can buy tickets to our first future bout!!
Oh! And tomorrow I am acting in a commercial??!! Will get back to you about that one, too... Omg wish me luck??!!
It's 9 am and baby is in her bassinet sorta- napping, sorta- playing.... Valentina is a happy, healthy little girl and I am oh so in love... While the weather here is FINALLY changing and cooling down, we are happily snuggling and keeping warm! I think baby may be coming down with a little cough/cold, but generally, she is alert, observant, giggly, and as playful as a "two month old" can be. Every morning baby wakes up just before my alarm to get big sister Bianca up and ready for school, so I spend the first 15 minutes of my day running up and down the stairs, hustling Bia out of bed and supervising her getting dressed in less than 2 hours (ok slight exaggeration), changing diapers, nursing/ pumping/ warming bottles/ feeding baby a bottle, etc... Sometimes Victor needs to wake up during the morning rush, then it's pure chaos! Two coffee pots running (I like my soy lattes, Vic likes his American drip coffee in his "to go" mug, toast and cereal, breast milk, oh you know, just the usual mad dash before the school bus....
We had to reschedule our trip to the American Embassy, but we need Daddy to be there with us, and sometimes Daddies have to work! We ended up rebooking out appointment for October 31st- so we will be wearing a Halloween costume that used to be mine... :D
Other than that, we are looking forward to booking our first trip to the US in early January (I hope!) I am still apprehensive about flying in that airplane air... But Vivi's doctor gave us the OK!
Gonna hop on the elliptical when I can... I am skating again so I've gotta shed some baby weight. I put on more weight sitting at the hospital in front of an incubator than I did actually being pregnant. So I am recommitting to a super healthy diet and epic exercising. I have yet to figure our how to do this, while maintaining my borderline- enough level of breast milk, but you know.. I really miss my size 26 Levi's, so something has GOT to change...
Anyhow .. It's official! I'm doing roller derby again! Check out
http://www.facebook.com/7evenHillsCityRollers
And LIKE our page, to keep up with our evolving team and of course I will keep you posted so you can buy tickets to our first future bout!!
Oh! And tomorrow I am acting in a commercial??!! Will get back to you about that one, too... Omg wish me luck??!!
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Victor's Newest Music Video
The new Richie Campbell video is now out for our viewing pleasure, directed by one very handsome and talented, Victor Castro!
Richie Campbell - Love Is An Addiction ft. Ikaya
Richie Campbell - Love Is An Addiction ft. Ikaya
Friday, October 12, 2012
Haha
Jax: I really just want a bagel right now..
Bianca: Welcome to Portugal.
We then proceeded to discuss at length the deliciousness of Rocky's Deli and The Bacon, Egg and Cheese.
Photo: Bia settling for cereal...
Bianca: Welcome to Portugal.
We then proceeded to discuss at length the deliciousness of Rocky's Deli and The Bacon, Egg and Cheese.
Photo: Bia settling for cereal...
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Happy 5 months, baby!!
October 8th was our little baby's 5 month birthday!! Granted Valentina is more of a 2.5 month old... But we are happy and healthy, and thats all that matters! Yesterday's doctor appointment went smoothly, though Petunia was fussy because she was hungry... We nursed a little, but when she is that hungry, it's hard for her to focus on the boob, the bottle ends up just being easier for both of us... We're working on it still.... (SIGH)
So I can't find where her current weight is written down, but we are over 10.5 lbs!!! That's about 4.7 kilos!!!! Valentina is outgrowing EVERYTHiNG! Even her socks that were too big just two months ago, they finally fit! Just today, i started poking extra holes in her bottle nipples, to make it easier for her to drink!! (I've tried a few "Stage 2" nipples for her favorite bottles, and she ends up drooling out half the milk and choking on the rest.... I take this to mean we are NOT ready for Stage 2.. Ha!!)
Her hair is getting a little bit darker and her eyes are a steady dark grey/ blue... Can't tell what that means quite yet, but sometimes I see Victor in her face, sometimes I recognize my own facial expressions... That I think is the strangest part... This little troublemaker is the first blood relative I've ever known... It gives me chills... She is just so loved!! I've also started swaddling Valentina, when she gets super fussy and hysterical, something she wasn't interested in these first two months home, but lately she gets so ravenously hungry (growth spurts!) but she can't settle down, I wrap up my little burrito and she chows down and is immediately knocked out. I have to wake her to burp, but that's better than having little milk burps dribbling down a sleeping baby's face.. Gross...
And Grandma Patti will be THRILLED to know... We gave the doctor's consent.... We can fly!!! Which means trip to the US!!!!! We were supposed to be coming home to NY THIS week for my cousin Allie and Alex's wedding, but not knowing when we could fly three + months ago when we should have bought the tickets... It was just too much... I'm thinking we will make our American debut come January, once the airlines' holiday prices go down... I need to desperately have my eyes checked, new glasses, contacts, teeth cleaned (I have a teeth thing... Not a dentist fear, I just don't trust anybody but my awesome dentist...), I am signed up for a full blood work up, tests head to toe.... As a result of my pre- eclampsia and HELLP syndrome, I wanna have every last part of me reviewed. I am in the process of doing the same here, but I feel that there is no harm in doing it twice, both here in Portugal and at home where my Daddy can look over all my files, have colleagues he has known and worked with for 25 years review everything, etc. The hardest part about being adopted for me (and pretty much my only hang up about it) is that I have no known medical history. And I almost died during childbirth. Worst fear: lived through it. Let's get a paper trail for my DNA now.... I know pre-eclampsia can hit any woman, no matter the family history.... I just feel... It's something I should do, since the technology is available to me. Maybe we will discover I have some latent protein deficiency or something random and I'll get some meds that make me drop 20 lbs... hA!!!
Ok!! Enough babbling.... 9 AM time to rock & roll!!
So I can't find where her current weight is written down, but we are over 10.5 lbs!!! That's about 4.7 kilos!!!! Valentina is outgrowing EVERYTHiNG! Even her socks that were too big just two months ago, they finally fit! Just today, i started poking extra holes in her bottle nipples, to make it easier for her to drink!! (I've tried a few "Stage 2" nipples for her favorite bottles, and she ends up drooling out half the milk and choking on the rest.... I take this to mean we are NOT ready for Stage 2.. Ha!!)
Her hair is getting a little bit darker and her eyes are a steady dark grey/ blue... Can't tell what that means quite yet, but sometimes I see Victor in her face, sometimes I recognize my own facial expressions... That I think is the strangest part... This little troublemaker is the first blood relative I've ever known... It gives me chills... She is just so loved!! I've also started swaddling Valentina, when she gets super fussy and hysterical, something she wasn't interested in these first two months home, but lately she gets so ravenously hungry (growth spurts!) but she can't settle down, I wrap up my little burrito and she chows down and is immediately knocked out. I have to wake her to burp, but that's better than having little milk burps dribbling down a sleeping baby's face.. Gross...
And Grandma Patti will be THRILLED to know... We gave the doctor's consent.... We can fly!!! Which means trip to the US!!!!! We were supposed to be coming home to NY THIS week for my cousin Allie and Alex's wedding, but not knowing when we could fly three + months ago when we should have bought the tickets... It was just too much... I'm thinking we will make our American debut come January, once the airlines' holiday prices go down... I need to desperately have my eyes checked, new glasses, contacts, teeth cleaned (I have a teeth thing... Not a dentist fear, I just don't trust anybody but my awesome dentist...), I am signed up for a full blood work up, tests head to toe.... As a result of my pre- eclampsia and HELLP syndrome, I wanna have every last part of me reviewed. I am in the process of doing the same here, but I feel that there is no harm in doing it twice, both here in Portugal and at home where my Daddy can look over all my files, have colleagues he has known and worked with for 25 years review everything, etc. The hardest part about being adopted for me (and pretty much my only hang up about it) is that I have no known medical history. And I almost died during childbirth. Worst fear: lived through it. Let's get a paper trail for my DNA now.... I know pre-eclampsia can hit any woman, no matter the family history.... I just feel... It's something I should do, since the technology is available to me. Maybe we will discover I have some latent protein deficiency or something random and I'll get some meds that make me drop 20 lbs... hA!!!
Ok!! Enough babbling.... 9 AM time to rock & roll!!
Sunday, October 7, 2012
7 oct. 10 pm
baby is sleeping in her bassinet downstairs.
bianca is in her bed.
victor is cursing the computer for not playing the real madrid game.
i am pumping.
yep..... same ol' sunday night...
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| waiting for the bus with big sister |
BUT! I did some something super constructive this afternoon! i started a Tumblr blog for victor! he keeps saying how he doesn't have the time to made a website for himself, nor do we have the spare cash to pay someone to do it... so this afternoon while i was pumping, i got the wild hair up my bum to start a page for him! its nothing brilliant (or even near complete) for now... but i am quite proud to say that this week, we will be launching seventy seven films. yay, VIC! for tax reasons, it has been recommended for vic to start his own company (for years now...) so we are finally doing it... and since for tax purposes, i am an "employee" maybe i should earn my keep.... hehe!!
had our first weekend with daddy home, in ages! i attended my first lisbon roller derby practice saturday night! victor and baby snuggled while i skated. oohhh my goodness i am so epiclly out of derby-shape... and i think tomorrow morning i wont be able to get out of bed... but i am thrilled to find a team that is new and hashing things out, though it really really makes me miss my Suburbia Roller Derby team... miss you girls... <3
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| helping mama with laundry |
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| holding our rattle. (action shot.) |
ok. a few photos from this past week...
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| when daddy works late, i keep mama company in bed. |
so by the way, we don't really celebrate halloween here in portugal. at school they have little halloween parties, but its NOTHING like the US... i was wondering... should i get baby's first halloween costume anyway? just cos? what do you think of some of these?
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| ok too bad i'm not pregnant... i'd totally do this one... |
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| omg. |
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| i could try this one... |
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| but here is another goodie... |
whatcha think... should i buy a halloween costume for valentina??
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