Celebrating One Year

This past Sunday Wil and I celebrated our first anniversary. A quiet romantic day, which did include a soccer game on Dish, but we ended the evening perfectly. Grandma Cindi babysat and we decided to go out to eat at an Argentinean restaurant called Firopos (which I learned means compliments in Spanish...but compliments like a man would give a woman on the street!) :) Anyway, never been there before and probably won't go back until we win the lottery. We thought it looked like a good place to eat and Wil, having been to Argentina, knew their food was good. So, just in our jeans and shirts, we walk into a full service, linen napkins, wine glasses, the whole deal....sat down and were given a wine list...let's just say, the service was great, the food was outstanding and the view was beautiful, but a little expensive for our tight budget. It was worth it though. We ended the evening by going back to the little chapel at William Jewell where we got married. We are both pretty hopelessly cheesy and the evening brought tears to my eyes. Thanks Grandma Cindi for watching our "niña!"

Our First "Married" Birthday

Yesterday, Wil and I celebrated our first "married" birthday. Yes, it may seem coincidental, but Wil and I have the same birthday. Of course I tease him that he can celebrate his birthday with me. You see the rest of the world they write the date 10/12 as 12/10, so I always tell him his b-day is really December 10. :) So, it's been so much fun having that day for "us." Last night my mom made a homemade strawberry cake (our favorite) along with ice cream. It was so nice to have a quaint family birthday. My mom had the best gift made for me. She had some prints of Anne Geddes newest baby prints (the ones with the babies in the flowers with Celine Dion) framed for Elisa's room. They are absolutely gorgeous! In one of the frames is the song "Miracle" by Celine. It is about the birth and life of a baby. And actually, Wil and I have to listen to the CD endlessly because it is Elisa's favorite one to fall asleep to! Now being a mom the pictures are special to me. Thanks, Ma!

Fun-filled fall weekend

This weekend Elisa was wonderful. We have been getting worried that she was turning into a "homebody," which is the exact opposite of the two of us. But this weekend we went to Weston for the Applefest and she was wonderful. She sat in her stroller and just people-watched the entire time. We made a brief stop at the Red Barn to buy some apples, but it was over-crowded so we'll definitely be coming back in a few weeks with Wil's mom and sister. I definitely didn't want to wait in line long because of Elisa. She was doing so well that we didn't want to push it.

I love Weston during this time of year with the fall leaves and I love experiencing the culture with Wil. He's such a great sport. My next goal is to buy a pumpkin and carve it together with my nieces. :) The joy of experiencing silly American traditions. Of course he does the same for me by exposing me to "futbol" (soccer) games on the weekends....sorry to say, but much more interesting than the Chiefs. I think we also may have a little girl that will enjoy the sport, too.

On the eating front we are trying to get our little girl on some sort of schedule. She has become a little snacker and her sleeping schedule is a little crazy. I guess mom just got spoiled by her having virtually the same sleeping schedule for 6 weeks or so.

Monkeys (monos) and water

I have found the current cure for colic for my baby girl. Take her into the bathroom and run water. It becomes an automatic turn off button. This week we have had some real screaming fits with Elisa. I think mostly just being overtired. This past weekend Wil gave her an extra bath just to calm her down. She absolutely loves the water, so the other night when she was screaming, I walked into her "monkey" aka "mono" (in Spanish) bathroom and her eyes lit up (the bathroom has an adorable shower curtain with monkeys on it). She whimpered a little so I turned on the water and it was absolute silence and she started drinking her bottle. After a minute, I decided to turn the water off and she opened her eyes wide again and started to cry...so, on went the water for the entire bottle and she was relaxed and ready for bed. Amazing...

It must have something to do with in El Salvador they call little kids "monos" or monkeys. :) So this mom has found a way to sooth my little mona at least for now. We'll see how long this lasts. :)

P.S. She got weighed today, 12.14, still in the 90th percentile for her age and height!

3 months old

Elisa turned 3 months old yesterday. She is changing so much every day. Mom and dad (or mama and papi) thought they had her routine and how she liked to eat, sleep, etc. all "down," but it seems like the last few days she has been going through a major growth spurt and nothing seems the same. Last night Wil and I could do nothing to settle her down, so it took a ride in the car to the nearest park where a stroller ride seemed to soothe her. It has become a guessing and a learning game for us as new parents.

I am still enjoying staying home and hope that God blesses me with the ability to do it for a while. I have made some good other mom friends. Now I am one of those parents that want to talk about their kids all the time! :)

Now that it is October we are counting down the days to the end of the month when Wil's mom and sister come to meet our little one. We are really excited. Elisa doesn't know what she's in for -- full language emersion!

Wil is still doing really well in his job and may have some opportunities to travel internationally in the next year. I am thinking that he needs 2 important girls in his life to accompany him. :) We are just waiting for his residency card to come back from immigrations so that he can leave the country and not have any problems. At this point Wil wouldn't even be able to go to El Salvador for any family reasons without risking his whole paperwork process to start over again.

Hope you enjoy the new pics, too! Remember to look on the left hand side.