My Easter Basket Didn't Look Like This When I was a Kid

Today is Easter and it was a beautiful day. The weather couldn't have been nicer. Our church service at CBG was incredible. I feel so lucky to be part of such a creative and innovative church family. We visited the cemetery to bring my brother some fresh flowers. And of course, we stuffed our faces with ham and potato salad. But the best part was having both my girls with me on Easter. Last year Kayla was with her dad and so this Easter was just that more special. She arrived early this morning and to her surprise we hid eggs throughout the house filled with lots of chocolate kisses (her favorite), dollar bills & one egg had a sparkly pair of earrings (what a lucky girl). The Easter bunny was especially nice enough to leave a basket full of treats for her too. And let me tell you, that by Easter basket never looked like this. Kids are so spoiled nowadays. But I get so much joy out of making things so special and memorable for them--I just can't help myself.

Spring Break 2012

We just returned from an awesome trip to Puerto Rico. We've been making a tradition to go there every year around this time. I really want my daughters to share the same love of Puerto Rico that I have. I have so many fond childhood memories of going there in the summer to visit my grandmother. And I am very proud of my Puerto Rican roots--no matter how very American I am. Each year we explore a different part of the island and discover something new. I am always so amazed at how many things such a small island can offer. Unfortunately so many tourists don't get to truly experience all of its wonders. This time around we hiked the rain forest El Yunque and visited Jobos Beach in Isabella, a small town on the northwestern coast, where Kayla practiced her surfing skills. Puerto Rico is known as the "Hawaii of the Caribbean" as far as surfing is concerned. It has a huge surfing community and is host to many competitions.

Isn't she lovely?

She's Here!!!

Our little princess arrived on Thursday weighing in at 6 lbs. 11 oz. We were overwhelmed with joy at first sight. New big sister Kayla was so emotional and got teary eyed--her first time with tears of happiness that she didn't understand how you can cry and be happy at the same time. She said it was the happiest day of her life and that little Maya is "amazing".

Dr. Seuss Themed Baby Shower

With the help of my mom and two dear friends, I had a beautiful shower at my home last month. It was an intimate affair and it turned out so lovely. The theme was girly Dr. Seuss and it couldn't have been more perfect. I love to work with themes and this was so much fun. I can't wait to throw a Dr. Seuss birthday party for little Maya. Ok, so here are some of the awesome details.

All of the paper goods were designed with my input but created by The Paper Kingdom on etsy. We ordered a beautiful banner, cupcake toppers, goody bags that we filled with gum balls, a door sign, tent cards and a few other items. The quality of their work is amazing. The banner looks even better in person and I just strung it over the crib to welcome little Maya home this week.

The cake was made by Susies Scrumptious Cakes in Sunrise. She totally nailed it with the theme. I wanted a cake based on "Oh the places you will go" and she came up with this baby in a hot air balloon idea with all the colors to coordinate with the paper goods. The cake reads "Oh, Maya, imagine all the places we will go as we watch you grow and grow." I've used Susie several times for my daughter's birthday and am never disappointed.

We had a small dessert buffet. Unfortunately the chocolate fountain machine never worked quite right but it made for some funny jokes and laughter. My girlfriend Natasha made the cutest cupcakes with cupcake toppers that read "A person's a person no matter how small." The menu tent card read "Small persons cupcakes". The cute mini fish cookies in a fish bowl were a reference to Dr. Seuss One Fish Two Fish. They were a hit with the kids. We found those on etsy as well.

We created backdrops for both the buffet and dessert tables. I purchased tri-fold cardboard science project boards and pink fabric from Jo-annes. One board was covered in pink fabric and the banner. The other board I covered in tissue paper flowers. There is some spacing in the flowers and the white comes through but overall, I think it looks great!

Crib Day!

Today we bought our crib! After months of online window "shopping" and visiting all the local furniture stores, I finally fell upon the perfect crib for us. Its the Ella Fixed Gate Crib by Pottery Barn. It's perfect antique white color and low-profile design is exactly what I was looking for. I didn't want a huge or overbearing piece of furniture and lots of the convertible cribs are so BIG. And the best was that it was on SALE and I was able to drive down to the Coral Gables store and the manager sold us the floor model which saved us 20% plus the shipping!

The bedding is "vintage". Ok, just kidding. It's actually one of the bedding sets that I used for Kayla. I didn't even know that I had saved it all these years. But it goes perfectly in the room and we didn't have to spend any money on bedding which is yet another place. And guess what?! We found the tiny love princess mobile on Craigs List for $15. I'm all about a bargain!

3 D Sonogram

We were able to get our 3D sonogram last night. We had originally tried a few days ago but Maya was not cooperating at all. She was facing my back and fell completely asleep during the sono. We tried again last night and she cooperated a little bit more. When we first saw the 3D turn on and show us our little baby, we were both in awe. She looked so cute. She loves to cover her face with her arms and we watched her play with her feet. The pictures aren't as clear as we would have liked but I'm glad we were able to experience it anyways. We were so amazed at how much more you see with the 3D but its funny how all babies sort of look the same too. We think she may have my mom's lips but Terrance's nose. A few more weeks and we'll know for sure. I can't wait to meet her!