Chicago's Spring Tease

Chicago gave us a little spring tease today so we took baby Xolei out to play. She has this frozen motorized bike that she's been using around our house and she finally experienced it outdoors. She was running up and down the sidewalk and looked beyond adorable so of course I snapped a few pictures.

I cannot wait for summer! I could do this with her everyday. 

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse time!

My daughter has an obsession with Mickey Mouse and his crew. As soon as it comes on TV she stops whatever trouble it is she's doing and runs to the screen. I've caught myself watching way too many full episodes of it myself. There's something about that voice that just draws you in. 

A few months ago I bought her this Minnie Mouse dress with matching ears from the Disney Store and decided to put it on her today. Thanks to grandma, she also has every single member of the show. She has a stuffed Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, Daisy and Donald. I just realized she's also missing Pete. 

I decided to take a few pictures of her with them just before the show came on. I thought it would be the cutest pictures to add to our collection. Then of course she forgets Mommy exists. 

Traveling with a 1 year old...

Hey everyone!! It's been awhile but here I am back at it again. My family and I just returned from a trip to Mexico. My husband has been gloating to me about a small town in Mexico where his parents are from for almost 10 years. Not sure why it took us so long to visit but we finally made it out to San Julian, Jalisco.

Flight prices were through the roof because we went at a popular time. So to stay in our budget, we booked layover flights. I made sure to read all of TSA's regulations so that I knew what to pack for my daughter Xolei. I filled her diaper bag with a bunch of goodies-especially to keep her entertained during our long flights. I chose one stuffed animal (they're her favorite), a few legos (they're easy to pack), of course her wubbanub Henry (he's a life saver), and snacks (graham crackers, mini muffins, and a couple of the kids squeeze yogurts). I do not like to give her any type of technology but I did pack our IPad for backup for the sake of those sitting around us. Thankfully on the way there all of these items except the IPad kept her busy. She was so good that when we landed, we had a few other travelers tell us how well behaved our daughter was. Yay to us!

Xolei is off of formula and off of her bottle. We started giving her whole milk when she turned 12 months with rice cereal mixed in. I was afraid of having her try a new type of milk in Mexico because there was a possibility of her becoming sick. I knew we couldn't travel with a week's worth of milk with out it spoiling so I decided to try something else. I bought enough Pediasure for the entire trip to replace her three milks she had a day. On your carry-on you're allowed to pack just enough to fill your baby's tummy for the duration of the flight. She loved the taste and its packed with lots of vitamins. Only downside was she wasn't finishing her meals because the Pediasure was so filling. But as long as she was content, then I was too.

I was lucky enough to have a family member give us a traveling cover for our car seat. But instead, I filled it with her playpin and her favorite blanky and pillow. Its hard for a baby to adjust to a new bed; especially for Xolei. So why not take her playpin where she could sleep comfortably. She already naps in her playpin everyday so it worked out perfectly. We also brought along her stroller. That thing is a life saver. I was able to walk through the airport with it and checked it in each time at the gate right before boarding without a charge. The carseat also travels for free in most airlines.

On our flight back we weren't so lucky to have a quiet and calm baby. I was quite over whelmed myself. Traveling is exhausting. Her nap times were off track and because of that she was really fussy. We had a two hour layover in Dallas which was perfect for her to lay in her stroller and nap. When she woke up, we fed her and on to our last fight we went. Thankfully Grandma & Grandpa had an empty seat in between so Xolei had a lot more wiggle room.

The best perk of traveling with a baby is they fly FREE! We have definitely taken advantage of this. Xolei has already been to Disneyworld, the Dominican Republic, and now Mexico. Where to next?

Overall, Xolei had a blast. She loved the weather and was able to enjoy the outdoors every single day. Every morning, Xolei and Grandpa went for a walk to the Mercado around the corner for some morning juice. We visited so many places, I cannot wait to take her back when shes old enough to remember.

 
 
 

 

Winter ONEderland

MY BABY IS ONE!

I can't believe my angels first birthday is here. I feel like it was just yesterday when my husband and I were getting ready to go to the hospital to welcome baby Xolei. But you know what they say, time flies when you're having fun. Watching her grow has been the best time of my life. I wouldn't trade being her mommy for the world.

I really wanted to share her birthday party. Choosing a theme was probably the hardest thing. I finally decided to go with a Winter ONEderland theme. I wanted to stay away from a character theme because I wanted to give her a chance to choose whatever she wanted when she was older.

These are the center pieces I used. The top picture were vases from Dollar Tree filled with fake snow. The snowmen are from Hobby Lobby, they were only $1. The following picture is a tree made of tulle with a snowflake ornament also from Dollar Tree to top it off.

 

With a black board from Walmart, some chalk markers, and help from my sister in law I was able to show off this beautiful board. It lists her firsts, favorite foods, words she can say, favorite shows, things she's accomplished, how many teeth she has, games she likes to play, and her weight and height.

 

 My favorite part was our sweet table. It included a hot chocolate station, cookies, cake, cupcakes, and a smore bar.

 

I made melted snowman cupcakes.

The "snowballs" were actually white chocolate almond cookies. There were also snowflake sugar cookies and white chocolate pretzels.

This was the hot chocolate station. I used my crockpot for the hot chocolate which was just milk and Abuelitas chocolate. There were candy canes, caramel bits, chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and sprinkles. I bought a black mini board from Walmart as well and had my sister in law use white chalk and a snowflake stencil. (her handwriting is a lot prettier than mine)

In the middle of it all was this amazing cake. I wanted it to reflect my daughters outfit for the day. I bought these letter dishes online and used the same chocolate I sprinkled on the tables to fill them.

 

This was the piñata, goodie bag, and prize table.

 

 There was a chimney in the room so we used this pink tree with pictures of her smash cake session to decorate it.

I ordered this banner from Etsy.

 

We hired Elsa for the kids entertainment

I bought gingerbread houses and had the kids build them to keep those little hands busy. Because building these involve tideous work, I had prizes for the those who completed them. The prizes were popcorn containers filled with microwave popcorn bags and candy. 

Overall the party was a success. Thank you to everyone who made it. It was so great to share this special day with family and friends. It was a ONEderful birthday! 

 

 

 

 

 

Holidays are here!

My favorite time of the year has finally arrived! Crazy to think Christmas is now just under a month away. One of my favorite part about the holidays is decorating. This year I turned on a Christmas movie and my husband and I decorated while our little girl napped. 

Putting up a tree gets tricky when you have a one year old. We left the bottom quarter of our tree ornament free. The middle of my tree has these cute cushioned ornaments I bought at target. I used very little ornaments to prevent my daughter from getting hurt. I'm hoping she has no interest in yanking on the tree but then I stop and tell my self lets get real. A girl can dream! Lol

In my bathroom I used a shower curtain and matching mats I bought on Groupon.  I also used tall cylinder vases I bought at the dollar store and filled them with mini ornaments.

I love to go shopping after Christmas to buy decor on sale for the following year. Last year I bought this huge stocking at Target for $2. I filled it with Poinsettias and hung it on my bathroom door. 

My kitchen is still a work in progress but i feel like that's the one room in my house that always is. 

I am obsessed with this cookie jar. 

 

My next project is going to be an arts and crafts day with Xolei. Something that's baby friendly and something that'll keep her little hands busy. There will be more holiday posts! Can't wait to share. 

Happy Holidays Everyone 🎄