5 days until my baby is 9 months old!

In 5 days, Nadia will be out of my tummy as long as she was inside my tummy! Today is our last day in Georgia (we'll be driving home tomorrow) and I'm amazed at all of the cool things she can do at almost 9 months old..

• Yesterday, Nadia started shaking her head NO (amazing the things a baby learn so early!)
• She knows what a camera is and will smile in the direction of the camera the second she spots it
• She will "put her hands up" when you say "put your hands up!"
• She crawls with her tummy on & off the floor and can put herself in the sitting position (sometimes) and take herself out (all the time).
  
• She tries to copy the motions to an Itsy Bitsy Spider when you sing it to her and do the motions too! She puts her little hands together and tries to do the motions for the spider going up the web and then she'll do the rain and sun!
  
• When you bounce her up and down and then stop- she'll start bouncing her own body so you'll keep it up!
• She knows about dogs and loves to squeal at them, follow them around with her eyes, and pull on their ears, tails, hair, etc
• Nadia blows KISSES!
• She says: ma-ma & pa-pa and also sounds like she's trying to repeat and imitate other words (to the best of her ability) after she hears someone else say them. Like, when you say "Hey Nadia!" She says "HEY!" or at least it sounds like it!
• She wants to try new foods and opens her mouth when she sees "adult people" eating so she can get a taste
  
• She loves loves loves to look at herself in the mirror (sound like anyone you know?)
• She loves loves loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
  

Nadia has one brave mommy!

On Thursday, we went White Water Rafting on the Ocoee River in TN. Table-saw, Double Trouble, Washing Machine & Broken Nose were just some of the names of the white water we braved. Nadia stayed behind at the cabin.

Bears, Wild Turkeys & Snakes! Oh my!

I'm writing today from the mountains of North Georgia where Nadia is on her very first family vacation. It was a 14 hour drive here plus 30 minutes through a long, dirt, winding, bumpy, steep path that led us to our secluded cabin far away from civilization. Not only is Nadia sharing this cabin with her mommy, daddy, grandparents, bisabuelos, tia, tio, madrina, but we've also brought 4 dogs with us too (and no, they aren't all mine!) Here are some pictures of what we've been up to this week...
Our cabin is named Bear Creek Lodge... That's a picture of it above.
We brought BOB along on our trip too... He's finally had the opportunity to do what he was meant to do- go off roading! If you look closely, you can see our tiny yorkie Mischa riding in BOB's basket!We've been doing a whole lot of eating in this house (and it's only Wednesday)! When we get back- I am going on a BIG MASSIVE INTENSE diet!
On Tuesday all the young people (except for Nadia) went to Six Flags. I was brave rode a total of ONE ride (I HATE roller-coasters).
At Six Flags, I bought Nadia this fabulous t-shirt!
Nadia also went on her very first boat ride. We rented a Pontoon Boat and cruised Carter's Lake. The boys jumped it the water and went for a swim. It was freeeezing!

Well, that's it for now... stay tuned for more updates from GEORGIA!

And the countdown has OFFICIALLY begun...

One day I know that I will look back at this time in my life and remember it as the most special, beautiful, memorable time ever. I have absolutely loved being on maternity leave. The past 8 months have been absolutely amazing. I am so grateful that I've had the chance to stay home for this long, but honestly- I want more! Last night Laz asked me if I'd be happy if I could stay home for 3 more months (I'm blessed with a husband who just wants to please), and my answer was no. Because the truth is- 3 more months would just prolong the inevitable- I have to go back to work and the longer I push it off, the harder it's going to be.

I've already started a countdown and I am dreading the day I have to wake up in the morning and be without her. My heart hurts so much just thinking about it, I can imagine it's going to really hurt when I have to actually do it.

I decided that I am going to do something fun each and every day I have left before I have to go "back." I want to know that I enjoyed every single moment of maternity leave to the very last second! So here we go...

Yesterday we went to the WATER PARK! Nadia loved splashing the water. This water park is great because it is shallow enough that babies can sit in it. I seriously plan to visit this place at least once a week from here until when I have to go "back."

Today we visited the MIAMI SEAQUARIUM (let me tell you, summer was not the best choice to visit that place!) Next time, we'll be visiting Flipper in the WINTER time! Regardless of the heat, we still had a great time. Nadia absolutely loved getting wet in the misters. Honestly, I think that was her favorite part of the entire day!

Don't you love the rosy cheeks??? She always gets flushed after just a few minutes outside. And of course, we always make sure to wear a hat to protect her head from the dangerous sun!

My baby is 8 months old!

Can you believe it? I barely can!

RED, WHITE, & BLUE!

Do you think we ended up with a few too many outfits?

She's like a fish!

We make sure to always wear a hat to protect her baldie head from the sun!

Not one- but two!!!

Nadia now has two teeth! I know the picture above doesn't show them, but with all honesty- even if she did give you a great big smile, they aren't big enough to catch on camera yet! ;-) The first one finally started peeking through almost one month ago! Then just a week later, it's neighbor appeared! Her two teeth are located on the bottom center of her mouth and are still inching their way out each and every day. And not because she's my kid or anything- but her teeth are really cute!

Look how much I've GROWN!

5 months...

6 months...

& now 7 months...

Today I realized that my baby will be 8 months old in just just SIX more days! It doesn't even seem possible that we are 2/3's of the way through her 1st year. Before I had a baby I never realized how short of a time babies are actually babies. In just four short months, my baby will not be a baby any more. She'll be considered a "toddler!" Just thinking that- is crazy!

Could it get any better?

Being a mommy gets better and better every single day! Seriously- I am at a point where every day is just that much more fabulous then the day before. My child is so delicious and yummy and she's doing so much cool stuff! She's been a super roller for months now and travels the house with her rolling, scooting and spinning. Just a few weeks ago she started tucking her legs under her body and rocking! Hello! How exciting is that?!?! I'm going to have an official crawler soon!She seems to want to talk really bad and looks like she studies peoples lips as they talk to her. She's babbling up a storm, shrieking, and making some totally hilarious facial expressions while she's doing it. She still loves the dogs and her face totally lights up when she sees other children. She is now an EXPERT sitter and actually got herself into the sitting position the other day (although I MISSED it!) She has been to the movie theatre a total of FIVE times now and loved every movie with the exception of the one her daddy picked. That made two of us! She loves shopping and going out to dinner. I thank God every day for the baby he sent us. She is truly a gift.

Floor time!

Nadia spends a whole lot of time on the floor these days! Laz picked up these great mats at BJ's for super cheap and Nadia loves to roll around and scoot all over them. The thing is, I'm going to have to cover my entire house with rubber mats because I often find her scooting and rolling off the mats and onto the tile!

Why is it that babies love everything that's not meant for babies?

And we are still so way behind!

Life is just flying by and as much as I am enjoying every single second I wish there was a way to make it stop (or atleast slow down) so I could enjoy everything going on around me!

I'm going to try and give you a quick recap!
Somehow- I managed to read the entire Twilight series. This is a big deal for me because #1 I LOVE books and #2 I thought that after Nadia's birth, I'd never have a chance to read again!

Nadia still loves Esme and Mischa and that's pretty much the only reason they still live here. They bring her so much happiness- so as long as that continues, the yorkies get to stay.

Nadia was baptised and Vanessa became the OFFICIAL Madrina! (That will get a totally seperatet post because I've got some great pictures to share!)

And this was too cute not to add, here is Nadia on her first Easter with her bunny!

Fun @ Gymboree

Did I mention?

Did I mention that our little Nadia turned 5 months old April 13th? Yep- I can't believe it either actually. How is time going by so fast???

New BOWS!

I know you guys are already aware of my bow obsession! I love love love bows and I seriously think God knew what he was doing when he sent me a little girl! I am totally a "girl mommy." I love dressing her and accessorizing with bows, shoes, earrings and everything else pink and girly! The need for bows actually started with Laz. He was concerned that our baldy baby was going to be confused for a boy. Well- several bows, headbands and a whole lot of money later- I am hooked and Nadia rarely leaves the house without a bow attached to that baldy little head of hers. Here is one of the newest additions to our bow collection. Laz thinks I went overboard with the size of this one, but I disagree! I think it's perfect!

We're going back in time!

I am so far behind on blogging, but I'm going to try to give you the highlights! On Monday, March 30th- Laz decided he was going to run to Publix to pick up a few items. I decided to tag along thinking that it would be a good time to play with Nadia and the shopping cart. She kept tipping over and I had to hold her up most of the time. Luckily we were only picking up a few items and not a cart full. Even though she still wasn't strong enough to hold herself up- she still had a fun time looking at people and having people look at her of course! My kid knows she's cute and loves to hear it!

That's It! Let's just be honest- okay?

It's official and it isn't a secret either, so let's just get it out into the open...

I am the WORST BLOGGER TO EVER ENTER THE BLOG WORLD! You know it, I know it, why bother trying to act like it's okay? I don't know how people have time to do this? I'm not even back at work yet and I can't keep up! Whoah!

Daddy's Little Princess

Nadia loves loves loves her daddy. It amazes me how she already melts for him the minute he gets home from work. She could be fussy for me and then when he walks through the door she's all smiles and giggles again. How does she already know this at 4 months old?

And she's UP!

But not for long...

She's falling...

And she can't get up (for real!)

She didn't actually SWING people!

Yep- that's my baby in the dirty bucket swing. The first thing my mom asked me when she saw this picture was: "Did you wipe that down before putting Nadia in?" Luckily we met up with one of Nadia's BFF's, Melanie, and Melanie's mommy wiped it, then Melanie sat in it. By the time it was Nadia's turn, it was nice and clean!

Looks like she's having the time of her life right? Well let me tell you a secret- I didn't let Laz push her, so she didn't actually "swing"! She was only allowed to sit in that thing for a picture! I mean really- she's a chunky kid, but doesn't it look like she could fit through one of those leg holes... maybe?

I'll make sure to take pictures the first time she actually swings in the swing and share those with you too!

Nadia gives her own breathing treatments

It's always something I tell you. Parenting NEVER gets boring or old. Nadia has had a terrible cold for the past 3 weeks (or maybe more). The awful thing about infant colds is: they don't take any medicine! We get a cold as an adult and we drown ourselves in Day-Quil, Sudafed, Mucinex, Tylenol and the list goes on. For babies, it's the cold mist humidifier (does nothing), saline drops, suction out the boogies with the bulb thing, and wait! Now that Nadia is over 3 months, she was allowed to use Vicks Baby Rub. I lathered an entire jar on that child and nothing. She was covered in Vicks on her back, chest AND feet for DAYS and she would still cough. Finally, the pedi gave us the okay to bring out the areosol and give Nadia some breathing treatments before bed. This did help to break up the mucus and speed things along FINALLY. The last time we gave Nadia breathing treatments was at 5 weeks for her bronciolitis and boy have things changed! My baby is STRONG now. She held the mask to her face by herself, chewed on the side and gave herself the breathing treatment on her own! Who needs mommy?

You didn't think I meant...

I've received some complaints about my blog and I just want to clear some things up before I keep blogging... When I was trying to come up with a name for this blog, I was trying to think of something catchy- and then BAM- Your Daily Dose of Nadia came to me and I said, "YESSS! That has a nice ring!" Unfortunately- some people (Tia Suzy) seem to have gotten the WRONG idea and seem to think that by including the word daily, it meant that I was going to blog daily... You didn't all think I meant that, did you? Because if that's what you thought- allow me to clarify. I will not be blogging daily. I just can't. It's impossible! BUT- here's the great part- YOU can come in and read DAILY! So- the name is NOT a lie. It's still Your Daily Dose of Nadia.

In case you didn't already know

She's Papi's Girl

Let me catch you up... (Teething, but no teeth!)

It's been quite eventful in Nadia's world. Allow me to give you a brief update... Exactly 7 days ago, Miss. Nadia awoke as her regular happy self. We had a bottle, played, took her morning nap and then got ready for day #2 of compota... Little Nadia ate her peas like a good girl... and then for some unknown reason- the day took a turn in a different direction... Nadia turned into a child I have never met before. She started whining, complaining, crying, fussing and could NOT be consoled. She was sticking her hands so far in her mouth and biting down on them some hard I was worried she really was going to eat them! Her peas came right back out of her mouth (I'm guessing she caused her self to throw up with her hands). Her nose started to run and later that night she got a fever... (Seriously- this parenting thing is ROUGH)! My mom said- she's getting teeth! My dad said- she's getting teeth! My in laws said- she's getting teeth! I looked at Laz and said- I just hope this just isn't the new Nadia!

So Sunday came and it was pretty much a repeat event of Saturday. (Lucky me, huh?)

Monday came and I checked her mouth- no teeth.
Tuesday came and I checked her mouth- no teeth.
Wednesday came and I checked her mouth- no teeth.
Thursday came and I checked her mouth- no teeth.
Friday came and I checked her mouth- no teeth.
Today came and I checked her mouth- That's right! You guessed it! NO TEETH!

So what has all the fuss been about? I'm a new mom here and I'm CLUELESS! So I decided to ask some experienced people and I learned some very sad news... The pain can come MONTHS before the teeth do! This, is NOT so good and something I would have added to the things no one tells you list (No one tells you teething is a nightmare!)

So, from here until who knows when, checking for teeth will probably be my new obsession. I'll let you know when I find something in there.

The things no one tells you (but I will).

Right after you get married (it might even start at the reception), people start asking when the baby is coming. I thought people were INSANE and I pretty much said that to every person that asked. I was 22 years old and NOT planning on a baby for a long time. I wanted to enjoy being married and enjoy living with Laz (and not with my parents). Laz and I had a 5 year plan. We'd be married for 5 years and then there would be babies.

Fast forward to early January 1, 2008. Mari and Laz arrive home from a New Year's Eve party feeling festive (and slightly tipsy, I'll admit). By this point we had been married for about 4 years and 2 months... (and those of you that know me very well, know I live my life to a very precise plan- sometimes without even REALIZING it.) Mari looks at Laz and says- "Let's get pregnant this year." Laz looks at Mari, shrugs his shoulders and says, "I guess." In my slightly foggy little mind, I pictured getting pregnant by the end of 2008, I never expected I'd be a MOTHER by then... So (skipping ahead a little bit) March 1, 2008, Mari discovers that she is indeed pregnant. Surprise, surprise (I was shocked and actually wondered- how did this happen?)! Laz's response- "Wow- that was fast..." It's like we knew what we were doing, but really didn't at the same time...

Anyhow- going back to the things no one tells you, (but I will). The entire world (it seems) had been asking me about a baby for the last 4 years and encouraging me to have one, asking what I was waiting for, telling me we were getting too OLD (yes, old). So, here I was, pregnant and prepared to share my news... And let me tell you- I was SHOCKED at the things that came out of their mouths. The same people who told me I needed this in my life said:

• "Are you sick yet?" (Sick? What do you mean sick? You told me pregnancy and babies are fabulous, why are you talking about feeling sick?)
• "Preparate!" (Get ready? Why are you talking to me now like this is a bad thing?)
• "Sleep all you can now." (No response to that one.)
• "Your life is over." (Are you trying to scare me?)

I decided at that point that misery must love company. These people should have mentioned these things BEFORE I got pregnant, but no, instead they were like- "Have a baby, be like us, it's really great!" and then, when I'm joining them, they hit me with the bad stuff! Hmmm...

So- getting to the point of my post. There are things that no one talks about when it comes to being a parent. It's like no one says these things out loud and I don't know why. I wish someone HAD told me. I would have been more prepared. Maybe if people talk about these things, then becoming a parent wouldn't be such a scary experience (who am I kidding, it would still be scary, you'd just be AWARE). I am going to be VERY honest now, so if you aren't a parent yet and you'd rather go into this blindly, then STOP reading. But if you want to know the truth- READ ON!

1. Being a parent is NOT easy, at all, not even a little bit.
2. Sleepless nights and interrupted sleep is the worst! It can make a person feel insane.
3. You will never sleep well again. (Even when Nadia sleeps the entire night, I don't. I'm listening for her).
4. When there is something wrong with your child, it will feel like someone is ripping your heart out of your chest.
5. You will worry about EVERY SINGLE LITTLE THING she/he does or DOESN'T do. You will wonder if it's normal.
6. You will second guess yourself and think you are failing your baby ALL the time.
7. You will cry (daddies too, although mommies a lot more).
8. Your life will never be the same. (I always pictured myself as a woman who would just keep living my regular life with baby in tow, this doesn't work).
9. You will miss out on things.
10. Your life is no longer yours. You are no longer #1.
11. You are the LIFE SUPPORT to this little person. You are the only thing keeping it alive. (HELLO- SCARY!)
12. I could go on and on and on- but I will stop here, I think I've said enough...

I wouldn't trade her for anything in the world. I would not send her back. I love her with every single piece of my body. She is the most important thing in my life- but WOW- THIS IS THE HARDEST JOB OF MY LIFE and I just don't understand why no one talks about it. Maybe it's because I am the mommy of an infant and this is all very fresh in my mind? I don't know... Maybe in a few years I'll forget and decide to have baby #2. I guess only time will tell.

Oh- and going back to living my life to a PRECISE plan without even knowing... Nadia was born November 13 and Lazaro and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary 9 days later. How's that for sticking to the plan?

Mari, Nadia & BOB!

Now, I'm sure you are all wondering, WHO IS BOB? Don't get worried, we didn't get rid of Laz. BOB is my awesome and amazing walking stroller (it's really a jogging stroller, but I do not plan to jog with it). Before Nadia I walked and walked and walked to stay in shape. I have quite a few routes I take through Miami Lakes- some are short and some are long. I even walked throughout my pregnancy. Laz and I went for 3 mile walks about 4 times a week right up until I had Nadia. Unfortunately, since the weather has been so crazy since Nadia's birth, I haven't been able to get out and walk as much as I'd like. Hopefully now that it's warming up a bit, Nadia and I can get out there with BOB in the evenings. So, if you see us walking through Miami Lakes, stop and say HI!

We actually FEED her now!

Now that Nadia is 4 months old, she is officially old enough to EAT some food. I will admit that I did a bit of cheating before today and started having her practice with the spoon by feeding her baby oatmeal (we tried rice cereal on a spoon, but she HATED it). We've been "practicing" with the spoon for about a week now, and as you will see with the pictures- practice does pay off! Nadia's first compota was peas. We waited for daddy to stop by at his lunch break so he could be a part of the action. **Side note- daddy doesn't like messy, sticky stuff, and feeding a baby is a messy situation- so as you can imagine, he didn't like it so much. I on the other hand had a great time feeding Nadia her first real food (do you even call compota real food?)!** Believe it or not, she ate an entire 2 ounce container and made the BEST facial expressions while doing it. I know this may seem silly, but I've when waiting for this day for a long time. I couldn't wait to really "feed" Nadia!

Here she is sitting in her high chair like a big girl... Does she even realize what she's waiting for?

Here I am spooning it in... (and spooning it back in when it came right back out!)
Even though she made faces, she actually ate it all!

Proud daddy!

Nadia is all done!

Now tomorrow and the next day we will continue with peas, then we will move on to green beans and then we'll try some colored stuff. I'll let you know what her favorite veggie is once we try them all!