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!

4 months ago

... my life got turned upside down (in a good way though!) Nadia is 4 months old today and I can hardly believe it. I look back at the pictures of when we brought her home from the hospital and we've BOTH grown so much (I'm teaching her and she's teaching me a whole lot too)!

My intention was to take Nadia's picture sitting in the same place every month for 12 months. Today though, something was different. At four months old, Nadia fills up the chair on her own and I couldn't really fit the stuffed bird next to her (I mean, I could- but he was squished up and didn't look so cute). I tried putting him on the floor in front of the chair, but then she looked at him and not me. So I put him out of sight and finally after our little "photo session" I let her have him... This was the result...

Like everything she can get her hands on nowadays, Nadia opened her mouth and tried to EAT him!

Okay... Fine! I'll admit it!

I am not by any means an excellent housewife (although I do a fabulous job with Nadia), I am not keeping up with housework as much as I imagined I would and I don't ever give Lazaro the credit he deserves. Because of this, I decided that in honor of Lazaro- I am going to dedicate an entire post to tell you how great he is and how much he does for Nadia and I.

1. He let's me stay home with the baby. That in itself is BIG because it means he has to work a lot harder to help make up for the fact that I bring in no money at the moment.


2. He helps with the laundry. (Yep- I am home all day, and I don't manage to get all the laundry done.)


3. He loves making Nadia's bottles! He takes pride in washing, sterilizing and filling them up for me every night!


4. He grills us steaks! (I was never good at making dinner, even when I did work).


5. He brings me Cafe con Leche! Yum Yum!


6. He stays home with Nadia on Friday nights so I can go get my nails and wax done.

My day with Abuela and Abuelo (as told by Nadia)...

This morning my mommy and daddy had to attend a meeting at church so that I can be baptised. I couldn't to go with them because Mommy and Daddy told me no babies allowed! They dropped me off at Abuela and Abuelo's house very very very early. It was so early I hadn't even had my first bottle yet and I still had my pj's on! They just took my right out of my crib- plopped me in my carseat and drove me right over there! I don't think I've ever been out of my house that early in my entire life! Here are some pictures of how my day went:

Here's my Abuela and I right when I got dropped off. You see how hungry I looked? Someone warm up a bottle already!

Here I am with Abuelo. I love sitting on that guys lap. He has the most yummy tummy to cuddle up with!

We even did tummy time in that house! (Geeze- these people never give me a day off!)

Abuelo read me a story just like he used to read to my mommy when she was a baby!

I love being Nadia's mommy!

Tonight as I was putting Nadia to sleep, I felt this immense rush of love for her. I mean- the kind of feeling that's almost painful. I am absolutely, head of heels, in love with this baby. I know most of you are thinking, well, of course you love her, SHE'S YOUR BABY (I mean, that's what I would of thought if a mommy told me she was crazy in love with her kid)... But unless you are a mom, you really don't understand what I mean... (at least I didn't).

The day Nadia was born, I loved her. Here she was, the little person who had been growing inside my body, kicking me from the inside, jabbing at my ribs with her elbows. That day, (and for the first few days- no weeks actually), I loved her because she WAS my baby and I was supposed to love her.

Today though- the love is different. Today, I love Nadia because she is Nadia. The more I have her and the more I get to know her, I fall more and more in love. I love the look she gives me when I walk up to her crib in the morning (it's kind of a look out of the corner of her eyes). I love the way she smiles and all you see are her gums! I love the way she yells at me when she wants my attention. I love the way she kicks her legs when she's riding in her stroller. I love the way she reaches out her hands and tries to hold her bottle when I'm feeding her and recently, (and this is by far the best) when I'm carrying her in my arms, she looks up at me, reaches out her hands and TOUCHES MY FACE. It's like she knows I love her and she's actually trying to tell me she loves me back!

The first few weeks I had Nadia, everyone would tell me- "Enjoy her- they grow so fast." "Being a mother is the best feeling in the world" "It's great isn't it?" And part of me would wonder what the heck they were talking about! I wasn't having fun! I wanted her to grow up and start sleeping at night. I wanted her to be sturdy. I wanted the time to go by faster. A few times I even wondered, what did I get myself in to?!?! I can honestly say- I now know what they were talking about now. Being a mother IS the best feeling in the world.

The love I feel for Nadia makes me look at my mom differently. I was her first baby and it's incredible to me that she loved me (and still does love me) as much as I love Nadia. Like seriously- I knew she loved me, but WOW- my mom really really really loves me!

I'm sorry I've gotten all mushy, but I really love being Nadia's mommy. I feel blessed to have been given this beautiful baby girl and I thank God for her every night I lay her in her crib to sleep.

Welcome to the world Cousin Max!

We are excited to announce that yesterday, March 5, at 1:15am, Nadia received a BABY COUSIN named Max. We've waited a long time for Max to arrive to this world. Nadia has actually been waiting her entire life (all of almost 4 months)! Max is absolutely adorable and actually has a full head of hair! He looks like a little doll. Max belongs to Laz's cousin Jose, and his other half, Damy. I cannot wait for the future when Max and Nadia can play together. WELCOME TO THE WORLD COUSIN MAX!

Before there was Nadia...

...there was Esme and Mischa, my yorkshire terriers. Esme is 4 years old. She's my big girl and first baby. For my 25th birthday, Laz surprised me with Mischa who I always joke we got as a pet for Esme! My girls (that's what I call them) have brought lots of joy to my life. Laz works a lot and Esme and Mischa have always been my loyal companions. As I tidy up my house, I have the pitter patter of little doggie feet following me around. While I shower, I have two doggies laying in the bathroom waiting patiently for me to finish. When I sit on the couch to watch tv, their furry bodies provide me with warmth.

I was absolutely over the top in love with my girls, and still am, although (sadly for them) the love is not the same as it was before there was Nadia. I am sad to admit, (but will) that their regular feeding schedule is no longer (I think one night we actually forgot), sometimes their bowl runs out of water, I forget to let them outside to do their thing and my top premium dog food puppies now eat house food when I run out of dog food (this NEVER happened before).

I really still do love my girls and we have experienced some very sweet moments together since the baby arrived. Sometimes when I have Nadia on my lap, Esme and Mischa come cuddle up alongside us. Oh! And there was that time when Esme brought Nadia a toy and dropped it next to her waiting for her to play. Then there are other moments when I have Nadia on my lap and Esme and Mischa decide it's time to play tug-o-war right next to us...

The dogs showed an interest in Nadia from day 1, ESPECIALLY ESME. Over the past few days, Nadia actually started showing an interest in them too! She follows them around the house with her eyes and actually just started reaching out to touch them this week. Mischa runs away when Nadia's fingers start coming in her direction, Esme on the other hand, LOVES the attention.

Today while I was trying to feed Nadia her bottle, she stopped sucking and gave me a huge smile. I thought that sweet smile was all for me until I realized one of her socks had come off and Esme was licking her toes!

Here we are just a few days after arriving home from the hospital...

And here we are now... (I could not get the three of them in one picture together! I really tried!)

"Wow! That's one big baby!"

I'm sure you've already realized I have a BIG baby. Strangers are always shocked when I tell them how old she is and I always get the same response "Pero, parece que tiene seis meses!" (That's Spanish for, that kid looks like she's six months old!) I actually LOVE that my child was born big. Fragile tiny infants just aren't my thing and I'm happy that when I received Nadia she was already a little sturdier than most newborns.

Nadia is now sporting 6-9 month old clothing. Today I had to move down to the next size of clothing in her drawers and pack away the outfits that no longer fit. The whole thing is bittersweet and I found myself getting very mushy looking at all the little clothes that seemed so big at the time and now I can not pull them enough so that they snap under her tushy! Nadia is growing and she's doing it really fast!

Tonight while I was bathing Nadia it occurred to me that I'm going to have to find a new way to bathe her very soon. Nadia is about to outgrow her infant bathtub (which is probably designed to hold a kid until 6 months). Check out Nadia in her bathtub at 2 weeks and check out what she looked like during her bath tonight. You see what I'm talking about?

(We had to draw a bikini bottom on that first picture so daddy would let us post it.)

My Bouncing Baby Girl!

While I was pregnant so many people told me I needed to get this and I needed to have that... One of my I gotta haves was a jumperoo, so we registered for the Rainforest one by Fisher Price (as a side note- I wish I had registered for entire Rainforest set. Nadia loves the Rainforest things we do have more than anything else). Anyhow, that thing looked like so much fun, I wanted to take it out of the box as soon as I got it home from my baby shower! The box said the recommended age is 4 months and once Nadia arrived to the world I realized she wasn't going to be jumping in anything for a while. I patiently waited and waited and waited until Nadia was old enough to use this great toy.

A week ago, while visiting Nadia's friend Abby, we noticed Abby's jumperoo and decided to give it a try. Well, that Nadia showed me! Forget waiting 2 weeks until she turned 4 months old, my kid was ready TODAY! I quickly dialed up Lazaro and told him to pick up that jumperoo from my mom's house (that's where we store stuff we aren't using) and bring it straight home. The next morning I put that puppy together and in she went... I'll let you decide for yourself what she thinks about it!

We had to put a pillow under her feet since she's a bit too short right now (umm yea- look at those thighs)!

Daddy Day: The BEST day of the week!

In my family (the one I was born to) we called Sundays, "Family Day." My dad was (and still is) all about family togetherness and I know I want to give the same to Nadia. So I've continued the tradition in our house, only instead of calling Sunday's "Family Day", I like to call them "Daddy Day!" It's the one day of the week Nadia and I get to spend every single minute with Laz from the moment we wake up to the moment it's time to go to sleep. This Sunday in particular was an extra special one because we scheduled a make-up session of Gymboree for today just so daddy could join us and see what all the fuss is about! (You have to understand, I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE Gymboree and I actually think Nadia does too!)

Daddy was able to sit near us and get some pictures of Nadia in all the action. (I guess now is the time to tell you that every great picture you see on this blog will be taken by me. Laz is not the best photographer and for that reason, you'll probably see very little (if any) good pictures of me posted. Oh well... )

After Gymboree we headed to The Falls and strolled around the shops. We were feeling very brave so we decided to try Nadia at a movie... Boy, oh boy were we impressed. Nadia was awake for most of the show. She sat on my lap, leaned back and actually seemed to enjoy the movie! For some parts she decided she wanted to "talk" to the screen and we had to remind her that talking during a movie isn't polite (It was Confessions of a Shopaholic, by the way). The whole experience reminded us (once again) that we have one cool kid!

The day ended with a nice and relaxing Margarita filled dinner at On the Border (margaritas for ME, not the baby silly!) Nadia was a bit cranky as it was a little past her bedtime, so I pretty much had to hold her paci in her mouth throughout dinner (I'll do whatever it takes to keep my munchkin happy!) Although we were an hour past bedtime, she did a great job at holding it together until the check came. Once again, I was super impressed by Nadia... two times in one day!