Wednesday, June 28, 2017

I got my girl

From the day we found out Emilia was going to be a girl, most people kept telling me "I am so glad you got your girl". It used to annoy me so much because I felt like it came with the implication that my life as a mom wouldn't be fulfilled if I did not birth a girl child. I used to resent that comment so much. Now that Emilia is here and we've spend almost a year together, I get what they were saying. They weren't discounting the fact that the boys were important and a great blessing, they were expressing the joy of getting to raise children of both sex: a boy and a girl. I get it now and I am not annoyed anymore. I just want to shout on every rooftop: "I got my girl".

I mean look at this side by side of me on the left around 1 year and my daughter on the right at 10 months. Are we not twins, from the lack of hair, the forehead, the eyes, the ears, the nose, the lips, the cheeks, the legs and even the stance. She is my complete twin. I really got my girl you guys :).
Being a mom has been a dream come true for me. I always wanted to have a lot of kids running around. I met and married someone that shared that idea and we were blessed with 4 beautiful kids. We all have so much fun together and even though it's totally chaotic, we are having the time of our lives.

Pool side with my babies last March.
Chilling with my girl who looks just like my boys at this age by the way
Having a girl has been so sweet because there are things that I could just never do with the boys that I get to do with her. I mean, isn't it so awesome that we can wear matching bows? I would never be able to do that with my boys
I love this little mini me of mine so much
Chilling with my baby girl at the doctor's office
That sweet face, those beautiful eyes, my girl.
My baby girl looks just like my boys at this age, which is so funny. If she is not wearing a bow, she is just like the boys.
Matching bathing suits, don't mind if we do. I am so loving having a little girl to do these kinds of fun things with.
I mean, seriously, this is a total dream come true
She truly is our little princess and every time I look at her, I see myself in her and I get excited for all the girl things I will teach her about life. I adore this little girl of mine, more than I could have ever imagine in my wildest dream
I also love that she is my total mini me
The matching will never get old. I plan to do it until she is so fed up with me that she just runs away embarrassed. Ok, maybe not for that long.
My sweet little girl and I, rocking our matching suits in the pool
I am so happy that I got my girl but I am also happy that I had 3 awesome boys before her. I mean, we wore yellow bows to coordinate with the boys' yellow shirts. I am so that mom and I am totally loving it.
I adore my handsome boys and I am so happy that I get to be their momma everyday. I am so in love with this picture with my big boys, Tman (6, turning 7 in July) and Jbird (4, turning 5 in August). Those happy smiles just melt my heart everyday
Loving on my baby boy Bean (3), the sweetest little boy. Bean will forever be my baby boy
These 4 kids of mine have all been such a blessing and each and every one of them made me one proud and happy mama. Bean (3), Tman (6), Emilia (11months), and Jbird (4). I wouldn't have it any other way. I would have been happy with 4 boys but I am absolutely ecstatic with my perfect combination of 3 boys and 1 girl. I got my girl :) :) :) :).
I am so thankful that I got my girl and I am also thankful that have my 3 boys. Everyday, I thank God for giving me the most amazing 4 babies. 3 boys and a girl, the most perfect combination that I never would have imagined but absolutely love. I am not ashamed or annoyed to say to anyone that wants to hear that after 3 amazing boys, I got my baby girl and our family is complete.

Monday, June 26, 2017

A magical unicorn first birthday prep

You guys, my baby girl is turning 1 in less than 2 weeks. Is that insane or what? I can't even wrap my head around that. This year seriously flew by. We planned to celebrate her 1st birthday at home like we usually do but as we watched the guest list grow everyday, we decided that renting a spot would be a better idea.

I am so glad that we did because it allowed us to invite everyone that we really wanted to invite. I was scouring pinterest for some ideas and the idea of the unicorn first birthday popped in my feed. At first I thought it was too elaborate then I realized it was actually the most perfect theme. It's our 1st daughter, 1st birthday and our last 1st birthday celebration ever. I mean, all those 1st just screamed unicorn. Add that to the fact that she is our only daughter after 3 boys and we've literally been living on cloud nine since her arrival. I mean, the theme picked itself :).

Emilia started walking a few days before she turned 11 months and has not looked back. How stylish is my little girl with her pink outfit. Those beautiful brown eyes and cheeks for days.
Totally ignoring me but oh so cute. We had such good lighting at the door, she looks like a porcelain doll. Can you peep her brothers in the background eating dinner :)
When I saw this cake, I fell in love with the rainbow unicorn theme. How amazing is this. Our cake won't look quite this elegant because it was going to cost an arm and a leg but I think we'll get something pretty nice in our budget.
How cool is this for a centerpiece. I can't find a unicorn head like that at a reasonable price so I'll probably just go with a backdrop or something like that.
I just love this idea. I got all the balloons and I hope it looks this good
How awesome is this? my friend is going to make these for us. Can't wait to see the final result. These are going to be the centerpieces for the table
How super fun is this? I got some boxes, now to figure out how to do those handles
And this my friends, is what really sold me on the whole unicorn thing. Pink, pink and more pink. I got a pink tulle skirt for the table, some pink candy for decoration. We are also doing rainbow cupcakes and some cookies for desert. I hope it comes together nicely.
And you know how much I love dressing my babies for birthdays. I of course got the boys in on the action. I got the kids matching shirts to go with the theme. How seriously adorable is this. My four are going to look amazing.
When I saw these Toms, I was instantaneously in love. I mean, how perfect is this. I had a different pair for Emilia but I think these pink Toms are just perfect for the occasion. I also got a pair for myself :).
This is the room that we rented. The pink table is going to be the focus and will go where the mirror is right now. We'll have white linens but pink plates to add some colors. I also plan to have balloons everywhere and let the kids take them home at the end of the day. We also booked a magician/balloon maker to entertain the kids during the party and I love that there is plenty of space for the kids to run around.
You guys, pinterest is going to be the death of me. I loved all the ideas I gathered from there but man, it felt like such hard work trying to get everything to come together. I only have to buy a few things to complete the look of the party. I can't wait to see it all come together. I know my baby girl will never remember this birthday party but we will. I also hope this celebration is magical for her as this year with her has been for us.

Thursday, June 22, 2017

Jbird is going to Kindergarten

My second son Jbird graduated from PreK last May and he is headed to Kindergarten. I am so proud of him because he had a bit of a rough start with speech delay and other issues. A year ago today he was barely stringing 2 words together. After countless therapy, early education learning and multiple psychology evaluations, our Jbird started talking more. It wasn't just talking, it was expressing himself using words. Before we knew it, he was potty trained and we blinked again and he was making new friends.

It's been an emotionally and physically exhausting past 2 years but it is so nice to be here today. We weren't sure if we were going to hold him back for a year or not. His early education team and speech pathologist all agreed that not only he was ready for Kindergarten, he was ready to actually join the general education group. Trust me when I tell you that this is amazing news. We are elated and so thankful that our Jbird will be going to Kindergarten next year in the general education class.

My big boy Jbird in his cap and gown
We of course made a production out of the event as we do :). Hubby and Bean waiting for the ceremony to start
Baby girl slept through most of it
My mom also came to celebrate this momentous event. We love to celebrate milestones in our family
Jbird walking down the aisle as his class made its grand entrance
Check out my smiley and happy boys with his fellow graduates
I love this kid so much and I am so thankful for all that he was able to achieve in such a short amount of time
Picture time with our graduate. I wish I brought the good camera. The lighting was so bad in the room so all the pictures are kind of blurry
My mama and Jbird
Jbird with his daddy
So proud of my second son
Our little family minus Tman who couldn't get out of going to school on that day
This kid is just the sweetest
My Jbird showing off his graduation certificate
It's been a roller coaster of a year filled with a myriads of Dr appointment, speech pathologist and more. We are just so happy and thankful that all those things worked because Jbird is now going to Kindergarten. Way to go Jbird, you make us so proud everyday.

Saturday, June 17, 2017

We are back

You guys, we are back to blogging and I am super excited about it. I really love blogging and life took a crazy busy turn the last few months and I just couldn't keep up with the blog.

You see, 3 months ago hubby started the job that we had been praying for years. We now work for the same company, which is what we were hoping would happen a few years ago. God answered that prayer in the best possible way. Our commute took a crazy turn for a few months there and adjusting to new jobs is never easy. I also got a lot more responsibilities at work so my work and home life became pretty hectic.

The kids were all going to 4 different places so we had four drop offs and pick ups. You guys, that was like the worst 3 months. We worked in the same building but we didn't carpool because it took 2 hours to drop everybody and actually make it work. Well, Summer started this week and we only have 2 drop offs now, woooohoooo. The big boys go to the same Summer camp and the babies go to the same daycare. It only took us 1 hour to drop everybody and get to work everyday this week. I am a new person :).

While life was being crazy, I didn't blog but I definitely took a gazillion pictures of the family :). You know how I roll. I am going to try to recap what we did because we were still jam packed with activities and trips.

Baby girl grew like a weed during those last few months and she is just getting sweeter and most adorable everyday
After Bean turned 3, he joined the boys in weekly swim lessons. These brothers have the best time together and they also fight like crazy. Do you love their happy smiles here or what?
We also took the boys to see boss baby and they loved it. We plan to take them to the movies more because they are so into them.
My mom and baby girl continue to be the cutest duo :)
We went on an epic trip to Punta Cana with all the kids and we are so lucky that my mom came with us. Chilling with my big boys on the bus and taking selfies as you do
The crew at the Nickelodeon Resort in Punta Cana. We loved this place
This was the gorgeous view from our balcony
Chilling with my four on the balcony. I still pinch myself because I can't believe I made these 4 humans (with hubby and God's help of course ;)).
You know I have wanted to do this from the day we found out about our girl, 3 generations of girls in matching outfit
We of course got slimed Nickelodeon style
My big boys loved every minute of it, Bean was not really about that slime life
My favorite picture of my four kids. Tman - 6, Jbird - 4, Bean - 3, and Emilia - 9 months
I wore matching bathing suits with Emilia the entire trip :). She really is my minime
Bean was so into all the characters and I was so surprised because he is only 3. Copying Spongebob over here
My mom and the kids. I am so thankful for her, she makes raising these little human such a breeze
The highlight of the trip was definitely the ease of meeting all of the boys favorite characters. We enjoyed breakfast with Sponge bob and his friends
We had an amazing time in Punta Cana and I can't wait to recap it all. I love this family of mine, It's always chaotic but we are having the time of our lives
As soon as we got back from Punta Cana, hubby and I took a weekend off without the kids and enjoyed a nice night out in the town
It was a celebration for my birthday and hubby's new job. My mom watched the kids so that we could spend the night in the city and get a break.
I love this guy so much and I am really enjoying doing life with him. We've known each other for ore than 12 years more than a third of our lives so far :)
I went to a baby shower with my mini and we were looking super cute. I just love having a daughter you guys
We traveled to Houston, Texas to attend our cousins college graduations. My mom came of course and we took the babies. Hubby couldn't really get the time off because of the new job and all that. My baby boy Bean enjoyed all the attention I was able to give him. How does he look so grown up already
with my mom and the babies in front of Rice University
We also got to chill with hubby's cousin who lives out there
We also celebrated Jbird's graduation from PreK. Seriously when did my kids get so big. So proud of this kid, he is going to Kindergaten next year. We had a pretty trying year and a half with him and speech delay and lots of concerns but he came through like a champion.
We celebrated Memorial Day, our first as a family of 6. Like seriously, we have a lot of kids and we love it :)
I will try to get caught up with life if I can. I love having this little journal here to look back on. It's good to be back, I have missed this space so much and I definitely missed reading your blogs and what you've been up to. I leave you with the sweetest picture of my little lady.

My happy little girl. I just cannot resist her cuteness