Remembering Then...And Loving Now

I remember when Ilah was a teeny tiny baby, fresh into the world and so small in her first few months of life. Whether I was cuddling her against my chest, cradling her in my arms, lying down next to her, or holding her with one arm while I did something else with the other, I would create special moments just staring at this little baby that God had blessed my life with. I was emotionally overwhelmed, in every thankful way, that Ilah was healthy, and beautiful, and that she was ours. I remember those winter months, when it was brisk outside, but the warmth inside of my heart was indescribable. When I was pregnant we would imagine what our baby girl would look like and be like and envision how our lives would be changed by her amazing little self. My daughter gave my life new meaning. And although a lot of responsibility came with that new meaning, I loved it. And I still do. I want to give her the best of myself every day.

And even though Ilah is not a wee one anymore, and is quite the independent little girl who rarely wants to cuddle up, sometimes she still allows me to hold her close and embrace her in the same loving way that was new to me then, but now is so familiar that I would die without it.

Ilah, I pray that we will always be bonded by the love we share for each other. I pray that we will continue to cuddle up next to each other, no matter the ages we may be. I hope that you will always know how much I love your independence, but I also want you to know that there will be times in your life that you will need your Momma - and I will be here for you, just as your Abuela is still there for me. You need not know of all the sacrifices that I have made for you {before you were born, now, or in the future}; what is more important is you know that any and all sacrifices were intentionally made to put you first, because that is what I always want/ed to do. I will always love you, protect you, and guide you towards being the best YOU that you can be. I want to create a life for you that you will look back on and know that beyond a shadow of a doubt, I strived to give you the best of everything that mattered most. I want to teach you invaluable lessons, and instill in you Godly principals, that will help mold you into being the kind of woman that will be admired. Be thoughtful. Even the smallest of things can make someone's day. Pray...for anything, and about everything. Because you can. You have God's ear. Go with your instinct/follow your discernment. Challenging yourself is a good thing, but also keep in mind that you are not perfect. No one is. Keep that in mind too. Some things you should fight for, other things {including people} are meant to be released. While life is meant to be taken seriously the majority of the time, there are times when you simply need to relax; I want you to find the beauty of getting lost in somewhere new, embrace new changes that will come your way, and simply live it up when the moment presents itself. Be kind. Be positive. And be YOU. Always stay true to yourself.

I will love you forever and ever...and past forever.

Our Monday {and Ilah is 19 Months Old!}

My adorable, sweet and funny little Ilah has been oh-so temperamental lately. Could the terrible two's be approaching early? For now, I'm just chalking it up to a few bad days. Hopefully ones are ahead, but I know this is all a part of the toddler stage. The fits have been daily - and often - and those few minutes that she is throwing herself on the floor and whaling her eyes, seem much longer than just a few minutes. But man, do I love our girl! To me, she's adorable even when she's throwing a fit. Shh! Don' tell her that ; ) We try not to laugh when she is in the middle of a full blown meltdown but seeing her get so dramatic over the smallest things, sometimes it's hard to keep a chuckle in.

Ilah has always followed directions well {go get a book and bring it to mommy, etc.} , but now she is also being obedient {Ilah, come here and stand still so mommy can do your hair}. Does she always listen? No. But she knows to...and when she hands over something {without being asked} that she knows she shouldn't be playing with, it shows me that she knows she should obey.

I say it just about every month when I sit down to do Ilah's newest milestones - that I can't believe how fast the time is flying. I am SO, SO grateful that I am able to stay home with Ilah and raise her, and spend my days with her. Not every day is easy, but I strive to fill her days with fun and laughter and sweet moments that make her feel loved.

Yesterday was a day that brought balance. We stayed home in the morning, and while Ilah took her morning nap, I cleaned. When she woke up from her nap, we got dressed and headed out to lunch together - just me and my girl : ) We dined at a yummy place that I was craving food from {a restaurant similar to Benihana}...and then afterwards we headed to Chuck-E-Cheese's so that Ilah could have some fun!!

Here she was...all strapped in, ready to head out!....

During our drive, I turned around to see Ilah while I was at a red light and I saw her hugging her Dora doll. It was the cutest thing ever! I was able to snap a picture....

Lunch was DELICIOUS!!!!....

Of course I shared with my girl! : ) .....

After lunch, Ilah walked around a bit to burn off some calories! Ha....

Then off we went to Chuck-E-Cheese's!!!.....

In our county, all the kids started back to school yesterday so Chuck-E-Cheese was literally all ours!! At first I thought they were closed when I pulled up and saw only two cars in the parking lot. I wanted to take Ilah to Chuck-E-Cheese's last week but I knew it was the week before kids went back to school and I imagined it would be packed, so I planned for us to go this week. It was SO NICE to have the place to ourselves. We will be venturing there a lot now : )

Ilah had SO MUCH FUN! And so did I : )

Ilah, here are some other things that you are up to at 19 months:

• You love to jump up on the chair and play on the computer.
• You love to color....A LOT.
• You go to the trash to throw things away, on your own.
• You got your first "owie" this weekend
• You are still taking 2 naps a day.
• You have started to use your step-stool and wash your hands with soap and water.
• You are very head-strong...but this is nothing new ; )
• You love to climb on furniture.
• Your bring mommy or daddy your cup when there is nothing left in it, and you'd like a refill!
• You do a very good job at listening to mommy and daddy.
• You love to interact with other children.
• You remain extremely independent.
• You are a VERY active little girl.
• You LOVE puppy's!!
• You always want to eat or drink whatever mommy or daddy has - and of course we give you some ; )
• Today at lunch I gave you some mushrooms for the first time...and you gobbled them up!
• You are doing so many new things, it's so hard to keep up!

Ilah, there are so many moments in the day that I stare at you and cannot believe that you are mine, and your daddy's. I feel like there needs to be another word besides "love" to describe what I feel towards you. You have enriched my life in so many beautiful ways. I pray that you will always know just how much I love you and just how much you mean to me. You fill my days with so much happiness. Even though you are a little girl, you have such a big light that shines out of you. I feel so, so, so blessed to be your mom. I pray that God continues to equip me to raise you in His ways and help guide you in all of your ways. We love you more than words can say.

Love,

Mommy & Daddy

Indoor Fun!

On Monday I headed to Walmart crossing my fingers that they carried Americolor food gel. On a whim I decided to replicate these adorable {yet very labor intensive} rocket cookies, adding the them to the 4th of July cookie platter that I am making for my husband to take to work tomorrow : ) Since I didn't plan on adding them to my mix {I couldn't resist because A.) they are so cute, and B.) I'm always up for a challenge} I needed just one food gel color that I didn't have on hand. I didn't want to trek allllll the way to Hobby Lobby for just one teeny tiny thing. But as it turned out, that's exactly what I had to do. And naturally, I left that store {like I pretty much always do} with more than just that $1.49 item. Anyhow, while I was at Walmart, I picked up a bag of 100 plastic balls.
What would we need all these balls for you ask?.....

For Ilah's inflatable Dora Butterfly Garden ball pit {that my mom bought for her for Christmas}.....
The ballpit came with just 20 balls, so naturally we had to add more to the mix!.....
It's so funny. I swore that my house wouldn't be overun with an ubundant amount of plastic toys when we had a child. And then enters a three foot plastic ball pit! Ha! Really though, you just can't help it. You want your child to enjoy the fun things in life!

Ilah loves climbing in and out. And speaking of climbing....as of yesterday she can climb onto the couch all on her own and get back down. And she's insistent on coming DOWN the stairs on her own now {she scoots down on her bottom} - I have to refrain from being too hands on because I do want her to master it, but we are always there to protect her if she loses her footing...which hasn't happened; she has always been very balanced.

I was taking the above picture of Ilah through one of the holes in the ballpit and when she heard me click the camera, she stuck her face right up to the hole. Ha ha!! I LOVE MY GIRL!!!!

We've been enjoying our summer both outside and inside!

Our Weekend!

Hope you guys all had a fabulous weekend! Mine was wonderful : ) Seems that lately ours have been the perfect combo of fun + relaxation. I'll take it!

Friday night I cooked up an easy meal of spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. It was served up on ultra-chic paper plates {ha!} for easy tossy out and no dishes for momma to do!

While eating, we watched a few episodes of House Hunters International. One couple ventured to South Africa, and another made roots in Australia. We love this show!

There's a show that I came across over the weekend on the OWN Network, called "Love It or List It". The show has to do with people who are contimplating moving from their current home, which they don't currently love, and buying a property that meets their current needs and wants. A designer comes in and does a renovation on their current home to get them to love it, while a real estate agent takes the couple to see property listings that are in alignment with what they are wishing they had more of - be it space, an upgraded kitchen, a patio with a huge yard, etc. In the end, the couple returns their fabulously upgraded home and now has to make a choice...has the upgrades made them fall in love with their home, and made them want to stay, or do they decide that while although the improvements are amazing, their current home still doesn't meet their list of wants. So it's realtor -vs- interior designer {who also has a team who blows out walls, implements landscaping, etc}! I love this show! And the home improvements are amazing! The couples have been so torn - some have stayed, some have chosen to move on. If you're in to these type of shows, you'll love "Love It or List It" on the OWN Network. You can see some clips here.

Saturday we just hung out at home and in the evening we picked up take out and after we put Ilah to bed we watched the last Chronicles of Narnia. I've never been one to enjoy fantasy type movies, but I enjoyed every one of the Narnia movies that came out....
Sunday morning we went to church and Ilah had a blast in the nursery as always! Dele snapped these few pics on his phone, which came out blurry, but they are still cute : ) ....

After church we had lunch, Ilah went down for a nap, and then I met up a girlfriend at Coldstone for some ice-cream and some fun girl talk : )

We had a church picnic on Sunday that was a lot of fun! My mom came too : ) I made some watermelon shaped sugar cookies to take....

Along with taking the cookies to the church picnic, we also took this cute little girl!....



Ilah was a busy little bee and wore her mommy and daddy out!! Obviously we love every stage with her, but it will be nice when she is older and can independently play on all the playground equipment and go off and have a fun time playing with her friends! Until then, we will be by her side, out there sweating like crazy as we climb up and down on the equipment with her - with one of us sending her down the slide while the other one is at the bottom to catch her! We got home from the picnic a little after 8:00 p.m. and then it was dinner, bath, a story, and bedtime.

After Ilah was in bed, I tuned into my guilty pleasure of The Real Housewives in which part 1 of of the OC Housewives Reunion aired. Did you watch? Following the OC Reunion was a new episode of The Real Housewives of New Jersey...loving this season!! Hope you all had a great weekend and that a great week is ahead for you!!

photo sources: House Hunters International, Love It or List It, Narnia Movie, Coldstone, Housewife Pictures.

Recapping The Last Few Days

My computer is still on the fritz so I wasn't able to upload my Monday post earlier. I'm a total night owl, and am up writing this post after 1 AM {which means it's technically now Tuesday but better late than never!}. Hope you all had a great weekend!! Ours was a mixture of busy, fun, and relaxing.

I need to backtrack to last Thursday as it was my husband's birthday!!! We spent the night at home and had a lowkey evening and chose to celebrate his special day by going out on Saturday. For his birthday dinner I made homemade fajitas at his request : ) I failed to take a picture so I'm cheating and posting a pic that I didn't personally take but it shows nearly exactly what mine looked like ; ) ......
Ilah had fun coloreing her daddy a picture for his birthay!....
And we taped it to the garage door so he could see it first thing when he got home : ) .....
While I was busy getting dinner ready, Ilah was busy in the tupperware cabinet.

After Dele opened up his cards and gifts, we put Ilah down for the night. I baked a simple boxed strawberry cake and instead of icing, topped it with cool whip {less calories!}. We took our pieces upstairs and crawled into bed and ate our cake while watching a movie {that I of course fell asleep to, as usual!}.
Friday evening after Dele got home from work, we took Ilah to the park! There are some pictures taken of her that allow me to see a glimpse into what she will look when she is older, and they also enable me to see the old soul of hers. This picture to me is one of them.... This picture cracks me up - Ilah looks like she's holding on for dear life!....
Then she realizes that swinging "semi-high" is actually REALLY FUN! Ha ha! Oh how I love that happy face!!....
For dinner Friday night we had hamburgers and shared some fries from Five Guys. We first tried this burger place last year and didn't like it...but then we had it again last month and changed our mind ; ) Still nothing like In-N-Out though {which they don't have here. Boo!}....
Saturday morning we had breakfast and then got Ilah ready to go stay with my mom for the day so that we could celebrate Dele's birthday and be out and about, doing whatever we wanted to do. I packed up Ilah's lunch and dinner and her snacks in her Dora lunch sack that my friend Vanessa gave her!...
Ilah watched Word World {a new fav!} while I was getting some of her toys together and packing her diaper bag...and then daddy loaded up the car.
When we got to my mom's house, Ilah's Abuela had a gift for her! Ilah is always pretending to be drinking and eating something so this little talking tea set is right up her alley! Ilah LOVES it!!....
After I dropped Ilah off, I went to Hobby Lobby to get a few decor pieces for our 4th of July party. Dele stayed behind. I can't figure out why? It's not like I was going to be in there for over an hour or anything! ; )

After my little shopping exersion, we went to the movies and saw Hangover 2. Some parts I did have to look away because goodness, gracious...REALLY, was that necessary?!...but it did keep up laughing and was just as good as the first, in our opinion.

After the movie we went to a furniture store and purchased some barstools. It's nice to have the extra seating. We love them! They blend in nicely with our decor and the base of the new stools actually match the base of the two stools that we have at our center island. They don't take up much room, thus, they don't interfere with Ilah's play space. I didn't put stools there earlier because when Ilah was learning to stand, and walk, she was always pulling up on stuff and I was worried that she would lose her grip and hit her head on the medal base {it happened at my mom's house once}. But now she is a big girl and so far she has paid these barstools no mind. Let's hope it stays that way!

After we purchased the barstools, we went to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner!! Yuumm!!!....

After dinner, we picked up Ilah's from my mom's and we got home by 9 p.m. The next morning it was Sunday and we went to church. {I put in Ilah's 16 month post that she is on just one nap a day but it seems to fluctuate, as some days she will still go down twice. When we left for church it was around 10:45 a.m. and she was rubbing her tired eyes on the way there. She made it through the service but when I went to pick her up from the nursery, she was so tired and looked way ready/overdue for a nap! Bless her heart! {that is the FIRST time I have ever typed that! The sweet Southern saying might be rubbing off on me. Ha!}......

Ilah and her Abuela after church.....

Our sleepy little girl.....

We thought for sure that Ilah would have a looong nap. Nope. She woke up about an hour and a half later, just as we were taking our Sunday nap! : / Oh well...duty calls! A while later, Dele headed out to meet some co-workers and me and Ilah hung out at home. The hours passed rather quickly and when daddy got home, Ilah changed into her pj's and we all played in her room for a bit : ) .....

Then it was dinner time! Ilah is eating more and more with her fork these days. So cute to watch!....

While Ilah was eating dinner, I went through the Sunday paper and pulled out my coupon booklets and tore out some other coupons that I came across....

After Ilah was in bed, it was time for Mama to tune into her shows! Sunday night was the season finale of The Real Housewives of Orange County {Season 6}. Do any of you read the blogs on Bravo that the ladies post, following the airing of an episode? I do! I love reading their perspective on what just aired, and the extra juice that they divulge! I don't read the blogs of the NYC Housewives but along with the OC ladies, I also read the blogs of the New Jersey ladies! Can't wait for the OC Reunion shows!!

Today was spent cleaning the house, folding laundry and packaging up some Etsy orders and shipping out some bows! {You can visit my Etsy shop here}.

My mom came over this afternoon and brought me Chipotle for lunch and spent some time with Ilah. I have such a wonderful mother!!

I hope you all have a great week! It's sure to fly by so make every day a good one : )