The Crisalle's Adventures

2008 in pictures

2009-04-01T17:53:00.008-04:00

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

I promise I'll get to 2009 soon!

- Love you all -

Update

2009-04-01T17:29:00.007-04:00

Hi everyone! A few of you keep reminding me on a regular basis that I need to update the blog. I haven't done so in such a long time. It's just that we are always super busy, were all sick for a good month (sometimes it feels like it will never stop!), and just a little overwhelmed at the amount of pictures that we still haven't sorted through.

So what's changed in our lives? Well, I went back to work - still part time but I'm actually going in the office these days instead of working from home. Rosa and Cesar are both going to daycare and they love it! No crying in the mornings, smiles to the teachers when they get there, tons of friends. Just awesome. We were a little worried about Rosa since she was so attached to me but she's doing great. I know I have some pictures somewhere, I'll try to find them soon in the big stash.

In the meantime, here are a few that I was going to post... oh.... 4 months ago!

Cool glasses, no?

Very seriously playing with the computer...

Happy Birthday Abuelita Laila!

Looking at squirrels in the trees...

Aren't they cute?

Merry Christmas

We are a family!

2008-11-19T12:01:00.004-05:00

We knew we would be from the moment we saw Cesar and Rosa's referral pictures. Then we knew we were when the final adoption went through but now we know for sure, because Cesar drew it (without any cues)!
Again, Blogger is not behaving, sorry for the sideways picture but I don't know what else to do about it. Enjoy anyway, we've got a talented boy.

Ice cream!

2008-11-19T11:56:00.005-05:00

This past weekend, we thought it would be fun to make ice-cream. We all enjoyed it but Rosa kept asking for "mar, mar" (a combination of languages to say more)!

Do I look guilty?

More of the Artist

2008-11-19T11:25:00.003-05:00

Here are a few more of Cesar's drawing. He is good and so advanced for his age, it's incredible. We're proud!

Fall festival

2008-11-19T10:39:00.013-05:00

In Florida, we don't necessarily notice that Fall is here. The only clue is that the temperatures drop by a degree or so and that Cesar's school is organizing their Fall Festival. Check out Cesar's tee-shirt, he made it himself.

The Firefighter and the little Cat

2008-11-11T10:30:00.012-05:00

I know, I know, I am very late in posting the Halloween pictures but I had to sort through more than 300 pictures. The choices were difficult, so I will just post a lot of pictures here now and you can decide which one is your favorite. A little background: every time you ask Cesar what he wants to do when he grows up, he answers "Firefighter!". And since Rosa is our cat's best friend and tries to persecute him all day long, she had to be a kitty cat. First we went to pick up Cesar at his daycare, followed by a trip to the zoo next door to finally finish the evening in our neighborhood. Enjoy!

The Artist!

2008-11-11T10:21:00.010-05:00

Well, well, well... what can I say. Apparently Cesar is very talented and very advanced for his age in how he draws. Every one likes his pictures so much that all the teachers have voted to pick this one, frame it and put it up on display in the College President's office! See for yourself...

Oh and sorry it's sideways. I have no idea why Blogger does this, since it's not that way on my computer drive. Sorry...

Happy Birthday, Rosa!

2008-10-10T09:14:00.008-04:00

I just can't believe she's two already. Time flies so fast! I thought we had more pictures of her birthday party but we video-taped most of it and it's a big file so I won't be able to post it here. But I'm sure you'll enjoy the pictures anyway.

Cesar before the party

We got Rosa a little kitchen and both seem to enjoy it equally!

Doing the dishes...

Dora is her favorite character these days, so the cake had to be a Dora cake. And no, I didn't make it myself. I am not as talented as some of my friends!

Daddy and his girl! Notice how she's holding his hand - it's so cute!

The cake is good! Rosa had two pieces and then asked for more!!

Chilling after the party... watching Dora on tv!

Fashion show

2008-10-10T09:11:00.004-04:00

Just a few quick pictures when Rosa was showing off her new "Dora the explorer" jacket that is so soft.

I can't believe she's 2!!

2008-10-06T08:55:00.003-04:00

Happy Birthday, Rosa! We celebrated her 2nd birthday yesterday with our closest friends and neighbors. I'll post the pictures soon, I promise.

Just chilling...

2008-10-01T10:02:00.002-04:00

... watching TV before bedtime...

Eating yogurt

2008-10-01T09:54:00.003-04:00

Rosa being almost 2 (in 4 days!) wants to do everything on her own. So we let her eat her yogurt by herself and here's the result!

and a cute picture of Cesar to finish. He's such a big boy now!!

Another trip to Silver Springs

2008-09-24T16:18:00.008-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, we took another trip to Silver Springs. The weather was perfect, not too hot, and the kids had fun again!

Beautiful views of the Silver River.

Peek a boo!

Oh we love the caroussel so much that we could stay there forever...

Can you laugh for the camera? - don't worry, Mommy was holding me very tight!

Such a big girl already!

Some of our new friends

Beach trip

2008-09-07T16:04:00.013-04:00

Back at the beginning of the summer, we were wondering where we would take our family vacation. Just looking at the price of plane tickets was enough to scare us. I guess we're still thinking about the prices for two but now that we're four... it's pretty much double! Anyway, I had this incredible idea to.... go to the beach. You're saying "again!!??" Well, yes, it's close, the kids love it and we could rent an apartment for the week. Which we did, back in June. Living in Florida, you never know what will happen with the weather and when I made the reservation, I was wondering if we would be lucky enough to have a wonderful week or if we would have a hurricane. Well... guess what?? We went as Tropical Storm Fay was crossing Florida from South West to South East, thinking we would be okay. Who in the world would have thought that this storm would have a mind of its own and cross Florida three times in all different directions!! All this to say that when we arrived Saturday we were confident we would stay the entire week. When we woke up Wednesday morning and looked out the window, we hurried and packed our suitcases to head back home. The wind was horrible, the waves were crashing with fierce (and we had an ocean view apartment on the first floor!), it was raining like crazy and was supposed to continue for the next three days. I think the thought of being stuck inside a very small apartment with a couple of toddlers and a few toys, possibly without electicity scared me more than knowing the storm would make landfall right outside our window! So we headed home and nothing really happened for us at home, except a little rain. We found out later that the storm did make landfall right were we had been. We definetely made the right decision. But going back in time a few days before, here are a few pictures of the kids at the beach. They had so much fun for the few days we were there. Cesar's nickname is now "the Fish" and Rosa completely lost her fear of the water (which increased ours!!). :)

Very close call!

2008-09-07T15:58:00.005-04:00

A few days before Tropical Storm Fay, I was working away and Rosa was quietly playing when I heard a big noise, turned around in time to see a huge tree fall... a couple of feet away from the house! We were soooooo lucky!!!

Right next to the playground, you can see the rest of the tree standing.

It's clear that it was rotten and ready to fall at any time. I'm just glad it did when it did and not with Tropical Storm Fay, which would have pushed it the other direction, on top of the house!!

Wild Waters

2008-09-05T17:50:00.020-04:00

A couple of weekends ago, we went to a water park for the day. Rosa wasn't so sure with all the kids running around and water falling from all angles, but Cesar had a blast!

Rosa in bed

2008-09-04T17:47:00.003-04:00

Here is the routine every night... "Bye bye" on one side (Teletubbie), the baby with the pacifier in the mouth on the other side and the soft blanket in the other hand!

Shawn's birthday party

2008-09-04T17:30:00.011-04:00

Cesar's good friend Shawn from "school" celebrated his 4th birthday at a nearby park recently. All the kids had a lot of fun!

Shawn (in dark blue), Colby (in light blue) and Cesar

Just thinking...

The big boy!

Climbing all by myself...

Smile!

Colby and Cesar

Shawn blowing the candles

Colby, Cesar and Sadie eating birthday cake

Smile!

That was so cute! Cesar, with the huge heart that he has, would

pick up all the candy that fell from the pinata and gave it all to his friend Shawn!

Rosa cleaning

2008-09-04T17:26:00.003-04:00

Oh boy.. I just realized that it's been over a month since I've updated the blog! This is so bad and I apologize. There are so many things that happened too, but you'll see it all in pictures. I promise I will update the blog in the coming days with the ton of pictures that we have. To start, here are a few pictures of Rosa when she decided to help clean the kitchen floor, by dipping the broom in... the cat's water bowl! Cute!

Relaxing day

2008-07-28T13:09:00.002-04:00

After walking so much at Silver Springs and being so hot, we decided that Sunday would be a "hang out around the house" day. So while Cesar was still taking his nap, Rosa wanted to watch her favorite show: the Teletubbies. She calls them "bye bye" and she is always fascinated when she watches that show. Here's the proof!

Trip to Silver Springs

2008-07-28T11:43:00.019-04:00

This past weekend, we decided to change things a little and not go to the beach but go to Silver Springs instead. You've all seen it before, yes, yes... even if you've never been to Florida... Remember Johnny Weissmuller playing the role of Tarzan in the original movies back in the 30's?? Remember him jumping from one tree to the other? And swimming among the alligators? Yes? Well, the first few movies were all filmed at Silver Springs. It's now a zoological park, botanical park, petting zoo, playground... a cool place to hang out. We were there most of the day and didn't get to see everything. Fortunately we got annual passes so we'll be able to go back more often (it's only 45 minutes away after all) and the kids had so much fun!!

On the way there, Cesar decided to sing to us all the songs he learned in school.

Here is "Twinkle, twinkle Little Star"

We made it!

Do I look cool or what??

The welcoming crew...

Visiting the girafes

On the carousel

The petting zoo

Walking around

A Zodiak bear
We're soooo hot!!!!

Monkeys!
Our beautiful Silver River

Rosa playing in the glass bottom boat saying:

"This is fun! I hope we come back soon!!"

Rosa's favorite thing to do these days..

2008-07-28T11:39:00.003-04:00

Nope, it's not what you think at all. Just check it out! Every day, we find Rosa by the cat's food bowl. First she "cleans up" by putting all the food that has fallen out of the bowl back into it (yes, we do have a very messy eater of a cat!). And then this innocent play turns into something else...

First I grab a handful...... and in the mouth it goes...
... don't I look completely innocent??

And another trip at the beach...

2008-07-28T11:29:00.007-04:00

Yes, yes, you probably don't want to see the same pictures over and over. We do go to the same beach each time but I just love to see the change in the kids over a few weeks. It's just so incredible how fast they grow! Enjoy...

Cesar making snow angels on the beach!

Pizza anyone??

Lots of energy...

2008-07-19T09:57:00.004-04:00

Rosa absolutely loves music and loves to dance. Here is an example!

A visit to the Horse Farm

2008-07-15T20:22:00.009-04:00

Our neighbors Chris and Trish took us to see the horses at Chris' boss horse farm. We all had an awesome time. The horses are amazing! Here are a few pictures that you can enjoy. I do have to point out that the first five were taken by Trish's brother who is a professional photographer. Just beautiful...

Finally!

2008-07-11T09:46:00.021-04:00

So we finally invested in a "faster" camera. I was getting so frustrated with the other one... by the time the picture was taken, there was no more children in sight. Those little things are so fast sometimes!! Anyway, we now have a new camera that actually takes some beautiful pictures right on time. Yesterday alone (first day we got the camera), we took over 300 pictures!! That just tells you how much we love it. Of course, I won't post as many, but here are some of my favorites. Oh and by the way, most of them are from Rosa because Cesar is in daycare all day. Enjoy!

Isn't my hair so long?

Now I will show you all the different ways to drink water...

Time to eat green peas (I absolutely love them!)

all gone!

I also love puzzle time.

Later, while Rosa was already half way undressed for bathtime,
the handy man came to repair a door.

That's when we discovered that Rosa was absolutely fascinated by his tools.

And a couple of pictures of Cesar too.

4th of July Parade

2008-07-11T09:30:00.007-04:00

We all love Cesar's daycare center. They are always so creative. For the 4th of July, they organized a "Parade and Picnic" event. All the kids had painted little hats the week before and were proudly wearing them. They walked around the school, marching to the music, waiving their flags. It was sooo cute!! Here are a few pictures of the event.

Cesar and some of his friends

Cesar and his teacher Ms Margret

The parade begins...

Cesar and his friend Colby

and Rosa with her flag too!

A year ago...

2008-07-01T18:10:00.006-04:00

A year ago today... we finally arrived home with our two munchkins! It's been a very busy year but each and every day is such a pleasure. I just wish Cesar and Rosa wouldn't grow up so fast. We brought home a baby and a little toddler, now we have a little man and a little toddler. All I can say is that we are blessed and are enjoying every second with both of them.

We love you so so much!!

PS: these are not the best pictures of them but they are the most recent (as of an hour ago). What a difference compared to last year's picture.

Growing up

2008-06-16T09:24:00.008-04:00

Every one has been talking about how fast the kids are growing. It's absolutely incredible. Cesar is in day care all day and picked up so much english in the past few months that I can say at 3 1/2 he's already trilingual. You can ask him any common word and he will tell you how Mama says it (in French), how Papa says it (in Spanish) and how either our dear friend Lisa or his teacher Ms Margret says it (in English). Just amazing. Oh and by the way, his favorite word is "why" (in english)! Fun, fun, fun.

Rosa is growing up fast too! To us, she doesn't look like a baby anymore. She's wearing 2T clothes and some seem to be getting small already (she's only 20 months). She's picking up a lot of words and absolutely loves to play "catch me if you can" with her brother. Her favorite "word" is still "oh oh". As a typical almost two year old, she's into everything and is always happy to imitate me when I tell her no and wave my finger (with a huge smile on her little face by the way). Well, I discovered the other day that even though she doesn't say the word no (and we're hoping it won't come out of her mouth for a VERY long time), she definetely understands the meaning, even though she ignores it most of the time. This past Saturday was the proof. We had planned to go to the beach (yes, again, can't you tell we love it) and wanted to leave the house early. So at 7 am, I went in the kids bedrooms to wake them up - unusual since Rosa has been waking up anytime from 5:45 to 6:30 recently. When I leaned over the crib to wake up Rosa, she opened one eye, looked at me and with no smile on her cute sleepy face, she pointed her little finger at me and waved it saying no. I took it as "I want to sleep in today!". I wish I had the video camera in my hand then. Too cute!

Both Rosa and Cesar have their own separate personality - sometimes complete opposite and sometimes so similar - they really love each other and we love them with all our hearts!

The beach... again!

2008-05-27T17:49:00.013-04:00

We have discovered that the children absolutely love the beach. It's incredible how they can stay occupied for hours non stop with just a few toys, lots of sand and water. We've also found that it's really relaxing for us too. Since it's so close to home (1 1/2 hrs), we're trying to go as often as possible. Here are pictures from yesterday's trip. Enjoy!

I told you I don't like hats!!!!

The wedding

2008-05-27T17:17:00.010-04:00

Most of you who read this blog know who our dear friend and neighbor Anne is. Remember, she's the one who saves us when one of the children is sick, wherever we are in the world, whether it's Antigua Guatemala, Lausanne Switzerland or simply Gainesville Florida. Anne is not only the best nurse practicioner but also the best neighbor in the world. We were extremely happy when she told us that she had met a wonderful man and then even happier when she told us that they were getting married. Their wedding was beautiful, even though our entire family was sick: Oscar just had oral surgery the day before and was in a lot of pain, I had an upper respiratory infection and was not feeling good at all and both kids had a cold! But we made it there and enjoyed every second of it. Anne and Buck make a wonderful couple and we are so happy that they have found each other. We wish them a lifetime of happiness!!

The groom

The vows...

The exchange of the rings..

... and a little kiss when the priest is not looking...

Virginie and Anne

Our little Princess

and the Prince

Rosa, would you like to dance?

I'd love to!

The cake

"Here's to Anne and Buck! We love you!!"

The beach

2008-05-10T08:13:00.016-04:00

The weather here has been wonderful in the upper 80s so last Sunday, we decided to go to the beach. It's only an hour 1/2 away from our house, so we packed the car and there we went. We all had so much fun!!

Surprisingly enough, we actually managed to make them take a nap there!

and there we're off to play again!

And more again...

2008-05-08T09:14:00.014-04:00

... We're soooooo cute!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tea anyone?

a little blurry but oh so cute!

we love to play in the backyard!

And more again from Mamylou and Papylou

2008-05-07T15:36:00.019-04:00

(... I told you they took a million photos...) :)

What are we doing??

I told you, reading is my favorite activity

and we look at the trees in the book and then the trees in the backyard

even by myself I like to read...

... then I take a little break for a drink...

...and then I play some more...

I absolutely love it when Mommy blows bubbles for us!!!

...and now I start climbing... my other favorite thing to do...

I have to start from far away...

...what a fun game... let's all jump in!
you can't see it... but Mommy's on the bottom......laughing so hard...)

even the cat thinks it's fun!

And now for some quiet time...

... much more to come in a few days...

More pictures from Mamylou and Papylou's visit

2008-04-24T19:38:00.005-04:00

A cute face

Guess what I'm doing...

"I love going down the slide, more... please..."
Another cute face

Guess what I'm doing now?
Yes, reading. I LOVE books!!

Mamylou and Papylou's visit

2008-04-23T16:54:00.017-04:00

My mother and stepdad were here for two weeks and took a million pictures, if not more! I will post some of my favorites in this post and future posts. Enjoy!

Rosa playing peekaboo

Rosa loves to read books

Cesar's cute face

Rosa's cute faces

Three generations together

Silly girl!

Rosa driving

and Cesar's turn to drive

(I think we will need to have some driving lessons for him...

he seems to have a funny way of sitting in his car!)

Multicultural Festival

2008-04-23T10:18:00.019-04:00

A couple of weeks ago we went to Cesar's Little School to participate in their Multicultural Festival. Quite a few different countries were represented and each group of kids performed songs and dances from those countries. It was a lot of fun! Cesar had been telling me for a while that he was singing "Frere Jacques" in school and I never believed him. Honnestly, why would they sing in French, right? I knew we were singing this at home all the time and just thought that since he didn't know the names of the songs that they were singing in school, he used "Frere Jacques" as the name. Well... isn't there a saying that the truth always comes out of the children's mouths? He was telling the truth. They sang "Frere Jacques" in French and English that day. Anyway, here are a few pictures from that day.

Cesar and his friends Shawn and Alex before the presentation

The performance

After the performance

Rosa just chilling in a baby rocking chair

She absolutely loves books, can't you tell?

Aunt Lisa's Birthday

2008-04-15T16:19:00.005-04:00

These are a few pictures of my best friend's 50th surprise Birthday party. It was a lot of fun! She thought she was having dinner with our family... when actually it was with 25 more persons! And of course we made her wear the silly "50 year old" tee-shirt. Sorry Lisa.... We love you!

Easter

2008-04-15T16:10:00.007-04:00

I know, I know... I'm just VERY late in posting again... My parents are visiting and are taking a million pictures (and I'm not exagerating) so it's taking me double the time to sort through them. At the rate I'm going, I'll probably post these pictures in July! :)

Anyway, here are a few pictures we took at Easter. Not many, I know, but we video-taped everything and the file is soooo big I can't post it here. Sorry...

For our dear friend Eliot Mohr

2008-03-30T13:58:00.004-04:00

We were walking in our neighborhood the other day and saw this statue in someone's front yard. We think it's a copy of one of the Backyardigans... or at least it looks like it to us. We know Eliot loves them, so here it is... for you Eliot. We miss you!

Oh my....

2008-03-30T13:56:00.003-04:00

... there's two of me!!!

Portraits

2008-03-30T13:54:00.003-04:00

We were just having fun and took those pictures the other day.

A year ago

2008-03-16T21:14:00.006-04:00

Today, a year ago, at exactly this time, I was in tears. We had to leave our beautiful children in Guatemala and come back to real life... for the second time in as many months. I hated leaving each time. It always felt like someone was riping my heart open and leaving a part of it behind. But even though there were tears, this time was different. I had just whispered in Rosa's ear that I would come back within a month and would never leave her alone (and I mean NEVER) after that again. I kept my promise, but I'm saving that for another blog entry next month. In the meantime, here is a picture of us as a family (even though not legally yet but definetely in the heart) that very last day in March last year.

A visit to the park

2008-03-07T11:34:00.016-05:00

Last weekend was beautiful, sunny, perfect temperatures, not too hot, not too cold, just the way we like Florida. It was a wonderful day to go to the park, so we did! Here are some pictures. Enjoy!

First the swings...

And then the slides...

...and why not all together!

Rosa was having fun taking the bits of shredded tires that are on the ground and putting them on the bottom of the slide

... and Cesar was pretending to be Peter Pan

Eating and drinking habits!

2008-03-02T09:03:00.006-05:00

Rosa has been showing us her good eating and drinking habits recently. It's always fun to watch!

Let's try with the left hand this time...

Yes... the Cheerios are there...

Hmmm... so good!

All gone!

Two cups is so much better than one!

Medieval Festival

2008-02-22T15:36:00.001-05:00

A couple of weekends ago, we went to the Medieval Festival here in town. It was a lot of fun! Oscar and I have been going for years but this year, it was extra special: we were there as a family. We all had a good time.

The Artist

2008-02-22T15:30:00.000-05:00

We didn't know we had an artist in the family. Check this out. My mother bought a drawing board for Cesar's birthday last month. It's up all the time and I'm not sure who uses it more, Cesar or Rosa. She figured out that when you use the eraser everything that you drew disappears. It's fun to watch.

Family portrait

2008-02-13T08:18:00.005-05:00

This is not the kind of family portrait that you are thinking of. No, we didn't get our picture taken by a professional. We don't need to... since we have an in-house professional. Cesar decided to draw us all on his board. From right to left: Cesar's self-portrait, Mama (the tallest), Rosa, Papa and at the bottom left, Copito, the cat. The entire family! Isn't he talented?

Flower girl

2008-02-13T08:17:00.002-05:00

Isn't she beautiful?

Peek-a-boo

2008-02-13T08:16:00.004-05:00

Did you know that bibs are great if you want to play peek-a-boo? No?? Rosa thinks it's the best.

Perfect eating manners!

2008-02-12T17:55:00.000-05:00

I guess we discovered that Rosa absolutely loves spaghettis!!! I have to ask my mother because I know that we have a picture of my brother when he was a little older than Rosa with almost the same face. It's definetely in the family! This time I have to admit that she did it much better than with her First Birthday cake. This one is awesome!!

This is funny...

so funny...

Hang on... I need a drink! You're the last one!

Daddy and his children

2008-02-12T17:53:00.001-05:00

There is nothing to say... just plain happiness!

I'm not even surprised...

2008-02-08T22:07:00.001-05:00

I never thought it would NOT surprise me when:

- every time I turn off the light in our fun room I hear a dog barking - and no, we don't have a dog, we have a cat! It's one of Cesar's toys that, even though it's hidden behind a couch, I guess is sensitive to light!

- while taking a nap, I heard a noise coming from our bathroom: it was a frog, one of the toys from the bathtub. I guess that one just decided it wasn't time for me to take a nap!

- while teaching Rosa the different sounds that animals make, she only heard one part: what does the lion say? She growls at everything she sees (or almost). It's hilarious!

Nothing surprises me anymore. Life is so much fun with my two little munchkins!!

Routine exercise

2008-02-08T21:57:00.002-05:00

Every evening, after dinner, after the bath, we sit on the couch to watch one episode of "Tom & Jerry" before going to bed. First of all, Rosa growls every time she sees the cat, which we think is hilarious. Then, Rosa decides to take this opportunity to exercise on the couch, where she jumps, throws herself on the pillows and has a lot of fun (and so do we).

Ready? Set? Go!

Okay, I'm done... for tonight! (Look at those curled toes. Can you do that??)

I would never have known....

2008-02-08T21:49:00.000-05:00

... that there are so many different positions to watch TV. Enjoy!

Birthday boy!

2008-02-08T21:38:00.001-05:00

Here are a few pictures from Cesar's third birthday party. As you can tell from the pictures, he is absolutely crazy about "Cars", the movie. He's seen it a million times already (or almost) and has all the imaginable toys/clothes/sheets/covers/shoes that you can think of. So naturally, the cake had to match the rest! We're still waiting for additional pictures from friends that were at the party. Hopefully I'll have more to post soon.

Is he happy or what??!!

Blowing the candles... ... and dig in!!

In the meantime, Rosa had fun with the wrapping paper and bows. How cute!

Cesar's first day in Pre-K

2008-02-08T21:31:00.001-05:00

We finally found a day care that would take Cesar (hard in the middle of the year). It's called "Little School" and Cesar LOVES it! He only goes twice a week but he counts days in between. He can't wait to go back. He has so much fun and is learning some English words. He's already picked up so much French over the past few months, it was time to do something for him to learn English. Look at this little grin!

Growing so fast!

2008-02-08T21:25:00.001-05:00

Isn't she adorable? It's incredible how much she has grown these past few months. When we came home from Guatemala, Rosa's head reached the bottom of the white part of her high chair. Look at her now, her head has reached the top of the chair! My little girl... not so little anymore.

Hi there!

The flight back

2008-02-08T21:03:00.001-05:00

I have to admit I was VERY nervous about the flight back to the US: 11 hours stuck in a plane with a 14 month old and a 2 year old, during the day (the flight to Europe was easy since it was a night flight, everyone was sleeping). I can now say more than ever that I have two absolutely wonderful children. We didn't have one problem, no tantrums, no screaming, no meltdowns. They were awesome the entire way! Here are some pictures to prove it if you don't believe me.

Nap time!

Playtime...

Believe me or not, but the food was awesome!

... in fact, it was so good that Cesar had a fork in each hand!

Where is Daddy? Here he is!

In the snow

2008-02-08T20:44:00.000-05:00

We woke up the day after Christmas to see everything covered in snow. It was awesome. So we bundled up the kids (Cesar, Rosa and their cousin Leo) and went outside. We weren't as wise as the Cross's or the Mohrs and didn't think to use the laundry basket as a sleigh. We just used big garbage bags. It was a lot of fun and Cesar loved it especially when he was sliding off the bag! Also we are lucky that my mother and brother are living on a golf course, we actually had little slopes to slide down. We had such a good time, I am so glad that the children got to enjoy the snow for the first time - who knows when this opportunity will come our way again... not in Florida, that's for sure!

Christmas

2008-02-07T17:13:00.000-05:00

Our first Christmas as a family.. what can we say? ... Not only that but we were with my entire family in France. It was wonderful. Santa Claus (of course) stopped by, Rosa got so excited again when she saw him - even though she doesn't make the relation with the presents yet, but Cesar does and he was really excited too. The kids were spoiled and we had to buy a huge suitcase and borrow two more to bring it all back! I did say "small presents" to everyone. I guess they didn't hear the part where I thought "and only one per child".

Rosa with her Papylou. Isn't she beautiful in her red dress?

On Christmas day, we went to my aunt and uncle's house as we used to do every Christmas for as long as I can remember. I love this picture with my brother Philippe (Cesar calls him Tonton Ip), his son Leo, Cesar, Rosa and myself. And no... I didn't plan for Rosa to be dressed with the same colors as I had... it just happened that way. Remember, it was towards the end of our trip, not many clean clothes left! :)

On the way to France

2008-02-07T17:06:00.000-05:00

A few days before Christmas, we left our apartment in Switzerland to go spend the last few days in Europe with my parents in France. The trip is usually not bad at all, only three hours but that time we got stuck in traffic jams and had snow on the way. The kids were wonderful though. Here are a few pictures to prove it.

We're back!

2008-02-07T16:58:00.000-05:00

Okay, I know, there is absolutely no excuse for me not to have posted here in almost two months. Two months??!! Time flies... We've been back home in sunny Florida for a little over a month now and we've been so so swamped but we're finally settling into a nice routine. Today was the first day that I took off from work since we got back, the kids are taking their nap so I can actually spend a little time posting some of the pictures that we have accumulated since our departure from Switzerland. I promise I will make an effort to post on a more regular basis. I know how much I love to look at my friend's blogs and can't wait for them to post another story or more pictures of their little angels. I just need to do the same thing and include this in our routine. I'll get there.... eventually. :)

Kids say the darndest things (continued)

2007-12-15T07:19:00.000-05:00

Today Cesar was stroking Oscar's hair and told him that he needed to go take a shower because his hair was dirty... grey! :)
FR: Aujourd'hui César caressait les cheveux de son papa quand il lui a dit qu'il faut qu'il aille prendre une douche parce qu'ils sont sales... gris! :)

Last week in Switzerland

2007-12-15T04:20:00.000-05:00

This is already our last week in Switzerland. And what a week! Rosa has been sick with Rotavirus. It's already pretty bad on its own but if you're not at home, only have a tiny washing machine where you can only put a couple of things in it, have to hang everything in a cellar on a line where it's so cold that even in two days it doesn't dry properly and have to change Rosa's clothes three-four times a day, you can just imagine the fun! The poor thing gets the sickest during the night with bad cramps and wakes up every hour. We're hoping it will be over soon! Besides that, we are really looking forward to going home. Switzerland is absolutely beautiful as you have seen in the pictures but we miss home. We miss our house, our cat, our friends, the kids miss their toys and books. However, there are also a few things that we will miss from Switzerland: the good bread and pastries, the wine, the wonderful cheeses and the chocolate!! We ate so much of it though that we're not even planning on taking some home. We will miss our dear friends from Switzerland, we will miss our walks by the lake, the ducks, the swans, the goat and the pig (this reminds me I still need to take a picture of them!). We will miss the beautiful landscape but we will not miss the weather, we can't wait to get back to sunny Florida (in the 80's now). One thing for sure: we will leave Switzerland next Saturday with wonderful memories of the past two months.

FR: Et voilà déjà notre dernière semaine en Suisse. Comme le temps passe vite ! Et quelle semaine ! Rosa a été malade avec une espèce de gastro. C’est déjà pas drôle comme ca mais quand on est pas à la maison, qu’on a qu’une toute petite machine à laver la lessive où il n’y a que quelques habits qui y rentrent, quand on doit tout accrocher à la cave où il fait si froid que même au bout de deux jours les habits ne sont parfois pas secs et qu’on change Rosa d’habits deux à trois fois par jour, vous pouvez juste imaginer comme ce n’est pas drôle du tout ! La pauvre semble être le plus malade la nuit avec des mauvaises crampes qui la réveillent toutes les heures. Nous espérons que ca ira mieux très bientôt !
A part ca, nous attendons avec impatience notre retour à la maison. La Suisse est absolument magnifique comme vous avez pu le constater sur les photos mais la maison nous manque beaucoup. En fait, c’est la maison, le chat, nos amis qui nous manquent, César parle aussi des livres qu’il a à Gainesville sans arrêt. En tout cas, il y a quelques choses de Suisse qui nous manqueront aussi : le bon pain, les croissants, les desserts, le vin, les bons fromages et le chocolat !! En fait, nous en avons mangé tellement que nous ne prévoyons même pas d’en ramener avec nous. Nos amis de Suisse vont nous manquer, les promenades au bord du lac aussi, les canards, les cygnes, la chèvre et le cochon (ce qui me rappelle que je dois encore en prendre une photo). Les merveilleux paysages vont nous manquer, mais pas les températures, pour cela nous avons hâte de rentrer a Gainesville où il fait encore 27 degrés semble-t-il ! Une chose est sûre : nous quitterons la Suisse samedi prochain avec beaucoup de bons souvenirs de ces deux derniers mois.

Brunch and walk by the lake

2007-12-15T03:52:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday, we went to our friend's house Denis to have brunch with him and his two children Sven and Cleo. Since they live by the lake, we decided to go there via the scenic route. One thing we didn't realize was that on the way there we would get drenched (even though it wasn't raining when we left our place - and it's only a 10 minute walk) and that on the way back, we would freeze! Here are a few pictures to prove it.

FR: Dimanche dernier nous sommes allés chez notre ami Denis pour partager avec lui et ses deux enfants Sven et Cléo un bon brunch. Comme ils habitent au bord du lac, nous nous sommes dit que nous allions y aller à pied. Malheureusement, nous n’avions pas prévu qu’en chemin nous allions nous faire saucer (bien qu’il ne pleuvait pas quand nous sommes partis de notre appartement et que ca ne prend que 10 minutes à pied pour y arriver). Au retour, le vent s’est levé et il faisait un froid de canard. Mais quelle belle région tout de même.

The First Christmas Party

2007-12-11T11:03:00.001-05:00

So the children went to their first christmas party at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology where Oscar has been working for this past month and a half. Cesar and Rosa met Santa Claus for the first time. Their reaction? Rosa got so excited when she saw him, it was incredible. And they say kids are sometimes scared?? Not mine!!! We had told Cesar that Santa Claus would bring him a present because he was listening to Mommy and Daddy and he loved his little sister, and for Rosa it was because she was always smiling and loved her big brother. We actually had to write these little messages for Santa Claus and he taped them on the right presents: a yello car from the movie "Cars" for Cesar and a stuffed animal (tigger). What a great evening! Enjoy the pictures.

FR: Voilà, les enfants sont allés à leur première fête de Noel à l’Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne où Oscar travaille depuis un mois et demi. César et Rosa ont donc rencontré le Père Noel pour la première fois. Quelle était leur réaction ? Rosa est devenue super excitée et rigolait quand elle la vu. Incroyable ! Et on dit que les enfants ont parfois peur du Père Noel ? Pas les miens !! Nous avions dit à César que le Père Noel allait lui ramener un cadeau parce qu’il était sage et qu’il aimait beaucoup sa petite sœur. Pour Rosa, c’était parce qu’elle était toujours souriante et qu’elle aimait beaucoup son grand frère. Nous avons en fait du écrire ces petites notes pour le Père Noel, qui lui les a collées sur les cadeaux parfaits : une petite voiture jaune du film ‘Cars’ pour César et un tigre en peluche pour Rosa. Quelle belle soirée ! Profitez bien des photos.

Santa Claus arriving...
FR: Le Père Noel arrive...

Santa Claus and his helper Tristan
FR: Le Père Noel et son assistant Tristan

Cesar patiently waiting for his present...
FR: César attend gentillement son tour...

... going to get the present from Santa Claus
FR: César va chercher son cadeau...

Happy with his new toy.
FR: César content avec son nouveau jouet.

Rosa and her new toy.
FR: Rosa et son nouveau jouet.

Having a great time at dinner.
FR: Les parents, heureux, après un bon diner.

The hairdresser

2007-12-07T07:36:00.000-05:00

Do we have a little hairdresser in the family now? Rosa absolutely loves to have her hair combed and she wants to do it herself afterwards too. Here are some of the results. What do you think?

FR: Aurions-nous une coiffeuse dans la famille? Rosa adore se faire coiffer et demande toujours la brosse pour le faire toute seule aussi. Voici quelques résultats. Qu'en pensez-vous ?

Our Thanksgiving in Switzerland

2007-12-07T07:01:00.001-05:00

One thing we can say for sure is that this wasn't a traditional Thanksgiving. Instead of turkey and stuffing, we had fondue, which was really good too! We were very thankful to have both our children with us this time and shared our meal with our dear friends and neighbors the Allens. We had a lot of fun during their visit with us in Switzerland and here are a few pictures to prove it!

FR: Thanksgiving cette année n’était pas traditionel comme il devrait l’être. Plutôt que de manger de la dinde, nous avons mangé une fondue. Mais que c’était bon ! Et nous avions beaucoup de chance cette année aussi puisque nous étions enfin avec nos enfants mais nous avions aussi nos amis et voisins les Allens qui sont venus nous rendre visite. Nous nous sommes bien amusés lors de leur passage en Suisse. Voici quelques photos pour le prouver.

The best compliment ever!

2007-11-13T09:14:00.000-05:00

This past weekend we were in a restaurant having lunch and I had Rosa on my lap. A couple of Swiss Germans were at the table next to us. Rosa was smiling at them (of course!). I heard the man say to his wife in german (fortunately I understood) that she (Rosa) looked just like her mother. If only he knew!! It put a huge smile on my face for a very long time!

FR: Ce weekend nous étions dans un restaurant. A la table d’à côté, il y avait un couple de Suisse Allemands. Rosa leur souriait. A un moment donné, j’ai entendu le monsieur dire à sa femme en allemand (heureusement que j’ai tout compris) que Rosa ressemblait vraiment à sa maman. Si seulement il savait la vérité ! Mais en tout cas, ca m’a fait hyper plaisir et j’en souris encore quand j’y pense.

THE Stroller...

2007-11-13T08:38:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I need to explain the story behind this stroller. For the first time in my life, after doing lots of research and agreeing that this stroller was the best for us, I went on eBay and found it there. I placed a few bets and to my surprise, I actually won. So we paid and.... never received the stroller. Of course, we fought with Amex, Paypal and eBay removed this vendor from their site. But we were still out of a stroller (and lots of money!!). Finally I decided to buy it at a reputable store. I have to say it is the best stroller I ever bought. We have a tandem stroller where Rosa would sit in the back and Cesar in the front, but Rosa's legs got longer and she thought it would be fun to kick her brother in the back throughout our walks! Now she can't do that anymore. The funny thing is that this kind of stroller doesn't exist in Europe at all (side by side) and everyone thinks they are twins. Really??!! Cesar loves it, when he's tired of running, he's got a place to rest AND it fits through standard doorways, even the tiny ones in Europe. How awesome is that! Anyway, just wanted to share how proud I am of my stroller but more so of who sits in it! :)

FR: Pour la petite histoire, j'ai acheté la poussette une première fois sur eBay et je me suis fais avoir, dans le sens ou je l’ai payé mais je ne l’ai jamais reçu. C’était bien ma chance, la première fois que j’allais sur eBay et que j’y faisais des enchères. Et aussi la première fois que j’avais enfin trouvé exactement ce que je recherchais ! Nous sommes d’ailleurs en négociations avec American Express à ce sujet la. J’ai finalement fini par l’acheter directement dans un grand magasin et je l’adore. Nous avons une autre poussette où Rosa s’assied à l’arrière et César devant. Et bien comme Rosa a grandi, elle trouve drôle de pousser le dos de son frère avec
ses pieds tout le long de la promenade. Maintenant au moins elle ne peut plus le faire. La chose drôle est qu’en Suisse ce genre de poussette n’existe pas et tout le monde croit qu’ils sont jumeaux ! Vraiment ?? César l’adore aussi parce qu’il peut s’y reposer lorsqu’il ne veut plus courir. Et malgré sa taille, la poussette passe par les portes standards, même les petites ici en Suisse. Que demander de plus. Mais bon, voilà, je voulais juste raconter la petite anecdote de la poussette. J’en suis fière mais bien encore plus fière des deux petits qui y sont assis dedans !

Just beautiful

2007-11-13T08:18:00.000-05:00

What else could I say about my children? Just beautiful and we love them!

FR:Que pourrais-je dire d'autre de mes enfants? Juste adorable et on les aime a la folie !

Cousin Leo's visit

2007-11-13T07:00:00.001-05:00

A week ago, Cousin Leo with his parents, Mamylou and Papylou came to visit us in Switzerland. As usual, the children had a lot of fun. Here are a few pictures to prove it.

FR: Il y a une semaine, Léo est venu avec ses parents, Mamylou et Papylou nous rendre visite en Suisse. Comme toujours, les cousins se sont bien amusés. Voici quelques photos pour le démontrer.

First, we took a long walk by the lake.
FR: D'abord nous nous sommes promenés au bord du lac.

Then we went for a ride and played on the slide.
FR: Ensuite nous sommes allés faire un tour de manège et de toboggan.

Finally Oscar and I had to pose for a "special" picture. The building behind us is where we met for the first time almost 12 years ago. Beautiful memories! If only I had known I would be back later married to him with two children. :)
FR: Pour finir, Oscar et moi avons pausé pour une photo spéciale. Le bâtiment derrière nous est l'endroit où nous nous sommes rencontrés il y a presque 12 ans. Que de bons souvenirs. Si seulement j'avais su à ce moment la que plusieurs années plus tard, je reviendrais au même endroit, mariée avec deux enfants ! :)

Our friends from the lake...

2007-11-13T05:51:00.001-05:00

Let us introduce you to some of our friends that we see on our daily walks by the lake (yes, you read right, daily walk... we have too... remember we are in Swizerland... the good food...the chocolate...).
FR: Laissez-moi vous présenter les amis que nous voyons chaque jour lors de notre promenade quotidienne (et oui, quotidienne… il ne faut pas oublier que nous sommes en Suisse, avec la bonne nourriture et le chocolat !)

Without forgetting to show you the little houses ("tiny" would be a more appropriate word) that probably cost close to a million dollar just because they are by Lake Geneva. Aren't they cute?

FR: Il ne faut pas non plus oublier les jolies petites maisons au bord du lac qui doivent valoir une fortune.

The scenery

2007-11-13T05:06:00.000-05:00

I have to admit that we are spoiled. The scenery around the apartment is absolutely breathtaking. I don't think I need to comment much, just enjoy as we enjoy every day!

FR: Il faut dire que nous avons beaucoup de chance, les vues du lac sont vraiment impressionantes. A vous de juger par vous-même.

And a few pictures of the scenery taken from our apartment...
FR: Et quelques photos prises depuis l'appartement...

And then off to Switzerland

2007-11-13T04:20:00.000-05:00

So we left France, La Wantzenau to be exact where my family lives and drove three hours south to Lausanne, Switzerland. Just in case some of you don't believe us, we actually took pictures of the signs. Okay, one says Paris and we went in the opposite direction, but at least you know we were truely in France.

FR: Voilà, nous avons finalement quitté Strasbourg, ou La Wantzenau pour être plus exacte pour aller en Suisse. Et juste pour prouver que c’est vrai, nous avons pris des photos des panneaux. Bon, d’accord, y’en a un de Paris, et malgré le fait que nous avons pris la direction opposée, il fallait bien montrer que nous étions réellement en France, non ?

For our first evening in Switzerland, we were just chilling in the beautiful apartment that we are renting (for almost double our mortgage in Florida - just a little reminder how life in Switzerland is expensive!).

FR: Nous avons passé notre première soirée en Suisse tranquillement, en profitant du bel appartement que nous louons à St Sulpice (pour quasiment le double de ce que nous payons pour notre maison en Floride – juste de quoi nous rappeler que la Suisse est vraiment chère !)

And then our favorite time of all... bathtime!

FR: Puis c’était l’heure du bain.

Finally, before we all went to bed, I decided to clean the apartment and as usual, Cesar decided to help out! How sweet is that!!

FR: Finalement, avant d’aller tous nous coucher, j’ai décide de passer un petit coup de serpillère et César a décidé de m’aider. Adorable !

Next visit: Aunt Maria and Uncle Marcel

2007-11-10T12:23:00.000-05:00

The next morning, we had lunch with the family and followed by a visit to my aunt and uncle (Maria and Marcel). It was a lot of fun!

FR: Le lendemain matin, nous avons déjeuné avec la famille puis sommes allés rendre visite a ma Tante Maria et mon Tonton Marcel. Quelle joie de les revoir!

The children with Tonton "Ip" (Philippe)

Papylou with Leo and Rosa

At Mamylou's house... meeting with the cousin

2007-11-10T03:18:00.000-05:00

So from the airport we went to Mamylou's house where Cesar and Rosa met their cousin Leo for the first time. They love each other and it's really adorable to see. Unfortunately we discovered that Rosa doesn't like the time difference and was awake from 11:00 pm to 4:00 am for three night in a row (see pictures below). Tough!

FR: De l’aéroport, nous sommes allés a la maison de Mamylou où César et Rosa ont rencontre leur cousin Leo pour la première fois. Ils s’adorent, c’est vraiment génial à voir. Malheureusement, nous nous sommes aussi rendu compte que Rosa n’aime pas le décalage horaire et elle était debout pendant trois nuits de 23h a 4h du matin (voir les photos ci-dessous) ! Dur, dur !

And in the middle of the night...

Et au milieu de la nuit...

Trip to Switzerland

2007-11-10T02:57:00.000-05:00

Here are a few pictures of our plane ride to Germany where we met my mother and my brother. Unfortunately our camera malfunctionned during the trip and we lost beautiful pictures that we had taken but we tried to make up for it as soon as we discovered the problem.

FR: Voici quelques photos de notre voyage en avion d'Orlando à Frankfurt où Mamylou et Tonton Ip nous attendaient.

And the first word is...

2007-10-18T23:05:00.001-04:00

..."Papa", which means daddy in French or Spanish! Amazing... this little angel of a girl that we have, has finally decided to start speaking. It's awesome!
Then, Cesar told me while I was driving to the mechanic that we were taking my car to the doctor and that it was going to get a shot. Cute!

FR: Voila, Rosa a finalement dit son premier mot aujourd'hui et c'est.... Papa ! Qu'est ce qu'elle est adorable quand elle parle. C'est tout simplement génial !
Autrement, César m'a dit quand on était en chemin chez le garagiste, qu'on emmenait ma voiture chez le docteur et qu'elle allait recevoir un vaccin ! Mignon !

Happy Birthday, Rosa!

2007-10-15T21:07:00.001-04:00

So first of all, I have to apologize. It's been 10 days since Rosa's birthday party and I still haven't posted the pictures, but... we've been out of town to visit Oscar's family. Now that we are back... for one week and a half before moving to Switzerland for two months... I can post them. :)
The party was a lot of fun! Unfortunately Rosa was sick. Yes, the millions times that I washed my hands apparently didn't help that much and Rosa got my cold. So bad that she now is taking antibiotics. But, she was a good sport at her party, even after a 10 minute nap, she didn't cry too much (except when every one sang "Happy Birthday"). Oh, and I forgot to mention that she was teething too! Poor thing, what a combination. Anyway, I think the pictures will speak for themselves. Enjoy!

FR: Tout d'abord, je m'excuse du retard, cela fait déjà 10 jours que nous avons fêté l'anniversaire de Rosa et je n'ai toujours pas affiche les photos. Nous sommes allés voir la famille d'Oscar au Texas et maintenant que nous sommes de retour à la maison pour une semaine et demie avant d'aller en Suisse pour deux mois, je m'y mets.
La fête d'anniversaire était super! Malheureusement la pauvre petite Rosa était malade. Eh oui, malgré les milles fois ou je me suis lavée les mains, j'ai tout de même réussi à lui passer mon rhume/mal de gorge/toux. Elle prend d'ailleurs des antibiotiques maintenant. Mais elle était de bonne humeur pour sa fête d'anniversaire, elle n'a pleure que lorsque tout le monde s'est mis à chanter "joyeux anniversaire". Et j'allais oublier... elle aussi deux nouvelles dents qui sortaient ce jour la. La pauvre, de quoi bien la faire souffrir. Mais bon, voila quelques photos.

******

The birthday girl in her beautiful dress. Thank you, Papylou!

FR: Rosa dans sa jolie robe. Merci Papylou !

The cakes...

FR: Les gateaux...

And here we go!

FR: Voila, j'attaque !

And off to the bath!

FR: Je m'en vais au bain !

In the meantime, Cesar finds a new girlfriend!

FR: En attendant, Cesar se trouve une nouvelle copine !

Rosa and the girls!

FR: Rosa et les filles !

At the end of the party, Rosa is sleeping!

FR: A la fin, Rosa n'en pouvait plus et s'est endormie !

And growing...

2007-10-04T19:57:00.000-04:00

EN: Today was Rosa's 1 yr checkup. The pediatrician said she is doing wonderful. She has grown a full 2 inches since we got home and gained... 2 1/2 lbs! She is now within the 50th percentile which is awesome. Of course, she got two shots... ouch... and got her ears pierced. Yes, Mommy took a deep breath and finally said "yes, do it". She looks even prettier than before, if that's even possible! In 24 hours, she will be one. I can't imagine! Time has flown by so fast. I can still remember when we got the phone call for her referral and she was only 4 days old. It has been a very stressful year but now every second is filled with so much joy and love. She is so much more than I could have ever hoped and am thankful for every second that I have with her.

FR: Aujourd’hui Rosa avait son rendez-vous chez la pédiatre parce que demain elle a un an. Elle a grandit de 5 cm depuis le 1er Juillet et elle a aussi pris 5 kilos ! Sur la courbe de croissance, elle est maintenant comme 50% des enfants de son âge, ce qui est super. Et bien sur, elle a eu droit a deux vaccins… aie aie aie. On lui a aussi percé les oreilles et lui a mis de très mignonnes boucles d’oreilles. Oui, finalement, maman a pris son courage à deux mains et a dit aux infirmières de le faire. Elles ont fait un super boulot et Rosa a à peine râler. Qu’est ce qu’elle est belle !
Et dire que dans 24h elle aura un an. Je n’arrive pas à le croire. Que le temps passe vite. Je me rappelle encore quand nous avons reçu le coup de fil qui nous annonçait qu’elle était née et qu’elle allait un jour être à nous. Nous avons passé une année très stressante et très difficile, mais maintenant notre maison est remplie de tellement de bonheur et d’amour. Rosa m’apporte plus de joie que je n’aurai jamais pu l’imaginer et je suis reconnaissante de l’avoir avec moi chaque minute.

ES: Hoy fue un día de visita al médico de Rosa puesto que mañana cumple 1 año. La pediatra dijo que Rosita se esta desarrollando maravillosamente bien. Ha crecido 2 pulgadas (5 cm) desde que llegamos de Guatemala, y ha ganado 2 libras y media (1,14 kg) de peso. Su peso y altura son ahora comparables al 50% de los niños de su edad; un gran progreso. Por supuesto, ella recibió dos vacunas… ayayay… Además le perforaron las orejitas para ponerle unos aretes muy primorosos. Mamá respiró profundamente y dijo con vos incierta “sí, háganlo ahora ...”. Rosita se quejó un poquito, pero en unos pocos segundos recuperó su sonrisita characterística. ¡Qué bella se ve con sus aretes! Me parece mentira que en 24 horas tendrá ya 1 año de vida. El tiempo ha pasado tan rápidamente. Me recuerdo como si fuera ayer cuando ella tenía sólo 4 días de vida y nos llamaron por teléfono para anunciarnos que ella sería un día nuestra hija. Ha sido un año muy difícil pero ahora cada segundo en nuestra casa esta lleno de alegría y amor. Rosita me llena mas allá de lo que podría haber imaginado, y doy gracias por cada segundo que paso junto a ella.

Kids say the darndest things!

2007-09-28T10:02:00.000-04:00

EN: Yesterday I asked Cesar if he was going to sleep at nap time (he does like to pretend a lot) and he answered: "I have to sleep a lot to be more pretty!" ;)

FR: Hier, j'ai demandé à César s'il allait dormir pendant la sieste (il fait souvent semblant) et il m'a répondu: "je dois dormir beaucoup pour être encore plus beau!".

ES: ¡Ayer Cesar me dijo que tenía que dormir mucho para estar más guapo!

Sparkling clean!

2007-09-23T13:54:00.001-04:00

EN: While cleaning the kitchen and preparing lunch, Oscar and I realized that Cesar had taken a brush and was cleaning his truck and his sister's truck! He was very thorough and even polished them both at the end. They are both sparkling clean now!
FR: Lorsque nous étions entrain de ranger la cuisine et de préparer le déjeuner l’autre jour, Oscar et moi avons observé César. Il avait pris une brosse qui se trouvait à la terrasse et avait décide qu’il était temps de nettoyer son camion ainsi que celui de sa sœur. Résultat : ils brillent tous les deux !
ES: Mientras preparábamos el almuerzo, Oscar y yo nos dimos cuenta que César había tomado un cepillo y estaba muy concentrado limpiando su autito y el de su hermana. Los limpió con mucho cuidado, lustrándolos de punta a punta. ¡Quedaron superbrillantes!

First time at the zoo

2007-09-23T13:41:00.000-04:00

EN: Saturday morning we headed towards the Orlando area for a long day. First we got together with our friends Kari and Carlos who have two beautiful children also from Guatemala, Petro and Gabriela. We went together to the Central Florida Zoo in Sanford. It was a lot of fun. We saw elephants, cougars, different types of monkeys, porcupines and so much more. Cesar was a little frustrated because there were no gorilla, hiena, armadillo or girafes. The problem is that every night, we read the book "Goodnight, Gorilla". It's the story of a gorilla who steals the keys of the zoo keeper and let's out the elephant, girafe, hiena and armadillo out of their cages. They all end up in the zoo keeper's house to sleep for the night. Anyway, when we told Cesar we were going to the zoo, he just expected to see all the animals in his book. Oh well. It was a lot of fun anyway!

FR: Samedi matin, nous sommes allés dans la région d’Orlando pour y passer la journée. Tout d’abord, nous avons rencontres nos amis Kari et Carlos qui ont eux aussi adopte de beaux jumeaux du Guatemala, Petro et Gabriela. Nous sommes allés ensemble au zoo. Nous y avons vu des éléphants, des couguars, différentes sortes de singes, etc. César était malheureusement frustre de ne pas voir de gorilles, ni de hienne, ni de girafes. Le problème, c’est que tous les soirs, nous lisons un livre qui raconte l’histoire d’un gorille qui vole les clefs au gardien du zoo et qui libère la hienne et la girafe, avant d’aller tous dormir dans la chambre à coucher du gardien. Et bien sur, quand nous avons annonce à César que nous allions au zoo, il s’attendait à voir les mêmes animaux que dans son livre. Mais bon, nous nous sommes tout de même bien amusés.

ES: En la mañana del Sábado nos dirigimos hacia el área de Orlando para pasar el día con varios amigos. Primero nos reunimos con nuestros amigos Kari y Carlos que tienen dos niños hermosos, Petro y Gabriela, que también nacieron en Guatemala. Fuimos juntos al parque zoológico central de la Florida en Sanford. Nos divertimos muchos. Vimos elefantes, pumas, varios tipos de monos, puercoespines y mucho más. Pronto César nos hizo entender que estaba poco frustrado: zoológico no tenía ni gorila, hiena, armadillo, o jirafas. El problema es que cada noche le leemos un libro que se llama “Buenas Noches, Gorila”, donde un gorila le roba las llaves del guarda nocturno, y deja libre a el elefante, la girafa, la hiena y el armadillo. Cuando dijimos a Cesar que íbamos al zoológico, él esperaba ver todos los animales de su libro. ¡Le debemos un gorila! De cualquier manera, César se divirtió mucho.

EN: It also seems that Rosa wanted to exercise...

FR: Rosa voulait faire un peu de gym...

EN: Then we met up with our friends Dan, Doro and their daughter Kelly for a little while. It took a little while for Cesar to warm up to them, but it was just because he had just gotten up from a short nap and was still sleepy. Once he really woke up, he was his normal self again: "hurricane Cesar".

FR: Puis nous avons retrouvés nos amis Dan, Doro et Kelly. César a mis du temps à se sentir à l’aise, mais nous pensons que c’était sûrement dû au fait qu’il venait de se réveiller, parce que quelques minutes plus tard, il est redevenu lui-même… l’ouragan César.

EN: And to finish the day, we had dinner with our dear friend Humberto in a restaurant that had Live music. You should have seen Rosa singing and dancing! What a riot!
FR: Finalement, nous avons fini la soirée par un excellent dîner avec notre ami Humberto dans un restaurant où il y avait un musicien qui chantait et jouait de la guitare. Vous auriez du voir Rosa qui chantait et dansait aussi. C’était vraiment trop drôle !

EN: It was a very full day but we had a very good time and really enjoyed getting together with all our friends from Central/South Florida. Thank you all for a great day!
FR: Merci à tous nos amis pour cette très bonne journée.

She's officially crawling!

2007-09-21T11:37:00.000-04:00

EN: Rosita has started to crawl!
ES: ¡Rosita comezó a gatear!

EN: After just one week of physical therapy, she is now crawling and getting into everything! This time there is no more postponing child proofing the house anymore! And we need to start protecting the cat a little more also... :)

FR: Ca y est, elle se promène partout dans la maison à quatre pattes. Il va falloir sérieusement qu'on s'occupe de la sécurité de la maison maintenant. Et il faut aussi protéger un peu plus le chat!

Note to self

2007-09-21T11:20:00.000-04:00

EN: Do not leave a tube of cream within reach of an 11 month-old. She will somehow manage to unscrew the top and spread it all over Mommy's bed and on her!

FR: Ne pas laisser un pot de crème a portée de main d'un bébé de 11 mois. Elle va réussir à dévisser le couvercle et en mettre partout... sur elle comme sur le lit de Maman!

ES: ¡No dejar crema donde un bebe de 11 meses pueda atraparla! ¡Ella va a descubrir como abrirlo y va a poner crema por todos lados sobre la cama de Mama!

All American Girl!

2007-09-18T17:46:00.001-04:00

EN: So Rosa has now decided that she likes table food more than her rice cereal-carrots mixtures. She will eat absolutely anything you put in front of her, including stickers (see earlier post). :)
However, her favorites are broccoli, peas, corn, bananas, turkey and chicken. Good choices, so far! She's eating with both hands... at the same time.... and making sure she leaves some in her hair as well!

FR: Voila notre petite Rosa qui a décidé qu'elle préfère notre nourriture plutôt que ses petits pots. Elle mange absolument tout ce qu'on lui met sous les yeux. Ces aliments préférés sont le brocoli, les petits pois, le mais, les bananes, la dinde et le poulet. Pour l'instant, ce sont de bons choix! Elle mange avec les deux mains.... en même temps... et s'assure d'en laisser dans les cheveux aussi!

ES: A Rosita ahora prefiere comer la misma comida que nosotros. Le gusta mucho el brócoli, los guisantes, el maiz, el pavo y el pollo. ¡Ella come con las dos manos... al mismo tiempo! Termina con comida en el pelo ...

Go Gators!

2007-09-17T16:42:00.000-04:00

En: Our first Football game as a family...
FR: Notre premier match de Foot Américain en famille...
ES: Nuestro primer juego de fútbol americano con toda la familia...

EN: Cesar and his new friend Paige.

She even picked Orange and Blue as the colors for her outfit. Way to go, Paige! And Go Gators!!
FR: César et sa nouvelle copine Paige. Elle a même choisi les bonnes couleurs pour soutenir l'équipe des Gators, Orange et Bleu!
ES: Cesar y su nueva amiga Paige. ¡A ella le gusta el equipo de fútbol también: se puso ropa de las mismas colores... anaranjado y azul!

EN: Come on!!! Get that touchdown!!
FR: Allez, marquez ce but!!
ES: ¡Gooooooooolllllllllll!!!!!!!!

EN: Rosa and Paige

ES: Rosa y Paige