Celebrating Baby Boy #3

While in Miami I had a nice surprise. My amazing friend Ana teamed up with my sister and mom to plan me a little impromptu baby shower. Do people have showers for their third baby? Is it bad etiquette? I also thought it was a little early...but since we live so far away I thought it would be okay to be pampered by my friends and family for one afternoon. Seriously, I loved it!

Ana did such a fabulous job. She is an awesome cook and I should know because I was her roommate for a while and I was spoiled by her tantalizing recipes. Still have dreams about her Mushroom Risotto and my favorite dessert Croissant Bread Pudding (that she made for the shower!!!).

Here I am with my mom and sister. Why does my mom always want to touch my belly? 

My sister came up with some pretty fun games. Here is a game where candy names were paired up with various "experiences" of having a baby and a family. It was very original. 

But this game was hilarious. Several of my friends had to make play dough babies. I wasn't sure if to cry or laugh hysterically. Which one is your favorite? 

Opening presents is always fun...Luka and Sam joined in this activity. 

Best friends...these girls are sisters and have been our best friends since we were five years old. That is 33 years for me...crazy!

Thank you to everyone that came and shared in the fun and an EXTRA BIG THANK YOU to Ana!

To see all of the photos from the shower click here.

Florida Flashback

Our Miami/Orlando visit was full of great times with family and friends. If I had to be completely honest I was a little tired pretty much the whole time, but that was from the growing belly and lack of sleep. But that didn't take away from all the fun the boys had...and I would not have wanted to miss any of it.

Here is a quick little photo tour of some of our adventures from December 30th - February 3rd...

Shopping with my Abuela Nena (Grandmother) was definitely an experience. She had me driving all over Little Havana to get the best deals on everything. By the 3rd and final store to get the cheap toilet paper I was ready for lunch...but she is such a character and kept me amused the entire time. 

Luka baked two cakes with my mom. He loves doing that with his grandma. 

My boys are truly at their happiest on the beach. They love to run back and forth and just soak in the sun, sand and Miami Beach vibe. I love watching them. It is truly a joy! 

South Pointe Park is one of our favorite spots to relax. They always enjoy this mini water playground. 

Sam and Luka were excited to buy a parakeet for Grandpa's "aviary." 

This time we went to Magic Kingdom & Hollywood Studios with my sister and her boys. It was a trip just for the cousins and they had a blast. 

Sam apparently doesn't like taking photos as much as I do. 

Just look at Luka's face. His favorite is still watching the parades. He is always captivated. 

Here we are at Hollywood Studios...Luka's favorite park. The boys are hiding the baby bump...but it was there. 

We were so lucky the parks were pretty empty and we able to take photos with so many of the characters. Sam's face would light up...just look at him! Can he get any happier? 

We also had a chance to visit the Everglades and walk WAY TOO CLOSE to about 50 alligators. I mean I was freaking out the entire time, but I now I can check off take a walk with a gator off my bucket list. I had no idea you could get so close to the gators. 

After the gators we needed something to calm our nerves...what is better than a fruit shake from Robert Is Here. 

Thank you to my friend Esther for inviting us for a play date and letting Luka and Sam "drive" for the first time.  

The Miami Children's Museum is always a fun stop for the boys. 

"Hey Mom, help me brush my teeth." 

Happy New Year! This was a photo from our first full day in Miami. Yeah, I don't think these are in chronological order...but that is okay. Sam was all about the sparklers! 

These boys were lucky enough to go to Orlando a SECOND time. This time we went with Abuela and Abuelo. Here are the boys getting all crazy in the mouth of a gator at our hotel. 

They loved Epcot! 

But I think they enjoyed the Character Breakfast the best. 

You can't deny the love that Sammy has for his grandfather. 

It is always fun to catch up with old friends and their families. Crazy to see how much everyone is growing up! 

This had to be one of the biggest treats for the boys. Our friend Brandon recently opened The South Florida Center for the Percussive Arts and we stopped by for a tour. Oh boy...my kids love their drums. They could have banged on those things all night. 

Mommy thought putting the boys in school for two weeks was a good idea. They didn't think so, but at the end of the day they had fun and got to practice some school work during their summer vacation (remember it is summer in Chile). 

Is that a cool snake or what? 

Little boys should not get so excited to go to Starbucks... 

Well, that is the nickel photo tour. If you have time and want to see all the photos from our trip click here.

Halfway There...

Yes, we are still alive....and growing as a family. It has been forever since my last post. The boys and I were in Miami for 5 weeks and recently returned to Santiago. Well, life as a pregnant single parent in Miami was tough and left little time to post or organize photos, but I have managed to transfer all photos to the computer and hope to have a photo post later today of our trip. "Hope" being the operative word and to think that soon I will have another boy to add to my pack. How will I find the time to shower...I guess I will...life goes on and I will learn how to be a mommy to three amazing little boys.

Yesterday marked the halfway mark of the pregnancy...officially 20 weeks. To celebrate (just kind of worked out that way) the entire family went to the 20-week sonogram appointment. As you can see from the photo above our little boy is a thinker. Can you see him napping with his fist rested on his chin? It might take you a minute to make it out...see it now?

In the photo below Sam & Luka are glowing and couldn't wait to see their little brother. And yes it is a boy...Luka and I were secretly hoping the doctor would tell us that he made a mistake the first time and that I would have to return all the blue baby boy clothes...but he confirmed it and even showed us a photo that left little doubt and in Sam's words, "Yay, my brother has PENIS." 

Here we are in the waiting room as we are reviewing the results of the tests. Every category said "normal" and in this case normal is pretty fantastic. Here is our first "family of five" photo. Sam wanted to be the first one to hold his brother and as you can see Luka wasn't so happy about that.