mickey mouse

Although a little late, our little boy turned one this past 19th of April. This year has been a year full of all sorts of emotions, adventures, and just plain out blessings. If anyone tells you that their first year with their baby is smooth, I may question that. There has been challenges along the way, but those challenges have taught us so much about ourselves, about each other and just about life. Even though there’s been moments of struggle, fear, exhaustion and much more, this year was one that we will never forget or regret. Our sweet boy has taught us more this year than we thought we could ever teach him. To describe the love we feel and have for him, is indescribable. From all his sweet laughs, smiles and coo’s here and there, we absolutely love each inch of him. As a mom, I can honestly say time is a thief. This year has flown by and although life gets busy, this past year I had to stop and make sure I was taking in each moment I spend with Noah. I think as a parent, you never want to miss a thing… and this is sure our case. For both Xavier and I, making sure to be there for those ‘firsts’ has been a top priority. And even though, unrealistic, we are so grateful and blessed that he’s surrounded by such amazing people who get to share those moments with us. I wish I could keep him a tiny baby just a little longer, to keep that sweet baby smell on him, to breastfeed him a little longer, to just plain out keep him in my arms and not have him running away… He’s ONE and my heart has all sorts of feels!

Oh my sweet sweet boy Noah,

You are the sweetest boy with the most contagious smile ever, there is not one person who does not look at you and just wants to smile along with you. You took forever to finally sleep through the night, 8 months exactly… sigh.. But now you got it down! Mama loves watching you sleep so soundly as your sweet face just melts this mamas heart…

You are active and crawling techniques have never been so fast! Mama and papa love watching you on the go… you keep us busy and on our toes! We agreed that your first word was “Ese” in spanish.. aka “that one” in english! You go around pointing your chunky little finger as you say “Ese, ese” guiding us to what you want to get your hands on next! haha you can thank your dad on that one, as he loves letting you touch and explore everything!

You’re adventurous but cautious all at once, you analyze your every move and decide whether your going to cause any bumps before you make a move…You can walk but refuse to let go of our hands while doing so..(enter cautious side here)… But we know that the time will come when you let go of your little hands from ours and take off on your own.. so for now we will enjoy holding your soft little hand and walk you along the way..

You’re a BIG boy measuring in at 31 inches tall and weighing in at 26 pounds 12.5 ounces to be exact at your one year check up! You’re wearing 18-24 month clothes and shorts never looked so cute on someone.. your curly hair is EVERYTHING and gets attention from the ladies haha. You love bananas and sweet potato and you think sippy cups are chewing toys still.. don’t worry you’ll get that down eventually. You officially have two bottom teeth and your top two teeth are finally making an appearance and you’re handling it like a champ!

Sweet baby boy, keep smiling and showing us those two teeth and brightening up our lives! You are so strong, brave, sweet and such a happy soul.. Mama and Papa pray you will continue to be so! We pray you’re a man of GOD, a man who loves him unconditionally and chooses to follow all his ways… He has given us the greatest gift. YOU. You are our rainbow baby, a bright light to us, our lives, and to those who you surround. Know you are loved by us and soo soo many others.

We thought we knew what love was before you, but YOU have taught your dad and I the true meaning of the greatest most selfless and unconditional love. We love you with all our heart son. Know that mama and papa will always be there for you no matter what, know that we aren’t perfect and we may fail along the way, but we promise to come back stronger and guided by our faith to guide you the best we can. We know God will watch over you in those times where we may fall short and for always.

Noah, your dad and I love you dearly.. You have stolen our hearts.

We love you to the moon and back times infinity and FOREVER!

-Mama and Papa ❤

Here’s some pictures of Noahs celebration at Disney and a failed smash cake attempt with family! lol

*And then there was magic here *

We also celebrated grandpas birthday with these amazing people! =)

“So mom when can we come back to the land of mickey and where dreams come true?”

Love you baby boy, keep flourishing and your gang will be there next to you enjoying every bit of it!

In on honor of Fall, and its last month with us for this year… A day full of pumpkins.. Florida style under palm trees! A couple of weeks back we paid a visit to our local farmers market, Flamingo Road Nursery. It’s probably one of the most known farmer’s market in the Ft. Lauderdale area for their pumpkin patch. We made it on the last day that the farmer’s market was offering the pumpkin patch. It was full of people eager to get their hands on the most orange and roundest pumpkin there!

Down here in South Florida, our pumpkin patch experience is quite different from up north. Last year we sweat up a storm in probably 90 degree weather… Don’t worry we had a little better luck this year. It wasn’t as hot this year and we had a nice breeze to cool us off! None-the less, we kinda made it a quick trip! Drank some cold apple cider, rode the hayride and picked our pumpkins and headed home! The amount of people there was kinda crazy… we don’t do big crowds well.. so it was a trip, quick and to the point! It still was a great day spent with my honey and little sister!

What we were most excited for was really choosing the pumpkins to take them home and carve! Believe it or not, none of us had ever carved a pumpkin. There’s a first time for everything and we can now scratch that off our to-do list because it was a great success! First stop after was to our local arts & craft store, Michael’s, to pick up some necessities for our pumpkins. Well lucky for us, they had pumpkin carving tools on sale for 88 cents! score!

We headed over to my parents house and set up our work station and began to get our hands dirty!! Hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I do! Every time I look back on them it reminds me of the fun we shared with my little sister and how great of a day we had! It was so heartwarming to see the excitement and the twinkle in my sisters eyes as she carved away her own pumpkin. She’s growing too fast and I’m making sure to cherish all the little moments with her. It’s always so joyous seeing her be proud of herself! (because yes, she carved it herself after we cleaned it out for her) It was also fun to do something new with Xavier. I must say we make one heck of a team! Not only did we enjoy the day but being able to spend time with my family and having my parents watch us is always special!We made more memories, and good memories are always welcomed in my book!

Here is our day captured on my iPhone! Enjoy! Show us your pumpkin carving designs… we would love to see them!