3rd Anniversary

Year 3 has come and gone and now we're headed into round 4.  On January 9th, Luis and I celebrated our 3rd Anniversary!  We celebrated by getting a babysitter and going out to eat.  This may sound mean, but I was incredibly excited to eat a meal, at a restaurant, alone with Luis.  (I think you moms can relate.)

Before the restaurant, our celebrations began early when Luis got out at noon and surprised me with some beautiful flowers (which, by the way, are still looking mostly alive).  

Since Luis was in charge of planning our anniversary this year, he picked out a new restaurant called Cannataros Italian Restaurant.  It was a quaint little place, not busy at all.  The workers certainly don't "hustle and bustle" because it seemed like it took awhile for each new phase of our meal.  We walked in and waited a few minutes before anyone came out to seat us.  Then, it took another 10 minutes before anyone came to take our order.  Thank goodness we ordered an appetizer, because our main entree didn't arrive until an HOUR later.  Probably to your shock and amazement, we weren't annoyed in the least.  It was a RELIEF to not be rushed.  That way, we could just take our time while we talked and enjoyed our night out.

I love my Luis.  I love that he tells me I'm beautiful every day.  I love that he laughs at my really lame jokes.  I love that he involves me in decisions.  I love that he plays with our daughter.  I love that he holds the priesthood and loves the Lord.  I love that he is so calm and patient (he gets that from me, I think).  I could go on and on, but I'm just so grateful that he's mine forever.

Have I mentioned?

Have I mentioned we spent Christmas in California?  Oh I have?  Well, in case you missed it, Luis, Raquel, and I spent Christmas in California this year.  I thought I would be super super homesick, but I guess being with my own little family made the day really wonderful! 

Throughout the morning, Raquel was very focused, serious, and curious about this thing called wrapping paper!  

  

The one toy that caught her attention was a little noisy little train.

 

Though most gifts contained the name "Raquel," there were a few with "Luis" or "Ashley" inscribed upon them.

 

Raquel's other favorite seemed to be the puffs Santa left for her.

By the time we were through, Raquel had quite the pile...



...and quite the smile.

 

After a nap or two, we had even more surprises in store from our familias.

 

 

It was a merry Christmas!

 

 



Made for Walkin'

Playing with Pants

I'm not sure when we took this video, but it's a good one.  Enjoy!



Leading Up To...

'Twas the night before Christmas...and we went Mexican.

 

So far, we haven't adopted many traditions from Lu's heritage.  Thus, we've decided to dedicate our Christmas Eve dinners to the south of the border.  This year?  Tamales.

 

Making tamales is a lot of work, and as you can see, we were all very busy.

Luis tells me we need a traditional tamal* pot to make the best tamales, but we had to work with what we had.  At one point in the night, Luis suggested we try microwaving the tamales, but Mexican mamas from generations past frowned down upon us and we quickly reverted to the stove.

 

After dinner came our Nativity. 

 

We had our Mary...

Our Joseph...

and our Angel.

 

 

Next, came one of my childhood FaVoRiTe parts of Christmas Eve night - singing carols!

After painfully listening to Dad and Mom sing a few numbers...

 

 

 ...Raquel decided to give Mamacita a lesson.

Then it was off to bed!  And though I do remember leaving out 3 cookies for Santa, something sneaky and underhanded must have occurred for this to have happened...

 

Looks like only 2 of us will be getting Christmas presents!

 

 

*Spanish lesson for today - when said in the singular, it is not tamalEEE it is simply tamal.



Christmas Dress

This is Raquel's first Christmas, which means her first Christmas dress!  Unfortunately there are very few options in the stores these days, so we had to improvise.

 

And guess what???  I buttonholed!

 

 

 

(Too bad I buttonholed on the wrong side and then had to whipstitch it together, sew buttons over the holes, and then re-buttonhole on the other side.)



Once Meses

Yep.  She's 11...months.  Which means, only one month to go until it's birthday time!  For some reason, I pictured a one year old as being much older.  Don't ask me why...I have 12 nieces and nephews so you'd think I would know better by now.  I'm happy that Raquel still seems like a baby in my book.  I'm also loving that she really gets our sense of humor and knows how to tease us back.  Oh, she's so fun... and smart... though she's still not sure why we make her take pictures next to this bear each month...

 

 

Raquel at 11 Months

• She's a little butterfly and likes to flap her wings - especially when she gets excited.  For instance, when she sees us come into the room to pick her out of her crib, she starts flapping...fast!
• She is 15 lbs. 12 oz and 29 inches long
• She owns six teeth.
• You can't tell from the pictures, but her skin is getting a little more brown.
• She can crawl!!!  Backwards only.
• She's also taking her first wobbly steps holding on to mom's or dad's fingers.
• Her favorite book is definately Buenas Noches, Luna (Goodnight Moon).
• She loves bathtime and gets angry when we take her out.
• Sleeping through the night?  No way!
• She likes to make faces.  Currently, she's been enjoying making silly frowny faces.
 
This is the last time we can say, Feliz Cumplemeses, Raquel!