Big Apple Adventures!

Our long-awaited trip to NYC was this past July. Although Mami was very nervous about the trip, Ricky was unbelievably well-behaved during the airplane rides, sleeping, eating, and laughing with all the neighboring passengers. We spent a week with Papi's family in Brooklyn, where Grandma and Grandpa enjoyed him every day. Mami and Papi even got a chance to go on a date. For those new parents who don't remember what that is: We left the house ALONE, held hands (because Mami didn't have a stroller to push), ate a nice HOT meal AT THE SAME TIME, and didn't watch the clock for the next feeding time. It was wonderful!

Ricky also met his Titi Joby, Tio Michael, and his cousins David and Michaella. Ricky and Michaella competed for the biggest thighs (Ricky lost!) and David loved being the oldest baby in the house. Despite turning Abuelita's single life upside down for two weeks, she was in her glory with her three grandchildren finally all together. Now if we could only convince them all to move closer to us! Heehee! He also met Papi's fraternity brothers (Dennis, Ivan, and Mark), Mami's sorority sisters (Yasmin and Monique, along with little Alejandro), Mami's co-workers from the Bronx, Mami's cousins Wanda and Susana and even his Abuelo Tony!

There were other important firsts, too! Ricky rode the NYC subway and buses for the first time. He looked around in amazement and Mami had a whole new appreciation for those amazing commuting mothers who do it on their own every day- whew! We visited the Central Park Zoo and watched as David and Nino (David calls Rick "Nino," short for Padrino) climb rocks and play catch.

We've been home for a couple of weeks now, and Mami is preparing to go back to work. (Those of you who would like to send their condolences are welcome to do so.) Abuelita will come for a week or two to help with the transition before taking Ricky to stay with a wonderful woman named Ms. Sandra who will take care of him. She'll tell Ms. Sandra not to tell her anything new that Ricky does while she's at work, so it will always be the first time at home! Ignorance is bliss, right?

Loads of Firsts!

Well, Little Ricky has reached the six month mark! Can you believe it? Along with that, there have been tons of developments:

1. He has mastered rolling over from his back onto his belly. He flips and lifts his head as if to say, "Look what I can do!" The only downfall is that he hasn't quite figured out how to flip back, so he gets stuck and frustrated after a little while.

2. The daily menu has expanded! We have added rice, oatmeal, and veggies (sweet potato and squash, so far) to lunch and dinner, and the baby is a pro at eating off of his spoon. We do have to work a bit harder at shoveling the grub into his mouth fast enough; otherwise, there is quite a bit of grunting to be dealt with. He actually has a bit of an attitude about his food- I think he gets that from his mother. It has also made diaper changing very...interesting!

3. Our son is a fish- and a cute one at that! He had his first swimming experience and he seemed to really love it. We spent our 7th wedding anniversary in Orlando and had a chance to take a dip with our cutie-pie. He got plenty of attention- we're not sure if it was the usual big eyes and smile, or if the addition of the super floatie, his shades, or his Nemo trunks that did the trick. Heehee! Besides being attacked by a floating alligator, we had a great time and discovered what happens when Papi is in charge of the suntan lotion.

4. We think Ricky is definitely teething. It could be that he is beginning to chew on everything! Most times it is his hand, but other times Mom's face or a foot works too.

Besides that, Ricky has been spending plenty of time with his best buddy (and potential future wife) Soleil. He doesn't seem to mind that she's not paying him very much attention yet, and seems pretty satisfied that her arm tastes just as good as his own.

We'll have our first beach outing this weekend to celebrate Father's Day, and are happy to say that our next blog update should be all about our first airplane ride and trip to NYC! We can't wait!

Mother's Day Fun!

We knew this year would be extra special but we had no idea how full of surprises it would be! On Tuesday, May 8th, we had a visit from Grandma and Grandpa. Grandma kept her Mother's Day/ Gabby's birthday Florida visit tradition- 3 years in a row. The visit was extra nice since it was actually Grandpa's first time seeing little Ricky. He could hardly contain himself; he even made the premature purchase of little Ricky's first baseball glove. Since he is not quite ready for the baseball diamond or the schoolyard yet, we have him breaking in his glove and taking warm up reps in his crib. Note: he fully suits up for his drills- he is wearing his slugger shirt and his baseball cleats (not pictured). And since we are in an era of extra competitive athletes, his baseball drills are followed by drills in basketball and soccer...just in case!

It was a quiet but enjoyable couple of days- that is, until late Thursday night. We were waiting for Grandpa and Jimmy to arrive from the airport with Jimmy's dad. Actually, the flight was delayed and our energy was slowly fading...

until we were met with the hollars of, not Jimmy's dad, but twelve- yes, twelve- Roman family members who came to spend the weekend with us: Celi, Milin, Monchi, Marilyn, Ivy, Bobby, Layla, Olivia, Mario, Olga, Amanda, and Junior! YEAH! You don't believe me ... here they are pictured in my backyard.

And just when we thought it couldn't get better, it did! Abuelita Lydia had joined the crowd and when she popped up out of nowhere, the video camera was practically flung across the room. It was fantastic! She and Grandma Rosa took turns giving ample grandmother spoiling time.

The weekend was very busy, to say the least. On Friday, most of the crowd went to Disney and others stayed behind to become Wii champions. On Saturday, we celebrated cousin Gabriella's eighth birthday with a big BBQ and time in the jacuzzi. On Mother's Day, we hosted a Barbecue at our house and the family was able to take some sun. We think Grandpa said it best when he said, "These are the best three days of my life!" He promised to tell little Ricky all about it when he got older.

Road Trip!

We've just been on our first road trip to Coral Springs and we had a fantastic time! We stayed with the Santiago family and Nana (a great-grandma five times over), and Titi was a pro at making Ricky laugh and putting him down for naps. Nana played with him every morning...that is, between her traditional breakfast outings, aerobics classes, and work schedule. And as usual, Rick and I were embarrased that our 77 year old grandmother had busier days than we normally do. Pitiful!

We had a very busy weekend! On Friday, we celebrated Sebastian's 2nd birthday and taught him the best way to eat birthday cake- with your fingers! On Sunday, we went to Miami to see Laura, Tony, and Elena, who is so big. We visited Dona Maria and Don Carlos, who reminisced about taking care of Jomar and I when we were little and worked hard to convince us to move closer to them so they could babysit. On Monday, we met up with Rick's childhood friend Suzie who recently moved to Florida from Brooklyn.

Since we've been home, there have already been some exciting developments. First, Little Ricky has become an expert at using that heartbreaking bembe- you know, the infamous puffed up bottom lip that can get you to buy him a car if he asked for one. Uh oh! Second, he has been sleeping in his crib for the past two nights...yes, in his nursery! Rick and I moved the rocker and all of his things out of our bedroom, and after crying for a half-hour, Rick suggested that we sleep in the guest room until we're comfortable. In other words, the parents have to transition- how funny! Also, Ricky now sits up in his Bumbo chair all by himself. I think he likes to feel like a big boy. Finally, we said hello to our newest friend, and perhaps future wife, Soleil. She was born on Thursday, March 29th and they are bound to be best buds since Harmony's mother will be taking care of both of them when she and I go back to work in August. Exciting!