New Year, New Commitments.

After looking at all of my posts, I realized i have not put a single post in 2011 and to me, that is devastating.  It shows the lack of time I had for even a blog! So, without further or due, I am going to update the blog.  My next post will compile Sofia’s 2011 and the Bracero’s year. I look forward to doing this because it needs to be done and i want to catch up on blogging. After all, all my friends and family do check this and its…nice.

To be continued.

The 2 Year Old.

Our littlest Princess has been growing up. I”m sure Aaron and well as myself had only dreams and illusions of what our daughter would be like at 2. She has definitely surpassed all my thoughts! She is super smart completing sentences, sleeping in now her converted toddler bed, eating in a booster seat and less in a high chair. She will walk with me and hold my finger. She calls for us when she wants us. She still has a hard time going to sleep and now, with the bed being “open”, she roams around in her room until she finally gets tired and goes back to bed.  Of course we put a gate on her door so that she doesn’t escape. It’s scary to think she could fall since all the bedrooms are on the second floor.

Our little princess has grown out all the clothes I had for her. The grandmas have bought her some of the cutest summer outfits and it still amazes me that I have to buy her 3T!! Regardless, finding clothes has never been a problem and the best deals have been at Target an Walmart.

Sofi’s grandparents (my parents) bought her a new bed in a bag for toddlers. She lots animals and the colors. She doesn’t like being covered! Since she was young, she never liked being covered with sheets. She is still the same way and it makes me laugh and wonder if she got that from me or daddy!

It’s been fun and challenging with Sofia. She runs around, takes things, doesn’t stop repeating words or sentences. It’s like she’s on full throttle! Tomorrow we’ll be seeing Dora the Explorer and possibly Ronald McDonald. I hope she doesn’t get scared of him!

I know I have completely neglected this blog but for most moms they know its hard to keep up with a child running all over the place. I can’t help but pay attention to her all the time. I love that girl!!

May and June..

We’ve had some great growing times with Sofia lately. She has blossomed into a wonderful and intelligent little girl. Aaron and I are amazed every single day. She truly is a blessing and so much fun.

Auntie Margarette came to see us for Memorial Day Weekend. She had so much fun with Sofia. I had a good time with her as well. We had some girl chats and caught up on a bunch of topics. We had BBQ and watched a few movies. It’s always nice to have someone over. Sofia loves her auntie, or as she said her “Titi”, that she didn’t want her to leave when we dropped her off at the airport. Sofia was in tears. It was sad! She ended up crying herself to sleep on the way  back home. The next morning she went looking for “Titi”, but to no avail. I had to explain to her that Titi went home, but she will be back soon. Sofia was puzzled and upset. Partly because she doesn’t understand what the heck I’m saying, and two, she couldn’t find Titi. It’s very cute to see Sofia get close to everyone.

June is here and it’s HOT! Sofia has been loving the water at bath time that I started to wet her outside with the hose. She giggles to her heart’s content! I need to buy her a kiddie pool so that she can have more water time. She laughs hysterically when she plays with water. I can’t wait to take more video and pics of her in the pool soon!

Aaron’s birthday has passed and we have been in our house officially for a year. How time flies. It was only yesterday…..

Father’s Day is coming up and Sofia and I can’t wait to give Daddy his gifts. They are well deserved! A lot of good things have happened here in the Bracero Household including the rest of our furniture, a new TV coming this weekend and the planning of Sofia’s birthday party. Gosh, I hope it doesn’t rain on her birthday! Aaron and I are just glad that we have furniture so people can sit!! The house looked so plain for so long! Not no more!

In conclusion, with much anticipation I have pictures from May and June. Enjoy and more summer fun is about to come!

March and April

Here I go again, slacking off on my own blog because “life” tends to get busy. As much and I’d love to sit back and relax and think of how clever and interesting my blog will be, I have to work full time at work and full time at home. For those that don’t know what it’s like to be a parent, it’s basically full time. When you were use to coming home and doing your own thing, you have to be as energetic as your were at 9 am for work! in essence, you have to be in full work mode 16 hours a day. There’s no doubt that I get stressed out because either i’m tired from work or Sofia is being fussy, or Aaron is busy with computer work at home. Regardless of these situations, I still wouldn’t have it any other way. One ends up learning how much they can handle and analyze what kinds of stress they encounter. Before Sofia, my stress was sickening and it was mostly from my job. Now, it’s a stress from being a mom, having a home, thinking about her while she’s in daycare. Things like that.

I am sitting outside my front porch enjoying the wind and believe it or not the humidity! Since my move with my family to Georgia, I suffer from allergies. The pollen is ridiculous here and basically half of the population suffers from it. Aaron and I have noticed that I get my allergy colds when it gets cold. This past week the weather dropped from high 70s to 40s at night. I’m pretty sure that drastic change caused my cold like symptoms along with the pollen in the air to happen. So, for a chance, I sit outside and i don’t cough, I don’t sneeze, I don’t have itchy watery eyes because the weather is warmer and the humidity is higher. Kind of reminds me of Florida! We also noticed that since it’s usually a more dryer state, the house inside stays dry too. For me with allergy season, it sucks. We use a humidifer in the room to keep me from coughing and snoring! (i apparently snore like a monster too.)

Enough about me! On to more important things like Sofia! She has been absolutely amazing. She has expanded her vocabulary tremendously and can articulate many of her words very well. We do tend to focus on the English language but i still throw some Spanish words here and there.  For example, amo is love. Hola is hello. Agua is water. She can say some of her numbers in Spanish as well. It’s basic stuff for now but as she gets older she’ll be introduced to it more. My parents speak to her in Spanish over the phone so that helps her in understanding. She understands when we ask her to do certain things like putting the garbage away and putting her binky on the table. Her new thing is wanting a tissue and pretending to blow her nose. It’s very cute. Since she was young, she never complains about going to sleep. She will sometimes but within 10 minutes she’s passed out in her crib. She will also let you know when she’s tired. You’ll see her rubbing her eyes and grabbing her “blankey”.  She sleeps thru the whole night and has become this super happy always smiling baby!

I have a few pictures but will put more once I get behind Aaron’s computer. Until next time.

More pictures to come.    

February

With the New Year’s festivities behind us, so much has happened believe it or not! Sofi growing, talking, becoming very smart, all of us getting sick, loosing time from work, seeing doctors and trying to live day by day. It’s only been 1 month and a half into the new year and we already feel like we’ve done enough for 4 months! 

After seeing my primary doctor, i was given a stronger nasal spray to help with my chronic sinusitis. it has helped and have not gotten sick again. I’ve been taking multivitamins, vitamin C and now iron daily. We are all trying to stay healthy not only for our own body’s good but to keep Sofia healthy too. 

This February, we all got sick from a stomach virus we believe that Sofi brought from school. We thought we got poisoned from food but Sofi didn’t eat the same thing we did. It was one crazy night and morning. Luckily it happened Friday night/Saturday morning and by Sunday we were recuperating. Needless to say Aaron nor myself have even been that sick in a long time! 

Now that we are better, the snow has come around once again. This time it came down hard and heavy! We got just about 5 inches of snow if not more! It was amazing and beautiful. I took Sofi out in the snow that Friday afternoon we got home and she loved playing in it. 

Today is Valentine’s Day and after a great breakfast, flowers were delivered to me from Aaron. A beautiful set of Roses. Two dozen I think!  In the same fashion every weekend we are cleaning the house. I put on my tunes and started doing laundry and vacuuming. It’s just one of those days where it’s nice to be home and I’m motivated to get stuff done. It’s practically impossible during the week because we are so tired. Once we get home we are busy either making dinner and taking care of Sofia. There’s no time for laundry or cleaning except for the dishes of course. I feel as if i’m in the second phase of my life. The “Family Life”. Always busy, never anytime for myself unless you count showers bathroom breaks and sleeping and typing blogs/checking email. I’m so drained everyday even though I get 7 hours of sleep and go to the gym after work. Yes, it would be nice to be rich and not have to work. It would be nice but for now let’s be realistic. I have to work. I have to keep Sofi in Daycare. Aaron has no choice but to work. In the end, it’s really not so bad. I always feel some sort of accomplishment at the end of the week and my reward is the weekend. I just wish the weekends were longer! 

So without futher due, here are some of the latest pictures of the snowfall this weekend. You can click on the pics to see them bigger.  Enjoy and I will make sure to keep up with the blog. As I said before, life has been busy and I know all of you who read this can relate. 

Here’s a baby that is super happy with snow!

Charlie is funny when he does his business; even in snow!

Being covered in soft powdery snow.

Our home being covered in snow. Yes, we are the lame ones who have not had the chance to bring down the xmas lights!

Wow! “Now that’s a bingo!”

Wow! Ball Go Down!!

Mommy and Sofi outside.

Let It Snow!

Today was the day that some dreaded and some were thrilled to see. (myself included.) Today, it snowed. Today, the arctic blast that most people were watching on the Weather Channel actually passed thru and at this moment in the evening, it is snowing in Georgia! I have never been this excited (since getting married and having my first child), for snow before! It’s like I’m a kid again! I went outside at least 4 times this evening; walking in it, touching it, making words out of it, feeling it fall on my face and hearing it fall too! It’s like a very light hiss when the flakes hit the ground. It sounds and looks peaceful. There’s a beauty to it that makes me happy all around! Here are some pictures from this evenings snow. I’m going to try to get pictures in the morning to see how much has accumulated over night. Enjoy!

Our backyard and to the left is Charlie’s butt!

More backyard.

The BBQ Cover…covered in snow!

The front walkway to porch in a blanket of snow.

More Snow.

Our driveway covered in snow.

There’s enough snow to make a hand print!

Need I say more?

My favorite picture of my walkway lantern covered in snow.

Happy New Year Sofia! 2010 is here.

Happy New Year to all. It’s amazing to think that we have lived thru another decade. A decade! A decade of mild changes, confusion, another war, a new president and not just another one but a black prez! More amazing technology, fighting to be greener and less wasteful, having my 10 year reunion, having my first child, buying a home, getting another car. The list goes on, but one thing is for sure, the goals, dreams, good times and bad are now in the past decade. It’s time for new dreams and goals, not only for Aaron and myself, but for our princess Sofia. She’s already accomplished being terrible “two” at 1 1/2. Goal: achieved early.

Sofi of course went to bed at her normal hour of 9PM last night/last year. (ha-ha) She slept through New Year’s but woke up to smiles and babble. She is fighting a cough and some kind of stomach virus which has made her “#2″ (to put it nicely) become blowouts! In other words it’s going beyond the diapers boundaries.  Is it awful? Yes. Regardless of how nasty changing blow out diapers can be, you can’t help but feel bad for the girl. After all she poops in her diaper then sits on it for a while until we smell it! I’m so glad we get over diapers at such a young age! LOL!

I will have pictures up soon, as soon as I feel better from my 7th cold I have been so blessed with. The new year brings health to my attention. Ever since i moved here i can stop getting a cold and ever since i got the flu shot i can’t stop getting the cold. So, with that being said, January will be the month of Doctors and specialists to help me out. I know there’s an answer and i’m pretty sure that I’m going to have to start pill popping which I really despise. I must say, using the Neti Pot helps in clearing my nose a lot. I wish I would have thought of it for the other 6 colds I’ve had!

In closing, I do wish everyone to have a great year. It’s a new start for new goals and challenges. It’s a new stepping stone for families like us who have young first children. We are watching and learning what they do every single day. In a way it’s nice to know that each year we have a start and end and that we can continue life’s goals per year or for a lifetime. I hope everyone the best. Lots of blessings, hope, great expectations, but most importantly fun! Life is short so have fun!

November and December with Sofia

Ok. So here I go catching up again. I finally updated my pc with pictures and vids from November and some of December.

Let’s go back to November. We went to South Florida to see friends and family. I have to say that we did OK covering all the people we wanted to see. I would have loved to seen more people but you take what you can get . With an unpredictable agenda Thanksgiving weekend, we did our best to see everyone. Thanksgiving was nice, having dinner at mom n laws. I wish her dining room was bigger! GOSH! (inside joke) The weekend came around fast and Sunday came around for us to go back home in Georgia. I should tell you that being in Florida was alright but Aaron and I felt how we have no home here. It’s different now when you live somewhere else and know that the new place you live IS home. It’s amazing. With that being said, (another inside joke), we drove back up to Georgia which took a total of 13 hours!!!  Everyone and their mothers were driving back home. It was alittle boring and annoying and sometimes frustrating because Sofi wanted out from her carseat. The poor thing, she did so well that I don’t blame her for being so cranky! I think it’s safe to say that if we had to go down to Florida again for a long weekend that we will most likely fly down if the price is right.

December here in West Georgia has been nice and cold!!! Very cold. I personally love it. As I continue to love it, I continue to not have enough clothes in my closet to withstand the cold. My huge closet is bare and lacking the necessities that Georgia requires.

On the other hand Sofia has a good amount of winter clothes since he’s been thru this winter last year. Sofi has plenty of warm clothes which reminds me in need to clean alot of her clothes again!

Ok so now we’re in the middle of December. I can’t believe it. Here are pictures of our travels from November and Some that happened in December.

If there is one thing I find pretty and different is the fog! I haven’t seen so much dense fog before. The picture was taken at 5pm today. i was driving back the long way to my house and decided to take the picture to show everyone how foggy it’s been. Just imagine this at night and being more dense! Georgia  definitely has all the seasons here. Normally you could see the rest of the lake and the bridges that cross thru it.

Sofi’s daycare had Santa come in and we were given envelopes ahead of time if we wanted our children photographed with Santa. Well, when i picked up the photos today, Sofia and all the kids in Sofia’s class were all crying in their pictures! I think its hilarious to be honest. I saw the 3 and 4 year old pictures and they were all smiles. Sofi, on the other hand, was not…as you can see.

And for the small finale:

Sorry i forget that i held the camera sideways. I know better!

Driving to South Florida. Trying to cheer Sofi up.

Sofi meeting Wesley again and playing around.

Sofi going in for the hug with Wes.

The cutest little boy that Sofi can marry when she gets older.

Our Christmas Tree. A very awesomely fake 7.5 foot tall tree! Pre-lit!

Lights going up the banister

This is Mirror Lake. You can’t see much of it because today has been foggy all day!

The shock and awe of meeting Santa Claus

Sofi growing up and other items…

I have been so busy with people over and my full-time job and working out at the gym and taking care of “you know who!” It’s been busy these past three weeks and have not had the time nor energy to write a blog. I’m actually tired right now. It’s either my eyes closing or I’m starting to have allergies! Regardless, It’s overdue and i’m going to update all of you.

In October, we had my parents and my brother and his wife, another weekend my Mother in Law, Halloween weekend we had my Father in Law, and this past weekend we had my best friends over. Needless to say we have caught up on exhaustion, but to be honest, I wouldn’t have it any other way! It’s wonderful to be able to have people over, giving them an actual place to stay, their own room, and all the amenities they can enjoy in and out of the house. I love to host and love to be able to cater to everyone! I’m such a stickler in having the house perfect and clean before people come over. (Aaron can tell you!) I guess basically I’m proud of what we have and I know we should, and I just want to make sure that everything is perfect for everyone! Craig and Lou and WeFo, you guys are next!

Here are pictures of Sofia and also video of her from daycare yesterday. I finally had the chance to pick her up while they were outside playing. I grabbed the digital camera and was able to catch her by surprise! I love it and she did too! What’s on her mouth is dirt! This girl eats almost everything…including dirt! Lot’s of fiber! haha!

Sofia at the playground. Chilly but great weather!

Some of her girlfriends chilling at the bench!

Sofi sporting sunglasses.

Sofia with my best friend Stephanie!

Silly Sofia!

My friend Adriana who's 5 months preggo conquering the hill!

I’ll add more photos and expect photos and video from Thanksgiving weekend where we will be in Florida to see family and friends!

October…Most of it.

Wow, I have seriously slacked on the blog and with the month almost over I have lots to catch up on. So, here we go.

With the beginning of October, the season of Fall really started to set in. After seme storms the weather really started to cool down dramatically. Along with the cool breezes, the nasty sniffles! Of course we already knew that Sofi gets the sniffles from the kids at daycare but the teething process this month has been bonkers! After looking at her mouth this morning, I’m pretty sure she has almost all her baby teeth poking out!

We’ve had our share of family this month too. After waiting to hear about my fathers colonoscopy results being excellent with no problems or findings, my parents called me the day before to tell me they were coming up! I was super happy as you can imagine. I did not get the time to spend with my parents when we came down to Florida for Sofi’s 1st birthday.  My parents coming up really made up that time lost in July. I mom called my brother to let him know they were coming up and sure enough on Friday night my brother and my sister n law came up to be with my parents. This was the first time we had a full house in our new home! We have a great time and couldn’t ask for better weather! After my parents left, Aaron’s mom came up for the weekend the week after. She has the quality time she wanted with Sofi. It was a great time.

Now, we are justing waiting on Aaron’s dad to come up and spend the week with us. It will be great. Cooler weather and a mini vacation for him! We love being able to finally have people over the house and have the space and amenities for them.

So, with the month being almost over, we look forward to Sofia’s first Halloween that she will be a part of! Sofia is going to be a bumble bee. We have taken her to get her photos taken. She looked so cute in her costume and she had a great time! Below are the shots from the photo session. We will be getting her pictures next week. Along with the costume pics here are pictures of Sofi in October. Enjoy.

Absolutely precious in her costume!

Fall is here and I'm buzzing into town!

Our little cutie..at her cutest!

I will post links on You Tube for additional videos that I will be loading. Keep and eye out on this blog for the link.