We love the Peltons

Ginger, Eric and their kids came over for Sunday dinner a few weeks ago. Javier made an Argentine barbeque dinner. It was delicious.

Summer 2009- On a walk

So our neighborhood is awesome. I love it for going on walks. So beautiful, so safe, so many friends. Its a paradise to be a mom here. One day we walked out our door to take a walk with Ginger on the leash (Hazel's favorite thing in the world, except she calls the leash, "yeash")and who do we find walking past us but Tracy (Tuttle) Sullivan and her kids. I grew up with Tracy and its fun to be moms together now. Allie was on a bike, Gracie on a scooter, and Hazel was holding up the rear, in an almost sprint to keep up, with Ginger, her stroller and Mr. Bear. Here are some pics of the outing.

Summer 2009- Hazel's 2nd Birthday

On July 30th, Hazel turned 2! She got to have two parties- One at grandma's with family and one at grandpa's with friends. She loved them both. I figured out Hazel picks up quickly on songs, because after just two times singing "Happy Birthday" to her, and listening to it at my sister's party in August, she can sing the whole tune. Also, she now calls all cakes, "Happy Birthdays." Here are some pics from her friend party. The first one is her tuckered out after the party. She was plastered. I'll have to get photos from my mom of the family one. My favorite was her running around naked in the backyard after skinny-dipping in grandma's pool.

Summer 2009- Portland and the Rose Garden

We were really busy this summer, and i didn't post anything, so here is the beginning of a series of summary posts.

In June we visited Melanie and Jason in Portland, OR. The highlight for Hazel was the Rose Garden. I love the smell of roses, so after she saw me sniffing different kinds, she started to. Sometimes she sniffed the stem, or the outside of a petal, but she would always say, Mmmmmmm. She figured out that's what you're supposed to do. Here are some pics.

The 3 firsts of language

1) Spanglish: Today, Hazel said her first sentence in Spanglish: "Dame the keys" (Give me the keys.) I was up on the truck sticking a price and phone number to the back window because we're selling it, and she came around and asked for the keys. I thought, no big deal, she's two, so I gave them to her so I could continue with my project. THEN... I heard the huge truck turn on! And that's when I realized I have a big person on my hands. Baby no more. She had hoisted herself in the truck, picked out the right key, inserted it, and turned it completely. Needless to say I jumped down and frieked out a little bit before taking that key off the keychain and getting her out of there.

2) English: On another note, she said her first almost complete sentence in English a couple weeks ago. One morning she got her foot stuck in a glass of water and said: "I got foot wet." I was so proud.

3) Saying her name: Plus, while I was on my cruise last weekend, Javier taught Hazel how to say her whole name. (She's been saying her first name since last month, Sep. 28th) The last name comes out pretty slurry, and she doesn't say it half the time you ask her to, but she loves the first name. Javier asks her, "Como te llamas?" And she answers: Ha-sol. She doesn't have the "z" sound down yet. But its good enough for me!

She's been saying how old she is for a long time. For journaling sake, since i think I might make this into one, she started saying "two" when you asked her how old she was around her second birthday. Before she said "dos" but it got phased out by "two." Now she won't say it in Spanish.

My name's hidden meaning

I saw this on my friend Sharon's blog. You type in your name and this site gives you the "hidden" meaning of your name. I don't know, but maybe I believe some of it. I think our names shape us more than we know. I only say that because all the Jakes I ever knew were all the same. Anyway, here are my results for "Jill." It's pretty right on most of the time. The last two paragraphs are especially me to a "t." What's your name's hidden meaning?

You are fair, honest, and logical. You are a natural leader, and people respect you.
You never give up, and you will succeed... even if it takes you a hundred tries.
You are rational enough to see every part of a problem. You are great at giving other people advice.

You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing.
You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long.
You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start.

You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow.
You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily.
Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is.

12 Giveaways on ONE day on Designmom!

Hello all of my two readers, I have answered the call on Designmom.com to blog about her upcoming 12 giveaways on one day - TOMORROW! It's called the Twelve days of Christmas 12 Giveaway. Or something very close to that. Go there and enter! You have 12 times the chance this time to win something totally crafty/cool/neat/ingenuitive/mom-a-rific! Go here to enter and win! All you have to do is leave a comment on the blog about the give-away. It will be obvious. Just do it!

Belated Posts from July - August (B-day party at the park)

These are some photos of the birthday party at the park. The pink princess dress, crown, and fairy wand are compliments of the grandma from Argentina. We threw it all on her to blow out the candles on her cake. You can tell in one of the pictures she wasn't too happy about the whole thing because it was like 100 degrees with humidity outside at the time. We quickly took it off. And the winnie the pooh characters were a present from a mom of one of my piano students. And my neighbor happened to have a Winnie the Pooh cake mold, so I decided I would go with Winnie for this year.

Belated Posts from July - August (Hazel's 1st B-day!)

July 30th was Hazel's 1st birthday. Happy birthday sweets! We threw a family party on her actual birthday and then had an Argentine style party for her and friends on the following Saturday at a nearby park. Both of Hazel's grandma's were present for the festivities plus a cousin from Argentina and an aunt from Utah... and her Grandpa Wayne and Aunt Abby one week earlier, and her Aunt Becca one week later along with Grandma Barbara, and then the visitor's wound down two weeks later with a visit from Aunt Wendy and Uncle Brian from New York. What a busy month! Here are some pics from the family party.

Belated Posts from July - August

So I have had visitors for the past month straight and haven't posted anything. Here are some things that have happened in the last month that I would have posted about.

July 22nd: Happy 2nd anniversary to Javier and me! I can't believe it has only been two years. So much has happened and we have learned so much and have so many blessings.

Fotos to inspire a Thanksgiving Visit

I made a 5 course meal last Thanksgiving single-handedly, all made from scratch, and it was deeeelicious. There are a couple fotos of my award winning meal (because I give myself the award of best Thanksgiving dinner ever). Here was my menu (I got off the food network):

1 25 lb. Turkey marinated in olive oil and herbs over night and slow cooked, stuffed with veggies and more herbs.

Autumn Root puree (thanks to Royal for the recipe. Probably my favorite part of the meal)

Mashed potatoes, stuffing, Rhodes Rolls (Only part not completely homemade- bought frozen, but you still have to let them rise and cover with a damp cloth, so it felt homemade to me)


Butternut Squash soup (My specialty! It was a hit)

Some salad I wouldn't make again with three types of exotic lettuce, pears, walnuts, blue cheese, and a homemade dressing that didn't turn out great)

Dessert: My oh so good homemade apple pie (my second favorite part of the meal) It looks like a professional made it, doesn't it? I'm super proud of it. :)

Actually, after remembering all the work that went into this meal, I don't know if I would do it again. Going over to someone else's house sounds better this year. Oh, but I only spent $50 on all the groceries, surprisingly, because someone gave me the turkey for free, and it was a dinner for about 6. So we ate for under $10 a plate. Yes!

Milestone!

Hazel has learned to blow on her food when it is hot.

Walking to the Birds

Here, you can see more of Hazel's walking action. She's falling a lot because the grass is bumpy and uneven, but she usually doesn't. Isn't it so cute how she talks to the birds? Oh, yeah, she's a big pointer, too. Everything that's interesting to her is pointed at accompanied by an oohhh sound with her lips shaped in an "o" as if she is in awe. I accidentally taught her that while trying to get her to look at things. Now she thinks everything should be looked at with that expression and sound. Sometimes, she even does it before finding something to look at.

Hazel is walking! And she has three teeth!

I am so proud of Hazel! She has been walking for the past month. (Yes, that's right, she started walking at nine months) She took her first official steps on Sunday, May 25th during a prayer at church. I had my eye on her to make sure she didn't fall down and break her head open on the metal chair she was holding onto, when she let go and took two steps. Then she grabbed back on. Then that night at a friend's house she took several steps in a row. And it just progressed to almost running now to keep up with our neighbor, Dylan. She gets so excited when she sees him that her legs start running in mid-air until I put her on the ground and she takes off. It's hilarious. This video is of her toddling along on our deck at our apartment complex yesterday morning. She isn't actually walking in this one. I'll put up another one later.

Paino Recital!

I finally had my first piano recital where nine of my students performed. It was a success for the most part. I originally found an amazing recital hall in Coral Gables to have the recital in, but all their Saturdays were booked until November, so we're having our winter recital there, but had to opt for the old standby, the chapel, this time. It was still lovely, though. It was a good starting off point. The students learned a lot and so did I. The only thing I would do differently is speak in English instead of Spanish. Although I have pretty good Spanish, public speaking is a whole different skill from conversational speaking, and its one I will need to practice. This is the invitation. It is a little light because this one printed in draft mode instead of normal, but you get the idea. I copied the wording and format from an antique invitation I found on the internet from the 20's.

Hazel has an idea

Here we are at a friend's house for Sunday night dinner. Mil Mel, I put these up for you.

Mommy and Hazel

the funniest

Hazel has figured out when she is doing something unauthorized by mommy. Check out how fast she flies to daddy when she hears mom coming.

Corto pero lindo

Aqui esta Hazel con su papi en la caresita. Hay un video mas largo abajo.

Hazel en la calesita

Sleeping on the beach

After taking a long dip, Hazel decided it was time for some R&R. Here I am sort of accompanying her.

Apartment tour

Now you can see what a beautiful place we live in. Hopefully it inspires everyone to come visit us in our new place. (sorry, our cars are in the video, too. Javi was making this to have a record of them.) Susan and Linus are coming at the end of April. Wendy, Brian, and Dad have already promised visits. When are you coming?

Hazel in swing

Here is yet another video of Hazel. You guys asked for them. :) I like this one because our friend is over so we had actually cleaned up the house nicely. But it looks quite bare since we had just moved in. We have spruced it up since.

Talking after a bath

Here is Hazel at two or three months. We didn't label it and now I can't remember. She just took a bath and Javi is getting her to talk. I would call it babbling, but it seriously looks like she believes she is communicating something, so I call it talking. She's so cute! Now her babbling voice at 7 months has gotten even cuter. I can't wait until she actually says real words. She has such a cute voice, which you can hear on the "water dispensor" video.

Hazel taking a bath in Argentina at four months

Here is Hazey in her first bath in her new tub we bought her in Argentina. Isn't the natural light beautiful in Argentina? Hazel's nonna, Susana is in the background.

More Climbing

This video is super dark, but you can kind of make it out. Hazel is basically trying to climb up the wooden shelf we have on the floor waiting for Javier to nail it up in my kitchen for extra storage. I can't wait for that day.

This is Hazel when she was first getting her crawling groove on. Now she's pretty much a professional. Oh, and it IS ok that Hazel starts chewing on the end of a marker with its top on, contrary to what a person tries to tell me in the video. She's not strong enough to pull the top off, and she just likes to chew it, ok? She's teething. All right. Enjoy.

Hazel in the water dispensor

Hazel has perfected the art of climbing. She now can crawl to all the far reaches of the apartment and enjoys pulling herself up on anything she can get a grip on. I think she's going to be a good rock climber.

Hazel climbing

Crawling!

, (This is a very old post that was in my drafts. I forgot to publish it. I'm putting it in for the milestone it has.)

Hazel has started to crawl. The first day was around February 26th (2008), right before she turned 7 months. Now she tries to pull herself up on everything, and then she falls back down. but its cute to see how she develops and learns so quickly.

Actually, the video link is on the blink. I'll have to put the video clips up later. Sorry Mom and Wendy. I know you wanted to see her crawl. And Mel, too! And sorry you had to see our hideous couch without the cover on it.

The battle begins

Hazel woke up one morning and found her mobility. And this is what she decided to do with herself. The not so fun part of motherhood of cleaning up after little messes has begun.

My first meal in a restaurant

Hazel accompanied us on our Valentine's evening out. I know its not so romantic, but I still can't leave her with people yet. Who knows what will happen, right? Someday I'll get over it. Plus, the one friend I would leave her with has a two year old who is constantly sick because he goes to some day school. Ever since he started there he has had sickness after sickness, and not to mention an incessantly bugary (how do you spell that?) and runny nose. I'm sure if she's there she will be deathly ill the next day. So I bring her everywhere we go. The only downside is I haven't been able to go to the ballet or opera since she was born, which is a bummer since Miami has groups like the ABC coming through all the time. Plus it has its own surprisingly professional local ballet and opera companies. Plus, my friend always gives me free tickets I have to now turn down. Someday...

Here, Hazel is enjoying her first highchair in a restaurant experience. She was so cute. Don't worry, she didn't actually eat her baby food with that fork. She grabbed it so I took a picture. She's quick on the grab.We have to keep all food, plates and utinsels 1 foot in diameter away from her when she's at a table, or she will have it before you can say Jimminy Cricket.

Reading time

This is Hazel at four months during her reading time on her grandma's bed in Argentina. Yes, she's a genius. Here she is getting ready to read one of her favorite books (although she has many) of black and white animals. Her favorite page is the lamb. Thanks to Aunt Susan for giving her tons of books when she was born. I started reading to her when she was just weeks old, and now you can't tear the books away from her.

On the Beach

If there is one thing I like about living in Miami, its that we live two blocks from the beach. So Hazel and I take walks there all the time. I can't wait until she is big enough to take a dip. The water is warm here year round, so I think she'll have a good time.

My first Valentine's Day

I got this cute red dress in the Macy's children department. I just happened to be there on Valentine's Day (looking for cribs which they don't have) and they were having this huge sale. I got this dress for like 80% off. 9 bucks, dude. The bow, however, did not come with it (was a gift) and now I regret putting it on. I lost it at the restaurant that night, so luckily, I won't be tempted to put it back on her. But isn't she a cute little bundle of Valentine's goodness?

A conversation with Hazel on Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day! Excuse me, could you please stop taking pictures of me? It's dialating my eyes and my date should be here any minute.

How much are you going to pay me?

(In food, my favorite currency)

Ok, I'll hang out for a while.

So tell me, wouldn't you want to be my Valentine?

I'm out of here, man.

Ok, I'll stay but only if you throw in some pears or bananas.

This is my flirty Valentine pose. That's got to be worth a jar of my favorite organic carrots.

My Hazel's crib

When I was pregnant, I walked into Babies R Us and fell in love with this crib. After pouring over a MILLION other cribs in a MILLION websites and going to a BILLION stores, my sentimentality brought me back to this one. Plus it has classic lines and converts so Hazel will always have a bed. The only other thing I have to invest in is a full-size bed frame (how much can those be, like $40?) and full-size mattress. I really like that idea since I realized after buying a stroller/carseat set that is only good up until 9 months that its annoying to have to keep buying stuff that you already bought. And since I'm not planning on having tons of kids, Hazel will probably always have her own room and so the size of the full-size bed shouldn't be a problem. I love my compra (buy). Couldn't be happier. My sister, Wendy, likes those new modern-looking cribs, which are very cute, but they are actually more expensive than this one and are only good up until the kid is three years old, which I'm not too crazy about.
I bought this at Wal-Mart.com in the end, not at Babies R Us, because of the free site-to-store shipping. However, I think they use a different manufacturer or middle-man to paint the crib because there have been some reviews on Walmart's site that the crib shows up greyish or off-white, whereas at BRU it is always white. We'll have to see. If its not white I'm sending it back man.

Happy Valentine's Day - Late

Javi and I went out to eat on Valentine's Day to have a nice dinner in a new Italian place we'd never been to. It was on the water and looked pretty nice, but it turned out to be quite a little fiasco. I can't explain everything that happened, but I will say they need some more help there, because after they finally sat us, a waiter didn't show up to not only our table, but our entire section for about 25 minutes. When I finally did see what looked like our waitress heading down towards us after chatting it up with a table for about five minutes, we had already stood up to leave. If it took that long just to say hello to us, I don't want to know how long it would've taken to bring out orders. I realized later that there were about fifty people out on the patio, and I hadn't seen a waiter attend any of them since the time we had sat down. So we ended up going to an old stand-by that wasn't as romantic, but we love it. Campo Argentino. We had a little Argentine asado and lasagna and called it a night. Thanks for trying anyway, Javi. It wasn't your fault.

Here are some reasons why I love Javier:

1. He's always on time.
2. He never gets mad at me, even when I drink out of his cup.
3. He sings like an angel.
4. He always gives me big, thoughtful gifts on Holidays and anniversaries.
5. He never loses his cell phone.

Just kidding, sweets... here's the real list:

1. He's absolutely adorable with our little daughter, Hazel.
2. He's a great kisser (that's a tribute to Jordan, who's always talking about her husband's kissing)
3. He's extremely handsome.
4. He is super sweet and thoughtful in all he does.
5. He is one of the most generous and loving people I know.

Happy Belated Valentine's Day, Javier!

P.S. I swear that is me when I was little. It's the spitting image. Except maybe I was just a little chubbier, and I wasn't as bold with the boys. But it looks just like me when I was about four years old.

and cuter!

Hazel 5 months, with daddy. It was actually cold in Miami for about two days in January, so Hazel is in her "cold weather" garb.

and cuter...

Hazel with her grandparents in Argentina in December.

and cuter...

Hazel 4 months, asleep in her carseat.

and cuter...

And cuter...

Hazel at her first party... my friend's wedding... one week old.

This is my favorite picture of her feet.

Hazel sleeping in her bassinet...

her favorite sleeping position with dad...

Hazel one week old at Carla and Daniel Sierra's wedding. I luckily never got any of that nasty post-partum depression or "baby blues" everybody talks about. Its simple to avoid. Just have a family member come stay with you and be your personal slave for three weeks after you have the baby, and have your placenta made up into pills and take three a day. It replaces your hormones that you have a huge lack of right after giving birth. It worked for me! I was never depressed for even one second, and I even had to pack up and move my whole house when Hazel was only a month old. I'm so awesome! Actually, I think I've been on a hormone high ever since giving birth. That's just my little shout out to placenta pills. My midwife did it for me. Look into it, seriously.

Hazel getting cuter

Hazel with grandma- Two days old.

Announcing Hazel Ema Di Pietro

This is her official newborn picture.

Catching up- Pregnancy photos

Me literally the day before I went into labor. I was ready to pop. P.S. Javier got those glasses from some old guy he was doing remodeling for. Connections like that are where its at.

This is Javier and I at a friend's wedding- Eight months pregnant. And yes, I am about to pop out of that maternity shirt in every way. I know I look huge.

So I finally got some pregancy photos of myself. Sorry they are posted after the fact, but I've got to put them in for the archives. My mom came out for the birth. This is me nine months preg-o.