gracielle's blog

Abandoned blog...

2012-11-08T22:04:00.001-06:00

If you've been creeping on my blog and have noticed that I haven't posted lately, it's because I moved it. I got my very own url called www.mommya-z.com. This one still focuses on my babies, but I wanted to try expanding my audience outside of my mom, dad and sister (still my #1 readers!) and discuss broader topics such as home decor, social media, parenting, and career stuff.

Catch me there if you get the chance: www.mommya-z.com or follow along on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mommy-A-Z/230191883663838

Thanks for stopping by,
Gracielle

Adam Levine does it "With Feeling"

2012-07-24T22:20:00.000-05:00

I'm always talking about the insane perks about working where I work. This time, Adam Levine came to the HQ and did a mini-concert since he's launching a designer guitar series to be sold at Kmart and Sears stores. I would say this is was the BEST perk yet!

This is what I had for lunch today at work. YUM!!!!

I was up pretty close and he looked a little scruffy in plain white tee and jeans...but he didn't look like he smelled bad or anything...Just perfect! He said a few polite words and went on to sing 3 songs with just him, a guitar, and a keyboard. One thing kept sticking out in my mind: Adam Levine sings with feeling! When I was little and I would play the piano or sing, my uncle would always tell me, "do it with feeling." Or like when the American Idol judges critique the contestants and tell them that they need to sing with emotion and connect with the audience. Adam Levine and I connected. For real. Or at least I felt that way when he sang Al Green's, "Let's Stay Together."

I recorded it, but I think someone strategically placed a woman with freakin' huge fluffy curly hair in front of me so my camera wanted to focus on that monstrosity instead of the handsome Adam Levine. Grrrr. Sorry! It's blurry and bumpy, so consider this video for your listening pleasure only (the focus gets a little better after the first chorus):

Cubicle Swag

2012-07-13T23:57:00.000-05:00

I've been a cubicle dweller for all of my professional career. My new team is located in a unique part of the building that is shared with the Home Design team. Those guys plan out merchandise to sell in the upcoming seasons that relate to home accessories like linens, small kitchen appliances, home color schemes and fabrics, furniture, mirrors, etc. It looks like a huge warehouse with concrete floors and high exposed ceilings, but has lots of natural light because one entire wall is made up of floor-to-ceiling windows. When you walk in, there's an open space for staging products - one day I could walk in and see a display of shelves stocked with Keurigs, then the next day those would be gone and they'll have couches, chairs and ottomans taking up the entire space. I never know what I'm going to see when I step into the office. Behind the staging area are cubicles that look like they just plopped out of nowhere. One day someone must have said said, "PLOP! Let's make this a work space and let's work here." And now I work there.

I kinda dig my new diggs. I fought really hard to get a a cube along the wall of windows. However, the cubicle itself was rather uninspiring. If I spend 40-50 hours a week at work, it might as well be a place I look forward to coming to...So I decided to do a little redecorating. Here's the before:

Blah. Clutter. Blah. Beige. Blah.

Lucky for me, back-to-school season is upon us, so I found tons of fun office accessories the other day at TJ Maxx. I found some shelf liners with a pretty blue pattern that already had adhesive on the back. I just peeled and stuck the paper to cover up the beige ugliness. The instant "wall paper" treatment took like 10 minutes. I also got a message board (hmm...still gotta figure out how to hang this sucker without ruining the wallpaper), candy dish (that still needs to be filled with candy) and a desk valet to lessen the clutter. Here it is:

It's a work in progress...

I'm pretty happy with the results so far. I still want to bring in some plants, updated pictures of my family, a desk lamp, and a rug. If you notice, I already have my mini-Keurig coffee maker, fridge, and enough bottled water to last through a major catastrophic event. The drawer to the left is like my little pantry where I keep my cups, utensils, bagels for breakfast, bread for my PB&J sandwiches for lunch, biscotti for my afternoon snack, and last but not least...

Nutella. (There should be a jar of nutella in everyone's office because it would make work a happy place.) Anyways, stay tuned for updates on my cube decorations. Send me pics of your office space if you've got some!

Bonus Baby is a No-Go

2012-07-10T23:00:00.000-05:00

"We could raise a family...A boy for you, a girl for me. Oh, can't you see, How happy we could be?"

According to the Tamanio Baby Calendar, now is about the time I'm supposed to be pregnant again. That would make our 3rd baby 2 years apart from Zavier, who is exactly 2 years apart from Arielle.

We already have a girl and a boy, so I jokingly say that if we had one more it would be the "Bonus Baby." (I would much rather be a Bonus Baby than an Oops Baby, wouldn't you?) Anyways, this Bonus Baby is a no-go at this time. First, we need a house. Then, we need one billion dollars so we can afford to put our kids in day care. Finally, although Zavier is cute and cuddly - he is very needy and much more demanding than Arielle was at this age so Bonus Baby would not be good for my sanity.

We are very blessed and happy with just our two little ones...
For now.

P.S. High-five to whoever can guess what song the photo caption came from!

BFFs: Arielle & Jericho

2012-07-01T23:54:00.002-05:00

If you ever engaged in conversation with the very talkative 3-year-old Arielle, chances are she will probably mention her cousin and BFF, Jericho. She just throws his name in any story she is talking about, regardless of whether he is actually part of the context of the conversation: "...and I danced with Jericho" "...and then I'm going to share with my cousin, Kuya Jericho..." "...and then Jericho and I went to the pumpkin patch. That was fun, right? I'm going to see him on Saturday."

They haven't been hanging out as frequently since he moved back to the city, but this past Father's Day weekend they had a blast when we went camping. You could totally tell that they really enjoy each other's company...just have a look at these pics:

Florida Part II: Flower for Mommy

2012-07-01T01:17:00.000-05:00

Zavier is a mommy's boy. Hands-down, I am his most favoritest person in the whole wide world...his big sis and Barney the Dinosaur are tied at a very distant second place. While we were lounging around my parents' lanai during our Florida vacation, I decided to practice my photog skills on Zavier and ended up capturing a precious moment that ended with a pleasant surprise. Here goes:

Just checking things out

"I got something for my mommy..."

"I hope she likes it"

"Here you go, Mommy!"

"I picked it just for you..."

"Take a look...I'm so sweet! I love you, Mommy!"

I put my camera down to see what he gave me...and found this in my hand!

Florida Part I - Rain, rain, and more rain

2012-06-30T13:00:00.000-05:00

Dr. Seuss described it best!

It rained for most our Florida vacation! Tropical Storm Debbie arrived the day we arrived and it rained for 4 days straight. We had to cancel our planned trip to the beach and play it by ear by finding indoor activities - we went to the mall, aquarium, casino, and salsa dancing. We even took Arielle to see a movie. Then, we decided to get out of Tampa in hopes that the weather was more favorable in Orlando. We stayed at Nickelodeon Suites Resort, hung out at Downtown Disney, and spent a day at Universal Studios' Island of Adventure. On our last and final day, the sun decided to show up and we got to swim for a few hours, before heading back home to rain and storms in Chicago. Here's Part I of our trip:

The first few days we would spend our mornings in the covered lanai, enjoying the warm weather and the breeze despite the cloudy skies and drizzles. On Saturday morning, there was a break in the rain and we stepped out to pick some flowers:

Flower pickin'

At least the flowers enjoyed the rain!

Butsog and Twinkle (Coconut's son and girlfriend

It was our first time visting the Florida Aquarium, despite the fact that it's just steps away from my parents' office. We were glad we finally got to see it, with all the tropical and exotic fish - they even had an exhibit where you can touch the starfish!

Shades and strollers! All set to see the fishies :)

Papa Jay aka Papa-razzi

Happy boy!

Touching the star fish!

That's the cutest hermit crab I've ever seen!

Account Manager

2012-06-16T01:26:00.000-05:00

“Opportunity dances with those already on the dance floor.”

-H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

It's amazing how opportunities arise when you step out of your comfort zone and try something new. Several months ago, I took the risk of leaving the IT Audit profession to pursue a career Social Media Marketing. This opened up a huge door for me to be a part of an elite team within the company that focuses on innovation and integrated retail solutions to enhance customer experiences.

My new title is Account Manager. The title itself sounds pretty vague and mundane if you ask me. But whenever I get the chance to tell people what I do, I get pretty excited about it: I develop strategies to build and engage communities for Personal Shopper, Gift Registry, and Sweeps. This role will allow me to tackle many elements of marketing - sales, strategy, social, creative, etc. And hello?! Personal Shopper! Gift Registry! Contests and Sweepstakes! Such fun, invigorating products and I get to work on all three.

I've been eased into this role over the past few months, but I officially started today. I even got my headshot taken (thanks, Eva!) as I will be very visible to the thousands of people in my network. Yay!

Olivia's 1st Birthday

2012-06-13T22:31:00.001-05:00

Summer birthdays are so much fun! Olivia (#2) celebrated her 1st birthday at Wildwood park district beach/park. We spent the entire afternoon fishing, eating cupcakes, swimming, playing games, and enjoying the summer sun. I spent my time snapping away, just trying to capture Arielle and Zavier in the moment as the day unfolded. Enjoy!

Caught her first fishie!

"Cool Little Dude"

Jeffy caught a fishie, too! LOL

Father and son

Let's play!

Pretty girl

Swimming

Hmm...should I take a nap or play some more?

Profile

Hello, handsome!

The Potty Training Brick Wall

2012-06-09T01:58:00.000-05:00

I see you, little girl in the penguin pajamas. I know what you are doing. I can smell it, too.

We have hit a potty training brick wall. Arielle has been pretty good at peeing and letting us know when she needs to go. We just can't seem to get her to go poop in the toilet. We've tried all these different methods:

Bribes - Poop for Chocolate
Peer pressure - "Everybody is doing it!"
Embarrassment - "Eww! That's so gross, why do you do that?"
Timing - Picking her up and running to the bathroom right before we think she's about to unload.
Patience - Me sitting next to her while she tries to poop.
Story time on the potty - Hey, a little literature helps even the best poopers at times.
Ridicule - "You're a big girl, only babies poop in diapers."
Creativity - Jeffrey cut a hole in one of her pull-ups and had her sit on the toilet. She gets her pull-up, but the waste really goes in the toilet = WIN/WIN, right? Wrong!

I think we actually missed our poop-potty training window. She is 3 now, and being the smart little girl that she is, she figured out how to get around it. Since she knows that we put a pull-up on her during nap- and bed-time, she just seizes the opportunity and goes for it. If it's in the middle of the day, she'll go upstairs, take off her pants and undies, put on her pull-up all by herself, do her business, then run downstairs and ask one of us to change her. Seriously, if she's that capable of doing all that by herself, then she should be more than capable of pooping in the toilet.

So we hid her stash of pull-ups. When she was looking for it, she asked me:

Arielle: Mommy, where's my diaper?

Me: No more. You don't have any more diapers.

Arielle: Can you buy me some?

Me: No. Why? Do you have to poo?

Arielle: No! (whines and wiggles) My butt is hot!!!

I guess that's her way of describing the I-gotta-go-take-a-dump sensation, so I took her to the toilet and went with the "timing" and "patience" method (see above). Still didn't work. Ugh!

So the potty training saga continues....

Free yourself

2012-05-25T21:55:00.003-05:00

I came home from work a little early today. Instead of my normal greeting of being smothered with hugs and kisses from Arielle, Zavier and Coconut - I walked into a quiet house. Arielle was taking a nap, and Jeffrey was on the couch buried under a precious sleeping baby Zavier. He whispered, "I've been stuck like this forever, he won't let me go! I haven't been able to do anything..."

Then, Jeff started squirming out from under Zavier little by little. He ever so carefully swung his legs off the couch, then rotated his hips to free his torso and shoulder. Anytime Zavier moved or fussed just a little, Jeff would stop and pat his diapered butt to calm him down. I just watched, amused at both the finesse and skill only a seasoned parent can possess when freeing themselves from a sleeping baby.

Then it came down to the moment of truth: getting that last limb out from under his head. Does Jeff get out? Does Zavier wake? Watch the nail-biting conclusion here:

P.S. Please try to ignore the blaring TV in the background...LOL

Book Review: Fifty Shades of Grey

2012-05-19T23:51:00.000-05:00

One day, I noticed this title as the top seller on Kindle. In the days that followed, I kept hearing about it everywhere - my friends, on TV, my sister...What the heck? I'm usually ahead of the reading curve when it comes to best-selling novels. So I fired up my Kindle and bought the first book of the series. That's another thing, I'm a sucker for books that come in a series so I kinda knew that once I read the first one, I was already committing to read books 2 and 3. So here is my review:

This book is pretty much like Twilight, except instead of a clumsy, unconfident girl named Isabella Swan, it's a clumsy, unconfident girl named Anastasia Steele. Instead of falling for a mysterious, handsome vampire named Edward Cullen; this girl falls for a mysterious, handsome billionaire named Christian Grey. The entire storyline runs parallel to Twilight including geographic location, aloof mothers who live across the country, Christian/Edward saving the Anastasia/Bella when they are in trouble using their stalker skills, and the playing "hard to get" storyline when we all know they will eventually end up together anyways.

The only major difference between the two books is that Twilight is for the young-adult audience, where as Grey is porn. PORN! It's like the X-rated version of Twilight. I wonder if the author thought, "Hey, Twilight was a hit! Stephanie Meyer made a fortune on her first book. I think I'll write my first book, too. But mine will be better because it'll have sex and sex sells."

Bottom line is that I was not a fan. I probably won't spend my time or money in books 2 and 3.

Vandalism - Full Investigation Report

2012-05-17T22:36:00.000-05:00

The one time I go out for happy hour with my co-workers, I get this picture message from Jeffrey:

Vandalized!

Here's a copy of the full investigation report:

Victim: Zavier James, 14 months
Culprit: Arielle Rose, 3 years
Date: 5/17/2012
Time: Sometime between 5:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Place: Living room
Evidence found at the crime scene: Dry-erase marker (black)

Description of crime:
The alleged culprit vandalized the victim's face using a dry-erase marker in the living room of the family's current residence. The caregiver at the time, Jeffrey (father), was watching TV in the family room and did not have visibility to the crime as it occurred.

Potential motives of the alleged culprit include:

Playing make-up
Displaying artistic ability
Just part of being the older sibling.

Resolution:

After a brief punishment via spanking administered by the caregiver to the culprit, all parties have come to a resolution. The face of the victim was restored to its natural state by applying soap and water.

The victim has no comment at this time.

"I'll Take Care of You"

2012-05-16T23:28:00.000-05:00

Arielle (3 yrs old)

Arielle: I'll be the Mommy, you be the Arielle!

Me: OK.....Mommy, I want milk!

Arielle: OK. [Pretends to prepare some milk and hands me an invisible sippy cup] Here you go!

Me: Thank you! Gulp, gulp, gulp...That was good. Hmm...Maybe I should give her a taste of her own medicine and go into full-blown whining mode...

Me: I want more milk! I need to go pee pee! I have poo poo! Can you change my diaper?

Arielle: OK! I'll take care of you!

Me: Thank you, baby. [Heart melts] So sweet!

Arielle & me, Mother's Day 2012

Mother's Day 2012

2012-05-13T20:05:00.000-05:00

I had the perfect Mother's Day today :) Jeffrey took the day off so that he could be with me and the kids. We went to church, had brunch, and went to an outdoor mall to just walk around and enjoy the beautiful weather.

My perspective on Mother's Day changed a bit this year. I thought that this is the one day where I'm exempt from all my mothering duties and everyone should appreciate all the hard work I do as a working mother. Today at church I was reminded that my kids are a blessing from God and how lucky I am that He chose me to be Arielle and Zavier's mommy.

Also, I thought I should be showered with gifts. I woke up thinking that Jeffrey was going to give me an iPad. He wished me a "Happy Mother's Day" with a smile, but empty handed - no flowers, no card, no chocolate, no iPad. I usually throw hissy fits if I don't get a fancy gift on special occasions (i.e., birthday, anniversary, Christmas, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day). I can be a brat sometimes. Hehehe! This time, wasn't upset at all - I was just so happy that he re-arranged his work schedule so that he could be with me and the babies.

I also learned that I'm a sucker for home-made gifts. Check out the cards they made me for Mother's Day. My cutie-pies are so thoughtful!

Arielle Lookalike

2012-05-02T16:17:00.001-05:00

As you may know, I left my job as an IT Auditor for Social Media. Part of my job requires me to search the web for friendly, engaging content for the communities I support. It's fun but time-consuming - often times I over-think things when it can be a simple "Have a great weekend, friends!" that'll really get the engagement rates going through the roof. Also, pictures of children and puppies really work wonders on fan engagement.

I was in search of an image of a smiling kid, when I came across this picture:

She looks oddly familiar - she looks kind of like my Arielle! See here, same hair and everything!

Seeing this threw my whole afternoon off. It's kind of weird and creepy how similar they are. I swear I only gave birth to one baby girl , but looking at that girl's picture really makes me second guess myself...

Walking, Flapping, Go! Go! Go!

2012-04-27T22:55:00.001-05:00

Breaking News: Zavier (boy, 13 months) is Walking!

Just yesterday Zavier went from taking one or two steps here and there to taking multiple steps at a time. He gets so excited, that he starts flapping his arms like a little bird and tells himself "Go! Go! Go!" He does all that activity at one time - walking/flapping/Go!Go!Go! - but it throws him off balance and then he falls. I think anyone who tried to do the walking/flapping/Go!Go!Go!-combo would eventually knock themselves over, too. I can see his confidence start to build up just by looking at his proud little expression when he's walking on his own.

Now if you'll please tilt your head to the left, you can enjoy this exclusive video:

If I weren't on the other side of the camera, you'd see how proud I am too (chin up, chest out, nostrils slightly flared, nodding furiously even tough no one asked me a question). HA!

Afternoon at the Bookstore

2012-04-15T01:01:00.001-05:00

I could spend hours at the bookstore. I have a Kindle and I love it, but there's nothing like physically browsing through books, flipping through pages and reading the back covers at the store. Usually I start off in the best sellers area, and then go off in search of the latest fun girlie book aka "chic-lit." You know, the kind that they usually end up making into a romantic comedy on the big screen: Something Borrowed, Devil Wears Prada, Confessions of a Shopaholic - I read those long before they became movies. I'm a sucker for series, too - Harry Potter, Twilight, Hunger Games... Yup, I read those all before the movies came out.

This time around, I came to the bookstore for one purpose only: Fashion magazines.

I grabbed as many as I could in one hand and pushed my double-decker stroller with the other hand to the back of the store to the children's section. I set the kids up at the little Thomas the Train play area and gave them some crackers. I sat in the nearby chair and devoured the glossy, colorful pages featuring the latest Spring styles. I don't remember the last time I felt happy for doing something just for myself, but not feeling guilty about it. The babies seemed very content being there with me, too.

Look at this little stinker. He pretty much tried to lick every train there, tossed a few on the floor (oooh lookie! It's gravity!), and tried to crawl away a few times. At one point I looked up from one of the magazines and there he was - walking. One, two, three steps, and smoosh (the sound of his diaper-padded butt hitting the floor).

Little Miss Arielle. I hope she grows to love books as much as I do. So when I picked out a story for me to read to her, When My Baby Dreams by Adele Enerson, she much rather preferred to sit on the chair next to me and catch up with the latest on Zooey Deschanel. Seriously, as soon as she saw the magazine cover, she started singing the theme song from The New Girl, "Who's that girl...who's that girl..."

I ended up buying two magazines even though I'm trying to be on a "no shopping" regimen. It's research for work, so I justified it as being a business expense. My mission was a success and we had such a lovely afternoon at the bookstore. I hope we get to do it again real soon.

Twinkling Star Gymnastics

2012-04-12T22:39:00.002-05:00

Arielle started taking gymnastics classes at the local park district. I would have preferred starting her off in dance class, but for some reason they weren't offering it this Spring. Gymnastics is cool, too, as it will help her develop balance and coordination skills.

It's so funny because she just goes off to do her own thing as if it's one of those kiddie play zones. She pays no mind to the coach or other kids. This week she hung like a monkey on the bars, practiced jumping and landing on two feet, and did some donkey kicks. She had no interest whatsoever on doing backflips or rolls. Jeff and Zavier stayed at home, so it was kinda nice getting out and doing an activity with just me and her.

I caught some videos from her first class last week: Arielle on the balance beam and then doing her first somersault during her first class. Enjoy!

Yes, she's wearing a fancy leotard. All the other kids are just wearing their play clothes. I guess I got a little too excited and wanted to make sure she was dressed for the part. The one she was wearing today was leopard print - so cute! I'll be sure to post a picture for next time...and of course a video!

Easter 2012

2012-04-09T01:07:00.002-05:00

We had such a great Easter starting with a beautiful Easter service at Willow Creek Community Church. Easter "service" doesn't quite cut it...it was more like a production - music, videos, dancers, and a drumline. Hello?! What church has a drumline to kick off their Easter service? Besides all the theatrics, this was truly the most moving Easter I've ever experienced.

Anyway, on to the main event: EGG HUNT. We've been training Arielle all week for the Easter egg hunt. Last year she was the slowest kid of the bunch and only got 7 eggs. This year she improved by 129% and got 16 eggs! Yes, I was the mom chasing her every move with my big DSLR camera (aka "mama-razzi"). I might have gotten a little too carried away by coaching her every move and pointing to the eggs even though that was technically cheating. I apologize to all the other parents and all the parents I encounter in the future for being one of those obnoxious moms. I can't help myself.

To Arielle's credit, she did overcome quite a few obstacles on her own. She adapted to her environment - we practiced indoors, but this year's egg hunt was outdoors - so she was able to adjust and withstand the natural elements such as wind, grass, and cloudy conditions. She stayed focus despite the distractions - not from the other kids, because her training regimen included practicing with her cousin and best bud Jericho - but from the other grown ups who were trying to veer her off track. For example, Lolo Nel telling Arielle to find the Easter eggs in his nose. LOL

Love this moment

She will not be phased by the distractions

Easter Egg Huntress

Zavier & Walker

2012-04-04T21:56:00.003-05:00

...and the winner of the best 1 year old birthday gift...is the walker!

Zavier is not quite walking yet. He seems to be happy with crawling, especially since he can crawl so fast to get from point A to point B. So when we stand him up to take a few steps, he just plops down and starts crawling.

The other night I got out his walker, one of the many many gifts he got from his 1st Birthday Party/Dedication and right away he stood up and started walking around. It's so cute to see him upright and mobile. I'm sure it'll be any day now that he'll ditch the walker and go a-walkin' on his own!

Date Night at Rivers Casino/Cube

2012-04-01T16:58:00.000-05:00

Jeff's cousin's hubby had his 30th bday at Rivers Casino in Des Plaines so we met 'em up after the kids went to sleep. It wasn't a real date night or anything...it's just whenever we get to use Jeff's car (i.e., not the minivan and no babies) I feel like it's just me and him like back when we were dating.

Anyways, I was really impressed by the casino! Fresh and funky decor, spacious, free parking, cheap drinks, and they even have a little club called Cube where you can dance. Here's a tip: If there's a line to get into the club, they get out their cash register and charge people $5 to get in. Then once the line is clear, they let everyone else trickle in for free. LOL

So Jeff and I got out on the dance floor and started dancing. Since it's a rare occasion where I get to get out and dance, I simply don't care how I look. I take the phrase, "Dance like no one is watching" literally - I jump up and down, shake my butt, throw my hands up. It's a good time! Then I look over at my dance partner Jeff and his dance style is like - take a few steps, bob your head, sway from side to side. Our energy and styles do not jive whatsoever.
So I asked him, "Do I need new moves?"
Jeff replied, "Yeah you do. So do I. If I didn't know you, I'd think you dance like a cougar." I just stood there. I couldn't believe he just said that. I gave Jeff the stink eye and once he noticed my little hissy fit he said, "Good thing I know you!" and smiled as if he just paid me a nice compliment. Then we continued on dancing the night away...

On My Camera Role 4

2012-03-31T16:34:00.001-05:00

This was a pretty uneventful week. Don't get me wrong, I think that's a good thing! Sometimes it can get a little chaotic, especially after Zavier's party...we kinda needed a break from it all! Here are some photos from my camera role:

We were excited when the started clearing land for what we thought was going to be a playground for the neighborhood kids just down the street. Instead, they plopped this unnatural plastic rock structure and a picnic table. Can you say random?

... but it sure does look nice in this picture :)

Rock climbing!

My latest addiction is Draw Something - think pictionary with your friends on your phone. Here's my best work from this week:

Can you guess what these are?

On My Camera Roll 3 - Kerstinx Edition

2012-03-26T22:47:00.000-05:00

It's not actually my camera roll this time. My sis took some great pictures of us when we all went on a last minute trip for brunch in the city and a visit Lincoln Park Zoo yesterday, sans fancy camera. So here they are:

Zavier's Dedication & First Birthday Party

2012-03-26T11:56:00.000-05:00

We are so loved.

That's all I can think whenever I am in a room that is filled with our closest family and friends when they come to celebrate with us - this time it was for Zavier's Dedication and First Birthday. All the planning in the world couldn't have prepared us from the near disasters that we encountered that day (no food, car troubles, no Pastor....gasp!) but it all turned out really well and I couldn't have asked for a better event. Here are the highlights:

The owls have invaded! My vision of the owl theme turned out to be a hoot :)

We ordered the cake from Piece-a-Cake Bakery in East Dundee, IL. I absolutely loved how it was designed - with the border of the cake matching the invitations, Zavier's picture, and the owl (of course)! It was moist and fluffy chocolate cake on the inside. We served it up, but Joyce let me take home the slice with Zavier's face on it!

The handmade favor bags and goodie bags turned out to be so cute, thanks to the labor of love put in by Tita Kerstinx and myself 'til 2 am the night before. Both the favor bags and owls were inexpensive and easy to make (I got the ideas from Pinterest), but they were just painfully time consuming. We had so much fun making the owl goodie bags - and got a little crazy with making sure each owl had it's own personality. We both agreed that we get our creativity from our very smart and talented mother :)

Pastor Ryan giving a lovely Dedication service; Godparents Tiffany & Andrew Sandiego
Not pictured: Godparents Jay & Jenilee Tamanio

I have embraced the idea of the Child Dedication, which was different for me since I'm Catholic and traditionally, little babies are supposed to get Baptized. In this sense, it was Jeff and my promise before our family, friends, and God to love and care for the child God has blessed us with and raise him to know and love Jesus.

Celebrants :)

It wouldn't be a birthday party without birthday cake, now would it? We all sang Happy Birthday to Arielle first because it was really her birthday that day. She proudly stood on the table by the cake, front and center of the entire room and sang along with everyone. Then we sang for Zavier and let him dig into his smash cake!