Official announcement of baby 2 due Sept 15

Well, after going back and forth on if and when we should have another child, we tossed many theories around. One of them being we want Gabby to have a sibling so bad! That's only fair to her! We still weren't sure when though until our good friends came to visit us with their sweet little Isabella, a true princess like Gabby! They enjoyed doing girly things and they laughed and giggled so much and hugged and kissed! They didn't want to leave each other. They had so much fun laughing and jumping up and down. It was the night they left we realized gabby needs that out of a sibling. The type of fun she had with Isabella was like none other. It was very energetic and fun! Personalities busted out and these two were unstoppable! So needless to say, Christmas Eve was our first time "trying" and what do u know! Things happened! 4 weeks later I took a test that showed positive and was soooooo excited!! Gabby and I drove to Andres' office to share the news, although he already suspected it! Lol. It was a very happy day! Today I'm almost 13 weeks and finally getting better. I had severe hyperemesis for a few weeks in the beginning, but that has eased up significantly! Thank The Lord! Yesterday was our NT ultrasound and everything was perfect!! Although its still early to tell, the tech said she's got a pretty strong idea it's a girl. The legs and arms were moving and it was sooooo sweet!! We will know for sure by 20 weeks though. Either way, just want a happy healthy bundle of joy! Well, that's all I have at this point. Ill add more content as it comes. Good night y'all! Xoxo😘

Gabbys 1st haircut

Wow! I was dreading this day for so long! Its hard to believe that little head of peach fuzz was now long enough to need a trim. How time flies! She was a perfect girl for her hair cut and she didn't do it without an audience of course! By her side snapping pics left and right was of course Mommy and Daddy, Grandma (Mimi), Grandpa (Papa), Aunt Brooke, and Uncle Luke. She was a star sitting there in the chair with her blue cape on. Her precious locks now curl slightly under with bangs off to the side. She looks even more like a Princess now! She is becoming such a big girl! This little diva likes her hair done and her nails manicured. Seems like we have our hands full for what's ahead, but I love pampering my little Princess! She's the best!!

Gabbys 1st birthday

Gabby's 1st birthday
Wow, I am sooooo behind on here! I decided my long over due post would have to be nothing other than my sweet little girl's first birthday! We planned this day for months and it was beyond a success! Being that Gabby was almost 6 months old when we moved to St. Louis, it was only appropriate that we have a party in Florida and Missouri. I'll start with the Florida party since it was the big tadoo! We woke up at Grandmas and opened presents with Aunt Brooke and Uncle Luke. We spent the day getting ready for her big party. With a reservation in the clubhouse at the wonderful Tortoise Island of Satellite Beach, we had the second floor over looking the water with almost 70 people. The room was decortaed top to bottom with Minnie Mouse and pink, light pink and black decorations. It was a beautiful set up with lots of food and drinks, not to mention the "cake table". AAAhhhh, the cake table! Something I put so much thought into! Nothing other than a 4 tier fondant Minnie Mouse cake would do! In the center of the table surrounded by pink and black candies, candles, balloons, and a ceramic Minnie figurine, it was quite the set up. Next to the much elaborate cake table was the gift table, which was full including presents on the floor. I realized then Gabby was quite the popular baby! All dressed up in her custom made Minnie onsie with her name on it and matching black tutu with a pink ribbon and Minnie ears on her head, she was the cutest little birthday girl I had ever seen! Walking up the gorgeous staircase into the all done up room, was a table with Gabby's one year photo with a sign in sheet for everyone to wish the special girl a very happy birthday! Once everyone ate and had time to chat, we moved on to have everyone around the dance floor while we sat Gabby in the center and surrounded her with career related items in a circle all around her. We all watched to see which item she would go to, inevitably predetermining her future career. Making her Mommy proud, she went to the dog, which tells me she will be following in her Momma's foot steps in the veterinary field. (#proudmamma) After this fun activity, we decided it was CAKE time! Gabby sat in the high chair while we handed her the 4th tier of the cake, Minnie's ears with a pink bow on top. She was very systematic about the procedure. She took the fondant ears off piece by piece, then the bow, then thought carefully before diving into the delicous cake. We kind of had to coax her fingers into the cake since she doesn't like getting dirty. Once those little fingers were in, she was sold! Cake was everywhere! This was the moment I had waited for. Seeing my 1 year old dive into her smash cake was so bittersweet! My baby is growing up, but how cute is she with her smash cake all over her face!? After several hours of the best one year old birthday, we wrapped things up and headed home to get all nestled in bed. It was such an exhausting day for the little princess! I sat next to her as she slept, staring at her in disbelief that it was the day of her 1 year birthday! It was so surreal I had tears in my eyes. This was one of the best days of my life!

Gabby's first Easter

Gabby's first Easter was quite the day! Aunt Brooke and Lucas came in town to spend Easter weekend with us in St. Louis. We all four came downstairs with Gabby to see what the Easter bunny had left for her. We found a huge basket of 14 outfits and a book from Grandma Judy and Uncle Rob, a giant stuffed bunny from Grandma Monica and Grandpa Juan, a very large basket from Aunt Brooke and Lucas with pajamas and snacks, and of course the Easter bunny's basket full of toys, pajamas, and other things. After going through all her baskets, which felt like Christmas by the way, we hunted for money filled eggs that were all over from the front yard to inside to the backyard. I'd say she had a great Easter if you ask me. We literally went all over St. Louis for eating and walking around. Easter morning, we had a very elegant brunch at the Missouri Botanical Gardens followed by a long walk around the Gardens and even some play time at the kid center. Needless to say, Aunt Book had to climb the logs and ropes and run to the top of the fort! That's why she is the best aunt ever though! Gabby will have a big sister in her "Aunt Book". After leaving the gardens and feeling exhausted from the food, the walking and even the kiddie play area, we found ourselves at Park Avenue Coffee having a latte and gooey butter cake on the back patio. BTW, this place has been featured on Food Network. It is quite amazing! After getting home from all the Easter excitement, it was time for Aunt Book and Luke to head back to Chicago. :( They left for Chi, and the three of us decided to take ourselves a well needed nap which was followed by a stroll around the neighborhood and a visit to the neighborhood park where Gabby got to swing! :) Looking forward to many more first holidays with our Princess!

Our first anniversary

Our first anniversary was an amazing day and such a success, well, kind of. You will hear why at the end. When we woke up that morning, we walked downstairs and there i found a huge bouquet of blue hydrangeas, the flowers we chose for our wedding, my favorite bottle of Chanel, a right hand ring with the birthstone of our wedding month and my favorite color, purple (amethyst), and the sweetest card I have ever read! We had breakfast at First Watch, followed by our usual Gymboree class on Sundays. After Gymboree class we headed downtown and took pictures by the Arch on the water. It was so beautiful! Our next adventure was to the incredible Missouri Botanical Gardens where we walked around the entire park laughing and holding hands as if we just started dating! We got some great photos at the gardens and kept saying how lucky we were to be able to spend our day at such a gorgeous place! This place is like paradise! After this romantic adventure comes our not so successful, but kind of funny situation. My husband had a surprise location for dinner that I was not supposed to know about until we arrived. Well, half way there I knew where we were going, India Palace! This was the place we ate at during the time when we came here for his interview. It's an intoxicating atmosphere filled with authentic Indian Food and views of the runway at the airport on the 11th floor of a hotel. I am beyond excited that this is the chosen place. We run to the hotel from the car freezing our behinds off, get on the elevator, hit number 11, the doors open and BAM! Steel bars saying they are closed for super bowl! We both stood there like deer in the headlights! After several minutes of disappointment, we decided to drive to Ruth's Chris. Twenty minutes later, we arrive in Clayton only to find that Ruth's Chris was also closed for super bowl. OMG!!! We were ready to go to Mickey D's at this point and cry on the way home! At this point, I pulled out the iphone and put Urban Spoon to use. I found a 5 star restaurant on the same street that had great reviews, so we figured we would give it a shot! After terrible service and even worse food, we couldn't help but laugh at this point. I thought our night was complete at this point and was expecting to drive home to see our baby who was being watched by his parents. I soon realized we were driving in a different direction than that our house. I was so confused! Next thing I know we are downtown on Washington Ave. Not sure what to expect, I keep asking, "What are we doing?" So, we park and i looked in front of me and see a hookah bar! Yay!! Something we have not been able to do since Gabby was born, but it used to be our favorite thing to do for fun. We sat at the hookah bar with one of the best hookahs ever made! We continued talking and enjoying each others conversation until all of a sudden the streets went nuts and people were screaming. We realized the super bowl was over and the drunks were going nuts! It was time to go home. Exhausted from such an eventful day, we drove home to see our little angel nestled in bed with her blankey. Such a sweet thing to come home to! So, this sums up our first anniversary.

My first post

Finally posting to new blog after a week in Chicago with Andres and Gabby. Andres was there for work, so Gabby and I found ourselves at the mall every day on some pretty amazing shopping extravaganzas! We even stopped in for a photo shoot in the mall to get some Valentine's Day pictures of Gabby. Being the little diva that she is, Gabby loved every minute in front of the camera, which led to some pretty incredible and memorable photographs. We surprised Andres with the photos when he got out of work. He was so excited!! We are back home now and enjoying time with the inlaws. They came in the night we got back and I had no idea. My husband planned it out for them to be here all weekend for our  first wedding anniversary on Sunday, Feb 5th, so we have a baby sitter for our special night he has planned for the two of us. Details on that to come! ;)

Welcome!

Welcome to Sweet Tea & Sippy Cups!