13 years ago today

13 years ago I was 17 going on a date with this skinny, cute, and sweet guy.  Who would have thought that 13 years later I would be calling him my husband.  We grew together from teenagers to adults with careers and a little person that depends on us.  At 17, I never imagined that we would move away from family and friends just a week after we got married.  Live happily in a far and foreign land, Raleigh, NC (LOL) just the two of us.  We traveled to fun places and we started our careers in Raleigh.  And after being together 10+ years and married 4+ Nicolas was born.  Nicolas has made us a stronger couple, better people and is teaching us how to be the best parents. 

And now after 13 years we are back in Florida closer to family but it is still just Leo and me (and Nicolas and Pebbles).

So this is dedicated to the first Love of My Life, my husband, the father our child, and my best friend.


Lakeland, FL Nov. 2011


Jamaica Sept. 2009


Raleigh, NC Summer 2007

Love you Gordis!

Iheartfaces: Mommy's choice

I've been in a terrible slump lately but this has to be my favorite picture of Nic this summer summer.  Nic is 2.5 years old and I'm loving every minute of him.  This summer we have spent a lot of time outdoors and here he is just hamming in up.  And yes he is not wearing pants.  It is too hot in FL.

To see more great entries click below!

Family Vacation 2011-Cruise

To celebrate our 7 year anniversary we decided to pack up and go on a cruise with Nic.  We decided a 5 day cruise was long enough to be gone but just the right amount with an active toddler.

We spent Labor Day weekend down in Miami hanging out with friends and family.  Nic and Juan hit it off when we went for lunch.  Aren't they the cutest!



We left on Labor Day, Sept 5th.  Nic loved the view from the ship and our little room. It was cozy and the perfect size for the 3 of us. 



The first day was spent on the ship.  We ate, played in the pool, ate some more, napped, back to the pool, ate, ate and ate.

The first stop on the trip was Turks & Caicos.  It was a beautiful sunny day and we spend it on the beach. 



The second stop was Half Moon Cay and it was amazing. The beach was beautiful, the water was warm and shallow, and it was all to ourselves (and the rest of the members in the cruise LOL).






Our last stop was Nassau, Bahamas.  We took a ferry boat to Blue Lagoon Island.  Another day of just swimming and enjoying the sunny weather.


1st post baby bikini outing.


Goodbye Bahamas!



We had a great time relaxing and spending time as a family.  Nic was great.  He loved the boat, the pool, the beach, everything.

To many more family vacations!

To see the entire set and some of Nic click here

Have a great week and September if I don't get back to blogging this month. 
Natalia S.

Happy 2.5th Birthday Nic!

2.5 years ago today Nic was born.  I remember going through the first 6 months of Nic's life wishing I could fast forward time.  But sometime around the year mark, I stopped feeling this.  I cherish each milestone and each month and at 2.5 years it is only going faster. It seems that I'm always tired and can barely keep the house afloat but today I wanted to make celebrate Nic's 2.5 birthday.

It was pouring and I picked up Nic at 5pm and went to Target to get some cake mix to make him celebratory cupcakes.  We got soaked but we got the stuff for the cupcakes.



The ingredients


Mixing the batter


Counting how many cupcakes we are going to make


Watching them bake


Blowing out the candles


And a few with Mami




He was so happy with his cupcakes and so was I.  They were delish. 

Happy 1/2 Birthday Nicolas, I love you more than you will ever know. 

Until the next post
N@
ps-please excuse the crappy shots but the memory is more important than the quality.

Long time no post

I think it has been over a month without an update.  I feel like I've neglected my blog and photography but I still pick up my camera weekly and read other people's blog (LOL).  Life is catching up and after a long day at work and spending time with Nic the last thing I want to do is edit pictures and sit in front of a computer. 

I still have not gone through the 800+ pics from Napa/San Francisco.  I did post the first day of our trip on picasa. 

Instead of sharing the ones that are technically right, I'll share the silly ones from the first day. 


My sister, Caro, and BFF, T, waiting to be picked up.  I gave them the wrong description of the car, oops!

The best combo cheezits and champaign. (LOL)


Me acting silly!

And one of T & Caro resting up.  We were tired after a cross country flight.

I'll hopefully finish editing my trip pics soon but don't hold your breath!

N@

Zebra , popsicle sticks and toilet paper rolls

what?  How are these related.  I've been wanting to have a craft day with Nic but I'm 1) totally not creative and not artistic and 2) limited time.  But last week we did one of our first art projects one evening.  We made a zebra out of toilet paper rolls, popsicle sticks, and construction paper.

Here are the pictures.  Not beautiful but Nic liked it and that is all that mattered.

The materials

Nic is concentrating on the project ahead

He is comparing the zebra to the model we found online.

The final product

Nic admiring our work

I'm going to try to do one of these at least once every 2 weeks. What do you think does it look more like a cow? LOL

N@

I'm tired, back from vacation

I should not complain that I'm tired b/c I got back from my girls only vacation on Monday but traveling always takes a lot of of me.  Especially after a long week at work and a very active toddler.  I'll do a few blog posts about my girls only vacation but for today I'll just post one of the few shots I pulled off my memory stick.

This is one of the first pics that I took when we (Carolina-sis, T-bff, and I) arrived in San Francisco.  The fog was thick that day and cold but I think this is normal.



Here is one of us three.



All we have from the trip is memories and some awesome pics.

The first is not technically a sky shot but I'm going to link up to Skywatch Friday anyway!

Have a great weekend!