The holidays are upon us!

Bates Pumpkin Farm

Perfect little Frida

Family fun!

Joaquin's handsome look for his 1st birthday.

Julien eating yummy pizza.

He is 1!

Pumpkin carving our huge pumpkin!

Joaquin's birthday present

I cannot believe it has been over a month since I posted.  Wow, the time has flown by and so much has been going on. Joaquin just celebrated his 1st birthday which was awesome and he started walking today.  It had a longer nap then usual and then woke up and just started walking around the house.  It is the cutest thing ever and Tallulah gets so excited for him.
Joaquin had a wonderful little family party at our house with all the cousins, aunts and uncles and grandmas.  It was perfect.  He was so happy playing with all his new cars and just happy to be playing with everyone.
After his birthday, we celebrate Halloween.  Tallulah was the more amazing Frida Kahlo and I was her paint palette.  Aaron was black beard the pirate and Joaquin was his treasure chest.  It was a great night in downtown Encinitas trick or treating.  Then on Saturday, we went to Julian with the family to celebrate Joaquin's birthday with some pie and ice cream.  It was a beautiful day in Julian.  There was a lot of people but it was a fun day.

Tallulah has been in preschool for over two months and she loves it.  Her teacher, Miss Lisa, adores Tallulah and is always praising Tallulah for being so kind and nurturing and for always being a wonderful communicator.  Tallulah has grown so much since attending school, it has been special to witness this growth.

Tallulah and Joaquin have become such a sister and brother team.  They play together, they protect each other, they even argue at times.  It is pretty awesome! I cannot wait for them to get older and really form a special bond.  You can tell they already are so close, even they are so young.

We also welcomed cousin Stella into the world in September and Tallulah is totally in love with her.  I think she is excited to have another baby girl in the family.  Tallulah dreams of the day when she can babysit her.  Stella is the sweetest and Auntie and Uncle Jeremy are already amazing parents.

The next few weeks are pretty busy with school functions, a trip to Disneyland and Thanksgiving.  Lots of fun things ahead with the holidays!

Much love to you all,
The Bravos

The start of preschool and a family trip to Orcas Island.

Back to school shopping

Special summer treat on a hot day

First day of school. Treetops is her classroom.

Orcas Island

Orcas Island

Making friends on Orcas Island

It is hard to believe it but Tallulah started preschool last week at Sandy Hill with Ms. Lisa. I remember when Tallulah was a baby and I started Googling preschools to get a feel of what was out there but preschool seemed so far away at that time, even though that memory seems like yesterday.

Of course Tallulah loves it and is a happy and social girl. She has become an instant helper and has made friends quickly. Her class is full of wonderful kids and supportive parents. Since, the school is a co-op, there is a lot of parent involment and many fun events coming up. It is going to be an exciting year for Tallulah.

While Tallulah is becoming a school girl, Joaquin is busy enjoying his days exploring while big sister is at school. He is super close to walking and it is crazy to think that he will be 1 next month.

We also just had an amazing trip to Orcas Island for our close friends, Nick and Leah's wedding. We rented a condo and Aaron's mom came with us to help out with the kids so we could attend the wedding kid free. She was a huge help and we were so happy to share the trip with here. Very special memories for us.

Orcas was so beautiful. It was a long trip getting there but the kids were awesome and the trip was worth it. We hope to go back when they are older.

Coming up soon is the arrival of Stella Abrams, Tallulah and Joaquin's cousin, so we are excited about that.

Happy Fall!

Love,
The Bravos

Preschool camp, 9 month check up, swim lessons as summer is nearing an end.

Tallulah's cubby

First day of Preschool camp.  Look at this kitty.

Yummy beets. Look at those teeth.  Two top and two bottom.

They are starting to play together.  Love this!

We took Tallulah on a day date to Balboa Park.  No Joaquin, just our girl.

It is hard to think that we are almost to mid August. We have been pretty busy these last couple weeks.  Last week, Tallulah had a two day summer camp at her soon to be preschool, Sandy Hill.  She went Tuesday and Thursday from 9-1:00pm and she totally loved it.  She basically pushed Aaron and I goodbye, she was so excited to be there.  When we picked her up after her first day, all she kept saying was how happy she was and how much fun she had.  Needless to say, she cannot wait until preschool starts after labor day.

While I missed her very much and got teary eyed when we left her, it was nice to have some time with Joaquin.  I think he missed big sister, as he kept looking for her but he did enjoy being able to roam free and play with all the toys he wanted with out big sister pestering him.

Tallulah has also been blasting it with swim lessons which were a birthday present from Abuela.  She is taking them with her friend Sydney, at Abuela's pool.  There is a wonderful retired teacher that lives there, named Ms. Elizabeth and she teaches swim lessons. It is awesome how much confidene Tallulah has gained since starting and has only had 6 lessons. She is no longer afraid to get her face wet and loves jumping in the pool and going under.  It is a great thing to watch.  

Tallulah is also still busy with her ballet and tap and is contiunting with it this month which was a birthday present from Grandma.  Then in the fall, Tallulah will start the semester long ballet and will be having a performance at the end of the year.  Lots to look forward to.


Tallulah had her 3 year old check up recently and Joaquin had his 9 month check up today. They are doing great and here are their stats.

Tallulah is 3 feet, 2.5 inches, 82% and weighs 33 pounds, 72%.  Joaquin is 28 inches, 29.75%, weighs 19 pounds, 35.62% and his head is 47cm, 89.40%.  So Tallulah is tall and lean while Joaquin is a little guy with a big head and pretty strong and mighty I must say.  He keeps us busy, crawling everywhere and getting more brave on trying to stand on his own.  I think he will walk by 11months, that is my prediction. He also had his two bottom teeth and his two top teeth and I think more are on their way.

Which will be just in time for our big trip to the Orcas Islands for our good friends wedding.  It will be a fun family trip for all. Then after that, the birth of cousin Stella should arrive shortly after.

Lots of love and fun for us!  Hope you are all well.

Love,
The Bravos

Where did July go?!

10 years! Thank you Leah for this amazing shot!

Rainbow Party!

Birthday Girl

Cousin Julien

The Cousins

Birthday Girl

So wonderful.

It is hard to believe that July is days from being over and summer is half way over.  Where did the time go?  Last summer was crazy hot and this summer has been super mild and the water is already cooling down. I wonder if we will get any heats waves this summer or maybe in the Fall.

July was feel of great things.  After the Fourth of July, we celebrated a very important birthday. Tallluah turned 3 and she was so excited about it!  On her birthday, she was surprised with tons of balloons, fun presents, dinner at Wahoos with her family and three candles to blow out on her yummy chocolate cupcakes.  She was one happy girl and her favorite present was her Cinderella Glass Slipper Shoes.

A few days later, we celebrated with Tallulah's birthday party at Feather Acres farm. It was a Rainbow theme party and it turned out perfect.  I had lots of help from my wonderful family.  A huge thanks to Abuela, Auntie and Grandma.  Tallulah had such a beautiful birthday because she is surrounded by so much love.

The day after the party, Aaron and I renewed our wedding vows after ten years of marriage!  Our loving friend, Jonathan lead the ceremony down at Beacon's beach and then our dear friends Nick and Leah, hosted a party at their house to celebrate the occassion.  It was very special to renew our love for each other but to also share it with all our wonderful friends who we did not know ten years ago.  The other nice surprise was that Aaron's brother Rich and his wife Sara surprised us and drove down from up North.  It was so awesome to have them here with our nephew Julien.

It has been a busy month and now we are gearing up for Tallulah's summer camp at her preschool then the start of preschool.  Joaquin is 9 months old and busy blasting it and crawling everywhere and talking like crazy.  August will be a bit more mellow and we hope to have some beach time soon.

Happy Summer!

Love,
The Bravos

Happy Fourth of July!

Fourth of July at Beacons.

Fourth of July at Beacons.

Chivos at the Fair.

Family shot at Mediation Gardens.

Happy Fourth of July!

First of all, I cannot believe it is July!  Summer is half way over!

Last weekend, I was the host to Auntie Andrea and Uncle Jeremy's baby shower for little Stella.  It was a beautiful day at Moonlight Beach lookout.  Aaron and I kicked butt and made awesome cupcakes.  Aaron's first time doing all the piping with the frosting and they turned out pretty good for beginners!

The shower was a success but afterwards Joaquin and I were hit with a cold.  Joaquin ended up with a yucky ear infection and I had a sinus cold but we all got well, just in time for the Fourth of July.

The weather was so grey and cloudy the last couple days before the Fourth but it ended up being the perfect beach day to celebrate the Fourth of July.  We spent it at Beacon's beach, where we have been going for the last 8 years.  I love setting traditions! 

The next couple weeks are full of great things for our family.  Tallulah is turning 3 next week and her big party is coming up soon!  Also, Aaron and I will be renewing our wedding vows for our 10 year anniversary.

We look forward to a month of celebrations!

Happy Summer!

Love,
The Bravos

For Aaron's birthday, Joaquin gifted him with crawling!

Happy Birthday Papa.

Homemade by Tallulah.

Memorial Day Boogie Boarding

She means business at the beach.

Stunning day at the Swami's gardens.

Days before the crawling began.

Tallulah and her girls, Grace, Ruby and Frankie.

It is hard to believe that at 7 months of age, Joaquin has started to crawl!  However, I say that and I am actually not surprised. He is always anxious to move and wants to keep up with his big sister and I thought this weekend might be the weekend, he tried to crawl and after spending the day with Auntie and Uncle, Joaquin blasted it.

Now, he is not crawling everywhere yet but he is slowly getting the hang of it and has started to realize how he can get things faster if he crawls so I give him by the end of the week and I am sure he will be moving fast everywhere.  Safety gates will be back in full force!

This weekend, we celebrated Aaron's birthday.  On Saturday, we got to have a date and go to the movies and see The Great Gatsby which we loved then on Sunday, we had a great family brunch at Eclipse Chocolate which is super yummy.  Tallulah also made Aaron a wonderful chocolate cake, a prince crown and a special card. I asked our good friend Peter to make him some of his pottery and he made Aaron an amazing jug and mug.

Tallulah started her three year old ballet class and loves having it be just "bigger" girls.  It is so fun to watch her grow and love music and dance.

It is hard to believe her birthday is next month.  The time goes by so fast.

Next weekend is Father's day and we are hoping for a sunny day at the beach.  Aaron gets two weekend in a row of fun celebrations.

We look forward to it!.

Love,
The Bravos

Oh what a life!

It is hard to believe that June is here and summer is on its way! Joaquin just turned 7 months and he is trying to crawl and grab everything! Tallulah will be three next month and we are excited about her big birthday party. She keeps asking when it is, she is excited.

Her favorite things right now are ballet, singing, being a princess, going to "her wedding" and being a big girl. She is full of tons of conversation and I love her at this age. She starts her three year old ballet next week and it will be great to see her advance in her learning since she loves it so much.

A few weeks ago, we took Tallulah to Disneyland for the first time. It was so magical. She loved the princesses, It's a small world and the Tiki room. We cannot wait to take her again.

Last weekend, our good friends Peter and Jenny were here and we ad our first beach day to kick off summer. Tallulah and Joaquin were so happy in the sand.

Mother's Day was special with a big family brunch and Father's Day is coming up, along with Aaron's birthday and Uncle Jeremy's and Auntie Andrea's baby shower.

So much fun for the summer.

We hope to see you all soon.

Love,
The Bravos