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

Joaquin is 6 months and summer is around the corner.

Driving home after ballet.

First time eating sweet potatoes.

6 month check up.

Joaquin and his friend Alana.  Too cute!

She is so beautiful.

First day at the pool.

Things have been very busy at our house!  Where does the time go!  Joaquin is 6 months old and is sitting up and just started eating solids last week.  We started him with the usual sweet potatoes and he loved them.  It blows my mind how different boys are from girls.  Joaquin makes more of a mess then Tallulah ever did and he loves to grab things and put them in his mouth and just be more active.  He is such a boy! So far, he is not that into apples or bananas so we will see.  Joaquin is such an easy baby and is always smiling and happy.  He has been in his crib for a month and sleeps well.  He wakes up once around 2 or 3 and that is great for us! However, there have been a couple nights recently where he has been sleeping until 5.  Maybe as he eats more solids, he will sleep longer but we will see.

Joaquin just had his 6 month check up and he is 17.5 pounds and 27.25 inches long.  So he is growing but is a skinny guy but he is pretty heavy to hold so he is dense.  He is so strong so maybe it is all muscle :)

Tallulah has been loving her big girl bed and it is hard to believe she will be three in July.  She has become such a big girl and no longer a toddler.  Tallulah is starting her three year old ballet class in June and then a week of summer camp prior to starting preschool in the Fall.  She also wants to do swim and soccer but we will see.  We do not want her to be overloaded but she is so good at dance and music and also good at soccer so we will see what happens.

We have many things planned for the next months.  Mother's Day, Aaron's birthday, Father's Day, Auntie Andrea and Uncle Jeremy's baby shower for our little niece, Tallulah's birthday, our 10 year anniversary wedding celebration and then a couple vacations planned for August and September.  The time will go by fast but we are excited about all these awesome things to come.

One of the bigger things is that we are taking Tallulah to Disneyland for the first time coming up soon! Abuela and Auntie are watching Joaquin so we can spend the day with her at Disneyland.  Aaron and I are so excited to experience Disneyland through the eyes of Tallulah.  It will be such wonderful day.

We hope you are all happy and well.

Love,
The Bravos

Preschool Here We Come!

5 Months Old

Joaquin is always happy.

Happy Easter!

All dressed for Ballet but Joaquin still stuck in his pjs!

Beautiful Pregnant Auntie and Joaquin on Easter

She found all the eggs!

Happy Spring!  We hope you all had a nice holiday.  Tallulah and Joaquin woke up to a visit from the Easter Bunny.  He hid all the eggs we made and ate the carrots that Tallulah left out.  When she woke up and looked out her window, she could not believe she saw the hidden eggs.  Easter Sunday was a great day.  We spent it at Abuela's house with our family and ate yummy Chiliquillas, followed by marshmallow brownies that Uncle Jeremy had made.

Tallulah got all kinds of fun things to play with like cool tree bark color pencils, a mini princess doll, a wooden egg from The White House and some fun princess bubbles.  Joaquin got a new book and fun baby ball, all of which he loves to put in his mouth.

Joaquin is 5 months old and amazes us how alert he is and how much he loves to look around and see what is going on.  He is so ready to run and play with his big sister but he is not quite there yet. He adores Tallulah and is always trying to get her attention.  It is the sweetest thing.  Today Tallulah told me that Joaquin was a prince and she was a princess and she was falling in love with him.  Then the other day, she woke up from her nap and kept pretending to eat his arm and I have never heard Joaquin laugh so much.

We are excited that we picked the preschool that Tallulah will be starting in the Fall.  It is called Sandy Hill and it is in Solana Beach.  We love it and Tallulah fit right in.  When we went to look at it, Tallulah made herself at home and joined right in to dance to the music class and paint the art project.  The school is so beautiful and sits on top of a hill with views of the ocean.  It is like a giant tree house with classrooms on different layers of the hill.  It is play based and they have so many amazing things going on with the children.  Tallulah was very happy being there and we loved that it was a cooperative preschool so it has a lot of parent involvement.  It is hard to believe she is starting preschool already.  That seemed so far away and now it is here.

Other then that, things are great and busy.  We are gearing up for many of Tallulah's friend's birthday parties in the next few months, along with more ballet lessons, swim lessons and a short week of summer camp.  Tallulah will be busy while Joaquin will be growing.  Soon he will be sitting up and eating solids and that is going to be a big moment!

We hope you are all healthy and happy!

Love,
The Bravos

Joaquin's Four Month Check up

Those darn Leprechauns

Almost 5 months old

Feather Acres Farm

Love this!

Well, Joaquin is closer to 5 months then 4 months but his 4 month check up was delayed due to his cold. Today, we had his check up.  Joaquin is 26 inches long (64%), 14.14 pounds (22%) and head is 44 cm (81%).  He is also one strong guy with his head and neck ability plus he is rolling over so that is great.
So we know that he is not super long like he was at birth and is a little guy with his weight.  He may be long and lean like Tallulah or short and lean like his Papa. Who knows! One thing is for sure, is that he is pretty white like his mama and seems to have light eyes that we think will stay hazelish.

Joaquin has also been very busy rolling over from his back to his belly and he loves it.  We are amazed how strong he is.  Soon he will be sitting up and eating solids, which is hard to believe.

On St. Patrick's Day, Tallulah was excited to see that leprechauns visiting our house while we were sleeping.  She could not believe the mess the made while they were looking for gold.

Yesterday, I took Tallulah and Joaquin to Feather Acre farms in Del Mar.  It was the coolest place.  Tallulah loved riding the pony, feeding the goats and checking out the guinea pigs.  We loved it so much that we booked it for her birthday party.  It is a beautiful farm with amazing picnic areas and lots of spots for kids to explore!  She is going to love it.

Other then that, we are getting ready for Easter and all things Spring.  Things are busy for us but going great.

We hope you are all healthy and happy!

Love,
The Bravos

We had to get sick eventually!

Poor sick Joaquin

Tallulah and her princess Joaquin

Grace and Tallulah at ballet

We are often spoiled in our house and rarely get sick. Many toddlers seem like they have a constant runny nose but Tallulah has had a few colds and never got sick as a baby. Poor Joaquin will not have that same luxury! Tallulah had a small and brief cold last week and I prayed it would not hit Joaquin but it did! Having a four month old with a cold is not fun! He was so miserable and had a hard time breathing and sleeping. He ended up with an ear infection. Our doctor told me to prepare because when you have a toddler in the house, the baby is sure to get sick but in the long run it builds up their   immune system.
Joaquin is doing much better now but we are still in need of catching up on our sleep. Hopefully, all will be better soon.  On a lighter note, Tallulah kicked butt on potty training and is happy to be in "big girl undies". It was pretty easy with her because she was ready. That was the key to success.

Grandma Milanna was here a couple weeks ago for a fun visit.  Tallulah had so much fun playing with her and loved the princess crowns that she brought for her.  It was so great to have her here and see the growth in both our beautiful children.

In other news, I am working very part time from home for an amazing natural foods startup called Earnest Eats. I am helping them with some marketing initiatives. They are a great team to be a part of.

Tallulah started her next round of ballet class and soon we will be looking at swimming lessons. I think spring is coming and warm weather is coming. Other then that things are good and happy for our wonderful little family.

Lots of fun in Ojai and potty training here we come!

Favorite park in Ojai, look at those mountains in the back!

Our valentine with her new valentine baby (Lyla Mitchell has one just like it)

Valentine Dress

More amazing photos from Leah

It is hard to believe that March is almost here but I am anxious for spring!  Joaquin will be four months next week and he is blossoming like crazy.  He loves to talk and is busy trying to roll over. I think he would have done it by now if he could just keep his fingers out of his mouth!

Last weekend, we went to Ojai and we had a great time.  We were a bit nervous since we rent a little cottage and we all sleep in one room but it was super fun and Tallulah and Joaquin did awesome.  It helped that Tallulah slept in her pack and play.  She barely fit in it but she liked it.  We really love it in Ojai. It is what we imagined Encinitas being like way back when.  It is a magical place for us.

Tallulah just got her big girl bed and mattress so know we just need to paint it and get it set up in her room.  She is very excited about the new bed.  This weekend is also official potty training weekend.  Tallulah has been using the potty for awhile now but still using a diaper since we have not had time to focus on total potty time so this weekend is the official showdown.  She is excited about wearing her big girl undies and seems anxious to do it this weekend so we think it will be great.

On Monday, Grandma Milanna is coming for a visit which will be a nice treat.  We have not seen her since Joaquin was three weeks so it will be fun for her to see how much he and Tallulah have grown.

Our next report hopefully we will be successful one of "no more diapers" for Tallulah and an update from Joaquin's 4 month check up.

Much love,
The Bravos

Tallulah's first trip to the dentist

Leah's amazing family photo.

Look at that face.  She is going to be trouble.

Tallulah's first dental cleaning.

Silly siblings.

Handsome guy.

Last Monday, Tallulah had her first trip to the dentist.  It was her first dental exam and cleaning and she did amazing!  We made sure that we explained everything that was going to happen and made sure she had a fun experience.  The pediatric dentist we went to did an excellent job and Tallulah had a lot of fun.  We are proud that she is now in the "No cavity club" and we will continue to teach her good brushing skills and flossing.  Her teeth are already pretty crowed so it is likely she will have braces some day but hopefully no extractions!  At the end of the appointment, Tallulah was happy to pick a sticker and a cool princess wand.  Her teeth sparkled for the rest of the day.

Over the weekend, we were so lucky to have our wonderful friend Leah, take family pictures of us.  We took them at the botanical gardens which was the perfect back drop.  Leah is so talented and she captured us beautifully.  Aaron and I could not believe how amazing the pictures turned out.  We have only seen a few but look forward to seeing more.

Valentine's day is this week and we have some special things planned for our family.  I think we will do a special Valentine's dinner with our sweet children. Tallulah has a special Valentine dress that she is anxious to wear.  It is inspired by her Pinkalicous Valentine book.  She had been busy making Valentines for her friends and has been so happy to receive some Valentines from her friends.  In particular, the cutest Valentine from Miles Landman.  It came to her in the mail yesterday and was full of a kiss from him. 

Joaquin is growing like crazy and is so close to rolling over.  Hopefully in this next week, he will accomplish his goal and make it over.  We think his eyes are going to stay light so we love that because it is a little piece of me!

We hope you have a wonderful week full of love and joy.

Love,
The Bravos