Birthday Cake - Take 1

I stopped by Bella's classroom today at lunch and brought cupcakes for her and her classmates. Since Bella won't be having her birthday cake (courtesy of Nana) until Saturday, I had to make sure she got at least a cupcake on her actual birthday. Side note: unfortunately, I wasn't completely prepared. I left the candle at home and forgot to bring her custom-made birthday hat. Oh well. Not sure it would have mattered. Attempt #1 at birthday cake was pretty much a failure. The evidence below...

Happy 1st Birthday, Bella!

Today is a very bittersweet day. Our little princess turns 1 year old today. I cannot believe how quickly the last 365 days have gone. I still vividly recall the happenings of July 28, 2008. As I type this, I chuckle because at this time last year I was most likely begging for my epidural! July 28th, 2008 was the absolute best day of my life! By 4:02 pm that day, I got to meet the love of my life, Isabella Grace Aguilar.


I still remember meeting her for the first time. I was a bit delirious (thanks to the magnesium drip!) but I remember them laying her on my stomach just after she was born. She was still all goopy, but I didn't mind! I couldn't wait to touch her and hold her! She was so wide-eyed...taking everything in. I remember saying "Thank you, God" over and over again and then "Happy Birthday, baby". What a fantastic day it was. Our lives changed in an instant.

















Watching the transformation of me and Sean from husband and wife to mommy and daddy has been a treat! We aren't experts and we still have a ton to learn, but it has been amazing to watch us go from an incomplete family of two to a completely whole family of three! Bella has completed my life and has enriched it way more than I ever could have imagined. Watching her grow this last year has been the absolute greatest blessing! One smile, one giggle from her completely transforms me. I can get lost in her for hours and hours. She is the one thing that can make me forget my worries and troubles. She saves me!

















































So on this very special day, I remember what life was like before her arrival and I praise God for the life I have with her. I cannot imagine a life without her in it. I am so blessed to be her mommy and I love her more than I could ever describe in words. I can't wait to spend my lifetime watching her grow. Her dreams are limitless, and I will do whatever I can to make sure her dreams come true.













































What a difference a year makes!
















































































HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETHEART!! This has been the absolute BEST year of my life.

Bella...just because

My $13 purse...

Went shopping at Target yesterday and found myself amidst the purses. I'd been looking for a new purse for a while, but didn't want to spend a fortune on one (okay...who am I kidding. I'd LOVE to spend a fortune on one. However, I don't currently HAVE a fortune so that left me looking for a cheap purse!).

Anyway...came across the most adorable purse, and just my style. And the bargain basement price? $13.98.

Not even Sean could complain!

Bella discovers her cabinet...

On the advice of my mom, I made one of the built-in cabinets in the kitchen "Bella accessible". In other words, I stocked it full of plastic bowls and lids...that way, if/when she discovered it, it wouldn't hurt her (or me!) if she explored and played.

It was only a matter of time before she discovered her cabinet. Yesterday, she found it and went to town. I'll admit that the anal side of me was a bit unnerved watching the bowls and lids get scattered across the floor, but that was soon tossed aside (no pun intended!) as I watched my little angel have a ball playing with bowls and lids. It was quite enjoyable!!

Our living room is BACK!!!

Friday afternoon, the floor gods came to our house and cleaned our saltillo tile entryway, kitchen and living room. We had been living in construction dust central since June 1, so the floors were quite dirty and gross! I wouldn't even walk through the house without shoes because it was just nasty! So Thursday night, Sean and I cleared the living room of all furniture and Friday we came home to this:

Look how SHINY it is?! Even Sean gasped when he walked in. Our floor guys do a fantastic job!!

And on Friday night, after we put Bella to bed, Sean and I loaded the living room back up with all the furniture and "stuff" and by Saturday, we had our living room back. Here it is, once again, in all its glory:

And...we're done!

Phew! What a trying 6 weeks it has been. I know, I know...we are lucky that it only took 6 weeks for everything to be done (which was less than what they predicted at the start) but I am very, VERY ready to get our house back.

The painters we hired to paint all of the doors and to paint the living room/entry way finished up yesterday. Today the floor cleaning company is coming by to deep clean and then seal the saltillo tile in the entry way, kitchen and living room. Sean and I got to spend last night emptying the living room of all of the furniture which was a real peach! We'll get to load it back in tonight when we get home. Oh joy!

Monday the housekeepers come to do a thorough cleaning and Tuesday we should be back to a relatively normal existance.

We still have a bit of touchup work to do, but we can now definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel. Sean keeps saying he wants to renovate the kitchen eventually, but after having lived through this renovation, I'm not so sure I want to start another project again anytime soon. HA!

Here are before/after pics of the living room (the "after" was taken last night after it was cleared). You can see the new paint color we chose.


Living room BEFORE (the paint, unfortunately, matched our furniture to the T!)














Living room AFTER: