My baby's growing up!

Update: Lilia is finally sleeping in her own room. She didn't even notice she wasn't next to me anymore! She's growing up!

These are a few of my favorite things...

Since I live in Spain (duh) I thought you guys might like to hear not just about Lilia, but my experience here as well. Like any other American I have my "America is the best" moments (What, you don´t have those moments? trust me you do.) where I think that the U.S. does it better than anyone else. A friend once told me she bumped into an American soldier (while she was in Spain) and he said, "Inside every European is an American just dying to get out." While at times I´m guilty of the "America is better syndrome" (ABS) I also feel like there are some true benefits of living in Europe and things that I actually like better here in Spain than in the U.S. So here´s a list:

1) I´ll start with the obvious and say living in Spain provides me with a ton of opportunities to travel, not only throughout Europe, but right within Spain. Considering Spain is not that large of a country it´s amazing that there are so many places to visit with such different landscapes. Being in Madrid is really convenient because it is the dead center of the country (Madrid is also the intersection point of the seven major highways throughout Spain). I can visit the sunny beaches in Cádiz and the next week I can go see the desert in Almería (where many John Wayne movies were filmed), the rivers and mountains in Galicia, or the Navacerrada mountains right near Madrid.

Right near Spain there are so many different countries as well. So far I´ve been to Portugal, Italy, and Morocco. I love that I can plan to go to Egypt, Greece, and Croatia and know that I can accomplish it time and money-wise in my lifetime.

2) Tapas. Do you know what these are? Because when I first came to Spain I thought it had something to do with drinks. For those who don´t know, tapas are small dishes of a certain kind of food (for example, a small plate of cheese). Spanish people like to order a variety of these dishes so instead of ordering one big meal for themselves they order lots of tapas so everyone can share. I have had my share of tapas and I can tell you I´ve tried ones I never thought I would like: pulpo (octopus, complete with the sucky things), cazón en adobo (dogfish in adobo), and shrimp with their eyes still intact (you don´t eat the eyes haha). The time to eat tapas is around 1p.m. before lunch or around 9 p.m. before dinner.

3) Alright. This one might be controversial and I´m not all about getting into a debate about healthcare. What I will say is Spain has a socialized health care system and I LIKE it. Yes, there are drawbacks, but there are also benefits. All I´m saying is I had my baby at a hospital, through c-section, and stayed there for five days and didn´t pay a cent. Normally, people do pay for healthcare through taxes, but there is no co-pay. It´s great knowing I don´t have to pay an arm and a leg if I have to take Lilia to the emergency room or if Quique has to go to the doctor because of (yet another) sprained ankle.

4) Here´s another one: People take their time when they get together. I´ve often gotten together with friends when I come home to Georgia and we´ve gone to a restaurant, chit-chatted and updated each other on our lives, paid the bill, and all in under an hour. When I get together with friends here in Madrid we spend two hours eating, then decide "Hey why not go to the park?" and after the park it´s dinner time so we go to someone´s house and make dinner, and then out for a coffee. I love how people don´t always feel in a rush to go do something or ask for the check as soon as they finish the meal.

5) Families eat dinner and lunch together. In Spain rare is the family that lets each member eat a meal whenever they want. Families almost always eat together (and for at least a good half hour). I think that is great for creating a feeling of "family-togetherness" and it´s something we do every night (even if Quique comes home from work at 1 a.m.). Thinking about it , if you don´t eat meals together when do you really see all your family together? Between working, school, sports, and homework there isn´t a lot of quality time together left in the equation. Anyways, off my soapbox...

Alright well I´ll keep it to those five for now. I´ve got things to do like prevent Lilia from shoving every household object into her mouth. Teething, it ain´t pretty.

Mission Possible

You know you're out of shape when you go into your closet to finally get your tennis shoes and work out and realize you left them at your parents' house...8 months ago. With that realization I finally decided it's time to lose this muffin top and get back into shape. Oh yes, I just said muffin top. Enjoy the image.

Monday I signed up for a gym near our house. I was really impressed with the whole place, but am looking forward to the aerobics classes. I've realized that I need classes to motivate myself. First class: Latin Dance aerobic class. We'll see how this goes. I'm looking forward to going out and doing something for myself and for finally taking initiative, although I keep kicking myself for buying the spandex yoga pants (why? WHY?). I'll keep you updated on my progress.

I've been trying to keep busy on the home front as well. Today we ordered a high chair, crib, and mattress. I'm so excited for Lilia to start sleeping in her own room in her crib. Here's a picture of what we got:

Lilia is more alert than ever. She's actually playing with toys now instead of staring at them. Aunt Kathy bought Lilia a vibrating teething ring last summer. You bite it and it vibrates. The surprise on her face was priceless when she realized it. She's finally going to sleep all on her own without crying and she's down to waking up once a night (hope this is a pattern).

Last weekend we went to El Puerto which will be the last time for awhile since Quique will be working more. At the end of the trip we went to a BBQ in Seville with Quique's family. They wanted to regroup about plans for the wedding. Lilia had fun playing with her cousins, aunts, and uncles and I enjoyed seeing everyone as well.

Sue, Quique´s mom

Kevin, Quique´s brother

From left to right: me, David (Mario´s friend), Mario, Sue, Manolo, Ernesto (Bea´s boyfriend), Bea, Enrique, Victoria, Natalia (Mauri´s girlfriend), and Mauri

Achi and Loli with Lilia

I thought you guys would enjoy these two videos of Lilia. In the first she's laughing (something she just started doing). Please ignore the fact that my hair's a mess and I'm wearing a bathrobe...and it may or may not be 5 in the afternoon... The second is Lilia attempting to move forward, but only succeeding to wave her bottom in the air.

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Hey guys! Just wanted to let you know that you are able to subscribe to my blog now so you will get an e-mail whenever I update. Just type your e-mail address in the box at the top left of the blog and click subscribe. Look for a video tomorrow!

4 months!

  

I know, I know...finally an update!!  I'm at Sue's again because Quique has yet another week of vacation (thank you Spain) so I've been slacking in the update department.  We finally have Internet now so I will be able to update every week without the long pauses in between.

Lilia is now four months old and chubbier than ever.  Sometimes I just can't decide what to do first: eat her cheeks or her chunky thighs.  She is gaining weight very well and she's up to 5 kilos 820 grams (12 pounds 13 ounces).  The pediatrician is really happy with her weight gain and said we can start solids next month.  I'm so excited to start solids and see those silly faces!

Ladies and gentlemen, let the teething begin.  Lilia has started teething.  I was worried Lilia would be a little whiny as her teeth came in, but it's been relatively calm.  She drools a lot and chews on her hands, but so far no big drama.  You can start to see the two bottom teeth under the gums, but they haven't broken through yet.  The pediatrician said they should be here in the next month or two.

Just in the past few days Lilia has started reaching and grabbing things, and man does she like to grab things now!  I tried to give her a bath last night and she could not stop grabbing the shampoo bottle and the cup I use to pour water over her head.


Easter was a really nice day for us.  We woke up and went to the English-speaking Mass in Madrid.  Lilia wore a pretty blue dress from a friend of Quique's and looked so cute!  When we got home I became the photographer and took a million pictures of me, Quique, and Lilia in our Easter outfits. A little while later I took a nap with Lilia.  I love little afternoon naps with her because it's so fun to wake up next to her.  That night we went to our friends Roberto and Esther's house.  They have a son named Sergio who is 8 months old.  It was so great to get to talk to another mother.  Most people aren't interested in your kid's bedtime or whether they use a pacifier or not anymore so it was fun to talk to Esther about things my single friends aren't too interested in.  We were at their house until 1 in the morning.  All in all Easter was a really nice day with the family.

Quique is joining a new group for his job so he will be working almost exclusively in the afternoon.  In the past he worked a schedule of alternating weeks of working in the morning and in the afternoon.  Since I have a better idea of Quique's schedule now I can join a gym and work out in the mornings.  Hello aerobic classes and goodbye pounds!

One last thing.  Apparently I have again made a mistake telling you about how to comment on the blog.  So here is the final, official, done deal way to make comments on my blog: Click where is says "0 comments" type your message then scroll down where it says "comment as".  Pick "Name/URL".  A box will pop up and in it you will type your name (you don't have to type a url).  Then click "post comment".  That should do it!  Again, I love reading comments so please write if you like!

Enjoy the photos and comments!

Sitting on Daddy's lap

Not happy after taking pictures

I take no part in this

Seeing the resemblance more every day

Weird face!

All smiles!

Naked baby!!!

Ready for the beach, Mommy!

Commenting

Hi guys!  I´m back in Madrid without Internet so the blogs are slowing down again, but we have finally contracted Internet!  Pretty soon I´ll be back to regularly updating.  Just wanted to tell you that now you can comment on the blog without needing a gmail user id.  Just click on the comments link at the bottom of the post and type your message!

Poop, farts, and spit up, oh my!

Life does not get boring with this little one around.  Lilia is going through a growth spurt lately.  It's incredible how she can look bigger from one day to the next.  Though I continue to be amazed that she can gain any weight when she releases the full fury of her bodily fluids on her mother.  I have been peed on, pooped on, and spit up on (do not play "tummy time" after a baby has eaten).  I only thought the "fountains" occurred with little boys and I can tell you I have found poop IN HER ARMPITS more than once.  Of course to top it all off my graceful little girl likes to do what Quique and I call "morning farts".  In the morning Lilia wakes up by doing big stretches.  She arches her back, stretches her arms over her head, pulls in her feet...and BAM, big fart.  You'd think she was a forty year-old man.

Anyways, enough with the poop talk.  Right now she is eating so much.  We have a doctor's appointment to check her weight again, but I' m pretty sure she's growing right on schedule because of her sudden growth spurt. I finally got my breast pump in the mail and that machine is awesome (even if I do feel like a cow).  I can now give Lilia a supplement of my milk instead of formula which makes me feel a lot better.

Operation Bikini continues as I try to avoid the temptation of chocolates and sweets in the effort of losing the baby weight.  9 more pounds to go before pre-pregnancy weight!  In the end though it's more like Operation Tankini because I did not escape pregnancy without lots of stretch marks.  Oh well, babies are worth it!

Quique and I are gearing up for the wedding.  Just yesterday we went to visit Quique's aunts and uncles in Sevilla to discuss their plans for what they would do when they came over for the wedding.  They're thinking of a New York trip or maybe a Savannah trip.  We keep telling them (and you guys) that we're going to give you the wedding web site, but it's taking so long to finish especially since I have to write it and then Quique translates it.  It will get done!

In the "About Me" section on the left of the page I left instructions on how to write a comment.  I love hearing from people and seeing who reads the blog so please write!  And to wrap it up, I bring you some pictures: