Welcome to the Castillo Family Blog

Moving...

2009-01-23T14:07:00.002-05:00

Hi there...just a little note to invite you all to view the latest pictures of Sofia at
http://castilloworld.shutterfly.com/

Much easier than having to upload here! :)
Enjoy!!!

This blog will close on Sunday, January 25th!

Santa's video message

2008-12-16T15:40:00.002-05:00

My sister sent me this, and I thought it was the cutest thing ever. You can upload your picture for a personalized video clip :
http://family.go.com/santas-list/video/46463-honeybea127/

In other news, I'm still waiting for Sofia's 1-year portraits...as soon as i get them, I'll be posting some favorites!

Thanksgiving and other pics

2008-11-30T20:46:00.007-05:00

It was a really nice evening to spend with our family, and no one had a better time than Sofie.

Mommy's tired, Sofia...You wear me out!

We went to our cousin's baby shower on Saturday...The weather was PERFECT, and Sofie had a great time socializing, and we all had a ball laughing at the things she does.
That's Sofia flirting with another 1-yr-old boy who wasn't having it, even though Sofie was all about him!

With Nany and her future little cousin, Nicholas.

We love music!

Sofia's First Birthday!!

2008-11-25T11:50:00.009-05:00

I can hardly believe it. The day and went in a flash, just like the past year. Sofia has come so far, and continues to dazzle us every day with something new. Friday we took the day off and had lunch with her at Swensen's, where the staff sang Happy Birthday to her (video clip soming soon). She enjoyed some vanilla ice cream, and played the rest of the afternoon at home. On Saturday, we had a great time watching her examine her cake, and slowly devour the frosting! She was a total mess at the end of it, but it was so much fun watching her. Madrina and Tia Heather gave her a great toy with moving zoo animals and music...and of course the sugar high that came with eating the frosting kicked in around that time and she was literally the Energizer Bunny for about 45 minutes, before her new-found energy had run its course LOL. Enjoy the pictures!

First Day of Cool Weather in Miami, and we enjoy every moment

2008-11-07T14:24:00.006-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, Miami enjoyed about two days of beautifully cool days and cold nights. Sofia loved the weather so much we spent the afternoon on our front lawn. Here are some shots.

It's Halloween time!

2008-10-25T21:28:00.004-04:00

Here's Sofie trying on her costume! She, of course, is SUPER BABY!

Picture update & Sofie turns 11 months!

2008-10-21T20:50:00.006-04:00

Sofia at 11 months!
10/22/08

Just some random pics I've taken in the past couple of weeks. Enjoy :D

More pictures :)

2008-09-28T18:13:00.004-04:00

I had some time to get these to you, so here they are! Safe to say that Sofia is a morning person, through and through...she's super happy when she wakes up (most of the time) as you'll see below, but then once 6pm hits, it's all down hill with the crankiness...

Bright-eyed & bushy-tailed!

Good morning, mommy!

Here are some additional pictures I took on her 10-month birthday before going to church...

And, last but not least, here's a photo of her grabbing her favorite stuffed animal, her Pooh Bear.
She's responding to me asking her to find Pooh now, which is great because once she's found him, she pick him up (notice his size?) and walk all over the house with him.

Sofia is 10 months old!

2008-09-22T23:24:00.002-04:00

Yes, yesterday, she turned 10 months old...two more months and she will celebrate her 1st year of life....I can hardly believe it.
Here's the pic taken yesterday before church :)

Sofia Enjoying her bath

2008-09-08T00:02:00.004-04:00

It's amazing how this child can be the crabbiest, crankiest baby around 7pm...and something happens when she plops into her bath...she's happy! She plays, talks, splashes, just loves the water. Somehow, all the sleepiness, and yucky-ness goes away and she gets a second wind...Before this clip, she was actually BAWLING. BTW, we think we got her to say her first word...it wasn't mama, wasn't papa, not even tete, no.....it's caca.

Here are some pics from tonights bath...

Sofia Takes Her First Steps...Oh.Good.Lord.

2008-08-30T20:13:00.006-04:00

So MY DAUGHTER goes with me to visit her dear friends Lucas & Sofia Marie at Claudia's house on Saturday, August 30th. The day goes by rather normally, until the unexpected happens...
She walks by herself.

She literally pulled herself up with no help from any supporting object. And when we got home, I put her on the floor to show Mando and abuela...

It's very strange to see a 9-month-old baby walk by herself. I'm still in shock.

Sofia Turns 9 Months Old!

2008-08-23T22:11:00.003-04:00

August 21, 2008

The school year has begun and already life has become more hectic than ever. Sofia has also changed a great deal since my last post. She is teething again, and we're expecting her top teeth to make an appearance soon. She's more animated (if that's even possible), and she's learned some new tricks. She is learning "the Itsy, Bitsy Spider" from me and actually vocalizes while I sing and puts her hand together, almost making the spider movements! She also cracked up for the very fist time yesterday at abuela's silly "a,e,i,o,u" game. She's waving byebye and even signs for her milk :)

She's 8 months old!

2008-07-30T23:00:00.003-04:00

She's 8 months old! Hooray! And she's teething...Not so Hooray.
Unfortunately, we thought we were in the clear since she didn't even flinch when the bottom two came in. Not so with the top. She's been quite crabby lately, messed up sleeping patterns, and just weird. Poor thing, I can only imagine the discomfort.

I have come down with a slight cold (thanks to Mando) and I'm so worried about Sofie catching this at the same time with the teething...not fun. I just hope that if it does happen, it will be next week while I'm still on vacation.

Yes, you read right. I must head back to work for another "exciting" year at JIS. Looking forward to seeing the kids, not the parents. That's all I'm going to say.

But onto the good stuff... some random pics taken the week she turned 8 months old :)

BIG UPDATE!

2008-07-07T11:03:00.006-04:00

From left to right: Meli, Ale, Steph, Lucas, Jen, Sofia V., Me, Mon, Adri, Claudia and Sofia M.

I finally got around to updating you all on some very special milestones! Sofia got her first tooth!!! Yes, a lot sooner than everyone expected, but on June 23rd, both mommy and grandpa noticed a white shadow and noticed her bottom right tooth is coming out :)

Also, Sofia has learned to vocalize "mamamama" and finally directed it to mommy!! So happy :) On top of everything, about three days ago, she bolted from one side of her playpen to the other, making her first steps by herself, unassisted! So much in one month!!

We recently had so much fun at Monica's house, where we visited with all the "knottie aunties" and especially with Sofia Marie and Lucas! Everyone really enjoyed watching them romp around, crawl, laugh, play, etc. We have so many pics...I'm only able to show a few...Enjoy!

Sofia Marie sitting on Sofia

The kids playing around in Monica's living room...

Lucas

Sofia M's such a cutie!

It's the Lucas Sandwich, take two.

We also spent Sofia's first 4th of July at Madrina's and Tia's house, where she had her first dip in the pool! Needless to say, she had so much fun, I don't think she wanted to come out :)

4th of July- with Mommy!

With abuelo...

I know...I'm lazy!

2008-06-22T00:02:00.002-04:00

But really, so much is going on, it's hard to do just one post...
But for now, I'll give you one new pic...I still have post some of my fav's from her 6-month portrait session. Sofia turned 7 months TODAY, and has hit so many new milestones...she's standing (pulling herself up in her playpen), vocalizing A LOT, sitting up by herself, and is even starting to understand things like "No" and some sign language...

Sofia turns 6 months old!

2008-05-27T07:50:00.002-04:00

Hard to believe. I kinda cheated and took her pic the 22nd, since she wasn't feeling too good the day before because of her vaccines. Enjoy!

Making a Splash!

2008-05-20T22:53:00.003-04:00

Literally...My daughter's new thing this week is splashing the water during her bath. This has now forced me to move her bath into the bathroom! Here's the video to prove it!

It's the weekend!

2008-05-16T20:11:00.007-04:00

And Thank GOD for that! I think I've had a constant stress headache for the last 3 days. Between bratty, out-of-control kids at work, worrying about my thesis, and all the day-to-day things, I've had enough. I officially need a vacation. Even if it's just a day away from Miami.

So like I said, I unofficially began my thesis. Partly because we don't officially start until the Fall, but because of budget cuts, the university is cutting "unnecessary"classes in the summer. Hence why I'm starting thesis in the Fall. Luckily, our professor and head of the department is a genuinely good person and chose to help the 5 thesis students over the summer so we're not bogged down with writing and painting when work starts again in August. *sigh* good times.

In other news, Sofia has finally mastered crawling. We weren't sure how long it was going to take her to get it, since she took weeks kind of sliding backwards on her tummy, and rock back and forth on all fours. But yes, she finally got it, so we're very happy for her and her newly discovered mobility!

These pics I took just two days ago while she was clowning around a bit. I'm entering one of them in a baby photo contest sponsored by Canon.

I think this one's the winner...what say you?

I also got some more teasers from my photographer, Melissa from Simply Captivating Productions, and I must say I'm floored... I really shouldn't be surprised since she always takes awesome pictures!

***See the rest on her blog****

Last Sunday, My sister, Mando, Heather & I took mom out to lunch at Maroush, one of our favorite restaurants. It was nice, but Sofie didn't really cooperate. Luckily she finds my sister (her madrina) very comfrortable and fell asleep in her arms after about 5 minutes of rocking her. We were all able to enjoy the remainder of our meal in peace!

The women of the family :)

Until next time... *waves*

Many updates!

2008-05-13T10:20:00.008-04:00

Some updated pictures of Sofia for your viewing pleasure. They are shots I took to enter her into a crazy hair contest :)

Both abuelas were in the same room with Sofia so I took a good opportunity to take a picture...

We went to the wedding of our friend, Nidia on Friday night. The wedding was beautiful and heartfelt, and very intimate. Held at the Sonesta in the Grove, the day started out very rainy, and I was worried the ceremony would be moved indoors. It seems I was right, and the ceremony was held inside. The bride was GORGEOUS! I cannot stress that enough. She was just so beautiful and happy, and I was thrilled that my friend finally found someone to spend the rest of her life with. The cocktail reception was great, and the view was even better! It was so clear, you could sea the ocean and the sailboats just cruising along. The reception was also very pretty, with creams and browns as the accent colors. We had a lot of fun spending time with family and friends.

The other pictures I have to show are from the church picnic at the school grounds...What a BEAUTIFUL day! I wish I could have that day back....it was just so perfectly cool under the shade, and it was a great way to relax. Sofie really loves being outside!

With abuela

With madrina

mmmmm.....cotton candy...

With abuela and abuelo

More updates coming very soon!!!

A little Teaser!

2008-05-08T13:36:00.003-04:00

Last Sunday, we arrived at Merrie Christmas Park on LeJeune (close to Fairchild Tropical Gardens) to have Sofia's 6-month portraits taken. It was a gorgeous day. The park itself is set within a crater, so there's a nice breeze on the outsikirts of the park, but as the morning drew on, the inner area of the park had no breeze, therefore creating uncomfortable heat. We were ale to get a lot of beautiful shots however, in one hour. Which is all due to Melissa's way of getting her shots right the first time. This photo session was a very generous gift from all my wonderful friends from theknot.com. I will be getting all the pics hopefully tomorrow, but for now, here's a little teaser from Melissa's blog at simplycaptivating.com.

VOTE FOR SOFIA!!!

2008-04-30T11:37:00.004-04:00

Sofia has been entered in the "Battle of the Babies" Contest by Y-100's Morning Show with Elvis Duran! You have a chance to help Sofia make it to the next round!!

Two ways of voting...

1. you can go to y100.com and scroll down to the contest banner, click and follow the directions, which also forces you to look at all 167 pictures within her group before you can vote (She's #132)...OR

2. You can follow this link: http://z100.elvisduran.com/pages/contest/babybattle/?article=3618189

Vote for "Sofia C.", type your email at the bottom. You will receive a verification email which you must confirm in order for the vote to count!!!!

We have a chance to win $5,000!!!!!

Yes, I'm crazy, what can I say? :) Here's the pic I entered!

Thanks for voting!!!!

Sofia is 5 months old!

2008-04-28T07:36:00.003-04:00

I meant to post this last week, but things got a little hectic. I can't believe how fast this year is flying by!

Sofia's first picnic and beach day!

2008-04-21T17:38:00.007-04:00

This past Saturday we enjoyed one of the prettiest days in Miami with friends at my school's staff family picnic at Crandon Park. The weather was perfect, but the water was a bit too cold in the morning, so Sofia didn't seem to like it much, but did enjoy playing with the sand. Here are some pics and a video!

*peekabooo!*

SUPERBABY!!!

With Daddy & Tia Ines

Sitting on the sand with Mommy

Pooped baby...

More pics & Sofia eats her first Veggie!

2008-04-14T15:49:00.004-04:00

Sofia tried her first veggie yesterday. I was a little apprehensive at first because I wasn't sure if she'd be ready for it. She DID like it! I couldn't believe it...she liked her green beans! I'm including a video clip of her first bites, and some more pics I took of her yesterday :)

Updates...

2008-04-07T18:20:00.004-04:00

I finally went back to work two weeks ago, which was of course bitter sweet. It clearly marked the end of my 100% bonding time with Sofie, and the overwhelming sense that I'm BROKE. LOL

But, I have to admit, I couldn't have planned it better: Came back a week before Spring Break, with a Planning Day stuck in there....took a week off for Spring Break (even though I had to take a week-long painting class for my graduate work...BLAH), and now I'm back at work again, this time for the long 7-week stretch that is the end of the school year...

I'm ITCHING for summer to be here...so excited for all the things we will be able to do together as a family. Sofie will be 6 months old already in May, I can hardly believe it.

AND, to top the domesticity of it all: I have a vegetable garden. It's not fancy, but I have to admit, I have a lot of tomatoes, strawberries, mint, cilantro, parsley, and oregano....even a friggin' jalapeno! So sad that none of my bell peppers seem to take though :(

Listen to me.....When I was partying during my college days, I never thought this would be me. I always wanted to be a mom, have a home, a family, dogs, the whole nine. But it seemed so far away and unattainable. And now I got it all in a matter of a year. Funny how life works.

Anyway, sorry you had to sit through that rant...I promise to never do it again...not really, but I'll control myself in the future. LOL

Here are some of the latest pics of Sofia...Sorry it took so long to post :)
Some of them are from Easter Sunday at Tia Ines & Tio Carlos' house. And other are just random pics I've taken the last couple of weeks! Have fun!

Tio Carlos

With Abuelo.

Ziggy decided to try out our new bed before we did. *sigh*

Sofia's Easter Portraits

2008-03-23T00:00:00.002-04:00

When Sofia turned 3 months, we took these cute portraits for her official Easter greeting...

I'm 4 months old!

2008-03-22T23:49:00.004-04:00

Here are the latest pics from yesterday! Enjoy!!

Sofia's Baptism

2008-03-12T02:02:00.012-04:00

Sorry it's taken so long to post these, it's been a bit crazy lately. Well, her baptism went well, considering it was unseasonably warm outside and we felt like we were rushed the entire time. I don't think I'll ever do another large party at home again, it's just too much stress for nothing...next time? I'll do a restaurant... LOL But I should say that everyone had a great time, and Sofia was on her BEST behavior, we couldn't believe it. Loly, our photographer put up with a lot that day, I swear she's an angel, and her pictures never disappoint! Here are some of the highlights from the day!

Sofia turns 3 months old!

2008-02-22T18:01:00.005-05:00

So many changes every day!
These pics were taken yesterday. We're actually very excited since tomorrow is Sofia's baptism, an event about 2 months in the making. We can't wait to see everyone who loves Sofia to come and see her be welcomed into the Christian family. We're expecting close to 60 people in my parents' backyard! The only thing I'm really worried about is the above average temps they're saying we're going to have tomorrow! I don't want my guests to melt. We secured good shade, and we have a ceiling fan, but who knows...It really ticks me off because February is supposed to be cooler not hotter....ugh. I'm sure it will all work out.

Sofia Rolls over!

2008-02-20T01:48:00.003-05:00

I took this little movie clip about two days ago...She actually started accidentally rolling over a couple weeks ago, but this day, she totally rocked on her own about twice before I took this clip...I'm so proud of her. She holds her head up like a pro, and is ALWAYS on the move...

Will you be my Valentine?

2008-02-15T01:26:00.009-05:00

I had to...Just had to....We saw this really cute Valentine onesie and pants that I just HAD to get Sofia...We spent the BEAUTIFUL day that it was shopping, where I picked out Sofie's hat and booties for her upcoming baptism. Here the pics from today :)

Week 11 pics!

2008-02-12T18:24:00.000-05:00

Sofia has so many faces, we try to capture them all. This week's milestone? She pushed herself up and is holding her head up a lot! She's also discovering her hands and starting to hit her toys to get her little musical star going...

Ceci & Ivon's "Doble Quince" & 9/10 weeks pics of Sofie

2008-02-10T00:19:00.000-05:00

We were invited to Ceci & Ivon's 80's themed 30th birthday party, and it was a whole lot of fun dressing up in the crazy trends from the 1980's. We took Sofie along, and she also joined in the dressing up fun (outfit was Mando's choice)...I leave you with some pics from the party and some pics Mando and I took of her around the house the last couple of weeks :)

With Scarlett

Mando as the 80's Metal-head

My 80's look...

Taking after her dad...

She's a cow"girl" in training ;)

9 & 10-week pictures!

Look at those eyes!

She inherited her mother's "death stare" LOL

You talkin' to me??

More pics and our visit to the Seaquarium

2008-02-02T19:37:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I know visiting the Miami Seaquarium is a little cheesy, but to my defense I don't remember ever going. So when Mando said he wanted to go out of the blue, it was such a beautiful day I said why not.
I leave you with pics from the day and a few of her 9-week pics too! Have fun!

In my first dress!

Daddy, you're weird!

I look like Daddy here!

Watching Lolita the Whale!

Pooped after an exciting day at the Seaquarium.

Sofia tried on her Baptismal gown

2008-01-24T15:15:00.000-05:00

How cute is she? She can melt hearts with that gaze...

Sofiat turns 2 months old!

2008-01-22T01:20:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it...I just can't....time does fly.

Mando's Birthday!

2008-01-21T21:53:00.000-05:00

We spent the afternoon at Bea & Heather's place on Brickell. The apartment is great, with lots of space and light coming in from the Bay...Sofia seemed to like it :)

I decided to give Mando a little surprise by inviting his buddies to join us for Mexican food at Don Burrito. We all had a great time and Mando really enjoyed himself :)

Sofia Smiles!

2008-01-21T01:19:00.001-05:00

I was waiting for this moment since she was born...the day she decided to smile at something! hat something being her father...Take a look!

Week 7!

2008-01-18T16:07:00.000-05:00

Just a few pics taken last week. Sofia continues to develop and surprise us every day with new tricks and is smiling and raising her head to see everyone more and more!

watching tv!

I love my warm towel after my bath.

New Year's portrait!

2008-01-06T12:00:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Chorti for the pictures! Taken 12/31/07 :)

Sofia turns 6 weeks old!

2008-01-03T17:20:00.000-05:00

And with that comes new tricks! She's now smiling all of the time when she's awake and is the baby with a million faces. Here are a few pics taken with my phone.

Happy New Year!

2007-12-31T17:00:00.001-05:00

So we are once again at the end of another year. My, how the time does fly. In one year I've managed to get married, move twice, and have a baby. 2007 was very important and we're sad to see it go, but excited to welcome 2008!

The only annoying thing is that my daughter and I seem to have caught a minor head cold. So needless to say, last night was spent making sure Sofia didn't gasp for air in the night :( Mando and I are looking forward to bringing in the New Year in style: on the couch in our pj's, with Sofia, watching the ball drop in NYC. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Here are some pics of Sofia from Week 5. Enjoy!

"Tia Ceci's" Merry Times on Mendavia

2007-12-28T08:52:00.000-05:00

Here are a few pictures taken at "Tia Ceci's" Christmas party on Dec. 22nd. Enjoy!

The Castillo Clan.

Robert & me.

Luissell & me.

With Don.

Familia Castillo with Scarlett.

Princess Sofia.

With Ana Haliday.

The Lucas Sandwich...

2007-12-28T08:48:00.001-05:00

Ah, yes, Claudia and I were finally able to dress our little ones in our "Nudito" onesies to take the picture we have been talking about since before they were born!
In this picture, from left to right, is Claudia's twins: Sofia Marie & Lucas Alexander, then My Little Sofia Valeria...A great picture that we will be able to bribe them with once they're teenagers LOL

Sofia turns 1 month!

2007-12-28T08:42:00.000-05:00

Hard to believe the time has flown so quickly! Sofia is starting to let her personality show more and more... Sometimes in cute little ways (smiling in her sleep), and not so cute (Crying...but not just crying...an ANGRY cry LOL). But all in all, we are all adjusting just fine. She's definitely keeping us on our toes, and unfortunately, Christmas decorations had to be kept to minimum since she takes so much of our time....But nest year will be different! Christmas is my favorite time of the year, and the house will be decked out, and Sofia will be 13 months old... Here's her 1-month-old picture..

Christmas Portraits!

2007-12-13T08:45:00.000-05:00

We invited Loly from lolypix.com to take some pictures of Sofia mainly for our Christmas card/announcement, and to get some good shots of her at week 2. You can check them all out on her website under "Galleries"....Here are some of our favorites :)

Week 1 & 2

2007-12-13T08:31:00.000-05:00

The first week has been interesting to say the least. Sofia is a good baby for the most part, and we're getting to know each other slowly. The first night home however was scary. Sofia must've had a bad reaction to the formula the hospital gave us and she had a bad case of gas the entire night. We didn't go to sleep that night as we stayed awake trying to console her until the gas was gone. I wanted to throw the formula out the window, and was on the verge of tears because I felt to blame for putting her through pain. That night around 4am, Mando drove to Walgreens and bought another, more gentle formula and seems to have done the trick so far.

These weeks have also been visiting weeks by a few of our friends and family. Here are a few pics...

After eating...."I can't eat another bite"

Sofia with her baby cousin, Amanda Michelle...they're the talk of the neighborhood!

With Ceci...

"I want to lick the baby!!!"

Zzzzzzz......

Sofia Arrives...

2007-12-12T15:05:00.000-05:00

Early Morning on November 21st, I went in for a routine biophysical, since it was the week of my due date, and my Dr. just wanted to make sure everything was okay, and was planning on letting hit 41 weeks before inducing. As a precaution, I packed my bag into the car and took my mom with me.

8:30 am... I arrive at the South Miami triage and have blood samples taken, blood pressure, and an ultrasound to check fluid and baby's weight.

10:30 am... The nurse checks and sees I'm 4 cm dilated...GREAT! We're having a baby today, she says, and calls my Dr. to confirm the results of the baby's heartbeat and fluid levels....and the Dr. has me admitted.

11:30 am... I'm taken to my room and contact Mando, Dad, and Sis to let them know I'm being induced, and it should take anywhere from 6-12 hours. Mando leaves work and goes home to fetch his bag and mother.

11:45 am... Dr. comes in and checks me, notices I have no contractions, and tried to break my water, only to realize I had very little fluid coming out...She inserts an internal monitor and right away you hear Sofia's heart rate go WAY down to about 50....at which point my Dr. goes into Emergency mode and tells me "I'm so sorry, we have to do a c-section, we can't take any chances"...I try calling mando a couple of times, and ended up texting him "Having C-section...come now"...When he received it, he dropped everything at home, grabbed his mom and raced down Bird Road to get to the hospital!

11:50 am... I'm prepped with a spinal epidural and it felt like I was in an episode of ER. Everyone racing around me, and me praying the Mando would be there in time... My mom, was escorted in, and very nervous.

12:00 pm... Mando get's to the hospital and is told he can't go in anymore...and he then demands to talk to th OR and asks to be let in...they take him to the recovery area to get suited up in scrubs.

12:05 pm... Mando's told they already started my surgery, so he wouldn't be able to go in...But to stick around because Sofia would be out in 2 min....

12:09 pm... Sofia Valeria Castillo is born! 8 lbs, 7 oz., 18.5 in. and is brought to me to see...She's beautiful...

12:15 pm... She's brought out to her father and my family.

here are some pics of the Hospital stay...