Getting into Mischeif

The adventures of a toddler seem endless and that's because she is not even walking. She went from doing the GI Jane army crawl to speed racing crawling in no time and her walking days are soon to arrive anyday now. Celi loves to explore the house and gets into mischeif wherever she goes especially in the kitchen. Here are some pictures to tell about those times.

Momma's Dress Up Doll

One of my favorite things about having a baby girl is that I can dress her up like my very own baby doll. Momma also likes dressing up and was surprised that that this prepregnancy dress actually fit. Here we are both dressed up to attend a wedding in Odem.

Merry Christmas

Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas! I hope you and your families had a blessed holiday season. It was quite a memorable one in the Lunoff household since it was Araceli's 1st Christmas. Preparing our winter wonderland was an adventure for all us this year. The very first thing that went up was the Christmas tree and of course Araceli wanted to help Momma. She helped unpack the ornaments and even took taste tests to let me know they were good. As the decorations went up on the tree they also came down just as easily. It was hard to keep her away from the tree but how could I say no to this sweet face.

A trip to the doctor for momma meant a day off from school and a trip to visit Santa Clause at the mall. I was afraid she was going to cry, but she was a trooper. Araceli had a stern look on her face as she contemplated going with this strange man in a red suit. Santa was sweet talking and after a couple of minutes she extended her arms and went with him. The photographer snapped three pictures and in each one she kept that same stern face or what I like to call a "daddy face." Three times is a charm so that picture was the lucky one and an expensive one since I bought the biggest package available with keychains and all.

Christmas Eve was spent with my family at my cousin's house in Corpus. Food, fun and the white elephant game wore out our little angel and she fell asleep before presents were opened. I opened a couple of gifts for her but saved the others for Christmas morning. She woke up early the next morning and in her Santa pajamas she opened all her presents. She was a little careful with the wrapping; I think it was because she wasn't sure what it was or what was happening. Dad made pancakes and then spent the rest of the morning assembling toys. Christmas afternoon was spent with the Lunoff's in Odem. More food and a little Wii and Kinect definitely made it merry. Celi also got to spend quality time with her cousins Livi, TJ and Maddie and opened more presents.

Also this holiday season Celi learned how to stand up on her own. It was a cold early Saturday morning and she surprised Momma as she grabbed onto the sofa and pulled herself up. Now a days she stands up on her own and walks along holding onto furniture and your hands. She will be ready to walk soon and that scares me. When that happens then we won't be walking after her but running after her.

Halloween 2010

It has definitely been a while since our last post and as you can see from the pictures our little angel is growing up fast. Since our last post we have moved from the big city of Round Rock to the small town of Mathis. With the packing and unpacking, new jobs and life, time just seemed to slip away from us. I guess the best place to start this blog is during Halloween. Prior to passing out candy that ghostly evening, we had visited the pumpkin patch and attended our first pumpkin carving party. It had been years since Manny and I had carved a pumpkin, but thanks to our kit both our pumpkins turned out surprisingly well. After the carving was done we had a sunset hayride around the town. It was fun and memorable!

Off to the Land of the Pirate

Araceli will have to begin looking for more outfits with maroon and white in them. Daddy took a job as the high school principal in Mathis, Texas. This move, while sudden, is great for our family as it gets Araceli closer to both sets of grandparents.

Through some expected and unexpected events that have happened in our lives recently, one thing is for certain--life is short and you have to take advantage of it every chance you get! Mathis is giving our family the chance of a lifetime not only to get closer to family, but also the opportunity to succeed as educators in a wonderful community.

Although we are still uncertain of where we will live exactly and when the big move will take place, we are excited for the opportunity and look forward to settling in as quickly as possible. For Araceli, that means we'll be on the road again at least a couple more times as we attempt to move everything down. Hope to see all of you soon and we plan to keep in touch with all of our friends & family in the central Texas area. We'll keep you updated.

First Day at the Pool!

This Memorial Day weekend, Araceli got a lot of firsts in! Her 1st patriotic, Red, White & Blue outfit. Her first opportunity to attend a crawfish boil (thanks, Riza and Eldrick--the food was awesome!). And her first swim in the pool! We are determined to make sure that she is exposed to water at a young age, so she will be comfortable with it when she is able to learn to swim at a later age.

We took her out to the pool with her little turtle floatie and her new swimsuit. It was a one-piece to make sure she wasn't driving the boys wild! She also had her sunhat on to protect her from the rays, but she still got a little reddish on her arms and face. Where is baby sunscreen when you need it? Here is a video of Celi in the big pool (no kiddie pool here!) with Mommy on Memorial Day. We were happy that Tio Bull, Tia Carmina, Clarissa, and Claudia were able to join us also.

Crawfish Boil on Memorial Day Weekend

Celi began working with a new assistive device this week. Since she always wants to sit up and look around (at everything), we decided to pull out the Bumbo to see if she would like it. She was liking it at first because she was able to sit up and look at us. She was still working on the balancing act of it, but does very well for her 10 weeks of age.

Celi got to go to her first crawfish boil on Memorial Day weekend! Thanks to the Cooper family for inviting us out to their home to share in fun, food, and fellowship! Since we were honoring all of our nation's veterans who have died while serving our country, Celi wanted to do her part by sporting the Red, White and Blue! Here are some pics of her in her outfit and trying out her new Bumbo seat!