Happy Fifteen Months

You can't stop her. Paloma is now fifteen months and walking at a very fast pace. It's great that she undoes everything that I do in the house. Not! All in all, it's getting more exciting and challenging in new ways. But we're up for it. Let the fun begin!

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Taking her first steps on our street.Eating is a pleasure.
The water, oh glorious water.
Imitation has really taken off. Here she puts some sunscreen on her papa's back.Realizing these frames don't fit her toddler face.We're going to start taking some music and movement classes next week. Disco is on her agenda.
Cousin Pau sneaks his hand in her snack holder. Sly!Hugs rule!

She's not difficult, just misunderstood.

Talk soon, people!

Garraf

It's been raining the past few days here in Barcelona, which means that summer may just be ending for good. Noooo! Before these pictures look really old, I want to share some photos from what it feels like "way back when". In reality, this was a month ago just as we got back from the States. We decided to try a new beach, which is just outside of Barcelona.

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Garraf is described as a peaceful beach compared to the noisy, tourist-filled beaches in Barcelona.

Hey, I thought no one knew about this beach. I was wrong...in the summer, beach-goers are everywhere in Spain!

Art deco houses line the boardwalk.

The mountains behind the beach make a great backdrop.

Fernando let Paloma have a dip in the warm sea.

Tasting the water. Salty!
A kid watches his big brother throw water in the air.Water play never does gets old.We shared a yummy ice cream to cool off.

Paloma checks to see if I'm staying on my side of the ice cream stick.It was fun!

The Main Event - Wedding in Rhinebeck

While I can't take credit for all these pictures, I still want to share these wedding moments of our very good friends, Dani and Caitlin. This couple is in a similar situation as Fernando and me, a typical "Spanish boy meets American girl in Seville, Spain" story. The wedding took place close to Caitlin's hometown, Rhinebeck, New York, at the Rhinecliff Hotel. Just weeks earlier, some random Miss Chelsea Clinton found herself wed in this town as well, whoever that is. We stayed at the same venue as the wedding, which is a bed and breakfast-style accommodations, perfect for putting Sweet P to nap during the day-long celebration. Well worth it!

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The wedding venue had a view of the Hudson River.

The balcony area where debauchery was soon to take place.

The hallways were decorated with upcycled art. This US flag was created by Ziploc baggies filled with paint. Future craft project!

Gorgeous blue skies. And it was hot, hot, humid, hot! I hit the bar with Kelly and Mark for some champagne to quench our thirst.
Saying their "I do's" by the river.
The knot is tied tight. Our international friendships and families. Yay!

Feed us! The food was, in fact, delicioso.

Dani's little brother, Nano, gave Paloma a quick cheek squeeze. (And I just invented a tongue twister.)

Fernando made a speech, which he and I briefly rehearsed beforehand.

Caitlin and her proud daddy.

The groom's parents were happy to take Paloma while we had fun with our friends. That was sweet. For us, small breaks make a difference!

I got a special kiss from Kelly, who lent her chauffeur services, her home, and was Paloma's BFF during our NY trip. Bow down!Fernando, and Dani's brother, Gonzalo, who's a pilot for Spanair. Hey, where are the airline hook-ups in our family?!
Paloma admired Caitlin's 6-week-old sleeping niece. Shhhh!
My Euro sisters. The lovely ladies, Memi and Sandra.
Mark was accidentally seated at our adults table (minus P), but we got to know him and realized he's years beyond his age. Plus, he's cute.

Party Animals

We decided to take it pretty easy in New York while traveling with Paloma. And who can avoid Central Park when you have a kid?

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I had no concept of the immensity of Central Park. The serenity inside a bustling city.Peace out.We came across some sort of fair inside.

We heard of the Central Park Zoo, which is nestled inside. First stop - the cuddly, lovable penguins!

Showing off their diving skills. Ten!

These polar bears are beautiful...and probably suffering from heat during this summer weather.

A girl chills behind this spotted leopard outside. Just kidding, there's glass between them!

The seals tried to impress us by showing us their backstroke.

Little one was quite tired from all the moving about.

Ah, relief. This pig took a pee with no qualms.

Touching the moo-moo.
Paloma points to Thumper, dropping a hint for a new pet.

Doing her best bunny impersonation.

Fernando insisted on Paloma doing a turtle impersonation, but she wasn't having it.

We discovered a baby turtle emerging from its shell.

First time both a mother and baby are born from the same egg. Amazing!

Until next time, big beautiful park!