Our first Family Vacation

Eli took his first international flight last week, to the peaceful Providenciales area of Turks and Caicos.  We were lucky enough to find a great resort right on beautiful Grace Bay beach.  I was very nervous about how Eli would react to being on a airplane for a few hours.  Now that Eli can walk it is very difficult to contain him to one area. He likes to walk around and explore when he's awake.  Lucky for us he did an amazing job, and fell a sleep right before take off.  Eli then woke up and we kept him entertained with golden fishes (because he loves to eat), and a portable DVD player where he watched his favorite cartoons.  

Upon arrival we decided to take Eli to the beach and the pool.  At first he was  a bit confused by the sand and didn't seem to enjoy the salty beach water.  When we took him to the pool he seemed to enjoy that a lot more.  

Eli feeling the sand for the first time

 I was trying to get him comfortable with splashing in the water

but at last he was happier in the pool

The following day we did some more beach/pool lounging.  We watched the sunset and got Eli a little more "friendly" with the sand.  He seemed to be enjoying it a bit more. 

The next day we decided to take Eli on a "submarine" boat ride.  This was a very fun trip, but I have to admit it was difficult for Eli to stay still during the trip and he kept touching the lady in front of us, which was a bit distracting.  We got to see corals, sharks, and all different types of fish.  The view was amazing.

As soon as we arrived in Provo we heard that the Island is very well known for it's conch, so we headed over to try some for lunch.  We visited "da Conch Shack & Rumbar" which came highly recommended. I have to admit the food was so delicious we went back the next day to get some more lunch! YUMMY!

In the days that followed we went parasailing and also made a visit to a secluded beach named "Sapodilla Bay" which is also known as the Children's beach.  It got it's name because of it's shallow, crystal clear, calm water.  We were able to walk in for a few feet without the water going above our knees. Eli thouroughly enjoyed himself here.

He also collected shells, rocks, and of course had to give them a little taste.

One of my absolute favorite moments of the trip was watching the sunset every night.  However there was one night that was absolutely magical.  

Overall we had an absolutely amazing time during our first vacation as a family! Most importantly Eli got the much needed "relaxation" that he "needed", and so did we!

We hope everyone is doing well and as always love to share with everyone! 

Luv 

Eli & Mommy

A Seusstastical Birthday Bash!

First off I want to welcome everyone to Eli's new and improved blog. The reason why we changed to blogging here is because CafeMom's journal takes entirely too long to upload pictures, and it makes sharing with you guys a bit more difficult. That being said this past week has been beyond amazing and I could not wait to share with everyone. On Friday June 10th Elias turned ONE. We spent the day at home quietly and getting ready for his birthday bash, inspired by Dr. Seuss. It all started out with the wonderful birthday invitation:

I put a lot of thought into how I would like to pull off Eli's big day.  I thought of all the characters in the Dr. Seuss books but figured it would be a bit much for my taste to have all of them at once, so I decided to keep things a bit more simple.  I was inspired by the vivid colors in the books, and took it from there.  I have to admit I had so much fun planning his party (although a bit stressful at times). Here are a few pictures of how his big day went.  

We set up a table with sweet goodies such as cup cakes, and a variety of candy in jars.  We had a custom made banner with a Dr. Seuss quote, and some ribbons to add a little "decor".  I also added the two books which inspired me the most for his birthday.  Last but not least a vase full of jelly beans with some flowers to match the colors of the theme.  

Eli also had a beautiful smash cake. 

And of course we can't forget his top hat inspired birthday cake for the guests.  It was a bit humid in the room and the cake started melting but it still added a nice touch to the table. 

A close up of the top hat cup cakes. 

All the tables where the guests were dining were also set up with ribbons to match the theme and a simple center piece.  

A small glass jar with jelly beans and a flower. 

And we can't forget to add balloons!

We had the guests sign in at the door, 

And the fun started! Eli arrived looking absolutely stunning :) 

One of Eli's favorite things is puppets, so it was only right that I got a puppet show for entertainment! I was lucky enough to book Mr. Kipley who did an absolutely amazing job! (For more information on Mr. Kipley you can go to his website here http://www.misterkipley.com)

We also had face painting for the children.  The face painter (Maria) was a great pleasure, and so good at what she does that even the adults joined in! Here are a few pictures of some of the kids: (For more information on face painting by Maria you can go here: http://mariafacepainter.com)

Maria was also great at making balloon sculptures for the children

We then sang happy Birthday to Eli 

And he got to smash his cake!

This was Eli's first time having sweets, and I think you can tell from the pictures he absolutely loved it!

We brought the day to an end by giving the children beach buckets full of goodies, such as snacks, juice, water, and a Dr. Seuss book.  

 We also added these cool custom made lollipops with Eli's picture on the front :) 

Overall I'm very happy Eli's birthday turned out exactly how I wanted it to be! I also have to give major props to Iasmel Vasquez from Bigger Dreams Productions who took the amazing photos at Eli's birthday.  I will be posting an album on facebook with all of the pictures soon! You can contact Iasmel here http://www.wix.com/iasmelvz/bigger-dreams-production#!  

We hope everyone is doing well, and as always it's a pleasure sharing with everyone!

Thanks

Eli & Mommy! 

PS here is our favorite picture of us: