Rodriguez Family growth in 2010

2010 has been full of new additions to the Family!

It started with Nico's arrival on January 15th, 2010

Then my second cousin, Susana had her son Mattia on April 16th, 2010 in Miami but they live in Medellin, Colombia.

My cousin Gaby had her son Manuel on June 4th, 2010 in Barcelona, Espana. My mom was able to be there for the last couple weeks of her pregnancy and for the arrival of Manolo, his nickname.

And just 2 days ago, my cousin Cati had her little boy,Tomas on July 20th, 2010 in Cali, Colombia....on Colombia's Independence day!

Its going to be so much fun seeing them all grow up, same age, family and cultural background...but different surroundings... our own version of the movie Babies

6 months old!!

Nico's 1/2 Birthday

It's a little late...but our internet hasn't really been working so I'm finally catching up on mypostings!

Last Thursday Nico celebrated his 6 month birthday!!!

Now, as a 6 month old, he's been doing a couple new tricks...

He is now rocking back and forth and EATING BABY FOOD!!!

So far he has tried: 1- Carrots, 2- Squash 3: Sweet Potatoes

Nico has also been really enjoying his bouncy chair that one of Abuelita's friends' sent him as a gift (Marcella and Simon). Nico LOVES all the tails in the book and finds the book rather intriguing!

He has been sitting in his highchair at restaurants LIKE A BIG BOY, accompanying all the adults!
Abuelita and Nico have been hanging out a lot so that Mommy can go teach, run, and catch up on other life activities that she hasn't been able to do in a while. Nico and abuelita are always laughing when I walk in the door. Nico thinks its hysterical when abuelita barks at him like a dog or plays pick-a-boo. Nico and MOMMY are really sad that abuelita is leaving early next week! We don't want her to go.

Year to year we all experience changes.....we, I think, took the cake on this one...hahaha

It has been an incredible experience to actually SEE TIME going by in Nico's development, first in my belly, and now outside. My belly growth was visible in centimeters and pounds, week by week. Now that Nico is here, his growth has so many more facets....not just seeing his growth length-wise and weight-wise but seeing his coordination improve, his interest in objects increase, him gain understanding of the world around him is truly AWEsome. Days sometimes feel long and nights of LITTLE sleep even longer, BUT these past 6 months have FLOWN BY!

I love my little pumpkin head and I'm so happy God sent me this little angel to take care of....

HAPPY HALF BIRTHDAY NICO LICO!

I'm signed up!!!

Today I signed up for the San Antonio 1/2 Marathon!

Though it will be the second time I run a 13.1 mile race, it will be my first half racing as a MOMMY!!!

I can't wait to see Nico throughout the course! I started my training on Saturday and since then have been running everyday. Hopefully this trend will continue. I'm starting to feel a little sore in my feet especially but much more soreness awaits ahead.

I want to raise money for a project that I had thought about doing with my community in Panama while I was there....When I complete the project details, I will let you all know. I hope that this way, I can accomplish one of the many projects I had planned to complete in my time in the Peace Corps!

Sign up today for the 1/2 or full Marathon with the code: Lucky13 for a $13 discount. The price will increase to $120 on August 31st.

Road toward San Antonio begins today!

18 weeks until the San Antonio Rock and Roll 1/2 Marathon.

A mommy friend who used to run for FSU texted me yesterday asking if I was interested in running it. A part of me didn't want to do it, but I said yes. Because I haven't gotten into a routine yet, I am nervous that I won't be in the racing shape I want to be in. But my plan is that by committing to this race, I will be forced to be more disciplined and start running more regularly; something I never thought would be hard for me to do.

I want to set a goal for myself that I can attain, but at the same time I don't want to lower the bar too much...I ran a 1:31:20 in the Miami ING 1/2 Marathon in January 2009. At that time I was coming off of 4 years cross-country/ track training...even though I didn't do any special training for the race, not even workouts, just 1 hour a day of running.

My mom is here for a couple weeks and so while she hangs out with Nico I can go do my running/swimming.

Wish me luck!

4th of July Road Trip!

Nico's first ROAD TRIP!

4th of July morning, Peter and I decided to take our first family road trip to the beaches of Texas, Galveston to be exact. We were a little hesitant due to the bad weather and HURRICANE ALEX that hit a little south of Texas earlier in the week. We did not catch one drop of rain!

We got some traffic as we drove through Houston...one of the many not so good things that we have heard about the city. When we finally crossed into Galveston, we found it to be a run-down, abandoned version of what we think new orleans looks like. There were some restaurants in the Old downtown Square all had balconies and terrace areas. We saw fireworks from one terrace top.

We stayed at the Hotel Galvez and Spa: http://www.wyndham.com/hotels/GLSHG/main.wnt?cid=ROMGWD

Nico saw fireworks for the first time!

From 1007 July 4th in Galveston

Nico got to hang out in the ocean and in the pool.

From 1007 July 4th in Galveston

From 1007 July 4th in Galveston

He got to go on his first bike ride!

From 1007 July 4th in Galveston

Hear is a slide show of our Road Trip =)

Happy Birthday America!!!

Tio and Tia come VISIT NICO!!!

Manuela and Juan's visit was great. They had a little trouble getting out of Austin cause of weather, but after an extra day stay, they made it back to Miami safely.

There are other pictures of their trip but we haven't gotten them yet...they are on FACEBOOK.

We moved with the help of tio and tia and daddy's friends... and love the new apartment! Nico has his own room, like a BIG BOY!!!

Daddy's Day!

Father's Day was full of Adventures!

From 1006 1st Father's Day

We had a yummy authentic Texan Breakfast: Steak, Egg, and Bean tacos

Then we went to Eddy Pool:Deep Eddy Pool is a historic, man-made swimming pool in Austin, Texas. Deep Eddy is the oldest swimming pool in Texas and features a bathhousebuilt during the Depression era by the Works Progress Administration. The pool began as a swimming hole in the Colorado River, became a resort in the 1920s, and is today a popular swimming pool operated by the City of Austin.

From 1006 1st Father's Day

From 1006 1st Father's Day

Watched Brazil play at a Restauraunt with some friends

Then we went to Lake Travis on a SAIL BOAT RIDE! It was the first time me and Nico had ever been on a sail boat! We stopped on the way there to get a Life-jacket for Nico and we were set!

Even though we got on the sailboat at 6:15pm, it didn't really cool down until like 7pm. Nico didn't really like his life-jacket, I don't blame him...it look like of constricting.

While we were out on the water, floating, I fed Nico and he fell asleep. I guess the rocking was soothing for him..it was making me a little sea sick though. I jumped into Lake Travis for a little. The water felt great!!!!

From 1006 1st Father's Day

I think Peter enjoyed his father's Day =) We are still waiting for his other gifts to be delivered!

TIA Manuela comes into town with Tio Juan this week and We are moving to the new apartment this FRIDAY! The guest bed will be gone by the time Manuela and Juan leave and Nico will have HIS OWN ROOM, like a big boy!!!