let my love open the door to your heart

{Christmas Sunday}

everyone says that their family is "da besssstt." "number one." "super duper."
i'm no stranger to these phrases.
my family is the bomb.
we do the coolest things together.
we have a blast together.
we love each other NO MATTER WHAT.
proof of our coolness, blastness, and loveness = our recent family reunion at Beaver Creek Lodge. the theme: let my love open the door to your heart (think: dan in real life).
let me take you on a picture journey through our fantastic time together. (makes me wish i was still there).

{welcome to the lodge. dozens of private rooms, a huge common room, a huge eating area...and so much more. what do you do there, you ask?}

{how bout a little foozeball?}

{or a joke by Uncle Mario? guaranteed to laugh...}

{or how bout spending some quality time together, Mr. M & Mimi?}

{or, better yet, how bout some latin aerobics, directed by the super fit Aunt Marianne?}

{tired yet?}

{how bout a nice morning stretch?}
{or a nice snuggle with Bela, Aunt Kris, and Dany?}

{Ohhhhh, you want to do something FUN. how bout playing in the snow?? well, you need to get your snow gear on for that....and that can get tricky. Bela is proof of that. snow gear is uber poofy. it often takes two to get decked out for the snow}

{it also often takes laying down flat. it's worth it though}

{don't forget your bandit mask, dad}

{mom, did you know you have wings sticking out of your bandit mask??}

{even babies need snow-gear}

{turns out, El's loves the snow}

{and Aunt Karen's kisses}

{Sean & Court made each other laugh a lot}

{and Mr. M was a trooper, even though combated the flu the entire trip}

{going out in the snow is an adventure with a 6-month old}

{El's loved sucking on her zipper}

{almost everyone enjoying the cold}

{Ellie loved Danyelle}

{and she loved getting to spend quality time with daddy...doing things like watching movies...}

{eating shoes...}

{she also loved being loved by little Denim}

{she did NOT, however, like waiting to open presents}

{but she liked to eat them when they were opened!}

{classic Christmas morning photo. i look wasted. ugh}

{notice the very sparse tree...wouldn't you think they could find a tree with a little more needles than that, seeing that we were in the mountains? never really understood that...}

{Ellie hung out in her pj's all day...and even borrowed Uncle Sean's hat. looked pretty good on her}

{in the mean time, it snowed all day. never seen so much snow in my life. see that trailer? that's just SOME of it. craziness}

{then there was the talent show. little Dany was a dancing flower}

{Mr. M, Alex & my mom played "let my love open the door"}

{Mimi shared her cuteness with all of us}

{and so did Bela}

{Andrew was a pirate}

{Livy was a Barbie girl (turns out, at our family talent show, the popular thing to do is dress up as something you're not...it's like a big costume party)}
{Mimi and i shook our hot booties}

{and my mom blew us all away with her mad guitar skills. how does she do it?}

it was a fabulous Christmas...with much more than i posted...including delicious food, a white elephant exchange (aka YANKEE SWAP), games games games, wonderfully generous gifts, laughing, singing, dancing, wow, the list goes on. it was one of the best i can remember. sad it's over. but so grateful for the memories!

xoxo

have yourself a merry little christmas

we're off to bear lake to spend christmas morning with all of my crazy cuban family... i am so excited, i can't stand it. i hope all of you are loving the break...

sending you hugs and all our love!

Merry Christmas.

xoxo

Christmas looks like...

{snow out my window}

{Ellie on Santa's lap}

{a prettily trimmed tree}

{presents and stockings}

{including...a present for my holiday blog giveaway winner!}

yes, this is a day late (let me introduce you all to my friend late: late, meet the readers, readers, meet late. hopefully late is just visiting...he's one of those unwelcome guests that just drops in without any notice and opens the fridge without even asking. ugh). but to make up for that, i let my holiday spirit shine, and included all comments, even if they were late, to be entered into my giveaway. so. anyways.

drum roll please:

1. Debra
2. Barbes
3. Alesa
4. JoSue
5. Lali Johnson
6. Lali Johnson
7. Linda
8. Beachbummin
9. Ju and Brack
10. Jons and Celeste Leigh
11. Matt
12. Lindsay Peterson
13. Clay Jenna and JJ
14. Linda
15. Becca
16. Steph and Tony
17. The Oldham's
18. Joni and Rico Adams
19. Cassidy and AE Harris
20. Torrie and the girls
21. Debra
22. Steph and Tony
23. dolls123
24. Puggles
25. Aaron & Ashley
26. Megs
27. Mark
28. Rach
29. Linda
30. Anne
31. Bartonbeat
32. Rachel
33. Hilary
34. Lali Johnson
35. Ed and Kelli
36. Clay Jenna and JJ
37. Kristi
38. Kristi
39. Mike
40. Caleb and Danyelle Heder
41. Puggles
42. Kate
43. Amy
44. Megan
45. Kristi
46. Monica
47. Erin
48. Kristi
49. Kimberly

yes, Debra, that's right, you've WON! you told me you were feelin' lucky...and my randomizer must've known it. now, i obviously need your address (even though we know where you live) so i can send you your goods.

all other readers...this was SO fun. i LOVED all of your comments (as i always do)- you know how to make this little 1/2 cuban's heart swell and feel special. and, of course, don't be sad! i'm sure santa will make all your dreams come true in a short 9 days! (but who's counting??) plus, i promise to do another giveaway soon...like maybe in the bleak month of january.....or february...or march... who knows. but stay tuned, whenever it is, it's sure to be great...and found only here at ballroomandbiscotti.

Merry Christmas!
xoxo

*p.s. i had some comments from people on this giveaway whose blogs i am not invited to. please, pretty please, will you invite me? i don't know how else to contact you other than writing on this thing-a-majig. but then again, i don't want to write my personal email address on my public blog post. what's a girl to do?? suggestions?* xoxo

rock-a-by baby...

after a week of sleep boot camp:

ellie slept through the night last night.
(for the first time EVER)

merry christmas to me!

i am currently:
::jumping up and down::
::thinking of running a marathon::
::wondering, "have i ever felt this good?::

a full night of sleep does wondrous things to an exhausted mama.

dear full night's sleep,
please come back tonight. i'll bake you cookies. i'll let you win my blog giveaway. i'll give you anything you want. just come back. ok? i love you.
xoxo,
marce

*p.s. today is THE LAST day to enter my holiday blog giveaway! for details on how to enter, click here. happy commenting, and good luck!!**

6 months ago today...

it was warm. very warm.
the sky was blue- very blue- hardly a cloud to be seen.
i was huge. very huge.
and nervous. very nervous.

it was a week past my due date.
which felt like a year past my due date.
it was one of those weeks that i'd feel super excited and giddy, then super frustrated and uncomfortable, then super stressed and inadequate all within minutes of each other.
my baby was coming.
i was going to finally meet this little person that sat so snug inside of me all of those months.

would she like me?
would i be ready?
what if they were wrong and i wasn't having a girl?
did we have everything we needed?
but all of that didn't matter because the inevitable was just around the corner.

early early that morning (we're talking 2 am) the craziness began. i was admitted to the hospital after some procedures... they were monitoring E's heart-rate...and it was so fast, they wanted to keep a close check on it. i like to think she was nervous, too. way too comfortable in my tummy- stretchin it out real good- i'm sure she knew big changes were coming. it's funny for me to think of my little baby now and think of her then staying put for that extra week. it shows me that before she was born, she was already equipped with that strong will that all of us have come to fear and love so much.

back to the story.

i wasn't too happy about being admitted early.
i didn't have my bags.
i hadn't had a shower in 12 whole hours. i wanted to be clean before the blessed event. not that it mattered to anyone but me. call me quirky.
i wanted to sleep in my bed one last night (as if i could've really slept that night).
i was scared by all the beeping noises and monitors- and the stupid iv pulsed every mili second, as if it had its own heartbeat. blasted iv.

but that unhappiness ended quickly as my water broke an hour later...3 am.
scared the bajeezees out of me.
and it made me think:
it would've been super crappy to be laying my head down on my own pillow in my own bed and have my water break...and have that mess to clean up when i got back from the hospital. so i counted my blessings :)

the craziness continued as the contractions began.
oh the pain.
oh the blessed pain.
but surprisingly bearable...until...

the pitocin kicked in.

i remember thinking the following scenario:
"somebody call the police.
this kind of pain should be illegal.
stop it.
stop it right now.
i'll do anything to stop this pain.
M! I TOLD YOU TO TELL THEM TO STOP THE PAIN."
tears.
more tears.

my best friend who i'd never met walked through the door with a tray and a very long needle.
i instantly loved him.
i may have even told him i loved him.
pain was gone.
feeling in my toes was gone.
feeling almost everywhere was gone.
bliss.

hours passed by.
family came.
mom. dad. sister. brother. sister-in-law. mother-in-law.
my mom cried.
i cried because my mom cried.
(crying is contagious if you're related.)
M was by my side the whole day.
every minute.
held my hand.
kept me stocked with ice chips.

2:30 pm came.
it had been 12 hours.
it was time to push.

"push?" i thought.
"how the heck is that possible. i can't feel ANYTHING."
but i assure you, it is possible. just lengthy.

an hour passed.
i looked out the window - up into that very clear, very warm, cloudless sky.
i was exhausted.
i didn't know if i could do it anymore.
then i felt this feeling come over me, "you can do this. she's almost here. you were made to do this."
peace came over me.
it was close.
very close.

3:39 pm
"that wins the loudest cry of the day."
i had to wipe tears from my eyes, and caught myself thinking, "did they hear me cry?" and remembered they were talking about the baby, not me.
doc held her up, she was in fact a SHE.
they weighed her: 8 lbs 9 oz.
they measured her: 21 inches.
big baby, i thought.


aside from looking a little sumo wrestler-ish, she was beautiful.
soo much hair.
such soft skin.
wide, alert eyes.
such little hands.
wow.
she was ours.
she was a miracle.
she was perfect.
i felt closer to heaven than i had ever felt in my life.


6 months ago, my waist was expanded 10 sizes...now, my waist has shrunk about 8 of those sizes (last two are the hardest- gee whiz) and my heart has expanded 10 sizes. words don't really do justice to how i feel about this little person that the Lord has blessed us with. she has brought us more joy, more laughter, more tears, and more fulfillment than anything we have ever experienced together. i honestly can't believe how fast it has gone by...she has changed so much. and every day, i catch myself thinking, could i love her anymore than i do today, right this minute? and yet, i do.

{taken today}

so, to my 6 month old baby (what the? i have a 6-month old?):

sweet ellie bear,
just like on that warm, sunny day you were born, you continue to bless my life with light and warmth. you truly are my sunshine. i love you right up to that big clear sky and back. thanks for being our sweet little queen- can't wait to see what you do next!
love love love,
your mama.

xoxo

{taken last night}

*p.s. don't forget to comment here to be entered into my holiday blog giveaway. you must comment before midnight on sunday december 14th to enter! no clue what i'm talking about? click here.*