All you need is love. . .

yesterday I celebrated the BIG 40, yep I can't believe it!The day was great and it ended with a lovely dinner at a new restaurant here in Vero Beach called Oriente. It is in the new hotel Costa D'Este which is owned by Gloria Estefan and her husband. The food was excellent but the company was better. Although I wish I could have shared this momentus day with all my well wishers, you were there in thought. I could feel the love yesterday and I felt very special. Thank you everyone.

Danny celebrates his BIG 50 on MOnday so we usually celebrate every year together!!

Tropical Storm Fay is passing by today and we are home waiting it out. Today seems like it is going to be a movie day. All of our yard "chachski's" are up and all the pool toys, etc are inside. Mia woke up and said "Its dark outside" This photo was taken in San Juan, PR and I think it came out so cute. She wanted to have a coffee just like us! I think I may have regretted that! She already asks to get her nails painted when we drive by a nail salon.

* PS. this is a chocolate milk with whipped cream, I can't imagine her on coffee, she would talk me to death !!

Happy 2 Year "Family Day" Mia

Mommy and Daddy love you so much.

It is so hard to believe we were united 2 years ago, it seems like

it was just yesterday. Your cute smile and laugh fills our heart with joy. We love when your nose scrunches when you really laugh and how you get so excited when we make popcorn. You are such a beautiful, smart little girl. You have brought us so much joy and we are so proud to be your parents.

Hola from Puerto Rico!!!We have been very busy and are enjoying ourselves very much! Mia did great on the plane ride and talked the entire time. She watched Mulan for a little but was asking lots of questions and making comments about everything. It is very hot and humid here. Today we went to Bacardi for a tour. My sister's friend Tara arranged a private tour and surprised us with a generous gift certificate to spend at the gift shop. Thanks Tara, you rock!!! We enjoyed mojitos and lime daiquiris (my favorite). Old San Juan was great and we did a lot of walking. Tomorrow we are off to Luquillo Beach, which is suppose to beautiful.

"Island of Enchantment" tomorrow morning we are off to Puerto Rico.

We are so sad we are going to be unable to attend Mia's 2 year "Family Day"

get together in California, but the Carribbean will be a great adventure.

We are looking forward to some sightseeing, relaxation, and maybe a visit to the

Bacardi factory for some tasting : )

8.08.08 Beijing OlympicsIn a nation where the number 8 is a lucky number, China kicked off the Olympics at precisely 8:08pm. We of course are going to watch the opening ceremonies tonight at home and order in Chinese food. Mia knows China is going to be on TV tonight and she gets to stay up as late as she wants. 2 years ago tomorrow Mike and I arrived to tour Beijing before meeting up with the rest of our group to meet our precious daughter, Mia. As a part of our tour we drove by the "Bird's Nest" which was under construction. The "Birds Nest" is where the opening ceremonies will be held. We cannot wait to see the finished product!

We have enjoyed watching many of the shows featuring China and leading up to this BIG occasion.

I wore my Beijing Olympic hat today and got so many comments.

Mia has been taking swim lessons and she is really becoming a little fish. We decided this year to do private lesasons vs. group and see if the individual attention would be better. Her instructor says she is doing extremely well and she anticipates her learning the breaststroke in the near future. The only problem is that Mia holds her breath for so long that she is concerned in an emergency it could fatigue her and do more harm than good. She opens her eyes under the water and can swim a long stretch kicking away and using her arms. We are working on getting her to stick her head out and take a breath and then proceed, but she just swims and swims holding her breath. She is awesome at diving to the bottom and getting sticks, and her instructor laughs because she always comes up with a big smile on her face. Today at home we asked her to swim to us and as I backed up, I put my hand at her tummy and raised her up and told her to take a breath and then I released her back and she was not happy. She told me Mommy "Lets Relax!!! I laughed so hard. We'll see what tomorrow brings.