Rounding out April

He is a portrait of roundness!  Oh dear, and yet he is also beginning to look so old, this "one-shoe bear" of ours.

"Reading" colorful weekend magazines: One of his favorite activities.  The grandfathers have learned rather quickly to hide whatever reading material they hope to maintain legible.

Boy in a box.  (And such a boy!)

"Pop" goes Mateo.  He had us in stitches.

Snack in a box.

(Notice that the biscuit has fallen onto the carpet, shedding light onto that expression that he wears.)

(Biscuit recovered.)

Crib Dancing

We can't get enough of that laugh. This was filmed shortly after the little guy learned to pull himself up in his crib, after which the next step, logically, was to start dancing.

April continues to shower us with loved ones

B, José and Mateo in the port of Gijón

Looking over the Cantabrian Sea from a Spanish Civil War bunker in Gijón


one of many warm meals


Mateo awakes


Along San Lorenzo beach, the beautiful church of St. Peter in the background


José and Mateo play in the wake of an afternoon rain shower, Oviedo

Sweet Goodbyes

Padrino will see this cutie pie in the summer when she returns to Asturias and before he heads to the States, but Mateo and I have to sadly wait until Christmas for our next reunion.

A Happy Easter!

Holy Week

We had Maria, Francisco and Mercedes in town for Holy Week, all great cause for celebration in this household. Big, warm meals and a cousin and godparent lovefest every day!

Three cheers for the chef! We got close over this stunning paella prepared by padrino (Berni). I cannot get over how old Mercedes looks here!

Cousin play in the exersaucer, Mateo doing his best to smile for the camera

Sweet moment between Mercedes and Mateo, such affection and curiosity, respectively ;)

Morning play, a cute and groggy pair

Pictures after Easter mass: handsome Mario, Mercedes, "Matty" (as Mercedes is calling him) and a very proud madrina (godmother Maria). This Easter celebration has, quite obviously, been sponsored by the great letter "M".

"Musical pews." I love Mateo's legs and feet in this shot. He looks like a little sweater-vested marionette.

The little lady herself, wearing the new bow and purse sent to her from Becky.

The Easter cakes traditionally given from godparent to godchild: Bernardo to Mercedes, Maria to Mateo.

Three Years Ago

What a blessing to have found each other. This happiness has only grown since that beautiful April day in Oviedo, in the presence and prayers of our families, the love of our loved ones, the birth of happy inklings of Alma and Mateo and those little ones still to come. Some gifts are too great to even fully comprehend.

Leader Girls Unite: Grand Finale

So, we were driving out towards the coast with the idea of spending my mom and sister's last day with us there, but took a spontaneous detour off the highway to stop and say hello to Roberto, our dear friend and the director of the music conservatory where Bernardo teaches. Spontaneous detours are almost always brilliant. This one, of course, turned into the most beautiful, extended afternoon and meal in Roberto's home and breathtaking backyard...


The view from Roberto's yard


Having just arrived, sweet father and son shot


It doesn't take long for this one to get warmed up.


Happily passed from one to another, here with Aunt Fitzie


In the backyard, under the grapevines, watching the neighborhood goats feed

Good company, beautiful surroundings and Lula, Guinness' Spanish soulmate

I had to include at least one picture where you can appreciate some of the goat entertainment next door; and I love this image of Mateo and B.


Watching the goats and playing in the grapevines with Gram

This memory will make me smile for the rest of my life.

The whole group minus Mateo, on the terrace where we had lunch

What a lovely visit we had with these two, and how sad to let them go.

(...although if your mom and sister are going to leave you somewhere, Asturias makes a pretty wonderful place from which to miss them. I dream of some day living with our gaggle of children in one of those houses on the other side of the river there.)

Leader Girls Unite: Mid-week

Morning view of the street from our dining room

...and raising our eyes to the hills

Our afternoon in Gijón:

Gram and Mateo's café tenderness

Elizabeth's very appropriate response to a first trimester craving

Mateo's very first cookie, courtesy of the older woman sitting next to us at the café

His face upon finishing his very first cookie!

Walking along the port...

...and walking along the ocean

Walking back and forth...

...back and forth, in the park overlooking Gijón and the Cantabric Sea

Life doesn't get any better than this.

happiness in the waning light

Clothes dry and we walk down the hill to head back home.

Leader Girls Unite: First Days

The only thing that could have possibly made this reunion more exciting than anticipated was the revelation, upon her arrival, that Elizabeth is pregnant. Hallelujah! There is new life among us! October 2010 (oops--2009) holds great promise for this extended family. While this news really took the cake when sister and mom got to Spain, here are a collection of pictures detailing how the rest of our days together in Asturias were not half-bad either:


In the park in Oviedo, milestones for everyone: Elizabeth beautifully pregnant and Mateo sniffling as his first tooth breaks through his poor little gums.


"Is this good, Aunt Fitzie?"

Concentrating hard with Gram

With mom



Her body may be presently directing its greatest resources to creating the baby inside of her, but that girl can still snap the shutter! (All that to say that the following beautiful shots of Oviedo are courtesy of Aunt Fitzie.)

Cathedral view

Plaza del Fontán, in front of the library


The greatest view of all.

Back at home to eat:

Oh Mateo, those eyes melt me.