We Heart FL: Ybor City Part Two

After some lunch and shopping we decided to venture around Ybor and play around with the camera. Ybor really is a great place to take photos so I didn't waste anytime when I came across the brick buildings...

These kids have so much personality :)

There is a cute park called Centennial Park that we landed in which was perfect to let the kiddos burn off some energy...

And how could we leave without trying for a timer shot? 

It's a little out of focus, but not too shabby...

We had a fun day in Ybor and now I am hoping this cold weather goes away so we can go out and play :) I know total cheezeball... Check out Part One of our adventures in Ybor City here.

Walk It Out With Tsukihoshi

As most of you may already know, my little baby Daniel is now a walking little man! You know what that means, right?? Well yes, my head will just spin a little more, but it also means we need some new walking shoes!!! I am a firm believer that children should have the proper walking shoes while they are learning how to walk as well as after. There are so many flat-bottom, poorly made shoes that I know would irritate my feet so I have made sure with Sienna and now with Daniel to spend an extra buck on a solid shoe.

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Sienna's walking shoes were always Stride Rite brand, but this week I stopped into good 'ol Nordstrom just to take a peek and Daniel walked out with some new kicks...Tsuskihoshis to be exact. Say that three times fast! The saleswoman that was assisting me introduced this shoe to me and she claimed that it was a better shoe than the Stride Rite brand ones. Visually it did look like it gave a lot more support around the ankle which is important when you have a little one who wants to run already! And after seeing Daniel in them for over forty-eight hours I can honestly say I'm in love. I can see a huge difference in his walking, or running should I say, since purchasing them. They do cost a pretty penny (around $56 after tax), but like I said, it's important to have a great shoe in the beginning stages of walking! 

I'm so glad I decided to stop in Nordstom and check out their kids selection. While I was there I spotted these adorable Toms too....

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Someone has a birthday coming up next month so we may just be investing in his first pair...

Have you tried Tsukihoshis for any of your littles???

Egg Hunting We Will Go!

Can we talk about mom brain for a second here? So Saturday morning Sienna and I were putting out some of our Easter decorations and enjoying our morning without plans (clearly still in pjs) when all of a sudden it hit me like a ton of bricks: EASTER EGG HUNT! The annual Easter Egg Hunt at the local YMCA was either going on at that moment or it was next Saturday... I hurried and dialed the number to the YMCA and sure enough it was going on at that moment! Total MOM BRAIN!! How could I forget the fun Easter Egg Hunt that not only Sienna, but Daniel could participate in this year?? Well luck was on our side Saturday morning because in 45 minutes there was going to be another Egg hunt for their age group! We scurried to get ready and made it with time to spare....phew! You see, I'm a big kid at heart and want to make sure I can do as many fun things with my kids as humanly possible...it's only normal right?

Since the egg hunt was so last minute it was just me with the two of them since Danny works every Saturday, but it turned out great! They were only allowed four eggs per child which was a good rule, but we were finished about five feet in!

                                   

They were both scared to take pictures with the Easter bunny so we stuck with some arts and crafts after...I'm so glad we made it and that I remembered! I know I would have been kicking myself had we missed it!

Has anyone else had any eggciting Easter fun yet?

Insta Weekend!!

Hello everyone!! The weekend has come to an end and I hope you had a great one! Ours was pretty eventful considering that we went into it without any plans! We had a week full of babies, boating, and blogging...ha!

Here are the photos I managed to upload to Instagram...I seem to have a lot I forgot to upload, but there's always next week :) Enjoy!

You Had Me At Helen...

Last year I received a gift for Mother's Day/birthday from Danny. He ordered a Helen Ficalora necklace straight from her shop in lower Manhattan. The necklace has two handmade charms with each of my baby's initials engraved in it. Aside from my children, it's one of my favorite gifts EVER!

This necklace is so special to me since it allows me to have Sienna and Daniel even closer to me at all times. It wasn't a surprise because I knew I wanted a necklace with their initials and I wanted to make sure it was made out of excellent quality for daily wear. The researcher in me finally decided on Helen and boy am I glad I did! I can honestly say I think I have taken it off maybe a handful of times and it still looks as beautiful as ever (this was a quick iPhone shot so the quality could be better).

I used to work in the jewelry industry that specialized in charms so there is a special place in my heart for meaningful pieces. She only has a few shops around the country and I am hoping we will travel to one of those locations soon ;) 

I am such a fan...

Insta Weekend!!!

Happy St.Patty's Day!! I hope you all have had a great week! It is has been super busy over here, but we didn't forget to squeeze in some fun times and photo ops. Enjoy...

And He's Off!!

So I can officially say Daniel is walking!! He is still a little wobbly, but as of Sunday he will be an 11 month old walking baby boy! We are super excited, but I'm not going to lie...I am a bit nervous. The difference between boys and girls is starting to become crystal clear and quite frankly, Daniel is a monster...a cute little monster at that! So soon I will have a monster that can run...which should be the next step :)

Here's the first official video of him taking some of his first steps...and yes he only has one shoe- ha!

Sorry about the quality, but I have to be quick when I can get it! It really is making me sad how fast he's growing...sigh. I can't believe one year ago he was in my belly almost ready to come out!

P.S. Sorry I've been MIA this week, I've been helping plan a bridal shower for my bestie and attended a fabulous preview event at the new Container Store in town-and yes, it's just as amazing as it sounds!

Eggstatic for Easter!

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Today I was walking through the local craft store and it hit me that Easter is only a couple of weeks away. I can't believe how fast time is going by! Since I have been super busy lately, I thought it would be a good idea to start looking for ideas to decorate Easter eggs. And the best part is Sienna will actually be able to take part in the festivities this year...and Daniel will probably still try to eat the eggs... This is where you will begin to see the big kid in me coming out to play because now I have a partner in crime ;)

When I was little we didn't have things like Pinterest and we didn't do anything uber creative...just the single color egg dunk with the little wired handle. Well now with the Internet and Pinterest there are just hundreds of fun options! So I gathered up a couple of my favorites that would be suitable for a two year old to help out with...

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They are all so cute I'm not sure which one I will choose! So make sure to come back and see... Do you have any eggciting Easter egg decorating ideas to do with the kiddos??

Insta Weekend!!!

Happy weekend everyone!! I am excited to announce a new weekly blog post I will be starting called 

Insta Weekend!! It will be a weekend recap of my Instagram photos. If you don't follow me on Instagram (which you probably should: les_stina), you can just follow my blog and see what's been going on in this crazy little world I live in. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I do...happy Instagramming!!!

We Heart FL: Ybor City Part One

Yesterday we were extremely fortunate to experience some beautiful Florida weather for Danny's day off! We didn't waste any time and decided to take the kids for a stroll through the historic Ybor City. For those of you who are not familiar with Ybor City, it is a celebrated part of Tampa that is filled with Hispanic culture. It is actually considered a land mark that attracts tourists daily. And yes...I felt like a tacky tourist with my Canon in Ybor (which is in my hometown), but it's such an amazing place to get some great photos of the kiddos!

Anywho, we decided to stop at the renowned Gaspar's Grotto for lunch. They have a great patio which works out nicely when you are dining with a toddler and an 11 month old!  Danny and I like to think of ourselves as conch fritter connoisseurs so we had to try them. And they were pretty amazing-some of the best we've ever had!

The kids are beginning to do well with going out to eat as long as we keep it timely...

We even had time to squeeze in a little shopping after lunch...and of course, the boys stayed outside.

Sienna told me that she likes shopping, "very very much!" 

A girl after my own heart...

Stay tuned for part two of our fun adventures with "les deux" in Ybor City!