Happy Baby Time

The days and weeks seem so precious as we watch Joaquim change bit by bit. He now reaches for things and holds on to things so well and keeps himself entertained at his chair for a long time looking at his toys. He is really smiley and likes new people and getting attention wherever he goes!

Here he is at Can Ginebreda with Julie and her friend from Paris (August 22nd, just 4 months old).

Happy Times! (August 30th in Caldes)

Times is flying by, and I see I started this post two months ago! Joaquim has changed so much! He is now crawling, sitting up and is now in his big baby crib and is sleeping all night. He is very social and goes with everyone and is 6 months old now!

Here is Joaquim on his first train ride with Aunt Sally. This picture is from September 4th - he is 4 1/2 months old.

 With his Grandma and Iaia and Iaio (September 7th)

Good night story with Grandma (September 11th)

4 Months Old!

Happy 4 month old birthday to Joaquim!

We have had a wonderful past month with him:)
He has met lots of new friends. Here he is with Jenny and Juan from Palamos.

He can now go into a full plank position! and make lots of fun cute squeaky sounds. 

 We are having lots of fun and love him so much!

Summertime!

So many firsts for Joaquim. This July was his first dip in the Mediterranean,

 his first tour de France...he really looks like he watches it...

 

and is able to take everyone´s attention off of it!
And it was his first (Spanish/Catalan) family photo.

He also turned over from his back to his stomach for the first time, getting his arm out from under him, on July 14th - 4 days before he was 3 months old.

Happy Birthday to me!

Today is my birthday and all I can think of is that I´ve already gotten the biggest present ever this year with our little baby Joaquim! He is growing so fast and has a beautiful smile.

He has an adoring Mommy and Papa and enjoys tummy time, going for walks and hanging out with his Iaia and Iaio (Grandma and Grandpa), his Aunt Lara and Uncle Pau and his cousin Leia.

He is already well-traveled (for two months old) and has been to France twice! Once to the Pyrenees and this past week in Provence with our friends Matt and Jen and their little girl Evie.

Little Joaquim

We have a new joy in our lives, his name is Joaquim Alexandre Cabruja Stein and he was born on April 18, 2015.

Just a short time ago he seemed like a dream and I couldn´t wait to see his little face. Photo by Lara Jaruchik.

 And then we were three

As everyone says, time is flying by and we want to hold on to every second. Here we are celebrating his 1 month birthday.

Mushroom ¨Hunting¨ expedition a success

We went on our first wild mushroom hunt of the year this weekend and looks like all the rain we´ve been having is worth it. After the past couple dry years, we were happy to find lots of wild mushrooms and have been enjoying them in our meals. Here is Jaume about to pick a rossignol, the ¨bolet¨ we found the most of.

Though very interesting to look at, there are always some ¨bolets¨ or wild mushrooms that I prefer to just take a picture of. Some of them can be highly toxic or give you a very sore stomach, so it is better to stick with the ones that you know.

Trompettes de la Mort, always a welcome find, are great in pasta. (I know I look rough:), it is hard work looking for mushrooms! Especially this time of year when there is still so much foliage)

Hmmmm.... ¨bolet¨ or chestnut shell...?

Cumpleaños Feliz

I had a wonderful extended birthday celebration enjoying some of the wonders of Catalonia.
We got to do a great walk in the gorges in Canet d´Adri. A very peaceful place, just 20 minutes or so out of Girona. It was neat to see tadpoles, dragonflies, waterbugs and even a little bitty snake.

I enjoyed a delicious lunch with my Catalan family and a special dinner with friends from Calgary and Navasa.

Our next location was in the foothills of the Pyrenees just north of Castellfollit de la Roca. We liked hiking along a gorge so much the other day that we walked up this gorge from Sadernes and saw lots of rock climbers hanging from the cliffs. We went up to Sant Aniol d´Aguja with its little chapel built in the IX by Benedictine monks. Then a bit more, up to the Salt del Brull where we bravely jumped in the water, it was cold!

My last birthday celebration had to be on the coast! We went to the Cala d´Aiguafreda where we swam around before having my last birthday feast of paëlla!

 What a wonderful birthday in beautiful places. Thank you Jaume and Catalonia!