Terrifying Threes... #tbt

My Cora turned 3years old this summer! 

 Although Coraline is my niece, not my child, I always think people on my Instagram assume she's my daughter. Just because I post a million photos of my Princess Coraline doesn't mean she's my kid! But, still, Cora is my absolute favorite model- she's always doing something weird/ funny/ cute & I just can't help myself! (>v<) 

It's kind of become tradition for Cora to have multiple birthday celebrations- 1 in California with my Dad and the rest of our Cali familia, 1 small little celebration on her actual birthday, and then a 3rd one with my Mom and all of us in San Antonio. Guess those are the benefits of being the first grandchild! 

Last year, while in California we celebrated at one of my favorite locations: Ariel's Grotto! Although it's super expensive and the selection is very limited, I still think the food is great and it's always fun to meet the princesses!  

The last time we were here Suzette picked out Cora's Belle dress (since she's her mother, I guess it was ok..!) But this year it was my turn! And the best part- Cora takes after her aunty with Ariel being her favorite Disney Princess! As soon as she saw her Ariel dress she started stripping down, and was so ready to transform into a Princess! 

The dress just happened to also match Suzette's hair, haha. 

And, as always, I was sure to take tons of pictures of my Cora's Princess Debut (again)! 

Every time we celebrate at Disneyland, I get super excited. I hope this can stay a tradition of ours! And it's funny because my dad is always saying that Suzette and I seem more excited to meet the princesses than Cora does... And, honestly, I wouldn't deny that, haha... I truly just love being able to share my passion for Disney with my Cora! She loves the Wonderful World of Disney almost as much as I do! 

And continuing with the Disney Theme! This was the cute little cake my mom got Cora for her actual birthday! Although we have parties on a different day, it's always nice to have a little sweet something in honor of our day of birth! 

Cora really is lucky, like me, and gets to celebrate her birthday several times over. Since my birthday is during the holidays, I usually get multiple celebrations, too, just so I can feel extra special, haha. (^-^)

For the San Antonio birthday party, Suzette and Billy wanted to celebrate in their new home! Since they had just moved into their duplex a couple months earlier, it was also their first party- what a nice way to break it in!

It was lots of fun, as always, and pretty laid back. Friends and other little ones were invited to come enjoy our home-made sweets and all the water games! I helped make a couple of our little snacks- there were so many, I wish I could put all the pictures on here! And not only were they super easy to make and really yummy, they were healthy too! These little clams were mine and everyone's favorite! They went out within the first hour! 

 

As a person who's not into big parties and such, I always love little celebrations like these. You can relax in your natural environment and enjoy the company of your friends and family. The Harkiewiczes were able to come too! I made sure to invite them- firstly because Sarah and Cora share the same birthday (7/11)! And secondly, since little Stevie is around the same age as Cora. I really hope they enjoyed the party, because I certainly loved having them and I really hope they'll be at our future parties! I can't wait to watch Cora and Stevie grow up!! <3 <3 

The Game is Called 21...

  I figured, "Maybe it'd be best to keep things in a chronological order?" So, let's start things off with my BIRTHDAY!!!

Rainbow Birthday Roses

  On December 30th, I turned 21! Yep, that's right world, I am officially LEGAL. But it doesn't matter much, since I don't even like to drink, but that didn't stop my friends and family from showering me with drinks.

  Anyone who knows me know I don't like large parties, so for my birthday when I was asked what I wanted to do I responded with: "Stay home." Ha. They didn't let that one slide. So, on my birthday, I got dressed up as an Ariel Fangirl (because I'm really 12, not 21) and my sister, Suzette took me around the mall. I loved it! Since Suzette and her fiancé, Billy, both work at the mall I got the princess treatment all day! My Free drink from Starbucks, my Free gift from Sephora, a Free Tea, a Free Spider-Man iPhone case (which was actually given early), and a Free pair of Bluetooth headphones! Besides all the STUFF, everyone was super awesome and wishing me happy birthday all day! Then my sisters and mom treated me to lunch at the Cheesecake Factory- one of my favorites. It was there that Billy bought me my 1ST LEGAL DRINK: a Hard Strawberry Lemonade. It was actually pleasantly delicious. When the crew brought out my birthday cheesecake, they alas gave me a shot, some Rum & Vodka concoction. That one wasn't that good.

Sitting at the Bar like a Big Girl

1st Legal Drink

Happy Birthday, Me!

  After the mall, we returned home where I got to just hang out. The whole family stopped by and we got to play some games, then my friends picked me up and I got to have my 1st Hookah Experience! I kind of have mixed feelings about Hookah. It smelled decent, didn't taste too good, and although it was really relaxing, after a while, you get a head-ache. Besides that, I got Bubble Tea and quality-time with some of my best friends- so I loved it. 

Hookah with my Lovely Peoples!

21st Birthday Princess Selfie

  The next day, New Years Eve, was spent traveling around with my mom. I visited patients with her, then we got all of the party supplies and food supplies for the night's New Year/ Birthday Party. This was the 1st year that I can remember where it was JUST the family at our house. Usually "family friends" or "distant relatives" somehow find their way into our party, but this year it was just us. Throughout the night I kept getting handed drinks, too. At one point I was having to juggle three at-a-time; Billy, Uncle, and my mom just kept mixing them up for me. Billy's goal, apparently, was to get me drunk; however, little did he know, that I kept hiding my drinks so he wouldn't notice that I wasn't drinking them. So, all-in-all, that night I had a ton of Vodka, Rum, Soda, combinations of all sorts, as well as a very yummylicious Pina Colada! The Pina Colada was my favorite: at the end of the night, I had stolen the blender she used to make it & was drinking it with a straw. (I had to make room in the fridge, honest!) 

New Years Drinks

  We ended the night with an intense game of Phase 10 and everyone was shocked that after all those drinks, I was still full functional. Guess I'm a much stronger drinker than I look! Well, I say that... The next morning, my brain woke me up around 5AM. I walked to the bathroom, totally normal, then all of a sudden I started throwing up basically everything. Haha- it wasn't bad, or anything. I was actually surprised because I wasn't hurting or anything (that night or the next morning) and after a couple minutes in the bathroom, I was totally fine and just went back to sleep like nothing had happened! 

  So, there's my apparent "1st Drunken Experience"??? Well, I hope someday I get a more exciting one... Besides that, my friends and family kept treating me as the week went on. On the 1st, I got to go out with another couple of friends who treated me drinks after we went to see Anchorman 2. Together we sat at a pub and had a couple of Star Fuckers and Lifesavers- those ones were actually quite delicious.

At the Pub

  The next week I spent in California with my dad, which was a nice little break from everything while at the same time horrible! It was horrible because every time we went out to eat, Dad refused to let me get a normal drink- I HAD to get some kind of alcoholic beverage! Now, for most people, this would be their dream- but I hate alcohol and all I wanted was a fucking lemonade and no one was letting me have it!! It was so bad...
  And there you have it! For my birthday I had a ton of relaxing fun and a whole lot of first time experiences, especially in the alcoholic beverage tasting area... I may not be big into drinking, like at all, but it's pretty cool that I'm 21 now. Now, if I wanted to buy alcohol just because I wanted to, I COULD, and possessing that power is an awesome feeling!

Birthday Princess...

This summer, our little Coraline turned 2years old!!

  HOWEVER, instead of the normal 1day celebration, this little girl got 4birthday parties! 1party was hosted by my father and celebrated with all of their friends; the second was hosted by Disneyland, the third was actually ON her birthday, and the fourth and final party was held for our immediate family.

  Party #1: Dad, Jennifer, and a host of their friends celebrated with us. It was a sort-of block party, and because it was on the 4th of July, the military base had a ton of celebratory events happening. The same day, Suzette, Billy and I had also attended Anime Expo, so by the time the party had begun we were already exhausted. Even so, we had to be good party guests! At some point, I escaped the craziness and hid in an upstairs bedroom where I killed a few hours watching tv. Haha, I'm such a party animal!

The theme was Monster's University, since Cora's favorite movie is Monster's Inc. How funny that the prequel was released just before her birthday! I have yet to see it, but I've heard great reviews; besides, if Cora likes it, I'll most likely love it!

Party #1 was a crazy success! The kids and adults all had fun, && we got to watch fireworks at its conclusion! What a lucky little birthday girl! 

MY favorite birthday celebration was party #2!! Dad and Jenny took us to 3days of Disneyland!!! ((No matter how old I get, Disney parks will always make me happy!)) Sadly, because we had a fussy Cora who needed nap times, we only did 3half-days, but it's better than none.

On the first day of Disney we spent most of our time in the kids area riding teacups and every little storybook ride we could find! We also did Build-a-Bear, and ate at the Rainforest Cafe' which has become a sort of tradition for our family. On the second day we ate at Ariel's Grotto for lunch, which was pretty exciting since we had never been before. They gave us a cute Belle birthday cake and  on the last day, we met a bunch of the princesses!! I'm pretty sure I was the most excited out of everyone there!! 

Me & Princess Coraline!
She looked so freaking cute in her dress!!

This year's Belle,
I'm thinking Ariel for the next one??
(>w<)

Yes, I'm an Ariel fangirl!!

Princess Cora with Princess Ariel!!

She was pretty fascinated with all of the princesses

And she kept mimicking them!

Cora got to meet her Favorite Princess, Tiana!

And then Belle, Suzette's favorite!

&&&& yes, I got to meet Ariel!!! I was sooo excited!! As I said, I was the most excited!! 

Coraline's 3rd birthday party was nice and little. And guess what- it was actually on her birthday! Mom just got a cupcake and a candle for Cora, she blew it out, and the end! She was officially 2!!

Cora's 4th, and final birthday, was planned by Suzette and Billy and held at their new house. This one was nice and little too: Our family came over and some of their friends. The theme was Dr. Seuss, and it was so cute! 

Suzette got super excited since she was planning the party! She made green deviled eggs, and decorated the whole house in Dr. Seuss. I had fun, and it was cute watching Cora opening her gifts.

It's funny to see her reactions to everything, since she's still learning everything. And I'm excited to see her grow in the years to come! 

Sincerely Yours,

Lisette Diaz

ৎ꒰ ¯ิ̑﹃ ¯ิ̑๑꒱ુ ୭ ~Sweet Dreams~ ৎ꒰ ¯ิ̑﹃ ¯ิ̑๑꒱ુ ୭ 

Birthday Surprise!

HiHi!!

For 2weekends in a row,

I decided to make the 4-6hour trip home.

Last weekend, 

I visited for the Easter Holiday;

This weekend,

I decided to surprise my mom & little brother

for their birthdays!

April 7th seems to be a very popular birthday!

I can count 7people I know that share it!

This year,

my mom was turning 41

& my brother, Nicky, was turning 13!!

Neither of them knew that I was driving up for the weekend,

I spent the whole day with Suzette preparing a cake.

& Before the night was up, 

I was walking into the house with their surprise:

Me & a Cake!!

It's Become a Sort of Tradition

that when I return home,

I become a Personal Cora Photographer:

Coraline Trying to Sit

in the Big Girl Chair

Making Faces With Grandma

Cora is Going to be Such a

Girly-Girl!

Sister Time with our Boy, 

Muhddy-Bear!

Cookie Cake for the Birthday Boy & Girl!

Courtesy of Rochelle & D.J.

When the 3 Sisters are All Together,

We Can't Stop Laughing!

I Love Being Home

& Having Dinner with just the Family!

Till Next Time: 

Remember to KEEP IT GENKI!!

☆*:.｡. o(≧▽≦)o .｡.:*☆