family

Being that my immediate family is back in the Philippines- it's no mystery that I miss my family so much. I miss my mama and my 'lil sister Vanessa- whom I'll always refer to as little even though truth is she is 29 years old and is herself a mom.

Today I got a rare treat! Cousins from San Francisco and New York are in town. Leon and I had a great time spending a few hours with them today.

After we got our family fix we headed down to Leon's pediatrician for his third set of vaccines. I drag my feet to the pediatrician whenever it's vaccine day. I just dread witnessing my sweet boy take those needles. He handled it better than the previous times and I'm oh so proud of him. He still screamed and cried but this time I can tell that he was well aware of my presence. He looked at me and somehow he knew I'm there to make it all better. He pushed himself against me while I held him so close in my arms.

Good news is we don't have to come in for vaccines until 3 months from today. Yipee!

Love

My sweet family. I melt just looking at this picture. We enjoyed a quick brunch this morning at Blue Jam Cafe on Melrose after our surprisingly stress free trip at the DMV.

Leon has been doing so well whenever we take him to restaurants. We still juggle holding him when he starts showing signs of wanting to get out of his car seat but at least we no longer get the tears. He seems happy to look around and absorb his surroundings.

Our Memorial Weekend....

I say this time and time again... I'm so blessed to have the sweetest and kindest mom-in-law. If only it were easy to move to NC we would. I miss being surrounded by family and I treasure each time she travels to spend time with us in LA.

Leon at 2 months old... I can't get over his adorable facial expressions. Here our 'lil man looks so proud to be standing on his feet with the help of dad.

Nice day

My attempt to take a photo of our family on our first official outing today.

We enjoyed a nice lunch at Bottega Louie with Leon while he snoozed in his comfy stroller (he is in the background of photo). The entire restaurant bustled with the lunch rush and yet he was a total trooper. It was wonderful! Chris and I had a fabulous time especially since it has been about 4 weeks since we've been able to enjoy a nice meal out.

Earlier in the day we had a very important interview at USCIS (US Citizenship & Immigration Services). I've lived in the U.S. since 1999, have attempted twice through employment to change my immigration status and failed each time. The first time being inexperienced and not knowing any better- I hired a lawyer who turned out to be a scam. He disappeared and left with money he collected and precious time I've lost. The second time, the company I worked for closed due to the recession before I could obtain my change of status.

It had to take Chris petitioning me to finally get my status changed and approved. It's crazy to think that I went through so much grief in the past trying to get my immigration status taken care of- only to come to a point where I finally stopped trying, lived my life, married the love of my life and now it's as if the green card is just an extra bonus on top of all the other blessings that I have.

I only got the green card when it did not rank at the top of my priority list. Funny how life does that.

We showed up at the immigration office at 11am sharp with baby Leon in tow and all of our paperwork to prove that we are as legit as can be. The immigration officer even wanted to see photos from our wedding, utility bills with both our names printed, bank statements of our joint account, tax forms... it was crazy how specific and strict the process was.

I'm grateful and relieved to have it all taken care of and out of the way. I now have peace of mind that I'm in no danger of being detached from my precious family that I love.

The officer said that in just several weeks- the green card should arrive in the mail. I'll definitely take a photo of it and post it here!

I call him "BUBBS"

Since this is a fresh new blog about us- The Cherubini's as a family, I'm taking the time to make special mention of each member.

This photo of my husband Chris- was taken on our wedding day. We had an intimate civil wedding on October 24, 2009. We followed it up with a small gathering at our home with immediate family and closest friends. It was perfect!

I grew up witnessing huge elaborate weddings and I just knew that our style would be as laid-back as can be.

I'm so proud to have Chris in my life and I'm so grateful to have a partner who truly sees me.

I remember meeting him the first time 3 years ago and walking away feeling so amazed to have had such a meaningful and connected conversation. Everything else grew from that initial impression and to this day he is the one person I can be completely transparent with- not that I can hide anything from him anyhow. He reads me so well!

He is also the most talented and artistic person I know. He is a self taught musician who plays the guitar, piano and the cello. Not to mention he is also an artist who paints and sketches. I'll make sure to post some of his artwork here at some point.

My favorite photo of us from that day. It pretty much sums it all!

Baby Shower for Leon

Chris and I figured it would be a while after we have Leon before we host a party so we went all out for our baby shower. We had about 60 guests, good friends and family celebrate with us on February 20, 2010 at our home. It was truly a lot of fun. We were all too busy mingling so no one was in charge of photography. Thanks to my sister Pia who took the liberty of shooting a video. Here it is....

Chris & Anna's Baby Shower from Anna Cherubini on Vimeo.

Thanks to everyone who made this day very special. My heart is so happy that Leon will be surrounded with such amazing people.