UF MBA

Jon graduated from the University of Florida's MBA college.  He worked incredibly hard and I am so happy for him!

71/2 months pregnant!

Where's Waldo?

Orlando Baby Shower

My sweet friend Deidre and sister Janeth + Mom threw me a baby shower at the beginning of April. I was so touched by the love I felt from my closest friends and family.

Me & Deidre

I  made this sweet banner for Clara Lucia 

My wonderful husband helped out so much! 

I totally cried when my mom and sister brought this amazing cake. Click on the pic to see all the details!

The cupcakes below are from the same bakery that made my wedding cake. Again, tears from my eyes! This was the most thoughtful surprise!! The cupcakes were incredibly delicious, just like our wedding cake :) 

Cute mini-lollipop favors!

Me and my mami! 

Me and my mother-in law Christine

I know a lot of my pregnant friends see themselves fat when pregnant but I can honestly say I love my body while being pregnant. This has been a beautiful journey for me so far. I have never been more proud of what my body is achieving- growing a baby!!

Me and my loot! Thank you all for the wondeful gifts :)

The Cutest Boy on the Block

Words can't begin to describe how absolutely adorable my little baby nephew is! He's turning 1 next week!

Great Uncle Julius

I absolutely love my husbands heritage. On our very first date we spoke about our respective families. Jon shared a brief history of his ancestors and how they traveled by ship to America from Russia/Poland. His great grandfather Solomon was not around much so very few details were known. His wife Rose, Jon's great grandmother, was cherished and loved by all. She gave birth to 5 children and when her husband left the family during the great depression, she managed to provide food on the table and a loving home for her children. Jon's grandfather Louis Boress was born 4th and following him was Great Uncle Julius. Each have lived a respectful life and they reared their own families. Two years ago Grandpa Lou passed away and we miss him dearly. The last surviving child from this wonderful family is Great Uncle Julius. He turned 90 on January 25th and we were fortunate enough to celebrate this day with him and family. We love Uncle Julius!!


Jon's grandfather is sitting in the chair towards the middle. His Great Uncle Julius is sitting on his fathers lap.
Uncle Julie


We love talking to Uncle Julie. He has a great memory and such a wonderful spirit. He was roommates with Grandpa Lou for several years and misses him very much.

Me, Uncle Julie and Jon

Uncle Julie, Christine (Jon's mom) and Alan (Jon's dad)

Post-Edit
Uncle Julie passed away last week. I can't begin to tell you how saddened we were to hear of his passing. We loved him dearly and I am forever grateful that he played surrogate grandfather for Jon and I in the absence of Grandpa Lou. Here is a little something I wrote about my favorite memories of him:

"Although I have many fond memories with Uncle Julie, there are two that stand out the most. The first time I ever met Uncle Julius he told me it was a pleasure to meet me and will I have this dance? We were attending a wedding together and he was not lying when he said he had some great dance moves to show me. Uncle Julie CAN dance! He swung me all over that dance floor that by the end of the night I was the one that needed a break! 

My second sweet memory with Uncle Julie was when he and Grandpa Lou came to visit Orlando, Florida and we took them to see our apartment. We asked them if they would like to sing some Karaoke tunes and Uncle Julie's reply, "sure why not!?" still rings in my head today. Grandpa Lou sang first- a tune by blue eyes Frank Sinatra. The look on Uncle Julie's face was your classic sibling rivalry. It was Uncle Julie's turn to go next and when he decided to sing the same song his brother Lou had just sung, we all started laughing hysterically. He told his brother to listen carefully to how the song should really be sung. It was the best watching those two and the love they had for each other. I feel honored to have been called "Dolly" and niece by my dear Uncle Julie." 

I'm (We're) Still Here!

I promise I'm still alive and kicking. I apologize for my absence, life is in full force. I dont think I've ever been this busy. Basically my schedule can be broken down into this: work, church, baby appointments, on-line shopping (see pic's below), housewife (laundry, cooking, dusting, cleaning bathroom :( I wish I could put a tear in that sad face- I dislike cleaning my bathroom. There I said it!

Jon's classes are in full swing. After being out in the "real world" for the past year returning to class has been...interesting? He's taking both MBA and Pharmacy classes which means this gal is lucky to see him for 5 minutes a day. He is also working during his free time. Yeah, go ahead and shed a tear for me! But I feel so proud of him that I can't help but feel patient and more loving towards him. He inspires me to be a better wife without ever asking me to. I love that man so much!

Work has been the majority of my life right now. There are moments I enjoy what I do and then there are... moments. I actually feel really happy that I get to contribute income to my little family. I pay the majority of the bills while Jon's paycheck goes towards the "Clara" fund. As in Clara's mommy has expensive taste and so this little girl will be rockin' designer duds. NO! not really but you get the point. Bebe's aren't cheap so we are saving up for what's-a-coming. To be real, we've accumulated a huge amount of school debt (4 years + 1 year of pharmacy/mba school is NOT cheap).

I want to give a shout out to Jon's parents. They have amazingly helped us get through these years. I wish I could tell you all that they have done for us but that's a little private and they prefer we keep it that way. I just want to say that we owe the majority of Jon's degree (which he gets NEXT month by the way) to his parents. I love them so much and...well, I could go on and on but I'll stop here. I'm just so happy and honored to finally be making them grandparents. They have been wanting this just as bad as I've been wanting to be a mom. But honest to goodness they have literally given us everything and then some to support Jon and his future. This future includes me (they once paid my tuition the week before I was due to graduate). Some dodo decided to charge me back-tuition and I couldn't graduate without forking 2 grand 7 days before I was set to walk the stage. I called my mother-in-law in tears and she said don't worry, it will all be taken care of. I will never forget this sweet gesture!

Not to discount my parents, they have also helped us out of some sticky binds (are you noticing a trend here?) and I LOVE them for it. All I had to do was pick up the phone and they would be ready to help. I have appreciated all of the love and support from our families. What sweet people!

Can you tell graduation is on the brain........but so is this baby!

Clara's Cradle

Clara's Rocker!

Clara's Changing Table!

What's In A Name?

As many of your know we decided to name our baby Clara Lucia.  Jon picked out the name Clara and I picked out her middle name, Lucia. Jon wanted a little Claudia jr. but I wasn't having it! Then one day we were on a walk and Jon said, "what if we named her Clara? It reminds me of Claudia and I know she will look like a mini-you." I said I would think about it. Then one night I was laying still thinking about my sweet baby girl and her new kicks and then IT hit me! C-L-A the first 3 letters of my name. R-A are the first 2 letters of Jon's middle name Randall. Put it all together and what do you get?! CLARA! Our daughter's name will have the both of us! I was so happy and I thought all this time Jon was clever for thinking it up. I told him so but he looked at me and said, I never really thought of that before! Perhaps subconsciously my sweet man knew what he was doing all along :)

Lucia= My mother and sister Janeth's middle name + Jon's dear grandfather was named Louis, or Lou for short.

And finally, her initials CLB= my mother-in-law Christine Lillian Boress or CLB

WE LOVE HER NAME!

Head of Hair

My name is Claudia and I was born with thick, dark, straight hair. My mom recalled the look on her face and everyone in the room- pure shock! You see, her first child, my older sister Janeth, was born with a few hairs and they were blond and curly. Then I came along and it was jet black and very thick and beautiful. These thoughts are tickling my mind as I think of my daughter Clara. Will she have the same dark straight and thick locks I was born with? We will find out in 4 months! So please stay tuned :) 

My mami holding me at 4-5 months

Janeth is the little girl sitting on the chair, left hand side, and that ball of black hair is me with mi abuela

Me being held by mi abuela, Janeth, and mi mami