What more can I say that I have not already said. You are my sunshine. You always surprise me by your determination to reach your goals and passion. This year you focused on making the volleyball team and you achieved it. You continued having a passion for sports, but took also took a turn to taking care of your skin.
As you enjoy the last year at ACSW, middle school is around the corner. It will be a new experience, new friends, new everything. Always enjoy the present, because in the end today is a present. Continue to LIVE, LOVE, LIFE.
I love you to infinity and beyond… Papi
The big 10… I honestly cannot believe that you are already 10. I was always told that once you have a child, you will realize how fast time flies and yes it does. It feels like just yesterday that you were born and I was holding you for the first time.
Catalina, as I tell you year after year, you always surprise me one way or another. You are a very independent and strong young lady, I couldn’t be any happier of this. It is prepping you for the world as you grow up. Always remember, live each day to the fullest. You cannot control tomorrow and you will only learn from the past. You will make many mistakes in life, but I hope you learn from them and continue to push yourself to new limits. The world is yours sunshine. Reach for those stairs and you will grab them.
Always remember to continue to LIVE, LOVE, LIFE and do not forget that you can count on your dad for anything. I hope you enjoy your new video. I love you beyond words. Never forget that…
I love you to infinity and beyond… Papi
Princess,
Happy 9th Birthday. I cannot believe that another year has past us by. You are growing up too fast. I wish I could stop time, but that is only wishful thinking. As this world goes back to the new normal, I look forward to continuing to make memories with you. I promised you and myself when you were born that I would be the memory maker. Even though it was tough last two years, we still make great memories and had several adventures. In 2021 the boat came into our life and I hope it brings us much joy and memories.
Catalina, as you continue to grow, I will always remind you to LIVE, LOVE, LIFE. Live each day to the fullest. Love yourself and those around you unconditionally. Life there is only one so enjoy it and take care of it. I will not lie and say that everything will be perfect. Life comes with many heartaches, stress, life changing events, but whatever life throws at you, have faith in God and he will help you through it. In life, you will have several tough choices to make. I know you will be just fine and make the right choice. You are a very smart little lady and determined to achieve your goals.
I can say that I am one proud papi and I know at times we do not see eye to eye, it is part of growing up. As long as I am alive, you can always count on me. Don’t think I will get upset or mad, I am your dad and I am here for you. You always have the letter in your night table that you can bring to me to talk.
I love you to infinity and beyond… Papi
Catalina’s 9th Birthday spa party
Academir’s 2021 Christmas show for 3rd grade. They did great. Merry Christmas…
Princess,
Happy 8th birthday. 2020 was a very crazy year. Right after your birthday, there was the pandemic called Covid-19 and we were all forced into lock down. You had to do virtual schooling and learn something new. We also had to wear masks for anywhere that we would go. Fortunately we were still able to celebrate your birthday, celebrate the holidays, some vacations, and make the best out of the situation on hand. You were still able to shine in school and I am very proud of you. You took on virtual schooling by the horns and did your best. You were very independent and always found solutions to the problem on hand.
Catalina, continue to live the present, loving life and always finding solutions. Never let your smile go away. Your dad will always stand by you and help you achieve all your goals. I pray to god to give me health and plenty of life to see you achieve these goals. I hope you always dance…
I love you to infinity and beyond. Papi
Princess,
Happy 7th Birthday. This year was a little bit different as we were unable to have a birthday party for you, but we were still able to celebrate your birthday with family and friends. In 2019 we were able to go to New Year City, Siesta Key and on a week cruise as well as several trips to the happiest place on earth, Disney World. You also graduated from Kindergarten and started 1st grade.
This past year you continued to play basketball, tried baseball and started gymnastics. You continue to explore to find your passion, but as I always tell you, don’t ever give up and I will have your back on whatever you decide. You moved from riding a bike with training wheels to being brave and riding a bike without training wheels. You have found a favorite TV show, Fuller house.
Sunshine, keep smiling and always do your best in everything that you set your heart out to do. Always try your hardest and never give up. Now on to our next adventures…
I love you to infinity and beyond. Papi
Merry Christmas…
Princess,
Happy 6th Birthday. Where do I start… It has been an amazing year. You graduated from VPK, visited Washington DC, went on a cruise, spent time in Siesta Key, started Kindergarten, went on several trips to Disney World, spent New Year’s in Tennessee, and much more.
Not only has everything been fun, but you have also learned so much in this last year. Kindergarten has taught you so much. You finally were brave enough alongside me to ride a bike without training wheels. Step onto your first skateboard. You learned to swim, dive, you love to do your canon balls… You are so brave and fearless. Never lose this this quality in you. You have a huge heart and care for everyone around you. Your smile is contagious and your aura is beautiful.
May God continue to bless you. I love you with all my heart sunshine.
Papi
Merry Christmas…
My princess graduates from VPK and ends it with a spectacular performance.
Princess,
First of all, Happy 5th Birthday. Below you will find a video that includes your 4th and 5th year recaps as I was unable to do a video for you back in 2017. Seeing you how much you have grown and how independent you have become in the last year, puts a smile on my face. Last year, 2017, was a very tough year for us, but you and me have learned from it and continue to learn and together we will continue to help each other. For one, we have done a lot more than I ever thought we would have done. We visited Disney several times, you rode your first roller coaster, fell in love with Pirates of the Caribbean, we visited the Disney water parks, we partied at Disney Springs till it closed, we took a road trip to Savannah and Charleston. Last but not least, and most memorable, you saw snow for the first time and I was next to you as we saw rain turn into ice and then snow. You finally did your snow angel in real snow. Unforgettable. And princess, this is just the beginning…
I know you are only 5 years old, but you are a very strong and determined child. I for one am very proud of who you have become, how much you have learned in just a few months of being in VPK and I will be by your side, support you and push you to reach your goals. You have been accepted into kindergarten and I cannot be happier for you. You have progressed in learning way more then I accepted. You learned sign language; French; reading; math. Where has time gone? You learned to ride your bike; rode in a muscle car for the first time; you drive papi’s cars as you sit on my lap and you love to hunk the horn. You love to dance, in the end party like a rockstar.
Catalina, papi loves you beyond words. I will always be here by your side and look forward to all the memories we will make in years to come.
I love you princess
Papi
Princess Catalina…
Definitely 2015 was the year of you discovering what Disney World was all about. It all started with Sophia and soon after you discovered the Disney Princesses and by now you know all 13 by names, you know their voices and even the color that represents each princess. You began your second year with your first kiss. Your good friend Ryan. Unfortunately Ryan is no longer in your school, but to this day you always mention him. This year we moved into our new home and even though mami and papi had selected which was your room, when we once asked you which one was your room, you actually showed us which was to be your room. Mind you, we never told you before.
You continue amaze us. You asked for a phone and a purse. You love to carry your purse whenever you go “pasear” with mommy or daddy. You are a very independent child and love to do things on your own instead of us doing it for you. You are persistent to cut your food and feed yourself. You already know how to use a fork and knife. This year you went from diapers, to pull ups to potty training which was a huge achievement. You love spending time with us; be it “paseando con mami” or doing yard work with papi. You mimic us and try to do things we do. You even have your own planter’s box with all your tools. You help daddy to open holes for trees and mami with brooming the house. This year you rode the tricycle by yourself and when Santa brought you the bike you wanted, you jumped on the bike and rode by yourself. And right around your birthday we surprised you with your full size bed.
At daycare you started ballet classes as well as soccer. Let me say, you are the only girl until recently on the soccer team and from what I have heard, you are great. You are even better then the boys. Yes papi is proud… but not just for this, we are so happy of the person you are becoming. Very strong character and you know how to defend yourself and even protect your close friends.
In 2015 you discovered what a “cucuyo” is. We went each night to catch them, even though you were scared, you loved going out and finding them. You love to dance and love singing. During Halloween, each night we went outside to dance with the boogie boogies. This year you truly enjoyed Christmas music especially on our ride home from daycare. You loved to hear “Carol of the Bells” and even learned that it was composed by Tchaikovsky. This year Santa began calling you and you enjoyed your conversations with him. If there is one passion you have is for animals. You love seeing them, petting them, going to Petco and seeing the fish. How can I forget; you are bilingual, you count from 1-20 in Spanish and English and many times you ask how to say something in one of the two languages. You love chocolate, sweets, and had your first “arroz con leche”. You are a fashionista. You love to select your outfits and combine them with your shoes. Howard, your beloved pacifier, is still around. The pacifier has been replaced, but Howard is still going strong, but now Winnie the Pooh pacifier has joined the pack. Looking back it has been a great year.
My Baby, as you will always be, thank you for having your daddy wrapped around your finger. I admit it and have no regrets. The time we spend together as a family are priceless and as I created this video, it was a great year seeing you grow and learn new things. As it is, one of my duties as a father is to be the creator of memories and I will do just that. Some might think that your life should not be documented as much as I do, but I know one day you will look back and enjoy watching these videos. I know I do when I watch the videos my dad filmed when we were your age.
As the song says, “you got a friend in me” but in your case “you got a friend in us” as your mom and dad will always be by your side and support you in whatever you chose to do. We love you little angel. Happy Birthday…
To our angel…
What a year it has been. So many things happened; you developed in so many ways that I look back and cannot believe all the changes you have done in one year. You began 2014 from crawling to walking; You transitioned from being bathed in the kitchen sink to the tub; started to talk and so much more.
We will never forget the first time you visited the beach. We had a feeling you would enjoy it as you love the water, but we never thought you would love it so much. I will never forget when you turned around as I was holding your hand to walk into the water and you told me “no papi, no” and let go of my hand. I was in shock.
Oh and the famous swimming lessons. That is one thing you did not enjoy.
The moment you started talking was amazing. Started with a few words and now you are counting to 10. I am still amazed how you pick up our iPhones and know how to search for pictures and play video. And boy do you love taking pictures of yourself. You discovered the playground and now you ask for it on a weekly basis. You even discovered Mr. 305, PitBull and said “Dale” a few times, your mom was not too happy about that when I taught you. You went to the zoo, the seaquarium, birthday parties, shopping at the mall during the holidays, you helped me to put up Christmas lights, you even had your first kiss… You were baptized; help me each night when I prep the dogs to walk them and you shout out “pipi, caca”. I remember when you had your first tooth and now you have almost all your teeth. Mami taught you how to pray and kiss the cross by your nightstand each night. She reads to you each night and many times you awake in the morning asking for a book to be read… You 2014 was a very memorable year.
Then came the holidays… They started with Halloween and teaching you not to be scared of the “boogie, boogies”. We would walk out each night and you would love to see all the decorations. Then came Thanksgiving and you loved the “gobble, gobble”. Then Christmas arrived and we taught you who Santa is and each night take you outside to enjoy all the decorations. We would walk around and end at the Nativity where you would give baby Jesus a kiss. Never will I forget the one night as we were walking down the sidewalk and you were holding my hand. You pulled my hand down to sit with you on the sidewalk. As I sat down, you sat on my lap and started singing Jingle Bells. Still brings tears to my eyes. Christmas day arrived and you enjoyed opening your gifts and riding and crashing your quad cycle.
You began to watch Disney Movies and of course the three favorites are Nemo, Little Mermaid and Frozen (reason why background music to this montage is around these movies scores). You love Minnie Mouse so this year your birthday theme was Minnie Mouse. You had a blast in this birthday. You ran, played, danced, jumped, everything you can image a 2 year old can do.
Catalina, each day you will learn more and more and we will watch you continue to develop and learn. I honestly never knew that someone can love someone else so much and it is beyond words can explain, but we continue to promise you that we will do everything that we possibly can to bring you the happiness that you deserve and never fail you. There is nothing better that after a long day at work to pick you up from daycare and see your smile. At the beginning of the year I would carry you and place you into the car. Now you walk out of daycare with a smile on your face waving goodbye to everyone and blowing kisses as the princess that you are. Each night when I come home early from a long day at a wedding, I look forward to getting home and hearing you call “Papi” and it just places a huge smile on my face no matter how tired I am. If there is one thing you have always had is a beautiful smile, very loving and very affectionate with everyone. As I once said and will always tell you, “I hope you Dance”…
Mami and Papi love you very much and only want the best for you. We will always be by your side and support you to reach your dreams. Never let anyone take away that smile from your face and always keep your head up high… Happy Birthday angel.
It has been some time since I post anything about our princess and what better time to create a short film then on our first visit to the Beach. To no surprise she loved her first visit. At the same time, what better way then to put the GoPro to action.
As first time parents, you never know what you will need until the moment arrives. So several weeks of talking about going to the beach, I went out and bought the cooler with wheels, the bad ass beach umbrella, chairs, water bottles, sunscreen, beach toys and even a new bathing suit, for myself I must add. Note to self, pulling a rolling bag and rolling cooler on the beach sand is to be avoided. Major workout. At the same time, putting up a beach umbrella on a windy day, not the easiest task. As the umbrella went up, the wife covered the princess with sunscreen.
Now the time had arrived… The moment of truth… Would she love it or hate it. So we walked her together towards the beach and all she would say was “agua”, water in Spanish. She walked fearlessly towards the water and walked right in. As we expected, she loved it to the point that she even cried when we took her out of the water.
By the way, one thing we learned is that talc powder is great at removing sand from feet, hands and anywhere else. Sharing it with you so that you can pack a bottle next time you head to the beach.
Here is her short film. enjoy…
When I found out that my wife was pregnant, so many ideas came to mind of what I wanted to do aside from being the best father in the world. I always promised my wife that the day she became pregnant I would build our first child a rocking horse. Never will I forget when I received the news that my wife was pregnant and how shocked I was. So after several weeks of keeping the news to ourselves, I went off to build the rocking horse from scratch and achieved it.
My next goal was to make her a video on the day she was born. I recall spending months looking for that perfect song and story-boarding in my head how I wanted the video to look. As the due date neared I had my camera bag packed and batteries charged for the moment when we had to head to the hospital. The day arrived, cameras ready and filming away I went. Twenty-six hours later our angel was born and let me tell you that cupid struck me from the moment I laid eyes on her (my eyes are watering up as I write this…). I had always heard that one does not know what love is until they have children and how right this is. What a beautiful and wonderful experience. I have always respected women, but respect them even more after seeing my wife determined to have a natural birth and 26 hours later delivering our child. Now the time had arrived for me to put everything I had in my head into a story, our princess’ first video. I was once asked what has been the hardest video I have ever edited and I must say it was our baby’s first video. You see I am a very emotional person (I tear up with Publix commercials) and seeing all the video that I had taken of the baby’s birth made the editing so much harder as I was overwhelmed with emotions. I remember being in the hospital room with headphones on, editing the movie and tears just coming down my face with no end in sight. Tears of Joy… Below is the movie I made for her if you never seen.
So the next challenge was on. Actually several challenges to be exact that come with parenthood, especially during the first born where parents are clueless on what it is to a parent. Aside from all these parenthood challenges, I wanted to take a daily picture of her with the date for a full year as well as video. This was a challenge in itself because at first it is easy, but once they start grabbing things, getting sick, etc… it just becomes harder to take the picture. Some people told me I was crazy, but let me tell you I stuck with my idea and how rewarding it is to put it all together and see how much she has grown and developed in a year. Just amazing and yes another tears of joy come down each time I sit back and watch the video. So here I present to you our princess’ first year.
To Catalina Nicole Gil,
“I hope you Dance” and always Live Life Love…
On February 25, 2013 at 5:35 in the morning after 26 hours of labor, our princess was born, Catalina Nicole Gil, in South Miami Hospital. She weighed in at 7.4 lbs and measured 18.75 inches. Everyone says your life changes when your first child is born and we couldn’t agree more. My biggest fear (as well as every family member) was that I would not survive witness the birth of our child, but I can say that I survived. I watch it all through the lens as I captured this footage. To this date, this has been the hardest edit for me to create.
Sit back and watch a montage of our lives leading up to the arrival of our princess…
At House of Films we have a passion for film making, capturing those memorable moments that will last a lifetime. We are story tellers. We control time through our edits, allowing us to deliver a final movie where the viewer will always be on the edge of their seats.
Our style of editing is all around cinematic story telling. We take pride in our work and create a short film that can be watched with family and friends allowing the viewer to enjoy every moment of the film. There are three packages, the difference being the length of the package...
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