Funny faces with Estela – Courtesy Ali Landry
We’re so happy to welcome our newest celebrity blogger, Ali Landry!
A former Miss USA, the model and actress, 38, is currently starring in and executive producing Hollywood Girls Night, airing Sundays at 9 p.m. on TV Guide Network.
Landry is also the founder of Spokesmoms, a product review platform for mothers, and is a supporter of SafeKids.org, which works to prevent childhood injuries.
Married to director Alejandro Monteverde since April 2006, the couple are parents to 4½-year-old daughter Estela Ines and 5-month-old son Marcelo Alejandro.
You can find Landry on Facebook and on Twitter @alilandry.
Hi everyone, and welcome to my first blog entry! I am so excited to be able to share my experiences as a mom with all you PEOPLE.com readers.
I believe that connecting with other moms is so important; after all, we are all on this crazy journey together and no one understands what we’re going through better than each other. We’re all pretty much learning as we go along, so it’s always nice to hear stories from other moms and see how they cope with the different challenges of motherhood.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me back up and introduce myself. Some of you may remember me as the ‘Doritos Girl’ from that Super Bowl commercial a while back, but I’ve been lucky enough to have gotten a few more credits under my belt since then! I am currently working on variety of projects, but my most important one is being a mom to my two precious children: 4½-year-old Estela and 5-month-old Marcelo.
Me and Marcelo – Courtesy Ali Landry
Estela loves learning about bugs (she’s always digging around for new species to show me — ick!), and she spends a lot of time practicing her cartwheels. She is super excited to start kindergarten in the fall and she has gotten very much into her role of big sister now that Marcelo is alert and able to interact with her. She adores singing to him and playing with him, and I have to say the adoration is mutual.
When she is in the room, Marcelo has eyes for no one else (except maybe Daddy’s beard, which he is fascinated by). He is such a happy baby, he even smiles in his sleep. Unfortunately, he’s not a great sleeper. He wakes up repeatedly during the night, and now he’s flipping over on his side which has my nerves shot, so I’m basically up all night with him.
My husband is Alejandro Monteverde, and we have been married for almost six years. He is a film director and we have actually collaborated on a couple of projects, which has been a lot of fun.
Marcelo loves Daddy’s beard! – Courtesy Ali Landry
As a matter of fact, during the last movie we shot together, Little Boy, I was pregnant with Marcelo. Running around in the Mexican heat wearing authentic 1940s maternity clothes was challenging to say the least!
Needless to say, my plate is pretty full, as I’m sure all of yours are. Juggling work and parental responsibilities is no easy task, but I’m trying my best and just like everything else there are good days and there are bad days.
Even if some days I feel like I’m ready to fall apart, I am ultimately happier than I’ve ever been. My family gives me more joy than I thought possible, and my career fulfills me tremendously. All in all, I feel like am in the exact place I am supposed to be in, doing exactly what I am supposed to be doing.
Snow cone with Estela – Courtesy Ali Landry
One thing is for sure though, this adventure is far from over and I promise I will share with you all the ups and downs, the laughter, the tears, the mistakes made and the lessons learned along the way.
I hope you enjoy reading my blog as much as I know I will enjoy writing it. I look forward to hearing from all of you, too, so if there’s anything you want to share you can leave a comment below or Tweet me @alilandry.
Until next time!
– Ali Landry
Filed Under: Babies, Exclusive, Guest Blog, Kids, News