Out and About-

Just wanted to share some pictures of our latest outings-

My oldest niece turned 12 this year. Her birthday is on Christmas day and her birthday party celebrations sometimes get pushed back a little. This year, we celebrated at Amazing Jakes Family Fun Center. Think of Chuck E. Cheeses mixed with a little Game Works. We had TONS of fun and Sofia really enjoyed hanging with all the “big kids”.

I provided the cupcakes for the party- Katie is one of my biggest fans.

Here is Sofie and her Uncle Ryan

Happy Birthday Katie!

Sofie enjoying watermelon instead of a cupcake!

Tera, Austin, Uncle Ryan and Sofie

Nana, Emilia and Papa

Here is my beautiful niece- Katie.  I can't believe how much she has grown.  She looks so beautiful in this picture!

Bowling time! First ever for Sofie!

Bryan showing Arianna his tips on bowling-

Nick showing off his wrestling shirt~

Sofie did such a great job!!

it was sooo cute, each time she had to watch the ball go down the gutter.

Perfect way to end the night~

Sofia has been sick these last few days. So, once she started to feel a little better she told Daddy, “I want to go see the Gorillas”. Now, even though the Phoenix Zoo does not have Gorillas…we headed down to the zoo.

Sofia is just like Nick, they both have a true love for animals. Sofia loves to see all sorts of animals!

This Saturday was Tillamook Cheese day at the Zoo.  If you wore an orange shirt, you earned free admission!

Here is a picture of one of Sofies favorites- the Sumatran Tiger

It's not a really good picture, but this is my favorite animal- White Rhinoceros

Another favorite of Sofies- Mandrill

Sofie with the Hamadryas Baboon

Sofie playing in the tree house

Before even getting past the gates, guessed what Sofie found... the Endangered Species Carousel.   Sofie LOVES any sort of carousel.  We went on a total of 12 rides while at the Zoo. It's funny what we'll do for our kids.

Another animal, another ride...

all in all, it was a great family day!

Dust is still setteling ~

2011…two kids and still kicking! I must say, it’s been a change. When Nick and I decided we wanted another baby, we both knew it would change things and shift our “routine” a bit...but, WoW!!

Let’s just say, adding another kid into the mix has been an adjustment. Just when I thought we had a pretty good schedule down; all the planning and routines have been thrown up into the air and still have yet to fall and settle. Don’t get me wrong, Emilia is an amazing blessing and I love having a complete family but I think the amount of grey hair is quadrupling! Since having Emilia, the first two months have been easy! Emilia is such a great baby. I’m not just saying that because she’s mine. She sleeps eats and poops like clockwork. With the exception of a slight case of jaundice and bypassing the whole breastfeeding thing, she has literally been the perfect kid! She started sleeping up to six hours during the night at about 1 ½ months and is doing wonderfully at progressing along…smiling, focusing on objects and putting on weight. Each doctor’s appointment, the pediatrician says she is thriving and in the upper percentile of her age group.

Sofia is also doing an amazing job in her new role as big sister. She is protective, caring, loving and inquisitive. She wants to help with just about everything…well except the poopie diapers!

Here are some pictures I took of the two of them.

I love seeing her little smirks and smiles!

Sofia is always looking after her little sister.

Lately, our lives have been staying pretty close to home.  Both Nick and I are still plugging away at school.  Nick should be done with his MBA in just a few short months.  I however, feel like my degree is still far, far away.  I should be done near the beginning of next year fingers crossed! My maternity leave has come to an end and I’ve gone back to work.  Going back to work has been bitter sweet to say the least.  I loved my bonding time with Emilia and loved having seeing her move away from the “newborn infant” look into a beautiful baby!

Here is a picture of something that Nick and I thought was one of her milestones.  It’s an actual recognizable picture she drew all by herself! Sofie was so proud of her little man!

Another big thing that recently happened- Sofia went from sleeping in her crib/toddler bed into a “big girl” bed/ twin bed.  She was so excited helping her Daddy to put it together!

Sofia has really enjoyed sleeping in her big girl bed on her princess sheets.  Now all we need to do is redo the décor.

Happy New Year!

It’s 2011! I can hardly believe it. This New Years Eve, we decided to do some family fun activities and spend the entire day with our girls, my sister and her family. Our friends gave us some tickets to the Arizona Children’s Museum and the Phoenix Aquarium so Nick and I decided to make an entire day of it.


Sofia had such a great time exploring and experiencing all the new things. She really enjoyed seeing all amazing animals at the aquarium and crafting and using her imagination while at the museum. Here are some of my favorite pictures of the day.

wall of CDs

Weighing out beans at the "market"

cooking in the kitchen-

Here is Sofie putting her pizza into the oven.

She LOVES her cousins :0)

Nick and Sofie checking out the starfish

She loved feeling the starfish.

Kalani and Bryan feeling and touching the starfish

Stingrays

finished the day with a ride on the carousel!