1st Annual Mata Luau!

This summer was the 1st Annual Mata Luau. We had so much fun! My Mom and Dad opened their home and hosted a luau. All of our family and friends came out and had a blast!

The sun was out in full force last weekend. I think the high was a whopping 115 degrees... and that was in the shade. The food was great and the dancers were FANTASTIC! Here are some great pictures of the festivities.





















Here is my Dad with some of the female dancers. The girls were able to get him on the stage and "shake it". It was great seeing my Dad have so much fun! GOOD TIMES!



And at sunset, we watched a fantastic Fire dancer. He was great...it brought back memories of being in Hawaii.

Living in Arizona, Nick and I have really become acclimated to this weather. Sofie on the other hand, thinks it's H-O-T!! It's too cute, every time we get into the car and put her into her car seat she whispers to me- "momma, HOTTTT".

I have a feeling that summer is just starting to hit it's peak- We can't wait for our little California getaway coming up. We are planning on taking Sofie back to the beach and getting her out of the "hellish" heat!

Our 4th of July festivities

This was Sofia's second 4th of July celebration. The weather is fabulous for sitting poolside. The last time we checked it was a sweltering 110 degrees. Some of our good friends drove all the way out to Queen Creek for a much needed visit. The plan was to have no plans. Our main goal was to just stay cool and enjoy the weekend.

Here is Sofie doing her best to keep hydrated.

We headed over to my mom and dad's house. My dad made some of his AMAZING carne asada tacos and my mom worked her magic with her beans and rice. The margaritas were flowing and everyone really enjoyed themselves.

Sofia loves the water. She's not big on the floaty toys, she prefers to swooshed about and tossed in the air. She's becoming such a little dare devil. Here she is playing peek-a-boo with Eddie and Bianca.

At the end of the weekend we had such a great time with good friends and family. Can't get better than that!

To all of our faithful blog readers- Sofie is getting so big and is really starting to grow into her bigger than life personality. She is demanding, mischivious and daring. She has become such a little explorer and loves to "get into things".

Sofie has been trying really to use her words and talk to us. Here is a pretty good video that Nick was able to sneak. When ever a camera is near...little hammy Sof-a-Lof never wants to cooperate.




Here is another good one-

Here is Sofie eating her first All-Beef hotdog... Needless to say, she loved it.

Rub-a-Dub Dub...Sofie's in the tub!

Sofie has always loved the bath. Now that she's getting older she has made the move from baby bath to the "big girl bath". She loves the water and looks forward to her bath each night. It's cute, each night when we tell her "bath time" she repeats "ba" and walks down the hall way all the way to her bathroom and waits for the water to run.

Sofie likes when we do shampoo mohawks. Just a few months ago Nick and I were complaining that she hardly had hair. And now, it's getting long enough for little Pony tails. LOVE IT!!

Daddy bought Sofie some bath crayons. She is getting use to how they work. With a little help from me we had art time bath side a few nights ago. Our masterpiece is growing. Stay tuned for our finished product.

Catching Up

Catching up with our baby girl!

Well Easter has come and gone and we are fast approaching Mother's Day. This will be my second Mother's Day and watching Sofie grow from that adorable baby girl into a vivacious toddler. Sofie has made this experience a thrill a minute.

Earlier this month, Nick and I took Sofie to her first Native Pow-Wow. She really enjoyed watching the dances and seeing all the colorful costumes.

It was a gorgeous day and seeing these different tribes come together and show their pride was an interesting experience. This was my first Pow-Wow as well and I really enjoyed hearing the drums and experiencing the strong emotional ties that the dancers have to their costumes and the dances that they have carried over generation after generation.

Here is Sofie girl and her Pappa.

Here are some pictures of Sofie and her cousins Katie and Arianna during Easter. Sofie really enjoyed playing with the "big girls". Sofie got to color Easter eggs and play along with the big Egg hunt.




















Here is Sofie sharing her Easter eggs with her Grandpa.

It was so nice watching Sofie play with her cousins. It's amazing, I remember when my nieces were babies and now, my baby is playing with her cousins.

This past week, Nick had foot surgery and has been laid up at home for the last week. This has been hard on him but it was had it's perks... He is making a strong recovery and will be ready to chase Sofie around the house in no time!

My heart just melted seeing this. Sofie loves her Daddy time!

Our new little swimmer!

Well Sofie has hit some new marks.

We are slowly getting her off the bottle or as Sofie calls it..."ba-ba". Nick and I wanted to wait until she was off formula and now that she is drinking regular milk and eating more and more "table food" we thought it would be the right time. So far, things have gone smoothly.
She is becoming such a big girl and taking nicely to the sippy cup. She's used a sippy cup for several months now, but we are now using it exclusively. This weekend was our first attempt and so far, it's worked out splendidly!

And now, introducing


SUPER SOFIE the SWIMMER!!!

This weekend was the first swim lesson. She was such a natural in the water. Although, we were not at all surprised. This kid LOVES the water. She cries when it's time for her to get out of the bath tub. She has always loved taking baths and really enjoyed swimming at her Nana and Papa's house last summer. Last week was her scheduled lesson, however she was sick with a cough and runny nose. So we had to reschedule it for this weekend.

I was suppose to get into the water with her and do the whole "mommy and me" thing and then I came down with a sinus infection (yuck-it's horrible)~! So, Nick thought it would be a great opportunity for the two of them to have this together. I LOVED seeing the two of them in the water and having such a great time.

Sofie was so excited to get into the water, she was all set with her swim diaper and new baby speedo.

Here is Sofie learning how to float on her back. Look at that belly! I can't believe it, she's not a little baby anymore. She is getting so big...

Sofie, always willing to share-

During the last 10 min of the lesson, she started getting a little grumpy and water logged.

We were so very proud of Sofia this weekend. She is getting so big and changing each day. Nick and I feel so blessed to have her. We can't wait to continue to experience all these great new adventures with her together as a family. We know the best is yet to come!