Kissable Lips-Baby Boy Ultrasound

We are so excited for our little man to join our family in a couple of short months. Due to this being a "placenta previa" pregnancy, we've been blessed to have a few extra sneak peaks (ultrasounds) of him. This session is our favorite so far because we were able to see his sweet little face so clearly. Look at those lips! 

Happy Halloween

 We didn't go all out with our pumpkin carving design this year. The girls were eager to help out and yet extra grossed out at the slimy innards too! So it was more of a sensory activity than artistic portrayal but fun nonetheless. And judging from their expressions, I'd say they enjoyed the experience!

We had a great time trick-or-treating tonight and I dare say the girls did amazing for it being their first real time! After a couple of houses (to familiar neighbors) Savannah and Lexi got over their fear of door knocking and then were running from house to house collecting the goods. A funny issue was that many folks hold out a bowl full of candy and ask for the girls to pick their favorite. To which Savannah would pick out 3-4 pieces of her favorites. We would reinforce the "choose just one please" and she would respond "but I'm choosing my favorites!" Our neighbors thought that she was too cute. That's the issue. Our girls are too cute so they got away with stealing. lol.
The girls costumes were a hit. Savannah dressed as an American Idol and even performed a few requests for extra candy! And Lexi was a fun little kitty cat. (Personally I think her costume kinda resembled an 80's rocker with a cat tail and ears!) The important thing is that the girls were happy dressing up and they looked adorable right? It was a fun evening out for sure.

Singing "Amazing Grace" for our neighbors the Thains  :-)

Scooter Girls

Michael and I are trying to get outside and active more so that we can be healthy and our girls can develop healthy habits too. So it was Daddy's idea to get the girls these fun little scooters. These will be fun toys for them until they're 6 or too tall to ride, so a good little investment I'd say. And from the pics you can see that they are so happy to even wear the protective gear. Lucky for us, it didn't take them long to figure out how to ride 'em. So you should be seeing more of us around the neighborhood!

Watching Movies

Since moving Savannah and Lexi into the same bedroom in July, the girls have enjoyed having a "play/toy - room." They thoroughly enjoy playing in there together and most recently have taken to watching movies in the playroom. They each have their own chair that folds out and then they gather blankets, pillows, and of course request popcorn to seal the deal. Michael and I appreciate that they can enjoy a Dora movie or some other kid show and we can spend those few minutes alone too. It's a win-win.

School pictures

Yep the girls had school portraits taken and I am so amazed at how grown up my girls look. It's been over a year since we've had professional portraits taken of them individually. So it was quite the shocker to put the new pics on the wall and see just how much they've changed. They sure are cuties. I'm so blessed that their sweet personalities come out in images too cause I just treasure these darling grins. And don't worry copies will be sent out shortly for grandparents, aunties and uncles to enjoy!

Celebrating Cultures Parade

Primrose had a fun "Celebrating Cultures Parade" at the conclusion of our "Around the World" month-long curriculum. After studying different cultures, animals, music, sports, etc from around the globe the school put on a mini parade. The students were encouraged to dress up in the style of their ancestors and so my girls wore their little dresses that we bought them in Kenya last year and strutted around with their classmates. Several parents attended including Michael, who took that afternoon off so he could enjoy the class party's and be there for the girls. It was such a treat to share the fun with him and the girls especially liked leaving a little early from school and getting to play with Daddy at home. :-)

General Conference Weekend

The girls are still too young to really understand the significance of General Conference but we do all that we can to make it a fun and memorable weekend. I found a fun activity packet online and some fun games such as a picture match which they really enjoyed and it kept them occupied so that Michael and I could watch as much of the sessions as possible. The key to a successful conference weekend is activities inside and outside. So we made it a point to have some water play in the pool too.

I'm an auntie again - Welcome baby Raymond Guzman

My second family growing up was the Guzman family. Nathan was my age-mate and has been a great friend thru the years. I'm so happy for him and his wife Pim as they welcome their first born, Raymond. He is a sweet little guy and I look forward to meeting him sometime in the future. Thanks to facebook I am able to keep up with so many dear friends and share in their joys too.
Because I am delayed in publishing this post I thought that I'd include a fun collage of little Ray at 6 months old. Isn't he adorable?!

Michael & Lexi Travel Surprise

 My brother Anthony and his family had invited us to come to Georgia for the blessing of his second son, Parker. We were considering a car trip for the weekend so that we could be there for the event but then found that it would have to be a really quick turn-around after a long car ride. So we felt that at least Michael should go to represent our family and we bought him a direct flight. A few days before he flew out we decided it would be fun for Michael to take Lexi with him on this trip. She is under the age of two and so would be able to fly for a small fee. Michael called Anthony up and filled him in on the surprise of Lexi coming too. Anthony arranged for an extra car seat and picked them up at the Valdosta airport. When they arrived all were so happy to see them. I don't know who was more excited to see Lexi - Ethan because he now had a playmate for the weekend, Auntie Chelsea because she has two boys and loves her little girl time, or Grama D who got more cuddles that she'd been missing since traveling with us to Kenya last year...

 It was a joyous family occasion. I wish that Savannah and I could have gone as well but we are so grateful that Michael could participate and take lots of fun pics to share too.

 

This picture of my parents holding him is so precious. I can only imagine Parkers' expressions at the funny noises and faces that my Dad makes.

  Parker is such a cutie!  I love his cute little white suit that he wore for his blessing. And I love this picture of Chelsea with her little man too. Chelsea you look stunning as always and I love your proud and happy smile.

 Ethan and Lexi really had a great time playing together both inside and outside. Their favorite game was to chase each other.

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Lexi loved playing with Parker too!

The fun expressions of Ethan. I just love this little guy!

It was a great trip for Michael and Lexi. They bonded and Lexi has become more of a daddy's girl since the trip. There's not much sweeter than a Daddy wrapped around his little girls finger! I know it can be a problem later but for now we enjoy their cute bond.

Savannah goes under the knife

 

For as long as I can remember, Savannah has been a loud breather. She's been a snorer but not so loud that it disturbed us. We've just always accepted this about her. In the wake of my suffering from a horrible allergy season, I considered that perhaps Savannah too was suffering from allergies. So I took her to an Ear,Nose, and Throat doctor. She sat in the patient chair excited to be in a different place and meet a doctor that would not be giving her any shots. :-) As soon as Dr. Stierman had Savannah do the "Say Ahhhhh" examination of the inside of her throat she said "Aha" and then called me over to view too. Savannah had very enlarged tonsils. On a scale from 0 (normal as shown above) to 4+ (kissing tonsils), Savannah's tonsils were measuring a 3+. The poor girl was suffering from sleep apnea and airway blockage.

From that initial visit, we started her on an antihistamine to see if it would help to shrink her tonsil tissue. And then an x-ray was taken to view the size of her adenoids. After a few weeks of meds and no change we made arrangements to have Savannah undergo an tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy.

Here she is, the brave little girl on the morning of her surgery. She was so well behaved and so peaceful. Michael had given her a father's blessing the night before and then she and I prayed for her comfort before the doctor took her away. It was so hard for me to be brave and let the nurse wheel her away for the procedure. I had thought that I would be able to be with her when they sedated her but they assured me that my smiling little girl would be just fine and in recovery very soon. So I kissed her goodbye and told her I loved her. A short 30-40 mins went by and I was summoned to the recovery area. Savannah was waking up and so I was able to hold her and cuddle her until she fully awakened and had drank at least half a glass of juice. Her nurse complimented her on being such a good patient and so quiet. While holding her I heard several other patients waking up and crying out. I asked Savannah later why she didn't cry and she said cause we said a prayer and she knew her throat would feel better. Lucky for me she has such faith and is such a sweet girl. And lucky for us all that she has recovered well with little complaints or pain. Since the surgery I now have to go into her room and stand above her bed to see if she is breathing because I can't hear her from the door. It's been a little unnerving at times but we're slowly getting used to the new quiet breathing girl.

A stalled car adventure

I was driving real quickly to a doctor appointment during the girls nap time and took Michaels' car out. Just 25 ft from the office, the car stalled when I stopped at a stop sign. It was such an awkward experience because the hazard lights wouldn't work (due to a really dead battery and faulty spark plug thus electrical failure)  and I was stuck in an intersection. A few folks pulled over to offer to push the car out of the way but unfortunately it wouldn't shift into neutral so there was no going anywhere. Lucky for me, we are members of AAA! So a quick phone call and then the shortest tow ever to an auto garage just 50 ft down the road made everything a little better. Michael and the girls met up with me after they woke up from their naps and we were happy to find out later from the mechanic that the repair was not too costly.

St. Patrick's Day Fun

What's more fun than a scavenger hunt for gold foiled chocolate coins? Eating the chocolate coins of course!

Day trip to San Marcos

In the hopes of a little adventure and meeting up with Michelle Card, her little baby Gabriella, and Auntie Linda, we traveled south to San Marcos for a day trip. Randi has been having withdrawal (due to this restaurant not being in AZ) plus pregnancy cravings for a particular dish so we made sure to stop for lunch at a Johnny Carino's. It was very tasty and we really had a good time. I was super impressed that both of my children managed to eat their saucy+cheesy pizza without spilling or wiping anything on their clothes. To celebrate we ordered ice cream sundaes for them after lunch and like a magnet, ice cream and chocolate syrup was drawn to their cute clothes! Needless to say, they enjoyed every bite and I was happy that I had packed the backup clothes in the car. So unfortunately we weren't able to meet up with the others but we still had a great time and enjoyed our next stop which was to the Aquarena Center in San Marcos. There we checked out aquariums with animals native to this region and went on a glass-bottom boat ride. This was a cool concept. The boat had a glass viewing area that ran down the center and so passengers were able to look over the rail to see directly underneath the boat/into the water. Our animated guide shared a little history of the lake, details about the underwater springs, and pointed out several of the aquatic life. It was a 30min ride/presentation and for three toddlers that was just the right amount of time. They were done at 25 minutes but Randi and I still managed to distract and entertain the girls so that all enjoyed the ride.

 

 

Smiles at the end of the day

 

These girls LOVE each other so much. No matter the activity the three of them were usually all smiles.

Bathtime was so fun because the squeals and giggles of these three were so loud and infectious. We couldn't help but laugh too. And Brenna joined right in with Savannah and Lexi when Michael was reading bedtime stories via his iPad. I loved that each of the girls insisted on their turn to say bedtime prayers too. I wish that I would've recorded those sweet sincere little voices as they prayed. Next time I'm sneaking in a video camera or recording device of some sort because it is just so precious.

A Chuck E. Cheese's Birthday

Savannah was oober excited to celebrate her 3rd birthday at Chuck E. Cheese's with many of her favorite people. We really enjoyed the fun atmosphere, the food (especially those wings platters for the guys!), and letting the party host do everything for us. We all had a great time with the friends and family that joined us and we are so glad that our little girl LOVED her birthday party. Thanks to everyone who supported her in person and in spirit.You truly helped to make her special day special.

 

Backyard Obstacle Course

Our Austin Zoo Adventure

We had a really fun outing with Randi & Brenna to the Austin Zoo and Sanctuary. All of the girls are wild about animals and so it seemed like the perfect adventure. We enjoyed our time there and let the girls explore and observe to their little hearts content. It's a neat little zoo because it started out as a goat ranch in 1990 and has now evolved into this animal sanctuary. Per their website "due to the growth of roadside zoos and private ownership of exotic animals, along with the release of older animals from big city zoos to smaller facilities, the number of animals in need of a safe and healthy home has multiplied at a rapid rate." So there are currently over 300 animals from over 100 different species at the Zoo.
It was a really fun day with gorgeous weather and camera happy kiddo's AND animals. Enjoy the highlights.



The Tortoises

The Lions

Once we got to the roaring/coughing lions, Lexi became a nervous-nelly and climbed into the stroller for safety. As you see from the pics above, Brenna and Savannah were not the slightest bit nervous as they observed from 10 ft away. 

Nearly an hour later Lexi did get back out to explore only after Auntie Randi held her and prompted her to see the rooster and chickens.

Feeding the animals

Riding the train

Driving home - Exhaustion sets in