The Matos Family

Happy 8 Months!

2011-12-30T21:51:00.000-06:00

V is 8 months old now!

She's starting the month babbling things like "guh" and "dada". She's crawling like a speed demon and pulling up, mostly on people or toys.

Ice

2011-12-28T22:25:00.012-06:00

Grandma and Grandpa were nice enough to get us tickets to take Sofia to see Ice! at the Gaylord Texan. This year's theme was Shrek the Halls and almost all of the ice sculptures were Shrek based. Grandma came to our place and took care of V so we didn't have to take her with us.

Before heading in.

Red, frozen nose.

After coming out and dropping off the "parka"s, we spent some time touring the cool stuff around the ground floor of the hotel.

There are a few train sets behind this picture.

They also had a huge snowman and large Christmas trees.

And Rudolph made out of fake greenery.

Dancer

If we ever go back we're taking gloves, scarfs and hats! I think they said it was around 13 degrees in there with the ice. Brrrrrr!

Jingle Bells

2011-12-26T22:48:00.001-06:00

Sofia and Vivian making music together!

Christmas Eve and Day 2011

2011-12-25T22:33:00.000-06:00

Christmas Eve

Aunt Cori, Uncle Adam, Lila and Oma came over for dinner and presents. Oma brought pork and Dominican beans for dinner. We provided the rice and Cori and Adam brought some plantains to fry. Yum!

Cousins playing

Aunt Cori and Uncle Adam in front of the "fire"

Milk and cookies for Santa

Waiting

Santa must have visited!

Christmas morning the girls opened presents here then we headed to Grandma and Grandpa's where we had brunch and more presents with Uncle Rob, Aunt Khristy and Audrey.

V checking out the presents

Little Miss Princess stopped opening long enough for a picture

Playing with Audrey's new toys at Grandma and Grandpa's

Welcome Pietrich

2011-12-22T22:20:00.000-06:00

Santa sent an Elf on the Shelf to spend the last week before Christmas with us. Sofia named him Pietrich. He spent a few days hanging around in the kitchen then moved to the living room. The last day he must have felt pretty comfortable because he turned some pictures upside down!

In other news, though V is a mostly happy baby, there are moments of baby fits and crying. Here's a picture of one.

Sofia's Christmas Program

2011-12-15T22:04:00.001-06:00

Sofia's daycare started an annual Christmas Program this year. Her class sang Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and We Wish You a Merry Christmas.

Sofia sang "loud and proud"

Sofia's Ballet Recital

2011-12-14T21:31:00.011-06:00

Sofia had her first ever ballet recital last week. Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Cori and Oma came out to watch.

Talking to Aunt Theresa before heading out

Look at those pointed toes!

She's so serious about getting the moves right!

Saturday

2011-12-11T22:16:00.001-06:00

Yesterday morning I heard V making noise on the monitor. The next thing I hear is Sofia "reading" to her. I grabbed my camera and this is what I found. Notice Sia holding the book like Ms. Heather does and V watching from her crib.

After afternoon naps, Sofia spent some time playing at Vivian's sitter's house. Her granddaughter and a boy who used to be in Sofia's class at her daycare were there. Apparently they had TONS of fun!
And a random picture of V sleeping. I realized earlier that I don't have many pics of her sleeping.

Professional Pictures

2011-11-28T21:26:00.000-06:00

We had a Groupon for Blackall Photography and our photo shoot was in early November. Vivian was 6 months at the time. Here are some of the best ones.

Happy Birthday, Audrey!

2011-11-21T17:47:00.004-06:00

For Audrey's 9th birthday we had lunch at a Cajun place in Carrollton. The big girls had fun playing while we waited for our food.

V spent some time with Uncle Rob and Aunt Khristy.

Visitors

2011-11-20T18:13:00.000-06:00

Early in November we visited with Oma in her new home. The little ones hung out together.

On Nov. 12th, Great Aunt Mary and Great-Gramma came to visit. Mary brought some gifts for the girls including some awesome books!

Aunt Cori and Lila also stopped by.

On a side note, now that Sofia is too big for it, it's V's turn for Daddy to start a fire with her toes.
Mommy and Sia
V likes to fall asleep in her car seat while holding on to her toys.

Pumpkin Patch

2011-11-10T20:53:00.014-06:00

While showing this blog to a co-worker earlier today I realized I forgot to post pictures from our trip to the Big Orange Pumpkin Farm on October 21st.

Sofia feeding the goats

V hanging out in the sling

Deep discussion

Trying to stay warm on the hay ride

Our family

The Contreras family

After our trip to the Pumpkin Patch and short naps we headed to a birthday party at the Parker Fire Station. Sofia loved it!

The fireman handled Sia's questions quite well

It took several of us...

... but Sia made it into full fireman gear

Shooting down some traffic cones

V is becoming a master spitter

Daddy helped Sia navigate the water on the truck to knock down more traffic cones

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T21:18:00.006-05:00

Sofia's 5th and Vivian's 1st Halloween

The princess/queen and her wizzard

Our little ladybug (she didn't like the flash)

Big girl at the door by herself

Happy 6 Months

2011-10-31T20:52:00.007-05:00

Vivian turned 6 months yesterday. Today, Dave took her for her check-up and shots. She is eating cereal, oatmeal, apples, pears, bananas, sweet potatoes, squash and peas. She has been crawling for several weeks and has 2 teeth growing in.

Weight: 15 lb 12 oz (50th)

Height: 26.3 in (75th)

Compare to Sofia at 6 months.

Abuelo's Visit

2011-10-30T21:14:00.000-05:00

Abuelo came to visit last week. When I have more time I'll get more pictures uploaded.

Ms. Kathy calls Vivian "Velcro Fingers"

Vivian's 2 teeth. it's blurry but they're there!

We Have Toothage

2011-10-18T20:22:00.005-05:00

V's first tooth broke the gum line today. If you click on this picture to blow it up you can barely see it on her right (your left) side. Just ignore the peas.

Sofia stepped in to help me get a picture of V's tooth.
V smiles with her eyes.

Vivian

2011-10-08T21:31:00.002-05:00

V has started enjoying time in her exersaucer.

She's also been eating cereal and oatmeal since her 4 month birthday. She's still not very good at it and makes terrible faces. I plan on moving her on to other more tasty foods soon.

She's a Crawler

2011-10-04T21:27:00.002-05:00

It's official! At 5 months 4 days old, Vivian is now a crawler.

Weekend Mornings

2011-10-02T21:22:00.000-05:00

Sofia has started closing our door when she gets up on the weekends so she can play without waking us up. Vivian usually wakes once or twice during the night before Sofia gets up around 7 - 7:30 AM but then she sleeps until around 8-9 AM.

This morning I came in the kitchen to find this:

And then found this sign on her door. Apparently it's to tell all of us to stay out of her room. I guess she managed to turn on the TV and watch that episode of Max and Ruby this morning.
Then I found this in Vivian's room after she woke up.

Happy 5 Months

2011-09-30T21:16:00.004-05:00

Vivian is 5 months old now.

Me and my girls

Sofia took this one.

She's Trying

2011-09-26T19:05:00.003-05:00

V doesn't seem to know she's not even 5 months old yet. She gets up on all fours but isn't going anywhere yet.

Birthday Season

2011-09-18T21:18:00.002-05:00

Apparently it's birthday season in Sofia's pre-k class. She has been to parties at Pump it Up and Kreative Kids and has coming parties scheduled for Chuck E Cheese's, the Big Orange Pumpkin Farm and another for Pump it Up in the coming weeks.

At the Kreative Kids party, girls dressed like Ariel and boys dressed like pirates. They then played several different games before cleaning up and having food and cake.

4 Month Pictures

2011-09-08T21:13:00.003-05:00

I took them a week late but here are Vivian's 4 month pictures.

Compare to Sofia's 4 month pictures.

A Trip to the Park

2011-09-05T21:11:00.000-05:00

It was a beautiful day outside so we took a trip to the park.

Family Lunch

2011-09-04T21:05:00.000-05:00

Aunt Theresa, Uncle Bill and Oma were in town for the weekend. On Sunday they stopped by along with Aunt Cori, Uncle Adam, Dixie and Lila.

Mommy and Vivian

Vivian being zombified

Vivian laughing at Oma

Vivian trying to crawl.

Once she gets her arms and legs working together she'll be unstoppable!

Silly Sia

The older cousins

Lila

Lila and Vivian had quite the conversation

V playing with Aunt Theresa

Sisters

The Fam

V sleeping after a long day

Cousins

2011-09-03T22:27:00.001-05:00

We had dinner at Great Gramma's and were able to spend time visiting with family.

Aunt Theresa feeding Lila

Great Aunt Kay playing with Vivian

The last time these cousins were together, 2 months ago, Vivian was significantly bigger than Lila. That's not the case anymore.

Happy 4 Months

2011-08-31T11:14:00.002-05:00

Vivian had her 4 month check-up today. She scored A+ for her physical and developmental exams and handled her shots well. Here are her stats:

Weight = 13 lb 8 oz (50th percentile)

Height = 25.0 inches (90th percentile)

Compare to Sofia at the same time:

Weight: 13 lb 10 oz

Height: 25 inches

Update

2011-08-18T18:25:00.003-05:00

Things have been crazy busy around the house and at work.

Vivian loves spending time on her tummy, especially when she can look at herself in the mirror!

She was talking to me about how much fun she was having.
And Sofia still loves lining things up. This time it was all the pillows she could find with her stuffed animals on top. I missed taking a picture 10 minutes later when they were all covered in blankets taking naps.

Rolling Over Fool

2011-08-07T14:04:00.001-05:00

Vivian first figured out how to fully roll over on her 3 month birthday. Now there's no stopping her!

Back to Work

2011-08-05T15:05:00.000-05:00

I headed back to work on Monday when Vivian was 3 months 2 days old. It's just a few days earlier than I did with Sofia. Ms. Kathy is in love with Vivian and thinks she's fabulous! Vivian seems to like Ms. Kathy too!

Vivian's first day with Ms. Kathy

I knew from when I went back to work with Sofia that I would need as much milk stocked up as possible when I went back to work. Our garage freezer has more milk in it than anything else right now. This shows 2 plastic bins full of milk. We have 5 full with a few extra bags. Hopefully having this much stocked up milk now will help later when my supply starts to dwindle.

Vivian - 3 Months

2011-07-30T15:19:00.000-05:00

Vivian turned 3 months today!

She didn't like sitting in her little chair so we tried the big one.

Sofia came in to help out!

As of now, Vivian makes several guttural sounds with her throat when she's trying to talk. She loves smiling at faces and she smiles very much with her eyes. She started rolling over today and once she figured it out she couldn't be stopped! She still likes to snack all day instead of drinking a lot of milk at once. She also takes cat naps (10-30 min) most of the day with one long (2-3 hr) nap in early afternoon. She's typically awake 1 1/2 - 2 hours at a time.

Happy Birthday, Mommy!

2011-07-30T15:03:00.001-05:00

I celebrated yet another birthday earlier this week. I'm now up to 37. Grandma and Grandpa watched the girls so Dave and I could go out for dinner. After finding the sushi place we wanted to eat at had moved to another city we ended up at The Melting Pot. Yum!

Dallas World Aquarium

2011-07-30T14:06:00.000-05:00

Daddy took the day off so we could take our annual trip to the Dallas World Aquarium on Mommy's last day off this summer. Vivian joined us this year.

Who knew anteaters liked to play

Daddy took a picture of Mommy taking a picture of Vivian

The picture Mommy took

Daddy and Sofia watching a lady talk about and feed sloths

Daddy and Sofia taking a picture of the penguins

Daddy's picture of the penguins

"Natives" performed on top of the jaguar cage.

Sisters

2011-07-16T18:52:00.004-05:00

Sofia hasn't been very cooperative when it comes to taking pictures lately until today. She picked out their outfits. :)

Swim Lessons Begin

2011-07-11T17:25:00.006-05:00

Sofia started her first swim lessons without Mommy at the McKinney public pool. They split her class into 2 groups and the lifeguards rotated around having them do various things to assess their levels.

Sofia was the first to volunteer for everything.

She's excited and ready to go back tomorrow!

Vivian, on the other hand, could do without the heat. Good thing it's only 30 minutes in the morning.

Happy 4th!

2011-07-05T08:07:00.012-05:00

Cori and her family came over for a late lunch on the 4th.

The older girls played in the sprinklers while Dave grilled chicken, corn and potatoes.

Vivian enjoyed her hand.
The younger girls hung out on the playmat.
Dave made some "crack pie". The closest thing I can think of is pecan pie filling without the pecans. Talk about sugar overload!
Aunt Theresa requested new family pictures. These are the best ones...
It's cicada season.
Fireworks Monday night.

Vivian - 2 Months

2011-07-01T20:03:00.000-05:00

I took the picture a day late but Vivian is 2 months old now!

Compare to Sofia at 2 months...

Check-Ups

2011-07-01T11:01:00.005-05:00

Yesterday I took the girls in for check-ups; Vivian's 2 month and Sofia's 4 year.

Sofia has strep so she didn't get her shots yet. We'll have to go back in a week or so when she's all better (but she doesn't know that yet).

Weight: 34.4 lbs (50th percentile)

Height: 41.5 inches (90th percentile)

She passed her hearing and vision tests and, other than the strep, seems do be growing well!

Vivian luckily didn't have strep so she did get her shots... poor thing.

Weight: 11 lb 5 oz (50-75th percentile)

Height: 23.3 inches (90th percentile)

Head: 14.9 inches (25-50th percentile)

She is also growing and developing as expected. :) A+

Happy Birthday, Sofia!

2011-06-25T22:44:00.000-05:00

Our little girl is now 4! Where did the time go?

Good morning Sofia!

Time for birthday breakfast
The aftermath of opening gifts.
We had her party at Chuck E Cheese's again this year.
Vivian and Oma
One of Sofia's favorite games/rides shared with a friend from her daycare.
When it was time for the ticket blaster machine she was all ready to go alone until it started up and her hat and goggles came off.
The second try included Daddy helping out. It went much better!
The next morning while we cleaned Sofia's room to make space for her new toys, Vivian got to hang out on Sofia's bed with baby and Caillou. For some reason I don't think Vivian enjoyed it very much... :)

Coconut

2011-06-23T10:52:00.006-05:00

Sofia experienced her first coconut. First they drained and tried the coconut milk. Sofia decided she didn't like it.

Mommy and Vivian stopped by to check it out.
Lucy did too... sort of.

After trying the coconut milk Sofia also tried the "meat" and decided she didn't like that either. Daddy then shredded it into a bowl and added some sugar and a little coconut milk. It sure was tasty!

And now for some random pictures...

Vivian's Ears - Part 3

2011-06-22T10:25:00.000-05:00

Vivian was pulling her ear mold covers off this weekend so I took her in on Tuesday to have them fixed. Unfortunately it ends up that her left ear for sure and possibly her right ear had a yeast infection under the cover. So she has a week break for us to treat it before the molds go back on.

Visitors

2011-06-19T10:39:00.000-05:00

Great Gramma and Great Aunt Donna stopped by for a visit and to drop off gifts for Vivian and Sofia's birthday.

Great Gramma enjoying time with Vivian.Sofia's new Rapunzel Tag book is a huge hit!

The Girls

2011-06-18T10:32:00.000-05:00

Sofia has finally started drawing people. This is our family including Mommy, Vivian, Sofia and Daddy out in the rain.

Vivian likes playing on her jungle play mat. Of course, Sofia has to get in on the action too.

Daddy and Vivian catching a catnap.
Happy girl.
Can you hear it? I can.
Awww... much better!

Daddy giving his other girl, Guiyers, a bath.

Registries and Wish Lists

2011-06-03T14:11:00.003-05:00

I was asked the other day if Vivian's Registries and Sofia's Amazon Wish List were up to date. I just added a few more items to Sofia's Wish List and Vivian's registries are up to date as of today :)

They're linked on the top right side of this blog.

Happy 1 Month

2011-06-01T11:00:00.001-05:00

Vivian's 1 month appointment went well. She's growing like a weed.

Weight: 10 lb 1 oz (75th)

Height: 22.0 in (90th)

Head: 14.2 i n (25-50th)

Grandma and Grandpa bought V her little chair. It finally arrived.

Sprinkler Fun

2011-06-01T09:55:00.000-05:00

One of Sofia's favorite things these days is to play in her flower sprinkler.

Trying to get a drink before Daddy lets it go full blast again.

Daddy controlling the water flow. :)

Cousins

2011-05-25T21:51:00.000-05:00

Aunt Cori, Lila and Oma came to visit. Sofia got to stay home from daycare for the day. :)

Vivian (25 days) and Lila (8 days)

Oma hangin' with V

Oma and her granddaughters

I don't know how he did it but Daddy got V to hold her own bottle at dinner... Way to go Daddy, I mean Vivian!

Vivian's Ears - Part 2

2011-05-19T15:04:00.007-05:00

Vivian and I made another trip down to Children's Hospital's Plastic Surgery department to have her ear molds removed and reapplied.

Her right ear (used to look like the printed picture on the left)

This is what it looks like under the layer of tape you can see. This tape is holding the mold to the front of her ear.

Her left ear (used to look like the printed picture on the right)

This is the ear mold. There is one on the front and one on the back of each ear.

After doing a bit more research it ends up that lop ear and other ear deformities are congenital defects (genetic) and have been detected in fetuses as young as 9 weeks gestational age. Apparently it had nothing with her being out of space.

We go back in 2 1/2 weeks to have them removed and reapplied again and that should be it! We're really just waiting for enough cartilage to form to hold the shape.

Sisters and Cousins

2011-05-18T16:10:00.011-05:00

Last night we went to the hospital to meet Lila on her birthday!

The Youngest Cousins (born 17 days apart)

All 4 Cousins (2 sets of sisters)

Lila Elena

Aunt Cori holding Vivian for the first time

Shhhhhh! Sofia's hiding! Hehehe

Welcome Lila!

2011-05-17T14:05:00.001-05:00

Sofia and Vivian's newest cousin joined the world today weighing in at 7 lbs 10 oz and measuring 19 inches. Congrats Cori and Adam!

V's Room

2011-05-16T14:03:00.000-05:00

I finally got her name up on the wall!

Happy 2 Weeks

2011-05-14T14:01:00.000-05:00

Happy 2 weeks, Vivian!

And what better way to celebrate than with a bath?

2 Week Appointment

2011-05-13T21:44:00.000-05:00

Vivian's doctor's appointment went well.

Weight: 9 lb (75-90th %)

Height: 21.0 in (90th %)

Head: 13.8 in (50th %)

We then headed to the hospital for her PKU Newborn Screening. While there we learned of an awesome trick! Give the baby drops of sugar water and she won't cry at all during the foot prick and squeezing blood onto the little paper thing. If you take a newborn for any type of bloodwork stuff, you should try it too. It's magic!

Speed Demon

2011-05-13T13:58:00.000-05:00

Sofia confiscated one of Daddy's motorcycle helmets and zoomed around the house on her "motorcycle".

Vivian's Due Date

2011-05-09T18:04:00.002-05:00

Vivian was due today. My c-section was scheduled for last Wednesday but she waited for neither date instead deciding to arrive as an April baby. It's a good thing because if she had waited she would have been a 10 lb. baby!

Vivian's Ears - Part 1

2011-05-09T17:59:00.006-05:00

Vivian was born with lop ears. I assume because she was completely out of space.

Left ear

Right ear

To fix it, we were referred to the plastic surgery department at Children's Medical Center were they glued/taped molds (thickness of toothpicks shaped to the curve of the ear) to the front and back of Vivian's ears. She should only need them for 6-8 weeks, until her cartilage can hold the shape on its own.

On the way to our appointment on Thursday, May 5th.

After the "procedure". The gauze was just until the glue dried.

If you look at pictures of her after May 5th, you'll notice her ears are covered in tape. This will be removed and reapplied every 2-3 weeks until she reaches somewhere around 6-8 weeks.

Vivian's First Days at Home

2011-05-09T17:46:00.016-05:00

Car ride home from the hospital.

Lucy, curious about this new baby.

Sofia feeding Vivian all by herself!

Unknown to me, apparently it's not uncommon to get cankles after delivery, not just before. This is the first and only time I swelled up. I'm still waiting for them to get back to normal.

Vivian's first bath at home.

Vivian's first doctor's appointment - to check her jaundice levels.

Everything checked out okay!

Catching a quick cat-nap at the doc's office.

Mommy's morning cocktail.

Vivian sleeping in her crib. She looks so small!

Great Gramma and Aunt Kay stopped by for a visit.

Vivian's First Days (in the Hospital)

2011-05-09T17:19:00.020-05:00

As I mentioned in the previous post, labor is not for me. Dave was nice enough to snap a picture in the middle of a contraction when they were still around 2 minutes apart. This was before my epidural Saturday evening.

In the C-Section Operating Room after my epidural, waiting for things to begin.

Our chunky little monkey. 4110 g = 9 lb 1 oz

How did she get so big? I gained 4 lbs less than with Sofia and Sofia delivered a week later and weighed 7 lb 12 oz!

First picture of Mommy and Vivian.

First picture of Daddy and Vivian.

Vivian's first bath, the night she was born.

On Sunday, Grandma and Grandpa brought Sofia up to the hospital to meet her new sister.

Watching Daddy change Vivian's diaper.

Sisters exchanged gifts.

Sofia holding Vivian for the first time.

Aunt Cori, Uncle Adam and Cousin Dixie also came up to visit but we didn't get any pictures.

On Monday, Sofia went to daycare. Afterward she spent some time at the hospital hanging out with her new sister again.

Helping Daddy feed Vivian.

Cousin Audrey and Uncle Rob stopped by to visit.

Mommy's childhood "second mom", Rosemary, also stopped by for a visit but sadly, again, no pictures.

Tuesday, Grandma and Grandpa came to visit again. This time we got pictures!

Grandpa and Vivian

Grandma with Vivian.

Vivian found a comfy place to sleep.

Welcome Vivian!

2011-05-01T08:38:00.002-05:00

Vivian Leigh
9 lb 1 oz
20.5 inches
38 weeks 5 days gestational age

Vivian decided to join us on Saturday. My water was leaking and I went into labor around 3:30. Contractions were 8 - 10 minutes apart as we left the house, were 2 1/2 - 3 minutes apart as we got situated in Labor and Delivery and less than 1 minute apart by time they got me in the c-section operating room and ready for my epidural. She was born at 5:42 PM. All I have to say about that is: man that was fast and labor is NOT for me!

More pictures to come soon when we have time...

38 weeks

2011-04-25T21:08:00.000-05:00

38 weeks down, 1 week 2 days to go (till my c-section date)

36 weeks 5 days

2011-04-16T19:21:00.000-05:00

No, I cannot see my feet. I haven't been able to see them for quite a while.

Yes, my back hurts, as do my hips, legs and feet.

Yes, I'm ready for her to be out so I can do things like walk without pain, sleep without pain, bend over, etc again.

Crib is Ready

2011-04-16T18:23:00.000-05:00

It's about time! After a week of searching the house, the missing parts to convert the toddler bed back into a crib surfaced in the closet under the car seat bases.

Egg-stravaganza

2011-04-16T17:25:00.001-05:00

Our neighborhood's annual Egg-stravaganza event was this weekend.

Daddy and Sofia headed to the bounce house.

Sofia bouncing with one of my co-worker's daughters.

After the bounce house it was time to tackle the playground.

She climbed all the way up with no help!

What's the best part of a cupcake?

The icing, of course!

Waiting to "hunt" (gather) eggs.

Giving sissy a hug.

And they're off!

The big kids (and some parents) made their way across the field and left it clean.

After the 5 minute egg gathering event Sofia made her way back to the bounce house where she got to bounce with one of her friends from daycare. We then had hot dogs and potato chips for lunch and headed home for naps.

Penney's Work Shower

2011-04-13T20:25:00.009-05:00

My co-workers at the high school I work at threw me a Baby Shower today. It was so amazing to see how many people showed up! I feel very lucky and loved :)

There were so many fabulous gifts I can't list them all!

The ELA and Social Studies departments got us Sofia's big

girl car seat so she can ride in Daddy's car again!

(She outgrew her other seat)

Can you tell how huge my belly is?

Little girl clothes are always so cute!

A soft, fuzzy, pink bear backpack!

You can use it with or without wheels!

When I got home Sofia had a ball running around the house IN the balloons!

Sofia's Sibling Class

2011-04-13T20:13:00.005-05:00

On Saturday, Sofia attended a Sibling Class where she learned how to be a good big sister. She learned about what it will be like when the baby is born, how to wrap the baby up and hold her correctly and she even got to dress up like a doctor when we took a tour of the hospital!

Penney's Facilitator Shower

2011-04-11T20:15:00.000-05:00

The Secondary Technology Integration Facilitator group threw a little mini shower for me at our meeting on Friday.

Alissa made fabulous cupcakes!

They were gluten free (since one Facilitator is allergic)

and we would never have known if she hadn't told us!

I received handmade bags for each of the girls, handmade burp cloths, 2 books and a generous gift card.

What was so funny? I can't remember.

Notice Ashby on his iPad

Thank you so much to my wonderful team! I feel very luck to be a part of the group!

Aunt Cori's Baby Shower

2011-03-26T19:14:00.011-05:00

We attended Aunt Cori's Baby Shower today. It was a beautiful event!

Cupcakes

The Candy Bar

Sofia helping Aunt Cori open presents

Sofia took a break to read Baby Lila's new book

Great Gramma

The incredible shrinking woman.

I think I heard her tell someone she's lost 45 lbs so far...

4 Generations

Great Gramma, Oma, Cori, Sofia (and Baby Lila)

Penney (33w5d) and Cori (32w5d)

Sleeping Beauty

2011-03-20T19:07:00.000-05:00

I haven't taken pictures of her sleeping lately.

Our Pictures

2011-03-19T19:05:00.000-05:00

While waiting to look at our proofs, apparently Dave snapped these of Sofia with his phone.

Mark Your Calendar

2011-03-18T13:22:00.003-05:00

Apparently I forgot to post this when it was scheduled. Unless I go into labor early or some lady in a minivan full of kids pulling out in front of us again, Baby Girl #2 will be joining us bright and early on Wednesday, May 4th.

Family Maternity Pictures

2011-03-18T13:18:00.010-05:00

We just got back from Kiddie Kandids where we had our family maternity pictures taken. These are some of the best ones.

The monkey is Sofia's gift for her sister.

3D sonogram - attempt #4 (final)

2011-03-17T13:16:00.000-05:00

This time she had the placenta and umbilical cord blocking parts of her face. Apparently it wasn't meant to be. We now have to wait 6 weeks and 6 days to see what she really looks like.

32 Weeks

2011-03-14T19:12:00.000-05:00

Monday, March 14

32 weeks

3D sonogram - attempt #3

2011-03-11T17:21:00.001-06:00

So, today the placenta was not in the way but her arms sure were! She kept sucking on the back and side of one of her hands. The few times she moved her arms out of the way, she wouldn't stop squirming long enough to get a scan for the picture.

I go back again next week... wish us luck!

Our Silly Little One

2011-03-07T19:45:00.004-06:00

Sofia loves picking "flowers" and right now our backyard has plenty to spare.

Notice the over-full pockets.

Dancing in Daddy's motorcycle boots.

Happy Birthday Olivia

2011-03-06T19:09:00.003-06:00

Dave's friend Ray's oldest turned 5.

One of Sofia's favorite things from the evening was jumping off the ledge in their media room.

She also enjoyed tickling and being tickled by Olivia.

Happy 11 Years

2011-03-05T19:08:00.000-06:00

We celebrated our 11th Anniversary on March 4th.

3D sonogram - attempt #2

2011-03-03T22:15:00.001-06:00

It didn't go much better this time. The placenta blocked the right side of her face and her arms covered the left side.

I go back for try #3 next week.

29 weeks 6 days

2011-02-27T19:42:00.000-06:00

3D sonogram - attempt #1

2011-02-24T19:32:00.003-06:00

Yesterday we went in for our first attempt at a 3D sonogram. Like Sofia, this one played shy hiding her face behind the placenta. From what we can tell, she looks a lot like Sofia did at this stage but with more pouty lips.

I go back next week for another attempt.

Guess It's Time

2011-02-16T19:46:00.002-06:00

... to start getting ready for the new baby.

I started getting her name ready for the wall.

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-15T19:41:00.004-06:00

For Valentine's Day, on Friday and Dave and I took advantage of the Parent's Night Out at Sofia's daycare and we had a fabulous dinner at Cafe Malaga in McKinney. This picture is after they already took away 4 plates. We followed it up with dessert at a new French bistro.

On Valentine's Day itself, we exchanged cards and Daddy bought Mommy (red) and Sofia (pink) roses. They are beautiful.

27 weeks 6 days

2011-02-12T19:45:00.001-06:00

27 weeks 6 days

Sofia reading to her animals

Sad Day

2011-02-05T19:28:00.005-06:00

Oma's husband, John, passed away unexpectedly as the result of a car accident on Tuesday, February 1st. The funeral is Monday. There are no words to express our sorrow.

Please hug your loved ones every day and let them know how much you care about them.

Second Snow of the Year

2011-02-04T19:23:00.001-06:00

We had an ice storm come through Monday night/Tuesday morning causing school to be canceled for the remainder of the week; an unprecedented 4 days in a row! Since it was ice -and not very impressive- we didn't take any pictures of it.

Friday morning, however, a snow storm came through dumping around 5-6 inches of snow on top of the unmelted 1 inch or so of ice.

Sofia making a snow angel. Yes, I helped her up.
Lucy eating the snow.

A birdie stopped by to say hi.

Sofia's "Plants"

2011-01-31T19:21:00.000-06:00

Sofia's plants composed of uneaten banana bread and grape stems.

Happy Birthday, Great Gramma

2011-01-29T23:07:00.000-06:00

Dave and Great Gramma share a birthday. This year Elsie hit the big 9-0 and most of the Hamaker family came in town to share in the celebration.

The dinner was beautiful and delicious.

We tried to get pictures of everyone but unfortunately missed a few.

Desert
Dave playing with his new birthday present camera lens.

The cousins

Cousins' Breakfast

2011-01-29T18:59:00.000-06:00

With much of the Hamaker family in town for Great Gramma's birthday event in the evening, the cousins decided it would be a great idea to meet up earlier in the day while the Aunts were busy doing stuff together. After calling around trying to find a breakfast place to hold all 20 of us, Dave and I decided to host the event at our house.

Theresa made an appearance via phone call.

A couple of the uncles stopped by to say hi.

Everyone seemed to have a good time getting reacquainted.

The food after the first rush.
Lucy found a friend in Julia. :)

After everyone left and we cleaned up, Sofia helped Daddy open his birthday present.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

2011-01-29T18:54:00.000-06:00

For Dave's birthday we went out the night before to Cafe Madrid while Grandma and Grandpa watched Sofia. I surprised Dave by arranging for Cori and Adam, cousins Angie and Steve and Tara (Steve's girlfriend) to meet us there.

Cori and Adam documenting the fact that they both tried fried smelt fish.

Sickling

2011-01-24T18:52:00.000-06:00

Poor Sofia had some type of stomach bug. On her way to recovery she had some chicken noodle soup. She decided she preferred the broth from the soup instead of anything else. This was the best way to get her to drink it without making a mess :)

Stubborn Little Thing

2011-01-23T18:49:00.000-06:00

Sofia decided this day that she didn't want to take a nap. Since she wasn't allowed to come out of her room until she slept, this is what she did... then fell asleep... :)

24 1/2 Weeks

2011-01-21T18:49:00.000-06:00

23 1/2 weeks

2011-01-13T20:48:00.002-06:00

23 weeks 3 days

First Snow of the Year

2011-01-09T12:11:00.005-06:00

It's amazing what a difference 30 minutes makes. And it's still coming down steady.

Around noon it switched from frozen drizzle to actual snow. The flakes have gotten larger over the last 20 minutes. I'll post another picture later today.

Sofia's Big Girl Room

2011-01-02T08:33:00.008-06:00

We decided it would be best to move Sofia to her big girl room sooner rather than later. So after Theresa and Bill left, the transformation began.

Before: Guest Room

Sofia spent the night at Grandma and Grandpa's.

This is what she came home to.

First nap in her Big Girl Room.

After: Big Girl Room complete

We're even using her closet! (instead of just storing stuff in it)

We just need to get a bookshelf and replace the dresser with furniture we found at IKEA and a headboard from who knows where. Then it will be done.

By the way, she LOVES her Big Girl room and all the freedom that comes with it. (She can now turn on/off lights and her music without any help.)

New Year's Eve

2011-01-01T13:38:00.011-06:00

New Year's Eve we stopped by Frisco Square to listen to the music and watch the lights. If you haven't been, I recommend going next year.

It was too cold to stay outside so we finished our watching from inside the car :)

Visit to the Dentist

2010-12-29T19:00:00.003-06:00

Sofia (and Mommy) visited the dentist on Tuesday. This is the first time Sofia sat in the chair by herself. She did fabulously!

She even stayed still during x-rays!

Christmas Day

2010-12-26T18:53:00.001-06:00

It looks like Santa visited.

He brought a water bottle with Sofia's name spelled correctly!

Go Santa!

Did he leave anything in the chimney?

We headed to Aunt Cori and Uncle Adam's for breakfast.

Silly picture crashers. :)

Starting early.

Sofia loved her presents!

Later in the day we headed to Great Gramma's for dinner.

Great Gramma, Great Aunt Donna and Oma finished up things in the kitchen.

Christmas Eve

2010-12-25T12:51:00.003-06:00

We spent Christmas Eve at Grandma and Grandpa's house eating dinner and opening our first round of gifts.

After returning home, we finished preparing for Santa's visit.

Christmas Eve Eve

2010-12-24T10:38:00.008-06:00

Thursday morning we were all woken at 5 AM by the smoke detector in the guest room beeping. After taking the battery out of it, it continued beeping. Over the next 20 minutes or so all of the smoke detectors ended up on our kitchen island and we were finally all back in bed by 5:30. Looking back, it's quite funny. At the time, not so much.
Thursday evening, the grandkids (and great grandkids) went over to Great-Gramma's house (Aunt Kay's suggestion and Theresa's organization) to put up and decorate her tree.

The boys set up the tree and handled the lights.

The girls tackled the decorations.

Cori (19 1/2 weeks) and me (20 1/2 weeks) showing off our baby bellies.

The newest kid's table.