Stuffed Like a Turkey

My Bebe is 2

I can't believe it on November 14th Dani turned 2 years old. The birthday, well it didn't go quite as planned. We had a family party for her last Saturday. About 15 minutes after we walked into her party at Nana's house she started throwing up everywhere. It was awful. She is just now getting better. She was sick all week straight through her birthday. We were supposed to go to the Happiest Place on Earth this week, that had to be postponed. We planned the trip months ago and our friends The Kings had to go without us. Really bummed. However, we are all recovering from this nasty stomach bug and thankful for that. Dani has slowly started opening her presents now that she is feeling better. I am going to share the video below of her Nana, Papa and Great Grandparents singing Happy Birthday to her on the phone. She sings to herself too which cracks me up. She LOVES to talk on the phone. I swear she will be asking for her own cell phone soon. It's too funny. If you are reading this today (Friday 11/16/07 and it's before 8PM EST) please go to www.giaandnino.blogspot.com My friend Holly is hosting a raffle to support two terrific families trying to bring home children in great need of being adopted from Guatemala and Azerjbain (sp?). There are some great prizes. Check it out if you can. Hugs, D

Busy Times

Once again it's been eons since I posted photos. I am going to put a few different posts with various happenings of recent months. Dani is closing in on 2 years old. We can't believe how time has flown. She is an amazing little person and we are so thankful to be her parents. The light that she has within shines so brightly in her eyes, spirit and her little laugh. She is spunky, fiery, sweet, charming and seriously hysterical. She has such a personality and she is wild.

Tyler is doing well in the 4th grade, struggling some with the homework and math, likes his teacher and is enjoying tennis lessons a lot. He is so great with his sister; loving and patient. He was a football player for Halloween, with the pads and everything. TOo funny. Both kids had a great time trick or treating this year. It was so much fun to watch them together. We are going to celebrate Dani's birthday this weekend with family and then we are headed to Disneyland with some friends next week.
Once again it's been eons since I posted photos. I am going to put a few different posts with various happenings of recent months. Dani is closing in on 2 years old. We can't believe how time has flown. She is an amazing little person and we are so thankful to be her parents. The light that she has within shines so brightly in her eyes, spirit and her little laugh. She is spunky, fiery, sweet, charming and seriously hysterical. She has such a personality and she is wild.

Tyler is doing well in the 4th grade, struggling some with the homework and math, likes his teacher and is enjoying tennis lessons a lot. He is so great with his sister; loving and patient. He was a football player for Halloween, with the pads and everything. TOo funny. Both kids had a great time trick or treating this year. It was so much fun to watch them together. We are going to celebrate Dani's birthday this weekend with family and then we are headed to Disneyland with some friends next week. So excited to enjoy the park with both kids this time.

Hugs,

D

Hangin at the Farm

We have been busy enjoying summer and having a lot of fun. We had a great time at Clear Lake (still need to post photos) and learned how to wake surf which is amazing and I can't wait to get better at it. Here is our annual trip to Emandal. Nothing fancy just a down home kinda place to let your kids run around, catch up with friends and family and RELAX. A working farm on a river that hosts family camps several weeks a summer. Same families have been going for years and it's such a treat to have a place where our kids can be kids, running around and getting dirty. We have been going there as a family for 17 years. I have to go to bed but wanted to post some pics from our most recent trip. Hope everyone is doing well.

OMG! Has it really been that long since I posted?

I just looked at the date on my blog...the last time I posted was 5/17??? Holy crap, that went fast. I am so busy lately I have not updated my peeps. So..Steve is still on the job hunt. Keep your fingers crossed as there are a couple of opportunities that may possibly present themselves in the very near future. We are hoping and praying that one of them comes through very shortly. I have been super busy with work and we have been enjoying the nice weather at the pool and lake near our house. We went to San Diego on a family vacation weekend and got back on Sunday. The trip was great and we all had a good time. We stayed in the Gaslamp area of downtown SD right near the ballpark. There were Padres games all three days we were there! The area was a lot of fun. A ton of restaurants, shops (yes, it was terribly hard to control myself) and nightlife. It was funny to walk by nightclubs/bars carrying Dani on my back in a soft babycarrier in my jeans and sweatshirt watching fancy people all made up going into fancy places. To be honest, I had fun back in the days doing all that but I love being a Mom way more.

We went to Seaworld the first day, The San Diego Zoo on the second and hung out on Coranado at the beach the last day. Tyler's favorite was Seaworld, Steve and I loved the SD Zoo and the beach. Their zoo is phenomenal and I highly recommend it. The highlight of the trip though for sure was my feisty firecracker of a daughter assaulting the TSA security in the airport for patting down the baby carrier that she was in on my back. It was a smackdown heard 'round the airport and everyone was cracking up. The security officer was mortified and said something like "it's a good think your so damn cute!" She is something else. Here are some pics, I promise it won't be so long until the next installment.

Love that baby body!

My girl loves being in the buff. Here she is strutting her stuff. She is so into books right now. It's great she loves to take books from her bookshelf and then bring them to her little couch. She reads half the day. Of course it's waayy better to read when you are naked. Especially when you are sooo cute.





I took Dani to the SF Zoo last weekend and met up with some other Guat Tots and their momma's. I got to meet Carrie and Grace who also have a blog. Grace is gorgeous and her sweet Mom Carrie took these pics for us.

Brother has an ice cream cone

So...I have been MIA I just realized it has been two weeks since my last post. I apologize for being such a terrible no good blogger. Things have been hectic around here. Steve is doing better. The job search is on and he is hoping to find something soon. IN the meantime our yard is looking really good :-) And all those little projects around the house are finally getting done. Lovin my hubby!

We leave for San Diego in three weeks and I am really looking forward to our long weekend getaway. We will be taking the kids to Seaworld, the Zoo and the Beach. We really need this break and I think it will be much needed fun and relaxation for everyone. Wait...who am I kidding a vacation with a 18month old? Ok, maybe lots of fun but I doubt relaxation is in the cards.

These were taken last week when Tyler got an ice cream cone and Dani found herself feeling a little left out. She promptly tried to help herself to her brother's cone. He did share some but it took a lot of fight and effort on her part.

Big shout out to Julia on her new beautiful girl Abby Grace. You are such a beautiful bunch! Also, happy that Corey and family got to visit their little baby Addy. I talked with Dani's foster Mom in Guatemala last night which was great. It was a thirty minute conversation all in Spanish. I caught about 70% of it so that was good ;-) I also did a lot of "si" and "si, yo entiendo!" even when I had no clue. I would like to take Dani back to visit but I know it will be awhile before we can take her. I want her to be a little older so she can get it and enjoy the trip.

Grey days and a little sunshine too

Well folks... it's been awhile since I posted. Last week was pretty sucky to say the least. Steve was laid off at work. Completely unexpected and a huge blow for all of us. We work for the same company so things are obviously rather awkward at work right now as you can imagine. After a truly icky week and then Daniela being sick we decided to make the best of our weekend. On Saturday we took Dani to the park in the morning where she proceeded to trip and fall landing face first on the edge of a park bench. The result is a nasty bruise along her left cheekbone. In the afternoon we went to Baby Loves Disco. If you don't know about Baby Loves Disco then google and find a location near you. They are awesome events for families held at local nightclub or lounge venues. They have a DJ playing fun pop and dance music for kids of all ages. Think mom's with babies in slings to toddlers and older kids. They serve snacks and drinks for the kids and yummy grown up drinks too. They have bubbles, hula hoops etc. Tons of fun. Do you think my daughter wanted to dance though? No!!!! She wanted to run up and down the ramp leading to the lounge area and then alternate jumping off of the little stair at the top. Making Mom thoroughly crazy and in need of one of those grown up drinks I mentioned before. Sunday we headed to the beach which was completely socked in but lovely anyways. It was Dani's first time at the beach this year and she loved it. We arrived home Sunday night to a cranky little girl who had a 103 degree fever!!! I guess she was still sick. Monday called for a trip to the doctors office and today we are hopefully on the mend. Please send good vibes people. We could use them LOL



On a lighter note, we received a fantastic package from our SBP. Thanks SBP you are wonderful and we were very surprised to note that you also live in CA. Can't wait to find out your identity so maybe we can chat sometime. Your timing could not have been better. We adore the book and the outfits are too cute. I also really like the lotion. Thanks!

Dancing and a singin!

Dani and I went to a playdate this evening and then came home and put on her favorite cd of the moment and went to town. We love to dance together. Here are some pics of her dancing and playing. She likes to get on the little brick area by the fireplace and boogie. Maybe she thinks it's her stage!

April Pictures

I did a photo show because I had so many photos to share from the last week. I was able to cover T's birthday party, Easter and some extras this way. Hope everyone had a Happy Easter and good Passover. Enjoy....

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Our lives changed forever one year ago today....

One year ago today, actually right this very minute. We were on a plane with Tyler and my Mom flying to Guatemala to pick up Daniela. Tomorrow will mark one year from the day my beautiful daughter was placed in my arms FOREVER. I am swelling with pride over these thoughts and the adorable little girl she has grown into over the last year. We adore her and my life is full in a way that it never was before. Thanking G-d today for all of the blessings in our lives. No time for pics as I am playing Betty Crocker right now and making cupcakes for T's birthday party this afternoon. Did I mention how much I suck at baking??? LOL

Walking, Talking, Clapping and Singing

This is what we have been up to lately. Dani started walking (no longer just taking steps) early last week. Such a joy to see. We can't get over how she has changed over night. My back is seriously messed up now. Oh man! We spent a long weekend in Lake Tahoe at a beautiful house we rent every year. We enjoyed several days of nice weather and then a snowstorm came in which was awesome because Dani got to see the snow and play in the snow for the first time. She absolutely loved it. We are terrible and had no camera to capture the moment. My brother caught a few pics on his cell phone so hopefully we can figure out how to retrieve those LOL We are not so technically minded around here. Daniela is now running all over the place while talking, shouting, clapping and singing. She is so much fun right now. We got to snowboard for the first time this winter in fresh powder which was a blast. Tyler learned to snowboard and is now after two short days better than me. Urghhh...how are kids so freaking good at this stuff. It was so fun to see him out there on the board. He has been skiing for several years but we decided we would let him try snowboarding this year. He LOVED it. Here are a few pics of Dani tonight. T was at basketball practice with Steve.

Fun in the Sun

Lately we have been having some really nice spring weather. No more being cooped up. We have been in the yard and at the park almost every day. It's been wonderful. Dani finally got to try out the little gym in our backyard. She loves it as you can see. We also tried out the sandbox at the park after a hiatus from sand. The last few experiences involved eating more sand than playing so we took a break for awhile. This time she tasted it and realized it wasn't very yummy. So...now we can play in the sand again! Today is Steve's birthday so tonight we will go with Grandma and Nana and Papa to dinner at Nijo Castle (think Benihanas, Shogun) hmmmm I am getting hungry already. Tommorrow we have a sitter and I have something fun planned for hubby. Photos to come. For now here are some pics of kiddos...

Some wine with our whine! Mom's night in with the kiddos. My friend Tammy and I having a grand time.

Live from Cali it's Saturday Night!

We had such a fun day today. Steve took Tyler to play golf and Dani and I went to the park with our friends Jen and her daughter Sydney. Sydney is only 11 months but she is already walking. Dani is so intrigued and is trying so hard to walk around Sydney. She is now able to take 7-10 steps at a time. We all went to dinner at Chevy's tonight and the girls ate cheese quesadillas. Dani loves Chevys. It's not exactly good Mexican food but a good family restaurant. Plus, I don't mind their margaritas! LOL

When we got home we goofed around with the camera. Steve as usual refused his picture and preferred to stay behind the camera.

Oh...and to all my blog pals. Please tell me how to get in on the SBP. I would love to be someone's SBP and it wouldn't be bad to be on the receiving end either :-) I saw the same question on Savannah's mommies blog but there was nowhere to leave comments.

Ciao and have a good weekend!