April 2015

April 1st, we've been getting lots of smiles from Luciana recently

Luz cuddled up with the cute lion toy Elizabeth, Rob, and June gave her. Thank you guys for the cute snuggle toy and buying us dinner. You are incredibly thoughtful and generous!

 Fun sister time! 

April 3rd, Easter egg hunt at Mariela's school. She had been wearing a cute dress but had an accident and ended up in her extra clothes.

Coloring a bunny rabbit mask at her school party

Opening her Easter gifts from G.G. and Baba. Thanks for all of the fun toys and stickers! Mariela had a lot of fun with them.

Checking out how the butterfly moves down the window

Coloring the Easter stickers from G.G. and Baba

April 4th,  Pancakes! One of Mariela's favorite foods but we're pretty sure it's really about the maple syrup ;) 

April 6th, Lela helping Luz show off the cute outfit Great Grandma Bonnie gave her. Bonnie, thank you for all of the adorable clothes for Luciana and Mariela! The girls will be very well dressed because of you :)

Mariela showing off the cute dress Nancy and Ted gave her. Nancy and Tad, it will be great to have a cute casual summer dress for Mariela to wear! The Eric Carl sleeper you sent for Luz is adorable. We are looking forward to her wearing it once she's a little bigger ;)

April 7th,  In Mariela's world, a good book always requires an ear to hold onto. 

April 19th, 3 months old! 

And lots of smiles!! 

Our girls and their pacifiers. Mariela want's to be a "big girl" in so many ways but when it comes to giving up the pacifier she's fine with being a baby. At least we have restricted it nap, bed time, and wake-up reading time on the couch and it isn't in her mouth all day. 

Peanut butter and jelly aftermath.

Since Mariela is such as "big girl" and wore underwear instead of a diaper everyday for a full week she got to pick out a backpack. 

She said she wanted this one. I think she was drawn to all the sparkles and lights but at the last minute she changed her mind and instead went with . . . 

April 20th, heading off to daycare for the first time wearing her "big girl'" owl backpack

April 21st, after school picnic

April 23rd, trying to encourage her Dad to give her a piggy back ride

April 29th, taking Luz to daycare for her first day 

Luz meeting her teacher, Rachel, for the first time 

Checking out the toys in her room at daycare 

March 2015

March 1st, Anma holding Luz for the first time. Anma and Pop-pop, thank you so much for persevering despite major airline delays and the fact that you ended up having to land in Seattle and drive 3 hours to Portland to see us. We REALLY appreciate your effort and loved having you visit!  

Mariela checking out the nurse outfit and baby doll Anma and Pop-pop brought her as a "big sister" gift. Anma and Pop-pop thank you so much for the kite and books too! Mariela has had a great time playing with all the gifts and listening to poems :)

Lela making sure Pop-pop is up-to-date on his immunizations :)

 

March 2nd, pizza with Anma and Pop-pop, you can't get much better than that according to Mariela :) Especially since she had a wonderful time earlier in the day with Anma and Pop-pop when they took her to the Portland Zoo for her very first visit. She had SO much fun looking at all the animals and we really appreciated having time to clean out the garage. Thank you!

Playing one of Lela's favorite games, Let's Have a Picnic, she got from her High Five magazine.

Singing one of the songs from her music class to Luciana. During the class the parents bounce the kids on their laps but Lela saw a great opportunity to bounce her sister in her "bouncy chair" :)

 

March 3rd, feeding her baby like Mommy feeds Luz ;)

March 7th, it was 70 degrees at the beach so we took advantage and Lela got to fly the kite Anma and Pop-pop got her with Dada. What fun!!

 

  

Unfortunately, you can't hear what Lela is saying over the sound of the waves but she's talking non-stop about what she's seeing on the beach.

For Luz' first time on the beach it was a little windy so we sat behind a small sand hill and definitely made ourselves at home even though we were only there for a couple of hours.

March 14th, Mariela LOVES the Perfect Square book Aunt Emily, Uncle Greg, Susannah, and Graham gave her.  We've already read it so many time that Lela will fill-in the next word when we say, "so it made itself into a ____." Thanks for the great book you guys! We hope you recovered from the stomach flu quickly and that we'll be able to see you sometime soon.

 

Using her credit card machine ;)

March 16th, Luciana had lots of smiles on the super soft blanket Aunt Emily, Uncle Greg, Susannah, and Graham gave her. Thank you for great blanket. We're sure Luz will love her blanket as much as Susannah and Mariela love theirs :)

Lela being a "great" big sister and teaching Luz how to "show off" her food, hummmm.

March 17th, this is the picture the teachers at Mariela's daycare sent us. Typically they don't email us pictures but they sent this one because Mariela actually took a bit off a fresh apple and everyone was excited!!! Mariela loves applesauce and dried fruit but for some reason isn't a fan of fresh fruit so this was a momentous day. Unfortunately, she hasn't take a bit of fresh apple since :(

March 18th, Luciana has begun to enjoy her baths and Mariela loves to help wash Luz' legs and feet which are "her job" ;)

March 19th, 2 months old! Waiting for her pediatrician at her 2 month well baby check.

Reading/singing to G.G. and Baba on FaceTime

 

March 20th, why drink milk and smoothie one at a time?

 

March 21st, well, I guess she has the main gist of the Harold and the Purple Crayon book ;)

March 27th, snuggling with my girls :)

March 29th, Mariela was incredibly happy that we used part of the generous gift card Tim and Bobbie Watson gave us to get her a bag of dried fruit. Thank you Tim and Bobbie! The rest of the gift card was used to get formula for Luciana which was very helpful for our budget :)

Mariela having a great time drinking out of the cool water filled cup and bowl Jean Bumb gave her. Jean, you sure are spoiling our girls! Thank you so much for not only sending the cup and bowl but also the cute bow dress for Mariela and the fork/spoon set for Luciana. You are incredibly thoughtful and generous :) 

March 30th, showing off the adorable bow Annie, Shehzaad, and Maia sent "big sister" Mariela. Thank you for the cute outfits for Luciana too. We hope we'll be able to see you guys sometime soon and get these girls together to play!

February 2015

February 1st, having fun dancing around with Dad :)

February 2nd, Mariela loving the fact that she's holding Luz all by herself like a "big girl."

Luciana loves sucking on her fingers. So far she hasn't narrowed it down to a certain finger(s) but we are guessing it will only be a matter of time before she has a favorite.

February 4th, play time with Baba

February 6th, last night with G. G. and Baba. We sure do miss you and are incredibly thankful for all your help!

February 7th, the first time she took a bite off a "big girl" sandwich. A.K.A two pieces of bread with the peanut butter and honey in between vs. an open faced sandwich 

February 9th, feeding her baby like we feed Luz ;)

 

Lela LOVES the fact that she has someone else to show all of her tricks to!

With no suggestion from us Mariela said she wanted to hold hands with Luz

 February 13th, Luz isn't a big fan of tummy time but we're still working on it

February15th, our first outing as a family of 4

Mariela being a "big helper"

Hanging out with our friend Jen. Jen, thank you for not only making the drive out to see us but also for playing a riveting game of "Let's Have a Picnic" ;)

February16th, having a great time coloring on the jumbo coloring pad Jen gave her. Thank you Jen, the coloring pad, reusable stickers, and puzzle have been great to keep Mariela entertained while we attempt to get something accomplished! Thank you for the cute outfits for Luz too, she will be well dressed for sure :)

Daddy and Lela building with the amazing bristle blocks Erin, Martin, Wyatt, and Addie gave her. Thank you guys for the great "big sister" gift and the Ergo! The blocks have been so much fun for all of us and since we are wearing Luz a ton more than we ever wore Lela, the Ergo will be utilized all the time once Luz is a little bigger.

February17th, Mariela's first time helping Dad feed Luz.

Luciana's big enough to wear cloth diapers!

February 20th, rest time (at least for Dada)

February 21st, taking her "basketball" to the "home park." Someday we'll make sure she knows it's actually a volleyball ;)

No need to head to the Magic House in St. Louis (even though I know Mariela would LOVE it) when you have a super long slide at your "home park."

 

 

 February 24th, we were trying to get a video of Lela saying "Luciana" but it's hard to hear her. Mariela calls Luz, "Loot-i-nana" or "Loot."

Lela trying to show Luz the fun stuffed letter L Pam and Ron Hoyne sent. Pam and Ron, thank you for all the gifts you sent! You all are incredibly generous. Mariela played for hours with the art set and since she is really into the alphabet right now the pillows are a big hit. The My Baby Book was probably read about 5 times the night we opened all the gifts you sent.   Thank you!!

 

February  25th, a little fussy but starting to move her legs :)