Tea and Tutus

Well, today was a super special day. We had a Tea and Tutus party with our friends, Summer, Natalie and Isabell. All the girls wore their Tutus, fairy wings and tiaras. OMG is was the cutest thing you ever saw!! They all had a blast - although Fiona was a bit cranky. They loved Fiona's new playroom and their favorite toy I think was Summer's baby brother. They all wanted to push the swing, touch him and just love on him.

I can see us having more of these in the future!! Here are some pics from the party:

Fruit picking at Yingst Ranch

Another post for today: Fiona and her friend Summer went fruit picking today at a local ranch - yes, apparently in the desert they are not orchards, LOL!! We picked apples and peaches. And are planning on making some yummy pies and cakes with them.

It was warm, but fun except for the burrs!! OUCH!! but we made the best of it and had a blast with the girls, and little Logan, too. Fiona as usuall with her little independent self was picking her own fruit and running off to go exploring. Dirt was a favorite discovery!! You'll see in some of the pictures her dirt smeared face. That girl is a little nut, but we love her and wouldn't have her any other way!!

Playdate with Natalie and Isabell

I know, woo hoo, look at me posting two days in a row. I am trying to get better about this :)

Here are a few cute shots of Natalie, Isabell and Fiona swinging at Patty's house yesterday morning. Fiona loves those girls!! and the swings too :)







Fiona is used to the baby swings, so she is a little nervous on the big girl swing, but she does love it, I swear, LOL!!

Pauly and Kaitlyn

I know enough posts for today, but I am getting a little caught up while Fiona is playing :)

Zeida just sent me some pictures of Paul and Kaitlyn - Can you believe how big they are!!!!?????!!!! So super cute too!!!

enjoy!!!

Oh, and here is what I look like

I know, I know, you never see me in front of the camera - only because I am the resident photgrapher and there is no one else to take my picture. But today I decided to play around with the self timer. I got a fairly nice pic of me, and an funny one of Fiona changing her mind as the picture was snapping of being in a picture with me. Enjoy!!

Oh and these were my favorite two photos of Fiona from the shoot:

Good Pictures happen next to the trashcan

well, I was doing a little fashion photo shoot with Fiona today and while we were getting ready I snapped a few cute photos of her in the kitchen cuz she was just being super cute. Well, this is what happens to Moms, who are just completely focused on how cute their kiddo is...they neglect to see the background. so here are a few pics of Fiona in front of our trash can!! LOL!!!

Fiona's First Trip to the Beach

Headed to Ventura today to take in the sights and take Fiona to the beach for the first time. We had an absolute blast - thanks to Valerie for her tips, it made the trip a ton of fun!!!

Enjoy!!

Our beautiful little girl

Caught this photo of Fiona the other day playing in her playroom

video pics to come soon

This video is of her singing - I don't know the words, but she sings to us all the time which is awesome!!! We love it!!

Below is Fiona walking her baby doll at our park - we don't know where she is going, but apparently Fiona does...:

How did it get to be Septemeber?

Hi everyone,

I really don't know where the time goes these days, but it goes and it goes fast. We are all doing great. Fiona is such a little pistol. We have no idea what she says but she "talks" all day long, and is quite convincing when we ask her questions and she gives us her answers. She LOVES to sing and dance these days. I think I have a video clip, if I can find it I will post it. She shakes her head yes and no and knows the sign for more so if we ask the right question we get answer which is pretty cool!!

Mike is finishing his last paper for this term for his Masters in Psychology. Its a doozy, but he is almost finished. He has a break for about 2 weeks then back to school and a TDY for some training in Baltimore for a month. He's bummed to leave, but one month is nothing compared to this time last year...

Me, I am very busy with the MOMS club. Being the Pres this time is very time consuming, but I do love it. Its so much fun cuz we get to do things with the community and I have made so many great friends in this group, and I love to share it with everyone. Been scrapbooking a ton, started a little club here and we get together every other week or so. Its so much fun to do it with a bunch of other girls!! I have also been redecorating our playroom/guest room should be done very soon and it is turning out VERY cute if I say so myself. On to the downstairs next, I thought I would practice upstairs before I got to the downstairs decorating.

We are looking forward to fall this year, trick or treating, our Harvest Party, Thanksgiving, etc. It is so nice because Mike will be able to do it all with us this time!! We also will be taking Fiona down for a beach day, and maybe a few more Park Days before it gets too cold.

I am off to get some cleaning done while Fiona is napping - well maybe, I might try and find the video clip and some pictures (they are limited and in poor quality cuz my camera was broken for a little while). Talk to you all soon!!

Nancy

Settling into July

Hi all,

Well Meghan's wedding was such a blast!! Meghan was gorgeous, the wedding was perfect and what can beat hanging out with family at a great party!! It was a hectic weekend and now I am itching to go back and do some touristy stuff - Meg, I hear you and Anthony have some extra room in that new place of yours - I am officially inviting myself down for a visit, LOL!!

Fiona was a trooper through it all, unfortunately she was sick and had to miss some of the festivities, but let me tell you - Mike was an allstar that weekend. He took such great care of our sick little girl and kept her occupied while Mommy was doing her wedding things.

Been trying to keep cool here, so lots of playing in the yard with the cool sprinkler ball, wading pool, and the awesome water table my friend scored for me for free while we were in SD.

Lets see what else is going on. Well Mike is going through RCIA for the 3rd time - lets hope he doesn't deploy again and have to start all over for a fourth time. He is also back at grad school working on his masters in Clinical Psychology. Oh, and of course he is still working - very busy guy these days. Me not too much going on. Still have my hair clips at www.sweetpoppi.com. And Fiona is full time job in herself, but seriously the best job I have ever had. I was also elected the President of our MOMS Club this year so that is also keeping me busy. I have also started a little club of ladies who like to scrapbook so that is way fun for me!! We get together about 3-4 times a month and I am loving it!!

Fiona is running these days, and is a tough little cookie - rarely cries when she takes a tumble. She loves books - She grabs a book (the fav right now is the Foot Book by Dr. Suess) climbs in your lap and "reads" it to you - seriously she talks and flips pages and points and laughs at the pictures it is a total hoot. the girl never stops moving though, Mike and I just laugh cuz she does laps through the kitchen and living room all day. but she is the happiest baby in the world - always has a smile for you. And a wave when you leave, even when I lay her down in her crib she waves bye bye to me.

Other than all that, not much else is going on. Here are some pics of us the last couple weeks.

Ahhh Summer

Well, summer is in full swing here. Been playing in our backyard with the sprinkler and our baby pool - trying to stay cool with 100+ temps last week. We have a nice little cool down this week, only in the 90s. But we are really enjoying the nice weather. That is the positive side of living in the desert...lots and lots of sunny days.

Fiona is walking up a storm - even "jogging" I would call it. I think she will be talking English soon. Right now she talks all day long, but we really can't understand her yet. She does the cutest thing when she answers yes...instead of saying "yes" she crinkles up her face in this big grin and squinches her eyes and looks up. It is the most darling thing!!!

Mike is loving being home. And we are loving having him here. Fiona is a totally Daddys girl, and comes running to him when he gets home from work and is his little shaddow for the rest of the night. It is just nice to be a whole family again.

We are getting ready for Meghan's wedding in San Diego. It is going to be one great weekend. Very different to try and pack all three of us for a weekend away - its amazing what one kiddo needs for a few days. Also worrying a bit about the logistics of all of us in one room and her sleeping and napping and such. We'll see though!! I am sure it will all work out and we'll all have a huge blast!!

But that is pretty much it for all of us here. We'll get to see a lot of you next weekend. And we'll try and get some pics up for you to see soon!!

WAAAAYYY Behind!!

Hi everyone,

Again, I am way behind. I am also having some issues with the computer and my picture and video files - and well if there are no pictures, its a bummer for me to post...

No excuses though...Here are some pics for you to enjoy:

Quicky post

Ok, I am seriously behind in posting!! I have a post I was working on but was having some issues with the photos... Hopefully tonight or tomorrow I will be able to get some new stuff up.

But some quick updates.

Mike is home!!!! he is loving it. and so are Fiona and I. We are just enjoying each other. Fiona is still as ever a Daddy's girl. I think it is because he feeds her cookies any time she gets upset. Mike has been giving me Daddy Daughter Days so that I get a little break now and then - its the best and the two of them have such a great time!!

Fiona turned 1 on the 13th. We had a big blowout party on the 10th - it was craziness but a ton of fun. She took her first step on the 9th. And is now walking across rooms. But she still finds crawling more efficient yet. It is so amazing and Mike was here for it - a real blessing!!

Other than the gas prices at 4.15 here, not much else going on here. Hoping to get working on little house projects - gardening and painting - sometime soon.

Hope everyone is doing well!! I promise to have pics up soon!!!

love ya!

When Irish Eyes are Smilin'

Top o' the Mornin' - okay, Evenin' :)

Fiona and I were dressed to the nines in our green today at our My 1st Gym class today...

Happy St. Patricks day!!!

Recent pics

Ok, just a few pics of Fiona tooling around the house now that she can crawl with some other pics from California Adventure and a park trip or two :)

We have a date!!

Yay, we finally have a date when Mike is getting home!! April 1st - and I am not giving you any early April Fools!!

We are so excited, and now I am a bit stressed on finishing the gazillion projects I started that I was going to finish while Mike was gone. LOL!! Actually it isn't too bad. I have a list going of about 16 things that need to get done. So we have 23 more days - I figure if I am a good girl and get done one thing on the list each day I will still have a week to relax (or you know me, start yet another project :) ).

Mike and I are just beside ourselves to see each other and mostly for him to see Fiona. We did finally get a video of Fiona crawling to him for him to see, and he said "I just about fell off my chair!!" I was thinking, good, you better get used to not sitting cuz this girl is everywhere, LOL!!

Fiona is gaining momentum and her favorite targets are the pantry (when I leave the door open), the diswasher (when I leave the door open) and the cat's food (when I forget to put it up on the counter) - do you notice a pattern here?? Yep, lazy me has to remember to shut doors and put the cat food up. Also I am amazed how much little stuff ends up on our floors - Fiona is very kind and picks them up for me and puts them in her mouth for safekeeping (or a mid morning snack). This whole moving thing is rocking my world - it was so nice to set her down with a few toys and when I looked over she was always in the same place. Oh those sweet days!! I knew it would be like this though - thank you Colin for the pre-mommy training. But all in all, each new trick of hers is bittersweet - bitter because she is getting further away from that tiny baby (ok she was a huge baby) that we brought home almost a year ago, but sweet because she is the most beautiful, wonderful, amazing little girl who is doing exactly what she is supposed to do...grow up.

Well, as I am talking she woke up and is probably wanting some lunch...

Talk to you all again soon - I hope!!!

She Crawled Today!!

Yep, Fiona is officially crawling, after days of just two little crawls forward, she is now going across the room to get to what she wants. Here is the latest video of our girl on the move...

ok so it didn't work the first time, but here are a few better videos of Fiona crawling from the other night...


And another...

One last one...

That's Izzy saying Dada in the background - cracked us all up!!

I know, I know - where have we been??

Hi everyone, Again it has been a very long time since I have posted, but boy the time really seems to be flying right on by me!!!

We are getting very excited because we have a little over a month until Mike gets home - no definite date yet - much of that depend on airflow in and out of countries...We should know a few days before he actually gets here!!

Fiona and I had our first out of town visitors, Chris and Tai Graham. Boy, did we have a great time!! Scrapbook shopping, trips to Target (Tai's FAVORITE store), Park days, and best of all a trip to Disneyland!! It was so nice to have them here with us, the time of course went way to fast, and if Spike (their cat) wasn't home waiting for them, who knows, they may still be here!! We are hoping to come and see them in San Antonio sometime soon after her husband gets back from Iraq so the guys can hang out too!!

So Disneyland was a big hit!! I have never been and it just amazes me how these Disney Parks can make you believe in Magic all over again. I think Chris and I had as much or even more fun than the kids!! Fiona was a trooper, and didn't miss her nap, not even a wink - slept through the entire Pinnochio ride. Then Tai crashed not long after her, he is too big to carry around so we had to improvise - a bench in the Bavarian Village cafeteria became his impromptu bed - the kids slept for almost an hour I think. enough time for Chris and I to eat dinner and chat. It was hilarious though - what kids do you know sleep at Disney!!! LOL!! A full day of fun though, topped off by the parade at night.

so after all that fun it has been back to the regular same old stuff, laundry, grocery shopping (now called grocery gaming - long story), and poopy diapers.

Fiona is still working on crawling. She can now get up on all fours and rocks and still goes backwards. And is rolling and scooting around anyway she can to get to anything that catches her eye: the coffee table, the last piece of cereal on the floor, the cat's toy mouse, that piece of blue fuzz?? She even is starting to pull herself up on things, I caught her the other day all out kneeling at one of her activity tables!! she also has this rocking horse (a little to big for her) that she absolutely adores. and she wiggles her way near enough and then pulls it to her so she can chew on the stirrup.

Still the happiest (and cutest) baby on the planet. Sleeps great (now I just jinxed myself). and is eating pretty much all kinds of baby food. Loves to feed herself - her hair, ears, eyes, laps - pretty much everything except her mouth.

She is really laughing now, and talks all the time - always Dada, and daddy. Melts my heart and I can't wait for Mike to hear it!!

Well, I am off to get a quick slide show together of all the pics and maybe a video or two up...

She is Mobile!!

Hey everyone, Long time I know, but it has been very busy since we got back, and we both got a pretty bad cold we are now getting over. But the big news is that on Tuesday Fiona has become mobile!!! not yet crawling, but she will be soon!! Here is a video of her from Thursday morning...



But she also started clapping Wednesday, too!! Gosh, she is getting so big so quickly!! This is her yesterday at Patty's singing "If you are happy and you know it":



here is shot of her the other day playing: