The Simplest Toys

Sometimes the simplest things make the best toys. For Christmas Sarah got me a new Inflatable mattress for camping. This mattress is two twin size beds that join together to make a king or double up and even become a couch. Becuase they fold together they can be set up to make a perfect fort. Adrianna had a great time crawling through the fort, and she even stopped to let her sister try and to take a picture with all three of my girls.

Christmas Eve Dancing

Adrianna loves to dance! Usually when she comes downstairs in the morning her first statements are "I want to eat..." and/or "I want to dance." We have been playing a variety of Christmas music on the stereo downstairs so on Christmas eve after breakfast we put in some music and I couldn't help but dance with Adrianna. I soon realized that she has way more energy than I do, (and she is in better shape) as I had to stop halfway through the song and she just kept dancing. It was well worth the loss of breath to enjoy some fun Christmas eve dancing.

Stickers

After a doctors visit, Adrianna was given several stickers which she absolutely loves. In an effort to share them with her sister she adorned her sister with most of them. Alicia didn't mind the attention and actually went some time with these well placed stickers on her forehead, a few on her arms and some on her legs.

Oh, the joys of being a younger sibling (trust me I know!)

Snowball Fight!!!

This is our vicarious snowball fight for everyone to enjoy!

First Snow 2007

December 8th, 2007

I enjoyed playing in the snow with the girls, though there wasn't much snow at first it did accumulate later (after we went back in). Adrianna loves playing in the snow, it makes some of her toys like the roller coaster and the slide a little more exciting. Alicia bore with the cold and being bundled up for a few minutes but she soon did not want to put up with any more picture taking. Anyway here are some pics of our cuties all bundled up in the snow.

Christmas Dresses

 

December 16th, 2007

Here are Adrianna and Alicia all dressed up for Christmas.

Ballet Recital

December 15th, 2007

Adrianna has been doing Ballet for the past two months. We haven't been too sure if she was really into it because at the practices she was easily distracted and she didn't really like being told how to dance. Anyway, we think it really clicked for her when she got to perform on stage. She gave her best effort to follow the dance routine. They did two routines a ballet routine to the Tchaikovsky Nutcracker Suite Marzipan track, and a tap routine where the girls were dressed as rag dolls. Here are a few pictures:

 

 

 

Kurt and his nieces

 

November 18th, 2007

We went over to Grandma & Grandpa Terry's to give my father a priesthood blessing. Uncle Kurt and Zane, Tamera and Kyla were over as well. Here is a cute picture of Kurt and his nieces.

Christmas Flaps

December 14th, 2007

Alicia is pretty excited about Christmas. Sarah found this cute outfit that someone gave us and she couldn't resist dressing her in it. Alicia loves to flap her arms when she is sitting up, it is very cute. We are pretty sure it is part of the Penguin DNA that she inherited from Sarah.

All packed up and ready to go!

November, 24th 2007

After a few wonderful days in Tucson we packed up the car in order to head back home. Alicia was so tired that when I set her down in the booster seat to pack up the cooler she crashed, and crashed hard. To be that flexible and relaxed must be a wonderful thing.

On our way back we stopped in Phoenix where we were able to spend some time with Adrianna's first adoptive family. They live in Arizona now, and we had a wonderful time visiting with them and seeing how their children have grown. Adrianna had a lot of fun playing with the kids. We love them dearly and are so glad we have been able to remain in touch.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving trip, the weather was great, the company & hospitality was excellent, and the food was delicious, what more could you want.

Check out our elf family!

This is something fun for the holidays, enjoy!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1442259733

Great Grandparent's Williams

November 23rd, 2007

The day after Thanksgiving we went to visit my Gradparents on my Father's side, the William's. They have not had the opportunity to meet either Adrianna or Alicia. It took us a while to get in to see them because everyone wanted to see little Alicia. We had a very nice visit, though it was short, the girls got to meet their great grandparents. It was wonderful to be able to spend some time with them.

Slight blogging delay

Though I have not posted to the blog in a while, we have been busy as ever. I will try to get caught up this weekend so I will be posting some of our activities since Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving at the Montoyas

We made a trip to Arizona for Thanksgiving where we spent most of the weekend with Sarah's uncle and his family (the Montoya's). We had a wonderful time, and enjoyed some amazing food. We enjoyed wonderful 70 degree weather, we even enjoyed a fire outside with a vwonderful view of the city. The day after Thanksgiving we got to enjoy some soccer and we also made a visit to my grandparents (see the post above). In all it was a fun packed weekend. Thank you Montoya family for your hospitality!!

Bye, Bye Swensons

Our good friends the Swensons moved to Albuquerque, we had them over the night before they left town to say goodbye. Sarah made one of her signature penguin cakes for the occasion. Adrianna has enjoyed playing with their children Tyler and Ashlyn. We will certaintly miss them!

Great Grandma Belen

We visited with Adrianna and Alicia's great grandmother Belen this week. She was in town visiting Sarah's aunt and so we got to visit and introduce her to Alicia, whom she hadn't met yet. It was a nice visit and we were glad to get some pictures of the girls and their great grandmother.

Backyard Playground

We recently had our backyard redone. We never put sprinklers back there and with the drought and Mulder our grass was pretty ugly back there. It is a small yard so we decided to make it a playground for the girls and we filled the whole thing with playground mulch. Now Adrianna can enjoy her play sets and we can reclaim our deck.

A day in the life of Alicia Lynn

Alicia has got it very rough, at 5 months going on 6 months, she has a lot to do. Here is a glimpse of what a typical day in her life may entail.

• Breakfast - usually an early morning bottle between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. depending on when she chooses to wake up.
• Bath time - usually with her sister, but sometimes on her own.
• Play time - swinging, riding the roller coaster, toys, etc..
• Lunch - After a bottle mixed with Rice cereal, Alicia enjoys a variety of entertainment provided by her big sister Adrianna.
• Nap Time - Alicia sneeks a nap whenever she gets a chance. In her high chair, in the car seat, anywhere.
• Dinner & Bed Time - Yet another bottle, afterwhich Alicia enjoys a variety of mashed cuisine (yams, sweet potatoes, rice cereal, apples, pears, peaches, peas, prunes, etc.) Alicia ends her night with some relaxing time with mommy and daddy before a night of beauty sleep.

Halloween Costumes

 

 

Here are two last pictures of the girls in their Halloween Costumes, they are just so cute in them! Adrianna loves her Pooh outfit, and I must say Alicia is pretty happy as a penguin. Adrianna wore the Pooh costume to preschool on Halloween day, she said she was a scarry Pooh bear! Alicia was especially cute when she would kick and move her arms, it really looked like she was flapping her little wings. We had a wonderful Halloween, and we are now looking forward to the rest of the year and the upcoming holidays.

Dance Class

We signed up Adrianna for dance classes, she has been dancing since we got her, so this should be right up her alley. She loved dressing up in her leotard and tights. We look forward to the fun, noise, and craziness that she will enjoy.

Our Little Pumpkin

Sarah found a cute picture online of a baby in a pumpkin. We have a baby, and a pumpkin, so we decided to put the two together and take some cute pictures. Our first attempt wasn't so successful:

Maybe it was the wrong time of the day, wrong lighting, whatever; it wasn't going to work. The next day we chose to get her in the morning when she is typically at her best. With some persuasion (a bottle) and a scene we were able to capture some very cute images of our little pumpkin girl!

Click here or on the image below to link to more pictures.

Our Little Pumpkin

It's a match!

 

While on business in Cincinnati I stoped by a mall after dinner for a stroll. I couldn't resist but stop in the Children's Place store where I found the perfect set of matching outfits for Adrianna and Alicia (plum skirts, with ivory onesie tops). We tried them on this Sunday and realized that Sarah and I had clothes that went with the new outfits as well. Though we couldn't find the moment to get everyone together for a picture, Sarah did capture this one of Alicia and me.

Sushi Dinner

I was on a business trip this week in Cincinnati. Upon my return I took all my girls out to dinner for some sushi. Adrianna loves sushi, she especially loves the miso soup. It was Alicia's first time sitting in a high chair, she is becoming such a big girl. Sarah decided to have Alicia try some miso soup and, would you know, she liked it just like her sister.

Visiting Amy

After the Zoo we met up with Amy, who is going to school in Denver to become a pharmacist! We went out to PeiWei, and then we visited at her apartment. Adrianna loved meeting her hamsters. We hadn't seen Amy since she moved up to Denver from the Springs, and it was nice to catch up. It was great to see her, and we are very proud of her accomplishments toward finishing her degree.

Both girls crashed hard on the way back home, after a long day of non-stop action it would have been nice to have a car that drove itself back home, but it was well worth the fun!

Denver Zoo

October 20th, 2007

After the Halloween festival we headed up to Denver to take advantage of the Free Day. After battling traffic we made it to the zoo at 2:30 p.m., so we were able to enjoy the animals and exhibits for a few hours. I think the most fun was watching Adrianna's reaction to the animals. She especially liked the monkeys and the giraffes. Alicia was a great trooper and slept for most of the time and was happy hanging out in the stroller. The double stroller was perfect for the zoo as it allowed Adrianna stand, sit or climb up for a better view.

A whole other point of view

What do you get when you cross a 3 year old and a digital camera? A whole lot of pictures of the sidewalk and the railings. Adrianna wants to be just like her mommy, and since our point-and-shoot is available now that Sarah has her new camera, Adrianna's chance is here. At any opportunity she asks (or exclaims): "Daddy, I take picture!" Getting her to point the camera at the subject is a bit of a trick, I think she expects to look at the subject, press the button and be done. She doesn't care much about the results, but she is very serious about the task. So add photographer to the list of future occupations, that makes: (doctor (baby doctor, mommy doctor, daddy doctor), fire fire fire fighter, soccer ball, baseball, missionary, and now photographer).

Halloween Festival

We took the girls too a halloween festival at our realtor's office. They throw this party every year and it was a fun opportunity to dress the girls up in their costumes. Adrianna is the cutest Winnie the Pooh, and Alicia makes a beautiful baby penguin. Sarah and I were convicts, it worked well because holding Alicia made us jail-birds. Adrianna had fun trick-or-treating, and enjoyed riding on a horse; we even were able to get Alicia up on the sadle for a few pictures.

Dunk Tank

My work celebrated Customer Service week with several fun events each day. Tuesday (10/16/07) was beach day, and as part of our fundraising efforts the managers volunteered to get dunked in a dunk tank. Because my manager was indisposed during the first part of the week I volunteered to take his place on the plank! Sarah and the girls brought me a change of clothes and stayed to enjoy in my humiliation. Adrianna took advantage of the opportunity to throw the ball and watch her daddy splash into the water. It was a lot of fun, a bit chilly, but for a good cause it was well worth it!

Alicia enjoyed the festivities from various coworker's arms.

Adrianna eagerly attempting to dunk her father!

In I go again!

Pool Party

October 6th, 2007

Adrianna's friend Amelia celebrated her third birthday with a wonderful pool party at their local YMCA. It was Alicia's first time in the pool and she did wonderfully. Adrianna couldn't help but show off her new found skills from swimming lessons, and spent most of the pool time bobbing up and down in the water. It is great to see how she went from being very reserved in the water and wanting to be in constant contact with Mommy or Daddy, to being her usual adventurous self.

Happy Birthday Amelia! Thank you for a wonderful time!

AmeliaMommy and her GirlsDaddy and his Girls

Picture Practice

As you can imagine, in order to get used to the new camera Sarah and I have been taking pictures of everything. Luckily we have one willing subject (Alicia, who really doesn't get a choice) and one semi-willing subject. Here are some fun pictures we have as we experiment with our fun toy.

The girls questioning the sanity of their parents!


Alicia flashing a smile for mommy!



Adrianna in action (the only way to take pictures of her willingly)


Our Apple tree (Golden Delicious!)



Adrianna loves apples!


Dad, are we done with pictures yet!

I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we enjoy taking them!