The Quiroz Family

Sophia's First Snow

2014-02-12T00:26:00.001-05:00

Sophia finally experienced her first snow! We got close to two inches of snow which kept us snowed in for a couple of days.

We kept ourselves busy with snowball fights, sledding, snow ice cream, lots of movies, and hot chocolate. It was a really peaceful couple of days!

2013 Recap

2014-01-08T22:18:00.000-05:00

Hey there! Remember me? I used to blog here, but then life got busy and I got behind. I kept saying I would blog, but I kept putting it off and I got behind. Then it seemed like a lot of work to go back and try and update everything so I just never did it.

But then, I started thinking about all of the things that I didn't post about. I felt guilty for not documenting our memories. So, I have made a goal for 2014 to try and post more often. Ideally I would like to post once a week, but if I can just do once a month I'll be happy with that.

Rather than going back and adding in posts, I thought I would try and do one big "catch all" post and just highlight the big stuff. So, here goes....

Aiden played his first year of baseball in the spring. He was on the Orioles. Baseball was totally new to him, and while he had fun, I don't think it was really his sport. He hasn't asked to sign up for baseball again, he says he wants to try soccer instead.

Sophia turned one and we had a Minnie Mouse birthday party for her. We had a bounce house for the older kids, but I'm pretty sure Sophia enjoyed it just as much as the big kids.

Jenny finished second grade, and we had a busy summer. We spent lots of time sleeping in, going to the pool, and hanging out with friends and family. We took a trip to Tennessee with my mom, brother, SIL, niece, and cousins. Kenny and Aiden had a good time at VBS and we also went strawberry picking.

In August, Aiden started his first year of school in Pre-K and Jenny started third grade. I am proud to say that they are both doing really well, and amaze me with how much they learn!

August was a busy month, because we also moved. I always forget how difficult it is to move. I hope the next time we move I can hire movers!

Jenny turned 8 on August 30. I ate lunch with her at school, and we had a small surprise party for her with a couple of her friends. She didn't think we were going to do anything for her birthday since we had just moved, so she was really surprised!

In the fall we went to a pumpkin patch, corn maze, and we took a trip to Helen Georgia with my family. The kids also dressed up for Halloween. Jenny was Harley Quinn (a character from Batman), Aiden was Robin, and Sophia was a bumble bee. I loved that she was a bumble bee, because Jenny was also a bumble bee the first time she went trick or treating. :)

The holidays passed by too quickly, as they always do. Thanksgiving was spent at my cousin's house. We had a wonderful Christmas, and my children (and Jaime and I) were very spoiled with some really great gifts! We celebrated New Year's Eve at my mom's house with family.

2013 was a difficult year with my Dad passing away, but we made it through. It wasn't easy, but I know God was with us every step of the way. 2013 was also a year full of blessings. I am hoping that 2014 brings many more blessings, and hopefully less heartache. I just wanted to say that I appreciate each and everyone of you who said a prayer for my family this year.

"And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” Matthew 21:22

Shutterfly Giveaway Winner

2013-11-23T14:25:00.001-05:00

And the winner is....

Congratulations! I will be emailing you shortly with information on how to obtain your $50 credit!

Shutterfly Giveaway - Win $50 Credit To Shutterfly.com

2013-11-12T00:57:00.000-05:00

Can you believe Christmas is only a little over six weeks away?? I am counting down the days until I can put up our Christmas Tree. Trust me, if it were all up to me, I would already have it up! But alas, my husband likes to celebrate holidays in order, and apparently Thanksgiving comes before Christmas this year. :-)

This year I am teaming up with my friends from Shutterfly to bring you a giveaway for $50 off your order at Shutterfly.com. This is a great way to take care of your holiday card order this year!

Shutterfly has some really awesome new designs in the 2013 Holiday Card Collection & Photo Gifts. I've picked out a few of my favorite cards to show you.

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Disclaimer: I will be compensated for this post with product, but as always, all opinions are my own!

Spring Break 2013

2013-04-16T14:19:00.001-04:00

Last week was Jenny's spring break. We didn't have many plans, mostly just several doctor and dentist appointments. We tried to do a few fun things though. My mom was also on vacation last week, so she came with us sometimes too.

On Monday, we went with my mom to Stone Mountain. We have gone to Stone Mountain several times, but this was our first time to go there and ride the "Ride the Ducks" ride. It was a lot of fun! The ride started out on land, where we took a tour of the park. Then, before we knew it, we ended up on a dirt road that led down to a lake. On this road, our driver floored the gas pedal and we took off into the water! Water splashed up around the sides of the boat, but none of us got wet. Children 9 and under had to wear life jackets. Jenny and Aiden didn't mind them, but Sophia didn't like her's at all. Eventually she fell asleep on the ride. We also saw an animal show where they brought out several baby animals for everyone to look at. There were even a few that we could touch if we wanted. We also rode the Sky Lift, walked around on the top of the mountain, saw the 4D movie "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island", and the kids played in Geyser Towers. By the end of the day we were all worn out!

On Tuesday the kids and I went with my parents to Suwanne to let them play in the fountains. Jenny always loves the fountains. Aiden has never liked them. I keep hoping every year that he will like them since he is older, but he never does. He just runs around them and tries to avoid getting wet. This was Sophia's first time to get in the water from the fountains. She didn't mind touching the water with her hands, but once we put her any closer, she wanted nothing to do with it!

On Thursday we tried a new place that we had never been before. There is a children's museum in Atlanta called Imagine It! I have been wanting to take my kids to a children's museum for a long time, but just never found the time to go. So, after a quick doctor appointment for Jenny on Thursday morning, we headed to Atlanta to the children's museum. There were lots of things there for Jenny and Aiden to do. They even had events at certain times of the day. We missed the first couple of them, but we made it in time for the dancing one, the science one, and story time. I think the dancing may have been Jenny and Aiden's favorite part! Some of the exhibits included things like: a grocery store with grocery carts and a cash register, a farm with a cow that could be milked, a washable wall that could be painted on, a pond full of fake, magnetic fish and fishing poles, and lots of other smaller exhibits. There was also a small section of toys for children Sophia's age. When it was time to go, Jenny and Aiden both weren't ready to leave.

We had a great spring break and we are looking forward to lazy, summer days! It was a nice preview to the summer.

One Year

2013-04-04T09:00:00.000-04:00

Dear Sophia,

It is hard to believe a whole year has passed since you came into our lives. I don't even know where to begin to tell you just how wonderful this past year has been. I just hope your Daddy and I can show you how much we love you everyday. You have made our world so much better, Sweet Girl!

You are getting closer and closer to walking every day. You have stood on your own and even taken a step or two, but then you sit right back down. I am not rushing you to walk at all. I know you will do it in your own time, when you are ready. For now, I am enjoying getting to carry you everywhere with us. I know once you start to walk, you won't want to be held as much. You are an expert crawler and cruiser. So, for now, you get where you want to go on your own, and it doesn't bother you that you aren't walking.

I don't know what your height is yet, your one year check up is next week. You went to the doctor yesterday because you are sick, and your weight was 17lbs 14oz. You are usually in the 25 percentile in weight, so I imagine that is where you are at. Developmentally, you are right on track and I just praise God for your good health!

You make lots of noise all the time, and you know a few words. You can say, "dada", "mama", "Aiden", "Jenny", "uh-oh", "baby", and you recently started saying "Grandpa" too. Your brother and sister are quick to give you whatever you need/want, so there really isn't much reason for you to talk just yet. I have to remind them to be more patient, and wait to see if you can say the word for whatever it is you want at the time.

You are really good at giving us kisses when we ask for them. You are such a sweetheart! Sometimes you will come up to me and just lay your head in my lap. It is the sweetest thing! You are such a love bug! You have also started trying to blow kisses at us. You have been waving bye-bye for several months, but sometimes you are so funny about it. A few days ago you crawled over to your car seat, climbed in, and then waved bye-bye at me. Silly girl! You also love to put your hands over your face and then I will say, "where's Sophie?" and you will uncover your face and I'll say, "there she is!". After you uncover your face you will also try to say "there she is!". It is precious!

You love to dance! Every time you hear music playing, whether it is on the TV, the car radio, our phones when they ring, or even if someone is singing, you bob your little head and shake your hips. If you are standing up, you will move your whole body up and down along with the music. It is the cutest thing! You also love when we sing to you. Your favorite songs I sing are: Jesus Loves Me, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Mary had a Little Lamb, and The Itsy Bitsy Spider (you are learning the hand movements to this song). Sometimes you even try to sing along.

You also love books! I usually read to you every night before bed, and sometimes during the day. You like to look at the pictures and I point stuff out to you in the book. I love reading, and I hope you will always have a passion for books.

You are getting really good at "Pat-a-Cake". Grandma started teaching it to you a few months ago, but lately you have gotten really good at doing the hand movements. Sometimes you'll be doing them even when we aren't singing the song. Cutie pie!

You have been drinking milk for several weeks now. Occasionally you still get formula, but not very often. You are still taking a bottle, but you can also drink from a sippy cup. We will probably take your bottle away soon. Right now you usually only get it at nap time and bedtime. You are a great eater! You love all kinds of foods, and so far, you haven't been allergic to anything. Your favorites are: scrambled eggs, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, spaghetti-o's, cheetos, cereal bars, bread, apples, mandarin oranges, strawberries, and bananas.

Jenny loves to take care of you. She helps me out a lot! She loves to carry you around and teach you things. She reads to you a lot, and is so caring with you. Aiden just adores you! He loves to play with you. You like to chase him, and you like when he chases you. He has so many nicknames for you: Soph-a-loaf, Sophie Girl, Sophie Baby, and Soph. They both think you are the best little sister! They are both genuinely happy when you learn new things, and genuinely upset when you are upset. Every time they go to your doctor appointments when you get vaccines, they cry right along with you! I just love watching the bond between the three of you develop and flourish. You have an incredible bond with Jenny and Aiden, and I pray that it always stays that way. I hope that the three of you will grow up to be best friends.

You are just the sweetest little girl, and you are so petite. I just love spending day in and day out with you. I cannot describe what a blessing you are to our family! We all just love you so much, you are every one's little baby.

God has amazing things in store for your little life, Sophia. I pray that you will seek Him, follow Him, and live out all of the big things He has in store for your life, sweet baby. You are a masterpiece, created for your Daddy and me right now, but for the rest of the world later. I love you so much, you will always be my baby girl.

Love always,

Mama and Daddy

A Birthday Virus

2013-04-03T23:58:00.001-04:00

It was pretty cold in our room last night, and Sophia won't stay under her blanket, so we put her in the bed with us last night. This morning, I woke up in a sweat! I tore the blankets off of me and found Sophia laying right up against me. She was burning up!! I knew right away that she had a fever. She felt me move so she woke up and immediately began to cry. Poor girl, you could just tell she felt horrible! I checked her temperature, and it was 101.5. I gave her some Motrin and she and I cuddled on the couch. Eventually her fever went away, and she started to act normal. She ate some breakfast and was playing in the floor with her toys just like she does every morning. I was hoping that it was just a fluke, and that would be the last we would see of her fever.

She took her nap around 11:00, an hour earlier than usual. I figured it was because she didn't feel well, but at the time she still didn't have a fever. However, when she woke up from her nap, her fever was back and it was even higher this time, 102.4. I called her doctor and made an appointment.

We had a few hours between the time she woke up and the time of her appointment, so we hung out on the couch or in my bed. She was pitiful! I have never seen her feel so badly. She had no other symptoms, just a fever.

Her doctor appointment went well. Her ears looked good and her chest sounded good too. Her throat was a little red so they tested her for strep. It was negative. Just to be on the safe side I asked them to check her for the flu virus too. They did, and it was also negative. So, chances are, this is just a virus. There's nothing we can do except let it run its course. I've been giving her Motrin every four hours since she is still running a fever. If she still has a fever on Friday, or her temperature gets to 104 or higher, I have to take her back to the doctor and they will check her out and run the tests again to make sure it hasn't developed into something more serious.

Here's to hoping that she wakes up in the morning and feels all better! Her first birthday is tomorrow, and no one wants to be sick on their birthday! Plus, now Aiden has a stuffy nose and is complaining that he doesn't feel well. After all day with a sick baby, and now a sick 4 year old too, I've had about all I can handle. Luckily Jaime is off tomorrow, so even if they don't feel well, I will have backup. So, if you don't mind saying a prayer that my children feel better soon, I would appreciate it! Please also pray that no one else in our house catches it. A prayer or two for my patience tomorrow wouldn't hurt either! ;-)

Phone Dump

2013-04-02T23:00:00.000-04:00

The past few weeks have been such a blur! My children are growing up faster and faster every day it seems. All three of them just blow me away with how grown up they seem. When I was a kid, I felt like I would be a kid forever. I couldn't wait to grow up! Now that I'm a mother, I feel like my kids are growing up too fast! They will be adults before I know it! Funny how it seems so different from a different perspective.

These pictures are from a few weeks ago. For Christmas, Santa brought Jenny "Just Dance 4" for the Wii. Jenny loves it! Aiden isn't usually a big fan, but he played with her this night. His facial expressions crack me up!

Jaime and Aiden got their haircut a few weeks ago. The place we go to has a basket of suckers for the kids. Aiden always gets one after his haircut, but Sophia had never had one before. She wasn't happy waiting for them to finish with their haircuts, so I gave her a sucker to distract her. She loved it!

This picture is from one of Aiden's games. Somehow I only brought two chairs instead of three, so Jenny sat in the stroller when Sophia wasn't using it.

Just a random picture of Aiden and Sophia. Sophia loves to sit on this bench. She isn't tall enough to put herself on it. She tries. She backs up to it and then tries to sit, but she always ends up sitting in the floor in front of it. Poor girl!

Sophia decided she wasn't ready for bed when I wanted her to go to bed, so she stayed up with me and watched TV and we took pictures of ourselves.

Silly girl! She loves to sit in front of this door at my parent's house and look outside at their dogs. My mom and I were standing outside and looked up to see her doing this!

Sophia loves to sleep with a stuffed animal. It doesn't matter which one, but she does have favorites. Right now she likes Elmo, Tigger, Jenny's puppy, or her Minnie Mouse.

We went to the movies last week and saw The Croods 3D. We took Sophia with us too, but she slept through most of the movie. It was a cute movie! We went to Movie Tavern where they serve you dinner while you watch your movie. It was our first time going there. It was pretty expensive, and the food wasn't that great. We will probably just stick to the regular movie theater next time!

Jenny brought this box home from her mom's house last week. It was a spaceship she had made to bring home for her and Aiden to play in. I didn't expect it to be big enough for anyone but Sophia to fit inside of. But somehow she and Aiden figured out a way to get in there together! They used the toy from Sophia's walker as their steering wheel and control panel.

This girl has a love for books! She has lots of different books that she loves to "read". She also really enjoys when I read to her. When Aiden was younger, he would never sit still long enough for me to read to him even though I always wanted him to. I just love reading to Sophia!

One of Sophia's favorite places to play is in Jenny and Aiden's room. Jenny and Aiden also love to have her in there. The rule is, their room has to be clean in order for her to be allowed in. It doesn't have to be perfectly clean, but there can't be any small toys in the floor that she could choke on if she put them in her mouth. They have been pretty good about keeping it clean enough that she can go in. On this day, it wasn't clean enough. So they shut their door while they quickly cleaned it up so that she could come in. Sophia was not very patient, and was very vocal while she waited outside of their room.

I took this picture of Jenny one day last week when she and Aiden were playing Just Dance 4. I wasn't trying to take a picture of them dancing together, but I was holding Sophia at the same time and she bumped my arm so this was what I got. I started to delete it and take another one, but at second glace, I couldn't help but notice how skinny Jenny looks! We have been trying to make changes to her diet and spend more time outside and being active. It is paying off! She has come a long way in the last year, and we really haven't even made major changes. I am so proud of her!

I haven't really talked much about this on the blog, but since I use this blog mainly for documenting our lives, I figured I should mention this since it is a part of our life. Jenny has urine reflux. It isn't a big deal, but it does cause her to get lots of urinary tract infections. We have been giving her a daily antibiotic for a few years now to prevent infections, hoping she would outgrow the reflux. Unfortunately, as of late is hasn't been working well and she has been getting more infections than usual. Her last one was pretty bad, and she became dehydrated and had to spend several hours at the hospital getting fluids. I took this picture of her and I while we were waiting for them to bring her IV.

Sophia's first time on a slide!

I was making dinner last week and Sophia kept trying to get me to pick her up. So, I gave her a couple pots and a plastic whisk to play with. She loved it! I think her big sister and big brother may have been a little jealous.

Spring break is next week and so far the weather is looking very nice! Looks like we will be spending lots of time outside and having a good time!

I have been such a slacker lately when it comes to reading. I try to set a goal of one book per month, but so far I haven't even read one book! I have started reading The Hunger Games a few times, and then I always get busy and stop reading. I started it again today, and I am hoping to read it everyday during nap time.

We went shopping with my mom last week, and we went inside The Disney Store. I showed Sophia this stuffed Minnie Mouse and let her hold it. I had no intention of buying it, so I put it back on the shelf. When I put it back, she immediately started crying! So, Grandma did the only logical thing - she bought it for her! Is this girl spoiled, or what?? Haha! :)

This is how I feel like I have spent the last few days. Doing laundry! I can never get caught up. With five people in our family, it seriously does feel like it is five against one when it comes to the laundry. It is never ending!

I just can't get enough of this sweet girl! She is so close to walking on her own, but she just hasn't gotten brave enough yet. She has taken a few steps on her own a couple of times. So it is only a matter of time before she starts walking by herself. I am excited to see her walk on her own, but I'm not sure if I'm ready for her to be walking yet. First of all, she will be much more difficult to keep up with. Second, she is my baby!! She shouldn't be old enough to walk yet, should she?! I am in total denial mode that she has a birthday coming up....ON THURSDAY!! I just can't believe it.

I gave Sophia a cookie last week thinking that she would bite it. Instead, she shoved the entire cookie in her mouth! This girl doesn't mess around when it comes to sweets!

While we were out shopping last week, I may have bought way too many clothes for my kids! I always buy too much. But hey, I got good deals, so that has to count for something.

Keeping me entertained while I work on laundry.

Somebody found my markers! When I took the marker away from her, this is the face she gave me. Haha! This child is going to be a handful when she is older, I can see it already!

That pretty much sums up the past several weeks at our house. Some days it is crazy busy around here, some days my kids get along well and everything gets done. Most days my kids argue all day long, nothing gets done, and everyone goes to bed early because this mama needs some alone time! No matter what, I wouldn't change it for the world! It's not a perfect life, but it is my life, and I think it is as close to perfect as I need. Hope you are all having a great week!

First Day of April

2013-04-01T23:30:00.000-04:00

It is finally starting to feel like Spring around here! This seemed like it was the longest Winter ever, so it is nice to enjoy some warmer weather!

We woke up this morning to a sweet face peeking out at us through her crib rails. As much as I am ready for Sophia to have her own room, I know will miss her once she is not in our room anymore. Poor Jaime has a cold, so we spent most of the day in the house. He was off from work today, so it was nice to have him home, even if he didn't feel well.

I am using this week to do some spring cleaning. I am hoping to have it all done by Sunday so that we can enjoy next week. Next week is Jenny's spring break. We have lots of doctor and dentist appointments scheduled next week, so I want to try and take advantage of the time we are able to spend doing fun things. I definitely don't want to spend the week cleaning! Today we started with cleaning out the van and washing the outside. If you know me well, you will know that I have never ever had a clean vehicle! It is usually always full of things that don't belong. When I was younger it was things like: trash, extra clothes, shoes, etc. Now that I have kids it is usually: trash, toys, sippy cups, clothes, jackets, shoes, video games, etc. This time it was particularly bad because it hadn't been cleaned out in a while! Between Girl Scouts and Aiden's baseball games, plus all of the other things in between, it had gotten out of control! Jaime and Aiden cleaned out the inside while Sophia took a nap and I cleaned a few things inside the house. After Sophia's nap, we went to the car wash where we washed the outside and vacuumed and cleaned the inside.

After the car wash we went to the park so that Aiden could practice baseball with Jaime. Jaime doesn't really like baseball, and he has never played before. Where he is from, soccer is more commonly played. So he and I helped Aiden together. Jaime even said that he thinks that Aiden's baseball bat might be the first real bat he has ever swung! Aiden wasn't too thrilled about coming to the park to practice. All he wanted to do was play on the playground. First he practiced throwing and catching the ball, and then he practiced hitting. Eventually we told him that after he hit the ball three times, we could go to the playground. There's nothing wrong with a little bribery if you as me! Especially since it helped him to be more serious - and it wasn't long before he hit the ball three times!

We headed to the playground where he had a blast! Sophia played on the swings, and tried out the slide. She really loved swinging, but she wasn't too sure about the slide. Haha! We put her on a slide last week for the first time, and she liked it. This slide was a little different though, it was steeper. I think it made her a little scared.

Once it got so dark it was difficult to see, we came home and had a late dinner of sub sandwiches. Publix makes the best sandwiches. I think I might like theirs better than Subway. Aiden and Sophia were up past bedtime, so hopefully they will sleep in a little tomorrow. I doubt it!

Tomorrow is day two of spring cleaning. I haven't even decided what I am going to clean yet. Whatever I do, I also need to do the laundry too. After our busy Easter weekend, the laundry is out of control! Funny how it seems like whenever I focus on a certain area, like today I focused on the van, it seems like all of the other areas of the house fall apart and get out of control. Most of the time I really feel like it is impossible to have a perfectly clean house all of the time. This stay at home mom stuff is much harder than it looks!

I hope you all had a wonderful first day of April and I hope you didn't fall for too many April Fool's Jokes!

Easter Weekend 2013

2013-03-31T23:18:00.000-04:00

*This post is pretty long, and full of lots of pictures!*

Easter is one of my favorite holidays. Christmas is probably my most favorite, followed closely by Easter. After all, as a Christian, Easter is the center of my entire faith! Easter has also come to be a day where we spend time as a family, and create memories together that I hope will last a lifetime.

We started out by having an Easter Egg Hunt at my parent's house on Saturday. We had 40 eggs between two kids. It is so much fun seeing how much they truly enjoy looking for the eggs. They get so excited when they find one, and their little faces light up with joy!

After the egg hunt we had a traditional Easter lunch with ham, potato salad, and green beans. Yum! Jenny loves potato salad, and this was her first time to eat the homemade kind. She said she liked it better than the kind you buy at the store.

Sweet cousins.

Allie Kay, my niece - already almost two months old! The sweetest, most beautiful niece in the world! :-)

I hope these two grow up to be best friends!

Aiden had a game that afternoon, so we took a break from Easter activities to watch his baseball game. He played well! He needs some more practice on catching the ball, what to do after he gets the ball, and what to do after he hits the ball.

After Aiden's game we came home and ate leftovers. Then we colored some more eggs with Aunt Jillian.

After we colored eggs it was getting late and time to come home. Everyone knows that the Easter Bunny doesn't come until you are asleep! We came home and the kids rushed to get their pajamas on and get ready for bed. We waited close to an hour to make sure they were fully asleep, and then The Bunny went to work.

The tradition in our house is that the night before Easter, we set our our Easter baskets in hopes that the Easter Bunny will fill them while we are asleep. This year, we were also hoping that the Easter Bunny would bring a basket for Sophia since she didn't have one. Last year on Easter she was only four days old, so she didn't get a basket.

The Easter Bunny put out a trail of eggs from their rooms to their baskets! He also hid 20 candy-filled eggs around the house.

The Easter Bunny came! He brought Sophia a basket, too!

Jenny and Aiden woke up bright and early this morning, before the sun had even come up! We woke up Sophia and headed out into the living room to see if the Easter Bunny had brought anything.

After emptying their baskets, we all got ready to go eat breakfast with my parents, my brother, my SIL, and my niece.

After breakfast we went back to my parent's house and just hung out as a family. We went on a walk around the neighborhood and played Old Maid with Jenny and Aiden. It was just a fun time to be together as a family!

We had a wonderful Easter! We have so many reasons to celebrate and be thankful this year! We are incredibly blessed - Praise The Lord!! Christ is Risen! My Redeemer Lives! I am just beyond thankful for His sacrifice, the ultimate sacrifice!

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead"
1 Peter 1:3

"He is not here; he has risen, just as he said..." Matthew 28:6

Easter Egg Coloring 2013

2013-03-29T13:24:00.001-04:00

Jaime and I colored Easter Eggs with Jenny and Aiden last night. It was kind of late when we got started, and Sophia was getting sleepy so we put her to bed. There wasn't much she could have done anyway except watch us.

This year we tried out two new ways to dye eggs. In the future, we probably won't do it this way again. It was messy, and the results were not very impressive. However, the kids loved it, so it was worth it!

The first way we tried was with shaving cream and food coloring. This is something that one of my MOPS friends told me about. Basically, you fill a cookie sheet with shaving cream. Then add drops of food coloring and use a toothpick to swirl the color around in the shaving cream. Then, you roll your egg around in the color swirled area. Once you cover the egg, you let it sit for a few minutes and then wipe off the excess shaving cream. The result is supposed to be an egg with a marbled appearance. Ours didn't turn out that way at all. Basically, they ended up looking the same as eggs dyed with regular egg dye.

The other ones we tried were from an egg coloring kit that I bought at the store. It was called 24k Eggs. The reason why I didn't like this one was because you didn't actually "dip" the eggs. You painted the color on them. They turned out the way they were supposed to. Except that my kids like to mix the colors, which drives.me.crazy! ;)

In the future, we will probably just use the plain dye and do it the normal way. Much easier, much less stress, and much less mess! If you look on Pinterest you can find tons of different ways to color Easter Eggs! Who knew there were so many creative people out there? Obviously, I am not one of them! How does your family color Easter Eggs? Do you do it the normal way, or do you do something fancier?

Sophia's First Haircut

2013-03-18T13:01:00.000-04:00

Last weekend we had Sophia's hair cut for the first time. She and Aiden both had the same lady cut their hair for the first time - she is also the same lady who cut mine and my brother's hair for the first time. Sophia did pretty well. She didn't like to sit still for that long so at times she moved around a little.

Aiden's First Baseball Game

2013-03-17T12:55:00.000-04:00

Aiden signed up to play baseball for the first time this year! He is in the Pre-T league with boys and girls who are three and four. Pre-T is similar to T-ball, except they don't keep score. It is just for fun, and to help them learn the basics of playing ball. Aiden is on the Orioles this year. He has practice twice a week, and games on Saturday.

Sophia is 11 Months Old!!

2013-03-07T23:43:00.001-05:00

Dear Sophia,

I can hardly believe I am even typing this, but....you turned 11 months old last week!!! You are getting so big! I can't believe you will be one in less than a month!

You weigh 17lbs 14oz. You wear 12 month clothes, a size 5 shoe, and a size 4 diaper. You get 3 8oz bottles a day, and lots of table food. You very rarely ever eat baby food anymore. Not because I don't give it to you, but because you don't want it. Your favorite table foods are: Mac n Cheese, pancakes, hot dogs, and diced fruits and veggies. You prefer anything you can feed yourself.

You are love for us to hold your hands and let you walk. You cruise all over the place and I think you will start walking soon. I'm not sure if I'm ready for that!

You love to sing and dance! Anytime you hear music playing, you dance. I've even heard you sing a few times. You are saying a few words now: dada, daddy, mama, hey, hello, uh-oh, and bye-bye.

You are hearing the word "no" a lot lately. You love to play with things you aren't supposed to. Your favorite thing is the cords by the TV and the Wii controllers. You are very curious! :)

You have started playing the harmonica when we are at Grandma's house, you finally figured out how to make it make noise! You also love books! I read to you every night before bed, and you just listen so closely. I hope you will always love books!

Your first birthday party is in the works! I have decided on a theme, a date and time, and a guest list. I'm still working on decorations and other details. I can't wait!!

You get prettier every day, and we are so blessed by you! It is getting difficult to remember what life was like before you were born. We can't imagine our lives without you in them!

All About Aiden

2013-03-01T01:32:00.001-05:00

Isn't that a catchy title? Original, I know. Just like my "Just Jenny" posts, I am planning to do "All About Aiden" posts as well. So, here goes....

Aiden is four years old. I will be registering him for Pre-K soon, and he will start Pre-K in August. I'm not sure how he has grown up so quickly. I heard someone recently say, "the days go by slow, but the years go by fast." Anyone who has children will tell you, that is so true!!

Aiden is my wild child. He is ALL BOY! He loves Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers, and Batman. He would play video games all day if I let him. His favorite game right now is his newest one, Lego Batman 2 on the Nintendo Wii.

Aiden recently started playing pre T-ball. It is almost the same as T-ball, but they don't keep score. It's just for fun. He has been to several practices and his first game was supposed to be last Saturday, but it was cancelled because it was too cold.

Aiden knows his ABCs, counting, and colors. He is learning to recognize letters and can recognize most numbers up to 10. His favorite letter is the letter A, which he points out whenever he sees it! He can also write his name. We are working on forming the letters better.

I feel like Aiden is going to do great in school! He learns quickly, and behaves well (especially when I'm not around). We are looking forward to seeing how he grows and develops!

On the Go!

2013-02-18T07:30:00.000-05:00

We better watch out! Pretty soon we are gonna have a walker on our hands!! There she goes....

Pushing her baby doll in the stroller!!

I guess she really wanted to go bye-bye, because she even put herself in her carseat! This child keeps me on my toes, that's for sure! But, seriously, have you ever seen anything cuter in your entire life??? Her smile just makes me melt....and she knows it, too!!! :)

Just Jenny

2013-02-18T00:24:00.001-05:00

As I said in one of my previous posts, I am going to try and document each of my kids' lives a little better. Lately my blog has turned into "The Sophia Show". Which is great that I am documenting her milestones and her growth, but I have two other children who also need their lives documented. So, I am hoping to do a post about each child at least once a month. I'm starting with Jenny, since she is the oldest.

Jenny will officially be 7 1/2 on February 30 (if February 30 actually existed). It's a good thing we don't celebrate half birthdays, because I'm not really sure when we would celebrate hers.

Anyway.... She is in the 2nd grade. She is a wonderful student, and almost always does very well! She got all A's and one B on her last report card, and she also got a 100 on her last math test! She just finished addition and subtraction of 2 and 3 digit numbers, and she just started adding and subtracting money. She is also learning about complete sentences, punctuation, and parts of a sentence. She is reading above her grade level. In science she has learned about states of matter, animals, and outer space.

She is currently involved in a program at church called Awana. She is also involved in Girl Scouts. This is her third year. She completed her first two years as a Daisy, and she is almost finished with her first year as a Brownie. I am the co-leader of her troop. We are going on our first camping trip in May, and we are both very excited!!

Jenny is a very sweet, loveable young lady. She is also an AWESOME big sister!! Seriously - she is probably the best big sister I have ever seen. She helps Aiden, as much as he will let her, and she is great with Sophia! She and Sophia already have a very special bond that only sisters can have. I pray that they will always be close and that they will grow up to be best friends.

Out of all three of my children, Jenny is the most loving. She loves attention, and loves to be hugged and loved on. She also likes when I do things like write her a special note in her school agenda or send notes with her snack at school.

Jenny isn't at our house all the time, but she is just as much a part of our family as Aiden and Sophia. We love, love, love having her here at home! We all miss her so much when she is not here - especially Aiden and Sophia.

That is pretty much everything going on in Jenny's life lately. I am looking forward to documenting her life more often!

Valentine's Day 2013

2013-02-17T07:30:00.000-05:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day! I never know if it is spelt Valentine's with the apostrophe, or if it's just Valentines. Oh well, you all know what I mean.

Our Valentine's Day was so much fun! Jaime and I always get the kids a little something to recognize the day, and he and I usually have a nice dinner at home after the kids go to bed. This year, Jaime had to work a double shift on Valentine's Day, so it was just the kids and I for most of the day.

A few days before Valentine's Day, I helped Jenny and Aiden with their Valentines for their friends. Jenny chose Fun Dip Valentine cards, and Aiden chose Power Rangers Samurai. Jenny took her's to her friends in her class at school, and Aiden took his to his friend's in his class at Awana. Aiden even wrote his own name on a few of his! After writing his name on the first two, he said his hand was too tired and I had to finish the rest. At least he tried, and I thought his handwriting was very legible for someone who hasn't even started school yet!

On the morning of Valentine's Day, the kids woke up to a table decked out in Valentine decorations, and a few treats for each of them. We have never done a Valentine's breakfast before, but I have seen other people who do it, and I always thought it would be fun. So, this was our first year doing it, but I think it is going to be our new tradition. We had red pancakes and eggs, and each of the kids received a stuffed animal, chocolate (Sophia got cookies), and a balloon.

Keeping with tradition, we made our annual Valentine's cupcakes! This was probably my last year making them with just Jenny and Aiden. Next year Sophia will be almost two, and I'm sure she will want to help!

Aiden even made Jaime and I a little Valentine at Awana the night before!

It's strange how years ago my Valentine's Day was spent out on a date, maybe out to dinner and a movie, and we spent all of our money on gifts for each other. Now, here we are, six years and three kids later, and our Valentine's Days are spent with the kids making memories! Honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way! I am thankful for a husband who understands that and who agrees that making memories with our children is more important than any gift he and I could ever buy each other. I am thankful for a husband who makes me feel loved and adored every day, not just Valentine's Day.

A New Look!!

2013-02-16T22:25:00.000-05:00

As you can see, my blog got a little makeover recently! Jessica, from Diamond Doll Design, gave my blog a much needed facelift. Sophia's beautiful face has been added to the header, and all of the pictures in the header have been updated. I asked for something bright, but not too bright, and I am very pleased with the results!

I am still tweaking a few behind the scenes things, and trying to get all of the posts organized into categories. I also need to update the About Us section and a few other sections. So it is still a work in progress.

At the top, under the header, there are several icons (an envelope, a Facebook icon, Twitter icon, etc.). The envelope is one you can click to email me, the second one you can use to subscribe to my RSS feed (for Google Reader), the Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram ones are links to follow me on any of those sites.

She also made a "Grab Me" button for y'all to use on your blogs, websites, etc. to link back to my blog if you'd like. It is on the left hand side of the blog. :)

I am hoping to start blogging more often. If you look over at the archives, you can see that my blogging has become less and less frequent. I want to get back into the habit of blogging more often! This serves as my scrapbook and is a way for me to keep track of all of the things going on in our lives. I love to look back at posts from last year or the year before just to see what was going on at that time. It is crazy how quickly I forget things!

I have a few new things I am going to try so that I can keep a more accurate record of each of the kids and the things going on in their lives. I also hope to make this more of a journal for myself.

All of that to say, I hope you all like the new look of my blog, and I hope you all enjoy what you read here! If you are looking for a new blog design for your own blog, I would highly recommend Jessica from Diamond Doll Design. She is fast, affordable, and easy to work with! Tell her Katie from The Quiroz Family sent you! Happy blogging!

Father Daughter Dance 2013

2013-02-11T20:44:00.001-05:00

Jaime and Jenny went to the Girl Scout Father/Daughter Dance again this year. It is so much fun going out and picking out her dress and helping her get ready!! I hope they will continue this tradition for a long time.

In the side by side pictures, the pictures on the left are from February 2011 (Jenny was 5). The ones on the right are from February 2013 (Jenny is 7).

High Chair Straps

2013-02-11T20:24:00.001-05:00

I had to order new straps for our high chair. I'm not even sure how ours went missing?? We must have lost them when we moved. Anyway, the point is, I had to order new straps. Obviously, it is a good thing I did. I can't even leave Sophia in her high chair so I can use the bathroom or anything without coming back and seeing her like this....

Baking a Cake with Aiden

2013-02-06T00:32:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite things to do with my kids is to bake. It is something that Jenny and I have been doing together for years, and Aiden helps us most of the time too. We usually just use the baking mixes from a box, but we have baked things from scratch a few times too.

A few weeks ago I purchased some cake mix and had planned on baking it with Jenny and Aiden. Our weeks have been a little crazy lately so we just never found the time to do it. I had kind of forgotten about the cake mix, until last night when Aiden pulled it out of the pantry and asked if we could make it.

Honestly, I had 1000 other things I "needed" to be doing instead of baking a cake. But I just couldn't tell him no! He had been waiting so long to bake it, and he was so excited. So, he and I baked a cake last night! He added all of the ingredients himself, all I did was stir it, put it in the oven, and remove it from the oven.

He did a great job, and enjoyed eating the cake. I even let him have a piece of cake for breakfast this morning.

Sophia is 10 Months Old!

2013-02-06T00:23:00.001-05:00

Dear Sophia,

You turned 10 months old yesterday!! Oh my goodness, I can't believe how close you are to turning one! I already have a date set for your birthday party, I just have to start planning!! :)

You have grown up so much this month, you seem like less like a baby with each passing day. You are all over the place, and there is no stopping you! I can't leave the room without making sure you are in a safe place or that someone is there to keep and eye on you. You still army crawl, but you have started crawling the regular way too. You are getting closer to walking on your own. It's just a matter of getting over the fear of letting go of the table or whatever you are holding onto.

You wear 9-12month clothes, a size 4 shoe, and a size 3 diaper. I think you weigh around 17lbs. You have 4 teeth, and you are getting 4 more. 4 teeth at once seems rough, but you handle it well!

You had a double ear infection this month, but antibiotics cleared it up. You ended up being allergic to the antibiotic (Augmentin), and you got a rash. Benadryl cleared it up.

You got a first cousin this month! Your cousin Allie was born just a few days ago! You haven't met her yet, but you will tomorrow. We have already decided you will have to look at her from a distance since you LOVE babies so much! I think you might be too rough with her given the opportunity. I can't wait for the day y'all can play together!

You are so sweet! You love to give us kisses and hugs. Sometimes you even do it without us asking. You wave bye-bye and try to say bye-bye anytime you hear the word bye. You also love music! If music is playing you will sing and dance. It's so cute! You say "Dada", "Daddy", "Mama", "Aiden", "Baby", and "Bye-Bye".

You sleep every night from 9:00pm-9:00am. You usually take one nap a day, between 1:00-3:00pm. You have decided that you don't like baby food anymore. When we give it to you, you usually only take a few bites and then you get mad. You have had lots of table foods so far, but your favorites are: peas and diced carrots, brown rice, asparagus, avocado, Cheerios, graham crackers, mashed potatoes, and of course, anything sweet.

You are really starting to get to such a fun age! We are just having so much fun watching you grow up!

Love always,

Mama and Daddy

Sophia is Nine Months Old!

2013-01-14T13:50:00.001-05:00

Dear Sophia,

You turned 9 months old on January 4, 2013!

You weigh 16lbs 5oz and you are 28 inches long. You are in the 25th percentile for weight and 75th percentile for height. You have gained a little more than 2lbs since your 6 month check up, so you are doing well.

You are pulling up on everything you can, and you have started taking steps around tables and the couch. You also reach from the coffee table to the couch. You love for us to hold your hands and help you walk. Your brother was 10 months old when he started walking, and it looks like you will be close to that age when you start walking too.

You wear a size 3 diaper and 9 month clothes and a few things that are 12 months. You wear a size 4 shoe. You got your first pair of real walking shoes for Christmas. You weren't crazy about them at first, but they don't bother you anymore.

You can clap your hands, and you love to dance. Anytime you hear music you move your head and body like you are dancing. If we sing to you, you will "sing" with us. You are trying so hard to talk to us!

Aiden can make you laugh more than anyone else. You love to watch him and play with him. Sometimes he gets too close or starts bothering you and you will get mad.

Jenny is your best friend! You just love to be around her. I can already tell that when you are older you will follow her around and want to do everything she does. I hope that y'all will always be best friends.

You have 4 teeth: the two bottom middle, and your incisors on top. You are still missing the top middle two, but you have the ones on either side of those. We say you look like a vampire.

You usually take one nap a day, and occasionally you doze off in the afternoons for a little while. You are sleeping 10-12 hours overnight, usually from 9pm-9pm. Your nap is usually from 1-3, but sometimes a little earlier.

You are such a blessing to us and we love you more each day! You have the sweetest personality and you are the happiest baby I have ever seen. You very rarely cry, and you are almost always smiling. We are so thankful that God chose us to be your parents!

Love always,

Mama & Daddy

Comparisons

2013-01-08T14:24:00.001-05:00

I can't decide who Sophia looks more like. I think she resembles both Jenny and Aiden. Who do you think she looks like?