playing catch up....again!

So I promised myself I would try to keep up with this blogsite and my facebook page pics and have not done either!! I am playing catch up again and I think that is just what is going to happen. The pictures in this post were taken 2 months ago at the end of June. The pics of Olivia are of the day she turned 6 months. As per our MD request I did not feed her until she was 6 months old. So a few of the pictures of her first time having some cereal. As you will see she loved it. The other pics were a family "photoshoot" in our backyard with just our family and my mom who was in town for a visit from Chicago.

Olivia's characteristic smile, even bigger while she was eating food. We couldn't feed her enough fast enough so she resorted to eating the bowl!

she is very very serious about her food. Otherwise you will only find a smile on this ones little face!


Big sister Bella ALWAYS wants to help take care of her.

Ava and Bella bumped heads and I was trying to capture the matching head bumps on their foreheads. You can see Bellas a little but not so much on Ava's face

The start of the "photoshoot" I love this one of Bella and Ava kissing!

My sweet little girls. they are so much fun!! and surprisingly easy to photograph on this particular day.

Our beautiful Bella (we definitely chose the right name for her)

silly bella

sassy bella

Ava saying "cheese"

Ava is 2 1/2 years old now and she is definitely the comedian of the group. Everything she does makes us laugh. Isabella calls her "knucklehead helen keller ava" (the helen keller part is from her love of shutting her eyes and walking into walls, eating with her eyes closed, etc. We don't know why she started to do it and don't know why she won't open her eyes up so she doesn't walk into things but she thinks it is funny)

she is getting to be such a big girl!

....And then there was our angel Olivia. we could not ask for a better baby. As I write this, I am at home because she got a fever at daycare of 103 and and the teachers said it was rising when I picked her up. However, as is usual fashion, no crying, no whining, just her normal self! she is really just a pleasant baby to be around!

My mom and her granddaughters

my mom and Olivia

me, my mom, and my girls

The family and the pics of the girls in here pretty much match their personalities: bella is ms. independent and a bit sassy, Ava is just goofy, and olivia is a sweet little doll!

More to come--I lost my camera in a Park bathroom in July when our friends the Turners were out visiting. So all the pics with them and our kids on it were lost. So there was a lag between then and getting my new point and shoot camera. I have a new camera now that I absolutely love so there will be more posts hopefully this weekend!

Gus and Nicole come to visit

My friends from Chicago came to visit with their son Ronin who will be 6 in September. Gus and I used to work together at a bar in Chicago where I worked during grad school. It was a great group of people that I worked with and there are about 7-8 of us that still keep in distant contact! My memories at Tavern on the Pier were all really great memories! Ronin likes babies and he took to Olivia right away!

Here we are at Seaworld for the day and this pic was taken right before Abbys ride in the new sesame street area
during the ride

after the ride

Brads turn next to ride the fish ride--look at how uncomfortable he is, he is just to big of a human being to be on a kiddie ride!

druing the ride! can you tell how bored Ronin and Bella are?

elmos flying fish ride!

Nicole and Ronin

it is soooo scary-can you tell!!!

Shamu x 2! great pic Gus

Ok there is a sequence of these pictures because they are truly amazing to me. This is the Atlantis ride at Sea World, and it is a straight drop down. This was bellas first time on it (she is just 4 years old and maybe a couple of weeks old). Look closely at who is in the front seat! Yep Isabella and Ronin and they are by themselves!!!

here they are going over the big drop!

I can see fear in bellas eyes but she toughed it out!

they got soaked at the bottom!

and the reaction I was necessarily expecting--laughter!!!

Ava missing her nap and we are trying to get her to sleep unsuccessfully in the stroller!

sleepy bella

daredevil kids!

daddy and olivia at seaworld

Olivia loves this carrier and just kicks her legs like a wildwoman and coos the whole time!

the blue tongue kids after eating cotton candy. My girls have never had it before and just the other day I had cotton balls out and Ava heard the word cotton and started trying to eat them. She thought they were cotton candy!

I love this pic, Ronin was pouting about something with his arms crossed so Ava assumed the same position. She started out behind him but kept inching closer to him to be right next to him.

Her mentor!!!

Ava in front of our house on the skitter

Bella and ronin

Ronin got in the dolly stroller and bella pushed him through the streets!

Cute kids!

The good news and more

We got great news at the beginning of the month, Ava who previously had kidney reflux, is now reflux free!! yay no more medicine. We also found out Olivia does not have it either. So it was definitely a really good day! Here Ava is inhaling her celebratory cupcake! she loves sweets-then again who doesn't???!
Our sweet 5 month old. Her 5 month stats from the M.D. visit: 16.4 lbs and 27.5 inches long.

this again is classic Olivia, she is sooooo strong and loud when she gets excited or really wants something (usually food)

this monkey was a riot, he actually would stick his hand out of the cage and shake peoples hand. He was talking loudly and swinging everywhere, I think he was trying to perform for the audience.

Ava loves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and takes the two pieces apart and licks off the jelly and peanut butter before eating the bread. Can you tell she is my really goofy kid!my crazy Ava!

Ava and mommy at the zoo!

Granddad and Ava looking at the elephants at the new elephant odyessy at the San Diego Zoo

Daddy and Ava enjoying the zoo.

I love facebook and I have now been able to meet up with 3 friends from out of state whom I haven't seen in 15-20 years. all of them happen to be visiting San diego and it has really made me appreciate that we live where people vacation. Here is Bella with my friends Paula and Kirk's (from high school) littlest child Sophia. These 2 hit it off immediately and got an extra special treat to stay up late and play so their parents could hang out longer. it was about 11pm by the time they went to bed.