When You're Too Young for Diamonds....

Accessories are a Girl's Best Friend. Isla and her "earings", bracelets, and don't forget the shoes. In this case, they were Grandma's shoes!

Three Babies in a "Boat"

It might have been designed for a sleeping baby (hence the name - Moses Basket) but my kiddos think it's a boat. Ahhhhhh, such a relaxing day to float in the dining room. :)

Nani, Papi and Nana... OH MY!

Nani and Papi (my grandparents - the kids' great grandparents) came to visit us as well as my Mom, Nana. We had such a great time. We went to the Outlet Mall, rode the carousel in the mall (while eating DQ cones of course), had Gelato at an Italian Ice Cream Parlor downtown, and enjoyed plenty of playtime at home. Here are some pictures of the trip.

Nani and Papi walking at the Outlet Mall:


Nani, Papi and Nana (My Mom) with the kids:


Nani and Papi pushing the kids in their strollers at the Outlet Mall:


Papi putting on Simon's shoes so we could go out for ice cream:


Papi drinking coffee while the kids blew into the cup to cool it down for him (it was actually empty - shhhhh, don't tell the kids!):


Celebrating Nani's and Ben's birthdays:

Bananas

Simon was enjoying his banana for a snack. He was quietly eating it like a big boy. When I finally looked away to help the others with their snack, Simon decided he was finished. He didn't tell me, he just smashed it into the cushion of the chair leaving a big mess for Mommy to clean up.

Simon eating his banana like a Big Boy:

Why Fold?

Folding is time consuming and yes, it makes sense. Your clothes are neatly folded to prevent wrinkles, etc. My children love wrinkles. They must think they are in style just like their Daddy. So, this is what they do with the neatly folded clothes in their dresser....



No, I don't refold them. :)

Dogs

My sweet peas sure like dogs. It doesn't matter if they are big or small, they love them! We went for a walk in the neighborhood and two big dogs decided to follow us the whole way. They even tried to follow us back into our home -- eek! I was nervous at first because I wasn't sure if they were nice dogs and the owners were no where in site. Fortunately, the dogs were incredibly friendly and even shared a few kisses with the kids by the end of our walk.

Happy 1 year with our family, Lais!!

Happy 1 year to you,
Happy 1 year to you,
Happy 1 year anniversary with our family, Lais!!
Happy 1 year to you!

It's been a wonderful year of many changes for our family. We are so thankful God has given us such a wonderful gift, a perfectly matched au pair for our family - Lais.

Lais, We are so grateful for everything you do for us. You are a treasured gift from God and we thank God every day for bringing you into our lives. Happy 1 year anniversary with our family! We look forward to another loving, crazy and adventure-filled year together.

Love,
Alicia, Ben, Isla, Solomon, Simon and the furry brother, Oliver

A Year of Memories:

First weekend with the babies upon arriving in NM:


Easter Family Photo:


June Florida Vacation:


June Florida Vacation:


Wisconsin Family Vacation:


October Pumpkin Patch Adventure:


Halloween Family Photo:


Lais' Birthday:


Thanksgiving Family Photo:


The family in the Santa Fe Plaza Park:




Christmas Family Photo:

Cool, Dude.

Yeah, we're cool. We wear sunglasses just like Mommy, Daddy and La la (Lais).

Musicians

My little peas have taken a serious interest in the piano lately. They've always enjoyed it - especially when Daddy plays it. Now that they're older and can crawl up onto the piano bench, we often get a concert from them. Here they are playing away: musicians in the making.

New Stroller brings new entertainment

Our old twin stroller bit the dust four times and this last time, it was unrepairable. Bummer. Thanks to good old Craigs List, I was able to purchase a used twin stroller from someone here in Santa Fe. Hooray!!

Lais and I were thrilled to have a working stroller again. We had NO IDEA how much the kids would get excited about it too. Here they are in our hallway "testing driving" the new stroller. Isla is riding on top since she was devastated only two could fit in it. Who cares about all those toys in the playroom - we have a stroller!!!

Isla's first sentence

I didn't expect a sentence to come out of the mouths of my babies so soon but Isla has surprised me again. Today she said the following sentence 4 times. I even pulled her out of bed when Daddy came home so he could hear her say it (she had only been in bed for 5 minutes and wasn't sleeping yet - no, I'm not a horrible Mommy to pull a sleeping baby out of bed for something like this.)

"Dada at work."

Yep. There it is. Isla's first sentence. What a brilliant baby.

"Dada at work."

Sweet. True. and SOOOO ADORABLE!

La La (Lais) wears us out

La La sure knows how to wear out the kiddos. This is how I found them today when I got back from running errands.

Eat dirt, rest, then eat more dirt

The backyard has many treasures: Dirt, grass, bugs and space to run wild. Here are the kids eating and playing with dirt and then resting after spending an afternoon outside.

Future Artists in the Making....

Now that the kids have a backyard free of ponds and rose bushes, they like to run around and color on the sidewalk with sidewalk chalk. (Or in Isla's case, eat the sidewalk chalk.)

Isla eating sidewalk chalk...I mean, color:


Solomon deciding what to draw:


Simon supervising Isla and Solomon's drawings:

Visitors from Minnesota

We had a great visit from some of our best friends from Minnesota, Alex and Christa. It was a wonderful weekend of catching up and having fun -- so much fun we forgot to take many pictures!! Oh, how we miss them!!!