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.