Abigail broke her first tooth!!!

Difficult to impossible to see in this picture, Abigail is showing off her new tooth. It broke through on March 31st, 2011. We've been fortunate in that these teeth have not seemed to bother her, as they do other babies, continuing to be our dream baby.

Firestation Play Date

A friend of mine told me that firehouses enjoy giving tours so that children get use to firemen in the event of an emergency. In the name of saftey, our play group arranged a visit to Sandy Spring Fire House.

Tim left for Pheonix earlier in the week, and had joking prepared Isabella for the visit. As we are at brunch, we're walking through our family memebers with Isabella. "Isabella is in our family, Abigail is in our family, Daddy is in our family, Firemen are NOT in our family". Too funny.

It was a fun day.

OMG I made Strawberry Jam!!!!!

I bought a 4lb box of strawberries from Costco for the shower we hosted this weekend, and had way too many left over. So I called my awesome mother-in-law and she gave me a few pointers on how to jam, no pun intended. As soon as Isabella woke up, I packed the girls in the car and set off to Kroger. To my surprise the pectin packets were on closeout for $.86!!!!!

I couldn't believe how easy it was!!! Just mash the fruit, mix in the sugar/pectin mix. Stir for three minutes, ladle into the jar, and let set for half an hour. Oh how yummy!!!!! I know this may be common knowledge to many of you, but to this housewife it was revolutionary. :) Gone are the days of store bought preserves, I made this much jam (which is good in my fridge for 3 weeks, and frozen for a year) for less than $6.00.

Family Fun

Isabella wearing my shoes giving me her pretty pose.

Isabella and Daddy dancing.

Abigail was still awake when we came home from date night, so like any good parents we got out the camera.

My Little Artist

Just wanted to post these pictures of my sweet girl. I look forward to many more masterpieces.

Gonzalez Visit

My father has two sisters who's families I have very fond memeories spending time with as a child. You can imagine my excitement when Sarah, my cousin's wife & one of my closest friends, actually considered coming to Atlanta during Spring Break. The day they took off, I am not sure who was more anoying; their children asking if they were there yet, or me calling every 15 minutes of an 18 hour trip to see where they were. :)Saturday morning the guys set out for a man trip to the ranch, and the girls spent a low key day together. Aimee took Sarah, Alula, and Isabella to Thrasher park & lunch in downtown Norcross. Although, Alula didn't understand why we were leaving a park (our backyard) to go to another park. Really got me thinking about how the more we posseses the higher our expectations. How do we as parents keep our children from such entitlement? I know it starts with us, but how difficult is that when we're already programed to want the newest, biggest, and best of everything. That evening we had a little Birthday party for Alula who turned four earlier that week. We all enjoyed our brownies al fresco.

There were several surreal moments during the visit, but one that comes to mind is that now we are the moms on family trips. I remember when we use to pack up the family & I mean entire family to go on a road trip. My mom & Aunts would pack up the ice chest and we would stop at rest stops for our meals. They would crack open the Avocados and Bolillos and make us yummy sandwhiches. Now I found myself playing that role!!!

We tried our best making the trip special for the kids. The highlights included a trip to the Aquarium & Atlanta Zoo. Here are a few picture of our fun.

What is a trip to the zoo with out a train ride. Isabella had so much fun, I might just have to buy the unlimited pass next time around.

Our sweet Alula having fun in the petting zoo.

Here is Jacob petting a goat named Jacob.

I found this nest absolutly adorable, thought it was only appropriate to capture our baby birds.

St. Patricks Day 2011

Although you wouldn't guess it by these pictures, St. Patrick's Day was far from pleasant. Isabella had been sick for the past two days, and that morning decided she would show us the true color of bile. How appropriate on green day, St. Patty's. The doctor immediately called us in, and sent us to get some x-rays to confirm everything was alright (which it was). After a quick stop at CVS, we came home and dressed the girls up in something lucky for a little photo session.

Although I doubt you would notice, we cut Abigail's little whips of hair. Here she is sporting her new look. One interesting fact about this holiday is that Isabella & Abigail have a great grandmother, on Tim's side of course, who was Irish with a madien name McKee. You can imagine my surprise when I found out my girls don't have to wish they were Irish....THEY ARE IRISH!!! Sort of. :)

This weekend has been full of activites surrounding my favorite consignment sale. I volunteer quite a bit, so I am able to shop early and take advantage of the great finds. This little tricycle I picked up for a whopping $5.00. Abigail is far from riding it, but it made for a fun picture (since her older sister wasn't too excited about it).

This picture sums up that which brings me the most joy during the day. Watching Abgail stare and soak in everything about her big sister. Isabella is the only member of this family that can consistantly get her to belly laugh. Don't get me wrong she has her moments, especially when she goes to push Abigail, but for the most part she is the sweetest big sister Tim & I could ask for.

Our first trip to Stone Mountain in 2011

Knowing it was going to be a nice day, we set off for Stone Mountain, our surburan getaway. We always start off at our favorite spot with a little duck/geese watching, and then went for a little family hike.

Isabella did a little walking, but spent most of her time on Tim's shoulders. Once we got back to the parking area, the ducks had gotten a little more hungry and provided plenty of excitment for our curious toddler.

Tim and I enjoy spending quality family time outdoors. It lets us put away technology and unplug (well with the exception of my camera), reminding us of how little we need to entertain ourselves and our girls.

Making Cookies

During Abigail's morning nap, we made cookies for Daddy. I needed an excuse to practice making cookies for the baby showers I am hosting this month as well as keep Isabella entertained. So on came the aprons!!

It was messier that I had anticipated...so much so that some would say I've lost my mind trying to cook with a two year old. What is childhood for if not to get messy (a word Isabella knows very well). I remember my sweet Grandmother Angelita letting Aimee and I make something for my father. As soon as she turned her back we covered ourselves and the kitchen in flour.

I am grateful for those sweet memories, perhaps that's why I desperately try to blog/document our lives so the girls can have many of the same.

The verdict on the cookies (as shown by the above picture): delicious.

Now you can tell she's half Mexican!!!

I can't believe how fast Abigail is developing. Here is a fun pick of Abigail playing with Isabella and Daddy. If I had photoshop I would add a caption that said "Arriba Arriba".