Is she ready for solids or what!

This is what happens when you leave food in Abigail's reach. I literally left an orange for a second when she reached for it and stuck it in her mouth. The funny thing is that when I try to feed her she just spits it out. I may have to get more creative with what I feed her for the time being.

For all you mommies who know that babies don't eat oranges for a few more months, it's Tim's fault.

Cherry Blossoms are my favorite (at least I think they are CB's), natures way of hinting to us that Spring is on the way. You can barely see them in the background, but who's looking at the flowers anyway. :)

A Rustic Play Date

We had our first non-family guests at the ranch, my friend Aubrey and her family. They have two children the same age as our girls, so it was nice to have that level of understanding. The girls had their moments of sheer sweetness as is captured by these pictures, but don't let that fool you the toddlers in them came out.

Ana loved holding hands with her buddy.

Even Abigail had fun with her companion Nolan (7 days older than she). He's biting down on my teething bracelet, not sure how Abigail felt about it.

This was one of the funniest moments at the cabin. Tim and Isabella are walking around when he picks up a toad. Isabella didn't warm up to Mr. Toad, but Ana picked him right up. We're pretty sure she didn't know it was alive because she royally freaked out when he moved.

We had such a wonderful time with our new friends, and look forward to having more guests.

A Valentine's Picnic

My intent this Valentine's day was to surprise Tim at work with a visit from his girls. I had called the office manager and asked her to schedule something on his calendar, and baked some treats for everyone there. As I am getting things together, I realize that I don't have my keys. They were misplaced as we frantically got ready for some guest the night before. Not wanting to spoil the day, I packed up a simple lunch and had a picnic in our back yard.

This was one of the nicest days we've seen in a while, and how fortunate are we to have this great space. Thank you Tim & Grandpa Chendo, without your hard work none of this would have been possible. Just another reminder of how loved we are!!!

It doesn't get better than this!!! Her sweet laugh melts your heart.

Isabella and her "pretty pose", it's one of the only ways I can get her to look at the camera. We had a wonderful Valentines day, Tim came home early and he took his girls out to Ted's. It was hard to believe that exactly 7 months ago my water had broke in the booth right next to us. It's a bit surreal how much our life has changed since that day. We thank God for giving us a way, through our children, to understand just how much he loves us. Happy Valentine's Day!!!

A Season of Love

This month I felt extra crafty and made various little treats: both of the edible and no edible variety. The cards were made for Isabella & Abigail's friends (although only a few actually got them...i ran out of stamps) and family. Isabella made the cards by spamping sponges I cut out in various shapes.

I made the above treats for anyone we came across over the weekend. They were Oreo pops dipped in white chocolate. The most challenging part of this craft was separating the Oreo's to insert the stick, I must have eaten about 30% of the box!!
No season would be complete with out a mommy photo session. Here are a few of my favorite pictures.
It is so hard to get a good picture of both girls...here is the best I could do. We hope your February continues to bring you and your families an abundance of LOVE.

Super bowl 2011

This Superbowl we were invited to a party at one of Aimee's friends house. We had a good time..the food was fantastic!!! Isabella is wearing a dress/tunic that her grandmother made her. Thanks Yvonne, it fits her perfectly!!
No party is complete without puppy time. Here is Isabella and Auntie Aimee playing with a boxer puppy, Isabella had a ball.

Aimee & I made these football pops. We made two varieties: mint oreos covered in chocolate & lemon cake in green almond bark. We're no Martha Stewart, but they were delicious!

Abigail takes a bottle...sort of

My dear friend Rachel reminded me that Isabella drank from my Camelback water bottel really early, so out of the blue I tried giving Abigail a sip. She jumped on it like nobodies business and wasn't bothered by the fact she was drinking water. Logically, I tried switching it with a little formula (not having her drink of choice on hand) but to no avail. She was on to me from the get go.

So it's not the bottle I intended, and we're still not where I want to be but like they say on the movie What About Bob "Baby Steps".

Reflections from a 6 month check up.

This week has been a challenging week for the Walkers. Isabella started off not feeling well and after a visit to the doctor we found out she had a viral upper respiratory infection, which is a fancy way of saying a cold. I tried desperately to keep the girls away from each other but to no avail Abigail is now sick as well.

Thursday Abigail had her 6 month check up, and it was a rough one for mommy. Not only did she have an ear infection, the doctor prescribed me something for a skin irritation on her legs, and they sent me to Children's to see if she had Congenital Hip Dysplacia. Neither of which were terrible diagnosis, but all at once hit me pretty hard. Everything is fine. The x-ray's came back normal, she's on antibiotics for the ear infection, and her skin condition is now clearing up.

However, the trip to Children's and the few hours that it took to get the test results back got me thinking about suffering. Why is it that children, such precious creatures, are made to suffer? What would I do if one of my girls were diagnosed with something serious? Would I be strong enough for them and the family?

We're reading a book by Lee Strobel called The Case for Faith, and I wanted to share a few captions from the books fist chapter that have given me comfort.

"To quote C.S. Lewis 'God whispers in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.'"

"Suppose we had drugs for every pain, free entertainment, free love--everything but pain. No Shakespeare not Beethoven, no Boston Red Sox, not death - no meaning. Impossibly spoiled little brats-that's what we'd become"

At the end of the day true evil & suffering exists, but I believe for a purpose. To make us appreciative of what we do have, and to draw us closer to God. If and when we're faced with it, I pray that I will try to make something good of it as our God did putting his son on the cross. That's easy for me to say now that were not in the storm, but I hope to be able to draw strength for these words when the time comes.

Getting back to the visit. Abigail weighed 14 lbs and 2 oz, making her 13%, 25 inches @ 16%, 63% in head circumfrence. She's a little thing, but there's no concern. She's remains consistent and is on the growth chart. :) She got out of her shots, as I didn't want any more discomfort. We have to go in for a follow up, so she'll get her vaccinations then.

What is new in Ms. Abigail's world? Well I cleaned off Isabella's old high chair and now she's being introduced to the world of solids (more pictures to come). She's also starting to sit up & lover her little toes...oh how fast they grow.