Happy Birthday, Sierra!!!

Sierra had a wonderful first birthday!!!  On her birthday, Grandma and I took Alana and Sierra to Navy Pier.  It ended up being a little bit of a disaster, but Sierra seemed to have a good day!  We threw a Minnie Mouse birthday bash a few days later for her.  She was a wonderful little hostess and enjoyed every minute of it.  She was walking all over the house and enjoyed all the attention.  

Sierra devoured her birthday smash cupcake in an instant.  Grandma then spoiled her with some added ice cream, which was a big hit.  Alana had a pretty stellar day too, as she received tons of presents and enjoyed all of Sierra's gifts.  Good thing Sierra is so great at sharing!!

matching minnie mouse dresses

sierra kicking back on the princess couch

serious about sweets

sugar has officially kicked in

i forgot our hot water was out, so a faux bath resulted in a faux-hawk

alana teaching sierra to open presents

san diego trip

Earlier this month we took a family trip to San Diego.  It was a blast!  We've taken both kids to FL, but we had my family there, so this was our first jaunt as a family of 4.  It was an adventure for a few days as Sierra had to adjust to the time zone, but she got into the groove and we had a great time.  We stayed in a gorgeous house in carmel valley, which was awesome.  alana slept in a different room for the first few nights.  She's quite unaccustomed to so much space!!

she sure is a trooper with dining out!!!

 dad feednig alana dessert at the san diego zoo.

alana getting her face painted for the very first time at the zoo.  it was the highlight of the trip for her!  she kept asking if we could go back and do it again.

the house we stayed in was not totally set up for kids, so we wisely bought a baby pool that the girls ended up in every morning.  

we had dinner at a gorgeous restaurant on the ocean so we decided to put our feet in after dinner.  it was hilarious as the waves came up way higher than expected.  it was sierra's first touch of the ocean and she loved it.  she was soaked but screaming with excitement.  the waves came up at her pretty high, but she was not even remotely scared.  she's a little dare devil.

alana and dad rockin at pacific beach.  such a gorgeous day there!!!

our ONE family photo down in Old Town on Erik's birthday.  at least we got one!!

me attempting to stop sierra from eating sand.  she's not thrilled!

"Ananies"

Alana has given herself a nickname....Ananies.  She will actually talk about herself in 3rd person and call herself Ananies.  It's fairly hilarious.

"Ananies" is so jazzed about Sierra turning 1.  She keeps asking if this means she can play "rough" with Sierra.  You'd think we have two boys around here....but for the huge amount of pink and purple.  She is wonderful with Sierra and treats her like her baby, it's really sweet.  

Unlike her pixie little sister, Alana is a really tall gal.  I think she might have been blessed with her dad's tall genes.  She also has her dad's crazy personality and she is a complete goof ball.  I love how she makes everyone in the family laugh.  

Almost 1!!!

Clearly I am a little behind on my blogging!  We are T-2 days until Sierra's first birthday!  Hard to believe my baby girl turns 1 on Tuesday!!!!  Wow, these last few months have brought a ton of changes!!  She now has 3 teeth that have broken through, with a 4th close behind.  She is officially a walker as of about 2 weeks ago.  I love the wobbly walk she has!  I forgot how 1 year olds get into EVERYTHING!  She is quick and without a doubt into something if you give her the chance.  Sierra is so smiley and happy, though she has started to show a bit of a temper, especially if Alana tries to take something from her.  The other day, they had a screaming match.  It was like a preview of things to come!  

Sierra is still such a peanut.  I'll get her official one year stats at her appt next week, but I'd be surprised if she's over 17 pounds.  She is no where near moving out of 6-12 month clothes, which actually works out well with the seasons Alana was in at her age.  

Big Minnie Mouse birthday bash this weekend!!!  I'll be sure to post pics!!

Good times with good friends!!

We've been lucky to have lots of fun times with our pals Jackie and Alicia lately.  Unfortunately, Canada has stolen Jackie from us, but thankfully, we have another place to visit.  On any given day, Alana will tell you Jackie and Alicia (and often Denis, too) are her best friends.  Along with Rocco and Sierra.  Sometimes Mom and Dad get a shout out too, but Jackie and Alicia are constants.  

Alana actually took this pic!

Alana update!

Hard to believe this big girl is already 3 and a half.  Though, most days it seems like she is 3 going on 13.  She's certainly got some spunk in her and she is quick as a whip.  Absolutely nothing gets by her!!!  She loves to learn and is a little techy.  She loves Mommy's "big ipod" (aka the ipad).  She is working on writing her letters and she is getting really good!  She is an awesome big sister, and really does help out with Sierra.  We still have to watch her getting rough with Sierra, but she's getting better.  She's also been trying new foods, which I am thrilled about.  She will at least try things once, which is all I ask.  She's still in preschool, now in the big kid class.  I think she is going to do a camp this summer, too.  We are always looking for things to keep her challenged, since she loves to learn and explore new things.  I love the pic below.  It's not often I get a full smile while she's looking at the camera!

9 Month Cruiser!

Miss Sierra is our little happy camper.  At 9 months, she continues to be super happy and silly.  She laughs like crazy and smiles at everyone.  She has learned what she prefers and doesn't prefer, and she is not afraid to tell you what she wants!  She can also be a fiesty gal!  She has mastered crawling and is now cruising around all the furniture in the house.  She is getting a little more daring and is starting to take bigger and bigger steps getting where she wants to be.

She is a little peanut, too!  She weighs in at 15 lbs, 13 oz and is only 26 inches long.  She's about 10-25th percentile in all categories.  She LOVES to eat, so I wonder how long she will continue to be super petite!  

A Royal Wedding

Fortunate for us, we did not need to wake up that much earlier than normal to catch the royal wedding.  Instead of crumpets and tea, we made crowns and tea.  As you can see, even Sierra got in on the action.  Thanks to Alicia for waking up early and coming over to watch with us!!!  

disney world or bust!!!

During the last week of March, we took the kiddos and headed down to DIsney World.  We went with my parents, and met my sister and her kids and brother and his fiancee down there.  It was a family adventure, for sure!  Good thing we had everyone there, because Miss Sierra really loves to be held and, although she usually wants me to hold her, she was willing to be passed around a bit.

We hit up the Magic Kingdom twice and Epcot twice.  We were hoping to make it to Hollywood Studios, but we were rained out one day. It was probably a good thing, since the kiddos were exhausted.  Both Alana and Sierra were troopers, though.  Alana had a princess spectacular when we went to the Princess Dinner in Epcot.  She saw a total of 5 princess there who stopped by our table.  She was in a constant state of awe.  We were able to see the rest the princesses throughout the trip, so she was a happy camper.  I forgot to take her to see Mickey Mouse...oops, don't tell her!  

Sierra was pretty thrilled to be outside.  It was a little hot for her the first day, so she was a tad crabby, but just for a bit.  It was a little challenging to bring a non-walker, especially a non-walker that wants to either crawl or be held, but she ended up having a great time.  She pretty much had a constant smile and was excited to see all the characters, too.  

We also spent an entire day at the pool, which was great.  Sierra is our little water lover, and she was thrilled to be in the pool for the first time.  Alana actually got much more brave in the water and went under quite a few times.  Hopefully this summer I can finally get her into some swim lessons so she can get more comfortable!!

8 months old!

I can't believe Sierra will be 1 in only 4 months!!!  I don't know why I just realized that today on her 8 month birthday, but it struck me today.

Sierra continues to be the happiest gal in the world.  She does have a temper, though.  She is still working on sleeping through the night and by that, I mean she's not sleeping through the night.  It's hilarious, though, because as soon as you go to her crib, she's all smiles.  She drinks about 5 ounces at a shot and is MUCH more interested in real food.  We thought she had a tooth sprouting through, but it still just a big gummy grin!  She has been working on crawling all month and has pretty much gotten then hang of it, though she would much rather be sitting on a lap or in someone's arms, mostly mom's.  Sierra is a chatter box, too.  She babbles all the time and we have heard lots of "dadadadada"s.  

 She's pretty funny, too, and her and Alana end up in laughing fits all the time.  Her big sister LOVES her to pieces, though at times, the love is a little too strong!  I am sure these next few months will bring LOTS of new changes.  Scared to have another walker around!!!!