Baby Riley Ann

We have a name!

This week will be half-way. Seems to go by more quickly

when you have two little ones to take care of. I am

back to feeling myself again, which is a much welcomed change.

First trimester was really tough with 24/7 "morning sickness" and

sleepiness. I am so grateful for Barth who stepped it up and helped

a ton around the house and with the girls...i love you.

The girls are so excited, especially Ella. She loves to

put her hands on my tummy and feel her little sister's kicks

and punches. Ella is going to be an incredible big sister.

Thank you for all the continued prayers over our growing family!!

she was not to willing to pose for the picture

we ♥ girls!!

love this picture of her little bum and legs

♥19 weeks♥

here we go again

Feeling so incredibly blessed to announce

It's a...

Girl!!!

Thank you so much for all your prayers over our pregnancy. We are

so excited to be welcoming another girl into our family. It took some effort on the

ultrasound technician's part to get her to open those little legs, but she gave us

a quick peek. She did not want her picture taken and remained head down, face down the

entire time...a little pill already I guess. Hoping to share a few pictures with you soon!!

the art of hair brushing

hair. there is a lot of it in my household and it is a large part of

our morning routine. ella, a.k.a. rapunzel, has locks that are beyond

her little behind, and miss chloe is attempting to catch up..not really, but

this girl can get some pretty crazy morning head..not washing it,

 is not even an option. our best friend this time of day is Johnson & Johnson

no more tangles. we would be lost without it. of course the girls would not

choose it as their highlight of the day, but i seem to have gotten this whole

hair brushing thing down to a science, and although time consuming,

it's not so bad. i kinda enjoy it really.

this little cookie does not like her hair brushed...

imitating the face she makes when it's her turn

so fresh and so clean....and so happy to be done...one munchkin down

the task at hand...luckily she has a tough head

no more "rats" as we call them

her absolute favorite style...braids...which means two things...1. we

don't have to spend extra time blow drying it (this takes way too long, seriously way too long)

2. she gets to sleep on the braids and we get to bypass the

whole washing of the hair thing the next day...gotta love that extra time in the morning

i love you girls

hat happy

this little girl does not seem to want to part with her hat...it has become her

new best friend and the perfect accent to any outfit

family QT

Family quality time...something we have been in desperate need of these

days. Ever since Barth's graduation, we have been quite preoccupied with

the move and the never-ending search for renters. Check those

both off the list. We are officially all moved out and we just completed all the

paperwork for our renters this afternoon...woo hoo!! Talk about a

tremendous stress relief.

Back to the quality time. Barth got a couple days off work, last minute of course,

so we knew any type of travel that involved flying was out of the question.

Much too expensive now having to buy four tickets...I still think that kids under

the age of five should be half price, literally sitting in their seats for

"half the time" if we are lucky....just my opinion.

Thursday morning I threw a few of our clothes in the suitcase and we

headed out the door. We love keeping the girls in suspense. Before checking

in at the hotel we stopped for a little lunch and treat at a mall close to our

destination. Ella figured the mall was their "surprise"...just like her mommy I guess.

hanging out in the photo booth

the girls love this fountain...the only way we could pull

them away was to entice them with a yummy treat

a content little girl

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E...can you guess what the surprise was?

We had the best time ever and experienced a couple firsts....the World of Color

at California Adventure and the fireworks above the castle. Both events take place

at a late hour for the girls, but we decided to surpass bedtime. It was a fun

couple of days filled with lots of fun and plenty of QT.

they LOVED the hotel...we are fans of embassy suites!!

a snapshot of the World of Color...it was pretty cool, kinda like

the bellagio fountain, but a hundred times better!!

my sweet ella bella

credit to my hubby on this picture...he was having way too much

fun playing around with the shutter speeds on my camera

18 week tummy shot

chloe screamed the entire time barth was on this ride...she was so scared for him

It's a Small World (chloe's favorite ride)

another first!! the girls got to sit all by themselves on this ride...they were so proud!!

PreGo SisTas

Pregnancy is such an incredible experience...every part of it is truly a miracle.

I am so blessed to be able to share it, literally share every part of it

with my sister, what an amazing and special blessing.  

me @ 17 weeks, Simone @ 28 weeks

happy birthday grandpa

Yesterday the girls and I headed to San Diego for a little birthday celebration.

My dad is the most incredible person and I feel so blessed to have him

in my life. My girls are so in love with him and will never miss an opportunity

to hang out with "papa". Thank you for letting us share your special

day with you...we love you with all of our hearts.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous...ella never misses

a chance to take a dip in grandpa and grandma's pool.

my adorable niece ari sporting her shades

these girls love each other...doing a little sunbathin

love that smile

As long as I can remember, my mom always made each and

every one of our birthdays so special. We woke up the morning

of our special day to find our kitchen table totally decked out in the

appropriate theme, with balloons, flowers, candy, gifts. Eventhough none of us

live at home, she still manages to make that special day happen each year...decorated

table and all. My dad of course does not get to miss out....this year

the girls helped choose, he ended up with a disney cars theme. Somehow

a few princess crowns from a previous celebration snuck into our day....

my brother-in-law getting into the spirit

little ari was worn out from the day's events

the girls serenading grandpa with a few songs

grandpa, you are so incredibly loved