Happy Birthday Della!

Happy 3rd birthday Della!! We love having you in our lives and are constantly amazed at how wonderful you are! We love you so much!!

Here are the girls in their Easter outfits. Della loves to be a match with Cora.

We have a local zoo here in Bakersfield called the California Area Living Museum. My friends and I took our girls there one morning. This is a picture of Della and her friend Audrey by the bear exhibit.

Here's the girls playing on the play mat/tent. They love to play together.

Della was asked to be a flower girl in our friends' Jesse and Mallory Russo's wedding. She did such a great job. Beppe did her hair - Della looked so beautiful!

Our neighbor's had a mustache bash for their son's first birthday. We "mustache" you a question - do you like our picture??

Della loves to dress up!

These last pictures are from Della's third birthday party we had for her on Sunday. We had about 20 adults and 16 kids that came and it was a lot of fun. Derek had set up two kiddie pools in the backyard so the kids played while the parents watched and then some of the bigger kids swam in the big pool. Della made out like a bandit! When we asked what she wanted for her birthday she would either say "flower cake" or "little cupcakes" so I found this idea on Pinterest and it turned out great.

Speed racer!

Cora turned 6 months old on Thursday - I can hardly believe it as it feels like just a few days ago we brought her home from the hospital. Her growth is undeniable as she is now so alert and busy. Some of her current favorite things are having staring contests with Daddy, playing in her bouncer and playing with Della. Della will sit in front of Cora while Cora is in the bouncer and Cora will "do" Della's hair. She loves to grab onto hair and Della will sit there while Cora tugs and let her play. It's very sweet and at the same time a little amazing as if I comb Della's hair with any tangles at all, she cries and cries. We've been adding solids to Cora's diet and she has been loving everything so far. She gets a little upset when the food is gone and she'll look around with her mouth wide open just in case we have any extra hiding. Cora is a very loving and sweet baby. She loves to cuddle and play. She has been exercising her vocal capabilities and will squeal in delight when she finds something she really likes such as Della, her teething toys, or food on the table. She is pretty sure she is ready to eat what we eat as she always opens her mouth to be fed when we eat in front of her. Della has been loving being a big sister and tells Cora regularly that she loves her and gives her lots of hugs and kisses. She moves our two playmats together so they can do tummy time or sit up and play side by side. Recently, she has started putting blankets over the top to make a tent. The other day, Derek had a mustang for his business rental and Della was very excited. The rental place dropped it off before Derek was home and Della asked if she could go for a ride in it. I told her she would have to ask Daddy. She then proceeded to have an out loud conversation with Derek and concluded that He said yes :) her imagination has been greatly blossoming and she loves to play pretend. Here are some pictures from the past couple of weeks.

Sunny Days

We have been loving the weather here in Bakersfield. Highs have been in the 70s (even some days in the 80s) and the nights have been cooling off so no heat or A/C!! The warmer weather has also meant that all of the cute summer dresses in size 3-6 and 6-9 months that Della only got to wear a couple times are like brand new for Cora! The girls have been playing outside and we have been spending a little more time at the parks too. We have been getting to know our neighbors who also have kids so in the evenings, Della has been riding her bike in the cul-de-sac checking up on our neighbors :) Bakersfield has really been suiting us well lately. Cora is going to be 6 months in just over a week. It is so hard to believe how fast time flies! We have been trying to treasure every moment though. She has been siting up pretty steadily on her own for a couple weeks now. She can even reach for stuff on the ground and then sit back up. We are very impressed :) Rolling over though, is another story. She is just pretty content to stay on her back or tummy and has little interest flipping to the other side. Just yesterday, she did roll from her tummy to her back but we have yet to see a repeat. She is such a happy baby and it truly is a joy spending time with her. When she wakes up, she squeals and talks in her crib and greets us with a gummy grin when we go to pick her up. Big sister Della has been a super help as always. Her vocabulary and understanding have exploded lately!! This morning she explained to Daisy Duck and Minnie Mouse (her girls) that her Mommy was the one in the "yellow shirt with the black and white polka dots and blue jeans" which was exactly what I was wearing. She is definitely a little stubborn too. She saw a chihuahua dog in a yard a few days ago and said "look mommy! a dog!!" to which I said, Yes, Della, that is called a Chihuahua dog". Then she looked again and adamantly said, "No, it's a mouse" and continued on with her playing. Facts are facts you know! Della has been asked to be in our friends wedding on April 27 in Grass Valley so there are a couple pictures of her modeling potential flower girl dresses. Derek has been busy studying for his 4th exam (out of 8) on his way to earn his CLU designation (Certified Life Underwriter). He has been in his new job for about a month now and is quickly learning the ropes. He has also been playing on a church softball team so our Wednesday nights are busy ones. I have been working a little bit more during tax season. I am in the office 3 days a week and then the 2 work days I am home with the girls, I squeeze in a couple hours of tax preparation during naps. It has been the lowest stress tax season I have ever had. Tomorrow afternoon we are planning to dye some Easter eggs and on Easter Sunday, we are hosting an Easter brunch after church. I am so excited for the girls to wear matching dresses :) Happy Easter everyone!!

Cora vs. Wocket in the WWF lightweight championship

Growing up

I can hardly believe that I haven't posted a blog since Cora was born! I have been busy taking pictures and videos though. iPhones sure make documenting milestones easy :) Cora is 4 and a half months now and is getting to be so interactive and busy. She is a very happy baby and is content doing most things. She loves to play on her play mat, jump in her excerciser, and sit in her Bumbo. She is very close to rolling over and can roll onto her side from her back and from her tummy. I think she is just so content with wherever she is that she doesn't want to particularly do anything different. Della is loving her role as a helper/big sister and helps me out by bringing burp rags, turning on music for Cora on the swing, bouncer, or toys, and she even helps to set the table (she brings the napkins, spoons and her plate/cup to the table). Both girls will hang out in tummy time and Della makes Cora laugh by making silly faces. Della's latest favorite games are playing "Chase" and "lion" and her roars sometimes are so loud they scare Cora - especially right after she wakes up. The girls started day care the beginning of January and have been settling in pretty well. Right now they go three days a week while I work during tax season and then after tax season, I'll be working 2 days a week so I will use the third day to get some one on one time with each girl. Della has "kids" now and is very watchful of them. She will bring them all to Derek and I and ask if we will "watch her kids" and then she will fill up her play backpacks or lunchboxes and bring us their bag. They are all consistently stuffed to the brim with mac and cheese (a Tupperware container holding duplos or coasters), underwear, tights, play baby bottles, her play food, and her babies' babies. Every evening (while she is supposed to be sleeping) she chooses outfits for each of her girls (Daisy, Minnie, Dollie, and pink monkey) complete with undies, socks and shoes. It is very cute to see but it gets to be a chore putting away almost all of her clothes from her dresser each morning. She is quite the little mommy :) Derek's new job officially starts on Friday. He attended a week long training conference in Bloomington, IL earlier in February and gained a better understanding of what to expect. He is really looking forward to seeing what is entails. My work has been steadily picking up for tax season but I am definitely enjoying working a MAXIMUM of three days a week. It is a little strange not being so busy this time of year but I like it! The above picture is Della admiring our freshly planted seeds for our summer garden. This morning we planted 2 types of peppers, 2 types of tomatoes, lemon cucumbers, bunching onions, cilantro, parsley, and basil. Now we wait! We also have one of our avocado pits growing in a cup on our kitchen counter. It is so fun to have a garden helper! As you can see from following pictures, Della and Cora love to wear matching outfits. Della always wants to pick outfits or pajamas that have a match with Cora. She especially likes it if Mommy matches too. For instance, yesterday, Della and Cora each had a pink top on with jeans so Della chose the same for me. When we do wind up matching, she says "chink!". I think this comes from when Pake and Beppe visited when Cora was born, we toasted wine and said "chink" :)

Photo Shoot (1 of 2)!

Before we moved to Bakersfield, our good friend Heather Henderson, took a few pictures of our family and they turned out beautiful. I was getting the Christmas cards ready to order and wanted to share all our favorites; not just a couple.