Kara Pictures

I had to put up some of the super cute pictures of us with our adorable little niece & future goddaughter, Kara! She is getting so big now and is so cute with her insane amount of dark hair and bright blue eyes. (...of course Robert has to make a funny face for the picture, but I think he makes a weird face for every picture!)

Here's Alexya watching me/instructing me how to dip Kara's little feet in the hot tub! She loves her cousin "be-be car- uh" because "she's sooooo ca-ute!"

Look at the little munchkin! I just want to squeeze her and run off with her! ;)

Playtime and Progress

Alexya got a new A's monkey from her aunt candice. It came with a little baby monkey too, but lexy has claimed the big monkey as her "baby" and is taking care of it only. She decided to put it down for a nap here...and I made her climb into "bed" with it for the picture, which she thought was funny.
Alexya updates include her refering to herself as "lexy" now (I ask who's room is this and she says "lexy's room).
She can say complete sentences now which is so cool an easier to understand. She repeats words or phrases or even sounds you make; ex: I yell "toretto, stop barking!" and 'sigh' because he's not listening....she immediately yells the same thing and then 'sighs' the same way. So funny but kinda scary too cause you really have to be careful.
She wants to help with everything now...whatever you're doing, from cooking to cleaning to laundry to feeding Sonny, she wants to help... "I help mom?"
She'll also tell you exactly what happened if she gets in trouble. Like if Robert tells her to go inside because she knocked something over in the garage, she will come in crying and say, "mom, it fell and dada mad, go inside now." I also told her what "tantrums" are (they are when you cry cry cry for no reason) and so when she has one, afterward she will explain to me that, "i cry cry cry mom."
Honestly, I think we have finally hit the tantrum max and now they are coming less often. A couple of times she's caught herself starting to have one and stopped, so I think that's progress. I know they're not over yet, but seriously, it's nice to know you're on the down side of the tantrum curve...I seriously was going to lose my mind if they got any worse!

Here are some shots of Sonny in his "gym" playing and trying to roll over. He can get almost all the way over now. You can see in the bottom picture that it's just getting that shoulder up and he's got it! He loves to reach up and grab the toys because he can now and is very proud of himself! He smiles and even laughs now when you watch him... he loves attention. (for those of you wondering...yes alexya would get in the gym with him at first and showed him how to grab all the toys...then she got bored and so now it's all his).

Aunti Lauryn came over to hang out with her niece and nephew. She had fun getting a toy and jewelry makeover from Alexya and watching Sonny try to roll over.

Time to Swim!

Since the weather has been so warm we decided to fill up the hot tub and go swimming! It's a great way to stay cool and ....to exhaust some of Alexya's energy! I got great shots of Robert and Alexya, but none of me and Sonny in his super cute winnie the pooh swim trunks....coming soon so don't worry.

Here's Sonny relaxing in his swing outside after his first swim. He liked the water since it was just like taking a bath...except bigger and with mom holding him and his sister splashing around him and screaming and throwing fish...even with all that, he still liked it.

Happy Easter!

Alexya had fun hunting for eggs yesterday at Mimi & Papa's house!

Sonny & Alexya...all smiles after our first attempt at this picture when he ripped a handful of her hair out and made her cry. She scolded him through tears saying, "not nice Sonny! not nice!" I think he was just getting her back for all the beatings he's been having to take... hmmm

Cousins: Baby Kara and Sonny (8wks and 11wks)

Easter morning: Alexya insisted she needed to "hold Sonny" for the picture (if you look closely, you can see her gently stroking his hair) such a nice sister... ;)

Alexya ~ The Flower Girl

Here's Alexya in my brother Caleb and Andrea's wedding. These are all the pics robert could snap as she was walking down the aisle...some are a little blurry, but I just wanted to share them all. We practiced and practiced so she was well prepared and excited to do it as you can see...

...then she started walking and got nervous...so the fingers went in the mouth...

...she finally made it to the front and didn't know where to go...so she just sat down with the bridesmaids! :)

Here's the only picture of me with Alexya...all dressed up at the reception.

Papa Stephen and Sonny decided to dance to the music at the table since the dance floor was way too crowded! :)

Overall the wedding was beautiful and Andrea looked like a perfect latin barbie come to life! She was beautiful and my brother looked so happy the entire time. We had so much fun and can't wait until the next wedding.... "Papa Mike's & Susu's" in just under 4 months! :)

All Smiles!

Here are a couple of shots I got of Sonny smiling! He loves his new (lexy's old) jumper and being outside.
He also loves his grandpa Stephen as you can see in the picture below! :)

It seems like he really loves to stare at people's faces and flirt with them by giving them coos and smiling...he even tried to flirt/smile his way out of getting his shots at the doctor! The lady that gives the shots was about to start when I laid Sonny on the table and he started smiling and cooing at her...she said, "stop it! now I feel really bad cause I'm about to hurt you." It was funny and he really didn't cry too much (not like his sister the drama queen does).

Also, we found out that he is only 13.5 lbs but an incredible 25 inches long!...that's why he fits the 6 month size.

Here's a picture of Sonny in his new outfit from great grandma and grandpa Kistner and laying on the beautiful blanket she made him! The Oakland Raider colored blanket goes perfectly with his Oakland A's room! :) Yay! Thank you again Great Grandma and we look forward to seeing you and everyone at Caleb & Andrea's wedding tomorrow!

Story Time

Santino at 7 wks old.
He's already as big as his infant car seat...and fitting into 6-9 month onesies and some 3-6 month outfits still! Not fair because he barely even wore them, so i'm taking pictures of him everyday in a new outfit in case he outgrows it and I never see it again! Anyway I'm not sure of his exact measurements but we have a doctor apt. next week so we will find out then...please place your bets on length and poundage! :)
By the way...this is his tough guy stare that he gives to the ladies...I laid him on Alexya's bed the other day and already he was smiling and cooing to the princesses around him...ya, we're in trouble. ;)

So now are you ready for story time??? Alexya is determined to read her books to her brother even though he obviously is NOT interested. The first picture you can see by the look on his face...that he is humoring her...

...and the second picture....well....speaks for itself.

Finally, I just have to end this post with an Alexya-in-the-box!

Me and My Brother

Alexya and Sonny have become very good friends. She loves to sit next to him and lay next to him whenever she gets the chance...and if we are holding him too much she will tell us to put him down next to her or let her hold him "I hold you." It's a good thing he is so big for his age though because there have been times when she's laid on him or his arm on accident. She also loves to grab his arms to "dance" with him and swing them side to side while singing to him, "I know you, I walked with you once apon a dream," her fav song from Sleeping Beauty. She's two, so she's not the most gentle sister, but Santino definately gets alot of tough love! :)

Debbie let us borrow Izzy's walker and so we put Sonny in it during one of his freak-out sessions and he loved it! It let him stand up, which he loves to do, and he was pushing his legs out and rocking back and forth loving it! Then dada and Lexy decided to get involved and push him around the room, which amazingly he loved too and would cry whenever they would stop! By the way he's 6wks old today...so huge that he is now wearing his 3-6 month clothes!

Cute Cousins!

Here are some pictures of Kara and Sonny (she is 1wk old and he is 4wks old). Kara weighs 7lbs vs. Sonny's 13lbs and I love these pictures because Kara is actually half the size of Sonny! (well, because she has her legs scrunched up it looks like it anyway!) ;) It's cute to see them side by side because they look so different, but they also have common features (like the same ears!~papa frank's).

Here they are sleeping & below is my favorite pic because even though she is yawning, it looks like Kara is crying and Sonny has his hand on her comforting her!

We also got a visit from our friends Blanca, Brendan and Justin last weekend. They brought us tons of toys & clothes they don't use anymore, plus Blanca made us spaghetti that was so good Alexya was requesting it for lunch & dinner the next day! You can see Lexy trying to share her dinosaur with Brendan....key word is "trying" since she was actually trying to push him off! :) Thanks again Blanca for the donations! ;)

Just Hangin' Out

Here are some pictures of Robert and our kids...one on each arm! Also a new one of Sonny, who we weighed yesterday and after subtracting a pound for his clothes...he is about 13lbs!! geeze man!

We got a visit from our friends, Amy and Doug, and gave them a preview of parenthood...since Amy is due in June with their first child...it was fun to freak them out with a newborn and Alexya being a total maniac! They were so relaxed though...so I think they will do great!

We didn't plan on matching, but how cute that we do! I love seeing her with a little baby belly!