Tanya and Sterling

When we lived in Fresno and I worked at Patio Cafe, I met two very dear friends, Amber and Tanya. Amber lives in Clovis and Tanya now lives in Maryland. Tanya, her little boy Sterling, and one on the way came to visit us a couple of weeks ago. It was so great to have some time with them. Natalie and Sterling seems to have similar interests :).

Thanks for coming guys! Now we just have to make it out to Annapolis!

Sarah's Breakfast at Tiffany's Shower

The Cousins: Me, Sarah and Lindsay

The Sisters: Diana, Kelly and Julie

My cousin Sarah is getting married in a month and so we had a beautiful family shower in Murrieta. Sarah is a big Audrey Hepburn fan and so the theme seemed fitting. My mom, after years of being an activities director at Newport Harbor, definitely went above and beyond to make a great ambiance. Sarah seemed to really enjoy it.

Valentine's Day Date

Ryan and I had a nice date too :)! Valentine's day marked 10 years that we have been together! Crazy. I am so thankful for Ryan and for the relationship we have. Glory to God. We would never be here without Him.

A Beautiful Winter Sunset in Newport

Playing with my new camera that I got for Christmas! We got down to the beach and the sky was amazing. We knew it was going to be an incredible sunset. It seems like we are coming out of the newborn phase where we had to divide ourselves so much in the girls care and are beginning to have more and more moments where we can enjoy being a family of four. We are even venturing out more and more (and having it go well anyway). The girls are incredible blessings.

I just have to say while posting too that Natalie is an absolute joy! The little thing loves life! She is walking all over the place and exploring. Yesterday at Noelle's kid's play class that we take through the city, Natalie acted like she was one of the toddlers, walking all around and trying out new toys. She would squeal with delight at all the new things she tried - a push car that I sat her in, a tunnel she crawled through, a ramp she walked up and jumped off of into my arms, a slide, a swing, etc. It was so fun.

Natalie's Walking!

We are just checking off milestones like crazy in Natalie's baby book. She shows lots of determination and keen observation (much like her sister). She is probably really wanting to keep up.
There is one milestone however that remains blank in the midst of all the writing - "Slept Through the Night." So I look at it longingly for a brief moment and then just enjoy all the other fun milestones we are watching Nat tackle. For the record, she has slept through the night a couple times but it's never stuck, try as we might.
Natalie has such a fun personality. I can't tell you how much delight she brings us. It is really fun to watch her little baby self walking along. Here's a video! Noelle likes to pretend like she's the baby and walk to us like Natalie does (as you can see).

Static!

A dry winter day, during the Santa Ana winds. The trampoline gets filled with electricity. Isn't this amazing? If you click on the picture you can see it even better.