Yosemite!

Well we got back on Friday night instead of Saturday. We decided to surprise my mom and not tell her we were coming home early. We stopped and got her a Frappucino, made a sign and put the baby on the front porch. I then called my mom to make sure that she was home and we rang the doorbell and ran. When she opened the door she saw the Squiggler, her frappucino and the sign. It was hilarious and we couldn't stop laughing. This is the first time in 7 years that my mom hasn't gone with us on vacation. I know she missed us even if she won't admit it!

Yosemite was beautiful! Breathtaking! Words cannot do it justice. I had been there about 30 years ago, but my DH had not. He was driving and I swear when we turned a corner and saw this.... he almost drove off the cliff. There is a reason they have barriers there!

We went to Yosemite for two days of our vacation! We went to Yosemite Valley, Half Dome, Ahwanee hotel and Wawona on the first day. The second day we did Mariposa Grove and Glacier Point! Glacier Point was just ...WOW!!! I had never been there and it just took our breath away. I'm so glad that my children have a father that wants them to see so many wonderful places and I think the two older ones are at an age that they will remember and appreciate it. Little Squiggler has no idea, but we have pictures to prove that she was there!!!

We actually spent the week at a Time Share in Bass Lake and we walked around the little town, visited other little towns, but overall the best time of our vacation was just spending time together as a family!!! We woke up late and hung out together in the big king size bed we had! It was so nice to just be us 5 and not have to worry about work or anything else! It was just us and it was GREAT! We didn't even have internet access so it really was just us hanging out with each other! We ate at some great places! Bravo Farms Cheese Factory, The Crab Shack, The Pizza Factory, Happy Burger and The Mountain House. Highly recommend theses places and if you are ever in Oakhurst, Mariposa or Bass Lake we can hook you up to great places to eat!

The Squiggler is 8 Months!

Oh my how the time flies! My Princess is 8 months old now and we are so lucky that we have spent the last month with her at home on vacation! We love vacation! She has really grown by leaps and bounds this month. I took her to have her pictures taken today, but they haven't emailed them to me yet so I will post and add pictures later.
The things our Princess Squiggler is doing now:

• You definately roll over all over the place.


• You love to kick things with your feet! You are strong too!


• You can lay on your back and scoot to where you want to go or grab things.


• You take 3 naps a day. Two short and one long.


• Your favorite place to nap is on someone's lap.


• You sound like you say Ma, Ow and ba ba ba ba.


• You have no teeth yet and mommy is very happy about this!


• You are only breastfed still, but you get cereal in the morning.
  
• You eat two jars of baby food. One for lunch and one for dinner.


• You love to pull hair!


• You talk to your sisters all the time.
  
• You love the dog and can pet him gently.


• You do not like other dogs.


• You love to flirt and are a very social little girl!


• You went swimming in a pool for the first time last month.


• You still hate to be on your tummy, but will probably be crawling soon.

My darling little Squiggler, you are so much fun, so much work, but we wouldn't have it any other way. You bring such joy to our lives. You go for a walk everyday and you like to sit up in your stroller now. You love to go places and be entertained. You are about 28 inches long and you weigh about 17 pounds. Everyone who picks you up always says how light you are. You justed started wearing 6-12 months clothes and you wear a size 2 shoe. You also wear a size 2 diaper. Know that you are loved so much and we thank God everyday for honoring us with being your family! We love you Squiggler!

One Year Ago!

Wow! It's been a year since we found out that we were going to have another Princess!! With our first two children, my DH and I didn't want to find out if the baby was a boy or a girl. We wanted to be surprised and I figured it would give me an incentive to push that baby out! :) Well since there is a 9 1/2 year difference I figured we should find out. All 3 of my pregnancies were very different and I was shaped different for all 3 also. You know how they say that if you are shaped like a basketball then you are having a boy or if you can't tell someone is pregnant then maybe it is a girl. Well I heard them all and they were only 50% true because your chances are 50-50 to begin with!

We couldn't have been happier and it really was a blessing to find out because we had so many friends and family that wanted to help us! We were blessed with 4 showers!!! Oh my! I couldn't even begin to explain how blessed we felt! I can't even think of another worthier word, but blessed!!! We were given so many wonderful things for our Squiggler and to this day we continue to feel all the love and good wishes that people have bestowed on us. God doesn't make mistakes. We might not now the why or the how come, but someday it will all be revealed to us. We just need to say thank you and know that He is with us always!

7 Months!

Today the Squiggler is 7 months and I can't believe it! I know I say that every month, but wow she is growing so fast! Too fast! She is such a delight and we just adore her. She loves us as much as we love her. My husband said that he wouldn't recommend it to everyone, but having a baby later in life has been such a joy! That makes me feel good! I am so happy to be on vacation and get to enjoy her all day! To see her little routine and just have fun with her! She wakes up around 6am and plays until 7am when it's time to drink milk. She takes a small nap at 8am and eats breakfast around 9am. She has lunch around noon and sometimes takes a nap before or after. She gets really loud around 2pm and just talks up a storm. She eats again at around 5pm dinner and sometimes takes a long nap either before or after. She gets a bath at 7:30 and goes to bed around 8pm or 8:30pm. She wakes up once or twice at night to drink milk, but always goes right back to sleep!

• You can roll over when you want!
• You eat 3 small meals a day!
• You weigh about 17 lbs and you are 27 inches long.
• You kind of say dada.
• You love to be outside.
• You love to be sung too!
• You smile at everyone, except when you are having your pictures taken!
• You love to make the rasberry noises!
• You like to stand up, especially in your stroller. It scares the mommy!
• You laugh so cute aloud.
• You love to take a bath.
• You always want to be with the mommy, but if the daddy is around then you are a daddy's girl all the way.
• You got your first cold this last month, but it only lasted 2 days!
• You ate Mexican food. Beans from the olla by Tia C.
• You had a small taste of ice cream and you liked it!
  
  
  
  
  
  

We love you so much Squiggler! You have blessed our family in ways that we didn't even know existed!!!

Happy July!

Happy July everyone! I can't believe that it is July 1st already! Today was just another leisurely day at the Palace, but it was also the birthday of my Great Aunt. Today my Tia turned 91 years young! My mother, Squiggler and I went to her house to celebrate the day with her. Some of my Tia's kids were there as well as grandchildren and a great grandchild. My Tia has 7 children in total and I found out today that she was about 19 when she had her first child and 40 when she had her last. My Tia is such a WONDERFUL person and she still drives. She looks fantastic and I hope to be even a fraction of the kind of person that she is...so kind, caring and loving to everyone! The Squiggler had beans from the olla today for the first time. (My Tia made them.)

Me, My Tia and the Squiggler

The Squiggler and her big cousin with the same name!

Milestones

I have been home with the Squiggler and her sisters this week and I am loving it! I never wanted to ever be a stay at home mom, but with this one, knowing that she is my last... I so wish we could win the Lotto so that I could stay home with her everyday! How funny since I never ever wanted that before. This week she has

• learned to roll over
• try to drink from a sippy cup
• got a used jumperoo
• has been out walking with her sisters
• has petted the dog (She loves the dog!)
• has had apple and cantaloupe
• wants to talk on the real phone
• sounds like she says dada (of course they never say mama first)
• can do a 360 on her belly

Your sisters have been getting along so well this week and I hope it continues. I so always wanted a sister too and one of my wishes for my girls is that they grow up to be best friends! I dream of the day that all four of us go out shopping and to lunch, my beautiful girls and I. We will be leaving daddy the grandkids. Tomorrow we are going to daddy's school so the Squiggler can meet all the wonderful people that daddy works with.

Happy Father's Day!

Today is Father's Day and my day wouldn't be complete if I didn't tell you about my wonderful DH! He really is a great father, husband, brother and all around great guy! I am so lucky and blessed that he came into my life and even though we've had our ups and downs like most couples, the ups totally outweigh the downs. We went to church this morning, came home and just spent the day together as a family. We even snuck in naps with the Squiggler today. I think it was a good day except for the fact that he didn't let me take any pictures today! Well there is always tomorrow. I love you honey!!