Ready for Winter...

I am now officially 32 weeks pregnant. It is sooo hard to believe that I am already in the 3rd trimester and only have about 7 weeks until baby boy arrives as we have a scheduled C-section for January 8th. I know with Thanksgiving next week and then Christmas just around the corner the time is going to fly by!! At my last appointment my belly was measuring big at 34 weeks, which didn't surprise me as the same happened when pregnant with Susanna. I guess it either means we will have a big baby boy or I just am really good at growing a big belly :)


Mommy has been a little tired lately and not cooking as often. Susanna is now in charge of ordering take-out... this night it was Chinese!


We are already in the Christmas spirit at our house. Two weeks ago we put up our Christmas tree and decorations. We have limited our decorating this year since Miguel will be taking it all down himself right after Christmas to prepare for babies arrival. But we still put up the essentials... tree, stockings, nativity. We normally decorate mid December and leave it up until late January but since they have to come down early this year we want to enjoy them as long as we possibly can this year!!!


We LOVE how warm the house feels decorated for Christmas, our FAVORITE time of year!!! Susanna LOVES the tree and when we turn on the lights she always says "Pretty Tree". She even insists that when she goes upstairs for nap or at night for bed that we turn the tree off because the tree is going "Night Night" too. Soooo cute!! She can tell you what Santa says and LOVES her snowman stuffies. Miguel and I LOVE this time of year and I believe we have successfully filled Susanna with same Christmas Spirit!!


Our Johnston Mommies friends blessed us this week with a 2nd Time Around baby shower. It was sooo much fun to have them share in our celebration of baby boy. We received soo many cute clothes and I thank everyone. A GREAT BIG THANKS to Lisa for planning and hosting and making us feel so extra special, you truly are a great friend!!

3d/4d Ultrasound

This afternoon we had the 3d ultrasound for baby boy. Just like we experienced with Susanna, it was amazing!!! Also, we were able to reconfirm that he is indeed still a boy!!!! He didn't start off very cooperative though... he is head down facing inward with his spine and bottom following the curve of my belly. The tech said he was sitting "Buddha" style with his little legs crossed and his arms and hands near his knees. Plus, he was practically using the placenta as a pillow!!! The issue was it was difficult to get a face view due to his positioning however with some interesting maneuvering with my belly from side to side the tech finally got a good view. HE IS SOOOOO CUTE!!! I think he looks just like Miguel!! But then I compared a newborn pic of Susanna and they look very similar too! So I guess we will just have to wait and see!!!!!!! Enjoy :)






Here is a newborn pic of Susanna and then today's pic of her baby brother... looks pretty similar to me?!!?!?

Happy Halloween!!

On Saturday we participated in a Trunk or Treat event at St. Raphael's in honor of my moms endowment. It was A LOT of fun and Susanna had a blast. We dressed in a family theme costume... Susanna the Dentist, Miguel her Assistant, and Me the patient!!! She was a GREAT dentist!!


When it came time to trick or treat she was a little unsure of what to do, but quickly caught on. Soon enough she was walking from car to car as if on a mission to collect her candy and put it in her pumpkin! Everytime she would say "Trick or Treat" and even remembered her manners and said "Thank You" as she walked away! Good for us she still doesnt know what candy actually is... wonder how long we can keep this a secret from her??!! We had a wonderful day and I know my mom was very happy to see the smiling faces of all the children having so much fun together!

Pumpkin Patch

Last weekend we went to Hillridge Farms Fall Festival to visit the pumpkin patch. This is the same farm we went to last year and loved it again!
2009

2008

Susanna loved feeding the animals and playing in the corn hut with Daddy.



When it came time to pick out our pumpkin she was actually more interested in the pumpkins' stickers rather than the actual pumpkins! She kept taking off the stickers and making sure we all had a sticker on our hands! It was really cute :)



She loved the Halloween "Meow Meow" on her shirt, doesnt she look sooo cute??



I am now 27 weeks, CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!?! I am about to enter the third trimester and am in shock of where the time has gone. I have been feeling pretty good but am starting to slow down a bit. I definitely feel like my belly is huge and I am already uncomfortable and cant believe it has 13 more weeks to grow! My next doctor appointment is at the end of this month and will be when I have my glucose test, YUCK! Susanna will be coming with me and I am hoping she is able to behave during this extra long appointment... luckily my OB office has a small play area so I hope this helps us pass the time!! We have scheduled baby boy's 3-D ultrasound for the beginning of November and are SOOO EXCITED. We cant wait to see what baby boy looks like... will he look similar to Susanna or be completely different??? Susanna's 3-D pics really looked just like her as a newborn so we are very excited to see baby boy too!

Tomorrow we are headed to the NC State Fair. Miguel and I LOVE THE FAIR and count down the days till it comes around again. This is our FAVORITE fall event. We know Susanna is going to love seeing all the farm animals and eating the fair food with us. I predict her favorite food will be the roasted corn and her favorite animal will be the pigs! We will let ya know how it goes!!

Chit Chat

Kinda Lazy

I have been pretty bad about updating the blog, so sorry. Cant really explain why but I promise to be better! Lately I have been enjoying mindless TV watching with Miguel at night, eating popcorn, and just relaxing after the day. I will try to focus on the blog more often :)

We spent Labor Day weekend at Sunset Beach, NC. Although the weather wasn't the best we had a WONDERFUL time. Our first day was beautiful and sunny with perfect temps so we thought it would be a great day for Susanna to get to know the beach! However, she wasn't in the mood AT ALL! She was tired and would much rather of been napping and wasn't going to just go with the flow. Basically, she HATED everything. She hated the water, the birds, and she REALLY REALLY REALLY HATED the sand. She refused to touch the sand in any way with her feet or hands. This is kinda difficult AT THE BEACH!! She ended up falling asleep on my shoulder for an hour but then was ready for lunch so we called it a day.



The next day we followed a tip to keep her CROCS on her feet and this really made a big difference, however she still didn't touch the sand with her hands. The weather on Sunday was gray, rainy, and windy but it proved to be perfect beach weather for Susanna. Miguel and I have always enjoyed cloudy, cooler days and were happy Susanna did as well. She was in the best mood and loved running in and out of the waves with Daddy, jumping in tide tide pools, and feeding the seagulls. We even got to walk home in the rain, it was the best ever and a wonderful memory!!




This past weekend we attended the SRCS church fair and Susanna had a BLAST. She danced for hours to the live music and would have danced till they closed if we had let her. We thought for sure she would crash on the drive home but she must of been sooo worked up from the music and her jumping, flapping, wiggling, and spinning that she talked the entire 40 minutes home! We had a wonderful time and are already looking forward to next years fair!! Click on the videos below...

Ultrasound results!

This past Friday we had the development and gender ultrasound and found out we are having a BOY!! All along I had a feeling it was a boy this time and was shocked to find out it was really true. Miguel caught a glimpse of the "boy parts" early in the ultrasound so he already knew when we actually got to the big reveal! Honestly I am having mixed emotions.... I am sooo used to having Susanna and am not sure what to do with a little boy! But the baby is developing normally and healthy and that is what is most important. Plus I know my mom would of wanted me to have have one of each, so now Miguel and I get to have a daughter and a son!

Ohio

Well Susanna and I have been home from Ohio for a week now and I thought it was about time I updated the blog. We had a WONDERFUL time and were very sad to leave. It was amazing how quickly the two weeks passed and on my last day I wished we had planned to stay even longer! In our last week we visited the farm with Grandpa and Grandma Hoying, had a picnic and tried to feed the ducks at Lake Loramie, and swam in the pool with Morgan and Jada. Here are some of our favorite pics...























Susanna and I had a REALLY rough day flying home (due to thunderstorms and delays at the airport) and were SOO HAPPY to see daddy when we landed. We are now all unpacked, laundry clean, and settled in at home. I think Susanna was happy to be in her house and rediscover all her toys. However she is already getting used to it all again and has the most fun when we are active and get out of the house to play or attend playgroups. Back to the busy schedule!

One week in Ohio

Well I have no pics to update but thought I would let yall know how Susanna and I are doing on our vacation to Ohio. We are having a great time with Aunt Jane and Grandma!! So far we have not been too busy... our biggest adventures have been to the park, lunch in Fort Loramie with Grandma and Grandpa Hoying, and shopping. I keep telling myself I need to take more pictures but honestly we have not done too much to photograph!! Next week we will have my cousins daughters (Morgan and Jada) to help entertain us and Susanna!! Hopefully we will make a trip to the pool, the farm, and Lake Loramie.

The weather (except for today that is) has been SOOO BEAUTIFUL!! No humidity, perfect temperatures and sunny skies. Jane and I have enjoyed a few morning and evening walks with Susanna in her stroller. Susanna just loves being outside and has had a great time exploring Janes yard. Her favorites are the Versailles tiger statue (which she ROARS at), the Doggy statue (which she pets, feeds, and gives kisses), the toddler play set we are borrowing from Mindy and Eric with a swing and slide (which she has figured out how to do all by herself), and the tether ball court. As you can tell she keeps herself and us busy when we are outside. And when you say the word "OUTSIDE" you better be ready to go that second because if she hears you she will run to the door and keep saying outside, outside, outside until you finally take her. She just loves it!!

Her other favorite thing to do around Janes house is point to everything and say "Uhnasee, Uhnasee", translated to "I wanna see". She is super curious and interested in everything. She wants to touch, kiss, or play with it all!! She really likes the wind chime in the kitchen, which I found out was a gift to Jane from my mom! Although I love Susanna's inquisitiveness, the constant "I wanna see" DRIVES ME CRAZY. I told Jane I needed to document how ANNOYING this phrase is to me so I can look back someday and remember how cute it really was!

My plan was to keep Susanna on her normal schedule but OF COURSE she is already all out of whack. She has even taken 2 morning naps, which is totally out of her normal routine. Everyday seems to be a different nap time and schedule but she is adjusting and managing well. I just hope that when we get home we can get her back on track.

Update - 16 week appt

My dr appointment this past Wed was great. I got to hear the baby's heartbeat (157 bpm) and everything was measuring as expected. Susanna was soooo good during the whole visit too. She sat in her stroller and just observed. This was one of the quickie appointments so it only lasted 5-10 minute total, and it was a good first experience with Susanna overall! Our next appointment is scheduled for August 21st, which is when we will have the Level II ultrasound and find out the gender!! I am getting really excited!! From now until then I am going to try and force myself to have baby dreams, and maybe the gender will be magically revealed!! I just have no idea if this is a boy or girl and am soo anxious to know!!! I cant believe at our next visit I will be close to 20 weeks, half way through this pregnancy!!! It is amazing how fast it is passing by with Susanna keeping us busy. Before we know it the baby will be fully baked and time to join the family!!

In other news, a huge CONGRATULATIONS to our friends Chessie and Jason on the birth of their daughter Brooke Ashley, born on Monday 7/27... 8 pounds 3 ounces, 22 inches. After hours of labor momma Chessie had a Csection so we are praying for a quick and healthy recovery for her. They are home now and settling in as a new family of three. We can not wait to meet baby Brooke and give her a hug and kiss!! Congrats yall, we love you and are so happy for you :)

I will be traveling with Susanna to Ohio the 2nd through the 16th. Miguel and Sissy will be holding down the fort and hopefully missing us a ton. Unless Miguel surprises me we probably wont get a chance to update until we return. I am sure we will have lots of fun pictures to show off then!!

"Jogee" Visits

We were so lucky to have Uncle YoYo visiting with us last week. Susanna loved coming downstairs and playing with him while I made breakfast. As soon as her feet would touch the ground she would run back to his bedroom, looking for "Jogee", sooo cute!!



While he was here we had many fun adventures including the grocery store, pool, shopping, and a trip to the emergency room! Joey has a history of kidney stones, something he unfortunately inherited from my mom, and passed another stone on Friday. Susanna and I tried to help him the best we could but the only thing Joey really needed was some pain killers and FAST!! At the Urgent Care Joey was REALLY rolling around in pain and he was sure he was traumatizing Susanna. She definitely knew something was wrong with him but just sat and watched... I think she was worried about him!! Luckily he passed the stone Friday night and was back to normal on Saturday. We were sad to see him leave on Sunday and hope he comes to visit again soon :)







Susanna and I will be traveling to Ohio to visit with my extended family on Sunday. We will be flying and this will be our first plane trip without Daddy :( I hope everything goes smoothly and pray for a happy, healthy baby during our travels. We will be staying for 2 weeks and I am really excited! We will have plenty of time to have lots of fun with everyone!! I haven't started packing yet but really need to get on it! I have to remember whatever I pack I have to drag around the airport all by myself, AHHHHH!!!


I am now almost 16 weeks pregnant. I have another Dr appointment this upcoming Wednesday, just a routine/ 15 minute visit. I will be taking Susanna with me since I know it will be so quick. At my next appt, which will be when I am 20 weeks, we will be finding out the gender... I CANT WAIT!! Both Miguel and I have had a feeling from the beginning that this baby is a boy, wonder if we are right?!?!

Sunday marked the 2 year anniversary of my moms passing... I miss you mom, more and more each day. I love you

Summer Fun

We are sooo happy to have our yard complete and Susanna is really enjoying the new grass. She has a lot of fun helping daddy with the yard work. She moves handfuls of pine straw and/or leaves from one spot to the next. And now that we have the new mulch, plants, and flowers she will have have fun discovering the bumblebees and other bugs!


It is funny to watch her and try and figure out her reasoning but it keeps her occupied and that's all that matters!!!


We have been spending most weekends at the pool and Susanna is loving it!

She is getting more comfortable with the kiddy area and loves splashing around. We just love watching her explore and are ever amazed at her comfort in the water! Miguel is confident she will be a swimmer just like him!

Miguel has been working on his summer projects around the house. First he installed under cabinet lighting, then rope lighting in the screen porch, and finally a hammock in the back yard. Recently he installed a gate in the yard fence and built another gate for the top of the deck stairs. It is soo nice to be able to close the deck gate and Susanna can enjoy being outside with us and not fall down the stairs!! He has been working sooo hard and everything looks great!!




In other news, I am now 13 weeks pregnant. The past 2 weeks have been the hardest by far! I don't know if it was recovering from our trip to San Diego or what but I have been more exhausted and drained than ever. Luckily Susanna is still napping twice a day and it is the only thing that saves me from breaking down and crying. As long as I get to sleep while she naps I am ok. I feel sooo bad for Susanna though... we usually have multiple park adventures and playgroups throughout the week but I have not had the energy to attend any lately. I can tell she is getting bored being stuck at home all the time. I have signed up to attend a playgroup this week and I sure hope my energy returns so we are able to make it. If it doesn't, you know where to find us.... at home, snug in our beds taking naps :)

San Diego and more

We are back fron sunny CA, but NO Sissy did not get to join us. She just wanted to wear some ROCK STAR shades just like Susanna, what cute sisters!!!


Last week we traveled to San Diego to visit with Uncle Ric, Aunt Nessa, and Cousin Rich. We had a wonderful visit and had a lot of fun! It took a day to adjust to the time change and by the time we were back to normal it was time to go home. Next time we will have to make our trip longer! While in CA we were able to visit Seal Beach in La Jolla, the San Diego Zoo, and participate in baby Richs' baptism. What a great trip... we miss yall already!



The flights were LONG but Susanna was amazing!! She really surprised both Miguel and I with how well she behaved on the plane. She would sit patiently on our laps, eat a snack, take a nap, and LOVE take-off and landings! She actually loved the landings sooooo much she would grin ear to ear, clap her hands, and squeal in delight! The more turbulence and the rougher the landing the more she enjoyed it! She definitely put on a show for the other passengers.

The first day after we arrived was mostly spent sleeping and adjusting the time change. Susanna was SERIOUSLY jet-lagged and spent the entire day catching up on her beauty rest. It was nice and allowed Miguel and I to take naps as well. By Friday we were all feeling more rested and able to leave the house and do some touring. Ric and Nessa brought us to Seal Beach in La Jolla... it was beautiful! The poor seals had been chased off their beach but we could see them resting on a rock nearby. I wish Susanna could of seen them but maybe next time! Otherwise we enjoyed a nice walk and the views of the ocean and beach.





Next was the San Diego Zoo. This was Susanna's first zoo trip and both Miguel and I were very excited for her. She has recently become very interested in her animal books so we knew she would have a great time. Her favorite of the day were the gorillas and the elephants. At the gorilla exhibit she even had one of the gorillas come directly up to her as if it saw her through the glass and wanted to touch her. She LOVED IT and it was so neat watching her face as she discovered the animals. She pointed to many of the animals, even the elephants, and called them "Sissy" and we had to remind her that Sissy was back home in NC. We had no idea how much she loved her doggie until she was without her, they truly are best friends :)





We spent our last day celebrating baby Richs' baptism. The ceremony was wonderful and Miguel and I are proud to be his godparents. Rich looked very cute and handsome in his all white attire! After the baptism Ric and Nessa had a cookout at their house and all the food was wonderful.



We had a great time visiting with Ric and Nessa and loved meeting Rich. Susanna really had a lot of fun with her cousin, sharing toys, books, and showing him how he can someday run around his house! Susanna is now 15 months and Rich is 6 months but despite the age difference they really entertained each other and were really cute together.

Susanna's Surprise

Susanna has a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT, Can you guess what it is??? Here is a hint, what does her shirt say????


We are happy to announce that Susanna (and Sissy too) are going to be BIG SISTERS!! I had my first doctor appointment this past week and Miguel and I were able to see the newest bean via ultrasound. It is amazing how tiny they appear on the first ultrasound! The baby was wiggling around and we got to hear the heartbeat, which was 171 bpm. I am measuring right on schedule at 8w5d and the estimated due date is 1/15/10. We are sooo very excited and pray for a healthy pregnancy and 9 months. My next appointment is in 3 weeks and there will be many more to come! The ultrasound pictures are REALLY zoomed in so they are even harder to see than normal... but here is our newest addition


So far I have been feeling VERY tired. More than just sleepy tired, completely and totally drained. I have moments of queasiness, but nothing consistent. The only way I have been able to function lately is to nap when Susanna naps. She occasionally takes 2 naps a day (which is HEAVEN for me) but most days it is just one afternoon nap. Thank goodness she is a good napper, otherwise I would be in tears from exhaustion by the time Miguel gets home from work. Miguel has been a wonderful help too. Many nights and weekends he totally takes over and lets me rest, what a great daddy!!!

We told our parents the good news today (Saturday) when we had them over to participate in Susanna's Little Gym graduation and for brunch afterwards. Susanna was a STAR at her final performances, showed off all her gym skills, and even got a medal during the award ceremony. It is soo much fun to watch her and she really loved showing off to her grandparents!



After we had everyone to our house for brunch and Susanna changed into her "I am a Big Sister" shirt.

Our plan was to see who noticed her shirt first but NOBODY NOTICED!!! She had it on for over an hour and nothing! Finally my dad was getting ready to go and I told him he couldn't leave until he read her shirt. FINALLY everyone caught on and were very excited and happy! We are so happy to be able to share the news with everyone now :)

Daddy and Susanna talked about being a BIG SISTER today and Susanna has agreed to share her toys and stuffed animals... we will see!

Bubbles

Susanna is becoming more and more comfortable with water. Daddy has been working with her on blowing bubbles and up until now he would demonstrate and she just watched. Well for the first time the other night she showed off her bubble blowing skills in the bath... and she did GREAT!!! We are so proud and happy she is not scared of the water!!!

Sunset Beach

Almost 3 weeks ago we traveled to Sunset Beach for Miguel to attend the the NC Dental Society meeting. While he was busy attending the conference and meetings Susanna had a lot of fun playing on the beach with Grandad and GiGi. She loved walking along the water and sitting in the wet sand.

However she HATED the dry sand. This made her daddy really happy because he hates the dry sand too and is a water boy himself!! As of now it seems Susanna is going to be a water baby too and all the sand toys will have to wait till she is older!!




While we were at Sunset Beach Susanna got sick and spent the last two days feeling kinda yucky. When we got home I brought her to the dr, thinking she had another ear infection, but it ended up only being a virus she was fighting off. She is back to normal now and her only ailment is cutting lots of teeth. Miguel thinks she is cutting 4 molars and her canines as well. I guess it is best to just get it all done at once, huh?!?!

After we got home our neighborhood pool opened and just like last summer Susanna loved it! The water was a little cold but she didnt seem to mind at all. I think we are going to have a great summer at the pool. Do you like her new floatie??!

Flamingo Invasion

Our neighbors are raising money for a local gym and this years fundraiser involves flamingo yard art. It is soo much fun!! They sneak around and put lots of plastic flamingos in your yard and you have the choice to remove them or send them to a neighbors yard. Last night we were invaded by the flamingos!!!

Miguel and I actually caught them in the act. I saw a shadow go by the front door and thought someone was trying to break in. So Miguel rushed over and turned on all our outdoor lights and foyer light to try and scare them off. He heard lots of yelps and giggles and quickly realized it was the flamingo squad! I think we really gave them a fright!!


Susanna enjoyed exploring all the flamingos today. She was so cute walking around with them since some were the same height as she is.


She kept calling them ducks, but I think that is because duck is the only bird name she knows right now, haha!!


By the way, did you notice in the pics that we have grass now! The yard is finally finished and we love it!!!

Party Animal

For those who havent seen this in person, Susanna is really walking now!!! What a big girl :)


Susanna had a VERY busy weekend!! It all started Friday night with dinner out with Mommy and Daddy. She generally does pretty good at restaurants and this was another good trip. However she was seated right in the walk-way so as everyone passed she would either tap their back or rub their belly... it was funny for whoever walked by but really embarrassing to Miguel and I bc we had no way to get her to stop... she has really fast hands! Another new restaurant trick is saying "HI" to everyone and she will not stop until they say "HI" back. She will turn around in her seat and make sure she talks to everyone!! This too is a little embarrassing but we decided that only mean people would get annoyed with a cute baby saying HI :)


On Saturday Susanna started the day at Little Gym. Then after a LONG nap we headed to her friend Mackenzie's first birthday party. It was sooo much fun and Susanna had a great time playing with the birthday girl and all her other friends.

As soon as we got home from this party we went straight to the next... another first bday party for a neighbor. Susanna had her first taste of watermelon and LOVED it!! She was soo cute to watch eat it too, yummy yummy.


We also recently learned that Susanna can eat an apple all by herself. Until now I have been pealing the skin and cutting it into bite size pieces for her. Well no more work for me, she can do it all by herself!!! Once again, she is really cute to watch eat :)

Is it summer already??

Susanna has been fighting off allergies for the past 2 weeks and I have been right there with her! The poor girl has a runny nose and cough that seems to just get worse after being outside. I think we are coming to an end of the pollen invasion and I hope she is back to normal soon. She is still acting like her normal self... having fun, practicing her walking, and discovering new tricks everyday!!

Susanna decided to climb inside her toy basket but then got VERY upset when she discovered she she was stuck, soo funny!!!


Sissy and Susanna are having more and more fun together lately. Here is an example of the girls working together...


We have had to limit some of our outdoor activities but still are enjoying the beautiful weather in NC... mid to upper 80's and we even hit 90's this weekend. Since the 90's are kinda too hot and the sun is extra bright I have payed close attention to try and figure out how the shade travels around our house. I worry about my little blonde baby girl getting burnt!!! We are lucky to have morning shade in the back yard and afternoon shade on the driveway. I know we will have a fun spring and summer playing outdoors. Some of Susanna's new outdoor toys are a water table that she loves splashing, a bubble blowing lawn mower, a kid size picnic table, sidewalk chalk, bubble machine, and sand toys. We are REALLY going to have a good time!!! Check out Susanna's cute turtle swimsuit while playing at her water table, what a cutie!!!

These Boots Are Made For Walking....

Happy Easter

We hope that everyone had a wonderful Easter celebration. We had a great trip to Sunset Beach. The weather was so-so but we had a lot of fun taking walks on the beach, visiting Calabash and eating seafood, and just relaxing at the house.


Susanna even got a chance to REALLY discover the sand for the first time. She was at the beach last summer but too little to understand where she was. This time, she had a BLAST!! She loved the open space and just kept crawling everywhere!!!

She ate sand and I kinda think she liked it, yuck!!! At first I didn't want her to get too sandy but then decided she should be allowed to really explore... so she ended up in the tide pools and LOVED IT!!

She splashed and giggled and really really liked it. She was fully clothed and the weather and water were kinda chilly so I know she will like it even more this summer when the weather is better. After this adventure I am REALLY looking forward to our summer beach trips!!



Check out this video of her on the beach... eating sand!!



The Easter Bunny visited Susanna and she was very excited to see her Easter baskets. We tried to set up an egg hunt but she only made it to one egg and then was done, maybe next year right?!?! We gave her this hippo squirt gun and she kept chewing on it and, in my opinion, RUINING all the good pictures.

So I took it away from her in order to try and get a good shot of her Easter dress... well this is what happened, so sad :(


Speaking of Easter dresses... I had received the cutest, best Easter dress last year at one of my baby showers. I had been saving it for a year now, knowing that this would be the BEST Easter dress! Well, I was packing everything Thursday night and thought, hmmm maybe I should try this on her just in case. And guess what, IT DIDN'T FIT!! She was toooooo big and the buttons were not even close to being closed. I planned for her to wear a sweater and thought for a sec, "she could still wear this as long as we didn't take the sweater off. yeah, the back would be completely open but who would know but me" Then I came to my senses and decided it is just wrong to dress your 1 year old in too small of clothes just cause they are cute and haven't been worn. I have learned my lesson though.... never wait to wear an outfit, if it fits her now she is going to wear it; even if that means wearing an Easter dress to the park!!!


Susanna has been learning new tricks, and they all just started this weekend! She has begun to let go and stand on her own. When she does it she gets a HUGE smile on her face... you can tell she is proud of herself!! She has even begun to take a few steps. The most we have seen so far is about 5 steps. She will start by balancing herself and standing without holding on, then she will take a few steps with a HUGE grin on her face, and after she loses her balance and PLOPS down she starts to giggle. She LOVES the praise she gets too... lots of clapping and kisses from mommy and daddy!!! I cant wait to catch this on video, right now it happens soo sporadically that we haven't even got a pic. This is just the beginning of a new phase... and I CANT WAIT to have a walking toddler!!!

First Birthday Party!!

Saturday was Susanna and Ava's first birthday party!! Here are some pics from the day... we had a GREAT time and hope everyone enjoyed it as well. Thank you to all who came out out to the big event. Both Susanna and Ava had a BLAST, thank you for joining in our fun!!!



Susanna's Birthday Tutu!!! And look, she is wearing a hair bow too :)


This icing is squishy!


Uncle YoYo made me look like this :(


Yum Yum, chocolate cake!!

Check out Ava's new ride, Susanna loves it too!!

Daddy's and their birthday girls. HAPPY BIRTHDAY... WE LOVE YOU!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUSANNA

Susanna is officially one year old!!! I can not believe how fast the year has gone. I still see her as a little baby but she is practically a toddler now. She has grown and changed soo much in the past year... she went from a tiny squishy sleepy newborn to a chubby talking crawling beautiful little girl. We feel so blessed every day to be her parents and pray that we are teaching and helping guide her to be the best person she can be!

We have BIG plans to celebrate her special day. First we have decorated the house with all our birthday signs and Susanna will be SURPRISED by all of them when she wakes in the morning. She is going to love them!!! Next we will go to our favorite park, Pullen Park, with a group of our friends. We will get to ride the carousel, the train, and play on the playground too. We really love Pullen Park and are so happy we get to spend her birthday at such a fun place. After we are going to pick up dinner at daddy's favorite sub shop, Subconscious. When we get home Susanna has some special presents waiting for her. Miguel and I picked out some REALLY cute Little People play sets and are excited to watch her play with her new barn, airport, construction zone, school bus, and zoo. Oh the fun we will have!!!

Here are some pictures from the past year... then and now :)















HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY BEAUTIFUL GIRL... WE LOVE YOU!!!

Busy Busy

It has been a while since our last update. That is mostly because my computer is still broken. It is difficult to find the time to update the blog during the day with Susanna getting into everything and then the night seems to go soo quickly before I know it the clock says 10 and it is time for bed!! After looking into getting my computer fixed we discovered it is too expensive and just better to buy a new laptop. And as a surprise today Miguel bought me a new computer and it is up and running!! Now that I have my own hopefully the weekly posts will be consistent again!


We have been having a lot of fun lately... going to playgroups, taking walks, and getting ready for her big birthday party. Susanna is now 11.5 months and still doing a GREAT job cruising along the furniture. She is not walking on her own yet but just started walking behind her ride-on car and will push her learning table around the house. She definitely is impressing both Miguel and I every day!!! It really seems that everyday she is learning/practicing a new trick. She is just sooo amazing!

Susanna loves weeknights after Daddy gets home from work, they just have soo much fun together. Check out some of the fun adventures...



Daddy recently bought Susanna her FIRST TRACTOR. She loves pushing it around the kitchen and it really makes him happy she loves the farm too:) I think this picture shows her loving the tractor with a girly flare!!

Ohio and back

I have loaded the Ohio trip pictures to Miguel's computer and can now do the update as promised!!! BTW, I am feeling better, Miguel is on the mend, and Susanna is doing better on her Amoxicillin. It took a while to kick in but today she was fever free so I think that is a good sign!


We had a WONDERFUL time on our trip to Ohio. Joey, Susanna, and I drove up and everything went great in the car. She was soo well behaved in her car seat and I know that must of been very difficult considering it was a 9 hour drive. She entertained herself with her toys, enjoyed delicious snacks, and even got to watch a movie on Aunt Jill's DVD player! Grandma Hoelscher was very excited for our arrival. She had made many special treats for Susanna included vegetable soup, jello, and pumpkin cheesecake. This was Susanna's first jello experience so we decided it was best go without a shirt. She REALLY liked it!



While we were visiting we got to celebrate Grandpa Hoying's birthday. Susanna enjoyed visiting with all of my extended family.

Her new word favorite word is "HI" and she REALLY practiced A LOT. It is cute and she almost has a southern twang already!!

Grandpa Hoying brought us to the farm so Susanna could visit with all the animals. She saw the cows, a horse, chickens, lots of kittens, a farm dog, tractors, and the big red barn. She LOVED the farm and didn't even seem to be bothered by the smell :)







I had to be VERY flexible with Susanna's schedule since we were always on the go with lots of family to visit. Because of this she had many baths on location! She got to bathe at Cousin Mindy's house and Aunt Jane's! Both nights we had lots of fun with a little naked baby crawling around wanting to be chased. Mindy's daughters Morgan and Jada were WONDERFUL helpers with Susanna... playing with her, feeding her, and giving her bath. They will be GREAT babysitters one day :)







Susanna may be 11 months old but she has never been interested in holding her own bottle. I guess she decided it is our job and has never changed her mind. But to my surprise when Aunt Jane fed her she took the bottle from her and held it HERSELF!! I was shocked and amazed and proud of my little girl for finally being more independent.


However, since that time she has not even tried... IT WAS A ONE TIME THING I GUESS!! Apparently only Aunt Jane has the magic touch!

Yuck

Since we got home from Ohio (last Wed.) I have been sick, Miguel is super sick, and poor Susanna is sick. The whole family is sick together. Susanna has a really bad cold and cough plus a double ear infection, and the Dr. said she was cutting a molar. She is now on antibiotics but still not feeling so great and having fevers. Hopefully by next week we all will be back to normal.

Also, my computer is broken! It has all my pictures from our trip to Ohio so that combined with our family sickness is why I havent updated the blog. If I can figure out how to get the pictures on Miguels computer and get some energy tonight I might do a nice update with pics. Just wanted to let everyone know we are sorry it has been so long since any updates!

On the Road again...

Susanna, Uncle Yo Yo, and I are driving to Ohio to visit family tomorrow. We are leaving after Susanna's Little Gym class and it will probably take 8+ hours. Hopefully we will not have to stop too many times and I have stocked up on snacks to keep Susie occupied. We will be back mid next week and will update then. Have a nice weekend everyone :)

Its been a long week...

Sorry it has been a while since our last post. This has been a yucky week. First, Susanna had her first stomach bug starting on Sunday night. She had vomiting and diarrhea (I know, TMI) and I eventually brought her to the doctor on Friday morning because it seemed to be getting worse instead of better as the days passed. I was worried it might be an ear infection as well, but thankfully it wasn't. Just a yucky stomach virus that she had to slowly work through. She has been doing better and hopefully is over the worst. I just wonder... how does this girl get soo sick even though she is home with me all the time?? What would happen to her if she was in daycare, I don't even want to know!! Well to top off having to care for a sick baby, I got sick as well. I must of caught her bug and was up sick ALL Tuesday night. It was soo bad that as I was crawling back into bed after one of my many runs to the bathroom I woke Miguel to tell him he had to stay home from work to take care of both of us. I was just too sick to even move, let alone chase after our crazy monkey!! Thankfully Miguel was able to stay home and took very good care of us, THANKS DADDY :) We are both doing better and almost back to normal.

In other news, Susanna has started classes at The Little Gym. She really loves it and we are loving watching her learn and explore. We are looking forward to this semester of fun in the Birds class!

Today was BEAUTIFUL weather so Miguel and I took a walk to our neighborhood park and Susanna enjoyed the swing once again. She just loves it, cant you tell?!?!



Here are some random pics...

Susanna and Sissy looking out the window... these sisters have so much fun together!


Daddy and Susanna hiking and checking out the river


Now that Susanna has learned to pull up on my legs this is the face that I see ALL DAY LONG!!

Susanna-Saurus Rex

Susanna is always learning new tricks. Our latest favorite makes us think of her as a little dinosaur coming to get ya! Lately she LOVES knocking down anything that daddy stacks. We were lucky to capture a wonderful video of this... check it out!


Daddy found a great deal on a baby backpack carrier and we were able to try it out for a short while around the house. She seemed to be very comfortable and secure and Miguel was impressed as well. We are looking forward to the spring when we can go for a family hike at Umstead!


Susanna and Daddy have also been having a lot of fun with a toy daddy said he got for her but I really suspect it was just as much for him too. On a random trip to Walmart he bought a remote control Jeep. It really does look just like his Jeep and is a lot of fun!! In the days before Susanna we would of LOVED to chase Sissy around with this new toy but now a days it is used for Susanna's enjoyment. And actually, the dog barely paid attention except for the times she was being chased by the Jeep and frantically trying to get away!! I loved watching dad and daughter smile and laugh, they had a blast!!

Snow Day!!

Not only is today the first snow day for NC but it is Susanna's First Snow too!! It started snowing very early this morning and has continued throughout the day. We woke up to about 2" on the ground and it was really snowing hard. Right now we have 6" of snow and it has just started to slow down. We took Susanna for a snow walk and she LOVED IT!! She really does enjoy cold, windy air so the blowing snow was great for her. Miguel and I are both winter people and today was such a wonderful treat!!! We LOVE snow and it was soo special to be able to share her first snow moment together as a family. We look forward to future years when she is old enough to play in the snow and Miguel is going to teach her his sledding skills :)

Here are some pictures from our snowy adventure today. We had soo much fun and are sad to see it stop snowing (Miguel is the saddest of us all).

Fuzzy

Yes, we DO brush her hair... it just has a mind of its own :)

Happy New Year

Happy 2009 everyone!! It is really hard to believe 2008 is already over. 2008 was the year Miguel graduated, passed his dental boards, became a real dentist, and the year Susanna was born!! Now I have to say she was born LAST YEAR, so sad :( She really is growing up so fast. Her crawling is getting faster everyday. She seems to get faster every time she wakes up. It is like she has stored up some energy and it is putting it to use. She loves to explore the house and has recently started exploring our cabinets as well.

We are starting to baby proof and are having a little trouble finding gates that fit our stairs. Why can't it just be easy!!

Miguel was lucky to have some extended time off during the holidays to spend with us but he has now gone back to work. It is sad not to have him home with us anymore, we sure miss Daddy!


Susanna has cut another tooth, this one on the bottom. And the matching tooth is on its way as well. So her tooth count very soon will be 8, 4 on top and 4 on the bottom. She has been extra cranky and you can tell those poor gums hurt her. She has become VERY PROTECTIVE of her mouth and brushing her teeth is now a two person job. We try not to make it too traumatic for her but sometimes she really puts up a fight. She has a child size tooth brush that we let her chew on every so often to help clean those teeth and doing it herself is much easier for her. Now Miguel just needs to teach her The Bass Method: Sulcular Brushing Technique. HeHe :)


Susanna is really enjoying her Christmas presents, especially her new learning table. Look at how well she stands and plays, what a big girl!! She also loves her new music car. She loves to go for a ride!!




Tomorrow is her 9 month check-up with more shots, boo