Christmas 2008

Amaya, almost 4
Alivia, 20 mos.

The kids at Christmas, 2008

Wow, another Christmas has come and gone, and we are into a new year. The holidays were great this year. We decided to host both Christmas Eve and Christmas night at our house. Usually we go to both of my parent's houses on Christmas Day. But to make it a little easier, we decided to try it out this year, and it went well. Christmas Eve, my dad, stepmom, sister, brother and Grandparents came to open presents. It was so nice to see everyone. The kids had a great time opening all their gifts, and seeing their relatives. Unfortunately, we only see my grandparents several times a year, as they live out of state. It was great to see them happy and healthy. I don't have many pics of Christmas to post, because my camera broke...The pics above are the ones they took at JCPenny for the holidays. Aren't they cute, or should I say, isn't Alex just handsome? LOL...

Halloween Pics-2008

The daycare kids at the Halloween party...

Hi! It's been a while since I posted, but just thought I would share the pics from Halloween! The kids all dressed up and had a great time. Both Amaya and Alivia were fairies. They were too cute. Alex was the ghost from the movie "Scream".. This is the first year that we thought Alex could go off with his neighborhood friends, and go trick or treating with them. He had a great time. During trick or treating, Alivia followed her big sister up to the doors to get candy, and said "trick or treat". It was so cute. They all came home with a TON of candy. Isn't that the fun part, that the parents have all this candy in the house.. I'm really trying to not eat it! LOL

Amaya & Alivia getting ready to go out, Alivia is saying "Cheeeessseee!" Amaya wanted eye makeup that we bought, but then rubbed it off before I took this pic, and that is why she has makeup on one eye! LOL

Alex, Amaya & Alivia all together...aren't they cute?

Alivia saying "Cheese"again.. She just loves taking pictures.. and is definitely is not camera shy!

Amaya dressed up in her fairy costume... she is getting so big! She will be 4 in January.






Thanks for looking, and stay tuned for more posts, as the Holiday season is near!!

Take care everyone....

Our Family Vacation July 2007

Amaya & Alivia at the Aquarium...

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

Terrance & Amaya riding the gondola at Santa Cruz.



Pics of Amaya & Alivia at the beach.


Terrance, I and the girls went on a family vacation during the 2nd week of July. (Alex was away visiting his dad in WA.) We went to Santa Cruz and Monterey, CA. It was so nice to get away from the city for a little bit. We left on Tuesday and came back on Thursday. First we stayed at Santa Cruz and went to the beach boardwalk. That was pretty nice. It's right on the ocean, and they have tons of things for kids to do as well as the adults! Amaya and her daddy rode the gondola (the cart that takes you across the park from up high.) Amaya really enjoyed that, although I thought she was going to be scared. But not with daddy there. She wanted to ride it again, as soon as she got off. We ate lunch there and then we sat out by the beach and let the girls play in the sand and make sandcastles. That was fun. They really enjoyed the beach and being in the water. Santa Cruz is a really nice small town. We drove around a little bit and saw some of the town. It was really crowded when we went too, probably because it's summer time and everyone wanted to escape the heat (and smoke) here in Sacramento. The next day, we went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I love the picture of Amaya and Alivia sitting on the fish. It was so neat to see all there is to see. The girls loved getting so close to all the huge fish and sharks! I took a few pictures of the fish. They especially loved Splash Cove, which is designed for little kids to play. They had slides and things to climb and ride on. It was a great vacation in all.

Summer Dayz!

Amaya and Alivia getting wet!

Alivia just loves the water...


Our beautiful Amaya....
Alex and the garden..




Can't believe that Summer is here already. Here are a few pics of the kids, enjoying time outside in the water. Alex likes to garden, and here is a pic of him with his tomato plants that he planted. The girls love to play in the water (who doesn't?) LOL.

Alex "graduates" from Elementary School!

Alex & I at the graduation ceremony...

Alex and Me at the graduation ceremony.
Alex and his "Tennessee" float. Alex starring in "Grease Lightening" at his school. That's him with the green thing on. (left) Alex receiving his award for Completion of Elementary Studies. (below)






It's hard to believe that my kids are growing up so fast. One minute they start Kindergarten, next thing you know, they are off to middle school. In the area that we live in, middle starts at 6th grade! So yes, Alex is starting middle school in August. He and his fellow classmates at North Country Elementary had a ceremony, celebrating their accomplishments in elementary on May 29th, 2008. He really enjoyed the fifth grade. He had a great teacher, and did same great things. To mention some, he went on his first 3 day trip with his class to Redwood Alliance, and camped out there. He also had to complete a float for the state of Tennessee, and received an "A" on it (yea Alex!), and he starred in a school play, titled "Grease Lightening", just like the movie Grease. His role was the nerdy guy, Eugene! LOL. He had a great time, and he really likes to perform, which is a great quality in him. I hope he keeps this up, and maybe he will be in theatre! Well, the good thing is that his new school, Wilson C. Riles Middle/Junior High is a really nice school! It's a huge campus too. Most of his classmates and friends will be going there as well, so it won't be too much of a culture shock for him! He will have different teachers and periods to get used to of. I think it will be great for him, because he will be able to be around older kids too, and not just kids his same age. I hope/know it will be a positive experience, and I know that he is anxious to start. He keeps telling me how many days are left, so that is a sign that he is anticipating this new endeavour of his. Stay tuned for pics of him starting school in Aug.

Day in the Life of a Daycare Provider

Two lil' buddies play...

The kids love to play outside... And like to ride in
the wagon...



After having my third child, I decided that it was important for me to stay home and be with them, during their early years. At that time, I thought, why not become a home daycare provider, so that I can still have an income, stay home and help other families that need daycare. So, I started the (long) process last summer and became licensed in October, and got my first families in November, and have been going strong since. I'm happy that I made that decision. I will have 4 families enrolled as of early Aug, and 6 children enrolled, including Amaya and Alivia. And yes, they keep me on my toes! LOL! They
are all under age 3. They are so happy to have friends come over and play with them. We like to go to the park when we can, or just play outside with each other. They really get along great, and have lots of fun. I plan on having my daycare at least until Alivia starts Kindergarten, and we'll see how it goes from there. I've really become attached to the little ones in my care, and happy that I am their provider.

Alivia's First Birthday!

Alivia eating her Yummy Birthday Cake!

Alivia trying to grab the cake when we were singing to her.

We celebrated Alivia's first birthday with a party on April 12, 2008. We can't believe that she is already 1 yrs. old. She really started everything so fast, from crawling at 6 mos and walking at 9 mos! We definitely were shocked, although Amaya was an early walker as well. Friends and family came over to the house and celebrated with us and we BBQ'd. We saw some friends that we have not seen in a while, and that was nice. She received a lot of great presents and she ate some of her yummy birthday cake! She is looking more and more like Amaya for sure. She reminds us of when Amaya was little, although she is a lot different character wise. She is a dare devil! She is not afraid of anything! LOL. She learned the word "NO" quick too! When she is asked to do something, her answer of course is "NO". But she is extremely smart too. She knows mostly all the names of her body parts, and learning and saying new words all the time. She is so cute. I think it truly helps having 2 older siblings too, especially one pretty close in age. They play well together, but, to no surprise, there are times when they don't too!