Oh my how she has grown!

Well, here she is just a few minutes old. Born on Oct. 31st at 1:47 am. We have loved every single moment of Sofia. She has blossomed into such a sweet little girl. We are truly blessed and are so happy to be chosen as her parents.

Sofia's baptism day!

Sofia's first Christmas -- just 7 weeks old. Feliz Navidad!Ahhhhhh. As sweet as sweet can get.Sisters forever.....A smile to show off her new bottom teeth! 8 Months old.
1 year old -- cute as a bug!
Sweet Sofia at 2 years old

Little Sofia is 3! Happy Halloween!

Happy Birthday to our little Halloween pumpkin! She's 3 today! Isnt' she gorgeous?! She began her bithday with a trip to the mall with her Aunt Kristi for her very first Build-a-Bear. She chose a pink and white dog and named her Ozzy. She then got to pick out a pink princess outfit for Ozzy. Her special time with Aunt Kristi also included lunch at the Mustard Seed, where she got a drink with an umbrella in it! Audriana was at school, so I was free for a few hours to get ready for the party. Each year I make a huge pot (actually, 2 pots) of soup. It's similar to a mexican pozole soup, but with chicken and lots more veggies. It's so good and everyone looks forward to it. Except for the kids. They had cheese pizza. More soup for us! Mom and Jay, Aunt Tonn, Mike, Kristi, Jennifer, Sid, Joye and Maria, and Lisa and the boys were our guests. Lisa drove over 2 hours from Ephrata with Ryan, Noah and Micah to be with us. She then drove back to Ephrata after the party and trick-or-treating. The kids had such a good time. Sofia loved every part of her day -- I felt the pure joy and happiness that came shining though each one of her smiles. It was so awesome.......

It was the year of the "Princess" and the "Vampire"!


Here is Sofia, sitting so proud, in front of her princess cake. Leading up to her birthday, she made it clear that she was going to be a princess on her birthday and have a princess cake. She got her wish!

Princess Sofia of Spokane

Presents of princess barbies, princess crowns, princess dresses, princess jewlery, gloves and a purse were all the rage!

Ryan and Audriana....um, I mean, Darth Vader and a scary Vampire.....eating pizza.

A dinner fit for a 3 year old princess -- cheese pizza.

The gang - Sofia, Maria, Audriana, Ryan and Noah.

Sid, Joye, and Maria

TRICK OR TREAT!

A Soccer video

Audriana was on fire today at her game -- did a really good job of passing the ball to other team mates, and she even scored 3 goals (although, she likes to embellish the story and says she scored 4). More and more we are hearing the coaches (from both teams) yell "No Hands" at Audriana as she tries to "muscle" her way down the field.

Just some cute pictures of Sofia.....

Sofia is eagerly awaiting her birthday party. If you've talked to Sofia in the past 3 or 4 weeks, she has undoubtedly told you (over and over again) that she is going to be a princess for her Halloween birthday party. She knows she is turning 3, but most of the time she will tell you that she is turning 10. She is quite a kid -- so full of fun and wonder. We are amazed at how much she has grown up this past year.....and treasuring every moment of it.

Another tooth bites the dust!

Audriana has been wiggling that last top front tooth for what seems like weeks now! Last night it was really loose -- so I extended my usual offer of help to pull it out. "NO MAMA!" - were her exact words (said with a hint of discust in her voice). I knew she would say that. Anyway, at about 3:15 this afternoon my cell phone rang (I was at work). I saw that it was Martin's cell calling, but I was busy, so decided to let it go to voicemail. A few minutes later I checked the message and it was from Audriana. Here is what it said: "Mama, please call me back as soon as you can....you are not going to believe it......I lost my tooth at school today! Call me." She sounded like such an adult leaving that message. Anyway, I called her back and she told me the exciting news that it came out during lunch. I think that must happen to every kid at least once, doesn't it? Here is her new smile.

A beautiful Fall train ride

We were able to witness one of the most beautiful sights last Sunday when we drove 2 hours north of Spokane to catch the "Fall Train Tour" from Ione to Metaline Falls, Wa. This was a fun day and a good end to Audriana's birthday weekend. The Bennett's, Aunt Kristi, Eileen and Cheyenne came with us. It could not have been a more perfect Fall day -- crisp, cold, clear, sunny, and cold (did I already say cold?). We boarded the antinque train cars a bit late because I thought the train left at 11:30am, but it actually left at 11am, so we got up there just in the nick of time. Whew! We reallly wanted to sit in the "open air" cars, but they were full -- Kristi was thrilled and led us into the warm, covered cars where we sat in first class comfort. It worked out really well. We all had a great time viewing the scenery. Here are some pictures of the trip.

The train stopped half way through the trip and we were "robbed" by these bandits that boarded the train and took our money!

After the train ride, we decided to stop at a local park to have some snacks that we had packed and let the kids run around and play before we got back on the road to Spokane.

Reflections of Audriana

I just can't believe that Audriana is 6. I wanted to reflect for a few minutes on her and post some pictures of her from the past few years. She has been the most wonderful daughter that we could ever ask for. From the moment she was born she has been our "center". Our Audriana is beautiful, focused, a bit on the shy and quite side, observant, smart, a total tomboy, creative, musical, athletic, loving, artistic, independant, tough, and so amazing in every way!