April Recap!

It's so hard for me to believe that May is only a few days away. For an educator, May signifies so many things. Most importantly, it means the end of the school year is near! 

April was a super busy month for us and it also brought us much sadness. On Wednesday, April 17th, we lost our sweet Mischa girl. Jose and I got her when we had been dating for about two years. Jose lived at home until we were married, so Mischa lived with him, his parents, and his Sis. Once we were married, we decided to leave Mischa at his house, because of the unbreakable bond Jose's Dad shared with her. She was a very special member of our family, and she is missed every day. We love you sweet girl, and know you are playing with Mee Mee and Tiff in Heaven. We will see you again! 

Jose was in one of his best friends wedding, a few days later, so it was a good distraction for the entire family. It was wonderful celebrating with family and friends on the beautiful USD campus. They were married in the unbelievable Immaculata Parish. It was such a beautiful mass and we were so honored to be part of their special day. Congrats Ana y Victor. We love you!

We also had a very special visit from my dearest friend Kirsten and her daughter Madeline and son Theo. The girls are just so sweet together and Ella loved meeting Theo. He was such a good little man the whole time, and just sat on my lap contently when I held him. It made me miss the early months when Ella was just a little Be. I know these three will always have a special bond. Just like their Mama and me!

Ella's Gigi(my Mom) has been taking her to Safari Park every Tuesday when she watches her. She has LOVED every minute, and absolutely loves spending time with her Gigi. My Mom said she is getting more and more familiar with the animals, and each time she enjoys it even more. I can't wait to spend many summer days at the park together. Thanks Gigi for taking such good care of our Be. We are so lucky to have you.

My nephew, Garin, recently got a cell phone for emergencies. Well lately emergencies have been lots of texts and some FaceTime chats with Ell. They are so cute, and Ella just loves her cousins. Gar is a lot like his Auntie and has the biggest, sweetest, most sensitive heart. Getting sweet text messages from him just warms my heart. I love you buddy!

This weekend felt so much like Summer. It was absolutely beautiful out, so we soaked up as much sun as we could! On Saturday, Jose and Ella went over to his parents to visit for a few hours. Once they returned home, we had a very relaxing afternoon playing with Ella's water table and taking many walks/rides on her trike. We grilled some yummy filets for dinner, and called it a night fairly early.

Sunday we spent the morning at the park. Ella loves the outdoors and played super hard for a few hours. She was obsessed with the sand, her truck(thanks Grandpa Doug and Deb), and her shovels. At about 10:15, she said,  "go Mama", and pointed to the car. We love how she can now tell us when she's done. Before she would just give us her done sign, now she uses her words! We love it and I cannot wait for more words to come. 

 After her too short of a nap, we headed to the Flower Fields in Carlsbad. I had the genius idea that we should take Ella to see all the beautiful flowers because she is OBSESSED with flowers. She picks them any chance she gets. Well.... not so genius Mom. Let's take the girl who loves to pick flowers, to a place filled with beautiful flowers that you CANNOT pick!! She was not a happy girl. In some of the pics below you can see her crossing the green tape. That was a big no, no! So were all the flowers she picked. Sorry Flower Fields. We also didn't realize that it was a huge tourist trap. We tend to forget we live in a city where people come to visit. It was a big fail, but the flowers were beautiful and we were able to bring some home with us. 

Note to self: Next time, let's just see them out the window on the way to the beach.

Thanks for catching up with us. We hope your month was as fun as ours. I am eagerly awaiting summer vacation, where I can spend every day with my sweet girl. We have many more memories to be made. 

A Morning of Fun!

This morning Ella and I headed over to her favorite little buddies house for a morning of fun. Ella just loves to play. Add a buddy to the mix and she is one happy little Be. Dono and Ella have been friends since they were born, and I have loved watching their little friendship evolve. They are just so sweet together and they get along so well. It also gives Megs and I a chance to catch up and visit. It doesn't get much better than that! 

Here are a few sweet picks from their morning. They just melt my heart!

Ella absolutely loves Dono's work bench. She heads right for it when she comes in the house. Maybe we should've gotten her one of these instead of her kitchen!

I brought over some coffee and a treat(lemon loaf) for the littles and they loved it!

Ella loves to give abrazos(hugs)! I was dying over how cute they were hugging today. This one is a keeper. Maybe we can duplicate it 15 years from now. Now that would be even cuter! And Dono's sweet little hands wrapped around her is just so precious. They are so sweet.

Megs and Dustin have the perfect little playroom in their garage. Ella was OBSESSED with the slide. Donovan was so gentle with her and he loved sharing all his fun toys with her. She is pretty lucky to have such a sweet friend!

They zoomed around outside for a bit

and played with some chalk of course!

After about 3 hours of playing hard, they decided to take a break while Auntie Megs made Ella and Dono lunch. Dono was having a very relaxing time until Ella invaded his space. You can see his excitement. We thought it was pretty sweet!

A lovely prayer before lunch.

  

And then it was time to go! Someone needed a nap desperatley(it was 1:00!) and was beginning to fall apart. Once we got home, she had a few more snacks, a quick bottle, and Be was off to bed. 

Thanks for such a wonderful day Megs and Dono. We love coming over and spending time with you both. Let's do it again soon!!

A Special Delivery

When I got home from work today, I had a special delivery waiting for me........ An unexpected letter from my dearest friend Kirsten. Inside I found the sweetest note and some new pictures of her sweet daughter Madeline and their recent family picture. I can't tell you how much this made my day!

She even included a treat for me because we can't get coffee together!

Kirsten and I have been friends since we were born! We grew up together, have taught together, have seen each other get married, have babies, and the list goes on. She is the exact definition on what a TRUE friend really is. The kind of friend you can always count on, no matter what!

When Kirsten moved to Park City to be closer to her parents (my dad and step mom live their too!) I was heartbroken. I still remember when she drove off, car loaded with her entire classroom that she just packed up. Although we wouldn't be able to see each other every day or talk on the phone every night, I knew we would still remain close and that she would still be that constant rock in my life.

Thank you for being the person you are, for always being there when I need you, and for making the end of a very long week super special.