Nature Walk...

Since the weather has been nicer, I try to go on a 1 mile speed walk around my neighborhood at least 3 times a week with my girls. I put Peyton in the front pack and Sophia in the stroller and out we go to enjoy the fresh air. There's nothing Sophia loves more than to be outside and on our walks. She'll point out flowers, rocks, pine cones, the moon, clouds and cars. She always comes back with her pockets full of rocks or pine cones. It's also a learning time for her as well, because if she points to a flower, I'll ask her what color the flower is or how many pine cones she sees. P.S. She can now count to 7!

Through my child's eyes...

Last Friday we went to the park with my good friend Kristen. I was snapping away as usual and taking a ton of pictures of Sophia playing. Sophia saw me and wanted to take a picture of Kristen with my camera. Taking an extremely huge chance here, I handed over the camera and showed her the button to push to take a picture. I guess I wanted to see a picture from her perspective. This is what she captured and I love it!

Go, Go, Go...

This weekend was one of our busiest yet, but we couldn't seem to sit still or stay indoors with the gorgeous weather we were blessed with! And in Oregon, you have to take advantage of the sunny days when we do get them!

Friday morning I went to pick up my bride's maids dress for my best friend, Piper's, wedding that I will be in on May 8th. It's simple, black and slimming, thank God! I had to guess on a size since I was pregnant when we went to pick out the dresses and get fitted for a size. Thankfully, it fit! It's still a bit tight around the ribs, but I'm hoping in three weeks, I will have lost a little more weight and it will fit better. After getting my dress, I went to my mother in laws to pick up the girls. Then we headed out to Gresham to go see my good friend Kristen. We picked her up from work, then went to the park. When we were parking the ice cream truck arrived, so we stopped and got an ice cream for Sophia. She thought it was such a special treat! We laid out a big beach towel and sat down to enjoy the sun. While Sophia enjoyed her ice cream, Kristen and I got to visit. It was such a warm and beautiful day! Peyton was an angel the entire time and slept in her car seat. After finishing off her treat, Sophia was ready to play! I had brought a big container of bubbles and was blowing them for her to run after and pop. She absolutely loves bubbles! And I guess so does every other kid her age because once I started blowing them, kids turned and looked and wanted to come pop them with Sophia. Their was one little boy that played with Sophia, popping bubbles, for quite some time. They were giggling and running around together. It was cute to see her interact with the kids at the park. Then we took her over to the swings, the slide, and the play structure. I love that Sophia is content and totally memorized by inexpensive entertainment, such as bubbles and the park. And I am really enjoying this age! After a few hours at the park we dropped Kristen off and headed home. Sophia must have worn herself out at the park, because she fell asleep on the ride home.






Saturday morning my mother in law and father in law picked up Sophia and took her to their friend's daughter's birthday at the Portland Children's Museum. While she was off doing that, my sister in law,Katie came over and we did a little browsing/shopping at Target and Nordstrom Rack. So many people were out shopping getting spring and summer clothing and sandals. I got a couple pairs myself with a gift card I had received for my birthday. Thanks Auntie Shannon! After our shopping trip we headed back to my house and then Barbara dropped off Sophia. She had so much fun at the Children's Museum and had even brought home a mask she had made there. I am hoping to take her back, because I would love to do crafts and play there with her!


I was able to spend a few hours with the girls, before I had to head down town for my best friend's bachelorette party. I met all the girls at Hotel Vintage. They had rented a room to stay in for the night for those who wanted to. We had a drink and them headed out to Rock Bottom Brewery, a yummy restaurant down on 2nd. It was packed!!! The food was delicious and the atmosphere was really fun!

After that, I headed home, but not before getting stuck in the parking garage elevator with my the bride, Piper, and our friend Christina. I have to admit, we all got a little nervous and were wondering how long we were going to be stuck in there! Thankfully the guy on the other side that was waiting to get into the elevator, pried the doors open so we could get out! I headed home to see my hubby and girls and fell asleep the moment my head hit the pillow!

Sunday morning we made a few pits stops at various places, then got a coffee and headed out to my parents place in Sandy. I couldn't wait to get there and sit out in the sun! My brothers and Jeff all have air soft guns so they have these air soft wars out on their property.

While they were doing that, me, my little sis, my mom, Sophia and Peyton all hung out on the back patio relaxing and soaking up the rays while my dad grilled sliders on the BBQ.



We enjoyed a yummy lunch, relaxed on the back patio some more and jumped on the trampoline, and around 7pm headed for home. After getting the girls baths and down for bed, Jeff and I were exhausted after a busy weekend and couldn't wait to get some much needed shut eye! So off to bed we went!

I swear, we didn't sit down the entire weekend, but when we get such nice weather like we had, I want to enjoy and do as much as possible, and I think we did just that! Jeff and I are looking so forward to the summer so we can have many more weekends like this last one!

Easy and Delicious...

I tried this new recipe a couple of days ago when my mom and little sister came over for dinner. I was a little nervous about how it would turn out, but it ended up being quite simple and turned out to be a easy and delicious dinner! It has a gourmet taste to it, as if you spent hours in the kitchen, however the whole meal including prep, takes about a half hour! I just thought I would share it with you all if you were needing some inspiration in the kitchen! Enjoy!

Sun-Dried Tomato Alfredo~

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup cream cheese
• 1/4 cup sun-dried tomato packed in oil, chopped
• 10 ounces frozen chopped spinach
• 1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, quartered
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• salt, to taste
• pasta, cooked (shells or penne)

Directions

1. Melt butter in large skillet over medium-low heat, and whisk in flour to form a paste.

2. Gradually stir in milk until well combined and somewhat thickened.

3. Add cream cheese and stir until melted.

4. Increase heat to medium, add sun-dried tomatoes, frozen spinach, artichoke hearts, garlic powder and pepper.

5. Stir frequently for several minutes until hot and thickened. (if it seems too thick, add more milk).

6. Reduce heat to low, stir in parmesan and cook (stirring frequently) for a minute or two more.

7. Salt to taste and stir into individual bowls of pasta.

Growing Girls...

I can't believe how fast the time has been flying by these past 2 1/2 months. Ever since I had Peyton and have been busy keeping up with my two girls, I feel like I just begin my week and then I wake up and it's already Sunday! The days seem to blur together ever since I quit working and became a stay at home mom, however, I wouldn't have it any other way! I love taking care of my girls and getting to spend every day with them!

Sophia is a little sponge right now and is learning so many new things such as shapes, colors, and numbers. Her favorite color is "Beuuw" (Blue) and her favorite letters are "W" & "M". She can also sing her ABC's and can identify an oval, circle, square, triangle, and rectangle. She also has become quite the "little mommy" and carries her baby doll around in my Baby Bejorn front carrier and puts her baby in Peyton's baby swing. She continues to love to be involved in every activity with Peyton and helps me bathe her, feed her with a bottle, and change her diaper. I LOVE that she loves to help me with Peyton. She recently cut her back molars which resulted in a week of drooling like crazy, a runny nose, being feistier than normal and not sleeping through the night. Thankfully we are past that milestone and survived, lol. Sophia still loves being outdoors and is constantly wanting to go in our backyard to dig in the dirt with her shovel and trowel, blow bubbles, or draw with her chalk she got for Easter. I think she takes after me in the sense that she can't sit still and is always going from one activity to the next! She is a busy little girl! She is also growing like a weed and is 28 lbs and in the 75th percentile for her height. I can't keep her in any clothes or shoes these days. She now wheres a 3T in most clothes and a size 7 1/2 -8 in shoes. I'm curious to see if Peyton will be tall like Sophia or take after my side and be short.? As much as Sophia loves to be independent, she still is such a "Mommy's girl" and loves to snuggle and will come up to me out of no where and give me a kiss. It melts my heart! She also loves it when I call her my "special girl". She has so much personality at this age and though she can be quite the feisty little thing, she also has such a sensitive, loving spirit. I love waking up every day to her yelling "mommy" from the top of the stairs and snuggling with her for the first 15 minutes of our morning as she continues to slowly wake up. Never does a day go by that she doesn't make me laugh or wow me by what she understands and comprehends.

Sophia carrying her baby in the front pack

Doing the dishes

Mom's little helper

Standing on her tip-toes

Awww Peyton...my little peanut. This girl has me wrapped completely around her little 2 1/2 month old finger. Every time she smiles, I swear the room lights up! Her eyes are so big with wonder and excitement and she is such a happy and content little girl! She has now been cooing, smiling and laughing for a few weeks and just rolled over from her tummy to her back a few days ago. When I lay her on her blanket on the ground, she constantly kicks her legs and squirms, like she's already wanting to get up and go! Her main focus and goal right now seems to be to put her fist in her mouth. She will sit there focusing on it and bring it slowly towards her face, as her little tongue hangs out of her mouth. It is so adorable to watch! Due to my lack of milk production, she is now being supplemented with formula. I'm trying like crazy to keep my milk coming in because I know how important the vitamins and nutrition are for her immune system, but it seems like the harder I try the less milk I make. I drink the Mother's Milk Tea, pump often and drink water by the gallons. But what can you do? As of right now she is taking in 50% breast milk and 50% formula. Her system seems to be agreeing with my milk and formula because she too is growing like a weed and is gaining weight! I have a big stack of clothes she has already grown out of and my arms now cramp after holding her for a long period of time. She no longer feels like a feather, lol. She had about a two week period after she was first born where she was gassy and had a hard time sleeping, but let me tell ya, this little angel has more than made up for it! She wakes up once a night at 2:30am and sleeps until around 7:30/8:00am, which is around the time that Sophia wakes up. She is quite the cuddle bug and will sleep for hours during the day if she's in the front pack against my chest or laying next to me in our bed. Just like her big sis, Peyton loves bath time and is now to the point where she splashes water all over me when she kicks her legs in her little bath tub. She is getting sooo strong! I can't wait to see how much she's grown when I take her in for her next check up.

All smiles!

Focusing so hard on her fist

Look at those eyes!

Both of my girls are so special and fun in their own way. I love being on the go with Sophia and yet, I enjoy having quiet time rocking Peyton just as much! Girls are so much fun!

SHOW YOUR SUPPORT!

Since April is National Child Abuse Awareness Month, I wanted to take this opportunity to encourage you to support this cause and make a difference. Having two little girls of my own makes the horrific act of child sex trafficking hit that much closer to home! Thinking of these innocent little children that are forced into a life where they are used for their bodies just makes my heart ache! So I have designed a bracelet and necklace that you can purchase, wear, and show your stand against child abuse! And 50% of the proceeds will go directly to Compassion First, a volunteer based organization that helps to rescue children and women enslaved in human trafficking in Indonesia. These will be for sale during the entire month of April. They also make great gifts and have a wonderful meaning behind them! Thank you for your support in this important cause! If financially you are unable to purchase either of these pieces, please pray for these children and women and I would greatly appreciate it if you could pass the word along to your family and friends. Thank you so much!

(photo courtesy of Compassion First)

Silver Tulip Bracelet $15.00 (still available!)

Natural colored braided leather is looped twice, and from it hangs a dainty hand pounded tulip charm that is made by the Karen tribe in Thailand. Accenting this charm is a small blue cat's eye bead (blue is the National Child Abuse Awareness color). The crimp beads and clasp are all sterling silver so it won't rust. Comfortable, casual, and lightweight, this bracelet is a great way to spread the word and show your support!

Silver Lotus Necklace $30.00 (sold out)

A gorgeous hand pounded Hill Tribe Silver Lotus pendant is suspended from a dainty sterling silver chain. Accenting the pendant is a elegant freshwater pearl.
*Though this specific charm is sold out, I am currently in the process of getting some more that are very similar with the lotus flower on them, they are just a bit smaller. Let me know if you are interested and I can make another necklace very similar in style to this one and 50% of the proceeds will be donated to Compassion First.