Long time no post!

Our very first Christmas Card Picture
(Phoebe and Piper were so sick and grouchy during the photo shoot.  I'm thrilled we got any pictures at all)

Wow, I can hardly believe that it has been months since my last post.  The start of the school year was wonderful but crazy for me.  I love and adore my new school and my students.  They keep me very busy but it is good.

Piper and Phoebe are growing SO much!  They bring such joy to both James and I.  The girls turned 18 months on November 17th.  Here's a quick update on both girls...

Piper loves to smile, wave at everyone, and blow kisses.  She is learning how to do many different animal sounds.  Her favorites are the kitty, chicken, and her fish face.  Piper loves dogs, especially our pug Molly.  Piper has recently discovered chicken nuggets, oh my goodness does she love them!

Phoebe is hilarious!  She loves to run and play.  Just like Piper, Phoebe loves her dog Molly and can do a variety of animal sounds.  My favorite sound she does is her kitty because she tilts her head every time she does it.  I swear it melts my heart each and every time.  Phoebe is our little eater.  She loves food and will try almost anything.  Her current favorite is her Ama's (Gramdma's) spaghetti.

Both girls are Daddy's girls through and through.  From the moment they wake up to the moment they go to sleep they are asking for Dada or looking for Dada or playing with Dada.

Each day is so exciting with Piper and Phoebe in our lives.  We are blessed beyond words to have such loving, fun, and silly girls to share our lives with!

Red Hill Elementary

So, a couple weeks before school started I got a call from Red Hill Elementary asking me if I would like to interview for a 2nd grade position.  I was beyond thrilled and honored to have the opportunity to interview.  The interview must have gone well because the next day I got a call from my district office asking if I would like to accept a transfer to Red Hill.  As the woman asked me I started crying and jumping up and down on the other end of the phone.  Wahoo!!!!  This was an answer to prayer.  Since school was about to start I needed to get to work quickly on setting up my new classroom.  I took a short video of my classroom before I moved in and then a video after I had moved most of my stuff in.

Before

After

I would like to give a very special thank you to my mom and dad who worked their booty's off helping me in my classroom and to James for working in my class, watching the babies, and being such a great support system.

I LOVE everything about my new school.  It is such a blessing in my life!

Monday Fun-Day (Huntington Beach)!

Monday Fun-Day!

Surf Museum in Oceanside 

Monday Fun-Day!

Monday Fun-Day (US Open- Huntington Beach)!!!

I'm VERY impressed with James picture taking skills!

Monday Fun-Day!

Family Beach Day 

Happy 4th of July!

Yesterday was a big day in the Valencia household.  It was our wonderful Auntie Natalie's birthday (She was away so we could not celebrate with her this year), it was our nations Birthday, and Piper and Phoebe decided they both wanted to start walking yesterday!  Both girls had been walking around the furniture, walking holding our hands, and walking with their baby walkers for months now so it was really just a matter of time before they got the courage to walk on their own.

Our 1st Family Vacation

Last week James, Piper, Phoebe and I headed out for our very first family road trip/vacation to Palm Desert.  On our way out we made a stop at the aerial tram in Palms Springs.  I had never been on the tram and didn't know what to expect.  WOW.....when I first saw it I could not believe how high it went.  I hate to admit it but I was scared!  I put my fear aside and ended up having a great time.  At the top of the mountains we did a little hiking and gazing at the amazing view.

The condo that we stayed in for the week was beyond AMAZING!  Piper and Phoebe were in heaven crawling around and exploring everything.  They both even tried to help me un-pack.

Thank you Sweet Phoebe

The view of the golf course from our patio

While in the desert we enjoyed some good pool time (it was the girls first time in the pool), yummy dinners, and most importantly relaxing time just doing nothing in the air conditioning because of course it was just our luck that Palm Desert was having record heat the week we were there (It topped out at 126 degrees!).

Monday Fun-Day!

The original plan for the day was to spend the day at Sea World.  Well good thing I checked my free teacher fun card because I realized that I had missed the date to active my card....boo hoo!!!  Good thing James is so sweet and flexible that we quickly changed plans to make Monday Fun-Day a Disneyland day!  The day began with some craziness baby fun and we of course had a great time at our happy place!

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day 2013

Piper and Phoebe are grumpy because they missed their morning naps!

This past weekend Piper, Phoebe, and I got to celebrate Father's Day with our favorite dad...James!!!  We started the day off by visiting James at church.  After James got home from work we were able to go to dinner (a place of James choice) and spoil him rotten.  It was such a wonderful day!

Monday Fun-Day!

Fun at Ruby's

One Year Doctor Appointment

Today ( May 29, 2013) Piper and Phoebe had their one year old doctor appointment with Dr. Ball.  James and I were super duper excited to see how the girls were progressing.  I am thrilled to report that Dr. Ball said the girls are doing GREAT!!!  He said they are right on track developmentally with other 1 year olds.  They really do not have any delays even though they were born so early.  That was music to our ears!

Both girls are finally on the "normal" baby growth charts!  Piper and Phoebe both weigh 17 pounds 2 ounces.  We had a feeling our little Phoebe would catch up to her sister in weight and she finally did (that girl can eat).  :-)  Piper has grown a little bit taller that her sister, she is  27 inches and Phoebe 26 1/2 inches.  Piper is barely getting her two top teeth and to my shock and amazement we learned that Phoebe is not only getting 4 teeth on the top but she is getting 4 molars too!!!  No wonder she drools so much.

Piper and Phoebe are not quite walking on their own yet but they love to walk around the furniture, use their baby walkers to race around the house, and they love to hold our hands to walk.  Piper loves to give hugs to her stuff toys and she also loves to steal toys from her sister.  Piper has also started pointing a lot to things and can even point out noses.  Phoebe has turned out to be a little entertainer these days.  She loves making silly noises to make us laugh.  Both girls love to shake their heads "no".  We are working on the "yes" head shake now.  James and I took them to the beach and we tried the sand again...both girls LOVED the sand, especially Piper.  She flung her whole body in the sand and cried when it was time to leave.  I think we will be making lots of beach trips this summer.  We also put the girls feet in the ocean, Phoebe was in love and Piper was not.  We shall see how that goes this summer. Both girls still love to swing at the park and I know I will be very sad when the day comes when they are to big to share a single baby swing.  For now I enjoy watching both girls laugh and smile as they swing higher and higher.

Another big milestone for the girls is that we are getting rid of their bottles and transitioning them from milk to more and more big people food!!!!  This is a very HUGE and exciting step for us all.

Monday Fun-Day! (Better Late Than Never)

Happy Memorial Day!

Thank you to all the service men and women who have died to protect our freedom!

It's a Minnie Mouse 1st Birthday!

Party planning in the month of May was a challenge but well worth it!  I want to give a special thank you to my partner in crime and best friend James.  I could not have planned the party without your help.  You were my right hand man the entire time.  I love you and thank you so much for all your help!  I would also love to thank my mom for all her behind the scenes help with EVERYTHING, my sweet friend Becky (http://www.rebeccacalagna.com) for the adorable invites, Leigh (http://www.sugarbellecakeshoppe.com/) for making the beautiful cakes, Trish aka Nonie for the cakes and working her little booty off to help us set up and organize all the party stuff, our sweet friend Scotty for driving all of our party stuff back and forth, setting up and breaking down the party, and all the behind the scenes work you did to help make this party happen, Jeff (http://smithfolio.com) for taking awesome pictures of our very special moments, Auntie Hillie-Bear for watching the babies while we set up and picking up party necessities, and my wonderful Kerry for coming early to help set up the party.  Wow, I am blessed to have such wonderful people in my life!!!!

I have never thrown a party like this before so to say I had no idea what I was doing is a understatement!  All I have to say is thank goodness for Pinterest and awesome friends and family.  We had a wonderful day celebrating our little miracles Minnie Mouse style!  Both girls had fun even though I am sure they had no idea what all the fuss was about.  Our little Piper's cold had developed into a cough and she was not feeling well at all...poor baby!  I think if she was her normal self we could have gotten more smiles out of her.

 

After the party James and I sat on the couch and just starred at each other.  I don't think either one of us had ever been that exhausted before in our lives.  It was worth it though and I would do it again in a heart beat.  Well, I should be more specific, I would do it again for their 1st birthday in a heart beat.  All I can say is turning 2 is going to be a LOT different. :-)

What a Difference a Year Makes!

May 17, 2012

11 Months Old (Mommy Lost the Sticker)

This year has been the most challenging, exhausting, happiest, and amazing year of our lives!  The birth of our sweet miracles has changed our lives for the better forever.  James and I look at each other all the time and say we can't imagine what our lives were like before Phoebe and Piper.  They are the most amazing little girls!!  It has been an honor watching them grow, learn, and change over this past year.

Both girls are very, very, very close to walking!  WALKING....yikes, not sure we are ready for that.  Phoebe took about 6 steps and Piper is still a little bit nervous and will take about 2 steps and then she is done.  Piper loves to point to noses and Phoebe loves to entertain us with her silly noises.  Both girls are so happy and love people.  I am anxious/excited for our 1 year doctor appointment next week so that the doctor can give us an update on the girls and their progress.