Happy 1/2 B-day Sofia!

Sofia officially turned 4 1/2 years old on December 10th. She's a spunky and imaginative little kid who is headed to kindergarten in only 9 more months! I can hardly believe how fast she is growing up. We did celebrate her birthday back in June but in the last couple of weeks of pregnancy I never got the pics posted. So, I waited until now to celebrate her "half-birthday!"

We enjoyed a small little get together BBQ complete with the "Purple Princess Cake" as requested by the birthday girl:

Keep in mind people, I'm 38-weeks pregnant here. I had so much fun making Sofia's cake. It's on of my favorite Mom things I get to do every year.

In all its glory, the Purple Princess Cake

Blowing out the candle...

Probably her most favorite present of all, compliments of BFF's Natalie, Isabel, and Sophia:

This play kitchen is something Sofia had wanted for a really long time. She chose to purchase this with b-day money she received:

It's seriously the coolest play kitchen ever. She has a TON of fun playing and cooking in it!

She received some really cool presents from friends and family including: nail polish (Ame & Makai), sidewalk paint (Aunt Carlee), Hannah Montana coloring set (Ame & Makai), Cinderella play set (Uncle Kris & Cousin Jordan), a Leap Frog word whammer (Nana & Grandpa), and a purple hippo (Uncle Bub & fam). Holy cow, that's a lot. She's enjoyed playing with everything and was so grateful for everyone who thought of her on her birthday. We are grateful too.

Happy 1-Month Birthday, Sydnei

We can hardly believe a month has already passed since you came into our lives. Your presence brightens any room and anyone who meets you falls in love instantly. We love your striking blue eyes and dimples. We love to see you smile which for now is only when you're dreaming sweet dreams.

You love tummy time and you can already turn yourself over from your belly to your back. You even prefer sleeping on your belly over any other position, although for now, we only let you do that when we are watching you. Mami especially loves to stick her tongue out at you and watch you reciprocate. Papi loves when you make an 'O'-shape with your mouth and look all around you, it's precious. Your big sissy, Sofia, loves to pick you up the minute you wake up and carry you through the house. So far she hasn't broken you so not too worry you're in good hands (even though MaMa has a heart attack each time she sees Sofia carrying you)! Sofia loves to help feed you and shower you with hugs and kisses, she is so proud of her little sister. We're so grateful you have joined our family and are excited to watch you continue to grow.


Love you so much, Sydnei~
Mami y Papi

My Chemical Romance

As many of you know, I was a bit "concert-deprived" growing up. Before I married Ry at age 23, I had only been to one concert, Debbie Gibson. :) That's right, go ahead, have your laugh. Well, a lot has changed for me since marrying Ryan and my concert attendance is one of them. Bless his heart, he's brought me along slowly. From the beginning he always said he was gearing up to get me to a real rock concert. To date we had been to Diamond Rio and Faith Hill/Tim McGraw, country, dang fun, and easy going. After seven years, I finally felt I was ready to go to a real rock concert and knowing how much he loves the band, My Chemical Romance, I gave him tickets to their upcoming concert for his birthday.

April 8th was the big day. The concert was to be held at the Crystal Ballroom downtown, a well known venue for rock concerts, with standing room mostly. Well, the day arrived for us to attend and so did some serious pre-term labor contractions—apparently Sydnei was excited to go the concert too. But where were we at 4pm of the day of the concert??? Right! We were in Labor and Delivery at OHSU on a fetal monitor and having contractions. I kept telling Ryan that if the doctors confirmed that I was definitely NOT having the baby then (at this point I was 29 weeks) we were going to the concert...there was NO WAY we would miss it!

The concert started at 7pm with two warm-up bands playing. At about 7:30pm, the doctors received some test results back that gave a 98% guarantee that I wouldn't have the baby for at least two weeks. By about 7pm, the contractions finally had dwindled and were less painful. I looked at the nurse and told her about the concert. She encouraged me to go home and rest. I said, "okay, we'll talk about it," rolling my eyes as she left the room. Of course, there was no way on earth we were missing the concert! I had told Ryan that if there was a problem, we would leave, and if I needed to sit down, I'd do that as often as necessary. We discharged from L&D at 8pm, picked up some food, and then headed to the concert. He wanted me to go home and rest as he was concerned but this was my chance—a real live rock band, and My Chemical Romance no less. If I was fine, the baby was fine and wouldn't be born pre-maturely, then we were going to the concert, dang it!

When we arrived at the venue, I, of course, had to stop at the bathroom. When I went to wash my hands my belly kept me from squeezing between the garbage can and a woman at the sink next to the one I wanted to use. I looked at her and said, "excuse me" and then explained that unless she wanted me to take her out with my preggo belly, she would need to scoot over a bit. She complied and proceeded to ask me what I was having. She and her friend each had two boys and they couldn't stop talking about how much they each wanted a girl. After we finished discussing that they both decided they need to rub my belly like a Buddha for good luck! So that was that, I walked out of the bathroom with huge eyes, looked at Ryan and said, "this is going to be an interesting and entertaining night!

The beauty of our arrival time to the concert was that My Chemical Romance hadn't come on yet and did 15-minutes after we got there. They played for nearly two hours, the perfect amount of time for me to stand, sit, stand, and not feel exhausted or as if I had over done it. This concert was part of the Black Parade tour. I really like this band and the theatrical side to their music and performance; it's intriguing to listen to and interpret. I loved seeing Ryan "in his element" a true rocker at heart. We had such an awesome time. I was blown away by the range of ages in the concert attendees.

One young (maybe freshman-sophomore in high school-age) couple stood by us the entire time. But they weren't just standing there...they were SLOW DANCING the ENTIRE time! Seriously, who slow dances at a rock concert? For crying out loud, the girl had her back to the stage the whole time! It blew me away and I mean it when I say they slow danced for the entire two hours the band played. Geez! If anything they belonged at a Debbie Gibson concert slow dancing to songs like "Lost in Your Eyes" not the Black Parade!

The concert ended with my favorite song, "Helena." It's a song written about Gerard Way's (the lead singer), grandmother. It was awesome and incredible to hear live. Wow...there's nothing like hearing the best songs played live. Thank goodness Ryan saved me from my concert deprived life, I'm sure he'll continue to bring me along slowly. :D Thanks, Sweetheart!

Highlights from Ry's 28th Birthday

February 26th we celebrated Ry's b-day. It was so much fun! He had the day off and it was beautiful that day so we set out for some "B-day Brunch" at our favorite restaurant in Portland, Mother's Bistro. After which, we strolled downtown for a couple of hours looking at all the cool sights and shops.

Later that day I took Sofia on a field trip to the Dollar Tree to pick out some B-day balloons for our little family party that evening. You see, Sofia believes every birthday party should be filled with balloons, matching plates, napkins, cups, and even goody bags! We did everything but the goody bags. :) The two balloons in the back are a cupcake-shaped balloon and a Disney Princess balloon. Just perfect.

That evening, I cooked Ryan's favorite meal, Shrimp Alfredo...it was absolutely scrumptious. My Mom joined us that evening and she and Ryan were in hog heaven with all of the shrimp alfredo you could eat! No matter what, I always manage to cook for the 5000--even if there are only 4 of us!

Ahhh, I'm still dreaming of this awesome oreo ice cream cake.

The store was out of the #8 candle therefore we had to improvise. 4+4=8.
So there you go a 2 + 4,4 = 28!

Sofia helped her Papi blow out his birthday candles!

The Grand Finale, two tickets to see one of Ryan's favorite bands: My Chemical Romance. Rock on! Happy Birthday, Sweetheart.

Happy 28th Birthday, Ry!

I can't believe you're 28!!! Time flies when you're having fun. It'll be so much fun to celebrate your b-day at dinner tonight and see your reaction when you open your present. Sofia is so excited about your cake, b-day napkins, and the balloons she picked out just for you! (I think we're all excited about your killer oreo ice cream cake) Have a happy, WE LOVE YOU!!!

Love,
Stormy y Sofia

Happy 3rd Birthday Sofia!

Sofia turned 3 and we celebrated with a Dora la Exploradora fiesta on Saturday, June 16, 2007. Here are some of the killer highlights...

Make a wish Sofia!

Chocolate Cake is YUMMY!

Back in the old days we all played the game, "Pin the tale on the donkey." Well fast forward about 20 years and you've got "Pin the bracelet on Dora's wrist!" This pic is Sofia's second time pinning the bracelet. The first time she took off the towel so she could SEE to put it right onto Dora's wrist. Silly Sof.

Chelsea Paniagua attempts to pin the bracelet on while her little brothers, Stefano and Fabricio, watch. Way to go Chelsea!

When it was all said and done everyone was pretty much equal distance from Dora's wrist. Of course, Sofia's first attempt is right on the wrist. We called it a 7-way tie and everyone won! A variety of bubbles and stickers were awarded to the kids.

Bubbles are just plain fun. No matter how old you are they rock! Notice the Cinderella heels Sofia is sporting...they're her favorite!

Big Bro Bub, Sissy Maria, and fam. What a handsome family. Love you guys!

Cousin Allison. I like to call this the "whatever picture."

Family and friends good times! I just love Sid's red hair!!!

Thanks to everyone who came and all of the long distance friends and family who sent their best wishes for Sofia's birthday and the fun gifts. Despite her age, I don't believe Sofia will forget her special day. It was a BLAST!!!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Sofia! I love you so much!!!! Love, Mami