Family pictures

Last week my good friend Whitney took pictures of Sophie and I. A few days later she took some family ones. Here I am 28 weeks pregnant with the little boys.

Good-bye Momma!

My Mom has received a new job in northern New Mexico. She will be the new library director. Today was actually her first day of work. She said she thinks she will love it there. Last week she came to tell us bye. It was sad because it will now be harder for us to see each other. We are very excited about her new job and wish her the best of luck but she will be missed. LOVE YOU MOMMA!

Needing Names!

So we are in need of finding names for these two little guys. We like the name Michael and Matthew and also the name Owen. What are your ideas?

Here is a pregnancy picture taken last week at 5 1/2 months along.

Identical Boys!

We found out we are having Identical twin boys! Well the drs. are 90% sure they are identical. I am worried how I will be able to tell them apart. If you have any ideas please let me know. We are very excited about having the twins. We have to get everything ready for them 2 of everything! Yikes! I am due December 27th say the doctors say they will most likely come a month early. These boys are active. I cannot get comfortable at night just tossing and turning. I feel like they are wrestling already. Sometimes I feel as if they think my bladder is a trampoline. I would love to watch them on the ultra sound when they have their active nights, which is every night. I think they got their nights and days mixed up. Maybe they are on their dads schedule. Here are some of the Ultra-sound pictures.

New Town

So after a month of Joe commuting to and from work. We decided it would be wise for us to move closer to work. That way we are able to see each other a little more and save money on gas. We were spending $500.00 a month on gas when we normally only spend about $250. We have been now living in our new town for a month. We are enjoying it here. We love our house. The man who is renting it out was trying to sell it so it is ready to sell condition. It never sold because of the economy being the way it is so we got a great deal. It has three peach trees and an apple tree which I am very excited about. The apples are now ripe so I plan to make some apple pies pretty soon. The second week here we went to the county fair. We had a fun time. I was not allowed on any of the rides since I am pregnant so Joe rode the rides with Sophie. I think he had more fun than she did :) Watching him get into little train was hilarious. We still haven't met any friends here yet but I am sure we will in time. Our ward is a pretty established ward with older couples and families with older kids than we have. We had to get Sophie out of her crib and into a new bed since I am no longer allowed to carry her. I cannot lift anything more than 15 lbs now, the drs. say it could put me into preterm labor. Sophie loves her new princess bed. Which made the process easy. We figure it's good to do now rather than when the twins come.

Granny's 78th Birthday

So in June we celebrated Granny's 78th birthday. We had a nice time with the family. We drink sparkling cider and had a toast. Granny is a special woman. She loves her grand kids like mad. They can never do wrong in her eyes. She loves them unconditionally. Every Thursday she prepared a delicious meal for the grand kids that live in town. It is always so nice to go to her house because 1. I don't have to cook 2. the food is yummy and 3. there is always great company . Tanya and DeeDee made Granny a beautiful raggedy Ann and Andy quilt. Granny loves raggedy Ann and Andy. We are very blessed to have her in our lives.

As Granny always says : "I may be fat, toothless and bald but Iam still cute!"

We love you Granny!

Joe is back!

Wow! So it's been a while since my last blog. A LOT has happed since then. Let's see... First of all Joe graduated from the Academy. He graduated top of his class! They discourage them from going home on the weekends that way they can focus on what they are learning there. They say if you go home you will perform poorly. Well Joe managed to come home almost every weekend for the 3 months he was gone. He even managed to get me pregnant his first weekend back! :) What a stud. Not only did he get me pregnant but with TWINS! Joe preformed very well in his training. He had the Honor to be the Guide On which goes to the most physically fit person in the unit. At the graduation ceremony he was also award 3 of the 7 awards given. He was awarded the directors award which is given to the person who lives up to the core values of the agency, the PT award and the Top of the class award. He was shocked by these awards especially the directors award. We are very proud of him and know the Lord blessed him in his work/training because he put first things first.... family.

Summer time....

Here are a few pictures taken now that summer has started.

Sophie Loves her Great-Papa. Every time we go to the house she says "Papa Papa!" Every time she sees him she laughs and puts her hand to her ear. She likes when papa does that and makes his ears whistle because of his hearing aids. It is really cute.

Just after I took the picture of Sophie playing in the pool she pooped in her swimming suit! I had to hose her off. She just laughed.

Sophie loves putting on Shoes wither they are Papas work boots, her daddy's dress shoes or my high heels. The other day she put on my high heels for the first time and walked all the way down the hall and into the living room as if she owned the town and was a pro at wearing them. She is such a cute. I think she is a total rough and though girly girl like her Momma was. I love my little munchkin!

Mothers Day...

I had a terrific Mothers Day yesterday just spending time with the family. Its so good to be with the ones you love. We went to church in the morning which happened to be an interesting meeting. During the last talk in sacrament meeting the power turned off. The speaker standing in the dark finished his talked. We then sang the closing song in the dark with out an organ because the player would not be able to see the notes. During that song the spirit was very strong. The power stayed off the whole Second hour and then our Bishop came in to tell us that the last hour was canceled that way the following ward could meet the Relief society room. Since it has huge window it gave lots of light. We then went home for a few hours so Sophie could nap. After she woke up we ate lunch at Mom and Dad Pawloskis house and hung out with the family for a couple of hours before Joe had to leave back to work. After Sophie and I sent Joe off we went to visit my Mom and we went to Granny's house.

Joe and Sophie got me an early Mothers day present last week. Probably the most expensive Mothers day present I will ever receive. They got me a new car! We now have a 2009 Camry. I love it! It is a bit of a Grandmas car but I think its classy! Thanks Babe!

Almost Done!

Summer is here and we are so excited. This has been a long and hard semester for me. Joe has now been away for 9 weeks. He has 3 more weeks and he will be finished! We can not wait until we are finished with this family separation. He gets to come home on the weekends so it is nice to see him then, but it feels as though we have a weekend marriage and at times I feel as if I am a single mother who doesn't have to provide for her family. This time apart has made me appreciate all the things Joe does for me and Sophie. It has also helped me realize that although I do all the cooking and the most of the cleaning in the house(which I really love doing) he has done things that I took for granted everyday, such as taking out the smelly trash every other day, rolling it out to the curb, checking on the baby when she wakes up in the middle of the night or having my nightly water sitting on the nightstand when I go to bed. For about the first week I would go to bed and wake up thirsty in the middle of the night looking for my glass of water that was not there because he would always get it for me without me having to ask. I also miss him waking up early with the baby and letting me sleep in. Although this separation has been hard I feel it has strengthen our relationship and has helped us better appreciate one another for all the big and small things. The small unnoticed acts of kindness have been noticed to both of us. It has also drawn me closer to the lord. I am grateful the time has gone by fast and for our increased love and appreciation for one another. I also have to say I am thankful my husband is so loving, caring, though, and a provider. I could not ask for a better man to be married to.

This picture was taken in the middle of the night when she woke up to the voice of her daddy finally home.

Sophie jumping on the trampoline

Here Sophie just turned 17 months. She can jump on the trampoline and even get some air! I am amazed with her balance and her agility. I think she will make a great little athlete one day.

Sophia has skill!

Check out my 16 month old doing a belly roll!She is so talented :)

Easter

I just love Easter. I love the true meaning behind Easter. I think today many people get confused and think that Easter is about Bunny who brings you things. That is not what Easter is suppose to be about. It is to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. At General Conference last week Elder Jeffery R. Holland a true living Apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints gave this amazing talk found below.

of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Today we went to Joe's parents Ward. We had a nice time there. That Ward will always be my home ward. I grew up in it. I know most of everyone and they know me. It is just a loving and close knit ward. Moving out of the ward for me was a hard thing. I always enjoy visiting it. The people who gave talk today gave some wonderful talks about the resurrection and on the Saviors atonement. The spirit was so strong in the sacrament meeting. After the closing prayer the teachers left to prepare for the classes but the rest of us stayed and sang "He Has Risen". Once again the spirit was so strong. I got goose bumps as I sang.

After Church we went to lunch at Joe's parents house. We had a little Easter Egg hunt for Sophie. We actually just laid the eggs on the ground and told her to find the eggs and put them in the basket, and we cheered as she did this. She had so much fun. After picking up all 26 eggs and putting them in her basket she said: "again?" haha it was really cute. So we did it over and over a few times. Each time she loaded her basket she began to talk to go back inside dragging her basket behind her. As she did this she left a little trail of eggs behind her. It was so adorable. Once she realized that she did this she would say "Oh..O!" and then turn around put them in her basket again. This happened about 3 times. We couldn't help but to just giggle. :)

Sophie is a funny little girl. She loves to have areas clean. If we go on a walk and she sees some trash on the ground, she will say "Oh....O!" and then pick it up and hand it to me. She will also do this as we go shopping.If she see trash or a shirt on the floor she will say "Oh...O!" and try to pick it up. she is such a little helper.

As a few side notes.... The dress I am wearing was once my grandma Payne's when she was in her 40's. She gave it to me a few years ago. The dress was down to my toes so I took it to get altered. I absolutely love it and think it is so neat that I can wear a dress that she wore when she was a little younger. The dress is special to me for that reason. They did not have to take it in on the waist, but they had to take it in on the bust. She was one HOT MAMA! She is still a very beautiful woman. Joe joked and said that's why they had so many kids. :)

Also today we went to church after just eating breakfast. During Sacrament Sophie burped. Directly after she burped she said" "Mmmmmmm......". She will say this when ever she like some thing she is eating. We think she must have tasted her breakfast. Maybe that was just a little too much to share but we found it funny at the time.

We truly enjoyed this Easter Day remembering our Savior and spending time with family.

Kite

Here is another video of Sophie flying the kite for her very first time.

Sophie flying the kite

Today we went to the park to fly our kite. We had a blast. Sophie had lots of fun holding the kite all by herself! She acts much older than a 15 month old. We love her so much!

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

Today we went to the library with Grandma Riehl to celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday. We had a nice time reading "Green eggs and Ham" and jumping on packing bubble for "Hop On Stop". We also sang happy birthday to Dr. Seuss and ate some yummy cupcakes! It was fun to do this with Grandma and my own daughter because my Mom took us kids every year to celebrate his birthday. I think this might become a family tradition. I love Dr. Seuss! He his books are fun to read and some of the books have good messages.

“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.” -Dr. Seuss

OUR LITTLE DRUMMER GIRL!

Today we celebrated Aunt Janet's birthday. She is a leap year baby so she is actually only 12! We had a nice time just talking and joking around with the family. It has been awhile since we have all been together. Aunt Sara showed Sophie the drums. She loved playing cousin Daniel's drums! Maybe she will have the musical ability that Joe and I lack.

THE APPLE OF OUR EYE!

Sophia is the sweetest little thing. She has blessed our lives in so many ways. Joe and I look at her and cant imagine having a more perfect baby. Here is a video of Sophie wearing my shoes. She enjoys putting on our shoes and trying to walk in them.

Our Valentines Day!

Yesterday, Carley came over to watch Sophie for us, while we took a trip to El Paso. We went to Bobos. Bobos is like a Peter Piper Pizza on steroids. They have pizza, golf, batting cages, an arcade, bummer boats, Go carts, and a Laser quest. It is such a neat place. We rode the Go-carts 3 times, hit the batting cages and played a game of Laser tag. I totally owned Joe on the Go-carts. I felt like a race car driver haha! Afterward all the fun at Bobo's he took me to the Olive Garden. The line was ridiculous but way worth the wait. We had such a fun time. It is now our favorite date we have ever been on, besides our first date. It was fun to relax and act like a kid again. Joe is such a fun and loving guy. Thanks for the amazing time babe!

We will miss you Tafuna family!

Last week we had some wonderful friends move back to Hawaii. When Joe and I moved into the Rio Grande ward he was assigned the Tafuna family to Home Teach. Since Joe didnt have a Home Teaching companion, Sophie and I would go on visits with Joe. I am happy I had the opportunity to go with him, because I was able to get to know this wonderful family. They moved to Las Cruces from Hawaii so Siaosi could play football for NMSU. Gabriella and Siaosi are some of the most kindest people I have ever known. They are so giving and charitable. Both would gladly give their shirt right off their back to someone who needed one. They have 2 adorable little girls. Leila is the little Hannah Montana wanna-be and shes not even 4 yet! Leila is a girly-girl to the MAX! She loves to pose whenever she sees the camera. She is also a good big sister. And Tangi is almost 2 and she loves to eat just like Sophie! I think Sophie and Tangi would have grown to be very good friends. She also loves football. Both girls are adorable and I can see that although they are both very young, they are learning and practicing the gift of charity that their parents have. Last week they moved back to Paradise, and they will be missed very much! Joe and I want to plan a trip to visit them and the Jackmans. We love you Gabriella, Siaosi, Leila, and Tangi! Hope to see you soon!