Christmas and December update

We have had a wonderful month. I really enjoy my family and all the fun they bring into my life. I don't think I would smile nearly as often without them. I feel truly blessed because of them.
Anyways Christmas!!!!! It was our first Christmas with Amanda and Stephan permanently back so that was nice. We all celebrated Christmas eve together along with my parents. We had our traditional steak and shrimp with pizza for the kiddos. I love family traditions especially when they taste so yummy! We exchanged presents and just had a wonderful night.
Christmas day was wonderful too. Santa came and Kaylie was in heaven. Sophie obviously didn't get the whole thing but enjoyed sticking anything and everything she got in her mouth. We had a nice relaxing day and then went off to more fun Christmas celebrations at Erick's sister's house. We thoroughly enjoyed a delicious dinner and had fun opening presents and being with family.
Overall it was a wonderful day and we sure have enjoyed this month even the torrential downpours that made finishing shopping a challenge!






A couple of things about the pictures:
Sophie got a dog toy from her cousin (He picked it out himself) and she just loves it! (Don't worry Chloe isn't allowed near it.)
Sophie loves her Moby wrap and would be content to be in it all day! I must admit I love it too!
Kaylie really enjoyed helping to decorate the tree, however, most of it that she can reach is undecorated because she loves the ornaments.
Kaylie loves the snowman that is just her size.

November is already done? Where did it go?

We had a wonderful month this month. Unfortunately I'm not all that good at taking pictures so....You will have to tolerate verbal explanations of what we did and then I will give you some pictures of our trip to the mountains.
This month seemed to be jammed packed with fun things. We went to Oak Glen twice (Kaylie enjoyed the petting zoo until the goat tried to eat her coat) and continued preschool, did a lot of shopping, some cooking and just enjoyed our time together. Thanksgiving was nice. We got to have Erick home for a couple of extra days. He enjoyed being able to spend extra time with us.
Yesterday we went up to Big Bear and Lake Arrowhead. It had been a while since we had gone (I had never been to Big Bear) so we took a beautiful drive and enjoyed the day taking a very cold walk and visiting Lake Arrowhead Village. We had some cocoa and dinner. All in all it was a good family day.

October 2010

We have had a good month. Kaylie has a new hobby. Its pretty sweet. She likes to scrapbook! She is pretty good at it too. (I will post pictures soon). What happened is that she started really being interested in my scrapbook supplies so Erick suggested I let her try. I figured I have a lot of stickers, paper and other supplies that weren't being used so I might as well let her use them. She also loves the game Candyland. I'm really proud of how much she is growing and learning everyday. I truly love her. One more quick Kaylie story until I go on to Sophie (I could talk about my girls for hours) Today at church Kaylie took the bread during the Sacrament. It may not seem like a big deal but Kaylie doesn't like bread. We have been talking about the importance of the Sacrament and today she took it. Its little moments like those that you really think yeah she's starting to get it. What a blessing. She brings so much joy into our lives. I love my little miss!
Now onto my other little Angel Baby. Sophie!! Sophie is a doll. She is growing a personality of her own and I love to watch her. She is usually pretty content and mellow (I get asked if she is always so content and for the most part yes she is) However, she is starting to realize when Kaylie is asleep and she wants all my attention! Its kind of funny. I love her so much though and she is so fun to coo at and snuggle that I don't mind finding other time to work on projects and chores. She brings joy into our life with her innocent love and smiles. She hit 3 mos yesterday and I keep pinching myself to see if it really has been 3 mos. I am so grateful to have her in our lives.
Well since I updated you on the girls I might as well throw in a bit about Erick and I. We are doing well. We finally got an entertainment center! I was so excited! It is very pretty and hold's the T.V. quite well and now we get our filing cabinets to be filing cabinets. Yeah!!! I am really excited about that. I am enjoying being at home but still struggling to find my place in the "at home" world. Its hard to know how much time to spend being with my babies, how much to spend cleaning the house, how much to devote to projects and just how to be at home. I'm not used to not being as structured as I usually am. It has been a blessing though. I am having a chance to learn about myself and what I need to do and want to do. I am thankful for the opportunities to learn that I have on a daily basis. All in all the Cortes Family is doing well.

September Happenings

September has been a good month. It brought the realization that I'm not going back to work this year which was pretty neat. It was nice to be at home and play with my girls instead of going back to work. We have kept pretty busy this month. Erick took a quick trip to Vegas with Stephan to the Mr. Olympia convention. It was a nice break for him and I enjoyed a day of shopping with my mom and sister. We had our primary program today and it was really nice to see the kids singing their little hearts out. I really liked seeing our hard work pay off. We have been having fun with the cousins being in town and are so excited they decided to move to Yucaipa. Its pretty close! All in all life is good. Here are some pictures to highlight the month. They will probably be on top because this website likes to do that now.

Sophie's Blessing

We were very blessed to be able to bless Sophie yesterday. It is amazing how much peace and joy I felt as Erick gave her her name and a blessing. As I was listening I realized that it is my job as a parent to make sure the promises given are fulfilled. What a big responsibility it is to be a parent. The more I am a parent the more joy I feel in the journey and the important role of being a mother. Heavenly Father loves us and will guide us through the Holy Ghost, Scriptures and especially praying for guidance. I am so grateful that I have all those available to me to help me as a parent. It truly is the most important job I will ever hold. Here are some pictures for you to enjoy of our little family. My little bit of "Heaven on Earth."

Kaylie is getting cuter everyday. She has been saying some rather funny things lately. Here is a sample of what I am now recording as "Kaylieisim's"

I got Kaylie a corn dog for dinner and just gave it to her. She looked and it and told me open open. I took a bite gave it to her and she proceeded to take the corn dog peel off the breading and it it.

We were watching Alvin and the Chipmunks and it was at the point where Dave's song was rejected and Kaylie said don't worry we'll help you sing songs.

Sophie Marie Cortes

Sophie is here! She was born July 23rd at 3:22 A.M. weighing in at 6 lbs 11 oz and 19 inches long. She is a little doll, overall a very good baby but tends to spit up a lot! We really love her and are adjusting to life with two kids and enjoying it. I have really been enjoying being at home with the girls and find there is plenty to do to keep busy. I truly feel blessed to be able to be at home.

Waiting for baby update

We are waiting for baby Sophie (Hopefully she looks like a Sophie because we don't have any other name options!) to come. Summer is not a fun time to be pregnant as you can probably guess. Kaylie and I have been trying to stay cool and really enjoying our neighborhood pool. It is fun being able to stay at home with her and I am really excited for what the next year will bring. I've been trying to be energetic but that pretty much is gone! So mainly I'm trying to get her to nap when I need to. Kaylie had fun riding the carousel at Victoria Gardens and also visiting the Apple Store to get my Iphone fixed because she set a passcode on it and I couldn't get into it for almost a week (Perfect timing to not be able to make calls. Right before you are about to give birth!) All in all we are having fun together.

Mother's Day

I want to write a tribute to the great woman in my life I am able to call mom. Not everyone is as lucky as I am. I have had a mom who has always supported me, encouraged me and been my best friend and shopping buddy for years. I know I gave her trouble as a teenager but she has always loved me regardless of what I have done or how I have acted. I especially appreciate the sacrifices she made when we were younger to stay at home with us when I know working outside the home probably would have been easier and we would have had more money. I know that because you stayed home with us you have taught me the importance of staying home and caring for my children. I truly appreciate your sacrifice and know that I am who I am because I had a mother who was so willing to be there for me. Thanks Mom. You are the best and I hope you realize it!

I had a great Mother's Day. I woke up thinking ummm Lindsey you're 7 mos pregnant why did you ever consider having so many people over to your house for dinner? Fortunately I have an awesome husband who BBQ'd and everyone brought side dishes so really my work wasn't too much. It also helped that I had a wonderful Mother in Law who helped me to clean my house yesterday! I really enjoyed myself. We played my favorite game Rummikub and Kaylie joined in and it was so adorable. It made me happy because hopefully she will be a game player like her mom when she gets older.

April Happenings

Kaylie's latest picture face.

Kaylie toilet training her doll

More toilet training her doll

We have had a good month. Erick was able to perform in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat with or Stake. He did a great job and even had a solo! I was really really proud of him. Kaylie loved it! So did everyone who saw it. We were able to take a trip to Disneyland (I know I know we go all the time). It was also my birthday which makes it special. It was an extra special day this year as I was able to go out shopping with my mom and leave Kaylie with her dad. What a nice thing. Erick and I decided that I am going to take a leave of absence from work next year after the baby is born. I feel so blessed for this decision. My time at work has been so much easier knowing this. I am actually enjoying my job again! Thank goodness because I was pretty worn out on it. I look forward to spending some time with Kaylie and the new baby. Here are some pictures to update our blog. I'm kind of worn out on blogging lately so I need to get back into the swing of things.

Easter and general update

We had a nice Easter this year. We were able to watch some of conference and then we went to my Sister in Law's house for a very yummy Easter dinner. While we were there Kaylie got to go on an Easter Egg Hunt. She really liked that. She thought she was so cool getting candy inside eggs! Daddy helped her find them. After that I was lucky enough to have my cousins from UT meet up at my house for an Easter Dinner. They got here earlier than expected so thankfully my Aunt and my mom helped me get things ready! It turned out lovely and was so nice to see my family again. It was back to work as usual this week. I wasn't quite sure how I felt about that. It was hard because last week it was so nice to just spend time with Kaylie on my own timeline and schedule. I have had extra support in my classroom to help me with the couple of really challenging students I have have. That has been such a blessing. I have been very thankful to those who have been able to help out. The pregnancy is progressing well. The baby keeps growing and kicking a lot. Its a fun feeling to have again. Kaylie is working on potty training with quite a bit of success. I am very proud of her. Erick has his play this week (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat) so we are getting super excited to see him perform. They have practiced really hard and from what I have seen it is going to be wonderful. That's about all that is new in our household right now.

catch up

Wow! It has been a busy month. Kaylie turned two and is starting to act even more like a two year old than ever before. It is actually really fun and I am learning a lot about being a parent. Thankfully I have gotten some good advice from others. We had her birthday party a few weeks ago. It was really fun. Last week we went to the zoo and Kaylie liked all the animals but her favorite were hands down the giraffes. Erick and I were able to escape for the weekend to a friends wedding in Vegas. He was the best man. We enjoyed a quick break from Kaylie and I know I came back feeling refreshed. Its amazing what a few extra naps will do for energy and stamina. I have been on Spring Break this week and really enjoying my time off. I am thankful that it came when it did because I was pretty worn out and don't think I could have taken much more work. We are working on toilet training Kaylie and it is going quite well. It will probably be a few weeks before she totally grasps it but I know she will. Every day she proves how smart she is getting. I am in constant amazement with the funny and cute things she comes up with. She is developing a mind of her own and has been on a kick where all she wants to wear are pants. Every morning if I try shorts or a dress she says pants and refuses to back down. I'm going to be having her wear capri's a lot. All in all things are going well in the Cortes household and the pregnancy is progressing as it should. I'm not the world's most patient pregnant woman but that's okay. I am learning a lot from it.

Kaylie's first haircut

Kaylie got her first haircut today! I know you are probably thinking isn't she about to be two? Yes she is. Unfortunately she got my very slow growing hair and so she hasn't had a need for one until now. We took her to the salon and she sat on the booster chair. As soon as this happened she got scared and started to cry. We tried to comfort her but she wasn't very happy. They did her hair which she actually didn't wiggle too much for. We discovered the trick was the singing flower they had. All in all it wasn't too bad of an experience for her and she certainly enjoyed getting a treat from candy machine afterward.

Getting ready for the cut

Daddy can I drive home? I just got my first haircut.

Haircuts are hard work. I'm tired.

Kaylie's latest escapades

Kaylie has been on the move lately and tending to get into situations that are funny but not exactly good. Lets see this past week she has:

Realized she loves to knock over block towers

Found out that the dog's cage is just the right size for a little girl

Realized that you get a funny mustache when you color on yourself with a permanent marker.

Yeah my eyes are having to be a lot more careful and I am having to watch her more closely. The worst day will be when she learns to open the doors.

Our house is sick!

Yeah so we have some sort of fever/cold going around our house. I'm not sure where it came from or how long it will last but poor Erick and Kaylie both have it. I've not got the fever or cold but I've got nausea from this pregnancy pretty bad. I am thankful though I get an ultrasound on Friday! I am super excited. I think its still too early to see if the baby is a boy or a girl but it will sure be nice to have a more tentative due date! Its a little lame having to tell people I think I'm due some time in July. I am glad to have the chance to have another baby.

Exciting news in the Cortes Family!!

Just an update to let you know I am expecting our second child to be due in July! We are super excited as you can probably assume. I have been feeling alright however, I have had more sickness with this baby than I did with Kaylie.

Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas here at the Cortes House. Kaylie was at just the right age to not quite understand Christmas and Santa but love the presents and fun stuff the little spoiled miss got! She just loves her kitchen set which we spent all month finding and choosing. She also loves her drum, purse, and every other thing she got. Did I mention she was a bit spoiled by all this Christmas? Erick and I enjoyed watching the sheer joy on her face as she saw more and more of her toys and it brought back memories for me of being a child and having santa come. It truly is so much more fun to see things through the eyes of a child.
I think for me though the best part was Christmas Eve. We had our parents over and surprised them with a super yummy dinner of steak and shrimp which was enjoyed by all. We then sang tons of Christmas Carols and opened a few presents. The next day we went to my in laws house for a nice enjoyable dinner with family. Overall it was a wonderful Christmas with plenty of good memories.