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.