(pretend it's April!) 4 months and 4 year old milestones

Well hello everyone!

Our fourth month with Adelina kept us on our toes. She really loves to grow, which means she likes to eat quite regularly and then have frequent parties in the night! I think we went through/still going through a "4 month regression" on sleep. She did begin to get away from her swaddle, and hopefully soon she will start longer stretches of sleep during the night. Our naps are going well, and she is really amazing to play with during the day. She has a way of smiling and lighting up our days. She loves her play mat, Jocelyn and pulling anything...like hair, glasses and doggies. 

Jocelyn and Adelina had their 4 year and 4 month old check ups together. Jocelyn was very brave and had 4 different shots and helped Adelina with her 2 shots. The girls recovered very well, and we had some ice cream after :) I love how different and complimentary they are. They really just like to hang with each other. Adelina has been sitting up, rolling side-to-side when she is on her back, loves and I mean LOVES to eat her hands, and we think she may be starting to teeth. Jocelyn is really enjoying gymnastics, playing outside, riding her bike, her kitchen and the list goes on :) She's a blast. 

Lina: 12 lbs 14 oz, 24 inches long!

J: 28.6 lbs, 38.25 inches tall!

Aside from the girls, Ryan has been doing really well with work, and has some great work buddies. Jocelyn actually skypes with some of them from time to time. We are feeling more and more at home...speaking of the house it's a lot of work! But we asked for it :) Spring has brought on lots of gardening. More updates coming soon. 

Catching up...Happy big golden bday Molly

Hello! 

So I'm still catching up on the fun we had in April :) It was a good month!

Happy 19 golden birthday to Molly! We celebrated with the family that Sunday, and enjoyed some good time with our Auntie in Virginia. 

Here is our Little Lina :) They look like twin-sies. It's funny writing about this weekend a month later because Lina has now moved out of her swaddle. She still likes her bassinet, but we are past the cacoon stage :) It's a bit sad, since she looked so precious! 

Our J monster coming to snap a photo. She is wonderful with Lina. I love these 3 ladies together. Molly I can't believe you are 19. I remember when I first met you. You came running out of the house to greet Ryan, jumped/hugged him, and smiled really big at me. It was really amazing seeing the connection you two have, then and now. You have loved our girls since the first instance, and we are very happy that they have such a great Auntie to grow up with. 

In Benny's words, here are "two guys hangin" in the back yard. Gramps was wonderful and helped put in a new screen door that puppy Ariel destroyed months ago. However, Sherman "tank" Shepard Ariel promptly destroyed it in about the first 5 seconds. It was a valiant effort Gramps. Till the next time...but we are grateful for the help!

Molly being a kanga-mom with Lina in the carrier. She wore her very well. 

After a lovely morning of sitting on our back porch area, we set off to the American Girl store to find Jocelyn's first doll and relive some good times with Molly when she visited that store as a little girl as well. Way to go Molly for withstanding the "ham sandwhich" seat in the back. 

And we made it!! There are 3 generations of McKeown and Fernandez women here. Oh yea :)

And if you asked Jocelyn that day what doll she was going to pick, she would have told you "I want the bitty baby, car seat and dress". And boy did she find it. Thank you Grammy and Gramps for making this little girl's dreams come true. She picked one that looks like the doll on the right, aka a blond, blue-eyed baby like her Little Lina. Pretty adorable. 

 Here we are in the VIP lounge making our big kid purchases. This store is insane. It had a restaurant, a hair salon for the dolls (yes I typed that), and 2 floors of doll madness. Prepare yourself!

We then came home and sang Happy Birthday to our Molly! Grammy made some amazing brownies, and we chowed down. 

Thanks again everyone for making Jocelyn's two-day birthday affair wonderful, and Happy Birthday again to Molly!!! We love ya!

Jocelyn turns 4!

I am finally getting back to the blog :) April was a great month. Jocelyn celebrated 4 big years on the 18th. We can't believe it. She has grown into a creative, sensitive, fun, and spunky little girl.

Her favorites include the colors yellow, pink and purple. She is fascinated by ponies, horses, unicorns, and elephants. She loves piggy banks and loves to read. In fact, she is slowly starting to read by reciting passages from her favorite books, like the Lorax. Ask her about Tweetle Beetle battles! Her bed time routine has simplified over the years, but she still loves it when I sing her "buenas noches Jocelyn", a song I made up to the tune of Frere Jacques because when she was born I didn't know any Spanish lullabies! I have over the years learned a few and J sings them to Adelina now. It's adorable. She loves to take walks with the dogs, piggy back ride with Ryan and of course go to Home Depot. Can you tell we are new home owners?!?

Here is a 4 year time lapse of our Jocelyn Rose.

As you can see, she is just a happy clam. She still has the cute little smile from her early years as a little baby. She enjoys playing outside more than ever. We dig in the dirt with our gardening tools, ride our bikes around the house, and pick flowers. She also likes to collect sticks to put in our fire pit that we just got. It's a blast!

Having Jocelyn in our lives has made us grow as individuals, as a couple and as a family. Thank you Jocelyn for teaching us all the little things matter. For me, the biggest lesson I have learned is how to prioritize what matters in our lives, have an open heart, and really try to go with the flow, since so much in life is uncertain.

We are very thankful for everyone that sent happy birthday wishes, gifts, and those who were able to celebrate in our new home. And all those that couldn't make it, you were there in spirit! Thanks to everyone near and far for all the love and support that has helped our family become more solid, more fun, and more in-tune with each other over the last 4 years. We love you all! Here are some fun pictures with family on both sides.

We hit up the park with Grandma!

Then, we came home and played in the yard. We definitely enjoy our new wind chime (thanks Grammy and Gramps).

Here we are birthday morning. She makes the best faces. And, we kept the balloon tradition alive. This time we had all the colors like a rainbow, since rainbow dash is one of Jocelyn's favorite ponies.

The grandma's!!

Love to you all! More updates coming soon :)