Pictures and News

Hello dear friends and loved ones. It's Simon, and please don't worry I'm not going to write a dissertation on any particular subject. I just can't sleep yet, and I know there are tons of pictures we've taken throughout Fall, and we're sure you're anxious to see them. San will likely write a few words when she gets a chance, but for now. In the news arena San and I have been inspired to change Sydney's name to Giuiana. We wanted to name her this before she was born, but were encouraged to keep the "S" theme going. So, we picked Sydney. Well, for the last few months we've felt like that wasn't her name. Last week, we were sitting in bed playing with the baby and San and I looked at each other and said, " Is this Sydney?" and said "no". We both knew then and there that we had to change it to what it was meant to be, Giuliana. We love it and so does she! When we told her she just smiled and giggled and Sofia has caught on beautifully! We have friends that regret the names that they have chosen for their kids and we don't want that. San and I promised to live our lives with "no regrets" and that's what we plan on doing...Here are a few pictures that were professionally taken by our friend Elizabeth Moon. This is only a small sample of the many pictures she took for us. As you can see her talent is obvious and well worth every dollar! We would recommend her anytime. Just let us know.

We've got a ton more to update, like our anniversay cruise, and Christmas! It's been a fun two months traveling all over the place with these two precious girls, so we will update in the next day or so.

Christmas Adventures of an Unprepared Dad

NOTICE: The following posts is quite long ... I’m sorry I just had a lot on my mind I wanted to share with you my friends who can commiserate with me and perhaps offer ideas. I’m sure going to hear about it when San gets home.... oh well I’m mischievous by nature.

San would be mortified because she's such a prim and proper celestial bound hottie, but I decided to take Sofi and Sydney to Walmart. I didn't feel like going through all the trouble finding just the right hair bow/flower matching pants and all that mess. So, Sofia had on a red shirt with a little tulle on it to make it fancy, a pair of bright purple sweat pants, and a pair of pink boots with the fur (e're one was looking at her, she hit the flo)...

.....ok back to the post. No one could have cared less. Sofi's personality is like a big Gerber daisy that just makes you smile and love being alive. She is so much fun to have as a daughter. Sydney has gotten so big now, she wears Sofia's PJ; and yep, that what she wore. Nobody could see what she had one because she was in the car seat covered up with a blanket (nice Laura Ashley print).
Well, what started off as a fun trip to Walmart ended up being a "I can't wait to get them home or I'm going to hurt someone" (not my babies though). And how annoying that they put all that stuff kids want right in the line where you have to wait. Sofia wanted everything and I was about to lose my mind trying to keep her in her seat and give Sydney special attention at the same time.

They're sleeping now - and I have to hurry up and try and fit a half day's worth of cleaning into two hours... why? Who know because I swear they are going to drag everything out again as soon as they wake up. At least it's fun playing horsey with them and making them giggle. Oh, I bought some hair de-tangler and de-frizzer for Sofia. I can't wait to see how her locks look with the proper product instead of baby lotion. Of course she'll have an appropriate matching bow.
I don't know what do to about her eating habits though. She loves one thing one day and can't get enough of it, so I buy it for her. Then when comes to eating it at home, she wants no part of it. I won't gross you out with all the details of what she does with her food. I'm glad God blessed me with patience; being a temporary momma and daddy. It's an adventure.

Sydney - 4 months

Well, now she is 4 1/2 months. We've been traveling for the past 4 weeks, so we are a little late getting to this...Boy, we sure are in love with Sydney! She is the most lovable baby (of course besides her sister). She smiles all the time and is just happy and content. She rolled over the first time this last week and we know that this is just the beginning of her being "on the move". This time is going by WAY too fast. It didn't seem to go by this fast with Sofia...

Here are a few things that we love about her:

-Loves her sister and smiles when Sofi is playing with her

-Smiles all day long

-Has kind of a mo hawk thing going on with her hair now that is the cutest

-Loves her hands and grabs everything that is passed in front of her

-Loves to make noises and babbles all day long

-Is peaceful and calm

We went for her 4 month check up and she is most definitely not petite. She weighs 17 lbs and is 26 inches long! It looks like we are going to have a tall daughter on our hands. We also love all of her rolls...Just more to love! She also has her first tooth in (on the bottom). Yep, she is an early teether like her sister...The other tooth beside it should be in in a few days.

(Here are a couple of pictures of Sydney playing with Sofia at Grandma Gray's house. More pics to come)

Sofia - 18 Months

Where has the time gone? Sofia is now 18 months and is just the funniest, sweetest, and snuggliest child! We love her tons! She is full of energy, running all over the place from the moment she gets up in the morning. She had her 28 month pediatric visit a couple of days ago. She weighs 21.7 pounds and is 34 1/2 inches tall. In essence, she is VERY petite in weight, but tall. Here are a few things that we love about her:

-Talks very well
-Loves her sister and takes care of her (covering her up, patting her on the back, etc.)
-Loves to be outside
-Is very sociable
-Loves to give hugs and kisses
-Loves Dora and Diego (who she calls, "DoDo")
-Loves playing with all children
-Still loves books

She got to go to Nursery at church this past Sunday for the first time...She was very excited and did great! She said, "bye bye mama" and I left. We came back at the end of church and she got upset because it was time to leave...We can now enjoy Sunday School and Relief Society without interruption (at least for a few months til Sydney is mobile...). Here are a few pictures of her at nursery:

We had a cake to celebrate her birthday and gave her a Princess Tiana doll and the Christmas Dora movie. We are very excited about the Disney movie, Princess and the Frog. It's the first movie portraying a Black princess. Sofia loves the doll and carries it around with her everywhere. She calls her "la la" for some reason...

Thanksgiving - 2009

What a whirlwind of travel...We got back from Orange Beach a couple of days before Thanksgiving, just in time to re-pack and go to Atlanta for Thanksgiving. The girls had a great time, especially Sofia visiting with her cousins, Tre' and Quintin. They are 5 and 4 years old. She tried her hardest to keep up with them, running and climbing all over the place! She loves them and it was nice to see them playing together all week...My brother, Schuyler and his cute wife Kristen and their son Quinten surprised us with a visit from Nebraska and we were thrilled! In all, Thanksgiving was great and we feel SO abundantly grateful this year for the birth of our healthy daughter Sydney, for the great big sister that Sofia is, for the happiness and joy that accompanies marriage, for family, and for the blessings of the gospel. We truly have a merciful and kind Father in Heaven! We hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! GiGi and Papi (my parents) took us all to Stone Mountain for the Christmas festivities. It was VERY cold and cost a small fortune, but the kids had a great time!

Orange Beach

After we left Grandma and Grandpa's house, we headed to Orange Beach for a week by ourselves with the girls. Some friends have a penthouse condo right on the beach and offered to let us stay for the week. What a blessing! We are amazed and full of gratitude for the kindness of our friends for allowing us to be here! Thank you "you know who"! Here are some pictures from our week thus far: The weather has been perfect and this time away has been such a bonding time for us and a time of solitude. We go home tomorrow night and will definitely miss our walks on the beach, playing with the girls in the sand and water and just relaxing! It's been nice to wake up to a view of the ocean and how calming it is. We introduced Sydney to the water this week and she had fun. She was pretty mellow about it all, but smiled nonetheless. We got a video of her swimming. Check it out below...Sofia, of course, is our little mermaid, so she will always love the water. She wants to get in the ocean, but we think it's just a tad bit cold, so we've been just getting our feet wet with her. We have been getting in the indoor pool and sauna though and she loves it! Here are more pictures:

Visit with Grandma and Grandpa Gray and Great-Grandma Townsend

We had a great time last week visiting our family in Florida! Sofia and Sydney really love their grandparents and had a great time playing with them. Sofia kept asking for "Pa" (Grandpa) whenever he left the room. She also got to spend time with Grandma in the garden picking vegetables and fruit from the fruit trees. Sofi also got to play with Grandma's lot of stuffed animals. She was in heaven! We also got to see Aunt Beth and Uncle Roger, Audrey, Michael and Becca and had wonderful dinner with the family. Spending time with cousin Becca was especially fun for Sofia. We love you all! Here are some pictures: