Elmo!

There was an open house at My Gym with a special appearance by Elmo this weekend so we could not pass it up. Elena really really likes Elmo - she even says his name when she sees him! So we thought she would enjoy seeing him in person. (We were slightly worried that he might scare her but we thought we would give it a shot) Before the big appearance Elena got to play in the gym.

Daddy had never been to My Gym and I think he may have enjoyed it more than Elena!

Our little monkey!!

Then it was time for Elmo!!!

It took her a second to realize who he was (to her credit he did look a little strange).

She then made a bee-line towards him...

touched him to make sure he was real...

...and then hugged him! I know this sounds silly but I almost teared up with how adorable and sweet she was being!! We honestly had to pry her off so other kids could have a turn!

But she went straight back for more!

So he picked her up...and she was in heaven!

I tired to get a pic with Robert in it too but she just wanted to nuzzle against his big scary, I mean furry, head!

We were afraid she would be upset when he had to leave, but she just gave a big smile and waved bye-bye!

Hmmm....maybe I need to re-think the theme for her 1st birthday party!!

11 months!

Elena is 11 months old! I can't believe it -- time to start thinking about her 1st birthday! That is just amazing to me!

A few new facts about Elena:

• She finally got her 1st tooth!
• She doesn't clap her hands but clasps them together and shakes them up and down.
• Is a walking machine!!
• Loves to be outside, and throws a fit sometimes when we take her inside.
• Can say: Mama, Dada, Ooper (for Cooper or any other dog), Hello, Uh-oh, something that sounds very much like Grandma and Grandpa, Elmo, All Done, I swear I heard Thank You once, and she says Caca all the time!
• Has a monkey that she loves to sleep with.
• Has learned to drink through a straw.
• Holds the phone up to her ear and says 'hello' - so cute!

Claudio III.

Our very good friends Clyde and Twila had their baby boy this past Wednesday!!! I have never been at a hospital waiting for a baby to be born (except for Elena of course)! Now I know how everyone felt when I was delivering! Here is daddy to be Clyde getting ready for the action!

I had to document this - Robert was so bored while we were waiting he actually read a parenting magazine!!!

Finally at 6:33pm Little Claudio Flores III arrived! Shortly after we got to go in and see him. What a sweet little guy! He was 6 lbs 7 oz and 19 inches long.


Here is the proud mommy Twila! I think I even see a little smile from little Clyde!


Then it was our turn to hold him. :)

The new family!

The next day we took Elena up to meet her newest buddy!

She did pretty good with him - except when Robert told her to give him a high-five and she smacked his arm. Poor little guy started crying. :(

I honestly don't remember Elena being this little! It is unbelievable how fast they grow! Look at him stretch! I do remember Elena doing this a lot.

Our little baby looked like such a big girl next to him!

The new parents look pretty great for being sleep-deprived!

It is going to be so great to see Claudio and Elena grow up together! It will be so much fun!

Here is a cute parting shot of Elena with her daddy.

Congratulations to the Flores family!!

Sandbo Wedding.

This past weekend was my good friend Kristy's wedding. She and I played basketball with each other at Newman together. It is great to see her so happy! This is after the ceremony - imagine that - you don't get to take to many pictures in the ceremony when you are trying to keep a baby quiet and entertained through a Catholic mass!! Love these bubbles - it turned out very pretty!

Sarah was a bridesmaid - so pretty!

The cool peeps staying in the shade!

Thought we would try for a family picture outside but there was just too much going on to get Elena to look at the camera.

and of course Daddy is always good at distracting her too!

But we saw this pretty arch inside and got a really good one of all three of us!

and a good one of Elena and Daddy too!

Hanging out with Grandma and Sarah's mom Brenda waiting on the new couple to get to the reception!

There were lots of little kiddos for Elena to run around with! This is my former basketball coach Marcus' little man - he was a cutie! And he is already walking at 9 months and has been since 8 months! Yikes, and I thought Elena was a handful! Love the look on her face here!

All the Newman basketball girls at the wedding - and Coach Scheer, Coach Thomas and Coach Hicks. I can't believe it has been 5 years since we graduated college already!

Kristy made an absolutely beautiful bride!! She was definitely glowing!

Good friends and good times!

Of course Robert had to be on his phone for at least some portion of the night!!!

But then he impressed us with his ''catching a bubble on the tongue" skills. Wow - what a talented hubby I have! Ha ha!

Then we hit the dance floor! Check out Kristy's new hubby Mike shaking it in the background! Too funny!

The wedding was so much fun and it was so great to see all my friends from college that I hadn't seen in a long time!

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Sandbo!