three!

On the twenty-second of September we celebrated Dahlia's third birthday!  This past year we were really able to experience the beauty of organ donation as we watched Dahlia get to enjoy life as a happy, healthy, busy toddler.  We saw her cute personality blossom even more, and saw her become physically stronger. We are extremely thankful that Dahlia didn't have any hospital stays, other than the expected appointments and checkups. We are so grateful  to have Dahlia in our family and for the family that said yes and gave us this precious gift.

Dahlia was being the biggest diva when I first started taking her pictures.  I had to get Ava and Laila to jump around and make funny faces to get her to look at the camera and smile.

the weekend

Yesterday the weather was a breath of fresh air from our normaly hot and humid weather.  We had to get out and enjoy it!  We drove to a park and went on a little hike and played on the playground.  It was so nice to be outside and not sweat!

laila lost her first tooth

Laila was so excited to place her first baby tooth under her pillow, for the tooth fairy.  She was even more excited when the tooth fairy left her a note and some money!

back to school celebration

The night before school started we had a back to school dinner to help get the kids get excited about the new school year.  I found the idea for these cute apple cupcakes here.  I filled these fun pencil containers with treats for the kids.  I think the night was a success and especially helped Laila get excited for Kindergarten.

first day of school

Laila started Kindergarten on Monday.  She was a little nervous, and so was I!  Laila had a great first day.  When she got home from school, she told me all about her day and said it was lots of fun.  Being at school all day tired her out, and she feel asleep as soon as she got home.  Laila was brave enough to ride the bus home from school on the first day with Ava.

 Ava started second grade.  She always loves getting to pick out her outfit for the first day.  Before the girls left for school that morning, I overheard Ava giving Laila lots of tips.

 Aiden is in fifth grade this year and is now in middle school with Dario.  He was a little worried about being in a new school and having to find his way to all his classes and opening his locker.  He told me he went to the wrong class and didn't realize it until they called role.  He also had to ask for directions, which he said was embarrassing.

 Dario started sixth grade. He is in the oldest grade in middle school, and wasn't as nervous as Aiden because he is an old pro at middle school. He had a great first day!

popsicles!

We have been trying to enjoy the last bit of summer before the kids go back to school in one week.  I made these raspberry vanilla popsicles.  They were the perfect summer treat.  Summer has flown by, but to be honest, I am happily waving it bye!  I love fall and the cooler weather that comes with it.

a busy girl

Dahlia is a busy little girl these days, who is full of energy.  She loves riding her little car as fast as she can, around the house, yelling, "charge!".  She likes to pick out her own outfits, loves to color and draw and take all the books off of the shelves.  She is still attached to her friend the "paci", who helped her get through some rough days in the hospital.  Dahlia is so close to walking.  She wants so bad to keep up with her brothers and sisters and cousins.  I can't wait for her to be able to run around with them!

fourth of july

We had a fun holiday, filled with swimming, barbecue and fireworks.  Three day holiday weekends are the best!

vacation!

Last week we went on the annual Ochoa family vacation.  This year we to Galveston and stayed in a lovely home, which was located in the historic district and built in 1914.  It had lots of character and included a pirate themed basement and a creepy attic with stairs leading up to it.  The kids spent most of their time down in the basement playing games.  We made our way to the beach a couple of times, which had us wishing we were still on a beautiful Florida beach.  The muddy beach was completely covered with seaweed, which stunk really bad.  One of the days we were there my family, who live close to Galveston, came down to go to the beach with us.  The water was really rough and choppy, which the kids loved playing in.  What Galveston lacks in beautiful beaches, it makes up for with historic charm.  We toured two beautiful mansions and enjoyed shopping on the historic Strand, which is filled with grand old buildings.  In order to enjoy some nicer water, we went to a water park, which had fireworks at night.  I think this was one of everyone's favorite activities.  As always, we stayed up way too late, ate lots of good food and played lots of games.  This is such a fun tradition, that I hope continues for many years to come.

10 years

On Friday the thirteenth, Aiden turned 10 years old.  Luckily, he didn't have an unlucky birthday!  He is growing up way too fast.  Love this sweet boy and all the energy and fun he brings into our home.

blueberry season

Last Saturday Brian, Ava, and Aiden woke up early to go blueberry picking at a local farm. They came home with a ton of blueberries!  We froze some for later and used the fresh ones to make delicious baked goods.  I made this blueberry cake, which is very similar to the one my mom made a lot when we were growing up.

summer is here!

The kids are loving being out of school for the summer; getting to sleep in, no homework and spending lots of time at the pool.  The first week out of school went well with little fighting and little whining about being bored.  Aiden is helping his grandma teach swimming lessons and Laila is taking lessons.  We'll see how the rest of summer goes!