SISTER SIMILARITIES

I was going through some old photos in my shutterfly account and came across some photos of Daniella that look just like Mia now... you can definitely see the similarities... especially when the photos are put side by side! Take a peek...

Dani 20 months . . . . . . . . . Mia 14 months -
BOTH LOVE THE WATER!


Dani 17 months . . . . . . . Mia 15 months
Same head tilt & cheesy smile


Dani 18 months . . . . . . Mia 15 months
They even do the same thing with their tongue!


Dani 18 months

Mia 14 months
They both LOVE and ADORE their dog - Bella!

Friday - July 4th, 2008

We stayed home and had a relaxing & fun day on Friday - July 4th. Daddy Dale had the day off... the kids didn't have anywhere to go - so we just hung out in our backyard - set up the bonzai water slide and just let the kids have fun! Later that night we walked outside our front door to see all our neighbors setting off their fireworks! Happy 4th!

15 months old...

Our sweet little Mia is already 15 months old and to me, growing WAY too fast! Why do my babies have to grow so fast? What's the rush anyway? If it were up to me, I'd keep her this size forever & ever!

In the photos below - Mia is wearing a beautifully handmade dress that Kathryn Richburg (a co-worker of Dale's) made for Mia. It is so delicate and wonderfully made. Today was the first time for her to wear it and I just had to take some photos of her in it. THANKS KATHRYN, we love the dress and we know it was truly made with LOVE!


Mia @ 15 months can:

(this list is really for me, so I won't forget all the little things my baby did at this age... and so when Mia is older she can read this & know)

- say: "Up", "Momma", "DaaaDaaa", "MomMom" (she says that a lot lately) & "PopPop", "Mo", "Aayan" (for Ryan), "Neyaa" (for Daniella), "all done" (which I haven't heard in awhile... but she did say it once), "Waaaawwaaaa" (sings the tune to "shall we go for a walk today" by just singing, "waaawaaa")

- signs: EAT (all the time... I think my girl has food issues), SLEEPY, ALL DONE, DADDY, MILK, MORE, THIRSTY, PLEASE, THANK YOU

- If you ask her:
How does PopPop sleep? She makes a snoring sound
What do doggies do? She'll stick out her tongue & pant like a dog
What does a fish do? She'll make popping sounds with her lips
If you ask her to smile: She'll crinkle her nose and show her teeth
If you ask her to scowl: She'll literally scowl at you and make one eye smaller than the other
If you ask her to LOVE: She'll lean into you and let you kiss her
She can also blow you a kiss and pet her dog Bella "gently"

- able to locate these body parts:

nose, hands, eyes, tongue, mouth, teeth, ears, belly button, knee, hair & head

-favorite books:
"FIVE LITTLE MONKEYS SITTING IN A TREE", when you read the book it reads: Five little monkeys sitting in a tree, teasing Mr. Crocodile can't catch me... along comes Mr. Crocodile and... SNAP (on Snap she claps her hands) Oooh No! Where is she? (on Ooh No, she puts her hands to her forehead); at the middle of the book all the monkeys are found in the tree and she pretends to count... one, two, three, four, five; and finally at the end of the book it says, their momma hugs them (she'll lean in for a hug) their momma scolds them (Mia scowls and points/waves her pointer finger) "NEVER TEASE A CROCODILE... IT'S NOT NICE & IT'S DANGEROUS, too!"

"THE VERY QUIET CRICKET" - when you read: The little cricket rubbed it's wings together (Mia rubs her hands together) but nothing happens, not a sound (Mia puts her hands out like to say, "I don't know")

"GOODNIGHT MOON" - when you read: ... and goodnight to the old lady who was whispering, "hhuussshhh" - Mia will put her pointer finger to her lips as if to say, "ssshhhhh"

"THE RAINBOW FISH" - she loves all the pictures and turning the pages

"TWINKLE TWINKLE LITTLE STAR" - she loves to open & close her hands to this book

-favorite songs: "Jesus is the answer..." - she'll point to heaven; "Twinkle twinkle little start" (same as above book); "Jesus loves the little ones like me, me me" she loves to point to herself; "I open my bible book and read, HE loves me, HE loves me" Mia puts her hands together and opens it like a book and points to herself

- favorite foods: Mac n' Cheese, sweet peas, green beans, chicken with noodles and veggies, corn, pear yogurt, homemade oatmeal with cracklin' oats in it, cooked carrots & LOVES her Organic Whole Milk

- favorite DVD: Baby's 1st Signs (a baby Mozart/baby Einstein series)

Rock Band

Okay... so I broke down and decided to let my kids find their inner rock! ROCK BAND for XBOX 360 is a new household fave! I'm not even a fan of rock music - but this game is WAY too much fun! If I have to find some good reasons to have this game - it teaches eye - hand coordination, rhythm / tempo, builds confidence & most important is team work because everyone has to do their part to complete a song! There are various modes to play - Easy to Expert modes and it is funny to hear the kids laughing and cheering when they finish each song! I was amazed at how quickly the kids picked up on the songs and always ready to JAM! I'll have to try to post some video clips of them in action.... (stay tuned!)

Dani was excited to get a LEMONHEAD after swimming her 25 mm backstroke! Her comments, "This is WAY better than a ribbon!" Silly girl! It's all about the candy!

... 13 YEARS & "for always"

July 2nd, 1995 -
13 Years ago in Lake Forest, Illinois - just North of Chicago - I married my BEST FRIEND! We had the most wonderful weekend with approx. 300 of our family & friends all gathering from all over the US & Canada to celebrate our wedding day! I still remember that day and how incredibly calm I felt and so sure of the choices I made for my life-long mate! I remember feeling so happy and so ready to walk down that aisle - and become Dale's wife! I'm a planner (or so I think I am) and I had rehearsed the timeline and what to expect of the weekend all in my mind... of course, it came out better than I ever imagined it to! It was better because of the people that were there and the family & friends that took the time to be with us. It was exciting because not only were we getting married... but we were going to be moving to Sicily, Italy for 3 years and begin a life of adventure together!

My most memorable moment of that day was when I took my dad's arm to walk down the aisle... my two little cousins opened the church doors & I saw all my family & friends staring and looking back at me. Everyone we loved was in one room... and waiting for me up front - standing in a beam of light (literally, the sun from the church's big picture window was shining on Dale like a spotlight) was DALE! It was a pretty amazing site!

My favorite DETAIL of our wedding day has 2 parts. It was when my childhood friend - Jocelyn was reading a letter written to our parents as we stood up front... our parents then lit our Unity Candle (you'll see it in the foreground of our "prayer photo"). This candle was awesome because it was one big pillar split in half, each half having it's own wick. As our parents lit each half - that symbolized them giving each of us life... and right before Dale & I walked up to the top of the stage - we pushed the two halves together. By the time our Wedding Ceremony was over... the two halves bonded & became ONE!

Arch of Swords... welcoming me into the Navy Family...
the RITE OF PASSAGE is a Kiss! And right after this photo
another rite of passage was a swift swat on my rear w/ the sword!

Cutting the cake with Dale's Sword


Our entire Wedding Entourage!
Ladies in white/black - Kim Medina Knowlton, Caryn Brion Wooster, Esther Cho Anunciado, Jocelyn Santos, Gladys Tortal Griggs & Deborah Pacheco Trevino

Flower girl: Sydney Pendleton & Bible Boy: Joshua Hack

Photo Below:
* Ladies from L to R: Danielle DiMemmo Emde, Dora Taitague, Imee Frias Smith, Helen Kim (Matron of Honor), Evelyn Ramirez & Shannon Kanavy
* Men from L to R: Tommy Sanpakit, Josue Najera, Walter Marcos (Best Man), Lennard Pan, Rodney Miguel & Eric Bautista

... fast forward - 13 years later - July 2nd, 2008


Look at our 4 little blessings -



If I could go back in time... I would do it all over again - I'd marry Dale, I'd move to Sicily and everywhere else and experience the adventureous Navy life & I'd have 4 kids! I've learned that HOME IS SURELY WHERE THE HEART IS and as long as we're together - we're good to go! God has blessed us tremendously! We thank HIM daily for ALL that He's given us!

our song (we sang to each other at our wedding):
"FOR ALWAYS!" -BeBe & CeCe Winans

Coach Perry's Suggestions for the boys...

It was the boys last day at Jr. Golf Camp with Coach Perry Green. He gave each of his students a video of their swing... what a great tool for learning!

Morgan's Golf Swing

Ryan's Golf Swing

... my little Golfers ...

Daniella is participating in her very first LPGA-USGA Girls Golf Program. The girls ages range from age 7 - 17 and it's every Monday & Tuesday from 11am - 2pm. Dani is enjoying Coach Perry Green once again... and mostly, she is enjoying the LUNCH at the club (ha ha... it's the highlight of the golf program!)

Coach Perry Green has been a PGA member since 1982 and earned the PGA Specialty Certification of Instruction. What we love most about Coach Green is his silliness and ability to make the game FUN for the kids! As a player, Coach Green won the 2005 Illinois PGA Senior Masters Golf Tournament in Chicago!



SUMMER JUNIOR GOLF CAMP for the boys is this week only - 4 days from 9am - 2pm... of course, their highlight of the day is also LUNCH at the club! My kids do love a good meal... and from swimming at 7:30am... to golf at 9am... they certainly work up an appetite! The boys always enjoy Golfing with Coach Green... here are a few pics from their days at Jr. Golf Camp!



LPGA - USGA GIRLS GOLF OF CHARLESTON

... 'tis the season for SWIMMING!

I'm still learning how to use our little FLIP MINO and how to download the video clips from it. Here's a few clips taken from tonights SWIM MEET. Our little swim team is new this year. There are only about 30 kids on the team. We're small in numbers... but big in SPIRIT! Most of the teams that we go up against have 80 to 100 kids! The nice thing about our team is that everyone knows each other and everyone gets to swim A LOT!

Tonight our little team did their personal BEST... placing 1st & 2nd in many events! Here is a Mix Medley Relay that Ryan & Daniella competed in... Ryan swam the butterfly & Dani swam the freestyle. This is the kids first summer to swim laps & learn strokes... and I'm so proud of their improvement and effort! I am convinced that this is a sport that we will continue each summer!!! Thanks to my pediatrician (Dr. Lane) who encouraged me to get the kids on swim team... it's definitely one of the BEST suggestions made!

There are two RYAN's on our swim team and they both swam the BREAST STROKE... one parent calls my Ryan "Ricco Suave" - and you hear him (and others) cheering little Ry Ry on as "go - Ricco!" I have to say... there is this little fighting spirit that drives Ryan to the Finish Line... my little 2 pounder (preemie) simply amazes me!

Morgan's BREAST STROKE... This is definitely Mo's favorite stroke and BEST stroke! I'm so very proud of Mo for doing his best... and participating in all the events that his coach puts him in!


More clips to follow...

Our Swim Coach

Our Swim Coach Katie... is quite the impressive girl! She just got back last week from the White House & meeting President George W. Bush! We are so blessed to have such an incredible role model for our kids! Read clip below of Kate's accomplishments... and she's only what... 18? I asked her one day at swim practice... "what did your parents do to raise such a great kid?" Her answer... "till this day we still don't have a properly functioning TV" Hmmm, that says a lot!

Fort Dorchester High School senior named prestigious Presidential Scholar
She’s attended the Governor’s School and the Fine Arts Academy at Missouri State University. She’s also an International Baccalaureate student, a Habitat for Humanity president, a member of the Spanish Honor Society, competes on the track and swim teams, won first place in a state art competition and was named “Most effective Attorney” at the 2007 Lowcountry Regional High School Mock Trial Competition. Now the young standout has another major accomplishment to add to her resume.

The kids are having a very busy summer... and also having LOTS of fun in the process! Last night was a nice relaxing time at home - we were able to eat a sit down dinner and just talk about all the fun they had during the day! We're also blessed to have my parents staying close by in their motorhome this summer. We are enjoying our time with them!

Partners in Grime!

Our wonderful friend - Gladys Tortal Griggs (she's the one who introduced Dale & I...) convinced me to do a MUDDY BUDDY with her in Atlanta, Georgia last weekend!

What is a Muddy Buddy? Well... it's a 6-7 mile course and 5 obstacles. At the start of the race, one team member runs and one will ride the bike. At the 1st obstacle, the rider drops the bike, completes the obstacle, and begins running. The runner will arrive, complete the obstacle, find their bike, and begin riding. Teams continue leapfrogging each other through the entire course. At the end of the race, racers will crawl through the infamous Mud Pit crossing the finish line together!

It rained most of the time which I didn't mind because it kept us cool throughout the race! The rain also made the course quite slippery and some of those steep hills were pretty intimidating on a bike! But overall, it was a great experience and I'm happy that GLAD convinced me to do it with her. THANKS GLAD!


... crawlin' thru the MUD PIT with my MUDDY BUDDY!

... it was GREAT watching our kids run the MINI-MUDDY! Parents encouraging & cheering their kids to roll in the mud, get dirty and have fun... IT WAS AN AWESOME DAY!

Morgan Ryan Daniella




The slideshow (above) will show our pictures from our weekend trip to Atlanta, GA. Once again, it was a full weekend of fun! Not only did we complete our MUDDY BUDDY... we also toured Inside CNN (Cable News Network ) Headquarters... walked around the city... viewed beautiful homes... and reunited with an old classmate of mine from Blue Mountain Academy. Dave Ennis & his family!

You'll notice that Mia was not in any of these photos... it was our first weekend away from our baby girl. She stayed with my parents!!! She probably didn't even miss us... but we sure missed her!

Wooster Family visit...

We enjoyed having our friends - The Wooster Family stop by at our place on their way to their family reunion in Jekyll Island! They spent 2 nights with us and we embraced and enjoyed every minute of their time shared! The best part was just hanging out and not doing anything but BEING relaxed and together! On Wednesday we all just hung out at the pool and relaxed and let the kids play for 3 hours! Thanks for coming to visit us - Dave, Caryn, Sabrina & Nate!

Dale & Dave...

Mia, Dot & Caryn

Uncle Dave & baby Mia...