4: the panfilio's big adventure

2010-08-30T13:00:00.001-07:00

...so i have decided that it is almost impossible to update one blog...let alone two...so you can find my and my family at: www.everydayvalentine.blogspot.com from now on! enjoy! love- *laura*

...Disneyland & turning 30!!!

2010-02-22T21:40:00.000-08:00

for my 30th birthday all i wanted was to go to Disneyland! So my awesome husband planned a three day trip for us...we had a great time! the only bummer was that the kids go sick and so our trip was longer than planned and we missed seeing everyone we wanted to see while we were down there (especially my cousin Katie and her new little girl Maizie Jane....but hopefully we'll see her soon)! I felt celebrated & loved and most of all had a great time in my favorite place! aaron and i even got to spend a whole evening there w/out kids...a true gift!

DAY ONE

Aunt Ev, Aunt Fifi & Grammy came along!

paige loved small world and the teacups the most and as far as the characters she liked them in theory but up close she was not so sure!

paige between the twins! she was excited about small world before we even got inside and was singing the song quietly by the end...so cute!

grammy loves little grant!

she wasn't so sure about this ride...her first flying one...but she warmed up to it! and then we met the princesses at ariel's gratto restaurant...she LOVED that!

our view of California Adventure from the restaurant patio...so beautiful at night!

all in all her and grant were troopers...especially considering they were both getting sick!

DAY TWO

aunt fifi came with us and we met everyone else for lunch in downtown disney to celebrate my actual birthday! paige was not really herself...but jen took her and grant home early and aaron and i got a date...what a fun night we had together running all over the parks by ourselves! jen was amazing...we had so much fun with her and she was hobbling around on a hurt ankle...never complaining...she is the best sister a girl could hope for!

this was taken after the alladin show...the kids sat through the whole thing...amazing...even grant who did not get what was going on at all. paige asked aaron a million questions as she watched "what is alladin doing? where is alladin? what is jasmine doing? what's that?"

DAY THREE

our final day...we were all pretty tired but had a great time.

waiting for peter pan's flight...mommies favorite ride!

a few of mommies favorite things...coffee, disneyland and my sweet boy grant!

paige wanted one more ride on small world...so daddy and grant did their own thing.

paige is really into picking her nose these days...yummy!

bye, bye disneyland...we cannot wait to see you again

and paige will be talking about you for years to come! xoxo

a few christmas & a few fall shots...

2010-02-01T23:29:00.000-08:00

Here are a few Christmas pictures...more to come i hope!

idaho fun!

oh santa...maybe she'll enjoy it next year...we still love you!

tea party w/ auntie shannon & nana (quite the highlight)!

Here are a few fall pics...again, more to come i hope!

a fun day at the fair!

this is not even 2 minutes after driving out of the fair parking lot...so tired after all the fun...she got to take her own pictures...so funny!

...halloween fun!

2009-11-02T11:44:00.000-08:00

grant's first halloween...so fun!

we saw lots of friends and paige went trick or treating for the 1st time...of course she loved it!

paige and grant were dora & boots...that is what she wanted so i went with it!

visiting daddy at the firehouse!

...fall fun and a few firsts!

2009-11-02T09:00:00.000-08:00

we so busy these days and i am so very behind on posting...so enjoy these for now and hopefully at some point i'll catch up (mom i hope you enjoy)!

we couuldn't get her to smile normal.

this was paige's first starbucks hot chocolate...i think she is going to be like her mommy!

that's my girl!

our first time carving a pumpkin with the kids...paige was not sure what to think! we got cute pictures with the jack o lantern in their fun halloween outfits from gigi!

...light of christmas BOUTIQUE!

2009-10-30T12:20:00.000-07:00

the one week BOUTIQUE countdown begins!

i'm so excited to be making crafts and preparing for our annual boutique in southern california! i have been a part of this for the last several years and always have fun preparing for and participating in this fun event! this year i am making scrapbooks, gift tags (i have made over 500 this year!), love letter journals, party hats, baby onesies and MORE! if you live in the southern california area and are interested in coming please check out our blog: www.lightofchristmasboutique.blogspot.com

hope to see you there! love- *laura*

...i can hardly believe that our sweet girl is two!

2009-09-01T16:25:00.001-07:00

happy 2nd birthday paige!!!
(we love you)

p.s. there are many pictures to post...but these were my favorite from today (in her new birthday present...a Tinkerbell dress...she is very into dress up and princesses right now)!!! enjoy!

...all i want for my birthday!!!!

2009-08-19T10:49:00.000-07:00

yesterday was grammy's birthday...and she said that all she wanted for her birthday was new pictures of her grand kids on the blog. so i have now spent the last two hours doing just that...i hope you love all the pics grammy. we love you...happy birthday! (and happy birthday to aunt ev also...we love you too! xoxox

fun at the mall's water park!

these two are already having fun together...at least paige thinks so!

mr. smiley

three months and they are both proudly wearing their "tax deduction" shirt!!!!

i love these jammies and they no longer fit...so i got pics the last night he wore them...doesn't he look like his cousin asher in this one? i think so!

someone wanted in on the pics...imagine that. she also wanted elmo in the pics!

here's paige at 12 weeks...the look similar but paige was so chubby!

paige loves tomatoes (or "matoes") these days...she eats them like apples as you can see. hmmmm...she is more like aunt fifi everyday!

last month aaron turned 30....yeah! we celebrated with some of our favorite people and of course yummy food! so much fun. even some of our family members were able to come from out of town! aaron got an amazing camera from his parents that we are LOVING! thanks nana & papa!

the next day we had little grant dedicated at church!
that basically means that we committed to pray for him, teach him about the Lord and ask others around us to help us do the same. so all of our church friends and family gathered around us to do so...we are so grateful! and we were also very honored to the first baby dedication at the well southeast!

we had a great trip to southern california in june or was it may? hmmm. but these are some of the "lost photos" that are now found!

the whole time we were down there uncle ray kept telling paige to say "lose the beard dad" and so we decided to document the losing of the beard (more "lost photos").

and finally here are a few more "lost photos" of my lovely baby shower! the meyer's girls threw me and grant a wonderful party with good food & friends. it was fun to get so many great little gifts for grant and to introduce him to everyone! love those meyer's girls. i wish paige was in this photo...but isn't it cute even so?!!!

seven years later...

2009-07-27T14:33:00.001-07:00

...and no itchy...scratchy!!!! happy anniversary babe!!!!

...and then there were four...oh boy!

2009-07-04T23:45:00.000-07:00

sorry for the lack of blog updates. we have been soooooooo busy with these two kids and aaron has been working a lot. along with that we have had some issues with the pictures on our computer disappearing...so in the words of my mother sorry to let our fans down. i have been very overwhelmed with the transition of two kids...so i will try to update the blog when i can...but right now i am just in survival mode!

happy 4th of july!

we got a quick surprise visit from the trempers...what a treat!

i had to see how he would do in the bumbo...he has a really strong neck...and he liked it...but i think he needs a few more weeks before we can really put him in it...i cannot wait!

outdoor movie (eight below), snow cones, popcorn and snow...sound like a fun church outing? only in fresno would you see kids in the middle of summer (i think it was over 100 that day) in a pile of snow having a blast even though they could no longer feel their fingers. paige was right there in the mix with the big kids and could not get enough of it...in fact she kept playing while everyone else watched the movie- this was right before we left at 9:00 pm!
if you don't know what it is like to have a child who spits up...let me just say it is not fun. i thought i would give you a taste by taking pictures of him in each outfit i changed him into on his ten week birthday...there was actually one more before bed but i did not have the energy to take a picture.
AND here are the other pictures from the last several weeks...
this guy is too cute!
someone wanted in the action...imagine that!

sad lip - i think paige taught him this one!

he is changing so fast...tooo fast.

some friends at our church lost their little baby boy Tyler Rumley last week (their blog: www.therumleys.com ) please join us in praying for them...and be sure to kiss your babies everyday & tell them you love them.

2009-05-18T22:53:00.000-07:00

our good friends, the sherfields, were gracious enough to do two photo shoots for us last month. one before grant was born & one when he was only 3 days old! we had so much fun! be sure to check out Sherfield Photography ...thanks again Josh & Katrina!

these are my two favorites of grant!

a few of paige's many faces!

...three weeks has come & gone!

2009-05-16T18:18:00.001-07:00

three weeks? where is the time going?

we are busy, busy, busy with two kiddos...but loving it (well most of the time)! grant is growing, very sleepy but waking up a lot more, and very strong (he'll have to be to keep up with paige).

wow- does he look like my dad in this one or what?

poor guys spits up just like his sister (in this picture i imagine him saying "oh great- here we go again..."). paige was trying to grab his toes and would not get out of the picture despite my begging. she just kept saying "baby grant's toes...baby grant's toes" again & again!

after his little photo shoot i stuck him in here real quick to grab something and paige had grabbed a spit up rag and was trying to wipe up his face...so cute. although i had to again urge her not to cover up baby grant's face...oh boy...i love how sweet she is with him most of the time!

the boys

2009-05-07T11:16:00.001-07:00

can you believe our boy is two weeks old? here's the little dudes latest pics!

we had a wonderful visit with nana & papa!
they got to meet grant & play with paige-it was great.
it included a trip to the zoo and lots of fun around the house and yard!

here we are in front of the monkey cage....we love monkeys!

can you tell we are not morning people?

we are loving our sweet boy!

2009-04-29T23:06:00.001-07:00

congrats to aunt fifi for being our ExpectNet winner!
she guessed a boy on april 22nd...is that amazing or what?

paige is loving being a big sister- she is doing really well. i think having a baby around has made her advance towards two a little bit earlier...but we expected her to have some difficulty with the whole thing. all in all she is doing pretty well and even when she is throwing a fit or not listening she is making us laugh a lot. her latest thing is telling us "bye,bye" when she doesn't want us watching her do something she is not supposed to do. she is too smart.

some family pics!

grant turned one week old yesterday!
we just love our little peanut. he is such a sleepy head...we call him the turtle because he is rarely awake and when he does decide to wake up he opens his little eyes like a turtle as if to say "wow...i've been in my shell for a long time."

i had to take a comparison picture of paige and grant at one week...he is so tiny and sleepy!

we have seen dr. kratzer a lot lately...we love him and his staff!
and paige has wooed all the nurses...they just love her.

"YOU DID WHAT - TO MY WHAT?" (grant after his little operation)daddy & paige have been working in the yard everyday. we are enjoying this weather and going outside as much as possible...the fresno heat will soon be upon us!

More pictures of the baby...

2009-04-25T14:29:00.000-07:00

Here are a few more from the birth day and from today...

It's a boy!!

2009-04-24T20:47:00.000-07:00

Grant Andrew Panfilio was born on Wednesday, April 22 at 9:17am. He was 6 lbs, 7 oz and 18.5" long. We are all home now and enjoying time with Grant and his "big sister" (as Paige calls herself). Everyone is doing well...will post more later.

...less than a month & some old pics!

2009-04-02T13:28:00.001-07:00

it's that time again for all of you to make your guesses on ExpectNet for the baby. Let's see how you do...Ryan was the winner with Paige...let's see if he can keep his title! Click on the link to the right to play and have fun! Only one more month until this little baby is here...we are counting the days!

also, here are a few old pictures that we just got developed (we have a really nice camera that uses film and so we forget to take the pictures in). these are from our trip to Redding last spring to attend my cousin Todd's graduation. we had a great trip and i cannot believe how much paige has changed since then...i knew she was chubby but it's easy to forget because she has changed so much since then!

sundial bridge (it's so cool- not temperature cool- that day was over 100)

paige loves uncle ray - he was her protector at the top of this viewpoint

aunt fifi & paige

...eighteen months going on 18!

2009-03-02T14:23:00.000-08:00

paige is too funny these days. between loving on her baby and kissing "mommies baby" and having fun with Jenna (enna), Kirra (kia) and Cohl she is becoming quite the chatterbox. her sign language has slowed down because now she just wants to say everything! and i mean everything- she never stops talking. my favorite word that i have her say for everyone is peanut butter or "pee pee bu bu" in her terms. February was a very busy month along with our first really bad stomach flu for paige (you don't know love until your child throws up five times in one night and most of the rounds are on you)! we did make it to southern california for my cousin kim's baby shower (little asher is set to arrive about two weeks before baby aaron planned a wonderful birthday party for me with friends and we even got a visit from aunt fifi for the whole weekend...it was a great way to celebrate my last year as a 20-something.

we are counting the days until baby number two arrives (about 8 more weeks) and i am for sure in the nesting mode- in between naps of course. aaron is very busy with church involvement and more classes this month- along with an upcoming snowshoe backpacking trip in Yosemite for a few days. call me crazy but camping in the snow does not sound fun to me...but he cannot wait. enjoy these pictures!

Grammy was begging for some new JCPenney pictures...so here are her latest as she just turned 18 months! Where is the time going?

peek-a-boo

smelling the flowers!

The weather has been beautiful- so we got out the other day for some fresh air & sun!

the belly is growing!she is always pointing at the camera because she wants to see the "babies" on it...she does not realize the baby is her and sometimes we honestly cannot get her to smile because she keeps pointing and crying "babies, babies, babies"

we have been really enjoying time with our friends the obwalds- they go to our church and only live several blocks from here! paige is in love with them and lights up whenever they are around...here we are enjoying our "dress up box."
cohl

Kirra

Jenna

paige's first art project. she had fun...but didn't like her hands getting dirty (i was the same when i was little)

kim's baby shower was really fun- but paige was having one of the worst days of her little life- so i was very preoccupied. here we are trying to distract her by singing "wheels on the bus"...it only worked for a minute. usually i can bring her anywhere- but she was a mess that day and as a result i was wiped out. that night i went to bed at 8:00 and slept in too! the only bummer about the trip is that paige and i were so "out of it" we did not get to see all of the friends we wanted to see. we'll just have to get back there after the baby is born!
kim & aunt ev!katie, aunt fifi, paige, me & aunt chris!

we love cousin Madsen! he is so cute!

we finally got to meet madsen on our trip to southern california for kim's shower- unfortunately because paige had been so sick and because my mom got sick (the day she was supposed to leave with us for the trip)...we decided that paige and i would keep our distance. i was so bummed that i could not hold him- but paige loved helping out by rocking his car carrier! so fun!

paige loves uncle ray- they had a great time together. she also loved kitty & aunt ev. aunt ev & uncle ray had a lot of practice for little asher...they got up with paige and helped watch her and feed her and change her diaper...they are going to be wonderful grandparents!

i love pictures of her sleeping!

paige LOVES taking care of her baby dolls. the amazing thing is we have never shown her what to do- she just loves them. she started hugging them and giving them "loves" and kisses and feeding them all on her own. it's amazing. she tries to give them their pacifiers and puts them to sleep on their pillows...i guess she is watching mommy more than i realize! also, in the picture above she is reading her favorite book- surprise, surprise it is called little mommy and is all about a little girl who takes care of her dollies! she would be happy if we read this to her 20 times a day!paige trying to swaddle baby & upset that she cannot seem to do it herself!

Happy Valentines Day!

2009-02-14T10:15:00.000-08:00

Hello There-
Happy Valentine's Day (it's only the best holiday of the year)!
We are busy around here, but I just had to post a few pictures of our favorite little valentine!
We'll add some more photos & videos soon.
All our Love- The Panfilio's

...not much to report!

2009-01-20T15:28:00.000-08:00

Here is a short video of Paige's latest tricks & signs!

We have not been very good about pictures around here! Aaron has been working & in classes- so life is crazy. Along with being sick with the stomach flu (all three of us) & colds since Christmas - we are just trying to get by right now. That is why there has not been much to report. We did have a wonderful time at Christmas with family (especially having most of the Strombacks with us - that was a first) & we always love our time with the Meyers who we consider family! And we finally got to meet little Callie Joy Barker- what a cute little baby girl! It was a full house on Christmas day & my mom made an awesome meal...fun was had by all!

We are excited that my cousin Kate's little baby was finally born on December 17th! He is so cute & we cannot wait to meet him! Congrats (belated) to Katie & Pat!

Madsen Alexander Smith

...thanksgiving & babies!

2008-12-05T17:25:00.001-08:00

we had the best time in susanville for thanksgiving. good food & fun was had by all! everyone was able to make it (including gigi marlene all the way from texas & shannon & kevin from idaho)! paige had fun playing in the leaves and in boxes- who needs toys? paige is smitten with uncle kevin (watch out daddy- you have some competition). nana paula & paige had fun sweeping the leaves in the back yard (nana swept - paige trampled through her pile - nana swept & it went on like that). we also had our christmas celebration and got to open presents! one of the highlights for me was getting to cut down our own christmas tree. if you know me well you know that i LOVE christmas and apart from my love of santa it is hard to compete with my love of christmas trees. i used to drive my family crazy at the lot trying to pick out the perfect tree. the tree we picked out is beautiful and HUGE...it was fun to see aaron chop it down! i have used every last strand of lights i can find in my stash of decorations to cover it. so fun. thank you papa randy for taking us up in the hills of susanville for my beloved tree!

in other news baby #2 is doing well- i am almost half way through the pregnancy!

if you want to see some pictures of paige from a few weeks ago check out the zakaryan blog. kim took them during our trip to southern california for katie's shower (we anticipate baby smith coming arrival this month- hopefully sooner than later for katie's sake)!

and finally- here are a few goofy pictures that the sherfields took/manipulated on their computer while babysitting paige. i guess it was really funny seeing her reaction to each new image as she of course said "baby" a million times (that is her favorite word and favorite thing for the moment...we hear "babies" a billion times a day).

baby

block head baby

alien cat baby

dumb jock baby

...elections & babies!

2008-11-07T12:26:00.001-08:00

there is one thing elections and pregnancies have in common...

you cannot wait for them to be over!

we were excited to take paige to vote (although we were just dropping off our absentee ballots) and even more excited when she got her own "i voted" sticker! it is never to early to teach kids to vote! even though the elections did not turn out in our favor on all accounts- we were glad to see so many people vote this year, glad to see such a historical event take place & honestly...glad to see the whole thing end. has this campaign lasted forever or is it just me? also, i got to see our little baby moving around the yesterday. it is still such a miracle to me when you see that little tiny life moving around inside of you. i know it is there- but since i have not felt it yet i almost forget. everything seems to be going well with baby...here are a few of the pictures! enjoy!

...happy halloween, shaver & monkey love!

2008-11-02T15:06:00.000-08:00

be sure to check out my other blog for a big post i just did about "being green."
you can click on this link to get there: www.everydayvalentine.blogspot.com
thanks- *laura*

in other news!

Happy Halloween!

paige was a little lamb- so cute. i decided to take a little video of her walking too...i've had a few requests. enjoy!

a few weeks ago we got to go up to Shaver Lake with our life group (small group/bible study- whatever you want to call it) and spend a fun weekend lounging, playing games & just hanging out. we stayed in a beautiful home that belongs to a family at our church- they were gracious enough to let us stay there for free! so fun.

check out the pictures by clicking on this link: shaver pics

monkey love...paige continues to love her monkeys. all monkeys...she loves them all. in fact she picks them up now and makes monkey noises. aaron has trained her well. enjoy the video below.

...portland & the oregon coast!

2008-10-26T13:37:00.001-07:00

a few weeks ago we went up to portland for our annual family reunion (my mom's side of the family gets together once a year...we switch off between OR, Southern California & the Bay Area)

we had great time and got to experience paige on a plane for the first time...lets just say it was interesting...but could have been much worse. after spending one night in portland we all headed to the Oregon Coast (manzanita beach) for a few nights. we stayed in three beach houses & had a fabulous time. as one cousin puts it- our family likes to power visit- there is a lot to catch up on when you only see each other about once a year. paige was in heaven with all the attention and people to hang with...and all in all she was a great traveler as usual. thanks to the oregon crowd for hosting an awesome weekend! we all had a blast...my only complaint was that it did not last longer!

this was paige's first time playing in sand- how sad that we had to go all the way to oregan to play in the sand. we have been to the beach with her a few times- but she was too little to appreciate it. she even tried to eat it...yum!

check out my gallery for more pictures!

this first video may not be funny to anyone else- but i knew aunt fifi would like it-paige is always obsessed with her phone (or any phone for that matter)! and the other one is just cute!

You've come a long way baby...

2008-10-06T11:46:00.001-07:00

...a look back on Paige's big year (along with her first few pictures)!

Paige's 1st Birthday Party was awesome!
The day started with her baby dedication at church...And ended with a lot of
food, cake, wonderful friends & family (and more presents than any baby girl could ever need)!
Thanks to all of our friends and family who came & helped
and especially to those of you who traveled so far to be here. We love you!

I will do my best to post a web gallery of more birthday photos soon.

As you may have figured out by now- or heard- we are expecting baby #2 this coming May.
I am about 10 weeks along and just starting to feel better- but not out of the woods yet.
Sorry for the delay in posts.

I did also want to mention that the "Protect our Children Act" passed (see my last post).
Thanks to everyone who got involved.

We are off on another adventure to Portland for our annual family reunion with my Mom's extended family. It will be Paige's first plane ride...we are hoping for the best with that! ;)

Until Next Time- xoxo- *laura*

Help Pass the Protect Our Children Act

2008-09-19T20:38:00.000-07:00

Please join me in writing to your local senator's to urge them to pass the PROTECT OUR CHILDREN ACT. You only have a few more days before this act goes votes on this September 25th (i believe). If you did not see Oprah's show the other day- trust me- you will want to get more information about this important issue. It is both shocking and gut wrenching to know what is going on in our world and to know that so many children are being sexually abused. Please do something. I emailed our senators and it only took me a few minutes. Also, pray with me that this will pass and more lives will be protected and saved from these terrible acts. There are dozens of other things i would love to post about, but in the few minutes i had to blog i felt that this was the most important thing i could do. Thanks- *laura*

Click on Here to get more information or go to oprah.com.

Here is the sample letter that oprah's website suggests (if you are not sure what to write):

Dear Senator:

I know that you believe, like I do, that we must do everything possible to protect children from sexual predators. That is why I am asking for your help.

Last year alone, U.S. law enforcement identified over 300,000 criminals who were trafficking in movies and pictures of young children being raped and tortured. Experts say that one in every three of these criminals has local child victims. Child pornography trafficking over the Internet has given us a trail of evidence that leads straight to their doorsteps, but the vast majority of these children will never be rescued because investigators are overwhelmed, outnumbered and underfunded.

As your constituent, I urge you to do everything in your power to pass the PROTECT Our Children Act (S. 1738, Biden-Hatch). This bipartisan legislation passed the House 415-2, but it is now the victim of petty partisan politics.

Now that we know where these children are and how to protect them, there is no excuse for the Senate to fail to take action this session.

(Your name here)

Click on OPRAH.com to get more information.

...our crazy july & an 11 month old!

2008-08-07T23:00:00.000-07:00

can you believe our girl is eleven months old? she is a master crawler, is cruising along the furniture and standing any chance she gets. she can loves to "quak, quak, quak" and learned the word "nana" for banana from carson on our camping trip. she can do the sign language for more, please and eat. she is eating almost everything & is becoming very attached to her the monkey she sleeps with. she is a delight and a joy and we love her more everyday!

it is become very difficult to take her pictures now that she is so active and mobile

let me first say sorry for such a long time with no posts...as you can see july was busy! we were gone most of the month and had several crazy adventures. here are just a few highlights.

*seattle or bust*

to all our friends in seattle we love you and are so glad that we got to see so many of you. thanks for inviting us into your homes and feeding us, letting us stay, making us coffee, meeting us all around town...it was so nice to be back in one of our favorite places with all of you. we hope we can get up there again soon- it was too much fun to stay away.

my foxy husband!

on the road- somewhere in smoky northern california

one of the highlights of our trip was seeing grandma paula & auntie shannon on our road trip...they met up with us in redding for several hours...so much fun!

she loves her books & those soft hotel pillows- so sanitary!

paige's first visit to SPU...i love the loop
she just loved crawling around on the grass after being in the car for sooooo long!

we love the peltons! they are some of our favorite people in the whole world! thank you dave & clare for your wonderful hospitality and friendship! thank you josh and sarah for being charming (as always) and for making paige laugh and smile! xoxo

kerry park...one of the best views in seattle

me & paige and laura & emma had so much fun together. emma is about 6 weeks older and she is just a peanut...she is sweet & cute & simply delightful. you just want to hug her. they had fun in the wading pool at green lake while us roommates hung out.

one of the primary reasons we went to seattle was to see my old roommates (from the Well at spu) and to celebrate ailie with a baby shower. although we never seem to have enough time together- it is always so wonderful to be back in the company of these five other women (courtney, ailie, jacinda, mel & laura) . i love there girls and cherish our fun times at spu, in the well and even since then. i would not be who i am without their friendships! even though we seem to be spreading further apart geographically- i am confident that we will always find a way to get together in the years to come. isn't ailie a cute little mama?emily was able to join us at the shower as well!

courtney (auntie coco) is one of the best friends a girl could have. thanks for letting us stay and making us coffee and for a fun visit as always!
emily had all sorts of fun tricks to keep paige happy!

the nelsons also took us in...and gave us a lovely tour of the city of the soft petal (otherwise known as mt. vernon) . paige got to meet braelyn...who is barely 6 weeks younger and such a doll. she is quiet & petite with a really sweet demeanor and no sense of mischief. unlike paige who got her to eat some dog food while their daddy's (who were supposed to be watching them) weren't looking! she also likes to say "mamma, mamma, mamma" ...which paige picked up and is now saying (especially at night when she doesn't want to go to bed). it was fun to see our girls together and to hang with the nelsons- we always laugh a lot when we are all together! and paige loved tally- she chased her all over the house and even tried to follow her outside several times.paige is crying because we made her sit and she wanted to chase tally and then as usual when she likes someone these days she points at them.jeff had to dress up as robin for a race he ran with some of his fellow police officers. we helped him put together this awesome costume. from what we hear it was one of the favorite costumes!

*here are some other fun things we did in july*

meeting little addie foster...she is soooo cute!she loves reading and she loves uncle drew

she loves to do "so big" and she always makes this face when she does it!
paige loves her daddy...so she wore this outfit for him on his birthday (her shirt says "my dad rocks")! happy 29th birthday aaron!

camping at hume lake with the trempers! check out their blog for more pictures!

ten months old! carson and elsie were so good to paige and it was so fun to see all the girls together!

little princess (we love this dress from auntie colleen- her and gigi are always buying paige the most lovely gifts)!

4th of July

1. here josh got paige to laugh- nobody before or since has been able to get her to giggle like this!

2. "we're going camping now, we're on our way..." do you remember that song? i wish that is what the girls were singing- instead they were just yelling. all three of them!

3. hammock song...paige has been making this sweet little noise since she was just weeks old. when she is really tired (and often in the car) she makes this humming noise until she eventually falls asleep. even with the other girls in the hammock she snuggled up to daddy and slept for almost an hour!

4. prancing pony two (back by popular demand)!

...bouncing baby, jcpenney & father's day!

2008-06-22T23:49:00.001-07:00

here are a few updates on our crazy life!

because they do not make "fire fighting" themed clothes for girls i had to get creative...here are the father's day pictures i got at jcpenney for aaron...enjoy!

here is my favorite new hat from gail...(my good friend katrina's mom)...she is too good to us and always loves holding paige after church and when we are all together! thanks gail!

what a beautiful little girl God has given us...i think i love her more with each passing day & to think i have only known her for a short time! babies are the best gift God gives us...well one of the best gifts...but truly i am so thankful for her!

we had a wonderful father's day...here are some pics!

i kid you not...the day she mastered crawling...she started pulling up on things...what a kid!

paige has so many expressions! check a few of them out!

p.s. this video is long...the best part is in the first few seconds...aaron and i think it is hysterical...she is like one of those ponies marching around in a circle! we love how she kicks up her legs to swing...and how many times she spins around! enjoy!

...happy father's day & a dutch baby!

2008-06-14T20:53:00.000-07:00

happy father's day aaron...paige and i love you!

check out my other blog everydayVALENTINE for more of my thoughts on aaron and the amazing father he is!

paige is crawling, learning, getting into everything and very needy these days...she is also eating joe's o's (cheerios)!

she obviously did not know what to think of this hat...hmmmm...i think she makes the perfect dutch baby!

...nine months old and oh so cute!

2008-06-07T19:56:00.001-07:00

Paige turned 9 months old on the 1st...she is 20 lbs, 3 oz and 28 1/2 inches...she has two bottom teeth, is crawling, still yelling and loving the swimming pool. she is keeping us on our toes and a joy most of the time (she has been cranky from teething). but we just love her and she brings us more joy than we knew possible! i will try to be better about blogging this month...we have just been sooooo busy!

we needed a tremper fix...so on memorial day we met in bakersfield for the day . we hung out at the park and the mall and in true panfilio/tremper fashion finished the day with a yummy meal at red robin...it was too fun...i wish we could do it more!elsie loves pushing the little girls and paige loves being with the big girls...

blinking baby...when i look at this picture i hear stevie wonder's "isn't she lovely" singing in my head...

last month paige and i went on a trip from fresno to mariposa, to orange county, to pleasanton (where aaron met up with us), to reddding, to susanville, to home....wow...and it was all in about 11 days!

we spent mother's day with my grandma...it was so nice to see her...all the way here from portland. my mom and i took her to mariposa to visit her brother & sister-in-law and then down to southern california to visit her sister. it was a great trip and we of course always have fun with the twins!
kim and brent made us an amazing meal...oh so good! pork w/ raspberry sauce & mango salsa, coconut rice and asparagus...it was truly amazing.

aunt ev, grammy & great grandma roselyn

paige loves grandma june too (she is actually uncle ray's mom- but we like to think of her as another one of paige's grandmas!)

back in pleasanton with aunt fifi and izzy...paige loves animals these days!

blinking baby two...

we were in redding to celebrate todd's graduation from ministry school! yeah todd...uncle ray protecting paige from the edge...

walking across the beautiful sundial bridge
father & son
blinking baby three...

on to susanville...

happy morning girl!

me and grandma paula

do you like my bug-mobile?

here are a few videos...these are mostly for the grandparents, but some of you may enjoy them as well...first lemon, crawling, laughing with daddy and shouting!

...eight months old and so much more!

2008-05-08T12:55:00.001-07:00

paige turned eight months old on may 1st...she has two new teeth and is about to crawl!

our moms and more group ended for the summer...here is a picture of our group with our kids (we are missing a few people). what a fun year- i miss it already and am so anxious to get started again in september. this group has been a saving grace for me as a new mom!

meeting little marty...what a cutie. he is so tiny- i forget how small paige was as a newborn!

first swim! (check out the video below)

A FUN FILLED WEEKEND IN APRIL...

the princess gets her food (these pictures are for you matt)!

celebrating uncle drew's birthday. drew loves paige!

drew and kyle

drew and allison- when you have two older sisters you get to know their friends pretty well over the years. and allison has been in our life since drew was like 8...so there you go!after an amazing home cooked meal we ran to the dairy before it closed...yum!

paige and i got to go to melissa foster's baby shower too...what a fun weekend!

and finally... valley bible church @ the crossing... (the church i grew up attending) celebrated their 20th anniversary. it was a fun celebration and kind of like a family reunion. i was grateful that aaron & paige got a chance to see just how special vbc is and the community of believers that have been a part of my life through the church. many people visited and we saw some funny old videos and heard from most of the founding elders about how it all began. those of us who have been on the worship teams over the years got to go sing with the band and we took so fun pictures of old youth group friends. i don't think it is possible to have a perfect church- but vbc has set the bar very high...it is a sincere and loving place that seeks to know God and share his love. i am grateful for growing up there and always enjoy visiting when i am in pleasanton. thank you Lord for a wonderful group of people who have taught me so much and who demonstrate your love and grace...i look forward to the next 20 years!

tim with paige and us girls...tim has been the youth pastor at vbc for a long time and he is awesome. i learned so much from him about God. i honestly loved my high school youth group experience. he is a great guy and he loves the Lord...he took us high school punks on many adventures from mission trips to yosemite...i have even hiked half dome with him a few times. he was the pastor who married aaron and i...and well we just think he is swell!

paige and makenna always have fun together

all of us went through the youth group at some point...so fun.

this is a group of us that all graduated in the 90's...does that make me sound old? we went through youth group together and have a lot of funny stories!

paige tried to get in on the picture

natalie me sarah & allison (i love these girls)poor tate was so distraught over paige's loud yelling that he cried a few times...eventually he got over the shock of her screaming and grabbing him...but i just think she is too much women for him right now! as you can see in the video she's a man-eater!

road trip 2008 (part 2)...idaho & sactown!

2008-05-01T23:50:00.000-07:00

our nine hour trip from susanville went pretty well...until the last two hours when paige proceeded to cry non-stop. we actually sang itsy-bitsy spider for about twenty minutes to try and calm her down. it worked- but only when we sang that song. who can sing that song- or any song- for two hours? also, this was my final day of being sick and it ended with a bang. i will spare you the details- but it was the worst day of my stomach flu and it was not pretty. shannon was a great nurse when i got there and thankfully i woke up the next morning feeling like a new person!

paige loved idaho!auntie shannon is so wonderful with paige...she helped feed her and bath her and play with her. it was just too fun! she is always buying paige great books and of course welcomed us with a new one when we arrived! shannon is a wonderful hostess and an amazing cook...we had some yummy food and i went home with two new recipes that i will eventually post on my everdayVALENTINE blog.

uncle kevin and paige are pretty tight too...

paige loved hanging out with uncle kevin and juggy...and juggy was very sweet to paige. hoggy was not interested in paige what-so-ever. every time one of the dogs walked into the room paige would stop whatever she was doing and just stare at them.

shannon and kevin were awesome tour guides...they took us around nampa, boise and caldwell. we also went to this cool coffee shop called Rembrandts Coffee House in eagle (a fancy upscale area) where we sat and talked for like 4 hours. and no trip to boise would be complete without a special stop at the Cabelas super store...aaron could have been in there forever if we had let him. paige got a pink camo sippy cup for her road trip souvenir.

one of the highlights of our tour was this amazing Anne Frank Memorial...it features a statue (see below) to honor her life and story...as well as famous quotes by humanitarians and human rights activists. it is set outside in the middle of this great area of parks and trails and museums in downtown boise. it is beautiful and educational and it made me grateful for my heritage and the freedoms and rights we have in this country today. i really loved it. if you are ever there you should check it out!

paige found the whole thing fascinating as well!

saying good bye...so sad. we wish we all lived closer and could visit more!

juggy wanted in on the picture...and paige agreed.

the drive between idaho and californai is BEAUTIFUL...northeast california and southeast oregon...along 395...i hope we can get up there for a camping trip some time. there are a ton of lakes and small towns- i snapped a bunch of pictures through the window because we did not want to stop and wake paige up. it made a long trip very enjoyable and we will be back for sure!

one of our pit stops! she makes us laugh constantly!

this shoe tree was our last stop before susanville- we stayed there one more night before heading to sacramento. it was sad to leave susanville and to say goodbye to aaron's parents again...they treated us to breakfast at the black bear diner...yummy...and we were on the road again.

our last leg of the trip was in sacramento...our state capitol...very fun. we looked for arnold but no luck. i guess nobody works at the capitol on sundays...it was a ghost town. on saturday we went to the train museum, walked around old town, stayed at the holiday inn (it was really nice and in walking distance of everything) and had a lovely sushi dinner. on sunday we walked around the capitol grounds before heading home to fresno. the capitol grounds are beautiful...the flowers, trees and building itself are really nice- i had not remembered it from my 4th grade field trip. also there is a california fire fighters memorial on the capitol grounds that aaron's mom told us to check out....very cool (you can always rely on teachers for this kind of good information)! sadly, the camera died right as we got there and we could only snap one shot of the memorial. oh well.

yeah for sactown!

it was the perfect ending to an amazing trip!

2008-04-22T12:58:00.000-07:00

Happy Earth Day...check out my other blog for more on the subject: everydayVALENTINE

road trip 2008 (part 1)...easter & the "ville"!

2008-04-21T21:39:00.000-07:00

last month we went on a road trip to susanville (the "ville") & idaho to visit family and get some vacation time. it was a beautiful drive, a wonderful time with family and an exciting adventure. paige was a great traveler and we even got to spend easter with family. here are just a few highlights...we also got to watch all three godfather movies (i had never seen them)...also a highlight of the trip. another highlight was having the stomach flu for the first five days of our trip...i loved being curled up on the couch with no appetite and an upset tummy. it also made the drive to susanville particularly special considering that feather river canyon has a ton of curvy roads...i was so sure i was pregnant and experiencing morning sickness that i took 3 pregnancy tests...but i was just sick. thankfully paige and aaron did not get it.

easter was great and included decorating easter eggs and paige's first easter egg hunt!

it is as if she already knows we are crazy!

she was tired and kind of out of it...not really sure what to think.

oh i just love my new toys now that i can eat them...thanks easter bunny!

daddy was a good sport...easter egg hunting is not his thing...but he played along for the sake of paige!

i love my girl! i never knew i could love her as much as i do...but i am just crazy about this little, wonderful person that i get to love and raise and know!

our little easter bunny!

easter ended with plenty of peeps, candy and new toys & clothes for paige...along with a wonderful feast prepared by grandma paula. we also got to go easter egg hunting with the french family...we always love seeing them when we are in susanville.

just hanging around granddad and grandma's house...

i loved sleeping on grandma's shoulder...and riding around in my new toy...the bug mobile!

saying goodbye...and heading up to idaho!

paige loves grandma paula.
...and of course she loves her granddad as well!our stop in wagon tire...yes that is the name of a town...population 5 or something. we drove up highway 395 to idaho and it was breathtaking. there were miles of beautiful lakes and different sized mountains. some had snow...some had green moss...some were more like the desert. there were tons of small towns scattered along the drive and we even got to drive through oregon where the speed limit dropped by like 15 miles (yuck).

paige would wake up...talk...go back to sleep...wake up...and then cry...we would feed her, change her stretch and then do it all over again for another couple of hours. it was about 9 hours to boise and she did great until the last few hours when she screamed her head off!

...i may be small but i make myself heard!

2008-04-07T00:35:00.001-07:00

paige has been quite the chatter box lately...so it is only fitting that i show you the other side of her "horton hears a who" onesie and of course a short video. the volume on her chatter is so loud that she has now scared two babies younger than her...once she starts talking she is never going to quit!

...showers & such!

2008-04-06T22:46:00.000-07:00

a few weeks ago we had a shower for our friends George & Katrina Arthur who are expecting a baby boy in the next week or so. it was really fun and even some guys got in on the shower action- although they were out of there and in the back yard during games. because there were so many firemen there paige had to get in on the action and wear her fire truck outfit. she was an angel and slept in her room for almost the entire party. congrats george & katrina...we cannot wait to meet marty!

paige never really took a pacifier (i bought 5 different kinds and she really never went for it) but she loves these rings and they often "pacify" her...so i guess that works!

in true morse fashion paige loves the remote and the tv. we try to not let her watch tv...but she loves it. she does come from a long line of tv lovers (starging with my grandpa george, then my dad and then my sister and me)...so i cannot say i blame her. but you never know, maybe she will be like aaron and love books...let's hope so.

at the end of february we had a really fun girl weekend with all of my aunts and cousins...it was awesome. i will eventually post pictures- but i have to do a little work to get my hands on them and i just don't have a lot of free time with a 7 month old! we also went on a wonderful road trip last month that i will eventually post here too!

...thunder thighs!

2008-04-03T23:45:00.001-07:00

we have been really busy and there are a ton of fun things to report and pictures to post. i am trying to carve out some time for this...but in the meantime here are a few pictures & a video for those who have been asking for an update. those grandma's can be so demanding! :) this second pictures is paige's reaction to daddy walking into the room...she just loves him...it's so cute! and would you check out those thunder thighs!

a few paige videos...eating and talking!

2008-03-18T10:13:00.000-07:00

...six & a half months and counting!

2008-03-09T21:31:00.001-07:00

i have a lot of updating to do to get the blog current- when i have the most things to blog i am usually busy and don't have time to blog- but i do enjoy it and all of your "not-so-subtle" hints have been loud and clear that i am slacking. there are a ton of these pictures from aunt ev and they were all so cute that i added them to our family website. you can click here or check out our link to the right.

carson & i shared our valentine birthday together! what a cutie!

paige got to meet all of aaron's old friends from westview on our last visit to southern california...we had a lovely lunch with our friend lourthu after seeing everyone else at the office. aaron loved working for lourthu and the rest of the staff at westview...so it was fun to see them and introduce them to paige!

we got to visit paige's little boyfriend tate last month...it was so fun and you can see the love connection already. tate might look serious- but i think he is just trying to be tough in front of his woman! check out the bowen's blog too!