Dana pics....

Dana took her first bath without using the baby tub. She despises reclining, so she would always fight to sit up in the baby tub. Therefore, we decided to just move her to the sink without it. Pretty soon she will be taking baths with big sister in the real bathtub. Yeh....

Josie and Dana play well together. Josie is trying to teach Dana how to crawl. She basically crawls correctly with her hands, but hasn't figured out how to move her legs yet. She will, very soon.

Moving and Shaking

My goodness, 6 months have gone fast. Our little Dana is amazing us everyday. Not only does she have her first 2 teeth coming in, and she's handling it great, but she is also moving around lots. Last Friday her first tooth poked through, now today we can see her second bottom tooth poking through.

In addition, if she is laying down, she can sit herself completely up, without leaning on that last hand (called tripoding). And as if that's not enough, she is about to take off crawling. She gets herself on her hands and knees and she has actually crawled, like maybe 2-3 movements, then she either gets frustrated or collapses. I'd say in a week, she will be officially crawling.

That's all! :)

Tribute to Lindsey! (and some other favorite pics)

So, our babysitter/friend/adopted daughter, Lindsey leaves for college this Friday. I know I am going to miss her terribly. She has become somewhat of a fixture in our house lately because she loves Josie and Dana so much! They adore her as well. The girls will miss you Lindsey, and we can't wait for you to come home for visits. We also hope to come and visit you down in SLO town at least once before you graduate. :) You are in for the best time of your life and we are so happy for you!

Here are some pictures of you with the girls, and other pictures that you took of them.

OK, these 3 have nothing to do with Lindsey, they are just recent pics I thought were so cute

Lining up princess shoes. / A happy Dana on her Uncle Brook's lap.



Hiding with "sissy baby" in tent. Josie likes to play hide n seek now. It's so much fun playing with her, even though kids don't quite get the concept you know?

Part of Corey's Crew!

This year, Alex, Josie, Dana and I are excited to get involved in walking for Diabetes. Our little nephew Corey, age 3, was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes about a month before his 2nd birthday. I remember what a scary night it was when we all learned Corey was diabetic, not to mention what a close call it was at Children's Hospital in Oakland that night. It's amazing how far Corey and his parents have come in the last year and half, they have gained so much knowledge about children with diabetes. If you have children, you know that raising kids is a full-time job in itself. But, if you had the opportunity to watch Alison and Tyler with Corey, you'd realize it's like having 2 full-time jobs. Since Corey is such an active child, as all children are, his blood sugar constantly seems to go back and forth like a pendulum making it a constant worry for those around him.

The amazing thing about Type 1 Diabetes though is you can tell the donated money is being well spent. Recently Corey was able to get a really cool insulin pump. Now, he doesn't have to get shot with insulin needles as often. The pump has a little needle, he wears the pump on his leg, and when his parents deem it necessary to give him insulin they use a little blackberry type thing to send insulin into him. I know that techonology and research will allow for a cure to be found soon!

Now that Corey is a little older (3) I have been attempting to learn more about helping him out. Corey's parents have a small support system, Alison's parents. It's hard to trust just anybody to watch your diabetic toddler. So recently I have been asking lots of questions and I even tested Corey all by myself once recently. This little boy doesn't even flinch anymore when tested, making it easy for a squirmer like me. My hope is that someday soon I will feel comfortable enough, and more importantly, his parents will feel comfortable enough to let me 'babysit' Corey, to give them and his grandparents a much needed break.

In the meantime the only way I can help out is by participating in the Juvinile Diabetes Walk on November 2nd. My goal is to raise $500. I don't expect for everyone to be able to donate, but if you can and you would like to help out this cause, please click on this link to go to our walk page. Thanks for reading this entry! Paula

Here is our nephew Corey!

Monterey Bay Aquarium, Brentwood Waterpark......

A couple weeks ago we met our friend Mike (from Boston) at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It was great to see him again. We originally met Mike on our Italy trip 3 years ago, and we have stayed in contact.

Josie liked the wave pool.












Both kids asleep at the aquarium.









Sunday, we went to the waterpark with our cousins Alison and Tyler, their kids, and her family. It was a great day for a waterpark. We couldn't get Josie out of the water, we had to bribe her with a cookie. Dana is sleeping comfortably on John, Alison's dad. Her family was so nice to help with Dana, so that Alex and I could swim in the water with Josie. Not to mention go down the waterslide. :) Even though they are not Josie's and Dana's grandparents, taking care of babies seems to be in their blood. Lucky for us!



Josie covering daddy's back with stickers, while cousin Corey covered hers.












Other pics from the last few weeks.















My favorite picture from the last few weeks, I caught Josie putting her Cinderella dress up shoes on Dana. Look at Dana watching her. These 2 are already so cute together.