I'm baaaaaaaack! Full update soon!

The BLOG is Back! Now that I am going to be a stay at home mom, I am hopeful that I have more time for my blog!! So - as you can see it has been one year since my last post and during that time - here is what is new and exciting with the Ontiveros Clan.
(1) Olivia is now 3 - almost 3 1/2
(2) Brooklyn is now 2 - soon to be 2 1/2
(3) Olivia is potty trained and is sleeping in a big girl bed!!
(4) Brooklyn talks NON-STOP and is such a wild child!
(5) Olivia started preschool at All Saints Academy on Jan 5, 2010.
(6) Brooklyn is a joy to be around and is so loving! She is really into giving kisses!
(7) The dogs are alive and well.
(8) We had a pet hamster Squeekers, but he is dead. He lasted only a few months.
(9) We have been to California twice.
(10) Jose and I made plans to travel with our besties to Spain in April
(11) Eric is still living in Boston
(12) I quit my job
(13) I am a much happier and less stressed person!
(14) I am GOING to write in this BLOG!

Happy Holidays To All!
We had a great holiday that at the Ontiveros house. In fact it was so great that we are STILL recovering! The girls loved spending time with their cousins and really loved opening presents. Olivia was really into opening gifts this year - Brooklyn did not get it but next year will be her year. They loved all of their toys but their favorites were the Little People toys - the Noah's Ark, Little People Around the Town, and the Tractor. I need to get them the Little People Farm soon. I really love those toys - they are great quality and the girls play so well together when playing with them.
We had a great visit with my brother and dad. I am sad that they are gone. We went to the Meijer Gardens together and looked at all the Christmas trees from Around the world. Olivia really enjoyed this - especially all the trains.
New Years Eve was nice too. It was a very low key evening - dinner - friends and the game Apples to Apples. That is the BEST game EVER!! If you have never played, I would suggest that you do.
Happy 2009 - I hope this year brings you love, laughter and much happiness.

Christmas Tree's and Cookies!
....really isn't that what December is about? Our Christmas tree is in our formal living room. We have a tall tree and very high ceilings in that room so the tree looks so pretty! The only problem - well we don't use the formal living room all that much. We even redid the room last year, new floor, new furniture - new TV - and yet we still don't use it! Well - Olivia is very into the tree this year and so I decided to get her and Brooklyn a special tree - just for them! As you can see from the photos, my girls are the proud owners of a 4 1/2 ft. silver tinsel tree - complete with bright blue, neon green and HOT pink ornaments. We put that tree in the highly traffic'd family room. Well, Brooklyn is still too little to have a tree so accessible to her. The ornaments were everywhere - so Olivia's bedroom now has a tinsel tree! Next year, I am sure, the silver tinsel tree will make its way back to the family room.

Today I made sugar cookies. As you can see the girls ate ONLY the frosting..no cookie!
Have a happy Saturday!

Aren't my girls darling? I just love these pictures, they were taken on Thanksgiving Day. I hope that you are having a great holiday season. Things are busy, busy, busy around here. We have had a lot going on as I am sure you all have too. December is insane huh? I think we will all need a vacation come January. Jose and I have been able to get our wonderful babysitters for a few evenings this month to do holiday shopping and parties. Last weekend we spent Saturday night with our friends buying gifts for the Angel Tree. It was a very fun evening and it made me feel good to be giving back. This weekend we have a sitter on Saturday night and I am hoping that Jose and I will go to see the new Will Smith movie, Seven Pounds. I think it looks so good and I have not been to a movie in about a year!
My goal in 09 is to update this blog more....

Brooklyn turned 1 on September 11th. As you can see from the last post..October 13, life has been very busy. Having two kiddos under the age of 2 1/2 is simply exhausting. We are in full holiday mode now. The house is decorated, the baking is done and the gifts have been purchased and wrapped. We are anxious to have Eric home for Christmas too - he arrives on Monday.

"Flying" the Detroit Pistons Plane - RoundBall One - on the way to Orlando Fl, to spend the day at the Magic Kingdom....

I have not updated this blog in a very long time.....I have been introduced to a new web networking site called facebook. If you are not on facebook - you should! I have spent a lot of time catching up with old friends so it has been great.
Here are a few photos taken last weekend when Eric was home and the photos of the girls in their jeep were taken yesterday - it was nearly 80 over the weekend...maybe we should rethink closing the pool in September?!?

Disneyland 2008

Here are a few photos from our trip to California. We had a great time and it was simply awesome taking the girls to Disneyland for the first time. I have heard that taking children as young as mine would be a mistake - but I have to tell you that I would do it again in a second. I can't wait to take them back to sunny CA to see grandpa!

Lunch at Carney's in LA......$23.00

Admission to Disneyland for the day.........$94.00

A photo with Mickey from Disney......$16.42

Riding Dumbo with your kid for the first time....PRICELESS!!