Always Playing Catch Up

i don't know where the time goes. one minute i'm changing diapers, the next it's 3 weeks later.

my in-laws came in to town to see ash's off broadway play, "persuasion." she was absolutely amazing. seriously, i was so proud of her, like she was my own daughter. anyway, "papa" and "mama" (sofia's version of grandma and grandpa) were so kind to come for a quick weekend to support their daughter. we loved having them stay with us.

no one made her do this. she loves looking through ads, magazines, etc. she was "papa's" perfect morning buddy...

look at this face. seriously, just look at it.

sorry it took me a while to post this, dave and pauline. we loved having you here!

"bye dad"

in the morning, sofia is so used to saying "bye dad." she actually says it randomly, even when jeff isn't leaving. she'll just look at him and say, "bye dad." last week we had to say bye dad for a few days. jeffrey, with a few other grad students, flew to north carolina to present research with a professor at a national conference. he's so cool, isn't he? i'm so proud of him.

anyway, he told me about this conference when i was about 5 months pregnant with lucas. i totally freaked out at the thought of being alone with 2 kids, one of them being as young as lucas, and the other as scary as sofia...and lucas wasn't even born yet! i know, i'm ridiculous. moms do it all the time. so, when the time came for him to leave, i was a mess. all i have to say is that i am soooo glad he's back. and that he not allowed to die while we have young kids. we took this picture of him and lucas right before he left:

dad, please don't ever leave us again.

Go Diego Go

sofia is obsessed with dora the explorer. what's not to like? a little latina with a monkey friend who talks, and travels through jungles, picking berries, and fighting swiper the fox. oh yeah, and she has a backpack that is like a magical genie. man, i want one of those.

anyway, she was psyched when i told her that she has a cousin named diego, just like dora, and he was coming to visit her. she has loved having people her size around. diego and my sister Melody came for a quick visit and we got to spend some one on one time with diego, and we loved every minute of it.

diego needed a bath, and of course, if the water is running and the bathroom door is open...sofia HAS to jump in as well.

these are two really cute, half mexican kiddos. don't you agree?

a nice surprise

i got sick again. mastitis only hits 10% of nursing moms, and i get it 2x in 2 and a half months??! what the what? anyway, my tia mary and all of her kiddos came up for a quick surprise. it was the best, and perfect timing with me getting over my sickness. i wish she could come up every weekend and help me out.

sofia and alec, alec and sofia. it was love at first sight. they were so cute together, and surprisingly played really well. i say "surprisingly" because sofia is at "that age" where sharing is not her favorite thing in the world. can you believe that? a one year old who doesn't share? crazy.

there is also one more picture with them taking a bath together, but jeff really doesn't like those kind of pictures. he thinks they are inappropriate. so i won't post them :)

tia mary spoiled lucas. seriously, he loved being held 24/7.

but who wouldn't want to hold this kid. love him.

tia, if you'd like to surprise me monthly, i'd be ok with that. sofia LOVED it. and i LOVED it. that should be enough.

love you Zelalas.

brother and sister

oh these two little cranes are totally brother and sister. i was freaking out that i wouldn't be able to handle them both, and i was totally right. haha, but i'm taking it day by day. now i know how moms get white hairs, wrinkles, and bad backs.

how have i not lost all my baby weight yet? i chase after sofia daily, i often forget/don't have time to eat lunch, and while nursing, i drink more water than a camel. but the amount of smiles i get from lucas daily makes up for every pound gained. kind of. 

lucas is still a dream kid. sofia is still absolutely hilarious. they are both ginormous, above 90% in height. sofia is learning so many words, they weren't kidding when they said they'll start repeating everything you say. jeff called me crazy the other day and said "Coo coo" and sofia ran around the house saying "coo coo, coo coo." 

anyway, here's updated pictures of them both. they are growing before my eyes.

sofia mae crane

22 months

lucas jefferson crane

2 months

love all of sofia's teeth, her bangs, her "jackie nose," and how her shoulders are shrugging a bit. love kissing lucas on the lips, and he loves it just as much. 

spoiled

i have been completely spoiled. i'll admit it. i have had a lot of help with the two kiddos.

my dad and my step-mom drove up from San Diego, spent the day with us, then drove back the next day. isn't that crazy??! they wanted to meet lucas so bad, and see how much sofia's grown, that they took the time out to come up for a quick weekend.

going up the canyon to see waterfalls is one of our favorite things. so we took them there. you don't get much of this in san diego.

the grandkids all adore my dad. sofia fell in love with him quickly. he didn't even have to do anything. not fair! i bathe her, feed her, clean her poopy diapers, and i still have to work hard for her approval and love.

this little guy loves anyone who will hold him...

after their quick visit, my cousin, Zoe, moved in with us. she came up early to get a job before BYU starts in the fall. it gave us a glimpse of what it will be like with a teenage daughter. i loved having her here so much, and sofia was very fond of her new roommate.

a few weeks later, zoe's parents came up to get her settled in. tia mary came early to spend time with me and the kiddos. we went up to the alpine slides in park city.

jeff said sofia did great on the slide. the scary part was riding the ski lift up to the top of the slide. sofia kept peeping down, and wanting to stand up. jeff thought she was going to jump off.

 this is zoe, our adopted teenage daughter.

this week, the fun ends. i will no longer be spoiled. that is, until my older sister, Melody, gets here in september for a wedding.

Crane Reunion 2012

i love family. not just my side of the family, i'm one of those girls who also loves their in-law family. there are only a handful of us. bear lake is something we look forward to all year. dave and pauline, thanks for making it happen. they rented an 8 bedroom place, there were 16 adults and 21 grandkids there. can you believe that??

i'll start with a picture of me and jeff. not a great shot of either of us, not the photographer's fault...our fault.

grandma ruth, jeff's g-ma, has a million great grand children. this is her most recent...my lucas.

although sofia could care less that a picture is being taken of her, i really like the way my husband looks here. hubba hubba. good picture, babe. i don't know at what age kids start flirting with the camera, or actually smiling...apparently sofia is not of that age yet, as you will see from all the pictures of her.

sofia is so tall. i felt like she was closer to the size of her 4 year old cousins, then the ones her age. this is cute seth, they are about 2 months apart. i told you she's a giant.

look at her ponytail! she's about to attack...

then decides to change her course...

goes in for an unwanted hug...

and somehow poor seth ends up on the floor.

no, we didn't put a porta-crib outside for sofia to sleep in. mike, brooke, maddie and matt put together an olympic games of stuff we do everyday. jeff dominates at putting cribs up. i'm so proud.

lucas is a dream. i can't even explain how much i love this kid. he is the best baby i've ever had. sorry sofia, you weren't the best baby. sofia is fun now, but didn't love sleeping as a baby, especially at night.

on sunday, july 29th, 2012, jeff was able to bless our baby. it was a sweet blessing. though my side of the family was missed so much, i'm so glad that his whole family was there to participate.

after the blessing, traci took some family pictures of us. jeff was trying to tickle sofia, which is why her mouth is open in every picture.

here's the picture Traci took of us last year, look how sofia's grown:

and here is this year:

jeff and his bro's are so alike. it's scary.

i hope this family reunion tradition continues when sofia is a teenager. i love seeing her play with her cousins. i know they will be such great examples to her and when she's in high school, she's going to need good friends around to help her. her cousins will be those good friends, i just know it.