MERRY CHRISTMAS

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE CHAVOYA-FLORES FAMILY!!
Aaron & Lilly dancing to "Feliz Navidad" by Jose Feliciano, he was singing it for the Walt Disney World Parade. We LOVE watching parades on t.v.

Lilly getting ready to look in her stocking to see what Santa brought her!!!!

Happy Birthday Lilly!!!

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to my Lillers, Happy Birthday to you!!!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you....to ALL of you that joined us for the 'Flores Family' celebration of Lilly's 4Th birthday.

It was so much fun!! The food was good. The games were fun. The prizes were great. And the company was especially wonderful!!!

We love you all!!

So, 4 years ago... a princess was born. Our princess Lilly. So perfect. So beautiful.
She is still the light of my life. I love her so much. I love being the mommy to such a girly-girl!!

As I look back, I realize how lucky I am to have such a wonderful daughter. So full of life. So funny and creative.

I can't even believe that it has been four years. These four years have just flown by!

But they have been full of adventures, laughs and growth. I have seen my princess Lilly grow so much over the last four years. I am so proud of her. And I am so glad that I am her mommy.

Click HERE to see ALL the pics of LILLY'S 4TH birthday &...a little look back!!!

So this is my new favorite pic of me n my baby boy!! He looks like such a big, big boy!! Gerardo took this pic of us at Knott's Berry Farm on Tues Dec 16, we went for Law Enforcement Appreciation Days. It was really fun & as you can see....Aaron was in a great mood!

Giving Thanks.

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. Gerardo was working so I was alone with the kids. We went to my mom & dad's house for our dinner. It was fun with the kids and we got super stuffed!!

Martina is Aaron's "Mommy Number 2", he always wants to be with her & loves all the attention that he gets from her. So, of course, he wanted to have his Thanksgiving dinner on her lap!!

My Flores kids are some GOOD eaters!! I'm so lucky with them, they are not really picky and are always willing to try new things. But, of course, Lilly's favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner was turkey & gravy. Aaron's favorite was the stuffing!

Lilly is always being silly and she keeps us totally entertained all day long, especially when we are at my parent's house, she seems to get extra silly and loves to 'show off' when we're there.

This year I was very happy to be celebrating Thanksgiving. We have a lot to be thankful for this year. Especially that I have my mom here with us, she has officially beat cancer and we couldn't be more thankful for that! I could not even begin to imagine my life without my mom so the past few months have been really hard on me & our whole family. But thanks to God we will hopefully have my mom for many more Thanksgiving's to come!!

We also have to give thanks for all the little blessings in my life. I have to remind Gerardo of this quite often, but we are very blessed & are very thankful to God for that.

We have beautiful, wonderful, healthy children that are growing and blossoming.

We have a roof over our heads, clothes on our backs, food on our table and all the extra's we could possibly want or need.

We are thankful for Gerardo's career and thank God for keeping him safe.

We are thankful for our family, friends. The wind, the rain, the sun. Basically we are just thankful for all the blessings in our life great and small.

Six Flags Magic Mountain

In August Gerardo had some police officer training in Long Beach so we all headed down to Southern California for a few days. During the week we decided to take the kids to Magic Mountain, I hadn't been there for many, many years. It was really nice & tons of fun for the kiddos.

I was pleasantly surprised that Lilly was not afraid of the characters, she loves to pose with all of them. And even though Jacob is getting older he still likes to take pictures with the characters too, since he's a big cartoon-addict!!

This picture cracks us up...so true, so true..our very own little Tasmanian devil!!!! hee hee hee!!

The weather was good & we went on a weekday so we just walked right on to all of the rides, no waiting in line. That's one thing we've learned with amusement parks, we never go on weekends!

Click here to see all the pictures from Our Trip to Six Flags Magic Mountain!!

Hot, Hot, Hot

Aaron's First Haircut

In August Gerardo had three days of training in Long Beach. So, the kids & I tagged along (I wasn't gonna let him go alone..right Noemi??lol).

We had a lot of fun & did a lot of stuff. A lot of sightseeing, shopping and visiting family.

We were less than an hour away from my family in Oxnard, so one day while Gerardo was in training, me and the kids went to Oxnard to visit.

While we were there, we decided to give Aaron his first haircut, well, it was more of a trim than a full on big boy haircut.

My Auntie Mary had the honor of cutting my baby boy's first little curlies off. She is Jacob's Nina & gave Jacob his first hair cut when he was 9 months old. So, I knew that I wanted her to do it and this was a perfect time.

Aaron did a really great job, he didn't cry or get really fussy. He even smiled and laughed quite a bit during the haircut.

When it was all said and done, it looked pretty cute and you could still tell that he had lots of curls. Gerardo was a little upset with me because he wasn't there, and I don't think he was quite ready for our baby to get his first haircut...even though he had been bugging me about it...ugh, men, they can never make up their minds. But in the end he liked it too.

Click here to see all the pictures of Aaron's first Haircut and some pictures of a short trip to Oxnard Beach.

A few more pics of the kids in the backyard...

These are some more pictures and short videos of the kids playing in the backyard.

These pics and vids were taken almost two months ago, so Aaron was just learning how to walk.

He was still super wobbly and fell down a lot. But now he's an expert and he even runs!!

There is also a little video of my princess Lilly chasing Spike around the yard, so cute!

Click here to see all the pictures and videos!!!

Kiddos playing in the yard...

Well, the Ol' Blog has been neglected lately, but I've committed myself to getting it updated so everyone knows what's going on with us....and we don't get forgotten..LOL.

I'm going to be updating the blog very frequently in the next few days, I have a lot to cover.

I'm also slowly updating our Phanfare Albums at the same time, so please enjoy our pictures!

These pics are of the kiddos playing in the yard. We enjoyed the yard quite a bit this summer, the kids had a lot of fun playing now that we have grass. These pics were taken in August and Aaron was just learning how to walk so he's still a little wobbly in these pics!

But the wobbly steps didn't stop him from being a total daredevil on the slide!!

Click here to see all the pictures of the kids playing in the backyard!!!

Parenting Skills

OK, OK, so we've never claimed to have the BEST parenting skills in the world...and we proved it on this day when we left the tequila bottle unattended for our 1 year old to get into!!!!

But don't worry, he didn't spill it or drink it..LOL...he just played with the bottle & tried to put the cap back on!

We've learned our lesson, since he started walking and climbing, he's such a hand full. He gets in to everything and we really have to be careful now! We had to put locks on the cabinets and make sure all the doors are locked. If I leave the front door open, even a little bit, he's out there in a flash!

So, anyway, we learned our lesson...he's not quite ready for a shot of tequila...yet...




Click here to see all the pictures!

Chaffee Zoo

Last month we went to the Chaffee Zoo with the kiddos. It was pretty hot that day so we went early in the morning and left by noontime so we didn't get too hot. It was Gerardo's day off and we wanted to do something as a family before Jacob started school again and we are back to a super busy schedule!

I'm so behind getting pictures up on Phanfare, I've been so busy with the kids. Jacob and all his school stuff, Lilly & Jacob and their church groups, and of course trying to keep up with Aaron running around everywhere, he started walking a couple of weeks ago and is now running, jumping and getting into everything, everywhere!

So, I'll have to try a little harder to keep the ol' blog up to date. I have more trips and pics to share!

Click Here if you want to see all the Chaffee Zoo pics!

Grandmas hold our tiny hands for just a little while, but our hearts forever.

Sometimes I sense a little flutter,
Like a shadow swiftly slipping by,

Or I hear a silent gentle murmur,
Like a soft whisper from the sky.

Sometimes I hear you call my name,
Or I clearly see your face before me,

And I feel that you are with me still.
Then peacefully I come to know,
As I am thinking happy thoughts of you,That you, my grandma, are thinking of me, too.

I wanted to share something special that happened last week; I took the kids to the Los Angeles Zoo. For those of you who haven't been there, it is a truly beautiful place, lots of trees and flowers, and big animal exhibits.

The kids & I walked along the paths & just enjoyed each other and all the beautiful surroundings.

At one point we were walking down an empty pathway, trees and flowers along both sides of us. We were walking in silence, Lilly holding my hand, and Jacob pushing Aaron in his stroller.

All of a sudden, Lilly stopped, Looked around, & then looked up at me & said "Mommy? Where's Grandma Chayo?" As clear as day.

It took me back a little bit & I tried to run the day through my head, I tried to remember if we had mentioned her that day, but I had been alone all day with the kids while Gerardo was in training.

Lilly didn't spend much time with her Grandma Chayo & I don't know why she happened to mention her that day. I guess we'll just believe that Grandma Chayo came to visit Lilly, if only for a second, to keep her in her little memory, so she could feel & remember her Grandma's love.

My Daredevil Son Aaron:

Aaron & Lilly have been obsessed lately with playing outside. Which I'm not too happy about in this heat, but I take them out for short periods of time so we don't get too hot!
They have their Little Tike's playground that they LOVE to play on, and my little "baby" boy Aaron has become quite the daredevil:
He climbs up the slide...THE WRONG WAY... & then slides down on his belly BACKWARDS of course..LOLOL...he usually follows with a big exaggerated laugh at the bottom of the slide. He's too funny!!

On Top of Spaghetti...

When I wasn't looking Gerardo gave Aaron spaghetti.

Okay, no big deal right? But he gave him the whole noodles without cutting them up!

It ended up being fine, Aaron had a ball sucking up the long noodles.

And I had fun snapping some pics!

Click here to see all the spaghetti pics.

I finally got the pictures up on phanfare of our trip to Ventura Harbor.

We had a really good time that evening taking silly pictures.

First we went to dinner at this great seafood place. I had scallops, G had fried shrimp (of course) & my cousin Steff had homemade clam chowder in a bread bowl. It was da bomb, so yummy!!

During dinner the kids had fun watching the seagulls flying around and actually landing in the restaurant hoping for a bite to eat!

Then we walked around the harbor and took some pictures. But then we had to leave because it was TOO COLD !!!! Yes, you heard me right...TOO COLD, the kids were cold and I did not pack any jackets so we just packed up and left back to Steff's house for a quiet evening and to let all our food digest! It was great.

Click here to see all the pictures of Ventura Harbor!!

Look who's talking...

I've been wanting to post for awhile all the cute and funny little things that Aaron has been doing lately, but I haven't had a chance. Hopefully I'll get it together & put up some kind of list of his milestones big and small.

The biggest thing lately is how much he's been talking. And all the "words" that he says. It so funny to hear these words come out of my "baby's" mouth, of course it's just because I still look at him as this little baby but the truth is that he's almost 14 months old!!

Here are some of the words he says:


~"wooo" like when he farts or has a stinky diaper he'll wave his hand in front of his nose & say "wooo" (Whew)

~"ha" (hot), when he gets close to the stove he always says this & waves his hand in front of his face in the same motion as when he farts...lol.

~"wow" when he sees something really cool.

~"num-nums" when he's eating or wants something to eat.

~"mmmmm" (really exaggerated) when he's eating something really delicious like Doritos!

~"Spy" (spike) when he's calling the dog.

~"ball"

~"bad, bad, bad"...self-explanatory..lol, my poor baby gets into trouble a lot.

~"uuummmm" when he's thinking really hard or trying to make a decision.

~"Da-U" (thank you) usually when you give him something.

& all the "norms" .... "ma-ma", "da-da", "pa-pa", "grm-a"(grandma..that one's really cute to hear), "wa-wa" (water), "bye"

~"Uh-Oh" this is one the first things he started saying, it's my favorite so cute in his big deep voice.

~"Uh-Uh" as saying NO to me, he got this one from copying Lilly she says the same thing when she doesn't want to do something.

~"DA-r" (there) he'll say this when he hands you something...and he hands me everything, one by one, toys, papers etc.

~"hi" & "O" (hello), "hey" ...he'll get my cell phone or the house phone & hold it up to his ear & say "O" I'm guessing this is "hello" & he's copying how I answer the phone.

~"bubba" & "bubba" ...one is "brother" and the other is "bubba" for his bottle, they sound almost exactly alike to the untrained ear, only we can tell the difference.

~"BA" (Boo) in his deep man voice, he says this when ever I'm putting his shirt on & it goes over his head, he'll say "BA" (boo) when his head comes out the top of his shirt.

I think he's mastering mimicking his brother and sister because he always tries to say the same words as them and if they're laughing he'll start laughing too, he doesn't know why, he's just copying them! It's so funny and cute to see all this take place, he is talking a lot quicker than the other two kids did. I guess it's because he's learning by example & they never stop talking all day long!! LOL!!

Today I was standing in the hallway with my little sister Martina. Aaron had crawled all the way at the other end of the hallway. He pulled himself up onto the wall. And then off he went. Walking. He took several steps down the hallway towards me & Marty.

I couldn't believe my eyes. It was such a mix of emotions, totally joy for my baby boy and this major accomplishment. But I also felt a little sad because this is just another 'step' towards him becoming more and more independent and not such a baby anymore.

It was a great moment and I was so happy to be there to see it!

We took a much needed break from the Valley heat wave this past weekend. My cousin invited us to go visit her in Oxnard. It was so nice and cool there, it was unbelievable. My cousin even took us to the local police department so Gerardo could get an application!! They did have a heat wave of their own, one of the days we were there it actually got up to 80 degrees!! I really would move there in a minute!!
My cousin Stephanie lives in Oxnard with her husband & her two boys Matthew & Tyler but her husband and her boys were in Illinois for the week visiting her husband's parents. It was so nice she lives really close to the beach and Port Hueneme, we just did a lot of relaxing and cooling off!!
It was perfect.
First time Aaron has been on the beach. Port Hueneme, I don't know the name of the beach. He was fine here with his Daddy.
I actually lived here while I went to college, I would sit right on this beach and study!! But, I haven't been here in about 2 years, so it was nice to come back & be jealous of all the great weather!!
I love this picture because you can see Lilly playing in the water in the background!! So cute!! But Aaron did NOT like the wet sand or the water on his feet, he totally cried when I put his toes in the water!
Jacob loves the beach and the water. One of his favorite things to do is to dig up sand crabs. Then he would show them to Lilly and she would run off screaming...funny!
It was also Spike's first time at the beach. We didn't have any one to watch him so he went on our mini vacation with us. It was good because he kept the kids entertained!

Click here if you want to see all the pics of Aaron's first time on the beach & how much fun we all had!!

And The Survey Says...

A few weeks ago I told some of you about the surveys that I have been doing on line & getting paid for. I was just wondering how everyone was doing with them? Did anyone sign up and have you earned anything?
I have been doing good with it, I am averaging about $40 or so per week now, which pays for my gas, there are some weeks that I don't get any checks & then some weeks I get a bunch. I have been using a lot of gas running my kids around and going back and forth to my mom's house helping her re cooperate from her surgery.
Last week I got $45 worth of checks. The first pic is of all the checks I got yesterday, they totaled $30 plus a $25 gift card to Red Lobster. The next pic is 2 $5 checks that I received in today's mail. So here's the proof that it really works and you can get a few extra bucks cash.
I have learned how to get through a survey quickly, which surveys to do, and a few other tricks. Email me if you have any questions.
Anyway, if you did sign up, I hope your having fun & earning $$$

Lilly's obsessed! Don't read if your easily offended!

So, my 3 year old is obsessed with showing people her butt. It started out cute, but now she won't stop. Any time she sees anyone she knows, she tells them to look at her butt. Yes, that's my Lilly, the exhibitionist in training...oh no, what do I have to look forward to??

Will this lead to flashing guys on spring break?...Will this lead her to a life on the pole?...omg...Gerardo & I were just speculating last night....I don't even want to think about it..LOL

I guess it's natural for kids to be curious about their anatomy, but Lilly's taken it to the next level..LOL

Okay, I have to admit, I laugh every time she does it...I guess that's why she keeps on doing it!

At least she's not naked when she does it, it's pretty much just like this picture. And she hasn't done this to any strangers, although she has done it in front of strangers!

If anyone has any advice...let me know!!

And for those of you that are easily offended...please try not to get to bent out of shape the next time you see my princess and she asks you if you want to see her butt....

Aaron bloggin'....

I can't keep Aaron away from the computer!! He loves to get the mouse and start clicking away!!

He also loves the blue power button on the tower of the computer.

He loves to push it and turn it on and off!!

I know one of these days my computer is gonna crash and it's gonna be all Aaron's fault!!

Today I heard some clicking noises and I KNEW that he was messing with the computer.

I came into the room and there he was....BLOGGING!! LOL

I don't know how he did it, but he clicked on the link to Tia Mimi's blog!!!

I guess he just wanted to check out his cousin Ollin!! So funny!! I had to take a picture before he got in trouble!!

**HAPPY 4TH OF JULY**

Happy 4Th of July from The Chavoya-Flores Family!!
Trying to get a good pic of my kiddos...is NOT easy!!
Fireworks!! Yeah, Aaron & Lilly loved them. Aaron fell asleep during the 'show'!
We had a quiet 4Th of July at my mom & dad's house. We swam, ate BBQ tri-tip & had some fireworks in the front yard. It was a lot of fun.

Let's Go Swimming...

My kids have really learned to love swimming this summer! We believe in getting the kids into the water as soon as possible so their not afraid to learn to swim. I put Jacob in the pool at 6 months old, we put Lilly in the pool for the first time in summer 2005 when she was about 7 months old, & Aaron was just too little last summer so this summer is his first time in the pool, and I would have liked to get him in earlier because he is a little more afraid than the other kids. Lilly went swimming last year, but this year she has just decided to go for it & took off swimming with floaties only! She's not afraid at all, she swims all over the pool, in the deep end & everywhere! Yesterday she started jumping off the step, it's only a matter of time until she's jumping off the diving board!! She's my little firecracker...so adventurous!!
We have been putting Aaron in the pool this year, but since he's already a year old he's got his own ideas about being in the water. He doesn't like it when it's too cold, so he'll cry until we get him out. But on a nice warm day when the water is nice and warm, he'll stay in the pool for a long time & float around in his little boat & splash the water!
Jacob has always swam in the pool, but he's always been deathly afraid to swim without floaters & he never jumps off the diving board. But this year he just got brave one day & decided to swim without his floaters. It was surprising but he just took off swimming all over the pool & the deep end without being scared. Yesterday he tried jumping from the diving board & really did a good job, before the end of the day he was doing cannonballs, twists & trying to dive!! We're proud of him.

And all of you remember, we're gonna spend a lot of time at my mom's house swimming this summer...and you're always invited to join us!!

Click here to see all the pics & to see video of Lilly swimming & Jacob doing a cannonball off the diving board for the first time!!

What The???

How do toddlers fall asleep in such crazy positions???

I only got this one pic of Lilly asleep yesterday, she woke up with the flash so I couldn't get a view of her from the other side.

But she's actually asleep STANDING UP on the couch. She's standing on the edge of the couch & leaning over on to the recliner.

My poor princess, but I guess she was comfortable enough to fall asleep!!

I have so many pics of Jacob asleep in weird positions too! I don't know how they do it!

Oh well, Sweet Dreams!!