Playdate

Yesterday we went to visit all my girlfriends that I used to teach with in Lockport. It was so much fun to see all of the kids play together. There were two little ones Isaiah's age...Anthony and Sophia. And two little ones Hope's age...Olivia and Helana! We haven't been able to get together in awhile with all the kiddos so it was so great to watch how they interacted. Isaiah is getting a lot better with sharing but needs to still be reminded. At least Anthony and Sophia were tough and would try and take things back that he took from them!

I dont have the plug to my camera so I cannot download pictures so...of course you will have to wait until we get home and I will do another picutre update!

Nicknames

Well....Hope has a new nickname....I call her squeaker! She is so funny. She is babbling all the time but she squeaks as she is babbling....it is the funniest thing. You have to hear it because it is hard to describe. But she does it all day long...and she LOVES to hear herself talk! When Isaiah and Hope start talking...I am in trouble...I dont know if I will be able to get a word in...Ha ha!

Isaiah is feeling much better! He had a fever for a few days and then got a horrible rash! He was so cranky too! Poor thing. We took him to the doctor to make sure that he didnt have an ear infection since we are flying home this weekend...and he is fine!

Isaiah is talking more and more everyday. He is funny and you really have to watch what you say because he repeats everything! He calls Hope...Hop...so my dad nicknamed them IHOP...ha ha...how original!

Socha Get Together

We all had such a great time yesterday seeing everyone that could make it here. It was so nice to have everyone over my parents house than to run out in every direction trying to make sure that we saw everyone. It is definitely harder with two little ones on different nap schedules!

All the kids had so much fun...they went swimming in the pond (which Dave calls the "Wahl"arosa), riding on four wheelers, and on hay rides. Actually the big kids had fun too...ha ha!

We may try and make this event an annual thing!

I would post pictures of our day but....I forgot the cord to download them. So...you will all have to wait until we get home.

We are in Buffalo!!

We just got into Buffalo last night and the kids are doing great! Isaiah of course does not forget anything. He knows where all his toys are...he knows if there is something new....and he knows that Grandpa has a tractor and a 4 wheeler. He is having a blast here. Hope is loving her new toys and rolling all around!

We are here for a little while and would love to see everyone. We are going to have a party at my parents house this Saturday at 2 and a cookout at 4. Let me know if you can come! Hope to see you all there.

We were just in Florida. We were there for my uncle's funeral. It is still not real to me. The whole time I was just waiting for him to walk through the door in his police uniform like he used to when we were little and then come and play with us. I will miss him very much. The funeral and the support of the police officers and friends and family was so amazing! He was loved by everyone. Please continue to pray for my Aunt Kim and Ashley, Sean, Autumn, and Spencer.

We also visited Doug and Carrie and all the kiddos while we were there. AND we got to see baby Monica. She is a cutie and looks just like Doug (I think). It was so great for all the cousins to play together. Hope loves Aunt Carrie! And Isaiah loves to play with all his cousins. At the end Ana and Isaiah were actually starting to share and play nice together! We love when we can all get together and the cousins can play. I wish we all lived closer!

Prayer for Our Family

As some of you may have heard, my Aunt Kim's Husband, my Uncle Chris was killed yesterday. He was a sergeant for the Broward Sheriff's Department in Florida. He was killed in the line of duty. Click here to read about him and what happened.

He was a great father and loved his children very much. I am so glad that we got to see him a month ago when we visited Florida.

We ask that you especially pray for his wife Kim and their four children: Ashley, Sean, Autumn, and Spencer.

We cannot imagine the pain that they will endure now and for a long time.

Please pray that God gets them through this horrible tragedy.

In addition to prayers, they have set up a fund to help support his family. The Sergeant Chris Reyka Education Fund will provide money to educate his four children.

Checks for funds can be sent to: The Sheriff's Foundation of Broward County,2601 West Broward Boulevard, Room 3519, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33312. BSO asks that contributors specify the fund on the check.

Prayers Have Been Answered!

I dont think that I wrote on my blog about Dave's product...but I did call a few people and ask for prayers.

But when Fisher Price recalled all their products....Walmart wanted everything retested (just to be safe). Now Dave's factories do not use lead paint...but this was an issue of cross contaimination within the factories....and Dave does use some of the same factories as Fisher Price.

Well....after a week of stress and lots of praying....all thier products came back and passed the test! Thank God!

There is another issue that is still pending...but completely seperate from this issue....so please keep the prayers coming.

Dates!!

We are travelling back to the east coast again and we would love to see all of you!!

Here are are tentative dates....

Florida~ Monday August 20th-Saturday August 25th (If that is OK with the Florida Socha's)
Buffalo~ Sunday August 26th-Monday Sept 3rd

Of course they may change by a day or two...but I will let you all know!

So....we are going to send out invitations for everyone to come to my parents house on one of the days that we are in Buffalo. We always try and see everyone...but it never works out. This way we are not running all around with two little ones and will still get to see the people we love without leaving anyone out! I will let you know what day as soon as we figure it out!

Isaiah and Hope are very excited! (Well Isaiah at least is....he can't wait to drive Grandpa Joe's tractor and four wheeler...He asks to drive them everyday!)

Sorry If I Have Been Quiet....

...but we have been busy!

Boris and Teresa and their 3 kids are visiting from Antigua. They came in Friday night and will be here until this Friday. We took them to Santa Monica yesterday for church and then out to lunch. Then we had to leave otherwise we would have had some meltdowns...but they stayed and went shopping and sightseeing.

What else have we been up to...
My sister-in-law, Dani, gave me a book about sleeping...for the kids not me. Ha ha! I read it and now I am implementing it with both kids (well mostly with Hope...we are just retraining Isaiah). I have to say...the Sleep Lady knows what she is talking about! We are getting Hope to fall asleep all by herself (well she is using a paci)...and she is sleeping longer at night and only down to one nighttime feeding! Wow...all of this in two nights! Hope slept until 6:30 and Isaiah until 7:30! Can you believe it??

I also started naps today...and she is doing pretty well. She fell asleep both times by herself within a few minutes of laying her down...and she doesn't really cry about it. The only problem we have is if she wakes up she needs me to put her paci back in so....I am debating about taking it away. It is a little hard with Isaiah...I left him downstairs for a minute...but she wouldn't fall asleep so I finally had to bring him up and let him play while she fell asleep. I am sure it will get easier as we go along.

Hope liked to be laid down and fall asleep by herself when she was a newborn but...when her reflux was really bad and we were trying her medicine...she just had to be held and then finally I would lay her down when she fell asleep. Then she started getting hard to put down for naps....she probably just wanted to be laid down and left alone!

So...for all of you out there with newborns...and there are a lot of you....I would totally recommend this book! It is so great! Thanks Dani! What do we owe you?