Officially Daddy and more...

It has been a busy last few months for the family.  On June 6, 2012, Shands "Officially" became Zaela's daddy!  Zaela couldn't have been happier as she ran down the courthouse hallway proclaiming her new last name! 

Zaela's big brother also graduated from High School and will be attending college in Boston... he is going to be missed!  

Zaela and her big sis and brother!

Miss Z also graduated from Pre-school!  It was a star-studded Hollywood Red-carpet event!!  Zaela even captured an award for "Best Costume Design!"  Super cute event and we will really miss Teacher Veronica!

Teacher Veronica

We found out Zaela is quite handy with DIY remodels!  Zaela helped grammie with the horrible job of removing wallpaper and loved hammering nails with grampie!

We have also had so many wonderful playdates....and she finally LOVES running in the ocean!!!  Miss Z is growing up.  I understand why every parent says it so often, she is constantly changing and growing, I just wish I bottle her up!  She now sets the table, helps with dishes, makes her bed, and "usually" follows directions quite well!  Our favorite things to do together are work out, YES she is relentless..."Mommy, why are you stopping???"  LOL!  And of course she loves "Leggies up!"   She is also still loving her ballet/tap lessons and is doing great!

Happy Easter!

Christmas to Easter update.... boy how time flies!

Miss Z has been busy with her ballet classes and impersonating Princesses on a regular basis. EVERY morning we hear the "Click click" of her princess shoes heading our way! She just can not get enough of her little princess dress so the Easter Bunny thought he better add one into the rotation!! Her favorite movie is Beauty and the Beast....and she loves to reinacts every scene, dialogue and all!

Little Miss Z is all registered for Kindergarten and very excited : ) We also finally made it to Disneyland and planning our next visit on April 18th to celebrate her half birthday!!!


Me and my favorite bunny!

Look at me!

Grammie, grammie, grammie : )))))))

My first princess dress,, Princess Tiana! I want aaaaaaaalllllll the princess dresses!!

Easter Bunnies even leave Princess Belle dresses!!!! Wow,,,, that bunny is nice!

Easter morning.....look what the carrot trail lead to!

A Nutcracker Christmas

This year Zaela will have her first opportunity to strut her stuff on stage as a mouse in the Nutcracker Ballet! It has already been a demanding schedule for her star role for both Zaela and mom & dad. Wow, we had NO idea what we were getting into!!! She seems to love it so its all worth it!

Today we went to get a picture with Santa,,, her first one : ) She is only smiling because Santa didn't ask her if she has been Naughty or Nice!!!!

Starring Zaela Rose as Baby Mouse!

"4" and Fabulous!!!

Wow,,, our little girl is the big "4!" Such a fun age and growing up so fast! The good news is that she still wants to marry daddy because he is her favorite boy!!!! Let's keep it that way Miss Z!!

This year little Miss Z was quite demanding in the birthday party arena. Her wish list was: pretty plates, pretty napkins, pretty cups, a banner inside and a banner outside, a caterpillar cake, bug cupcakes, yummy food, balloons, and last but not least, a pinata!!!! Needless to say, she got her wish list and had a great time with all of her friends. We may have a future Events Coordinator/Party Planner on our hands! Of course, she wouldn't be our Miss Z if she didn't remind us a few days later that we should have gotten her a jumper??!?!!!*#%

In addition to her birthday party, she got to go to the San Diego Zoo and have a celebration with all of her friends at pre-school....the party kept going!

Halloween was especially fun this year too...she LOVES Halloween! This year she was Jesse so of course daddy had to be Woody! We were the Toy Story family,,,,Nikko & Matt will be proud ; )

Zaela's first bike.. one cute beach cruiser!

Zaela's big brother and Kelly!

Friends and presents,,,, life is GOOOD!

The biggest Cupcake Pinata ever!!!

The "BUG" cupcakes!

Mommy's best attempt at a caterpillar cake.

Just one cute pic of the little girl who LOVES to wear rain gear!

My little Ballerina!

Zaela started taking ballet and tap dance lessons last week! I have to say that one of the sweetest things in the world is dressing your little girl up in a tutu and watching her learn how to dance....priceless : ))

The OC Fair

Little Miss Z had a ball at her first visit to the OC Fair! As you can see she looooves Rollercoasters! That smile says it all! She also enjoyed the pony ride and her favorite Clydesdale horse named "Sammy," not to mention the deep fried brownies! It was a great day at the fair!!!

My first pet!!!

OK, so not exactly what one would expect....Introducing "Cowie!" Zaela has a pet cow (balloon that is!) She loves it and takes it everywhere she goes! LOL! Mom even had to chase it down the street yesterday when the the string leash broke...quite the sight as I am chasing a cow balloon down the middle of the street with Zaela screaming,,, but "We saved Cowie!" It was a Wonderpets episode right here on our own block!

Zaela also wrote her name for the first time on her etch-a-sketch! Here are a few photos to catch you up!