Stop wiggling your tooth!

Most days Maya is a normal happy go-lucky kid.. But for the past few weeks her tooth has been driving her and her parental units crazy.... First, it turned brown because she was rough housing with her best pal.. Off to the dentist.. Thankfully, he said, the tooth was dead but the next one is on its way. We needed to wait it out and let this one fall in its own time..

Well every day Maya wiggled her tooth just a little more. Every day the darn thing hung on and got darker..

The days turned into weeks Missy went from antsy to broken record. "Mom it won't come out" and "Mom, I only lost 2 teeth but so and so lost 8.." and "Mom, I can't chew" or "It hurts, is it crooked?"

Well today I was done..

My happy girl has been more like "Ramona the Pest" than "Maya the Happy"..Today when I went to pick her up even her teacher commented that Maya wanted her tooth out and had noticed it was close..In teacher speak, I am sure that meant "She is driving me nuts". I warned her that if she didn't let it be I was going to pull it. "NO, MOM IT WILL HURT!"..Note:, she calls those excited marks..

I tried to pull it right after she got home and it bled.. Darn.. not yet..or so I thought..

At the dinner table, she started the whining.. That's it.."get over here so I can pull it!".. Martin laughed..he warned her she was not picking the right parent. I am not gentle.. Well too bad, she has been driving me crazy.. I told her I would try again and if it was ready it would not hurt.. Right? I knew this thing was close.. The tooth fairies must have been smiling and on my side..

I literally barely touched it. I told her open and stand still, let me figure out how to grab it.. blink, pop.. "Oh, here is your tooth" ... even I was shocked.. Maya in her widest eyes says "Mom, my tooth!" and starts bawling.. Maya you are fine.. It doesnt hurt..Look no blood..So between us, even I don't remember the exact pull, but I touched it and next thing I saw I had a clean break. Martin meanwhile is laughing.. He says you should have seen the look on her face.. Pure Shock!

Heck, relief is more like it..We could now get on with our dinner..

She is still crying but also is now laughing.. Ok, get over it..Wipe away the tears.. Now let me run and get that camera... See..this is my happy girl..

Here she is with her first top tooth missing.. our little toothless wonder...Until the next tooth... May it be less dramatic..
Buzz,
Alex

A day at the park...

Knowing how crazy the holidays are with kids schedules, work, family get togethers and everything else that gets shoved into the last 2 weeks of the year, I decided to plan a get together with the Dans for January.. After about 72 emails we settled on the Poway train park for a picnic..

This little gem was new to me. I was amazed at how charming the whole park was.. Although it was a little dissapointing that the big locomotive was not in service we enjoyed watching the little train circling the park..

It was perfect weather and the kids did what we did as kids.. They explored, they wandered off.. There was not one techno gadget in sight. They chased the stream, climbed on rocks, got their shoes wet and looked for sticks.. It was great!

I even managed to get a few pictures of the tribe..

Here are the kids patiently waiting at the train depot for their turn.. Look at Ethan..the only big boy in the bunch of girls..

The 3 Dan Dads decided they would chaperone the train ride..

Here they go... Look at those smiles.. 50 cents well spent..

What a perfect way to start off the year...

Choo-Choo!

Alex

Three giggling girls..

The Bell girls were Maya's first guests of the new year.. It was so neat to hear them giggle and play.. I am always amazed at how good these girls get along.. There is something unexplainable about their friendship.. They are truly Maya's sister-friends..

Maya and Lily are our happy girls..

Here they are at the park on the jungle gym..

For breakfast the girls decided they wanted waffles and they helped mixed the batter..

Here are Maya and Grace mixing..

It was a great weekend and in this case 3 kids was easier than 1..
Thanks to our dear friends for sharing their amazing little girls..

We look forward to the rest of the wonder years..
Alex

Settling into the new year...

After the holidays are over it always takes me weeks to feel settled.. This year was no different.. As you can tell by the new blog background and the lack of current entries I have been stumped. The new blogger backgrounds do not want to cooperate with my chosen templates.. So for now I will have to live with the out of the box options.. C'est la vie...

This year not only snuck up on me, but it's the first year that I didn't torture myself with resolutions.. I finally wrapped my head around the reality that year long goals are too much to take on.. With all the things that I already juggle at home and work, why add another thing to the to do list? This year its all about less being more.. Are you with me?

I realize by now you may be face down on your computer from boredom and for that I am clearly at fault but stick with me.. The year has only just begun.. I hope to get better at this blogging business.. I may take some real lessons in digital photography so that I can do more than just force people to smile when I come by with my camera.. I hope to get back into the quilting swing. If all goes well I may have some finished projects at the end of the year and my stash will dwindle (only to clear space for new lovely yards of fabric)..

Our family is always top of the list.. and with a new 4 legged member it means more time outside for exercise.. yes, you read right.. Izzy joined the family.. I was trapped and pressured I tell you.. Jake is taking to her and sharing his yard.. Maya is beside herself with happiness and asking nightly when Izzy will get to sleep in her room..Here is Maya cuddling with Izzy..

So whatelse is in store for 2011? Your guess is as good as mine.. I am thrilled that we are both still gainfully employed.. Maya is taking well to her new school.. Although I know she only goes because she has too.. That girl would be happy to never leave her home.. And while I realize that is crazy it also makes me slightly happy as a mom.. She feels safe and happy at home..

At the end of the day that is all I have ever wanted.. Its everything and more than I could have wished for to have a family of my own.. We are all healthy and happy.. How blessed could we be?

Happiness to you and yours in 2011!
Buzz,
Alex

Christmas morning...

Maya always leaves cookies and milk for Santa along with some carrots for the reindeer. Here's her Santa plate almost empty...

After waiting for daddy to join the family downstairs Maya was finally able to see what Santa brought, a Squinky carousel. Santa always knows what the kids want...

We opened presents and took a few pictures before heading to the Gonzalez house for family and food..
Merry Christmas!
Alex

Cookies!

It would not be Christmas without cookies.. Cookie making has become an annual event at our house..I made a double batch of gingerbread and sugar cookie dough in advance.. The girls were ready to roll and cut as soon as they saw the supplies.

It was fun watching them pick shapes, sprinkles and pipe icing.. Each girl gave both flavors a try and gingerbread seemed to be the biggest hit..

Maya rolls out dough as if she was born in a bakery and loves the feel of flour..

Here's a batch of sprinkle covered sugar cookies ready for the oven.. Friends include Charley, Alexandra, Giselle, Maya and Marika..Wishing everyone a sweet Christmas season..
Alex and the Cookie Elves...

Painting fun...

This year we decided to have Maya and Mateo make ornaments and spend time together instead of exchanging gifts.. Not only does this take the craziness out of figuring out what to buy our October babies for Christmas but it gives us an excuse to hang out..

Maya and Mateo decorated and personalized their ornaments and had fun being silly...
Looks like we have a new holiday tradition..Making Ornaments...
Alex

A "sweet" house..

The last day of school for Maya involved going to school in PJ's and building a personal gingerbread house.. Each student got some basic supplies of graham crackers, gum drops, marshmallows, pretzels, white frosting and some colorful candies.... Next thing you know they were producing works of art...

The smiles of pride were everywhere..

Jordan displays her handiwork.

Maya's house even got a chocolate muffin bush courtesy of a birthday celebration...

The party was sweet.
The memories were even sweeter..
Alex