May Day!

This is a new tradition borrowed from one of our favorite people- JULIE!.. It was a lovely May day.. Maya took a little bouquet to her sweet teacher. 

In the evening we delivered some sweets and yellow daffodils to a few neighors..

Happy May Day!

Alex

The egg hunt..

Maya had a mini egg hunt out front after coming home from auntie Deanna's house.  It was just a few of us at home.. some food and a little basket..

This picture was so sweet.. I see a little bit of me at that age..

It was a good day.. Thanks be to God..
Alex



Maya's great 8 birthday!

The year has flown by for us as a family.. October is always a busy month but this year the stress of life meant more chaos than normal.. Before I knew it I realized that Maya's birthday had snuck up on me..

This year Maya wanted an all girl event..

Thankfully she wanted games and music. A few pink party supplies and a homemade cake was all that was needed for these girls to enjoy their afternoon..

Lily was a sight with the hula hoop..

They started the games with the limbo game and enjoyed being silly..

A few hours of fun and games was perfect for celebrating...
I think it was an extended playdate..
However, we couldn't let a birthday pass without family which meant a long day for all of us.. If it wasn't for my mom and Deanna I think I would have passed out from exhaustion..
Her 8 shaped cake was shared with family and our neighbors (our second family)..

She was flooded with gifts and by 8:00 exhausted beyond her 8 years!

I still can't believe it but ready or not she is the Great 8..

Happy birthday baby!
Love,
Mom and Dad

First day of school!

Maya was a little nervous for the first day of school.. It was a new place, new teacher and new dress code.. She is now at the Temecula Preparatory and they wear uniforms..

At first the thought of uniforms shocked her but once she tried them on.. She was hooked!

Today my heart swelled with pride as I watched her off to 2nd grade.. It was a dream of mine for her to attend a school that had uniforms.. We love our school district and love that she has such an amazing school in our own neighborhood..

We look forward to many more happy memories at TPS..
Go Patriots!
Alex

Summer recap...

These entries are my attempt at recapturing the summer.. Part 1.

I don't know where the summer went? the warm weather is still here but school shopping and angst has already started... Maya has been as busy as her mother bee this summer.. from the day she got out right up to this final weekend..

School let out in Mid June

Maya and a few of her friends gathered for a School's Out party.. The theme was tea party so all the girls came in cute dresses and enjoyed themselves in the jumper..

Are these girls cool or what? The sunglasses added to the summer time fun..
That was just day one!
Alex

Mom, MY TOOTH!

Monday morning as she ate breakfast Missy decided to take matters into her own hands.. literally.. I guess she was tired of figeting with that second wiggly tooth.. Without warning I heard.. "Mom, My tooth!" and then there was blood and oh no here we go..

We run to the bathroom so she can rinse her mouth and of course she is going crazy because she sees bright red blood..

After all the madness she tells me that Grace had given her the great idea to pull it out on her own.. I couldn't help but giggle.. She started giggling and now I am cracking up because she has a gummy smile now.

One tooth a week.. she is on a roll..
Alex

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

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

Little notes...

Maya's teacher told us that she had no problem getting her words onto the page... Next thing you know these little messages start springing up arond the house...

Martin was surprised one day when this one appeared on his monitor...

It says "Dear dad I need hlpe with my home work can you pless hlpe me! your dodr Maya (in cursive because she only signs her name) I will be in the cichen."

We still giggle at her curious nature.. we never know when a little note will appear...

We are so proud of our little writer..
Alex

Grandma's Birthday gift...

Maya loves plays and has now seen several thanks to grandma...This year for Maya's birthday gift, grandma took her to see "Beauty and the Beast"downtown...

Seeing a play is also a good chance to play dress up.. All three of us girls gussied up and headed to the play in ladylike dresses and smiles...

Speaking of smiles, I took the opportunity to take some pictures and this one was hands down my favorite.. This girl loves her grandma...

Beautiful!
Alex

A "Haute" Halloween!

This year for Halloween we knew we had to make it to the Pira's house.. For years, we have heard about all the fun they have scaring their neighbors and haunting the house.. Dan has been a fan of Halloween his whole life and that fact that his birthday is in the same week adds to the madness..
The funny thing is this year was Dan's 35th and a somber reflective mood came over him.. Instead of decking the house with crazy scary decor, he scaled back and went with the flow.. The neighbors were dissapointed but the candy was still welcome...
Scaled down or not the the Pira's do Halloween right.. they have a real theme.. This year it was Alice in Wonderland... Paige was Queen of Hearts and Ava was Alice. The kids had a great time trekking in the cold.. Maya enjoyed hanging out with the Pira girls and made a few new friends too...

Dan sharing glow sticks and being silly...

Here's Lindsey (AKA Mad Hatter) and her Frazzled Mom pumpkin...

Maya decided that her SilverMist costume wasn't quite right for Halloween (thank goodness she had already worn it twice!)... Instead she opted to stay in her "fancy" wear... At 7 the girl is already about Haute Style.. Light a candle for her mother, will you?

Boo!
Alex

A magical 7...

Missy is 7..

I can't even believe it.. How could the years fly by so fast? Somehow they did..

On the actual day we pulled her out of school early and headed to Disneyland.. We even got to meet up with uncle Arthur for dinner.. But when it came time to celebrate this year she wanted the whole kit and caboodle.. She wanted a costume party, all her friends and all the trimmings...

No matter how much prep I did, I still needed more time and more hands.. Thankfully between my hubby, Diana, Andre and the late night hours it all got done...

We ordered a jumper, I started cooking on Friday night, Thursday night I baked her cheesecake, then I made a regular vanilla cake, cupcakes, and dairy free cake.. We melted caramel and chocolate for pretzel rods, we stuffed goody bags..We were ready.. Then the rain came.. Saturday morning at 7am it was sprinkling and by 8 it was pouring.. The soccer game was cancelled. I said my little prayer, please let the sun come out or at least let the rain stop..

Ask and you shall receive by noon the sun was peeking out!

The kids all came in their adorable costumes and the party began...

There was the Pinata which always mean scary fun..

There was the decorate your own goodie bag craft...

The party was topped off with some amazing gifts.. Maya was in crafty heaven.. She even got a real sewing machine from her favorite family..the Bells.. But it was the amazing quilt that took the cake.. Noi Noi made Maya a personalized quilt (and matching pillows!) just like her sister-friends Grace and Lily.. Maya has already told me that she can now be just like them when she spends the night at their house..

What a day! A magical day for sure..

Happy Birthday Missy!

Love you!
Mom

Picture day...

I realize this is one of the most photographed generations but who could resist taking a picture at home on school picture day.. NOT ME! Hee hee...

I love this dress.. I mean love.. Look at it.. It's all knit.. It's her favorite color- PINK and it has just a touch of brown to balance it out.. Pink and Brown is so classic.. I can overlook the pink factor and accept that it is a lovely dress...It has a baret too but she was not on board with wearing it..Boo..

Can't wait to see the professional version but for now, I will enjoy this smile...

Buzz,
Alex

She's a Daisy...

We had searched high and low for a troop in our area.. Just when I stopped looking I met Angela on the soccer field..Next thing you know she had a spot for a Daisy in the troop..

This is Maya's first time reciting the Girl Scout Pledge...

She is a Daisy Scout...

Audrey is now a Brownie...

The first event was the "bridging" ceremony for Daisies' becoming Brownies...

Here's the whole troop..

Looking forward to many scouting activities and memories..

Buzz,
Alex

Soaring Spirit!

Maya received the Soaring Spirit award for Empathy..

The School Motto is H.E.A.R.T..

Which stands for Harmony, Empathy, Achievement, Reflection and Transformation..

Her teacher, Mrs. Silva stated that she was very kind to her classmates.. It was such a treat, even in the crazy heat, to watch Missy receive her award.. She was so surprised...

Way to Go!

Proud Mom and Dad..

Silly Science...

Missy and her friends, Presley and Hannah, decided it was a good day for brewing up some kid concoctions..

They combined chaulk and baking soda along with some vinegar for a stinky colored fizz on the sidewalk..They loved the bubbly reaction..
They cut all the rose petals from the garden to make some dough. Because all girls want rose petaled dough..

While they waited for the dough to set they spent time crafting the perfect pizza from playdoh..
Shredded cheese anyone?
They were proud of their masterpiece..

Happy Summer!
Alex