It's getting close...

The days are flying by too fast. We have a camping trip next weekend over the 4th of July, two weeks after that, the kids and I head off to Minnesota for a 10 day vacation. Then, just as we arrive home, Maya turns one.

I am not ready for this!!! It's just about a month away. I didn't have this dread when Hayden turned one. I loved each day as it came and went, anticipating what his next move would be. With Maya, knowing she is probably my last baby, I don't like to see her go to bed at night. I don't like to know that the next day she is older, bigger and on to another adventure. I want to keep her little. I looked through her albums yesterday beginning the day she was born and it's hard to remember holding her so tiny.


I was hugely pregnant at this time last year. I loved being pregnant even if I did complain every day towards the end. It was summer in Arizona and it's not a fun thing to have a barrel on your belly. I miss those kicks and hickups and rolls going on inside. I sometimes find myself just putting my hand on that spot just under my belly button trying to remember what those movements felt like. Sigh.....

I'm gonna need a baby fix soon. My brother and sis-in-law better get going soon...

Happy Father's Day Daddy!!!

The kids and I held onto a surprise for Buddy for two months! I am so shocked that Hayden didn't spill the beans! The surprise was a picture of myself and the kids taken by the wonderful photographer, Jackie Lindfors. I had to get them done in April because Jackie was almost 9 months pregnant at the time and wouldn't be able to take them much later!! So, I figured, great! I can do it for a Mother's Day gift to myself!! And, I got some cute pics of Maya in her yellow tutu that I am using for her birthday invitations.
So, because you are dying to see, here they are!!

A definite favorite forever.....This next one is the one we gave to Buddy for Father's Day. I made it into a little 4x6 card so I didn't have to wrap up the 11x14. ;)So, Happy Father's Day Daddy/Buddy!!!!! We love you!!!

We got him a little something else too. Let's just say Buddy and Hayden are going to have an afternoon of fun and "more than meets the eye..."

Three Year Old Blahs

Is anyone else out there or has anyone else out there gone through the dreaded three's? Terrible two's my foot (or ass, whichever you prefer)!!! I am really getting fed up with H lately. I am surprised I haven't lost my voice yet with the amount of voice raising I have done the last year.

~I can say his name repeatedly when I know he is in earshot and I get no response.
~I ask him to please pick up his toys and put them away. Sometimes I get a good clean up, but it's usually because of a threat. Typically, I have to repeat myself 16 or so times before I am just fed up and pick up everything myself and take them away. They get put up high, in places he can see, but cannot reach. I want him to know I can take things from him for not listening and not give them back until I see fit.
Example: Today I told him at least 20 times to pick up his Lincoln Logs. The last five times or so saying if they weren't picked up, they were going to be gone for awhile. Needless to say, they are on the top shelf of the pantry right now. What does he do? Breaks down crying like the world has ended. This crying is the kind where you just want to put him in a room and shut the door because the sound is so flipping irritating.
~Get out of the kitchen when I tell you! He gets in the way constantly. I love when he wants to help, most of the time, but when I am trying to clean up, why is the kitchen his new playroom?!
~Getting dressed! Just do it. Put your clothes on so we can leave. This is typically only on days that don't include preschool since he loves those days. Any other day, FIGHT!
~Teeth brushing. I made sure the dentist told him that mommy and daddy have to brush them first and then he can. Reminders every stinking night. The whole teeth brushing process takes literally 10 minutes when it should be like, what, three?!
~Taking toys from Maya. A toy will be lying on the floor ALL DAY, the second M picks it up, H was playing with it! WTF? Luckily most of the time she doesn't give a crap and moves on, but he's got to know he can't do that!
~Listening to simple commands is like training the dog. "Get your shoes." The response: "What?" This can sometimes get repeated three times before I flip.
~He talks back. "I don't want to talk to YOU!" (Emphasis on the you all the time!) "I said NO", "Stop Talking to ME (sounds more like meh)"
~Don't push your cars in the dining room. Every other day I have to tell him this. He can remember that Grandma has a yellow kayak that he saw once two years ago, but don't play in the dining room is lost on him.
~Sometimes, when he's trying to tell you something, he just starts crying. No reason, just does. He'll ask for something so simple and just start crying when he asks. This, is so not fun. It's typically when he's already done something wrong and he might just be sad. I don't know.
~ There are more, but these are the ones that really push my buttons.

I have to remind myself that he is only three and this will pass. But, enough already! Hurry four!!


On the other hand, he can be the sweetest kid in the world!
~Out of the blue, in the car or just at home I hear, "Mom? I love you."
~He loves his sister. Loves when she wakes up and they play. Always wants her to be outside to play with him.
~He's hilarious! He just says things that make us laugh, hard.
~He's pretty dang smart and is learning things that just baffle me.
~His teacher at preschool and the people who work at the daycare LOVE HIM! I love to hear what a great kid H is. How he is always so sweet, so helpful and just a fun kid to be around. I then wonder where that kid is on days like today, but I love to hear that I am raising a good kid.
~He thinks he should buy everything he sees, but never really asks for it. It's quite funny when he says this. "Mom, I should buy this." I can totally say, maybe someday, but not today and he's fine. He's been so good about not having to have everything he sees. He's never thrown a fit for not being able to get a toy or treat. He's been upset, but hasn't done the embarassing tantrum throwing in a store. I am sooo thankful for this!
~He is a sweet kid. I am very thankful I have such a great little man in my life. We do have our ups and downs, more of the downs lately, but, he's healthy, handsome and my Hayden.


Thanks for the vent...

Miss Independent 10 Monther

My Maya turned 10 months today. I am so sad that time is flying by so dang fast!! She's such fun baby girl and is growing so freakin fast.

She no longer likes to eat from a spoon and I just stocked up on baby food.... Time for trickery and adding it to pasta as a sauce. She's eaten an entire hotdog in one sitting and three chicken nuggets plus a 1/4 of an avocado in another sitting. Very hard to find meats soft enough for someone with two teeth!

She seems to have no interest in walking just yet. Crawling is so much faster! Babbling is so great!! I love listening to Babababa, Dadada, Mamamama, BAH. And she's a screecher! Man, she's got on high pitch. I think she's a soprano. Her drama queen has started appearing. Walk away from her, and she throws her head back, then forward, arms up and face into the floor in a fit. It's a girl! I wouldn't change anything about her for the world. Okay, I'd make her smaller and younger so I could relive these little things.

Yep, she eats rocks. That's what we get for living in Arizona.

No such thing as a full grass yard here.

Oh, and we got a puppy. This is Prada.

Right now

I have just woken up from a much needed nap. Maya has been under the weather the past couple days and sleep was deprived from both of us last night. I got less than four hours and she didn't come close to her much needed eleven. I don't know if it's teeth or a little viral thing. She's got the bulge of a new tooth showing on her top front left with a slight fever. So I blame that.
Buddy has just put her on the floor for some much needed play time and she's just looking at him like, "why Daddy? Why wouldn't you want to cuddle some more?"
She has been such a cuddlebug since she's been feeling crappy. Which I love. She's such a squirmer normally, it's nice to get this cuddle time in while I can. I hate that she's feeling so icky, but again am still loving the cuddly girl now.
Hayden is getting a good serving of Noggin today. I usually let him watch a couple shows after preschool to wind down and then he does his play time stuff. I slept through most of the annoying shows (not really that many) and now Max and Ruby is on. He's mesmerized by this one. And I do not get why..... A brother and sister bunny where the sister basically becomes Mommy and bosses the brother around.
Toys are scattered all over the living room floor and I am in no mood to have Hayden do clean up. I feel a head pushing up between my legs...
Maya has found me sitting in the chair behind my computer. She's just got a hold of my legs and is doing her puppy face cuddle me look. I believe it's bottle time. She hasn't eaten much today. Yep, there's the pout and a cry.
Gotta jet.

Pool Time!

Mother's Day is really early for me to be in the pool. Our pool isn't heated, we leave that up to the sun. Since it's already been in the 100's, the pool is warm enough to enjoy!

It was Maya's first time in the pool and she LOVED it! Her smile seriously never left her face. She was mostly just floating in her little craft, but she kicked and smiled the entire time!

First "submersion".

Her little craft. It's got a cover on it that we did put on (for you UV ray aversion people! and she is slathered in 50 SPF lotion.) :)


This is Hayden "swimming all by himself". I am going to get him signed up for swimming lessons soon. He mostly loves just hanging out on the big step playing in the water with toys, so we need to get him moving!

I was actually in it a couple days prior to this. Hench the major tan/sunburn lines on me!

So, here in Arizona we've already started our summer. In a couple of months, we will be hermits locked in the house with the safety of air conditioning. So all y'all who complained about the duration of winter, that's exactly what I'll be doing because of the summer here.

Happy Summer!!!

9 months and Growing!

So, I have a nine month old baby girl today! Seriously, where did the time go? Last week she was just, like, born.......

(Okay, so she was three weeks here)

And now, here we are.....

Sitting, crawling, laughing, babbling, two teeth, self-feeding, walking around the furniture.

Augh!! Seriously...SLOW DOWN!!!

Love this scrumptious baby girl though. Everyday is a marvelous treasure!!

San Diego!

We left Wednesday afternoon with a 6 hour drive ahead. I was dreading this drive. A three and a half year old and a 8 1/2 month old in my mind did not make for a great traveling pair. Well, that was shot down! Both kids were great car riders! A little whining from Hayden and a few little cries from Maya and that was all. Only one stop to eat and potty and we made it to San Diego well before our estimated time of arrival!

Thursday morning we headed off to SeaWorld! The weather couldn't have been more perfect. Cool in the morning to get us moving and by the end of the day I don't think it made it to 70. Hayden loved seeing all the fish and sealife. We went on rides in the little Sesame Street area, saw the dolphin show, Hayden went on the Journey to Atlantis ride and freaked out, and of course the Shamu show. Miss Maya was a trouper! She was in the stroller just taking it all in. We carried her when she was fussing to get out, but she just looked around and got excited at everything that moved in front of her. Only a couple short naps for this little girl. Too much to see! There were no meltdowns, never a "I want this", Hayden was so excited to just see everything. At the end of the day, we were all tired, a little suntouched, and ready to eat.

The next day, Friday, brought us to the San Diego Zoo. Hayden has been to the Phoenix Zoo's before, but he was younger and doesn't totally remember them. He had a blast looking and finding all the animals. Maya would lock her eyes on many of the bigger animals and chased the fish in the tanks. Mostly, she just loved being outside!

For pics of these two fabulous days, click the link!

http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2023597&id=1259767873&l=58864dd4d3

On Saturday, we just went where we wanted. We toured the ships (sorry, names of the ships are not sticking with me!) in the harbor. Walked through Seaport Village, toured the Naval Aircraft Carrier and went down to the beach. Hayden and Daddy loved the Naval ship. Hayden couldn't get enough of the planes and helicopters. He was able to sit in a couple of them and was pretty amazed. He couldn't believe the size of the beds that the crew had to sleep on on the ship. "They're really small!"

The beach was fun. Hayden didn't really like the sand between his toes. He had a hard time walking of course and got his shorts wet, so that was a disappointment to him. But, he seemed to think the ocean was pretty cool. I could tell Maya thought the water was great. The sound of the waves kept her calm and interested. She got her feet in the sand and water. Her feet were found by her hands, where the sand transferred to her fingers, which then transferred to her mouth. Her feet were quickly wiped clean.

All together it came to end a great day and a great trip! The ride home on Sunday morning was the same as the ride there. Both kids were great travelers and I am thanking God for making that happen! We all had a wonderful time in San Diego and I hope this is the beginning to many more family vacations for our little clan!

And for pics of the last day of our adventure, click this link!
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2023601&id=1259767873&l=c90a30c79d

Daddy is Jealous!

If you know Buddy at all, you know he is a HUGE car fan. An all-time favorite is any Ferrari ever manufactured. Needless to say, Buddy is sssoooooo jealous of Hayden!!! (Probably a bit of me too, since he has never sat in a Ferrari before!)
A good friend of mine works at a local BMW dealership and we stopped by today to check out the new location and see Buddy's drool factor. Hayden was a little apprehensive about sitting in this 360 Ferrari, but once he put his hands on the black leather stearing wheel, he was in heaven!

If you can see Maya's expression back there, she was excited too!

Hayden pretty much sat in all the BMW's on the showroom floor and we did get pics of each, but this one takes the cake! Once he got in one, he wanted in all of them. His birthday wish list now includes the Ferrari along with a skateboard, a Corvette and a blue balloon. Two out of four isn't bad!

THANKS RENATE!!!

Holy Crap!

Most people, okay everyone, thinks Hayden looks just like me. I know this, but I don't see it. Until now! I was going through some pics that my mom gave me a couple years ago. And HOLY CRAP! Yep, he looks like me! See for yourself:

Hayden on his 1st birthday!

Me on my 1st birthday!

Hayden, age 3

Me around age 3.

I know these aren't quite as close, but you get the gist. Hard to find exact matches!

And then, there's me and Miss Maya. It's crazy that we all started out around the same size. We don't remember it, we only have pictures to show us. But still, it's really hard to comprehend that the babies we have are just like we were. Know what I mean?
Here's the reason I say this:

Maya, 6 months.

Me, Christmas 1976, 7 1/2 months

This is the only dress my mom saved of mine from way back when. Hopefully, it stays a treasure.
All done with my comparisons. It is crazy to look and see myself in these two. Hayden more so of course. I need to get my hands on some baby pics of Buddy to get some comparisons!

I apologize if this post is all over the place. It looks just fine on my posting page, but doesn't always do the right thing on the actual blog page.

We have a crawler!!

It's official, Maya is crawling! She's not breaking any land speed records yet, but she knows what to do to get what she's got her eyes on.



And, later that day, after so much moving and shaking, a hungry Maya could hardly eat her lunch.......

Baby Weight!

No idea why I posted this picture. It just jumped out and said "Post this one!" Yikes!

I am really disliking how long these last pounds are deciding to stay with me after the birth of my Maya 7 and a half months ago. I knew they weren't going to melt away, I knew I would have to work at it.

I am so sick of working at it!

I am at the gym 4-5 times a week. I sweat my butt off, my legs are killing me, my arms are ready to fall off and I am still frigging stuck! I've been doing a no sugar diet for two months. I have dropped 15 pounds because of this and exersize, but I have been saying that for a couple weeks now. I hate this. I am not indulging, not snacking on horrible crap, not drinking pop everyday and I am still staying away from sugar. Not everyday like I had been, but I don't eat it after dinner and I have it in VERY small incriments. AUGH.

And here I am, thinking I don't want to stop at two kids. But, I am going to be selfish and say, I am pretty sure I will because I don't want to go through this crap again! I love both of my little kiddos more than the world, loved being pregnant and will always carry a reminder of them with me, literally, but enough already!!

I enjoy getting to the gym and working at it, pushing myself and I do feel good. So geez, what's with my butt, gut and rutt?!

To the Chair He Went!

Hayden had his first visit to the dentist today!!! Leading up to it, he was excited, curious and very questioning. He was not the least bit scared.
Hayden had gone to the dentist with Buddy a few months back to get an idea of what it was all about. He was very interested and talked to the dental hygenist the entire time. Buddy will say again, they talked the entire time! So, he was so excited when I told him he gets to go to the dentist! He's been asking to go for a long time as his interest was peeked.

And here he is! Welcomed into the office with his name in print.....

He was a little hesitant to get onto the chair, only saying no once. Once he was on, the ride was smooth! The dentist was able to get in there right away, checking to make sure all the teeth that needed to be there were. All accounted for!

The pink teeth check. Hayden thought this was pretty cool. Pretty good brushing for a kid of his age! YEAH! I was a tad bit worried about this prognosis.

Getting the pearlies all polished up and clean! Such a brave guy! The dentist said we may not get this far since it was the first visit, but we made it all through flossing and flouride! Woo Hoo!!!
All cleaned up and sparkling! I am so proud of my little dude. I was so worried that it was going to be a fight made even harder by a squirmy 7 month old, but he was such a great kid today!!

Maya even got a little check. Bottom left front tooth should be popping through any day now!

What the.....?

I turned into our development today and almost hit a naked man.

Yep, a naked Ken doll was just sitting there in the road. I actually drove home, grabbed my camera and went back to take pics. I thought it was friggin hilarious! Someone seems to have "dropped" this in the middle of the road. To me, a naked Ken doll, literally sitting smack in the middle of the road, does not say "Oops!"

Baby Babbles

I enjoy nothing more now than the babbles that come out of Maya's mouth. It's so fun to just sit and listen to this Little Miss babble like she's holding a conversation. She is into dadadadada, bababababababa, and some super cute faces that coordinate with her noises.
Of course, when it comes to the camera in her face, the babbles become a smidge less. So, this is why, there are two!