Through my child's eyes

I don't know about you, but I can't resist getting on the floor next to a baby and interacting with them. I love watching them explore their world as much as they can from the ground up. Getting down to a child's level is an age old saying that even experts agree is the only way to see things through their eyes. I figured I would capture what Maelynn sees when she hangs out on the floor.

"Piggy tails"

(tear) (sniffle)
Last night I could not sleep. I must have gotten out of bed 5 times and paced around. The last time I saw the clock it said 1:30am.

6:00am this morning the alarm goes off. I thought for sure I would be too exhausted to climb out of bed but surprisingly I was up quickly. Now it was time to get Madisyn up for her first day of first grade. This would also be her first day at a new school. She seemed excited as she put on her new outfit but I knew she was nervous as she slowly nibbled at her breakfast only eating a few bites, not having much of an appetite; just like her Momma. I brushed her hair remembering how I used to put her hair in piggy tails when she was younger. She says she is too old for that now and prefers a more "popular" hair style. I kind of wish she would have just let me put her hair in "piggies" so she didn't look so grown up.

We leave for school and our neighbor friend gives us the tour and shows us where the bathrooms, cafeteria, office and Madisyn classroom is. We wait outside Madisyn's class and our friend explains what each bell means. The first bell means play in the yard, the second means line up at your class. I'm getting nervous and it feels like I'm starting school. I hate that feeling. I stood there worried about what I was wearing and if my hair looked okay. I realized then I never fully healed from my traumatic school days. I closed my eyes and prayed that Derek and I raised a confident enough child able to stand up for herself, outgoing enough to make good friends, and most of all......make the right decisions. We are no longer there during the day to watch over her as she makes (hopefully healthy) food decisions during lunch or how to treat others, good behaved children or bad. I hope she feels safe enough to stand up to any bullies. She is now completely on her own during the day. I kissed her goodbye thanking God that she is still okay with that form of affection. I wonder how long it will last as I watched other parents with older kids just wave by. No kisses, no hugs.

Madisyn heads into her classroom, pulling along her Tinkerbell backpack on wheels, wearing her new trendy outfit, hair "popular." She glances back and I get a glimpse of my baby crying out for a cuddle behind those beautiful brave eyes.





1st day of 1st grade

Twins?

Our neighbor friends came over for dinner last night. They have two little ones also, and their youngest (Clara) happens to be 3 days younger than Maelynn. Both Maelynn and Clara had the same due dates and were both born the same weight. Can you figure out who is who?

So cute...

In stuck her thumb...............

YUM!

This morning Madisyn had a go at feeding Maelynn her breakfast. I made sure to remind Madisyn that is was going to be a messy job. She did really well and surprisingly wasn't bother when Maelynn blew bubbles which flicked cereal all over Madisyn's arms and face.



Madisyn's favorite thing when she was little was to chew on cold bananas or cold fruit through a special baby mesh feeder. We purchased one for Maelynn and I put some cold bananas in it and gave it to her. She knew right what to do and was quite content to chew on it for a half hour.

Kitty kuddles

A few shots of our cat Diego napping with Maelynn. Diego is such a lover and I guess Maelynn napping on the floor was really inviting. He even had to place a paw on her foot just to make sure she wasn't going anywhere.

Lazy Sundays

I'm still trying to figure out the gazillion features on my camera. I really need to take a special class for it because the manual is dictionary thick! LOL. Here are some photos of the girls and me playing around with the different settings/lenses and filters.

Madisyn's photo shoot


Maelynn's photo shoot


Sister Love


Daddy Love

Bath Buddies

Madisyn has been wanting to give Maelynn a bath for some time now. She has really only been able to help me wash her in the baby bath until now. Daddy thought it was time to let Madisyn try to bathe her in the big bath (with Daddy's assistance of course) since Maelynn is a little bigger. It was too adorable to not share!



All clean!

A day at the bay

The four of us took a drive downtown after church to enjoy the gorgeous weather. We ended up at the Maritime Museum of San Diego located on the bay which houses historic vessels including the steam ferry Berkeley; the 1904 steam yacht Medea; the 1914 Pilot; a B-30 Soviet attack submarine; the state’s official tall ship Californian — a replica of a mid-19th century revenue cutter; and the H.M.S Surprise, a magnificent replica of an 18th century Royal Navy frigate featured in the award-winning film “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.”

Of course famous San Diego bay wouldn't be the same without a few gorgeous and massive cruise ships. In fact, that day, we were graced with the presence of Princess Mariana. Princess Mariana belongs to Mexican communications IUSACELL owner, Carlos Peralta Quitnero who reportedly paid 92 million dollars cash for this mega yacht. It was stunning and many, including us couldn't help but to stare in awe. On board, a few young children raced around the decks while the crew entertained them and tried to answer questions by passer-byers. One question, "Who owns her?" to which the reply came with a very posh accent, "I cannot say sir." Hmmm?
Don't fret though, for you can lease this luxury item for a mere $650,000 per week. Couch change really.



Princess Mariana

Letting loose

Last night Derek and I decided to have our friends from the neighborhood over for a Tequila party. It was the first time we have had a large group over at our place and it turned out to be a blast! Derek was so excited to make full use of his well stocked and very dusty bar.


Hmmmm? So many choices.

Jumping Jumperoo!

"Maybe it will turn into my Prince."

Maelynn takes a bite

I was wondering when this day might come. I knew today was the day when last night Maelynn woke twice to eat when she normally sleeps through the night. I knew her little appetite was ready for something with a bit more consistency and she has also been showing interest when we eat for the past week. She took to her rice cereal like a pro and Daddy couldn't shovel the stuff in fast enough!

Sea World

Taking both kids to Sea World was crazy fun. Bug (Madisyn) was so excited to touch the Star Fish like it was her first time and she was amazed at the fish and eels. I don't think she will ever get bored and we are excited to make full use of our year around passes

Riding the Sky Tower for the first time


Naughty seal sticking out his tongue!


Cousin Sara

The cutest cousins!

I'm just so amazed at how quickly little ones grow! I was so blessed to witness the miraculous birth of both Luke and Julie which seem like just yesterday. I have also been so lucky to watch them grow. The Nelson and Berg Babies are just gorgeous!

Beautiful blue eyes


Julie and Maelynn


Reaching so hard for that yummy looking apple


Yummm....


Awww no crying brother Luke!

Off to Gramma and Grampa's house we go!

So we spent the weekend visiting Gramma Beverly and Great Opa who live in Onyx, California which is about 4 hours away. We were all looking forward to a well needed weekend away and rafting on the river. This would be the first time rafting/inner tubing for both Derek's sister Rachel and me as well as for Madisyn.

The river was warm and beautiful. We all took turns making the small hike to a place up-stream where we could get in our giant tubes. I was quite nervous since there were a few rapid places we were going to go through on the way down the river to where we were camped. The first time down the river was a blast! I couldn't wait to do it again and this time I, Rachel, and Gramma Beverly decided to be a bit more brave and go even further up-stream where there was a small waterfall we would go down. We were all even more nervous. As we headed down-stream and even closer to the fall, I just knew we were all in for a crazy ride. Sure enough, Beverly went first and flipped. Then Rachel flipped and now it was my turn and no turning back! The tube came right out from under me and under water I went. I struggled to keep ahold of my tube and just prayed I wouldn't hit any huge rocks too hard. I scrambled to get back in my tube for the fear of not being a good swimmer, well a swimmer at all really. I finally managed to get on my tube belly first just as we hit the first set of rapids. Beverly was struggling to keep her head above water as she had lost ahold of her tube which I was later able to recover. She managed to drift off to calmer water along with Rachel and I desperately tried to steer myself there while holding onto Beverly's tube. We all took a well needed few minutes to recover from the very scary and some would say "not smart" little excursion. At this point we still had a ways down river to go to make it back to camp. Luckily we knew what to expect from that point on and nothing would compare to the waterfall we just braved. We lazily drifted down-stream the rest of the way making comments on how our Guardian Angels saved us.

The night ended with some delicious s'mores and watching the falling stars on the most crystal clear night.

(Pictures are clickable for larger view)



The long road home


Mmmmmm


Bath time with Gramma Beverly


Gramma Beverly's Humming Birds