Serra Tribute

 I can't believe my little girl has turned 8!  It is hard to imagine life without her- even though I knew I existed before, it feels like I wasn't really living.  She is the light of my life- and quite the goofball too!

She participates in both gymnastics and dance- which keeps her afternoons very busy, but she loves them both so much.

 She loves dressing up- or even wearing regular dresses.  It's been a challenge, but also fun, to at times make special occasion dresses for her like this Minnie Mouse one she wore to Disneyland.

She also loves everything about nails and makeup and jewelry- the more of each the better!

She is a great artist, constantly drawing and painting things - making it very difficult to decide which ones are worth keeping...

She is full of spirit and adventure- especially when he cousin Kevin is around!  I still can't believe they willingly went on the Catapult at Lagoon, shooting them nearly 200 feet into the air!

 It's crazy the weird quirks she has picked up on- like my talent to touch my nose with my tongue [she can only reach the base, but in a few years I'm sure she can get to the tip of her nose like me!]

 Full of spunk, extremely smart, and beautiful all at the same time [I don't know how she manages it!]- I love you, Serra!  Happy birthday!

Ode to Alex

I missed getting to write this for his birthday, so I thought I'd write it today.

 Ninja Turtles at his party, waiting their turn to jump on the trampoline.

 I can't even imagine my life without Alex.  Life has really been full of ups and downs since he joined our family [pretty much never his fault, but they happened none the less].

Alex was so excited that he dressed himself in all red... yeah, that shirt is orange.  The fun part of being color blind!

 

I couldn't have asked for a happier, more easy-going kid.  He's always doing things that make Ian and I smile- or laugh- often without him even trying.

Apparently this is how he likes to sun bathe...

He's expressive, funny, cute.

Rocking at the doctor's office.

There is no middle ground when it comes to his effort level- it's all or nothing.  And if it's physical, it's almost always at full throttle until he can't manage another step.

Alex singing with much more enthusiasm than his fellow preschoolers at graduation.

 

His love of the world, his ability to push himself, his natural knack for figuring out games and puzzles are all so inspiring!  I'm so lucky to watch him grow and get excited just thinking about his future.

Our little Spiderman!

Been a While

I have no excuse other than time got away from me.  Life is fleeting and I've found myself sucked up into things that don't really matter- ignoring the things that I should be focused on and cherishing.  I've been so focused on activities for my kids that I've been missing them growing up.  I've been forcing myself to watch my food & exercise aggressively- which would be a good thing, except that it's made me focus on the end goal [that I still have yet to meet] and not appreciate how far I've come already.  I've spent so much time trying to find things to wind down by myself- watching TV, reading a book, playing games on my tablet- that my husband and I hardly do anything together anymore.  I've been so worried about making x amount of money that I'm not enjoying the shifts I'm getting, the people I'm working with, watching the participants play sports.  Even though I'm realizing this now, I don't think I'll change over night.  The rest of our summer is booked and I have things to do, yet I'm sitting at my computer typing this up.  But maybe, just maybe, now that I'm more aware things can change in my own life for the better.  I'm going to start by getting off the computer and playing with my kids and then going out with my husband to play basketball!