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!

Serra's School Stuff

Serra's Valentine's for her school friends- it says "I could use S'more friends like you" and has 2 graham crackers, 2 heart marshmallows and 1 mini Hershey bar.  Saw it on Pinterest a while back and when I showed Serra all the ideas I'd found this was the one she liked the most- and she did most of the assembly!

Serra's kindergarten class had a "job fair" where the kids made posters and dressed as what they wanted to be when they grow up- Serra chose a teacher [she's VERY excited about the laminated photo ID lanyard that I made her like her teacher wears!]  It was interesting to see the diversity in her class- there were doctors, policemen, a paleontologist, a detective, a performer, vets, soccer players, a baker, a florist, a fireman and more that I can't remember right now!

 For Dr. Suess Day Serra knew EXACTLY what character she wanted to dress like [for those of you who don't know, she's Daisy-head Maisy!]

Kindergarten

Serra has been attending school at Lakeview Academy, a local charter school.  A lot of people thought I was crazy driving 3 miles to & from each day to take Serra to school when there is a public elementary school just 5 houses away.  Now that we're halfway through the school year, I can say that it has been worth every mile/minute!  Serra adores her teacher, Mrs. Thompson- and her teacher has admitted on several occasions that Serra is one of her favorites.  Every Tuesday and Thursday Serra sees a speech therapist- it's going well, but Serra still has some issues with forming her thoughts into phrases that make sense.  In time, no one will probably notice.  Monday through Thursday she gets 30 minutes of computer time using an i-Ready program to supplement her with reading and math.  I go to her classroom every Monday morning to help out [Alex gets to play at a friend's house while I'm there].  It's amazing how much Serra has developed over the last few months- I can't wait to see what the rest of the year brings!  And she is counting down the months until she's 6 and gets to go to 1st grade [she wants to be at school for a full day and eat lunch there]!

SANTA

Christmas Day

 On Christmas Eve, the kids insisted on leaving cookies and milk for Santa.  Serra colored a picture for him and wanted me to leave a drawing of holly so that he would know it was for him- Ian also added a nametag just in case.

 Sure enough, Santa found the cookies and milk and took Serra's picture with him!

And the stockings were stuffed by the fireplace with care!

 How the tree looked after Santa arrived!

I tried to block the stairs in hopes that if they woke up before we did they would come get us instead of going straight downstairs.  As it turned out, I woke up before they did- at 8am!

Christmas morning- the kids with their Santa gifts!

 One of my big gifts- a DS and Brain Age from Ian.

Serra gave Ian a roll-up piano.

I gave Alex a helicopter and army hat- I LOVE the face he makes when he's making it fly!

Ian gave Serra a new dress and gloves- the gloves are too big, but she'll grow into them!

Alex got a train whistle and hat in his stocking and decided to try them out later- gangsta style!

And just for giggles... on Serra's last day of school before Christmas she was allowed to wear a Christmas hat.  She chose some reindeer antlers and right when I was about to take a picture of her she said, "wait, Mommy!  I need to stand like a reindeer!"  This is what she envisions reindeer stand like... :)

We had a wonderful Christmas and hope all of you did too!  MERRY CHRISTMAS to ALL- and to ALL a GOOD NIGHT!