Saturday Party Day!

Dear Maizy,

I need to get better about writing things right after they happen.  Therefore I will remember more detail and then I can write about other things I have to say besides all the fun stuff we do!

Anyway, so last Saturday the 30th was a busy day for us.  We slept in until 11:30 so that was AWESOME!!  Daddy woke up early to go to work so it was just us girls. We played for a minute in my bedroom.  You were being silly and cracking me up!  I can't think of a better way to start the day.

We went downstairs, had breakfast and watched cartoons.  Then I started laundry and cleaning while you entertained yourself for a few.  When you saw your slide out the window you wanted to go outside, it was SOOOO super hot,but you went out there for a little while.  I get nervous watching you!  You are very coordinated and smart, but it still makes me nervous when you go tot he slide on your tummy and then decide you want to sit so you switch positions mid-slide!! AAAAHHHHHH!!  Thank goodness I have amazing insurance!! Ha ha ha!!  But let's not find out how awesome, it's good just knowing it's there. 

Ok back to fun stuff.  Daddy made it home and you two played while I finished cleaning and getting ready for the day.  We had two parties to attend to!!

I LOVE watching you and your dad play.  So cute!! 

Then we started getting ready for our parties.  The first party was for Gavin, my friend's little boy, he was turning 2 years old.  Daddy dropped us off at the party then he went to run errands since we were only able to be at the party for a couple of hours. I dressed you in your cute black and Hawaiian dress Grandma Annette gave you.  You wore cute flowered sandals and dad did your hair in a cute little bun.  We got to the party and did I mention it was freakin' hot!?!  Anyway,  Kristy, my friend, came out to greet us when we arrived and the compliments started flying.  Seriously, everyone at the party - mom's, grandma's and grandpa's - couldn't get over how dang cute you are, how daring - yeah you were going down the kiddie slide head first in no time, how well you talked and how smart you are!  They loved your dress, shoes and hair!  I am such a proud, proud mama.  I LOVE taking you places with me not only because how damn cute you are but because you are well behaved.


We stayed at the party for a couple of hours then daddy picked us up.  Before we left Kristy gave out the party favors - you got to choose what color you wanted and you chose green!  You got a really cute plastic looking coconut cup and straw and a cute little monkey mask!




Look how darling!!!

So daddy picked us up and we went to party number 2!!


Thanks for being such a great little party goer!  I just adore you!


Love you!!


Love,
mommy

Fun Friday

Dear Maizy,

I had Friday off of work. Woo hoo!!!  I had a doctor's appointment and dad went with me, so Grandma Shelly came over to the house while you slept.  We were at the doctor's forever!!!  I was stressing because you had your first "modeling" gig.  Grandma's friend manages a hotel and they are redoing their pamphlet to advertise for kids party's.  You were supposed to go to a fake birthday party and then go swimming, but since the doctor's took so long we missed the party, but made it to the swimming. Whew!  I was at least glad for that.  You LOVE swimming.

So after the doctor's we came home, dad left for work and us girls headed to the hotel.  I swam with you and we had the best time ever!!  You really are such a good little swimmer.  Plus they had a slide, basketball hoop and water fountains, it was a great way to spend the afternoon. I was in awe watching you swim and navigate around the pool. 

After swimming - my hair looked super awesome mind you - we went to Macey's because I wanted to be a watch.  Then we went over to Costco.  Grandma bought us stuff for lunch.  Then we went back to our house and ate.  Grandma had to leave shortly after for her girls weekend. 

Then I gave you a bath after lunch.  We colored, played with your zoo, watched cartoons, cuddled and you even let me do your hair.  Since we were in the bathroom playing hair you had to play in the sink, naturally.

See.........

Gosh you are so dang cute!!!  You finally went down for a nap about 6:30pm.  We both were tired!!  I just relaxed, made some phone calls and read my magazines.

I woke you up after sleeping for about an hour and a half because I didn't want to throw off your sleep completely.  We had dinner together and since it was finally cooler outside we went and played on your slide!!  Woo hoo!!

Daddy finally made it home way late! So we all enjoyed popscicles outside, saw the moon and some stars, then hit the hay!

Thank you SOOOOOOO much for a wonderful day!  I love you and am so proud to be your mommy!

Love you!

Love,
mom

New Slide

Dear Maizy,

You are such an active little one.  You love to run, twirl until dizzy, swim, jump, climb, swing and slide.  Yes, one of your top fave things to do is slide!  We have been looking online for a while now for a slide for you.  The ones that are for sale have really little wimpy slides on them, so we were looking for a used one, but those thing sell like hot cakes.

Well daddy was over at Uncle Richards a few days ago and what did he see??  Yes, a play slide thing.  You were with daddy at the time and you were climbing and sliding all over that thing.  Long story short - Uncle Richard gave us the slide thing! Woo hoo!!

Daddy took it a part and brought it home.  You saw the slide sitting there and you were so super excited.  Well we needed to clean it up first.  You wanted to help too!!

See..........................

It was the coolest thing to watch you clean your new slide.  You knew exactly what it was.  Plus I think you will and did take more pride in it knowing that you cleaned and put some work into it.  Seriously,  you cleaned for a long time and used some elbow grease!  This was WAY more fun and memorable than just opening a new box and putting it together.  I helped too but I didn't get any pictures of that. 

Then daddy put it together but by this time you were over it so you and I were inside playing. 

Dad finished and called us outside to come check it out. You squealed with excitement when you saw it, it was the cutest thing EVER!!  You jumped right up there climbed, jumped, slid and played!!!  Daddy and I were loving every minute witnessing all your excitement.  Then it turned to panic - you gave me about 20 heart attacks - since you have no fear. 

See....................

We decided to put a pillow at the bottom on the slide to make it more comfortable on your bum and feet. Oh and your face and tummy since you liked going down the slide head first (insert heart attack here).

Then you had a good idea and thought it'd be fun to go down the slide on the pillow.  Yikes!  Daddy thought it'd be a good idea to help you!

You were having such a good, good time!  It was nearing 10p.m. and I started wondering how and if I would ever get you inside the house!

I didn't mind us playing a little late since I didn't have to work the next day! Well we were able to get you in the house and then we all hit the hay!

Your father and I have a common goal and that is your happiness.  We love watching you smile and hearing you laugh.  You deserve all the happiness in the world babe!

Love you!!

Love,
mommy

Mommy's Little Fish

Dear Maizy,


Monday I felt this big urge to make sure you got some major water action since we never made it swimming over the weekend.  


I rushed home after work, got you dressed in your darling swim suit, cover up and sandals, grabbed the sunscreen, beach towel and we were out the door. 


We headed to the local Splash Pad!!  YAY!!  We were all super excited.  We arrived to find that there was no splashing at the pad - the water was turned off!!! BUMMER!!! You were asleep when we arrived, so I walked over and read the signs and yep!  it should have been turned on, not sure why it was turned off and either were the other kids and parents around. 


I walked back to the car and your dad and I contemplated on what to do since you were sleeping but there was quite a cool playground and you were ready for fun.  All the other kids at the park were in their swimsuits and were playing in the water fountain to at least play in some water.  We decided to wake you up and we walked over to the awesome playground.  You kept say "swim, swim", but then you saw the playground, all the kids and you were happy.  The playground suddenly got taken over by the big kids that were there to play on the splash pad. They were very disrespectful and rude, so we left!  I felt bad because you were crying but we were off to do something bigger and better - GO SWIMMING!!! 


We drove all the way to Grandma Annette's and it really was a long ride - we felt bad.  We finally got there and everyone was gone except for Tyler, luckily he was home.  We got the key to the pool from him, but he kept talking and talking and you were getting pretty anxious.  See......................................

So I said "LET'S GO!!!!!" I felt so bad that it was taking so long for us to get to the pool and you really were being so super good!  We finally got to the pool, couldn't put your life jacket on fast enough and you and dad jumped in the pool and were swimming!!! Yes!  Finally.


I was SOOOOOO super proud of you.  You were kicking your legs and doing everything we were telling you to try to teach you to swim.  You were grinning from ear to ear!  I was such a proud mama.  I didn't bring my swimsuit or else I would have gotten in with you, but I was playing cheerleader and paparazzi on the side of the pool.


Check you out!!

You are such a little bad ass!!!  I have been searching for swimming lessons for you to take ever since.  We were going to sign you up anyway, but now I am totally motivated to take you sooner than later since you love it so much! 


We were worried how we would ever get you out of the pool, but you eventually tired and you worked up an appetite.  We got out of the pool, changed your clothes, left and got some food.  I thought for sure you would fall asleep on the way home but you were still so busy smiling and we weren't done praising you on your awesome swimming skills.


Thank you fro such a fun, fun night!!  This is the best summer yet!


Love you!!


Love,
mom

The weekend!!

Dear Maizy,

Here it is Wednesday and I just now writing about our weekend.  Ugh!  It's hard for me to recall all the way back to Friday what we did.  See what you have to look forward to when your old???  Memory Loss!  Yikes!! I do know this much - we had a great time!! 


Friday I got home from work and you were sleeping when I got home.  You woke up by yelling "Mom! Dad! Mom! Dad!" It is SO dang cute and funny.  I went in your room and picked you up out of your crib.  We were SO excited to see each other. 


Then we went downstairs and played.  You are so dang cute!!  Lately you will ask for your picture to be taken and will even say "cheese!!"  Then you want to see your picture right away and say "Cute!"  When you see the picture.  It didn't take you long to get that down.  You were putting on my hat and saying "Picture! Cheese!"  You crack me up!!

Daddy had to go help Aunt Jenn and Deb with some yard work, so you and I just stayed in and played!!  We had a blast.  You are becoming quite the little cuddler and lover!!  It's awesome!  We'll be playing then you will say "hug" and come and hug me and pat my back, it's the sweetest thing ever!!


Daddy didn't get home until late, so we just played some more and then went to bed!  We were all tired!



Saturday morning we woke up early and got in the car and headed to Farmer's Market.  It was only 9 in the morning and it was already blazing hot!!  UGH!! We arrived, put you in your stroller and started walking around.  We weren't even there 5 minutes and we passed the playground!  Oh great!! You started saying "Park, park!"  as we passed it.  I told you that we would go there after we walked around and before we left.  You must have understood.  I think it's because you trust me and dad.  You know that what we say we are going to do we do.  I am very conscious of when I tell you we are going to do something that we do it!! I commend you for this behavior.  You are a rockstar!


So anyway, we walked around and checked out all the stuff, it was SO freakin' hot that it wasn't super enjoyable because A) It was freakin' hot. B) I was worried about you getting sunburned and dehydrated. C) It was freakin' hot!


We bought some cherries, onions, beets, basil, cheese, a cookie for us to all share and some delicious tamales we got home and ate for lunch.  After we walked around we went to the park and played!!  It was awesome.  I don't see you in action very much at the park, but you are an absolute pro!  You know what to do and have no fear!  There were these twin boys with their mom at the park learning how to jump and they were older than you and they were little wusses!


After the park we sat in the shade and drank our drinks, then got back in the car and headed home.  We were all pooped!  You and daddy took a nap while I got ready for the bbq that we were going to later.  After I took a shower, did my hair and got dressed, I lied down and fell asleep!!  I woke up 15 minutes before the BBQ was about to start.  You and dad were still snoozin', but your dad and I talked briefly and he suggested that I just go.  I was sad to leave you guys but you needed your rest, so I went to the bbq by myself. Everyone was dying to see you, so they were bummed when I showed up without you!!  I especially felt bad because there were at least 6 little girls running around, playing dress up, swinging and having fun!  It made me miss you even more.  They were all older than you, so they could have trampled you since they were pretty rowdy.


Anyway, I had a good time catching up with my friends I hadn't seen in a while. I got home around midnight and you were still awake!  YAY!!!  We stayed up a bit longer then we all hit the hay! It was a good, good day!!




Sunday morning we woke up and had breakfast.  You wanted "egg, egg!", so daddy fixed you scrabbled eggs and ketchup to dip them in - gross!!! I despise ketchup.  You were cracking me up while eating breakfast!! You saw that I had my camera ready so you were saying "Cheese!" 
See...................

I told you to make a funny face and you did!!!  This is classic!!  I was and am  still laughing at this awesome pic!!

After breakfast we were feeling a bit lazy, so we just hung around and did our own thing.  Then we got busy cleaning.  You are a great little helper.  I give you a Clorox wipe too and you clean everything!!!  It's so cute to watch you clean. After that  we all got ready and headed to the store.  Grandpa Frank and his friend were coming over for dinner so we needed to get some things for dinner and get going.  The store was fun and you are always very entertaining. We got home put all our groceries away.  It was going to be another scorcher of a day!! We continued cleaning and getting ready for Grandpa to come over.  He got there about 6 pm with a girlfriend in tow.  We all just hung out on the patio with the mister going and enjoying some relief from the heat.  We munched on yummy cheese and crackers.  Um, you didn' have one nap so you were TIRED!!  It was actually quite sad because you were crying a lot, just watching t.v. and was even a little delirious.  Grandpa and you did bubbles while dad and I got dinner ready.  Daddy bbq'd whole chickens and they were quite delish!  We had bbq'd corn, french bread and salad!  We had a pretty good night together!  The heat was a little crazy but it was a great way to end a great weekend!!


Thank you for always being so good, funny, cute, mindful, loving and sweet!!


I am one lucky mama!


Love,
mom

Ready for the weekend!!

Dear Maizy,


There has been a lot going on this week and I am more than ready for the weekend.  YAY!!  We get to do whatever we want. 


This week has been a lot of fun though.  Don't get me wrong. 


See I have the pics to prove it!

You slept at Grandma's Tuesday night and I didn't get to see you until Wednesday after work - that is too dang long not to see you.  Anyway, when you were at Grandma's you and her played in her jewelry box and Grandma was kind enough to let you wear her real pearl necklace!  Look how stinking cute you are!  You would put the necklace on and say "mirror, mirror", so you could check yourself out!! You crack me and Grandma up for sure.  Then we picked up take out and went home and had a pizza/dance party! 

Thursday daddy was home with you and it was a really nice day so you went outside and played in the water - naked!!  You were loving it.  You're so dang cute!

 Then you asked dad for lunch after playing hard out in the sun!  You had leftover spaghetti and pizza!  Yummy!! Then dad you cleaned up and when I got home from work we got you ready to go with dad to see your half-brother Cameron.  He hasn't seen you since you were about 11 months old!! We decided to put you in this darling Hawaiian dress that Grandma Annette brought back from Hawaii for you. Look how stinkin' cute you are!!!

 You were watching your shows while getting ready and they were talking about shapes.  You were mid circle in the pic above!  The way you say circle and make the shape with your hand is super adorable!

 You are SO beautiful!!  Look at you.  It was hard getting a pic of you since you were so into your show, but luckily something cracked you up and you looked toward me. 

 WOW! You are really into your show! 

There is your pretty face!  No smile, but I'll take it anyway. 

 I stayed home alone while you and daddy visited Cameron. and I have to say I crave my alone time but when I got it last night I didn't know what to do with myself! I couldn't wait for you and daddy to get home. Finally you two got home around 9p.m. You were trying to open the door to come in so I opened the door and you said "come on!" So I went outside and I couldn't believe all that you were saying and pointing out.  It's crazy how much and how fast you learn everything.   You said "moon!" as you pointed to it then "stars!" and I said "Where are they?" You replied "up in the clouds!"  Then you said "bird, sleeping in tree!"  It was blowing my mind!  Plus you were in a super great mood like always and was jumping around in your darling dress.  You are so damn awesome!!  Dad was sad since the visit didn't go super well, but you were making him smile.  Then we went in and played, fed you some dinner since you were too busy at the park playing with dad and Cam.  After dinner we brushed your teeth, read a bed time story and off to bed we went!

I know I was super tired this morning from this crazy, crazy week!  you were too apparently.  You and daddy went outside first thing this morning after breakfast and you laid out!!  So stinkin' cute.

Well the weekend is almost here - thank goodness!!  We have lots of swimming to do on Saturday and then Sunday we were going to go the Arts Festival but it's supposed to be super hot so who knows - we might have another pool day!!

Either way this weekend is going to rock!

Love you!!

Love,

mom

Stuff

Dear Maizy,


When I was anticipating your arrival I was thinking of all the stuff you needed and what I needed to do to raise a happy, healthy newborn. 


We have some very, very generous friends and family (even strangers) and  we were given a lot of "stuff".  Some we used, some we didn't, and some I didn't understand it's use. In the world of baby there is a gadget for everything!!  It's almost crazy.  Anyway, while on bed rest  I read and thought a ton. Then when I was out and about  I was always analyzing just about every person I saw with a child and was making my own judgments about if I would allow that?  I would never do that?  oh I would just spank my child?  My child would never be caught in that outfit?  I don't want used stuff, I want all new!


Well wow!  I have come a long way and it really didn't take that long to realize this - Stuff doesn't matter. Things don't matter.  Love. Patience. Understanding. This is what it's all about. 


Plus I read this on a blog and I think it's so true! 


The more things we have, the less we love our things. 


And I thought I believed in spanking and would spank my children but I am against it.  I will never spank you.


So back to this stuff issue. You had brand new everything when you were born - bassinet, crib, bedding, stroller, car seat, clothes, bouncer etc. Your favorite thing ended up being a swing that was loaned to me from a friend. the one thing that was used was your favorite.  Wouldn't you know it.  You loved that swing and that is where you slept most nights when you were super tiny.


This brings us to today - you truly are the most happy toddler EVER!!  I receive compliments EVERY time we are out and about regarding how cute, awesome, happy and good you are.  I will never tire of these compliments because it means we got a good thing going babe!  We are all doing something right.  


You are a happy toddler and you were a happy baby.  It wasn't and isn't because you had or have the latest and greatest invention.  You don't have an iPad because you know how to use your own creativity and entertain yourself.  I'm not saying that you don't like to play with an iPad because you do - thanks Grandma! Since we're talking about it, you already know how to operate the iPad better than her. 


Anyway, your cousins are some of the most spoiled, ill-mannered, bratty children EVER.  It didn't take me long to realize why and how this came to be.  If you look around their bedrooms and house they have stuff and lots if it. They have t.v.'s and dvd players in their rooms, toys galore, the latest technology and just lots of stuff!! 


Don't get me wrong you have lots of toys that you have received from other people on your birthday and Christmas, but I prefer to buy you books, coloring and writing tools and music.  You and I have the best, absolute best time, reading, talking, dancing, drawing, planting flowers, baking, jumping, laughing, taking walks, coloring, playing dress up, playing hide and seek, playing peek-a-boo, doing sidewalk chalk, making animal sounds, playing hair, and just being together.  Your cousins don't get that with their parents!!  I can especially tell because the minute I sit down to play with you while at one of their houses they flock over to us and eat up the attention.  One person in our family even said to me "I'm not like you Brooke. I can't just let my house get messy."  Really!?!?  Wow!  First of all, this person has never, ever been inside our home and second she is a crappy mom because her child is a monster from hell.  At first I was offended but then when I thought about it I was flattered because I do complete my housework and I have an awesome child, so she is the one I feel bad for.  I am no longer offended by what she said.


Time is going by way too fast!  I don't want to miss any more time with you than I have to, so we may have a big pile of laundry and dirty dishes in the sink, those things will always be there, and I will get to them,  but you are growing way too fast for me to focus on those things 24/7.  You are what is important to us and it shows in you.  You know you're important. You know you are loved and admired and no one can ever take that away from us with their snide comments.  Go buy your kid more stuff while I get eye level with mine and play like it's no one's business. 


You are such a delight.  Your Grandma's are crazy.  Oops!  I mean crazy about you! Your dad can't get enough of you. Your Grandpa's can't wait to tease and play with you. Then there is me and there is nothing  like having your heart outside of your body.  Nothing.


I Love You!


Love,
mom


p.s. Your father and I went bowling with some friends last night and Grandma Shelly begged to take you.  Well you ended up sleeping over there.  You girls had a blast!  I was starting to worry a little that she might never return you to us!