MAYLIN2007

Happy New Year to All! What a great year this has been for us! Hard, in many areas, but we are stonger and better off. To celebrate the New Year, we let the kids have over a few friends. I made LOTS of food and the kids played, danced, ate and popped off poppers and threw streamers. It was to everyone's delight except for the popper and streamer part. Maylin hated that! When the streamers were on the floor she wouldn't even stand on it. She made us hold her until they were all picked up! The boys liked teasing her with them. Those brothers! Here are a few pictures of our New Year. Hope your New Year was great and that 2008 brings all that you want and need! "Can you all stop the noise and stop with the shooty things. They scare me!" I will put my own hat on thank you! Here are some more holiday shots. We enjoyed all the get togethers with family and friends and all the visits from teachers, friends, and family. We missed those of you we could not see. Here is to nex...

What a great Christmas. It was so wonderful having a little one again. My older kids loved watching Nini. She was more fun than opening their own things. I will say I was pooped on Christmas. And that is with a capital P. Maylin I guess could tell something was up. She was so tired on Christmas Eve but would not give into sleep. She cried from 10:30 p.m. until midnight...finally falling asleep. Thus leaving us to our elf duties until 2:00 a.m. Pictured below is Jay doing the kitchen set assembly around 1 a.m. Morning came to quick for our tired bodies. But man, the kids had fun! Maylin kept repeating her siblings saying "Santa". When she saw her gifts she let out a loud ear splitting squeal. She tore into the presents like there was no tomorrow. She played hard with each gift! What a joy. Alex wanted a coconut in his stocking, that is what he is holding in his picture. Weird request. He has never had one. Who knows? But he was happy. Austin got a guitar and ski lessons (Alex ...

Pictures below are of Christmas Eve. We had a great time! Maylin learned how to say Santa and when you ask her what he says, she says "ho, ho, ho". So cute. It is a Christmas Eve tradition at our house to make sugar cookies for the man in red. Maylin loved it and the kids got a kick out of her dumping the sprinkles all over the counter. She also brought Jay the fingernail polish Christmas Eve and stuck her foot in his lap and said "pretty." He understood and painted her toes. Nothing better than having nice toes for Christmas.

Each year at my kids' school they do a service project for a local homeless hospital that just services children. The doctor over the facility said homeless people can go a year with out human touch, so he wanted to make sure that each child that came through his facility was given a bear that had been hugged. Our school took that challenge 5 years ago and it is still going strong. Each child is to work to earn their own money to buy a teddy bear to donate. The kids bring them and they sit under the tree until the last day of school. On that day all the kids line up and each child hugs the bears. The older kids (Austin's age) count them and load them up for delivery. This year they had 452 bears. It is my children's favorite day. Maylin loved and wanted to keep a bear. Luckily Austin's teacher had an extra stuffed animal Maylin could hold on to. And hold on to it she did! She loved its arm right off. The kids also do a Christmas performance before the hugging begins. Th...

We have a lot of great traditions. The kids love them and so do I. This year we added a few new ones. Heck, with a new child must come new traditions, right?! So we added the nightly book reading. What is this you ask? Well,I bought a bunch of Christmas books, one for each day before Christmas. I wrapped them up and put them under the tree. Some are spiritual like "The Three Trees" or the "Last Straw" and some are just fun like "The Grinch" and "What Snowmen Do at Night." Anyway, the kids take turns each night to take a book and unwrap it. We then read it together. They love it! Maylin has caught on to the unwrapping thing. During the day I will find her by the tree just unwrapping stuff. She doesn't care what is in it, it is just in the thrill of unwrapping. Funny. Next, we have started making Gingerbread something or other. This year we made a train. Very fun, but messy. Maylin and Alex spent most of their time picking off the candy and eat...

For a service project we made 10 blankets for the Boys Ranch in our area. The kids had fun picking out the fabric and putting in the knots after I cut them. Maylin just spent her time running from "bainket" to "bainket" yelling, "Mine bainket!". She would sit in the middle of them hoping the kids would quit touching what she thought was hers. It made for a fun, I really mean loooong night of it.

Yesterday, Austin turned 15! We took him and his good friend to lunch at Red Robin. Other than that, the festivities were saved for today. We had two parties, a dance recital for Kenzie and a b-ball game for Alex yesterday, so time was crunched. Austin felt bad, but I didn't know what to do with the other two kids. So today, we had another friend over, made fajitas and had cake. He is happy now. The highlight of his b-day was when Maylin said her first sentence. She said "Happ bertday do to!" He was tickled pink. We love Austin and are so proud of everything he does.

She looks like a teenager doesn't she with the IPOD and all? She knows how to put the earphones in herself too. Her new favorite word is nnnoooo! Just like a teenager too! Yesterday Alex was sitting on my lap. She came in the room and yelled "No! Alex." pause "Mine" pause "Mom!" She knows what she wants and she is so cute that she usually gets it! Its fun to see her try to put words together. Slowly the pause between words is getting shorter.

Ice cream! Its my favortie. I have always loved it. Love Mint Cookie, Moose Tracks, and Peanut Butter Passion. My kids always say, "Want to see mom run? Then take away her ice cream." Sad. But true. I have chased many a child around our kitchen to get the beloved ice cream back. Maylin is definately my child. She loves "ice" as she calls it. Somedays it is all I can get her to eat. Yes, we are back to the not eating phase. My other kids love it too. They like to eat it out of the carton with a fork...just like their mom! Here's some family pics of us enjoying our favorite treat.

This older lady said to me yesterday while I was trying to eat at Bajio, "She's an independent little thing. You look frazzled." Okay, that was the understatement of the year!!! About a week ago, we hit the terrible two's. I keep thinking they will stop, but it just goes on and on. A couple of days ago we were at the store. I had her belted in the "car cart" and the next thing I know she is climbing out the front window out onto the hood! I am like, how the heck. So I put her back in and belted her. But this time I watch. It takes her all of 5 seconds to grab the belt, push in the sides of the latch thing and pop her self out! Yesterday we went to Barnes and Noble. I do not think we will be let back in. In the past, she would see a stack of books, take one and read. Not now. She puts her hand behind the stack, looks at me and laughs, while she pushes the whole pile onto the floor. We were a wrecking crew. The below picture shows how she goes and goes. She ev...

It is so fun to have girls! All the whirling and twirling is just enough to get you to break into a big grin. This week both Maylin and McKenzie had dance performances. Maylin's was a spontaneous show she performed to her family, while McKenzie performed at our city's Festival of Trees. Both did a great job! Kenzie looked a little more professional in her outfit. Heck it isn't hard to beat a costume made from your brother's boxer shorts topped off with a sombrero and in the second picture headphones with a mike. Please note, Maylin dressed herself. The funniest part was watching her pull the underwear up over her shoulders. We were so proud of Kenzie! She wasn't nervous a bit even tho' the crowd was large. She's a terrific dancer.

December 1st was welcomed in with a bang! We have at least 8 inches of snow. The kids were thrilled! They spent the day sledding, pouring maple syrup in the snow so it would freeze and make candy (don't get it, but hey they are kids), and Jay and Austin did the last bit of lights. I am in charge of the lights in the trees. I had my part done 4 weeks ago. Jay kept putting his off (the lights on the house) until today! I think next year he will get them up before the snow. Maylin wasn't sure what to think of the snow at first, but later she loved it and even ate some. Tonight we ate delivered Pie Pizzaria Pizza, watched Hairspray and enjoyed the lights in the snow. I love lights! I even put lights up in my back yard. The yard looks so festive! Maylin looks at the lights outside and says "Trees! Pre Pre" That means trees are pretty. What a great day to start the Christmas celebrations! (Sorry the light pictures are blurry. I haven't figured out how to use the dark ...

I have so many things to share! Didn't know how to get them all in one post, but I am doing it, thus the funny title to this entry! First the bathroom. I got a bee in my bonnet in May that I wanted to repaint the bathroom off our kitchen. My niece helped me with the paint choice, but it was so different I was chicken. Okay it is the same color I have now, it is just 2 shades down on the color strip.Took me months to get up the courage. Finally on Wednesday I painted it. Guess what? I love it. See the color difference below. Next, some favorite moments from our Thanksgiving trip to see my family. My sister cooked a wonderful dinner that we all enjoyed. It was so good to see my sister's family and my brother's. I got to meet my newest great-niece. She makes number 7. Man I am old. The best part of the trip was watching Maylin fall in love with my parents. She especially loves my dad or "bapa". She would pat him, kiss him, and just call his name. She just wanted him ...