Wednesday, April 6, 2011

A GREAT report card!!

Six months ago, I took Maya to my dentist appointment so that she could see what happens during a routine cleaning. The entire office was SO nice to her. My hygienist even offered Maya a job! She was going to assist her to clean my teeth. Here is what she did:

1. Helped with the x-rays
2. Squirted water in my mouth
3. Suctioned out the water (tried to suction my lips and tongue a few times)
4. Got to hold an extra mirror in my mouth
5. Held a few instruments until she started to pick holes in her pants
6. Got to wear "sun glasses" just like me
7. Even got a chance to sit in the chair

Maya loved the entire experience! We made an appointment for her and last Friday was the BIG day. I will just tell you that from start to finish, Maya was a SUPERSTAR!! When we walked in, Maya went up to the receptionist's desk and said, "I am here for my cleaning." The gal replied, "we are excited you came." Maya looked at me and said, "me too mommy." We sat down and Maya waited patiently for her hygienist to call her. A few minutes later, Maya looked at me and said, "mommy, I am a big girl and I don't want you to come back with me. You and Brooklyn stay here." I tried to explain to her that I needed to come back just in case she or the dentist had a question for me. She looked at me and said, "if they ask me a question and I don't know the answer, I will come and get you." (Honestly, she would have done just fine. It was her first time at the dentist and I just didn't want to miss out.) Just then the door opened and Maya said to the hygienist, "is it Maya's turn?" Debbie said "yes, come on back." We all headed back. Maya was bouncing off the walls with excitement! She sat down in the chair, put the "sun glasses" on and said, "I'm ready."

First Debbie squirted water in Maya's mouth to show her what it would feel like and how the suction would sound.

Then Debbie started to clean her teeth.

Maya was a champ in keeping her mouth open!

Maya thought it was silly that Debbie had to count her teeth. (The good news is all her teeth are in and the spacing between each tooth looks great for when her adult teeth come in.)

Maya loved that when Debbie squirted water and then suctioned, it made a piggy noise! I think she rinsed her mouth at least 20 times! Hearing Maya laugh each time was awesome.

While we waited for the dentist, she played with this cool drawing toy.

A GREAT report card.....everything looked perfect. He gave Maya a high five and told her to go pick out her new dentist supplies.

Maya very carefully picked out her new toothbrush (a princess and the frog one), dental floss and toothpaste. Brooklyn during the entire visit was eating apple corn puffs and observing everything. She was SO quiet!

Since she got a great report card, she got to pick out a special treat from the treasure chest.

Maya spent a lot of time (about 15 minutes) picking out the special treat. For her, it was between a package of horses or cool water balloons. In the end it was horses! Now she wants to build stalls for them with her legos.

Maya, mommy and daddy are so proud of you. The fact that you got a great report card and had a wonderful experience is the best! (We just wish we were that excited to go to the dentist each time.)

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Purim

Mommy wasn't able to enjoy Purim (parade and party) this year because I was home sick with pneumonia...but once again, Stewart and my mom stepped up. Of course, Maya wore her tutu (and if I would have let her, she would have worn her tap shoes) and Brooklyn was a cow. Then Maya found out that Brooklyn wasn't going to wear a tutu like her and she got upset. So, I got one of Maya's out of the closet and put it on B. It wasn't really the look I had for Brooklyn, but it made Maya happy.

When they got home, Maya demonstrated her new "wiggly" heart headband.

She showed me the hearts that an artist painted on her face.

But most of all, she was very proud of her mask that she decorated all by herself.

Even though the headband was made for kids, Maya insisted that I try it on. Believe it or not, she took this picture of me all by herself.

This is how Brooklyn came home.

Tutu sister's photo #1: Brooklyn wanted nothing to do with a picture.

Tutu sister's photo#2: At least Brooklyn stopped crying, but why was Maya standing funny. Oh well, it was the best we were going to do before naps.

Hours later:

After a long nap, a bath and a big snack, Brooklyn was back to her normal self.
A musical instrument + Brooklyn = the happiest kid on our block.

Maya and her love for Barbie's!


Happy Purim friends and family!

Monday, March 14, 2011

Hamentashen Baking Party

Yesterday, we were invited to our new friend's house to make hamentashens. We had such a fabulous time! Here are some of our favorite pictures from our morning.
Mommy was rolling out the first batch of dough.

Daniel was busy taking pictures of his "perfect" hamentashen to send to his dad in Ohio.

Mommy was showing Sasha how to make the circle cut outs with the cup.

Maya took a turn at rolling the dough, while Sasha was busy filling them.

Maya loved Sasha! Whatever Sasha was doing, Maya wanted to do.

Maya's favorite filling was the Hershey Kisses. Check out how many EMPTY wrappers are on the table. I think she ate at least 10 of them!

Everyone was busy!

Ezra had the best time! He was great at putting filling in and sprinkling them with sprinkles.

Tami the dog got a lot of love from Maya.

When the cookies were in the oven, the girls were busy in Sasha's room. Maya was trying on a lot of Sasha's shoes.

It was now time for the powered sugar. Brooklyn was like our little supervisor; always looking!

Good job Sasha!

Brooklyn didn't want to be left out.

The end result! We used five different fillings: apple, lemon, York Peppermint candies, Hershey Kisses and the traditional filling. Not only did they look terrific, but they were ALL VERY yummy!

Thank you Daniel, Becky, Sasha and Ezra for inviting us over. It was a perfect morning and we had a blast. I think this might be an annual event!

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Our Florida Trip

We had planned months ago, to go to Florida to see Stewart's parents and meet up with his brother's family. It was going to be kind of like a family reunion. We were really looking forward to the warm sun and seeing the family. Plans kind of took a bit of a detour when I fell and broke my leg. We were wondering if we should still go and how were we going to do it with me on crutches. After much thought, we asked our Nanny Sara to go with us and help out; of course she said yes! The trip was set and the packing began. We packed and packed and packed again. The packing was finally done, when all of our clothes were able to fit into one BIG suitcase. That doesn't count the booster seat, the car seat, the diaper bag and a backpack. We were going as light as possible.
Wednesday morning came VERY early as the alarm rang at 4:00am. We made it to the airport via taxi (because it had snowed) and did curbside check in. Stewart made a good call and arranged a wheelchair for me; it helped SO much. We made it through security and got breakfast to go. We figured that we would eat on the airplane. We got to board early and it worked out well. We opened our bag of breakfast and began to eat. The bagels we bought were terrible! They were so hard, none of us ate them. We sat on the airplane parked at the gate for an hour; while waited to be De iced. We were so concerned that we were going to miss our connecting flight. Finally we were off, and had a smooth flight to Vegas. Somehow we arrived early and was able to get lunch for our flight. Our plane left on time and we were on our way to Florida. We did a lot of reading, napping and eating! We arrived on time and collected our bags and headed to pick up our rental car. After a few minutes of installing the car seat and booster, we were on our way to Sarasota. We were only an hour away! Grandma Grace and Zayde met us at our condo and had our kitchen totally stocked. We were SO excited to finally see them. We had two days with just Grandma Grace and Zayde before Stewart's brother's family came. We played in the pools, went to the aquarium, walked in the sand, had great meals and visited. Friday night Stewart's brother's family arrived. (Dan's family (Stewart's brother) had never met Brooklyn and we had never met their newest little boy Jonah.) Bright and early Saturday morning, we met up. It was AWESOME! It had been about two years, since we last saw them. All the kids were so excited to see each other. From here on out, it was spent playing in the condos, going in the pools, going for walks, and playing on the beach. The weather wasn't great, but we made the most out of it. On Monday we went to Sears and had our family pictures taken. (This is when things kind of went downhill) Stewart began to not feel well during our photo session, so we kind of hurried it up. While we decided on which pictures each of us wanted to order, Brooklyn had a little accident. (I am not talking about a diaper accident.) She and Stewart were walking around in the tire department when she pulled a jug of antifreeze off the shelf. It cut her lip, her gum line and her tongue. Blood was all over her face. Good thing we already took the pictures! Some lady from security/first aid, came to assist us. By this time, Stewart just wanted to lay down. We left the mall and headed home. It wasn't long before Stewart was in bed. That night when he still had a fever, I knew he was not well. We left the kids with Nanny Sara and went to the ER. After a few hours, he tested positive for Influenza A. The next day was tough! Stewart spent the day in bed, Nanny Sara wasn't feeling good, and I had a headache. Thankfully Grandma Grace and Zayde helped with the girls. (Dan's family left early that day to fly home. We really didn't even get to say a real goodbye.) That night we packed and cleaned the condo. On Wednesday morning, we said our goodbyes to Grandma Grace and Zayde and headed to the airport. We returned the rental car and headed to the gate. We were in bad shape! Stewart was as sick as a dog, Brooklyn had a runny nose and Maya had a tummy ache. We left on time and was on our way home. We weren't even on the plane for an hour when Maya decided to throw up. Yes, she told me that she was going to, so I did have time to get a barf bag. The guy sitting next to us, was not so nice. He rang his call button and asked the flight attendant if her could change seats. He told her that the smell of the throw up was making him ill! Good thing he left, Maya and I got the whole row to ourselves! We finally made it home after a long day of travel. We all had doctor appointments the next day... I was diagnosed with bronchitis, Maya had the flu and Brooklyn had another ear infection. What a trip it was!

Brooklyn had no problem sleeping on the airplane.

Brooklyn's first time with pig tails!

The view from the back.

Thursday morning we went to the aquarium...
Of course, Stewart needed a picture of the "porkfish." Personally, I didn't see anything special about this fish. Sorry!

Grandma Grace showed Maya the hermit crab in the bottom of the tank.

Brooklyn was very interested in the jellyfish. Thanks to daddy, she got a front row seat!

Check out those dimples on Maya's face---so sweet!

"Hey come look here. There are a lot of Nemo fish! There is one, two, three, four...they are moving around too fast, I can't finish counting them."

This lobster was a big hit... he was HUGE and his colors were so cool.

Goof balls! After a few moments Maya wanted to be "something else," so they all traded places and.......

she still ended up wanting to be the turtle. Oh well.

We visited the shark and stingray tank when the trainers were feeding them.

The stingrays were so big.

Nanny Sara and Maya visited the "touch" tank where they each felt a stingray.

While we all stopped for a cup of hot cocoa, Brooklyn had her snack. A meal wouldn't be complete without yogurt!

We compared our heights to a manatee...here was Sara.

Here was little B.

And then Miss Maya.

Maya had never seen a manatee or a sea turtle before.

Brooklyn did some exploring on her own.

That was until Maya saw what she was doing and wanted to do the same thing.

We saw two dolphins in the outdoor pool.

And on our way out, we stopped off to see some owls.

On Friday, we split up. Grandma Grace gave Sara and I a tour around the area. Daddy and Zayde took the girls to the beach and hung around the condos.
Brooklyn was "feeding" the pretend flamingo outside on our patio. She LOVED this plastic bird!

Zayde and Brooklyn had a snack on the patio.

Maya took the baby doll for a walk in the sand.

On Saturday, we spent the entire morning on the beach.
Nanny Sara helped Brooklyn walk on the sand. The sand in Florida is much different then we are used to in Oregon. It was VERY firm and SO clean.

Maya found some garbage, just as Zayde told us that people don't leave garbage here on the beach. We thought it was so funny.

While Grandma Grace, Stewart, Hannah and Maya went for a walk, the other kiddos stayed behind to play in the sand.

It was especially cute seeing Brooklyn and Jonah play together.

This was Brooklyn's first time EVER playing in sand. She absolutely LOVED it!

Not sure who had more fun....Uncle Danny or the kids?

After the girls woke from their naps, we met the others at the pool.
Everyone had a great time swimming (playing) together.

Hannah and Emma were so good to Maya. They pushed and pulled her all over the pool.

Emma and Maya played so nicely together.

Maya: "I made such a funny face. Hannah said that the purple thing was a noodle. Isn't that silly?

Brooklyn was never left out of the fun. She loved spinning in the water with Nanny Sara. Big D was so funny with that noodle. He rode it like a horse. I wish I could have gotten a picture when he jumped into the pool with it. That was the best!

Good thing we were the only family in the pool. With all the rafts, boards, noodles and kids, there wasn't a ton of room left for anyone else.

The hot tub was a big hit too.

Both families brought silly bands to trade with each other. Emma and I were trying to separate all of them. We had A LOT!

After dinner, Big D told Maya he would read a book to her. She SO badly wants to learn to read.

Sunday was much like Saturday. After breakfast we went to the beach and played in the sand.
Maya liked that the sand was so soft.

Emma gave Jonah a great piggy back ride.

Big D relaxed in the sand.

Maya tried to bury herself with sand.

After we played on the beach and before we headed in for lunch, we stopped for a kodak moment.

Again, after naps we met up at the pool for some afternoon pool time.
Maya and Em got warmed up in the hot tub. Oh look, there is me in the background; too bad I wasn't able to use the pool or hot tub.

Family fun!

Daddy's favorite place!

Little B swam with daddy.

It wouldn't be right if Maya didn't get special swim time with daddy.

After dinner, while the adults played Yahtzee the kids watched a movie.

Monday morning was the big day....PICTURES! While we waited for Sears to open, the kids had a good time at the mall playground.
Jonah and B in the big blue car.

Brooklyn and Maya in the big red car.

How funny is this...Brooklyn is so little she wasn't even sitting on the seat!

Hey were missed Hannah! Where was she? Oh yeah, she walked down to Starbucks with Auntie Elisa.

Brooklyn crawled through the tunnel.

TA DA!! Here they are....
The grand kids with Grandma Grace and Zayde.

All the cousins together!

The whole gang.

On Tuesday, we just bummed around the condo. We spent most of the day on the beach and at playground.
Brooklyn's favorite was the swing. Thanks Auntie Linda for Brooklyn's ADORABLE sweatshirt; it finally fits her.

Our last visit to the beach. I only put this photo in, to show everyone that I really did make it down on the beach and that I really experienced Florida's sand!

Hopefully next time we go, it will be less eventful. We loved being with our family and we appreciated all the help from everyone who made this trip possible. Now Stewart and I need a vacation....just the two of us!