Saturday, June 27, 2009

Prayers for Aviana, please!

This is a friend of a friend of mine. The little girl, Aviana, was walking with her grandfather and they were hit by a car last week. The grandfather will be ok in time, but sweet little Aviana is still in a struggle for life. Aviana, like my babies, is from Guatemala. I simply cannot imagine the pain the parents are feeling right now. I firmly believe in the power of prayer, and would ask that all those who read this pray and/or send positive thoughts to this family, and especially to little Aviana.

http://avianareese.blogspot.com/

Sunday, June 21, 2009

ok, just one more ... Happy Father's Day!!











Random Pics

After coming home from Charlotte, mommy took a rare NAP, made supper, and then took the girls outside to play in the kiddie pool. The good news is that daddy finally got the pool looking blue instead of green! Yay! So hopefully we can swim in the big pool soon, but if I'm taking them out by myself, I prefer the kiddie pool anyway ... safer, you know!

I think I could get a shot like this every year of Maya. Nothing more fun than falling in the pool backwards, you know...

Isn't this the cutest thing ever!?
This is a creek in a local park, where we took Maya for one of her school friend's birthday last weekend. I forgot there was a creek in that park, as we had not been there in a couple of years. I don't think Maya was even walking last time we went there. But oh, my ... it did not take her long to gravitate toward the water, and there she stayed for most of the party.


And this is Maya's newest BFF, Elysia. She's such a cutie-pie, and she is the reason Maya no longer wants her hair cut. Elysia's hair has never been cut, and comes down past her waist. These two are two of a kind. Her mom works at the daycare where both girls go, and she was telling me that a lot of the girls in the 3 year old class don't like to stay outside as much, as it gets too hot, and they don't like running around in the heat. Our girls, however, are right there with the boys wherever they go, and they love to run and jump and do the kung fu or spiderman moves the boys are doing. So what happened to the GIRL I requested from Guatemala? hmmm??? And Maria, of course, is not going to be left out!


This was at the same park with the creek. They were too cute! In case you can't tell, Maya's shorts are soaking wet. It didn't take her long to sit down in the creek. Elysia's dad and mom tried to tell her she can wade in the water, but she should try not to get her clothes wet, as they had other places to go after the party. I think I laughed out loud at them .. couldn't help it. To give her credit, Elysia did stay dry MUCH longer than Maya did. Here they were going up to the pavilion for cake and ice cream and the present-opening, and Elysia still had dry clothes. It wasn't until after this part of the party that Elysia finally gave in to peer pressure (sorry, Christen!) and followed Maya in sitting in the creek and splashing. Luckily, I had not only brought extra clothes for Maya to change in to, I had a spare set that Elysia could wear. I honestly didn't know there was water in this particular park, but I knew it was going to be hot, so thought I might take the girls to another park after this one, and the new park has a large water fountain area designed for kids to play in. So I had even brought bathing suits and towels, but we never got around to putting on bathing suits.






Another meet up with our Guatemalan friends!

Charlotte has this awesome Latin-themed mall called Crossroads Mall. It is directly across the street from Carowinds, and has this huge play area that only costs $2 for 45 minutes of playtime. They close it down every hour for 15 minutes to clean it, which we mommies really like. We met some of our friends there today and had a great time! I didn't get very many pictures, as I was by myself with my two girls, and Maria tends to be really clingy for the first hour of anywhere we happen to go. So my hands were full, to say the least. But a good kind of full! Mary Ann got much better shots ... her blog is The Shrum Family Adventures that is linked under my favorite blogs. You can also get a glimpse at the play area in this incredible mall. One day I need to take Eric or cousin Lisa with me to this place so that I can actually SHOP, too.

This is Maya and Lilee ... Maya and Lilee became buds today. Maya seemed to think Lilee needed her help putting on her shoes, but they are the same age! Lilee turned 3 this year, but Maya will be 4 next month, and I guess at their age, that few months in between does make a difference, but they were so cute together.
And Sara Ava seemed a little taken with Maria. Maria can be VERY clingy, and especially so in new situations. Just being in my lap isn't enough .. she has to be in a certain position with me holding her tight with both arms, or she'll still keep repeating "hold you, mommy, hold you". Normally she warms up after an hour or so in my lap. It was almost time for us all to go when she finally let me put her down, and Sara Ava was holding her hand to keep her from getting too scared.


And the group shot. Mary Ann has boys unlike any I have ever met. They are so sweet around all the little girls, and they are sooo helpful with the younger ones! This time only Joel could come, but he was great with all the girls! Sara Ava and Lilee are his sisters. Daniel had to sit with his newest son, Zane, who just came home from Vietnam last fall, as Zane was NOT in the mood to sit for pictures. Chloe is standing beside Maria with her arm around her, also helping to keep Maria from being scared and crying. Chloe is Zane's sister.

And this is Zane. So glad you are home, buddy! It was a long wait for your mommy, and she looked like such a proud mommy today! Zane's older sister Kaitlyn was also there today, but somehow missed getting in the pictures. We're not missing you next time Kaitlyn!
We had a great time! Thanks, Mary Ann, for organizing all the meet ups for us!