Max's First Year of Preschool

We made the best decision ever, to send Maxwell to preschool this last year. I wanted him to have a special place and time, away from Isabel, where he could just be. He LOVED going to school. We picked a great one! Local and served the community for over a decade. His teachers, I can't thank enough, for all the amazing support and guidance over the last year. At the beginning of this month, we went to his end of school year celebration. What a treat! Below are some pictures of the mornings festivities.

 This is one of his teachers, Miss Leslie. She fell in love with him when we went to visit the school last year before we decided to enroll him. I can't thank her enough for all of the parenting "gems" she imparted. Maxwell really blossomed under her care.

 He loves Miss Leslie too! Happy to be in her lap.

 Miss Krista, his other teacher and Miss Leslie, calling him to present him with his memory book. A beautiful book of his art and lots of photos of him and his projects throughout the year.

 A running hug itno Miss Leslie's arms. All the kids in his class ran at her for hugs!

 He is picking himself out of the class photo on the cover of the book.

 Miss Krista, Miss Leslie and a goofy faced Maxwell holding his "smart cookie" award!

Having chocolate cake as part of the celebration. He was wired for over 45 minutes! We will not be doing that again!!!!

I can not thank the ladies at the preschool enough for everything they did for Maxwell and I. They reassured me on a regular basis and made me a better mother, with better understand of the mind of a three year old. I am looking forward to all the new and amazing things that next year brings. He is moving to the 4's program and will be going to school 3 days a week. I am excited to see his brain blossom.

Isabel is 11 Months Old

Our little one is 11 months old. She is still petite but eats like a horse. She takes after her Tia Panchi. I don't know where she puts it, but she shovels in the food double fisted! Amazingly she has only gained a little weight since her nine month check-up. She weighs 16 pounds and 15 ounces and is 27 and 6/8 inches long.

She is a super, super happy baby and still laughs her hinder off when her brother does anything goofy. She loves music and bounces to the beat of all daddies favorite classic rock tunes. Rush is one of her faves. Her top 2 teeth are in now and you can just see them in one of the following pictures.

 It is like looking at my baby pictures when I see these.

 Squealing with delight at Maxwell being goofy behind me.

She also loves to wrinkle her nose. There are those top teeth!

Next month she will be a year old! I can't believe how fast the time has gone by. She has really wormed her way into my heart. Still not the best sleeper, but I gave up the ghost of sleep after Maxwell was born. I still get cranky, especially when I have to go to work and she won't go down for a nap. But I wouldn't trade this experience for anything. Everyday is filled with many ups and downs, but the reward of those little arms wrapped around my neck, makes it all worthwhile. I can't wait until she can talk. Then, like Maxwell, she can spontaneously throw her arms around me and say, "I Love You Mama!"

 Does it get any better??

Happy Father's Day

How do you tell someone that you made the right choice? That you couldn't be happier or more grateful? Terry is an amazing daddy! Reluctant though he was, his whole life, to become a daddy, he is turning into the the best one there is. He loves his kids and often has more patience then I do at times, when things get a little frustrating. His favorite expression is, "they are just aliens, recently put on our planet and learning the ways of the world." It is a great perspective to have and I am so glad to be on this amazing journey with him. I am excited for our future and the changes and challenges that lie ahead. Together, we can do anything. Just look at what we have done already!

Not wanting to mess with a good thing, I went with the same theme from Terry's first Father's Day. Isabel proved to be a little challenging, but adorable.

 Isabel making her father's day debut. She was less then thrilled.  Everytime I put the letters in front of her, she would pick them up and move them away. Frustrating but cute. I can't get over how much she looks like me at that age.

 Lately Maxwell has choosen to be very uncooperative in front of the camera. So Daddy's gift is double sided to show Maxwell's blossoming personality.

Still cute as ever...just a pickle sometimes!

Daddy loved the photos of course!

Isabel is 10 Months Old

Our little Pixie is 10 months old. She is getting to be a sweet little girl with a big appetite and a super happy demeanor. I don't have a weight for this month right now, but I will get one on Tuesday and repost. She remains long and lean, just like her big brother, but goodness, can this little girl eat. She isn't in love with baby food. She salivates for our food. Watching her look at us while we eat is hysterical. Big eyes and mouth open. So we cut our food up into little tiny pieces and she shovels it in.

 She looks a lot like me when I was young. Especially the hair standing up. I will scan a photo of me when I was young so you can see the resemblance.

Not really interested in sitting still for the camera. Gimme that thing!!

Maxwell is quite the baby wrangler.

Bathtime Fun

I have started working 5 nights a week now and Terry is doing a great job at being the best daddy around. He is even managing to get baths done a couple of nights a week. Wednesday night he took these sweet pictures.

 Isabel is proving to be quite the water baby, just like Maxwell was.

She LOVES the water. She doesn't even mind showers.

 I think Maxwell looks at Isabel as a big play toy.

A little brotherly love. He even told me about it the next morning. "Ha ha ha, I put letters on Isabelly last night in the bathtub." She, of course, has no idea. She just loves her brother. He makes her belly laugh and that is all that matters to her.

The love affair is hit or miss these days. Some days are great, others not so much. He asked me if I could put Isabelly back in my tummy the other day. Nope, sorry, she is ours for life. Today, he specifically asked to save a chocolate chip cookie to share it with Isabelly. He is in love today. We will see what tomorrow brings.

Weekend in Westport

For Terry and his brother Mike's birthdays, we went to Westport for the weekend. Kind of camping but in quaint little cottages, with showers!!! We stayed at the Ocean Spray Motel. Mike and Terry stayed there when they were kids. It was nice to see a part of their history. The place was great. Not a Motel really but 9 little, 2 bedroom cottages with kitchens, bathrooms, tv's and heaters. Quite a change for us. When we go to the ocean we usually camp. It usually rains and is generally miserable. I always rally and never complain, but this trip was great. Family, hot showers and oh yeah, rain and wind!

 These are some of the only pictures I took. Maxwell is flying Uncle Mike's kite, all by himself.

We played in the sand, both days, but the wind and the rain was awful. It didn't bother Maxwell until he was beyond cold and having a meltdown. Being able to go back to our room for a hot shower was the best part of it all.

One of these times, when we go to the ocean, it won't rain on us. Maybe next time I will forget the sunscreen in an attempt to bring on the sun. I highly recommend checking them out if you are down in the area. They do not have a website but you can still find their information online. Worth every penny. They also have a play yard, a large fire pit, barbeques and an area to clean anything you catch or dig out at the ocean. The walk to the beach is only about 400 yards, but you can drive your car out also. We will definetly go back. We even scoped out another cottage we liked better.

Standing Tall

Isabel has begun to pull herself up to standing. She is getting really good at it. The sitting back down has taken awhile to perfect but she is getting better at that also. She is extremely cautious, putting her hand down first to ease herself back down to the ground. Oh so cute to see her little brain at work. She is pretty proud of herself while she stands. Always reaching for Maxwell's things on his train table, but that is another story.

 When she loses footing, she clings to the side of the table for dear life. Then she squeaks to get your attention to come over and rescue her. Strong like her daddy, she never lets go until you have her upright again.

Her she is practicing her one-legged stance. She is pretty fearless.