July (Hotter than Hell) '08

Hurray Gang.... after this post, I will officially be caught up!!!!!!!!!!!! With that being said... scroll down til you get til May, then work your way back up in order to catch up chronologically.

July has been hot... over 100 every day. So we swim ALOT! It just seems that I keep forgetting to bring my camera outside. I'll concentrate on that this weekend & try to catch some new video of Maya jumping off the waterfall & diving to the bottom of the pool. Quite a 180 from a few short months ago. We've been keeping sort of a low profile this summer, hanging out at home & in the neighborhood. Between the heat & the price of gas, we've decided to make use of our "in house" amenities. So lots of pool time, art projects, Barbie playing & reading, reading, reading. Maya has read 12 chapter books this summer & we've got the next series lined up for the fall. She likes to read the pages, then say them again with added drama... I've got to get her on stage!! Maya also attended a week long cheer camp, which she loved, they did a little performance at the end of the week & she nailed her moves. Unfortunately, the video came out crappy, but I'm gonna work on it & see if I can get one uploaded. It was a fun opportunity for her & they offer it at the high school every year, so that's something she can count on!

Lola is finally sitting up on her own!!! Next up is rolling & crawling, but I am in no rush..... I like being able to put her down & have her stay in the same spot. It seems that we spend the first years teaching them to walk & talk, then the next 16 telling them to sit down & shut up.... so no hurry around these parts, we just want to enjoy our baby. Her hair is filling in nicely, actually pretty impressively considering how her head was as smooth as her coolie the end of May. She's finally giving out more smiles & giggles, much to our relief. She thinks Maya is hysterical. Her grabbing instinct has kicked in, so nothing is sacred - noses, eyeballs, hair - cocktails! I've had to hone my reflexes to save my goods.


A rough 4th of July for Cody Jr.




Lola, stylin in her hat.



Maya at cheer camp. Go Green Turtles!




Lola loves that jumperoo... & of course her big sister.




Here's our girl finally sitting up on her own!

For some reason after her nap, when I was trying to get a decent photo shoot,
she wasn't as smiley.



Love my Girls!!


Thanks for looking, y'all. School starts in 2 weeks, so look for those pix of our BIG girl going to 1st grade. Holy Crap.

June 08

Well June started off with a bang. Maya got out of School on the 3rd, I think & we took a little time to decompress. We went to the Texas History Museum, Nick & Maya had a good time looking at all the old guns, heads & other history "junk". They actually knew a lot of stuff from their Texas month in school. It was pretty cool, to be honest. Cody asked me why I didn't know all that info, didn't I learn about it in school? Which I quickly asked him if he learned about California history while he was in school... point taken!









The night before Father's Day, Maya & Cody had a camp out in the backyard. They made s'mores & slept in a tent. Maya says she is ready for the great outdoors.






In the middle of June we took a trip to San Diego for Nico's first birthday party & to hang out for a couple weeks with the fam. It was nice & relaxing & we pretty much did nothing & we wouldn't have had it any other way!!


The girls are always so happy to see each other... well, Maya & Sammi, anyway. Lola was just happy to be free, I think. We had one of those flight days from hell, getting bumped, lay overs & all that crap. We got there in one piece & with very little fuss, so I can't complain.






Here's Lola (almost 6 mos), chillin on the floor, not quite sitting, yet, but she really doesn't care! Nico was diggin his bath in Auntie Crissy's sink, just a cup & a spoon for entertainment!





We also went to the San Diego County Fair to see Sammi dance for her recital, she did great. Stood front & center & shook her coolie like a pro! Maya apparently shed her super cautious persona (passed it on to Sam, I think) & rode the rides with Auntie Lisa, Uncle Ryan & even went by herself!!! We're almost ready for Six Flags!


Here's Lola & Baby Vito... I mean Nico!

This is how they roll!!



Our resident broken beaver... Auntie Crissy & Sammi bummin a ride!! Also Uncle Ryan, spinning Maya, she just wanted to go faster, she was laughing so hard, it cracked us all up! Auntie Lisa took her on the pirate ship & every time they hit the top, Maya yelled "AAAAARRRR!!" Killin me!




Here's Miss Samma Lamma on stage, hammin it up, big time! Maya couldn't wait to give her a big hug.



Nonni & Pappi with 2 of their girls!



So, that was June in a nutshell. Thanks to the Sullivans for letting us intrude. We all had a great time. On to July!!!

The end of May 08!

Alright, I haven't posted in A LONG time, as I've been told through harassing emails!!! There's been so much going on, so I'm going to do a 2 1/2 month update.. by month. So bear with me!!

The end of May was a fun time. Maya completed Kindergarten & did better than we could hope for. She's almost reading at a second grade level!! She had her first recital, which was very exciting, she really had fun. Her swimming is only improving & if it was up to her, we'd be in the pool all day long

Miss Lola is getting her own little personality & enjoys her jumperoo the most, for sure. She's kinda hard to get a smile out of, but when you do, it's pretty super. Right after Mother's Day, she lost all the hair on the top of her head, due to a raging case of cradle cap!!! She was left with a very sassy Dr. Phil ring of hair, but she still was cute to us! We started trying cereal, fruits & veggies..... some went over better than others, as you will see in the pix.

Cody & I decided to close both stores & be done with self employment once & for all! The economy reared it's evil head in our direction & we took heed. While it really, really sucks, we have no regrets that we tried. Everything happens for a reason... hell, Cody never would have met the Mama Fu's Crew if we didn't have that Southpark Store & his new role of Director of Operations is the position he was meant to have. Also, on the plus side, I get to stay home with Lola, as well as continue to pick Maya up at school & keep her in line. We are still in love with Austin & know that we made the right decision to move here so we can provide a better life for the girls.... the smoothie thing was something we decided to go with after we chose Austin, so no hard feelings there. We just need the rest of the family to get here so we can all be hot together!




Miss Maya after her recital. She received beautiful flower from Mommy & Daddy, Mimi & Paw Paw & PaPa. They were lovely on the dining room table for the next 2 days.





The girls in front of the house.






Daddy's newest girl, with her fresh bald look! She is all about that hammock, but she comes by that honestly!!




This is an absolute classic....
I don't think she liked the carrots!


We can cancel that paternity test as Cody Jr, here,
can attest to who her Daddy is!!



Cutie, diggin the saucer in the backyard. Lola loves being outside.