Esteban takes Caitlin for a ride on the mower!
Caitlin waves hello!
Sidewalk Chalk time!
Bath time. Is there room for anybody else?
Everybody is doing their own thing pretty much.
A collaborative effort. Don't worry. It washes off. Way to go Crayola!
Big Bounce Fun Zone time!
Caitlin and Leslie take a break after running around like maniacs everywhere.
Maya in the new outfit that Titi Leslie brought her.
We were so lucky that Esteban got the day off and we were able to have a family day. It was awesome! We went to my cousin, Cathy’s house. She and her neighbors were having a 4th of July party. We really lucked out too because there was supposed to be a 60% chance of rain and it stayed away. We were able to spend most of the time in the pool. Jayden got over his fear of the water. I’m not really sure how he developed it to begin with. Sometimes he goes in and other times he doesn’t. But he got a good handle of the float and somebody brought him some water wings and he was good to go.
After swimming and eating, I took Maya for a walk with my uncle and when we got back, everyone was getting ready for the fireworks. All the neighbors had pooled in for fireworks and they had about two truck loads worth. They live on a cul de sac and we moved all the chairs out at dusk and spent quite a bit of time out there. Needless to say, the kids passed out quite easily. Yeah! But then they both woke up crying in the middle of the night. No nap and lots of excitement equals a rough night for mommy. But all in all, it was wonderful.
Here's Jayden with my uncle Luis. He followed him around everywhere calling him grandpa.
Daddy is trying to use a water gun that is larger than Jayden himself.
Jayden did pretty well with staying on the steps.
Cathy, her dad and Jayden waiting for the fireworks! This was Jayden's first time seeing them and he said, "Wow! La luz!"
Maya wasn't bothered one bit by the booms.
Jayden and his new friend Kylie on her jeep. She had quite a command of that thing and drove him all over the place with it. He was thrilled beyond words. In fact, this is the only picture I could get where they were both looking up. Most of the time they were on the go and working the dials on the dashboard.
Not the best pictures of fireworks, but I tried. I really do need a new camera!
It was time to host another play date for the Lollipop League so I hosted at Big Bounce Fun Zone, a new place in town. I was co-hosting with another mom and we were both surprise at how many other moms had RSVP’d and equally shocked at how many moms didn’t show up. But Jayden and Maya had a good time and that’s what is important.
Jayden got his first injury, a twisted ankle of sorts. He was actually limping pretty bad, but I gave him good rub later that night and he healed nicely. Jayden was like a maniac, going through all the bounce houses and using all the toys and I couldn’t help but wonder why he didn’t go into his own bounce house for his birthday… Oh well.
There is a really cute area that has a pretty large gated area for toddlers ages 3 and under. It’s full of toys for little ones and Jayden spent quite a bit of time there. I thought it was so funny when I looked over and he was in the gated area and a little girl was at the door. He said “Abre.” And she opened the door as if she understood. Then he stepped out and said thank you and in a blink of an eye, he stepped back in and he did it again. Abre. Thank you. Abre. Thank you. This went on for a while and it was so cute to watch because he was having such a good time with it and the little girl was giggling too.
Later on, Jayden was up at the top of a slide and he had apparently made friends with a group of kids there. So they decided to sit up there and not slide down. I was sitting close by, watching and we made eye contact. He was so excited to see me, as if he hadn’t seen me all day and starts screaming to the kids. Guys! Guys! It’s mommy, mommy! And then he waves. I was laughing so hard. I immediately thought to myself, later on when he gets older he’ll be telling me not to kiss him in public or asking me to drop him off at the corner so no one sees me. LOL. What a boy!
For Esteban's birthday, I planned a family day. I got up early, got the kids ready and we hit the road. The weather was supposed to be pretty nasty out so I planned an indoor activity. First, we went out for breakfast. Jayden got an orange giraffe made out of a balloon and he was thrilled.
Maya is always happy as can be when she's eating. She's really enjoying herself with this piece of toast.
Esteban was pretty happy, I must say.
We spent the day at the Orlando Science Center. I must say, there was so much there for children. I mean, that's the idea. But I was really surprised at how many things there were for Jayden to entertain himself with. All day, we bumped into things that struck his fancy. This car was a part of the Norman Rockwell exibit.
Jayden loved this classroom. It was a replica of schoolrooms in the early 1900's.
I thought this was pretty creative. Jayden stopped at his easel and made his own little masterpiece. He was more interested in relocating all the crayons to his easel though.
He enjoyed this jeep and liked that he was able to shift gears.
There is an entire section devoted to kids and there was lots to do. The kids were loving this area where they could change out the tires, slip under the car, and add antifreeze to this toy car. Jayden didn't want to leave. I don't blame him.
Here he is with one of his most favorite things in the world. Avion! Planes. Helicopters. They're all the same. He is overjoyed by them.
This was a great little area and Jayden was having a heck of a time in the kitchen washing dishes at the sink and looking for the right cover to the saucepan. And Maya was just grabbing everything she could find. This was a great place for her to stretch her legs since she had been in her stroller most of the morning.
Here's Jayden and Daddy making electricity, one of the many science project type of interactive exhibits. We had a ball fooling around with electricity, gravity, energy, sound waves, and lots more.
Jayden loved the dinorsaur area and was having fun excavating in this dinosaur graveyard.
Mommy and Maya take a snack break.
I was bummed out that the observatory on the 6th floor was open, but to see anything with the telescope we would have had to wait until dark. There was no way I could keep the kids out htat late so we passed and took the kids to Lake Eola instead.
Can you tell that Maya loved this crazy tea cup?
So this was enough to make for a nice, quiet, relaxing drive home. Maya actually fell asleep with the bottle in her mouth.
On the way home, we stopped at a small car show. Esteban likes looking at them and I have to admit, I don't mind it either.
