L I S A B E T!

Last night, we were at the grocery store picking up ice cream. I was cruising up and down the freezer aisle looking for a specific flavor (birthday cake) and Esteban had wandered off into the wine section with the kids. All of a sudden, I could swear I heard Jayden say my name. I turned and looked but Esteban didn't seem to have any type of reaction. Was I hearing things? I asked him if he heard Jayden say my name, but he wasn't sure so I left it along and kept on.

All of a sudden, clear as day, I hear Jayden yelling down the aisle. What? "L I S A B E T!" Jayden, my name is mommy, ok. Ok he said.

This morning, I was getting ready in the bathroom and Jayden came in to see if I was done.

Jayden: Lisabet, wedy?
Me: What's my name?
Jayden: My name is Jayden.
Me: Ok. What's my name?
Jayden: Mommy.
Me: Ok. Good. My name is Mommy.
Jayden: My name is Jayden.

What a character! Now, it's thank you Lisabet, it's ok Lisabet, don't worry Lisabet etc. I don't correct him every single time, but we have the above mentioned conversation every 2 or 3 times. Is this a phase? When will it stop?

Afternoon Play Date

We had my girlfriend, Maria, and the kids over for some afternoon summer fun. Here's Maria's grandbaby, Leila. She's just a tad bit older than Maya, by a couple of months or so.

Here I am in the pool with Leila. Jayden is hogging up all the cups and Devonte was brushing my hair.

They were afraid of the ball at first, but quickly got over it.

They had fun with this thing! They were trying to catch the water with their mouths.

Jayden is such a big boy now.

Devonte is so big for his age. Hard to believe he's just 4. Well, he's almost 5, but he's tall! Just like his mom and dad.

After playing in the water, they went to the swings. Finally, someone big enough to push Jayden on the swings. Thanks Devonte! You're welcome to come over anytime! LOL

A Cute Church Activity

Our friend and neighbor invited us to an activity at her church. It really took me back to Little House on the Prarie. The kids got to see what it was like being pioneers out in the wild west. They manuevered wheel barrels and walked in the wilderness (mulch). Then we stopped at camp and the kids got to wash clothes like they did in the olden days. At the next stop, we saw how the wheat was ground. Here's Jayden working his way through the wheat. He had a long way to go considering we needed about 6 cups to make a loaf of bread.
The wagon took everyone to the next stop. Here's Nicole with Kaylie in the wagon. Jayden of course refused to get in.

Jayden was still trying to grind wheat. This time, he switched to the new fangled device, but it was still alot of work. Didn't mean he stopped trying though.

After I tore him away from the wheat, the kids got to see what it was like to travel through snow (ice). Jayden wasn't interested even though all the kids were thankful to be able to cool off a bit. At the end of the "trail", there was tug of war and hoola hoops and Maya was happy to get out and stretch her legs.

Afterwards, we went inside for lunch. The kids got together in front of the tent and fire to sing a song and I thought it was hysterical that Jayden was actually trying to listen and be a part of the group. If I had asked him to stand there and play along, he would have run in the opposite direction. LOL

Here's Ivy. She's Nicole's little girl. She had been whisked away by an Auntie I believe and returned safe and sound and cute as ever.

2nd Week of Sister's Visit

My sister, Leslie, with her daughter, Caitlyn.

Aiden and Jayden have fun splashing.

Caitlyn and Jayden contemplate jumping in.

Maya and Me and Caitlyn too!

No pushing Jayden.

How innocent they all look.

Maya in her lady bug.

My sister, Mari, and Sebi.

The Cousins Picture

Every year, we do a cousins picture. As the years pass and the number of cousins grows, the pictures get more and more difficult. This year, we went to Picture Innovations and I have to say, I was most surprised with what they were able to do given the circumstances. Five Screaming Kids! There is never a time that is good for all of them since they are all between the ages of 0 - 4, but we made our appointment for 11:15 and it worked well for us.

As soon as we got there, Jayden refused to take pictures and I felt so bad that after all the time it had taken to finally get all the cousins together that it was not going to happen. They snapped shots of the girls first. Since Jayden wasn't cooperating they moved on to Aiden and Sebi. They got some wonderful pictures of the boys. Then it was time to move to the other room. Jayden was glued to the Lego table in the waiting area. In my head, I wondered if we could move the table into the studio in the hopes of snapping a picture of Jayden. My sister vocalized teh very same thing moments later and before you knew it, the lego table was in place and they had gotten some shots of Jayden and Maya together and we took advantage of the moment and got all the cousins together for what would be this year's cousin picture.

Everything happened so fast, there was no time to think. The kids had long since changed from the Elmo outfits which were originally plannned for the shot and I wish we would have thought to ask about changing the background. Jayden refused to let me touch his hair and somehow Maya ended up with a weird part in the middle of her head, but all in all it turned out much better than I originally thought. PS These pictures haven't been edited yet.

The Girls

Sebi

I love the look on her face in this picture.

Cute Shot
Such a cute profile pic.
Aiden is so lovable.
This is an awesome picture of the boys.
The best they could get of Jayden and Maya, literally...

I love this one.

Finally, a semi-decent shot of Jayden. I was so happy.

Too bad this didn't work out. I would have been much better than the lego picture. Oh, well, I can keep this to remember the look on Maya's face. She spends quite a bit of time like this. LOL

Finally, the cousin's shot! Not bad after all.

Lowry Park Zoo

Here are the pictures from our visit to Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa. We had a nice time. Here's Jayden on the giant lizard.

Here's Sebastian.

Maya was super hot and super tired.

Penguins in Florida. Can you believe that?

This was one of the few animal shots that didn't come out blurry. Thanks to Sesame Street, Jayden recognized E L E P H A N T!

Jayden got up close and personal with a giraffe.

Jayden and Caitlin try to woo the giraffe to come over, but he know better. He knows they have no treats for him.

A much needed water break!

Caitlin found the one bench with the fan blowing on it. Ahhh.

Jayden had a hotdog for lunch. No bun, please! Wink, wink!

Can I have a Frito please?

The kids cool off at the splash pad.

Smile for Daddy!

Aiden and Caitlin taking a break.

Jayden and Chooch take turns. Well, most of the time. The rest of the time, they were pushing each other out of the way.

The Sister's Visit

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.