Enjoying Summer...

Wow, has it really been since May 30th since I last posted?!  Seriously, the time gets away from me faster and faster these days.  I can't believe we're already heading into the last few weeks of summer. It's been busy, but very fun.  To begin, I got the most wonderful opportunity in June to teach Summer Expeditions with Columbia.  Juan has been teaching this summer program for a few years now and I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to teach fifth graders the entire month of June.  It was an absolute blast and I am forever thankful each day that Juan helped me get into this teaching position for the month.  I made some great connections with students and just had an all around great time.  I would definitely do it again in a heartbeat! 
Once Summer Expeditions was over, we were onto Independence Day!  We spent the holiday in St. Louis with my parents, sister, brother-in-law, and some of my most favorite neighbors in the whole world, the Reinagels.  Elena enjoyed doing a few sparklers and "pop pops" to celebrate once the sun went down.  It was a relaxing time, which was nice coming off from a very busy month of teaching summer school.  Since then, poor Juan had jury duty, but has managed to get in a few rounds of golf here and there with a good buddy of his.  We have made it out to fish at a friend's house and even snuck in a youth baseball game in which we were introduced to the most wonderful drink in concession stand world...Gatordew...all I can say is YUM.  Among the fun, I have had a few school inservices to attend, but it was nice to catch up with teacher friends during the days at school.  We have definitely not been bored these last few weeks since summer school let out...this week should be a bit more relaxing  :)
Elena is still growing up before our very eyes and Juan and I continue to be in awe everyday.  She gets smarter and smarter.  The things that she says and does are remarkable.  We love to just sit back and watch her play.  The best is when she's playing with a doll and the doll is bad and Elena puts her in time out...Elena says things Juan and I say when Elena is in trouble and spending a few moments in time out as well...it's very comical to watch Elena.  She even puts her stuffed animals to bed, covers them up, gives them a binkie, and "shushes" them to sleep just like a mommy would.  So.dang.cute.  Our primary struggle still remains with Elena and that's the whole eating thing.  She doesn't like it.  Very picky and only wants certain things...my mom says I was the exact same way. So, I won't fret too much because I turned out alright, I suppose!  Elena does love her "squeeze fruits", hard boiled egg whites, peanuts, greek yogurt, noodles, mac n cheese, pizza, crackers, milk, water, and her beloved fruit snacks (which she calls "Georges" because the very first fruit snack she ever ate was a Curious George fruit snack and that name has just stuck).  There isn't much else beyond that she likes. Oh yes...I almost forgot...she will eat a scrambled egg, hashbrowns, and home made biscuits...we do "brinner" a lot because we know she'll eat well.  She appears to be thriving, though, so we won't worry too much.  She's full of love and energy, so we are going to keep going and just hope she eats more as time goes on.
Her favorite show right now is Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood on PBS...I find myself walking around the house humming songs from that show...YIKES.  Elena loves to watch her PBS Kids shows on my Ipad...I would say that's probably one of her most favorite things to do.  She has gotten into Legos as well.  We build the same princess castles daily...she has a blast and is getting good at getting the pieces where they need to go.
So, like I said, E is just growing up...she says things she shouldn't already, gets in trouble, falls down and skins her knees, yells, screams, smiles, laughs, hugs, kisses, prays, sings, and so much more...this whole parenting thing has been so utterly beautiful...what an amazing part of life to experience...

 Cupcakes ARE a food she eats...lol

 Naps after a birthday party are a must.

 Elena and her friend Olivia

 Visiting momma's school

 Mom and dad having a good time

 Summer Expeditions trip to Mizzou

 Elena and Jon watching some baseball

 Enjoying the fountain downtown Columbia

 Pro.

 Getting her tan on.

 I was not allowed at the stove during this time...she was cooking letters. (No, the stove was not on)  ;)

 Elena put Elmo down for his nap.

 Potty training is officially over...we retired our sticker chart.

 Enjoying a tea party with Papa.

 Uncle Ross is SO silly.

 Mmmmm.we are serious about ice cream.

 Sparklers!

 Mama was ready for a picture...Elena was not...lol

 Another tea party with Uncle Ross...look at that morning hair Elena has going on!

 Tired on the drive home

 Mining for rocks in Kansas City!

 Feeding the goats...she laughed the whole time!!

Legoland!

 Even daddy got in some lego time.

 Baby Blake kisses...love him so much!

 Cousins

A few more videos...

For some reason, I couldn't upload these videos with the last blog post...Enjoy!

(Only 1 would upload for now...will try another day with the rest...and, of course, they are the really good videos of her reading some books)

Hello Summer and Happy 2 1/2 Birthday, Elena!

OMG...I can't believe it's been 2 months since I last sat down to write in our family blog.  I had all of these intentions while we were on Spring Break at the end of March to provide an update on how Elena's potty training went, and here we are at the end of May, school is out, and we are enjoying our first day off...well, I am at least...poor Juan still has school through next week...ugh.
To begin, potty training was a complete success!!!  We are proud to say that Elena is potty trained during the day and only needs to wear pull ups when she sleeps.  When we began this whole journey two months ago, I remember being so nervous how it would all pan out and here we are two months later and it seems like Elena has just taken to using the bathroom without any hiccups whatsoever.  Sure, we have an accident here and there, but as soon as it happens, she is usually the one who admits it, heads straight to the bathroom, and we get it all fixed up.  Our girl is growing up too fast for us.
Besides the whole potty training thing, life has just been busy for all of us!  I helped sponsor a 5K race back in April which took up a lot of time preparing for that, but it was a HUGE success for my elementary school.  And, ever since then, I feel like the end of the school year just snuck up on us and here we are ready for another summer again.  Lots of end of the year gatherings, busy weekends, and everyday life just kept us all going each and everyday!
Another milestone that we met head-on last weekend was changing Elena's crib into a toddler bed.  For weeks now, she had been climbing out of her crib, so Juan and I knew it was time to take the front of the crib off and let Elena sleep in her "big girl" bed.  She has done great with it this week.  She still finds ways to "stall" and get up to do something, but for the most part, she has embraced her new bed and is loving it.  It sure does make getting into bed easier!!  :)
Elena continues to amaze Juan and I each day with the things she knows and the things she can do.  She knows all of her letters and can count to 15 easily...after 15 it gets a little dicey!!  She loves for us to draw shapes on her easel so she can say the names...right now we are working on pentagon and hexagon...she thinks that's so much fun to count the sides...it's been tricky, but she loves me to draw them so she can count.  Elena has been getting outside kicking her bouncy ball around and riding her bikes.  She LOVES her bikes.  Flying down the driveway so Juan or I can catch her is one of her favorite things to do.  Climbing into the car and getting herself buckled in her seat is another MUST for our girl..."I do it" is a phrase you hear SEVERAL times a day when she believes she can handle a task...opening doors, giving the dog water, reading books...it's all things she has decided she can do on her own.  You can also tell her to do some yoga and she will show you her favorite yoga move.  Priceless, I tell ya!
Well, off we go to enjoy another summer together...as usual, summer school for the month of June for Juan and I and then the month of July is all ours.  Can't wait for another fun-filled busy summer ahead!

Here are a few pictures from the last two months:

 Just doing some homework.

 After a terrible storm we had

 Sleeping with her new giraffe

 Playing at Mama and Papa's house was just too much fun!

 At the park!

 Easter Sunday

 She HAD to wear her new Nike sandals.

 Lounging with daddy

 Looking at her photo albums...she did her headband herself ;)

 E loves "Baby Bwake"

 Good helper.

 Aunt Shell's 30th birthday...mmmm...cupcakes

 Cookin'

 We painted finernails for the first time.

 Mmmmm...Imo's pizza!!

 Mittens found a good place to sleep!!

 Walking home from the park

 Fishing!

 Fishing is tiring.

Her new bed.

Grandpa...Great Grandpa...our Rockstar!

I had to put a picture of the article in the newsletter of my grandpa's nursing home.  He is the resident of the month!  My grandpa is one of the most amazing men one could ever know.  I'm so glad he was noticed for being the wonderful person he is!  We love you, Pa!!

Being 2...Continued!!

HELLO SPRING BREAK!!!

Juan and I have been longing for this time for awhile now.  Just knowing there are no alarm clocks, no school bells, no having to be somewhere at a specific time every morning...ahhhh, a dream come true.  Today feels so wonderful to just be at home knowing we don't have to be planned for another week ahead.  We can enjoy ourselves, take some naps, and maybe catch up on an email or two.  We do have one milestone with Elena that we are going to work on this week and that's POTTY TRAINING!!!  Yikes...it makes me, for one, nervous to embark on this adventure for the first time.  Juan and I just don't know what to expect.  She may catch onto this in a day or two or it might be another 6 months of working through this.  It's the not knowing that kind of stresses me out a bit.  But, I've read lots of blogs, books, etc. that tell us to just always be positive and when she's ready, she'll be ready.  Elena has shown readiness signs for a few months now.  But, last night, we went and bought new "underwears" and a princess seat to put on the "big toilet".  Thanks to her cousin Peyton, Elena has been practicing how to be a big girl on her Dora potty.  Tomorrow will be the big day that we make conscious efforts to use it or the big potty.  We figured we'd leave our options open. We'll be sure to post how things are going later this week.  But, for now, we are just anticipating a fun day tomorrow of lots of questions, stickers, gummy bears for a job well done, hugs, tears, and of course, jumps for joy when we go for the first time!  Happy Spring Break to us!!  :)

Our Sesame Street potty chart...ready to start tomorrow!

 Our beautiful angel

 Sunday afternoon silliness

 I've been ready for the park for like 2 minutes...LET'S GO!!!

 Strolling around at the park

Having fun at "Stepnie's" house

Elena reading some of her book "The Very Hungry Caterpillar"

This was the first time we watched Elena get out of her bed...I couldn't believe she did it! Now she gets in and out often without our help...she still needs reminders to stay in bed!!

Elena loves to watch NBC Nightly News when we come home each night. She says goodbye to Brian Williams when it's over...it's priceless.

Just being 2!!

It's President's Day!  That means we got a free day off school!!  Not that we really needed it or anything with all the snow days we've had this month, but nonetheless, it's been a great, relaxing day at home.  These past two weeks since our snow days have been very busy...I don't feel like I've been home much at all!  Last Monday, I turned 33 years old...YIKES.  I SO don't feel 33.  I also had parent-teacher conferences that evening, so it was a very long and tiring day...I suppose I DID feel 33 by the time I got home that night.  Twelve hour days just aren't for me, that's for sure!!  Knowing I had to do another twelve hour day on Thursday, too, was kind of torture!  The light at the end of the tunnel was a day off on Friday for the two nights of work.  So, now that we are at President's Day, I'm feeling refreshed and ready for the week ahead. 

Elena's had a great couple of weeks as well.  Juan and I bought her a fish and she named him "Fish."  She absolutely loves it and just likes to sit and stare at it.  We have to keep the fish up high most days just to be sure our cat, Mittens, doesn't get to him!!  Elena got lots of little gifts for Valentine's Day and enjoyed all the goodies like cotton candy, fruit snacks, and chocolates.  Of course, Elena likes to eat these treats, but try to get her to eat normal food is still a challenge.  We were so proud of her yesterday for eating a peanut butter sandwich, some chips, a squeeze fruit (basically applesauce that she squeezes out of a pouch), and water at lunch.  It was a good food day ;)

Being silly with "Fish"

 Making a pizza with "Aunt Shell" for PawPaw's 60th birthday

 Valentine's Day crown from Daddy

 Valentine's Day cheese pizza...mmmmm