Hello, Fall!

Well, I said it back in August that I probably wouldn't be back on here for a few months, and boy did I call it!  It's almost been two months since I've made time to sit down and write again about the Diaz Family.  Last time I was here, school was about to start and we had just gotten back from a beautiful roadtrip vacation to Florida!  Now I sit here with the windows open, listening to the rain and thunder outside and the cool breeze flowing in the window.  I couldn't imagine a better afternoon for today.  Elena is taking her usual afternoon nap, giving me some extra "mommy time" to blog and get some photos ordered online for Elena's baby albums.  It seems I keep falling behind on those also...where is the time going?!
Speaking of time going by so fast, our baby girl is going to be turning 3 at the end of November...that will be here before we know it.  She has requested a Daniel Tiger birthday this year, so looking for some birthday items that fit her request are on the agenda this afternoon as well.  I'll need to start with her usual celebratory outfit to go with her tutu that she wears on her birthday every year.  I'm curious as to what's out there...probably more than I can imagine...
Elena is just growing up WAY TOO FAST.  She is not a baby anymore...she is this beautiful little toddler with real feelings who knows real things now.  Juan and I talk to her like a regular human being and she has great conversations with us when she's in the mood.  There is nothing you can get past that girl if she's paying attention.  She is a little sponge.  She holds onto our words and actions and doesn't let us forget!
She continues to enjoy spending time with her friends at daycare and her days at home during the weeks with her grandmas.  We are so blessed to be able to share Elena with friends and family during the week.  She truly gets the best of both worlds.  Obviously, she gets spoiled by her grandmas, but who doesn't?!  Elena enjoys going to Hy-Vee and Marshalls when my mom is in town to watch her and Elena knows the minute she opens up the door for her Abuela, she's going to have a new outfit to try on!! 
Elena is getting better about eating, we just have to eat when she's super hungry.  She is loving peanuts, squeeze fruits, shredded cheese triangles, milk (of course), water, eggs, hashbrowns, pancakes with syrup, biscuits, fruit snacks, tortillas, sour cream and onion pringles, peanut butter sandwiches (in the shape of an Elmo face), mac n cheese, spaghetti with sauce (YEAH!!), fries, hamburgers (usually), pizza, and of course the beloved donut.  I'm sure there are many others I'm not thinking of, but this is her typical diet on most days...choose some of these foods and you're good to go.
Besides our girl, Juan and I have started another school year and we're already in October.  Juan is beginning his 4th year and I'm beginning my 12th year.  I cannot believe it.  Crazy!  School keeps us both very busy, but it's work we both love and for that we are blessed.  We get to spend our days with lots of kids that need us and it feels good to help.  I don't think we could imagine doing anything else for a job.  I sometimes still think to myself when I'm at school, "I can't believe I get paid to do this."
So, here we go into a busy fall season of cool weather, crock pots, pumpkin patches, and hooded sweatshirts...I don't usually say this about cooler weather, but I am SO ready for a nice little change for awhile.  Happy Fall Everyone!

 Ice cream with Mama

 First day back to school and daycare!

 Learning to play "Slapjack" with Uncle Bob

 Sitting by grandma

 Hugs for grandpa

 This is how she looked when I checked in on her after falling asleep!

 Loving the zoo!

 Elena and Aunt Shell

 Pizza after the zoo is always good

 Fishing with Papa

 A little light reading

  Now, that's some bedhead!!  Hahaha!

Celebrating 10 years AND Ready or Not...

Here it comes!!  Oh No!!  Another end to another beautiful summer vacation is upon us.  No worries...I'm almost all talk when it comes to a new school year approaching...yes, I said ALMOST.  I absolutely love this time of year of renewal with a new school year. BUT...It's just so truly bittersweet because the beauty of being a summer bum comes to an end.  I actually have to put on real clothes and look presentable come Monday...that means mascara and some lip gloss again...look out world!!  Ha! 
Elena gets to go see all of her friends that she's missed over the last month or so that she's been away from daycare and I know she'll be very happy to get back to them.  Juan and I keep talking up how she gets to go next week...we're hoping to get her excited.  She's just had such a wonderful summer that it's hard to see it come to a close.
Over the last few weeks, we have just been enjoying our time together...trying not to schedule a lot of things on the calendar like we sometimes tend to do. Our one big outing came last week on our family road trip to Florida to visit my sister!  Juan and I took Elena on a drive and along the way we made sure that we visited a Diner's, Drive-In's, and Dives spot, which we love to do now on long road trips!  We decided on Marietta Diner in Marietta, GA which is just north of Atlanta.  It was SO worth the stop...I wish I could go back there right now.  There are so many things to try.  Hopefully we can go back one day. After making our stop in Marietta, we continued our drive the next morning to Florida.  Juan, Elena, and I were able to enjoy some beach time together as a family and Juan and I even got away for an evening at the same hotel we spent our honeymoon in 10 years ago in St. Petersburg, FL.  It was a dream come true to go back to where our marriage began.  It was just as beautiful and relaxing as I remembered.  What a way to celebrate 10 years of marriage.  I don't think I would've wanted to be anywhere else.  The beach, sun, ocean, pool, bar...yeah, it was a great time :)
So, here we go on another school year!  I'm beginning my 12th year as a teacher and Juan is beginning his 4th.  Time is really flying by.  I'm hoping to be better about checking in and posting pics here on the blog, but we all know how that goes...I may not be back for a few months...lol. Enjoy the pictures below!

 Trying on daddy's shoes

 This noodle had grass on it, so Elena refused to eat it.

 Swimming with Meagan after a morning photo shoot

 My nephew, Blake...precious boy!!

 Runge Nature Center...she really liked that frog!

 Leaving STL on our way to FL

 Naptime!

 She was waving hello :)

 Beautiful, winding roads in TN

 Marietta Diner!!

 We made it to FL!  Wishing the sign was bigger...

 Naptime on the beach...with a binkie of course.

 

 Macy was happy I came to visit

 The sun was so bright, but you can see our message in the sand...10 years!

 Homer was on vacation too while we were in FL

These photos were done by Meagan Dalton, one of our dearest friends.  Elena was NOT at all in the mood for pictures this day, but Meagan somehow got some beautiful photos of our girl.  Here are some:

 

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