tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-267639412024-03-14T03:15:59.864-05:00A Dream Come True!My dream to become a mother has finally come true.Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00777368092602374814noreply@blogger.comBlogger173125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26763941.post-21881187485723607522011-12-01T19:26:00.000-06:002011-12-01T19:26:16.321-06:00A great Fair Trade storeI love this online store that sells beautiful items from Guatemala. They are having a great giveaway right now also for anyone who leaves a comment on their post. <br />
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<a href="http://littlemangoimports.blogspot.com/">http://littlemangoimports.blogspot.com/</a>Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00777368092602374814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26763941.post-31859735644612582902010-04-05T21:17:00.003-05:002010-04-05T21:30:40.721-05:00Guate Mall to support school in GuatemalaI have many wonderful items for sale in my Guate Mall. All profits will go to support <a href="http://heart4children.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><strong>two schools</strong></span></a> in desperate need in Guatemala. If you are interested in purchasing any of these items, let me know by leaving me a comment and I can give you the prices. I will send you a PayPal invoice and after payment is received, I will mail you your items via USPS.<br />
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Please consider giving to this wonderful cause. My friend Vanessa will be travelling down to Guatemala for a month starting the end of May to help these two schools.<br />
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Thank you!<br />
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<embed flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fmoguatemom%2Falbumid%2F5456827361132050529%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" height="192" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="288"></embed>Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00777368092602374814noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26763941.post-20600558686254706552010-01-13T19:00:00.003-06:002010-01-13T20:26:33.207-06:00My Crafty GirlWe finally made it back to the library for story time last night. We hadn't been since before Thanksgiving due to the holidays, vacation and snowy weather. Evelyn really did very well with following the rules and sitting and listening. I was really amazed last night in the changes in her ability to do the craft by herself. I have noticed a change in her drawing also in the last month or so when she brings pictures home from school. She used to just scribble but she has moved on and is now "drawing" people and faces. One day she excitedly showed me the picture that she drew and said "its you and me mommy!" There were definite faces and not much for bodies but I could see a big and little person.<br /><br />Last night at the library she was very independent and didn't want my help in putting together her craft. She made a penguin which had 9 pieces to be glued together. She looked at the example once and then went about putting it together. She was concentrating so hard. I happen to have my camera in my purse so shot this video of my crafty girl.<br /><br />She is now 3 1/2 years old. One of her best friends just turned 4 which just doesn't seem possible.<br /><br />Here is a picture of her conentrating so hard.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggxaODlDlE1bh8lScmiFOztbS5_d2YjuSs9hNM0kI2gGNo4hLmc7Q3C8vQeog4qJ7rIwNOjnObgVjgIKs5bva-Cdi3gZdsXI4k5hC6XTu9iCP3rKEkEKKxUrmSc0NN-Qy08jZP/s1600-h/Snow+Day+001.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426413023269959234" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggxaODlDlE1bh8lScmiFOztbS5_d2YjuSs9hNM0kI2gGNo4hLmc7Q3C8vQeog4qJ7rIwNOjnObgVjgIKs5bva-Cdi3gZdsXI4k5hC6XTu9iCP3rKEkEKKxUrmSc0NN-Qy08jZP/s320/Snow+Day+001.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><img style="WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px; VISIBILITY: hidden" border="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyNjM*MzU4MDUxNTgmcHQ9MTI2MzQzNTgyNjA3NCZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jmc9MSZvPWVmNzk1YWQ3NTI3YTQ4NTJiNWUyMDNlYzBkZTJkZGIyJm9mPTA=.gif" width="0" height="0" /> <center><object codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,0,0" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="425" height="381"><param name="_cx" value="11244"><param name="_cy" value="10080"><param name="FlashVars" value=""><param name="Movie" value="http://www.dropshots.com/dropshots.swf?p=0&u=http://media6.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20100112/204231.flv&l=http://www.dropshots.com/guatemom#date/2010-01-12/20:42:31&d=1"><param name="Src" value="http://www.dropshots.com/dropshots.swf?p=0&u=http://media6.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20100112/204231.flv&l=http://www.dropshots.com/guatemom#date/2010-01-12/20:42:31&d=1"><param name="WMode" value="Transparent"><param name="Play" value="-1"><param name="Loop" value="-1"><param name="Quality" value="High"><param name="SAlign" value=""><param name="Menu" value="-1"><param name="Base" value=""><param name="AllowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain"><param name="Scale" value="ShowAll"><param name="DeviceFont" value="0"><param name="EmbedMovie" value="0"><param name="BGColor" value=""><param name="SWRemote" value=""><param name="MovieData" value=""><param name="SeamlessTabbing" value="1"><param name="Profile" value="0"><param name="ProfileAddress" value=""><param name="ProfilePort" value="0"><param name="AllowNetworking" value="all"><param name="AllowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.dropshots.com/dropshots.swf?p=0&u=http://media6.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20100112/204231.flv&l=http://www.dropshots.com/guatemom#date/2010-01-12/20:42:31&d=1" wmode="transparent" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="sameDomain" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="381"></embed></object><br /></center>Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00777368092602374814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26763941.post-91672918348979880782009-12-25T18:59:00.003-06:002010-01-13T21:45:46.696-06:00My Band HeroUncle Allan's family brought their band hero to Grandma & Grandpa's house on Christmas. Evvy really liked the drums. I think it is funny cause she played the drums 2 years ago down at Uncle Allan's house. She is quite the performer. Here are two videos of her serenading us with some medlies of songs playing the drums.<br /><br /><img style="WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px; VISIBILITY: hidden" border="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyNjM*NDA2MDExMjAmcHQ9MTI2MzQ*MDYxNjU1NiZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jmc9MSZvPWVmNzk1YWQ3NTI3YTQ4NTJiNWUyMDNlYzBkZTJkZGIyJm9mPTA=.gif" width="0" height="0" /> <center><object codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,0,0" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="425" height="381"><param name="_cx" value="11244"><param name="_cy" value="10080"><param name="FlashVars" value=""><param name="Movie" value="http://www.dropshots.com/dropshots.swf?p=0&u=http://media7.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20091225/174814.flv&l=http://www.dropshots.com/guatemom#date/2009-12-25/17:48:14&d=1"><param name="Src" value="http://www.dropshots.com/dropshots.swf?p=0&u=http://media7.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20091225/174814.flv&l=http://www.dropshots.com/guatemom#date/2009-12-25/17:48:14&d=1"><param name="WMode" value="Transparent"><param name="Play" value="-1"><param name="Loop" value="-1"><param name="Quality" value="High"><param name="SAlign" value=""><param name="Menu" value="-1"><param name="Base" value=""><param name="AllowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain"><param name="Scale" value="ShowAll"><param name="DeviceFont" value="0"><param name="EmbedMovie" value="0"><param name="BGColor" value=""><param name="SWRemote" value=""><param name="MovieData" value=""><param name="SeamlessTabbing" value="1"><param name="Profile" value="0"><param name="ProfileAddress" value=""><param name="ProfilePort" value="0"><param name="AllowNetworking" value="all"><param name="AllowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.dropshots.com/dropshots.swf?p=0&u=http://media7.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20091225/174814.flv&l=http://www.dropshots.com/guatemom#date/2009-12-25/17:48:14&d=1" wmode="transparent" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="sameDomain" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="381"></embed></object><br /></center><br /><br /><img style="WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px; VISIBILITY: hidden" border="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyNjM*NDA2NDI1ODImcHQ9MTI2MzQ*MDY*Njk3NiZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jmc9MSZvPWVmNzk1YWQ3NTI3YTQ4NTJiNWUyMDNlYzBkZTJkZGIyJm9mPTA=.gif" width="0" height="0" /> <center><object codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,0,0" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="425" height="381"><param name="_cx" value="11244"><param name="_cy" value="10080"><param name="FlashVars" value=""><param name="Movie" value="http://www.dropshots.com/dropshots.swf?p=0&u=http://media6.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20091225/174921.flv&l=http://www.dropshots.com/guatemom#date/2009-12-25/17:49:21&d=1"><param name="Src" value="http://www.dropshots.com/dropshots.swf?p=0&u=http://media6.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20091225/174921.flv&l=http://www.dropshots.com/guatemom#date/2009-12-25/17:49:21&d=1"><param name="WMode" value="Transparent"><param name="Play" value="-1"><param name="Loop" value="-1"><param name="Quality" value="High"><param name="SAlign" value=""><param name="Menu" value="-1"><param name="Base" value=""><param name="AllowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain"><param name="Scale" value="ShowAll"><param name="DeviceFont" value="0"><param name="EmbedMovie" value="0"><param name="BGColor" value=""><param name="SWRemote" value=""><param name="MovieData" value=""><param name="SeamlessTabbing" value="1"><param name="Profile" value="0"><param name="ProfileAddress" value=""><param name="ProfilePort" value="0"><param name="AllowNetworking" value="all"><param name="AllowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.dropshots.com/dropshots.swf?p=0&u=http://media6.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20091225/174921.flv&l=http://www.dropshots.com/guatemom#date/2009-12-25/17:49:21&d=1" wmode="transparent" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="sameDomain" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="381"></embed></object><br /></center>Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00777368092602374814noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26763941.post-11847449824722808832009-12-25T18:59:00.002-06:002010-01-13T21:40:32.589-06:00Christmas RecapWe had a great Christmas this year. My company "gave" us some extra vacation days (without pay or choice) so we headed down to TX a couple of days sooner than planned. This gave us a chance to take more time to get there and back and have a more relaxing trip.<br /><br />We got to TX on Tuesday afternoon and hung out with Grandma and Grandpa. Then on Wednesday we drove down to Austin and I went Christmas shopping with SIL and mom and Evvy got to spend time with her big girl cousins Abby & Ally. She said she had a good time with them and was not scared like she was last year. She even greeted and talked to Uncle Allan which was a huge deal since she would see him and cry last year.<br /><br />Christmas Eve we just hung out at Grandma and Grandpa's and got ready for Christmas. Grandma bought a 1000 piece puzzle of tropical fish in the ocean that was really hard and took all week to put together. Mommy lost a lot of sleep over that puzzle but was determined to get it finished.<br /><br />Christmas Eve Evelyn opened her traditional Christmas Eve present of new jammies and slippers. She loved her Hello Kitty character slippers and snowman soft pajamas. Soon after that Uncle Robert, Aunt Aimee and cousins Ethan & Elise arrived. We then visited and got the kids all wound up and then somehow expected them to go to bed so Santa could come. They actually all did quite well.<br /><br />Christmas morning of course Miss Evelyn was first awake as she is just about every morning. She was very patient and quiet and went out to the living room and saw the train that Santa brought her (courtesy of Uncle Allan's family) and her stocking. She looked at her stocking while we waited for everyone else to get up. Then it was present fest and confusion. This was the best Christmas so far I think because she is so verbal and excited about EVERYTHING. She could easily pick out which presents were hers because she knows how to spell her name. It was very sweet watching her find her presents. She was really pretty calm and looked at everything as she opened them. Her big present was the train set and then she mostly got books, puzzles and playdough. Those are the things she likes and plays with most. We don't need more toys cluttering up the house! Most of the books she got are in Spanish because she is now taking Spanish class and really enjoys it. It is fun to speak Spanish to her and know she understands (even if she answers in English a lot of the time).<br /><br />We stayed in TX for 11 days before heading back home where we found that it had snowed A LOT. In fact, 2 weeks later it has snowed more and there is still A LOT of snow on the ground. It is finally starting to warm up so it will probably be gone in a couple of days. That was the most snow we have seen in many years. It did flurry in TX while we were there too. It was unseasonably cold. We only had 2 really nice days where it was mildly warm but it was warmer than home and we were with our family. This was one of the best Christmases I can remember in a long time.<br /><br />Here is a photo show of some of the pictures from our trip.<br /><br /><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" bgcolor="#ffffff"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://smilebox.com/play/4d54517a4e4449344d7a4d3d0d0a&blogview=true&campaign=blog_playback_link" target="_blank"><img style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" alt="Click to play this Smilebox slideshow: Christmas 2009" src="http://smilebox.com/snap/4d54517a4e4449344d7a4d3d0d0a.jpg" width="386" height="303" /></a></td></tr><tr><td><a href="http://www.smilebox.com/?partner=google&campaign=blog_snapshot" target="_blank"><img style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" alt="Create your own slideshow - Powered by Smilebox" src="http://www.smilebox.com/globalImages/blogInstructions/blogLogoSmileboxSmall.gif" width="386" height="46" /></a></td></tr><tr><td align="middle"><a href="http://www.smilebox.com/slideshows" target="_blank">Make a Smilebox slideshow</a></td></tr></tbody></table>Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00777368092602374814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26763941.post-63486105538289109912009-12-09T09:21:00.002-06:002009-12-09T09:41:43.663-06:00Evelyn meets SantaEvelyn was so excited this year to meet Santa Clause. She just sat there and patted his hands. I love how her hands are just sitting right on top of his. This was her first year to not be terrified of Santa.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp0MEFscWNu88N9HAfNivXp6eb5tgBGNS5nb4-w5b8Kk3_WWhcx2uVxTRJ5O1gJDxz_c3nzfs_y92K6O1vB-r7x2Jc68zc5sEs1zdIYQ57RZoW6OdkQkrIxxQoPl8OaQE8fM29/s1600-h/SANTA+PIC+2009.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413257130166059202" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp0MEFscWNu88N9HAfNivXp6eb5tgBGNS5nb4-w5b8Kk3_WWhcx2uVxTRJ5O1gJDxz_c3nzfs_y92K6O1vB-r7x2Jc68zc5sEs1zdIYQ57RZoW6OdkQkrIxxQoPl8OaQE8fM29/s320/SANTA+PIC+2009.jpg" border="0" /></a>Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00777368092602374814noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26763941.post-61520124309659655612009-09-05T19:42:00.002-05:002009-09-05T19:59:03.654-05:00The Carnival!Every Labor Day weekend our city puts on a wonderful festival. It is only about 5 mins from our house. In years past, I have gone every day to listen to the music, eat the yummy food, shop and just people watch. They also have a decent little Midway area with rides and rip off games. Last year Evvy rode the Merry Go Round and we convinced them that even though she wasn't 36" tall to ride on the "elephant" ride--she was really quite pitiful and cried and cried so they finally let her ride with an older child.<br /><br />We started by torturing the children and dragging them to the quilt show. There were a few really pretty quilts that I liked. I did get a couple of Christmas presents bought so I guess Christmas shopping season has begun for me.<br /><br />We went with our best friends and spent too much money riding the rides. I can't believe how expensive it is. I bought 20 tickets for $20 but luckily most of the kiddie rides are only 2 tickets so she did get to ride a lot of rides.<br /><br />This year, Evvy is 38" tall so had no problem riding the kiddie rides. The first ride she wanted to ride was the Elephant ride. Then P, E, Evelyn and I all rode on the swinging basket ferris wheel. I haven't been on a ferris wheel in many many years. It was a lot of fun and Evvy loved it. She had no fear at all and really enjoyed the view of the city and being above the trees. She also went on a sweet canoe ride with E and then they also went on an alligator roller coaster that went pretty fast. We then rode the Merry Go round of course and ended riding a flying bumble bee ride that went up in the air. I asked Evvy if she was scared when we looked at the pictures tonight and she just laughed and said no. I think I have a fearless girl who is going to love amusement parks as she gets older.<br /><br />I was a little disappointed with the food this year. It had nothing to do with the food itself. However, I have had a cold, sinus infection, upper respitory infection for the past 3 weeks and have been on antibiotics for 2 weeks. I still can't taste anything but a yucky taste which is a side effect of the latest antibiotic. It is such a waste to buy chocolate or anything and then not be able to taste it. I bought what looked like a really good steakburger with onions and the whole work and bbq sauce. I couldn't taste a thing. Maybe my sense of taste and smell will return b4 the weekend is over and we can go back and try a fried pickle or twinkie and cotton candy.<br /><br />Here are some pictures from our day.<br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="288" height="192" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fmoguatemom%2Falbumid%2F5378145559948209601%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26authkey%3DGv1sRgCNfStKDXv-nvCw%26hl%3Den_US" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed><br />SusanSusanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00777368092602374814noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26763941.post-47347833395847737792009-09-05T18:50:00.003-05:002009-09-05T19:14:58.507-05:00Miss IndependentEvelyn has become very independent in the past month or so. It is really quite a transformation. All of a sudden, she gets up in the morning and goes in and gets dressed all by herself. She can get up and down off the toilet and wipe her own tushy and flush all by herself. She can turn on the bathroom faucet and wash her hands by herself. If I try to help her with just about anything, she firmly tells me she can do it by herself. I also am enjoying the fact that when she gets up on the weekend I can get her to go into her room and play with puzzles, read books or play with her toys by herself and let mommy doze in bed a little longer (I can't really go back to sleep because I am a little too paranoid that she will get into something and hurt herself like I did when I was her age).<br /><br />One of my earliest memories is from when I was about 3 years old. I was apparently at this independent stages and was going to get myself a drink of water all by myself. We had a glass water bottle in the fridge to keep cold water. I apparently climbed up on to the lip of the fridge and pulled down the water bottle and then proceeded to drop it and fall in the glass. I ended up cutting a tendon in my left hand and having to have surgery. For many years I couldn't make a tight fist and I still have a visible scar on my hand (I always thought it was a pretty cool scar). Anyway, my memory is sitting in the hospital at a little table and having what must have been the doctor come around to check on me--I just remember a man in a suit coming into see me. I don't remember being scared or anything.<br /><br /><br />Anyway, the point of telling that memory is that I am afraid that Evvy in all of her indendence might try to do something for herself and accidentally hurting herself.<br /><br /><br />Here is the picture of Evvy that I snapped this morning after she went in to play with puzzles. She got herself "dressed" in a much too small slip that she found recently and she was clicking around the house in her high heal princess shoes. It was pretty amusing and cute.<br /><br /><br /><br /><p align="center"><br />Reading her card from her BFF.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh6Wyf6IpBYK7nviU_lvUIgiXnAtfRQn5sJTJ3Y5wEhlvX-HxwlHVEauwhN7Fx-Wo1DmLONqJ-6hRv4JQsGiupZj3_93sYxrmP2oKTNXH05Y69LRkgyto4254g4ViDjGEvnPPi/s1600-h/Santa+Caligon+09+002.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378138745007828402" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh6Wyf6IpBYK7nviU_lvUIgiXnAtfRQn5sJTJ3Y5wEhlvX-HxwlHVEauwhN7Fx-Wo1DmLONqJ-6hRv4JQsGiupZj3_93sYxrmP2oKTNXH05Y69LRkgyto4254g4ViDjGEvnPPi/s320/Santa+Caligon+09+002.JPG" /></a><br />Didn't quite get everything "untucked"</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkuSJ0eyUELZ3-Znla0lBDAO5DaP_Tun4PPIW44iLD0T7L03ZVk75HmlIjvZWXPjs8ZMF1A3eZow7xqevol-XPk3WO2rpIm8jIQY4DDcxRzsjCTR7XUyu-sh4FK_ZOvBRa5pTu/s1600-h/Santa+Caligon+09+001.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378138738340305730" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkuSJ0eyUELZ3-Znla0lBDAO5DaP_Tun4PPIW44iLD0T7L03ZVk75HmlIjvZWXPjs8ZMF1A3eZow7xqevol-XPk3WO2rpIm8jIQY4DDcxRzsjCTR7XUyu-sh4FK_ZOvBRa5pTu/s320/Santa+Caligon+09+001.JPG" /></a><br />SusanSusanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00777368092602374814noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26763941.post-81737324260998359462009-09-01T22:57:00.002-05:002009-09-01T23:56:41.488-05:00Catching upI have been missing blogging lately so I am going to start again. I haven't blogged since February and was looking back over some of the last posts. Evvy has changed so much and is a totally different person. She is such a joy to me and I feel so blessed to call her my daughter.<br /><br />So what has happened since February?<br /><br /><ul><li>March we had a lot of fun playing in the snow. Evvy LOVES snow and is looking forward to winter again already.</li><li>April: We had a fun visit with Grandma and Grandpa. They came and spent Easter with us. Evvy "rode" in Grandpa's airplane. Still hasn't gotten off the ground but she now has high hopes that maybe next time Grandpa will take her up to "touch the clouds." We had a fun visit to the Deanna Rose Farm where Evvy fed some baby goats with a bottle. She was disappointed that they wouldn't let her ride a pony because she wasn't 3 yet and her mom couldn't lie.</li><li>April 18 marked the 2 year anniversary of Evvy coming home from Guatemala. We celebrated by going to one of our favorite Guatemalan restaurants "El Quetzal" and ended with a trip to Evvy's favorite Guatemalan bakery for a BIG SPINKLE Cookie (galleta).</li><li>In April we also took a long weekend and drove to Omaha to go to the wonderful zoo and children's museum. Evvy still talks about the fun hotel which had an indoor waterpark with a double size hot tub and a "current pool" The hotel wasn't crowded so we pretty much had it to ourselves. Another highlight of the trip to the zoo was riding the carosel 3 times (a zebra, elephant and horse). Evelyn LOVES Merry Go Rounds. She had a little meltdown after the 3rd time because she wanted to go yet again. Instead we went and saw a beautiful peacock that spread its feathers and let Evelyn get very close to it.</li><li>May was pretty warm so we had a couple of trips to the splash park and hung out with our friends.</li><li>June 6 Evelyn turned 3 years old. We had a small party with 3 of her little friends. They just played water games and swam in her little pool in the front yard. I can't believe my baby is 3. She got a new scooter, tricycle and some nice new clothes from Grandma.</li><li>June 8 Evelyn started "pre-school" at the local elementary school. She had no anxiety at all about going. She has gone joyfully and happily every day. At the same time, she greets me every day with a huge hug and "mommy" when I pick her up. Evelyn is very social and quickly made lots of new friends in her class. After a picnic with her class she came home and told me that "J" is my boyfriend. Just the way she said it was so cute. He is her special friend. However, since then she tells me that all of the male students are her boyfriends so I stopped worrying when I realized she was just classifying them by their gender. J is still her best friend though if you ask her. He is a very cute hispanic boy. </li><li>July we celebrated the fourth of July with our friends at an annual picnic that we attend. Evvy really likes the fourth of July and fireworks. We went swimming a few times at our local waterpark but the summer overall was pretty cool. It seemed that the weekends were either rainy, cold or one of us was sick. Evvy did take swimming lessons though and really enjoyed them and learned some skills that will hopefully help her become a good, safe swimmer. She still needs a lifejacket but she can dive under and retrieve rings and sticks from under the water. She can also swim underwater to and from the steps of the pool. She still LOVES the water.</li><li>August was a great month for us. I took 1 1/2 weeks off of work and we went on a couple of vacations. First we headed down to the Lake of the Ozarks for our 3rd annual MOGUATE gathering. There were 46 families that attended this year with close to 100 people. We had such a good time seeing friends from previous years and meeting lots of new friends. We were able to participate in some good "giving back to Guatemala" projects while there. We raised money for a group that does a lot of good work in Guatemala by raffling off a Guatemalan quilt and basket of other toys from Guatemala. The other project is called "Project Santa." We were blessed to have a friend and her family from Louisiana come to our gathering. V does a lot of good work in Guatemala and will be going down in a couple of months to distribute supplies that she has gathered to the needy in Guatemala. She has been responsible for giving Christmas to hundreds of children in families in Guatemala over the past several years. Visit <a href="http://heart4children.blogspot.com/">Vanessa's blog </a>to see how you can help or see the wonderful work she is doing for Guatemala.</li><li>After MOGUATE we came home for a day and then got in the car and drove to Chicago to meet some of our friends that I have known through the adoption process online but had never met in person. We had a great time in Chicago. We spent 3 days in the suburbs going to the park, eating great food, going to the zoo and to a great splash park and just hanging out at the hotel pool. We went to our Chicago friend's condo and had yummy Chicago style pizza one night. The kids had a great time playing with each other and all of Andrew's wonderful toys. On Friday of that week Evvy and I headed downtown. We stayed at the Hilton hotel right downtown for an incredibly inexpensive price thanks to Priceline.com. It was a gorgeous hotel. The location was great. We were able to park the car in the garage and walk every where. Our favorite part of Chicago was Millenium Park and the "giant jelly bean." We went there 3 times in less than 24 hours. We enjoyed some outdoor concerts also and really just had fun walking around and people watching. Evvy had fun chasing "pingins" aka Pidgeons. There was also a wonder water sculpture area that kids could play in the water. It was great because it was a warm day. We also went and got some yummy Garretts popcorn. Have to say it was some of the best cheese and caramel corn that I have ever tasted. We also took a 2 hour bus ride on top of a double decker tour bus so we really saw all the sights of the city. We definitely want to go back again so that we can go to some of the museums and maybe the ferris wheel at Navy Pier. After our long day, we went and had Chinese food (Evvy's favorite) and then went back to the hotel for a nice swim. Evvy totally crashed watching a movie in bed. The next morning we took a walk down to Dunkin Donuts to get some donuts and juice and went back to Millenium Park and the Jelly Bean. It was a totally different experience because there were hardly and people. Then we were off for a long drive back home.</li></ul><p>I will try to go back and add some pictures to this post over the next few days since that is really what people really want to see on the blog. I really just wanted to capture "our story" and what we have been doing in the past 6 months. I want to be a bettter blogger so that we have a record of the story of our wonderful life.</p>Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00777368092602374814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26763941.post-90675797911246218112009-02-22T11:01:00.002-06:002009-02-22T11:20:03.538-06:00Happy Birthday mommy!<center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media7.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20090221/204502.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a></center><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMzUzMjI5MzcwMTEmcHQ9MTIzNTMyMjk*MTMyMCZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jmc9MSZ*PSZvPWVmNzk1YWQ3NTI3YTQ4NTJiNWUyMDNlYzBkZTJkZGIy.gif" width="0" border="0" /><br />Yesterday was my birthday. I have decided that it isn't about me, but about how much Evvy enjoys my birthday. She was very sweet and sang me happy birthday numerous times and gave me lots of birthday kisses. Then she would say, "we have cake and ice-cream?" The balloon that my friend gave me of course was really for Evvy. The musical card was really for Evvy :) It was really a great day.<br /><br />I received the most incredible gift from my uncle. He sent me a quilt that was made by his uncle's mother in law when she was a teenager. The quilt is over a hundred years old and is in excellent condition.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media8.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20090222/113837.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a></center><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMzUzMjMwMDY*ODUmcHQ9MTIzNTMyMzAxNDg3NSZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jmc9MSZ*PSZvPWVmNzk1YWQ3NTI3YTQ4NTJiNWUyMDNlYzBkZTJkZGIy.gif" width="0" border="0" /><br />Here are a couple of pictures from my big day and some video of Evvy and Erica shaking their groove things. The music was from my birthday card. I don't think I caught the funniest ones on camera but these are pretty good.<br /><br /><center><object codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=" height="381" width="425" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000"><param name="_cx" value="11245"><param name="_cy" value="10081"><param name="FlashVars" value=""><param name="Movie" value="http://www.dropshots.com/dropshots.swf?p=1&u=http://media6.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20090221/210159.flv&l=http://www.dropshots.com/guatemom#date/2009-02-21/21:01:59&d=1"><param name="Src" value="http://www.dropshots.com/dropshots.swf?p=1&u=http://media6.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20090221/210159.flv&l=http://www.dropshots.com/guatemom#date/2009-02-21/21:01:59&d=1"><param name="WMode" value="Transparent"><param name="Play" value="-1"><param name="Loop" value="-1"><param name="Quality" value="High"><param name="SAlign" value=""><param name="Menu" value="-1"><param name="Base" value=""><param name="AllowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain"><param name="Scale" value="ShowAll"><param name="DeviceFont" value="0"><param name="EmbedMovie" value="0"><param name="BGColor" value=""><param name="SWRemote" value=""><param name="MovieData" value=""><param name="SeamlessTabbing" value="1"><param name="Profile" value="0"><param name="ProfileAddress" value=""><param name="ProfilePort" value="0"><param name="AllowNetworking" value="all"><param name="AllowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.dropshots.com/dropshots.swf?p=1&u=http://media6.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20090221/210159.flv&l=http://www.dropshots.com/guatemom#date/2009-02-21/21:01:59&d=1" wmode="transparent" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="sameDomain" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="381"></embed></object></center><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMzUzMjMwNDAyMTYmcHQ9MTIzNTMyMzA1NDIzNSZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jmc9MSZ*PSZvPWVmNzk1YWQ3NTI3YTQ4NTJiNWUyMDNlYzBkZTJkZGIy.gif" width="0" border="0" />Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00777368092602374814noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26763941.post-31301360986922966522009-01-23T21:46:00.005-06:002009-01-24T08:25:28.944-06:00Cat Fight!Had to share this video of Evvy and Bella (cat). Evvy got the tent from Grandma for Christmas. It is a bed tent but we didn't have her new big girl bed when this video was taken. Bella LOVES the tent. When Evvy is in it (or even when she isn't) Bella will jump on top of the tent. I have to "lock" Bella in the front of the house when Evvy is going to sleep otherwise she will never go to sleep. Evvy is so funny. She loves Bella and wants to play with her and cuddle with her all the time but when it comes to sleeping, she will not allow the cat in her bed or even her room. I wish she would let Bella sleep with her. They are so sweet when they are cuddling up together. Evvy just coos at Bella "oh my sweet baby, you are so sweet"<br /><br />Anyway, here is their cat fight in the tent.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwbvQ87V0dcBqySGC1WJG7-4PlsK60slOTeKk4ZgR1UYXUwYbT2ExjgJAFG6RFLnYiPC7e5tRQ8GOk' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00777368092602374814noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26763941.post-20449094906149698302008-12-29T18:25:00.006-06:002009-01-02T12:54:35.974-06:00Old McEvvy went to the farms!My parents recently moved and live in a pretty rural area. They get eggs from a neighbor who raises chickens and guineas (sp). They go to another farm and get fresh milk. Evvy has really enjoyed going to see the animals with Grandpa. She has been to the cow farm twice now. I went today and there were a lot of baby cows too. They were a very friendly bunch of cows.<br /><br />Evvy had her first horse ride also. It was a pretty good size horse that one of her cousins rides.<br /><br />Here are some pictures & video from Evvy's visits to the various farms.<br /><br /><div align="center">Bock Bock!<br /></div><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media6.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081227/105507.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMzA5MjEwMjUzNzImcHQ9MTIzMDkyMTAyOTM1MCZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jmc9MSZ*PSZvPTY3MGQ3NmIzNmQxMzRmYjFiYTNmNWYzMjZmZGQxMTUw.gif" width="0" border="0" /><br />Look at all those chickens<br /></div><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media6.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081227/105525.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMzA5MjEwNTA3NjImcHQ9MTIzMDkyMTA1Mzk5MiZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jmc9MSZ*PSZvPTY3MGQ3NmIzNmQxMzRmYjFiYTNmNWYzMjZmZGQxMTUw.gif" width="0" border="0" /><br />Evvy rides Scout<br /></div><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media8.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081227/155144.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a><br /> I'm so BIG mommy.<br /></center><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media7.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081227/155209.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Having a great time</center><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media6.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081227/155409.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /></center><center><object codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=" height="381" width="425" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000"><param name="_cx" value="11245"><param name="_cy" value="10081"><param name="FlashVars" value=""><param name="Movie" value="http://www.dropshots.com/dropshots.swf?p=1&u=http://media6.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081227/155754.flv&l=http://www.dropshots.com/guatemom#date/2008-12-27/15:57:54&d=1"><param name="Src" value="http://www.dropshots.com/dropshots.swf?p=1&u=http://media6.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081227/155754.flv&l=http://www.dropshots.com/guatemom#date/2008-12-27/15:57:54&d=1"><param name="WMode" value="Transparent"><param name="Play" value="-1"><param name="Loop" value="-1"><param name="Quality" value="High"><param name="SAlign" value=""><param name="Menu" value="-1"><param name="Base" value=""><param name="AllowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain"><param name="Scale" value="ShowAll"><param name="DeviceFont" value="0"><param name="EmbedMovie" value="0"><param name="BGColor" value=""><param name="SWRemote" value=""><param name="MovieData" value=""><param name="SeamlessTabbing" value="1"><param name="Profile" value="0"><param name="ProfileAddress" value=""><param name="ProfilePort" value="0"><param name="AllowNetworking" value="all"><param name="AllowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.dropshots.com/dropshots.swf?p=1&u=http://media6.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081227/155754.flv&l=http://www.dropshots.com/guatemom#date/2008-12-27/15:57:54&d=1" wmode="transparent" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="sameDomain" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="381"></embed></object><br /><br />Can I have a bite?</center><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media8.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081227/161630.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a><br /><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMzA5MjE3OTM*MzYmcHQ9MTIzMDkyMTc5NzA1NSZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jmc9MSZ*PSZvPTY3MGQ3NmIzNmQxMzRmYjFiYTNmNWYzMjZmZGQxMTUw.gif" width="0" border="0" /><br />Yummy carrots</center><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media8.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081227/161633.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a><br /><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMzA5MjE4MjA4MTImcHQ9MTIzMDkyMTgyMzU4OSZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jmc9MSZ*PSZvPTY3MGQ3NmIzNmQxMzRmYjFiYTNmNWYzMjZmZGQxMTUw.gif" width="0" border="0" /><br />Got anymore carrots</center><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media8.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081227/161639.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMzA5MjE4NDk*OTQmcHQ9MTIzMDkyMTg1Mjg5NSZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jmc9MSZ*PSZvPTY3MGQ3NmIzNmQxMzRmYjFiYTNmNWYzMjZmZGQxMTUw.gif" width="0" border="0" /><br />So soft<br /></div><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media6.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081229/121302.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a><br /></center><div align="center"><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMzA5MjE4NzI5NjUmcHQ9MTIzMDkyMTg3NjcwOSZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jmc9MSZ*PSZvPTY3MGQ3NmIzNmQxMzRmYjFiYTNmNWYzMjZmZGQxMTUw.gif" width="0" border="0" /><br />Evvy kisses Ladybug (the cow)<br /></div><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media7.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081229/121342.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a><br /></center><div align="center"><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMzA5MjE5MDgyNzImcHQ9MTIzMDkyMTkxMjU5MyZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jmc9MSZ*PSZvPTY3MGQ3NmIzNmQxMzRmYjFiYTNmNWYzMjZmZGQxMTUw.gif" width="0" border="0" /><br />Ladybug kissing Evvy<br /></div><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media8.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081229/121544.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a><br /></center><div align="center"><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMzA5MjE5NTA4MzEmcHQ9MTIzMDkyMTk1NDM1NyZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jmc9MSZ*PSZvPTY3MGQ3NmIzNmQxMzRmYjFiYTNmNWYzMjZmZGQxMTUw.gif" width="0" border="0" /><br />Time to go home<br /></div><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media7.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081229/124219.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a><br /><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMzA5MjE5OTA*ODAmcHQ9MTIzMDkyMTk5MzU2OSZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jmc9MSZ*PSZvPTY3MGQ3NmIzNmQxMzRmYjFiYTNmNWYzMjZmZGQxMTUw.gif" width="0" border="0" /></center>Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00777368092602374814noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26763941.post-72837797887456236042008-12-25T22:25:00.000-06:002008-12-29T21:14:58.278-06:00Christmas picturesWe had a wonderful Christmas at grandma and grandpa's (papa's) house. Uncle Rob, Aunt Aimee, Ethan and Elise were there also. Uncle Allan and his family also came up for the afternoon and evening. Evvy slept in until 7:15 woo hoo. She was the first one up and first out to see what Santa had brought. Not sure that Evvy believed in Santa. She saw the new baby doll that "Santa" brought and I asked her what it was and she said "mommy got me a new baby doll." Guess I wasn't quite so sneaky putting those toys in the shopping cart. I think she was more excited about the candy canes and m&m's than all the toys. We kept it pretty low key and got lots of learning toys, spanish books and CD's. She also really likes the tea set from Aunt Aimee. She seems to be "discoverying" the new toys a little each day. She did enjoy opening all the presents this year but was also really sweet handing presents to everyone else.<br /><br />I put together a little slideshow of some of our Christmas pictures to share with everyone. We definitely are enjoying the warmer weather down here in TX.<br /><br />Susan<br /><br /><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" bgcolor="#ffffff"><tr><td><a href="http://smilebox.com/play/4e6a597a4d6a6b314e513d3d0d0a&campaign=blog_playback_link&blogview=true" target="_blank"><img width="386" height="303" alt="Click to play Christmas 2008" src="http://smilebox.com/snap/4e6a597a4d6a6b314e513d3d0d0a.jpg" style="border: medium none ;"/></a></td></tr><tr><td><a href="http://www.smilebox.com/?partner=google&campaign=blog_snapshot" target="_blank"><img width="386" height="46" alt="Create your own slideshow - Powered by Smilebox" src="http://www.smilebox.com/globalImages/blogInstructions/blogLogoSmileboxSmall.gif" style="border: medium none ;"/></a></td></tr><tr><td align="center"><a href="http://www.smilebox.com/slideshows" target="_blank">Make a Smilebox slideshow</a></td></tr></table>Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00777368092602374814noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26763941.post-3575402505677130862008-12-20T20:59:00.002-06:002008-12-20T22:46:06.763-06:00Gingerbread HousesWe have a tradition that we make gingerbread houses every year. We made them occasionally when I was younger but I think it became a yearly tradition with my brother's family when I visited them one year. My nephews were pretty young back then and they are both in college now. So the tradition has been going on for quite a while now. For the past many years I have also been making the houses with my BFF and her kids. Evvy and I made one last year at my brother's house but Evvy was still pretty small. This year was her first year of really decorating one "by herself." My girl loves candy. You would think that she ate it all the time by the way she talks about it and oohs and ahhs about it or maybe that is a sign that she doesn't get it very often and is excited when she does get it.<br /><br />Evvy really enjoyed putting the candy on the house and into her tummy. I think she put 2 on the house and then one in her mouth. She had a couple of moments of tears when I wouldn't let her eat the gingerbread man and the candy off the house. We finally decided that we would let the kids eat the men but they really just ate the candy and frosting off of them.<br /><br />OK. Have to write a sidenote of what my DD is doing right now. She is watching Pooh and the scene where Tigger has climbed the tree and is scared to jump down. So Evvy decided she needed to climb a tree also. Um, the only tree in our house is the Christmas tree. She was seriously contemplating climbing it. She was looking for where she could put her feet and hands.<br /><br />Anyway, here are a few pictures of our fun day with our dear friends.<br /><br /><div align="center">Fine motor skills!<br /></div><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media4.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081220/123250.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a><br /><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMjk4MzQxNTI2MzUmcHQ9MTIyOTgzNDE1NjAwNCZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jmc9MSZ*PSZvPTY3MGQ3NmIzNmQxMzRmYjFiYTNmNWYzMjZmZGQxMTUw.gif" width="0" border="0" /><br />Concentrating hard.<br /><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media5.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081220/123257.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a><br /><br />This is FUN!</center><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media5.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081220/123218.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a><br /><br />This is hard to turn it for the camera. Don't drop it!</center><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media3.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081220/122352.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a><br /><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMjk4MzQyMzM1MTYmcHQ9MTIyOTgzNDIzNjgwOCZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jmc9MSZ*PSZvPTY3MGQ3NmIzNmQxMzRmYjFiYTNmNWYzMjZmZGQxMTUw.gif" width="0" border="0" /><br />Time Out! I wanna eat it now!</center><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media5.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081220/122615.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a><br /></center><div align="center"><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMjk4MzQyNTY5OTgmcHQ9MTIyOTgzNDI2MDM2NyZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jmc9MSZ*PSZvPTY3MGQ3NmIzNmQxMzRmYjFiYTNmNWYzMjZmZGQxMTUw.gif" width="0" border="0" /> This is the best part!<br /></div><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media4.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081220/131719.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a><br /></center><div align="center">Don't be scared, I won't bite your head off little man.</div><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media5.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081220/131726.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a><br /></center><div align="center"><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMjk4MzQzMDQ3NDEmcHQ9MTIyOTgzNDMwNzU5NiZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jmc9MSZ*PSZvPTY3MGQ3NmIzNmQxMzRmYjFiYTNmNWYzMjZmZGQxMTUw.gif" width="0" border="0" /> Caught red handed</div><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media4.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081220/140755.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a><br /></center><div align="center"><br />No one's looking, right?</div><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media4.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081220/141433.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a><br /></center><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMjk4MzQ2NDE*MTAmcHQ9MTIyOTgzNDY*NDM1OSZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jmc9MSZ*PSZvPTY3MGQ3NmIzNmQxMzRmYjFiYTNmNWYzMjZmZGQxMTUw.gif" width="0" border="0" />Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00777368092602374814noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26763941.post-3869417579669197902008-12-09T20:41:00.003-06:002008-12-09T21:54:38.217-06:00First Snow of the YearToday we had our first real snow of the season. I say YUCK. My normal commute home takes 25-30 minutes. Today it took 2 hours. I could hardly get Miss E to the car from the sitter's house. She had to stop and grab handfuls of snow to eat. She LOVES snow. She loved it last year and would always want to eat it. This year is no different. When we got home, she got her boots on and went outside and stomped around in the snow and ate handfuls of it. She got mad at the mittens which impeded the amounts of snow she could pick up and stuff in her mouth. Besides, when she tried to wipe the snow off her face, the mittens really didn't help, they made her get more snow all over her face. So she took the mittens off and continued eating and throwing snow. Then she said she wanted to take her coat off. I told her we had to go in if she took her coat off because it was too cold. So she goes inside willingly and takes her coat off and then wants to go back outside without the coat. Being the love and logic mother that I try to be, I let her go back outside without the coat (just her hat and boots). She is standing there shivering with her hands out. She ate a handful of snow and just stood there trembling. I told her to go inside which she did but then she got mad and started crying because she really wanted to be out in the snow. Such a dillema--hates the coat, loves the snow, hates being cold....<br /><br />So we compromised. I went and got a bowl and went outside and filled it with snow. She then sat at the table and ate every last flake while I made dinner. It was pretty funny.<br /><br />So one of us is happy that winter is here. It is NOT me.<br /><br />Oh and just a disclaimer on the video. This girl is a sponge and repeats EVERYthing. The stupid was not in response to the question of "do you have the best mommy in the world." She was just repeating what I had said about a driver on the way home who pulled out in front of us on an icy road. Gotta watch my mouth :)<br /><br /><br /><center> </center><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media3.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081209/192744.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a></center><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMjg4ODEwNjU5NzEmcHQ9MTIyODg4MTA2OTEzOCZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jmc9MSZ*PSZvPTY3MGQ3NmIzNmQxMzRmYjFiYTNmNWYzMjZmZGQxMTUw.gif" width="0" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media5.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081209/192830.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a></center><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMjg4ODEwODgwNTQmcHQ9MTIyODg4MTA5MTI4MyZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jmc9MSZ*PSZvPTY3MGQ3NmIzNmQxMzRmYjFiYTNmNWYzMjZmZGQxMTUw.gif" width="0" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media4.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081209/192844.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a></center><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMjg4ODExMDIxNjYmcHQ9MTIyODg4MTEwNTk4OCZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jmc9MSZ*PSZvPTY3MGQ3NmIzNmQxMzRmYjFiYTNmNWYzMjZmZGQxMTUw.gif" width="0" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media3.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081209/193224.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMjg4ODExMTg2NjQmcHQ9MTIyODg4MTEyMTA2NiZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jmc9MSZ*PSZvPTY3MGQ3NmIzNmQxMzRmYjFiYTNmNWYzMjZmZGQxMTUw.gif" width="0" border="0" /><br />This is better! Snow in the warmth of my own home!<br /></div><center><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media3.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081209/193809.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></center><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMjg4ODExMzAxNzAmcHQ9MTIyODg4MTEzMzU1NiZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jmc9MSZ*PSZvPTY3MGQ3NmIzNmQxMzRmYjFiYTNmNWYzMjZmZGQxMTUw.gif" width="0" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /><center><object codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=" height="381" width="425" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000"><param name="_cx" value="11245"><param name="_cy" value="10081"><param name="FlashVars" value=""><param name="Movie" value="http://www.dropshots.com/dropshots.swf?p=1&u=http://media4.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081209/193816.flv&l=http://www.dropshots.com/guatemom#date/2008-12-09/19:38:16&d=1"><param name="Src" value="http://www.dropshots.com/dropshots.swf?p=1&u=http://media4.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081209/193816.flv&l=http://www.dropshots.com/guatemom#date/2008-12-09/19:38:16&d=1"><param name="WMode" value="Transparent"><param name="Play" value="-1"><param name="Loop" value="-1"><param name="Quality" value="High"><param name="SAlign" value=""><param name="Menu" value="-1"><param name="Base" value=""><param name="AllowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain"><param name="Scale" value="ShowAll"><param name="DeviceFont" value="0"><param name="EmbedMovie" value="0"><param name="BGColor" value=""><param name="SWRemote" value=""><param name="MovieData" value=""><param name="SeamlessTabbing" value="1"><param name="Profile" value="0"><param name="ProfileAddress" value=""><param name="ProfilePort" value="0"><param name="AllowNetworking" value="all"><param name="AllowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.dropshots.com/dropshots.swf?p=1&u=http://media4.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081209/193816.flv&l=http://www.dropshots.com/guatemom#date/2008-12-09/19:38:16&d=1" wmode="transparent" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="sameDomain" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="381"></embed></object></center><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMjg4ODExNDUyNjcmcHQ9MTIyODg4MTE*ODcxNSZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jmc9MSZ*PSZvPTY3MGQ3NmIzNmQxMzRmYjFiYTNmNWYzMjZmZGQxMTUw.gif" width="0" border="0" />Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00777368092602374814noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26763941.post-37665242335704383772008-11-14T20:35:00.002-06:002008-11-14T20:35:00.450-06:00My Prima Ballerina!Evvy really loves to dress in her "princess ballerina" outfit. She is just so darn cute in it. What cracks me up is the hat she has to wear with the outfit. So doesn't go with the outfit but it is so Evvy. She is definitely her own person. I have a couple of short videos that show just how much of a perpetual motion machine this little girl is. She is non-stop motion and talking. I couldn't love her any more. She amazes me every day.<br /><div align="center"><br />Do you like my hat?<br /></div><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media4.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081027/194905.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a><br /></center><div align="center"><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMjY1NDM5ODYyNzAmcHQ9MTIyNjU*Mzk5MDk2MyZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jmc9MSZ*PSZvPTY3MGQ3NmIzNmQxMzRmYjFiYTNmNWYzMjZmZGQxMTUw.gif" width="0" border="0" /><br />The hat covers my crazy hair.<br /></div><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media5.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081027/194942.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a><br /></center><div align="center"><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMjY1NDQwMTM2NjImcHQ9MTIyNjU*NDAxNzQ1MyZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jmc9MSZ*PSZvPTY3MGQ3NmIzNmQxMzRmYjFiYTNmNWYzMjZmZGQxMTUw.gif" width="0" border="0" /> I love to be upside down</div><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media4.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081027/194959.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a><br /></center><div align="center"><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMjY1NDQwMzQ*ODUmcHQ9MTIyNjU*NDAzNzc1NyZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jmc9MSZ*PSZvPTY3MGQ3NmIzNmQxMzRmYjFiYTNmNWYzMjZmZGQxMTUw.gif" width="0" border="0" /> Mommy needs to teach me to be more ladylike<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media3.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081027/195021.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a><br /><br />No more pictures!<br /></center><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media4.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081027/195052.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a><br /><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMjY1NDQwNzYxOTcmcHQ9MTIyNjU*NDA3ODkxMCZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jmc9MSZ*PSZvPTY3MGQ3NmIzNmQxMzRmYjFiYTNmNWYzMjZmZGQxMTUw.gif" width="0" border="0" /><br /><br /></center><center><object codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=" height="381" width="425" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000"><param name="_cx" value="11245"><param name="_cy" value="10081"><param name="FlashVars" value=""><param name="Movie" value="http://www.dropshots.com/dropshots.swf?p=1&u=http://media4.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081027/184516.flv&r=1&l=http://www.dropshots.com/guatemom#date/2008-10-27/18:45:16&d=1"><param name="Src" value="http://www.dropshots.com/dropshots.swf?p=1&u=http://media4.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081027/184516.flv&r=1&l=http://www.dropshots.com/guatemom#date/2008-10-27/18:45:16&d=1"><param name="WMode" value="Transparent"><param name="Play" value="-1"><param name="Loop" value="-1"><param name="Quality" value="High"><param name="SAlign" value=""><param name="Menu" value="-1"><param name="Base" value=""><param name="AllowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain"><param name="Scale" value="ShowAll"><param name="DeviceFont" value="0"><param name="EmbedMovie" value="0"><param name="BGColor" value=""><param name="SWRemote" value=""><param name="MovieData" value=""><param name="SeamlessTabbing" value="1"><param name="Profile" value="0"><param name="ProfileAddress" value=""><param name="ProfilePort" value="0"><param name="AllowNetworking" value="all"><param name="AllowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.dropshots.com/dropshots.swf?p=1&u=http://media4.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081027/184516.flv&r=1&l=http://www.dropshots.com/guatemom#date/2008-10-27/18:45:16&d=1" wmode="transparent" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="sameDomain" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="381"></embed></object><br /></center><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMjY1NDQwOTM4NjkmcHQ9MTIyNjU*NDA5Njg3MCZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jmc9MSZ*PSZvPTY3MGQ3NmIzNmQxMzRmYjFiYTNmNWYzMjZmZGQxMTUw.gif" width="0" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /><center><object codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=" height="381" width="425" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000"><param name="_cx" value="11245"><param name="_cy" value="10081"><param name="FlashVars" value=""><param name="Movie" value="http://www.dropshots.com/dropshots.swf?p=1&u=http://media5.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081027/184643.flv&r=1&l=http://www.dropshots.com/guatemom#date/2008-10-27/18:46:43&d=1"><param name="Src" value="http://www.dropshots.com/dropshots.swf?p=1&u=http://media5.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081027/184643.flv&r=1&l=http://www.dropshots.com/guatemom#date/2008-10-27/18:46:43&d=1"><param name="WMode" value="Transparent"><param name="Play" value="-1"><param name="Loop" value="-1"><param name="Quality" value="High"><param name="SAlign" value=""><param name="Menu" value="-1"><param name="Base" value=""><param name="AllowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain"><param name="Scale" value="ShowAll"><param name="DeviceFont" value="0"><param name="EmbedMovie" value="0"><param name="BGColor" value=""><param name="SWRemote" value=""><param name="MovieData" value=""><param name="SeamlessTabbing" value="1"><param name="Profile" value="0"><param name="ProfileAddress" value=""><param name="ProfilePort" value="0"><param name="AllowNetworking" value="all"><param name="AllowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.dropshots.com/dropshots.swf?p=1&u=http://media5.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081027/184643.flv&r=1&l=http://www.dropshots.com/guatemom#date/2008-10-27/18:46:43&d=1" wmode="transparent" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="sameDomain" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="381"></embed></object><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:8;"><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/">Photo Sharing</a> - <a href="http://www.dropshots.com/">Video Sharing</a> - <a href="http://www.qualityphotoprints.com/">Photo Printing</a> - <a href="http://www.qualityphotobooks.com/">Photo Books</a></span></center><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMjY1NDQxMTIzNDgmcHQ9MTIyNjU*NDExNjMyNiZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jmc9MSZ*PSZvPTY3MGQ3NmIzNmQxMzRmYjFiYTNmNWYzMjZmZGQxMTUw.gif" width="0" border="0" />Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00777368092602374814noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26763941.post-52578792233724485792008-10-31T22:30:00.004-05:002008-11-12T18:26:38.250-06:00HalloweenWe had lots of fun for Halloween this year. After our trips to the pumpkin patch, we went to a Halloween parade where Evvy got her first "taste" of people giving her lots of candy. She was in heaven just eating a small package of nims (m&m's). I like how she says nims :)<br /><br />Then we had a dress up night at library story time so she got to try on her costume. She loved it. She talked all the rest of the week about having a tail on her bottom :) Then the culmination was trick or treating. She probably would have been happy going to 2 or 3 houses but we went with our friends. She was very cute and would say "trick or treat" and "thank you" at all the houses she went to. After we got home, we had a few trick or treaters come to our house and then we just hung out watching a movie. I let her eat a few candies. I think that the lollypops were her favorite. I have been rationing about 1 piece every day or 2 and only if she eats her dinner.<br /><br />Here are some pictures of my cute kitty cat.<br /><br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media4.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081031/182542.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a><br /></center><div align="center"><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMjY1MzU*NDExMDkmcHQ9MTIyNjUzNTQ*NzEyMyZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jmc9MSZ*PSZvPTY3MGQ3NmIzNmQxMzRmYjFiYTNmNWYzMjZmZGQxMTUw.gif" width="0" border="0" /><br />I'm not scared of monsters! Boo!<br /></div><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media3.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081031/182106.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a><br /></center><div align="center"><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMjY1MzU*Nzk4MjgmcHQ9MTIyNjUzNTQ4MzM2OSZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jmc9MSZ*PSZvPTY3MGQ3NmIzNmQxMzRmYjFiYTNmNWYzMjZmZGQxMTUw.gif" width="0" border="0" /> Trick or Treat buddies<br /><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media5.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081031/182522.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a><br /><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMjY1MzU1MDQ*MTEmcHQ9MTIyNjUzNTUwNzI1OCZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jmc9MSZ*PSZvPTY3MGQ3NmIzNmQxMzRmYjFiYTNmNWYzMjZmZGQxMTUw.gif" width="0" border="0" /><br />YUMMY!<br /></div><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media5.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081031/192950.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a><br /><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMjY1MzU1MzYzODMmcHQ9MTIyNjUzNTUzOTE2MyZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jmc9MSZ*PSZvPTY3MGQ3NmIzNmQxMzRmYjFiYTNmNWYzMjZmZGQxMTUw.gif" width="0" border="0" /><br /><br />Wow, what a stash!</center><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media3.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081031/201726.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a><br /></center><div align="center"><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMjY1MzU1Njg3NjEmcHQ9MTIyNjUzNTU3NDEzOCZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jmc9MSZ*PSZvPTY3MGQ3NmIzNmQxMzRmYjFiYTNmNWYzMjZmZGQxMTUw.gif" width="0" border="0" /><br />Sugar Coma<br /></div><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media3.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081031/201651.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a><br /><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.11NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMjY1MzU1ODUzOTEmcHQ9MTIyNjUzNTU4OTMwMSZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jmc9MSZ*PQ==.gif" width="0" border="0" /><br /><br /></center><center><object codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=" height="381" width="425" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000"><param name="_cx" value="11245"><param name="_cy" value="10081"><param name="FlashVars" value=""><param name="Movie" value="http://www.dropshots.com/dropshots.swf?p=1&u=http://media4.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081031/173437.flv&r=1&l=http://www.dropshots.com/guatemom#date/2008-10-31/17:34:37&d=1"><param name="Src" value="http://www.dropshots.com/dropshots.swf?p=1&u=http://media4.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081031/173437.flv&r=1&l=http://www.dropshots.com/guatemom#date/2008-10-31/17:34:37&d=1"><param name="WMode" value="Transparent"><param name="Play" value="-1"><param name="Loop" value="-1"><param name="Quality" value="High"><param name="SAlign" value=""><param name="Menu" value="-1"><param name="Base" value=""><param name="AllowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain"><param name="Scale" value="ShowAll"><param name="DeviceFont" value="0"><param name="EmbedMovie" value="0"><param name="BGColor" value=""><param name="SWRemote" value=""><param name="MovieData" value=""><param name="SeamlessTabbing" value="1"><param name="Profile" value="0"><param name="ProfileAddress" value=""><param name="ProfilePort" value="0"><param name="AllowNetworking" value="all"><param name="AllowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.dropshots.com/dropshots.swf?p=1&u=http://media4.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20081031/173437.flv&r=1&l=http://www.dropshots.com/guatemom#date/2008-10-31/17:34:37&d=1" wmode="transparent" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="sameDomain" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="381"></embed></object><br /></center><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMjY1MzU2NjQyODkmcHQ9MTIyNjUzNTY3NDgwOSZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jmc9MSZ*PSZvPTY3MGQ3NmIzNmQxMzRmYjFiYTNmNWYzMjZmZGQxMTUw.gif" width="0" border="0" />Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00777368092602374814noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26763941.post-5383576899308001092008-10-19T19:50:00.002-05:002008-11-11T20:30:28.659-06:00Pumpkin Patch PicturesEvvy took two trips to the pumpkin patch this year. She went once with her babysitter and friend G. We then went with our GAP (Guatemala Adoptive Parents) group. Evvy loves being outside and running free that is for sure. She keeps me on my toes for sure. I thought she was going to trample the poor corn maze. It was gorgeous weather the day we went together with our GAP group and P & her kids.<br /><br /><br /><br />Here are some pictures of the two trips.<br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="center">Corn Maze<br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguuSg-lYYyIrif_ORjiLk9z6XlDjTE8SUPKEFx1Oa9nRTatyPUxXBKMAfN6Q2G9ACI4ZLVbKZrJVFNYKf1RbtZ2ViGs0v1PkSHiOu2F2k2Nx6W5TgbzhQVSrCAEFKxbCcuJJ_W/s1600-h/101908+Corn+Maze+(1).JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267588420329537282" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguuSg-lYYyIrif_ORjiLk9z6XlDjTE8SUPKEFx1Oa9nRTatyPUxXBKMAfN6Q2G9ACI4ZLVbKZrJVFNYKf1RbtZ2ViGs0v1PkSHiOu2F2k2Nx6W5TgbzhQVSrCAEFKxbCcuJJ_W/s320/101908+Corn+Maze+(1).JPG" border="0" /> <p align="center"></a>Wild Child<br /></p><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc1FqkhCh1ORJ2_nHxlUUiNIT95stj-96lVOUGNfF8ex52z6YH9Tuw1PoMbW7ARduBMVNZ7N8YdI8SWRUOVP0677EqeubPtx7k8KcTt0JX_L3uS9i4UrCWTfyinItl34GOhUWd/s1600-h/101908+Corn+Maze+(6).JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267588418411028418" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc1FqkhCh1ORJ2_nHxlUUiNIT95stj-96lVOUGNfF8ex52z6YH9Tuw1PoMbW7ARduBMVNZ7N8YdI8SWRUOVP0677EqeubPtx7k8KcTt0JX_L3uS9i4UrCWTfyinItl34GOhUWd/s320/101908+Corn+Maze+(6).JPG" border="0" /></a><br />So Innocent (NOT!)<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw0JQeHzgRFubsnfBytyfIl23x7D3RS3aaRps3wyFnhfOQIn5K5i8jMlX3ZZ7MVu4NZOyTyuFhgnmo7otAlXqccLTRAnHCfyqSXKjhZ9EFAld0n-WAbnDqAyLh4ucExJD9U9yy/s1600-h/101908+Corn+Maze+(7).JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267588401828737970" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw0JQeHzgRFubsnfBytyfIl23x7D3RS3aaRps3wyFnhfOQIn5K5i8jMlX3ZZ7MVu4NZOyTyuFhgnmo7otAlXqccLTRAnHCfyqSXKjhZ9EFAld0n-WAbnDqAyLh4ucExJD9U9yy/s320/101908+Corn+Maze+(7).JPG" border="0" /></a> Gymnastics in her future?<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_2pQxzylRJHZEEPbCswycu_4sP_dxlxxROfJEKFSAS99MWFTBzoMgxiM8OFV2HZzBk6_zSWIrpVvuKJIckOqmdXKE4VaJbmqdEHwSFmDnhqUod5TnGkfHI5-E2nSGq_c3b1LM/s1600-h/101908+Pumpking+Patch+(6).JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267588391088376738" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_2pQxzylRJHZEEPbCswycu_4sP_dxlxxROfJEKFSAS99MWFTBzoMgxiM8OFV2HZzBk6_zSWIrpVvuKJIckOqmdXKE4VaJbmqdEHwSFmDnhqUod5TnGkfHI5-E2nSGq_c3b1LM/s320/101908+Pumpking+Patch+(6).JPG" border="0" /></a> My pumpkin<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikFskQmQQg_k9j4NtVkiXHOtmsbUH1in1fOx0T5UbyNsdQ4fQlaRv3lYDp6WfSLrO9TfllWlaUzY5v2QcfVQL291MVD5C2ZwTm-IhdFj-2kTOYsw-33VPSB5dLU2RPqow-PqaP/s1600-h/101008+Pumpkin+Patch+(6).jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267588383611180978" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikFskQmQQg_k9j4NtVkiXHOtmsbUH1in1fOx0T5UbyNsdQ4fQlaRv3lYDp6WfSLrO9TfllWlaUzY5v2QcfVQL291MVD5C2ZwTm-IhdFj-2kTOYsw-33VPSB5dLU2RPqow-PqaP/s320/101008+Pumpkin+Patch+(6).jpg" border="0" /></a> </div></div><br /></div>Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00777368092602374814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26763941.post-59527948539221421672008-10-13T21:07:00.004-05:002008-10-13T21:31:16.429-05:00I Made a Circle!<div align="left">Miss E was enjoying her supper tonight (ham, sweet potatoes and green beans) but she was about done with what she was going to eat so she was getting a little bit silly. She was kind of "stirring her food" around the plate and I was about to ask her to please be neat and not spill her food off the plate when she exclaims "Look mommy, I made a circle!" I look down and sure enough she had spun her food around the outside of the plate and it was indeed it was a circle. How can you get upset at that? Then she proceeds to mix a little more and says, "I made an oval." OK that one was a little bit of a stretch of the imagination. I happened to have the camera on the table so of course I took a picture of her first real circles.<br /><br /><br /></div><p align="left">Cheesy Face<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge73BiXwMsNrLL58YAdWsWrdc6s8h4t-TOHeADqYusMwKFpTInu4vCoLQK66exVn2olvlM5ovaXg-l3zOjNe6T5O1MsAM2rEvtqBF7DmFvnAGjzJ1uafuA7OE4f-QY3vSKw_4t/s1600-h/101308+I+Made+a+Circle+(1).JPG"></a><br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHdoyT1kkHJiZdSBIsw_eiQXjQKm9OYrzqACb7hAyha-5oachg7hTtMnZDSJ09ZPI1xXOkVqb6sdPJgRw2DZC67zH-aYkv_FhRth4NaVJmkcRDKTEsdkzttLqfZjThaXMRr6p4/s1600-h/101308+I+Made+a+Circle+(2).JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5256830417498597986" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHdoyT1kkHJiZdSBIsw_eiQXjQKm9OYrzqACb7hAyha-5oachg7hTtMnZDSJ09ZPI1xXOkVqb6sdPJgRw2DZC67zH-aYkv_FhRth4NaVJmkcRDKTEsdkzttLqfZjThaXMRr6p4/s320/101308+I+Made+a+Circle+(2).JPG" border="0" /></a> I made a circle!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtANbmodDiXcuBpzOM54XIebJTFVDwbduRTmPjnpC5sAFxs1wswBR6qHNRrYGvN-Qipkaj0n1XYFGrxNtv-A70dxR2r_XNMmc-4itDWTXMfOTzoraZ3I2-tqkW0JCI6tSeYHXn/s1600-h/101308+I+Made+a+Circle+(3).JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5256830421022648562" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtANbmodDiXcuBpzOM54XIebJTFVDwbduRTmPjnpC5sAFxs1wswBR6qHNRrYGvN-Qipkaj0n1XYFGrxNtv-A70dxR2r_XNMmc-4itDWTXMfOTzoraZ3I2-tqkW0JCI6tSeYHXn/s320/101308+I+Made+a+Circle+(3).JPG" border="0" /></a><br />She is really becoming quite the chatterbox. I need to keep track of some of the things she says. She had a 7 word totally grammatically correct sentence the other night when we were out walking (subject, verb, object, indirect object and I think some prepositions thrown in there). I was stunned but for the life of me can't remember what she said now or even by the time we got home.<br /><br />Some of her funny phrases lately:<br /><ul><br /><li>Good idea mommy! (after I have suggested we/she do something)</li><br /><li>I chilly mommy! (used to be "I cold")</li><br /><li>It very dark outside, I go night night now (mommy's loving this one and using it as an opportunity to move bedtime up a little bit).</li><br /><li>Where's the luna (moon in spanish)? Today I told her it was raining and cloudy and she responded "the luna is behind the clouds."</li><br /><li>My favorite "I lub you mommy!"</li></ul><br /><p>She is also into emotions. "I scared" "I sad" "I happy". Tonight when we were doing bedtime, she was trying to stall a bit after I told her no more stories (we are doing longer stories now so fewer overall books). She told me "mommy, I sad" and pouts her lips. I kiss her and she gets all giggly. She did this several times and then I said "mommy's sad" and she gave me bunches of kisses. It was very sweet.</p><p>Thankfully, she has started sleeping much better lately which is WONDERFUL for mommy. Not sure if it is the change in her babysitting routine or not. She is having a lot of fun playing with her friend Gabby every day and today they started doing their pre-school lessons. Evvy brought home her picture and put it up on the fridge with her magnets. They are learning about "calves" this week. </p><p>Hopefully I will get some more blogging done this week with the rainy weather.</p><br /><p></p>Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00777368092602374814noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26763941.post-11914755233766187272008-10-12T21:47:00.004-05:002008-10-12T22:10:33.603-05:00My little pumpkin!Don't know where the time has gone. I was shocked that my last post was in August. September flew by. We had an unexpected extended visit from Grandma & Grandpa courtesy of one of those pesky hurricanes that hit their area of TX. Thankfully they had no damage to their house but some of the surrounding towns had a lot of flooding and damage (5' of water in their houses). Evvy loved spending time with both of them (Grandpa went back home for a week to help out with cleanup but then came back and spent 3 days with Evvy. She had a great time going to an apple orchard, riding in a "corn tractor" and riding in Grandpa's airplane (they didn't actually go flying, just taxing across the airport. She was thrilled though. Everytime she sees or hears an airplane overhead, she says "granpa?"<br /><br />Evvy started going to a different babysitter this week and seems to be really enjoying the change in pace and surroundings. She is with another little girl about 6 months younger than her and another little boy that comes a couple of times a week. On Friday, they went to the pumpkin patch and had a great time. Each child got to pick a pumpkin and they had some that were just the right size for little kids. Evvy has been carrying hers around the house all weekend.<br /><br />Here are a few pictures from this week. I have a lot more that I need to get off the camera and maybe I will get caught up on blogging :)<br /><br />Enjoy!<br />Susan<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgof0iCFxEr9DQJFdWYUV2nmbtPpSwaHkzoWp01fwx1XW5E63L-RJCRTCtrXzqJc1_72nZsTMruoN6IvyXsUZfAQQX7Va6z5QNjmO8wGgUdqhNhyOy1GymL5b1-vcC_S5fn48Q7/s1600-h/101008+Pumpkin+Patch-012.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5256469277653562658" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgof0iCFxEr9DQJFdWYUV2nmbtPpSwaHkzoWp01fwx1XW5E63L-RJCRTCtrXzqJc1_72nZsTMruoN6IvyXsUZfAQQX7Va6z5QNjmO8wGgUdqhNhyOy1GymL5b1-vcC_S5fn48Q7/s320/101008+Pumpkin+Patch-012.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDt5u2L4UAXbjaegZZR4kABnyF_KYMFCZE2yEt3DWKtbRwDOhCZZV58Na_n25ex8135LFFyXnFO5yGbrGTG6JihYiqWx2CNHMwFlWPBG9m_H-lFpHuZzIjft8PwezG4HNhHuq_/s1600-h/101008+Pumpkin+Patch-002.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5256469280962624242" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDt5u2L4UAXbjaegZZR4kABnyF_KYMFCZE2yEt3DWKtbRwDOhCZZV58Na_n25ex8135LFFyXnFO5yGbrGTG6JihYiqWx2CNHMwFlWPBG9m_H-lFpHuZzIjft8PwezG4HNhHuq_/s320/101008+Pumpkin+Patch-002.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdn6Iq9kwa8xdCjqOrGwjNXZ_OGBUSdN0esE9gLxecOOZlJvnkvbbgxgGT821O5YYP9WjA6jqYpc7ljaxI4NrgIsDKpeSDDyJneh0tzZnlb46awrJRUbcQM5SoQHja-vr5n5tx/s1600-h/101008+Pumpkin+Patch-008.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5256469287688661762" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdn6Iq9kwa8xdCjqOrGwjNXZ_OGBUSdN0esE9gLxecOOZlJvnkvbbgxgGT821O5YYP9WjA6jqYpc7ljaxI4NrgIsDKpeSDDyJneh0tzZnlb46awrJRUbcQM5SoQHja-vr5n5tx/s320/101008+Pumpkin+Patch-008.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwEDbZXLz1UV09Nzh8QSh3W4R5OuiQ1uLsuEf018ryuUOaDqSctODgYgDmLhW1-xCVrb0qUPnpHGK07UJeed6a_pttSE4B7NNHSXGJX8obiGSx5GCZYN6hrZhf0AjkyZPuoiFz/s1600-h/101008+Pumpkin+Patch-007.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5256469297531379666" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwEDbZXLz1UV09Nzh8QSh3W4R5OuiQ1uLsuEf018ryuUOaDqSctODgYgDmLhW1-xCVrb0qUPnpHGK07UJeed6a_pttSE4B7NNHSXGJX8obiGSx5GCZYN6hrZhf0AjkyZPuoiFz/s320/101008+Pumpkin+Patch-007.jpg" border="0" /></a>Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00777368092602374814noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26763941.post-18242256574085145102008-08-23T22:15:00.003-05:002009-09-05T22:24:42.779-05:00Where did my baby girl go?Every day I keep finding myself asking, "where has my baby gone?" She took another step towards little girlhood last night by starting to sleep in a "big girl" (toddler) bed. Her BFF got a real big girl bed (twin) for her 4th birthday so Evvy became the recipient of her toddler bed. She slept in it for about 1/2 the night last night and then decided to go back into her crib (2am). So I thought that I would just put the little bed in a corner of the room and wait til she was ready to try it again. I stacked her basket of babies and stuffed animals on it and put the mattress back in her crib. Well tonight after story time, she was trying to pull the basket of babies off of the little bed. I asked if she wanted to sleep in the crib or her big girl bed and she chose the big girl bed. So I took the basket off and put the mattress back on it. I then made a big deal about putting her quilt from grandma on it (just the right size for her toddler bed mom) then her other two blankies that she always sleeps with. I then tucked her in and we read one more book and she cuddled in to go to sleep. So far so good.<br /><br />Last night we went to the mall and had Chinese food (I think this is Evvy's favorite cause she LOVES rice) and to ride the merry go round and just play. We were supposed to have a little friend over to be babysat but she got sick so we changed our plans on the fly. While we were at the mall, I decided to give Build a Bear a try again. I don't think I posted this before but Evvy got a gift card from her BFF for her birthday back in June. So we went back in June to choose an animal. We went through the process of choosing it and getting it stuffed and then Evvy decided she didn't want to bring it home. Their were tears and everything. The staff was very nice and said that it does happen sometimes and that we didn't have to buy it and take it home. So I was a little worried of a repeat of this scenario. We looked at all the animals and she finally decided on the Elephant. She loves elephants and has a little one at home from Christmas last year. I asked her if she wanted to take the elephant home and she said she did. She then proceeded to walk out of the store with her non-stuffed elephant. I told her we had to get him stuffed and she started crying. I finally used a little child psychology on her and told her that elephant was hungry and we needed to fill his tummy full. She thought that was a good idea and so we went to the stuffing station. We listened to several of the different sounds that you can put in your animal and decided the elephant sound was a bit loud. When I pressed the button for the Brahams lullaby, she laid down on the floor and said night night :) I said, "we'll take that one!" She chose which hand to put the song in and then she stepped on the peddle to stuff the elephant. Last time we tried, she wouldn't step on the peddle. She then got a heart, kissed it and put it in the bear. We then went to the "bath station." She gave her bear and air bath (stepped on the peddle and it blows air out of the shower spouts). She then brushed elephant and was very pleased with herself. She didn't want to put the elephant in the box so mommy carried the box and Evvy carried her elephant around the mall. It was really quite sweet and she had the biggest smile. Sorry I didn't have my camera cause it wasn't a planned trip.<br /><br />We then ate and went to the Merry Go Round. She kept saying "Mary Poppins" cause she loves that movie and the scene where the horses jump off the Merry Go Round. She had a little temper tantrum when our turn was over. I just moved her out of the way of the other people exiting and let her have her tantrum. I stood a few feet away from her and just ignored her. Surprisingly, I think it worked. She got over it and then got up and went to the play area to run and climb on the toys.<br /><br />I just marvel at how quickly she changes. I can't believe the summer is almost over. I am a little sad about it. We had a great summer of swimming and playing in the sun and playing with our friends. She has changed in front of my eyes this summer. My baby is gone and I now have a little girl. Makes me a little sad.<br /><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"></a></center><br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"></a></center><img style="WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px; VISIBILITY: hidden" border="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMTk1NDg5MjI1NDYmcHQ9MTIxOTU*ODkyNTE1NiZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jm49Jmc9MQ==.gif" width="0" height="0" />Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00777368092602374814noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26763941.post-40085550828131029272008-08-19T21:30:00.001-05:002008-08-20T18:24:43.458-05:00We had an AWESOME weekend!<div align="left">I took a day off of work on Friday so that Evvy and I could head down to the 2nd annual MOGUATE weekend at the lake. There were close to 100 people this year which was about double over last year. We met so many wonderful families and saw so many wonderful children who were all adopted from Guatemala.<br /><br />At the end of this post, I will embed a photoshow of our weekend. Here are a couple of my favorite pictures. In the restaurant where we ate breakfast, there are tons of stuffed animals including bears. Last year when Evvy was still pretty small (not walking yet) I posed her with a bear. I decided that this will be where I take her picture every year to show how much she has changed. </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">You will also notice the new profile picture. The organizer of the event is a fantastic photographer also and was gracious enough to take family pictures of everyone that wanted them. Evvy and I both were wearing Guatemalan clothes (just the top for me). The outfit that Evvy is wearing is one that I bought for her in Antigua when I went down to visit her when she was 5 months old. A good friend gave her the headband for her birthday this year. Thank you Cindy for the great picture!<br /><br />So here is last year:<br /><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media4.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20070826/100435.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a><br /></div><center><u><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:7;color:#0066cc;"></span></u></center><p></p><p>And here is this year:<img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMTkxOTg3OTgxMTYmcHQ9MTIxOTE5ODgwMzUzMCZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jm49Jmc9MQ==.gif" width="0" border="0" /><br /><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media3.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20080816/094800.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a></p><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMTkxOTg5MjQxNTkmcHQ9MTIxOTE5ODkyODM4NyZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jm49Jmc9MQ==.gif" width="0" border="0" /><br /><br />Here is the photoshow of our weekend.<br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="267" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fmoguatemom%2Falbumid%2F5236399339316027825%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss%26authkey%3DQoEqY9mycDs" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00777368092602374814noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26763941.post-86788450357445007902008-08-19T21:26:00.002-05:002008-08-19T21:29:57.027-05:00My little swimmerEvvy LOVES to swim. She had a great time this past weekend swimming in the pool. She also discovered the Hot Tub which she really liked also. She even got daring and went down a big slide on my lap. It was probably scarier for me than her cause I had to make sure she didn't get sucked under the water when we hit.<br /><br />Here are a couple of videos of Evvy "swimming."<br /><br /><center><object codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=" height="381" width="425" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000"><param name="_cx" value="11245"><param name="_cy" value="10081"><param name="FlashVars" value=""><param name="Movie" value="http://www.dropshots.com/dropshots.swf?p=1&u=http://media4.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20080817/124042.flv&l=http://www.dropshots.com/guatemom#date/2008-08-17/12:40:42&d=1"><param name="Src" value="http://www.dropshots.com/dropshots.swf?p=1&u=http://media4.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20080817/124042.flv&l=http://www.dropshots.com/guatemom#date/2008-08-17/12:40:42&d=1"><param name="WMode" value="Transparent"><param name="Play" value="-1"><param name="Loop" value="-1"><param name="Quality" value="High"><param name="SAlign" value=""><param name="Menu" value="-1"><param name="Base" value=""><param name="AllowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain"><param name="Scale" value="ShowAll"><param name="DeviceFont" value="0"><param name="EmbedMovie" value="0"><param name="BGColor" value=""><param name="SWRemote" value=""><param name="MovieData" value=""><param name="SeamlessTabbing" value="1"><param name="Profile" value="0"><param name="ProfileAddress" value=""><param name="ProfilePort" value="0"><param name="AllowNetworking" value="all"><param name="AllowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.dropshots.com/dropshots.swf?p=1&u=http://media4.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20080817/124042.flv&l=http://www.dropshots.com/guatemom#date/2008-08-17/12:40:42&d=1" wmode="transparent" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="sameDomain" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="381"></embed></object></center><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMTkxOTkzMDY4NzAmcHQ9MTIxOTE5OTMxMDE5MyZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jm49Jmc9MQ==.gif" width="0" border="0" /><br /><br /><center><object codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=" height="381" width="425" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000"><param name="_cx" value="11245"><param name="_cy" value="10081"><param name="FlashVars" value=""><param name="Movie" value="http://www.dropshots.com/dropshots.swf?p=1&u=http://media3.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20080817/124209.flv&l=http://www.dropshots.com/guatemom#date/2008-08-17/12:42:09&d=1"><param name="Src" value="http://www.dropshots.com/dropshots.swf?p=1&u=http://media3.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20080817/124209.flv&l=http://www.dropshots.com/guatemom#date/2008-08-17/12:42:09&d=1"><param name="WMode" value="Transparent"><param name="Play" value="-1"><param name="Loop" value="-1"><param name="Quality" value="High"><param name="SAlign" value=""><param name="Menu" value="-1"><param name="Base" value=""><param name="AllowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain"><param name="Scale" value="ShowAll"><param name="DeviceFont" value="0"><param name="EmbedMovie" value="0"><param name="BGColor" value=""><param name="SWRemote" value=""><param name="MovieData" value=""><param name="SeamlessTabbing" value="1"><param name="Profile" value="0"><param name="ProfileAddress" value=""><param name="ProfilePort" value="0"><param name="AllowNetworking" value="all"><param name="AllowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.dropshots.com/dropshots.swf?p=1&u=http://media3.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20080817/124209.flv&l=http://www.dropshots.com/guatemom#date/2008-08-17/12:42:09&d=1" wmode="transparent" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="sameDomain" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="381"></embed></object></center><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMTkxOTkzMjk4ODImcHQ9MTIxOTE5OTMzMjQ5MyZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jm49Jmc9MQ==.gif" width="0" border="0" />Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00777368092602374814noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26763941.post-66975480222875333922008-07-30T21:38:00.003-05:002008-07-30T21:56:03.892-05:00Camping with a 2 year old!Not as bad as it might sound. Much better than I expected.<br /><br />Our parks & rec department put on "an itty bitty campout" for children under 7. We signed up and were joined by 2 other 2 year olds, a 3 year old and a 5 year old. We setup camp about 6:00'ish. Evvy thought the tent and air mattress were neat. She immediately knew that the fire was HOT and steared clear of it.<br /><br />We roasted hot dogs, marshmellows and made s'mores. The kids did a small craft (scrapbook page to put a picture on) and then were visited by Sally the Turtle who talked about turtles. The little kids weren't so interested in that but the 5 year old had lots of questions and answers. Evvy really enjoyed picking up rocks and throwing them over a little bridge and hearing them clatter on the rocks below. Before bed, we took a short hike to the restrooms. Then it was bedtime. Evvy surprisingly went to sleep pretty easily. It was warm but not unbearable. She rolled all over the air mattress all night long. I didn't sleep very well due to the rolling and also my back was hurting me. I then woke up super early with a need to go potty. It was a bit of a hike to the bathrooms and Evvy woke up while I was putting my shoes on. She wouldn't go back to sleep so I got to carry her up a hill with me.<br /><br />In the morning we had breakfast and then closed up camp. We were home by about 9:30 (we woke up around 5:30 I think--before the sun was fully up). Evvy and I went back to bed and slept for 2 hours and then got up feeling much better.<br /><br />Here are a few pictures from our first camping trip. Oh yeah, we also got our pictures in the newspaper. We are famous!<br /><br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media5.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20080719/070358.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></center><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media4.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20080718/183814.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a></center><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMTc*NzI3MzMxODkmcHQ9MTIxNzQ3MjczOTk2OCZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jm49Jmc9MQ==.gif" width="0" border="0" /><br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media3.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20080718/190845.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a></center><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMTc*NzI3NTExOTMmcHQ9MTIxNzQ3Mjc1NDAyMyZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jm49Jmc9MQ==.gif" width="0" border="0" /><br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media4.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20080718/201916.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a></center><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMTc*NzI4MDY3MDkmcHQ9MTIxNzQ3MjgxMDE2NiZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jm49Jmc9MQ==.gif" width="0" border="0" /><br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media5.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20080718/202241.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a></center><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMTc*NzI4MTk1NTImcHQ9MTIxNzQ3MjgyMjE5MyZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jm49Jmc9MQ==.gif" width="0" border="0" /><br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media3.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20080719/071430.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a></center><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMTc*NzI4MzY*NTkmcHQ9MTIxNzQ3MjgzODQxMCZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jm49Jmc9MQ==.gif" width="0" border="0" /><br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media3.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20080719/074904.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a></center><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMTc*NzI4NTE5MTQmcHQ9MTIxNzQ3Mjg1NDA5MSZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jm49Jmc9MQ==.gif" width="0" border="0" /><br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media4.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20080719/075145.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a></center><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMTc*NzI4NjU*NTEmcHQ9MTIxNzQ3Mjg2ODMxOSZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jm49Jmc9MQ==.gif" width="0" border="0" /><br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.dropshots.com/" target="_top"><img style="-MS-INTERPOLATION-MODE: bicubic" src="http://media3.dropshots.com/photos/504252/20080719/075423.jpg" width="425" border="0" /></a></center><img style="VISIBILITY: hidden; WIDTH: 0px; HEIGHT: 0px" height="0" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMTc*NzI4ODE4MDgmcHQ9MTIxNzQ3Mjg4Mzg3NSZwPTEyNTIxJmQ9Jm49Jmc9MQ==.gif" width="0" border="0" />Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00777368092602374814noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26763941.post-76718459284492380002008-07-30T21:37:00.000-05:002008-07-30T21:38:05.168-05:00<p align="center"><a href="http://www.strangegirl.com/emma/quiz.php" target="_blank"><img height="300" alt="I am Elinor Dashwood!" src="http://www.strangegirl.com/emma/quizelinor.jpg" width="200" /><br /><br /><br />Take the Quiz here!</a></p>Susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00777368092602374814noreply@blogger.com0