Christmas 2009

Well Christmas has come and gone and with it plenty of exciting things have been keeping us busy. We found out that we're having another baby girl just before Christmas!! Many may know that I really thought it was going to be a boy this time around and I'm still adjusting to the idea. I am very excited that Maya is going to have a sister to be her companion throughout her life but at the same time I really just thought this was going to be a boy :-) The standard response from most people has been, "Well you can always try again". And now we feel the dilemma of every person that has two (or more) kids of the same sex. Luckily for us that decision is a couple years down the road! We actually have quite a bit of work to do at the house shuffling rooms around and buying furniture so I think it'll be a busy spring and May will be here before I'm ready for it. I'm just about halfway through this pregnancy and the time has gone by pretty quickly I suppose, it helps that I'm feeling better these days.

And now on to Christmas and such. Here we are making our gingerbread house and a little video of Maya helping make some Christmas cookies.

We had a really nice Christmas (especially Maya) and we actually got a few inches of snow on Christmas Eve! It was a real treat especially because it melted the next day...lol. Maya was definitely into Santa Claus this year which made it pretty cool that she finally understands how the whole thing works. Here are some pictures and also a link to a video on photobucket for those who want to see Maya opening presents.

Playing in the snow on Christmas Eve...

Maya and her Barbie car from Santa...

Maya and Michael on Christmas...

There is no doubt that our daughter is 100% all girl!

And lastly here is a link to a video of Maya opening and playing with some of her presents. We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

The holidays are upon us

This time of year is definitely my favorite, I love all the decorations and parties and shopping and food and music and... ok so I love it all, I did say it was my favorite :-) I am so thankful this year for so many things. There are always things in life that we tend to focus on and complain about but when I look at the grand scheme of things I am so grateful and happy to have this life. We may not always like our jobs and we may not always feel like we have enough money or things but I also know that we are very lucky to have jobs, a home, our health and a loving family and we should not take these things for granted. We are anxiously looking ahead to our new addition next year but I am also trying to savor this time with just the 3 of us. Here's the first good picture of our newest addition - we will find out what we are having in 2 weeks so stay tuned! I'm sure I'll be in full baby mode after the new year...



We are getting into full swing for Christmas around the house. We bought new outdoor Christmas lights this year and had a bit of a 'Griswold' moment but they are now up and running after much perseverance. We already have Christmas parties starting this coming weekend and the weekends are all looking pretty full through New Years. We will have to squeeze in some time for cookie baking, shopping and napping on those weekends!


And lastly, we have princess and ballerina activities going on at our house on a daily basis. Here is a lovely picture of Maya and daddy dressed as princesses, and a super cute video of her dancing. Enjoy!

And so October comes to an end...

My gosh where has the year gone, is it really November? Are people really already asking for Christmas ideas!? It seems that the year has gone so quickly but at the same time so many amazing things have happened this year. We were in Napa Valley 6 months ago, we had a very full summer and fall with visitors and activities and we have a crazy 3 year old running around and now here we are in November and we are expecting another baby!! Surprise! :-) I am due on May 24th and we are very excited! I'm very glad the 1st trimester is just about done, only a few days left and I'm starting to get some energy back and start to feel normal again. We will be finding out what we are having in mid-December so I can start to plan and decorate and clean out rooms and closets. Good news is I have literally saved every single baby item that we bought for Maya. Bad news is I now have to sort through them all instead of being able to go buy new things. LOL. Maya is in the stage right now where she LOVES babies so I just know she is going to be the best big sister ever! Here's one of my first baby bump pictures, I didn't take many pictures last time so I'm trying to do better this time around. This was taken today, I've had to tell my co-workers the news already as you can see I can't hide it anymore!

Maya was a butterfly (Barbie Mariposa to be specific) for Halloween. Here are some adorable pictures of her. We had alot of fun this year carving the pumpkin (well dad carved the pumpkin while Maya helped me make pumpkin cookies which she wouldn't even eat) and of course she loved trick or treating. I can't wait for the holidays this year, it's going to be alot of fun :-)

Off to the Pumpkin Patch we go!!

Grandpa Bennett is in town and we are having so much fun! Yesterday we went to a pumpkin patch and got nice and muddy - Maya had a pony ride, picked out a pumpkin and we went on a hayride. And to top off the day the Cowboys somehow miraculously won! Here are some pictures and video of our fun day!

http://s205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/kbennett79/?action=view&current=PumpkinPatch101109.flv

And here's just a little around the house fun - we let Maya try on her Halloween costume one time and it's been hidden ever since :-) We can't wait for Halloween!

Hawaii and dancing Maya

Well I did so good in the month of August with my blog and I did awful in September! I do have excuses if you want to hear them all :-) Going to Hawaii for a week is sooo hard. lol

The trip was wonderful of course! Can't imagine a trip to Hawaii that isn't breathtaking. It isn't until I get to paradise that I realize I really love it there and I start to daydream about ways to move there. Someday we won't live in Ft Worth, I think we can promise you that much, although Hawaii is probably a stretch. Had alot of fun with Ang and Mom and we didn't even kill each other or anything. Ang and I had a blast snuba diving and going snorkeling by our hotel. We did a good job of splitting up our relaxing time with our activity time although on that last day I think we all wanted one more day of relaxing before heading home! Thank you SOO much Mom for the wonderful vacation!! Here are just a few pictures...

Since I have been back life has been pretty busy. I had a training class for work and then this week I'm back at work after being out for two weeks...fun week, ha yeah right. Chris has been sick all week so I've had solo time to watch some chick TV, try to finish the 4th Twilight book, and had lots of Mommy time with Maya. Thursday we got out our fall decorations - Maya is definitely ready for Halloween, too bad it's still a month away! We will either have a princess or a ballerina, depends on the day but at some point we'll probably just pick one for her cause she keeps changing her mind. We are ready for fall in our house for sure.

And last but not least, while I was gone in Hawaii Maya decided with the good influence of her cousin Michael that dancing was finally fun - check out this super cute video! Great blackmail material someday, I know...

Weekend at home

The weather is finally NICE outside! We were able to go to the park and play outside for the first time in months so here are some new pictures and a video link from Maya's swim class (also see my previous swim post with video).
http://s89.photobucket.com/albums/k223/kamikazecrashing/?action=view&current=MayaVideoAugust2009.flv

Maya is just getting so big! I talked to my mom yesterday and she was saying that she really missed Maya and I realized it's been 6 weeks since she saw her - I was trying to think of all the new things Maya has been doing that she has missed. I guess there haven't been any huge changes but I just thought about how big she is getting - like remembering things that we tell her from one day to the next, being WAY to big for me to bundle up after her bath and cuddle, wanting to help me cook dinner every day which is so cute except for the day that she got her first blister from touching the hot stove (ouch!) or telling me she wants two cookies as a snack instead of the one cookie that she has been perfectly content with for the last year.

Chris and I got to go to the new Cowboys Sadium this weekend - it was SWEEET! It was unbelievably large - we couldn't even tell where the ball was at from our nosebleed seats so we watched the game on the massive screen which seemed like a silly way to watch the game. But we walked around alot before the game - Chris was joking that it would take 5 escalators to get up to our seats but it really did take 5 escalators it was crazy! My $14 margarita and $10 popcorn were yummy and we had fun nonetheless.

I am prepped and ready for my vacation with mom and Ang next week! House is cleaned - I just need to pack and spend lots of time with Chris and Maya before I leave. Oh yeah - and I need to finish reading New Moon so I can take Eclipse with me on my trip. I am so obsessed with reading these Twilight books!! Beach and umbrella drinks here we come!

Ramblings...

It seems this blog has become just updates on the family and activities recently and less of my rambling, so I thought I would ramble for an entry. The month of August has actually been pretty boring around our house. We have kept busy with normal weekend stuff, but we haven't had any visitors, haven't gone on vacations, and don't have any big events. It seems life definitely revolves around these things (and potty training as the case may be).

So this past Friday was a very nice surprise, Chris came and took me to lunch and he bought me the Twilight series to read on my trip. He also had flowers waiting when I got home along with a bottle of wine - this is a good man I tell you. Just as I thought, I'm having a hard time putting the book down. I want to get through the 1st one before my trip so I can take the 2nd one with me.

I am going to Hawaii with my mom and sister in 2 weeks and I am really excited! It was kind of a last minute deal that I am getting to tag along on the trip and I can't wait. I'm the only one of us that has been there before but I will be happy to lay by the pool and beach just the same. Hope mom is ready for some snorkeling and luau!! I know Chris and Maya will do just fine without me although I'm sure I'll miss them like crazy. He keeps telling her that I'm going to the beach with Grandma Maureen and Aunt Gigi and she just keeps saying 'But what about me??' LOL! I think she will get plenty of McDonald's and going to the park, and will probably get to see Grandma Bennett, Tammy and Michael as well.

I'm having a hard time finding time to finish up my pictures project I mentioned a few months ago. I really do need to get some motivation and get it wrapped up since I'm so close now. It just seems that when there is the opportunity I would rather snuggle on the couch and watch Big Brother, read a book, take a nap, work on HOA board stuff, etc, etc. Ah yes you heard me correctly, somehow I got roped into being on the board of our HOA. It doesn't take up too much time but it's still something else that I need to do in my spare time.

Lastly a potty training update, Maya is back to her pre-discipline potty training status - we have some days where there are no accidents and she gets a small prize and lots of praise, but there are more days than not where she will have a small accident. And she still isn't telling us she has to go even though I'm trying to bribe her with presents telling her she can get a present every time she tells us she has to potty. At least things are back to 'normal' and less out of control so I think we are good to just wait for her to be ready.

Until next time...