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...

Maya graduates swim class

Well summer must be coming to an end, because our 10 week swim lessons on Saturday mornings have come to an end! Maya can now swim 5 feet and hold her breath for 10 seconds. She's really swimming in this video - pretty impressive!

Potty Training Saga - a diary of non-progress

We have a power struggle going on in our house. Maya vs. the mean potty training parents. How can we be losing this battle to a 3 year old!? Looking back I think we've made some mistakes in our efforts (we're now probably 6 months into this thing). And so in my efforts to figure out the secret, I have to tell the saga...

Maya started to wear pullups when she turned 2, and when we tried to get serious about potty training shortly after she turned 2 1/2 she completely refused to wear the princess panties that we bought. She would scream and cry when we tried to put them on her and she only wanted to wear pullups (mistake #1 -pullups!). So we would take her potty in her pullup. We told her she wasn't supposed to go in her pants and also we kept trying to get her to wear panties. Then on Fathers Day Chris asked if she wanted panties and she said YES out of the blue and she has been in them every since. We were excited but I was very nervous about her peeing in her panties because she did in her pullups all the time. Everyone just assured me that once she had a few accidents and had to sit in wet pants and got embarrassed that she would start telling us she had to go potty. So we had the princess panties but in addition I bought several packages of thicker 'training' panties so if she did pee it wouldn't make such a mess. Well she consistently had accidents just like she was wearing a diaper so we limped along since Father's Day like this - we would take her every hour and we bought candy for the bathrooms and she got candy every time she went potty. But she STILL wouldn't tell us she had to go potty. The only time she will tell us she has to go potty is when we are out in public and I know it's only because she thinks it's fun to go to the bathroom. Half the time she doesn't even go when I take her...grrr!

So she was doing ok, but she would still have accidents several times a week and still wouldn't tell us she had to go. We were frustrated and could tell that Ms. Diana our daycare provider was frustrated as well. So a couple weeks ago Ms. Diana started to put Maya in timeout if she had an accident and then we found that Maya was coming home from daycare in pullups!! NO!! Well we thought maybe consistency would do the trick, so last weekend for the first time ever, we put Maya in timeout when she peed her pants. Poor little thing just sat there and cried (sniff, sniff). Well this punishment idea definitely has not solved our problem (mistake #2). In fact she now pees her pants every day several times a day instead of before sometimes she would make it all day with no accidents, some days she would have a couple small accidents. So after complete failure I am forcing a switcharoo!!

My new plan started today because yesterday was my breaking point, but officially the plan starts tomorrow when we're at home. Plan details:

1) A "Maya's Potty Time" chart in the bathroom, handmade by yours truly. It even has purple glitter on it...ooooh ahhhh :-)

2) Markers and new stickers to mark on the chart for every success in the potty

3) No more timeouts or criticism about peeing in the panties

4) Taking her to the bathroom every 20-30 minutes for the next two days

5) A basket full of small toys that she will get to pick from at the end of the day if she has no accidents

6) A larger toy that she will know about and she will get if, I mean WHEN, she makes it a whole week with no accidents

Any wagering on my success??

Hot Springs vacation

Well we are back from our vacation to Hot Springs, AR and we are already full swing back into real life of working and chores...not much else going on (unfortunately). Hot Springs is about a 6 hour drive from here and it was a pleasant and relaxing vacation. We were kind of wondering what it would be like, and several people have asked about it - but it was a very nice place to go for a few days. We stayed at a condo on the lake which was fun and perfect for entertaining a 3 year old - Maya had her own room with a bunk bed and she liked the lake alot, she always wanted to feed the ducks.

We went on a 'duck' ride through town and to the lake. Those of you in the midwest that have been to Wisconsin Dells know what a 'duck' is. Maya LOVED it!

It rained the first couple days that we were there but we still managed to squeeze in some fun, went to the waterpark/amusement park on the one nice day. We all got a bit of a sunburn, we aren't used to 85 degrees and cloudy so we weren't very careful. This was the first time that Maya wanted to go on the kiddie rides...it sure was fun trying to squeeze on the rides with her!

And lastly, we finally got some pool/Sea World pictures from the summer, they are cute so thought I would share :-)

Maya Turns 3!!!

Well another month has passed and with it Maya's 3rd birthday has come and gone. Our little girl is getting SOO big! In the last month she decided that she wanted to start wearing big girl panties (on Fathers Day of all days, Chris says it was the best present ever!) and she has started to talk about new things - how everything is 'my favorite' and asking me 'mommy do you want to come to my birthday party?', on the opposite front she likes to say 'me neither' and 'that doesn't match' when I'm trying to get her to pick out her clothes every morning. She is a hoot! She will laugh out loud at America's Funniest Videos and of course 'her favorite' show Wow Wow Wubbzy.

She got so many wonderful birthday presents - thank you so much to everyone! We had a fun party on her birthday at the jump house with her friends and then yesterday we had a pool party at Great Aunt Karen's house which was tons of fun to celebrate again.

Our summer is still kicking along, next weekend is her cousin Noah's birthday party and the following week we are taking a family vacation to Hot Springs, Arkansas. We hear it is very pretty over there so we're looking forward to our condo on the lake - we'll go to the waterpark for sure and maybe rent a boat.

At my birthday party with Grandma Bennett and Aunt Tammy...

Driving around with my homegirls Jaidyn and Ellyse....

The birthday party kids (well most of them, this is as good as it got!)

Me and my Grandpa Pearson on my birthday...

One of my cool birthday presents...

And last but not least, check out some video from Maya's birthday party...

http://s89.photobucket.com/albums/k223/kamikazecrashing/?action=view&current=MayaJuly2009Edited.flv

She had issues blowing out the candles when under pressure at Aunt Karen's house :-)

http://s89.photobucket.com/albums/k223/kamikazecrashing/?action=view&current=BDayParty07112009.flv

The rest of Maya's birthday pictures can be viewed here...

http://s89.photobucket.com/albums/k223/kamikazecrashing/Maya%20Turns%20Three/?albumview=slideshow