Isa's First Date

The week before Valentine's Day Julie came home with a paper from a Methodist Church about a Father/Daughter dance. I thought it would be fun, but of course Makayla and Julie would be gone for the weekend. Ruben was out of town for the week which was usual, and we had other plans that night. When I told Ruben about it the day of the dance, he couldn't resist taking his little princess. She had really been missing her daddy. I got her all dressed up, fixed her hair, and painted her nails. Her daddy got her some flowers and came to the door to start their date. She was so excited!!! They left for their date, and she is her mother's daughter....a dancing queen!! Ruben said she danced and danced and danced. They only sat out about 4 songs in almost a 3 hour period!! She was tired and wanted to come home. Ruben told her we were going to get something to eat, all of us. She asked why they had to come pick up mommy and Alayna. It was he date and she wanted to go eat with Daddy!!

Extremely behind!!

OK so I'm really behind on updating the blog. I had prepared a New Year's update but then didn't finish it until tonight. So this covers us through the beginning of the year. There is of course more to add which I hope to add tonight or tomorrow.

Goodbye 2008…..Hello 2009

Alayna
It’s been an awesome year for all of us. Alayna started walking at the beginning of the year. IT seem like she went straight to running!! It’s been an effort keeping up with her ever since. Alayna celebrated her first birthday in April. We had a party at our neighborhood park. It was a carnival theme!! She has been growing like a weed!! She stopped nursing over the summer which was quite a relief to mommy. It had become more of a comfort thing instead of a necessity of food. She loves food, especially some good Mexican food, like Grandma’s beans and rice and some tortillas!!! We attended breakfast with Santa at Julie’s school and she wanted nothing to do with it, even with Mommy holding her nearby. Luckily Christmas Eve she sat in Santa’s lap without any issues.

Isa
Isa started pre-school in the summer at Building Rainbows. She absolutely LOVED it. She celebrated her 4th birthday with cookies with her friends at school. At home we had an ice cream party at Carvel. All the kids got to see how the cakes are made and each got to decorate their own personal ice cream cake to take home. In gymnastics she was selected to be in the Hot Shots class!! The preschool director hand picks the students and there are only a handful of classes. These kids are pushed a little harder and workout more and play less. The skills are more like the skills that Makayla and Julie are doing. They are all gymnastics ALL the time!! In the fall she started Mother’s Day Out at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, our church. She goes 2 ½ days a week and adores all of her teachers and has made lots of new friends!! Isa also started ballet/tap classes in the fall. She had her first show for Christmas and she was born for the stage!! This Christmas was especially fun for Isa. She understood what it was all about, the birth of baby Jesus. She enjoyed every minute of the entire season, even the SNOW!! It was only the second time it has snowed since she’s been born. Unfortunately the first time she was only 6 months old. This time she was with Grandma and Grandpa and was so excited about the snow!!!

Julie
Julie is enjoying her last year in elementary school. She has blossomed in her art!! She was enrolled in Art after school in both the spring and fall semesters. Academically she is still a whiz!! She has brought home numerous report cards with straight A’s. She rarely needs help with her homework and usually helps Makayla with the artwork on her projects. In gymnastics she was a Nova this year. At her winter competition she didn’t do so well, but she knows what she needs to focus on to help her the next time.

Makayla
Makayla excelled in her gymnastics as a level 6. She placed in the Gold division going into the state championships!! She was quite nervous about competing against the best of the best. She beat her teammate Kendall in a fluke so she was excited and scared at the same time. She knew she needed to step it up and so did we. We got her 2 private lessons a week so she could work and fine tune her weaknesses. It definitely paid off!! She placed 7th in the state of Texas in the GOLD division. Her personal best!!!! She was so excited!!!! She was also invited to participate in the Duke University TIP program. She got to take her SAT as a 7th grader!!! We are so very proud of her!!

Happy Anniversary!!!

Ruben and I celebrated our 6th anniversary this weekend!!! How time flies!!! The girls spent the weekend with Grandma Martha. Friday night she took Makayla and Julie to the Olympic Tour of champions. They had floor seats and Makayla squealed that she was never washing her hand again after Nastia Luikin slapped her hand, high fiving her leaving chalk on her hand. She was so excited. The next day Grandma took them all to Old McDonalds farm and to the movies. Isa road a pony all by herself and little Alayna wanted to go too so she rode with Julie. They all went to the movies and saw Beverly Hills Chihuhua. When they got back to Crosby Julie wanted a ride on Grandpa's new motorcycle. Well since she went Makayla couldn't let her show her up. Grandma called to brag and needless to say mom and dad about had a heartattack. Daddy's first question was if they at least had helmets on. On Sunday they all ran errands and came home since Makayla had gymnastics practice.

Ruben and I had a romantic weekend away. We stayed at the Marriott Westchase, went to the Theatre to see Cyrano de Bergerac, a little shopping, a little eating, and lots of drinking!! I'll leave all the mushy stuff out. We spent Sunday afternoon watching the Texans win against the Dolphins. What a Game!!!!! I miss those days of watching football and drinking beer! It was a great weekend!!!!

Another Busy Week

Seems like the same title over and over but we lead very hectic lives. Ruben went to Baltimore this week so I had to fend for myself with all of the girls. Things sometimes run a little smoother with Daddy out of town since they have him wrapped around their fingers!!! For instance, Alayna has been sleeping in her crib all night!!! Mommy is very relieved. Usually she wakes up in the wee hours of the morning and wants to be in bed with us. Isabella usually sneaks down as well between 4 and 6 am and climbs into bed with Daddy. With Daddy gone, neither one of them did those things. That was somewhat of a relief for me.

Julie started her art class this week and was very excited!!! They are doing a new cirriculum than the last 2 sessions she's taken. She'll be working with watercolors, pastels, even clay this year. Her first class ran a little long, but when we saw the artistic piece she brought home, it was well worth it.

It seems like Alayna may be ready for potty training. She's a week shy of being 18 months old but she is constantly pulling off her diaper. Everyone's easy fix for that is to keep clothes on her. Well she pulls the clothes off before the diaper. The other day my sister and I couldn't find her. When my sis found her she was in the toilet room in our bathroom. She had pulled her diaper off, squatted down and pooped on the floor!!!!! It took a moment to control the laughter to get her into the tub. We called grandma and grandpa and they get a kick out of it too!!! I guess she understands what that room is for now. Her Tata just brought over her brand new potty chair!!!

Isa made a new friend last week. I joined meetup.com and a new playgroup. I met one of the moms at McDonald's with her daughter, Bella. After conversing over email we found out the girls are very alike. Both 4 years old; both named Isabella; and both very prissy. Needless to say the girls hit it off right away. They hugged each other immediately and were holding hands practically the whole time. They played for hours. Usually when they play at McDonalds I get impatient and last maybe 30 minutes, but with someone else to talk to the hours just flew by. Before I knew it it was time to pick up Makayla from school. She can't wait to see Bella again!!!

Makayla had District Championships this weekend. There was just as much drama leading up to this one as the first qualifier but she was better prepared to handle it. She also only had this one chance to qualify for South State Championships. We worked on her floor routine during the week to strengthen her dance movements. Her coach noticed a difference on Friday. She said it was one of the best floor routines she seen out of her. We were also excited since the new leos finally arrived!!!

She was a little worried about the competition since she changed the group she was normally in. They had to even out the groups so she competed as a Sr A instead of Sr B. That put her up against the best girl at the gym. She had her work cutt out for her. She qualified for south state and was overall pleased with her scores although she knews she can do better. She placed 5th on vault, 2nd on bars, 3rd on beam, 8th on floor, and 4th in the all around!!!

Heart of a Champion!!!

Makayla had her first qualifier on Sunday. After all the stress and the disasterous start to the weekend, she did extremely well!! Friday night she was so stressed out and distracted she couldn't even concentrate. She injured herself hitting her feet on the high bar. Ruben thought about pulling her from practice to prevent her from hurtinig herself severly. She was exhausted from the day and was glad once practice and the day werer over. Saturday she spent the afternoon with her friend Kortney for so much needed relaxation. When she got home, her spirits were lifted. We spent about an hour before bed going over her routines video taped from Friday's practice. I gave her some pointers, the same ones I always give her, and a small pep talk. She took it all in and was ready for the competition.

The day started early but she was pumped and ready. She started on her strongest event, the uneven bars!!! Her routine was strong and she stuck the landing!!!! This was a rare occasion for her so she was excited that she stuck it on competition day. Her next event was the balance beam. I was glad she listened to the pointers she had been given. Her rountine was the best we had seen dance wise. Her skills have never been an issue, but as Caoch Marina put it, she's boring to watch, but not this time!!! She sliced her back walkover but it prevented her from falling so it was worth the deduction. Overall it was a great routine!!

Next came floor ex. More dancing!!! She applied the same principles in some parts so it was easier to watch and she had a little trouble sticking her back tucks. Her score popped up and we were appalled a 7.75!!! What happened?? All of the girls on that rotation were getting scores lower than previous rounds. One of our moms came up shortly after and explained to us what had happened. A new judge was judging and wasn't aware she could take partial deductions so she was taking full deductions for everything!! How unfair. Next was vault. Her weakest event. She did etxtremely well!! Some of her best vaults.

When it was time for awards she was worried that she wasn't going to place and she was certainly scared she wouldn't get first on bars like she always had in the past. The first evet they announced was valut. To her surprise she placed 4th!!! She was shoked and excited. On the balace beam she placed 6th. She placed 7th on floor and 1st on bars!!!! In the all around she came in 3rd!!!! She was very pleased with herself as she very well should have been. She had a great qualifier!!!

I spoke to her coaches on Monday and they asked if she was pleased with herself. They were very proud of her especially considering the circumstances prior to the meet. Now that she has this one behind her she can push herself to do even better at the next qualifier.

First Day of School

All the girls, well except Alayna have started school. Makayla and Julie started on August 25th and Isa Started on September 2nd. Makayla said she was scared the first day because everything was so crowded. Now that she is in 7th grade, all of the 7th and 8th graders are all mixed in together. It also didn't help that her schedule was wrong at orientation so she didn't get her schedule until the first day of school unlike the other kids. She didn't get to practice going from class to class. She has off campus PE due to the number of hours she practices gymnastics every week. It has helped her tremendously. She has more time to do the things she needs to do, especially homework and studying.

Julie had fun the first day of school. It was more of a get to know each other for her. She is also a big fish now that she is in 5th grade. Her teacher is a new teacher to Millsap but all of the other teachers had great things to say about him. Her other teachers are Makayla's teachers from 5th grade so it's comfortable for her.

Isa started her first day of pre-school. She is attending SEEDS Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. SEEDS is the Mother's Day Out Program at our church. I was very impressed when I visited in the spring. So far she seems to really enjoy it. Tuesday started off great. I dropped her off and everything was fine since she had been going to day school during the summer. When I picked her up her teacher told me that she learned a lesson that day. When I asked what it was she told me she learned not to hit friends!! I was in complete shock. That is so unlike Isa!!! Apparently her friend had a toy that she wanted so she hit her and pushed her in the stomach. I was completely appalled!!!

Fridays she is enrolled in the dual language program so the entire day is taught in spanish. Her spanish teacher was very nice and the class is held in the nursery so she looks forward to this class. After her first week at school she has really had fun!!

A Little Behind

Ok, so I'm a little behind on my blogging. The girls have been extremely busy since school started so it has kept my schedule a little hectic. Plus, I am on my third book of the Twilight series. Ruben heard about it and thought that I might like it since I used to read so much. He bought me the first book. I started reading it even though from what he told me I knew I wasn't going to like it. I had to give it a try for him. The first few chapters were like any other book, setting the story. Ruben was discouraged I didn't like it, but then I couldn't put it down. Within a week I had finished the first one in the series. Labor Day he took me to Barnes and Noble and bought the next 2 books. I then found the final book on sale at Kroger, of all places!!!!! I finished the second book in 3 days even though it was a little slower than the first. I am now a quarter of the way done with the third. Ruben started reading the first book after me telling him all about it. He was excited he found something that I enjoyed and that I am doing something I really used to enjoy. It has given us something to talk about besides the kids.