Vacation in Scottsdale

We recently took a family vacation to Scottsdale, Arizona with our friends the Koplans and Castros and we had such a blast. The weather was perfect, not too hot and not too cool allowing us to swim almost every day, all day (granted, the pool was always heated to a perfect 90 degrees). On the cooler days we did a little shopping at Fashion Square Mall (0ne of the best malls I've been to in a long time), and took the kiddos to the train park.
Macyn LOVED the pool and she swam around and around every chance she got. Gwen was so sweet and let Macyn use her puddle jumper flotation device after she became an expert swimmer practically overnight!! Macyn loved to float on her back while her daddy and I would chant "relax, relax." She also learned how to blow bubbles in the water. She is so ready to swim, I bet by our next vacation get-together she will be swimming alongside Gwen and Whitney. This time, she just had a good time floating around with Whitney!

Macyn also learned how to play pool during this vacation!! We are preparing her for a career as a pool shark, who would suspect a little 2 year old could whip some butt in pool?? The only issue she had was keeping the tips on the pool cues...she knocked every single tip off of every single cue.

We had such a great time and the girls really acted like sisters which made me think of my own sisters and our relationship with each other. Gwen was the older sister, she was the "cool" one that both Whitney and Macyn wanted to be like. Kerry brought over some of her nieces toys which included various pairs of plastic princess shoes. Gwen of course loved walking around in them and Whitney and Macyn quickly followed along in their shoes (although their little feet didn't quite fit as well). All three of them were so cute and played together pretty well. I loved watching them interact, especially Macyn who is just starting to really want to hang out with other kids and play with them instead of just going off on her own.

We had a great vacation with awesome friends and I can't wait for the next one!!!

Totally slacking

Ok, I know that I've totally been slacking on my posts but unfortunately I can't post pictures through my Iphone and our computer has a huge crack down the screen making it really hard to see. So I'm using Dax's work computer to get some stuff done.
Here are a few new things that are happening in our little world down here.

I am in a constant search of different outdoor activities I can do with Macyn before the new baby arrives and totally rocks our world!! I recently just learned about a free program that Lowe's hardware store offers every other Saturday where they have different projects for little ones to work on to pique their interest in construction and how things work and are built. Our first project was a little heart music box (in honor of Valentine's Day). I think Macyn was the youngest one there (the age minimum on the package said 5 years) but there were definitely kids there younger than five. It just happened to be more of a project for mommy than for baby...and I really messed it up. Dax wasn't able to come because he was on call. I always prided myself on being able to put things together fairly well but all of my bravado went out the window with a squirmy little toddler sitting on my lap grabbing the hammer and hitting the table, chair and pieces of wood and snatching up the directions. I like to think she was trying to help in her own little way. Unfortunately, it hurt the project outcome. It's so bad, I'm not even going to post a picture of the finished product. Let's just say it has major design flaws causing the lid to not close completely and therefore keeping the music box playing continuously instead of stopping when the lid is replaced. (I had to stick a piece of tape on top of the music box to keep it from playing.) Oh well, a valiant effort on my part! But as an added bonus to a morning filled with hammering youngsters, they give every mini construction worker a free apron and safetly goggles which I think Macyn pulls off fairly well.

Ahhh, a weekend with no call and no errands to run!! Our family loves to lounge around especially daddy and Macyn while mommy sits and watches from afar sometimes taking part but usually just taking pictures with my phone. (I should really start using the good camera again!) Here are some pics from one of our many lazy mornings hanging around!

For Christmas, Dax bought me my first sewing machine (well, first one that I can truly call my own!) and I have been working on various projects ever since. (With a severe lack of work due to morning sickness, fatigue, and just plain laziness) So far I've made a plethora of baby burp cloths for expecting friends, a baby blanket for baby Ren, burp cloths and a bib for baby Ren, a dress for Macyn (that she can wear when she's about 5 years old due to a sleeping model and lack of an actual pattern) and this dress which Macyn models so adorably:
I have so many projects running through my head at the moment I don't know if I'll ever have enough time to follow through but I'm really trying!!! Hopefully, I'll have more pictures to share.

Well, I know this post doesn't make up for the lack of posts in the last few months but hopefully it suffices until I can get my act together!

Macyn's First Boat Ride

Ah, living by the water definitely has its perks and it was only a matter of time before we took our first boat ride down on the water to one of the islands off of the coast. Macyn had a blast feeling the rush of the wind and the splashing water on her face as the boat coasted through the wake. Every now and then I would hear a little giggle and look down at her face full of wonderment and joy.
She also loved looking back at the captain of the boat, Ray a PA that works with Dax. She would laugh every time he would look through the glass and give her a wave hello!
Our little water baby was born to lap in the waves and frolic on the beach!

Macyn Walking

Macyn is starting to walk really well. We used to have to stabilize her on something solid and then call her over to us and she would only take one or two steps but now she initiates the walking and takes multiple steps. It is so exciting to see her walking around!

Here is a video of her walking. Toward the end, she grabs the camera which is the cause of the shaky recording. Enjoy!

Mmmmm....beans!

Little Miss Independent trying to feed herself some mashed up beans! She got most of it on her face and in her hair and then soon realized that they felt ewey gooey when she squished them in her hands. Good thing she didn't have any clothes on or else she might've been hard to clean up!!

So much hair...

Macyn's hair is really starting to get out of control! It is getting so gosh darn long, and we are getting a bit tired of the one ponytail on the top of her head so I thought that I would try out a new style! The tri-ponytail. Here she is modeling the new 'do!

Reading time!

While our friends were visiting, Macyn was having a ball hanging out with people her size! It was hilarious watching their interactions with eachother. Gwen, who is the oldest was the total mommy figure, giving Macyn toys when she was upset and helping us hand her a sippie cup when she thought she might be thirsty. Whitney, who is about 1/2 a year older than Macyn was definitely like an older sister. She would play with Macyn but every now and then, she wanted to hang out with the big girl (Gwen). Macyn was the typical younger sibling, always chasing after the older girls and wanting to be involved with everything they did!
It so reminded me of hanging out with my sisters, Miji and Susie! Oh the good ole days!!