Amaya Update

Hello everyone. Long time no blog. What can I say, we've been keeping busy... especially miss Amaya. She's quite the busy girl. She's doing new things and learning new stuff every day it seems. So, here's a little of what she's been up to.



Amaya continues to enjoy Gymboree class. At first I wasn't sure it would really help her "learn and grow." I kept her in it just for the fun factor. But, her motor skills have improved immensely, so that has been fun to see. She can scale "the wall" with the best of them now. Which is a skill that has translated nicely to her home life. Amaya now climbs onto the dining room chairs and then onto the dining table. I walked out into the family room for a minute one day, only to walk back in the the kitchen area to see miss monkey sitting on the dining room table. She is also getting better and better at participating in the activities, although she still spends a good portion of the class "exploring" and doing her own thing. But, other kids do this, too, so it seems pretty typical of her age group. She always comes a running when it bubble, bubble time, though!!!

Amaya had her first (and last) Kindermusik class on Monday. She was not impressed. Too funny. She kept going to the door and saying bye-bye?, bye-bye?, as if begging me to go. And actually, I had to agree with her. It seems like most cities offer a Kindermusik class for toddlers, so I thought it would be neat, but I think the same class has been offered since the '70's. The music was really cheesey and dated...it sounded like I was listening to an old record back in my kindergarten class. Amaya prefers music with a beat, so she wasn't having it. So, she is now disenrolled and we are trying out Gymboree's music class tomorrow. We'll see if that will be "good enough" for my sweet little princess. Guess she's just use to jamming to hip hop music at home with mom, dad, and Barney.

For about one week I was able to keep Amaya's hair in pig tails. See photo above. Now's she's back to pulling out the holders, even the tiny silicone ones. Her hair is very fine like mine, so they slide out easily. But, her hair is getting long, so we shall see...we may end up breaking down and taking her for her second haircut. She just may stay with the bob look until she's a bit older. Meanwhile, she's got the shaggy look going on most of the day. She'll let me keep a barrette in it for about 20% of the time. Any pointers out there for keeping the little ones tresses tamed while growing out their hair?

O.K. What else? Amaya has started bringing her wipes and a diaper to us when she needs a diaper change now. Too funny. She's showing potty training readiness, but mommy's not quite ready yet. Where has the time gone?

Amaya adds new words to her vocabulary daily it seems. So fun....some of our current favorites are touchdown (sounds like bouchdown, but her t's are coming along), of course mommy and daddy, bunny, baby, side (she says this when she wants to go outside), bath, juice, light, plane and we we still love it when she days bubble and seriously (seriscy).

Amaya continues to be very affectionate, giving hugs and kisses readily. When the "I love you" song comes on on Barney, she comes a running from where ever she may be to dance to it and give a "great big hug and a kiss from me to you" on cue. Whenever we sing that song, even when Barney isn't on, she "go through the motions." So fun. She'll also randomly crawl up into Scott's or my laps and put her head on our shoulder and just hug and snuggle with us. We love that. She's such a sweetie.

She's also becoming quite the mommy! She loves playing mommy, but has abandoned her cabbage patch kids baby in order to devote all of her time to her pink bunny. She carries it where ever she goes and feeds, diapers, and rocks it like a baby. It truly is her baby. She even makes wah-wah noises at times, after which she'll feed or rock the bunny. So funny. And...it wears her cpk baby's clothes.

Amaya has also exercised her helpful and caring nature recently, showing she will be a great mommy someday, when baby Brooklyn was over for a visit. We were watching Brooklyn for her mommy and daddy (Mae and Brett), when she got a little fussy. I was rocking her a bit to calm her, when Amaya disappeared into the kitchen, only to return about 15 seconds later with Brooklyn's pacifier. First of all, Amaya had just gotten up for the day, being the teen sleeper that she is, so it's funny she even found the paci (it was on the dining room table). Secondly, I was impressed she brought it over, clearly knowing that it may help the baby. Then she went and found Brooklyn's blanket and brought it over. I never said a word...she did it all on her own. Amaya just loved having Brooklyn over and was even sooo quiet when Brooklyn was sleeping. This is quite amazing because Amaya is veeerrry vocal. After Brooklyn's nap, Amaya got sooo excited to go see the baby. She heard her stirring on the monitor, so she new the baby was waking up, but she wasn't sure where she was. When I took Amaya upstairs to get Brooklyn, she ran around looking for her. It was sooo funny. When she found her she was soooo happy. Brooklyn gets to come back and play on Friday and Amaya is soooo excited.

Amaya continues to enjoy the pool, but only on weekends when dad is home lately because mommy got a tattoo (actually two tattoos). I didn't realize I had to stay out of the water for 3-4 weeks. Oops. It was worth it, though. I love them. One is on my upper left back area and is S,A, and B all intertwined in a fancy design. It turned out very neat. The other is the Packers logo on my right ankle. I've wanted to do that for a long time, and with the whole Favre debacle, it was finally time to do it. I added Favre below the Packer G so he's forever a Packer to me. Smile, smile.

O.K. I think that's enough to make up for taking nearly a month off from blogging. Now I'll do another entry of photos, photos, photos.

Rough Life

I couldn't resist posting these pics of Scott lounging in the pool. I took them from inside so he didn't even know I took them. He'll be surprised when he checks the blog. Smile, smile. He's enjoying a little r and r, sipping a cocktail, and getting ready for his Fantasy Football draft. Rough Life!

Ah, this is the life.
He's sure studying that magazine intently. Maybe this will be his year to win.

Amaya's Latest

Hi there, everyone. Finally...another Amaya themed blog entry. Amaya has had a very fun past couple of weeks. First of all...Amaya has never been too interested in television programs. Not Blue's Clues, not Sesame Street, not Baby Einstein, not the Wiggles, etc., etc., etc. Not that we've exposed her to very much of these programs. But here and there if we catch them on we'll watch it a little while and see what Amaya does. She'll look at the tv for a minute and then she moves on to something else. She's a busy girl after all. Well, we were perfectly fine with this, of course. She shouldn't be watching tv that much anyway. But one day Barney was on and boy we quickly learned Amaya has a thing for large, purple dinosaurs. She's obsessed now. At first I thought this was great. I figure having her watch a tv show once a day, for 30 minutes will not stunt her development and it's so fun to see her joy when Barney comes on. But now it's Barney, Barney, Barney. Or in Amaya's terms Ba'ey, Ba'ey, Ba'ey. She asks for Barney all the time. As soon as she's done eating breakfast, she points to the family room and says Ba'ey, Ba'ey, Ba'ey. Then she runs to the family room and points at the tv all the while shouting Ba'ey, Ba'ey, Ba'ey until she sees his smiling, purple face. Then it's Baaa'eeeey with a joyful, drawn out laugh. So, obviously, mommy and daddy will be buying Amaya a huge stuffed Barney for Christmas.

Other than watching Barney, Amaya has stayed busy going to the gym most mornings. She now dislikes leaving the gym. She use to run to me when I would pick her up. Now when she sees me she turns and "runs for the hills." They have to chase her down and bring her to me. To funny. So, obviously she has fun at the gym "Kidzone." These past couple of weeks she's been super into the lego table, the Mr. Potato Head table, and as always, the baby dolls. So, since she already has baby dolls and a Mr. Potato Head, we'll be buying her legos for Christmas... if we can wait that long. She also enjoys watching the big kids. She'll sit right next to them and look up at their faces. So cute.

Amaya started Gymboree a couple weeks ago. She loves it!

She loves balls, so this big ball is a hit.
She loves Gymbo the clown (it too is on her list since she practically refuses to let the teacher have it for her activities).
And she loves climbing on all the equipment. So Gymboree has been a good fit.

I signed Amaya up for an art class and KinderMusik class through Chandler parks and rec that she'll be taking this fall, so that should be fun. She loves music, so I know that will be a hit, but we'll see about the art class. So far at home she'll just scribble for a minute, then she wants to eat the crayon. Yuck.

Yesterday Scott and I took Amaya to the new water park that opened up by our house. She had a blast. That's going to be alot of fun having it so close. It's about a minute away. At first Amaya just kind of sat back and looked around, so we thought, hmmm, maybe we will have to come back when she's a bit older. But...after about 5 minutes of looking around and taking it all in she was ready to do some splish splashing. The splash pad area was shallow enough that she could wander around on her own and she had a blast doing just that. She also enjoyed all the water features, climbing features and the other kids. It was a fun morning and needless to say she had a good nap in the afternoon.

So, that's about all I have for now. Below are some pictures of Barney starting and Amaya clearly very happy about that.

This Week in the Life of a Brett Favre/Packer Fan

Sunday

We heard that Favre was headed back to Green Bay. He had been officially reinstated/unretired and it was looking like the saga was going to finally end. He was added back on to the roster. It was looking like my prayers were answered (along with the prayers of many, many other Packer fans). It was looking like Favre would be rejoining the Packers for the season. The word on the street was that there was going to be an open quarterbacks competition for the starting quarterback spot. The Packers "organization" had seemingly come to their senses finally. They were finally giving Brett his deserved shot. Words cannot describe the elation! Of course Brett will win that competition, so a Packer fan cannot help but get ahead of oneselves and celebrate prematurely. The cork popped, the champagne was poured, and the celebration began. Little did we know it was too little too late for our Beloved Brett.

Monday

We keep close tabs on ESPN and the NFL network. As we watch the annual Packers Family Night Scrimmage on the NFL network (which was played Sunday night, but was being televised Monday night), we anxiously await Coach McCarthy's press conference. We can't wait to hear what transpired in his meeting with Brett. Our high begins falling as the press conference keeps being delayed until it's finally postponed until Tues. Then we see Favre being quoted as saying "we've reached a stalement" and something along the lines of... to0 much has been said and done...I just can't forget... etc., etc. As Amaya would say..."uh oh." Panic and dread sets in. But even so, we pray and hope and still believe they'll find a way. Brett has to remain a Packer. We just can't say good-bye after 16 years. We finish watching the scrimmage and go to bed, hoping to wake up to good news.

Tuesday

I dvr espn and nfl network for the afternoon so that I am sure to catch the press conference and any pertainent coverage. Then Tuesday night after Amaya goes to bed, we brace ourselves and begin watching Mike McCarthy reveal what transpired in his meetings with Favre. Sure, I'm mad at the Ted Thompson and Mark Murphy for turning this whole saga into a 3-ring circus. But now I can't help being disappointed in Favre that he can't move past the circus and get back to playing some Packer football. Even so....I had hope. Brett just needs some time. He'll come around. Yeah, I admit it. I was in denial. I wasn't ready to think about Favre being traded.

Wednesday

I know discussions with other teams have started, namely the Bucs and the Jets. But I stay in denial mode. This isn't happening. I can't face it. I go about my day and avoid ESPN and the NFL network. Then Wed. evening, after putting Amaya to bed and putting some laundry away, I venture downstairs. Scott's watcing ESPN and I see it. I don't want to but I do. I sensed it was coming. How could I not? But I didn't think it would happen so fast. Brett Favre had been traded. Devastation! Sadness! Then quickly a bit of anger and bitterness sets in. I go upstairs and type up the previous blog entry. Then I crumble. Some may say get over it, it's just football. But it's not just football to me and many of us. And unless you are a die hard Favre fan and Packer fan, you can't understand. Now I know there are much worse things one can go through, and I've gone through some of them, but I feel how I feel and I can't help it. It's going to take time! It's just sad. Favre retiring was one thing, but this...this is just such a shock and blow...so unexpected. There are many a heartbroken Packer fans out there tonight.

Thursday

We wake up. Reality sets in. It wasn't a nightmare. It really happened. Favre is a Jet. Over the head the covers go. Ugh. I skip the gym and begin calling my peops for some solace. Thanks Mae for the therapy! The day goes on and I again avoid ESPN, NFL network, and thinking about it. I wait for the evening and watch Sports Center and NFL tonight. Seeing Favre in Jets gear is painful, and just plain strange. I can't help but be jealous watching Jets fans rejoice. I call Jets fans an expletive. Don't worry, I said it in my head. Amaya didn't hear. Then there's Favre already setting records as a Jet not even on the team 24 hours (for jersey sales). Next they show footage of Favre's press conference. Brett's turn to speak. It's good to hear what he has to say, what his thoughts are. I begin forgiving him. He says, "I've always wanted to be a Packer. I always will be a Packer." Yeah you will! But it's good to hear it from him. After that, I again crumble. I am surprised at myself that the tears are still there, but it's just soooo sad. What can I say. I can't help it. Then I decide I need to move on, too, just like Favre and the Packers. So, I do some retail therapy and buy up a bunch of Favre merchandise. Shopping always helps. Gotta love the Packer Pro Shop.

Friday

I start looking forward to atleast being able to see Brett play another season of football, even if it is as a Jet. I print off the Jets schedule and put it with the Packers schedule in my datebook. We have two teams to religiously follow now. It's going to be a fun year! I go back to being excited to see what our Packers will do this year. I am very excited and optimistic about that. I decide to try and get tickets for the Jets at Chargers game. Sold out, of course. You can get tickets to most of the other home Chargers games still, so you just know it's the Favre factor. I guarantee there were still lots of tickets available for that game Wed. morning. Come on. The Jets. Before they got Brett there's no way that game was sold out. To bad the Cards go to see the Jets this year. I wish the Jets were coming here!!!! Bummer.

So, things are looking up. Acceptance is coming. It will always sting a little to have lost Favre, but really, it would sting worse to be the Falcons or the Jets. The Jets were one draft pick away from getting him back in the day. They wanted him but the Falcons beat them to it. Then, the Falcons let him go to us. Whenever someone says this was the dumbest trade ever, Packer fans can always come back with the Falcons Favre trade. Atleast we had him for 16 wonderful years. We still love you Brett! Good luck this year. I hope we meet you in the Super Bowl. Wouldn't that be a blast!!!

P.S. I promise my next post will be about our lovely, precious daughter. No more Favre, Packer posts...until football season that it. Smile, smile.

What were they thinking?

O.K. I am sure you all have heard about some goings ons of late between our beloved Brett Favre and our beloved Packers. But, as much as I love both Brett and the Packers, I have to say....What the heck are you all thinking?!?! Back in March, when we were shocked to learn Favre had decided to retire despite the wonderful season he and the Packers had, we could never have expected that we would now end up here a mere 5 months later. First of all, I thought then, as many did, that Favre made the wrong decision. I really didn't think we saw Favre play his last game. But, I never in a million years thought he would unretire only to be traded. Are you kidding me? It was hard enough seeing Favre retire in March when our team was finding magic again. But now to see Favre go to another team. That just twists the knife. And not just a little twist, a 360 degree full circle twist while pushing down with all ones might on the knife. After 16 years, both Favre and the Packers have given Packer fans a huge slap in the face. This is ridiculous. Now I understand Rodgers has been patient and this was suppose to be his time, and I still like the guy. But Brett Favre deserves to come back and play in Green Bay. What's one more year Aaron? Sure, the Packers organization eventually welcomed Brett back with "open arms" and said he could have a shot at being starting quarterback again, but they should have done that in the beginning. When word first broke that Favre wanted to unretire, I never in a million thought the Packers would make unretiring sooo difficult. I see the difficulty that would cause initially, but come on, it's Brett. He's given the Packers, Packer fans, and football fans in general soooo much. Deal with it. Figure it out. But bring him back. And to Brett on that matter. They eventually gave in, so take it. Let go of the ego!!!! Get over it!!!! Don't abandon your fans who want you back soooo bad. A Jet. You're a Jet now. Come on. Do you really want to listen to J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets all day every Sunday. Couldn't they come up with a better chant than that? I mean really. O.K. Yes I am bitter. Yes I am angry. But that doesn't change the fact that they have the most stupid chant ever. And also, they seem to be lacking in the intelligence department!!! How can you want to associate with them, Brett!?! They call themselves the New York Jets, yet they don't even play or practice in NY, according to Sports Center last night. They flippin' play in New Jersey. Do you really think you have a shot at another ring now Favre? When the Packers go to the Super Bowl this year, you are going to regret not checking your ego at the door. Especially since the Jets aren't even going to make it to the playoffs. O.K. Enough with my angry rant. For the last 16 years I have cheered for you faithfully, so I am just so sad to see you leave. It feels like such a betrayal. But, also, I think you are again making the wrong move. But it's your mistake to make I guess. So, I guess I have to deal with it, accept it, and move on just like you did. I just hope someday all the good memories of your time with the Packers will no longer be clouded by all of this and that your name can regain a large percentage of what it use to mean to me. So with that, good luck Brett. Enjoy Jersey!!!! And now more than ever I hope the Packers go to the Super Bowl! Go Pack Go!

Amaya Dancing Video, as promised

Here is a video clip of Amaya dancing. She's got quite the moves.

Amaya Update

Amaya has now graduated into her big girl carseat. It is one that will grow with her until age 10. Wow. That's a long time. It converts to a high back booster, and then a backless booster. So, here are some then and now pics of Amaya in her carseat(s).

Amaya's first time in her carseat. She was just 2 days old in these pictures.


And now look at her in these photos of her last time in her first carseat.
So big, but oh so bored and wondering why we're taking pictures of her just sitting in her carseat.
After the above picture, we did get her out of the old carseat and let her explore with Grandma while the firefighters checked out the new carseat.
Here she is in her new carseat for the first time. I thought she would get sooo excited about it because she got sooo excited when she saw it sitting in our great room. She enjoyed crawling into it. But she seemed more confused and bewildered with the change at first. It was quite precious. It took her a little while to process the change. Who could blame her...she's been rear-facing her whole life, so this is quite different for her. She's gotten use to forward-facing now, though. It's a whole new experience for us all.
Hi mom...this new carseat is comfie! Thanks.
Here Amaya is checking out all the things she can see now. How fun!

So, aside from the new carseat, there's not to many major changes in Amaya's life. She continues to be a very busy and active toddler. She's an endless source of entertainment and joy. It's so fun to watch her grow, develop, change and learn new things. O.K., that's all I have for now. Will blog again soon.