The Beach Family

We just had a very nice visit from the Beach Family, otherwise known as Gaby, Tee & Nipsy!


They are Arielle's grandparents (and their faithful Jack Russell Terrier) and they bravely drive from Siesta Key in Sarasota, Florida every year to visit us. We all eagerly look forward to this annual vacation because each time we venture somewhere that we haven't been before within the beautiful state of Colorado. This year we took a two and a half hour ride to Royal Gorge Bridge in Canon City. Arielle did just fine on the car ride thanks to a DVD player. We all had a lot of fun touring around the World's Highest Suspension Bridge!
Arielle got to ride on a stubborn and stinky burro led by Daddy & Tee then pet the little goats at a small petting zoo...






Perhaps the most exciting part of the trip was when we rode on the big escalator/roller coaster looking ride otherwise known as the "Incline Railway". While in line for this six minute ride we ended up having to wait for at least thirty minutes while the town Sheriff and his deputy assisted "Ruth" in getting off the ride. It seems as if this elderly woman injured herself while on the ride (or at the bottom of it) and could not get up to walk. It was very sad to see her in such an awful prediciment but we all wondered why on earth would she have gone on this ride at her age, in her health condition and all by herself. Arielle was such a good sport while we stood waiting in the blistering sun. The moment she saw Ruth being carried away on the plastic lawn chair (you are probably asking yourself why there was not a wheelchair available...we were wondering the same thing) Arielle announced that we could get on the ride now! She was ready to go!

The wait paid off because we got to be in the front of the ride where we all really enjoyed the view looking down into the raging river below!

By the end of the day we were all very tired but happy that the Beach Family and the Mountain Family went togther on this fun little trip...

and we can't wait for another new adventure again next year!

My heart is melting...

I'm sorry to say that the baby bird did not make it through the night alone in his nest. I feel very sad about it today and keep thinking that if we had done things different that he would be alive today. Ironically, I think the same thing nearly every day about my parenting choices. Will it ever end or will I always live in wonder about how things could have been if only I had done things differently?

The other day, Arielle said something that made my heart melt because it showed me how much she truly loves us. She said (word for word) "Daddy, you're my daddy and Mommy, you're my mommy. I will always be with you guys." These were the sweetest words and I never want to forget them. She is so full of love that sometimes it just hurts my heart to think about how much I love her back. I guess her words should be reassurance enough that I have made the right choices and I can stop wondering what could have been...at least for now.

Spread Your Wings and Fly

Although I wouldn't consider us to be a nature enthusiastic family, today we certainly had a lot of things in nature to be excited about today! We decided to drive to Estes Park for some lunch and couldn't go without stopping to feed the chipmunks along the way. Arielle wanted to feed them so badly but it wasn't easy to get them to come to her. Every time one came close she would move quickly to try to feed it so they turned and ran away. I could tell that she felt like a priness being surrounded by all of her chubby little chipmunks friends in the forest!

The birds and the bees...

When we returned home our puppy Lexi disovered that one of the baby robins from the nest was now on the ground. Fortunately she did not hurt the baby. We saw the mama robin flying around and figured that she had kicked the little ones out of the nest so they could be on their own. Sadly this little baby has not yet learned how to fly so she left him behind (we think). All he could do was hop around on the rocks and the grass. After a few hours of watching him do this we just couldn't stand it anymore...mama was nowhere in sight so went out and scooped him up in our hands. We tried to get him to fly by tossing him into the air but he just landed on the ground. Then we decided that he looked hungry so we tried to feed him crackers and hot dogs. Probably not the best choices for bird food but it was all we had. Without any luck, we thought it would be best to put him back in the nest for the night and try his flying lesson again tomorrow. Hopefully when the time is right he will spread his wings and learn how to fly like all of our babies.



Mother Nature didn't stop with the baby bird. As we were putting him back in the nest we made yet another discovered an animal that was far less cute than birds and chipmunks. It was a wasp's nest tucked beneath the playground slide! Needless to say the wasps won't be living there much longer. I don't know if I can say the same about the baby bird but I know that we are going to miss him when he is gone. Did I mention that one of Arielle's goldfish is pregnant?!?!

The Robin's Nest

High atop the roof of a little girl's playhouse...

sits a beautiful robin's nest...

What a lovely surprise we found today. After I saw the mama robin fly into Arielle's playhouse I knew there had to be a nest in there. There it was and then we saw the beaks of her hungry little baby birds. Mama bird wasn't too far away and she made sure we weren't going to hurt her little ones. So we quickly left so she could feed her babies...

after we took a picture of course!

Daddy's Girl!

It was a very happy Father's Day this year for Daddy and Arielle. She has really started to bond with him and has definitely gotten past the "NOT THE MAMA" days. We used to call Zak this when Arielle was a baby because she would hit him whenever he tried to pick her up if she was crying. She has always preferred for me to comfort her since the day she was born. She even went through a phase where she would act mad when Zak got home from work. She would say, "No Daddy, you can't come in." This was very frustrating but Zak has always been so patient and understanding with her. Foretunately, she has recently outgrown this phase and has started to really admire her Daddy. I know that I really admire the connection that they have and I'm so proud of the wonderful father that he has become!

What a mess!

Yesterday Arielle was playing downstairs while Zak and I were hanging the new pictures in her bedroom when we heard a lound crash! We instantly looked at each other and all the sudden we heard her say "What a mess!" She had accidentally dumped her tote full of toys out onto the carpet. I was so proud of her for turning a mess into a fun thing that we could all laugh at. In fact, Arielle was so thrilled by our hysterical reaction to her dumping the toys out that she proceeded to do it three more times just so she could proclaim "What a mess!" and make us laugh over and over again. Of course it got less and less funny each time she did it again but she didn't know that!

The chicken or the egg?

Being a full-time working mommy has really started to take a toll on me especially since Arielle is so active and knowledgable. For her it is just go, go, go and all I can think about when I get home from work and on the weekends is rest, rest, rest. Not only that but her little temper is tiring me out even more so then her restlessness. I am happy to report that as of next week I will be "working from home" for two half-days a week. Maybe this is the change that I need right now to get back my strength, motivation and desire...and maybe it is the change that Arielle needs to get back her mommy-the way I used to be.

I have to admit, parenting has gotten so difficult for me lately that I don't feel as though I have the strength, motivation or desire to try hard anymore. Or is it that I feel as though I don't have the strength, motivation or desire to try hard anymore that parenting has gotten difficult? I have really started questioning this over and over again. I try going backwards in my head from the beginning of my motherhood hoping to find the answer but it is still not clear to me. The truth is that parenting has never been easy for me but I have never lost hope and I never will because I know that Arielle is counting on me. I may not ever find the answer to this conundrum but I do know for sure that I wouldn't trade my mommy card for anything else in the world because after all, my daughter is my world.

"The phrase "working mother" is redundant."- Jane Sellman

My Mommy Card

Did you ever wonder if you had a mommy card what it would look like? My three year old decided that my mommy card was of all things, my driver's license! She got a hold of my wallet several months ago and told me she wanted to hold my mommy card. I had no idea what she was talking about until I looked down and saw the picture of me that was taken less than a month after I got married. Oh to be that young again! I have actually had a handful of strangers tell me what a pretty picture it is...what, like I don't look good now? LOL

I love the mommy card that Arielle chose for me! It is a symbolic reminder of my youthful past which is what I see when I look at my daughter every day.

The Many Faces of Arielle

I was a little camera happy this week but that is only because I haven't gotten what I would call a "frame-worthy" photo of Arielle for the longest time. I am determined to keep trying but Arielle is determined not to let me. Thank goodness for digital cameras!






The puppy on the other hand is being extremely cooperative in the photo department!

The Wolfie Song

This is my attempt to make a video of Arielle singing her favorite song in the world. My first video was a huge success but it is too big to download to the blogspot so I have made a couple more attempts. Neither one of them are nearly as good as the first one but at least we had fun trying. I probably should have left the camera rolling for a bit longer on each of these but I was afraid they would be too big again.

Take One (in the bathtub):

Take Two (in the swimming pool):

First Time at The Movies

Zak took Arielle to see her first movie today. Actually, it was the second time we took her but I have tried to forget about the first time because it was a disaster. We had taken her to see Shrek 3 since she loved to watch the first two Shrek movies at home so much. She sat very still and quiet through the previews and the first fifteen minutes of the movie but fell to pieces thereafter. We ended up leaving early and I have been fearful of taking her back to movies ever since. We decided that she was finally ready to go back since it was a year later and she had seen the previews for "Kung Fo Panda" and liked it. I opted not to go because if it was as bad as it was the first time both of us would be miserable. Fortunately Arielle behaved perfectly so they stayed for the whole movie. She was very proud of herself for only whispering and apparently she ate more popcorn than Zak did!

Yesterday Morning

Yesterday morning Arielle woke up with a big smile on her face and was very cheerful! She came into our bedroom laughing and told us that "laughing is better than crying". She used her manners when she asked to watch a show so I happily agreed. I set her clothes down beside her and didn't even ask her to get dressed...she just did it all by herself than was very proud of afterward! There was no crying when she asked me what day it was and I told her it was a school day. I didn't even have to remind her three times to use the potty and to put her shoes on. Shockingly she didn't get upset when I dropped her off at school or make me come back for one last hug and kiss three times in a row. Thankfully, it was a pleasant and uneventful morning filled with very memorable moments that I will always cherish.

This morning was completely the opposite of yesterday morning but hey, the glass is half full so I'll just blame it on the rainy weather and know that tomorrow morning will be pleasant again.

My First Video Blog

I was so excited because I finally had a chance to take a video of Arielle so I could post it on a blog but unfortunately it was too big of a file to download. Bummer! So I tryed to download it to snapfish.com but failed miserably at that as well. I have decided to post my blog anyway even without the video because I already wrote it before I discovered that I couldn't download the video. Meanwhile I will try to explore other options of posting this video on my blog even if it takes me all day.

Arielle has really started getting into singing songs and she enjoys every minute of it! She is very good at memorizing songs and singing along with them on the radio. I have been wanting to video tape her forever so we finally had the chance driving in the car the other day. However, she became quite camera shy when Zak started filming her so for the first half of the song she wasn't quite as dramatic as usual. She starts to get really into her singing halfway through, still I will have to secretly film her next time so we can actually see her as her true self as a music performer. The song that she is singing we call "The Wolfie Song" and it is from the Barbie Princess & The Pauper movie soundtrack. Wolfie is the Pauper's cat that acts like a dog. Enjoy!