Family Update

Hello Everyone! There isn't a whole lot new in our world, but I thought I'd post some updates, pictures, and videos of the family for fun!

GABI:

Gabi amazes us everday with the things that she comes up with. She is a very silly and fun little girl. Yesterday, she named everything that growled -- lions, tigers, chetahs, polar bears, and daddy's tummy. ;-) She has been riding her little bike around the neighboorhood on the few days it has been nice here. We also made a garden plot for her in our alley with onions going already. All the rest of the plants we are starting from seeds inside. She checks on them each day to see how much they have grown. It will be fun to share gardening with her this summer. She is becoming quite bossy (typical big sister, right Tom?) I told Joe that he better get used to it since he is going to be under woman management (x 3) for the rest of his life! ;-)

MAYA:

Maya has really become interactive, snuggly, and silly these past few weeks. She loves to chatter like she is really talking, then giggle at herself, then chatter away some more. She can wave hi and bye (opens and closes her hand), give hugs and kisses, and slither across the floor like a lizard! She can pull herself up to standing and sit up from the crawling position, walk/run while holding on to someone, but she usually is just content to lay on the floor and crawl. If she finds something while crawling that she wants to study, she'll just roll onto her side or back and study it there. I don't expect her to walk anytime soon; it's funny how each kid has their own unique way! Plus, she can "crawl" fast!! She still has only her two bottom teeth and I think 2 more are on their way up top. Her hair gets curlier and curlier all the time, especially after her bath! What a silly girl she is!

JOE & TARA:

Joe has been quite busy with work this week. Business has finally picked up for his company so he went from 32 hours/week to 60+ within two weeks. Things should quiet back down to a typical work week pretty soon, so that is good. We're hoping this is a sign that the economy is on the upside!?

I've been busy finishing up the school year (4 weeks left!) I'll have the summer off and then will only go back part-time in the fall. I also found out that enough students signed up for AP Environmental Science to fill 2 sections next year. So, that is the only thing I will be teaching! I'm so pumped to just have honors seniors and not crazy freshmen next year! AP Environmental Science is so fun to teach, so I am really looking forward to it. I spent a night out on the town with some good friends Friday night. We went to Canvas and Cocktails to celebrate Kristine's birthday. Everyone painted a picture following an instructor. It was really casual, interactive, and fun to see how everyone's creations were so different. I'm not too impressed with how my painting turned out (unfortunately I didn't get my Grandpa Joe's artistic skills and probably drank too much wine!), but Gabi thought it was a masterpiece and insisted that it hang in her room, so that is all that matters I guess! ;-)

GOING PRIVATE:

Over the last few months, I've been having people sign up to be "Followers" of this blog and also people leaving comments that I do not know. So far they are harmless, but it kinda freaks me out. I tried eliminating the Comments option and then going to Moderated Comments and that seemed to make it even worse. So, I'm going to make this blog private in a month or so. We will be going through a lot of changes in the coming year (like maybe a new address!!) and a lot of trips this summer, so we only want to keep our friends and family informed about the details! To access our blog once I make it private, you will need to sign in with an e-mail and password. I will enter the e-mails of my authorized users and you will create your own password. So, e-mail me if you would like access or just leave your name in the comments section. tmlamay @ yahoo . com.

Have a wonderful week! Thanks for checking in on us!

Love, Joe, Tara, Gabi, & Maya