We hope all of the mothers in our lives had a beautiful day! My family took me to the zoo and out for lunch! We had a wonderful time and I was thankful every minute for my two little girls who call me "mama."
Love, Joe, Tara, Gabi & Maya
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Sunday, May 2, 2010
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:
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
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Spring Has Sprung!
Happy Easter! We hope your day was filled with joy, laughter, family, and friends.
Our girls had a wonderful day -- we were fortunate enough to have my parents and Grandma Dorothy come to visit this weekend. We attended Mass this morning and then gorged ourselves at Table Mountain Inn's Easter Brunch Buffet. Here are some pictures of the girls from today:
We dyed Easter eggs on Saturday. Gabi enjoyed every minute! She loves eating hard-boiled eggs, which is good because neither Joe nor I are big fans. She is wearing a strawberry shortcake apron that my Grandma Dorothy made me when I was a little girl!
Here is a four-generation picture from this morning! Look at all that brown hair -- gotta love it!! ;-)
We all went to the Denver Zoo on Saturday. Gabi was able to get up close and personal with a giraffe. The giraffes at the zoo are her 2nd favorite; elephants are by far her favorite! Camels come in a close third. :) We love being zoo members and would highly recommend it!
My dad's birthday is next Friday, but we celebrated this weekend with a long-standing tradition -- bunny cake! His mother (my Grandma Genie) started making this cake for him when he was growing up since his birthday was always near Easter. Since then, my mom and I have taken over the tradition. Of course, Gabi was all over the chocolate cake!
I just had to throw this picture in...everyone gives Maya a hard time for being so rolly poly (even though she is average for weight/height!) She usually cleans up her plate AND her bib every meal. Gotta love those bib pockets, right Maya?!
Grammy Mary & Maya: 
Gabi and Papa Gary had quite a good time this weekend -- he taught her all kinds of new words and tricks! They had so much fun and were soooo silly! Now I know where I get my silliness! Her favorite new phrase is, "that's not proper!" I guess you have to hear it to see why it is so funny! They giggled almost the entire weekend!
I was off of work last week and enjoyed EVERY minute I got to spend with my girls. The weather was so nice that we were outside most of the week -- playing, swinging, walking, visiting neighbors, eating lunch outside, having friends come to visit, chasing the dog/cat, having fun at the parks, having Easter egg hunts, blowing bubbles, etc. Here are a few pictures from the week. I am so ready for summer (8 more weeks and then an entire summer to spend with my girls -- yippee!) It always goes by so fast after spring break.
We're looking forward to a visit from Amanda & Greer this week. Love to you all!
Joe, Tara, Gabriela, & Maya
Our girls had a wonderful day -- we were fortunate enough to have my parents and Grandma Dorothy come to visit this weekend. We attended Mass this morning and then gorged ourselves at Table Mountain Inn's Easter Brunch Buffet. Here are some pictures of the girls from today:
We dyed Easter eggs on Saturday. Gabi enjoyed every minute! She loves eating hard-boiled eggs, which is good because neither Joe nor I are big fans. She is wearing a strawberry shortcake apron that my Grandma Dorothy made me when I was a little girl!
Here is a four-generation picture from this morning! Look at all that brown hair -- gotta love it!! ;-)
We all went to the Denver Zoo on Saturday. Gabi was able to get up close and personal with a giraffe. The giraffes at the zoo are her 2nd favorite; elephants are by far her favorite! Camels come in a close third. :) We love being zoo members and would highly recommend it!
My dad's birthday is next Friday, but we celebrated this weekend with a long-standing tradition -- bunny cake! His mother (my Grandma Genie) started making this cake for him when he was growing up since his birthday was always near Easter. Since then, my mom and I have taken over the tradition. Of course, Gabi was all over the chocolate cake!
I just had to throw this picture in...everyone gives Maya a hard time for being so rolly poly (even though she is average for weight/height!) She usually cleans up her plate AND her bib every meal. Gotta love those bib pockets, right Maya?!
Grammy Mary & Maya: Gabi and Papa Gary had quite a good time this weekend -- he taught her all kinds of new words and tricks! They had so much fun and were soooo silly! Now I know where I get my silliness! Her favorite new phrase is, "that's not proper!" I guess you have to hear it to see why it is so funny! They giggled almost the entire weekend!
I was off of work last week and enjoyed EVERY minute I got to spend with my girls. The weather was so nice that we were outside most of the week -- playing, swinging, walking, visiting neighbors, eating lunch outside, having friends come to visit, chasing the dog/cat, having fun at the parks, having Easter egg hunts, blowing bubbles, etc. Here are a few pictures from the week. I am so ready for summer (8 more weeks and then an entire summer to spend with my girls -- yippee!) It always goes by so fast after spring break.
We're looking forward to a visit from Amanda & Greer this week. Love to you all!
Joe, Tara, Gabriela, & Maya
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Gotcha!
Hello! It has been awhile since my last post! Hope this finds you all doing well...everything is great here!
We celebrated by having a Guatemalan dinner and taking a family picture. She was being her usual silly self tonight!
We gave Gabi a little dog backpack that we bought while we were in Guatemala. She gave her "nana" a ride in it and thought it was pretty cute. She named the dog, "Jackson"...how original! ;-) 
I had a snow day yesterday! Gabi & I had lots of fun building this snowman, but she did not want to get her picture taken with him AT ALL! So, being my stubborn self, I took one anyways and think it tells the story well...yes, yes, I did make her hold his hand. What a mean mom I am! ;-)
We went to Buffalo last week and had a great time! Joe drove up Tuesday for some business meetings and I flew up with the girls on Wednesday evening. Flying by myself with both girls was a bit of a challenge, but I managed okay. Going through security was kinda crazy, but both of them did great on the plane ride. It was great to see everyone...we played lots with Gio & Marco, died some Easter eggs, and visited the new calves. Gabi got to see her first calf being born and is still talking about it! She says, "after the baby calf was born, his mama wicked (licked) him. That's nice." She loved getting to pet a new calf as well.
Other than that, we have just been hanging out, doing some hiking and running, took a trip to the zoo, and are enjoying every minute with the girls. Here's a picture of Maya on one of our hikes:
Maya has been changing lots lately...she has 1 tooth now! We didn't even realize that she was getting one, it just appeared while we were in Buffalo. I think the 2nd one is on its way now because her nose is a little runny. She has also started to army crawl. The video below shows it pretty well. She gets faster and more efficient every day. I guess this is what my brother did and he never ended up really crawling. He went from army crawling straight to walking. They called him "the linoleum lizard." We don't have any linoleum in our house, so we will have to come up with a fitting name for Maya.
We celebrated Gabriela's 2nd Gotcha Day today...it has been 2 years already since she officially joined our family! What a wonderful 2 years they have been!
We celebrated by having a Guatemalan dinner and taking a family picture. She was being her usual silly self tonight!
We gave Gabi a little dog backpack that we bought while we were in Guatemala. She gave her "nana" a ride in it and thought it was pretty cute. She named the dog, "Jackson"...how original! ;-) I had a snow day yesterday! Gabi & I had lots of fun building this snowman, but she did not want to get her picture taken with him AT ALL! So, being my stubborn self, I took one anyways and think it tells the story well...yes, yes, I did make her hold his hand. What a mean mom I am! ;-)We went to Buffalo last week and had a great time! Joe drove up Tuesday for some business meetings and I flew up with the girls on Wednesday evening. Flying by myself with both girls was a bit of a challenge, but I managed okay. Going through security was kinda crazy, but both of them did great on the plane ride. It was great to see everyone...we played lots with Gio & Marco, died some Easter eggs, and visited the new calves. Gabi got to see her first calf being born and is still talking about it! She says, "after the baby calf was born, his mama wicked (licked) him. That's nice." She loved getting to pet a new calf as well.Other than that, we have just been hanging out, doing some hiking and running, took a trip to the zoo, and are enjoying every minute with the girls. Here's a picture of Maya on one of our hikes:Maya has been changing lots lately...she has 1 tooth now! We didn't even realize that she was getting one, it just appeared while we were in Buffalo. I think the 2nd one is on its way now because her nose is a little runny. She has also started to army crawl. The video below shows it pretty well. She gets faster and more efficient every day. I guess this is what my brother did and he never ended up really crawling. He went from army crawling straight to walking. They called him "the linoleum lizard." We don't have any linoleum in our house, so we will have to come up with a fitting name for Maya. She did have her 9 month check-up a few weeks ago. She weighed in at 19 lbs 1.5oz (49%ile), 27 inches (46%ile), and had a head circumfrence of 18 inches (91%ile). I was just amazed that she didn't even cry when she got a shot! Silly girl!
We are looking forward to Spring Break next week (an entire week hanging out with my girls!!!) My parents and Grandma Dorothy are coming for Easter. My brother may be as well. Hope you all are enjoying these beautiful days of Spring and have a joyous Easter with your family!
Lots of love,
Joe, Tara, Gabriela, & Maya
Sunday, February 28, 2010
9 Months Old!
Hi everyone, Hard to believe that Maya is 9 months old already! She is becoming quite the character -- trying to follow in her sister's silly ways. She is pretty laid back and happy as can be. She has made us as happy as can be as well -- what a joy!
Maya is a giggle bug and easy to please. Just like with Gabi, we love how simple things can crack her up!
This is what she does after every bite of food now...guess it means she thinks it is lip-smacking good! ;-)
Maya is a giggle bug and easy to please. Just like with Gabi, we love how simple things can crack her up!
This is what she does after every bite of food now...guess it means she thinks it is lip-smacking good! ;-)
We won't go in for her 9 month check-up until next week, so I don't have her official stats yet! She is definitely still a roly poly! She gets around by rolling and pushing herself in circles and backwards. She gets up in the crawling position, but it may be awhile yet. Her favorite word is, "dada" and she has said, "cat" a couple of times. She likes to wave "hi" and give high fives. She love music and watching her sister (and mom!) dance. She eats and WANTS to eat anything and everything. She doesn't have any teeth yet. She still gets mommy milk, but prefers it from a bottle now. I still get my snuggle time in the morning before I leave for work! :) The best words I can think of to describe her are "chill" and "daddy's girl" -- she adores Joe. I'm okay with that -- I adore him too! :)
A respiratory virus made its way into our household. I definitely took (and am still taking) the brunt of it. Gabi and Maya fought it off really well. Joe escaped it completely. Knock on wood. I haven't been sick in years, so I'm frustrated that it has slowed me down, but that is probably a good thing every once in awhile.
In other news, I am the only one in my extended family in the country right now. My brother is in Africa for almost a month (Malawai, Zaire, Zimbabwe) visiting and touring with a friend of his working in the Peace Corps. My parents are on a Carribean Cruise (they deserve it -- Iowa has had a horrible winter this year.) I'm sure they're soaking up the sun.
Hope you all are doing well! Take care and thanks for checking in on us!
Love, Joe, Tara, Gabi, & Maya
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Happy Valentine's Day!
Here are some pictures of our two little bundles of love. I believe it is close to impossible to get a "perfect" picture of an 8 month old and 2 year old together, but here are some of my efforts. Hope you enjoy all the outtakes! :) Silly Girls!
Here are a few more...we are all doing great!
I wish I had some pictures of our trip to Steamboat last weekend, but my computer "ate" them. We met a bunch of our great friends from college for a few days of skiing, stories, and the SuperBowl. Go Saints! (Joe has been a lifetime Saints fan, so he was pumped with their victory.) Gabi was able to ski quite a bit and loved every second. We are amazed at what good balance she has. She really liked riding the magic carpet. She thinks that the Olympic skiers on TV ride magic carpets as well! Steamboat was having their Winter Carnival while we were there, so we were able to see some ski jumping, ski races, and horses pulling skiers down Lincoln Ave, The girls (minus Maya) attended a night celebration complete with the "lighted man" sking down Howelson Hill and some outstanding fireworks. Here is a picture that Ashley took that night.
Here are a few more...we are all doing great!
I wish I had some pictures of our trip to Steamboat last weekend, but my computer "ate" them. We met a bunch of our great friends from college for a few days of skiing, stories, and the SuperBowl. Go Saints! (Joe has been a lifetime Saints fan, so he was pumped with their victory.) Gabi was able to ski quite a bit and loved every second. We are amazed at what good balance she has. She really liked riding the magic carpet. She thinks that the Olympic skiers on TV ride magic carpets as well! Steamboat was having their Winter Carnival while we were there, so we were able to see some ski jumping, ski races, and horses pulling skiers down Lincoln Ave, The girls (minus Maya) attended a night celebration complete with the "lighted man" sking down Howelson Hill and some outstanding fireworks. Here is a picture that Ashley took that night. Lots of love,
Joe, Tara, Gabi, & Maya
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
"G" is for GABI; "M" is for MAYA
Our view from the front of our house (stands for Golden High School)
What our view would be from the back of our house if our huge neighborhood trees were not in the way (stands for Colorado School of Mines)
It is a coincidence that Golden has a "G" for Gabi and an "M" for Maya. I don't even remember how we discovered it, but I love how Gabi thinks the "G" is up there especially for her! She points it out a lot out our front window and says, "G is for Gabi!" If we ever decide to have more kids, we will either have to move or do some major vandalism! :-)
Things have been quiet around here; finally getting back into the routine of things after the holiday season. Here are a few pictures of the girls from the past few weeks.
Dancing
Some of Maya's favorite things to do:
- clap!
- eat little finger foods -- she can inhale those little puffs like you wouldn't believe!
- watch us dance
- Rocky, our cat (she giggles every time she sees him)
- flip her tongue over -- it is the craziest thing and I'll try to get a picture of it!
- have her curly-on-top "fauxhawk" hairstyle (I'm thinking we'll have one girl with straight hair and one with curly!)
- just chill and be happy!
Some of Gabi's favorite things to do:
- dance!
- read any and all Cat in the Hat/Dr. Seuss or Fancy Nancy books
- feed Jackson (who says she is too young for chores!?)
- ask "Why?" and "Why NOT?" a lot
- count in English and in Spanish (she can get to 16 in both languages)
- SING! She has quite a repertoire -- "Twinkle Twinkle," "Days of the Week," "Personal Penguin," "Itsy Bitsy Spider," "Who Stole the Cookie?," and the "ABCs"
We hope this finds everyone doing well! Thanks for checking in on us!
Joe, Tara, Gabi, & Maya
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