Givers and takers

I was thinking tonight while making dinner. There are two types of people in this world: givers and takers. The givers who give the most seem to be the happiest and most successful people I know. Whether they give church service, friendship, love, money, work, support; they are examples of success and happiness. The people who are takers and take the most; whether it be money, friendship, support, work, service, love, tend to be the most miserable and unhappy people. Those who always give, also give thanks for what they have. Those who always take, seem to complain that they don't have enough. Those that give or take at different degrees tend to have different levels of success and happiness or failure and misery. But, I think that's what it all boils down to in life: giving or taking. Who do we want to be? Ok, so I'm not really all that profound and I don't take myself that seriously, it was just something I thought about.

Sylvie's 2nd Birthday

Opening presents

Blowing out the candle-careful not to burn your lips!

Enjoying her cake!

Sylvie turned 2 last week! She's our little spitfire, bundle of energy, comedian, and cutie-pie. She is so much fun, she makes us laugh all the time. The talking button has recently been turned on in her little brain. Today she came to me and said very deliberately and articulately, "Mommy, Mommy-Marco hit me." She's got this little 2 year-old brain working in her 21 lb. body. She's not even on the charts for her weight-she is super skinny! She does eat-on her own terms.

On Sunday, we just had Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle B over for dinner, cupcakes and presents. Sylvie actually opened the gifts herself! She got a baby doll set-bed, carrier, etc. a doll, some bath toys, a sit 'n spin, mega blocks, tea set, clothes. She was spoiled! We love our Sylv-sylv!

Score!

I went to Eco Thrift today. I always find treasures there. Today it was books. I got 7 books for $10. This is what I got:

A River Runs Through It by Norman MacLean
The Other Queen by Philippa Gregory
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
The Sign of Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Jay Fowler
Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

I'm excited to start reading all these books. The only one I've read is The Other Queen-a historical fiction novel about Mary Queen of Scots. Anyway, I think I'll be occupied with these for a while!

Lucia's first day of first grade

Lucia woke up super early and said she hadn't slept the night before because she was so excited for first grade. I remember that feeling as a child; getting your backpack, clothes and shoes ready the night before, the excitement and anticipation of meeting a new teacher and new friends. She got dressed on her own and was ready to go 45 minutes before it was time to go. She didn't want to eat, but I convinced her it was not good to try to learn and play on an empty stomach. We took the pictures outside before we left (look at the gigantic backpack!) She was all smiles and excited. The school was total chaos! It's tucked back at the end of a residential street and there were cars and people everywhere! We didn't know where to go or what to do, so we just followed the crowd. Her teacher is very seasoned (Lucia said she's 62). She knew what she was doing. The next thing I knew, she was off to her class and I had to hold back the tears as I watched her walk away. When we picked her up after school, again chaos. She was at the very end of the line. She said she had a good day. She met one girl that she went on the slide with twice at recess. She said the rest of the time she walked around by herself. She said she had to sit on the ground at lunch because there wasn't enough room at the table and she dropped her food on the ground. She said nobody handed her the pointer to read during reading time. She said she had to sit in the back by two boys because the other kids got the front seats first. She said her teacher called her "Luchia". Those were the things that touched me and made me a little sad. I watched her wander the playground by herself this morning when I dropped her off. I wish I had picked a different school where she already knew some kids. I'm really mad at myself for puting her in a school where she doesn't know anybody. I know it's a good school and all, but I'm really having second thoughts about it. She did say she liked it and that it was funner than homeschool. I guess we'll give it some time. I really don't have any other options now except the yucky neighborhood school where we don't know anyone or homeschool. I'll just pray she finds a good friend quickly.

Cousin Time!

Marco, Noelle and Lucia getting ready to jump in the pool.

Cute little Elijah-he's such a happy boy!

Callie and Eden at the zoo.

Lucia, Noelle, Marco and Corom at the zoo.

Eden and Sylvie-the stroller girls!

Rub-a-dub-dub, four kids in a tub!

Marco turned 4!

Marco's birthday was during my bout with strep throat. So, on his actual birthday he got to open three gifts from us: Voltron toy, Transformer and Spiderman costumes. He loved them. Then when all the cousins got to town, we did a night at Chuck E Cheese, went to Folsom Lake for the day and had a party here at our house. He wanted a Transformer party-so we got him cups, plates, and napkins and a banner. Tami made him a Spiderman cake-it was so cute and delicious! He got lots of fun stuff from the family:a Slip n Slide, a doctor's kit, Legos, a Spiderman backpack and toy, a new outfit and a Star Wars bedspread. He was very happy and we had a lot of fun. I didn't get any pictures at the Lake-someone please send me some!

Trip to So. Cal

Baby Halea-our newest cousin

Lucia and Marco helping cousin Valerie open her gifts.

Us with the Potter's outside their house.

At Lake Arrowhead.

Two weekends ago, (before I got sick), we went to Southern California. Julio had a court hearing in Riverside, so we decided to tag along. The trip did not start out well-Sylvie was throwing up in the car. We had to stop in Modesto for another court hearing and then we headed down. The trip was very long with a sick child, traffic and then the long, windy road up the mountain to Lake Arrowhead to the Potter's house. We even took dramamine and it didn't help much! It took me two days to get over the vertigo! We did get to go to Arrowhead Village on Friday to look around and the kids went on some rides. Then, we went back to the Potter's house where I nursed a sick baby all day while Julio was in Riverside. At least Marco and Lucia played well all day and didn't whine or fight. It was nice of Serena and Franz to host us. They live in a beautiful place-it's just so hard to get there. Saturday we went to Abuela's house for lunch then headed to Yesenia and Elliott's for Valerie's 18th birthday party. The second we walked in their house, Marco's eyes swelled up from his cat allergy. It was nice to see all the Hernandez family and meet our new baby cousin Halea. It was a fun party, but we were so ready to come home on Sunday-Sylvie and I flew home to avoid the long drive. Then, I got sick. Oh well. We're done traveling for the summer.