Happy 4th Birthday

For David's fourth Birthday,
he requested to make his
very own cake with his Tita.

We're not sure who had

more fun. Nevertheless,

we looked forward to

testing their culinary skills.

Besides making cake, we all

went to the Lowry Park Zoo

in Tampa to celebrate our

big boy with the animals.
We all spent the day sweating
profusely with blisters on our
feet and smiles on our faces.

The kids enjoyed seeing the

monkeys, elephants and all

the other animals that managed

not to faint from heat exhaustion.

We took the kids to the

petting zoo also and David

really enjoyed that. Michaella

sat that one out. At the

entrance of the park there

was a sprinkler play area

that the kids cooled off in.

Lots of fun!

After a very long day in the sun we relaxed around, had some cake and let David open some presents. He seemed to realy enjoy his bithday and is already looking forward to turning five.

Happy Birthday David!

Fun! Fun! Fun!

The kids have had so much fun this summer.

They certainly love getting into things together.

The three of them seem to think that Diamar is their personal jungle gym.

They do love to help with the chores though.

It only takes about an hour longer to do them.

They each have their own idea of fun...

Michaella loves trying on different hats.

Ricky loves chasing the vacume cleaner.

David loves playing ball.

They both love the camera.

Most of all, they love playing together.

Michael's Truck

As most of you already know, Michael is currently driving as a regional truck driver for a company named Roehl (pronounced Rail). I recently had the opportunity to meet him at a truck stop in Florida, a bit north from where we live. It was great to see where he sleeps and what it feels like to be behind the wheel of such a large vehicle.




Left-This is the official
insignia of the company








Right-Michael's truck number is 1281

His bed has storage underneath and on either side of it also. He has a microwave and a mini fridge.

Very Comfy

Team

Drivers

Michaella's Month of Mishaps

The month of June was very eventful for little Michaella. You might be wondering what new and exciting things she's into now. However, while she is exploring new adventures she has also experienced the side effects of some.

PART I
The first catastrophe happened while we all sat down for lunch, (Disclaimer-Papi was on the road and not responsible for any of these events). Michaella, who surprisingly finished first, was playing on a riding car within less than a foot from us. Apparently, she had straddled it backwards and shifted her weight unevenly. In an instant she flipped over and ironically went forehead first into the infant safety gate. Go figure! There was lots of crying and blood but, considering the urgency of the situation, no one panicked. Diamar and I took her to Urgent Care down the street and after about two hours of waiting and evaluations, the Doctor concluded that she needed stitches. Actually, they could have used liquid band aide to create a type of butterfly stitch, but of course they were all out. So stitches it was.

PART II
The second catastrophe was only a few weeks after the stitches came out. Diamar decided to introduce eggs to little Ricky and since Michaella is only three months younger, I figured why not. Yes, that was not the best idea. So, off to story time at our local library. While I was putting Michaella in her car seat, I noticed that she had a small red spot on one of her cheeks. It looked like a heat rash, which is common for this time of year. When we took her out at the house both cheeks seemed to be red. We took off her clothes and found hives on her thighs. Obviously she had an allergic reaction to something, maybe eggs. Diamar called her pediatrician and she recommended Benadryl. I rushed to the pharmacy to pick it up and when I came returned my sweet little princess had worsened. While her behavior was normal as she was playing and laughing with David and her cousin, her body and face...well, if you have ever seen the movie Hitch with Will Smith you have some idea of what she looked like. Thank God the swelling went down by that evening at which point she crashed. Her ears were back to normal size the next morning. Pure comedy!

A Very Happy Mother's Day

Mother's Day 2008 was extra special.

Since we were in Florida, and most of the Perez side of our family also live here, we planned a big brunch to celebrate motherhood together. We also decided to coorddinate our outfits and had a semi-professional photo shoot. Thank you cousin Jose! I must say we are quite a beautiful bunch. We were missing quite a few family members but they certainly were not forgotten. As a matter of fact Michael, the Lazeres, and Tio Manny must have had ringing ears all day.

Jomar and the kiddies

Nana and her grands and great-grands

Nana, her girls and Val