Teefy's First Swing Ride - 3.11.13

I think all of Teef's "Firsts" are due to his father. If it was up to me he would still be safe in my womb. Not really. But I just never even think to try things with the kids sometimes. Anyway, while I was at Kohls, Lateef took the kids to the "Nevada" park near the library and Teefy had his first swing ride. Based on smiles, I think he enjoyed it. 

 For some reason, whenever I see these pictures of my girls, all I can think of is 1) They are gorgeous 2) Their posing seems kind of "Private Dancerish" to me.

 The Teefs.

 First swing ride!

 The girls met and played with an older girl that went to Coral for awhile. Parks are great. 

Second Saturday with Ryan - 3.9.13

Once we got back from Vegas, Lateef had to head out the next day for a Kappa conference in Sacramento. Fortunately, that didn't stop us from going to the free day at the Nevada Museum of Art for Second Saturdays because my brother came with us! This was Ryan's first time going to anything remotely "cultural" in Reno and I think he had a nice time. The girls got to make some cool tambourines and kazoos and of course the roof is always exciting. I think Amyra's favorite part of the day however was riding on Ryan's new scooter! Yes I said SCOOTER! It's kind of amazing that my brother rides a scooter. And yes, I repeat, SCOOTER!

This is Teefy in his exersaucer. We used it for Mya and now he loves playing in it too! I don't know why this picture is here. I can only assume I put him in the exersaucer for the first time that same weekend? If that's the case he was around 5.5 months old?

 Amyra riding on the SCOOTER with Ryan.

 Teef and Ryan at the museum.

 The girls making kazoos.

 Teefy sitting up by himself!

 This was one of the tambourines the girls made. Ryan suggested that Mya put her hand print on it. Good idea Ryan.

 Mya with her finished product.

The only reason Ryan came out today was because the promise of free Indian food was involved. So after the museum, we ate at the Indian Buffet. I stupidly allowed Teefy to suck on cantaloupe from the buffet and then that night, the poor guy started throwing up! It was a rough night of hearing his stomach churning and then projectile vomiting. My poor guy. Luckily, I never had to take him to the ER or urgent care but wow was it scary. The weird thing is that Amyra had thrown up the morning we returned from Vegas. And then my mom and I both threw up a few days after Teefy. Were they all connected? Possibly. Boo for throwing up but yeay for weight loss (although it was just temporary for me)!

Vegas! - 3.1.13 - 3.4.13

So we planned another trip to Vegas and it happened to coincide with Papa D being down there too (did I mention Lateef's folks now live in Maryland since Mama D works for the University of Maryland?) which was a plus. It was an extra plus because we were able to meet the new baby cousin Ceriah and the best part was that Kelley's daughter Sun was born on February 28th! I was so glad I made it in time to meet her!

Day One in Vegas - 3.1.13

Our first day in Vegas was a busy one. I started by getting to meet little Sunny (this obviously is a recent picture of her as I didn't get any at the hospital).

Unfortunately, plans to hang out with Cefia and Ceriah didn't work out because Femia became unexpectedly busy with work. So, we dropped Lateef off at UNLV (so he could sort out some PhD stuff) and I took the kids to a park. This was the perfect time to be in Vegas. The weather even made Lateef ask "why did we move away again?" I had to remind him that this was early in March and a month from now it would be too hot to be outside! 

After the park, we picked up Lateef, ran a few errands, and then TaReon watched the girls for us while Lateef and I ate sushi at our favorite place in Vegas. Mmmm, it was so good. Then we all went to First Fridays and were able to see Joe's exhibit, and see Tamara and cousin Joey for a few minutes. It was definitely a jam packed day but what else would you expect in Vegas?

Day Two in Vegas - 3.2.13

We started off the day by heading to Town Square to play in the park. That place never disappoints. Though we weren't able to meet up with Femia again (they ended up having to run errands) the girls made friends easily at the park and had a blast. 

 Amyra really wanted to push the merry-go-round. Though those things make me really nervous, I tried to hold back my concern and just let her have fun. Sigh. 

 Teefy and I. I love his Zoolander pose. 

Why can I never get a decent picture with more than one child?

That evening, we went over to Tamara's house with all the other cousins and had a great great time. The girls couldn't get enough of their cousins and the parents couldn't get enough of trying to take pictures of all of the cousins. Also, at the time, those Harlem Shake videos were a really big deal, so the night ended with all of us dancing in our own Harlem Shake video! It was definitely a lot of fun.

 Mya, Cefia, and Amyra

 Femia and I

 Tamara, Femia and I 

 Tamara, Tricia, Femia and I

 The Next Generation - Mya, Jillian, Amyra, Jenna, and Cefia (Back Row)

Joey, Teefy, and Ceria (Front Row)

 The Joes.

 Finally some boys in the family. Little Joey was born on February 14, 2012 and is 7 months older than Teefy. They will however be in the same grade. So glad when we all get together, Teefy will have a little boy cousin to play with too.

 Grandpa with the newest additions.

 The beautiful ladies.

The handsome boys.

Sidenote Story: As we were leaving that night, we put Mya in the car and had her buckled and then Lateef and I ran back inside to get Amyra and Teefy. She must have been alone for like 5 minutes so when I saw her crying when I came back to the truck, I assumed she were sad that we had left her. But then she said, “Mommy, I saw a hand there…” and she pointed to the back of the truck. I felt so sad for her. How scary it must have been to be by herself, in the dark car, and then see a hand and have no one nearby. She had turned on the lights by herself at least but I felt so bad for her.

Also, here are our "Harlem Shake" videos. We never edited them together or with the music so you will have to use your imagination!

 

Day Three in Vegas - 3.3.13

On our third day in Vegas, we got to catch up with a lot of old friends. We started by having lunch at the Indian Buffet with TaReon and Sonya (the food was only okay). Then we stopped by Femia and Cedric's house to visit for about an hour (where Cefia bit Mya on the cheek - Ahh - the best part is that the next day, Mya bit Amyra when she got mad) before going to see Carlos and Beatriz. Beatriz used to work with Lateef at Nevada Health Centers and Carlos and Lateef would often get together to ride bikes or play tennis. We hadn't seen them since Amyra celebrated her 3rd birthday in Vegas (so almost 2 years) and in that time, they had twin baby boys who had just turned one! They are such great people and it's so fun to hear them talk about their boys. Though they are twins, they are so different. 

 We ended the day by taking the girls to a park so they could fly kites we had bought from Costco. That's one thing about Vegas. It's always windy enough to fly a kite!

The Last Day in Vegas - 3.4.13

I honestly don't remember much of our last day in Vegas. We got together with Sasha, Sofie, and Tori early that morning for a play date at the park. There, I learned that Mya could randomly cross the monkey bars all by herself. Seriously?! She's only two (almost three) and is so crazy strong and coordinated. 

Then, we went to Jason's Deli for lunch before coming home and packing.  Then we ended the night by going to a park again, eating some dinner and frozen yogurt and driving through the night to get home by 2 am! I wasn't able to get together with Jennifer and Kelley this time (I totally felt cheated but oh well hopefully next time) but overall the trip was still well worth it. The next trip will probably be sometime in the summer and hopefully we will be able to coordinate the trip with Mama and Papa D again. 

This are some pics of the kids during our "down time". I love Teef's dimple.

 Mya wearing Papa D's glasses.

I wish I had gotten a picture but Amyra was constantly in the back yard "water bending" the pool water with a long pole. This involved her using the pole to lift water out of the air in an arc and then watch it splash back into the pool. She LOVED it!

Teefy is Five Months - 2.28.13

So you were unofficially 17 lbs 12 oz (75%) and 27.75 inches (98%). You didn't gain as much weight as you have been and I can't remember if it was because you were sick? Hmm. I don't think so. Anyway, Dr. Wadia said you could start eating rice cereal but I decided to wait until at least 6 months. You also started biting me while breast feeding which wasn't fun. Thankfully there were no teeth! You are totally sitting unassisted no problem and are rolling over to one side easily. Time is flying little man.