Wanna see me grow?

My Mommy & Daddy have been updating my growth on our family website.....come check it out!!

www.thecurlees.com

The many faces of Jayna...

This was taken in San Angelo at the Unidad Park - a park specially designed for toddlers and handicapped children. Such an awesome experience!




















The flooring at the park is shredded up rubber (from old tires) and each section of the park has a different flooring theme...one is ABC's, one is 123's, and others has different symbols like ?, !, &, etc. You get the idea.




















Cool swing! Designed for handicapped children who're in wheelchairs. Jayna loved sitting in it too and feeling like a big girl!




















Jayna loves being silly. I think that's one of the things I love about her most...her willingness to be silly and just be herself!















Such a sweet, sweet smile on my precious little girl. Hard to believe just 3 1/2 years ago she arrived here on this earth. She's growing up so fast!















Such a "smart" look here. LOVE the lashes! Wish mine were this long!
















SURPRISE!!!!!

I hope you enjoyed these as much as I loved taking them. I'm asking for a NICE digital camera for Christmas....professional quality. Need one since I'm the photographer of the family.

Our special weekend

Last weekend we took a trip to Round Rock to see Estera and Vio Grigore from Romania. About 6 years ago, when we lived in Austin, Dave took a trip to Romania with some of our church members to Romania to do mission work there. Dave went along to help but to also video a documentary of the life of a Romanian doing missions in that poor country. He came back with a renewed sense of priority and what really mattered in life. He found that he took a LOT for granted because being in Romania for 2 weeks...in a country where nothing works...you learn to make things work. You learn to do what you have to do to get things done.

I can remember while he was there, he called me one night. I also got to speak to Estera (before she was married to Vio) and visit briefly. Through the visit as well as through these years since he's been there, Estera and I have emailed and kept in touch.

Well, 3 weeks ago, I received an email from her stating that she and Vio were coming to America for vacation and they wanted to see us. To make a long story short, we went to Round Rock - without Dave - and got to visit last Saturday for a few hours. Dave couldn't come because he was working on a major deadlined project and he needed every minute he could get. This Friday, we as a family, are going back to Round Rock to visit her - WITH Dave - to visit her and Vio before they leave to return to Romania.

We are absolutely thrilled that we'll get to see her again...and even more excited that Dave will have the opportunity to see her after 6 years.

Here is a picture of Estera with my girls. It was a blessed reunion.

A New Cheese...

Today as I was fixing Jayna a pizza for lunch (my homemade specialty) I told her I needed to get out the cheese to put on top. She said, "Cheese? Guacamole cheese???"

GROSSSSSS!!!

'NUFF SAID!

Our weekend...a SUCCESS story!!!

What a weekend!!

Friday, our day started off with Jayna finding my scissors (yes…again) and cut her pacifier in half. When I found her in the kitchen, she showed me that she “broke” her pacifier. I showed her my shock and said, “Oh, Jayna...you broke your tassy. Now you have to throw it away….” She started crying and the reality of what she had done really started to sink in. She didn’t panic or anything…but you could see that she was really grieved that she had cut up her best friend.

The day went on…and she would inquire about her tassy every now and then, but didn’t throw a fit or cry for hours on end. She did sob before naptime…but it only lasted for about 30 seconds at the most. That evening, after dinner, she crawled in bed with Dave and watched a movie in which she fell deeply asleep and never cried for the pacifier.

Saturday was very uneventful. She would ask every now and then (maybe 3 or 4 times during the day) but never threw a fit or cried. Saturday night was easy going until bedtime when she and I started to play before bedtime. I was flipping her in her bed when she fell wrong and her neck popped and knocked the wind out of her. It took about 10 seconds (the longest 10 seconds ever) to catch her breath. She cried a bit because it hurt her a little, but when she wanted the comfort of the pacifier, it wasn’t there and we encouraged her that she was going to be fine without it. She then went immediately to bed and we never heard a peep from her.

This morning we woke up, got ready for church, dropped her off and her favorite Sunday School teacher, Mr. Dave, was there and she met him with B I G hugs and a B I G kiss. She ran off and played and never cried or asked for her “tassy” which made us feel REALLY good. By the way, on our way home from church, flash floods came and literally flooded our area. We’re fine and got home fine…but our neighborhoods suffered greatly and there is a lot of flooding. Quite a few exits off IH-20 are closed due to the creek/river that runs in our area. Anyhoo…back to Jayna. Today she didn’t get a nap and played all day long. We went to the store before the heavy rains came again and she napped on the way home (20 minutes)…even as we drove through GP and saw some of the water damage. Tonight has been somewhat of a challenge. Not because she needs the pacifier…it was more for the fact that she needs a nap. She needs to go to bed. So…off to bed she goes. She got her bath and is winding down in her Daddy’s chair (her favorite spot).

Dave and I are very proud of her and the success she’s had in the past 3 days. It’s been a challenge, but with tons of hugs and kisses and lots of love and encouragement, she’s really doing a beautiful job without the pacifier. Remember, she sealed the deal on this situation…so we have to make the best of it for her and she’s doing SO GOOD!!

Now…if we can only get her to go to the potty all the time!! That’s next on the agenda!

Until next time…

MommyCurlee

Jayna's FIRST trip the the Movies!

Well today was a day to remember for Jayna! She got to go to the movies with her Daddy! They went and saw Curious George and she was so excited, we thought she'd bust a gut!

When they arrived, they got some popcorn (she was REALLY looking forward to eating, "PopPorn") and went and sat where she could see the movie on the BIG SCREEN! She was so amazed how B-I-G the TV was!!

Dave said she laughed quite a bit at the little Monkey and loved the movies! She was a little restless towards the end, but did wonderfully and had a great time!

Looks like we'll make a date of these events more often now that we know she loves it!

More to come later...
MommyCurlee

Quiet Means Trouble with a Capital "T"

This morning as we finished eating breakfast, I was getting Jillian ready for her nap by giving her a bottle. After she was fed, I put her down and when I walked back into the living room, I noticed it was awfully quiet, and when it's quiet, there's usually something wrong.

Sure enough, when I called to Jayna, she was in the kitchen (a big "NO-NO" in our house) by herself and when I asked her what she was doing in the kitchen alone, she showed me her pacifier. It was in 2 pieces. She had found my scissors (time to find a NEW hiding place...again) and cut it in half. It was "broken."

She begged me to fix it, but I kept telling her it was broken and it was time to throw it away. She hung on to it for about an hour, and now, she's without it...walking around and playing dress-up without it. We'll see how things go this weekend without the last of the pacifiers...this one was the last one...and hopefully, she'll learn to adjust without it.

Then, this weekend I'm off to the bookstore to buy a book called "Potty Train in One Day." We'll see how that goes...

Until then...

MommyCurlee