Maxine is Mobile/Jenny's Baby Shower

(I bought that walker for her for $8 at a yard sale a couple weeks ago)

She started crawling fluently this week. There is a big difference between dragging yourself with your arms (mopping the floor with your belly) and actually moving palm-knee-palm-knee (belly completely off the floor). She goes where she hears voices. She goes where she's never been. She is very curious about the laundry room and 1/2 bath towards the back of the house but she seems to know she's not allowed over there.

Also, on Monday, I walked into the living room and was startled by Maxine doing this:

She pulled up onto that coffee table to reach a toy she spied. She got it. This marks her first time pulling up onto furniture. After five minutes in this position she cried because she realized she couldn't get herself back down to the floor! This means we have to take the crib apart and lower the mattress. Why they make it such a hassle, I don't know. But she pulled up holding onto the crib rail this afternoon so it must be done. Last weekend, the girls and I attended Cousin Jenny's baby shower in Grandma Emma's backyard (my favorite backyard in the world). I brought Maxine's walker in case my arms needed relief but as soon as I put her in it she threw a fit. Grandma came and picked her up and she stopped crying. She stayed on Grandma's lap for a long time, talking, grabbing buttons and beads, nibbling her little shoes and being plain adorable. The affair was catered by Brent's Deli which is WAY better than Subway--not even comparable. So I ate lunch while Maxine played with Grandma and then we switched. Later, Maxine also spent a lot of time on Grandpa's lap, equally at peace and equally playful and adorable. She already knows and likes her great-grandparents, huh?! Raquel at this age was the opposite--she couldn't stand Grandma. It brought a lot of joy to Grandma that Maxine was so happy on her lap.

Here's Max trying out the grass in the front yard. She tried to eat it.

Cousin Mary made Rainbow Sherbet Punch that was so pretty! I didn't try it but Maxine did, hehe! Grandma was giving it to her and she liked it so much she tried to pull the cup to her mouth for more! She didn't get a sugar high or a tummy ache, just so you know.

Raquel socialized with everyone and played all the shower games. Grandpa gave her a mini agriculture lesson in the vineyard. I took several shots of this. I don't want Raquel to forget these things.

Raquel's Flag Salute

A couple of weeks ago Raquel was chosen, along with one other preschool student, to lead the entire school in the morning flag salute. They were the first preschoolers to get this honor. Jose took Raquel to school that morning and asked her if she was nervous. She was SO not nervous of course. Daddy was pretty nervous, though! The video is pretty quiet so please turn up your volume to listen and watch.

Easter

What lovely weather we had on Easter Sunday. The day was spent at my in-law's house. We ate machaca and fruit tarts, took about a billion pictures of the kiddos and let Raquel hunt for eggies. My nephew Ricky is such a cute little boy and so strong! He cried a little at first but by the end of the day he let me hold him for a long time.

Raquel's Mini Makeover

I gave Raquel a hair cut at home yesterday. Something got into me to make me think I could do it, so I did! At first, I thought I had made a mistake, bitten off more than I could chew. But then I envisioned the result I wanted and with Raquel's extreme patience, I achieved it. The "after" shot is from her egg hunt today at Grandma Rosamaria's house.
More pictures of Easter Day to come.

Cherimoya

It's a fruit. Supposedly Mark Twain's most favorite. I bought one yesterday to make some baby food and I am glad I did. It has a creamy texture and very light taste which is perfect for mixing with about any other fruit. They are ugly on the outside with a pretty pail whitish yellow flesh on the inside. The seeds are large and black so they are easily found and removed.
I made a small batch of plain cherimoya, a batch of kiwi cherimoya and a batch of banana kiwi. I made several batches of other types of foods yesterday, too. We have a market nearby that has an EXCELLENT selection of produce at very low prices. Many of their items are specialties in cultures other than my own, I guess. I almost bought these miniature eggplant called Indian Eggplant. They are the size of a golf ball but obviously egg-shaped. Cute! I will buy them when I find a good recipe for them.
*****
Raquel is doing fine. She is still her silly self but I bet you she really misses jumping on her bed and playing with the kids at school. Next week is Spring Break so she'll have a good amount of time to heal more before she goes back to school.
Thanks for reading.

Yes, That's a Broken Bone

This is an x-ray taken of Raquel's shoulder this morning. She fell off her bed while asleep the night before last causing a clavical fracture. Her pediatrician says its a good thing the broken ends are facing each other, that this will make it heal itself faster. For now, she wears a "figure 8 sling" to hold her shoulders back just a bit and aid in the healing.

You noticed I said the night before last? Yesterday morning, Raquel was whimpering about pain in her neck but then she took it back and said she was pretending. At that point, we didn't know what to believe. This was our first experience as parents with a preschool child who is capable of telling plenty of lies and trying to figure out what the heck to do. It was a little aggravating. We ended up keeping her home yesterday and then in the afternoon, through some tests, and despite all the fake giggling and smiling (through tears) Raquel was doing, I discovered she really was hurt.

We didn't think it was broken and neither did the doctor, because there was no swelling or bruising and Raquel wasn't complaining too much. The x-ray surprised us all. Maybe Raquel is tougher than we think she is?

Her doctor said she could return back to school tomorrow if we felt like she should but I think I'll keep her home one more day. She is very afraid of people touching her arm, pulling or shoving her even the slightest bit.

We will take her back in 4-6 weeks for a check up on the break.