Sunday, October 20, 2013

It’s Great to be Eight!!

1384397_10151990620696663_567661642_n So here we are again, another birthday for my sweet little Maisie Miao Miao.  And once again I’m feeling that the years are passing too  quickly, I mean seriously, where have they gone?  Each year I say the same thing, that it seems like just a short time ago when we saw her cue ball cutie face for the first time and she was just a scared little 14 month old being placed in our arms.  Each year I also say that I can’t believe how grown up and mature she looks though it’s the same sweet face from when we first laid eyes on her. 

995867_10152001155076663_2087429777_nMaisie is my sweet, kind, hard working, generous, smart, sassy, beautiful, caring, talented, athletic and loving girl.  She is excelling in and loving fourth grade and she still loves being at her gym and is having a fabulous time training for her upcoming USA level 6 season.  Each and every day I feel so lucky that Maisie’s my daughter and I adore watching her grow into the person she is and can only imagine the adult she’ll become.  Though I wish I could slow down time and keep her my wee little baby girl forever, I look forward to each new day with my girl, seeing all that she is, does and accomplishes.  She is my A-Maisie-ing Maisie Miao Miao.

This year for her birthday Maisie asked to have some of her favorite girls over for a pajama, candy eating, sit around the fire pit & roast hot dogs and marshmallows, chalk, play together, gymnastics, decorate cupcakes, hang around like-big-girls party.  So that’s exactly what she got. 

Happy Birthday my sweet little Maisie Miao Miao, I love you more and more each and every day and each and every year.

-1Maisie, ready to celebrate with her friends.  (Thanks to Lisa for this and most of the pics in this post)

IMG_4384Briana was very excited for the party to begin!

IMG_4387 A little chatting and lots of candy eating, a great way to begin an evening.

IMG_4401Some games on the lawn.

1376322_10152001151906663_352934777_n Handstands.

1390563_10151997312271663_1849536697_n And headstands.

IMG_4402Let the hotdog roasting begin.

IMG_4407Yep, making the girls cook their own dinner!

IMG_4413Watching to make the perfect roast dog.

1375184_10151997312426663_154291677_nYummy!  Cooking your own food makes girls hungry.

IMG_4420A few hotdogs were dropped followed by a good number more which were “accidentally” dropped once they found out that they would be fed to the fish.

IMG_4427Working off some of their dinner with more games on the lawn.

IMG_4431Friends with chalk on the driveway.

IMG_4436Fun and easy playtime on a gorgeous evening.

996940_10152001154231663_1657893104_n April, Briana, Taylor, Maisie, Aspen, Alyssa & Sarah.

1378534_10152001155771663_1026156130_nThen it was time for dessert!

IMG_4437The girls at this party had to work.  Not only did they have to cook their own dinner but they had to frost and decorate their own cup cake!

IMG_4442Going for the sugar!

IMG_4444Ready to enjoy their creations.

1375693_10151997312506663_861292823_nYUM!!  Worth the wait and the work!

IMG_4464After the cupcake decorating and eating the girls all grabbed flashlights and ran around the neighborhood playing hide-&-seek.  Well until they needed more sugar…

IMG_4467More work for the girls as they had to roast their own giant marshmallows.

IMG_4468Some preferred them barely cooked, others burned and some just wanted to roast but not eat them.  Thankfully the adults sacrificed themselves and ate the roasted cast-offs.

1385853_10152010426821663_1081782765_n The girls did actually slow down long enough to settle into their blankets and watch a movie.

IMG_4472But Briana was the only one who stuck it out and watched to the end of the movie as the other girls ran off with their flashlights to play hide-&-seek through the neighborhood again.

1383618_10151997312616663_395395690_nIt wasn’t just for the girls, the adults enjoyed the evening too.  Sitting around the fire pit on the deck, drinking, eating and relaxing.  A fun night for all.

IMG_4477At 10PM it was time to hand out goodie bags and say good night to her friends.  It was exactly the party that Maisie had wanted but she was tired and ready for bed!  Thanks everyone for making Maisie’s birthday party so much fun!

I have to share these cute pictures of Maisie at her gym. 

1390583_10151990953496663_173864486_n Coach Johnny holding five-year-old Maisie by her legs after he plucked her from the pit at her birthday party.

1384179_10151991716961663_203418842_n Coach Johnny, three years to the day, holding eight-year-old Maisie, who by the way is wearing the exact same leotard.  Looks like they’ve both grown and put on muscle!!

I still can’t believe that my girl is really eight but here’s photographic evidence showing my sweet little Maisie on her birthday through the years.

IMG_5787e2 2012 ~ Maisie 7 years old.

IMG_1271e22011~ Maisie 6 years old.

Five years old2010 ~ Maisie 5 years old.

Four years old2009 ~ Maisie 4 years old.

Three years old2008 ~ Maisie 3 years old.

Two years old2007 ~ Maisie 2 years old.

MaisieWave.13 2006 ~ Our second picture of our sweet little Maisie Miao Miao.  Waving to us and waiting for us to come and get her.

Maisie referral 2006 ~ Our first picture of our cue ball cutie.  (she’s probably about 7 months old)

Monday, October 07, 2013

Forever!! Maybe not that long but long enough

photo The days just seem to fly by with so little time available to sit down, relax and just work on a blog post… so weeks pass without any updates.  Trying to play catch up a bit so here we go.  I have spent quite a bit of time watching Maisie at her practices, I just love seeing what she’s working on, how she’s progressing and of course how much she loves gymnastics.  I’ve taken a number of videos so this post is to share all of them. 

For three of Maisie's practices each week she starts with some really easy warm ups.  A few sets of 50 pushups.

A couple of times up and down the rope.

And a few sets of leg lifts.  Yeah, I could do all that to start…right!

Maisie’s been working hard on getting her giant on the bars.

And also her full onto the pit mat.

She even attempted her full on the floor!

Maisie’s been working hard on her new floor, bar and beam routines and is excited to be learning and practicing so many new skills.  She’s looking forward to January when competition season begins.

Not only has this blog been neglected but my cooking blog, Cook Lisa Cook has also suffered from lack of attention.  Today though I did post a new recipe, Fijian Ceviche.  This wonderful ceviche has coconut milk added in which which just adds a whole new and interesting dimension to the dish.  Click on the link or the picture to be taken to Cook Lisa Cook and the recipe.

1385395_10151965017876663_541994582_n

Enjoy!

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