Wil turns FIVE!

William is FIVE ! Can you believe it? I sure can't. He's my baby... my little man... my love. What am I going to do? We had a big birthday bash for him the Sunday before his birthday at a place called Hullabaloo's Partyhouse. It's a big 'ole room with a bouncer/slide, indoor playground, games and Las Vegas style stage with microphone and karaoke toons. It was a great party. I think it was a hit with the kids. William definitely had a blast running around and playing with all of his friends. Me? Well, these big productions are taking a toll on me. I swear, I'm ready for mellow birthdays but I have a feeling that might be a couple of years away still. We were so grateful to all of our LA friends (uh-um... Sarah and Erin) who made it down with their hubbies and kids to celebrate. It was a good day and we're so thankful to God for blessing us with William. :)

William and his buddy Gavin playing air-hockey.
William and Fletch- backup dancers to William's girlfriend Maddie!
Eagerly awaiting the PINATA!
Fallon, Maddie and Little Maddie.
Lucas can't handle it anymore...he's outta there.
The Birthday Boy in all his sweaty glory!
William and his Preschool buddies- Arjun, Johnny and Preston.

Play Ball!

William started his first year of T-Ball with Anaheim Hills Little League. He is on the Giants team and I have to warn you, he is so darn cute all suited up in his uniform, I'm afraid I'll be posting a gazillion pictures throughout the season. SO, so cute!! He's been practicing with his team for two weeks now and Saturday was the pancake breakfast and team pictures. I seriously can not get enough of this little man of ours. LOVE him!

Excellence in Writing

Oh my Maddie, my Maddie...our Maddie. How proud of this little 1st Grader I am! She was awarded, what I imagine will be the first of many, an award from her teacher for her Outstanding Writing Skills. I was so happy to be able to be there to see her called up on stage to receive the award. She was beaming ear-to-ear... as was I as. We just LOVE this girl.

Indy Races

Maddie's car: Cotton candy pink with white stripe

Number of Races: 6

Final Placing: 17th (out of 186)

Attendees: Both sets of Grandparents and one squirrely William

One disappointed Dad: Invested a bunch of money in a workshop and tools and dropped 10 spots from the previous year.

Memories made: Tons!

Mini

Grandma Jeanne and Papa Mick were out at their timeshare in Palm Desert last week so I took advantage, pulled Maddie and William from school on Friday and headed out for a long weekend. Mikos joined up with us after work on Friday. We had a great time. The kids love the resort and it is a great place for families. They have an activity center with daily activities that Maddie loved checking out. She had big plans for us but we really only made the beading necklaces at 8:30 Friday morning. The rest of the weekend we spent swimming, hanging out, riding scooters to the park and taking the "bus" over to the Marriott Hotel Lobby.

Maddie's 7th Birthday!

Christmas ends and it's game on for the Ciriza household! Maddie turned 7 years old on January 13th. She decided she wanted to have a rollerskating birthday party this year. What fun it was! We had 16 kids, both sets of Grandparents, Aunt Sonja, Uncle Russel and cousin Lucas and several Mom's and Dad's-- it was a blast. Rollerskating, sweaty kids, pizza, pink lemonade and mint chip ice cream cake= successful party.
They cleared the rollerskating floor and called Maddie out to the center for a special birthday song. She insisted I go out with her and she was so cute standing there, center of attention, for the song. She is growing up to be such a big girl. I can hardly believe she is 7. Where has the time gone? So many wonderful memories... and so many more that we look forward to making with this beautiful daughter of ours! I can not put into words how much we love and adore this girl.