Wedding Pictures

Arrival at the airport in El Salvador. There were lots of grannies. All the menfolk thought this was hilarious. You can see them all chuckling in the background.

This was before the rehearsal dinner.
Tia Jessie and Lilly right before the wedding.

Lilly and Isabella were the two adorable flower girls. They danced together alllllll night long.

The sunset wedding was beautiful.

And then everyone partied 'til the break of dawn.

Disneyland at Two

Rene donated his Disneyland tickets so that Lilly, Dinorah and I could go. We took Lilly at one. She didn't have a clue. It was a little more fun at two. She recognized many of the characters and, since she is a thrill seeker, enjoyed the rides.

We waited and waited for Mickey. We think he is a bit of a Primadonna. Lilly was excited to see him.

This is in Toon Town. It is really the only place that she could run around. And that, she did! I have never had the patience, or interest, in waiting in line to take pictures with the characters. However, things change when you have a nugget.

She liked the Teacups the most.

At the end of the day.

Deuce

We took Lilly in for her 2 year checkup and inoculations. She is tall for her age (2' 3") but a skinny mini (25 pounds). Her pediatrician said that she's lookin' good and developing normally. However, the shot nurse acted like a sadist butcher. When she brutally jammed one of the shots into Lilly's leg, I think both Rene and I had to fight the impulse to knock her out.

Beach Days

I did manage to get this photo uploaded. This is in playa Del Sol, in El Salvador. After the wedding, Rene, Mikey, Lilly and I had two days to stay at a family friend's house (really it was more like a mansion) right on the beach. We all had a blast and are still VERY appreciative that we had the time to just chillax. The water was warm and we pretty much had the beach to ourselves.

Technical Difficulties

I am having trouble loading pictures. Bummer!

Packin' Up & Headin' Out

I have been horrible about getting on here. We had a very exciting January but I have been missing in action due to an onslaught of sicknesses (nothing serious, just constant). The first is a picture of us packing up for our El Salvador trip, notice the bathing suit in the middle of winter. The second is a picture of Lilly at the airport. That was quite an experience. In her defense, she did sleep part of the plane ride there.

There are many more pictures and tales to tell...

An Update on Our Little Bruiser: She has cooled out a bit on the hitting. I think that is partly because we understand the beast and her triggers a little better. We have tried to be more careful about the situations we put her in. Although we cannot control her every emotion, we can control her environment. We have also changed how we react to her outbursts of rage. It has been tough but rest assured, we have both reestablished our AUTHORITAY.

Gettin' Out the Bud Nippers

Lately, I have been talking to all of the moms I know.  I have had a great need for some words of wisdom.  Lilly is full blown entering into the Terrible Twos.  Although Lilly is a loving, giving child who constantly shows affection, she has recently developed another form of showing emotion physically.  The main problem is that when she gets upset she acts out in rage and hits. Rene, me, poor Mona.  The other day she ran up and hit a stranger at Subway.  So the question is not whether this has to to stop, but rather, what do we do to get it to stop.  

HELP!

While I realize that we live in a society where spanking is looked down upon, I also can't live with having my child hit every time she doesn't get her way.  There is a part of me that figures that it is no one's business and I should feel comfortable spanking in public if that is what will work to correct the negative behavior of my child.  One thing I do know is that we have to nip this behavior in the bud right way.

So what's a parent to do???????