Jack-Jack

Mike’s mom got us a dog for our birthday’s and the place where she got him called him Jack so we just kept the name. He is a really cute dog and so nice and gentle and more important Sydney loves him. The down side to the new addition to our family is he is not potty trained and we have the smallest backyard you could ever imagine. So we have been really working on getting him to go outside and do his thing. The cutest thing ever is that Sydney and Jack act like brothers and sisters. They fight over toys and where they both want to lay down and Jack tries to take her food, so to say the least everyday I laugh at the two of them fighting over something.
This weekend was pretty uneventful. Saturday we were suppose to go to a friends wedding in Sedona and my parents were suppose to watch Sydney for us, but Mike woke up with a really bad headache and it was not going away by the time that I wanted to leave...so we ended up not going. The wedding was at 4 and we were going to stay the night up there but I really did not want to do all of that by myself. I heard from Kelly that the wedding was wonderful and they had so much fun! Sorry Chad for not making it to your special day :) Later that evening Mike started feeling better so my mom and dad watched Sydney while she slept and we got to go see the movie Wallie. I really had no idea what to expect but I really liked the movie it was so cute and great for kids if they are old enough.
Sunday we did not make it to our normally Sunday morning service and we had a soccer game in the afternoon so we did not make it to church. Sydney went down for a nap around 12 and was still sleeping at 3:30 so I had to wake her because we had a soccer game at 5 I thought but it was really not till 5:45. Normally my dad watches Sydney every Sunday and Mike and I go play soccer but this time we needed him to play so we brought Sydney to the game and had my mom watch her. Sydney did horrible and I think it was cause she could see me all the time and all she wanted was for me to hold her. (plus it did not help that I had to wake her up from her nap...we normally don’t mess with her naps cause she will be cranky the rest of the day) So for the first time my mom saw that Sydney is not always a sweet little angel. My mom thinks that Sydney an do no wrong and I am so glad that she saw a different side of her :)

With Love

Alone

Ever had one of those days where you are surrounded by family and friends but no matter who you talk you still feel like you are alone. I had one of those days yesterday, and man did it stink. Michael is the best thing that has ever happened to me but I sometimes forget that Michael can not fix everything and he can not meet all my expectations he is human and in the end the only one that can be there for me is God. I was emailing someone last night and she told me that in times when we are alone God is the only one that will ALWAYS listen and we can always lean on HIM even though there are times when we don’t think we “need” to. I find myself not needing to lean on God when I should be doing that every day!
When I had my m/c I had a few people that I could talk to like Mike, but that did not stop how I was feeling, Why did this happen when I wanted another baby so bad? What did I do wrong? Those kind of thoughts went through my head all the time and they still do. In those 13 weeks I felt so attached to that baby that it is hard for me to understand why it was taken away. But there is a reason but I just don't know it yet. God is and was teaching me something and he is the one that gives and takes away!
So feeling alone has been something that I have been dealing with since March and I might have this struggle for a while but maybe one day God will just take it away, so that is something that I will continue to pray for.

Discipline

DISCIPLINE is such a hard thing for me, especially when I have this cute little girl that melts my heart every time I look at her. I know that she is a sinner and that we as godly parents need to discipline her but I just wish it was not so hard. I have been reading a book called “Shepherding a Child’s Heart” and it is really helpful and a great resource and I am learning a ton about kids. Especially that I am not trying to just discipline but also have a change in heart.
Mike and I invested in a “rod” and so far it has been working and we just have to remember to be consistent all the time! Sydney is a great and funny kid but she is also one of the most stubborn kids I know and the hard thing is that I can be just as stubborn as her so sometimes we will go head to head and she is only 1 I can not imagine what it will be like when she is older if we do not get this under control now :)

I also love how God disciplines us and sometimes it is not fun...well it is never fun but man do I grow from it every time. I love how He is the example of discipline in our lives and that no matter what I do there is nothing that is too much for Him, and there is nothing that will keep Him from loving His children.

Hugs and kisses...more later :)

Here is Sydney playing in the sink

Going back to being a baby again.

Playing on our bed!

Craziness

Well, this has been one crazy week. Monday and Tuesday Sydney was just not acting like herself, she whined all the time and just wanted to be held. On Wednesday we got up and she felt a little warm but we had to be at the church by 8:15 a.m so I took her temp and she was not warm enough for me not to go to work so out the door we went. (Every Wednesday’s I help out at the church from 8:30-12:15 and Sydney gets to go into her own class) We got to the church and found out which room I needed to be in so I went to drop Syd off into her room. On the way there I did not see the puddle that I stepped in, and I was wearing flip-flops...so I fell and went straight on my knees and of course I had to be holding Syd. I tried everything in my power to hold her up and I did that by I could not keep her from swinging forward and she did just that and hit her head on a wall. So by this point she was not happy with me at all, then I had to drop her off to her class which got her even more upset with me. The rest of the day was rough because I could not get her fever down and get her comfortable.
Thursday morning I got her into the Dr. and she ended up having an ear infection which explains the fevers and why she was such a cranky pants. So Thursday we just spent the day at home chilling.
Friday, MY BIRTHDAY! I turned 26 years old and let me tell you I actually feel old :) I had a great day just hanging out with my hubby and little sick girl. Mike got me a lime green watch and some basketball shorts which I love to wear so that was great! My brother got me a cool green picture frame that he made at a place called “as you wish” which I love and will put a picture of the three of us in as soon as I get one. My mom and dad got me a Dyson vacuum cleaner, a green DVD player, frying pan, and some other kitchen stuff. Mike’s mom actually got us both something since Mike’s birthday is just 4 days after mine. She got us a little dog named Jack-Jack. We all love him especially Sydney. My parents watched Sydney so we could go out just the two of us. So I got to eat at Joe’s BBQ for free since it was my birthday, and then we came home and watched and movie and went to bed. The only down fall to the wonderful day was that our little sweet pea did not feel good.
Saturday I got to have a birthday dinner with my family which was really nice, we went to Nandos and they had the waiters bring me some ice-cream and sing to me which was a little embarrassing. And again Sydney was still not feeling well and also had a fever.
Sunday, which is today we just hung out at home and tried to get our little girl to feel a little bit better. She still has a slight fever and is still a little cranky but we have to give her a little break :)

Tomorrow Mike has the day off from work for the holiday so we should have some fun together as a family and then Tuesday is his BIRTHDAY! So I have some planning to do for his wonderful day!

Hugs and Kisses from us all!

Random things and the Zoo.

Well it has been a while since I have posted anything! There is nothing new in Arizona still HOT as can be, and the only thing to do outside is swim, swim, swim! Lately Sydney has been really interested in books which is great and a lot better than TV. So we have been reading tons of books. We ask her where things are in the books and she will point them out.

A funny thing Sydney started doing this week is actually saying Michael. It must be because I say Michael all the time but she knows who Michael is and she will point to him when saying his name. She also knows that Michael is daddy. I just thought that was so funny because she does not know me as Melissa so I must just say Michael all the time! Here are a few pictures just hanging around the house.

A few weeks ago Mike and I decided to go to the zoo again early in the morning and Sydney for the first time actually loved the zoo. Here are a few pictures of the zoo.

Here is Sydney at the petting area of the zoo...she loved the goats and normally she is quite scared of bigger animals but she loved it. 

We were actually trying to leave the petting area in this picture but as you can tell Sydney did not want to leave. She really wanted to stay, and she cried when I picked her up and walked away.

Pointing at the goats.

Wanting to go and touch the goat but then she chickened out.

Sydney like the baby orangutan and she would laugh when they would swing around.

The guy was just sitting at the window staring so we put Sydney next to it and well...

It did not last too long and then Sydney starting crying because the monkey just kept looking at her.

And here is the beautiful Lion...it was so cool to watch run around and climb in the trees.

Have a great week, much love from the Marinello's

DISNEYLAND

Mike and I got to go to Disneyland for a short vacation and my parents wanted to watch Sydney, so we got to go alone which was amazing. 

Day 1: We left Wednesday June 2nd at 4:30am and headed out on the road for 6 hours. We had so much fun talking and listening to music. We stopped for breakfast on the way and it was nice to just have breakfast together and just talk and enjoy each other.  We got to Disneyland around 11:00am and headed into the park. We had a three day park hopper pass which was so exciting to me because I have not been to Disneyland since I was 8, and Mike use to go every year with his Dad until we got married so Mike was really excited too. We rode Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Indiana Jones, The Buzz ride, and Pirates until about 3pm and then headed to find our hotel and check in. The hotel was about 5 min away from Disney which was so nice because we could go back and forth. We hung out and relaxed until like 5pm and then headed back for some more fun. Instead of Disneyland we went to California Adventure which we both had never been before. We went on Tower of Terror, Screamin California, Monsters INC, and Soarin California.  By that time we were both exhausted and ready to go to bed. So we headed back to the hotel and got a bite to eat and went straight to bed. 

Day 2 (Thursday): We got to go into the park an hour before it opened which was so nice because we got to ride all of the rides that we loved. We first went on Space Mountain in Tomorrow land, and there was no wait for that ride at all. Here is a picture of the rockets when you enter into Tomorrow Land.

After that we went on the Matterhorn, all I remembered from a kid was a white monster so that was fun to see that ride again. And again the wait was just like 5 min because not too many people were in the park yet. We then went on the Haunter Mansion ride which is one of Mike's favorites because of all the ghosts and the imagination that went into creating that ride. Here is a picture of the Haunted Mansion.We then wanted to go on the Indiana Jones ride but the wait was getting long so we did a fast pass and in the mean time we went on the jungle ride which is on a boat. Here are some picture from the boat.

Here is Mike entering Frontierlane!

Here is the entrance to Indiana Jones. This is Mike's all time favorite ride. The first time I went on it I have to admit I was a little scared but then I really liked it the second time I rode it.

And Finally we got to go on splash mountain. The line was long so we did a fast pass again so to waist time before the ride we went on the Winnie the Pooh ride which Sydney would have loved if she was with us. So after that we got to go on Splash Mountain which is my favorite ride. 

Here I am when the ride started. Mike is right behind me :)

Before you go inside the Mountain

His little home

All the characters singing

Before the big drop!

After our fun filled morning we headed to Downtown Disney and went and saw the movie Hancock which we both loved and we got to relax while watching it. After the movie we went and got some lunch and went back to the hotel to rest so that we could come back that evening.

We went on the teacups that night.

And we also went on thunder mountain, and Mr. Toads wild adventure.  Then we headed over to California Adventure again and went on a few more rides before ending our night. 

Day 3 (Friday): We got up and headed out to disneyland and the first thing we did was watch the parade that was going on. There were so many people there because it was the 4th of July. For future reference do not go to Disney on the 4th they said that it is the craziest days of the year, and they are right. We did splash mountain first thing in the morning so there would be no line and then we went to toon-town and at about 11am the park was so crowded that I did not want to be there anymore.

Here is Mike with a carmel apple. The park was so crowded we decided to hang out in a shop to get away from it all. We then decided to get Sydney some Mickey ears which have her name on it, and I had to get a few of the pennies made because I collet them.

We heard that California Adventure was not as bad so we finished up our day there.

CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE!

Day 4 (Saturday): We drove 6 hours home to see our adorable little girl who we missed so much. I can not wait until Sydney will enjoy Disneyland. I am sure it will become our yearly vacation!

Friends

Mike's friend from work Brent, and his wife Christina wanted to get away for a night in June so we got to watch their little guy James! He is the cutest little boy ever! So we packed up the kiddos and went to Mike's moms house for a little swimming and jumping on the trampoline. They loved playing with each other on the tramp. James is in love with any kind of balls so that is what he spent most of his time doing.  

Here are a few pictures of the kids playing on the trampoline.

Here is James playing with the ball while Sydney tries jumping on the tramp. I love watching kids try things out for the first time, it is so cute.

Here is cute James holding the ball. He has the cutest eyes ever!

And here is again laying on the trampoline after running around for a little while!

So after playing for a while we went inside and had some dinner, and then headed home to get ready for bed. Both the kids we actually just Sydney got a bath while I got James ready for bed. Mike held Sydney and gave her some milk while I gave James his milk. They we both so tired and went right to bed. We only have a 2 bedroom home so both kids had to sleep in the same room. They did Great, we did not hear a peep out of them till the morning. It was a great time with James and Sydney loved it too!