1 and a half year keepsakes

17 Months Old

Mya has been obsessed with motorcycles.  Every time we go on our stroll around the condo complex, we have to go check out all the motorcycles parked and she points and "ooooo"s over them... she also runs to the window whenever she hears one and makes sure to point and watch every single one we see on our outings.  We stopped over to say goodbye to Sondra, Mya's first and  awesome caregiver.  We'd grown to really love their family and were sad to see them move out of state, but as we were leaving, Mya spotted this motorcycle they were getting rid of and obviously fell in love with it.  She wants to ride it everywhere- especially to the other motorcycles to show it off ;)


*Apparently I had started this so excuse the out of order*

18 Months

Ok, unfortunately I will just have to skip a 17 month update because whenever I try to remember what I can from farther back, I never get around to writing what I can remember NOW :)

Mya is amazing.  It really hit me a few weeks ago how fast time is flying with her.  I've officially joined the crowd in saying, "it goes so fast!"  I absolutely love the person Mya is becoming.  She is definitely quirky already and loves to laugh and make others laugh.  She is so friendly that she says "hi" to every stranger we pass and it's fun to see stone faces not able to resist a smile- who could?!

Mya loves hiking and we've gotten to go quite a bit due to the lovely Portland weather this spring.  I also officially have to try to keep up with her because she runs everywhere... she is like her dad apparently and sees no use in walking.  She'll bring out this soft sweet voice to say "hi" to people passing, but that shouldn't fool you because she has quite a strong voice at home.  "No" must come out of her mouth 100 times a day but at least she has developed variance in the tone.  It's nice now that I can ask her if she wants something and know when she does NOT- she is a girl who knows what she wants.  I've been trying to work with her on communicating with more words because I know she can say them but she still falls back on her favorite "eh" sound or "dis" when pointing.  She started saying "ka" when she meant "yes" and I couldn't figure out why on earth she was so confident with that syllable.  It eventually became clearer that she was saying "okay" which I find hilarious considering she'll sound like a california girl sometimes when she says it.  Otherwise she can say:  socks, juice, down, shoes, plane, blue, berries, nose, go, car, rock, baby... some new ones at least. 

 She has always been so animated in her pretend phone conversations really sound and the real thing- just in a different language.  She also pulls this laundry basket out multiple times a day like its her car :)  She will grab the strangest things as if they're her keys or purse and say "bye." Usually she'll give kisses first, then go to the door, touch the handle, and then come back super excited an give hugs.  She is the sweetest; I love her imagination. 

Mya loves juice, like all kids... but I generally don't even have it in the house.  She goes so crazy for it, throws such a fit when she can't have more, and isn't healthy for her considering how much fruit she eats... but the few times I gave her juice still left their mark because she asks for it all the time.  Here she won't say many words, but she'll say "juishhh" pointing to the fridge.  After she got used to there not being any there, for some odd reason, she found it so funny when I'd say "We don't have any juice."  It became a game- I wish I had a video because out of no where she would have the serious face, come close and look at me, and say "juishhh" keeping her mouth in the shhh position.  As soon as I say my line, she breaks character with a warm laugh and dive into me for a hug... pull away with a serious face do the routine over and over :)

16 Months Old

Again, I've been meaning to write another update for weeks now... I always plan to when Mya goes to bed, but once I tidy up the house, take a shower, and spend some time with the hubby, I just end up being really lazy.  I have a pile of sewing projects that need finishing too, but I am prioritizing this blog tonight because Mya  has changed like crazy this past month and I'm already losing track of all these things!

It's hard to remember the beginning of April so just a couple pics jog my memory of little things going on with Mya:

 I put some stickers in her Easter basket.  Once I put one on her cheek and now she thinks that's where they always go.  Even now as I'm writing in May, she will put stickers on her cheek.  It's interesting to watch how challenging it is to find the stickers once they're on.  She can sense them on her face, but the coordination of getting her hands there takes practice- check out the look of concentration ;)


She loves playing the piano.  Especially if Brooks is playing the guitar or there's music playing on Pandora, she will run over and say "up" and I can just leave her at it now because she gets a kick out of all the buttons.  I had no idea there were full demo songs on there until I heard this amazing tune from the other room.  I discovered she's not some piano prodigy, but I still can't find those tunes so she's already passing me in technical skills.

 Speaking of music, I can't believe I haven't posted her favorite song yet. This may cause some to question my parenting. Now in early May, it has slowed down to a few times a week, but there was a couple week span where the request for this song was all throughout the day every day.  She just couldn't get enough of it or sick of it.  Brooks' itunes showed the video for it once, and ever since then, Mya just wants to watch it over and over.  This is the disturbing part if you watch this video- it's not like it's inappropriate, but I am curious about Mya's fascination with it:

She runs around dancing to it and tries to do the "HEY" which comes out "AH AH"... she'll do this and point to the TV when she wants you to play it for her.

It's crazy how she'll be struggling with a toy or trying to do something for a long time and then one day she's suddenly doing it like a piece of cake!  This ring stacker is one example.

I can't take her shopping anywhere.  She fights me so hard to get down if I'm holding her and once she's down, she's gone!  This girl has no fear... which scares ME.  I admire her courage but she's gone in a second without looking back. 


My mom, Mike, and Aunt Tammy visited for a week in the second part of April, which really came at the best timing.  First of all, it was gorgeous spring weather :)  While Wisconsin was still 30-40 degrees and completely dead looking still, Portland was in full spring bloom with 60-70 temps! Secondly, the week before was dreary and Mya and I were on the verge of going completely stir-crazy cooped up in our little condo.  Our visitors took us out to so many fun places, it was rejuvenating to be out with people and new scenery.  We did so many things- here's a few pics...

Words!

Mya is starting to transform her own personal language into English!  I have been noticing the way her special language has subtle similarities to ours.  Bubbles are ba-ba... down is da... apple is ap, and random other more complicated words she will get the syllable rhythm right at least.  Her current list of vocabulary is:
ball (ok, she says baa but it's close enough and I know what she's referring to :)
up (clear as a bell and she uses it a lot)
on/off (both come out sounding the same as ahhhp so maybe it should be listed above, but I know what she means and she uses it for anything she wants opened too
hat
hot (probably her first clear word besides mama/dada, loves to say it when we're cooking/eating)
no  (she likes this one!)
help (sounds more like "ulp", but she uses it appropriately)
banana (na-na-na - I know she wants to eat one if I say banana and she says it back excitedly )
this  ("dis"- still one of her favorites- it can be used for anything and everything- usually to find out what something is paired with a finger-point.  Her favorite books just have tons of pictures of everyday objects and she will sit there pointing over and over saying "dis?" every time for you to tell her what it is.  She is very persistent if you don't tell her right away and will continue with the same picture until she hears what it's called.  She also says it when she wants to show us something or hands us something to open or see if she can have it.  I love this word because it's what replaced her whining - a great place-holder til she can talk more.)

My little Irish girl

I have to say, I'm really happy with the little Irish dress I made for Mya.  I've been trying really hard not to spend money on anything besides necessities due to our new budget, and I'm finding creative ways to be satisfied.  I had these scrap pieces of fabric from the tree I made for Mya's room, and made up the pattern just by looking at some dresses for size and google for ideas on the look I wanted she already had.  It ended up only taking me a few days and I learned more about sewing in the process.  I snapped these pics a few days before St. Patrick's day in our Apt. complex.  Unfortunately Mya came down with croup (a nasty contagious cough for little kids) the night before our St. Patty's festivities so she never got to wear it more than this half hour... I hope it still fits next year!

Fountain Fun! from March

This video's quality is not good- I have a hard time transferring my videos to YouTube- but you get the idea :)  Mya had a BLAST playing in the fountain near where we live.  We were just passing through to feed the ducks at the pond, but as you can see, this girl found her own kind of fun.  She has no fear and is not shy!  There was quite an audience and Mya was soaking it in... literally:)

 

She just couldn't pass up this fountain on the way to the car... she was already drenched so why not!

 

March equals spring around here... first half of March

We've been so blessed with beautiful weather this March.  I hear about all the snow and frigid weather back in WI and am glad it's been warm enough for me to go outside with Mya a lot.  AND it hasn't even rained that much!  Of course now that I've finally gotten around to posting, the rain has started up again... but I am grateful my first weeks home with Mya was an easy transition due to lovely opportunities outdoors :)

Mya is such an outdoorsy girl.  I love how adventurous she is... she really keeps me busy and active.  We typically have a morning and afternoon outing, and since we don't have a car, that means lots of walks and just wandering around- picking up rocks mostly.  The only populated place within walking distance is a strip mall, which fortunately includes our grocery store, credit union, drug store, our doctors office, a small library, and a little pond.  Mya loves to walk around the pond and watch the fountains and ducks in it.  Unfortunately signs strictly forbid feeding the ducks, but we enjoy spending time there. 

Mya was watching the ducks, and when the moved behind a bush, she did her sign for "more."  I didn't teach her many sign language signs, but this one has been very helpful.  She started really just using it for food type things, but it's been so cute to see her apply it to other things, like if we're playing a game or song she likes.

Mya loves playing with pots and pans- luckily for me!  It keeps her pretty busy while I'm cooking (or I should say we're cooking).  She likes to think that she's helping so I have to play along and include her in my meal preparation.  Now she always insists on stirring whatever I'm making- she get's so excited and looks at me with a big smile :)

Another picture with her friend, Kinsey.  They are doing this silly thing Mya often does for Kinsey's mom, where Mya clinches her fists and stresses her face, "grrrrrr..."

Mya spent a few day span walking around with a mirror in front of her face.  I have no idea why- she would trip and fall and run into things... such a goofball.

I filled a container with dried beans for Mya to scoop and play around with since she loves gravel and rocks... it's been keeping her busy to scoop and dump.  She also loves to get in the box, but always needs help getting up.

Chalk, pigtails, and bubbles... my little baby is growing up.  She just barely has enough hair now for me to put in little pigtails... though she fights me so hard she usually wins.  She still wants to be outside all the time and will grab her chalk and go to the door... I sure don't mind when it's nice out, and will just bundle us up if it's not.  Outside time is a daily "must."  Mya LOVES bubbles.  She brings the bottle to me so I can blow bubbles over and over- so much so that I'm pretty sure our carpeting is super soapy :P

Concluding February

To pick up where I left off in February, Mya is demonstrating her daredevil tendencies more and more lately.  I can't really trust to turn my back for an instant because I keep catching her climbing things or standing on things.  She likes to sit by herself in her rocking chair and will often go to her room, shutting the door behind her and spend some quality alone time rocking in her chair.  However, I have gone in on numerous occasions to find her standing on the chair- without holding onto anything- and swaying almost like she's surfing.  She knows she's busted when I catch her and definitely pouts and gives me the eye when I take her off the chair. 

She also likes to do flips and rough-house with daddy.  She will do this over and over again; I just caught them at the tail end of their routine:

Mya loves dancing!  We have lots of dance parties during the day with Pandora.  Usually we listen the the Kid's Worship channel, or Disney, or something like Monsters of Men- anything we can find upbeat and she goes nuts:  running around arms flailing, stomping her feet, and she loves when I pick her up and dance with her flying through the air.  We will be out in public and if she hears a song she likes, she will stop and just start dancing :)

She has been insisting on eating with a utensil now- no matter how messy! Yogurt is still one of her all-time favorites she won't ever turn down.  I have to say, I really love this bib!

Here is Mya with her best friend, Kinsey.  I met her mom about a year ago at a children's shop and,  through casual conversation, discovered our daughters were born just a few days apart at the same hospital.  We started getting the girls together occasionally and have all really become great friends. It has been so fun to see the two of them growing up at the same time and watch their unique qualities emerge.  Kinsey is so sweet and gentle- much more cautious and quieter than Mya.  I think they compliment each other well and I am so happy Mya has such a great friend already.

 Here (below) is Mya with her first friend, Audriana.  Her mom was the excellent child care provider who watched Mya from three months to about one year old and her daughter was such a sweet friend to her as well. She is about nine months older than Mya.

Alright, time to wrap up February even though I'm leaving  things out... I need to get on to current times though so it will have to do.