Thursday, November 18, 2010

We're having lots of fun these days!



Thanks to Meme, we have some more great pictures of our little Miss Mya! She's 3 months old, and I absolutely can't believe it. I can't believe that this little girl has only been here for 3 months...it seems as though she's always been part of this family. And I can't believe it's already been 3 months!! It's crazy how time flies, and my tiny peanut is getting older, and slightly bigger by the minute! If you've seen her lately, you'll understand - she is bigger than she used to be, but she is still so small! At three months, we're still struggling to fit into most 0-3 months clothes, and the majority of her clothes are still newborn size! She's so dainty! But is definitely feisty at the same time!

Cayden has really been the greatest big brother. He always needs to know where Mya is and what she's doing. He is the first to let me know if Mya is smiling or crying. He loves to get right down to her level to "play" with her, talks to her in his best baby voice, then yells to me "Mama! Mya smile to me!" I love those words. I hope that these two will be forever close. I hope Cayden finds a good playmate and secret-keeper in Mya, and I hope Mya will know Cayden as a strong, protective big brother and best friend as they grow together.
This little one might be small in size, but she is big in attitude! She is so sassy already, and definitely is beginning to have a personality all her own...and so very different than Cayden. She doesn't like to sit still in one place very long, she's very fidgety, and when she's mad...she lets us know it! This girly knows two types of voices - laughing, coo-ing and bubble blowing is the first...and full-out screaming that little head of hers off is the other! We're lucky that we mostly hear the first! It's when she's tired or hungry that the screams emerge, and there's usually a quick fix to that!
Here she is...Miss Personality!

I love how bright-eyed and curious she already is at 3 months. She loves to lay on her back, not so much on her tummy; she loves to be swaddled up tight and typically falls asleep within minutes when she is; she holds her head up like a champ and loves to pull herself up to standing (fully supported on our laps!). She's strong little one, and loves to know just what's going on at all times!
From smiley to serious in the blink of an eye...but still so darn cute!
She's the most peaceful little sleeper. She is sleeping well through the night, and we've even had nights that she's slept soundly for over 10 hours!! Growing is such hard work! :-)
When she wakes...it's playtime! She's ready to go!
She and Cayden have some pretty serious conversations sometimes!
And how 'bout this big guy?! He is amazing me these days with his outstanding vocabulary. He is super smart and surprises me with new words and phrases every single day. You tell this boy something one time, and he stores it somewhere in that big head of his, then pulls it back out when we least expect it. I love to watch him learn every day, and to know that he's gonna grow up to be one smart cookie! Here he is with his Toys R Us Christmas magazine. He got a hold of it when it came in the mail, and he pulls it out literally every day and just sits on the floor and studies it. He is adorable!
I'm not gonna lie...I always hated the shows Dora and Diego. I thought why should a toddler be learning spanish from a tv show when they haven't even mastered the english vocabulary yet. But I'll now admit that Diego is Cayden's new best friend, and he has taught Cayden a TON of new things! Unlike Dora, this show isn't completely focused on the spanish...Diego is an animal rescuer...and if you know Cayden, you know he LOVES animals. Thanks to Diego, Cayden can now pick out the following animals, say their names and be the first to tell you the sounds that each makes: whale, chinchilla, scarlet macaw, sloth, alligator, fruit bat, howler monkey, coyote, maned wolf, prairie dog, river dolphin (and the list goes on!)...I mean seriously - these aren't your average cats and dogs here. We're learning some great stuff!
A few more things...a few weeks ago, we decided it was time to get rid of Cayden's Bink. Boy did he love his "dinty!" And I knew it was gonna be hard to break his addiction...but he surprised me! Recently he was using it only is his bed for nighttime and naps, so one morning he woke up and I took it in my hand and said "We don't need this Bink anymore, right?" I went on to tell him that babies like Mya need binkies but that he was a big boy now and big boys just go to sleep without them. He said "yeah. Cayden's a big boy. No dinty no more." And with that, I put it away in the drawer (didn't throw it away just yet...I didn't know what that next night would bring!) But to my surprise, bedtime that night went very smoothly without the Bink. I laid him down, and he asked for it, but I reminded him that he doesn't need it anymore. He said "Right, mama. No dinty no more." I gave him his hug and kiss and he was dreaming within minutes...without another peep about his Bink. And we haven't spoken of it again! :-) Next challenge...the POTTY!
Recently, Grandma B came to town for a visit! She was a big help with the kids for Cyle and I, watching them while we worked. Meme got a little vacation! Cayden loves playing with Grandma - she is creative and makes fun new games for him, they go exploring outside, and they read lots of books together. Here's a picture I got of them, from inside the house. I stood and watched as they played in the driveway, sorting rocks for about a half hour! It's the little things! :-)

So time continues to fly by, and my kiddos continue to grow before my eyes. I wish I could record every minute of their little lives to look back on and never forget....but we can't. So I'm hoping that my mind will do the best possible job of storing these memories for me, and reminding me often of all of the trials, successes, funny moments and everything in between that we've gone through as a family.