25 months + mya

Look at that smile...it melts my heart. she is cooing and putting her hands in her mouth now. mya can hold her head well, stand with support and is much more interested in the things around her--us, sophie, claire, lights, toys, etc. mya is becoming less fussy and will finally sit contently for extended periods of time in her bumbo, bassinet, swing or playmat. she is getting easier to handle, but still generally has one fussy period per day, which tends to happen before bed.



oh oh. someone figured out how to open the door. bittersweet. more helpful, but i think i am officially in trouble now.

claire has changed so much recently. her little personality is shining through her words and actions. i love each day with her. watching her can bring tears to my eyes in an instant.

--my parents bought her a cute little folding table and chair set for her birthday. she loves to have tea parties on it, do projects, and eat her snacks at it. she also loves to use the chairs to climb up to things--cupboards, the sink, turning on the tv, opening the door to let sophie inside. yes, it has further opened up a world of independence, but now even less is out of reach. we are in trouble.

--i was sitting on the deck with mya while claire was running around with sophie in the yard. she called me down to show me where the dinosaur was. i wasn't sure what she was saying at first, but soon figured it out as she pointed under the deck.

--her latest phrase is...'i scared.' i am not sure where she got this from, but she says it quite often and out of context. i don't think she really understands what it means to feel afraid, but she is trying to figure it out.

--she listens to everything. she has discovered that my name is kara and her daddy is chris. previously, she would call chris by name. he was rather annoyed. she had never done it to me until he left. now she'll say "kawa," especially if i am preoccupied with something. i must say it doesn't bother me, but i'd rather hear her sweet voice say, "momma." i think it is interesting to see her language develop just as i had read in my textbooks for years. she is figuring out that many labels can apply to one particular thing.

--claire is very helpful, but sometimes a bit too much. mya was having a meltdown a few days ago. i had been pumping and had to stop to warm her a bottle. i grabbed the milk from the fridge and asked claire to grab the bottle by the couch. she didn't hear me say where to find it so she went upstairs and grabbed a bottle that i had been pumping and carried it out of our bedroom, down the stairs, through the foyer and into the kitchen, all the while dripping milk as she went. awww. how can i get upset at that? she was clearly doing a good thing.

--she loves to sing and dance. her favorite time is when i rock mya in the chair in her room because claire turns on the radio and gets her groove on. we often sing songs together. she can sing, row row row your boat, twinkle twinkle little star, jesus loves me, you are my sunshine, abc's, several phrases from a few steve's songs, and the theme songs to the couple pbs shows i let her watch. she can also imitate you when you sing high or low. she is a little honey.

--claire gets herself dressed. she has done this or has been able to do this for months now, but typically allowed me to dress her. not the case anymore. she insists on trying it herself. claire is generally successful at getting the clothes on, but they are usually backwards or on the wrong feet. i leave them this way, which chris doesn't like. he thinks we should be teaching her, but i think it is cute and i know she'll figure it out on her own. i don't want to constantly critique/correct everything she does.

i know there is more that i need to include for the sake of documentation, but i can't think right now.