Constant Beginnings

Mya turned two on the 15th of May, but we had no presents to offer. In my defense, I did order the presents well over a week before her big day, but Amazon did not come through with the delivery. Thankfully, Mya is too young to know the difference or to care. We celebrated her birthday on Saturday. On aside, I am not a believer in birthday parties with friends until the child is older. Our children don't want for anything and certainly don't need. We don't go big with spending for any holiday/birthday and never have. I am pretty proud of that. Each child gets one or two presents totaling a set dollar amount. I must say, finding the perfect gift for Mya has been pretty difficult. It seems as though they have everything imaginable and whatever Mya does not have, Claire has already received. This birthday was no different. I thought and thought, searched and searched, until--I came across the plasmacar. It received rave reviews, looked great for children of all ages and looked

Our house was an interesting one this weekend. Naked booties, urine on the floor and laundry, laundry, laundry. Potty training is in full mode. Turning two years old is a turning point in our house. No more pacis, no more cribs and no more diapers. We had gotten rid of the paci's a month or ago and the crib long before that, but diapers still remain. Mya used the potty occasionally and did quite well this last week. However, the kid is out to prove us wrong. I was bragging to some friends after such a successful week, that I thought she was going to be super easy to train. Let me just say that after 2 whole days of trying--she was successful twice, which explains the urine on the floor, the streaking through the house with nothing on and the threats and bribery that came as a result. Frustration! We will stay on this horse or toilet, but it may not be easy ;)

Mya, you are two years old. I can't quite wrap my head around that one. You are a two year old in so many ways, but I still see you as my sweet little, whiny baby that loved to snuggle close. Speak in three word (sometimes more) sentences. Use sign language to communicate at times--Daddy wasn't quite sure what you were doing, but thankfully, my limited repertoire enabled me to decipher! You love to read books. Your favorites right now are "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom," "One moose, Twenty Mice," "Winnie the Pooh and the Honeypot," "Pinkalicious," and "No, David!" You are so funny as you get excited about each as if it were the first time you heard the story. When we read "No David!," you always do the actions or say something appropriate on each page--such as "bum bum" or "p.u." It is so sweet. You have been sleeping in your big girl bed (double bed) for a few months now. Daddy and

One very long day.... Claire has always had issues with napping. I insist, she resists. Pretty simple. When absolutely forced, she'll do it, but the slightest noise and she is up. Same story exists at school. She lays down, but tries her best to stay awake. We've kind of come up with a trick, telling her that she need not nap, but lay quietly. It usually works like magic and she is out. However, she may have caught on as she's been winning the battles lately. Now, the moment she steps away from the hustle and bustle of school, the tiredness sets in as does the crabiness that often coexists. Lucky me. Needless to say, our afternoons have been VERY trying. She is crabby, crabby, crabby and testing every limit put before her. As a result, she's done some hard time lately--in time out. Time out is located by our stairs. If she won't stay there or says something "ugly" from that area, then she is moved up to her room. This was one of those days. She was

Almost perfect. NNNOOOO! Don't pick the flowers, Mya! As good as it gets! There is a hill on base covered with phlox. I've always loved phlox, having planted several at our home in MA. Gorgeous. The weather was finally perfect this morning, so we ventured out for a quick photo session. I love the flowers and the babies in the pictures are pretty special to me as well.

This weekend our children each had the flu for the second time this season. Interestingly, it seemed to follow the same sequence as it did the first time around. Thankfully, Chris was here this time to lend a hand vs. going it alone as I did last time. Mya's sickness began on Friday night into Saturday and Claire woke up Sunday morning with the yucky tummy. It has been a pretty low key weekend. Claire and I are home hanging out today, which brings me to this post. Our girls are great kiddos. They are pretty good listeners, kind to others, creative, and pretty smart; however, they rarely play independently. They LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to play games, read books, and snuggle WITH US! Their desire for us to direct their lives every minute of every day is both a blessing and a curse. Take my  last stay home day with Claire. It was filled with activity after activity of "homework." No lie. She is an eager learner, but part of me thinks she didn't know what else to do with herself