Have You EVER, in Your Life...

... seen someone clean their cereal or hug thunder? I have! Seriously, I've seen it! This morning, Maya was standing in her tower, eating some Captain Crunch with Crunch Berries (her pick at the grocery store, by the way) and drinking some orange juice. She spilled a little of the juice, so Dad gave her a paper towel to clean it up. After she mopped up the juice, she proceeded to wipe down her cereal, piece by piece. Once each morsel was properly cleaned, she popped it into her mouth and ate it! "Mmmmm... Yummy seerow (cereal)!"

Then, it started to sprinkle outside, and we heard some slight rumbling in the sky. Once the lightening strikes got closer and the thunder picked up intensity, Maya and Dad stood at the window, watching the trees blow in the wind. Maya was intrigued by the thunder, and it quickly became apparent that she wasn't real comfortable with the noise. Every time it would start, she would hold perfectly still, listening intently. Immediately after one particularly loud clap of thunder, she trembled her whole body and exclaimed, "Eww... SARED, tunder, Yiya!" (Eww... scared, thunder, Maya!) Dad quickly explained, "No, punkin, thunder doesn't hurt us. It's just loud noise." Maya replies, "Oh. Saw-ee, tunder. Saw-ee." (Oh. Sorry, thunder. Sorry.) Then she leans forward, presses her cheek on the sliding glass door, extends her arms out wide, placing her palms against the glass, and softly says, "Awwww...". SHE HUGGED THE THUNDER!

So, like I originally stated... Have you EVER, in your life?? What a precious little girl. I just can't get enough of her little toddlerisms. She's just so curious, smart, sweet, big-hearted, adorable... the list goes on and on!

ALSO, all day today, Maya has been singing "Happy Birthday" to me! I'm going to try my best to write it out as she sings it... "Hap hap hoo-hoo! Hap birtay hoo-hoo, Mama! Hap hap hoo-hoo! Yay! (insert big grin, jumping up and down, and clapping here)" Often when she sings it, she'll string together several names or just her own, so it will go like this, "... Hap birtay hoo-hoo, Mama, Papa, Da-ee, Baby, Yiya, Mama...". She's SO stinkin' cute!

I had a great birthday, by the way. We just laid low. Will made an egg wrap for breakfast. I took Maya for a run/walk in the jog stroller, during which she yells over and over, "Run, Mama!", and I do! Will made chicken and veggie kabobs on the grill for lunch. I took a VERY small nap with Liam, which was awesome! I love cuddling with that boy!! We had Jen, Brian, and Max over for pizza and a play date for dinner. Later, the boys went to Culver's and brought home some yummy, yummy custard! It was a really nice birthday!! A quiet day with friends and family... exactly what I wanted!

The Things They Do...

Maya spends most of her day in entertainment mode. She's really into dressing up in anything girly. I got this skirt for her yesterday, and as soon as she laid eyes on it, she wanted to wear it. She calls it her "tutu" and shows it to everybody with great pride. She says, "Look, Buh-ee!" (look, Buddy). She wants to show everything to her brother, and he is thrilled to check out anything she's showing him. Typically, if she's on his radar, he won't take his eyes off of her. It's easy to see that he knows there is something different about her. She's not like the rest of us. She's a little ball of fire, and he knows it! It really is fun to watch them together. He watches her every move, and she loves it! She'll say, "Datch, buh-ee, datch." (watch, Buddy, watch) before she performs some kind of stunt, and he does! As thrilled with Maya as Liam is, she is every bit as in love with him. She will come up to him and just plant a kiss on his mouth, cheek, or head, or she'll wrap her little arms around him and give him a squeeze. "Awwww..." she says. She always tells him she loves him before leaving or going to bed... "Wah voo, buh-ee!" It's just the most precious thing, the bond between them. I pray they are always as close as a brother and sister can be, always have each other's backs, and always love each other unconditionally. That's all I could ever want for them.

Today, I had placed Liam in his swing, but I did not turn it on. I retreated to the laundry room to try and catch up on the mountain of laundry that seems to grow by feet every day. After a few minutes, I sneaked a peek around the corner to spy on the kids, and I found them playing their very first game together! Maya was standing in front of the swing, and she would push it to one side. As it came back down, she would catch it to make it stop, and Liam would just smile and giggle! I stood there watching as they continued on, playing this simple, yet very entertaining game! It was so cute! I didn't dare get the video camera (though I REALLY wanted to) because I thought as soon as they saw me, the game would be over. I didn't want to ruin their fun (or mine), so I stayed hidden and watched them play.

Maya just discovered how putting your fingers in your ears changes the way things sound, so she sat at the table for quite a while with her fingers in her ears, saying, "AHHHHHH!" It was pretty funny. I love to watch her discover new things about how her body functions. What a wondrous joy...Later on in the day, we drove out to Karen's house to play with Paige and Connor. I didn't anticipate going on a walk, so I didn't bring a warm jacket for Liam to wear. Lucky for the boys, they have big sisters, so they both got to wear very manly purple sweaters... Look at those two chunk-a-lunka's! These boys were born on the exact same day, and they appear to be growing at the same rate! What a couple of handsome fella's!

Dust Bunnies and Swaddling

Today, Maya noticed a rather large dust bunny on our floor and promptly inquired, "Mama, wus dis, Mama?" (What's this?) I answered, "That's a dust bunny!" Maya then crouched down, bent over, and ever so slightly curled and uncurled her little fingers in a waving motion, as she softly said, "Hi, duss bunny! Dood see you!" (Hi, dust bunny! Good to see you!) After the sincere little greeting, she bent over a little closer to the dust bunny and blew it a kiss! She jumped up and said, "Tiss, tiss!" with the sweetest little smile on her face. (Kiss, kiss! is what she always says after kissing something.) How cute is that?!

Another phrase I heard today, when we were visiting our friends, Miriam and her two girls, was "Yiya eat sumping, pease?" (Maya eat something, please?) She is really putting it all together! I'm amazed at how quickly her vocabulary is advancing. She learns several new words every day. It's awesome.

Liam continues to melt my heart. At Miriam's, he just kept erupting into fits of giggles over nothing! It was so sweet. He has a hearty little boy laugh that I just can't get enough of. I remember working so hard to make Maya laugh and being so frustrated when she wouldn't let it out. I don't have to do anything to Liam, and he will laugh on his own! I love the sound of his laughter! When I put him to bed at night, I find myself looking forward to the morning, when I can play with him again. He's so easy going and happy! Liam's not at a demanding age (feeding aside), so I can stick him anywhere or just lay down and talk and smile at him to keep him happy. It's so easy! I look forward to spending time with Maya, too, but at this age, I know that the good times will be punctuated with a lot of trying times... sometimes toddlerhood can be very overwhelming! I love the moments like the ones I wrote about from today. Those are the times when Maya brings me the greatest joy... that and when she's in a full on belly laugh! There's just something about the sound of my children's laughter that makes my heart swell and takes away any stress or frustration I may be harboring from events of the day. The sound of their laughter instantly brings a smile to my face and makes everything "all better".

Speaking of putting Liam to bed, I'm pretty sure I may be done swaddling him. He fought so hard to get out of the swaddler tonight that he actually broke into a sweat! I finally released him, and as soon as he rested his hands on either side of his head, he quickly fell asleep. I know that from his first month of life (back when I thought he hated being swaddled) he slept all the time with his hands by his face. Then at 6 weeks when I started swaddling him again, he got used to sleeping with his hands down by his sides. Most recently, every time he wakes up, he has managed to bust out of the swaddler, and I find him with one, if not both, hands free and either flailing about (depending on how worked up he is) or resting up by his head. After going to bed, he slept for 5 straight hours, probably because he didn't start to stir and wake himself up while trying to fight himself out of the swaddler! I heard him stir a couple of times, but it was only for a brief amount of time, without any sounds of struggling or distress. I'm thinking that he's matured past the swaddling stage! We shall see!

A Day in the Life of...

Maya's vocabulary has boomed over the last two months. She comes up with new words and phrases every day. Just when I think I've heard it all, she comes up with something new. Take this morning, for example, I was getting Maya dressed. She took off her socks that she had worn to bed last night, spread open her little toes with her fingers, and sweetly said, "Hi, suzz!", as she waved to the sock fuzz between her toes. Who does that?! She totally cracks me up!
She found these socks in my sock drawer today and wanted to try them on. She loved wearing them around the house, the empty toes flapping in front of her feet. She thought they were really cool!
Liam has been finding his toys increasingly interesting, and as you can see, he's figured out how to grasp things! We borrowed this awesome play gym from our friends, the Porter's, and he loves it! There's a star that lights up in time to music and a little mirror that he can admire his own chubby cheeks and killer smile in. Of course, there are lots of toys hanging down for him to bat at or grasp. He'll stay under there for the better part of 20 minutes, usually once a day. He really enjoys it!While Liam was playing with his toys, Maya was eating her weight in homemade play dough. I was cleaning the kitchen, and Maya was entertaining herself with the squishy substance. She was supposed to be using the cookie cutters, potato masher, etc... on the play dough, but every time I turned around, she was shoving fistfuls of the stuff into her mouth! Usually, this was followed by, "Mmmm... Yummy!" The girl loves peanut butter and honey! A little time had gone by, and I started to think that Liam should be getting ready for a nap. I gazed across the living room, and this is what I found...
Poor Buddy! He was completely passed out under the play gym! I guess he was ready for a nap, and he wasn't waiting on anybody to take one! He never fussed or anything, just cashed out! I did take him upstairs, wrap him in the swaddler, and lay him in his bed. I thought he'd get better rest in his room, though, apparently he wasn't having any trouble downstairs! What a sweet little boy.

What a Great Voice!

Here's my Little Man, talking, gooing, cooing, and giggling a little...

This is how most of our conversations go these days! I love listening to his voice. Sometimes he really belts it out there! He even "sings" along in church... what a treat! All the little old ladies come up and tell him how they like to listen to his "sermon". I've noticed that he really has a little boy voice. It's so darn cute! For a "little" guy, he has a lot to say!

Spring Has Sprung!

Little Man had quite a time with the Easter Bunny today! His sister, on the other hand, refused to come within 5 feet of him. It was actually quite humerus to watch her turn the corner, spot the over-sized bunny, and stop dead in her tracks. She didn't turn and run. She didn't cry. She simply stood and stared at the sight before her... a 6 feet tall smiling bunny. Holy cow. Around 18 months, she started to become more cautious and reserved. She wasn't really excited with her encounter with Santa a few months ago, so I didn't expect her to enjoy the Easter Bunny this year. It is what it is. I don't fault her for it, and I'm certainly not going to force her to participate against her will. As obsessed as I am with getting pictures for seemingly every event, I will not ever force one of them to do something they are clearly afraid to do just to get the perfect shot. I did have a little hope that when I gave Liam to the Easter Bunny to hold, Maya would see that it was okay and stand by her brother. Instead, she pointed out a smaller, stuffed bunny, and said, "Ma-moe, ma-moe!" (One more, one more! As in, there's a smaller, nicer looking bunny... maybe I'd like to sit with that one instead!)

After visiting the Easter Bunny and eating a super-yummy lunch at Panera (all with our friends, Melissa, Ashley, and Brendan), we hit the mall playground to let the kiddos burn some energy. Maya was apprehensive about sliding by herself, but she thoroughly enjoyed going with Brendan and Ashley...


Here, she slides alone with Brendan... Ashley has such a great big brother!We left the mall around 1:30pm, and Maya fell asleep for about 30 minutes on the way home (quite the short nap for all the playing she did at the mall)! I actually had to stop at the dry cleaners, where I'm having all but one of my nursing shirts altered, to try on one of the shirts that's in the process of alteration. I pulled into the parking lot and told Maya that if she listens to me and is good, I would stop and get her a chocolate shake on the way home. She agreed, and I laid down the ground rules... "Do not touch ANYTHING." I knew that where we would be standing is tight quarters, and it's completely cluttered with a sewing machine, safety pins, straight pins, papers, thread, and clothes... not a great place for a curious toddler. In fact, some might call it a recipe for disaster. To my great relief, Maya was on her best behavior! I had to remind her a few times not to touch anything, but as soon as I corrected her, she immediately stopped what she was doing. I couldn't have been prouder! When we returned to the car, I thanked her for being so good, told her that made me very happy, and announced that it was time for a chocolate shake! I said to her, "Thank you for listening to Mommy in there!" Maya responded, "No touch!" I smiled and repeated, "That's right! No touch. Good job!" She's so cute and smart! We shared a chocolate malt on the way home... yummy!

After returning home to feed Liam and get some sweatshirts, we took off for our first trip of the year to Dinosaur Park! Brendan taught Maya how to go down the slide, feet first, on her belly, and she spent the majority of her time sliding down the dinosaur slide this way... Wheeee!
Mr. Liam also had his first trip to the park! He really enjoys being outside. He just looks around, completely content! Who's that face, peeking through the window? What a handsome little man!
Papa stopped by to play, and Maya loved walking across these little stepping stones with his help...Maya spent a ton of time running back and forth across this bridge. She loved this bridge last year, too. It's a little bouncy, so it creates a bit of a challenge for her. After a few times across, she had mastered the bouncy, uneven platforms and the sharp incline at each end. What a little adventurer...
This was the first day that felt like spring, and it reminded me of the promise of summer right around the corner. We're all feeling a little cabin fever from being cooped up inside during this long, bitter cold winter. I have a feeling that we'll be spending lots of time at the Dinosaur Park this year! We ended our trip to the park by racing down the slide, side by side. I'm so glad we were able to get outside and play today! We needed it!

April Fool's... NOT!

Liam is giggling because he got his Mommy good today! The first of many times for this day, he spit up a little. By the way, he's quite the spitter, very much UNlike Maya, so I'm struggling to adjust to this perpetual mess! Anyway, I went to wipe the gunk out of his mouth and to my shock, surprise, and (slight) horror, I hit some speed bumps! I couldn't believe what I had just felt, so I pulled back his bottom lip to get a closer look. This is what I found...
Not one, but TWO bottom teeth!! He JUST turned 3 months... are you kidding me?! Well, that sure explained the unusual crankiness for the last day and a half. He's never fussy, so when he was resisting naps and not sleeping very well (which I should clarify as being worse than normal), I wondered what was up. I thought it was his body reacting to getting two bottles of formula in one afternoon. I had made a trip into Grand Rapids, and I was gone through 2 feedings. He's had a bottle of formula here and there, but I don't think he's ever had 2 consecutive bottles. I figured that his belly was having a hard time digesting the food, which would make him fussy. Will actually asked if I thought it could be teeth, which I had wondered myself, but I assured him, much like I had assured myself, that "No, I don't think so. I mean, I guess it COULD be, but he's still really young for that." HA! I couldn't have been more wrong! Poor little guy!
As you can see from this picture, he's forgiven me for allowing him to cut two teeth without the relief of a little Tylenol. Sorry, Buddy! I love this smile. We see this all the time... he's just so happy! I love this particular picture because you can see the crinkle across the bridge of his nose. This little crinkle appears whenever he's really excited. I just adore this smiley boy!!