Hiking with Mom and Dad

Last weekend was beautiful and so we packed up Mya and went for a hike.  One of the many perks of living in Boulder is that we packed up and walked right from the house to get to the trail. 

Here is Mya with her sunglasses on, all ready to get going on our hike.

Mya looking a little worried about being in the backpack and where did those glasses go???

Mya and Daddy taking a little pre hike bike ride!  Mya was a good copilot and thought this was GREAT!

On our way up, hanging out and drinking her juice.

Snack at the top with Daddy.  She looks tired, but Daddy did all the work!  She was a little quiet and shy at the top because there were other people and kids up there. 

Ya Ya, Mya's first nickname!

So this weekend we went to Steamboat, Colorado for a long weekend with some friends of ours who also have a 16 month old, Mads.  Mads and Mya have now known each other since they were about 3 months old and it has been so much fun watching them both change and grow so quickly.  Right now they are interested in each other, but they don't really play together.  So Mads has oficially given Mya her first nickname, which was a surprise, because with a short name like Mya, I didn't think she would have a nickname, other than Peanut. (That is what Paul and I call her all of the time, even though she is not quite the little peanut she once was.)   :)  Anyway, Mads calles Mya "Ya Ya", and apparently Mya is WAY up there on her list with "La La", which is their dog Nola, and also the first "person" she calls to every morning when she wakes up.    SO all weekend Mads said, "Hi Ya Ya" over and over again.  I think these two could be friends for life, although I am already worried that Mya will be the michievious one who drags Mads into all kinds of trouble...  I tried to apologze in advance to Jayme and David, hopefully the trouble they get into will all be innocent!   It was funny watching them interact, or should I say Mads taking something from Mya and then Mya grabbing it back and trying to swat at Mads!  Or Mya just taking what Mads had and walking away.  There was a lot of side by side play, but not a whole lot of interaction.  I can't wait until they really play together.  I look forward to telling both Mads and Mya stories of when they were little together.  How neat to have a friend you have know since you were a baby!  Here are some pictures from the trip, particularly of the girls.

Here is Mya taking her morning nap, YAY, on the way to Steamboat.  Right before I took this she had both arms behind her head, but I missed it!

Paul with the girls.  Mads has really warmed up to him... She has come a long way from the stare he used to get that said don't you dare come near me mister!

The girls outside, isn't Mads' coat adorable??!!

This is what happens when we have to go inside... Have I mentioned that Mya would LIVE outside if she could??

Mya and Mads have their first bath with a friend!  Too Cute.  Mya had never been in a tub other than her baby one, so she was a little weirded out at first.

Sharing toys with each other.  :)

I think she likes it!

Mya and Mads having breakfast with their Daddies.  Mommies went to the hot springs!  :)

Mya was watching a Fly Fisherman and begging to get in the wacter with him.  She was VERY upset that she could not join him and must have said PLEASE a million times...

Getting into Trouble!

Mya is getting more and more adveturous these days.  She is always very, busy, busy, busy, looking for things to do and places to go.  (I wonder WHO she gets THAT from????)   :)

Can you spot the little girl in there?? 

Yes, I am going behind the couch and under the table behind the couch, over and over again.  I FINALLY figured out hwo to do it without getting stuck in the middle! 

Hmmmmm, what's in this bag?  Let me take it all out and see.

Hair!

Mya's hair is now getting to the point where it is hanging in her eyes.  I am hoping it grows really fast, ha ha ha, so that it will hang on the side of her face rather than in her eyes.  Here are just a few ways we are keeping it out of her face these days!

Mya at 13/14/15 Months. The time is flying by!

Mya is growing and changing every day. She is so busy and keeps us so busy that as you can see I have been lacking on blogging about her.My goal is to update once a week from now on, I have to keep up on all the new things she is doing and learning and it is all happening so fast!

Right now she weighs 19 pounds. We are in the process of trying to figure out the next car seat... It turns out to be a much harder decision than we thought. Of course while researching car seats I came across other info. that states keeping children rear facing for as long as possible is a much safer option and it made a pretty hard argument to ignore... I know Mya would LOVE to be facing forward, however, I think since she still fits in to her rear facing seat, that even after all of the researching, we have decided to leave things as is for a little while longer. The decisions and indecision of parenthood I guess.

Some of Mya's favorite words to say right now:
All Done
Please
Doggie
Caw, caw, caw - she does this to imitate the crows
mooooo - yep, just like a cow
mummy
daddy, which should be #1 b/c it is still her #1 FAVORITE word to say! :)
Where's daddy - Which I get to hear all day when daddy is not home, yes, ALL day...
kitty
that
this
outside - while bangging on the front door enthusiastically.
She also shakes her head no, gulp, I can see the "NO!" stage coming soon!

Her favorite video is Baby Signing Time, it's also the only one she has ever seen, but now she asks to watch it daily and she is doing most of the signs on it, while also dancing to the songs! She loves to sit in her bunny chair, that aunt Angela bought her for her 1st birthday, with a snack and drink and watch it before bedtime as well.

 Mya watching her video intently.










This morning while dressing her she shook her head "no" to the purple shirt AND the brown shirt, but then vigorously shook her head yes to the pink shirt. It doesn't quite match what she's wearing, but she is very happy to have it on. I can see that we are also getting close to the, "She dressed herself this morning" excuses when we drop her off at daycare! :)

Her favorite thing to do is be outside and now that she is running everywhere she loves to run up and down the bike path. When she was a baby and she was fussy, bringing her outside immediately made her calm. We spent many days walking around outside with her in the baby bjorn, while she either hung out or slept peacefully.   Even in the winter, paul would put her under his big puffy coat and walk with her so she could sleep.  Now she loves to expend energy, point at the birds while making the cutest surprised/excited face.

Sometimes we visit with Bailey, our friend's dog next door.  Don't worry he loves kids, and not for lunch!

We go outside at least once a day, but usually two to three times!  Did I mention that she LOVES to be outside??!!  :)

She also loves to swing as you can see from the pictures.  A few weekends ago we packed up the bikes, rode over to the park, and spent a longgggg time swinging on the swings.  Mya had a ball and thought it was the best thing ever! 

This is the face she makes whenever she really likes something, is pleasantly surprised by something, or is excited about something.  (Birds making noises, doggies, kitty, food, songs, going outside, etc. etc.)

She is loving that swing right now!

She also loved swinging with Mommy and Daddy!

Singing

I have to share that Mya is trying her hand at singing these days. It is the CUTEST thing ever because she will only sings songs she knows, either b/c I have been signing them to her or she has heard them on her baby music CD's. Of course nothing she sings make sense but you can hear the "sounds" that should be the right words. My favorite place to sing to/with her is in the car. If she starts to get cranky, I start singing, and immediately she stops and starts trying to "sing" with me. It makes me laugh and laugh and smile and smile. Her favorite is the Itsy Bisty Spider and she does say, "DOWN," when I get to the part of, "Down the water spout." Could she get any cuter?? I don't think so!

Walking!

Well, at one year and two weeks old, Mya started taking her first steps. At first it was only 2 or 3 at a time. That lasted for about a week.(For the record and for her knowledge when she reads this later on in life, she started "cruising" around the furniture and walls at about 10 months old.) Our friends, Dave and Jenna then gave Mya a Lady Bug toy, which quickly progressed the walking. It's a toy that has wheels on it and it is meant for a child to sit on and push around with their feet. Mya, however, thought it was great to push around while standing, as she is too small to sit on it and reach the ground. She started zooming around everywhere with the Lady Bug, going until she hit whatever was in her way. She would then swing it around and keep on going. This activity kept her busy for hours. It also became another way that Mya could torture the Kitty. Mya thought and still thinks it is fun to chase the kitty around the house with the lady bug. Poor Kitty. So while pushing around the Lady Bug, Mya quickly went from 2 to 3 steps to 5 or 6 steps and then just like that she was walking more than crawling... Today she is currently walking everywhere and even bends down and picks things up easily. I have almost forgotten what it was like for her to crawl.
This is just another example of how fast time goes by and how fast our little ones grow up. Although I am enjoying watching her toddle around everywhere it also makes me a little sad. Our little baby is growing up.

Mya's One Year Stats

Height: 30 inches - 75%
Weight: 17lbs. - she's a tad underweight,  however, our doctor is not concerned.
Mya eats like a horse and Dr. G says that she just has a high metabolism.  She'll always be happy about that one!  :)
Head Circumference: 17 1/2 inches

Side Note:  While giving Mya her three shots, yes, THREE, the nurse told us that she has never seen a one year old as strong.  She couldn't hold her leg still and I tried to help, but she was right, Mya is strong!  Go Mya!

Christmas and Birthday! Mya turns ONE!

SO we spent Christmas in CT, Mya getting to know her two cousins Jake and Leah. Grandma, whom we call Da, cooked us delicious homemade meals all week.  Jake, who is 9, loved playing with Mya  a lot.  He was very entertaining, playing peekaboo behind the curtains and making all kinds of funny faces at her that made her laugh.
It was great for her aunt Laura and Uncle Dan to finally meet her too!

Mya in her Christmas outfit and attached to her daddy's leg, her favorite place throughout our whole visit. :)

Mya with Jake and Leah!

 

Mya and Aunt Laura.

Mya and Poppy and then with Da.

Mya in her Da made sweater and hat hanging out with Sam and Elizabeth.

 

 

 

Another Da made sweater!  She is SO talented!



Mya's birthday was pretty mellow, just a family affair.  Da bought a cake that did not contain soy or dairy and I whipped up some frosting for it.  As you can see from the pictures Mya wasn't so sure about the whole candle thing, but she did enjoy eating the cake!  When she was done it was to the sink to wash away all the left over sugar on her face and in her hair.

YUM, CAKE and ICECREAM!

Jake and Mya eskimo kissing.  












Clean Mya.

 

 She loved the sink bathtub!


We  had some wonderful vistors, Amanda, Frankel, and Conor came up for the night along with Angela.  Conor had a ton of fun playing with Harry, the dog, however, he was not so happy about spending the night away from his crib and toys...  Poor Amanda and Frank had to spend an hour getting him to finally fall asleep in the big bed with them.  We then snuck Amanda out for a drink at one of the local bars.  Thanks Frank. (More pictures to come.)

We also made a quick visit to MA to see Grammie.  Although it was a quick visit it was great to see her.  Mya is wearing the sweater Grammie made her.  She has two knitting grandmas!