Happy 1st Birthday, Maria!

Wow, I simply cannot believe how fast time is flying by! I wanted to come and update about our Guatemala trip, all the sights, all the details, all the new friends we made. But now it's Maria's first birthday already and I just cannot keep up with all that is going on in our lives, much less stop to write about it! sigh.

Maria is an absolute doll! She is simply a happy, smiley baby. She loves to watch her big sister, and lights up anytime Maya is in the room. She and Maya appear to be complete opposites, and I just love watching their little personalities develop. Maya is a 100% on-the-go, never stop, early riser, too busy to stop and eat, non-stop LOUD talker. Maria is laid back, quiet, slow eater, and likes to sleep late like daddy. I've already pictured Maya and I hitting the early morning sales on Black Friday while Maria and daddy sleep in.

Maya has adapted amazingly well, and adores her little sister. She is reveling in her big sister role, I think. She has her moments of jealousy, but overall handles it very well. Oh, I MUST mention Maya's newest funny! Before we left, we taught Maya to say Maria's name and where she is from. She is very adept at telling people very matter-of-factly, "She's from Guatemala." So after we got home, we started explaining that Maya is also from Guatemala. She seemed surprised at first, but started answering "Guatemala" whenever we asked where she is from. Fast forward to last week Sunday, when daddy took Maya to Monkey Joe's for some one-on-one father-daughter time. Maya LOVES Monkey Joe's, which is really why we decided to host Maria's first birthday party at a local bounce house. Maya has a great time, as usual, at Monkey Joe's. For some reason, after her trip there, this is how our conversations about national origins now go:

mommy: What is your sister's name?
Maya: Her name is Maria. (pronouced "rhea"...hehehe)
mommy: Where is she from?
Maya: She's from Guatemala
mommy: Where is Maya from?
Maya: I'm from Monkey Joe's

My girl is hilarious!

Since Maria's party is next Sunday, we didn't really do much today. We were going to go out for lunch (just Maria, me and Omi), but I had to finish a spreadsheet for work, and so we didn't make it out in time before Maria's nap. Then we were going to meet daddy and Maya for supper somewhere, but then daddy had to work late at the last minute. So I picked up Maya and we just came home and had mac & cheese for supper, and I made icing for the cupcakes I was going to freeze and use for the party on Sunday. We each had a cupcake, and wore our Elmo party hats, and sang Happy Birthday to Maria. I have a GREAT picture that emphasizes the differences in eating habits of my girls .... which I hope I can find time to download and share tomorrow. Maya just wanted to decorate her cupcake, and she ate most of the icing off of it, but only took about 3 or 4 small bites of the actual cupcake. Maria devoured her cupcake!! It was so cute ... she smooshed it to pieces, like I thought she would, but she also ate as much as she could get in her mouth!

They're absolutely adorable ... and I love both of those girls to pieces!