Monday, March 16, 2009

Three in one day?

Ok, so is it obvious I was home today? Maria was sick, bless her little heart, and Maya did have some congestion, so I stayed home with them. I had hoped for a nice quiet day to catch up on some house chores, but of course, that never happened! My kids may be sick, but they were quite capable of going full steam today! I think the pre-nap congestion meds just hyped them up even more, so no naps today. I was so looking forward to a nap. Anyway, here are more pics of my babies, at Maria's birthday party!

This is why I picked Monkey Joe's for the party. They have ELMO! A whole bouncy thing is strictly Sesame Street, and since we were having an Elmo party, it was perfect!


Many people commented that they had never seen Maria that outgoing. She just played and laughed and followed the other kids and even led the way occasionally. My normally shy lap baby was quite the queen of the party. Go, Maria, go!!



Would you believe I never remembered to take a picture of the cake?! I couldn't believe it myself. I figured it out when we were all back home and I was taking yet-another-slice of cake for myself. Nope, not one picture of the cake. Hopefully someone else got one at some point during the day. It did look almost exactly like last year's cake, but I did add a little more color to the corners, and of course the wording was for 2nd birthday instead of 1st. We practiced blowing out candles at home that week, and Maria did a perfect job blowing out her two little candles!















Oh, and can you believe these were taken in the same week???

Monday, March 2 ... 4-5 inches of snow. Schools closed, no work for me and E. Saturday March 7th: in the 70's, playing outside, barefoot! Crazy weather in the south.
And these are just because they're so darned cute!
Sister love!




How about a photo Monday?

I finally got these downloaded and actually have a few minutes to myself, so time to share! It's just so hard to pick a few out of all the photos we take! I'm sure it's obvious why I love this one....
Is she not the cutest thing ever?

Well, maybe Maria just ties with this one as the cutest thing ever. To quote Madagascar, they are so cute I just want to "dunk them in my coffee."

Maya was having a little jealousy over Maria's new toy. Cute, cute, cute.

And this was the birthday girl when she first got her gift. She loves it! This was from mommy and daddy and Omi. Gran and Poppi got her a new toddler bed, and she has been sleeping in it all night for a few weeks now. No more crib babies at my house. They're just growing up so fast.




Friday, March 6, 2009

Happy 2nd Birthday, Sweet Maria!

Permit me to reminisce ...

Our baby girl in Guatemala: February 2008: 11 months old
I hope this is not indicative of her future driving habits: August, 2008
Christmas, 2008: This is a typical look for Maria. Adorable, huh?
Celebrating Valentine's Day, 2009, with her classmates at her preschool/daycare. It's so much fun to watch the vast difference in abilities in a room full of 2 year olds:
And our most recent pictures of snow in SC in March, 2009: Maria was not really happy with trying to walk in 4-5 inches of snow.

I can't believe my baby is TWO! How the heck did that happen?!?!
To Maria:
From that first glimpse through emailed photographs in March, 2007 to our first meeting in Guatemala in February, 2008. To our reunion at the airport with big sister Maya, who doted on you from the very beginning. To the first time you sat up by yourself, crawled, walked, and talked. I'm glad I was there to be part of it all. You have brought incredible joy to my life, and filled an empty spot that no one else could possibly fill. You have made my family complete.
I love to watch you grow, even though it is painful to see you grow up so quickly. I love to watch you learn new things. You furrow that little brow and concentrate so hard on anything you do. You can spend hours just putting on and taking off socks. You love to color. You love puzzles. You love your cat, Marlowe. You love to do anything that Maya is doing, and I'm constantly having to watch to make sure you don't try to jump off the couch just like she does! You are learning to talk, and it's just the cutest thing ever to hear you tell Maya "I sawry" (translation: "I'm sorry"), and to watch you clap your hands and yell for Marlowe, as if he's really going to come running over to you. At 11 months old you could not even turn over or sit up by yourself in the crib. And now at two, you can do it all (or at least seem to think you can do it all!) You are becoming more independent, yet still remain such a mommy's girl, and even more of a daddy's girl. Your first words in the morning are usually "Daddy! Daddy!" But that's after you have had some time to adjust to being awake, as you do not appear to be a morning person like Maya is. You're such a night owl and late morning sleeper, just like your dad. You are a wonderful snuggler. You don't like for anyone to help you eat or drink anymore, unless you are really hungry and you can't get the utensils to cooperate fast enough. Everyone is so amazed at all you have accomplished in your short time here. Gran says it's hard to believe you are two already, but that it also seems like you have been a part of us forever. Poppi says you are something else. Omi calls you her little sweetheart. Papa, if he were here, would call you "a living angel." I call you mine.
You've come a long way, baby.