Merry Christmas!

Christmas morning Mya woke up and we headed downstairs to see if Santa stopped by the house.  Mya is getting older and it is soooo nice to have had a Christmas morning with just her, me and Greg.  She loved opening presents and really got into it!  She stopped to admire everything she got.  She got a little distracted when she opened up some Elmo books and wanted to start reading those before she opened up other gifts!  Santa somehow knew that Mya is obsessed with Elmo because he got her some Elmo pajamas, books, and Sesame Street playset.  

Santa must have thought that Mya was a good girl this year because he brought her a DOLLHOUSE!  Mya was soooo excited and had to have Daddy open it right away, along with all of the dolls and furniture!

The van for the dollhouse was a huge hit!

Mya also checked out her stocking and was excited to see that Santa brought 'nacks (fruit snacks), along with Goldfish.  Food certainly is the way to Mya's heart!

Checking out her stocking loot

My favorite Christmas Day picture!

After opening presents, we headed over to my aunt and uncle's house for some Christmas togetherness.  Mya, once again, got spoiled by Auntie Beck and Uncle Doug and got some more furniture for her dollhouse, as well as a giant Elmo coloring book.  Cousins Lisa and Cassie also got her an Elmo guitar and a Santa Mr. Potato Head!

Coloring with Blane

Cassie showed Mya the finer things in life...like how to slide down the stairs on her butt (or as Mya now likes to say, bumdoodie, thanks to Cousin Lisa)!

The girls in our Grinch shirts!

It was an extra special Christmas because we got to meet a long-lost cousin!  Francine's mom was my great-grandma's sister.  It was pretty cool listening to her stories and seeing some of her pictures.  She had some pictures of my Grama Rosy that we've not seen before.  Christmas is all about family and we were blessed with an addition to this years festivities!

Mya likes Blane's kids, Ethan and Cameron.  She especially liked Cameron and wanted to hang out with him while he worked on his Lego creations!

with Uncle Doug

Following our time at the farm, we headed over to Greg's parents house for a while.  Mya's napping schedule was almost non-existent those couple of days and by the time we reached Greg's parents house, she was at the end of her rope.  A tired and crabby kid also equates to a frustrated momma.  So, I took her for a drive around Chippewa Falls for a while.  We drove around until she fell asleep and then I just sat and enjoyed the quiet for a bit.  As much as we love holidays, it can be tough to get everything in there!

We had a great Christmas and it was a special couple of days.  We are thankful to have been able to spend time with those that we did.  We are also reminded of the joys we have in our lives...

ABC's

It's tough to catch Mya in all her singing glory at times because she'll perform at a moments notice.  Here's one time when she's singing the ABC's!

Counting

It's short and sweet, but Mya's catching onto the whole counting thing!

Christmas Eve

So, Christmas Eve started out like this.  I was getting things packed up and Mya was unpacking her toys.  I didn't really mind, it kept her busy for a while!

Onto the day...

We went out to Greg's parents house in the morning to celebrate.  Everyone was home, so the house was full and loud!  The kids especially had fun playing with each other!

Mya, Momma, and Nadya

With Aidan

Since Steven and Mary live in Texas, we don't get to see them often.  Mya liked Mary, but wasn't so sure about Steven.  That's probably because he picked on her...can't blame the kid!  :)

Mya, Mary and Aidan

Mya kept herself busy by following around Tatiana and Nadya.  These three little girls are just the cutest things EVER!

Mya and Izzy got into the balloons from Grandpa Steve's birthday party.  It's amazing how little kids are so entertained by things like balloons!

After lunch, it was time to open gifts.  We always do an adult exchange and we also do a kid exchange.  Patrick got Mya an Elmo Pillow Pet!  It's so soft and snuggly and she loves it!  Then again, she loves ANYTHING Elmo!  She got some Elmo jammies from Grandma and Grandpa and didn't want to wait to wear them at night.  So, the independent girl that she is, put them on right then and there.  Luckily, they matched her outfit so I didn't mind quite as much!

Mya also got a rocking horse that was made by Grandpa Steve.  This kid loves to rock on it!

After that, we headed to my parent's house for our traditional Christmas Eve homemade pizzas.  Mya sat at the table with us, no high chair for her.  She gobbled up the pizza just like the adults!

Then we opened up more gifts.  Mya was spoiled with pieces for her dollhouse, books, Legos, a cleaning kit, puzzles, and food for her kitchen.  She unwrapped presents so well, I was amazed.  She took off each piece of paper attached to the gift so methodically.  I'm so glad that she really got into it this year!

Love the expression on this one!

Reading one of her books with Uncle Noah

Happy Birthday, Grandpa Steve!

Last week we celebrated Grandpa Steve's birthday.  It was a surprise birthday party and we all feasted on Chinese food!  Only one of the kids wasn't there (Greg had to work) and only one of the grandkids wasn't there (Liam wasn't feeling well).  So, it was a packed house to celebrate Steve's birthday!

Tatiana is still a favorite with Mya.  She'll ditch me anytime to hang out with Tat!

Can you say double trouble?  Trajan was the first one to find this hiding spot and then Mya, of course, followed along!  I don't know about these two!!

Wagon Ride Through the Park

Last night we took a horse drawn wagon ride through Irvine Park.  We got there at dusk time and we enjoyed the sites of the park lit up with Christmas lights.  The weather was really nice (warm for this time of year) and it even started to snow as we were leaving the park.

Mya loved all of the lights and especially the horse!  It's a good thing the ride wasn't much longer because I'm sure Mya wouldn't have made it.  Although she loved the ride, she wanted to assert her independence and refused to wear her mittens and boots.  Oh well!

Taste Tester

Last week at daycare the kids got to frost cookies.  Yum, yum, yum!  Mya got to taste test the frosting with the other little boys in her group.  (Apparently, the boy on the far left is Mya's "boyfriend," as I have been told.  When I drop her off in the morning, the little guy yells out "MYA!"  Boyfriends already?  WHAT? :) )

Don't all cookie taste testers wear their bibs as capes???

 Now, Mya is going through an extremely picky stage.  She will only eat certain things and is unwilling to try new things.  I keep telling myself that this is just a phase and she will grow out of it.  A couple weeks ago I baked some muffins and gave some batter to Mya to try out.  The kid wouldn't even let it touch her lips and she started gagging.  Seriously?  In any case, I'm glad that she tried and ate some frosting!

Trip to the Library

About a month ago we took a trip to the library for the very first time with Mya.  Mya is now the proud owner of a brand new library card!

Mya read some books and picked out some books and DVD's for home.  It was a short trip because she has the attention span of a gnat...but oh well!  Mya loves to read books and, for that, I am so thankful.  I love when she scoots her behind into my lap and we read a bunch of them together.  Her favorites of the moment are Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?, Oh David!, Pat the Bunny, 5 Little Monkeys, and Goodnight Gorilla (still).  

Aidan's 1st Birthday

This weekend the three of us headed down to Milwaukee to celebrate Aidan's first birthday.  We ate a lot of food and had a great time!  

In order to go, we of course had to pack up.  Is this not the way most people travel with their children???  :)

Mya had a great time playing with all of the kids, but she especially had fun playing with Izzy's dollhouse.  Hmm...I hope Santa took note of that!

Little Aidan is just the cutest thing!  He opened some super fun gifts and dug into his own cake.

Mya definitely had a thing for Tatiana this weekend.  She wanted to play with Tat and wouldn't even let me read to her...it had to be Tat!

The picture below tells a story of how the weekend went between Izzy and Mya.  Izzy liked to try to be close to Mya, but Mya wasn't so fond of the idea.

And then there's Aidan.  Mya adores Aidan!  Even though Mya is 10 months older than Aidan, he is nearly as tall as she is.  She loved giving him kisses and he didn't seem to mind it so much!!