(tap tap) is this thing on??

So, um, I guess I kinda took a blog break... sorry 'bout that.

Life around these parts is strangely busy while not being busy at all. Does that make sense to any of you fellow mamas out there?? It seems like now that I am a (mostly) stay home mom, spending each day with the girls is exhausting and full of things like errands, laundry, library, play dates with friends, trying to keep up with housework (EPIC fail), and the often ellusive NAP TIME. Trying to accomplish anything on the to-do list is not as easy with two as it was with one little lady. It seems every task takes twice as long as it used to. We are still trying to find balance and figure out how life is "supposed to be". Apparently, Sadie thinks she is supposed to keep her mama up all night long... she is still waking every.two.hours. Its loads of fun.

Here's the Maya Grace Edition of the news I missed out on reporting while trying to catch up on sleep ;)

Maya Grace turned 2 on October 5th. We hung balloons from her ceiling the night before so she would wake up to a little bit of birthday magic :)

(wearing her birthday crown from LAST YEAR)

We had a great party at the playground for this crazy kid, but the pictures are stuck on the camera with the missing cord. It was a great sunny day with good friends and family (and the disgruntled birthday girl who really just wanted to play on the swings).

This girl is such a little monkey. Her vocabulary is expanding by the minute (note to self: make sure not to curse when dropping an egg while making breakfast. Maya's favorite word was "sh*t" for about 10 minutes the other day...) and she is developing a great sense of humor. She is a snacker rather than a meal-eater. Her favorites are FRUIT, cereal, crackers, cheese, yogurt, green beans (bean-beans), chicken, salad, pickles, scrambled eggs, ham, grilled cheese, meatballs, pizza, rice. She had a run-in with two Hersheys Miniature chocolates on Halloween and went b.o.n.k.e.r.s. Her first time experiencing candy was quite amusing, but we'll wait a while until we let her have more :p

(enjoying a ride at the Harvest Festival)

"Gracie" loves to explore her world and tell us "I DO IT!". Her independence is both a blessing and a curse. I love that she is starting to help dress herself, choose her shoes and coat and make choices on her own... but man oh man sometimes I just want to get a move on and not wait for her to climb into the car herself, then into her seat, then try to buckle. I told Bob the other day that there was a reason I was a preschool teacher for so long and NOT a toddler teacher. OY.

(enjoying one of her favorite snacks... an "oh-neenge")

Miss Sassafrass thinks she is funny and likes to play hide and seek with her papa. She loves puzzles and playing with her babies. Her crayons are ALWAYS within reach at the coffee table. Her green rain boots are her favorite article of clothing, and she's darn good at putting them on herself. She loves reading books with her papa, but when we go to the library it is all about the puzzles, train table and "cool house" and nothing about the literature.

("Group" Halloween party with her favorite cousin... Baby Mason Sason and Sadie Lady. Please excuse the blurry camera skills. Top priority was given to making sure these three didn't fall off the one chair they were sharing)

Maya's new favorite activity is picking her nose, and finding places to hide while doing it. Griffin wasn't a nose picker, so this behavior is a new one for my tribe. I have no idea how to curtail the treasure hunting, but we are working on it. It probably doesn't help that it is stuffy nose season, or that she is two years old. My favorite thing is when she emerges from behind the recliner with a fresh catch and says "EEEWWWWWWWWWW mama!" while trying to give it to me. She's trying to give the little nuggets to Sadie now that she realizes mama doesn't condone the behavior. Nice.

We went pumpkin picking at Nan and Gramp's house the day befoer Halloween. Instead of carving a pumpkin, Boo wanted to paint it.

She's a regular Van Gogh!!

She put on her "cow coat"/ Halloween costume to watch the kids from the elementary school parade down Main Street on Halloween morning. We saw Auntie Tania dressed up like Little Bow Peep as well as lots of cool kids, and Miss Saramae, too.

Once the parade was over, she parked herself on a bench and gave mama a hard time to leave. She said she was waiting for more kids :(

Life with Maya Grace is awesome. Her crabby/sassy/giggly personality is large and in charge.  She knows what she wants and how she wants it, and you better not be the one to tell her no. My little Buggy girl is pretty cool, and I wouldn't even trade her in for a full night of sleep ;)

 

Comments

[Jackie R.]

Fantastic Pictures! Life can sure be hectic and challenging when your kids are little! Hope you get some quality Zzzzzzzzzzzs soon! :)

[MelissaS]

LOL! So cute. As the mother of a just-turned-two boy, my advice is if you are going to curse, make sure you do it at the beginning of a sentence! They seem to repeat the last few words :) I'm totally there with you on waiting for them to do it themselves - frustrating when you just want to get. stuff. done! Enjoy the ride :)

[EJ]

Such cute photos, I miss hearing about the children and all your other news so it is great to see you have remembered how to blog. Miss Maya Grace has definitely grown, enjoy your time with her and Miss Sadie as the time is going to pass much to quickly Love to all :)

[Debbie Standard]

Adorable photos and brings back so many memories of mine when they were little - enjoy - life's too short!