Erm, so... it's been a while...

Yep, it's been a while!  Poor, poor Lia.  Micah's life was documented at every turn, but Lia gets the raw end of the deal as far as looking back on this blog someday.  Sorry baby girl!  (Actually, maybe she's the lucky one! Hah.)

We've had a few things going on around here and it seems that we are in the throes of Toddlerhood (thus the lame blogging - NO TIME!).  Lia is a busy, bright little girl and she has been amazing us with her smarts.  She can sing the ABCs (punk-rock style, thanks to her dad), count to 11 (awesome) and is really really trying to spell her name, but it usually comes out as Geeoooeeeeaaaa.  (G is her favorite letter, so I guess they all are "G" for now.)  She is definitely a Lefty and loves to "coloooor."  Now, I'm not one to push little ones to read or count, but this girl WANTS to learn.  She's a sponge.

Halloween - L loves herself some "kins"

 Lia is also one serious dancer and singer.  She can sing lyrics to almost all of the "kid" songs we listen to, and she's also a huge Adele fan.  (I never thought I'd listen to kid music, but she makes hours of Lori Berkner (sp?) worth it.)  She and Micah dance in the kitchen to the Fresh Beat Band, complete with hand-microphones and air-guitars.  Yes, my baby can air-guitar along with the best of them.  I'm fully planning on them starting a band together someday.  Okay, probably not, but it's fun right now.

We have decided to change one MAJOR thing about little miss - her birthday.  Originally, we planned on changing it to a January birthday, which was suggested by our pediatrician.  We know in our hearts that the birthdate listed on her paperwork is wrong, and I'm glad we went with a January birthday in our minds for the first year-and-a-half home.  She needed that time of us treating her like an infant, instead of a one-year-old.  (Especially as she most likely was an infant.)  But, we've recently learned that trying to change her birthdate with the government can be tricky, and rather than have her face problems down the road, we're going back to the birthday listed on her paperwork - in August!  So, next month she'll turn 2 (in January) and then in August she will turn 3!  You've got to roll with it, you know?  I hope she understands all of our crazy logic someday.

This girl has personality to spare.  She is hilarious.

And, that brings me to Micah!  He is going to turn 5 in two months?  Crazy.  He's definitely moving right along into the big-boy role and we're loving it.  Today I took him to the movie theater and he actually sat through an entire movie!  This is the first time we've tried since he was (too) little, and it was a lot of fun.  We have such great conversations and this child is starting to really show us just how big his heart is.  He is a charmer, when he wants to be, and a stinker when he wants to be, but always fun.  He keeps me laughing, that is for sure.  For example, he recently started gymnastics, and he loves it, but he insisted on wearing his Santa jammies to class two weeks in a row.  He cracks me up.

Yep, those Santa jammies. He has barely taken them off since he got them.  

And there would be more rambling to this, but the biggest little has just woken up (at 10:41 pm) so I'm off to put him BACK to bed.  See you all in another 6 months!  (Hopefully sooner, but...)

One for the Baby Book

If you all will indulge me, I need to do a little post for the Baby Book.  You see, I have these two beautiful books - one for each child - where I'm supposed to actually write things down.  Yeah, that never happens.  So, this blog is essentially the Baby Book.  Sorry kids!  But, here's an update on all things Little in our house.

Lia is now just shy of 18 months and is not just walking but RUNNING.  And she is fast.  She is also talking up a storm.  She has a bunch of words, but her favorites are Mommy, Daddy, Micah, Pickle (one of the dogs), Cheese, Shoes, Elmo, and Gabba.  She is also starting to put words together.  Just today she told her brother to, "GO AWAY!"  It was a heart-warming moment, indeed. 

We recently celebrated LIA DAY!  The first anniversary of the day we met our sweet girl.  We celebrated with a special dinner and cupcakes, along with a new doll stroller (that the kids fight over), and tickets to Yo Gabba Gabba (coming soon!).

We finished the night with a Family Dance Party, which of course made me cry.

Seeing Lia and her dad dancing to her "adoption song," pretty much put me over the edge. 

Lia and Micah are very close.  They fight A LOT, but they also play together and Micah can make Lia laugh like no one else can.  She adores him.  Proof: If you ask Lia for a kiss, she will most likely shake her head "NO."  If Micah asks Lia for a kiss, he ALWAYS gets one.  He's the ONLY one.  Seriously, the girl already knows the power of the word NO.  (I should have added that to the list above - it is definitely one of her favorite words.)  Watching them together melts me when they are being cute.

This might be one of my favorite pictures of the two of them.

Micah has had an eventful summer already.  He has been binky-free for one whole month!  He has never asked about it, but yesterday on our way up to bed, he stopped, looked at me and said, "Mom, I miss binky."  Ack.  That's enough to make me want to run out and buy him one.  Well, not quite enough.  I told him I miss binky too and it is sad.  He told me that he has dreams about binky.  Sweet boy. 

He started his summer by knocking out his two front teeth on Memorial Day.  That was awesome.  Okay, not really.  It was SCARY, but Micah handled it way better than I did.  He apparently pulled them out clean while going down a small water slide at the pool.  You do not want more details than that.  Trust.  But, all is well and his big teeth will come back in about 3 years.  We have plenty of time to get used to this smile...

Disclaimer: Child was eating a chocolate cupcake prior to this picture being taken.  He is not usually so dirty.  Okay, he is, but come on, he's a boy.

That's it for now!  But here is one more picture to tide you over until next time I blog again.  And, let's face it, that could be a while. 

HAPPY SUMMER!

Bye-Bye Binky, Bye-Bye...

Micah's first night with us.  And with his binky.

My baby boy was a binky lover.  The minute I plopped that bink in his mouth, he was hooked.  He's 4 years old now and we've been discussing the End of Binky for over a year now.  We didn't want to push it.  Our pediatrician said not to push it.  Much to Kevin's chagrin, our pediatrician was all for keeping binky around as long as Micah wanted it.  I agreed and my husband let me have my way on this one (thanks, babe). 

But, I'm so very happy to report that Micah has been binky-free for three days now!  Three nights without the binky!  Two of those nights the binky was in his room with him, but he chose not to use it. (I should add that the binky was broken, and he knew I wouldn't buy another.)  This morning he handed it over to his dad and asked him to hide it because he was done with it, and didn't want to see it anymore.  Kevin brought it down to me and told me what had transpired.  I bawled.  Ugly-cried for a minute.  Mourning the binky-baby, but also so, so proud of my big boy. 

So, feel free to judge all you want about the fact that we let our babe have his bink until after he was 4 years old.  It won't bother me because I think we did the right thing.  And now I have to go order a Darth Vader mask, as promised, for a certain binky-free boy. 

Is it enough?

Today we participated in One Day Without Shoes.  In the past, I've participated, but I haven't really felt the true impact of this day.  Today I really got out there in my bare feet, and it made me think. 

I spent the day trying to explain to Micah why we weren't wearing shoes.  I talked about children who have to walk to school without shoes.  About walking to the wells without shoes.  He didn't get it.  I tried to play TOMS youtube videos for him, but again, not clicking.  It wasn't until we went to the park and joined a group of families for a TOMS walk that he began to understand that it wasn't just his crazy mama going barefoot today.  Kids!  Big kids!  They were barefoot!  In fact, they were the ones who organized the walk.  This planted a seed in my little guy's head.  I hope I can keep it growing.

Personally, I had a lot of emotions I didn't expect on our walk.  I worried constantly over what Micah might step in while he ran ahead of me in his pitter-patter bare feet.  Then I realized that some moms in developing countries don't have that luxury.  They cannot worry about what their child might step in while without shoes. For some, shoes are just not an option.  My heart hurt. 

Oxfam posted today on their blog about TOMS One Day Without Shoes.  The post put the question to the reader of whether or not raising awareness is enough.  After seeing a group of privileged suburban kids out walking and being excited about raising awareness, I'm saying yes.  After taking a moment to see how it might affect a mom to see her child without shoes everyday, I'm saying yes.  And, while I do agree that TOMS doesn't solve the shoe problem, they are at least doing something about it.  And, who knows where this awareness could lead?  Nothing is ever "enough," but at least it is something, and I think it's something great. 

Thoughts and Such

Being a mom the second time around is definitely different.  I'm way more relaxed with Lia than I was with Micah.  Ah, but I do still have those moments of utter confusion, stress, and basket-dropping, so don't think it's magical or anything.  One thing that does strike me is how much I've forgotten already.  I was watching you tube videos with the kids recently (thank you apple tv) and I couldn't believe how little Micah was.  How his tiny feet fit into his little sandals.  How he waddled when he walked. 

This knowledge makes me desperate to notice and remember each little moment of Lia's babyhood.  I know I'll forget again, but this time I'm oh-so aware of how fleeting these moments are.  How it's my last time (99.9% sure of this) with a baby to care for.  To carry on my hip.  To snuggle with in the wee early morning hours.  To rock to sleep. To hear first words like cheese, cookie, and yummy.  To teach.  To learn from. 

It also makes me take notice of my Big Boy even more. Soon he'll be off to kindergarten (okay, I still have 1.5 years), and then he'll be a surly boy, and then in college.  I know it.  So, I remember to take the time to have a light saber duel.  To scoop him up as he runs towards me after school.  To grab his hand and tell him how proud I am of him.  To watch him try new things, and try again.  To encourage.  To teach.  To learn from. 

Some days, being a mom is exhausting and I'm quite sure that I suck at it.  Other days, I feel like I'm doing okay and remember how truly lucky I am to have two wonderful children to fill my life with amazement. 

Playing at the zoo.

"Working" at the zoo. 

 

They should really hire this kid.

And, I have no idea...

It's been a whole year...

I can't believe it's been a year since we first saw this sweet, tiny face...

We like to call this one Lia's Mini-Me pose.

Can you even believe that itty-bitty baby is now our big girl?  I remember that our referral was joyous, but also a time of fear, as they had Lia Makbe's birth-date showing that she was almost 7 months old when this picture was taken.  It took us a while to realize that her birth-date was most likely wrong (and it was), so those first few weeks were filled with worry.  But, then we started to receive pictures like this one...

and like this one...

We seriously questioned whether she was the same baby, but mostly we breathed sighs of relief.  She was growing (GROWING!) and obviously very healthy.  And now?  She's a beautiful, big chunkalove with a squishy belly and the most kissable cheeks ever. 

Seriously, can you stand it?  I smooch those cheeks all day long.

And?  She's starting to walk, and dance!  (Well, she actually started dancing before she could walk, to be honest.)

 We're so happy she is home and is our little Lia Makbe.  Our hilarious, loud, lovable, smoochable, baby girl.

We Have a Four Year Old!

Wait, what?!  We have a four year old?  How and when did this little bean-ball turn into a big boy?

Yes, it's true.  Our little pumpkin-bum is a Big Boy.  He no longer wants to be called, "baby," for any reason, at any time.  He can spell and write his own name.  He can ride a BIG boy bike.  He is completely over the booster seat.  He fights with me about wearing a pull-up at night because, "Spiderman does not wear pull-ups."  (Of course Spiderman wears pull-ups to bed!  Duh.)  But, he can still crawl up into our arms and cuddlebug.  He is still only 30 lbs (yay! - we finally hit 30!), and is still small enough to curl up on my lap.  And... I love that.

Last weekend we celebrated with a party at a bouncy sportsy place.  The kids got to play soccer and then go bounce - they loved it.

Going down the big slide.  I'm still mad that I didn't make it down this slide!

The Birthday Boy in all of his glory.

And the Birthday Boy's adorable little sister.

Mic and his best girlfriend.  He calls her Gaga.  At the beginning of the party (when Gaga was late), I found Mic sitting all alone and asked, "What's wrong."  He replied, "Mom, I NEED Gaga."  They are adorable.

 

The Happy Birthday song!  We started the song before the cake was placed in front of him and he freaked out and made us all start over.  Apparently, we weren't doing it right.  And, he wanted to fully enjoy the moment. 

Opening presents with dad.  This was a Storm Trooper costume from Mimi - a big hit!

After opening his gifts, everyone clapped for Micah.  Kevin lifted him up and he appropriately raised his arm in the air.  He is clearly ready for his rock-star days.

On his actual birthday, we had a dinner at Momo & Papa's house.  This was where his BIG boy bike was waiting for him.

He loves his new bike.  After riding it around he said, "I don't even know where this came from!"   I told him it was from Mom, Dad, and Lia.  He immediately jumped off the bike, ran over to Lia and gave her a big hug.  Hugs for Kevin and I followed.  He's a sweet boy.

Mic's Aunt & Uncle gave him a doctor costume for his birthday.  He put it on and insisted everyone call him "Dr. Bacon."  One of his nicknames is Bacon Mouse due to his serious love of bacon, so I suppose it's only natural that he would be Dr. Bacon.  (Have I ever mentioned how hilarious Micah is?)

Our Big Boy Four Year Old.  Love this kid.

So, there you have it.  Micah's 4th birthday was a wild success and we are so excited to see what the next year brings us!

PS - I had to add this picture... because it is made of win...

PartyTime!

We had decided not to have a first birthday party for Lia.  She tends to get overwhelmed by a lot of people (or so I thought) and, truth be told, we have a lot of things we need to finish at our house before we're ready to have a big party.  So, we were all set.  No party.  Just a small dinner with family.  But then... I changed my mind.  And I'm really happy that I did because Lia had the cutest birthday party ever! 

We had her party at The Little Gym, and I need to say this, they were awesome!  I really didn't have to do a thing.  (I did bring my own decorations, even though they provide those - I couldn't help myself.)  We've never had a birthday party outside of our home... and I'm thinking that we may never have one in our home again.  Seriously, you should have seen our house after Micah's first birthday party.  Ah, but it was worth it. 

Anyway, on with the adorable!  (That's why you're here, right?)  Here is Lia in all of her 1st birthday glory...

This one is my favorite.  I think.

Lia and Kevin check out the Sing*a*ma*jig (which we LOVE!)

The only picture of her in this adorable hat.  She promptly removed it.  Little Stinker.

Lia had such a great time at her party.  She only broke out the Stink Eye once or twice the whole afternoon!  (And that's big news, really.)

Walking with her dad.

Cutie concentrating.

Micah did not want to leave his sister on the parachute alone.

L surprised me here too.  They put her in the middle of a parachute and all of the kids shook the sides.  She LOVED it.  I mean, LOVED it. 

Clapping for herself.  :)

Puckering up for a smooch.

Okay, maybe this is my favorite.

Waiting for cake!

She did not throw this one on the floor.  :)

So there you have it.  Fun times.  We kept her party small, and it was the perfect amount of kids for Lia to have an amazing time.  I know she won't remember it, but I know I'll never forget.