Matt & Karisa: Lovin' It

It's no secret that our transition to having TWO kiddos has been a MAJOR adjustment for me. But I think we're finally past the worst of it. Makenna is napping better and playing better which means I'm more available to Mattaya (not to mention slightly happier and more SANE). :) It's also no secret that I tend to run behind in my blogging. This is FEBRUARY that I'm posting on April 1! March was a phenomenally busy month for us, AND the computer had to go in for repairs so blogging opportunities have been scant. One benefit of waiting so long to blog is being amazed at how fast time goes (kind of) and how much kids change in a short time!

Still not sitting independently, but doing really well being propped up. And so SO happy!

Gotta love baby laughs. :)

Mattaya really does not think she enjoys the sled, but she tolerates it for short periods of time. ;)

Bowling. With a kickball and water bottles. Could anything BE more fun?

The spectator.

Mattaya found that rolling the ball toward the pins was not nearly so effective as dropping the ball directly onto the pins.

Mattaya can now "seek" (i.e., wink).

"Plot."

She probably said it 50 times before I figured out that she wanted FLOSS. Mattaya had her first dentist visit. It went just fine, and everything looked good. But the dentist recommended we begin flossing. So for dessert: PLOT.

Don't know how or why it started, but when she swings, Bob and Larry need to be along for the ride.

She seems to genuinely enjoy drumming (much to Matt's delight...and my chagrin). ;)

And she sings!

Not sure if she's hopping, or what the story is here. I found that I had lots of pictures with no apparent story. I think her picture obsession is to blame. She's gotten into requesting that we take pictures ALL THE TIME. I guess in February I humored her and took a picture whenever she wanted. I can tell you now, though, that taking pictures of EVERYTHING got old really fast...so now I pretend to have a camera, close one eye, and say, "Cheeeeese. Click." And she's totally satisfied, folks!

It's so telling to watch her play house and to hear the dialogue....

Up from nap and needing a COMB.

But not before we have a post-nap book.

Getting ready for a bath.

This is very exciting stuff!

Here I go!

Happy as a clam.

(Whatever that means...how happy is a clam? Maybe if I lived in a coastal state I would understand.)

All clean!

Thanks for the outfit, Auntie Marlys!

Mattaya had a very expressive face as an infant, but Makenna takes it to another level. She is what you might call a DRAMA QUEEN. I believe this was in reaction to her first bite of oatmeal. You'd think we'd stuffed her mouth full of grass or something.

"Oh my--how WILL I ever RECOVER from this traumatizing event?!"

"More? Are you SERIOUS?!"

"Okay--I like food."

"Thanks for the cozy jammies, Gramma Mabel!"

Rocking out!

Yep, our kid has Zubas.

Thanks, Auntie Net!

One of Mattaya's favorite "games" continues to be Sleep (much to the dismay of my piano students, who are too nice to tell her NO THANKS). It goes a little something like this:

M: Sleep. (she lays down) Blanket on Taya, please.

K: (puts a blanket on M)

M: Mommy sleep, too. Snore.

K: (if there's no available escape, I comply)

M: Sleep jeems, Mom.

Now wasn't that FUN?! ;)

See my messy hands!

Lovin' Daddy

This girl has some mad love for Nutella. It is a GREAT day, when Mommy lets her have Nutella (which she has recently begun calling "jelly"...when she had previously called it "tella"...not sure what that's all about).

And when she started thinking she didn't want to eat yogurt during breakfast, I tossed some sprinkles on it, magically making it DELICIOUS.

Mattaya: "I love you, Sister."

Makenna: "You need a MINT."

Uncle Luke, practicing for fatherhood.

(This was the day I attended Becca's baby shower, leaving Matt and Luke in charge. And Makenna wore Christmas pajamas all day. *sigh*)

Grampa Gary and Gramma Pam sent a giant balloon bouquet for Valentine's Day!

(And did I mention that Daddy did Mattaya's hair that day?)

;)

Hangin' with Daddio

Makenna thought those balloons were FABULOUS. She'd stare at them forever. If we let her have the strings, she'd bounce the balloons around and try to floss her "teeth".

This might have been another "random" picture, but I think this one is about FLAGS. Mattaya has a thing about tags on her stuffed toys. They make her crazy. If she discovers a tag, she hunts me down with the animal in tow and says, "Mommy cut flag please. Knife cut it. Flag off." And all combinations thereof until I remove it (with a scissor...I don't really cut it with a knife).

Mattaya's at an age now when she can be involved in a lot more things I'm doing, and that's fun for both of us. Here she is mashing bananas for banana bread.

And trying to lick some sugar out of the measuring cup.

She got to have another bowling experience with Papa Dave and Gamma Dulie...but my camera pooped out right away. (The Gramma Cam has more photos...they should be posted in the near future.)

She is drawn toward all things musical: piano, drums, guitar, xylophone, recorder, harmonica (don't have one of those yet, but I know it will be in her Easter basket). Guitar is one of her favorites, but it's a special treat because she can only play it when Daddy is around to supervise.

The balloons lasted quite a long time, much to the delight of our girls!

The girls got books for Valentine's Day.

Mattaya got a Biscuit book (one of Mattaya's favorites...not so much Mommy's and Daddy's).

Mattaya got to open Makenna's for her. Makenna actually looks somewhat interested! But, alas, she still can't open it due to lack of coordination.

And, of course, Mattaya liked Makenna's book far better than her own.

Don't know if she's worried someone might take her balloons away or if she ate a string.

Gramma Pam mailed the girls some fancy homemade Valentine's!

She's really not pouting--I promise! She really did like it. I'm not sure why she whipped out the lip for the picture.

Mattaya's very into sharing. And Makenna is not sure why that is a good thing.

Makenna loved her Valentine, too. ;)

Sisterly love

Please meet my daughters: Cheesey and Deadpan

Gotta give 'em credit for consistency.

Ahhh--so you're saying if I would have brought in the balloons you would have smiled!

Joint attention?

First taste of dirt cake

Mmmmmm!

Grampa Gary knows how much Mattaya loves "Hot Closet" (i.e., hot chocolate), so he sent her some.

She thought that was pretty great...

...but nothing beats out bubble wrap!

Just out of bed. Still in jammies. Must wear pretty shoes.

This child does not coo or sigh or make "sweet" sounds...no...she SCREECHES. I have not seen this in a baby before. It's not that she's mad or whining. It's simply how she vocalizes. It's crazy. Truly grating. Hope it changes!

Checking Makenna's heart.

"Heart says baboom baboom baboom."

Makenna finally fits in the Bumbo properly and can spend a little more time upright.

Later I passed through the toy room and saw this. Seriously, Kid?! She hasn't fit in the Bumbo FOREVER. It was too funny to see her imitating Makenna and pretending to have these floppy, uncoordinated hands. She's a barrel of laughs, that's for sure.

Helping Mom stir up some BBQ sauce

Later yet, I found THIS in the play room. :)

Just chillin' while Mom does laundry.

Apparently this is underwhelming.

Did I mention ANYTHING can be a blanket during the sleep game? Well, it can.

Mattaya also has this thing about putting all her animals and dolls to sleep before she goes upstairs for naptime. (We'll usually humor her and let her put ONE stuffed toy to sleep before taking her upstairs.) One day, she'd done the ritual shushing and laying the doll down, and she was frantically (she really does try to hurry, because she knows she needs to obey when we say it's time for nap) searching for a blanket. She grabbed a ball. And tried to put it on the doll's back. And it rolled off. And she tried again. And again. She tried to hold it on and then run to the steps before it fell off. (This whole time, Matt and I are covering our mouths and turning away.) Finally, in frustration she started crying and requesting some help. We did help her find something more suitable for use as a blanket, and she headed up to bed. Balance was restored to her universe.

Another example of Mattaya's imitating Makenna. If Makenna gets attention for something, Mattaya will do it. Makenna sat on the couch and shook a rattle. So Mattaya sat [nearly on top of Makenna] on the couch and shook a rattle...

...but really didn't find it terribly entertaining.

This is a special treat for Mattaya. If Makenna is awake when Mattaya gets up from nap, I'll put Makenna in Mattaya's bed until Mattaya is ready to get up. It's a thrill for Mattaya. And Makenna pretty much just tolerates it. A little bit.

I just love some of the sweet little moments that happen. :)

The only way her little hands can get enough leverage to squirt water is to hold the bottle toward her face...and she knows what's going to happen...and it "surprises" her...and she doesn't love it...yet she continues to do it. What do you make of this?

New kickers. Meet "Big Girl Pink Shoes". She is officially in a size NINE in tennis shoes. Mercy.

Mattaya does such a good job of trying to entertain Makenna!

The fruit of her labor.

She's about to eat the muffin she helped make. :)

Sweet and happy girl

She loves to feel Daddy's head after he shaves his head.

Love Love Love

I'm thinking Daddy took this picture, because I'm not that tall (and he has this weird tendency to turn the camera upside down). She looks so stiff and serious.