January 2011 (first half)

The new year began with exploring and enjoying all the new toys Christmas had dropped in their little laps...

For instance, Mattaya LOVES her new LeapFrog Laptop.

It was also a time of new experiences and new skills.

Makenna was pretty proud of herself for sitting in this chair. ;)

And it was a continuation of the typical silliness:

Mattaya is walking her pet dog/mouse.

Big news: Makenna decided to make WALKING her primary mode of transportation!

She was a little unsteady due to the slippery floors, so at first she appeared to be learning to SKATE. But we got her some Skidders to give her some traction, and she's doing awesome now. Praise God for healing her twisty little feet! :)

Mess. It only takes a few minutes.

And then what do you do after you've made your playroom so messy you can't even play in it?

You invent a game. Makenna gets credit for the Potato Game. She found the potatoes in the pantry and proceeded to remove them from the bag one by one, dropping them on the floor and watching them roll away.

Completely disgusted (though I'm not sure why), Mattaya dutifully picked up all the potatoes and put them away.

Makenna: "I think I might have done this wrong."

:) Makenna does so love to go sit on the potty chair when Mattaya is going potty.

Gramma Julie brought these hair clips back from Uncle Larry and Auntie Cindy. Mattaya insisted that Gramma ALSO wear some clips. Gramma Julie was a good sport.

"Thanks for the cozy jammies, Auntie Linda!"

Strutting her stuff with a rather wide-legged stance.

Thanks for the tights, "Gramma" Deb!

Gotta love the awkward photo "smile".

Oh Mattaya. One of her parent-imposed New Year's resolutions was that she would clean up her own toy room every night before bed. This night, after she cleaned up, she proceeded to put all her "chiddren" to bed. :)

Grampa Gary and Gramma Pam sent Mattaya a "Draw Thumb Things" book for Christmas.

Here she is stamping her thumb prints.

And this day we were making them into spiders. She started out trying to use her right hand (which needed help from her left hand)...

...so she just switched to her left hand (much to my chagrin and I'm sure to Auntie Cindy's and Gramma Pam's delight!). As much as I would prefer she use her right hand (for my own convenience), she's totally allowed to choose. I promise.

This was a colors work booklet Uncle Larry and Auntie Cindy had sent. I thought she would buck the sit-down-and-do-work idea, but she LOVED it.

Apparently Matt was pretty excited about the quality of my homemade chicken nuggets and needed to document their birth. ;) They WERE pretty good!

The colors booklet was completed within just a few days!

Whatever makes you happy, Kid.

Hats make her happy, because she thinks she's going somewhere. The "papa chair" makes her happy, because she feels like a big girl. Brushing her teeth makes her happy, because Big Sister is doing it and because kid toothpaste is oh-so-yummy.

Part of our daily routine.

"Get-dressed-brush-teeth-comb-hair-time."

(catchy, right?)

Daddy got this photo print in some junk mail and presented it to Mattaya as if it was a priceless masterpiece. She was quite taken. ;) (And you may note a fairly clear view of her haircut handiwork.)

These photos are from the Daddy Cam and are therefore out of date-order:

Alphabet Train Puzzle from "Gramma" Deb.

Mattaya was invited to a swim party for one of Matt's coworker's daughters. She had a BLAST!

It took her a few HOURS to come around to agreeing to try this slide with Daddy (you have to go in through a long dark tunnel). She finished fine, but didn't want to do it again.

So they had races on the non-tunnel slides. :)

Having lunch at the mall with Gramma Julie and Mommy. Gramma Julie is a pushover and lets Mattaya have an ice cream dessert pretty much every time. ;)

January 2011 (second half)

Ohhhhh, Mattaya.

This was her RESTAURANT. She is happiest when she is busy feeding her animals. Breakfast, lunch, tea parties, birthday parties, restaurants--you name it.

Silly, Kenna!

It seems not to matter how many times I show her that the button in the middle is what makes the music play and the lights flash--she is forever trying to press the LIGHT!

Ingesting some trail mix whilst absorbing some Sesame Street.

Her hippo impression.

Painting with watercolors. Very seriously.

Ducky gets a new 'do @ Mattaya's Hair Salon.

Painting with REAL paint (which she was referring to as "paint in a can"...which took me a WHILE to interpret as "jars of fingerpaint").

Skidders! Makenna didn't know what to do with all that traction!

Well if Little Sister is trying on HER new shoes, Big Sister must need to model hers as well...

Why a picture of a giant green bag [wearing a hat]? Let me tell you. This is Matt's A3 bag (for work--it has all his cold weather gear in it). He left that monstrosity parked in the entryway by the main bathroom for about a week. Naturally, Mattaya NAMED it. The bag was first called "Mrs. Husband" (which cracked me up since I was sorely tempted to nag MY husband every time I passed it). This was at the beginning of her Toy Story obsession, and it was later revealed that she was attempting to call it "Mrs. NESBIT"...although she was then calling it "Mrs. Huzbit". Whatever. ANYWAY...so Matt FINALLY went to put it away, and Mattaya could not BEAR the thought. Matt, of course, humored Mattaya and let her keep Mrs. Huzbit in the playroom where they could enjoy frequent tea parties. Mattaya placed the sunhat on Mrs. Huzbit, because in Toy Story, Mrs. Nesbit (played by Buzz Lightyear) wears a hat with a flower.

Breakfast for Mrs. Huzbit.

Cooperative Creative Expression

Makenna has begun skipping most of her morning naps, so she has been present for morning project time. This day we were making cards for Uncle Larry, who suffered a massive heart attack but is doing remarkably well for what he endured--Praise God!

Mommy: (who had stepped away to grab a scissors) Makenna, did you put the marker in your mouth?

Makenna: Huh?????

Mommy: Makenna, open your mouth...

Makenna: Ahhhhhhh! (grin)

Mommy: No markers in your mouth--no no no no no.

Makenna: Ummmm...you didn't say anything about markers on my face.

They grow up SO FAST. People always say that. I've heard it a million times. But it never ceases to surprise me how quickly they grow and change.

I know what day this was. This was the day of the sewage back up in the basement (it was the first time she wore this new shirt...I think that's why I remember). So not fun. Sooooooo ICKY.

The sewage backup led to the purchase of ANOTHER shop vac (because Matt and 2 coworkers were going at it with 3 of them and weren't getting on top of it). New shop vac = new BIG BOX. Mattaya immediately filled it with stuffed animals, and the girls thought that seemed like a cozy place to play.

Now Makenna not only loves on her baby dolls, she shushes them--it's just too cute!

Bedhead in a Box

"What am I wearing?!"

An outfit Auntie Cindy and Uncle Larry gave Mattaya a long time ago!

Matt disapppeared for a few days to attend a conference in MN. Mattaya has been such a big girl and such a good helper I thought I'd give this a go. I thought maybe I could finish getting lunch ready in peace if the ankle-biter was trapped and being fed. Bonus: if Mattaya's tied up doing the feeding, that's one less person to worry about. It went surprisingly well (with very little mess)! I thought it was hilarious to see Mattaya doing the mouth motions. ;)

Makenna: "I have my concerns." (Mattaya did poke the spoon back a bit far a couple times...)

Just chillin'

Those cheeks are just oh-so-pinchable!

Back from the dentist. This time she even let them get x-rays!

Baby in a Box

(I think I'll start taking bets on how long that box is going to hang around my house...any takers?)