Our Uncle 'K' Day

Yesterday was our awesome Uncle 'K's 17th birthday!

I can't believe that my little brother is getting so old, but what can you do.

I love this kid so much, he is such an awesome brother and a fantastic uncle! He absolutely loves little Mya and she is totally in love with him. If he isn't downstairs when we arrive she knows right where his room is and will make her way there looking for him.

McKay, I hope you had a fantastic birthday and that you know how much I love you!

We went out to PF Chang's for a delicious birthday dinner!
Lettuce wraps, crispy honey shrimp, oh boy... pretty much everything makes me salivate!

Mya completely surprised me by chowing down on pretty much everything! This is the little girl that doesn't like veggies, meat, or real chicken. If it isn't a yogurt or nugget then forget it.

Apparently the noodles, Chang's chicken, orange peel chicken and shrimp were all acceptable 'nuggets', she even ate the lettuce wrap filling. Maybe she just needed food with a little spice.

She also served as our evening entertainment, showcasing her chopstick drummer skills.

I'm not sure what the background narration sounds like, we were trying to get her to smile for my dad but the scream at the end is worth it.

'Broked'

There has been a tragic loss for our little lady this past weekend. Friday night Cody and I finally got up the guts to get rid of the binki. I'll be honest, we probably have been hanging on this long because of me, Cody wanted to get rid of it months ago but I convinced him to let things go a little longer. The deciding factor was that she had a complete meltdown the other night when she couldn't find her 'me' in her bed. It was pretty dramatic on her part. So, that brings us to Friday night. Cody kept her busy in the other room, I swept her room and gathered all the 'me's that I could find save one. That one was the sacrifice, we cut a big chunk off the end and left it for her to find in her bed. She happily popped it in her mouth, then quickly took it out and looked at it with this 'somthin' aint right here scruffy' look then looked up at Cody and I. We explained to her that her 'me' was broken, and that we were so sorry. We helped her lay down, gave her a blanket and her puppy and said 'night-night'. Well we got to listen to some wailing that went along the lines of "mmeeeeeeeee", "brrroookked" over and over. It really was sort of heartbreaking. I told Cody, I felt worse doing this to her than letting her cry it out to sleep through the night for the first time. After about 20 minutes or so she finally fell asleep. I was amazed, I was totally expecting an all out drama fest filled with emotion induced vomit. She woke up again at about 11-ish, crying for her broken 'me', and we have had some middle of the night comforting to do the last couple nights. For the most part nap time has been the hardest. The first two days naps included some pretty impressive screams of anger, and took about 40 minutes before she actually slept. Today has been very encouraging, nap had only mild protesting and last night was better as well. We'll cross our fingers that by the end of the week all of us will be sleeping better.

Footloose!!

Here are some of Mya's more beginning dance moves. She's added some new steps. Every now and then we get some twirls and maybe a shoulder shake.

Once there Was a Snowman

Saturday morning Mya got an exciting phone call... Grams, Grandpa and McKay were coming over to make a snowman! Mya has been showing us snowmen all over this winter and we sing the snowman song at least twice a day so this was going to be right up her alley.
We bundled up in as many layers of pants that would fit on her little body and got on our coats and gloves to go play outside. Mya's mittens lasted for a matter of minutes before snow got stuck to them and they were no longer acceptable. Mittens just hinder little fingers I guess.
Mya and Grandpa

The boys had to get pretty creative to make our snowman, since the snow wouldn't cooperate and roll into a ball. But, they figured out a pretty great way to get a very handsome snowman made. Good job guys!!

Mya holding onto his nose.

Ta Da!! What did I say, a very handsome snowman with all the trimmings! Mya thought he was so cool she gave him a kiss, and that's saying something.

Mya and her very first snowman!

Don't be fooled by the face she had a blast, she's just mad I'm making her hold still.

Grandpa, Mya, Mr. Snowman, McKay and Grams

The most amazing discovery of her life though, was when she woke up from her nap to discover that her 'mo-man' was still there! This little clip hardly does justice to the squeals that erupted from this little lady when she looked out the window for the first time. This was the third or fourth time she had looked out to check on him. She has continued to check on him everyday and is thrilled to discover he hasn't left yet.

Thanks Grams and Grandpa, you've made this little girls day!!

Preggers

25 week Belly

I've never been the most self confident in my shape, preggo or not, but I felt bad when I realized that I don't have any real belly pictures from when I was pregnant with Mya. So for my own recording I decided I better take a few with this little bean. As you can see I simply look like I've taken down the entire buffet at Rodizio Grill.

I really am enjoying being pregnant, I love feeling her wiggle around inside. That is really the craziest thing. I am feeling much better, no more puke-tastic days. Just the basic achies with a little bit of heartburn on the side. We had a good laugh, for about a week when asked where her sister was, Mya would quickly point to my chest. Yup, those are getting bigger too. Now everyone has a sister in their tummy, including her and daddy.

Sass-a-frass!

I can't believe that my little miss is 19 months old already!

She makes me laugh everyday with some of the funny things she repeats, the faces she pulls and the things she notices as we are driving down the street.

*She loves to sing 'Once there was a Snowman' or 'mo-man', 'Rosies' and 'Monkeys'.

*She is getting quite proficient at her animal sounds, her daddy is so proud she even knows what an Elk says.

* Nursery is getting more fun, she even goes to the lesson without protest. She did steal the bag of marshmallows and dump them on the floor the other day and is less than talented with a dixie cup but all in all it's a good time.

*She loves to dance! And boy can this little body wiggle! Poor Aunt Kenzie is pestered over and over to dance whenever we are over there. But, I don't think she minds, it gives her an excuse to blast her Hannah Montana CD.

*She still loves books! There are a couple that we read multiple times each day, I have them memorized... 'Mintin' (The Mitten book) and 'Piddies' (Piggies). She is starting to allow us to branch out to books with more words, but you have to read fast or the attention span gets in the way.

I love you my sweet Mya, you make my days!!

Lots of thoughts...

Lots of thoughts are running around in my head and I'm going to do my very best to free them in such a way that it all makes sense and I can get my feelings across. This weekend my mom went to a missionary homecoming for a good friend of my younger brother. He is an awesome young man, but is just one of the amazing youth that was in my brother's circle of friends. While at this homecoming a cute girl who ran around with Ty and his buds asked my mom when Ty would be home. My mom told her that Tyson would be home the middle of June and she sweetly said, "Great! I think I'll be here then. I hope I am." This sweet 20 something girl wasn't talking about being home for the summer from college, she was talking about being alive. It hasn't been too many months ago that this cute girl was diagnosed with cancer and it has been so aggressive that the hope of recovery is slim. But, here she was attending a friends homecoming, beautifully bald, in the middle of her many treatments. What a courageous young woman. I have never met her but the words she spoke to my mom on Sunday have been in my heart everyday since. I too hope that she's here when my brother gets home.

As I have thought about his young girl's struggle to fight a physical battle I have also had my heart filled with thoughts of those around me who are fighting emotional battles. A dear friend who is going through difficult times in her marriage, others in my ward are struggling with the loss of a child, finances are a burden for many at this troubled economic time, and numerous others silently and bravely go through every day with trials that they don't share. I am humbled as I count my blessings and realize that the things that are trials in my life right now are trivial in comparison. I pray that I will act on the promptings of the spirit and offer love and assistance where needed. Often I feel that a card from a random ward member won't make a difference but I pray that it will, at least I know it will for me because I followed the prompting given by our Father and next time He will trust me to do more if needed. I am so thankful for the love and the comfort of our Savior. I know that He is mindful of each of us, that He knows each of us by name and will reach out and take us by the hand as we look to Him. I hope each of you know how much I love and appreciate you, and I pray that the trials you are facing will be lightened. With love, Aubry