Busy as a Bee

The weeks since I last posted have flown by. I have not had time to blog, and really, I should be studying or attending to my poor house right now. So here is a little about what everyone has been up to the past while.
Mya:She just turned 11 months so that means we are a few short weeks away from her first birthday. This year has gone by so fast, and I know that it's just going to go faster from here on out. Mya is such a sweet thing. We love having her in our family. She is not quite walking yet which is fine with me because she's busy enough as it is. Seriously, I know this is a busy age, but she never stops and always wants to be on the go. Just like her big brother. She loves loves to play outside. She loves to play in the dirt and is quite content to roam the yard exploring. This is the only time I wish she was walking--when we're outside. She likes to play at the park, dogs, other kids/people, swinging, jumping on the trampoline. She also likes to eat. And she likes to cuddle her dolls and stuffed animals. She gets so excited to see her favorite ones and just loves on them. She'll pat their backs and hold them up to her face. Love her...Oh and I must mention that she is a daddy's girl. She cries when he goes to work sometimes. And one more thing, she slept 9 hours straight two nights ago for the first time....ever. Last night was almost as good. She only woke up once after I went to bed so hopefully we are on the road to better sleep.

Jacob: He turned 4 the end of August. We had a birthday party with his friends which included craziness, sugar, and lots of friends amongst a few games and such. He wanted a dragon party so we had a dragon pinata and treats. I tried to do dragon type games, but the kids just wanted to run around the yard. We also took a trip to the zoo (Grandma & Grandpa Taylor joined us there), and we had a little family party at the park. Jarom did a fantastic job with the dragon cake (see facebook for a picture when I get it on there). Jacob has also started preschool. We are doing a co-op this year with a few of his favorite friends. It's been great so far. He loves going to his friends' houses each week to see what they will learn/talk about that day. I do have to say that I like age 4 better than 3 so far. He's really grown up the past couple of months, and I love it. I love to see his imagination run wild and boy does it! If you haven't been to our house to play animal kingdom yet you are missing out. While you are here you will have to go on his private tour of the backyard zoo and catch a lesson on why all of his animals are females. Oh and don't forget snipe hunting. He likes to get on pbskids.org and will spend a good hour on Dinosaur Train games, videos, etc. He really likes the field guide, and he knows more about different dinosaurs than I even knew existed. Jacob would love to tell you all about a carnitaurus or an eoraptor. He loves to be with his dad too working in the yard or wrestling downstairs. And bedtime is just not the same without a story from dad.

Jarom: We are so lucky to have him in our lives. He takes such good care of us. Like I mentioned before the kids adore him, and he's the best dad. He's been especially supportive of me as I've started school this past month. What a great guy! Oh and we celebrated our 6th anniversary September 11. Where does the time go?

I'm too lazy to post pictures here so look at them on facebook :)

What do you think?

We are tired at our house. Well, Jacob isn't, but the rest of us are. Jarom thinks we need to sleep train Mya. I am not a fan of letting her cry, and my excuse is that she shares a room with Jacob so we can't let her wake him up now that he is an awesome sleeper (it only took 3 years to turn him into a great sleeper:)).

So moms--what do you think of cry it out methods? What else have you done that helped your baby self soothe during the night?

Yesterday was a sad, sad day for the people in the state of California. Well, really for the United States of America. That judge single-handedly overruled the desire and opinion of over 7 million people. What a slap in the face! Aren't we a democracy? For the people, of the people, etc...UGH!!

yesterday

was one of those days. one of those days that starts too early and with me in a foggy, sleep-deprived sort of state. i tried to do fun things with my kids to help my attitude. we walked to the park, jacob had a playdate, we went to the aquarium, we went hiking up the canyon, we got custard at the custard shop. despite all of this, i still found myself short of patience throughout the day. all i wanted was some "me" time. i desperately wanted a break from my kids. sometimes i blog stalk in an attempt to escape what's going on around me. i came across this blog yesterday. the great thing about the blogosphere is that you get to hear these stories that are so inspiring and amazing. stories that you most likely would not otherwise hear about. this is one such story. in short, this mom has never been able to bring her little girl home. she has lived in a medical facility since birth. i cannot even imagine what that must be like. i take for granted that i get to snuggle my kids every day and night. yes, sometimes i just plain take my kids for granted. i am trying harder not to do that. i am working to find a balance so that i don't get that desperation for "me" time that leaves me feeling irritated and/or short of patience. i am doing the best i can. but i can always do better.

Mya at 9 months

Well she will be 9 months on Wednesday. I don't think I've posted about her for awhile, but she's been crawling for about two months now. Just in the past couple of weeks she's started pulling herself up to things and getting a little more curious about what's behind doors and inside drawers. Luckily, a closed door is still good enough to keep her out of most things. She never stops moving. She loves to eat. This girl will not turn down food unless she is full. I love that she's such a good eater. It's fun to give her new things. I also like not having to worry about whether she's getting enough. She loves her dad. She lights up every time he walks into the room and reaches out for him. I think she has mixed feelings about Jacob. Sometimes she giggles and giggles at him and wants to play. While other times, she clings to me and seems terrified of him. Those are the times when he's not being nice. I spend a good portion of my days trying to get him to leave her alone unless he plays nice. Any tips with that??? She loves to be outside and is fascinated by things her size like animals and other babies. She likes to go through purses and picks out the wallets and keys. She also likes beaded jewelry. Such a sweetheart!!!

Jacob these days

Believe it or not, but Jacob's love affair with animals is waning. He still plays with them on occasion, but it is not constant like it has been for the past 3 years. These days he prefers pretend play. Today after church Jarom found him outside being a dinosaur. He was sniffing all the green stuff and holding his hands like claws. He is also fascinated by volcanoes. He finds volcanoes everywhere we go. We check out volcano books at the library, he watches volcano videos on you tube, he is planning a trip to Hawaii with his dad to see the real volcanoes. I, apparently, do not get to go because the volcanoes are too scary for me. A couple days ago he and his friend were making all kinds of noises, and when I asked them what they were doing, Jacob told me they were putting on their lava suits so they wouldn't get burned by the lava. Later he told his dad that his lava suit was made of wood :). His imagination is so much fun to see lately. He cracks me up everyday. Jacob can also be very stubborn lately. He's very persistent when there is something he wants. He thinks he can negotiate with things, and sometimes it's hard to turn him down because it's so cute and funny. Even when I'm mad at him. My little guy is turning 4 next month. Wow!!! He thinks he wants to have a dragon party with his friends so we will see how that goes.

If you insist....

A couple of weeks ago, I was eating lunch at Zupas with my kids when this girl approached me to let me know how adorable Mya was. Not unusual for me as Mya has been turning heads and picking up compliments left and right since birth. Anyways to make a short story even shorter this chick wanted to take pictures of my kids for free. So we finally went yesterday to get them done, and I was pleasantly surprised with how they turned out. Don't love the ones of Jacob. LOVE the ones of Mya. And yes, they are wearing the same clothes they wore in our family pictures two months ago. I have not had time to shop for them and it was the only thing they had that matched each other.