As we leave Grandma and Grandpa's house...

"You tummin' right bat, mom? Oh-tay. Byeee. You duys. You duys be tareful!"

Four Month Sophie

Her smiles make life seem more optimistic. But so full of consequence.
Her happiness makes me feel lighter, while my love for her is painfully heavy.

Mmmadeline....Adeline tummin over??

I've been hearing this question a lot lately....ever since Maya and Addy had a fun morning together on Monday.


Later in the day, Ryan asked Maya if she and Addy had talked about anything interesting. Maya, rightly, said 'Milk.' That was a big part of their conversation. Their babies really needed a lot of milk.

The Mayan Language

No, not this one.

My Maya's language.

Some of my favorites phrases lately....

"Ow 'bout....milk." or "Ow 'bout more" or ...."Ow 'bout______" (insert really anything that she wants. Sometimes it's used as a response...to argue for her preference instead of what I've told her will happen.) This phrase is used several times daily. It's a favorite right now. Still,
I was surprised a few weeks ago while we were walking up the stairs, counting each step as always. (Sometimes we count in Spanish, other times in French, but most often we count in English.) On this particular trip up the steps, I was saying "Un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq,..." and suddenly, she interrupted with "Ow 'bout Eendlish....Ow 'bout Eendlish, Mom. Oh-tay?"

So I'm a little overzealous when it comes to exposing my girls to other languages. I was obsessed with learning French just before Maya was born. Since I knew she'd never have the 'optimal' advantage of living in a truly bi-lingual house...I wanted to cram as much as possible to make up for my lack of linguistic knowledge.

We have a great book from the library (in fact, we just renewed it because it's one of our favorites these days). It's a rhyming book of Spanish vocabulary. Since we've been reading it, I've started 'conversing' with Maya (in my very rusty and limited Spanish from high-school) to reinforce what she picks up so quickly from the book.
We play the "Donde esta ___?" game. And she points to her 'narriz', or 'boca', 'ojos', or 'manos.'
She loves to ask us "You my Madre? You my Padre?" And sometimes when I tuck her in at night, I say "Goodnight my little Maya." And she shyly responds with ..."I'm hija (daughter)".


She's staring to learn how to give a shoulder rub. Sitting behind Ryan or I on the couch, she often grabs our shoulders and gently squeezes. This could be really good, I think.
Sometimes, when she's especially affectionate and cudly, she wraps her arms around my neck, and in a very motherly gesture...she begins to gently stroke my face or my hair. She looks me right in the eyes and says sweetly " 'dat feels nice, Mom?? You lite 'dat?"

We've been working on using kind words. The demanding "I WANT _____" voice has started since the 2nd birthday. Much of the time, she puts together very polite and articulate sentences to voice her desires, express gratitude or happiness, or tell a 'story'. Sometimes, though, we cringe when we hear what she's 'picked up' from who-knows-where. Like "OH shoot!"

We're not sure where "OH my DOSH!!" came from. Despite our valiant efforts to suppress or hide our amusement, she knows it's hilarious and cute and she loves the response she gets with this one. We've tried to soften it to "Oh my doodness" which seems a slightly more fitting exclamation for a 2-year-old.

When she's asked for an opinion, I love it best when she wrinkles up her nose, puckering and twisting her lips as she nods her head saying "Yeah. Mmm-hm. Yup."

When did she turn 15?