Macy LOVES her books!

When Macy received about 20 books for Christmas I was happy about it but Macy is definitely happy about all the new books. She loves to read to herself and she loves to have me read to her. Today we were going to a friends house so I asked her what toys she wanted to bring. She brought me a pile of 15 books.

Macy also loves places that have books. Of course the library is a fun place to spend some time, but she also loves to go to Barnes and Noble. She talks about playing with "choo choo hummus" (the Thomas train table) and plays with that for about 2 minutes. Then she grabs books and sits on the stage and "reads" them aloud. It's very sweet and I love watching her. She also eats her snacks on the stage.

Friday mornings our ward has play group and lately we've been meeting at the church because of the cold weather. Last time Macy found a bunch of personal progress books and duty to God books ina classroom and had a good time reading them. I love hearing her sweet voice and watching her head move back and forth while looking at the book with such a serious face. 

Here Macy is at the grocery store. There was display of books in front and she ran straight for the books and sat down on the floor to read. We spent a few minutes there before we could shop.

Here we are at another grocery store. Here she found the magazine aisle. If you notice the green little baby cart in the background you can see her other love. She has a very good memory and always remembers that this grocery store has baby carts. Even when we only drive past the store she'll point out the window and say baby cart.

This morning Macy woke up and wanted to put her baby "nigh nigh."She laid her baby down, covered her with two blankets, gave her milk and binkies, and lots of books to read. I walked in her room and she was singing to her baby, probably because I sing to her every night. Macy then looks at me and says, "Baby nigh nigh, shhh." and shuts the door.

Now Macy is cuddling with baby.

I know these next pictures don't have to do with books but they show other things she loves. Macy is already into accessories and love the store Claire's at the mall. She tries on lots of purses, headbands, bracelets, and points out all the fun things. We spend a lot of time in this store. In this picture she had a purse around her neck, a green shamrock headband on, and was saying cheese.

 Macy also loves little chairs. She especially loves this one because it has Minnie Mouse on it. For some reason she's starting calling Mickey, Minnie. She used to get it right, oh well. It's cute. She grabbed a Cinderella pillow and I asked her to close her eyes and pretend she was sleeping but instead I got this super adorable smile!

 I love this little girl so much and I don't want her to grow up! She's at such a fun and playful stage right now!

Ja's New Hobby

Ja has been teaching himself how to use new video software and has found his calling in life. Unfortunately this calling does not always come with a good job that has steady income and health care benefits so he has decided to stick to PwC and make videos as a hobby.

If you remember he made funny videos for Blue Mango depicting what life would be like if your GPS acted like your user manual. Check them out here.  Scroll down on the website and this is what you'll see:

He has been working really hard on a different type of video that explains how Blue Mango's new application, Clarify, is different from other programs. I think he did a really good job and the video is very professional looking. You can check out his new video here on clarify-it.com. The video link is at the top of the page and looks like this: (click on the play button on the website)

Ja has worked really hard on these videos and has taught himself everything and I'm really proud of him!

New Dinnerware!

The time had finally come. We only had 3 matching plates after breaking so many. That was even our second time buying those kind of plates. I was tired of plates breaking so I decided to buy Corelle brand because they are supposed to be more durable.

After all these years I'm still drawn to the color red. Luckily they match our red napkins we got for our wedding (as if we ever use them). I hope these plates, bowls, and mugs last much longer than our last set!

St. Patrick's Day Wreath

I was really behind on putting up my Valentine's wreath this year. I made it last year and was still very happy with the way it looked when I took it out again. I wanted to make a green one for St. Patrick's Day. I got my inspiration from this wreath. I liked the way her multi-colored yarn looked but I couldn't find anything as good as that at Michael's so mine turned out different. I still like the way mine looks though.

The shamrocks are only stickers so I will take them off after March 17th and then it will be a spring wreath. If you're thinking about making this just be prepared to take almost 2 hours to wrap your wreath.

Water Gems

While on Pinterest, I discovered a blog that is written by former teachers of children with autism. Their lives are now playing with their own children but they use some of the same sensory learning techniques that all children would love. If you're interested in the blog you can check it out here. There are a lot of fun ideas for toddlers.

The activity I decided to try was to play with these water gems. Honestly, I really wanted to know what they felt like so I wanted to buy a new toy for "Macy." I found them at Michael's for about $5. They are in the floral department because they are used instead of soil or water in a vase. They are super absorbent water polymers. I was trying to describe them to Ja and after touching them he said they were like wet little bouncy balls. That's exactly what they feel like. Whatever they are Macy had a blast this morning playing with them. She called them "cereal" at first because I let her play with a bowl and spoon. Luckily no eating was involved. They are very fun to smash and are easy to pinch between your fingers. I was able to talk her out of smashing them and every minute she would tell me, "No, mash" and show me how not to mash them with her fingers.

They are awesome because they don't stain and aren't sticky. If they dry out you add more water to them and they absorb it up. Definitely a keeper.

I put the whole jar of them in the bathtub with her tonight because I thought it would be fun to play with them in the tub and have her put them in all her toys. We were quickly reminded that she does not like things going in between her toes (she wanted to walk around the tub tonight) so we had to quickly strain them out. We'll stick with the bowls and spoons. 

Our Little Busy Body

Macy got a McDonald's gift card for Christmas so we decided to use it one night when Ja was working late. She didn't want the food at first but after I was able to sneak a chicken nugget in her mouth she looked at me with an expression that said, "Whoa, these are good!" Then she ate more. She was so cute about the little toy she go in her happy meal and loves to play with it. 

She still loves to read. You can see the expression on her face which shows how serious she is about her books.

One day Macy wasn't feeling well and she actually cuddled with me on the couch. It was so sweet!

Along with reading, Macy loves to sing. She dances and sings to herself. It's very sweet to hear her little voice singing. Here she is at the church during playgroup singing a children's hymn.

Macy LOVES her daddy now and wants to play with him every second he's around. This makes working from home really hard for Ja. As you can see, she just plopped on the couch and propped her feet on his arm. They eventually made it to his computer.

 Macy and I made her first "car." I thought she would love running around it in but after she saw me put the ribbon on it she wanted more "necklaces" and was more interested in the ribbons. Oh, well. She liked coloring on it for the next couple of days though.

One morning in order to get things done, I let Macy "wash" her food in the bathroom sink. She loved it and did it for the next 3 days. She eventually had most of her plates and cups in the sink too. I absolutely love that little face! She's not smiling but at least she's facing the camera! 

 There is never a dull moment with our little busy body around. When we try to skype with grandparents I have to run around with the camera other wise they would never see her since she's never in one place longer than 3 seconds.

We love you so much Macy!

Another one bites the dust...

Macy is going to be a big sister! She's already very good at saying big sister and calls the baby "little sister." Hopefully she's not disappointed if it's a boy. 

I'm due September 9th and we are excited!

Happy Love Day!

Ja and I stayed in on Valentine's Day and made California rolls. The next day I found out Ja didn't even like California rolls but he really liked ours. He never made mention of not liking them so I was so glad he was on board with me since it was my idea that we make them. What a great husband.

I really enjoyed them and we made enough that lasted me for the next two days. We still have lots of seaweed and sushi rice so let us know if you want to come over and make some!

She's not a baby anymore...

I know Macy is growing up but it really hit me when I bought her these shoes yesterday. My baby is being replaced by a little girl! She will be a tween before I know it! I miss her already.

My logic used against me

Macy wants me to carry her every where. It's a great joy when she actually wants to walk. I'm getting tired of this as she is getting bigger and heavier. I know she is fully capable of walking. Especially from our front door to our car. It's too hard to carry the groceries in and carry her knowing that she can walk!

Yesterday I tried to talk her into walking from our apartment to our car. I tried explaining that she is a big girl now and that big girls walk places. Big girls play at the park so if she wants to go to the park she needs to walk like a big girl. I told her that she's not a baby anymore, babies get held but big girls walk. I tried coaxing her into saying she was a big girl so we could go to the park.

We eventually made it to the park and she wanted me to hold her again. I told her she was a big girl and had to walk. She refused but once she saw her younger cousin Lily walking around she finally got out of my arms. We had a very pleasant 2 hour stay at the park. Macy and Lily did a great job playing by themselves while Tiffany and I sat on a bench.

Well, today guess what Macy said. "Macy, baby. Hold me mommy, peese!" This was not what I was trying to teach her! Apparently she didn't understand a word about the big girl stuff. All she got out of it was that she is a baby and babies get to be held. Throughout the day today I called her a big girl, or good girl, or happy girl and she would say, "No, baby" while pointing to herself. Aww, man. I'll have to come up with another argument to get her to walk more often.

Macy loves to read

I know I mentioned before that Macy likes to "read" but now she loves to do it and does it more often. The other day I picked her up from the gym child care and there she was sitting in a chair "reading" stories to herself. I was able to watch her for a minute before she saw me and she was sitting there talking out loud tilting her head left and right like she always does when she reads.

Another time I found her sitting on the couch reading to Granny Dot during one of Dorothy's visits here. She still loves to sit on her rocking chair and read book after book. Sometimes she acts out the book or says the actual words that she knows. I think it's so sweet and cute. It's also cute that the length of the book is almost as long as her little legs.