7 Months Old

While enjoying the hustle and bustle of Christmas I realized I never posted anything about Mya's 7 month birthday!  Our growing little lady is getting so big and becoming more and more active everyday.   Mya started crawling on thanksgiving day and she hasn't stopped yet!  The kid is a mover and is perfectly content just crawling around and exploring.  She has a personality all her own and has such a sweet disposition.  This month Mya is...

-wearing size 2 diapers but getting ready to transition to size 3

-wearing size 6 month clothes

-crawling all over

-eating two meals a day and taking 4 or 5 bottles

-sleeping pretty well ( she still has those nights where she can't get comfy)

-smiling at anyone and everyone ... She's always smiling!

-growing like a weed.  She is getting so long

-belly laughing like nobodies business

-saying "dada" and doing lots of babbling

-stealing the hearts of many;)

Happy 7 months Mya! We love you!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!  Although. I can't believe it's already Christmas ... It is!  And now here I sit on Christmas night feeling exhausted but so thankful for my family and friends.   It was another wonderful Christmas and even better with two amazing kids.  Landon is at a great age and could not have been more excited about getting presents and seeing Santa... Not talking too or sitting on his lap just looking!  Mya of course did not understand a thing but was completely thrilled with all the great wrapping paper to crinkle and big boxes to crawl in and out of!  Overall it was great!  My favorite part of Christmas this year was bright and early this morning before Pat or Landon were awake.  Before you read on please know this is my scrapbook, my journal, my heart.   Everything I put on here are memories and moments I never want to forget.  Many will be skeptical of what I am about to share, but it's a moment in my life I never want to forget!  Please read with an open heart ...

At about 7:00 this morning Miss Mya decided she was awake and she was not going back to sleep.   I brought her in bed with me as we listened to Christmas music playing on the TV.  She laid beside me in bed just making sweet, soft cooing noises.  Pat was still sound asleep on my other side and Landon was still dreaming of sugar plums in his own room.  Our bedroom was still very dark because our curtains were closed and our bedroom door was only cracked a sliver not allowing any light from the hallway to shine in. I laid there enjoying the soft music and simply just staring at my sweet little girl.   Clear as day I heard a soft voice say, "mama" and with that our bedroom door opened all the way. I was a little confused as to why the door opened but I sat up and immediately thought it was Landon in the next room waking up and calling for me.  I jumped out of bed and when I got to his room Landon was still fast asleep.  I walked back into our room, cuddled up with Mya, held her tight, and told her that Paige was with us.  I am positive that at that moment I had both my daughters with me.  I've never been more sure of anything in my life.  I could feel her presence.  It wasn't scary or disturbing... It was peaceful and calming.  It was the best feeling.  It was beautiful.  It was the best Christmas present I could have ever received!

I know some will think this is outrageous or just my imagination running wild.  I know what I heard, I know what I saw, and I know what I felt. Paige came home for Christmas... Just for a moment, but a wonderful one.  Thank you sweet girl!  I love you and miss you!  Merry Christmas Paige!

Dancing Fool

If you know our family it's no secret that from mid-November to the end of February every Friday night and many others are spent in a high school gym watching daddy coach.  I actually enjoy it and (as you will soon see) Landon LOVES it!  Not only does he get to watch daddy on the side lines and the high school boys run up and down the court, but he also gets to dance away to the great music performed by the band.  The dancing part is probably his favorite but we won't tell dad!  He doesn't just clap along... he dances his little butt off.  Here's a little clip of his dancing debut at the first home game of the season! 

This is Landon and his buddy, Keegan, whose daddy is an assistant coach and whose mommy watches Landon and Mya everyday.  These two are the best of buds!

Landon's 2nd Birthday

Landon turned two on December 9th.  I can't believe I have a 2 year old!  Actually, I have two.  Landon and Paige are Irish twins being born just 11 months apart. On Saturday, after Breakfast with Santa we had Landon's birthday party.  It was a basketball themed party, but we ended up watching a lot of football with Mizzou playing for the SEC championship.  All of his cousins came over and he was in heaven!  He kept saying "it my birthday mommy"!  I just loved watching him open his gifts and seeing the expression on his face.  When he realized that he got to keep all the new toys he was so excited!  We've been playing non-stop ever since.  I can't believe that my baby boy is a big two year old.  Landon, you will never understand how much you have healed your daddy and I.  You are such a fun-loving and happy little boy.  You love your little sister more than anything and I love that you talk about your big sister and pray for her every night (even if you don't quite understand, one day you will know how special she is).  Daddy and I love watching you grow and are simply amazed by you!  We love you little man!   Happy 2nd Birthday!  Here are pictures from the fun day!

 

Here's the mini-man cave made in our garage!  These boys

crack me up.  All relaxing with a snack and drink.  Eyes glued

to the TV.  Typical boys!  :)

 

Excited about his birthday cake!

 

Looking a little confused... wondering why everyone

is singing to him.

 

"This cake stuff is good!"

Breakfast with Santa

Last Saturday we went to Breakfast with Santa at my mom's high school.  Landon was a little unsure of Santa, but Mya thought he was a nice soft lap to sit on.  We had a yummy breakfast, Landon played games and won fun prizes, we heard great Christmas music and we got to see Santa.  Thanks Mom for inviting us!

Mya had no problem sitting on Santa's lap!

Landon on the other hand was a little afraid! 

 

Landon told Santa that he wanted a choo choo train! 

Santa gave him a gift and it was a train!  Then we

walked into the hallway and they had a train to ride.  I

think Landon thought it was his to keep!  :)

Here's a group shot!

Sweet Caroline

I'm only a week late announcing the birth of my newest niece, Caroline Faith Adair... so, happy 1 week birthday Caroline.  I am so happy for my sister, Maria, brother-in-law, Evan, and nephew and niece, Cole and Kate.  Sweet little Caroline was born last Monday, November 25th.  She is as sweet as sweet can be.  I am so excited for Mya to have another girl cousin her age.  I don't think I will ever be able to see Caroline without breaking in to song... "Sweet Caroline (bom bom bom)...."  We love you Caroline so much and can't wait to watch you grow into a beautiful little girl.

Here's the sweet Caroline.... (I totally stole this picture off your blog Maria!)  ;)

Look who is crawling!

We have one determined little girl!  About a week ago Mya started getting up on all fours and rocking back and forth.  On Thanksgiving she crawled a little bit for the first time and now she is on the move!  If she sees something she wants... Believe me she will get it!  Here's a short clip of little miss exploring the world as a mobile baby!

Ignore all the stuff on the floor (yikes)... and look what she's going after (making daddy proud)!

Mya is 6 Months Old!

Our baby girl is half a year old!  Holy cow!  What a happy, easy going, smiley little thing she is!  Truly she is such a happy baby!  Her sweet little face always has a smile on and her belly laugh is contagious!  Mya continues to bring such pure joy to our lives and we love her more than we ever thought possible.

This past month Mya has been a busy girl...  she started sitting up all be herself right after her 5 month birthday.  She rolls over in both directions and will roll for miles if we let her.  In the past two weeks she has figured out crawling position and she rocks back and forth on all fours.  She's starting to scoot and unfortunately she will be crawling very soon I think!  Mommy and daddy are not ready for crawling!  Two kids on the go will equal very tired parents.  :)  Last week Mya visited the doctor for her 6 month checkup.  She's growing right on track!  She is right at 14 pounds putting her in the 21st percentile for weight.  She is 26 inches tall putting her at the 75th percentile for height.  Little miss is long and lean... but believe me she still has her chubby areas and little rolls. 

At 6 months Mya is...

*wearing size 2 diapers
*starting to wear size 6 month clothes
*eating two meals a day of fruits and veggies (and LOVING it).
*becoming a better sleeper ;)
*rolling in both directions
*getting up on all fours (not quite crawling yet)
*toothless
*LOVING her big brother!
*saying "dadadadada" much to mom's dismay  ;)
*babbling up a storm and laughs at anyone and anything
*as easygoing as they come
*continuing to fill our hearts with so much love!

My sister Marcia graciously took some very last minute pictures for us last week.  So, here is Miss Mya Paige at 6 months...

 

Pumpkin Patch 2013

Of course we had to visit the Pumpkin Patch this year!  Landon was so excited and I must admit, I was too.  Nothing gives a mother more joy than to see her kids happy.  I just love watching Landon experience new things and get so excited over the smallest stuff.  We went the Saturday before Halloween and the weather was amazing!  We went to Daniels Farm in St. Charles and I think we found our Pumpkin Patch... close to home, very fun and reasonable prices!  They had so many fun things for the kids to do.  Landon enjoyed them all!

 

 They had big tractors to try out!

 

Little tractors to ride!

 

 

A fun horse swing just like the one Grandpa made for the farm!

 

and BIG tire swings!

 

In the end we had a great time (Mya slept the whole time in the stroller) and found the perfect pumpkin!  Here's a sweet picture of Landon watching daddy carve the pumpkin. 

 

Halloween 2013

Landon sorta understood Halloween this year.  He realized that if you smile and look cute that people give you candy.  He thought that was pretty awesome!  We only made it to a few houses, but he sure did have fun.  Mya was pretty much just along for the ride but we think she is the cutest bumble bee we know!

 

Last Sunday we went to my Aunt Patty and Uncle Dave's house for a fun Halloween party with all of my cousins and their kids.  Here's a group picture of all the kids....  this group is still growing!  They don't know how lucky they are to have so many cousins!

 

 

I know that next year will be even better.  Landon will be more into the whole trick or treating thing and Mya will be able to tag along!  We hope you all had a safe and fun Halloween!

Share Walk 2013

On Saturday joined with family we walked in our third Share Walk for Remembrance in memory of our amazing angel, Paige.  Ill never forget our first Share walk.  Paige's death was still fresh and our hearts were empty.  We felt defeated and scared.  We walked in memory of our daughter yet we were also awaiting the arrival of our son.  We were two parents who were frightened beyond belief that we would bury a second child.  Our second walk we had Landon safe and sound in our arms and had just found out that Mya was on the way.  This year we had both of our blessings with us as we celebrated the short life of their big sister.  It's amazing how far we have come since that first year.  God has blessed us beyond our dreams and we are so thankful to Share for having this walk each year so that our family can always honor our first born, our sweet girl, our Paige Jordan!  Here's a few pictures from this years walk...

We love you Paige!  We will never forget you sweetheart!  We would walk a thousand miles to hold you in our arms again!

October 15th

Well today didn't go quite as planned.  I'm at home sick in bed:(!  We didn't get to go to the candlelight service like we planned for National infant and pregnancy loss awareness day.  We had really wished to be there but I'm not feeling well at all.  Instead we stayed home and lit our candle in our own family room.  

This day never gets easier in fact I would venture to say it gets harder.  Each year it becomes more and more of a reality that we have a daughter in heaven and she's not coming back.  It's a hard thing to swallow but its our reality.  With every new experience with Landon and Mya we realize all the wonderful things we missed out on with Paige.  While its easy to let your mind wander and think about "what if" it's important that we just continue to trust in Jesus and know that Paige is in good hands and we will see her again some day.  Thank you for sending me your pictures of the candles you lit in Paige's honor!  We continue to be amazed by the love we feel from family and friends! 

Here's our candle for our sweet Paige!

Month of Angels

October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance month.  It's the month we remember our sweet angels that left us way too soon!  Believe me we don't need a month to remember our Paige but it is nice to have a month where the rest of the world remembers our sweet girl!  The 15th is the official day of remembrance.  At 7:00 pm we light candles so that across the world lights can be seen in heaven!  This year Pat and I will attend a service with our support group.  I'm looking forward for the chance for all of our attention to be focused on Paige.  My heart needs it!  Then on the 19th we will participate in the Walk for Remembrance in honor of Paige!  I love that our families put aside their busy schedules for our little girl!  It means the world to us and does wonders in healing our hearts.  I can't believe we will have two kids in our stroller this year at the walk!  How far we have come in three years!  This is our third walk... The first year it was just Pat and I, the second year we had Landon and now this year we are so blessed to have both Landon and Mya!  Paige definitely played a big part in that!  If you have an extra minute this month... Send a kiss Paige's way... Believe me she'll send one right back!

4 Months

Poor Mya!  She totally has 2nd (3rd) child syndrome!  Life is too busy for this mama to document her first year.  Her fourth month came and went and I never took an official picture.  I feel awful!  I have pictures of her fourth month just not one by her chalkboard.  Our little lady is getting so big and is growing like a weed!  A weed we love with all our hearts!  At her four month checkup she was in the 75th percentile for height and the 15th percentile for weight!  She's long and lean!  

Here's our very happy girl!  We love you Mya Paige!

She's starting to sit up like a big girl!  She's a strong little thing.  (Takes after her mommy... Ha!)

All smiles because the Cardinals won!  Miss Mya had a mild case of thrush this month.  Hence the white on her tongue:(

3 Months (a little late)

Miss Mya turned 3 months old about 2 weeks ago.  And I'm one bad mama for not getting this on here sooner.  Our little lady is one very busy little girl!  She is rolling over from her back to belly but hasn't figured out quite yet how to get back over.  She is a cooing and talking machine.  If you're willing to listen, she's willing to make noises at you.  We just love her more and more everyday and thank God for the blessing that she is!

This month Mya is:

-wearing size 2 diapers

-wearing size 3 month clothes

-finally taking a bottle! 

-smiling and cooing up a storm

-still thinking her big brother is the funniest thing she's ever seen

-rolling over back to belly

-and growing like a champ!

Here's a few pictures of our sweetie and one of her 3 month pictures my friend Tara (glory photography) took!  I'm picking up the others today!  :)

We love you Mya Paige!

Cherry on Top

Miss Mya was born with a hemangioma on her forehead.  A hemangioma is a cluster of blood vessels directly under the skin that does not move down. It was very light at birth and was hardly noticeable.  Over the past two months it has grown and become very dark.  This is not a concern and actually quite common.  Many children have them and they usually grow within the first year and then begins to shrink back down.  Usually by grade school years it is gone.  Although they are common most kids don't have it directly in the middle of their forehead.  While we think its kinda cute and makes Mya unique we realize that as she gets older her peers will become curious and want to know what the big red mark is.  I call it her "cherry on top" but its still hard to explain to young children.  Tomorrow we will visit Children's hospital and see a dermatologist there to see if anything needs to be done as a preventative measure to keep the hemangioma from growing too much.  So if you see our sweet girl and wonder what's on her forehead ... You now know! :). Here's Mya Paige and her "cherry on top".

Whoa

So summer has come and gone and I'm left exhausted.  But that's ok because I have two beautiful kids to whom I can credit my exhaustion too.  If I wasn't chasing after Landon I was up at 2 am with Miss Mya.  Some how our sweet girl is almost three months old and that means Pat and I are headed back to work.  Pat officially starts tomorrow and I start Monday.  I'm sad that our everyday family days have come to an end but every new school year brings on new excitement and a fresh start.  I've been working my booty off in my classroom and its almost ready for my students.  I changed my whole room this year and I'm very excited about it.  Ill share pictures soon.  Summer just flew by and all I can say is "whoa"!   Here's a few recent pictures of L and M!

2 Months

This week Miss Mya turned 2 months old!!  Our little lady is growing so much!  I can't believe how much she has changed  this month.  She had a great report at the doctors this week.  Mya is in the 50th percentile for height and weight.  Growing right on track!

At 2 months old Mya is...

*wearing size 3 month clothes

*wearing size 2 diapers

*weighs in at 11 lbs 4 oz

*measuring in at 22 inches

*smiling and cooing a lot

*sleeping pretty good

*thinking her big brother is pretty funny

and

*still stealing the hearts of mommy and daddy

We love you Mya Paige!

1 Month

Today our sweet Mya turns one month old!  What a wonderful blessing she has been to our family.  She has healed my heart and reminds me of her sister, Paige, every single day.  Mya is a pretty chill baby.  She gets sad when she's hungry but other than that we can't complain.  She has flashed us several smiles this week and it just melts our hearts.  She's slowly wrapping her daddy around her little finger.;). Her big brother has become quite fond of her and very protective.  His world stops if Mya is crying.  He immediately goes to her rescue and let's us know Mya is sad.  

Right now Mya is...

-wearing some newborn clothes but mostly 3 month

-wearing size 1 diapers

- usually wakes up just once during the night

-wants nothing to do with a bottle.  

- started smiling this week

-tracks mommy and daddy with her eyes

-loves her big bro

-enjoys being in her swing

-hates getting in her carseat

-loves being swaddled 

-is a true blessing to our family!!!

Here's Miss Mya at one month: