December Music Programs!

Yesterday Makayla and Addison had their Christmas/music programs. At the same time. On the same night. I'm only one person, y'all! So we went to Addison's rehearsal in the morning so we could watch her one song and went to Makayla's in the evening.

Makayla had a small speaking role in it, which was awesome! She was so nervous about it but she delivered it flawlessly! Hand motions and all. :) I'm a proud mom and nothing will ever change that!

It's kind of adorable seeing your child on stage and watching her little face search the crowd for you. Makayla was looking around for us for a minute or so. She was looking at the spot we were sitting at when she left with her class. But we moved to the floor in the front row so I kept waving frantically so she could see I was still there. And then finally she saw us! And she smiled so big. Then during the entire program she kept looking at me and smiling. It was so precious.

She did an amazing job and I am just so proud of her! Stage fright is a huge thing to overcome or deal with and she wasn't scared at all! At least she didn't show it on stage. :)

Addison did a beautiful job in her song, as well. She was in the front row and thankfully we didn't have to deal with other parents so we were in the front row, too. She barely danced or did the motions, but she kinda did. It was super cute. She had a little Santa hat on and sang the song. She's so different at school! It's really weird for me to see. She is SO loud and boisterous at home and the two times I've seen her in her school environment, she is so quiet and shy. I love that she is so comfortable around her people that she just lets loose. That makes my heart happy.

Kalkidan's school doesn't do any programs, but I'm sure we will have plenty more next year when everyone is at the same school! She did have an extra day of school on Monday which was nice. Addi and I got to spend the day together grocery shopping and eating lunch at Panera and playing.

So far we've had a great week! Busy, but great. Now I need to get on this present wrapping train!!!

Six Years.

Dear Makayla,

Today you are six years old. I can't believe how quickly these six years have gone by. I'm sure I say it every year, but I just can't. It amazes me how fast it all goes. I have learned so much from you in your short six years on this earth. I've learned how to love unconditionally. I've learned not to care what other people think about me. I've learned that sometimes you just need to dance. I've learned that jokes that make no sense are one of the simplest and best joys in life. I've learned that you can be tiny but have a huge opinion and make yourself heard. I've learned that living outside of yourself is truly the only way to live.

You are an amazing little girl and my life would never be the same without you in it. You say the most hilarious things I've ever heard in my life. Like today when we were eating lunch and we gave you sparking apple cider you said, 'Is this apple milk?!' And then when you wanted more, you said, 'Can I have some more of that bubbly juice?' You crack me up on a daily basis and I can't imagine life without you.

You are the best big sister to your little sisters. So many times today I have heard you share your toys with them...your brand new toys. That's love. You always randomly just run up and hug them. You came over and hugged each of us after every gift you got from us this morning. You have such a tender and caring heart.

I've seen you cry over more things than I can count. I am so sorry for the hurts that I have caused you in your life, but know that there will be more. And I'm already sorry for them. I don't ever want to see you cry, yet I know it's a part of life. Your tears break your mama's heart in ways you can't even know is possible until you have your own sweet baby one day. You have so much love to give and you give it so freely.

I want to be more like you, Makayla. I want to love without abandon. I want to meow at strangers when they ask me a question. I want to dance so freely and sing just like you.

You have been through so much this past year. Bringing home a new sister that you never met before is huge and you took it all in stride. You welcomed her with open arms and loved her from the beginning. We can all learn more from you, Makayla. You got a new kitty cat that you adore and always want to play with. He is so special to you. Seeing the way you treat him and adore him warms my heart. Moving to Texas was a huge deal, but you just went with the flow. You never got upset, never whined about any of it, nothing. You just did what you had to do and did it all seamlessly. You amaze me with your strength.

There are times where I am overrun with guilt for the things I have said to you or the things I have promised and not delivered on. But you, sweet girl, you never hold any of that against me. You wake up fresh every morning, full of love. I want to be more like you. I'm sorry for the ways I have let you down. I will never stop loving you even when I disappoint you.

You have the best memory of anyone I know. Yet you forget all of the bad things, which is perfect. You remember things that happened years ago and where we were and who else was there. It's amazing.

You are reading so much these days and seeing your sweet brain figuring things out is always awesome for me to see. You say excuse me almost every time you have something to say and your daddy and I are talking to each other. That being said, you do love to interrupt, as well. ;)

Makayla, you're six today. And all day you have been talking about how next year you will be seven. I told you you're not even six yet! I can't let it happen! I'm demanding that time stops this year. No more growing. Though I do love seeing you learn new things every day.

Your love for everyone and everything astounds me. You are perfect in every way. Don't ever change. Always be who you are. Always love yourself and don't let anyone, ever make you feel less than what you are. You are the most beautiful girl in the world and I love you with every fiber of my being.

Love always,
Mommy

Happy Birthday, Makayla!!

Happy Fifth Birthday, my sweet oldest girl!!

I can't believe we are already at this point. Next year, you will be starting kindergarten! Right now, you are in your second year of preschool and you love it! This year we moved you to M-W-F and it has been a nice break for me and your sisters. And I know you love getting to socialize with your sweet friends.

You are such a social butterfly, making friends everywhere you go!

You have the sweetest heart towards your sisters. Since Kalkidan came home a little over a month ago, I can see the love you have for your babies.

Though there is a flip side to that, as well...when the babies have anything that you deem 'yours', you go snatch it from them as quick as possible. We're working on it.

You love to watch tv and ask me for it about 10,000 times a day...working on this, too. ;)

You play with your My Little Ponies and all your little toys every day. When you see me trying to listen to what you are saying with them, you stop playing with them and say, 'What are you doing? Don't watch me!' But you are just so darn cute!!

We still do quiet time every day. And you still ask me to come downstairs at least five times before your quiet time is over. It's mostly for Mommy, but I know you need to have some unwind time to yourself, also.

You wake up before anyone else in the house every day. You will come downstairs and eat a frozen waffle all on your own. And you like them that way! You have asked me to give you frozen waffles at breakfast before. :)

You come up with the funniest sayings. We were at Nana's one day and you said you are a 'short-teen'. I was talking about how you are such a teenager already. Let's slow down on that one, okay?

Seeing you interact with and love on your sisters just melts me. It makes my heart sing. I see the love and compassion you have for them every day. You always want to help feed them and show them where to put things. You are always helping them put their shoes on which just makes me beam with joy at your beauty.

Lately when I ask you to do something or get something for me, you say, 'Of course, Mommy!' with such a sense of JOY in your voice. I can't explain what this does to me. You have a servant's heart already, precious one. I am going to do my best to instill that in you for the rest of your life.

You were always meant to be our oldest, Makayla. You are the best big sister in the world. You bless our lives over and over every single day. Thank you for making me a mommy five years ago today. You mean the world to me, sweet girl. I am so thankful to be your mommy forever and ever.

I love you forever,
Mommy <3 p="">

My beautiful big girl.

In your birthday PJs!

You kept telling me this was your new baby and you just adopted her from Ethiopia. :)

Your joy over the little things in life will never get old to me. 

You are my mini-me, sweet beauty.

With your adopted baby again. :)

Before bedtime, we looked at your baby books. It was so sweet to watch you look at pictures of yourself from four years ago. I love you, baby girl.

4 Years, 5 Months.

Dear Makayla,

Today you are 4 years and 5 months old!! You are the best big sister in the entire world...of that I am sure.

You held baby Genova for the first time today and you are so sweet with her! You've loved giving her kisses and holding her hand. It is so sweet!! You are natural little mommy. You even started going 'shhhhhh, shhhhhh, shhhhhh' when she was crying today. And I know how needed that made you feel...which made me one proud mama. You are SO needed, baby girl.

You are so much fun to be around!! And you are so hilarious! You're always coming up with these cute little voices to use when you're playing with your Ponies and Littlest Ketchops, as you call them.

You're also a little sassy pants and have quite the attitude. You really like to cover your ears when we try to tell you something that you shouldn't be doing. We are not a fan of that. :)

The other day I was wearing a shirt that has the United States and Africa on it and in between there is an airplane flying from one to the other. You looked at it and said, 'Mommy you're flying from there to Africa soon! To see other peoples' babies...but not ours yet.' Then you said, 'Is that where we live?' while pointing to the US. You recognized Africa, but not the United States. And honestly? That made my heart happy. I should probably teach you what the United States looks like, but hello? You know what Africa looks like...and that is amazing.

I love you like no other. You made me a mama and for that I am so very, very thankful.

I love you forever,
Mommy

Makayla: 4 Years Old!

Dear Makayla,

You're four years old today!!

You are the most beautiful four year old I know. I am so proud to be your mommy.

You make me laugh every single day with your super cute phrases and the awesome things you say. Like curgly (curly) and ridiclious (ridiculous) and lompster (lobster) and ca-remote (remote) and perftec (perfect) and pie-ano (piano).

You are VERY stubborn, but you come by it naturally.

You don't like it when you get hurt...you always throw your hand up and say no, no, no at us. We just want to console you, baby girl.

You are so kind and compassionate towards other people. You love (most of the time) giving to others.

You always hold your sister's hand in the car and you both love it. It's pretty precious.

I'm amazed at how much you are learning and growing and changing. You are becoming a gorgeous little girl and when I look at baby pictures of you, I can't believe how far we've come.

You still get up at an ungodly hour, but we're working on it. :) Mama just can't get up that early, love bug!

You had a blast at Christmas this year...tearing your gifts open and getting excited over every little thing...even socks! ;)

You are very shy in school and you don't say a word to anybody...but then you come home and don't stop talking for the rest of the day.

You don't nap anymore, but we still put you down for a nap because it gives me some quiet time and that's always a good thing.

You got a big girl bed today!! It's my old twin bed with a new mattress just for you! You were totally excited!!

You are one amazing little girl and I am so excited to see what the next year holds for us. I love with everything I have.

Love,
Mommy

All Kinds of Stuff.

Makayla is on a roll with all the adorable things she says and does on a regular basis. I just like to keep track. And if it weren't for this very blog, I would never have all of this stuff to look back on. And for her to read one day. Here goes:

Dear Makayla,

You're like the best thing ever. You are SO much fun. You love to play on your own and you have THE biggest and best imagination I've ever seen. You can make the most random things turn into something amazing and super fun. Also, you adore your sister. And I do mean adore. You always, always, always come in with me in the morning to get sister and you copy whatever I say to her in the morning. Then you immediately want to give her a hug. You always say, "Can I see her?" And before she goes to bed, you always come in, kiss her and say, "Goodnight sister!" I know you two are going to be the best of friends. Also, sometimes when you see her, you say, "Addi, sweetheart!" Gah!

The other day, you were playing with some washcloths and they became ice cream cones (see? The imagination.) and you made one for Daddy. "Daddy likes stripes (since it had stripes on it). Daddy loves ice cream!"

Here are some other random things you've said in the past few days:

"Mommy, can I tell you about my dream?" 'Yeah! Tell me about it!' "There was a witch. And a storm cloud. I couldn't go to sleep. You have to close the hole so I can go to sleep again!"

"Here's a Thanksgiving apple. It's for chewing." You had Addison's apple teether and that's what you came up with. :)

Yesterday, you kept covering yourself up with your Dora blanket. (You did it today, too. And today you became a snow princess.) Then you decided to cover me with it. Then you took it off and said, "Woohoo! A gift!" I said, 'What is it? What's your gift?' And you responded, "You're my gift, sweetie!" I die.

Also yesterday, we were playing in the dining room (play room) and you said, "I need to go find that Daddy. He makes us happy. I'm sad. I need to go find him so he can make me happy!" and you walked off, with your shoulders slung down, sauntering to the other room to find him.

Last night before we put you to bed, you were drinking out of one of your sippy cups and it made this funny sound...kind of like a horn. Then you busted out with this gem, "I'm like, horny, like a seal!" HA! Your Daddy and I laughed until we cried with that one!!

This morning, you decided to make a raft. I don't know where you come up with this stuff, but I love your imagination!! Want to know what it was made out of? Your pillow, with Addison's pink and brown blanket on top and then your unicorn Pillow Pet. Of course, to use your raft, you needed paddles. And naturally, those paddles were your seal and monkey stuffed animals.

You also made a bed in the laundry basket yesterday night and this morning. Daddy took you all around the house in it with your pillows, blankets and stuffed animals. Then, he stopped. You tried to get out. And you busted your head on the bookshelf that was behind you. You've got a huge goose egg on the back of your head now, poor girl.

You are too stinking funny. And I love you.

Love,
Mommy

Addison is also pretty awesome.

Dear Addison,

You're almost 7 months old! You're still wearing your 6 month clothes, but I need to start getting your 9 month stuff out, even though you're just a petite little squirt! Almost none of your sleepers fit anymore! Lately you've been sleeping from midnight until 7 or 7:30. Awesome! Keep it up, girlie!

You ate green beans (baby food, of course) for the first time on the 14th. You were not a fan. You ate them for dinner tonight, though, and seemed to tolerate them a little better. Maybe it's because Daddy fed them to you? :)

You push yourself SO far up on your arms when you're on your belly these days. I swear you'll be crawling so soon!! I can't believe we're so close to the crawling stage already. This has gone way too fast.

You also took a teeny scoot backwards yesterday! Gah! You turn yourself all over the floor to get what you want. Not roll, but you'll just turn and turn in a circle. It's super cute and I remember your sister doing the same thing around this age.

You do this really adorable thing where you shake your head back and forth. It's like you're saying no. And it's even funnier when we ask you something and then you do it! You'll do it when you're laying down, or when you're in the baby suity, or sometimes just in the air. It's so funny!

You've gotten really good at getting stuff to your mouth now. When you're in your ExerSaucer, you grab the toys and shove them right in your mouth. And anything I give you while you're laying on the floor tends to go right in, too.

Also!! You're sitting up so much now! You're not a pro yet, but you are SO close. This week has really been the week that you've started doing it without much assistance. You still fall over quite a bit, but you can sit up without us holding you for a few seconds. The Boppy has really been working to prop you up and we just sit right in front of you to play. You love it! And then you reach too far (to grab your toes, of course) and topple forward.

You continue to be the happiest baby I've ever seen in my life. Nothing fazes you. It's so rad. You're totally chill and as long as you're in my arms (or Daddy's!) you'll smile at anyone and everyone. Happiest baby ever. Unless we leave you in your saucer and we leave the room. Then you're not very happy.

Either way, you totally rock my socks. Just like your older sister. I love you.

Love,
Mommy

Letter to Makayla

Dear Makayla,

Today you are 2 years, 8 months, 1 week and 6 days old. You are such a big girl!! Your personality shines through more and more every day. I swear each day you're doing something new!! You are such a fun little girl to be around.

You love your little sister more than I have ever seen anyone love someone before. It's beautiful to watch you love her. Anytime Addison is crying, you come over and comfort her saying, "It's okay Addison. We're all right here." You constantly bring her toys to play with and look at. You are her number one protector. When people come around that you don't want holding her, you'll say, "That's our baby!!" Also, when she's sleeping, if someone makes too much noise for your liking, you tell them, "Addison sleeping!!"

We went to get sushi with a friend of ours the other day and you totally ate some! Like you ate a whole piece! I kinda freaked out since seaweed is hard to chew, but yet again, you showed me how big you really are. You ate it just fine. And then, you wanted one of the sushi plates because you wanted to eat the orange things that were left on it that Mommy picks off. You know what those orange things were? Fish eggs. And you ate them all. Like licked the plate clean.

Some funny things you say:
"You sad? I dance for you!" And then you proceed to dance this crazy, leg flailing dance that will never get old.

If you're doing something and you aren't really sure how to do it or you need help, you say, "I don't know how to try."

Sometimes you walk around the living room for minutes at a time and when we ask what you're doing, you reply, "I'm just walkin' around!"

You will also say, "I'm just bein' a weirdo!"

On August 31st, I had to wake you up in the morning! You slept and slept and slept until finally, it was 9:45am and I figured you should get up for the day. Most days, even if I don't hear you, when I go in to get you, you're already awake, just laying there. Not this time. You were sound asleep. I went in and rubbed your belly and started telling you it was time to wake you. You woke up slowly, stretching your little arms and legs, while I rubbed your belly some more. Then you laid there and your eyes kept opening and closing very slow. It was such a sweet moment.

You are the greatest big sister and the most amazing little girl in the world. You will always have my heart, my sweet, sweet baby. I love you, my Kayla Bugs.

I love you to the moon and back,
Your Mommy