One Year Old

Oh, I love this little girl and can't believe she is one year old today. What a joy she is in our home. Mya has such an important place in our hearts and I can't imagine our family without her. 

Here is Mya's one-year update and a few blurry pictures of this squirmy girl...

Her little personality is so funny. At home she is smiley and silly and curious, but in public she is very cautious and shy. She loves to wave to people, but it's usually with a nervous expression. It takes some work to get her to smile and loosen up, but she's not quite as clingy as she was a few months ago so I think she's making a little progress :)

She still nurses twice a day, but that won't last much longer. She eats breakfast, lunch, and dinner with the family and usually eats the same thing we're having. Her favorite foods are probably bananas, yogurt, black beans, chicken rolls, and any kind of soup. She has four teeth that she puts to good use at mealtime, and she probably has a few more teeth coming in soon, judging by her cranky, slobbery, gnaw-on-everything-in-sight mood the last few days.

Mya naps for a couple hours in the morning and a couple hours in the afternoon. She goes to bed with Bryn at 7 pm, but those two rascals usually keep each other up til 7:30 pm being silly in their beds. Mya is almost always the one who initiates the silliness and Bryn tries hard to quietly go to bed, but it's tough when there's a cute toddler, standing up in her crib, squealing and giggling, and tempting you to do the same. I try to be firm in enforcing quiet bedtime, but secretly I love to hear them squealing together. 

Miss Mya is still not walking, but she's a speedy little crawler and gets from room to room faster and faster. She loves to follow Bryn around and keep tabs on what she's up to. She's always grabbing at Bryn's hair and tugging on her clothes and Bryn is so used to it that it doesn't even phase her. Bryn loves to play "Mom" to Mya and loves to carry her around, rock her in the rocking chair, surround her with toys, etc. It's just so cute to see those two play all day and Mya always loves the attention.

There hasn't been a single day this past year where I haven't held Mya tight and thanked God she is a part of our family. She was such an answer to our prayers and I feel so deeply, truly grateful for her every day. I hope that gratitude for her never fades and I remember the miracle of each new little life. Before Mya's birth my heart was so raw from our four miscarriages and the health complications that we were figuring out. Mya's pregnancy was such a rollercoaster physically and emotionally- the hundreds of shots and hormone pills, blood test after blood test, ultrasound after ultrasound. Abnormal blood tests, abnormal ultrasounds, the cysts on her brain and concerns of down syndrome. The stress! The worry! The prayers and prayers and prayers! (The overly emotional and concerned pregnant lady!!) I think of all of that when I see the healthy, perfect little girl beside me all day. Mya truly healed my fragile heart and I feel so blessed to be her mom.

Mya's first year has been wonderful and I look forward to all the beautiful years ahead.

Bryn and Mya at age one.
I couldn't love these two more!