Candid Maleah

Hello all! And so begins our 2011 chapter in funny things Maleah comes up with . . . Just a moment ago Maleah informed Rex that she doesnt want to watch kids' shows anymore - just mommy and daddy shows. Then she added . . . nice shows for Mommy and mean shows for Daddy (I think referring to the fact that Daddy watches football - where people are "mean to each other")
Just the other day - Maleah was trying to get the babies to look at her, I asked, "Do you like to be the center of attention and have everyone look at you?" To which she replied, "No, just Mommy, Daddy, the babies, and grandmas and grandpas." Then quickly revised it, "But not your dad, dad. He scares me."
Okay, a few from last year . . . Grandma Poppy was taking Maleah for a ride, when she came to a stop sign, not too far from our house. Maleah piped up from the backseat, "When my mommy comes to a stop sign, she stops." Grandma Poppy said, "Didn't I come to a stop?" Maleah, "No, you just kind of slowed down."
And last but not least, while at Aunt J and Uncle T's house watching a movie, said, "I can't see the movie." Confused, Aunt J said, "Why not, the tv is right there and you are looking at it." Maleah responded with, "But your tv is too small!"
We just get a kick out her and what she comes up with! As more memories come back to me and new ones occur, hopefully I will have the time to jot them down :)

Wow! Over a year!

Would you look at that! It has been over a year since I blogged! So many memories have been made and not posted about . . . reading that last post, I feel so guilty for not posting more fun stories that happened to our family! This past year has been wonderful and hard and blessed and amazing.
If I can get a second or two to post, I will . . . hopefully recalling some fun stories. Pregnancy and twins have zapped most of my time and brain power, but hopefully the most important stories will come back.

More of the same cute Maleah

So, yesterday I was working on wrapping gifts for the Allen's Camera Christmas party and Maleah chased Murphy, the cat, upstairs. Usually sweet Murph will jump on my bed to escape the sometimes torturous loving of my Maleah. Maleah is now big and brave enough to scale the mattresses and get to him, but not quite confident enough to get herself back down (she has done it before, but 9 times out of 10, will demand help from Mom or Dad). Well, a few minutes later Mr. Murph came downstairs. No Maleah, no sound from Maleah, so I decided to go check on her. When I came upstairs, she didn't see me, so I just watched quietly from the hallway. She was lying on her back, holding a Cabela's ad - seemingly scrutinizing every item. Since, she didn't see me and seemed content, I went back downstairs.
Fast forward 10 minutes: I get a call from my mom. We talk for a couple of minutes. I hear sounds that tell me someone is using another of our cordless phones, but no voice, just a few phonish sounds that let me know someone else is there. When my mom hangs up, I say, "Maleah, are you there?"
"Yep"
"Are you okay?"
"Yep"
"Are you still upstairs?"
"Yep, I want to get down"
"Okay, do you want me to come up and help you?"
"Yes"
"Okay, hit the red button on the phone and I will be right up!"
When I got upstairs, she was still holding the phone. She ran to me at the foot of the bed and said, "You were on the phone. I talked to you on the phone." She sounded almost amazed by it.
Another quick one:
I took our comforter to the laundromat. There was another mom and daughter there waiting for their laundry. The other little girl was probably around 3. Maleah asked if she could play with the little girl. I said of course. She walked up to the little girl with her little fingers tucked in the waist band of her pants, head cocked to one side and just looked at the other girl. The little girl wasn't sure what to do. I prompted Maleah to say, "Would you like to play with me?" The little girl said sure and they began chasing each other around the laudromat. It is so fun to see her make friends and play. About half-way into their playing Maleah came running over to me and said, "Mom, I am being a friend." She was thrilled that she had offered to play with someone and they accepted. I absolutely adore her.
Okay, one more:
Maleah loves to be chased (most children do, right?). Anyway, her new favorite chase is to have me carry her and we run away from Dad (Rex). It started one night when he chased us at bedtime and reached through the banister on the stairs to tickle Maleah. Squeals and giggles galore :) Well, tonight she and I were upstairs after getting ready for bed and saying prayers with Rex. She really wanted to be chased, so we snuck downstairs to tickle Rex and then he chased us around the dining table, around the first floor and finally upstairs. Her little squeal and giggle make me soooo happy. I love to hear her laugh and see her really smile. Wow! I am so blessed to get to be her mommy.

Vocabulary

Just a quick story before I forget it (I am horrible about writing things down, if I can just do when it happens, I could have a lot more stories to tell)
I went in to get Maleah this morning (she still stays in bed until we come to get her - her choice, not ours, we have told her she can get out whenever she wants) :)
and she very excitedly said, "I am wrapped like a burrito!" She was indeed wrapped up in her favorite, pink, soft blankey. She proceeded to say, "I did it by myself! There were no people here to help me, so I helped myself!"
I know parent stories are more important to the parent, than anyone else, but I hope you get a kick out of it, too.
I just love to she her gain more independence (She usually asks US to wrap her up like a burrito, and if I ask her to do it herself, she says she can't!)

Just quote for today :)

Regret for things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.
--Sydney J. Harris
Just what I needed to read today!

Maleah's New Discovery

Last week Maleah started going in her closet while she was playing. I think initially she liked the hiding factor, but also she seems to like the hanging clothes brushing her head as she walks under them. Next she started saying, "Mom, come in here with me." I showed her how the doors worked and she explored standing in the partially closed space of the door. She is very cautious about her fingers and making sure she can still get out. Now, the closet is her playhouse. She can close 1 door or both or open them wide. She pretends with her toys in there, she asks me (on the outside) if there are any toys I would like and then hands them through the crack between the doors. She invites me in and we sit in the dark or peek through the cracks.
It just thrills me to see her pretend playing. I don't why I get a kick out of it, but I love it! I love to see her face when she discovers something that she thinks is absolutely, fantastic. And the closet is one of those somethings :)

I made you laugh!

So today on the way upstairs for a nap, I was kissing Maleah - she is so ticklish when you kiss her ears/neck/head, it is fun to get her giggling. Well, today, she was wiping off any kisses I gave her, because she knows I will give her 5 more kisses to make up for it :) I set her on the rocking chair in her room and kissed her one last time. She put on this serious face, looking at me through her eye brows and said, "You need to stop kissing, we need to read books now." I started laughing and so did she. Then she said, "I make you laugh". I love it when she makes me laugh!