Mya's 1st Brithday

We had a really fun day playing at the park. She loves to swing!! While she was napping, Madi and I made her a Chocolate Doggy Cake! She loved it and made a big mess of herself! We love our little Mya!

Catch up

It is going to take me a while, and I am sure it is going to be old news for most of you, but I am going to try and catch up a little. I am sad that I stopped blogging because I love to go back and look at my old blog posts. I kind of use it as a journal of our family. I left off in May 2010!!! So, here we go!!

Red Head

I Think it is safe to say that Mya is going to be a red head! I have been trying not to get my hopes up, because I have seen kids hair color change from red to blond. But, I think her color is here to stay! And it is really curly too. I will have to post a better picture of it when I get it wet because it is so cute! And she has the temper to go with it!

See what I mean! Those pictures where seriously taken 10 seconds apart. She wanted to hold the camera and I wouldn't let her! So she let me know it!

No More Helmet!

Monday was Mya's last day with her helmet!! We are all so happy to be done with it! It was a lot less of a hassle then I thought it would be, so it really wasn't bad. She only had it on for 3 months and she is now in the normal range! It took a lot less time then they thought it would. She was so good about it. She never seemed to mind that she had it on unless she got sweaty and her head started to itch. So, I would take it off for a few minutes and let her rub her head on things. It was funny to watch her rub her head on the couch and on the carpet during her 1 hr of freedom everyday. It must have felt so nice! I also decided that it was perfect to have on during those months while she was learning to stand. It has saved her a lot of head bumps! And Madi got very used to saying " It's okay. Because of course she has her helmet on." every time she would accidentally hit Mya on the head. All in all, I am glad we did it.

Totally Bummed!

My little brother Cody and his wife Stacey welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world yesterday afternoon. They named her Preslie Jane and she is oh so cute! Now, why would I be totally bummed about such good news? Well, we were supposed to be leaving today for California to spend Christmas with my my parents, my youngest brother Cory, and my brother Cody and his family but it looks like we will be staying here. Madi got croup on Friday and she has been sick every since. I thought she was getting better but last night she got worse! So, instead of going to California and getting everyone out there sick, we decided it would be best to stay here. That is why I am totally bummed!! Not only do we not get to be with everyone for Christmas, but I don't get to meet our new little Preslie. They will be moving up to Idaho in 2 weeks so we probably won't get to see them again for a little while. So, I guess I better go figure out what I will be making for Christmas dinner...

Hello Helmet Goodbye Plagio!

If you have talked to me at all in the last few months then you probably know that I have been going back and forth about weather or not to put a helmet on my little Mya. She has Plagiocephaly. Here is a quick lesson on Plagio that I found online.

What is Plagiocephaly?

Plagiocephaly often results from external forces applied to the soft infant skull.
There are actually three different types of misshapen heads. As causes of plagiocephaly are combined, it’s not uncommon to see heads that illustrate two of the deformities.

A parent’s first instinct is to wonder “what did I do to my baby to cause this?” Guilt is common, but there are many factors that can contribute to plagiocephaly and chances are, it was nothing you did intentionally. A baby’s skull is so soft and malleable until the sutures fuse around two years of age. For this reason, any external forces, whether during the pregnancy or in the infant’s daily life, can contribute to the head shape.

So, hopefully that filled you in a little bit on what is going on with her head. Of course all of those pictures are worse case pictures. Her plagio isn't as bad as the picture. You wouldn't notice it if I didn't point it out to you. We have been working on repositioning her while she sleeps since she was 3 months old. It just hasn't helped the front of her head as much as we would have liked it to so, she has some asymmetry in her face now. If the bones in your head aren't aligned then the bones in your face and jaw won't be. That is my main concern. Because, lets face it, she is going to have lots of red hair that will cover her head shape anyway right (fingers crossed). So we finally decided to just get the helmet and get it over with. The helmet holds her head in place where it sticks out, and leaves room for growth where it needs to fill in. They digitally scanned her head and made a Styrofoam head that they poured a mold on to make the helmet fit just perfect. It was pretty cool to see the scan come up on the computer while they scanned her head. She has to wear it 23 hours a day. I only take it off for cleanings 1 hour a day and to let her head breath. The Dr. said she will most likely have to wear it for 4-6 months. She just got it yesterday and she has been so good with it! It doesn't seem to bother her at all. We slowly make our way up to the 23hrs a day. Today she has to have it on 2hrs, off 1hr repeted all day. And then she gets it off while she sleeps through the night. By day 7 she will be wearing it full time. I am so happy that we finally decided to get her in the helmet, so I can stop worrying about it and we can just get it fixed already! Our insurance doesn't cover it and it is a $1,600 helmet!!! But, I am sure that most parents would pay anything to help their child. I would hate for her to notice it when she was a teenager and then find out that I could have fixed it! Talk about a guilt trip for the rest of your life! I think she looks cute in it. Next on my list is to decorate it so she looks extra cute!! We are so grateful that we have the opportunity to fix it! I'll keep you all posted on how it goes!

Happy Birthday Madi

So, Madi's Birthday was on a Sunday this year. We decided to just have a low key birthday. We went to church and then came home, had some lunch, and went on a walk because it was a beautiful day!

Madi had lots of fun chasing Seths car all around her favorite place in the basin behind our house. Mya just watched in her stroller while munching on a piece of watermelon.

We all had a good time enjoying our nice weather! After that, we headed home to put the girls down for a nap so I could get started on Madi's birthday cake. It was a lot of fun! We decided to have all of Seths family come over for birthday cake and presents after dinner. Madi was so excited to have all her cousins come over! Madi had a great time with everyone! Here are a few pictures!

I thought I would ask Madi this year what kind of birthday cake she wanted but I just kept getting answers like, a bath cake, a light cake, a mommy cake (pretty much whatever she was looking at at the time). So I gave up on that and just looked online until I found something that I thought she would like. I surprised her with it when she woke up from her nap. She really liked it, and all the kids had fun eating the cupcake cones.

She got lots of fun presents! Here is Seth putting together her new scooter!

We love our little Madi Buns so much! She is such a cutie pie! I can not believe that she is 3 already! How the heck did that happen?? She is starting to test us more and more as she gets older. Just reminding Mom and Dad that we need to step up our game ;) She is getting too smart! She loves to play outside and get dirty! She loves drawing on the side walk with her chalk, playing hide and seek (or "hide the sink" as she would say), playing "Not It" (tag) and playing school. She is so much fun to have in our family. Thanks to everyone who came over, sent birthday gifts, and called Madi on her birthday! She had such an awesome day! We love you all!