53 Months! Again, backdated. She’s really getting close to her 54th month, but let’s not go there, yes?
[[image:2012-yaya53month-04.jpg:Mama tied a ribbon in my hair:center:0]]
* Mouse over the pictures for captions
It has been a busy month. Lots of work to finish up, deadlines to meet, during the lead up to the end of the year, and then the Winter Break occurred. Yes, I realize I backdated this post, but I am using some photos from our after-Christmas trip (cheater! cheater!). No traveling until after the girl’s actual birthday, but then some traveling after Christmas. As you will see.
Yaya is still on the no new games or new toys until she tries something new to eat. She did not try anything new, therefore, she did not get any new toys or games. Kind of nice for the wallet though – you want a new game or toy? What new thing will you take a bite of to earn it? Nothing new? OK, no new game or toy! I should put a nickel in a jar every time we offer her food that she refuses – I bet we’d get $10 easily every week. But, we remain hopeful that things will take a turn for the better. New year, new foods? Fingers crossed, inshallah!
It’s pretty cool to see Yaya interact with her brother. She is still a little too rough on him a lot of the time, but he’s getting bigger and stronger and certainly enjoys games. He loves, for instance, when we put him in the crib while we prepare to bathe both kids, and Yaya runs down the hallway, and runs screaming to get him. He stands and watches her come at him and when she gets close, he throws himself face down on the mattress, laughing and giggling, loving every minute of this game. Yaya also loves this game and often asks us to put Adik in the crib for her enjoyment. An added bonus, all the running up and down the hallway does help tire her out and helps her fall asleep quickly at night!
Yaya is still leery of TV shows and other stories that have drama in them. She can’t watch Poppy Cat on Sprout because there’s a mean character on it that spoils the whole show for her. She even covers her face when Swiper the fox tries to ruin Dora the Explorer’s day. So she still prefers calm and funny TV programs rather than a movie or a show that has more of a dramatic plotline (or even regular mean characters). I don’t know how to feel about that, really. I mean, on the one hand it’s refreshing to have a child not be completely immersed in cartoon violence and other conflicts. But on the other hand, are we protecting her too much by allowing her to stick to Peppa Pig, Wonder Pets, Team Umizoomi, Pocoyo, and other gentle shows? The world isn’t as nice as that. But she is only 4, so I suppose we can wait to ease her gently into the real world.
At any rate, here are some photos that I love that were taken during the month of December. We start out with a section called “On wearing my parents’ clothing”:
[[image:2012-yaya53month-02.jpg:Yoww! I’m wearing Papa’s hat and vest, Mama’s house slippers! I’m PaMa!:center:0]]
[[image:2012-yaya53month-05.jpg:My Papa’s snow boots are funny (and heavy):center:0]]
Here’s Yaya playing with Adik through the glass:
[[image:2012-yaya53month-03.jpg:Can’t get me, Adik!!:center:0]]
Here’s Yaya enjoying the December snowfall:
[[image:2012-yaya53month-06.jpg:Learning how to shovel snow with her very own special little snow shovel:center:0]]
[[image:2012-yaya53month-07.jpg:Making a snow angel:center:0]]
[[image:2012-yaya53month-08.jpg:Sitting in the snow with (unhappy) Adik:center:0]]
A quick thanks to Amy and Jef for Adik’s snowsuit. All the hand-me-downs are being put to good use! And then we get to the startlingly different photos of Yaya at the indoor waterpark in French Lick, IN (our after-Christmas trip), where it’s summer indoors despite the 10 inches of snow on the ground outside!
[[image:2012-yaya53month-09.jpg:Having fun at the baby pool:center:0]]
[[image:2012-yaya53month-10.jpg:Don’t splash Adik’s face, Yaya!:center:0]]
[[image:2012-yaya53month-12.jpg:Going down the little slide at the baby pool:center:0]]
[[image:2012-yaya53month-13.jpg:Happily coming out of her favorite blue slide:center:0]]
[[image:2012-yaya53month-11.jpg:Never happy to leave the waterpark:center:0]]
Yaya had a fun time at the waterpark! We also took some time to visit with friends and family (more pics in Adik’s birthday blog) but here are a couple of my favorite photos of Yaya and the people we visited:
[[image:2012-yaya53month-14.jpg:Yaya and Brian, her favorite grown up in the world!:center:0]]
[[image:2012-yaya53month-15.jpg:Becky and her snugglebug:center:0]]
After another fast moving and awesome month, we are completely exhausted. Is it time to hibernate yet? Happy 53 month birthday, baby girl! We love you!! See you in 2013!
[[image:2012-yaya53month-01.jpg:Her plum-purple pants match the mums:center:0]]
