Happy 18 months, Maia!!!

It doesnt seem possible that Maia is already a year and a half!!! Over the last few weeks it is as if a switch was turned on and she is learning so many things. 

Her vocabulary keeps expanding. Most of her words are in Spanish:

1. Dede-bebe (baby)

2. Amen

3. Nene-comer (eat). She says it while savoring her food... "Yumm...nene!!"

4. Ne-guineo (banana) 

5. Dadda, daddee, papi-papa (daddy)

6. Mamma, nanee--mami (mommy). When she says, "mama" it melts me. 

7. Ayayai- ayayai (oy vey?) this one is just hilarious. She makes her own messes and then looks at them and says, "ayayaaaai..." With the right intonation and everything.

8. Bye, tye--adios! (Bye) 

9. Pa-pan (bread) 

10. Bobo-bobo (pacifier)

11. Tla--lo & la (names for my parents). Right now they are both "Tla." She sees their picture and calls them, as well as soon as she sees skype on either the iPad or laptop.

12. Nai-nai-grandma in Mandarin, which is what Grandma Merck wants to be called. She recognizes her in pictures too. 

13. Ye-ye-grandpa in Mandarin which is what Grandpa Merck wants to be called. She also recognizes him! 

14. Tatata-zapato (shoe)

15. Ba-ball (pelota in English)

16. Tetetes--juguetes (toys)

17. No & uh uh, moving her pointer finger appropriately to say, "no."

18. I-"hi" (hola in English)

19. Tata-agua (water)

20. Tes-Tres (three)

I need to check with Ethan and see if he can think of more words. For now, this is what comes to mind. 

Her language development seems to be happening mostly in spanish. She responds to many commands in spanish. 

When I ask, "who made you" she raises her hands up to heaven... :) 

She loves to sing and hums clearly, "Twinkle, twinkle littler star" and Barney's "I love you." 

She is a very happy little girl, who loves celebrating every little thing. It really is a delight to be her mom!! The last few months have been more challenging with being pregnant and having to train her. We are both sinners and it comes out daily. But even so, i am still so very very thankful to spend my days with her!! 

Bump pictures

12 weeks

14 weeks

15 weeks

Maia's new words

Maia is saying a few more words, which is exciting for this momma.

Here are the ones I can remember right now:

Dedé (bebé)- baby in Spanish
Dadda, daddeee- daddy
Nana, nanee- mommy
Na- her way of calling Natalie, her friend.
tye- bye
tes (tres)- (when I count uno, dos, tres! she says "tres" as well)
This week we got a book at the library "Oh no! Gotta go!" and Maia has been saying, "Oh no!" when she wants to read that book. ;-) 

Summer fun

One of the fun things we did this summer was going to the pool!

We also went to a concert in Oakwood, on the street! Very fun. 

Today there was a hispanic festival at one of the metroparks in Dayton. I enjoyed good food, great music & the awesome weather.

Thought this dress with the Dominican flag was quite funny!

And because she is too cute, I had to post this one too!

Pictures from this week

Maia having fun pushing Natalie around in cozy coup. Love this pic! 

We enjoyed the visit of Grandpa & Grandma Merck. So fun to see Maia bonding with them!

"Nai-nai" reading to Maia

Flowers my husband gave me on my bday. 

Books I checked out from the library to get ideas of what to do with my active 17 (almost 18) month old.

More recent pics

Recent pictures

 

11 weeks with our second baby! 

 

 

 My sweetheart with pigtails!!! :)

 

 

At a picnic from work with daddy!! Our first time in the sprinkler park. 

 

 

Maia brushing her teeth! 

Happy Father's Day!!!

Ethan loves hot sauce. So, for Father's Day I got him a Chile Habanero Hot Sauce...with this note! 

Summerfest

Today we went to "Summerfest," a family oriented event from Ethan's work. It was storming when we got there... but then the sun came out and it was a beautiful afternoon.

See this dog??? As soon as Maia saw it, she had to go over close, to look at it. No fear... even though it was almost the size of a small pony! 

  Maia saw this dog and walked straight to it. She was not in the least bit afraid! 

 

He licked her and everything... and she was unfazed...

 

They had these fun little wood stands for kids (and adults!) to play--tic tac toe, horse shoe and football... But Maia decided she would sit in the back  and chill. See her below?? 

 

A day of firsts

 

Yesterday we went to the pool for the first time this summer. Maia didn't like the kiddie pool one bit. She loves her bath! I was expecting her to be so excited about the pool... but she wasn't. 

 

She loved this doll house, though!! 

  

Today was Maia's first time eating Oreos. She LOVED them! :)

Living upon the invisible God

Quotes that blessed & challenged me from John Piper's bio of John Bunyan:

As I look around me in the world and in the Word, my own sense is that what we need from Bunyan right now is a glimpse into how he suffered and how he learned to "live on God that is invisible." I want that for myself, and I want that for my people, and I want that for you pastors and for your people, because nothing glorifies God more than when we maintain our stability and even our joy having lost everything but God (Hab. 3:17-18). That day is coming for each of us, and we do well to get ready, and help our people get ready.

If "living upon God that is invisible" is the key to suffering rightly, what is the key to living upon God? Bunyan's answer is: to lay hold on Christ through the Word of God, the Bible. Prison proved for Bunyan to be a hallowed place of communion with God because his suffering unlocked the Word and the deepest fellowship with Christ he had ever known.

I never had in all my life so great an inlet into the Word of God as now [in prison]. Those scriptures that I saw nothing in before were made in this place and state to shine upon me. Jesus Christ also was never more real and apparent than now. Here I have seen him and felt him indeed. . . I have had sweet sights of the forgiveness of my sins in this place, and of my being with Jesus in another world. . . I have seen that here that I am persuaded I shall never, while in this world, be able to express.

This is how the promises sustained and strengthened Bunyan. He was filled with Scripture. Everything he wrote was saturated with Bible. He poured over his English Bible, which he had most of the time. This is why he can say of his writings, "I have not for these things fished in other men's waters; my Bible and Concordance are my only library in my writings." Charles Spurgeon put it like this: "He had studied our Authorized Version . . . till his whole being was saturated with Scripture; and though his writings . . . continually make us feel and say, 'Why, this man is a living Bible!' Prick him anywhere; and you will find that his blood is Bibline, the very essence of the Bible flows from him. He cannot speak with out quoting a text, for his soul is full of the Word of God."ñ

And this is what he has to show us. That "to live upon God who is invisible" is to live upon God in his Word. And to serve and suffer out of a life in God is to serve and suffer out of a life drenched with the Word of God. This is how we shall live, this is how we shall suffer and this is how we shall help our people get safely to the Celestial City. We will woo them with the Word. We will say to them with Bunyan to his people:

God hath strewed all the way from the gate of hell, where thou wast, to the gate of heaven, whither thou art going, with flowers out of his own garden. Behold how the promises, invitations, calls, and encouragements, like lilies, lie round about thee! Take heed that thou dost not tread them under thy foot.

These show so much Maia's little personality

Ethan and I are so enjoying seeing Maia's little personality coming out more and more. These two pictures show some of that personality.

This first one shows Maia--determined, thoughtful, in control.

This one shows what a happy girl she is!! She LOVES playing with us. She tries to scare us by hiding, then coming out and shrieking.... She loves to turn my face away from her and pull it back toward her. When I scream as I come closer to her face, she laughs, with her sweet, melt-my-heart belly laugh. We are so so so thankful for the joy God brings through her. 

Maia's curls

Look at these pretty curls!!

Partners in crime

Maia & James "playing"... Sweet! They are exactly 4 weeks apart.

Maia playing piano

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rawyPXzw62A&sns=em

Such a beautiful day!

Maia & I went on a walk today. It was gorgeous!

Lacita, mira lo que tengo puesto!!!

These are the days

I saw this title at a friend's blog the other day. And it has been a lot on my mind since then. She was referring to what days are like for her family in the stage they are in with their three daughters. So... here's my version of our days, our season in life.

Just now I came into our bedroom and found this:

See the phone?? It points to the culprit. 

These are the days I have to go through our bedroom trash to make sure Maia's socks and my lotion are not in there because Maia's new game is to "pick up" and "put away" inside our trash can. 

These are the says Maia only uses her "bobito" during the day but not sleep. 

These are the days when it seems like it doesn't seem worth it to organize and pick up toys and clothes...because they end up out in the hall way or living room or kitchen. 

These are the days when Maia leaves a clear trail of having been there. 

These are teething days, when Maia gets fevers and is clingy and needy... These are the days when I am tired and get sad when I realize I am going to bed only to wake up again in 8 hours. I want to sleep and sleep. 

These are those days. Oh but how thankful I am for these days!!!! I am so glad I have Maia to care for and clean up after!!! I cannot believe I get to be the one who gets to care for her and love her every day! I get to see her grow up each day a little more. These are teething days, true. But these are snuggling and cuddling days. What a treat! 

And these are not just long, weary days. 

These are the days when Maia loves to be chased and shrieks with joy as I run to get her; these are the days when she loves to hide and "surprise" me when she appears again. 

These are days when my sweet sweet baby loves to go outside "please"; when she seats by herself in a grownup couch and is just so proud of her accomplishment. 

These are the days when she really enjoys to feed me! So precious. 

We cannot wait to hear her thoughts. We are so loving her personality come out more and more. 

And these days? They will be gone so fast!!! They are already going by so quickly. This season is just that-a season. By necessity it will go away and give in to a new one. Those will be good and hard days in their own right. So for now, and with Jesus' help, I pray I can enjoy *these* days and live them with thanksgiving to God. Because with each new day, there are mercies anew. 

Lunch

Beet soup (sopa de remolacha). Surprisingly good--1 beet, apple, avocado, water & lemon. Delish! Maia liked it too!

Maia's first time at the zoo

Ayer fue Memorial Day. Aprovechamos el dia libre y fuimos al zoologico! Tio Pablo y tia Jen fueron tambien. El clima fue muy agradable. Maia hasta peino a los chivitos!