Puerto Vallarta Vacation

We just returned from a wonderful vacation to Puerto Vallarta. It was definately different travelling with a toddler, but we had a great time hanging out and enjoying the sunshine (90 degrees every day) and the beach. We stayed at an all inclusive resort- it was way too easy to get used to, with drinks at the pool and the beach whenever we wanted them! At one time Mya told me that "My drink coming" although she didn't understand that you have to order them first! She was a super little traveller, we went into PV one day and to another neighboring village another time. We got her a little Mexican doll, which she introduced to her existing favorite dolly with hugs and kisses. Pretty darn cute. Another highlight for Mya was DANCING! She loves it! There was a kids show every night at the resort that invited all the kids on stage to sing and dance with the hospitality team. She took to that pretty quickly, and she commonly asked, "Mommy, watch me dance?" "Daddy, watch me dance?" We had a great time!

A Wonderful Fall

We are incredibly thankful to have such a healthy beautiful girl this fall! Mya this year, is a healthy little normal toddler, what a wonderful change from the last! We often reflect on the difficulties we had last year including that nasty feeding tube that was her lifeline for several months. Praise God for the blessings he's given!

A Time with Friends

We had a great time catching up with my former van poolie/pregnancy sharing/coworker Christi and her daughter, Emily. Although it was a grey day, we enjoyed time at the park in the drizzle all the same. Emily is a sweet little 2 year old, a few months older than Mya. Christi is a great Mom, and is always a pleasure to be around. I sure miss having her on the van ride to work! We enjoyed time at the park and then a trip to Starbucks for a treat. I think this is my first "play date" one we'll definitely have to schedule again!

Time with cousins on the farm... Mya now has 5 cousins, and one more is on the way. They are so sweet together, she loves them all, and they have a great time together. Needless to say, the growing number of grandkids seems to elevate the chaos and volume level of every family gathering, but we sure have a wonderful time! We had a short visit, but we were happy to spend the time with our oldest niece, Sadie who turned 10 on 10/10/10! What a fun day it was for her, she's so grown up!

DANCING!One of Mya's latest favorite activities is dancing. This requires any combination of wearing a princess dress, earrings, a head piece and some dance shoes. Luckily, that's her dress code... ours is a little more lax. It's amazing how much one little girl can get several adults to do! She won't leave you out either, all people in the room are fair game for a dancing partner. "Common!" "Dance Me?" The best part is that everyone who dances with her has a great time too.

Mya's favorite, corn on the cob!

Big Girl Bed

We've been thinking of getting Mya out of her crib for a little while, she's getting so big! A few of her friends have made the transition, so we've been looking into it ourselves. We went to look at a few beds, and found the best deal, we had to get it! Thanks to an incorrect sign and an additional 20% off, we only paid $32 for her brand new bed, it's so cool! Another landmark that comes with the bed is that she doens't get her pacifier anymore. It took about 3 days to get her to sleep through the night, but she's doing great. Not to mention, she loves being on her pricess bed!

Daddy made blackberry smoothies- Mya had a great smoothie-stash!

Labor Day Fun

We had a great Labor Day weekend, we were invited to spend it at Priest Lake with my sister's family & friends. There were about 20 people staying at the lake, it was a really fun group to get to know! Mya had a blast with her cousin (as usual), they are very sweet together. She calls him "Tent" while he calls her "My My." I love this age! We enjoyed hiking, boating and kayking plus the relaxing time being totally disconnected. The weather was great, a perfect ending to our summer!

Some of Mya's Latest...

We attended a wedding reception this weekend, where Mya enjoyed dancing with her new friend, Macy. Nice job to Annalisa and the band, Mya approved!

Really- the number 4 isn't a four letter word... it just sounds like it!

Movie & popcorn night, Mya's favorite!

Licking the spoon, nummy!

Run for Children's Seattle

One year ago, our little Mya was in Children's Hospital, and we were unsure of her actual recovery after 2 cardiac arrests and 2 open heart surgeries. Praise God, we have a very healthy girl today, a true little miracle. During this critical time, we were blessed with amazing care at Children's Hospital, which also helped us through the most difficult time I've lived through. How do you say "thank you" for literally help saving your child's life... twice? We decided that the least we can do would be to give back. Last weekend we participated in the Run for Children's, to help raise money for uncompensated care at the Seattle location. We had a great time! Our team, Mya and the Heartbeats, had 20 people walking and running for our cause. On top of that, we had some amazing financial support, and our team came in 6th out of 65 teams in our financial contributions. Thank you to all of you who helped our team! We were thrilled to be able to give such a wonderful amount!

My sister, Angela & her kids drove across the state to participate in our event. She did a great job and finished really strong for a first time runner! Great job Ang!

The sweetest little smile...