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Friday, November 28, 2008

1 year old!!!

Ladies and Gentlemen- I would like to introduce you to my one year old little girl... Malaika "Mimi" Mwango!!!
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Isn't she beautiful!
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I have been so caught up in "life" that I have neglected this blog. My deepest apologies to my avid readers. (all 3 of you haha) Well, we have been up to a lot these days and so I will try to get you all caught up in one little post.
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First there was Halloween! Susanna and I searched long and hard for the perfect costume and finally found one at the Disney store. We wanted something VERY girly and pink and it just so happens Minnie Mouse is all of these!
PhotobucketI think one of my favorite memories of Malaika was putting this costume on. Once it was on I took her over to the mirror and her face lit up! She crawled over so her face was an inch away from the mirror and had the biggest smile on her face. Then she backed up and grabbed the sides of her dress and started swaying from side to side. She was totally checking herself out in the mirror! My mom and I laughed o hard we had tears.... Then came the ears... not her favorite item. haha Photobucket
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After she was all dressed up I took her to Edwins work so we could show her off. Of course everyone ewww'd and ahhhh'd. She loved every minute of that.
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Then we went trick-or-treating with my friend Nicole and her two little girls Lauren (5)
and AmePhotobucketlie (1) and their cousin Fatima (5)
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They were all so cute and susanna and I *cough* I mean Malaika got TONS of candy. =)
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The next big event was Malaika's 1st Birthday party!!!!!!! WHOO HOO!!
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I cannot believe she is one. She is so big and grown up and beautiful! One year ago I could never imagined what life would be like with her. But now I cannot imagine what life would be like without her. It was a great day and we loved spending time with all our friends and family.
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My mom and her boyfriend did all the cooking and they made the best food EVER.
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We had Mac and cheese (Paula Dean style), beef Brisket, sweet potatoe fries and of course Chicken for my husband (He/we no longer eat beef). Susanna and Alisa helped me decorate with balloons and streamers . We had Pink Sippy cups for all the kids and animal cookies.
Photobucket and I blew up a ball pit for them to play in. Malaika was blessed with clothes and toys galore! When it was time to open presents I asked the kids to help out and they opened all the presents in 3 seconds flat! I could not believe it. Photobucket
Thank you to everyone who came and also to those who sent gifts and cards!
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I think Malaika enjoyed the day... Photobucket

she didn't really get a good afternoon nap in so when it was time for her cake she had a little meltdown. As soon as we started singing she started screaming. It was pretty funny but I also felt bad for her because she was so worn out.
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But I was surprised at how good she was with sharing her toys with the other kids.
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One great surprise was my dad. He came from LaGrande with his wife Cindy and her son Cody and we got to spend the next day with them. I love having time with my dad. It doesn't happen a lot so when it does I try to soak up as much time as I can. Cindy and Cody were a lot of fun to hang out with as well and we made sure to take some fall portraits before they left.
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Malaika you are one pretty lucky one year old!

I guess since it is her 1 year post I should do an update on the things she is doing.
* WALKING EVERYWHERE!!! She started walking about 1 week before her birthday. It was like a ligh switch turned on and she just started walking around the kitchen. After that there was no going back to crawling. She is now into anything and everything!
*She is saying more words and pointing at thing and jabbering. She says yes and no and shakes her head when she says them too. Mama and daddy and sometimes "damma" for grandma. she says uh-oh and oh! when she falls down. She does this thing when she gets embarrassed.. it sounds like she is saying aww man! and then she hits herself on the head. It is pretty funny. I have been working on sign language with her and she knows how to say "more" and "up".
*Whenever there is music she likes to dance and sing. He favorite song right now is Move it Move it from Madagascar 2. She has a microphone and she will walk around the house singing into it.
* I can tell her to go pick up her binky and bring it to me and she will.. this is amazing!!! She knows she has to have her binky in hand before she can come on the couch for some lazy time. She likes to sit on the couch with me and take her afternoon nap. I think it is one of my favorite times because I can sit there and just watch her. So peaceful when she sleeps.
*She never liked eating babyfood so I have had to try other ways of feeding her veggies. Luckily she is not very picky. I grate apples and cucumbers for her to eat and I buy frozen veggies and steam them. He favorite veggies so far is cucumbers but she also loves cauliflower. She can eat a half of chicken breast no questions asked. (and she still only has 2 bottom teeth) She likes applesauce and LOVES apples. Another one of her favorite things is pumpkin pie. She loved thanksgiving! Another weird thing she likes is ice. our fridge makes ice chips that are small enough for her and she will eat those until I tell her she can't have anymore (This is after hours of feeding them to her) Then she cries and throws a little tantrum and then I distract her and she is over it. LOL She likes to eat gerber veggie crunchies... we have to hide or throw away the empty container immediately or she will freak out!
*We are weaning her off the bottle right now and only giving it to her 3 times a day. If she wants it. I am also weaning her off similac and switching to milk as soon as we run out of formula. She seems to like regular milk so far.

* We have been working on picking up toys and putting them away and she seems to like it. We have cubes in the living room for her toys and so she will take things out and put them back.

* She is a book FREAK! I think I have read every childrens book in the house 100 times a day! Edwin and I laugh because she will bring a book and then ask us to pull her in our lap. Then we will read it.. she will cry when it is over... then grab the book and take it over to another person. Then we tell her to get another book and she will wander off into her room for a few minutes and come back out with a new one. When I tell her book time is over she cries.. then goes to my moms room for more story time.. haha *sometimes when I see her coming with a book I will try to hide so she will give it to edwin to read first.. Is that bad? haha

*She is still sleeping with us... we have given up trying to make her sleep on her own. It was to hard for us to hear her cry for 2 to 3 hours and then sleep for a few hours and do it all over again. We decided we will wait until she is big enough to sleep in a toddler bed and try then. We also love having her with us. We have weird little bedtime family routine and when she is not there it feels weird and empty. So yes we are a weird little family and we love having our little girl sleep with us (accept for the nights she turns sideways and kicks me in the face) We figure we won't beable to have these moments back so why not enjoy them. BUT the next one... off to the crib you go!

*She talks in her sleep - she gets it from me

*She is wearing size 12 months -2T depending on the brand

*size 5 diaper

*Her last check-up (With all the shots) went great! No fever or crankiness..thank you Lord! I am forgetting the exact measurements but I think she was 31 inches long and 24 pounds. still in the 95th percentile.. her head is in the 99th haha

*She is forward facing in her carseat

*She still only has 2 teeth total! On the bottom. Her gums keep swelling up on top but nothing comes through. The doctor said it was fine and possibly better because late tooth bloomers have less cavities.. so I will take that and not worry to much. She loves brushing her teeth though. It is oneof our nightly family routines. We are trying to teach her how to spit in the sink now.
Well I better let you all go.. this is turning into a book!

On a final note - Thanksgiving was very nice and relaxing day. We invited some of our friends that are from Zambia and their two little girls and susanna and my mom were here. It was lots of food movies and chit chat! Just the way the holidays should be.