4y, 16m

MYA!! she's now 4. low key actual birthday.. she wanted a dinosaur cake (so we got her a wegman's whipped cream frosting cake and bought dinosaur cake toppers) and chick-fil-a (her birthday "tradition" 2 years in a row now). she did say specifically that she wanted to eat it at home, though i think she's also at the age where she kind of knows that birthday = party but she's also not the personality that would actually enjoy being the center of attention at a party. maybe next year!! over the weekend, we celebrated by going to the children's museum, where she had a BLAST and could probably literally spend ALL day there (if it weren't for jackson being so young and needing a nap in the middle of the day..) we also went to one of her favorite playgrounds (angel playground) after not going for like at least 2 months due to winter. it's so nice seeing her run around on her own.. such a contrast from when she first got here and always needed us to be RIGHT next to her to do everything.

mya & jackson are finally playing together more peacefully and harmoniously nowadays! I think mya's finally understanding how to deal with jackson and is more accepting of him being around her and playing/taking her toys and how to react. recently, they were LITERALLY almost talking to each other and laughing together, running to and fro from the closet to her bed. he really loves mya and glows when we walk to wake up mya and loves to crawl and roll around in her bed with her. he actually really loves her bed, period. lol. she likes pushing him on the mickey car or giving toys that she thinks that he'll like. she's so sweet!!!

we will be moving out of here in a week! so crazy.
we keep trying to think of last "bucket list" things to do or eat.. but really nothing.. lol. it's hard when you're spoiled and from a big city, though we did spend some weekends recently visiting the smithsonian museums in DC! just last weekend i finally saw the white house for the first time and the lincoln memorial from very far away (we couldn't get close bc there was some demonstration/speech going on and the kids were both napping). it was a nice, sunny day in February and almost a mini-date!

mya
SUPER cuddly and lovey lately! in a daddy loving mode after clashing for like the last year or two lol. been randomly telling daddy "hey daddy! i love you!" she doesn't do that with me lol
at the end of the night when I tell her good night and everything, she's actually been saying stuff to me back "i love you, have a good night, have a good sleep, see you tomorrow.." and then when i'm at the door she's been asking for one last hug too. SO SWEET
LOVES sharing food w/ jackson (lately will grab like 4 pieces of seaweed, and then give 1 to jackson)
lately, i noticed swings aren't her favorite at the playground anymore. she likes going around the obstacle things or running around the actual play structure nowadays
starting to wean her off thumb sucking.. and she actually seems more receptive to it now vs immediately shutting down and crying or yelling at us when we firmly ask or tell her not to do it
asked to bring her bunny to school and started bringing it to school ever since (maybe because other kids bring their stuffies to school? she never seemed to have an attachment to it before..) but she tells me she hugs it to nap/sleep at school
so good at entertaining herself when she's in the back of the car! i had to sit in between them for a car ride back from DC back home and it was so cute to see her play with her bunny in all various ways (lifting its dress, tying its ears together, making it jump around, etc..)

 jackson
liked reading for a short period of time, grabs a book and says "ba" and then crawls into our laps to read. kicks his feet when we're reading and then sometimes giggles at pictures
understands hello, bye bye, ball, book, water, more
rubs his belly side to side and smiles to say "yummy"
says "munchies" when he's hungry or wants food and mostly knows the word "banana"
really loves saying BAH BYE, esp to mya at night and "muah!" sometimes when i'm nursing him to sleep he just waves at me and then pops off the tell me bah bye again.. ugh so cute lol
still deathly afraid of swings (we tried when we went to NY in November)
doesn't like being in new places/playground and needs someone close to him, or at least holding his hand, until he gets comfortable
such a busy body! walks around everywhere, likes to hold/drag things around.. i don't think mya walked around nearly as much, even when she was mobile.
his attention span with toys is also much shorter than with mya from what i remember. he'll play with something, then throw it on the floor and go to the next thing
doesn't seem to have any consistent favorite foods, except maybe carrots. he's on and off about everything and i think he's very into texture/creamy/soft foods.
still loves mommy very much and follows me alot when i'm trying to do chores in the kitchen. sometimes carlo will try to distract him but she still clearly reaches out for me lol
loves playing peekaboo (hides behind something and has his head sideways and goes "boo!") ksjgklsdjgl too cute

damn reading mya's update around this age she was already able to:
say: bearbear, apple, wowo, daddy, dada, cheese, uh oh, fish, "sss" (for snake)
Some phrases/songs she knows: 'ba ba black sheep' 'abcd'
Claps her hands when she hears "if you're happy and you know it"

jackson's not as advanced in the words deparment, though he definitely recognizes songs.. the other day, the dinosaurs go marching song went on and he started stomping by himself hehe