Miss Mari grows up:(

Mari is now 18 months old. I don't know what happened. I brought her home from the hospital only yesterday. She is so independent and smart. She likes to try and put her own shoes on (she sometimes attempts to put Jakes on his feet for him as well), she likes potty training, prefers to "read" books all by herself, want so brush her own hair and her own teeth and she can communicate very well for her age. She says all sorts of things. She actually speaks in sentences already part of the time, but it is mostly things she has mimicked from Jake--such as "I did it!" "I love Mama", "I love Daddy", "I want more", etc. After our trip to the zoo on Memorial Day we went to James' sister's house in Southaven (15 minutes from the zoo) and played in her pool (no pictures as pools, kids and camaras don't mix to well). After this Jake went home with James' parents for a few days so that James and I could spend time with just Mari (as apart from hospital stays she never had the luxury of being alone with us). Although I missed Jake, it was nice and I got to know Mari in a different sense than before. On one of the days, Mari and I had to go to the doctor as her ear was acting up again (turned out to be lymph node that was infected behind her ear and not the mastoid or ear itself--whew!). The picture above and the one directly below was taken at the doctor's office waiting room. Mari wanted to sit in her own chair at the Ear Nose and Throat appointment. The picture below is of the cheesy smile she gives when someone tries to take her picture. She seems to understand almost everything I tell her, and for the most part I understand her. We have wonderful conversations and she is an amazingly smart little girl. I am so fortunate to have two such healthy, smart and beautiful children!

"I'm the baby" In this picture Mari was attempting to sit in her doll stroller (in the spot the doll sits in). She likes to remind James and I that she is our baby and when she gets in trouble (most often for attacking her brother) she proclaims loudly that she is the baby--"I'm the baby"--as if that should give her the right to do whatever she wants without consequence. Most of the time when she says it, she just wants cuddles which is fine by me. Everyone tells you what a transition it is to become a parent of a baby, but no one warns you what a transistion it is to wake up one day without a baby anymore. It is strange because for the past four years I have been either expecting a baby or taking care of one and now I have these two little people who can talk and walk and eat real people food. It is strange. I am not sure how I feel about it. I guess bittersweet is the best word I can find to attempt to describe it.