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Raya

If you know Raya at all this picture is pretty much all it takes to explain her.  Her sense of style is unique, and she will wear what she wants regardless of your opinion.  She is lazy yet indignant, if she wants her feet up her feet will be up.  When you think she is being good and distracted by watching Phineas and Ferb on your computer, no, she is sneakily taking pictures with your camera, of her feet no less.  

If you have ever seen Despicable Me, and can remember the little character Edith, then you pretty much know Raya.

Yes we leave the house with her looking like these pictures on a regular basis.  Costco is no stranger to Raya the bum.  Actually she usually looks like a Beach bum, because she doesn’t like to have her hair done, and if it is she usually takes it out so she has crazy wavy dirty blonde hair, and she wears whatever she wants, usually unmatching. So Perry nick named her our Beach Girl, and she runs around telling everyone she is Daddy’s Beach Girl. 

 

 

I don’t know how late it was but she snuck out of bed to play by the light of the nightlight, she turned around when she saw my soft flash.  Look at those cheeks, such a cute thing, if she wasn’t so cute, oh man, she’d be toast.

 

 

If I happen to take a picture of her when she isn’t doing something sneaky, its always some crazy pose.

 

 

Every now and then she does something crazy sweet, like pick me a bunch of flowers.

 

 

But seriously I have no words for my daughter Raya.  She is nothing like Eyla, she doesn’t care to help, she likes to have her way, actually lets rephrase that, she doesn’t know how to manage unless she gets her way.  She says the funniest and weirdest things.  And the only thing she has really ever tried to perfect is her whiny voice.  The funny thing is she really is a happy little thing.   And can whine and laugh all in the same 2 seconds.  Wow. 

 

 

Because all the pictures I have of her are either crazy dressed pictures, her doing something sneaky, or her just posing her guts out because she is phony bologna,  I will give you a taste of our Raya by sharing with you some of the hilarious things she says.

 

“That sugar is made out of snow”

“No I don’t want to take a shower with Eyla, she takes all the rain.”

Talking to her little friend about his spider bites and how spiders have sneaky feet and quiet bites, she exclaims, “Like Santa!”

Parking one day at church Perry said, “When in gets hotter we’ll park under that tree.”  Raya gets excited, “Then we can have popcorn!”

Pulling out our swimming stuff, She gives a big sigh and says “I am soooo happy.”

On a walk the other day I say watch when you cross the street, (it was an inlet into a parking lot) she said, “It’s ok those cars are just tired.”  Oh they’re tired? I said.  “Ya, they is just lazy, them is out of injury (energy).”

 

And the best for last…..

Watching Swan Princess.  “Mom, she cries so beautiful, I wish I could do that.” 

She said this multiple times, even after the movie was over. What in the world??? I tell you what, that is an actress in the making, a 3 year old who wants to perfect her cry so she can cry as beautiful as the cartoon Odette.  That is Raya.

Eyla

or should I say Bakerella? I mean BakerEyla

Since Christmas she has been my little baking queen.  Making cakes for all the birthdays and just for no reason at all but to practice and eat.

Making a cake for when her friends come over to play.

Making grandpas birthday cake.

and Meggys cake (she even piped on the megan part herself!)

Next to baking her favorite thing is riding her bike.  I love that she can do it all year round here.

Back before Thanksgiving we took off Eylas training wheels.  It took less than a week for her to be able to do it all by herself.

A few weeks ago she showed me that one of her teeth was loose.  Then one saturday we were on a family walk/jog and in a hurry I threw apples in the stroller for snack, I forgot I have to cut Eylas up since her tooth was loose.  Well she forgot too and bit into an apple, it made her tooth really loose and was bleeding a bit.  Perry got her to wait till we got home and he said he was going to look at it.   Basically he just picked it up out of her gum, it was hanging by a string.  She was a little weirded out by how it felt at first but then the toothfairy came….

She did not like the blood. So we put some tissue in there and had her bite down to stop the bleeding.

Watch some TV, keeping her mind off it.

Its sooooo tiny.

Toothless.

Basically, she is amazing at everything she does, and she so carefully tries to perfect all the things she loves to do.  I couldn’t have been blessed with a better firstborn, she takes after her dad in that she takes her responsibility as the oldest very seriously.  She takes incredible care of her little brothers and sisters, she is always concerned and aware of where they are.  I’m always amazed at how diligent a 4 year old she is.  When we were out shooting she kept watching Rockwell and whenever he would walk over by Perry where the guns were  she would yell out, “Rockwell, come back.”  Then mumble under her breath, “oh, he is just stressing me out.”  Don’t worry me and Perry are aware of Rockwell too, especially when we are shooting.  I just think its cute how she takes on that role so naturally.  

She dressed up Ruby.  She always makes sure to include her in whatever her and Raya are doing.  So sweet!

She will turn 5 in May and go to school this August.  I am a wreck about it.   I do not want to send her away for even a couple hours .  So I’m trying to soak in every minute I get to have her here with me.  Eyla on the other hand couldn’t be more excited.  She loves to learn and I am certain she will be a star student

Rockwell

One night Rockwell was up later than the other kiddles so we turned on The Piano Guys  for him.  His favorite is  their Cello Wars video.  About twenty replay’s later I still couldn’t get him to look away for a picture. 

 

I just love all the little faces he makes.

Currently, besides me and Perry, he is the only other person she lets snuggle and love on her.  I just love their little bond, and how he is such a good big brother.

 

 

Passed out at Sunday dinner.  He just plays so hard he wears himself out.

 

He loves everything boy: cars, guns, sports.  He can’t get enough of walking around the new Dicks sporting goods store, his favorite is to look at golf stuff and Perry just loves that.  He can dribble a basketball better than any 2 year old I’ve ever seen, wait I’ve never seen a 2 year old dribble before.  But he can. He is amazing.  And my favorite thing is that aside from all the guy stuff is he still love things like ThePianoGuys, singing his primary songs, helping me cook and clean, and saying his prayers.

 

He is just what a little boy aught to be…..

Ruby

Oh Ruby, how did she manage to do this?  I don’t know but honestly it’s not a huge surprise.

The kicker is that I was a foot away from her when this happened.   Cream blush all over her and the floor and I’m sure she ingested half of it.  Honestly I had no idea there was even that much blush in that tiny little tub.  It is not uncommon for me to let my baby play with some of my make-up while I am getting ready.  I will usually let her plink around on the floor with 1 or 2 items that I think thought she couldn’t open.  Biggest lesson learned: I had no idea I was so self absorbed when I am getting ready…. Wow.  PS—Yes, it was a nightmare to scrub that sticky, greasy, stuff off.She isn’t holding the blush she invaded, I threw that away before I thought to take a pic, hopefully the concealer will last longer than the blush.  We shall see.

 

 

Hanging with Rockwell at the airshow….

 

I’m not entirely certain that her tongue fits inside her mouth.  It is always hanging out like this.  She is so funny.

 

 

Beware…

this is the saddest thing you will ever see.

A week or so ago, Ruby was sick, and so she spent 4 or 5 nights sleeping with me and Perry.  Well, now she isn’t sick but she still thinks she needs to sleep with us.  NO WAY.  The other night I kept rocking her to sleep and laying her in her bed.  She would sleep for about 2 minutes then realize I wasn’t with her and wake up crying and come crawling to find me.  After the 5th time I just let her cry, I knew eventually she would fall asleep crying but I thought it would be by our bed in our room (haha, like that makes it better).  Anyway, she must have seen the lights on downstairs and just laid there waiting for me, crying until she fell asleep, this is what I found when I finally went to check on her.

 

 

But she still loves me, and is still my girl.  Don’t mind how different we look, we really are siamese twins, considering how she is connected to my hip.

 

Her first birthday is coming up on the 12th.  By now all my other babies were pretty much running but she will have nothing to do with walking or  even standing.  Well, that is when I’m around.  I have caught her standing when she is alone, as soon as she sees me she sits down.  I think she just loves being the baby and is milking it for all its worth, and she sure knows how to work me over.  Smart little thing!