Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving was surprisingly restful with our little toddler. She loved seeing her relatives and exploring her great aunt and uncle's house. We are so blessed that she is so good natured and she seemed to bring joy to all around her...such a nice feeling. She finds fun in all around her including...yes that's a turkey baster.


It is pretty hard to take a picture where everyone is smiling because everyone is trying to get Maya to smile and look at the camera. Here was her response to my attempt at taking several pictures with my parents.


Do you think she was having fun with Uncle Mike?


Check out more Thanksgiving photos on the link in under "Photos" on the right side.

Pay attention to ME please! - November 20th

I called my friend Claire on a whim today and she happened to be close by, so she stopped by with her twins for a play date. They are so adorable and it was fun to see how much they have changed. Maya was so sweet to watch with them (secretly I was terrified she would smother them) and she kept bringing them toys. If they didn't give her the attention she thought she deserved she would make them look at her even if it meant laying on the floor and looking up at them.





She only took one brief break to "read" a book in the corner. We all had so much fun and can't wait to get together with them again soon!

Catching up with Friends - November 14

I am always impressed with people that are so on the ball despite being working parents. I can't seem to keep it all together...especially my brain! But it is well worth it because I would rather spend my available free time with Maya, especially because she is changing faster than ever. Today we got to catch up with some special people that we have missed and haven't seen for ages it seems. We spent the afternoon with some cousins. Maya had a blast with the kids and the new kitties. Here is Maya and Maranda.

The kittens were only a few months old and too cute for words. Here is Bennett with Sandy.

We got an early start on the road because of the miserable weather and to see Daddy, but ended up he was working later than planned so we had a wonderful dinner and some play time with Christina and Caroline. Caroline and Maya were so sweet to watch together.

Veteran's Day

It was so nice to be off on a Wednesday (even if I did a lot of work for school). I loved having an extra day with Maya. She is changing everyday. She is imitating words (at least I swear she is. Here sense of humor is really developing. Just tonight she offered me a pea and when I came over to eat it, she pulled it away and laughed. I couldn't believe it. She has this new double wave to make sure people don't miss her greeting and I think she said "hi" to someone yesterday at the store.

Fall Days - November 7 & 8

Maya loves being outside. The weather was just gorgeous and we played in the leaves on Saturday.


On Sunday, we went to see Uncle Mike's new pad. It is awesome. He did a great job picking out furnature and decorating. I was jealous and wanted to move right in. Needless to say Maya enjoyed exploring somewhere new.

Maya's New Smile - November 6

Maya has a new smile this week...it is so cute, silly, and squinty. We went to a small mom's group today and Maya kept walking up to the other mothers and toddlers and giving her squinty, toothy grin! Notice where she decided to sit in this picture. Yesterday my mom put her baby doll in the box and Maya threw her out and hopped right in. So, today she decided it was a good sitting place.

Walking

Maya is walking like crazy now...it is almost rare to see her crawl. It is so exciting and a little sad to see her grow and change so fast. I am having trouble keeping track of the milestones. She is definitily understanding more and more words and starting to say a few. I think "dada" is technically her first word. She does say "mama," but it seems less consistent. We think she is saying "baby" and "book." I swear today she was putting her hands up to me and saying, "pick up" though I am sure it was my imagination getting the best of me.

She loves exploring and figuring things out as most kids do. And I am just bewildered at how she can put hats on her head and she actually figured out how to get Dan's shirt on. Of course I missed the moment, but she got it over her head and the arms through and started walking. Hysterical looking! Much to my joy, she loves books. Just last week I was down in the kitchen washing dishes and she was up in the living room playing around. All of a sudden things were quiet and I ran upstairs. She was just sitting on the floor flipping through a book! Dan and I both love to read, so we hope she does, too!

Halloween Weekend

We had a fun Halloween weekend. Maya loved being in her costume and seeing other kids in costume. On Friday, Maya and I went to the school where I work to watch the parade. While I LOVE being off on Friday's, all the fun stuff always seems to happen then. My friend Denise and I share a door off of the cafeteria and though it was imperative that we enter the door decorating contest for Halloween. It was based on a book called The Little Brave Witch and We actually won! While Denise was the mastermind behind it, all of the children we service contributed to the construction. Here it is with my little flower!

On Saturday, Maya and I went to Davis Farmland with Tracy, Steve, and Lucas (sadly Daddy had to work) to check out the sights there. They have some cool animals. In the evening, we were supposed to go trick or treating with Bill, Sara, and Will, but poor Will had a cold. Instead we suprised them and said a quick hello before surprising some more friends. As you can see it was exhausting!