Maya's Adventures...

First of all..new and exciting video..it was taken with our still camera and not the video camera, so the quality isn't great, but it was so funny we had to share..

For those of you EXTREMELY technically challenged, all you have to do is press the big play (triangle button) in the middle of the square..



And some random pictures:



Look at those thighs!:


In her new big girl car seat:


In the bath:

PJ's: A Series

A little photo series of Maya in her PJ's. We got new ones this week--12 month size. And they're already too small! The big milestone is that they have little footie skids on the bottom--which means that babies who wear this size could conceivably be walking! Maya's not there yet..but she is definitely getting closer to pulling herself up. She has very little interest in crawling though...

The light isn't that great one these because, well, when she wears her PJ's it's usually evening. And for those of you who don't already know, I don't like flash.













PS. My mom (Babcia) says that she likes lots of pictures. So I am going to post lots of pictures because I like feedback. If you're out there and reading this--leave a comment! I like to know that I am writing to somebody and not for myself ;)

8 Months...

Well, I'm not going to give my cliche opening line..I can't believe Maya is 8 months old-oh wait! I just did..

Anyways..lots of fun stuff going on this weekend, and thanks to the new digital camera I can record every minute of it ;)

There was the Lyon Park Fair:



Maya's first Greek Picnic, where she met a 22 month old admirer named Spiro.:



We got a little slap happy waiting for 40 minutes for Peter to get the food:



There was lunch at 2 Amys with Aunt Callie:





And her first ride on the Smithsonian Carousel:



And of course, her 8 month photo shoot:









Good shot of the 2 front teeth:



Obligatory Ajax & Maya picture:



Morning snuggles:





Oh..and I got a haircut. Apparently "Shoulder-length" is a subjective value. Who knew?:

Social Butterfly...

Maya has become quite the social butterfly here in Arlington :) We've met lots of other moms and babies and generally have some sort of meet up almost every day! It's really great..it keeps Maya busy and me sane.

Here are some random pics from today and yesterday.

Yesterday Maya hung out with a couple of other kiddos at a friend's backyard (imagine! A yard where you can play instead of a doggie poop minefield!). She was very entertained by pulling everything out of my diaper bag:



Then today we had a playgroup which a bunch of moms and babies at the playground. Maya loves the swing! AND we found a hat that she can't pull off!



This is her "crush" Owen..she is constantly grabbing him and his toys...

Full circle..

About six and a half years ago, I was researching breeders for our first dog. I stumbled upon a website of a breeder in Indiana and was looking at all the pictures of the cute golden retrievers. I showed Peter this picture on the website:



with this caption: "This is Dakota ... He LOVES to Drop-In and see the puppies."

We ended up getting one of those Goldens and it happened that "Dakota" was Ajax's dad.

Cut to a few minutes ago:

A Happy Mother's Day...

We had a great, laid back Mother's Day today. Got up this morning and hung out around the house and had some yummy fresh strawberries for breakfast--we bought them at the farmer's market yesterday. We went out for lunch/brunch at Harry's Tap Room and then went for a walk around the 'hood. After Maya napped we headed to Old Town and walked a bit there too.

Maya, Peter, Ajax & Kona got me a new point and shoot digital camera--I love it! I intend to keep it in my diaper bag and chronicle our adventures as much as possible--and stop being so behind on updating the blog! Maya keeps me very busy. She is talking up a storm--there are some "words" in there, but mostly she just likes to hear her own voice, so there is lots of screeching and other interesting noises...A certain sister of mine used to do the same thing at Maya's age--so I am wondering if she'll be as chatty as Tessa when she grows up ;)

Here are some pics from today (taken with the new camera of course!):





And, gasp!--some pictures of me & Maya!:





Since my own mom (or Babcia, as we affectionately call her now) is in Poland, we couldn't celebrate Mother's Day with her..but all 3 (or 5!) of us want to send out a big kiss and hug and tell her how much we appreciate and love her.

And of course, we couldn't not send a "shout-out" to WaiPo, who is the best stepmom around and who has been an excellent WaiPo to Maya...

And last of all, we all miss WOW and hope we get to see her soon!

Earlier this week, Maya and I went up to Boston to visit Abby, Amy & Mike. It was great to see everyone and have the little girls meet...here is a cute pic of little Abby:



The whole family is coming to visit us in July..so hopefully we can take a lot more pictures then.

Did you forget about us?

Oops..we didn't mean to take so long between posts--but Maya's been keeping me so busy that it's hard to find the time to take the pictures and post them...

Let's see..these are the new developments:

Maya has started eating some "table foods"--which currently only means that she is eating Cheerios or some sort of other "puff" foods. She gets about 1 out of every 20 in her mouth herself, but she loves them so much we have to give her some more for encouragement.

Another tooth has popped through, immediately next to the first. I've heard they come in pairs, so I am not sure when the next pair will show up.

There is a little bit of evidence that "pulling up" could come soon--she's trying sometimes and gets the feet posturing somewhat correct, but lacks either the strength or coordination to fully get herself up.

A sippy cup has been offered. While it seems to serve a fun purpose as a toy to bang on, actually getting any liquid out of it is another story.

I think that is it for now..settling into the new house and neighborhood has been great. We are out for walks every day, hanging out with other babies and even getting some exercise. The weather has been great. Babcia is visiting this week, so that is fun for everyone--Maya gets Baba time, Baba get Maya time and Mama gets alone time ;)

Here are some pictures to catch you up!

Teething biscuits are fun!

And messy!

Sitting outside:


Hats are cute (if they stay on):

I love to hang upside down:

And get razzles:

I love to stand and kind of walk:

And finally, of course there is a picture with my brother: