We Were on Vacation!

We just got back from Key West last night! Babcia took us on vacation to a place called Sunset Key, which is a little island right off Key West. It was really nice--very tropical and quiet. We had a cottage, so there was a nice little living room/kitchen and we each had our own bedroom and bath..except for Maya. She had to share with Peter and me. The town of Key West itself was a little rowdy for our taste..but we managed to get some meals and shopping in.

Our little tropical girl:



Our little swimmer:





Chillin' with Baba:




Even Pudgeballs have to take a bath after swimming:


Someone looks tasty!:


Visiting the Southernmost Point in the US..hmm..now we'll have to visit the Northernmost!:


And finally, what would a vacation photo album be without the requisite cute animal pic. This picture reminded me of one of Maya's favorite stories..Make Way for Ducklings. Except with chickens. And in Key West instead of Boston:

Our little sitter...

Maya had her 4 month check-up today--she weighed 13 lbs 9 oz! Her official birthday is tomorrow...

The doctor said she had the neck strength of a 6 month old! Her percentiles for weight and height were 50%--not bad!

Maya sat on her own today! It was only for a few seconds--but she definitely did it. Ajax was there for the big achievement:



Dziadek and Waipuo are coming in tonight for an impromptu visit..Maya is very excited!

Daddy's Home!!

Maya has enjoyed having her daddy home..here are some pictures to prove it:







Over the weekend, she discovered how to put her thumb in her mouth on her own..while sitting on her back in her carseat. This may not sound like a big accomplishment, but it has revolutionized our lives. Before, she only knew how to do it while on her tummy or sleeping on one of us. In her carseat, she would scream and scream, unless you were there to put your own finger in her mouth (she decided against the pacifier). Well, now we can ride in the car in peace! I even rode in the front seat with Peter yesterday! Oh the joys of new parenthood!

Viva Las Vegas!

Peter is on his annual Vegas guy's trip. He says it is his own way of personally honoring Martin Luther King.

In any case, Maya decided to show her support by modeling the onesie she got from Amanda and Mike. It seemed so big when we got it and now it's almost too small!








Since Amy is here visiting we went out to dinner last night downtown with another friend, Gini. We are all Vegas widows this weekend ;)

And...we're back.

Well, we actually got home last Friday (well, Saturday at 4am)..but it's been a bit hectic around here. Guess I should have made "more frequent blogging" another one of my new year's resolutions.

We spent last week in Washington, DC for a little visit. Maya enjoyed meeting her dad's former boss:



On Monday we went out for a little bit and Maya wore one of her sweaters that Bababa (my grandmother) made for her:



And here are some pics from Christmas. Unfortunately we really didn't take that many because Maya slept through both our Christmas and New Year's celebrations..but Ajax had a great time.

Here he is digging to China (trying to get on my dad's good side):



And here he is playing Scrabble. We beat him.



I promise more pics of Maya are coming VERY soon!

Happy New Year!

Hope everyone is having a great new year so far!

Our New Year's Eve was wild and crazy! We played Scrabble and watched the Devil Wears Prada on DVD. We also had a canine visitor--a little scrapper named Stanley showed up on our doorstep at 10pm. Finally we called the police because he wouldn't stop barking and it turns out a nice couple had lost their little scrapper..they were all very happy to be reunited before midnight.

Here are my resolutions for the year. I am hoping that because I am sharing them with everyone it will motivate me to actually do them:

1. Lose weight and get healthy.
2. Be productive everyday-photography, cleaning, cooking, etc. No more sitting around on the internet and watching nap time go by.
3. Be financially smart-no overspending, no delinquent bill paying.

We will see..stay tuned for progress ;)

Good Christmas..

Here we are in East Hampton hanging out..not much to report and no pictures to post. I did forget to mention that Maya laughed for the first time on Friday, the 22nd. She is so happy! Peter loves to make her laugh which means he laughs and talks like Elmo and she thinks it's hysterical (although, of course, she has no idea who Elmo is).

Christmas was nice..Peter got new gloves and a navigation system for the car, and I got beautiful black pearl earrings and Photoshop! Tessa scored the best-she got a new iMac laptop.

We are staying around here through the weekend and then we may head over to DC before going home.

Alright off to entertain the munchkin..though she is pretty self sufficient these days!

We're off to NY tomorrow..

So wish us luck! I'll be flying with Maya and Peter will be driving with Ajax & Kona. It's kind of a bummer that we won't be travelling together, but it'll be easier this way. Maya would not be happy in the car for 14 hours and Ajax & Kona have never flown before..and we aren't starting. Kona is enough of a stress case as it is! Luckily I'll be travelling lightly (other than the 12 lb baby strapped to my chest)--Peter's taking all the gear and luggage in the car.

We are looking forward to a relaxing week with Dziadek, Waipo and Tessa. Ha! Hopefully we'll take lots of pictures of Maya's first Christmas..

Happy Holidays!

3 months!!

Well, no new pictures to post--I've been a slacker this week. Actually, it's just been hectic with all sorts of running around seeing people and preparing for our trip out to NY on Saturday.

Maya is 3 months old today! I can't believe it. She is so stinkin' cute too. I think she is starting to laugh a little. Everyone says there is a big change at 3 months--but I didn't notice anything today :)

I'm THAT mom..

OK, so I know everyone thinks their baby is cute..and not ALL babies can be so yummy, but look at her! She is so darn cute! I have become one of those moms that thinks their baby is the best, most gorgeous baby ever..

But isn't she???

Lazy Saturday Mornings..

Some pictures of Maya from this morning..

She's sleeping like a champ--last night she slept from 10-9!! She likes to sleep in like her parents...







Loving her "siblings":

Smiler Wiler..

A couple of pics I took this morning of the little one smiling..she looks so cute, I can't resist!





And one where she isn't smiling..but still darn cute!



Not much going on here..except I think I hear Maya waking up from her nap--there goes the idea of that shower! Oh and we had our blinds in our bedroom installed today only about a year and a half after living here ;) Thanks to Babcia for those--now maybe we can all sleep in a bit in the morning..They look really nice..I'll post a before and after pic when I get a chance.

Peter made a friend...

Peter is very proud and wants to post this picture:



He met Bill at a luncheon a little while back, right before the election..thanks to his friend Dave. He is very excited about the picture and it redeems us from the time we met him when we first moved to DC and forgot our camera (before the advent of camera phones).

Perhaps this picture will mean more in a couple of years when he is the "First Husband?"

We shall see...

Obama '08 is our hope ;)

One more pic...

I took a bunch the other day...so I thought I would share two more..





Our weekend was fairly uneventful...but quite cold! The snow stuck around on the trees and everywhere and made for some beautiful winter scenery. We kept wondering why we were so cold today, and then saw on the evening news that the high temp today was 19 degrees! Maya is getting a lot of use out of the yummy Patagonia snowsuit that her friends Peter and Carrie got her!

Maya has gotten very interactive lately...she loves to make funny sounds that we love to interpret into words--"Did she just say hello? Did she say Baa--does she want a bottle?" Peter is sure she is about to say "dada"...

She also loves to give big gummy smiles. Those are the best--we are eagerly awaiting the giggle..hopefully soon!

Snowy Day pics..

Maya made a friend today...



She was a bit cold..but she should get used to it if she's going to grow up in Chicago:



And then she hung with her siblings and the new friend:



She also hung with her siblings inside:

It's a Miracle!!

Maya slept from 10pm to 6:45 am! That's a whole night in my book!! I've never been so happy to be up at 7am.

We also woke up to a couple of inches of snow and more coming down..pics of that adventure to come!

Thanksgiving Weekend...

We had a great thanksgiving weekend with Dad, Rebecca and Tessa. There was lots of cooking--holy turkey, batman! We stuffed ourselves silly and passed out (well, the girls did--Peter and Dad went to see the new Bond movie, which Dad pronounced "Fantastic!").

On Friday and Saturday we had Mike and Amanda's wedding activities. The wedding was beautiful and I think they had a great time. Peter and I actually spent the night downtown on Saturday while Dziadek and Wai-Puo watched Maya. For those of you in the dark, Rebecca is now Wai-Puo which means maternal grandmother in Chinese. No, we are not Chinese. Yes, my father wants to be.

Anyways..here is a pic of us at the wedding...



And here is another one of us with Mike & Amanda:



We've had quite a few guests over the last 2 months and it seems like we are winding down--no more guests for a while...but we are going to take our first airplane trip this month--we'll be going to NY for Christmas.

More pics of Maya to come..I know that's why y'all come visit!

Happy 2 month birthday Maya!

Maya had her 2 month check up today! The stats:

Weight: 10 lbs 8 oz!!!
Height: 22 1/4 inches

She is a growing girl--She has basically doubled her weight since she left the hospital!

It wasn't all fun and games though--she did have her first set of immunizations..which she did not enjoy. But she recovered quickly and spent the afternoon napping.

She said her first word last night ;) Well, she was cooing and it sounded like Hi! Peter and I both heard it--it was right before we gave her the bath. We ran out to buy a video camera today to capture the next word on film..coming soon to a blog near you!

PS. Hopefully technical difficulties are coming to an end, since I am coming to you from my PHat new iMac.

More pictures soon!

Technical Difficulties...

That's why there haven't been updates--but hopefully those will be rectified in the next day or two.

It's late..so no updates. But we go for a 2 month check up today..

Here are some latest "8 week" pics:

So. Stupid. To. Be. Up. This. Late.

A new leaf..

I am turning over one--I swear. I was so good with the regular updates and pictures, and all of a sudden life just started getting really busy!

Maya is doing great--she is growing a ton. We don't know how much she weighs right now, but we have our 2 month checkup a week from today. My bet is about 10 pounds! I can't believe how fast time is flying!

She definitely isn't the little squirt that we brought home from the hospital..she smiles regularly and can lift her head quite a bit.

Best of all? She's sleeping! (kind of). A good night is sleep from 10-3, and then from 4-7. Who knew I would be so excited to get 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep?

Here are some pics of Maya from the recent days:

Sleeping...

And more sleeping:

Hanging out with "aunt Amy" this weekend:

Chillin' in her favorite chair from her Aunt Karin, Uncle Paul & cousins, Jack, Kate & Kira:

Peter trying to offer Maya up to Ajax:

And just because I can't resist Ajax's random hang out spots:

Tomorrow's the Big Day!!

Election day, that is! It's been a crazy few weeks leading up to the election and we are really excited. We hope that there are lots of reasons to celebrate tomorrow..

I have been helping the Seals campaign with their election night party, so that's been taking up quite a bit of my time--and Maya takes up the rest.

Maya is doing great--she sported her Dan Seal's t-shirt on Friday during a rally. She smiles and is very sweet--most of the time! She is still sleeping in 3-4 hour increments--but we've been lucky to have some 4-5 hour stretches here and there.

More pictures to come very soon--as soon as the election is over we will have tons of time!

In the meantime..here are some "brand new" pics--we finally managed to get Maya's first moments off of Peter's camera phone..