New adventures for everyone

" I love Fall!"



This past week has been filled with lots of fun new adventures for Maya and for John and I too. That is the one great thing about being a parent. Suddenly our life is filled with new activities and new adventures that we get to experience through Maya's eyes. There is something so special about discovering the world along side her.

Two weekends ago Maya and I met some friends at the pumpkin patch. We waited patiently on the horse drawn wagon for others to fill it up before we be could be pulled the 100 yards or so to the drop off point. Normally I wouldn't wait 20 minutes to be taken somewhere that could easily be walked in 2 minutes but hey it was part of the experience. Maya liked the horses and seemed curious about the movement of the wagon. Once there we watched the other kids ride the ponies and the other little activities that they had. Watching other kids seems to be Maya's favorite past time. She got to play in the giant sand pile and eat her first marshmellow roasted over an open fire. She loved the taste and the sticky texture was loads of fun. She also was fascinated with the little goats that she got to pet. I forgot to take a picture of her in front of a pumpkin....go figure but with Halloween just around the corner I'm sure we'll have plenty of opportunities for that later.



First wagon ride













Not so sure about marshmellows at first







Fascinated with petting the goats


We also met some of the other families in our group for a spontaneous pizza party. It was so great to see how the girls have blossomed now that we have been home for a month. They were interacting with eachother, laughing and playing with toys. It also seems that being around other babies is very motivating in learning new things. Little baby Emma started crawling for the first time right there in Pizza Hut. Maya was so hyped up when she got home that she decided to climb the stairs for the first time. I thought she was playing quietly with her toys around the corner from me and low and behold within 3 seconds from the last time I looked at her she had made her way up 5 stairs. Her little legs barely get up each step and she appears a bit unstable. Since we have wood stairs and she still wants to go down head first most of the time we aren't encouraging her to climb them too much. She did practice at nana and papa's on their carpeted stairs and did great though. She is pulling herself up on things a lot more and I think walking is probably just around the corner.



Spicy girls reunion











"Seeing our reflection is fun!"










Climbing stairs for the first time



Speaking of Nana and Papa Burcaw, we made our first hour trip to Estes Park this past Sunday to see them. Maya did great in the carseat which has been a struggle since we have been home. I've tried to increase her carseat time a little bit each day. I just timed the drive time around her typical nap time and she slept the whole way. Nana and Papa Burcaw have been great with Maya. My mom has been very patient waiting for Maya to be comfortable enough to be held by her. From the beginning she has been fine around Papa and Uncle Bill and most men actually. But she needed a little more time to warm up to Aunt Linda, Aunt Chris, and Nana. This past week she finally seems at ease with all of them and likes to be held by them and played with. My family just can't get enough of Maya which is great. Honestly I've seen them more in the last month then I have in the last year. Having a baby back in my family seems to be therapeutic for all of us. I can't remember the last time I saw my mom crawling around on the floor laughing. Maya had fun playing with different kinds of toys than we had at home. Lots of them saved throughout the years, played with by my nieces and nephews too. There was a new little Chinese dolly with all the accessories which Maya was fascinated by. Right away she picked up the little play bottle and started trying to feed her baby. Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!! Then she tried to drink it herself but became a little frustrated when she realized the milk didn't come out. There was also a little walker/car contraption. Nana was giving driving instructions.....Oh boy are we in trouble!





Checking out the "goods" at nana and papas


We can't wait for John's family to meet Maya too. We regularly show her pictures of John's family so she is familiar with their faces. We only wish that they lived closer too so that they could see all the little Maya milestones that occur each day. We will start getting back on planes at the end of the year so that Maya can meet the rest of her family who loves her so much. Nana Marilyn wrote the sweetest poem for Maya which we cherish and I'm sure she will one day as well. We have appreciated all the love and support we have received from both of our families. And one day Maya will realize how excited the whole family has been awaiting her arrival.

Also this last weekend we went to our agency's annual Halloween party. Maya dressed up in her little tiger costume and looked pretty darn cute. She even let me paint some whiskers on her face. We got to see the great staff at AAC and Uncle Morgan who has been the miracle worker in this whole adoption process. Maya loved petting a little rabbit and lovingly left her drool all him. I petted him really good afterwards to erase the evidence! We also got to see some cute little ladybugs....a.k.a the twins Stella and Lola. Later that night we went to their 1st birthday party which was lots of fun. I can tell Maya likes being around the familiar faces of the twins....and so do we.








"HMMMMMMM I'm not so sure about this!"








" What! I get candy if I wear this?"



















Uncle Morgan the miracle worker

















Celebrating with the twins














"There has to be a present in here for me!"







A few days ago we got our first snow of the season. Maya was fascinated by the cold, wet snowflakes landing on her head and hands. We were only out long enough to take a picture but I forsee her and daddy sledding in the near future.


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"Wow this feels wierd!"












Snowballs are too cold

kissing cousins and other adventures

This past weekend my cousin's wife Jenn and their little baby Kellyn came to visit. Kellyn is 4 months old and approximately the same size as our little peanut. It has been interesting to see Maya become more social with other babies. She watched Kellyn's every move and you could almost hear her wondering aloud, "why can't she crawl or feed herself?" Even though Kellyn couldn't down mashed potatoes or throw her water bottle with complete accuracy, Maya still loved her enough to lean over and give her a big old kiss on the head.


Kissing Cousins


Can you guess who is older?


"If only I could crawl!"

She now puckers her lips and makes the mmmmmmmmmmaaaaaaaaa! sound when she is kissing. The first time this happened it was completely unprovoked which was so sweet. Of course we had to ask her to do it again for the camera. Being on the receiving end of one of these little kisses is very wet but the best experience ever. Maya also likes to kiss all of her stuff animals too. She is still blowing kisses and finds this to be completely handy when she is getting ready to do something naughty. The scenario goes something like this. Maya heads towards the cords of the lamp or computer. One of us says "Maaaayyyyyyaaaaaa" and she stops in her tracks with a very serious look and starts blowing us kisses. Amazing someone this young can try and sweeten us up before committing a spicy act. :)

This past week we also got a visit from Maya's friends Lola and Stella, the twins who were a part of our China group with parents Kirisi and Brad. It was good to see the girls and to see how all three are progressing at home. The girls enjoyed playing together on a blanket out back which was a welcome change to the hotel rooms we were used to having playdates in. Stella arm wrestled a biscuit out of Maya's hand much to Maya's amazment. Maya then proceded to offer her replacement biscuit only to take it back just as Stella was moving in for a mouth full. PSYCH!......two can play at this game! Needless to say it was very entertaing to watch. I'm thinking baby wrestling on the Disney Channel could draw quite the crowd.


Stella and Maya before the wrestiling match


Little Lola


"auntie" Kristi and Maya

We also got a visit from my boss Juan and his family. His son Vincent who is almost 5 has been a huge fan of the Maya blog. Vincent offered some free baby training so of course we couldn't resist. Maya was mesmerized by Vincent. But ever since the baby training Maya has been doing loud ear piercing, window shattering squeals. Hmmmmmm makes me wonder what kind of things Vincent taught her. I better check the baby training manual for the next lesson just to be safe.

Balancing 101 at the Vincent School of Baby Training

The weather is starting to turn cool and we've been enjoying many evening walks in the stroller. Maya seems to enjoy the scenery although she has a hard time staying awake once we get strollin. It seems to be a good pre bedtime routine since she is usually really wired and hyper right before crashing.


"I can't be seen in this!"


"Ok it is kinda cozy."

Her favorite thing is rolling around on the bed climbing Mt. mommy and daddy. She giggles with delight when she makes it over the hump of my hip or daddy's legs and can't wait to do it again. It has been so much fun to see how much she has opened up over the past few weeks. We have started to deal with a few sleep issues.....basically she doesn't want to go to sleep. Maybe we'll take this as a sign that she is enjoying life and doesn't want to miss a thing. A small price to pay for such a wonderful joy in our lives.


Mommy and Maya