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.


<

"Wow this feels wierd!"












Snowballs are too cold