Life is Good!

Maya continues to grow leaps and bounds. I can't believe Thanksgiving has come and gone and Christmas is just around the corner. We spent Thanksgiving day with my parents, sister and nieces. Just a quiet day which was nice. Maya had the stomach flu the day before but recovered enough to enjoy her mashed potatoes. I must admit she is a carboholic and getting a little belly and pudgy little arms and legs to show for it. It is nice to see her finally looking healthy.
Enjoying ice cream with papa

Cousins Jenn and Paige with Maya

When Maya first came to our family she had the skinniest arms and legs and could not pull herself up on anything without assistance. Along with the general nourishment that she is now getting we have used certain toys to help strengthen her legs. We have a jumping chair which we have hanging in the entry to John's office which Maya loves to jump in. Another advantage to this contraption is that it helps relieve gas too. Hey, we're parents now and these things are important!


Jumping is hard work

We have also received gifts from many friends and family of walking type toys which Maya loves to push around the house. Each with their own annoying ( I mean really great music) sound which Maya loves to hear over and over. Actually we really appreciate these gifts that have given Maya so much joy. We find ourselves singing those catchy tunes even when she is not playing with them. She maneuvers these little walking machines around the house but gets very frustrated when she reaches a roadblock. Then she will start banging it into the wall or other offending object until one of us helps her turn it around. Occasionally she will also attempt to use our poor blind, deaf dog Skeeter as a speedbump. We of course are trying to discourage that one! We seem to have so many of these different walking toys that it is starting to look like a geriatric ward for the seven dwarfs around here.....but Maya loves them so much that we just sing along and march with her throughout the house. Now she has started standing alone pushing herself up on her strong legs from a squatting position. She is so proud of herself.
Having some fun

Funny face

Maya also has incredible dexterity. She is already stacking blocks like a pro. She can stack 4 pretty regularly and has occasionally done 5 and 6 as well. She is so funny when gets going because she gets so excited and if they fall over she growls with frustration and starts over again. She is also getting pretty good at putting Leggos together and grunts when she is trying to pry them apart. Her face gets all distorted and she shudders like she is a weight lifting pro going for the world record. It has been fun to hear her being so vocal and expressive with her actions.

Another big milestone is that Maya finally loves her stuffed animals. When we first brought her home she was so freaked out by the fur that if a little bit touched her skin she would just come unglued. Now she has to give all of her stuffed animals kisses goodnight and hugs in the morning. She also finds comfort in them when she sleeps. It is so cute to see her snuggling asleep with her furry friends. I woke up one night and she had her frog attached to her back. Can't quite figure out how it got that way but she didn't seem to mind.

Snuggling

How did he get there?

The weather has been down right frigid the past few weeks. Maya gets bored easily so finding ways to entertain her indoors has been a challenge. A few weeks ago Maya and I were invited to go to Bounce with some other moms. This is one of those places with the giant inflatable jumping playlands and inflatable slides. I wasn't sure how Maya would do but she absolutely loved it. Her favorite was this giant slide that we would go on together. Every time we would get to the bottom she would start crawling to the top again. She is a thrill seeker for sure! Climbing up the inflatable stairs with Maya in tow was really good exercise for me too.

Recently we met up with Brad and Kristi and the twins for some pizza and playtime. The girls were hysterical as usual pushing each other around in a shopping cart and then all trying to fit onto the same toy car. The only solution for that was to put one of the girls in the trunk....sounds like torture but they were all satisfied......just don't tell our social workers! :)

Lola pushes while Maya holds on for dear life!

Stella, Maya and Lola riding shotgun. " Can you say carpool lane?"

The best part of having Maya in our lives is that we get to experience new things through her eyes. Taking her out for moonlight strolls in the snow to look at the Christmas lights and hearing her oooh and aaahh in amazement is worth every sleepless night. Teaching her to make snow angels and seeing her eyes light up when she feels the cold snow on her hands is worth every tired whine. Hearing her laughter when she is tickled or finds something funny is worth every screaming cry. And knowing she finally has arms to hold and comfort her when she cries is so fulfilling to all of us. Honestly, there is no better job then being Maya's mom and dad. Of course when she reaches for us and gives us a big kiss....well it just doesn't get any better!

Watching daddy outside

Chillin

Hide and seek

Dental Tug O War with daddy. Not recommend by this dental hygienist!

"I won!"

Making her first snow angel

"Ta dah!"

"This is the face that gets me almost anything!"

As I had promised we finally have some video of Maya. Just click on the video links to view short little clips. If you have dial up this might take a while to load so be patient..... it is worth it. By the way, some of you may not realize that you can click on the pictures within this blog to enlarge them for better viewing.

Click Here to see Maya and the 'tickle monster'.

Click Here to see Maya standing on her own.

And, may I have a drum roll please.......Click Here to see Maya WALKING!!