Maya's New Cam

We finally got our new camera in the mail! I'm happy to report that our new little Canon Digital Elph is a perfect specimen! And, guess what? It's turquoise! I love it. Anyway, Maya had a great time hamming it up for the new camera last night. Did I tell you about her new trick? She gives the best kisses now. If you say, "Maya, can I have a kiss?" she'll just lean forward and plant one right on your lips. Sometimes she even does it without a request. It's the best. I mean, seriously, it's the very very best. Sometimes her timing is a little off, but she's getting better and better! What a cuddlebug.

"What's that? A new camera?"

"Pretty camera, Mommy!"

"Um, clearly I ended the kiss before Daddy. I guess Mommy was right - my timing is off."
"Daddy likes to pose, too!"

"I love when Daddy shares his ice cream!"

"Ice cream always gives me a messy face."


"This book is like my morning paper."

Cross Country Queen

Apparently, Maya was in the mood to work out.

In Case Anyone is Interested...

I FOUND THE SANDAL!!! I went back to the Montshire and searched for it, about 5 minutes before it closed. I didn't find it, so I was driving out of the parking lot, when I suddenly spotted it on a bench near the entrance. Score! I am so happy... In the meantime, Maya was wearing a pair of Risa's old shoes. They are so cute, but a tad too big for Miss Maya. One more season, Maya, one more season. Here's a fun video of Maya playing at the fountains.

Back so Soon?

Love is in the air between Maya and the Montshire Museum. I took her there this morning, because I really wanted her to try the water exhibit. We forgot her bathing suit yesterday, and it's going to be 92 degrees today, so I thought this would be a good time. Anyway, Maya had a super time at the exhibit. She absolutely loved playing in all the different sprinklers, walking in the streams, watching a ball get taken away by the current, and putting the balls in the fountains. We got there right when the museum opened, so there was plenty of room to play. The only thing that bummed me out, was that we seem to have lost a shoe on the way out of the museum. Boo. We're going to go back later to see if we can find it. Anyway, hopefully it'll stay hot for a few more weeks, so we can have more fun in the water. Enjoy the pics - I know there are a lot, but I couldn't help myself!

"Let's go to the Montshire, Mommy!"

"I like holding as many balls as I can, and then throwing them in the fountain."

"See? I have 3!"

"I'm soaked, and I love it!"

"If you put the ball in the fountain, the water goes crazy!"

"You can attach the tubes to the fountains, so they make all sorts of sprinkle patterns. Neat, huh?"

"I practiced going up and down these stairs 30 times. Literally."

"I wasn't really into this pool area. I don't know why. Maybe next time."

"You're really supposed to put a ball in the stream and watch it go with the current, but I decided to hop in."

"Wait, is this a fake frog or a real frog?"

"Wow, this'll be like climbing the Eiffel Tower!"

"I loved the Montshire, but home is fun, too."

Like Daddy, Like Maya

It has been brutally hot in New Hampshire for the past few days, so Maya and I decided to spend the morning inside, at the Montshire Museum of Science. It's a children's museum, and it came highly recommended by several moms I've met in the area. I figured we'd spend the morning there, and then decide if it was worth getting a year-long membership for our family. I'm not a big "science person," but Kevin loves that stuff, so I figured Maya might take an interest. Well, the museum was huge success. I was most excited about the area for kiddos under 5, but Maya was more interested in the bigger kids activities, like bubbles, fish, turtles, air current games, and the outdoor water area. I didn't think to bring a bathing suit, but there is a great area with mini streams, sprinklers, and all sorts of water activities. Anyway, in the end, I decided to purchase a membership. The cool thing is, it includes 2 adults, so if Kevin doesn't come (like on a weekday), I can bring someone else, and it's free for them! So... wanna visit?? Maya will definitely want to take you to the Montshire. C'mon. You know you want to.

"Look at this cool ball maze! The St. Louis Science Museum has a giant one, but this one will do..."

"The baby area had a fake duck, but I was so sure it was real..."

"Mommy, look! This giant stone statue is really a waterfall! Ha! I'm wet now."

"Watching these gold balls go down the maze is a baby's dream!"

"What's in here?"

"Look at how high up I am! I walked up all the stairs myself!"

"Daddy is kind of a science nerd, and I guess I'm a science nerd too, because the science museum was definitely my cup of tea (or milk - whatever)."

That's Good Sharing

Maya, Tyson, and Kevin were all hungry, so they shared an apple. Mmmmmm... Germy...

Northerners Again.

Hello, friends! Sorry we've been away. Vacation was fun, but now we're back home in New Hampshire, and Maya is finally back in her favorite crib. She's one happy camper. I would venture to say that Maya's favorite part of the trip, besides hanging out with her cousins, was going to the water park. Now, this wasn't just any water park - it was the most amazing water park I've ever seen. It had a giant indoor section, and a really big outdoor section. Inside, there was a huge water playground with a bunch of slides and waterfalls, an indoor surfing game, a lazy river, and a toddler water area. Then, outside, there was a wave pool, and another little kiddo area. There were huge water slides all throughout the park. It was really incredible. We bought a 3 day pass, and we played like crazy. One day, Kevin spent 6 hours at the park! Anyway, unfortunately, Maya got sick on our last day at Massanutten. She had a reaction to her MMR vaccine, meaning that she ended up with a fever and a bumpy rash all over her face, back, and belly. Even worse, she was absolutely hysterical crying for 2-3 days. She just started feeling better today, thank goodness. It was so sad, listening to her cry, and watching her in such discomfort. Poor baby. She endured an 8 hour drive home, feeling absolutely horrible. We were so glad to have our happy baby back today. What a relief!

"Mommy loves this pic of me peeking out under the changing room door, even though it's soooo blurry. Silly new camera. We're returning it ASAP!"

"This is the toddler area at the water park. My favorite!"

"This is the giant water playground and lazy river at the water park. I couldn't get enough!"

"Daddy and I were getting changed to go out to dinner, so Mommy took a picture of our little leggies."

"Aryella and I are playing at the restaurant before dinner comes..."

"You think she's interested in my cracker?"

"Daddy and I took a tubby in the jacuzzi at our condo. Pretty cool, huh?"

Family Vacation

"Get me dressed! It's time for vacation!"


This week, we are away in Virginia with Kevin's family. We are at a resort called Massanutten, and it's really a great family place. There are tons of activities, pools, a water park, and restaurants. Our vacation is really just beginning, but we've done some fun activities so far. Yesterday, we went to Shenandoah Caverns, which was really beautiful. We've also been to the pool a few times, played tennis, and played on the playground. Tonight we're going to the water park. I can't wait - there's a lazy river and a wave pool! Anyway, check out our photos. I'll post more soon. By the way, I don't dig this camera. The photos are blurry. I'm considering returning it for a different one.

"While we waited outside the caverns, we saw this kitty. He was so cute, but I was afraid to get too close."

"Bubbe, Aryella, Jacob, Daddy, and I had fun looking at the stalagmytes and stalagtytes."

"I love you, Daddy."

"Look at us at the caverns! It was dark down there, but at least it was cool. It's been 98 degrees here!"

"We went swimming at the pool, but we had to get out when some kid threw up in it. Ew."

"Hi, Mummy! We see you from the kiddie pool!"

"We see deer all the time here. Mommy loved when we saw the mommy deer and her babies."

Good News!

I have 3 good bits of news to share today:

1. Kevin finally took his boards (one of the big Anesthesiology exams), and he felt pretty good about it. Of course, he won't find out the results for many weeks, and he can't know for sure how he did, but he said it wasn't "too bad," so we'll see...

2. I got a new camera!!! It wasn't exactly the camera I wanted, so I'm not 100% sure I want to keep it, but I'm really excited about it - especially because it's purple! I can't decide if the pics came out good though - what do you think? I think they might be a little blurry. Any thoughts?

3. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, Maya had her first visit with her new pediatrician today. Her name is Nancy Turkington, but we affectionately call her Dr. Turkey. Anyway, she was terrific. She has her own private practice, where she allotts an HOUR for each patient. Can you believe that?! A whole hour, devoted to our little sweetie! Anyway, we chatted for about 30 minutes about Maya's development. It was really reassuring. She thought Maya's language was great, and noticed that she imitates well, uses signs, shows that she clearly understands commands, and has several words, which she conveniently showed off to Dr. Turkey. One thing the doc mentioned, was that at 15-18 months, parents/docs would usually start showing signs of autism (if there were any). She noted that Maya's eye contact and social skills were a great sign that we are in the clear! Yay! Well, I wasn't worried, but you never know... Anyway, upon examination, we found out that Maya is 23 pounds, and 31 inches. This puts her at the 40th percentile for both height and weight. She's a perfect specimen! Well, besides her big ol' head, which came in at the 90th percentile. I love her big head! Anyway, after getting her MMR vaccine, and another one (DTap maybe?), we took Maya to the park to play. I'm so proud of my little girl!
"Come on, Mom! It's time to go to the doctor!"

"OMG! Dr. Turkey's waiting room has an indoor playground! Can we come back tomorrow??"

"It's a nice day today, so we played outside after my appointment with Dr. Turkey. I love playing!"

"This playground doesn't have bucket swings, so Mommy let me go on the big girl swing!"

"This was the steepest slide I've ever slid down! Daddy was even scared!"

"Now this was a good day."

Sniff Sniff... Sob...

My camera is broken. I mean really, truly, definitely broken. It won't take any pictures at all. We're getting a new one, but in the meantime, I'm going to have to make due with our gigantic camera, which I can't really lug around everywhere... I'm really sad about it, because I really love my little camera. Anyway, for some reason, I'm still able to download the photos I've already taken, so I have a few from this past week in Connecticut with the family. Only a couple, but that's okay. We did a lot of fun things last week. Debbie got her wisdom teeth removed, but a few days later, we went to look at wedding gowns. Deb bought the most beautiful gown. Want to see it? Just kidding. You'll have to see it at the wedding. Anyway, we also did quite a bit of shopping, playing, walking, and eating. Over the weekend, Deb, Grampy, Maya and I, met Nora at Grammy and Grampy's condo in the Berkshires. We had a great time, and returned to New Hampshire this afternoon, exhausted, but satisfied. It was so nice to see Kevin again. Anyway, we'll be in town this week, but then we head down to Virginia for our vacation at Massanutten resort. Stay tuned for more news about our week!

Oh, and one last thing. This morning, Maya was super fussy. I couldn't figure her out, but then, I noticed a lovely new tooth. It's on the bottom, directly to the right of her 2 front teeth. Congrats Maya, and welcome incisors!

"While Debsie was trying on dresses, I secretly stole her bra. Mom, when will I get to wear one of these?"

"Mommy knows I love cherries, but I don't think she realized they would give me a purple beard."

"I seriously love this horse. I'm working on learning to get on it myself! Oh,and please excuse my red-eye. Blame my Mommy."

"I like rice cakes now. It's all my teeth! I have 8 now!"

"Mommy bought me a leash, so I could run around at the farmers' market. Don't judge my Mom though - she wants me to be free, so I can run around and be out of the stroller. I like the leash. The teddy is so cute! I think I'm too young for it though. I keep chasing the bear on my back, like a cat chasing its tail. Oh well. Maybe that's why the package says 18 months and up. 2 more months for me..."