Like an ACTUAL Member of the Family!

We decided to boot the high chair for now, and just go with this little portable chair. I think it suits her, and she gets to sit with us for dinner every night, like a real, live member of the fam. She definitely notices a difference, but I can't tell if she likes it or hates it. Hmph. It's kind of nice having her right on our level though, you know?
"Look at me, having dinner with Daddy! Now if I could just get Mommy to fill my plate with goldfish and raisins..."

"I'm being coy."

"You're funny, Mommy."

How do I get this Sweater Off?

Maya has been trying to take off her shirt lately. Apparently she was warm yesterday, because she worked really hard to get this sweater off. She did well at getting it off her head, but was a little confused about not being able to get rid of the arms...
"I'm trying to get this silly sweater off..."

"I did it! My head is free!"

"Wait, maybe not. I think the shirt is stuck on my head. Help me, Mommy."

"I'm too little to take off my shirt myself. Mommy, can you just help me get rid of this thing?"

Our Belated Mum's Day

Well, the past two weeks have been... hmmmm, how can I put this? Brutal. Kevin was away for a week, and then was on call every other night for the following week. It was exhausting, to say the least. He was working on Mother's Day, so we decided to celebrate by spending the day as a family yesterday. In the morning, we went to the park, where Maya crawled back and forth through the tunnel about 30 times. Then we ate lunch at Sweet Tomatoes - our favorite hotspot. After lunch, we paid a visit to the local Judaica shop, where we bought juggling matzah balls and a dancing matzah man. Finally, we went to another park, but didn't last long, since Kevin has been fighting a cold, and wasn't feeling well. Anyway, we had a great day together.
"I'm just checking out the park. Lots of fun kids to look at."

"I wanna go again!"

"I'm coming Mommy!"

"Weeeeee!"

Daddy is Sooooo Sleepy.

Maya likes resting with Daddy... Who wouldn't?

"Daddy, I wish we could nap together."

"I'm wide awake though! No naps for me! Can we play?"

Mommy Day.

Happy Mother's Day, to all my wonderful friends and family who are mothers, or who have mothers! Maya and I hope you are all enjoying your day. We are on our own today - Kevin is on call. It's a beautiful day, so once Maya wakes up from her nap, we'll head out to do something outside. Maya isn't in a great mood today, for some reason, so hopefully she'll be happier once she's had a good nap. Anyway, we've had a nice few days together. We did a lot of great playing with friends, and our weekend has been quite relaxing. Maybe tomorrow, when Kevin is home for the day, we'll do a little Mother's Day celebrating.
"I love my new stroller. Can't you see how much fun I'm having?"

"I can be serious, too."

"We went to Carly and Sammy's house for playtime on Thursday. They have a little kid table. This was my first time in a real chair! How do I look?"

In Case you were Wondering...

Maya is still eating her lunch off a chip. I just thought you should know. Yesterday it was half an avocado and beans. Oh well. I guess there are worse things. Anyway, she's also getting much better at walking. She really loves her baby carriage, and is becoming a master at maneuvering it all over the house. She inevitably runs into walls and corners, but she has now become quite skillful in 3 point turns. Smarty pants.

"Hi. I was hiding behind the couch, but now here I am!"

"Did Mommy tell you I can throw a ball now??"

"Just hangin' in my PJ's."

"I love this baby carriage. My little baby doll likes it too."

"I love it when Mommy and Daddy stand outside and wave to me, while I stand at the door. It's fun times... especially when it's cold or hot outside."

Tricks.

Here's a video of Maya giving you a brief showcase of her new tricks. First, she walks with her little baby carriage, which she is totally loving. Then, she spots Daddy in the garage, and takes 2 steps toward him, before falling (she's usually good for about 5 or 6 steps, but not this time). Then, she starts saying "Daddy! Daddy!" How did we get 3 tricks on 1 video?? Mommy is camera savvy. Don't you think?

The Grand Opening

As previously mentioned, the "ArtSpace Takeoff" was on Saturday, so Maya and I partook in the festivities. We watched a circus show, a juggling show, a funky marching band, and tall guys on stilts. We also played with Mardis Gras beads, and also watched lots of artists do their thing. It was a great time. I wish Kevin had been here to play with us though. He's home now, but he's already on call today, so we are still missing him. Oh well. Come July, we'll be seeing much more of Daddy... I'm sure we can hold out until then!

"Mommy, what's up with that really tall guy?"

"Since everyone else is screaming and clapping, I'll scream too!"

"Bravo!!!"

"Cool marching band, Mom!"

"Just lounging in my stroller. This is the life."

Magical Maya

So, the mall by our house is kind of like a ghost town. It's full of totally empty, shut down stores, except for a Gap, a salon, and a Victoria's Secret. There are a few restaurants too, but nothing special. Anyway, in the past few months, they've been overhauling the mall, and changing it into something called "ArtSpace." It's basically this new concept of having a mall full of art galleries, dance companies, theater companies, pottery studios, yoga studios, artsy cafes, yada yada yada. So, Saturday was the "ArtSpace" grand opening, and apparently all the new galleries and shops were opening. There were going to be a wide array of activities and fun things to do. So, anyway, on Friday, there was a free magic show at one of the new places, called "Abra.Kid.Abra." It's a magic school for kids. Brook and I took the kids to play and watch the show. They loved it.

"Mommy, this guy is more like a clown, and less like a magician. Oh well. Still fun."

"James, Kiki, and I watched the show intently... until we lost interest."

"This guy is teaching the big kids to get their whole boy through that little ring!"

"This is a funny show!"

"Mr. Magic Man, can you help me get my whole body through the ring? Thanks."

Stories...

Yesterday we had a little playgroup at James and Keira's house. Brook had a little surprise outing planned. We ended up going to the local bookstore, "Puddin' Head Books," for a little story time. Apparently, although Brook sort of figured we'd create our own story time, they actually do it every Thursday, and a bunch of little kiddos showed up. It was really fun, and the kids were really good, and even fairly attentive! Maybe we'll do it again next week...
"I'm doing some serious playing. Can you see how serious I am?"

"Hooray for story time! Carly and Sammy were there too... hmmmm... Where were they?"

"More serious playing. What? You only want smiley photos? Come on. Toughen up!"

"Daddy, that's a silly face!"

Funny Story...

Well, at least I find it funny. When Maya first starting eating solids, she loved avocados. When I would buy them though, she'd only eat a small portion of it, leaving the rest to get all brown and slimy in the fridge. Since Kev and I aren't big on avocados, I decided it was too wasteful and expensive, and I stopped buying them. Fast forward to last week, when I found frozen avocado halves at Trader Joe's. What a find! When I got home, I decided to chop up one of the halves and feed it to Maya for lunch. Well, apparently, Maya has forgotten her love of avocados, and refused to even touch the slimy green monsters. I was frustrated, especially since I've seen her try guacamole at Costco and Trader Joe's, so I know she likes it.

So... I figured, maybe if I spread it on a chip, she'll like it better. Um, yeah, I was right. Maya proceeded to eat an entire avocado half off a chip. Funny though - she never took a bite of the chip. She just wasn't interested. Even funnier, she now officially wants to eat everything off a chip. Just yesterday, she ate avocado, corn, chicken, broccoli, cheese, sweet potato, black beans, pasta, and peas off a chip. I realize that I've probably created a monster... or maybe just a new form of a utensil, right?

"These are the infamous chips! Mommy, we need more of these, okay?"

"Nashy showed me some of his tricks at the train store yesterday. Nash, you're tall!"

"I love playing with the trains, but I'm not quite tall enough for the big table yet!"

"I'm making faces and playing games with Mommy."

"Look what I found in the drawer!"

Just call me "Crabby"

So, this crawling thing is getting old. The problem is, it's hard to put her in shorts or dresses, because her bare knees are on the ground, and that must hurt. Also, in dresses, her knees get caught, and she ends up falling on her face. Although, she's already in the crawling position, it probably doesn't feel good to fall. Anyway, on Sunday, she became very resourceful, and began crawling on her feet instead of her knees. I'm not sure if it's because it hurts, or because it's nowhere near as efficient to crawl in a dress, but either way, her new "crab crawl" is pretty darn cute.

Burgers on the BBQ

On Sunday night, Brook and Ben decided to have a celebration at their house. The occasion? Dave (Alex's Daddy and Brie's hubby) has been named Chief Resident for next year. Congrats, Dave! We all went to Brook and Ben's for burgers and fun times. We had just come from flying a kite at Forest Park, so Maya was insanely exhausted, but she was a good girl. I think her sleepiness was the reason why she clung to me for most of the evening, but that was okay. I was proud of her for surviving on only 1 nap that day!

Oh, and by the way, Maya took 12 steps yesterday. Well, 2 sets of 6, I should say. She made it from the oven to the dishwasher, and then walked halfway down our driveway. Way to go, Maya B.!
"Is it time for the BBQ? I could use a burger."

"I'm hangin' with Mommy tonight. Too sleepy to play a lot."

"Brook threw all these balls in the yard, and we're helping pick them up. I'm not so good at this game, but I'll play along."

"Keira and James have this totally cool busy box. I love it, but I know that if Mommy and Daddy get me one, I won't play with it. I mostly like other kids' toys."

"Yes! I got one! James! Quick! Where's the basket, so I can put in my ball!"

D.C. Dad

Kevin is gone for a week. Well, 5 days, then he's on call the day after he comes back, so we won't get to spend any quality time with him until next Tuesday. He's in Washington D.C. for a conference, where he is going to present some of his research. Good luck, Daddy! We love you!

"Daddy, you belong here at home. I miss you already!"

Timberrrrr!

We were getting ready to go out yesterday, and Kev took Maya outside to put her in the car. I followed a minute later, and found Maya standing alone in the yard. It was very sweet, but it was also quite a windy day (hence, the kite flying).

More Kites

Okay, I know I said I'd wait and post more photos tomorrow, but it's been approximately 2 minutes since my last post, and I just couldn't help myself. Anyway, here are more photos from when we were at the park yesterday.

"Will someone please come over here and give me a snack?"
"Good kite flying, Mommy! Are you wearing sunscreen?"

"Wow! You got that kite up high!"

"Daddy was trying to let me hold the kite string, but I decided to eat it instead."

"This is me talking on Mommy's phone. Just gossiping with friends. You know kids and phones."