Maya is thoroughly enjoying her visit with Grammy and Grampy. Apparently she enjoys a lot of attention. Hmph. Case in point - Maya hates being in the car. No, let me rephrase that. She doesn't like being alone in the back seat, with nothing to look at - especially once that beloved pacifier slips out of her mouth. With Grammy and Grampy around, someone is always in the backseat with her. This is particularly helpful when it comes to putting the pacifier back in. The thing is, Maya likes looking in the mirror in the backseat. I wonder if she thinks there is another baby back there with her. Hmmmm. The thing is, she must realize that this "other baby" is no help when it comes to replacing the aforementioned "lost pacifier." Anyway, it's been nice having a backseat companion for Maya. It saves me the trouble of having to reach back and vibrate the carseat every time she melts down! In addition, I'm pretty sure Grammy and Grampy love Maya so much, they can barely stand to let her go to sleep. We like having them here. I'll post more about our adventures this week, as I take more photos...
"Do we look alike?"


"I can't decide if I'm happy or sad... so I'll just make this weird face..."


"Do I look French in this hat?"

Maya and Hailey's Playdate

Why do Jen, Ben, and Hailey have to move to Colorado? Boo. With only 2 weeks left before their departure, Jen invited us over for a little playdate, since we were already in the area. Jen has been busy lately, packing up the house, while also creating these amazing wedding invites for her friend. Anyway,we visited for a bit, snd Maya and Hailey decided to have a gabfest on the floor...


Maya - "Oh my gosh Hailey! That's hilarious!"

Hailey - "I know. Totally."


Maya - "Oh, but seriously, did you hear about Angelina and Brad's babies??"

Hailey - "Of course! I totally plan to marry Knox Leon."


Maya - "No Hailey. I'm marrying him."

Hailey - "Whatever,
Maya."


Maya - "I still love you, Hailey! Even if we do fight over boys."

Hailey - "Love you too, Maya!"

The Revolving Door...

Well, now that Nana is gone, Grammy and Grampy have decided to take her place for the week. We've been busy so far! Unfortunately, Kevin is away at an interview, so he snagged the laptop for a couple of days. This makes it difficult for me to update the blog, since I'm so used to using the laptop for updates. Therefore, until Wednesday, I might be slightly MIA. We'll do our best though. Today we went to the outlets to walk and check out the goods. It was fun times. Maya slept and ate and laughed. Hmmm... I'll update soon with new photos.
"Not to toot my own horn, but toot toot - I'm awesome at the Jumperoo."


"I'm not sure if I'm happy, but I make this face when I'm in between..."

Maya goes bar hopping.

We took Maya to the annual "Anesthesiology Inservice Exam Happy Hour" the other night. Kevin had taken a practice exam during the day, and the evening celebration was a dinner at a bar downtown. We decided to bring Maya, and she was a hit! Well, actually, she fell asleep in the sling and stayed that way for most of the night. It was fun though. On the way home, there was a double rainbow, right by the arch (see photo). It was really amazing.
This is why it pays to bring a camera everywhere!


"Hi. I'm just sitting here."


"Daddy, you kiss me a lot..."

Maya is starting to actually jump in the Jumperoo. At first she would just sit there and be mesmerized by all the "stuff" on it, but now she actually jumps! We had to put books under it, since she's way too short to touch the ground. It's pretty adorable to watch her play. She was cracking me up yesterday... Enjoy!

Maya the Bita'

Lately, Maya wants to put everything in her mouth. It's tough to take a photo of her without her hands in her mouth. It's intense, like she is just enthralled with eating her hands. It cracks me up. Just yesterday, at Brooke's house, Maya was sitting in Nash's bouncy seat. It has this plastic bird attached, that you can spin, but it's at hand level, and can't move closer to your face. Maya spent 20 minutes trying to figure out how to stick it in her mouth (unsuccessfully, since it would have been impossible). Some say it could be a "teething thing," but I'm guessing that she's just looking for her thumb. It's pretty cute though. Well, besides the fact that her hands are always soaked. Oh well. We'll forgive her since she's such a cutie, right?


"I dig my hand, Mom."


"Does this tongue thing come out?"

Ruff Ruff

Brooke and Ray bought Nash a doggie bed, which he apparently loves. At first I thought maybe that was odd - after all, Nash is a child, not a dog (obviously). But then I realized it's the softest little sitting area! We went there today, and Maya had a chance to share the doggie bed with Nash and Eebee. These are the highlights:
"Where am I?"


Nash says, "Don't mess with Yaya and Eebee. I'm their bodyguard."


"This toy is even softer than Mommy..."

Maya's Visit to the Hairdresser

No, silly! She didn't get a haircut. We just went to support Daddy, and to show off the baby to Heather Hair, our trusty hairdresser. Here are some photos of Maya getting cozy in the "hair chair." I think she knows she's going to be spending a lot of time here in the future....
"Geez, Daddy! Get a haircut already!"


"I feel like a big girl in this cool chair!"


"Give me the Jennifer Aniston Haircut, Heather Hair!"

Please take our poll!

Get these Toys out of my Face!

Maya clearly wanted these toys to get out of her face. Watch as she fiercely fights them away!

Time for bed!

It's time to get Maya into her resting clothes. Take a peek at Maya's naked time!

Catch Up Time.

Our wekend in a nutshell...


Lunch at Crazy Bowls and Wraps. Maya drank milk.


Maya, Kevin, and Nana went to Laumier Scultpure Park, while I stayed home and rested. Maya rested on the walk.


Maya looks very tan under the flourescent lights at Target (her favorite store).


Dinner at Sweet Tomatoes is always the best.

Nana is here!

Kevin's mom is here visiting this week! Maya loves her Nana! We've been doing all the regular activities - morning coffee, mall, shopping, etc. We're trying to exhaust the baby so she sleeps better at night. So far, it's working... a little...

Free Beer is Awesome.

We went to Grant's Farm yesterday. It's pretty neat. You take a trolley up a winding hill, and see all these woolly animals (dear, buffalo, ducks, zebras, etc.), and you end up at a little activity area. You can buy bottles of milk and feed the goats, see little movies, or just look at the animals. It's kind of an odd mix of animals (goats, tortoises, an elephant, mini horses and donkeys, and parrots). The whole trip is pretty quick, but at the end, there's this big courtyard where you can buy all kinds of goodies. If you're lucky, you'll notice the little nook, labeled "Busch Hospitality." There, you can get "samples" of about 8 different varieties of beer or non-alcoholic energy drinks. I put the term "sample" in quotes, because these are at least 8 ounce plastic cups. Not only that, but you can get 2! This didn't mean much for Maya and me, as we aren't beer drinkers, but Kevin got to try some kind of peach Bacardi and a some other variety of Budweiser. Wendy had an energy drink, and Maya and I guzzled milk and water (respectively). Mmmm. We had fun.

The day ended with an Indian food potluck supper at Brook, Ben, James, and Keira's house. Potlucks with them are always fun! We had a good time seeing everyone. We forgot a camera though. I need to get back on track with my photos!


"Daddy! Now we both need a haircut!"


"Feed me Maya!"


"Thanks for taking a photo of me with the mini-horse, Mom. I was too sleepy to stay awake for it, but you know how I love all things miniature."


"I'm in a very serious mood."

Happy Birthday, Aunt Nora!

Well, we're a day late, but here's a shout-out to Aunt Nora, who turned 21 yesterday! Okay, well, maybe 21 is an underestimate, but oh well... Anyway, here's Maya's facial expression, as she reacts to hearing about Nora's birthday...

Oh boy. I'm suddenly behind.

Forgive me for my lack of updates, friends! Even though having Nana in the house is helpful, it makes me forget about downloading my photos! It's partially because we've been out and about, and also because she's staying in the "photo downloading room!" I guess I'm all excuses today! Anyway, I'll catch up, I swear! Especially considering the fact that we did some fun things this weekend. Oh well. I'll get back on track!

Last night we went to a little shindig at Michael and Tracy's house. It's kind of funny to think that we spent 4th of July at the home of someone who isn't even American. Go figure. We had a great time though. It was a potluck "Make your own Burrito Party." In our typical Finkel fashion, we brought the dessert. St. Louis was lucky yesterday - we had the most gorgeous weather. Anyway, we played at Michael and Tracy's until Maya was showing signs of boredom (i.e. crying and whining and basically asking to go home). When we got home, Maya slept for 6 hours in a row. Wow. The problem is, it started at 7, and when it was over, she was pretty much awake for the rest of the night. Ugh. Today is a sleepy day. Wendy (a.k.a Nana) is here for the week. Yay! More on that, and some photos, coming up later...

"Daddy! Quit exposing my belly to the neighbors! I'm very modest you know!"


"Thanks for holding me Beth! You are so good at this!"

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery, and the Anesthesiology Department Teacher of the Year...

as they play Guitar Hero, and Nintendo Wii Boxing.
Nice.

When can I go under the sprinkler, Mommy?

Brooke, Nash, Brie, and Alex came over this morning. Brooke brought the infamous Elmo sprinkler. Nash loves this thing. I mean, he is just fearless, and totally into it. Alex was apprehensive when he first saw it, but he ended up having a blast. Maya sat on the sidelines, pouting with jealousy. Or maybe it was the glare from the sun. We brought the Bumbo outside so she had a place to sit. It has been a gorgeous day here in St. Lou, so we had fun. Oh, by the way - Alex will soon have a blog, so we can add him to the list of friends. We can't wait!

"Thanks for sitting this one out with me Dad."


"Mommy, this sun hat is great, but when can I get sunglasses?"


"Alex, what's so funny?"


Nash loves every second of this!


Thanks for putting me back in the shade Mom!"


"I love you too, Daddy."

Hmmmm... how did this happen?

Yesterday we visited with Christina and Ed. Maya was fussing like crazy... until Ed got a hold of her. He rocked her a few times, and this is what happened. Maybe she wants to be taller.