Redundant? Yes. Adorable? Yes.

Yesterday, I couldn't decide which video to post, of Maya going down the slide at the City Museum. Today I decided they both have a place on the blog. Enjoy!

Weeeeeeee!

This weekend was sort of a bust. Maya came down with a mild cold on Friday, that turned into a full blown nasty cold on Saturday. We were supposed to spend time at Brook and Ben's house this weekend, but we decided not to take Maya there, since she puts her mouth on everything, and I would hate for James and Keira to get sick. Anyway, on Sunday we decided to visit the City Museum, or, as I like to call it "The least handicap and stroller accessible place ever," or, as Kevin likes to call it, "The Most Dangerous Museum in the Country." Basically, the museum is a gigantic warehouse type of building in the middle of the city. The inside and outside are like a giant jungle gym. There are endless slides, places to climb, ropes to swing on, huge ball pits, ramps, stairs everywhere, and on and on. It was really cool, and was probably an adolescent boy's dream, but it was not the easiest place to bring a baby in a stroller (to say the least). We did find one really fun area where Maya loved to slide. At first we were really scared to let her slide, but then we loosened up a little. She had a blast.



"Daddy is climbing, while we just watch from the stroller."

"In this whole museum, we found one little tiny play table for me!"

"I'm flying!"

Where's Maya?

Maya has recently begun to initiate games of peek-a-boo. It often happens during dinner, and she especially likes to play with Daddy, but yesterday I caught her starting up a game with me while I was chatting with Brie on the phone. I only caught a snippet of it on camera, but you get the idea...

Buy my House (please)!

So... our house is on the market, but no bites yet. I'll keep you posted. Also, in fun news, I made my first pinafore today! Brooke gave me the pattern over a month ago, and I finally got around to making it this morning. I love to sew, but I need to be more vigilent about my crafting.

"Seriously. Buy this house."

"Now can you tell I'm serious?"

"This is the pinafore that Mommy made. You like?"

"Here's the back. Mommy thinks it's a little small around the neck, so next time, we'll make it bigger."

We Can Make Loud Noises!

For some reason, I just love this video of the kids playing together. They are so sweet. We'll miss these play dates next year...

Back to our Regularly Scheduled Programming (sort of)

"Keira and I are drinking buddies."

Yeah yeah, I know we've been taking a break for a couple of days, and I apologize for our lack of blogging. We put our house on the market on Sunday, and since then, it's been a bit of a whirlwind. No, we have no buyer yet, but we had an open house on Sunday, and then an "Agent Open House" (just for agents, so they can see the house and then talk about it with their clients) on Tuesday morning. Someone also came to look at the house yesterday afternoon. Anyway, I think that keeping the house in "showing condition," while also entertaining a baby, is a full time job. I find myself constantly cleaning, and chasing Maya around to make sure she isn't destroying anything. We might have visitors/potential buyers at any given moment (well, we get some notice, but not much), so I don't want to have to go bananas cleaning at the last minute. Anyway, it hasn't been much fun, but hopefully we'll sell relatively quickly, and then we can go ahead and be as destructive as we want.

Anyway, yesterday was full of play dates, since we had to be out of the house for both an open house and a "showing." In the morning, we visited our friends at Brie's house. Alex has a lot of toys, and honestly, even if he didn't, Maya loves to play at other peoples' homes. In the afternoon, Maya played with James and Keira at Kangaroo Kids. They had a great time together. Brook and I decided that Kangaroo Kids is a very peaceful place, and that we really love it there. It was a great day, but boy were we sleepy last night!
"Mommy, is this jail?"

"Alex and I love books."

"James and I are playing house at Kangaroo Kids."

"Hi, Mommy!"

"We all like the trains, but for some reason it's more fun to play with them on the picnic table, than the actual train table."

Strike!

Last night, we attended an Anesthesia Department fiesta at Flamingo Bowl in downtown St. Lou. We decided to bring Maya, since we figured she deserved a night out on the town. It was a really nice evening, with tons of food and fun. Maya and Kevin bowled a few rounds, and Maya socialized with the other kiddos and families. She was a trooper, and stayed out until a whopping 8:30! Anyway, I think she enjoyed herself, and she was definitely mesmerized by the bowling balls and their insane alley rolling. Even though it's nice to get out by ourselves sometimes, I think Maya enjoys these new experiences, so when she is invited, I think we'll bring her.
"Hey guys? What are we doing tonight?"

"Bowling?! Yes! I've always wanted to go bowling!"


"Daddy, that is not a strike."

"Just waiting for my ball to come up."

"Where are my bowling shoes?"

"This is fun!"

"Chips go very well with bowling, don't you think?"

"Mommy put me in my pajamas before we left, so I could go right to sleep when we got home. Smart Mommy, huh?"

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

So, apparently this week is Dr. Seuss's birthday. Who knew?!? This morning, Maya and I went a birthday party for him, at our district early childhood center. I must say, they do a great job with the events there. They had about 8 stations (or centers, as we teachers like to call them!), where children from birth-3 could play. There were sensory activities (playing with cornstarch and water, which makes fake "mud"), make your own cookie creation, make flowers out of pipe cleaners and tissue paper, plant a flower in a cup, and many others. Maya is a little young for those activities, so she played with the other teeny babes on the floor, where they had a "Scrambled Eggs" center. There were plastic eggs full of beans (for shaking), as well as giant spoons and bowls. Maya loved it, and spent over a half hour playing with the eggs. I have to admit, we've never read any Dr. Seuss to Maya. Honestly, I was never a huge fan, mostly because the books never made sense to me. I realize that this is the point, and that they are "fantasy" books, but I guess I'm not really into that. I'll have to read some to Maya, and see if she likes it. What do you think is a good Dr. Seuss book for a 1 year old? Let me know if you have any ideas!

"Come on, Mommy! We have to get ready to go to the birthday party! You know I'm a party animal!"

"Look at my egg!"

"I played so nicely with new friends this morning. We met a little girl named Tessa. I think we're going to see her again next time."

"Mom, can we get some of these at home?"

"This thing makes music when I shake it!"

"Now, if only I could get the egg out of the bowl with this spoon..."

"Like my hat?"

"How about from this angle?"

Is this a Barrette? A Hat? A Wig?

No! It's Mommy's underwear!

Happy Beth Day!

Today is our friend Beth's birthday. Beth works in the research department where
Kevin used to work, and she has become a really good friend over the past few years. Maya and I decided that we would take a trip to the hospital to bring a cake for Beth to share with the research office. We had a great time. Beth was very surprised, and Maya really enjoyed herself. Sylvia, who is pregnant with a little girl herself, held Maya on her lap the whole time, feeding her raisins and giving her some lovin'. Maya, despite the fact that she was initially a little confused and cranky about being somewhere unfamiliar, had a blast. Forget the cake - she likes any event that involves eating and endless amounts of raisins.
"Happy birthday, Beth!"

"This is Linney."

"Sylvia and I are making eyes at each other. I know she has a baby girl in there - a new friend for me!"
"Mommy and Beth are buds, but Beth likes me better."

"When we got home, I found the pens under Daddy's desk. Mommy doesn't like me playing with pens though. Instead she wants me to play with toys. Go figure."

It's Official.

We have begun the "weaning" process. Sigh. My baby is growing up! She tried whole milk for the first time yesterday. I'm not entirely ready to give up nursing yet, so we're going to go very slowly. This week, we are giving her a bottle at night, with a mixture of breast milk and whole milk. I'm not sure how long we'll continue this routine, before we switch to a bottle of all whole milk. I'm so surprised at how attached I've become, to my little nursing sessions with Maya. I'm going to wait until she's 1, to really wean her.


Anyway, last night we had an unexpected house guest. Our old friend, Mitch, was in town for a workshop at the hospital, and his flight was cancelled, due to the storms on the East coast. Funny, because he's from North Carolina, and they didn't even get snow. Anyway, he came to stay with us, and we met some other friends for dinner at Sweet Tomatoes. Maya and Alex were so cute, feasting on peas and corn and various other yummies. Maya loves Sweet Tomatoes for their abundance of shredded cheese. She eats giant mountains of it, every time we go there. Brie always says that Alex eats a lot, but I think Maya could give him a run for his money! Alex, would you care to engage in an eating contest?

"Alex and I are sharing. Can you believe we both like the same food???"

"Mom, what's that thing Alex is using to scoop up his food? I want one!"

"Mommy says I always need a post-Sweet Tomatoes tubby. She thinks I get messy. She's smart."

Kangaroo Kids (and Babies)

So, Kangaroo Kids has a new location. For those of you who aren't familiar with Kangaroo Kids, it's a La Leche League sponsored consignment shop and "meeting place." So basically, most of the people who work there are lactation consultants, and they sell secondhand baby/kid gear, nursing supplies, and they also hold support groups, have a play area, and sell coffee and treats. Now that I look at the list, it seems like they do kind of a lot. Anyway, the point is, they recently moved to a new location, and we went to check it out last week. The previous location was... well... how can I put this? Okay... dirty. Once, Brook let James crawl around on the floor, and he came back with pants that had basically turned black. The new location seems much cleaner, although I think they have some work to do on their housekeeping skills (namely: sweeping and mopping). Anyway, the kids played so nicely, and I'm looking forward to going back. It's a great meeting place for our curious little monkeys.

"This magnetic sand table looks super cool, but I'm too small to play with it. Maybe next time."

"Mommy, I'm playing. Stop it with the photos. Seriously."

"James, you are so good to me. I like playing with you."

"Mom, do you think James and I can both fit through here?"

"Mommy made me this yummy lunch when we got home from Kangaroo Kids. It's whole wheat couscous, peas, and pinto beans. Mommy, you're the best cook!"

Maya Mc-Drool-ins

I think another tooth is on its way. You might notice giant ring of drool on Maya's chin and clothes, the likes of which we haven't seen since Maya was 6 months old. While I wish she wasn't so drooly and putting everything in her mouth, I am excited for her bottom row to have some friends on top. I'll keep you posted.

Anyway, yesterday was beautiful. It was 60 degrees here, so we met Nash, Margot, and Brooke at Starbucks for a morning of patio fun. It was so nice out, that when it was time to leave, Brooke and I stood at our cars chatting for a long time before we actually got inside, because neither of us wanted to get in the car and out of the sun. It was a fairly low key day though, and Maya slept a lot, drooled a lot, and played with her new favorite friend - the dishwasher. For some reason, she is positively enamoured with it. As a new venture, she is working on actually climbing onto the dishwasher door while it's open. I'm guessing this is not safe for either the baby or the dishwasher. So far, she hasn't been successful. I guess it's a good thing we don't have stairs in our house...

"Mommy, I'm heading to the dishwasher."

"I love this thing! It's endless enjoyment for me!"

"Look at my tongue. Oh, and also, look at my lovely wet shirt."

"Mommy, when we put our house on the market, don't forget to mention our awesome dishwasher."

"Brooke, you're always fun at Starbucks. Thanks for making me laugh!"

A Messy Video

Lately, Maya always wants more food. At dinnertime, we load up her plate with veggies, some kind of meat or bean, and pasta or some other grainy food. It always seems like a lot of food, but she enjoys it when we put more on her plate, even if she isn't finished yet. Most of the time, she finishes her meal with a handful of raisins. She adores the sweetness of raisins, and is constantly whining for more, so we taught her how to sign "more," instead of whining and squealing when she's ready for a refill. Please note that this is at the end of a meal, so she's kind of a mess, and we were just trying to keep her entertained while we cleaned the kitchen. Our little "raspberry fight" is probably not particularly good table manners, but sometimes I can't help myself!

Almost there...

Well, we officially have a "cruiser." Maya is currently walking along the coffee table, with her walker, and holding onto my legs. The good thing about this is that it's a step closer to walking. The bad thing about this, is that it seems like everywhere I walk, Maya is clinging to either the back or the front of my legs (see below). It's awfully sweet though. I wonder if this means she is close to walking on her own. I'm not sure. Anyway, we've had a busy morning, and now Maya is napping, and I'm relaxing, since she has been a little fussy today. I sometimes wish she could just say, "Mommy, I have a headache, and I need some Tylenol." Unfortunately, it's always a guessing game. Is she getting sick? Why won't she eat? Is it her teeth? Is she just bored of the food I'm feeding her? Did she just get up in the wrong side of the crib? Hmph. I guess I have a couple more years of guessing, before she can come to me and tell me exactly what's wrong. Oh well. Hopefully she'll wake up happy from her nap... Wish us luck!

"Daddy, watch me walk with Mommy!"

"This is my disheveled look. Hey, it's close to bedtime - what do you expect?"

"Sometimes I hold on tight, sometimes I don't. Depends on my mood."

"Daddy! See me peeking out from behind Mommy's legs??!"


"This doesn't seem right. Usually I shower with Daddy, but now I'm showering with Mommy. What's going on? You take turns now? I think this is Daddy's job."