Big Boy Shampoo

Today marks the day that Nikos switched from baby shampoo to kid shampoo. *sniff!* His hair is just too thick (and he gets it too dirty) for baby shampoo to really be effective anymore. On the plus side, the thick lather of the new shampoo means that Daddy can have fun styling Mr. Nikos' hair at bathtime. :)

Jumperoo!

Well, it is hard to believe, but Maya is actually big enough for the Jumperoo! Gus dragged it in from the garage yesterday afternoon, but I wasn't sure if she would be tall enough for her feet to touch the ground (Nikos wasn't, hehe!). After thoroughly scrubbing and disinfecting the entire thing, as well as washing the fabric seat, we were ready to give it a whirl this morning. Not only is she exactly the right size for the lowest setting, but she quickly figured out how to make herself bounce. She was also playing with the toys. After about ten minutes of getting acclimated, Maya decided that she liked it. A lot. Many giggles and gurgles and happy shrieks ensued. I guess we have a new toy!

I captured some video (using my webcam... which explains the quality) from when we first put her in it. She started to have more fun later on, but of course the webcam was off by then!

Finally, a few photos... I seriously cannot believe she is big enough for this toy already. It makes me a little sad, in a way, to realize that my newborn really is an infant now!


Oh, and Nikos has decided he wants his toy back... We didn't think he'd actually try to climb into it once it was assembled. We were wrong.

Splash Park!

A while ago, I was looking at houses online and dreaming of moving to a particular area that is not far from where we currently live. While I was on an HOA website for that area, I saw a mention of a splash park. It seemed like something worth checking out, but then it slipped my mind. A few days later, my friend Angie mentioned the splash park in conversation. I made a mental note that I needed to take Nikos there. After all, I don't know of anything else like it in our area! However, I never got around to it.

Until today, that is! I finally did some internet searching, found out exactly where the park was located, and convinced Gus that we needed to go. And it was one of the coolest little neighborhood parks (= free and public!) that I have ever seen! What a hidden treasure! Not only does it have this fantastic splash park area that is very clean and well-maintained, but it has the tallest slides I have ever seen at a public playground. Not to mention the giant grassy hill that just screams "Roll down me!" It was AWESOME!!

It took Nikos a little while to warm up to the idea, but he and I ended up getting pretty wet and having a great time. Gus only took a few pictures, and Nikos doesn't look happy in them, but take my word for it-- he liked it! But after abut half an hour of playing, he slipped and bonked his head on the rubbery ground. He was pretty much done after that, but it was still worth it. We've been having quite a heat wave this week, with temperatures well over 100 each day. That water felt fantastic!

I like to whisper, too!

So our little friend has been having great fun recently controlling the volume of his voice. He will whisper things to me so quietly that they are barely audible, then yell the next minute. And he finds it HILARIOUS! It all started when I discovered I could get him from the garage into the house quickly by warning him that the garage was going to get dark ("Hurry, hurry, it's getting dark!"). I just hit the button to close the door, and he hightails it into the house instead of playing around with whatever he finds out there. But he always has to wait and watch the door close completely. Once it closes, I always whisper "it's daaark!" and he gives me a huge smile. He started saying it for me. And now he whispers all sorts of things, and takes great delight in the fact that I can hear him and still understand him when he does this.

Tonight at dinner, he whispered things like crazy: "panda bear... bicycles... TWO bicycles... I love you... more milk please!" He would alternate the whispering with shouting, just for kicks. And really, he was very pleased with himself.

I think it's pretty darn cute, if you ask me! :)

**Oh, and he's been "singing" a lot more, too... Our current favorites are "I Am a Pizza" and "We're Going to the Zoo," as well as the old stand-bys "Wheels on the Bus" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." He's really starting to learn that he can control his voice!

Public Service Announcement

I made the best peanut butter cookies I have ever made this week, and the recipe is unbelievably simple. Really, it's the kind of recipe you need to memorize and use for the rest of your life. I love peanut butter cookies, but never think they are peanut-buttery enough when I follow regular recipes. No problem with that here. These are pure peanut butter awesomeness! Behold the magic recipe:

1 cup peanut butter (I used creamy Jif)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix. Form into balls. Cook at 350 for about 15 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Eat them all. Then make more.

Seriously. I know this has nothing to do with the kiddos, but I thought you all NEEDED to know this!

You're welcome. :)

Weekend in Pictures

We had a nice weekend, despite some continued sleep struggles (not nearly as bad as before, but exhausting nonetheless!). We spent the afternoon at my parents' house yesterday, where Nikos swam and Maya got to put her feet in the pool for the first time. She liked it! I think we'll have to get her in the water next time we go. Today, we enjoyed a lazy Sunday, taking care of various things around the house. I managed to get a few pictures of both kids together-- a rarity, considering how fast Nikos moves these days!

Challenges

Well, it seems I may have jinxed myself in that last post. Maya decided last night would be a great night to be awake WAY more than usual. Starting at midnight and lasting until 5:30am, she would be awake in her crib for a bit, babbling to herself, then get fussy, then give us big smiles when we'd go in to see her. And after convincing her to take the paci, she'd promptly roll onto her side and spit it out. She did get SOME sleep in there, but it wasn't a whole lot... and when she was still awake at 5am, I tried putting her in her carseat. The thinking was that maybe she'd sleep better there because she couldn't roll over. Wrong! She just wanted to look at me and smile, as I sat on the floor half delirious from the sleep deprivation. Gus' alarm went off at 5:30, and I just decided to bring her into our room and let her hang out with me as I got dressed and whatnot. It was still too early for me to be up, but I figured I might as well. I got partway through straightening my hair when I looked over to see her conked out in the carseat. I ended up having to actually wake her up at 6:30 to feed her before I left! Aack! I just hope tonight is better!

At work, I encountered another challenge. For the first time ever, I have a student who speaks ONLY Arabic. She has just recently come here from Iraq, and knows only the very basic English words (yes, no, bathroom). She fooled me yesterday, seeming to listen in class. But when I asked to see her writing assignment today, I realized that she had simply copied my example word for word. And she had NO idea what I was asking her to do. Her English comprehension is basically nonexistent. She couldn't even tell me where she was from or what language she spoke-- I had to investigate! So I had to get creative. Even with lots of gesturing and pointing, she still wasn't understanding me. I thought, "Hey, I bet I can translate stuff on Babelfish-- that'll help!" Sadly, Babelfish does not do translations from English to Arabic. But a quick Google search found me another online translator. Throughout the day, I had to have her come to my computer and read over my shoulder as I typed messages to her. Thankfully, it worked. At least the translations appear to be pretty accurate, because she did what I asked. But I'm going to need to come up with a plan, ASAP. And she will definitely be getting pulled out of class for extra support from a specialist. But wow! I've had students before who spoke no English, but they have always spoken Spanish. So I could at least communicate with them. Today was so frustrating-- I can only imagine how hard it must be for her!

Anyway, I am just glad it's the weekend, and am hoping that our baby girl returns to her good sleeping habits starting tonight. In the meantime, here's a video I took this afternoon of my cute boy... His face is messy from eating dinner. This is something he's been doing for a long time now, but I still love it!

First Day of School

Well, I survived! haha! Actually, it's funny... I have been at this school long enough now that I know more and more of my students before they ever set foot in my classroom. This year, I have a few students who I have known since they were wee kindergarteners (when I taught their older brothers). In fact, nearly half of my students are the younger siblings of other students I've had over the years. And while it's nice to already have an established relationship with some of these kiddos, it also has its drawbacks when it comes to classroom management and discipline-- they think they can just talk to me whenever they want to, without raising their hands. So it should be an interesting year!

Anyway, my legs are sore from standing and running around all day, and my throat is raspy from all the talking about rules and regulations. I'm glad that tomorrow is a Friday, because the weekend can't get here soon enough! I also found myself missing my babies more than ever, today. I think it was because a lot of people were asking about them, so they were constantly on my mind. It was so nice to come home, get them from daycare, and get my daily fix of baby cuddles. It was definitely the highlight of my day!

In non-work-related news, though, Miss Maya has decided that my return to work means it must be time to stop sleeping through the night. For the past week or so, our baby girl has woken up at about 1am every morning. She's not hungry or upset, either-- I really think she is going through a cognitive growth spurt, and just needs some time to "work on" various things. Rolling over seems to be at the top of her "To Do" list, and she is often lying on her side and trying to kick herself over to her tummy when she has her nightime wakings. Most of the time, she just makes her happy little noises for a while before eventually sounding frustrated, and then she goes back to sleep once we go in and give her the pacifier. Last night, though, she was up for nearly two hours until I finally decided to nurse her (I didn't think she was hungry, but I was desperate for sleep). I just hope she figures out how to roll over soon, so she can go back to being the awesome sleeper we know and love. Especially now that we're both working full time. Sleep is vital!

Nikos, too, has been having some sleep issues, but not at night. He has been fighting his nap at daycare, sometimes forgoing it completely, other times sleeping an hour at most. He got used to our summertime arrangement, where I'd pick him up after lunch and he'd nap at home-- it's amazing how he can remember things like that so well. Anyhow, he's been giving poor Bonnie a run for her money. He simply does NOT want to sleep over there when he could be in his own bed instead!

So, that's where we stand at the moment. One kiddo refusing to nap, while the other has been waking up at night. And work is good, but I feel like I'm running on fumes. Here's hoping things get better soon or I find some miraculous hidden energy source!

Cool Tricks

Both kiddos are growing in leaps and bounds these days, to the point where I feel like it's hard for me to keep track of everything. But because I want to preserve as much of their childhoods in this blog, I shall do my best!

Jusst recently, Nikos surprised me by starting to sing along with me. He knows many of the words to "The Wheels on the Bus" (including the hand motions), which I have been singing to him for the longest time. After I realized that he liked singing, I thought I would try to teach him the alphabet song. After I sang it to him a few times, he started singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." WHAT?!? Yes, my child realized that the tunes to the two songs were the same, and started singing the other version. The one I had never sung to him before. I suppose he must have learned it at daycare, but I was pretty shocked!

Nikos has also started saying Maya's name, finally! Hooray! For the longest time, he has called her "Baby." But his language really seems to be exploding lately, and her name is now a part of his vocabulary! He's also started stringing together more two-and three-word sentences. He definitely knows how to communicate with us!

Finally, Nikos did something amazing at his swim lesson on Monday: he BLEW BUBBLES!! This is something the instructor has been trying to get all the kids to do since day one, but Nikos would have nothing to do with it. All the other kids would blow bubbles, while mine would drink the pool water (ew!). But he did it! I'm so proud of him!

As for my baby girl, she is really trying to get moving lately. She spends practically every waking moment trying to roll from her back to her tummy. She is so determined, and really seems to be angry that she can't quite get all the way over! She even woke up twice last night, I think because she was trying to do it in her sleep. Luckily, she conked out again once we gave her the pacifier-- but it was so unlike her to wake up at all! Bonnie said that she was trying to roll all day today at daycare, too, and all the older kids were in the room cheering her on. On a side note, she really is the star of the show over there these days. I'm pretty sure there are several little girls who would like to take her home. One girl even made her a drawing yesterday, hehe! It says "Cute Maya Cute!" on it! But I digress...

In the bath, it's more of the same. Maya is officially an expert at swamping the kitchen! She kicks like crazy (much to her delight), splashing water all over me and the kitchen floor. She LOVES it! She coos and gurgles and grins the entire time. Nikos commented on her kicking and splashing tonight while she was in the tub-- and I am pretty sure he was impressed! :) At any rate, she seems really focused on controlling her various limbs lately. If she could just move one arm a little bit, she'd be a rolling machine.

Anyway, that's what the kidlets are up to these days. Whew! I'm sure I'm leaving something out, but at least this is a start, right? :)

Happy Maria Day!

Okay, so I can't seem to recall what today is actually called, but it's a huge holiday in Greece. It's basically Virgin Mary Day, which means it's also the name day (similar to a birthday) for everyone named Maria (and all the variations). And since Gus' sister is named Maria, we went up to Yiayia and Pappou's house for a barbecue celebration today. Nikos was in fine form, showing off like crazy for his captive audience. And Maya had fun, too, though she was pretty sleepy and napped quite a bit. All in all, it was a good day! Nikos' favorite part was playing in the dirt. See Exhibit A:

He also showed his handy side by helping his daddy assemble a table and chair set. He somehow knows where all the screws go without so much as glancing at the directions. A genius, I tell you!

My Babies

Just a few pictures from today, because the cuteness is overwhelming. And because I look at this blog when I'm chained to the breast pump in my classroom-- I like to have easy access to all the cutest pictures. :)

Goodnight Moon

The sweetest thing happened tonight! Nikos was in Maya's room, sitting in her rocking chair (he is obsessed with sitting in "big boy chairs" lately). He asked me to pass him the "moon book," which was sitting on the ottoman. I handed it to him, and he promptly began "reading" it. He skipped a few pages, but his version went something like this:

"Night moon... Ni-night cow and moon... Night moon... Night bears, night chairs... Night chickens (kittens)... Night moon... Ni-night mouse... Night nobody... Night mush... Night-night stars, night-night air... ahwowie owie awwwywhere"

So. Unbelievably. Cute. The best part was the very end, where he whispered it really quietly like we usually do when we read it to him-- which may explain why he said gibberish instead of "goodnight noises everywhere," haha! I just love this kid to bits!

Taking a Break

Well, I'm sitting here in my classroom, and I've decided to take a break after unpacking about a million boxes this morning. Okay, so there aren't quite a million of them, but there are 114 (I numbered them). Anyway, I am making good progress, but am exhausted! I'm hoping to finish all the unpacking today so that I can focus on decorating for the next few days. And then, I'll be able to spend part of next week doing my planning and prep for the first few weeks of school.

At any rate, how about some pictures? It's still a mess, but if you had seen it before, you'd be impressed! When I walked in, the desks and chairs were all stacked in the middle of the room, with giant stacks of boxes everywhere. So this is definitely getting better! (and yes, I just ate the bag of Fritos you can see on my desk... didn't mean to take a picture of that, oops!)


Finally, I want to impress you with my glue collection. Somehow, I have accumulated over 100 bottles (that yellow box is also full of small glue bottles). Note to self: don't buy more glue this year...

I miss my babies, and I want to go home. Today is the first day that Maya will be staying at daycare for the full day, and I am sad. :(

Playing with Photoshop

Well, Photoshop Elements, technically... I wish I could justify spending hundreds and hundreds of dollars on the full version of the program, but I will have to settle for the "lighter" Elements version, instead (sigh).

Anyway, I LOVE taking and editing photos. In case you couldn't already tell. But I've been doing pretty basic stuff up until now. I've recently decided to start learning more about Photoshop, and I have been exploring the wonderful world of actions! Actions are basically macros... Other people record what they do to their pictures to achieve certain effects, and then you can download these actions to get similar results on your own photos-- without going through a million steps to get there. And then you can adjust the pictures to your liking. Some actions are free, while others cost money. I've been playing with an Orton action that I downloaded for free off of the CoffeeTeaPhotography blog (awesome site!). Anyway, here are the results... I kinda like them!
SO CLOSE to rolling over! Aaargh!
Here, sissy, let me show you how to do it
Puppy dog eyes (I muted the color on this one)
New shoes! Too big, but that's okay

First Day

Today was Maya's first day at daycare. And it went well, just as I expected! She took a long nap in the morning, drank from her bottle without any problems, and was very content. I had decided to pick her up at 1:00, so that I could nurse her (as opposed to another pumping session, which is never fun). Nikos, on the other hand, would stay until 4:00. That way, he'd get back in the habit of taking his nap over there, which is what he does during the school year. By the end of the week, both kids will be over there until 4:00 and we should be all set to go.

When I went to pick my baby girl up, though, Bonnie told me something funny. Apparently, Nikos is really attached to his little sister! The way it works at her house is that the kids move through various areas of the house throughout the day (the playroom, the back yard, etc.). They all stick together. But babies are the exception to the rule-- they stay out in the kitchen/living room basically all day, where someone is constantly keeping an eye on them. Well, Nikos did not like this arrangement one bit! He apparently threw royal fits whenever Maya was in a different room! And while throwing fits is not a good thing, the fact that he wanted to be with his sister totally puts a smile on my face. :)

Anyhow... I spent a few hours working on my classroom this morning, but didn't make much of a dent in it. Mostly, I spent time wandering around the school, since it looks completely different now that all the remodeling is finished. And, of course, I had to talk with various people and catch up. :) But I accomplished my goal for the day, which was to basically assess the situation and come up with a game plan. I arranged all the furniture and began the long process of removing all the boxes from my cupboards, unpacking them, and then putting things back into the cupboards in an organized fashion. I also played with the new technology-- I now have a ceiling-mounted LCD projector that is controlled by a panel on the wall. It is awesome!!

Oh, and I also found a few presents waiting for me from last year's students, including a travel much that can be personalized with baby pictures and a big package of pencils with my name on them! WOOHOO for presents!

At any rate, things went well today. I even got both kids up and ready for daycare all by myself! Just for the record, this is how I did it. Next week, I will have to move everything a half-hour earlier so that I can be out the door by 7:15.

6:30 I wake up, get myself ready. In theory, this is when I also eat my breakfast. In practice, this did not happen, at least not today!
7:00 Kids wake up. This is when I ate breakfast really quickly, letting Nikos have bites (he eats breakfast at daycare, but really loves bagels and cream cheese). Feed Maya and change her diaper. Change Nikos' diaper and get him dressed. Grab bottles from the fridge and put them in the cooler bag.
7:30 Drop kids off next door. Come back home and pump quickly before leaving.
7:45 Out the door and off to work!

Also, Gus will be changing back to his regular work schedule in the near future, so I will have his help in the mornings. I thought that having two kids would be so much harder, but really it's not so bad! At least not today! :)

A Complete 180

Well, we are only one-third of the way through Nikos' twelve swimming lessons, but I am going to go ahead and declare them a smashing success! The last time Nikos went swimming at my parents' house, he basically flipped out. He declared that he was done after just a few minutes, and wanted nothing more to do with the water. It was always the same story- he simply did not like it, period. Some times he'd go in for one minute, other times ten minutes-- but he really wasn't a fan. That's why I wanted to sign him up for lessons this summer.

At any rate, we went back to my parents' house today, and decided to try the pool again (for the first time since he started his lessons). He was an entirely different boy!!! He LOVED it! Grandpa carried him all around the big pool, and he paddled/kicked to his heart's content while throwing/chasing after the little toy we brought (it's a 97-cent dog toy he picked out at the store-- don't tell him that!). And then, of course, there was the jumping. He jumped from the side over and over and over again... until finally, Grandpa's arms got tired and he decided it was time to get out. We had to drag Nikos away from the pool, and he would have thrown a complete fit if he hadn't suddenly realized that there was a park with swings right outside the gate. Seriously, he had a great time. I thought he still might not like this pool because it's not heated like the YMCA one is, but that didn't seem to matter. And on the drive home, he kept talking about Grandpa and swimming in the BIG pool! :)




On the baby front, Maya came VERY close today to doing a 180 of her own: she very nearly rolled from her back to her belly. She was trying SO hard, and got most of the way over, but her arm was in the way. You could tell she was frustrated. I have a feeling this kiddo is going to be rolling over very soon-- she is one tough cookie!

Prepare Yourself...

for a PHOTO EXTRAVAGANZA!! There is no real unifying theme here, other than the fact that I took all these pictures today (can you tell I like taking pictures?). First, let us begin with a series I shall call "Cute Baby Girl, 3 Months and 4 Days Old."





Let us continue now with a series I call "Toddler Swimming: Lesson Number Four." Can you tell this was taken with my vastly inferior point-and-shoot camera? I also had to avoid using the flash, since I kinda-sorta wasn't supposed to be taking pictures in there. Don't tell!

Sad Thoughts

Well, I have come to the unhappy realization that my summer is almost over. While I don't have to be back at work until the 18th, I really need to start going in next week so that I can get my classroom in order. And seeing as how everything is currently in boxes, that will be a monumental task.

What this also means, though, is that my maternity leave is drawing to a close. My baby girl will start daycare on Monday. The paperwork has all been taken care of, and I've even already brought over a package of diapers for her. She's all set, and I know she will enjoy it over there just as much as her brother does. I'm not worried about her at all... but I am really sad that our special time together is ending.

This maternity leave has really been awesome. Because we chose to continue sending Nikos to daycare for a half day every day, Maya and I have had lots of one-on-one time together in the mornings. I wanted her to have the benefit of my undivided attention, because it seemed only fair. After all, Nikos had our undivided attention for over eighteen months! I have really enjoyed these mornings. We've gone on lots of walks and shopping trips together, from running errands to wandering the mall. We sang songs, played with toys, baked cookies, and listened to lots of music. And since she was born in May, I was able to only miss six weeks of work and then have the entire summer with her! Nikos started daycare right after he turned two months old, but Maya will be just over three months.

Anyway, I will miss her terribly. And of course, I will miss Nikos, too! But Maya has been practically chained to my side for the past three months, and it will be so weird to drop her off in the morning and not see her until the afternoon. Like I said, I'm sure she will be fine. But it may take me a little while to become "fine" myself.

Seriously, on days like this, I want to be a stay-at-home mom. If only we could win the lottery...

Hands

While I am on a blogging spree (three in one day-- oh my!), I thought I'd share a few pictures I took today. Over the past few days, Maya has seemed to discover that she can actually make her hands DO things! It takes her a while, but if you hold a toy within her reach, she will eventually grab it and bring it toward her mouth to give it a taste. It is so cute! She is particularly enamored by this little rattle that looks like a smiling flower in a pot. Check it out!


Anyway, the reason I've been blogging so much today is because my baby boy is gone. It's so different not having a toddler around! I find that I have a lot more free time, since Maya naps so much, but I really do miss him terribly. He is spending the weekend with Yia-yia and Pappou, and having a GREAT time, I'm sure. But his absence is definitely noticed around the house. And because I miss him so much, here is a recent picture from a family grocery-shopping trip last weekend (yes, we all went). He loves the car-cart! :)

My name is Briar, and I'm a shopaholic...

Ok, REALLY I'm not. I'm pretty good about saving my money, and anyone who knows me knows that I will wear my clothes until they pretty much fall apart. That being said, I have done some serious shopping this weekend! There's a great sale going on at all GAP family stores (30% off everything with a coupon code!) and another good one at The Children's Place (25% off everything with a coupon code, and some items are already 40% off to begin with!). Anyway, I am so excited for all the clothes I bought the kids. We are lucky to live in such a warm place, because all the summer clothes are on deep discount right now-- and we will be able to wear them through most of the winter here! Yay! Anyway, I bought myself a bunch of "Back to School" clothes, too, but I am more pleased with the things I bought the kids. I bought everything pictured here for well under $100. And the most expensive items were the shoes, by a long shot. :)


YAY!! The cuteness is overwhelming! I am especially excited about both pairs of shoes and the brown knit hat. I can't wait for it all to get here!!

Three Month Letter

Dear Maya,

Today, you are three months old. One-quarter of a year, if you can believe that! The past month has been absolutely incredible-- as well as incredibly fast. I know I always seem to come back to the fact that you are growing up so quickly, but it's true! I feel like I can't look away for a second, or you'll be heading off to college when I look back. Time seems to fly by faster the older I get and, as a result, you seem to be growing so much more quickly than your brother. Stop it, already! Well okay, don't stop. But if you could slow down jus a tad, that would be great!

I feel like this month you've officially switched from "newborn" to "infant" status. You are very alert, and love to soak in your surroundings and track various objects. And if one of those objects happens to be a face, you are ALL smiles! I swear, you are just the smiliest baby girl. It doesn't take much to get you to give a big gummy grin these days. Your "most-smiley" times are when we change your diaper (you love staring at us from the changing table) or when I sing songs with you and "dance" your arms around. Your brother likes that too, by the way, and usually says "Again! Again!"

Speaking of your brother... Your best smiles are often reserved for him. He seems to completely fascinate you! If he walks by wherever you are sitting, you will follow him intently-- even craning your neck if you have to-- to see what he is up to. You love when he dances around the living room or just acts silly in front of you. You were also full of smiles when you recently met your first "other baby." Maybe it's because you are accustomed to seeing so many adults, but you are simply enthralled by other "little people." You think they are the greatest!

In addition to smiling, you've also started to really "talk" to us. You coo and gurgle and squeal, and you look like you are on the verge of laughing any day now (you do making some coughing noises when you're really happy that might be considered chuckles). And the other morning, after I had nursed you and you were drifting back off to sleep, you very clearly said "moe." Now, I know that's not a word, but it was such a surprising sound to come out of you! It gave me a little sneak preview of what your real voice will sound like, and it was a lot like your brother's! It was utterly adorable! And, for the record, your first word should be "mommy," since you're already partway there. Just sayin'. :)

On another, less thrilling note, this month also marked your first illness, and it was a doozy. Roseola absolutely wrecked you for a few days... your nighttime sleep routine was shattered, you napped constantly, and you whimpered when you were awake. But once you felt better, you bounced right back. Let's hope that this is your last illness for a long time!

Maya, you have already brought so much joy to our lives in your short three months. I can't imagine the happiness that lies ahead, and look forward to seeing what milestone you decide to tackle next. We love you from the top of your head to the tips of your toes, baby girl, and nothing will ever change that.

All Our Love,
Mommy and Daddy