♥LOVE♥

Yummy Oatmeal!

Well, it's hard to believe, but Maya is officially in that 4- to 6-month age group where our pediatrician recommends starting solid foods. She's been showing some signs of readiness: she watches me eat, she grabs for my fork, etc. And this afternoon, on kind of a whim, we thought we might try giving her some baby oatmeal. I know most people start with rice cereal, but there isn't any huge reason for choosing that over any other baby cereal-- and oatmeal tastes better, honestly! So I mixed some up for her, and we gave it a shot!




As you can see, she ended up wearing most of it. She was great about opening her mouth and taking food off of the spoon, but then she wasn't sure what to do with it once it got in her mouth. She did swallow a few bites' worth, but she pushed most of it right back out with her tongue. No worries, though! It was a really positive first experience, and she just needs some practice. Hooray for Maya!

(oh, and we took some video, too, but I still have to edit it... so I'll share that when it's finished!)

Family Day

Earlier this week, my coworker (hi Angie!) and I were having a conversation about trains. She has two boys herself, so she understands the obsession with all things Thomas. And she asked me if I had ever been to Totally Thomas. I had never even heard of it! It turns out that there is a toy store near us that specializes in Thomas trains. And of course, they have a train table for kids to play with while the parents shop. At any rate, I thought it might be a fun family outing this morning, and that I could get a few birthday presents for my favorite toddler. :)

Anyway, it was awesome! This store really has just about every Thomas item imaginable. Every train, in every possible format (wooden, pocket-sized, motorized, etc.) plus all the tracks and accessories. Throw in Thomas clothing, Thomas beach towels, Thomas underwear, and Thomas dinnerware, and it really is "Totally Thomas" (they weren't kidding!). It was super neat. I got Nikos a Thomas Take-Along "James" train (the red one, his favorite) and a "Harold the Helicopter" (another favorite). They were both going to be birthday presents, but he was so sad when we left the store that we ended up giving him the James train early. It was totally worth it, to see his face light up and hear him say "thank you!" without being prompted. And he wouldn't put it down for the rest of the shopping trip. He even fell asleep in the car while holding on to James. :)

At any rate, once we dragged him out of the store, we went over to the party supply store to get a few things for his birthday party next month. We got a Thomas tablecloth, Thomas balloons, a Thomas coloring book (with tattoos! super cool!), and some solid-colored plates and whatnot. It's just going to be a family gathering, anyway, so I tried to restrain myself and not go too over the top. But our theme is trains, and he loooooves Thomas, so I thought he'd enjoy seeing that at his party.

After we finished up there, we had to go to BevMo. I say "had to," because it was right next door and it would have been silly not to go and get some adult beverages. But it sure felt funny going in there with a toddler and a baby! haha!

Finally, as we prepared to go home, we made a last-minute decision to go and eat lunch at In-N-Out. YUM!!!! Maya slept the entire time, and Nikos was a perfect little angel, sitting in the booth, eating fries, nibbling on our food, and driving James around the table.

In the end, we wore him out. He fell asleep minutes before we pulled into the driveway. But I have to say, we had a really nice morning as a family. Maya was a total angel the entire time, and Nikos had a blast. It was a great day. :)

T-Minus-One Month...

Until our baby boy turns two.

I cannot believe it, nor do I accept it. He will always be my baby!

AAAACK!!!!

Super Baby!

Over the past week, Maya has gone from rolling over every once in a while to rolling over all. the. time. It's like a compulsion for her-- if you put her down on her back, she simply HAS to roll over. It has even carried over into her sleep! She rolls onto her tummy, which causes her to wake up and get very, very mad. She is totally capable of rolling back over onto her back, but I think she forgets how to do it when she's half-asleep! Luckily, she goes right back to sleep if one of us goes in there to flip her over. I have a feeling that she will soon realize that sleeping on her tummy is actually kind of nice...

Much in the same way that she can't resist rolling, she is also trying to SIT! I can't believe it! But when we put her in her bouncy seat, she almost instantly starts straining and attempting to pull herself to a sitting position. She is becoming a good little tripod-sitter, too! Refer to Exhibit A:

I truly cannot believe how quickly she is growing and changing! I have a feeling that she is going to be on the move at a much younger age than Nikos was, and then we're in for it!

Speaking of our boy, I wanted to share a picture from this afternoon:

He didn't nap very well at daycare, and fell asleep on the couch in the living room right after we got home. I love watching him sleep-- I could stare at those lashes all day!

Swimming!

We took the kids swimming at my parents' house today, and it was so much fun! Nikos had a complete blast messing around with Daddy and Grandpa in the water, and Maya enjoyed her first-ever dip. At first, she was VERY serious and very focused on the water itself. But we stayed in for quite a while, and she was even kicking her little legs as I pulled her around! She didn't fuss at all, which amazed me. Hooray for our little water babies!

Ahh, Toddlerhood...

Today has been a complete rollercoaster.

It started at 6:15 this morning when both kiddos decided to wake up for the day-- 15 minutes EARLIER than they usually do on weekdays. Someone really needs to explain to them the concept of "weekend," but that's beside the point. It was hard to be annoyed, because they were both in fantastic moods. Maya was smiling and giggling and rolling like a little log around the living room (from back to tummy, AND from tummy to back-- she does it all!). Nikos was playful and cuddly and just an all-around happy guy.

At one point, he wanted to color. We were going to sneak into the master bedroom to get the crayons from their hiding place, but then we realized that Daddy was awake and watching TV. Of course, Nikos wanted to climb up on the bed and cuddle with him, so that's what he did. He was being silly and flopping around on the bed when *CRACK*-- his head hit Gus' nose. And Gus' nose started to bleed profusely. Somehow, he managed to get into the bathroom in time and didn't get any blood on the carpet or bed linens. I quickly gave Nikos the crayons and got him started coloring at his table, then went back to check on Gus/clean up the mess. The good news is that he seems to be fine now. No more bleeding, and no real swelling. But it definitely made a sickening crunching sound. Not good!

After that, Nikos had an appointment to get his hair cut. The entire drive there, I was trying to get him excited about it. He kept saying, "Nope. No hair cut." So I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when he started screaming bloody murder. He was so angry that he was literally shaking. After the world's fastest trim, we got back in the car. He announced (in between shaky breaths) that he was feeling better. I asked him if he wanted to go and get lunch, and the answer was yes! Yay!

I had errands to run at our local Walmart, which has a McDonald's inside it. I wasn't sure if the McDonald's took credit cards, and I had no cash. I decided to make a quick stop at an ATM, just to be safe. I parked the car, got Nikos out, ran to get the cash, ran back to the car, and... so began our Battle Royale. He would NOT go back into the car seat. No way, no how. He screamed, he arched his back, he went completely rigid, he contorted his body. The more I tried to get him into the seat, the more impossible it became. I closed the door and sat with him and tried to give him time to calm down. It didn't work. We tried calling Daddy. It didn't work. He was screaming that he wanted lunch, but didn't seem to understand that we had to drive the car someplace else first! Ugh, I wanted to pull my hair out!

Finally, we just walked over to Petco and spent some time looking at the various animals inside (he was happy as a clam). Then we tried again. He started to get mad again as we approached the car, but after 40 minutes, I was done. I was too fast for him, and managed to get him strapped in before he could really get going again. And even though he started to throw a tantrum again, he stopped as soon as we got going again.

Once we got to McDonald's, he was happy as could be. He got a Happy Meal that came with a HotWheels car. He loved his food (as junky as it was). He fed me french fries and talked about everything he saw. Really, he was a very pleasant little lunch companion. It was the highlight of my day! It was actually the first time I have ever been out to lunch with him, just the two of us. It was some quality mommy-son time!

After that, it was time to shop. Putting him in the cart was not easy, because he'd much rather walk than ride in the seat. But having the new toy car helped-- he forgot that he was mad pretty quickly, and then was totally fine for the remainder of the shopping trip.

On the car ride home, he announced that he was tired, and that he wanted a nap. Sure enough, he went and climbed into bed almost as soon as we walked in the door. And he has been asleep ever since.

Some days, it's just not easy being (almost) two!

Stealth Rolling

I haven't mentioned it much on here, but Maya has been rolling over for about a month now. The thing is, she always seems to do it when we're not looking. I'll set her down on the floor, turn my back for just a minute, and then turn around to discover that she has flipped herself over. And then she won't repeat it while I watch.

Until today, that is!

She just kept rolling over, every time I'd lay her down on her back. I ran to get the video camera to take a video, but couldn't find it!! I actually still don't know where it is. And my other digital camera (which also records video) is in my classroom. So I made the best of it by taking about a million photos. Without further ado, here she is: our little rolling machine!





Here's a shot of the end result: baby spit-up! Yuck! Maybe rolling over with a full tummy wasn't the best idea...

Thoughts About Preschool

That's right-- my child is not even two years old yet, and already I am thinking about the whole preschool thing! Yikes!

Anyway, it seems like a lot of people I know with slightly older children are starting to enroll their kiddos in 2- and 3-year-old preschool programs. As I tend to do, I started to panic a little. Does my kid need to go to preschool? am I failing as a parent? What do I do?? But after consulting various people, I think I have come to a conclusion.

It seems that the majority of people send their kids to preschool for a few main reasons: socialization, learning to listen to someone other than a parent, and learning basic skills. It also seems like the majority of these folks are stay-at-home parents (at least part time). With this in mind, I don't think that we will be sending Nikos to preschool. I was even more convinced that this was the right decision after chatting with Bonnie this afternoon.

Basically, Nikos is already IN preschool-- it just happens to be in the form of an in-home daycare center. His days have been filled with tons of peer socialization since day one. He has learned that Bonnie and Craig are in charge over there, and he listens to them (usually). Bonnie structures the day just like a preschool, even, with circle time and lots of activities throughout the day. The best part, though, is that Nikos is definitely learning over there. He can count from 1 to 14 in English (plus 1-5 in Spanish and 1-10 in Greek). He knows his colors, some of his shapes, and can recognize quite a few written numbers. Bonnie told me today that she teaches all the same standards that are taught in a preschool setting, and that her kiddos are always well-prepared for kindergarten.

In talking with Bonnie further, she said that some of her kids choose to go to preschool, but most don't. Teagen (her grandson, and Nikos' buddy) won't be going; neither will Brady or Mattias (whose moms are also teachers in my school district). She went on to tell me the names of the older kids I know who didn't go to preschool (these kids still come to her house after school)-- they are GOOD kids, and doing well in school. So I think I know what the right decision is for us-- and it's to keep the kids in daycare until they are ready to start kindergarten. And that, in itself, will be another huge decision because of Nikos' October birthday (should he be the oldest or the youngest in his class?).

AACK! Too much to think about!! I think the solution is to keep them both little forever. But I somehow don't think that's going to work. :(

4 Month Appointment

Well, Maya may be 4.5 months old, but she finally had her 4 month well-baby appointment today! Our healthy little girl weighed in at exactly fourteen and a half pounds (75th percentile) and twenty-five and a half inches (90th percentile). In other words, our baby girl is tall! Gus took her to the appointment, since I had to work, but he said she did really well! She was asleep with a full belly when he picked her up from daycare, and she was happy and awake throughout her appointment. She didn't like the shots (or the oral vaccine), and screamed her head off for those... But then promptly fell asleep on the car ride back. But the doctor said she is doing great, which we already knew. Way to grow, baby girl! :)

Street Fair

As I mentioned yesterday, today was our city's annual street fair, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. It was mostly a lot of booths set up by local businesses, offering coupons and miscellaneous freebies, but there were some other fun things, too. The food area smelled fantastic, because one restaurant was barbecuing right there on the spot. And there were two stage areas, one for music and one for dance/ gymnastics/ martial arts performances by local kiddos. Nikos was very excited to see a banjo at the music stage. He's always talking about banjos, because his LeapFrog Fridge Farm toy says, "Hi, I'm Farmer Tad! Listen to my banjo!" Anyway, he wanted to know exactly which instrument was the banjo, which cracked me up.

As we went farther down the block, Nikos spotted one of the highlights of the day: the fire truck! The firefighters asked him his name and tried to talk with him, but he got very shy and buried his face in my shoulder. So even though he was really excited about the fire truck, we only managed to get a picture like this. He really was happy, I swear!

After we were done looking at the truck, we saw a sign that said "Kid Area" with an arrow pointing into a parking lot. Home Depot had a craft table set up in there! Nikos got a kid-sized orange Home Depot apron, which he can someday wear when he helps Daddy out in the garage. :) They also gave him a little inflatable beach ball, and then he used permanent markers to decorate a plain ceramic tile. He really enjoyed it!

After we finished up there, we visited the local 4-H Club booth. They had two goats, a pig, a rabbit, and a rooster. Nikos was in heaven! He pet the smaller of the two goats, but was content to just look at the other animals. He even said "Cock-a-doodle-doo!" to the rooster. :)

On our walk back to the car, the local rugby club gave him a balloon, and he played at a sand table set up by a local preschool. Gus and I stopped to buy a fresh apple pie from Julian (home of the BEST pies in San Diego County, hands down), which I can't wait to have for dessert tonight. YUM!

All in all, it was really fun! And we went early enough that parking was a breeze and the crowds weren't too bad. We even got a flyer for a toddler soccer program, which we are going to investigate further (he loves kicking the soccer ball in our back yard, so it might be right up his alley). Fun!

Oh, and of course Maya was there. She slept the entire time, shaded by Nikos' Home Depot apron. :) It amazes me how she can sleep so soundly when there is so much going on around her! She clearly got that ability from Gus, because I am just about the lightest sleeper in the universe. Here is a cute picture of her from yesterday, just because she is so adorable!

Parade!

This morning was our town's annual parade, so we decided to take the kids. Believe it or not, it was a first for them both! We weren't really sure how Nikos would react. We knew that there would be lots of the things that he loves (cars, motorcycles, bikes, animals, drums, etc.), but we also know that he's not a huge fan of crowds/parties. And, true to form, he was very unsure of the whole thing at first. However, he loosened up as the parade continued, and eventually was okay enough for us to put him down (hallelujah!). At one point, he even started clapping and saying, "YAY! HORSES!" Too cute. Maya, who was due for a nap, just sort of drifted in and out in her car seat. Nothing really fazed her, not even the hot rods or the incredibly loud bagpipe band that marched by. All in all, it was a great experience. And tomorrow, we're going to a local street fair sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce (it's all part of a weekend-long celebration). I hope that goes well, too!

Thoughts on Raising a Girl

A few years ago, the year I got pregnant with Nikos, I had a little girl in my class who I shall call "Jane." Jane came from a very interesting family. Her mom was only a couple years older than me, and had a number of kids, all of whom had different fathers (and different last names). Jane's older sister was an eighth grader, and was remembered by many of my coworkers as a particularly troubled girl. She had actually come back to our school and made threatening comments to me when I first started teaching there, because I had gotten one of her fifth-grade friends suspended (this was well before her sister was my student-- I didn't even know her name until that day). Anyhow, the year that Jane was in my class, her mom and mom's boyfriend came to Open House. The mom told me that she was pregnant again, and we proceeded to make small talk about it, having that in common. Later, it came out that she wasn't pregnant-- Jane's older (eighth grade) sister was. And she now has an almost two-year-old son, like me. And she should be a junior in high school.

Anyway, somebody mentioned Jane's family today, and a wave of terror washed over me. It's one thing to be the parents of a teenage boy who fathers a child; quite a different thing to be the parents of a girl. The thought of even having to broach this topic fills me with dread. I hope to God that my kids make better decisions than this. I know they already have an advantage, coming from a solid family. But even so, it freaks me out. In a serious way.

And on that note, someone needs to tell my baby to stop growing already. Because I know I won't be ready to deal with that!!

A Day in the Life

It's 8pm, and I feel like this is the first chance I've gotten to relax all day (ahhhh...). But it made me think about my life lately, and I felt the urge to blog about it. After all, what's "normal" today will likely change in a few months, and I want there to be a record of what our day-to-day life is like! Anyway, here's how today went... It's pretty typical.

2:00am - Maya woke up. We let her fuss for twelve minutes, then went to check on her. After another twelve-minute wait, I went in and fed her. After a quick side trip to the bathroom, I was back in bed by 2:45am.

6:00am - My alarm went off, and I hopped out of bed. Despite wanting to sleep in a little longer, our morning schedule is just too tight to allow that. So I forced myself to get up right away. Gus was already in the shower, having gotten up about 15 minutes earlier. I made the bed, straightened my hair, threw on some makeup, and rushed out to put a bagel in the toaster. Today, I managed to eat the whole thing before going to get the kids-- normally I'm not so lucky, and end up sharing half of my food with Nikos.

6:30am - I went to get the kids, one at a time. This morning, Maya was fussing so I got her first and plunked her in her bouncy seat. Then I went to get Nikos, and put him on the couch. He snuggled with his bear and his blanket and watched some TV. Meanwhile, I fed Maya.

6:45am - Gus finished getting ready, and took over. He dressed Nikos and changed Maya's diaper (she was already dressed from the night before). Luckily, Nikos eats breakfast at daycare-- so that's one less thing to worry about. Meanwhile, I pumped for ten minutes, then rushed to put Maya's bottles in the little bag that goes with her to daycare.

7:00am - Gus took the kids over to daycare. Meanwhile, I dug through the dryer in search of clean clothes. Then I threw a lunch together, packed up all my pump parts, brushed my teeth, and headed out the door.

7:15am - We both left for work. Heigh-ho, heigh-ho...

3:15pm - I arrived home, slightly earlier than usual because Wednesdays are our short school days. I stopped at the store on the way home to pick up diapers and a few other necessities. As soon as I walked in the door, I emptied out my pump backpack, getting my milk into the refrigerator as soon as possible. I quickly emptied the dishwasher, and loaded it with the dishes sitting in the sink.

3:30pm - I went and got the kids from daycare. Maya was fussy, because Gus forgot to bring her pacifier over this morning (doh!) and she didn't nap well. Upon returning home, I cuddled with Nikos for a bit and read some books while Maya played in her bouncy seat. We also talked to my parents on the phone, as usual.

4:00pm - I moved Maya into the Jumperoo in the kitchen while I quickly washed her bottles and my pump parts. Then I nursed her. After that, I moved her into her bouncy seat in our bedroom while I sorted and folded the clean laundry. Meanwhile, Nikos was unsorting and unfolding all the kid clothes. Doh! I still managed to get it all done, though.

4:30pm - Time to cut fingernails! Nikos was in dire need of a trim, and Maya needed one, too... So I broke out the scissors and got the job done. It wasn't easy. Nikos whined and fought me the entire time, and Maya was just really wiggly. Luckily, nobody got hurt!

5:00pm - I put Maya down for her final (short) nap of the day, and got dinner started. I've been bound and determined lately to prepare family dinners for us, now that Gus is coming home from work slightly earlier than he used to. Tonight, I made an awesome (and really easy) Chicken Florentine. Yum! When I finished getting it ready, I prepared Maya's bottles for tomorrow and washed the bottles that the milk had been stored in. (normally, I don't do this until after my shower)

6:00pm - Gus got home, and we all sat at the table and ate dinner together. Maya even sat with us in her Bumbo chair. Nikos played with his train and his car while he ate, and Maya entertained us with her gurgles and smiles.

6:30pm - We finished up, and cleared the table. Gus held Maya while I got her bath area set up, and Nikos played with his trains on our piano bench. I also pulled out an outfit for Nikos to wear tomorrow, and set it in the living room by the TV.

6:45pm - Bathtime for both kids. I gave Maya her bath in the infant tub in the kitchen, while Gus bathed Nikos in the bathroom.

7:00pm - I nursed Maya one last time, read her a short story, laid her in her crib, and walked out the door. Gus finished getting Nikos ready for bed, read him a few stories, and then put him down as well.

7:15pm - I took a shower and got into my jammies. Meanwhile, Gus cleaned up Maya's bath area in the kitchen.

7:45pm - I sat down. Finally. Next up? A glass of wine. And I hope that Maya sleeps well tonight!

School!

"School!" That's what Nikos has been saying all afternoon, ever since we got back from my school this morning. He'd been to my classroom before, but not for a long time, and certainly not since he was old enough to go on any of the play equipment. Today, however, we thought it might be fun for him to see where Mommy works, and to visit the newly-remodeled kindergarten playground. And... he LOVED it! It is such a perfect place to play! Not only is it completely enclosed, but it has that lovely composition rubber ground covering to prevent serious injuries. The slides are smaller than the ones at our local park, which means that Nikos can slide down them completely on his own. The structures themselves are also great, because they are designed so kids can't fall down from up high. When they are in the upper parts, they are completely caged in (unless they go down the slide or the stairs)!

Anyway, Nikos had a great time. He especially loved "driving" the toy firetruck and playing in the shady sand area with all the Tonka trucks. And when Maya decided she was hungry, it was super convenient for me to just take her into my nice, cool classroom and feed her while Gus stayed outside with Nikos. I can't believe we had never thought to bring him to the school before. Being a teacher definitely has its perks! :)


And a Ferber update: Night #3 went well! When I put her down, she didn't cry at ALL-- not a single peep! She did wake up wanting to be fed at 2am, so I obliged her (we had Ferberized for 20 minutes before I realized that she was doing her "I'm hungry" cry and not just fussing). I fed her again at 6am, and then everyone slept in until 7:30. Not too bad! I just hope she holds off on that morning feeding a little longer tonight, because I prefer to feed her at 6:30am (right before I leave for work). But we are definitely making progress!

Ferber, Night 2

Well, so far so good! I put her down WIDE awake tonight, and she cried for about 10 seconds. That was it! She rolled around a bit in her crib, and then she was out! So we shall see how the rest of the night goes, but this is already an improvement over last night. Yay!

On a different note, Nikos and I had fun playing outside this afternoon. We played with his water table, the inflatable "car wash" that my parents gave him, and his giant beach ball sprinkler toy. He decided that he loved the beach ball, and proceeded to get completely soaked! His diaper, which was totally dry when we started playing, probably weighed at least five pounds by the end. haha! Anyhow, here's a cute picture that Gus took with my camera while he was riding his "bicycle" after getting all wet. :)

Happy Girl!

I just wanted to post this picture of our happy girl enjoying the jumperoo. She picked up on how to use it really quickly! She bounces, plays with the toys, and can even spin herself around a bit. It's just too cute-- I only wish my webcam didn't take such lousy videos!

In other news... our first night of Ferber was fairly successful. She woke up at 1am, and took about 45 minutes to settle and go back to sleep. She woke up again at 5:30, at which point I fed her. It took her about 20 minutes to fall back asleep. But the great news is that we all got to sleep in until 8am!! Hooray!!! The goal tonight is to push her feeding a half-hour later. Wish us luck!

Operation: Ferber

Well, it's that time again... Baby Sleep Training Camp has begun! Over the past few weeks, our excellent sleeper has sort of fallen apart on us. She used to sleep through the night, no problem. Then she started waking up once a night-- sometimes to eat, other times just to check in. But for the past week, she has been waking up 5-6 times per night... And the wakings have gotten more frequent in the early morning hours. That's the worst part about it, to be honest. Getting up at 1 or even 2am isn't so bad, because you know you at least have a few hours left to sleep. But when you have to get up at 5:15, and your alarm is set to go off for the day at 6, well, that's brutal. Gus and I are exhausted. And since our baby girl hit the magical sleep-training age of four months, we figured it was high time to Ferberize again!

The first night has gone well, so far. I nursed her, then laid her down in her crib drowsy-but-awake (as usual). Only this time, she didn't get her pacifier, since the objective is to help her learn to self-soothe. She was fine for a few minutes, then started to cry. And so it began... We waited three minutes, then went in to rub her tummy and soothe her for a minute. Then we waited five minutes. Then ten. After that ten minute wait, she was out. And her crying was never that miserable, either-- it was more of a plaintive whine. Still, she fell asleep on her own! We shall see how the nighttime wakings go... I am optimistic that she will show definite improvement by the time we both have to go back to work on Tuesday. :) Ferber worked wonders with Nikos, so I'm hoping it will be just as successful with our baby girl!

Mr. Mom

Well, tonight was Back to School Night for me. I have to say, it went fantastically well! My presentation was right on-- the house was packed, I got through all my material without becoming boring or monotonous, and even got a few laughs at the right times (good audience!). Two parents even said it was the best Back to School Night performance presentation they had ever been to-- haha! But the best part was that the parents left at the right time. I had told the kids to them I would need to leave right when it ended, and they seemed to get the memo! The ones who needed to chat with me about various things came early, and the rest left right at the end. It ended at 6:45, and I made it home to nurse Maya to sleep at 7pm. How is that for awesomeness? It was fantastic!

Meanwhile, Gus played Mr. Mom. He washed bottles, gave both kids their baths, and they were ready for bed when I walked in the door. He did an excellent job. He even grabbed my camera and took this cute picture of Nikos at dinner time. I guess he just couldn't decide if he wanted milk or water-- so he had both!

Anyway, it went well, and now it is over. Hooray! :) And a three-day weekend looms ahead (complete with a date night, thanks to my parents). I can't wait!

4 Month Letter

Dear Maya,

Somehow, right under our noses, you have become a beautiful little four-month-old! A third of a year has already sailed by, and you have been growing and changing right before our eyes. In fact, I'd say that this past month has been filled with some of the most dramatic changes yet!

For one, you are completely intent on grabbing things with your hands lately. You grab your feet, my necklace, our faces, your toys... You name it, and you will try to grab it! It still takes you a little while to get a grip on things, but it's incredible to watch the wheels spin in your mind. You decide you want to touch something, and then focus every ounce of energy you have on achieving your goal. You always persist until you finally make contact. It really is amazing to watch!

In other news, you are still *thisclose* to rolling over. You can intentionally and easily roll onto either side, but you just haven't figured out how to move one arm out of the way so that you will roll all the way over. You find this endlessly frustrating, and yet you continue to try and try again. You love to grab your toes and then roll from side to side, acting like the little wiggle-worm you have become. At night, I always put you down with your head facing one end of your crib... and I always go in there later on to find you facing the opposite direction. You've been waking yourself up quite a bit with all your late-night training sessions, but hopefully you will be sleeping through the night again soon. Daddy and I certainly like our sleep, though it is awfully sweet to walk in and see you smiling up at us in the wee hours of the morning. :)

Speaking of smiling... Have we ever mentioned just how happy you are? I know I've said it a lot, but you are such a happy girl. You are always flashing smiles at people, and have even startle to giggle quite a bit when the mood strikes. You especially love it when I sing "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider" and tickle under your chin. You enjoy your new friends over at daycare, and smile at them all day long, too! But my favorite is when I come home from work and pick you and your brother up. Your brother always has a big hug for me and yells "Mommy's here!!" but you give me the greatest smile. It tells me that you know who I am, and that you really are thrilled to see me. I look forward to that moment every day when I'm gone.

On a side note, your eyes have gotten darker this month! It really is interesting to watch them change color. Your brother's eyes became dark brown when he was about a week old, and have stayed the same color since. Your eyes, on the other hand, have gone through many changes. At first they were very definitely blue, then blue-gray, then blue-gray-brown. And even though most people looking at you these days comment on your big brown eyes, they aren't quite brown if you look closely. I tried to take a picture to help me describe them. They are brown in the middle, but almost a gray/navy blue color around the outside. I have no idea what color your eyes will ultimately end up being, but it is certainly fun to try and guess! I am guessing they will end up brown, but a lighter brown than your brother's. Only time will tell, though!

One thing that won't change over time, though, is the fact that you are our very favorite little girl in the entire universe. You are so sweet and cuddly, and you light up the room. I miss our time at home together, now that I'm back at work, but you are so easy-going that the transition to daycare was seamless. Plus, now your brother gets to see you all day! And despite what he may tell you when he's older, he loves you to bits. We all do. You are one amazing baby girl, and we look forward to all the exciting changes to come in your fifth month of life!

All our love, Forever and ever,
Mommy and Daddy