Maya and Brooklyn

A GREAT report card!!

2011-04-06T18:28:00.000-07:00

Six months ago, I took Maya to my dentist appointment so that she could see what happens during a routine cleaning. The entire office was SO nice to her. My hygienist even offered Maya a job! She was going to assist her to clean my teeth. Here is what she did:

1. Helped with the x-rays

2. Squirted water in my mouth

3. Suctioned out the water (tried to suction my lips and tongue a few times)

4. Got to hold an extra mirror in my mouth

5. Held a few instruments until she started to pick holes in her pants

6. Got to wear "sun glasses" just like me

7. Even got a chance to sit in the chair

Maya loved the entire experience! We made an appointment for her and last Friday was the BIG day. I will just tell you that from start to finish, Maya was a SUPERSTAR!! When we walked in, Maya went up to the receptionist's desk and said, "I am here for my cleaning." The gal replied, "we are excited you came." Maya looked at me and said, "me too mommy." We sat down and Maya waited patiently for her hygienist to call her. A few minutes later, Maya looked at me and said, "mommy, I am a big girl and I don't want you to come back with me. You and Brooklyn stay here." I tried to explain to her that I needed to come back just in case she or the dentist had a question for me. She looked at me and said, "if they ask me a question and I don't know the answer, I will come and get you." (Honestly, she would have done just fine. It was her first time at the dentist and I just didn't want to miss out.) Just then the door opened and Maya said to the hygienist, "is it Maya's turn?" Debbie said "yes, come on back." We all headed back. Maya was bouncing off the walls with excitement! She sat down in the chair, put the "sun glasses" on and said, "I'm ready."

First Debbie squirted water in Maya's mouth to show her what it would feel like and how the suction would sound.

Then Debbie started to clean her teeth.

Maya was a champ in keeping her mouth open!

Maya thought it was silly that Debbie had to count her teeth. (The good news is all her teeth are in and the spacing between each tooth looks great for when her adult teeth come in.)

Maya loved that when Debbie squirted water and then suctioned, it made a piggy noise! I think she rinsed her mouth at least 20 times! Hearing Maya laugh each time was awesome.

While we waited for the dentist, she played with this cool drawing toy.

A GREAT report card.....everything looked perfect. He gave Maya a high five and told her to go pick out her new dentist supplies.

Maya very carefully picked out her new toothbrush (a princess and the frog one), dental floss and toothpaste. Brooklyn during the entire visit was eating apple corn puffs and observing everything. She was SO quiet!

Since she got a great report card, she got to pick out a special treat from the treasure chest.

Maya spent a lot of time (about 15 minutes) picking out the special treat. For her, it was between a package of horses or cool water balloons. In the end it was horses! Now she wants to build stalls for them with her legos.

Maya, mommy and daddy are so proud of you. The fact that you got a great report card and had a wonderful experience is the best! (We just wish we were that excited to go to the dentist each time.)

Purim

2011-03-26T20:50:00.000-07:00

Mommy wasn't able to enjoy Purim (parade and party) this year because I was home sick with pneumonia...but once again, Stewart and my mom stepped up. Of course, Maya wore her tutu (and if I would have let her, she would have worn her tap shoes) and Brooklyn was a cow. Then Maya found out that Brooklyn wasn't going to wear a tutu like her and she got upset. So, I got one of Maya's out of the closet and put it on B. It wasn't really the look I had for Brooklyn, but it made Maya happy.

When they got home, Maya demonstrated her new "wiggly" heart headband.

She showed me the hearts that an artist painted on her face.

But most of all, she was very proud of her mask that she decorated all by herself.

Even though the headband was made for kids, Maya insisted that I try it on. Believe it or not, she took this picture of me all by herself.

This is how Brooklyn came home.

Tutu sister's photo #1: Brooklyn wanted nothing to do with a picture.

Tutu sister's photo#2: At least Brooklyn stopped crying, but why was Maya standing funny. Oh well, it was the best we were going to do before naps.

Hours later:

After a long nap, a bath and a big snack, Brooklyn was back to her normal self.

A musical instrument + Brooklyn = the happiest kid on our block.

Maya and her love for Barbie's!

Happy Purim friends and family!

Hamentashen Baking Party

2011-03-14T20:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we were invited to our new friend's house to make hamentashens. We had such a fabulous time! Here are some of our favorite pictures from our morning.

Mommy was rolling out the first batch of dough.

Daniel was busy taking pictures of his "perfect" hamentashen to send to his dad in Ohio.

Mommy was showing Sasha how to make the circle cut outs with the cup.

Maya took a turn at rolling the dough, while Sasha was busy filling them.

Maya loved Sasha! Whatever Sasha was doing, Maya wanted to do.

Maya's favorite filling was the Hershey Kisses. Check out how many EMPTY wrappers are on the table. I think she ate at least 10 of them!

Everyone was busy!

Ezra had the best time! He was great at putting filling in and sprinkling them with sprinkles.

Tami the dog got a lot of love from Maya.

When the cookies were in the oven, the girls were busy in Sasha's room. Maya was trying on a lot of Sasha's shoes.

It was now time for the powered sugar. Brooklyn was like our little supervisor; always looking!

Good job Sasha!

Brooklyn didn't want to be left out.

The end result! We used five different fillings: apple, lemon, York Peppermint candies, Hershey Kisses and the traditional filling. Not only did they look terrific, but they were ALL VERY yummy!

Thank you Daniel, Becky, Sasha and Ezra for inviting us over. It was a perfect morning and we had a blast. I think this might be an annual event!

Our Florida Trip

2011-02-27T20:37:00.000-08:00

We had planned months ago, to go to Florida to see Stewart's parents and meet up with his brother's family. It was going to be kind of like a family reunion. We were really looking forward to the warm sun and seeing the family. Plans kind of took a bit of a detour when I fell and broke my leg. We were wondering if we should still go and how were we going to do it with me on crutches. After much thought, we asked our Nanny Sara to go with us and help out; of course she said yes! The trip was set and the packing began. We packed and packed and packed again. The packing was finally done, when all of our clothes were able to fit into one BIG suitcase. That doesn't count the booster seat, the car seat, the diaper bag and a backpack. We were going as light as possible.

Wednesday morning came VERY early as the alarm rang at 4:00am. We made it to the airport via taxi (because it had snowed) and did curbside check in. Stewart made a good call and arranged a wheelchair for me; it helped SO much. We made it through security and got breakfast to go. We figured that we would eat on the airplane. We got to board early and it worked out well. We opened our bag of breakfast and began to eat. The bagels we bought were terrible! They were so hard, none of us ate them. We sat on the airplane parked at the gate for an hour; while waited to be De iced. We were so concerned that we were going to miss our connecting flight. Finally we were off, and had a smooth flight to Vegas. Somehow we arrived early and was able to get lunch for our flight. Our plane left on time and we were on our way to Florida. We did a lot of reading, napping and eating! We arrived on time and collected our bags and headed to pick up our rental car. After a few minutes of installing the car seat and booster, we were on our way to Sarasota. We were only an hour away! Grandma Grace and Zayde met us at our condo and had our kitchen totally stocked. We were SO excited to finally see them. We had two days with just Grandma Grace and Zayde before Stewart's brother's family came. We played in the pools, went to the aquarium, walked in the sand, had great meals and visited. Friday night Stewart's brother's family arrived. (Dan's family (Stewart's brother) had never met Brooklyn and we had never met their newest little boy Jonah.) Bright and early Saturday morning, we met up. It was AWESOME! It had been about two years, since we last saw them. All the kids were so excited to see each other. From here on out, it was spent playing in the condos, going in the pools, going for walks, and playing on the beach. The weather wasn't great, but we made the most out of it. On Monday we went to Sears and had our family pictures taken. (This is when things kind of went downhill) Stewart began to not feel well during our photo session, so we kind of hurried it up. While we decided on which pictures each of us wanted to order, Brooklyn had a little accident. (I am not talking about a diaper accident.) She and Stewart were walking around in the tire department when she pulled a jug of antifreeze off the shelf. It cut her lip, her gum line and her tongue. Blood was all over her face. Good thing we already took the pictures! Some lady from security/first aid, came to assist us. By this time, Stewart just wanted to lay down. We left the mall and headed home. It wasn't long before Stewart was in bed. That night when he still had a fever, I knew he was not well. We left the kids with Nanny Sara and went to the ER. After a few hours, he tested positive for Influenza A. The next day was tough! Stewart spent the day in bed, Nanny Sara wasn't feeling good, and I had a headache. Thankfully Grandma Grace and Zayde helped with the girls. (Dan's family left early that day to fly home. We really didn't even get to say a real goodbye.) That night we packed and cleaned the condo. On Wednesday morning, we said our goodbyes to Grandma Grace and Zayde and headed to the airport. We returned the rental car and headed to the gate. We were in bad shape! Stewart was as sick as a dog, Brooklyn had a runny nose and Maya had a tummy ache. We left on time and was on our way home. We weren't even on the plane for an hour when Maya decided to throw up. Yes, she told me that she was going to, so I did have time to get a barf bag. The guy sitting next to us, was not so nice. He rang his call button and asked the flight attendant if her could change seats. He told her that the smell of the throw up was making him ill! Good thing he left, Maya and I got the whole row to ourselves! We finally made it home after a long day of travel. We all had doctor appointments the next day... I was diagnosed with bronchitis, Maya had the flu and Brooklyn had another ear infection. What a trip it was!

Brooklyn had no problem sleeping on the airplane.

Brooklyn's first time with pig tails!

The view from the back.

Thursday morning we went to the aquarium...
Of course, Stewart needed a picture of the "porkfish." Personally, I didn't see anything special about this fish. Sorry!

Grandma Grace showed Maya the hermit crab in the bottom of the tank.

Brooklyn was very interested in the jellyfish. Thanks to daddy, she got a front row seat!

Check out those dimples on Maya's face---so sweet!

"Hey come look here. There are a lot of Nemo fish! There is one, two, three, four...they are moving around too fast, I can't finish counting them."

This lobster was a big hit... he was HUGE and his colors were so cool.

Goof balls! After a few moments Maya wanted to be "something else," so they all traded places and.......

she still ended up wanting to be the turtle. Oh well.

We visited the shark and stingray tank when the trainers were feeding them.

The stingrays were so big.

Nanny Sara and Maya visited the "touch" tank where they each felt a stingray.

While we all stopped for a cup of hot cocoa, Brooklyn had her snack. A meal wouldn't be complete without yogurt!

We compared our heights to a manatee...here was Sara.

Here was little B.

And then Miss Maya.

Maya had never seen a manatee or a sea turtle before.

Brooklyn did some exploring on her own.

That was until Maya saw what she was doing and wanted to do the same thing.

We saw two dolphins in the outdoor pool.

And on our way out, we stopped off to see some owls.

On Friday, we split up. Grandma Grace gave Sara and I a tour around the area. Daddy and Zayde took the girls to the beach and hung around the condos.

Brooklyn was "feeding" the pretend flamingo outside on our patio. She LOVED this plastic bird!

Zayde and Brooklyn had a snack on the patio.

Maya took the baby doll for a walk in the sand.

On Saturday, we spent the entire morning on the beach.

Nanny Sara helped Brooklyn walk on the sand. The sand in Florida is much different then we are used to in Oregon. It was VERY firm and SO clean.

Maya found some garbage, just as Zayde told us that people don't leave garbage here on the beach. We thought it was so funny.

While Grandma Grace, Stewart, Hannah and Maya went for a walk, the other kiddos stayed behind to play in the sand.

It was especially cute seeing Brooklyn and Jonah play together.

This was Brooklyn's first time EVER playing in sand. She absolutely LOVED it!

Not sure who had more fun....Uncle Danny or the kids?

After the girls woke from their naps, we met the others at the pool.

Everyone had a great time swimming (playing) together.

Hannah and Emma were so good to Maya. They pushed and pulled her all over the pool.

Emma and Maya played so nicely together.

Maya: "I made such a funny face. Hannah said that the purple thing was a noodle. Isn't that silly?

Brooklyn was never left out of the fun. She loved spinning in the water with Nanny Sara. Big D was so funny with that noodle. He rode it like a horse. I wish I could have gotten a picture when he jumped into the pool with it. That was the best!

Good thing we were the only family in the pool. With all the rafts, boards, noodles and kids, there wasn't a ton of room left for anyone else.

The hot tub was a big hit too.

Both families brought silly bands to trade with each other. Emma and I were trying to separate all of them. We had A LOT!

After dinner, Big D told Maya he would read a book to her. She SO badly wants to learn to read.

Sunday was much like Saturday. After breakfast we went to the beach and played in the sand.

Maya liked that the sand was so soft.

Emma gave Jonah a great piggy back ride.

Big D relaxed in the sand.

Maya tried to bury herself with sand.

After we played on the beach and before we headed in for lunch, we stopped for a kodak moment.

Again, after naps we met up at the pool for some afternoon pool time.
Maya and Em got warmed up in the hot tub. Oh look, there is me in the background; too bad I wasn't able to use the pool or hot tub.

Family fun!

Daddy's favorite place!

Little B swam with daddy.

It wouldn't be right if Maya didn't get special swim time with daddy.

After dinner, while the adults played Yahtzee the kids watched a movie.

Monday morning was the big day....PICTURES! While we waited for Sears to open, the kids had a good time at the mall playground.

Jonah and B in the big blue car.

Brooklyn and Maya in the big red car.

How funny is this...Brooklyn is so little she wasn't even sitting on the seat!

Hey were missed Hannah! Where was she? Oh yeah, she walked down to Starbucks with Auntie Elisa.

Brooklyn crawled through the tunnel.

TA DA!! Here they are....

The grand kids with Grandma Grace and Zayde.

All the cousins together!

The whole gang.

On Tuesday, we just bummed around the condo. We spent most of the day on the beach and at playground.

Brooklyn's favorite was the swing. Thanks Auntie Linda for Brooklyn's ADORABLE sweatshirt; it finally fits her.

Our last visit to the beach. I only put this photo in, to show everyone that I really did make it down on the beach and that I really experienced Florida's sand!

Hopefully next time we go, it will be less eventful. We loved being with our family and we appreciated all the help from everyone who made this trip possible. Now Stewart and I need a vacation....just the two of us!

Brooklyn's First Surgery

2011-02-17T21:09:00.000-08:00

Poor Brooklyn had been suffering from bilateral fluid build up and ear infections almost every week for about two months now. When we saw her doctor two and a half weeks ago, she suggested that we retest her hearing; I got her in right away and she failed. Her doctor then told us to see a pediatric ENT. I made the appointment (at this clinic, you see the nurse practitioner to screen for all surgeries) and of course, we were told that she needed ear tubes. She also mentioned that Brooklyn might be a good candidate for her adenoids to be taken out at the same time. I pushed the clinic really hard, to please, please, please work her in for her surgery. The girl has been on antibiotics straight for two months. We were also very concerned about her speech. She began talking at about a year and at 13 months she stopped. We were also wondering if her balance was affected. She was very tipsy and would fall while walking. Well the scheduler did a great job and yesterday morning was the big day.

We woke at 5:30 am, and gave Brooklyn a full bottle. We needed to stop all liquids by 6. We got Maya off to school and then headed to the Children's hospital. We checked in a 8:00 and not too long after, we were called back to the short stay unit. After she got her vitals sign taken, she was busy playing with toys. She did lots of exploring of the unit. We were told that surgery would start between 9-10am. Around 9:30 is when we met with the anesthesiologist, the resident and the doctor. The doctor examined her and told us that Brooklyn had fluid in one ear and an infection in the other. We were so confused! How can she have an infection when she is still on antibiotics from her last ear infection? The doctor was wondering the same thing. She told us that she just wanted to do the tubes and NOT take her adenoids. (She said that the NP gave us the incorrect information and that normally adenoids are removed around age 4-5 if they have to be removed at all). We agreed on just tubes. By this point, Brooklyn was mad. It was probably a combination of being hungry, thirsty and tired. The doctor then excused herself so that she could go change and said she would meet up with us again when surgery was over. It wasn't long before one of the nurses brought some "special juice" to Brooklyn to relax her. (It was a mixture of Versed and Tylenol). We immediately changed Brooklyn's diaper and put her into her fancy hospital gown. Brooklyn was SO funny during this time. She was trying to stick her head through the bars of the crib, running back and forth around the crib, and making strange faces and noises. Within 10 minutes, the juice had done its job; Brooklyn was calm and groggy. At 10:15am, a team and nurses and anesthesiologists came to get Brooklyn. We walked with them to the surgery doors and said our good byes. Stewart and I gave each other a hug and kiss and proceeded to walk back to our "spot." I was so thirsty, I went upstairs to get a drink. I came back down and pulled out my magazine. At 10:30, the surgeon came over and told us it was done and that it went perfectly. We were so amazed that it only took 15 minutes. We knew that it was quick, but that was REALLY quick. The doctor told us that Brooklyn had so much "icky infection and fluid in both ears that they refer to kiddos like this "glue ears." She told us that this had been going on for many months; like 4-8 months. She said that there was NO way that antibiotics would have been able to penetrate all the "icky and fluid." That is why week after week, she was on antibiotics. She said that she was able to suction out all the "icky" stuff and the tubes went in well. She said that her walking will improve and there shouldn't be a balance problem anymore. Brooklyn should start to talk a lot; we will give it 30 days and if speech therapy is necessary, we will start that. Stewart and I were relieved! Stewart then heading off to work and I waited to reconnect with B. About 30 minutes later, her nurse carried her over to me and said that she was still a bit groggy, but good. Within a few minutes, B went hysterical. She was throwing her body around and screaming. The nurse came over and said that sometimes, kids have a hard time coming off of anesthesia. I got her a bit calmed down when the nurse brought me some apple juice to give her. That was the golden ticket...Brooklyn was starving! She gulped down 22 oz of apple juice and returned to her happy self. By the time, I got her dressed, got her discharge papers and her ear drops it was about 11:45. We said our goodbyes and went home.

Here are some memorable pictures of our day:

Oh, I forgot to mention that it was snowing. It was too warm for much to accumulate, but it was pretty while it lasted.

Having her vitals taken.

Playing with the toys out in the waiting area.

Her favorite toy! Just look at the concentration on her face.

Having a little fun on the rocking chair. Not the best option, but it kept her quiet and content.

One of our favorite pictures!

It was getting hard to keep her happy. She was beginning to lose it.

Finally, I found some matchbox cars to keep her occupied for awhile. It soon became a game to see how far she could push them off her crib.

Sitting pretty in her gorgeous gown. Waiting for her "special juice" to kick in.

The "special juice" kicked in. She was feeling very groggy.

Gulping down the last of the 22oz of apple juice after surgery.

Sweet girl taking her nap at home.

Brooklyn's first night with "new ears." That night was the first night in months, that she didn't cry herself to sleep. She went down so easy! Hopefully this is the start of something new.

Her first full day after surgery went great. She is babbling A LOT and is so happy. She is walking without falling, and is dancing up a storm. We are so grateful that the surgery went well. We have a follow up hearing test in two weeks and we are hoping for perfect hearing. I will keep you posted.

The Portland Spirit: Cinnamon Bear Cruise

2011-02-07T19:02:00.000-08:00

This last year, Stewart and I decided that Maya was old enough to enjoy the Cinnamon Bear Cruise. We figured that if she enjoyed it, that we would make it one of our family traditions to do every December.

About two weeks before our cruise, we started reading the story of the Cinnamon Bear. Neither Stewart or I had ever seen or heard the Cinnamon Bear Radio Show. We figured that this would be a great way for all of us to understand the story and know the characters.

The morning of our cruise, we dropped Brooklyn off at my parents house and headed down to the river to board. Once we boarded, Maya became EXTREMELY excited. We made our way to our private table and enjoyed a yummy buffet brunch. When the boat left the sea wall, all of a sudden the fun REALLY began....

Maya's first glimpse of Paddy O'Cinnamon Bear.

She even followed him back towards the bathroom so she could get a hug from him.

While waiting for more of the characters to come by to visit, Maya loved looking outside.

Since it was a special occasion, Maya was given hot chocolate to sip. I think she actually gulped it down!

Mommy and Maya loving on each other.

Maya couldn't take her eyes off of Queen Melissa. She was thrilled to have her picture taken with a Queen!

The most memorable picture of our cruise!

Maya held on tight to that cinnamon bear cookie. Daddy kept hinting that if she put it down that he would eat it...guess what?? She shared it with both of us.

The Crazy Quilt Dragon appeared on the top deck of the boat. It was pretty windy up there, but once we saw him, she didn't want to go back inside. Seriously, I think he was about 9 feet tall.

Daddy and Maya at the back of the boat before heading indoors.

Mr. Presto, the magician caught her attention when he pulled a real rabbit out of his hat!

Ah ha, caught Miss Maya in the act...kneeling on the window sill looking out.

Sitting in Queen Melissa's chair.

Judy and Jimmy sang a bunch of Christmas songs together.

One of Maya's favorite characters, Sweetie. Not only did she like her name, but she also liked her bright pink hair.

All the characters were outside as we left the boat. Maya could have stayed at the sea wall all day waving to all of them. She had a GREAT time and we know that The Cinnamon Bear Cruise will be added to our yearly traditions for the holidays. Next year, Brooklyn will join us.

"Oh Maya!"

2011-01-23T20:56:00.000-08:00

This last Thursday, both Stewart and I woke up sick with the terrible "stomach bug." Luckily for us, my mom came over late morning to watch and entertain the girls. Stewart and I headed upstairs to bed where we spent almost the entire day. By the afternoon, we were no better. My mom generously offered for her and my dad to take both girls to their house so we could have a quiet night. We accepted the offer and packed the girls up. When the girls left, we went back to bed. A few hours later, we tried calling mom and dad to find out if the girls were alright. They didn't answer and we just thought they were busy putting the girls to bed. A few minutes later, my dad calls me on my cell and tells me that there has been a little incident with Maya.

Here was the phone conversation:

Me: "Oh no, what did Maya do?"

Dad: "She told us that she swallowed a dime."

Me: "What? You have got to be kidding."

Dad: "No, that is her crying in the background. We called the hospital and they told us that if she was breathing ok and had good color, that we really shouldn't need 911 and just to bring her in to get checked out."

Me: "Oh shit! Oh my g-d. "

Dad: "She has good color and she is breathing ok. She says that it is stuck in her throat and that her throat hurts."

Me: "Oh crap! I will call you right back. Call 911 if you need too. I am going to talk to Stewart. I will call you back."

I crawled downstairs trying not to vomit and told Stewart what happened. After a few "not too kind words" from him, we got dressed and drove like crazy people across town to pick her up. On the way out the door, I called dad back.

Me: "We just left. Is she in her pj's? Grab her binky and her blanket. Put her shoes on, we will be there in 15 minutes!"

Dad: "She is in her pj's and I will get her shoes on. She has her binky and blanket with her."

Of course, there was an accident on the freeway and so we had to make a little detour. We finally made it and I jumped out of the car and into the house. I grabbed Maya and ran back out to the car. As I buckled her up, I yelled back to dad "keep Brooklyn and we will get her in the morning. We will call you soon from the ER." I jumped into the backseat and sat next to Maya on the way to the hospital. The look in her eyes was scary. She was wheezing and so sleepy. She didn't want to talk. She just wanted to hold my hand. Ten minutes later, we arrived. Stewart let Maya and I out at the door and he went to park. I checked her in and went to the waiting room. A couple of minutes later, Stewart arrived and the triage nurse called us in. She took her vitals and history and sent us back to the waiting room. She fell asleep in Stewart's arms. Stewart and I just looked at each other and shook our heads. The nurse called us back about 20 minutes later. Stewart carried her back and set her down on the gurney in the room. It wasn't even a minute later when Maya said, "mommy, I am going to throw up." The nurse opened the cupboard and handed me a basin. I just got it under her chin, when she threw up A LOT and I heard a "ping" sound. I looked at the nurse and said, "I think she just threw up the dime." "Really?" the nurse said. "That was quick." She took the basin out of my hand and went to the nurses station where she needed to "drain" it. A couple of minutes later, she came back in and said, "she didn't swallow a dime, she swallowed a quarter." "A quarter, WOW." The nurse told us that the doctor would be in quickly, so we could be on our way. About two minutes later, the doctor came in. He took one look at Maya and said, "wow, you are one lucky girl. How do you feel?" Maya looked at him and said, "better, can I go back to grammy and papa's now?" He giggled and smiled and said, "I want to take a quick look at you and then give you a popsicle to make sure you can swallow ok." Maya agreed and then asked for a grape one. When the doctor examined her, he noticed that she had a laceration above her tonsils that probably happened when she vomited the quarter up. The doctor looked at me and said, "did you get the quarter back?" I am sure that I made a funny face and said, "um, no. Do I want it back?" He said, "you might want it for her baby book." "If you can get it, sure?" We heard him at the nurses station, say, "does anyone have the quarter that 5 threw up?" The nurse said, "It is in the biohazard bag along with her vomit." "I am going to fish it out for her, which bin is it in?" A few minutes later, he arrived with the quarter she swallowed. "As good as new," he said. "I washed it off and sanitized it."

Well, Just as promised, we were out the door within a few minutes. Stewart walked to get the car and I carried Maya out. When we were in the car, leaving the hospital, Maya said, "can I now go back to grammy and papa's house to spend the night? I promise that I won't swallow anymore coins." Stewart and I looked at each other, smiled and together said no. We made it home and it wasn't long until we were all asleep.

Leaving the hospital. I guess we forgot to wipe the grape popsicle off her face before we left.

One VERY tired girl. It took her all she had to give us a thumbs up that she was feeling better.

"Mommy look! It is the quarter that I swallowed!"

THE clean and sanitized quarter that now lies in her memory box!

Hopefully Miss Maya has learned her lesson, that only food goes in the mouth. We are VERY lucky that she was able to throw it up and it didn't get stuck in her lungs. The doctor even told us that if it was about another inch further down, she probably would not have been able to get it back up. The chances of her then having surgery would have been extremely high. Never a dull moment around here!

Sorry this post is late. It actually happened Thursday December 9th, 2010. On the 12th, I started writing this post and the following night (Monday the 13th), I slipped off our bottom step and broke my leg. Yes, you heard me right. I broke my fibula right in half. No surgery but in a cast. It has been one tough month around here. It has taken me a LONG time to get back on to our blog, but now I am back. I have many more posts, so check back soon.

Who Knew?

2010-12-07T21:05:00.000-08:00

The other night, Stewart called me into the other room to show me where Brooklyn had fallen asleep. He told me to bring the camera, because I would want to take a picture of this. When I walked in, this is what I saw.....

While trying to get a decent picture, we were laughing so hard. What the heck? She had seriously fallen asleep!

About an hour later, Stewart called me in again. He told me to bring the camera because I would want to take another picture. (I was a little bit worried, because how could she top where she had fallen asleep before). When I walked in, this is what I saw.....

Awe...So sweet!

Of course, when we showed Maya the pictures of Brooklyn from the night before, she wanted to sit in the chair too. When I told her that she was too big for it, she told me that it was her perfect size. I walked back into the kitchen and a few minutes later, she was awfully quiet. I went in to check on her and she was reading a book. I quietly walked out to grab the camera. When I came back in, this is what I saw.....

"See mommy, I fit perfectly! It is a perfect place to read library books!"

"Yep, I see Maya." What could I say? As long as she was happy, and wasn't bothering anyone, what could I say. She looked pretty comfortable to me!

Family Pictures

2010-11-07T21:52:00.000-08:00

It always seems like you have so many things to worry about when taking formal pictures. Luckily for us, our photo session this past weekend went pretty well. Everyone was in a good mood, we had smiles from everyone, (not the teeth grinding ones like Maya loves to do) and we got cooperation from both girls.

Here they are:

Brooklyn patting the big block.

B's newest "trick" is sharing. It wouldn't be right if she didn't share with our photographer!

Two years ago, we had Maya in this same pose. It is really cute to see the difference in the girls heights at the same age.

Brooklyn giving us a big wave.

B is showing us how big she is!

Check out all the teeth Brooklyn has...all six of them!

B was concentrating on something..not sure what it was.

Total sweetness!

100% cuteness!

We couldn't have photos done with Maya's pet bunny!

There is Maya with her million dollar smile.

We are not ordering this one, but Maya loved it because her bunny was in it!

Maya's big blue eyes and adorable smile.

After five tries of the family together, this was the best one.

Now the hard part... Which ones do we order and in what format; black and white, color or sepia. Um..decisions, decisions!

October Overload!

2010-11-02T21:08:00.000-07:00

WOW! What a VERY busy month we had. In one way, I am glad that October is over, but in another way, I know that November is going to be crazy too.

Let's get right down to all our fun events:

Our month started off, by a party at The Pumpkin Patch which my sister hosted for her work.

On our hay ride back from picking out our pumpkins.

Daddy and his two girls.
Brooklyn showing off her piece of straw.

One final picture before going home for the night. We had a great evening with a bon fire, eating hotdogs, going through the corn maze and roasting marsh mellows.

Days later, we decorated our pumpkins.

From left to right:

Daddy, Mommy, Brooklyn and Maya

I then thought it would be cool, to make a haunted house. We were given a kit by a friend a year ago, but did have the chance to do it. We cracked open the kit, and had a fun time doing it. I added the spiders and the skull fence. (The spiders were party favor rings and the fence was a necklace that lit up. When you pushed the button, the fence really worked!)

A side picture.

The front of our house.

During the month, we also had some awesome fall weather. One beautiful afternoon, I decided to take the girls around the corner, to a huge leaf pile. They had such a great time sitting, playing, climbing, giggling, waving and tossing the leaves around.

Maya then had her school fall field trip to Plumber Farms. I was very excited that I was able to attend her field trip. I was so busy helping out, I forgot to take pictures. We had lunch, visited the farm animals, went on a hay ride, went down two different slides, picked out a pumpkins and played on the play equipment! We had a wonderful time.

A few days later, we again decorated pumpkins.
From left to right:

Maya, Brooklyn, Mommy and Daddy.

This time we used stickers, which was so much easier and faster.

We then attended Maya's Preschool Halloween Party, which again I didn't take pictures. The school had a parade, a dance, games and of course trick or treating. We had such a fabulous time. The school did such a great job decorating and making it special for the kiddos. Next year, I WILL take pictures.

Last but not least....Halloween. We had a blast. My family came over for our 2nd annual party. We had pizza for dinner and then went trick or treating.

The girls this year went as...

a cow

and a 50's girl.

Even though you can't see Brooklyn's face, we still love it.

Auntie Jen came along trick or treating

along with Rob, Rileigh, and my parents.

Phew, what a lot of pictures! Better go erase our pictures off the camera and charge our batteries; can't wait to start snapping pictures. We have a lot of exciting things planned for November, beware!

If you didn't get a chance to read our post "Do we have a doctor in the house" scroll down.

Do we have a doctor in the house?

2010-10-29T19:29:00.000-07:00

Stewart recently got Maya a doctor bag, and lately this has been her favorite toy to play with. The other night, I heard the two of them playing with all the instruments. When I walked in, I heard Maya say, "I will be doctor and you will be the kid." Stewart and I smiled at each other and he said, "ok." Here are some funny pictures of how the evening went.

"Hold still daddy, I am going to take your blood pressure. It will give your arm a hug, but won't hurt."

Oh and by the way, do you see the band aide on her wrist. She wears it like a bracelet!

"Lift your pants up, I am going to hit your knee with this hammer." The first time she hit his knee, it was pretty hard. We had to tell her to do it softly! When Stewart asked her, do you know what the doctor uses it for, she said, to see if your arms and legs bend.

Maya then decided it was time for a shot! "Pull your shirt up daddy, I am going to give you a shot. This will hurt, but hold still, K?" We were both smurking because we were not sure where she got the idea of giving him a shot in his back.

She then told Stewart it was time to take his temperature. By now, we were both hysterical! Check out Stewart's face. We were busting up laughing.

"Turn over daddy, I need to listen to your heart."

"Now, I need to listen to your belly."

All of us were giggling, because Maya decided to use the reflux hammer to check Stewart's ears.

Doesn't every patient hug their doctor?

Maya, your concept of what a doctor does is exactly right. Thanks for the fun time and good laughs. If you decide to be a doctor when you grow up, daddy and I will support you in every way!

Sweet Dreams

2010-10-02T22:15:00.000-07:00

Tonight when I went in to kiss sweet Brooklyn goodnight, this is what I saw....

I was laughing so hard, I woke her up!

If you are wondering why Brooklyn is sleeping in her infant car seat, it is because the doctors THINK she is still battling with acid reflux. We are unsure if the medicine is working, but keeping her upright has helped. Believe it or not, she is sleeping much more soundly in her car seat. Our problem is going to be when she can no longer fit in it.

Humm...Was her leg over the side because she was too warm or that she was trying to escape??

A funny story

2010-08-25T14:40:00.000-07:00

I thought this was too funny not to post.

Just FYI....Tuesday is our garbage day.

Now, onto the story. Monday late afternoon, Stewart gathered all the garbage and recycle from inside our house and took the bins/cans to the curb. We then had dinner and afterwards, Stewart took both girls out to play with the neighbor kids. When they returned about 1.5 hours later, there was a pair of my black dress shoes next to the door that I put there. When Maya walked in, she said, "mommy,why are your shoes here?" I said, "well one of straps is broken so I need to throw them out. Do you want to take them to the garbage can for me? I will stay here at the door and watch you." She eagerly said, "sure" and with one shoe in each hand she headed out. She went down the stairs, down the driveway and to the curb. (The lid to the garbage can was already partly opened) When she got to the garbage can, she immediately threw the broken shoe in. She then set the "good" shoe down on the grass and put the lid back onto the can. As she headed up the driveway, I yelled, "Maya you need to throw the shoe that you are holding into the can too." She looked at the shoe and yelled back, "no mom, this shoe isn't broken. You can still wear this shoe, don't throw it away!" What could, I say? She was right! There was nothing wrong with the shoe she was holding. I began laughing and a second later, Stewart was laughing too. (He was on the couch feeding Brooklyn a bottle) After a couple of minutes convincing her that in order to wear shoes, you need to have two of the same ones, she ran back down the driveway. She put the shoe on the grass, took the lid off and threw the "good" one in. She then put the garbage can lid back on and ran back up the driveway. As she came running through the door, I said, "hey, thanks Maya for throwing my shoes into the garbage can." As she was taking her shoes off on the ottoman, she said, "when my shoes break, can I throw them away?" While a smile, I said, "yeah, of course you can."

Maya, you are so right. I should have kept the "good" shoe. There was nothing wrong with it. Who says that your shoes need to match?

You make daddy and I laugh all the time. You are SO funny, SO smart and SO adorable! Don't ever change. We love you SO much!

BTW: If you didn't see the most recent post of Maya riding her new bike, you should scroll down and look at it. It is pretty cute.

Bikers Beware

2010-08-23T14:42:00.000-07:00

Maya is on the loose! You will now be sharing the bike paths and bike routes around town with her. Maya loves her new bike and each time she rides, she is becoming more comfortable and confident.

Our adventure last week took us to the East Bank Esplanade...

We started at the OMSI parking lot, not really sure how far she would ride. Needless to say, she rode all the way to the Steel Bridge and back to OMSI. That was 2.5 miles of pedaling!

"Look at me mommy!"

Daddy's turn to run along side of her.

Daddy and I are so proud. Look at Maya go!

"I am a big girl, riding my big girl bike!"

Our favorite picture from this adventure.

Maya, keep up the great work. It won't be long until we can all ride bikes together as a family. Remember....we need to practice, practice, practice!

We were so focused on Maya, we forgot to take pictures of Brooklyn in the stroller. I promise to get some pictures of B on here soon.

Party at the Park

2010-08-13T13:12:00.000-07:00

I must confess...we really didn't have a party at the park, but we did (and always do) have a great time. We love parks! There are so many here where we live. Of course, we love our favorites, but we are also on a mission to try a new park about once a week. The girls are at great ages for both to have a wonderful time. All we need is a bucket seat swing for Brooklyn and a good playground; slides, swings, the "merry go round" and a climbing structure for Maya. We LOVE to play and it shows!

This was a new playground for us...

Maya loves to go on these "rocking things." The faster she can make them go the better time she has. This was a motorcycle.

Big sister Maya taking her sister down the slide. The two of them were laughing when they got down to the bottom.

Brooklyn loves the bucket swing! The higher you push her, the harder she laughs.

You wouldn't know it by her face, but she was giggling SO much.

When Maya sees one of the BIG swings, she always pretends that it is a ride at Disneyland. She likes for you to double check that the belt is fastened and pretends to give you a "ticket."

Holding on.

Here's our happy girl...giggling up a storm!

"Whee!"

"Watch me, I'm a big girl." (That seems to be her favorite line these days.)

The next three pictures are of Maya climbing down a rock wall. She had never done this kind before. She had no idea that I was taking these pictures of her.

When she got off and looked over at me, she said, "did you see me?" When I told her that not only did I see her, but I took pictures of her, she said, "can I see them?" After she saw them, she said, "I did it. I am a big girl!"

Brooklyn was cheering her on the whole time!! She is always Maya's biggest supporter.

Maya had never been on one of these spiral things either. Nanny Sara was quick to show Maya how to do it. After a few turns on it, maya said, "I can do it by myself Sara, let go of me."

She was right, she could do it. She just needed someone to show her how to do it.

Maya made it all the way. Good job M!

This is why you should ALWAYS buckle a child into the stroller...

When we weren't looking, Brooklyn decided to pull herself up. (Mind you, she has never attempted this before!)

This is what we saw next....
and this is when Sara and I went running. (Mind you, we were only about 10 feet away.) We are lucky that she didn't end up falling out. Now a days....she is ALWAYS buckled in! B may be little, but she is VERY quick and mobile.

Maya practicing the spiral thing,

again,
and again,
and again.

Nanny Sara decided to take both girls down the slide.

At least we know that Sara had a good time!

Brooklyn had a great time "banging" the sides of the slide.

Mommy's turn! Ready...Set...Go...

That last corner caught mommy off guard.

Brooklyn sitting in the bark chips while Maya was drawing with side walk chalk.

"Look at me, mommy!"

One of our favorites!

"OK, enough Sara!"

This is more mommy's speed...very S-L-O-W-L-Y!

While the 3 of us were playing on the merry go round, B decided to take a nap.

I love to "stand back" and watch Maya interact with Nanny Sara. The two of them have a very special bond together. Moments like these make me smile.

CHOP CHOP

2010-07-26T20:24:00.000-07:00

That's right...time for haircuts. This was a first for Baby Brooklyn; all things considered she did pretty well. Maya went to get her bangs trimmed and the split ends taken care of.

Brooklyn's turn...

Brooklyn had no idea what she was getting into.

The picture doesn't lie; Brooklyn was not a happy camper!

After giving her a few minutes, Brooklyn was 100% better.

Maya's turn...

Maya's before picture.

Ta Da! She was VERY happy that her bangs were shorter.

Thanks Anna for giving the girls great haircuts. It is so nice not hearing Maya say, "MY HAIR IS IN MY EYES!"

A New Adventure

2010-07-20T22:08:00.000-07:00

Last week, nanny Sara and I decided we would take the girls to Oaks Park for one of their Preschool Days. We have never been, and I keep hearing what great fun it is. I must admit that I was very concerned when we followed a ton of cars into the parking lot and the line to buy tickets was extremely long. Before we unloaded everything and the girls, Sara and I just looked at each other and said, "what the heck? Let's give it a try!" So I paid the admission and in we went....

Nanny Sara and Maya went down "big pink" slide together. Never did I think that Maya would love this ride so much that she actually ended up going three times!! The last time she went down it all by herself!

I should have known better! As we got buckled in and settled, the little girl behind us, said, "have you ever been on this roller coaster before?" I turned around and said, "no, have you?" She giggled and said, "yeah, and it is really fast and scary." Oh wonderful I thought. I was really thinking how bad can it be? They have it listed as a kiddie ride for goodness sake!

And off we went....

Oh my! Maya looked at me after going around once and said, "I don't like this ride, the little girl was right. It is fast and scary." Needless to say, the operator let us go twice. I know Maya wasn't too happy and I wasn't either! I quickly told Maya that sometimes when I am scared that I laugh out loud and that it seems to help my fears. I told her that we were going to try that.

Let's just say, that Maya and I were the only ones laughing the entire time. When we got off, Maya looked at me and said, "I don't like that roller coaster." I looked at her and whispered, "me either, but thanks for trying it anyways."

Brooklyn had her own good time in the stroller. She loved watching all the kids run around.

If by chance no one was paying attention (which never happens) she would bang on the stroller.

This is the face she would give you, once she noticed you. Gotta love that face!

Nanny Sara and Maya riding in a hot air balloon.

Maya practiced "shooting" her gun at me before the ride started.

After Maya would "shoot" the boy in the next rocket over, the boy would yell, "got me." Maya thought the boy was REALLY funny.

Maya got to drive a motorcycle.

Brooklyn had a lot to say.... The longer she babbled, the louder it got!

Making B laugh and smile was pretty easy that day; she was having a good old time.

When Maya saw that they had Frog Hopper, she was pretty excited. She went on this in Toronto and so she knew what to expect.

Waving to me as she went by in the car.

Maya and nanny Sara jumped on the train for a ride around the park.

Last but not least; the carrousel. Maya picked the frog out all by herself. When I asked her the name of the frog, she said, "I don't know? Jumpy because he jumps. That's silly mommy."

The last ride before story time followed by cookies and milk.

Let me just say that we had a fabulous day and we will definitely be going back.

Splashing and Swimming at Jamison

2010-07-15T21:05:00.000-07:00

The other day, nanny Sara and I decided to take the girls down to Jamison Park. The weather was absolutely beautiful. Our plan was to play in the water and then have daddy meet us for a picnic lunch.

Here are some cute pictures from our morning...

Maya's face tells it all; she was SO excited to get in the water.

Within just a few minutes of being there, Maya shouts to me, "Mommy take my toys, I want to swim."

"Look at me!!"

Maya loved copying what the older kids were doing.

"See the girl over there, she is swimming like a dolphin!"

"I'm doing push ups in the water."

Maya loved climbing up and down the stone wall.

One of our favorite pictures.

Maya was trying to roll over in the water.

It took a little while for Baby B to warm up to the situation.

She had a lot of fun banging the shovel on the concrete.

Tried SO hard to get a smile out of her.

Doing a little exploring.

Feeling and splashing the water.

Another favorite of ours.

That's our Brooklyn....laughing, smiling and babbling!

Maya having a fabulous time!

Eating lunch with daddy.

Our plan worked out perfectly! We had a great time and can't wait until we go again.

We have been very busy; more fun posts coming VERY soon.

Daddy's Day!

2010-06-25T11:57:00.000-07:00

Dear Daddy,

We would like to thank you for being a wonderful daddy. The time you spend with us is so special. We love going to the parks, the zoo and the Children's Museum with you. When we take walks in the neighborhood, you always make it a priority to stop off at our friends houses, our favorite swings and our two "kid friendly" zip lines. We love when you read to us, watch videos and act silly with us. We love when you take us to the basement to play; build forts and play "troll".

We know mommy is so grateful that you are able to go into work early and come home in the late afternoons. The much needed break you give her when you take us off her hands for an hour before dinner keeps her sane. We know that we are a handful and some days are tougher than others. Hopefully all the hugs, kisses and smiles we give each other; makes the harder days a little less rough.

Love,

Maya and Baby B

In regards to your day, mommy and us worked very hard in making your day very special. Hope you had a wonderful dad's day. As you recall, our day began early with a tasty home made breakfast. As our day progressed we visited the library, and dove into an art project(which was all mommy's idea). After a nice dinner, we ended our day by having a special dessert. With the constant nagging of the two things you wanted as gifts; mom finally gave in. Thanks to you dad..our shoes are in order and the door areas are clear.

Here are some great pictures from Father's Day.

Maya giving you our breakfast menu.

Daddy deciding on what to "order."

Daddy filling out our menu.

Our special menu!

Maya beating the eggs for our french toast.

While preparing and enjoying our breakfast, Brooklyn was fast asleep.

Maya helping to wash dishes.

Daddy giving us two thumbs up!!

Maya enjoying her breakfast as much as daddy; especially having her apple juice in a "special occasion" glass.

A priceless picture! Maya kept saying, "is today father's day? Happy father's day daddy."

Time for cards.... Maya liked opening the envelopes.

Mommy's crazy art project for daddy. The directions were very confusing, the mold was difficult to make, and it didn't quite turn out like I had hoped for. Next year we are doing something else.

Raspberry pie with whipped cream for dessert.

Pretty tasty!!

Daddy's two presents:

Our new backdoor shoe organizer.

Our new front door shoe organizer.

Happy Father's Day daddy!

We're back

2010-05-26T21:31:00.000-07:00

Sorry it has been so long since our last post. For the last two months, we have been fighting one illness after another. Each of us, one by one have been hit with a nasty stomach bug and a terrible cold. Just when we thought we were on the mend; I (mommy) had a kidney stone and had surgery last week to remove the sucker. I don't want to jinx anything; but I think we are REALLY on the mend now. We are so tired of being sick!!

But, on a side note: Last night Maya and I were playing in the front room; when she asked if we could play with our Mr. Potato heads. Of course, I said yes. After we dumped the container out; she asked me if we could make our family. Of course, I said yes again. She asked me if I could put the arms and legs on all of them and I did. One by one, she assembled them. She was very careful in choosing which pieces went on each of them. After almost an hour of putting them together; here is Maya's idea of our family:

From left to right: Daddy, Mommy, Maya and Brooklyn.

Stewart and I thought she did a great job. We love the fact that she chose a mouth with the tongue sticking out for her! Besides daddy not having a mustache, she was right on. Her creativity is amazing!

I promise, I will post some current pictures of the girls soon.

Sisters

2010-04-06T11:20:00.000-07:00

It is so nice that our girls are having so much fun with each other. Brooklyn is now babbling (squealing), smiling, laughing, pushing herself up, rolling over, scooting backwards and almost sitting up by herself. Maya is a typical two year old; loud, funny and full of energy. They always have to know where the other one is at ALL times. When one of them sees or hears the other; they smile and start "talking." Maya talks (shouts) at B and B squeals to Maya. Here are some cute pictures of the two of them.

When it is Brooklyn's night to take a bath, Maya is ALWAYS wanting to help wash her. We now strip Maya down to her diaper, because some how she ends up soaking wet! Go figure?

The two of them love music. Maya was showing Brooklyn how to drum on the tambourine.

Of all the instruments that we have in our house, Maya likes the recorder the best.

While I am getting ready in the mornings, the two of them like to look at books in their room. (If I didn't know any better, I would think that Maya is really reading to her!).

One of our many nighttime routines is to sing songs with the girls before we turn the lights out. Here we are singing row row row your boat.

Our picnic at the zoo.

These next three pictures are so precious:
Maya's all time favorite book is Pat the Bunny. Maya told me the other day that she wanted me to lay Brooklyn on the floor next to her so that she could read her that book.

Maya trying to help Brooklyn pat the bunny.

Maya trying to help Brooklyn play peek a boo with Paul.

Maya showing Brooklyn how to play the game Master Mind. She really doesn't know how to play except she likes to play with the pegs. As soon as B is more mobile, we are going to have watch her closely so small pieces don't end up in her mouth. (WARNING: CHOKING HAZARD!!)

We love to hear Maya talk about Brooklyn. Here are some questions that we think are so funny:

1. Is that my sister? Our answer> yes.

2. Is that my sister talking? Our answer> yes.

3. Is that my sister crying? Our answer> yes.

4. Does my sister have a dirty diaper? Our answer> yes.

5. Is that sisters bottle? Our answer> yes.

6. Is my sister having her formula now? Our answer> yes, that is all she eats now.

7. Is my sister naked? Our answer> yes.

8. Is my sister funny? Our answer> well, she thinks you are.

9. Is my sister sleeping? Our answer> yes and let's try and be quiet.

10. Did I wake sister up? Our answer> Yep, you woke up sister.

And the winner is:

Is sister looking at me? Our answer> yep. Followed by, "That's funny!"

STRIKE!

2010-03-16T21:25:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, we decided to take the girls to Chuck E Cheese for a family outing. When we got there and saw that the line was out the door to get in, we made the executive decision to go bowling instead. Stewart and I had talked that someday we would love to take Maya, but we just didn't think it was going to be so soon. (I have to admit, I really wasn't sure how it would go). After driving around for awhile, we finally found an alley that had an open lane. We went inside and Maya was instantly overstimulated; a place full of people, loud noises and a new setting. We walked to the counter, paid for our game, received our lane and got shoes. The guy working the counter was even nice enough to find a ball for Maya.

"Mommy, these shoes are funny. They look like clown shoes."

Game time:

Wait a minute...before we started, mommy had to explain a few rules:

1. We only roll our ball down our lane.

2. Only the person who is bowling can be on the lane.

3. Mommy or daddy has to help you get your ball down from the ball holder. Never put your hands where the ball is coming up!

4. Carry your ball very carefully and don't drop it on your feet!

5. You must have fun!

When Maya first picked up the ball, she said, "Momma, help Maya! Maya's ball is heavy."

Maya's 1st frame..
"Can I go now?"

"Ready, set, go!"

Just FYI: After the first frame, Stewart was trailing Maya. We both joked that maybe he should sit down with the bumpers up and roll the ball.

Maya's 3rd frame..
"Maya stand up and roll the ball like mommy and dadda?"

You can tell that she was pretty impressed with herself! Check out that face.

Maya's 5th frame..
"I stand up and push the ball again!"

"What are these dots for?"

It seemed like it took FOREVER for her ball to travel down the lane. Oh well, we were in no hurry.

Nice roll Miss Maya!

Daddy was very proud of Maya.

Our 10th frame..

Getting ready...

"Maya did it!"

Our favorite picture!

The end result!!

Maya, you did a great job and mommy and daddy are SO proud of you. Can't wait to go again! If you are wondering where Brooklyn was the whole time, she was in her car seat watching us. We promise you Maya, we will take you to Chuck E Cheeses sometime this week. Deal?

Big B, Little B, B, B, B

2010-03-01T17:58:00.000-08:00

Isn't that a line from some Dr. Seuss book? Anyways, these are just some of our nicknames we call Brooklyn. If you haven't guessed yet, this post is going to be all about Baby B. She is growing up so fast! In just 3 days, she is going to be 5 months old. (It doesn't seem that long ago that we saw her for the first time). Things have been going well. She is a very happy baby who smiles a ton and babbles non stop. I love when B starts to babble and Maya will look at us and say, "is B making funny noises?" When we tell her that she used to do that, she says, "that's funny!" It seems like Little B is very ticklish and when she laughs her giggle is so darn cute. Her tummy time has definitely paid off; as she can now roll over. It doesn't take her long to go from her tummy to her back and back to her tummy! We learned this the hard way when last weekend, she rolled off our bed. She can no longer be on a couch or a bed without pillows! Sitting up is her next "milestone." Not only does she like sitting in her bumbo chair, but Maya likes it too. She also does well sitting in our laps or on the floor with just holding our hands. She spends a little time each day both in her doorway jumper and exersaucer. One of her all time favorite places to still hang out is in her swing.

Brooklyn's all time favorite place.

At her 4 month well baby check-up. Why is it that they love playing with that paper? It must be the sound it makes.

Her weight: 12.5 lbs

Her length: 24.5 in

Asleep in the front carrier.

Tummy time in the kitchen.

"Scrub a dub dub, Big B in the tub."

She will almost always giggle when you tickle her. She is very ticklish under her chin, on the inside of her thighs and under her arm pits.

More tummy time in the front room. These tummy pictures are hard to get, because normally by the time we get our camera, she has already rolled over!

Oops...Big B is waking from her afternoon nap. I guess our post about B needs to end. Until next time---keep making great strides Brooklyn.

We love you SO much!

A Special Valentine's Day

2010-02-19T13:00:00.000-08:00

Last Friday, Maya and I had a special invite to go to her preschool (that she will be attending in the fall) and spend the morning in the classroom. She was so excited to go and see other kids. Ever since we made our decision on where to send Maya; there has not been one week that has gone by that Miss Maya doesn't ask when she can go to preschool. It is so adorable! Here are some pictures of Maya playing and participating at her first Valentine's Day party at preschool.

The first thing Maya spotted in the classroom was the drinking fountain.

A little boy came over to her as she was standing in front of the drinking fountain and told her that there was a step stool against the wall that she could use to reach it. Maya looked at the boy and said, "I'm a big girl, I can reach it." The little boy looked at Maya and said, "me too." It was so darn cute.

During dress up time, Maya loved wearing this purple hat. She kept asking me, "mommy, how do I look?" Each time, I would say the same thing, "you look awesome."

Since Maya was a special guest, she got to wash her hands first for snack time. She loved the fact she could see herself in the mirror while washing her hands.

While waiting for her snack, she told teacher Heather that she was REALLY hungry. She then told teacher Heather that she needed her snack NOW.

Maya loved her snack... apple juice and a blueberry muffin.

During quiet time, Maya found a book to read. When I asked her if she wanted me to read it to her, she quietly said, "no mom, I can do it."

During open play, two girls asked Maya if she wanted to play with some farm animals and the barn. Maya looked at them and said, "ok, but Maya wants the mommy pig and the babies." Both girls said ok and the three of them played together.

For the Valentine's Party, each of the kids got to exchange valentine's cards with each other. The staff made some cards for Maya so that she would have cards to open too. She even got a piece of candy from teacher Heather. After the cards were opened, each child got a sugar cookie to decorate. Teacher Heather gave each child some frosting, some pieces of licorice, chocolate chips and a handful of jelly beans. Here was Maya decorating her cookie...

Maya placing a jelly bean on the frosting.

Carefully putting a chocolate chip on.

Now the licorice was a bit tricky! After a few tries, she finally figured out that she needed to push harder in order for the licorice to stand up.

Teacher Heather encouraged the kids to taste the frosting. When Maya tried it, she said, "this is yummy!"

Maya then saw some of her new buddies licking the frosting off of their knives and she thought she would try it too.

In the end, she cleaned off her knife.

As teacher Heather came over to wrap up her cookie and package up the extra candy, Maya looked at me and said, " Maya eat cookie and candy for dinner." I gave her a smile and said, "maybe after dinner?"

As the morning wrapped up and it was time to go, Maya went around the room and gave hugs to her new friends and teacher Heather. It was a great day. On the way home, Maya asked me if she could come back to preschool another day. I said, "of course you can."

It was really fun to see Maya interact with the other kids. She had a fabulous time and has already asked if tomorrow she can go to preschool!

2...4...6...8...

2010-01-21T21:14:00.000-08:00

Look who wasn't afraid to get up on roller skates. A few days ago, I decided to take Maya on my own to Oaks Parks during the "preschool skate time." I really wasn't sure how it would go, but I figured I would give it a try. I told Maya on our way over, that we were just going to try it. She didn't really say anything. When we arrived, and we were walking towards the front entrance, she told me to stop walking because she had something to tell me. I stopped and got down on my knees. Here is how our conversation went:

Maya: "Mommy, I am going to skate today!"

Me: "I know Maya, we are going to go in and check it out."

Maya: "No mommy, Maya is going to skate today!"

Me: "I know Maya, we are going to go in and check it out."

Maya: "What are we going to do after we check it out?"

Me: "We will get our skates and put them on our feet."

Maya: "What will we do after we have our skates on?"

Me: "I am going to hold your hand and walk with you around the rink."

Maya: "I want to skate."

Me: "Ok Maya, then let's go in and get started."

Maya: "Hurry mommy!"

Me: "I'm coming."

After we registered, paid and received our skates, I sat Maya down on a bench and put her skates on. While I was lacing mine up, I saw her out of the corner of my eye crawling towards the rink. I hurried even faster and by the time I was at the edge of the rink, she was standing up on her own. I couldn't believe it.

Maya standing on her own.

Once we made it to the other end of the rink, she liked to look over the railing and watch all the other kids skate by.

"Mommy, help Maya stand up!"

Maya listened to the teacher (there was a free lesson with admission).

Maya doing the Hokey Pokey.

Getting ready to skate towards me.

Skating like a champ. It was so crazy.

It seemed like there was NO fear in her! She didn't want to hold my hand and I think she never had any intentions of it either.

Instead of watching where she was going, she was busy watching all the other kids.

It is so hard to get her to smile these days! When I asked her for just one smile, she said, "Maya can't, Maya is skating."

Trying to make a turn.

One of my favorite pictures of her having fun.

When I asked her why her hands are behind her back, she said, "Those kids are doing it." "Yes, but those kids are much older."

"Maya going to take skates off and get snack."

I guess this was my clue that she was ready to go. We were there for an hour and a half and had the best time. I was so proud of her, and she impressed me so much. Thanks for a fabulous time Miss Maya! I can't wait to skate with you again.

Professional Pictures!

2010-01-14T21:20:00.000-08:00

Last week, Stewart and I decided it was time to get new pictures taken of our family. Our walls and fireplace mantel had been crying out for weeks! It used to be so easy, with just Maya. Honestly, how could going from one child to two, be so difficult? If it wasn't one of the girls having a serious melt down, it seemed like Stewart or I was getting frustrated that it was taking too long. In the end, when it was over and we saw our pictures we were very happy.

Brooklyn might be smiling in this photo, but do you notice her middle finger? Neither Stewart or I noticed until we went to publish this post. OH WELL.

The time has gone by so fast. It is hard to believe that Brooklyn is already 3 and a half months old. Maya is a great sister and has adapted so well to Baby B.

SURPRISE!!

2009-12-29T21:00:00.000-08:00

Today we got a special surprise from mother nature...about 2:30 this afternoon, I looked outside and saw SNOW falling. It was awesome! Stewart had just gotten home from work, and it didn't take long, until Maya asked to go out and "see snow." So Stewart bundled Maya up, and she and I took a windy, cold and blustery walk around the block.

Leaving our house. Good thing for my back, that once we started down the driveway, Maya wanted to walk on her own.

"Look mommy, Maya make boot prints in the snow."

"Snow falling fast. Let's make more boot prints."

Maya loved watching the cars drive by. Every time a car passed, she would get all excited and say, "car made tracks in the snow mommy."

Since the snow was blowing so hard in our faces, I suggested that we walk backwards. Maya thought this was so cool. When I suggested that we turn around and walk normally, she said, "Maya like walking backwards, it's funny mommy!"

As we were approaching our home, Maya asked if I could make a letter in the snow. I made lots of O's, M's, A's, C's, and B's. Every time, I got done with one letter, Maya was quick to ask for another.

When we got home, Maya wanted to see her turtle sandbox. We walked up our driveway and she said, "take lid off to see if sand has snow on it?" I had to do a lot of convincing that the sand wouldn't have snow on it, because the lid was on the sandbox. Luckily, I did a good job, because a few minutes later, she said, "Maya go inside and see my baby." (She now calls baby Brooklyn, Maya's baby)

After getting our wet clothes off, daddy put on Dr. Seuss's Horton Hears a Who. Daddy had a great time cuddling up with Maya.

I went out a few hours later and this is what our house looked like. There was a good 4-5 inches!

Daddy will have to get up a few minutes early tomorrow morning to clear his car off.

When I put Maya down for bed tonight, she looked out her window and said, "I am going to go sledding in the morning on Maya's snow." I kissed her goodnight and said, "we will have to see if the snow melts or not." Maya was quick to say, "snow won't melt at Maya's house." I hope it won't, or we will have one very unhappy girl. The forecast is for the snow to turn to rain. We will have to wait and see.

A NEW FAMILY TRADITION.....

2009-12-16T21:23:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, I was at the store and I overheard a lady telling her young little girl (maybe a year or so older than Maya) that they were going to start a new tradition at their home. I was very curious what she was going to show her, so I walked a little closer to them and saw that she was picking up a gingerbread house kit. I smiled at the lady and said, "great idea." I then walked away and continued my shopping. A few minutes later, I caught myself smiling and thinking that it would be an awesome tradition to start at our house. When I finished shopping, I went back over to the gingerbread house display and picked one up. I was so excited. When I got home, I told Stewart, "I would like to start a new family tradition." I pulled the gingerbread house kit out and smiled. He quickly replied, "have fun, I bet Maya will love it."

So, last weekend, I pulled it out. It was a rainy weekend, and I figured that it would be a great time to make it....

Putting the frame of the house together. Maya liked putting the frosting (or what I called "glue") on the pieces.

Holding the frame together. I had to keep reminding her not to push to hard!

While waiting for our roof to dry; Maya and I decided to try the frosting.

Working to put candy on the other half of the roof. I put the "glue" on and Maya chose the candy and the colors.

Putting the buttons on our gingerbread man.

Decorating the tree.

After two days and about 10 hours, we finally finished.

Check out the funny headband that Maya is wearing. When she wears it, she likes to say, "Maya is a cool dude!"

The front of the house.

One side of our house.

The back of the house.

The other side of the house.

The gingerbread men, our tree and our pathway leading to the front door.

What daddy thought of the whole project!

I am looking forward in doing it again next year, but I am hoping (just hoping) that something will be different:

That daddy will help a little more and be a little more excited about it when we are done!

And the emmy goes to....

2009-12-03T20:57:00.000-08:00

Brooklyn! Yep that's right. I think we have an actress. The other night, Stewart and I put Maya down to sleep and decided to watch TV. During one of the commercials, we noticed Brooklyn was asleep but moving around like CRAZY! We watched for a few minutes, before we ran to get the camera.

"Could you please turn off the light?"

"Don't even think about taking my binky!"

"Phew, what a busy day. Sleeping, eating and pooping is exhausting!"

"Alright, I surrender. I will let you take this one picture, but that is it!"

"Someone in this room passed gas and didn't say excuse me. Who was it?"

"Thanks a lot mom, I think you gave me your headache."

An actress or not, we have absolutely fallen in love with Brooklyn. Maya has done really well with the transition and can't stop touching and kissing her. In return, Brooklyn loves looking at Maya.

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T12:25:00.000-08:00

From our family to yours, hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving! This year is extra special because not only do Stewart and I have another beautiful daughter, but Maya has a little sister. Things with us are busy as we are trying to adjust to our new "normal" life.

"Big sister Maya hold baby Brooklyn"

The time has come.....

2009-11-15T09:54:00.000-08:00

to introduce you to our newest daughter Brooklyn Nicole. Brooklyn was born on October 4, 09 in Philadelphia. Five days after she was born, we all three traveled back to Philly to meet her. It was love at first sight! She weighed 7lbs 2 oz's and 19 inches long. She was born with brown hair and brown eyes. We were told before we flew out to meet her, that the paperwork was going to take a few weeks to complete. There was no way possible for us to stay for weeks, but we went for a few days. We had such a wonderful time meeting and bonding with Baby B. It was very hard to fly home without our newest daughter, but it was what we had to do. The next few weeks were difficult, but we stayed focused in getting our home ready and preparing Maya for when we got the call to come and get her.

Here are pictures of our first visit with Brooklyn in the hospital...

Mommy holding Baby B for the first time.

Daddy in seventh heaven! This was his first time holding Brooklyn.

I was able to give Brooklyn a bath. (Mommy couldn't stop crying). As Maya said, "mommy has happy tears!"

Mommy and Brooklyn had "quiet bonding" time. This was one of our favorite pictures.

Daddy enjoyed feeding baby B.

Brooklyn couldn't take her eyes off of daddy.

The next batch of pictures will be when I went to pick up Brooklyn. Stay tuned.....

If you haven't heard yet........

2009-11-04T13:08:00.000-08:00

we have adopted another baby. Yep, that's right. Maya is going to be a BIG sister! Baby girl Brooklyn was born on October 4, 09 and we saw her in the hospital a few days later. She was born in Philly and the paperwork has taken so long! We just got the "all clear" last Friday, and our new baby girl will be joining our family early next week. We are all so excited and can't wait! It has been a VERY LONG 3 weeks!

Maya showing off one of her new shirts that her Auntie Jen bought.

If you couldn't read what the shirt said, here is a close-up.

"Baby Brooklyn coming to Maya's house!"

We will keep you posted......

Maya's 2 Year Pictures

2009-10-29T11:57:00.001-07:00

Every year around Maya's birthday, we go and have professional pictures taken. We just got them back and we love them! Here are some of our favorites! It is so hard for us to believe that Maya is 2!!

Maya, your smile makes us smile.

We love you!

Build A Bear

2009-10-06T18:31:00.000-07:00

Maya for her birthday received a very generous gift certificate to Build A Bear from her cousins Emily and Ellery. So last week, we decided to go. Neither Stewart or I had ever been to Build A Bear, so we were not quite sure how the process worked. After getting the download on what and how we do it, we went to work! The lady that was helping us told us that the hardest decision was going to be picking out the animal. She was right! As Maya was busy pulling all the animals out of the bins, Stewart and I ultimately had to decide for her. Stewart wanted the funny animals, and I wanted only soft ones. So, in the end, we agreed on a funny monkey and a very soft bear. (Our certificate allowed us to get two animals). Now that the animals were decided, it was off to the stuffing machine. Oh, before you stuff your animal, you need to decide if you want sound or not. We chose no sound. So we were now hard at work stuffing our animals. After a little convincing from the employee of the store, Maya was helping to step on the pedal to stuff. Our next decision was picking a heart out. Our choices were either a red plaid or plain red. Maya chose plain red for both of them. The lady then asked Maya to put the hearts between her hands, rub them together, tap them to get the hearts started and then kissed them before she placed them in the animals. A process that should have taken only a few minutes lasted for over 10! It was now time to give them a bath. This was the ultimate highlight of our adventure! Maya had a great time, and she spent a good 20 minutes washing and brushing them. The sound of the dryer and the air coming out was awesome. Maya kept saying, "more bath for monkey, more bath for bear." Thank goodness a little boy finally came up and needed to wash his bear, and it was for us to move on. It was now time to name the animals and Stewart and I were undecided on what to name these characters. As you can imagine, Maya was no help to us at this point. Any name that we asked her, she said, "Maya like." A couple minutes later, I had this great idea to name the bear chocolate and the monkey magnificent as the names sounded good to me! I finished up entering the information into the computer, when I noticed that Maya and Stewart were back at the washing station. The sales lady had to finally convince Maya to help her put a bow tie on the monkey and ribbons on the bear. Minutes later, we were on our way out of the store with Maya carrying two boxes; one in one hand and the other in the other hand. When we got to the car, she just wanted to hold them. We took the animals out of their boxes and went home. Ever since that night, these two animals take priority on her bed. Maya has since renamed them.....Sweet Tooth the bear and Handsome the monkey. We are not sure how she came up with these names, but Stewart and I love them.

Here are our pictures....

Unfortunately, we didn't get pictures of Maya pulling the animals out of the bins.

Maya stepped on the pedal to help stuff her bear. At first she was very hesitant. We think it was the noise of the machine.

Maya placed the red plain heart inside of her bear.

This time there was no fear to stuff her monkey.

She rubbed and tapped on the red heart that she picked out for her monkey.

She then placed the heart inside of the monkey.

"Washing bears legs." She loved the scrub brushes.

"Maya wash feet." If this bear would have been human, it would have turned into a prune!!

"Maya take home brushes?" Maya was a little disappointed that the brushes needed to stay at the store. We did tell her that we could come back and visit them. She seemed ok with that.

"Mommy help Maya wash monkey." How could I resist!

Mr. Monkey was scrubbed VERY clean.

"Bye bye animal store."

On our way home...

Maya and her new friends!

Thank you Emily and Ellery for the awesome birthday gift. We had a fabulous time at Build A Bear. Ummm..maybe we will get you guys gift certificates at Build A Bear for your birthdays??!!

So far so good....

2009-09-30T19:42:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, Stewart and I decided that we were going to try and transition Maya over to a "big girl bed." Before we went out and bought a bed, we were going to take the advice from our doctor which was to just buy a twin mattress, put it directly on the floor and put bed rails up. So that is what we did! We went out on a Sunday afternoon and we purchased a mattress and some bed rails. That night the mattress was delivered and we immediately unwrapped the plastic covering, put sheets on, and put the rails up. We gave her the choice that night if she wanted sleep in her "big girl bed" or her crib. She chose the bed and had a great nights sleep. Maya loves the fact that she can just walk up and put her head down on her pillow to go to sleep and she gets excited that when she wakes up that she can just walk off. Stewart and I are so proud of her and you can tell that she is proud of herself. We know that things can backfire, but for now we are going to enjoy the fact that she has done so well with the transition.

Here are some cute pictures of her asleep in her "big girl" bed.

Sweet Dreams!

One night she fell asleep so quickly and two hours later, we found her....

sleeping sideways!!

Daddy and Maya rocking a little before getting into bed. Both Stewart and I love spending quiet "special" time with Maya. We try and alternate nights, so we each get that "special" time.

Good thing the railings are up!

As you can see, she now has two more stuffed animals. She got a gift certificate for her birthday from Build a Bear and now "Sweet Tooth" the bear and "Handsome" the monkey have a special place on her bed.

Sometimes, before she falls asleep, she rearranges the order of her the stuffed animals.

No matter where you fall asleep in your "big girl" bed or the arrangement of your stuffed animals, we are so proud of you and love you a ton!

Hopefully you will continue to sleep well.

Goodnight and God Bless....Sweet Dreams!!

MAYA'S BIRTHDAY!!

2009-09-25T21:13:00.000-07:00

Maya's birthday was last Saturday, and all weekend long we were busy. On Saturday night we celebrated with family and on Sunday we partied with Maya's friends and immediate family. We opened a lot of presents and had (and are still eating) a lot of cake. We are so lucky that we have such a wonderful family and terrific friends. The weekend could not have gone any better.

On Friday evening, I began the "birthday festivities" by decorating our house with banners and streamers.

Saturday morning, we started the day, by singing happy birthday. When we asked Maya if she wanted to open some presents, she said, "go downstairs!"

We went downstairs and she opened our gift to her. We gave her some cooking utensils for her kitchen. She immediately went over the kitchen and started using them. She was also very excited to see that all the decorations were still up. She walked around the house saying, "decorations for Maya."

She then wanted to open her present from Grandma Grace and Zadie...it was this really cool wooden fire truck. The fireman and the dog are magnets, so it is easy for her to put them in and pull them them out.

We opened some more presents, but Maya was not in the mood for anymore pictures. She was more interested in playing with the toys, then to pose for pictures.

That night we went to my aunt and uncles house, and Maya had a great time. We tried to get a really cute picture of her in her new outfit, but as you can see, it didn't go too well! Not sure what the crazy look was for?!

My aunt made this amazing cake and it was awesome. Before we sang happy birthday, we asked her who's birthday it was, and she said, "Maya's!"

"Maya blow out funny candles." She was really proud of herself, and afterwards, she said, "good job, YEAH." We hope she didn't spit too much on the cake!

On Sunday morning, we got up early and prepared for her friends party.

This was the cake that we got for her friends party.

Daddy tried to hold her still for a quick picture. As you can see, she just wanted to blow the candles out! She kept saying, "let go of Maya."

Daddy and Maya blowing out the candles. Again, when she was done, she said, "Maya blew out candles, YEAH!"

Friends, Henry and Elliot with Lindsay mommy came and enjoyed cake.

Ben daddy helped feed Lucy and Henry. He had a hard time keeping Henry's hands out of the frosting!

Uncle Robbie, helped Maya with her piece of cake. I know that she ate a ton of frosting, but did she eat any cake?

Cousin Rileigh helped Maya open the Legos from Henry and Lucy. Henry really wanted to open the case.

Anytime you want to come over Henry, just call. The Legos are out and ready for you!

Rileigh read the card from Maryn. Thanks for the stacking people, Maya has loved dressing the people up in funny outfits.

The light bright cube from Henry and Elliot was great. That night, Maya slept next to it in bed. It has now been a ritual that every morning, she wants me to plug it in so she can see the designs that I made for her.

Still waiting for grammy and papa to come back over and put her new trike together. Maya can't wait to sit on it!

Maya gave hugs to everyone for coming over and celebrating with her.

Thank you to everyone who gave and sent presents. It was a wonderful birthday weekend.

Happy 2nd Birthday Maya!!

Love,

Mommy and daddy

Maya's New Bed

2009-09-23T20:23:00.000-07:00

OK...maybe it isn't a "bed", but a twin mattress on the floor! It was a week and a half ago, that we decided to move Maya into a bigger bed. We had been discussing it for awhile now of how we were going to make the transition. One day, the three of us went to a mattress store and Maya got to try out a couple of different types. After choosing the one that Stewart and I liked the best, we then headed to Babies R Us and bought bed rails. Later that evening, her new mattress arrived. She was really excited. We immediately brought it upstairs and laid it on the floor and put the rails up. That night she was beyond thrilled to try it out. That night was a huge success and we are impressed of how well she sleeps and stays on her bed. The timing was perfect and we can successfully say that she was ready for the "big move." She loves the idea that she can get into bed by herself and get off in the mornings. If you ask her if she is ready for a nap or bed, she will say that she wants to sleep on "Maya's new mattress bed."

Such a BIG bed for such a young girl.

Fast asleep with all "her friends."

Every night when we put her down we kiss her and tell her to sleep well and that we love her. As she lays her head on her pillow, she will say, "Maya sleep good on new mattress bed!" We walk away and just smile!

Maya's New Playroom

2009-09-16T20:52:00.000-07:00

For quite awhile now, I have been thinking it would be so cool, to clean up the "finished" part of our basement and turn part of it into a playroom for Maya. About a month ago, I made up my mind that this is really what I wanted to do. I went shopping and got everything I needed to make this a special place for Maya to play. It took many many hours for me to get it just right, and now I can say that I am finished and very proud of what I created. We spend lots of time playing and creating and we LOVE it.

This is what I did:

This is the view from when you walk down the stairs.

If you scroll down, you can take the virtual tour:

I first decided that I would put up the alphabet and numbers 1-30 as a border for the room. I also wanted to put up something so that we could work on colors. I found these hand print cut-outs and fell in love with them. I then put up this four foot chalkboard, so we could play with chalk.

I brought down two bookcases that we had in another part of our house to hold things. The tall bookshelf is a place for her books, puzzles, Lego's, blocks, balls, stereo, etc. The smaller bookshelf is for all of her arts and crafts.

I bought a bunch of these clear little storage boxes and put labels on them. Each box has it's own "activity" in it. There is a box for magnets, pens, crayons, stuff to glue on, beads, pipe cleaners, play dough, finger paints, supplies (glue sticks, scissors, pencils, rulers, etc), stickers, water colors, puppets and stamps.

I now wanted a place for her paper and coloring books, so I bought this rack. I made a painting station out of a presentation board and glued on a bunch of clothes pins. I hung a little plastic container for her paint brushes off of a clothes pin.

The last thing I wanted to give her was a magnet board/dry erase board. She has a ton of magnets to use and play with, but we are going to wait a little longer until we give her the markers. I have a feeling that she would mark up more than the board!!

And even though she doesn't play very often on her play structure, we decided to leave it up and just move it under the staircase.

So there is Maya's playroom. Anytime, you want to play, just let us know!

A fabulous find

2009-08-26T14:20:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, Stewart and I took Maya to a park called Columbia Park. Columbia Park is the home of "Imagination Station", a large adventure playground structure. The minute we drove into the parking lot, we absolutely fell in love with it. The park was great, but the play structure was Awesome! Not only did Maya have a great time, but we did too.

Our first glimpse of the structure as we drove up.

Another view

Trying to find the entrance into the play structure.

YIPEE..were in. Can see Maya off in the distance EXPLORING?

These massive tires were a hit!

After numerous tries....she finally accepted help from us to get her across.

Maya walked up the tires with the help of the railings. We had to keep reminding her that if she wasn't careful and watching where she was walking, that she would fall through the middle. With each step, we heard her saying, "be careful."

Even though this slide was short in length, Maya loved the fact she could hold onto the slats on top. We referred to this slide as the "tunnel slide."

Maya only made it through this first tire, before we heard her say, "too little for Maya." She backed out and started to walk away. A minute later she turned back around, came back to the tires, squatted down and said, "peek-a-boo!" It was really cute.

Maya wanted to play hide and seek. After she climbed up on this pillar, she looked me in the eyes and said "come find Maya!" It was so funny, Stewart and I just chuckled to ourselves.

This is one of our favorite pictures! She was giving us a high 5.

You may notice that in the remaining pictures, Maya is in different clothes. Well that is because she had a "really bad diaper." After we did a quick change, Maya was off to play again.

"Maya go play again." Heading towards the slide.

Maya doing the monkey bars with the help of daddy.

After lots of convincing from Maya to have daddy let go, (All we kept hearing over and over again was, "let go daddy, Maya do!") daddy decided to let her hang by herself. The hardest part was to figure out when she was going to let go.

When we asked if she wanted help in getting on, she replied, "no, Maya do."

When we looked over a second later, she was like this.

These steps to the big slide were really funky. With each step that we took, they swayed back and forth. Maya kept saying, "funny steps."

Making her way down the big slide.

This time, she knew that she wanted help from the start. She stepped up and immediately said, "mommy help Maya." She was so proud of herself when we got to the end, she said, "I did it!"

After a couple of times of Maya climbing into this box, we figured out that the whole thing was able to rock back and forth. It wasn't long until this box became one of her favorites. Stewart and I sure got an upper arm workout by pushing and pulling it.

Our hour and a half there, went by so fast. Next time we go, we will be sure and bring a picnic lunch, so we can hang out and play longer. Thanks Lindsay for telling us about this park. You were right, it is a wonderful place for our little ones to play. Anytime, you want to go, were in!

Hard times

2009-08-18T19:22:00.000-07:00

First, I would like to begin by saying that this post, I am writing now is a difficult one for me to share. Up until a few weeks ago, Maya has been great. She has always been such a wonderful easy kid (for the most part). She was always happy and eager to "help." Now, things have changed A LOT! I think we have officially hit "THE TERRIBLE TWO'S. For the past couple of months, I have been trying to prepare myself for what was going to be happening. Well, I can say that none of the books, people I have talked too, or advice from our doctor could have prepared me. Now, it seems that each and everyday is a struggle and a challenge! I feel like things are completely out of control. I am extremely tired and worn out. I am tired of the crying, the tantrums, the whining, the throwing of toys, stepping and standing on toys, tearing pages out of books, jumping off furniture, and saying "no." It is absolutely driving me CRAZY!! I am tired of feeling like the "bad" person in giving time outs, reasoning, and compromising with an almost two year old. I mean it when I say that I am drained. I am trying to pick my "battles" with what is REALLY important, but really, it just doesn't help. It is so terrible for me to say that I totally look forward in putting Maya down for her nap and at bedtime. That is my time, to get recharged! Each night I pray that the following day will get better and easier, but so far it hasn't happened. I know that this will pass, but when? Normally I am such a happy go lucky person, but sadly, I have felt like I am just in survival mode. This is hard! I know that Maya is just exploring her independence, but holy cow. Many times a day, I have to keep reminding myself, that she IS a good kid and that this is just a "stage in her life." I sincerely hope that it passes sooner than later. Don't get me wrong....I love being a stay at home mom, but right now things are tough.

Keeping Cool

2009-08-05T20:53:00.000-07:00

This hot weather we have been having is so unusual. We have been in the upper 90's to mid 100's for about the last 10 days or so, and normally we are in the low 80's. I just saw the forecast and we should start to see a gradual cool down. They even said that we might get a few showers by this weekend. Yipee!!

Anyways, people keep asking me what Maya is doing to keep busy. Well...the answer is, we are outside in the am and then hang out at home in the afternoon. Here are some of her favorite activities. Get ready, because some of the pictures are pretty funny!

Playing in one of many wading pools around the city. Maya has recently learned that if she runs in the water she can make the water splash.

Maya "borrowed" this watering can from some little boy and loved filling it up and pouring it out. I learned that it doesn't really matter how many toys WE bring to the pool, she always wants someone else's!

After a few days of working with Maya on how to peel a banana; she finally mastered it! Now, at least once a day, she asks for a banana. When she is done peeling and eating the banana; she will say, "Maya peeled banana" with a big smile on her face.

Of course, dancing and singing to It's a Small World is a must. I swear, (which I don't) she asks for the song probably 5 times a day and that is on the conservative side! Sometimes, I need to lie (which I don't) and tell her that the song is tired. The song isn't tired, I'm just tired of hearing it!!

If you know Maya in person, than you know that she absolutely loves books!! If you have never read "I ain't gonna paint no more!" by Karen Beaumont and "Dear Zoo" by Rod Campbell, I recommend that you check them out. They are two of Maya's all-time favorites.

Look who got her toes painted by mommy! Yep, Maya got a pedicure with purple polish. Now she walks around, points to her toes and says, "polish." Daddy says that he now has two beautiful girls.

Maya loves to pretend to swim. It is a mixture of a push up, a forward scoot on the tummy, and a kick all at the same time! When she is doing it, she will say, "Maya swim in water." It is hysterical to see in person.

She also loves to jump! Lately, it seems like she has a spring in her. At home she loves to jump off our bed, couches, chairs, her little tykes table, the rocking chair stool, in her crib, on the floor, etc. When we are outside, she finds it exciting to jump off any bottom step of stairs, curbs, out of the car, etc. For whatever reason; the more I tell her not to do it, the more she seems to do it.

Here we are at a fountain; she found it a thrill to be able to jump off one of these little single platforms

Ready......

Set....

Go! What these pictures don't show, is that I am right next to her. When I asked her what she was doing, she laughed and said, "Maya jump in water" and followed by, "Maya jump more."

I had a few presents to wrap, and Maya decided to help. Pulling tape off the dispenser was her favorite part. When I asked her to smile, she gave me this silly look. Gotta love it!

Putting beads and buttons on pipe cleaners is always a fun activity. It is also a great opportunity for us to practice our colors!

Can't forget about snack time...one of our favorite lines is when she says, "more snacks." Not quite sure if it is the tone in her voice or the way she says it, but it is funny. Graham crackers with a little bit of peanut butter is always a special treat.

When I asked her what she was getting in her kitchen, she said, "make mommy snack." When I asked her what she was going to make, she replied, "um...special treat."

Maya loves when the mail is delivered. Poking her hand through the slot and talking to the mailman is very funny to her. On a side note, whenever we have family or friends come or leave, she likes to say her hello's or goodbye's through the mail slot.

Dinner time...helping daddy spin lettuce dry for our salad.

One early evening, Stewart and I decided to take Maya to a wading pool nearby just to cool off. What we didn't realize was that we would end up having the pool all to ourselves. Nobody was there but us. (Of course, it was still in the upper 90's and the water temperature was like bath water.) Maya didn't seem to mind, she had a wonderful time. We took her shoes off and she kept saying, "throw Maya's shoes in water."

"Here momma, throw Maya's shoes in water."

Daddy has been working with Maya for a few weeks now on how to cut sushi. Today, she asked me, "momma want sushi?"

This was a pretty good conversation (It went something like this):

Maya said, "Momma, get blocks down for Maya."

I said, "Ok Maya, here." I leave the room and moments later, I hear jumping. I come in the room and see her tearing the box.

I said, "What are you doing Maya?"

Maya said, "Ummm, breaking box."

I said, "Maya stop! Is that what we do?"

Maya said, "umm, yeah."

I said, "Really, we do? I don't think so." "Why don't you build a tower with them instead?"

Maya said, "Uh good." A few minutes later, I heard her singing. I walked back into the room and saw her doing this....stacking blocks

WOW! I was so impressed that she could stack the blocks so high by herself.

All kinds of balls are becoming very interesting to Maya. Her newest trick is to throw a ball while running and watch it bounce.

Maya was laughing because she put this little blue car in the play ground structure and it got stuck.

Finding misplaced toys under our furniture is always an adventure. I asked her if there was anything under this chair and when she went to look, she laughed and said, "people under here, Maya can get." Sure enough she pulled out two little people!

After this 4 hour nap, I went upstairs and found her still asleep. It is amazing how fast this hot weather drains you!

The good thing about grocery shopping these days, is that Maya loves to unload the bags.

Who says that a shaker rattle can't be used as a microphone. I caught Maya in the middle of singing "Oh where oh where has my little dog gone."

Check out this action picture of Maya jumping, singing, and shaking two rattles at the same time. When I showed Maya this picture, she said, "Maya funny." I looked at her and said, "your right, Maya is funny!"

I hope you had as much fun reading this, as I did writing it.

That was then....this is now!

2009-07-31T21:27:00.000-07:00

This highchair was a shower gift we received when Maya was born. It seemed like it was going to be one of those things that we would be storing forever. Well, that really wasn't the case. We were told by our doctor that once Maya was old enough to sit up by herself, that we could use it.

Well, on February 22, 08, Daddy and I were thrilled that we could finally pull it out and put it together. Maya was definitely sitting up by now, but wasn't quite ready to be fed here. We figured at least she could hang out in the kitchen with us.

This was the first time Maya sat in her highchair. It was so awesome to see her play while we prepared and ate meals.

Here are some of our favorite pictures of Maya in her highchair.....

The first time she tried rice cereal.

First time with carrots and squash.

Eating (she really didn't eat) her 1st year birthday cake, she mostly just played with the fork.

First time feeding herself with a fork. Kiwi became one of her favorite foods to eat.

A first for pasta. Nothing makes a messier meal than pasta!

A bowl on Maya's head always meant that she was down with the meal! Sometimes she would put a bowl on her head and say, "happy birthday hat." (I hate to admit this; but sometimes she still puts a bowl on her head and starts to sing Happy Birthday To You.)

Maya's first time coloring. Covering the tray with aluminum was a great idea. I couldn't even imagine what her tray would look like now if we hadn't covered it.

Maya's first time eating with a spoon.

Just the other day, Stewart and I realized that Maya was getting too big for her highchair. It was time for a booster seat!!

Maya eating her first breakfast in her new booster seat!

I have to say that Maya has really done really well with the transition and enjoys eating at our breakfast bar or table with daddy and I. Even though the highchair has been in the kitchen she has not asked to go back into it. This weekend we are going to take the highchair apart and put it back into the box and back into storage.

"See ocean water"

2009-07-28T20:49:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, we went to the beach to escape from our hot weather. Maya has been to the beach numerous times, but never had any interest in going into the ocean. That was, until this last time..

We were on our way! Mommy and daddy were so excited to go to the ocean as a family for the first time. When Maya stepped onto the sand, she said, "Maya walk on hot sand." (The sand was warm, but not hot) When I asked if she wanted her shoes on, she said, "no momma, Maya go see ocean water."

Now walking in the wet sand. YIPEE!! When Maya's feet touched this sand, she said, "Maya walk in cold sand." She took only a few minutes to get used to the wet sand and then she took off running.

When the ocean water was in sight, Maya slowed down. She became very distracted by all the boogie boards in the water and people riding sand bikes.

When we finally reached the ocean, we rolled up her shorts and that's when she had second thoughts. Daddy tried to talk to her about the water and instantly she didn't want anything to do with it. We didn't push it, we stood for a short while and just watched her. She was very interested in the bubbly foam and the small puddles of water.

When the water reseeded we saw her starting to walk towards the ocean. When she saw a small puddle of water, she said, "Maya step in puddle."

She did great, until we said, "Maya come back, the ocean water is coming in."

That was the end of the ocean water! Maya frantically said a couple of times, "Dadda, Maya up!" When Maya was safely in daddy's arms, she said, "Maya go home." Dadda carried Maya all the way back to the dry sand.

When we arrived back to dry sand, we had a picnic lunch and Maya kept saying, "Maya see ocean water." We told her next time we come to the beach we will see ocean water. She seemed ok with that answer as she then said, "more cracker please."

While Maya and I finished lunch, we caught dadda sleeping. Maya and I were very busy watching kites, dogs running, and people walking by.

Of course we had to stop off at the swings on our way back. While Maya was swinging, she said, Maya walked in ocean water." I said, "yes and you did such a great job!"

Then we met some people who had this awesome wheelbarrow which Maya had to test out. When she discovered that she could fill the empty water bottle up with sand and pour it in the wheelbarrow, that kept her busy. After playing with these other kids and their toys for over an hour, we finally made it back to our beach house where we cleaned up and changed for dinner.

We had a great day in the sand and water and hopefully next time we will be able to spend more time in the ocean!

Our little dolphin

2009-07-22T21:35:00.000-07:00

The weather here has been really hot. It has been in the upper 80's to lower 90's for about two weeks now. On Sunday we got a special invite to a cousin's house who had a pool. Maya had a blast! She had such a wonderful time playing with cousin Rileigh, daddy and Papa. Since I wasn't able to swim due to a stress fracture in my foot, my job was to take pictures.

Lately, shadows are very interesting to Maya. When she realized that she saw her shadow on the deck, she waved her hand and said, "funny shadow wave hand."

Maya kicking with daddy.

Our cousin's dog buddy, loved getting the pool. Maya had a great time watching buddy jump in and swim to the other side. When he jumped in, she said, "more doggy swim in pool." She also immediately wanted to be held! I didn't blame her, I wouldn't want a big dog swimming towards me either!

Papa, Maya and Rileigh watching the dog run around the perimeter of the pool.

Rileigh and Stewart goofing off in the deep end of the pool.

Stewart getting ready to throw Rileigh into the water.

Ready......set......go!

Papa and Maya having a heart to heart talk about swimming.

Maya swimming (floating) on her back with the help of Papa.

Maya swimming on her tummy.

"Let go Papa!"

Maya taking a break from working so hard in the pool. She loved riding in her cousin's little police car floatation.

"Beep, beep!"

It has been many months since Maya finished her swim lessons. We really weren't sure how she would react to the water. Even though she forgot some swimming techniques, we were happy that she wasn't afraid to go in. When it was time for her to get out, because her lips were blue, she threw a fit. We hope to get her back in the pool soon, because she had a fantastic time.

Thanks daddy and papa for all your help with Maya in the pool!

Camping

2009-07-13T20:26:00.000-07:00

Just the other day an image of one of my favorite childhood activities popped into my head, CAMPING. I remember going many times each summer with my family. I loved it; helping set up the tent, preparing meals (one of my favorites was making omelets in foil, making banana boats, starting bon fires, roasting marsh mellows, sitting in lawn chairs singing songs late into the night, taking showers with my flip flops on, taking a raft out, and going water skiing on the lake. The list could go on and on.

Well....it just so happens that the other day, my friend Lindsay and I took the kids to the Children's Museum where they had an exhibit on camping. The three of them had a hay day playing with all the camping gear. After taking a bunch of pictures, it was very clear what would happen if she went camping with Henry and Elliot now. Take a look for yourself....

After the three of them set up camp, Maya would probably take a few minutes and have a snack. One of her favorite lines these days is "more snacks."

Then Henry would probably be thirsty, so why not make a whole pot of something hot to drink. Since Lindsay's kids always see her drinking coffee, it would probably be coffee.

Maya would probably be the first one to try it. I'm sure that her response would be "good." Her response to everything these days is good!

When it would be time to prepare a meal, Henry and Maya would plan it very carefully.

They play so well together, that I am sure that it would be a team effort. Whatever one is doing the other one is not far behind.

Speaking of working together and team effort...has anyone seen Elliot?

Oh here he is! Yep....that's right. RELAXING on a hammock!

Henry would then be cooking the food by the campfire. We would just need to give him a quick lesson that pots don't have to be IN the fire, just close by!

But the biggest decision would be who gets to sleep in the tent?? Everyone during the day can play in the tent, but at bedtime, girls sleep with girls and boys sleep with boys. So, I guess that if the three of them really did go camping that we would need another tent!

Maya and Henry resting in the tent.

Maya and Elliot playing in the tent.

Stewart and I can't wait until she is a little older and we can go camping as a family. It would be great to make it a summer family tradition.

Thanks Lindsay for a great play date. Looking forward in seeing and playing with you soon!

My grandparents came to visit

2009-07-11T20:37:00.000-07:00

Dear Grandma Grace and Zadie,

I just wanted to tell you that I miss you guys so much. Last week at this time you were here and now you are back home. We were so busy and our time together went so fast! Where did the week go? I guess time flies when you are having fun? Talking on the phone is nice, and I love hearing your voices, but I just wanted to say that I miss you. I miss playing with you, having you read to me, going to parks with you, I miss our wonderful time at the beach, and getting spoiled by you. But, the two things that I miss the most are your hugs and kisses. Doing Skype and talking on the phone helps, but I miss seeing you in person.

Here are a few pictures that mom and dad took of us together.

On the big girl swing.

Zadie pushing me. When I wanted Zadie to push me more, I would say, "more push please."

Of course, I had to do some hanging from the bars.

"More push Maya, Zadie!"

"Grandma Grace right there." "Mommy, push Grandma Grace please."

Playing peek a boo with Grandma Grace and Zadie.

Swinging on the bench swing at home.

Zadie reading me a Dr. Seuss book.

Watching the fire works.

I hope that it won't be long until you come back to visit.

It is really late now and mommy and daddy would be upset if they knew I was still up. I'm off to bed, so goodnight and g-d bless.

Maya

What is it?

2009-06-26T14:03:00.000-07:00

Lately, there is just something so different about Maya. Some people have said it is the new hair style (piggy tails), other people say it is her height, others tell me it is her wonderful vocabulary, others say it is the way I dress her. Whatever it might be, let me tell you that our little girl is growing up and growing up FAST. The truth is, our little Maya isn't a baby anymore, but an amazing toddler!

The other day, we went to a really fun school playground and she and I had the best time together.We always have a great time together, but for some reason, this time was different...

It was so fun to see her get on and off this bus. When she went in and sat down, she said, "bye bye mommy." OMG, i was thinking to myself, it really won't be long until she gets on a "real" school bus for school!

Of course, you can't forget that she loves bark chips! A good day at a playground wouldn't be complete without putting bark chips in or on something.

When she was all done hanging out in the bus, she said, "all done bus." Even though she looks so serious, it is a great picture of her piggy tails.

This is her newest trick....she loves hanging from bars. Daddy helps her hang from really tall bars, and I always find "ones that will work, you know, ones that are not too tall!" I think this is a really cute picture of her; the diaper showing, her belly button, and having her head back.

Her strength is amazing! After she got down, she said, "more bars" and pulled herself up again.

She is definitely NOT afraid of heights! She had never seen or been on this and when she saw it, she said, "up here?" As she took two steps up, she said, "momma up?" Of course, I was right behind her.

She was so proud of herself!

After she climbed up, she went down the "big girl slide." She climbed up and went down the slide at least eight times. I was exhausted just watching her!

Maya thought it was funny that these go around in circles. She saw some big kids stand on these, but when I told her that she was too small, she looked at me, and said, "Maya's turn." I watched what she was going to do. Sure enough, she sat on one of the seats and fell off. She got up and then started doing this.

She was very interested that the other one was moving too.

Then Maya started to push faster. After a few minutes, she walked away and said, "Maya done." I bet her arms were tired!

This was one of my favorite pictures..we went down a slide together and I took this picture as I followed her down.

We love this face...

Now Maya can get on these little rocking animals all by herself. When she wants to get up, she says, "Maya up" and when she wants to get off, she will say, "Maya down."

If you look closely, you can see Maya's legs behind the rock wall. I was watching her to see where she was running to and she ended up here. I said, "where is Maya?" and she replied back, "here momma." I said, "where, I don't see you?"

Maya peeked around the corner and said, "here momma!"

It was now time for the "big kids toys!" I was so nervous in letting her climb all the way up to the top of the structure by herself (at the top it is open, which I am always afraid that she might not watch where she is going and accidently fall off). But for some reason today, I just felt like she could do it without me being right behind her.

As she was climbing, I heard her saying, "Maya up, be careful."

Getting ready to come down. As soon as she sat down, I heard her say, "ok, ready, set, go."

On her way down. I was so relieved at this point!

Check out her adorable face!

When she got off the slide, she said, "ta da, Maya good job."

As she came running over to the bench she said, "more snacks." She was one tired, and hungry girl.

When it was time to leave, I said, "let's go." She turned around and said, "Maya walk on balance beam." The whole way back to the car, Maya walked along the curb (aka-balance beam). It took a little longer, but Maya was happy. I have learned that if Maya is happy, then I am too!

After watching Maya today, I have come to some conclusions of my own....What I have learned is that Maya IS growing up and is a very happy, curious and adventuresome individual who loves to play hard, explore and experiment. She loves to watch and then imitate other children and is certainly NOT afraid of trying something new!