M is for Maya

Dear Maya,

Mommy likes alliterations. That probably comes as no surprise given the name of this blog, but today's post is going to take it one step further. In fact, Miss Maya's mommy's about to alliterate a lot. It seems that this week's news all happens to have to do with "M" words, so here goes:

M is for Monkey:
You use your feet like a monkey. Family members have been commenting for a while on the strength of your toes as you use them to grip when standing on people's laps. Over this past week you have begun treating your feet even more like hands as you put them on top of the high chair tray at mealtime.

You also eat bananas like a monkey. We have never seen a baby eat so many bananas. Even after you've breastfed and eaten a meal of cereal plus a fruit or veggie, you can eat half a banana then still slap your high chair tray for more. Last week you even bit the end off a whole banana that daddy was about to eat!

M is for Messy:
While your messiness at mealtime isn't new this week, your technique is. For a while you always put your fingers in your mouth between every bite of solid food, resulting in a painted high chair by the end of your meal. Now you've switched to turning your head so we can't clean your face during or after meals. Fun.

M is for Milestone:
You stood up on your own for the first time yesterday!!! When great-grandma babysat you Monday, she couldn't believe how easily you were pulling up and keeping your balance holding on with only one hand. She said you'd be standing on your own soon, but we weren't sure because you'd been pulling up for a while now.

We should have known that your great-grandparents are always right, though. This is the second time they've made a prediction that has come true within a short time. What none of us predicted was what you would be reaching for when you first stood--daddy's dessert! We replaced it with a banana and you stood repeatedly.

M is for Mama:

After a week or two of "nahnah" and "nehneh," you have started saying "mama" this week. While this makes mommy's heart flutter a little each time, I know that you don't know what you're saying. And while you have said "dada" a couple of times, daddy wants to be called "to-chan" so he's not jumping up and down just yet.

M is for Moving:
We saw grandma and Poppa Stan off last weekend as they left to retire to North Carolina. We're going to miss having them right around the corner to visit just any old time. They've promised to come back for Thanksgiving and we're going to have to sacrifice and make some trips to see them by the beach.  :)

We are moving ourselves this coming weekend and life'll be a little crazy until we get settled. There are a couple of things you are going to love about this move, though. One is that you will have your own room. The other is that we are going to live in the same house with Uncle Matt and Auntie Rhi! How cool is that?!?

Well, it's time to tie up the typing and say ta-ta for tonight.  :)

Love you!

P.S.  Just for the sake of record-keeping, your new food additions this week were acorn squash and apples.  Hey, they both start with an "a"...

Little summer love bug

Dear Maya,

Mommy's birthday was last Thursday and you gave her the best present--an unexpected kiss! We taught you "Kiss, kiss" a few weeks back but usually you ration your drooly, open-mouthed pecks to about once every ten requests. This was the first time you ever gave a kiss without being asked first. Mommy was so happy!

On Saturday we had a party at Grandma and Poppa Stan's house. You kept everyone busy trying to entertain you when you were cranky, and kept everyone laughing with your antics when you were in a good mood. You may have wanted some birthday cake, but seemed just as pleased with some sweet potato instead.

You've added spinach and cantaloupe to your list of yummy foods this week. Mommy and daddy weren't sure how you'd react to the spinach especially, but after a few tentative funny faces as you rolled it around in your mouth for the first time, you really got into it. Now we have no worries about you getting enough iron.

This photo reminds me of your great-grandpa Jameson with his handlebar mustache.
I really wish you could have met him and your great-grandma Jameson...

At your pediatrician visit Wednesday, we were pleased to find that you didn't lose weight again. You came in at 16 pounds 12 ounces (up 12 ounces) and 27 3/4 inches (up 3/4 inch) in length. When mommy reported that you crawl like crazy and pull up at this young age, the doctor said we might have an athlete on our hands!

One of your new favorite games--being (lightly) tossed by daddy

Well, it's brutally hot today for the second day in a row, so mommy needs to get away from the extra heat of this laptop now. We're going to have a really hectic and hard couple of weeks coming up, so hopefully the weather will cooperate and stop zapping all of our energy and making you cranky. We love you!

Sunny skies, starry wishes

Dear Maya,

Summer has really settled in, finally, with hot weather more often than not this past week.  We've had some lovely warm and breezy evenings and we've taken you for walks outside during your witching hour just before bed.  The light this time of day is magical and makes the view from our home on the hill even more gorgeous.

Now that you are sitting up by yourself so easily, mommy finally got to take some photos that she has been wanting to take.  Unfortunately it was your cranky time of day so you tore this huge leaf up in the process, but mommy still got some good shots of you looking like the little cabbage patch kid of her dreams. :)

Last Thursday we celebrated the Japanese festival Tanabata.  Daddy wrote our wishes on brightly-colored strips of paper and we hung them from a willow branch (because we didn't have any bamboo).  This is done in Japan on July 7th, the day each year when the star-crossed lovers Princess Orihime and Prince Hikoboshi (a.k.a. stars Vega and Altair) wish to be reunited from the opposite sides of the Milky Way according to the fairy tale 'The Princess and the Cowherd.'  For more on this romantic story and the festival, click here.

It seems Clio was jealous that we didn't pose her for a photo, too,
so she sat there and waited for us to notice and take a picture.

Since this time last week you have tried two new fruits: mango and watermelon.  When mommy fed you the mango, the first three or four bites went as successfully as all other foods you've eaten.  Then, suddenly, you threw a fit and wouldn't take another bite.  If it was mixed with banana you were okay, but when the ratio of mango to banana hit more than 50 percent, you got angry and stopped eating.  This morning's attempt with slightly chunky watermelon was much more well-received.  I guess you know what you like and don't like!

'Chewing' on your first piece of watermelon

Making a mess with oatmeal and carrot

Well, it's going to be another full day around here with you spending some time with Grandma and Poppa Stan while mommy and daddy go out for mommy's birthday.  We hope you'll be a good girl as usual.  We'll be sure to pick up some nice fruits and veggies for you, but don't worry--we'll steer clear of the mangoes!

Love you!

A half year already???

Dear Maya,

Well, you did it.  You turned 6 months old last Thursday.  We're all scratching our heads trying to figure out where the time went.  It seems like just yesterday we brought you home from the hospital.  We started off the celebration of your half birthday with a 'cake' made of oatmeal and banana with a paper 'candle' on top.

After daddy got home, we dressed you in your adorable birthday cupcake outfit from your great-grandparents and took some photos.  Later we had an important errand to run, and we missed your bedtime by 30 minutes.  We regretted it for a couple days until your usually easy transition to sleep was restored.

On Saturday we went to visit your great-grandparents and they had a surprise for you--a high chair!  You sat with us at the dinner table while we had our meal and ate your mashed banana like a pro.  Later your Great Aunt Sue and Great Uncle Carl stopped by, too, and you showed off your crawling skills for them.

Monday was the 4th of July and mommy had plans to dress you in some combination of red, white and blue and take you to the beach.  In the end, daddy was too busy and it was too hot.  In the early evening, though, we took you out for a nice walk on the Harlem Valley Rail Trail in your new stroller. It was cool and relaxing.

Lately it seems all we have to do is blink and you are doing something new.  You've taken a liking to any food we feed you, adding bananas, carrots and rice cereal to your repertoire this week.  You even take little sips of water from a cup.  Oh, and that ol' pulling up and standing thing?  You've got it down to a science now.

On top of the new high chair and stroller we inherited, another new item around the house is your baby gate/corral.  Mommy didn't expect to have to resort to this kind of thing so soon, but you are getting into everything!  You love to pull daddy's magazines out of the bookcase and 'paint' on them with spit up milk.  

Well, it's been an amazing half year with you, little girl.  Sometimes we wish we could freeze time and keep you this age forever, but then you do something new and funny and adorable and we realize how much we enjoy watching you grow.  We love you so much and can't wait to see what the next 6 months bring.