An apple a day...

  Dear Maya,

After your fever last Saturday, mommy and daddy weren't sure we'd be able to take you anywhere or do anything for a few days. When you awoke Sunday morning, however, you seemed as healthy as could be, energetic and funny and ready to start a new day.

Since it was such a warm and sunny day compared to what the forecast had said, we decided to chance a trip
to do some apple picking. Auntie Rhi joined us and we went to the same orchard where daddy took pictures of mommy with a belly bump last year. Time really flies...

The sun was very bright, and since you wouldn't keep your hat on, you look serious in many of the pictures. You seemed to enjoy your first time apple picking, though. You tried sticking branches, leaves, pumpkin stems and, of course, apples in your mouth every chance you got.

Luckily, mommy remembered to bring daddy's Swiss army knife so she could cut up some apple for you on the spot. It was your first uncooked apple, but you seemed to really enjoy it. You kept storing pieces up against the roof of your mouth and taking more until you had quite a mouthful.

Thanks to the apples or maybe just thanks to your strong immune system, your fever has not returned. You have had a runny nose on and off this week. I think you and mommy have just been exchanging germs back and forth, but mommy has been keeping the worst ones to myself. Better me than you.

As of today, you are 9 months old, little girl! Every day you are becoming more vocal, more confident in your walking, more clever in the way you play games, more funny in your reactions, and more fun to be around. Just tonight you were throwing your mini basketball into a cup Uncle Matt was holding. A few days ago you repeatedly held a washcloth in front of your face and then pulled it down each time Auntie Rhi said, "Where's Maya?" You have taken a liking to chewing on carrot sticks and have added brown rice to your diet.

It's been an amazing 9 months with you, sweetie. And perhaps to remind mommy and daddy not to take your wonderful behavior for granted, you cried for an hour in the middle of the night last night. We know we're spoiled, but you hadn't really woken us up in several months. Maybe you had a bad dream. Maybe you couldn't find your binky to soothe yourself or your nose was too stuffy to use it. Either way, mommy gave you some snuggles and songs to help calm you down. We hope you don't expect a repeat performance tonight.

Well, mommy needs some sleep now. We love you! Sleep tight!

Feeling hot, hot, hot

Dear Maya,

The signs were there, but we missed them. Yesterday the bottom of your little nose was a bit crusty. This morning you felt a little warm, but we seem to be having an Indian summer so after mommy mentioned it to daddy and had him touch your forehead, we both dismissed it.

While daddy went to do some work and mommy was in the kitchen baking, you played happily like always--talking to yourself, trying to figure out how to push a ball up a wall, pulling your dolly's hair. It wasn't until mommy picked you up to take you to your room for your nap that I felt it.

You were burning up. Your first fever. Your first anything. Aside from baby acne you've never had any health issues and we've never given you any medicine besides your acne lotion, your vitamins, and the occasional swipe of diaper rash cream. Mommy took your temperature a couple of ways and came up with 102.

Mommy looked around for some baby Tylenol or the like--surely we had some, I thought. But it turns out that for all of the bottles of creams and remedies we had, there wasn't a fever reducer to be found. After a quick call to daddy, mommy buckled you into the car and drove to the pharmacy to get some Ibuprofen.

You took your medicine like a champ, then took a nap and woke up fever-free an hour and a half later. We may not be out of the woods yet, but it seems you got mommy's get-well-quick genes. In fact, you were a super happy camper this afternoon, screaming with glee as daddy made funny faces.

We had hoped to take you apple picking for the first time today, but we stayed home so you could get some rest. You've had a full week, though, between our trip to the park, our visit with Charlotte and Wyatt, and our Mommy and Me time at the library. Besides, there's always tomorrow.

Well, hope you feel better soon, my sweet. We love you!

Giant leap for Maya-kind

Dear Maya,

A couple of weeks ago mommy shut her laptop after showing you some Muppet videos (the last of which was "I'm My Own Grandpa" if I'm not mistaken) and when I went to open it back up it wouldn't come on. We thought there was just something wrong with the screen as there were still whirring noises, but it turns out the motherboard was shot. Normally in a house with four computers that wouldn't be a hindrance to writing a simple blog post, but daddy's computer was so overtaxed it wouldn't load photos, Uncle Matt's Mac had a faulty power cord and Auntie Rhi's desktop is in their bedroom. After four trips to two different stores (long story there), mommy and daddy both have new laptops so there shouldn't be any more lapses in blogging anytime soon. Mommy should go knock on some wood now just in case.

Long paragraph of excuses aside, mommy has really missed blogging about you and a lot of people have missed reading about you. And you've been doing/learning/growing so much in the interim, that the only way to really write this post is to bullet it out like mommy often does. Here goes:

• You have been cheating on your boyfriend Kermit with someone just like him--his name is Kappa and he's a mythological Japanese creature that mommy just happened to have an inflatable version of. They're about the same size and color, plus Kappa has a fringe around his head almost identical Kermit's neck cuff. Even their names both start with 'K' so I can see how you'd be swayed... 

• Your new foods since mommy has last listed them on here include pasta stars, honeydew, mandarin oranges, nectarines, plums, prunes, beets and green beans. You eat everything so well!

• Your two front bottom teeth are fully in and they look sweet, but they don't feel too nice when you bite mommy while nursing...

• Your great-grandma said to try wiggling a finger up and down between your lips to make a funny babbly sound when you are 'talking'--now you occasionally do so yourself by wiggling toys and other objects between your lips!

• You can cluck your tongue and often copy us when we do so first. 

• Speaking of copying, the other night Uncle Matt alternated waving a large tupperware lid up and down, then sticking it in his mouth--you had a smaller but nearly identical lid and copied him promptly each time. Clever girl!

• You've totally won over Uncle Matt and Aunt Rhi (as if you hadn't already) by putting your arms out to them to be held when you first see them in the morning or after work.

• In the evenings sometimes mommy and daddy cuddle with you on their bed before giving you a bath. After a few minutes of focused nursing you start your adorable routine of eating for a moment, turning your head to make sure daddy is there, then doing a free fall backwards towards him and giggling in excitement. So cute!!!

• Speaking of cute, we can't go to a store these days without out numerous people stopping us to comment on how alert/smiley/adorable you are. You're so popular!

• You have started waving your hand at us, and even at the cat! Unfortunately, you don't seem to have a clue as to what that means...

• Oh, and, um....YOU STARTED WALKING!!! The weekend of Hurricane Irene found us all house-bound and bored/worried so we sat around you in a circle in the living room to play and you took your first steps. That was two days before you turned eight months old even!!! Then on September 15th you walked continuously for 4 steps at a time, alternating your feet even. Finally, today when mommy and daddy were playing with you in your room, you showed us how it's done by walking halfway across the room--mommy says it was 14 steps, daddy says 17, but regardless you are now officially walking at just a bit more than eight and a half months. WOW!!!

Okay, this has been quite an update and mommy has got to get to bed. Thanks for entertaining us, enriching our lives and keeping us on our toes, little one. We love you!