V: Very, very cool

Dear Maya,

Mommy almost forgot to write a post tonight! Uncle Matt and Aunt Rhi's wedding is this coming weekend and family members will be arriving starting tomorrow so all the excitement and preparation has us a bit preoccupied. I want to capture a few small moments of our week, though, so here they are:

• You are loving puzzles right now. Mommy picked up a few with differing levels of difficulty at tag sales recently, and you do them over and over again. At first you would only do a few pieces here and there but now you can put one of them together entirely on your own.

• Yesterday we went to a baby shower for your buddy Wyatt's little sister. You wore this pretty dress that mommy loves and you looked so cute, but of course you spent almost the entire afternoon playing in the sandbox and running around like a nut. It was fun for you and relaxing for mommy! 

• Speaking of progress, you have finally graduated to the big potty! When we first started potty training you had no problems on it, but maybe you got your leg pinched between the seat and the adapter cushion or something, because for months you would only use your little training potty. This week you are finally back to the big one, though sometimes you need a lot of encouragement. You've also gotten good at washing your hands every time you use it, but you tend to wash your entire arms, too.

• We studied "V" and the key word "vegetables" this week. When asked your favorite vegetable you always answer tomato, which must be true judging from the way you pack cherry tomatoes in your mouth when we go to the farm and pick them each week. You also like picking cherries and crab apples from the trees in our yard and collecting them in your Cozy Coupe along with other little treasures you find. Luckily you don't stick them in your mouth like the tomatoes!

Well, mommy needs some sleep! Love you!

U: Utterly Undeniable You!

Dear Maya,

Our family has some exciting events coming up that have us busy planning and preparing, so mommy hasn't had the camera out a whole lot this week. That's also why I'm getting a late start on tonight's blog post so forgive me if I keep things short and sweet.

Mommy has been to a few yard sales lately and over the weekend I picked up a Cozy Coupe for you. Of course you're already kind of big for it and will only be able to use it for another couple months if that, but it was a good deal so mommy had to get it. Plus, mommy had one when she was little so there's that, too.

 We've spent more time than usual with your cousin Grace this week. At four months old now, she's able to hold her head up and laugh and smile a lot more. You have finally taken more interest in her and although you are a little jealous of the attention she gets, you like having her around. You really like to hold her and often pat her head. The other day when talking about her you accidentally mixed up the words and called her "Gravy Base" instead of  "Baby Grace" so you may have given her a new adorable if unfortunate nickname! 

We studied the letter "U" and the key word "umbrella" this week. You picked up on it more quickly than mommy thought, not seeming to confuse the letter with the word "you" at all and recognizing the shape easily. You wanted to carry the umbrella with a paper "U" stuck to it everywhere we went!

 Well, mommy's sleepy. As you've taken to saying this week, "I love you more more."

T: Toddling, Turkeys, Tomatoes

Dear Maya,

Mommy is sitting here trying to remember the last week and it's kind of a blur. Until this morning, your insanely early wake ups were making our heads spin with exhaustion. However, after a quick glance through mommy's sleep bible (Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Dr. Marc Weissbluth), we had a plan. This morning when you woke up at 4:45 with a dirty diaper, we changed you without speaking and put you back in your crib. After a few whines, you laid down to sleep until 7:45! Yeah!

 

Our big event last week was our trip to the county fair! We didn't cover nearly as much ground as we had last year, but you weren't in a stroller. You especially loved looking at the turkeys, llamas, cows and wild animals, and the "Santa trees" and pumpkins in the four season-themed landscaping contest.

We went on the Ferris wheel together and then you saw the 'zipper' and wanted to ride that, too! Luckily the merry-go-round and helicopter rides distracted you. You also wanted to try an obstacle course with daddy, but when you were too scared to go down a chute you had to be let out.

 

 

It was a great day at the fair but we were all so tired that mommy didn't have the energy or patience to take you to the farm for our crop share the next day. Instead I went without you after daddy got home and it's amazing how many cherry tomatoes ended up in our fridge compared to previous trips when so many ended up in your belly! You did get to eat plenty of tomatoes this week, though, since that was our key word for our letter "T" study. You caught on pretty quickly.

 

 Well, off to bed for this mama. Love you!

S: Spotted, Spinning, Sweetheart

Dear Maya,

It's been a sometimes difficult, sometimes beautiful week for us.

Mommy's great aunt passed away last Sunday and you came with me to her wake on Wednesday. Aunt Gert was a clever, funny, kind woman who chocked a lot of amazing experiences into her 91 years. There were lovely photos of her and family members at the wake and the overall mood was more nostalgic than somber. It's a good thing, too, because you wouldn't stop giggling, spinning, dancing, climbing on and tunneling under chairs the whole time we were there. Sigh...

We left the wake and went straight to the pediatrician to have your latest rash looked at. Your scarlet fever bumps took a while to disappear completely, and then all of the sudden you got a new, different-looking rash that you've been scratching like crazy. You were even more, er, animated at the doctor's than at the wake, causing him to call you a "force of nature" and a "very active child" with a sort of glazed look in his eyes. Mommy was exhausted by the end of that day to say the least.

Thursday was Obon, a holiday in Japan when families gather and honor their ancestors. We were surprised to find that you still fit in the jinbei outfit your grandparents sent us a couple years ago. Luckily it's more versatile than, say, a kimono as you played with rocks and sticks in it!

Starting Friday afternoon your wild behavior from earlier in the week started to become slightly more tame. You were helpful and a better listener at the farm on Friday, you had a nice time with daddy while mommy went to yard sales on Saturday, and Sunday we had a fun family trip to the dollar store. And because mommy's sure there will be more crazy moods ahead, we stocked up on lots of mini puzzles, stickers, and crafty items for you while you ran around with a bouncy ball and sunglasses.

 

Today we went to the pediatrician yet again. Part of the reason is because your rash has gotten even worse and we were told last time to come back if it did. Part of the reason is that you burned your hand on a frying pan this morning when daddy was making you breakfast! You didn't seem to be in pain but mommy didn't like the color of the burn. The doctor we saw today gave us good suggestions on how to care for it as well as the rash which she said is eczema-related. Whew!

Well, here's hoping for a quieter week ahead. Love you!

P.S. We studied "S" is for "sun" this week.