First Tooth

Today Maya is officially six months old!! And of course a big milestone had to accompany that so yesterday Maya started sticking her tongue out, a lot. Just darting it out over and over, prompting mommy and daddy to say, "It's so cute!" And we'd stick our tongues out back at her. Tonight, mommy did some investigating and found the beginnings of a little toothie coming out on the bottom row. So, she's just feeling her toothie with her tongue (she's doing it in this photo I took this morning). So cute!

Now that it's quite chilly and Maya can't go to the park every other day, she enjoys looking out the window. She's like a kitty when they look out the window and talk to the birds. She'll stand up on the couch (with some help from Momma), stare out the window and talks.









Maya has also learned how to yell "momma" or "dadda" when she's crying, usually when she's mad crying. It's not really "momma, dadda" it's just "waaahhhmmamamamammadaaadaaadd", but we still look at each other like, "whooa, did you hear that?"

Here she is talking to her taggies.

And here she is snuggling with Auntie B after her 8k race..Brynna's 8k not Maya's. Maya can only do a 5k, this year. Next year she's going half marathon for sures.

Eatin'

This is Maya in the big girl high chair. She's not quite sure what to think of it. It's pretty big, we have to stuff the side with pillows, and the back so that she doesn't slip out. If we feed her in her bouncy chair she kicks so much (eating is exciting) that food goes everywhere.




I wish I had more pictures today, but it's been cold out so we've been stuck inside. Maya loves taggies. Anything with a tag on it is instantly in her mouth and being talked to while in there. She talks whenever she puts anything in her mouth, but tags are her favorite. It's a good thing she's getting a taggie book for Christmas!!

We are looking forward to going to Ames next week so that Maya can meet her cousin Maisie for the first time. Maya is also probably looking forward to playing with Pete and Charlie, she loooves kitties. Mommy and Daddy are looking forward to eating yummy food (and Mommy is looking forward to putting up the Christmas tree at Grandma's).

Maya, on being beautiful

People are always telling me how beautiful I am. I know, I know! Momma and Poppa are constantly saying how cute I am. I have strangers holding me at the bookstore saying it, I have strangers coming up at the grocery store saying it, and those Grandma lady's say it too.

But can't you all see how smart I am too? I know three other babble languages, most importantly I can say "I'll have the sweet potatoes instead of the peas thank you." I can kick out morse code on the floor that states, "They're out of bananas, send more bananas!"

I am a food connoisseur and my palate takes great delight in chicken and sweet potatoes puree, and of course mushee bananas a la...mushy. Unfortunately, I also enjoying talking about my food while eating. Sorry, I haven't learned manners yet.

And as the picture above clearly shows, I am "The Kitty Whisperer." (Although Trek is trying to bat at me and attack me, we are clearly bonding in this moment).

Super cute, super talkative, super funny, and super intelligent. I pretty much am the awesomest "almost" six month old in the tri state area. But I heard about this baby in Tulsa who is a close second....

Baby Frida

On a cold and raining November day (sunny and 70 one day, raining and 40's the next) I give you a little brightness.

Baby Frida.




After Mommy wove her two braided buns out of felt and figured out how to make it stay (for photos only) on her head, we took her over to her Grandma Paula's for Halloween. We took a few pictures and then mommy forgot the battery with charger AT Grandma's so these are the only pictures we have from that night out! After Grandma's we went over to Brandon and Lori's for a little party. Eventually Maya changed into her pumpkin pajamas, which Mommy pointed out, "makes her a diva like Beyonce, she changes outfits at parties."




Maya's eye shadow unibrow didn't come off for a couple of days.
Mommy and Daddy are trying to be 60's German art student, and Bob Dylan...what you didn't see that? Oh, it's cause you can't see the whole outfit..yeah, that would totally make a difference...sort of.


This week she's kicking as usual (harder! ninja kicks, or soccer kicks), talking about politics (but that's winding down), enjoying her IKEA kitty that Brynna got while in Minneapolis (actually she just seems to, right now, enjoy the long white tags on it)and she learned that Maya controls the rattle. She used to just occasionally rattle her rattles, as if she thought, "Hmm, what an interesting sound, where's it coming from?" Now it's, "Yeah, I make the music, I'm in the band."

Except, Maya controls the rattle right into her face.

For Those in Portland

I am so lucky to have such a sweet, talented, loving, funny, smart, beautiful "almost" nine year old niece.

She kisses dogs she's never met before.





She thinks pigs on farms plus spiders equals Charlotte's Web.
















She'll Talk your ear off about Colonial Times and you'll walk away having learned a lot!






She writes her own plays, you'll probably see her produced off Broadway in ten to fifteen years.







She's Nika. Just plain ol' wonderful Nika.

Visiting Ames

Last weekend we travelled to Ames to have visits Grandma Jo, Nika, Grandpa Greg and Kathryn. We went to "The Berry Patch" with Nika on Saturday and it was a lovely day for picking apples, petting dogs, picking pumpkins, and meeting a horse. Maya slept through most of it (including a hay ride) but Nika seemed to enjoy it.

Here are some pictures from Maya's visits.



Maya with Grandma Jo.













Here is Maya with her cousin Nika.
















Here is Maya with her Aunt Kathryn.





Here is Maya with Grandpa Greg.