playing catch up, with ketchup

Sorry I've been a bad poster for the Maya updates. The past few months have flown in some ways (new house, never a moment to myself, extremely hot, etc), and dragged in others (still pregnant, extremely hot, did I mention being pregnant? The second time you want it over two months into it...)

Here are a few highlights that I haven't shown from Maya's summer. Hopefully, I'll do better keeping up with this now that our upstairs isn't 100+ degrees.

First we have Maya in the morning sunlight on one of our first mornings in the new house. She's was my little ragamuffin all summer long. Mommy cut her hair a couple of weeks ago.

Next is Maya enjoying "farklers." Since it was a rainy Fourth of July, and Maya is scared of loud noises (loves music, cries if it's too loud) we just lit "farklers" on the porch. Good enough for her.


At the end of July we went to Vail for the family reunion, we spent the whole time chasing our kids so these are the only photos I got!!
I wanted a better picture of the three little girls playing, but Ella never stops moving. I think when she stops you are so suddenly blinded by her cuteness, so it's better if she keeps moving.

Last, are some pictures from when Chris and Kim and Nika came to Ames for a week and Maya got to spend time with her oldest cousin..whom she called Maisie until we left.






A month later she stills talks about that last day when she "boogie, boogie'd" with Nika. Oh, and now she's obsessed with Scoobie Doo because of Nika as well.

Christmas in Ames

Finally I've sifted thru the photos I took in Ames and they are all, except for a few here and there, photos of babies.
HIZZAH it's Christmas ol' chums.
two days apart.
Two hours to get ready every morning. It works as Shauna is pointing out in this photo. (That's why there are no photos of me, cause it's like two minutes of getting ready)

Riley and Max

She totally pushed Maisie off the piano bench with her feet. Sully and his Daddy
Grandma Jo and Ella
The Mustache That Saved Christmas, I saw it on Hallmark, I lived it in Ames.


Riley has an uncomfortable smile. I love it.

Chris and Kim
Aaron and his baby boo

Christmas in Ames. Went by like a blur, and all I really remember is holding babies, chasing my baby, holding a baby and watching a baby, looking at babies, babies, babies babies...I missed a lot of photographic moments *opening presents* because I was so busy with my baby and all these other babies.
Can you blame me, I mean come on, there's this one who slept most of the time. Making him incredibly nice to snuggle with.
Then there's this one, who spends a lot of time awake and sometime yelling but always incredibly alert like he's writing his memoirs already or something.
Or it's gas. Either way it's cute.

And then there's this one. *sigh*

I know what you're thinking. And I asked, they just refuse to give her away. Seriously, I know my baby is cute, but this is the cutest, sweetest little baby I have ever had the pleasure of wanting to steal. And eat. Look at her, she wants Maya's cookie so bad...It took A LOT of strength not to steal them both. I regret my decision everyday. LOOK AT HER!! She's a doll. And Sully is zen baby here.

And I cannot forget this guy, who is the best kid ever.

Except when he conspires with this one......And they won't let this one...

(yeah, they won't let Kyle play with them..so cruel. He cried, A LOT)
follow them around like the rock stars they are. Like it really bothered her. She still talks about them and if she sees little girls in the grocery store, "Maisie??" And little boys, "Max???" They are like her freakin' heroes man.

Max really wanted me to take a picture of this, but I kept tricking him into talking so I could get those GQ poses earlier. So I'll end with



A SCARY GHOST FACE!!!!!!!

Almost One!

Maya is six days away from turning one. Where did the year go?? I watch her sleep in my arms and I can't even remember her being a teeny tiny. It goes so fast!
Right now Maya is all about "getting dressed." But her version of getting dressed is wrapping things around her neck. Scarves, belts, playstation controls, she'll even try to get shoes on there. She's accessorizing I guess. In five minutes this morning she had a scarf, a belt, a measuring tape and then an attempt at a shoe- all around the neck.
She's also all about walking!! (five steps and then plop!) And talking!! Her list is growing: "momma, dadda (her favorite word), bye bye, ball (she'll even point to them in books and say "ball"), wheeeee!!, uh oh, whoa, bubble, kids (she'll say "hi kids" ), noooooooo, kitty, and dat?"

Blowing kisses!! "mmmmmmmmoihhh!" And another toothie! And eating with her left hand only??!! A leftie perhaps??

She still loves berries (gobbles them up!), veggies (nummy nummy), Nina and Star on "The Goodnight Show" on Sprout, and carrying around socks. From all the other eleven month olds I've run across she seems to be way taller. And she has huge feet. Where she got this tall/huge feet gene, I do not know.

But, damn. She's cute. And silly. And a firecracker.

This weekend we go to Ames to celebrate her birthday and she'll have another party at Grammy Paula's and Grandpa Jeff's on Tuesday!

Until next week when she is one!!

10 Months and Then Some

We have been busy with a cranky baby. First it was a nasty cold which she got from Momma. Then it was something else. "Why aren't you sleeping baby? Why aren't you happy? Why are you screaming your head off even when we hold you?" Oh, you have a new toothie that's why!

Then two days later she had a total of four new toothies. She popped out three in one night. She's still working on pushing them out, so she's still mildly cranky. Her new thing is that she's totally not interested in baby food. She just won't eat it. Good news is she likes chili (just beans and tomatoes). And she tried a pickle. Her face read, "Hmmm, it's weird but I like it."

Her new words are "duck," "bye bye," and "book." She also likes to just yell "whaaatt?" for no reason. At least, that's what we think she's saying. She loves being tickled ("tickle tickle" she'll try to say) and also to have her toes eaten. If I say, "Toes?" She'll pop them up for me to eat. She is a snuggler.

At the mall playground she loves to watch the big kids but seems to be afraid (Kyle said she cried when a seven month old started yelling) of baby's around her age. When I take her out and we see other kids in shopping carts she gives them shy little smirks, she also does this when strangers say "aren't you a pretty baby." The smirk is a Dieter trademark she must have learned from Max. At restaurants she jabbers away like she's in on the conversations going on in the entire room.

She has taken to letting go of things while standing and just stands there for a few seconds, and then slowly sits down. So she's a little closer to walking.