First day of "school"

Dear Maya,

It's hard to believe that Mommy has been out of work for nearly 12 weeks already since your original due date. You know what that means don't you? Daycare.

I remember the first day I went back to work after you were born and Grandma already went back to Ohio. It was just you and Mommy. Alone. All. Day. Long. By the time I got home you both were in tears and I think Mommy's exact words were: "I don't know if I can do this for 10 more weeks." I'm afraid I wasn't much help as we were both in that new parent haze.

But we blinked twice and boom. 10.5 weeks passed and yesterday was your first day at daycare. We almost didn't take you today because it was too hard for us. But we suppose a gagillion other parents do this every day. So yesterday started early with getting you dressed.

You horsed around with your beloved Mr. Bunny for a bit.

We did some last minute packing and labeling your lunch.

But finally you were ready to go!

Stella passed you a look of victory as she patiently waited for you to leave. (She's just jealous)

It was a stereotypical Seattle morning; Wet, rainy and a little chilly. Perfect weather for Mr. Snail to make an appearance.

Hopefully by the time you are reading this the great gas crisis is over and you're able to navigate this earth and cosmos by mind power.(or at least something more efficient) Just know this. $65 bucks to fill us up was ludicrous in our time.

The commute was long and the weather set the tone for us.

But a little while later we arrived!

Look how little you were compared to the other kids! You'll only be the youngest for a few weeks. A 9 week old friend will join you soon.

*The faces and names of the children have been modified to protect their innocence and privacy.

"Sam" was happy to see you and immediately held your hand in solidarity against tummy time.

Later he rested his head by you to make you feel better.

That didn't help too much because as we left you were screaming your behind off. Don't worry it wasn't anything to do with the teachers, kids or the place. It was food time. At this stage in your life you always scream at food time. It's ok. Daddy pretty much does the same thing.

We like your daycare a lot and yesterday just reinforced our good decision in sending you there. Mommy dropped Daddy off downtown and I walked to work. I think the mixture of the optimism I felt yesterday combined with this ginormous milestone led me to see the city in a brand new light. Despite the bad weather and the traffic, the city is beautiful sometimes.

FINALLY it was time to pick you up! (You were one tired little camper)

You received a perfect scorecard and the teachers said you did great your first day! Mommy was so happy to pick you up and you were the happiest little camper we've seen out of you. After a quick nap and a ride home you smiled, laughed and just played with us all night.  Well.. most of the night.

I wish I could say that was the end to a great day. But we had an evening errand to run that day.

Yup. That's right. It was blood draw day. Uh-oh.

Of course you were the most perfect, brave, strong little angel there could be. You got your little shot and blood drawn without one little cry. We were so proud of you today. If you could have eaten it we would have taken you for an ice cream treat reward. You were so good in fact that the staff at Seattle's Childrens gave you not one, but TWO toys for your good behavior.

And apparently you like chicken.

Well that's that; another milestone in the books. Let's hope you like "real school" as much as you liked it yesterday. Don't grow up too fast kid.

Nanu, Nanu,


Daddy.

 

Ch...Ch...Ch..Ch.. Changes

Big Pimpin': (As defined in the Urban Dictionary)

"to live relatively luxurious compared to other associates"

Dear Maya,

Why must all your clothes make you look like you're vying to become some rap mogul?

So we're just over 7 weeks old now and things are definitely changing.

Clothes

She's close to outgrowing her 3 month outfits now, closing in on the 6 month size. It's mainly her length. I swear her toes are just going to bust out of her little jammies one of these days.

Strength

She does this cutest little "sit-up" now. She does not like to be stationary when she's awake. When she's being carried she'll actually do a sit-up so she's sitting upright. Gots to see what's happening. She still doesn't have that head control 100% yet so the results my vary with this maneuver. She is also starting to put weight on her legs when we hold her upright. If she's really PO'd she'll do her little "stiff as a board" maneuver and we'd swear she could stand if she had to. Don't worry, we aren't letting her go or anything like that. yet. 

Weight & Height

Last Dr. Appoinment she weighed in at 10 lbs and 9 oz. and just under 23 inches long. That was a few weeks ago. If I were a betting man (which I am but Mommy won't let that side of me flourish into the winning king I'm destined to be) I'd say she's close to 12.5 pounds and about 2 feet tall now.

Game time

We introduced "fly birdy" to Maya this past week. She loves it. She holds her body stiff as a board as she soars high above the clouds. Ok maybe just high above the puppies. We crash land into Daddy and do this crazy little army crawl up his chest, just trying to get back to soaring position. Luckily no one has been puke bombed from fly birdy position yet.

Maya's magic trick

From Happy...

...To awkward smile (let's hope she's more photogetic than Mommy and Daddy once she gets older)

...To Crabalicious. (in under 60 seconds)

Naps and sleepins

The kid does not like to nap during the day. If she falls asleep while being held, boom. As soon as you lay her down she's awake. With that said she has been sleeping through the night (for the most part) and only waking for food time. I swear she said "food" today. Kid likes to eat. She is also putting herself to sleep at night sometimes. Lay her in her crib, a little white noise a little mobile wind-up and boom; she's asleep in no time. (or at least within 10 minutes) 

Mommy and Daddy night out! (well kinda)

Mommy and Daddy went to an infant CPR and saftey class and Maya had her first baby sitter. (Thanks Aunt Becky!) The class was a little surreal and of course we are already doing stuff wrong. :) Teacher: "Make sure you always lie infants on their back. This is the number one reason for child saftey issues." Us: "What if Maya immediately rolls to her side." Teacher: "Oh, that's ok." Us: "Um? ok." (Here's Daddy's view of the little beast in her side sleepin position while typing these posts)

Yup, things are changing. It all seems like a like a whirlwind and we can't believe how much she has grown already. We've already said "She doesn't look like our little baby anymore!" (I know, I know.. give us a first time parent break) But in the grand scheme of things she is still just a tiny, precious, helpless little creature who melts our hearts everyday. Much love Maya, much love.


One month milestones: Personality

I know, I know, every parent goes through this but wow... it is amazing seeing a little personality develop in just 4 weeks of life on this planet. Sure she has some of the basics down; She can hold her head up (at least for a few moments at a time before it all goes to hell... we get it. It's like balancing an orange on a toothpick afterall.) and she is starting to coo. But it's more than that. We are starting to see her little personality develop. We're starting to figure each other out and how to make this whole thing work together. It's weird. For the first few weeks you could tell how foreign life outside the womb was. She was uncomfortable, awkward and we spent most of our time trying to re-create an environment similar to the womb so she would be cool with it all. She seems comfortable already in this life. We aren't swaddling anymore because it pisses her off to have her arms pinned down. Music is starting to replace the white noise. She is starting to fall asleep on her own. Instead of putting her in her crib already sleeping there have been a few times we put her in when she was just drowsy. Put a little Dead Can Dance, Sigur Ros or Procol Harum in the mix and boom, sleeping baby. Ok, that is definitely not the norm and we've had some really, really long nights recently but still.. it's happening.

What is really getting us is her responsiveness. She has been aware and attentive since minute one of her life on this planet but now she is smiling and reacting to us like crazy. She'll watch this video of Mama's favorite song over and over again. As soon as she hears the opening organ riff, she'll strain her head around to check it out.

It's so damn cute it is sickening. She used to only smile right before falling asleep. You could tell it was only from the involuntary muscle movements.

Now it is obvious she loves her Mama. :-)

Tickle, tickle, tickle!

D'oh!

..and boom. Baby laughter. 

We haven't been able to actually capture the laugh on video yet. Wait for it. We will. Seeing a 4 week old's body crumble and quake from a belly laugh should be on everyone's bucket list. It's got to be the most ridiculous thing ever.

Milestones: Maya's first week and losing the stump

Maya is one week old today. While Amy and I might have to celebrate keeping her alive so far with a couple of mimosas or something, Maya rang in her first week by losing her umbilical stump! Looks like she might have an outie. (or she is horribly malnourished)

The scary thing is that we can't find said stump anywhere.

I wonder if these two know anything about it.

Happy first week birthday Maya!