I don't want cake!

Mommy made a strawberry cake with fresh strawberries and put colored cool whip on Maya's cake. Maya enjoyed playing with the cool whip, but didn't put anything in her mouth. She wouldn't let anyone else feed her cake or ice cream either. (small video added)

Easter

Maya and Mama had a nice trip to Arizona for Easter. Maya got a swing at Nana and Grandpa's house on the back porch. She loved it! She also enjoyed playing with all the toys Nana has bought.
She is quite the fast crawler now. She pulls up some, but hasn't attempted cruising or walking yet. That is quite fine by me. She will be off and running soon enough.
Maya moved up to a new car seat last weekend. She is growing, but is still only about 18 pounds. She learned "uh-oh" last weekend and thinks it is fun to throw things on the floor and then say "uh-oh." Dada is still her word of choice. She squeals with delight and even claps sometimes when he enters the room. Mama normally is greeted by squeals and feet kicking as well. That is one of the joys of having a baby. No one else gives you that kind of greeting!
It is hard to believe her birthday is less than a week away! In some ways the trip to the delivery room seems like yesterday. But then it also seems like forever ago that it was just Q and I in this house.

Milestones

I can't believe February is almost gone already! Maya is hitting milestones almost daily. She clapped a little over a week ago. Then she sat up in her crib. The next day she sat up by herself on the floor. She pulled herself up in the bathtub. I am going to have to get used to all this mobility and be more careful about what she might be able to reach. She has started to point at things. It is funny. And "dada" is still her favorite word. Mama does seem to be working its way into her vocabulary. She has learned how to drink from a juice box container, although I don't give her much juice. She is getting a little pickier with what vegetables she'll eat, but will eat tons of cheerios. We are having fun watching her learn so quickly.

On the Move

Christmas at Nana and Grandpa's

January 16th- 9 months

Maya is becoming increasingly mobile lately. She started rolling around, then began scooting on her tush and now she is starting to do an army crawl. She wants to get her hands on everything she sees. This will mean her mommy needs to have a lot less papers strewn around.
I am working 3 days a week now and Maya is in a daycare since January 2nd. She is adjusting to having so many babies and people around. Napping there is still not easy for her. She is quite content when I leave her there in the mornings. I am waiting for the separation anxiety stage to set in, but won't mind if we somehow avoid it.
We had a wonderful family Christmas and can't believe January is over already. We are excited that our friends, Michael and Jordan, found out this week they are having a baby girl. In June Maya will have a new little friend on our street. She loves when we go to Holly and Brad's house and their children, Abby and Ben, shower her with attention and bring all their toys out to show her.
Maya is continuing to babble. She loves saying "dada" and much to mommy's disappointment seems to ignore the word "mama." She also says "yaya" a lot, which at first I wondered why. Then I realized her name.... Sometimes mommy is a bit slow. Sleep deprivation is still occurring. It is 4:40am as I write this.

Santa Baby!