First trip to the Dentist...

Maya had her first trip to the dentist today! 

Not so sure about this mom!

 I was super anxious that she would freak out, but she actually did really well!  It was more of an informative meeting for me with the assistant.  She gave me lots of good advise about what she eats/drink and how it affects her teeth, plus information on keeping those pearly whites clean (including starting the flossing habit now!), the low down on the pacifier and more! Then we met the dentist and he did a check of her teeth (which all looked great!) and gave her quick fluoride treatment.  I was able to hold Maya in my lap facing me and laid her head in his lap across from me.  I was so impressed how well she did...no fighting, no tears!  Woo hoo!

A cup of water after her fluoride

A rubber ducky, a new toothbrush, toothpaste and ball "prize" later, she was a happy camper and we were on our way without needing to return for another year!

I took her to Jamba to celebrate!  Not sure that was dentist approved... :/

I just love this face!  So much joy!

Because two Jambas are better than one!

Last official day of Little Gym...

With baby's arrival around the corner, I decided it would be smart to limit the number of commitments we have each week.  Unfortunately, Little Gym was the one to go!  It's been so fun and I would love to do it again at some point!  

Monday was our last official day.  We have one make-up scheduled for Friday, but with all the illnesses going around (it is out of control around here!), I think we may just have to skip it.  With baby due in less than 2 weeks, we really can't afford anyone sick right now!

Maya did awesome on her last day!  It made the decision to stop a lot more bittersweet.  She did some things she hasn't done before and I was so proud of how far she's come since we started nearly 9 months ago!

First time she's sat on the white line by herself while the bouncy mat was blown up...I normally have to sit with her. I was so proud of how independent she's getting and her ability to follow the directions :) 

Such a big kid now! 

She loves the bouncy mat!

Doing a forward roll with teacher Linda!

First time doing a full rotation on the bars!  She was always too scared before or didn't grip the bar well enough.  She loved it and kept getting back in line!

And her favorite part...stamps at the end of class!

Snow Day...

Since living in Washington, we've had a few days of snowfall, but never enough to really "play in the snow".  It barely sticks to the ground and is generally gone by the afternoon.  Not that we mind too much...Maya loves it and it's very exciting for these California natives.  

We had an opportunity a couple weekends ago to go sledding with some friends so we were very excited head to some "real" snow!  And the best part was we only had to travel a little over an hour to get there!  So much nicer than 4 hour drives to Tahoe!

Maya was cute as can be in her snow suit, but didn't actually enjoy the whole sledding experience.  She didn't even really want to be pulled around on a tube...it was all very anti-climatic for Brad and I.  Bummer.  Hopefully next year will be much more exciting for all of us!

33...

My hubby turned 33 on the 18th!  I can't believe we're closer to 35 than 30...next is 40...oh my.  To celebrate his birthday and as a last hurrah before this little bundle arrives, we decided to have a night away!  We didn't go to far, but it was so needed and so refreshing!!  We had a great dinner, saw a movie, stayed in a cozy hotel (with a fireplace), slept in, had a great breakfast and finished our morning off with massages at a nearby spa.   To say it was just what we needed is an understatement!  We loved every minute and are so thankful that my amazing sister-in-law and her husband were able to watch Maya (overnight!) with zero issues!!  SO THANKFUL!

'making dad a cake'...a mixing bowl, a wisk, flour and water...who knew it could be so fun!?

waiting for dad to arrive home from work!

Happy Birthday daddy!!

Cute little courtyard view from our balcony

Such a pretty spot

Happy Birthday Babe!

Trying to keep up...

I've been so focused on my upcoming due date (less than a month away!), I'm sorry to say I haven't thought too much about the fact that my girl is almost two!!  How are we already less than a month away from two!?!?  
It's incredible how much she is constantly changing!  It is so fun and rewarding to watch her discover new concepts, learn new words, realize new abilities.  I'm absolutely loving every minute of it!  
There seems to be an overload of fun things happening in Maya's world and I've been having the pressing desire to spill it all out on the blog so I don't forget any of it!  So this isn't a "monthly update"...I guess I haven't really been doing those since her 1st birthday...but just an unload of the latest developments.  I have some videos too (thank you new iphone!), so hope you enjoy :)

*She's generally talking up a storm.  She seems to understand almost everything so I can have basic conversations with her most of the time.  She often communicates and responds in phrases.  It's just amazing how quickly language has developed over the last few months!

*One of her favorite things to do these days is play dress up and role play.  She loves putting on my shoes, her jewelry, my purse and pretend she's leaving the house (generally she says she's working) and will say "bye, have a good day, i love you"!  Then she'll exit through a door, turn around a couple seconds later, come back in the door and exclaim "welcome home"! Lather, rinse, repeat.

*She's been singing quite a bit lately and knows multiple songs fairly well (at least parts of them).  Among her favorites: Happy birthday, Dooga party (a song from Brad's family that no one else will know...we sing it every nap/bed time), Twinkle twinkle little star,  Frere Jacques, It's raining, it's pouring, and a couple of songs from Toddler Group

*Maya is getting better at counting.  She hasn't gone from 1-10 perfectly yet, but knows segments of numbers...most often she counts 5, 6, 7, 9, 4!  For some reason, she hates 8 and 10 ;)

*She's also getting pretty good at identifying her colors. She generally gets these right: Orange, Yellow, Blue, Purple, Pink and Teal

*I started teaching her family members' names.  I guess I thought it would be a good safety measure for her to know Brad and I's "real" names.  She now knows Mommy Lisa, Daddy Brad, all her grandparents and some Aunts and Uncles.  Of course this did cause some confusion and we often go over names for characters that have no other name than what she already knows...for example, Maya: "What's Thomas' name?" Me: "Choo choo Thomas"  That seems to satisfy :)

*Unfortunately, one of her favorite new sayings is "I don't like it".  I hear this often for food she hasn't even tried and new toys/items that scare her

*Her large motor skill are improving and she is getting better at throwing (just started some overhand) and catching.  She's also climbing on everything and is pretty capable to get up on all the furniture

*New obsessions: Boz, Minnie Mouse and the Backyardigans Pirate episode (she says "argh matey"...pretty cute)

there are no words for how much she loves this shirt!

A few pics from recent days...

thought this bike was so cool!  one day...

one part washington, one part california

gotta love the hair

so sad the hawks are done for the year :(

she's getting pretty good at stacking...loves blocks and big block legos!

   

Minnie...

As noted in my Christmas post, Maya has developed a new love for Mickey and Minnie Mouse.  Not sure exactly when it started.  I vaguely remember a month or so ago that she pointed at the 'mickey ear silhouette' as we passed the disney store and I told her it was a mouse.  At some point I added Mickey...the rest is history.  

Fast forward to earlier this week...We were in Hobby Lobby when Maya very excitedly pointed and exclaimed "Mickey!!" I turned around to see what she was looking at and couldn't find a Mickey anywhere.  I looked high and low, near and far and finally, across the ENTIRE fabric department, on the back wall of fleece fabric bolts, I saw a red and white fleece with a Minnie Mouse print.  How this girl finds things from a mile away is amazing.  I told her we could go say hi and once we got close she wanted to hold it.  I put the bolt across the shopping cart handle and she immediately proceeded to snuggle Minnie.  I'm a sucker so I decided I must get some and make something!  I had seen a tutorial for a two layer no-sew fleece blanket on Pinterest (of course!) and decided to go for it.  

Maya is obsessed with her "Minnie Cozy".  I think it turned out quite cute :)

Here's the link to the tutorial from Helping Little Hands 

Christmas Morning...

Here's a few pics from Christmas morning at home.  It was so fun seeing the joy on Maya's face as she opened up her gifts!  I can't wait for next year...it'll only get better!

Our tree!

Stocking were hung with care ;)

Coming down in the morning!

Pirates booty was the first thing she pulled out of the stocking...and it cost us at least 10 minutes!  She didn't want to move on!

We love stamps!

Of course we had to open them right away!

Princess fork and spoon..."princess" has officially been introduced into our house!

And Minnie/Mickey are her new favorites.  Drinking juice from her new Minnie cup :)

And she got a new "Pack Back" just like cousin Isaac! 

So excited to blow the whistle

Slyngers in jammies on Christmas morning!

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a very happy New Year!