(aka Maya and Matthew)

Maya’s cousin Matthew is a mere five weeks older than her…but twice her size, literally. At one year, she weighed about 15.5 pounds; he weighed 31!

Matthew’s a cuddly guy, and he made himself right at home in my lap. Not to be outdone, Maya joined in. I felt *very* loved.

Since we had the whole crew in town for Thanksgiving, we had Tom out to take photos. I hope to eventually get electronic copies of these…but in the meantime, here’s a (bad, photo-of-a-photo) copy of my favorite of me and Maya.

Someone’s getting a little tired of being locked out of the room mama’s in. I totally understand…I’m tired of painting, too.

Pardon the lack of posting. I’m spending my days up at the new digs de-Laura-Ashley-ing it, then my nights back here at the condo packing and preparing for Monday’s move.

So far, it seems that Maya is going to *love* amusement park rides. Ah, a girl after mama’s heart!

Here, she enjoys the newest addition to her own personal park, the “Mayawhirl.”

Hijacked from Margi. I could add personal comments to just about every one of these, but you know what? It’s bedtime. That’s my #21…you go to bed at a somewhat reasonable hour…and don’t mind at all!

Written by Rebecca Woolf and swiped from BabyCenter (as always):

Twenty Things That Change When You Have A Baby

• You look at your baby in the mirror instead of yourself.
• You finally stop to smell the roses, because your baby is in your arms.
• Where you once believed you were fearless, you now find yourself afraid.
• You’re less self-involved and more self-motivated.
• The sacrifices you thought you made to have a child no longer seem like sacrifices.
• You respect your body … finally. (Hooray for baby-making!)
• You have stronger opinions and are stronger willed.
• You respect your parents and love them in a new way. (Hooray for grandparents!)
• You find that your baby’s pain feels much worse than your own.
• You believe once again in the things you believed in as a child. (Hooray for the tooth fairy!)
• You lose touch with the people in your life that you should have banished years ago.
• Your heart breaks much more easily.
• You think of your baby 234,836,178,976 times a day. In fact, you’re so busy with this that you forget everything else.
• Every day is a surprise.
• Bodily functions are no longer repulsive. In fact, they please you. (Hooray for poop!)
• You think before you speak.
• You become a morning person. (Hooray for watching the sun rise!)
• If you have a son, you no longer curse men. (Hooray for all men!)
• If you have a daughter, you hope she won’t endure your same heartaches.
• Your love becomes limitless, a superhuman power.

I’ll add a couple of my own:

• You suddenly believe in your own mortality.
• You believe in love at first sight.
• Being thankful for every happiness, every day doesn’t seem so trite and hokey anymore.

Standing up. Not pulling up…standing up.

I’ve mentioned before that Maya tends to wait to do new skills until she’s already figured them out in her head. Here’s another example. Right now, Maya is walking in circles around the living room, and each time she stumbles/sits, she stands right back up IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROOM.

This kid continues to amaze me.

Yesterday, Maya was toddling four or five steps at a time.

Today? Forget that. She’ll walk.

I had hopes that yesterday’s technology work was a fluke…like that she just *happened* to do all of that. Guess not.

During lunch, Maya watched the beginning of “The Little Mermaid.” She finished lunch, and I turned off the VCR, then switched the TV back to cable. Then, we walked the dogs.

30 minutes later, she just turned the VCR back on, pressed play (guess she learned a new trick), and set the television input back to VCR/DVD. Then, she cranked the volume for Ariel to sing “Part of Your World.”

Off to turn it all back off again; she’s had her TV quota. Then I’m off to order some of these, because I’m just not quite ready to buy an entertainment center yet. Oh well, I needed to order the gate for the top of the stairs at the new house, anyway — from the same site.

Maya just:
1. Turned on the television (nothing new there).
2. Changed the input settings from cable to DVD/VCR.
3. Turned on the DVD/VCR.
4. Switched the DVD/VCR to the DVD setting from VCR mode.
5. Turned to stare me down until I got the hint.
6. Said “yeah!” when I hit play for “Baby Monet: The Seasons.”

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

That entertainment armoire I was eyeing is starting to sound like a wise purchase. Doors are a *very* good thing. Well, until she learns to open them, anyway…

In the time it took for me to take this photo, d/l it from my camera, and upload it to the computer/flickr for posting here, Maya tired of BE (can you blame her?) and switched back on cable. I keep cable turned to the “Adult Alternative” music channel. She’s now cranked the volume to max, and dancing to Imogen Heap. Good girl.