The four crayons I just took from Maya are all missing their heads and tails. Colorful poop coming, film at 11.

Hi.

Maya leans over and kisses me on the nose.

Hi. Hi. Dowwwwwn. (making the “more” sign) She kisses me on the nose again, just to ensure that I’m actually awake.

This beats the mornings when I wake up to little fingers poking me as she says Eyyyyes.

I have now seen Monsters, Inc. and Toy Story more times than should be legally allowed. I honestly don’t mind; it’s a nice break from Baby Einstein and Thomas videos.

It’s easy to appreciate MI with a toddler, and I now estimate “Boo’s” age to be around 2. I shamelessly call Maya “Boo” on a regular basis.

Speaking of Thomas, does anyone else find the children’s voices to be just downright creepy? And the humans’ voices? They all sound like idiots.

Trains. Maya loves trains. (Her grandfather encourages this.) She can be in the middle of anything, but if she hears a train go by (we live near some tracks), she runs to the sliding door saying, “Woo-woo! Woo-woo!”

You might miss something.

4 months, 8-1/2 months, 19 months

The “more” signal in the right photo was because I was making faces/noises at Maya desperately trying to ellicit a smile. Seems I hit the silliness jackpot, considering I was competing with Blue’s Clues over my left shoulder!

…just a little slice of morning life, and Maya’s frustration trying to learn to climb (and jump) on the sofa. I (heart) all the babbling!

Don’t mind the music; it’s just Radio Paradise playing in the background. Good stuff, diverse, eclectic…if you like that sort of thing, it’s worth checking out.

With all of the other updates, I knew I was forgetting something!

Tooth #6 made the beginning of its appearance on Saturday (or was that Friday?). It’s the upper right one-year-old molar; this kid is getting her teeth in a really odd order. So, scroll to the bathtub picture a few posts below, and you can see her first five (two on the top, three on the bottom)…and now, a molar. Weird!

Maya enjoys a snack cup filled with sliced grapes in her rocking chair.

More, please!

Maya shares her ice with Clay…

…and her dried cranberries with Katie.

I did it.

Maya’s hair was getting so stringy and thin in the longer sections, I decided it was time for her to have a trim. After learning that a cut from my gal would cost the full price of a child’s haircut ($21), I made the call…I’d do it myself.

Not to bad, really…there are parts where it’ll stick out somewhat, but you can’t beat the price! She’s looking more like a little girl, less like a baby with every day that passes.

Maya had her first mini-egg-hunt (in between times swinging, of course) this year.

Um…so am I supposed to be impressed with this or something?

Ohhhhhhh. Chocolate.

Ish! Peeeeees?

Maya signs (politely, yet still firmly) that she’s had enough of this egg-hunt business. Time to swing some more!

Maya’s absolute favorite activity these days is swinging. Starting on Easter, she now signs “swing,” usually followed by a heart-felt, “please!”

From the time she wakes in the morning (or from a nap, or whenever she happens to think about it), Maya asks to swing…and doesn’t quite get the concept that I don’t HAVE a swing at my house. As a result, her grandparents’ house has become even more of a favorite destination than it already was. Gee, you think they planned it that way?

Below, you can see first-hand why *this* particular swing is the object of Maya’s affection. It’s not even going as high as it can! Next, you see Maya’s grandpa messing with her (to her utter delight). Finally, see Maya sign “swing” and ask for “ish.” It took me a while to figure that one out…why the heck was Maya’s word for swing “ish?” Oh…right. When I push Maya, I usually say “whooosh!” just as I push her higher. This, of course, is followed by the expected reaction when Mama doesn’t respond to a request.

I’m amazed, impressed, and astonished. Maya has been in her room for a nap since noon. It’s 3:10pm. Keep in mind, Maya usually naps about 1-1/2 hours at the most.

This new mattress rocks.

After a (mostly) sleepless night with Maya on the crib mattress on the floor, I learned (well, was reminded) that my folks had an extra new/nearly-new twin mattress languishing in their basement. If I couldn’t get the toddler bed together, would I be interested in it? Would I? Would I!

Last night, Maya woke briefly when I checked in on her at 10:15pm. She went back to sleep within a few minutes, with a little back-scratching, and I didn’t hear from her again until 7am, when I walked down the hall. I could hear the quiet chatter of her Laugh-n-Learn Puppy behind the door. She was lounging in bed, playing happily.

And now, this…a marathon nap. I’d started to think that she came to my bed simply for the luxury of my 2″ memory foam topper. I think I was right. This mattress doesn’t have the topper, but it’s heaven compared to a hard crib mattress. Poor kid…she *wanted* to sleep before, just couldn’t.

Oops! There goes the marathon. Upstairs with me!