13 weeks

Well, mom went back to work this week. Thankfully, we found Jen, who brings her son to our home so she can care for Maya. She's very attentive and loving and was a welcome relief to find after discovering that the daycare center that we had planned on using wasn't quite what it seemed. Maya is taking some time acclimating to her. She, unfortunately, is not an "easy baby" - she's quite sensitive and had some trouble the first day with napping. We know she'll adjust and that Jen is taking great care of her, so that eases our minds.

Some pictures from the past week.

Hanging out in the Bumbo:



Relaxing after a hard week:




Getting ready to go out and get our Christmas tree!









And, sorry it's so dark. We need to get more lights in our living room. Here's what Maya loves doing most with Daddy.

12 weeks

Not quite 3 months just yet.... but Maya is ALL SMILES these days. When she isn't fussing, of course. Mornings are the best time of day for her, and as she's waking up from a nap. She also loves to be sung to, and to have books read to her. We have two swings that both play music, and we've discovered that's the key to her enjoying the swing - music!






Just before she rolled over for the first time!!!



Aaaand, just after:




Whoa! I just rolled over!



But she hasn't figured out how to do it again! Laying on her back is so much easier.



Sitting up in the glider like a big girl!




We took the infant sling out of the baby bath tub and Maya LOVES splashing in the water!



And just sitting in the glider, patting her leg and getting fussy:

11 weeks

The time is going by so fast!

Getting dressed for our day:



Laying on the activity mat




I think this is, by far, our favorite series of photos of Maya. Waking up from a nap... crazy hair, deer in headlights:

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! We had an eventful weekend! Maya is now 11 weeks old.

On Wednesday night, Aunt Kari, Uncle Jeffrey, and Grandma and Grandpa came over for dinner.

Meeting Uncle Jeff while in her straight jacket, er, swaddling blanket:



Unfortunately, Maya wasn't in the best of moods.



Although she was able to be cheered up by some of her favorite toys.



And TV cheered her up. Maya REALLY likes TV. It's a problem (she's craning her neck to see the TV while Aunt Kari is trying to get in some quality time!).



Maya's first Thanksgiving was fun! Besides all the good food, she got to meet so many new people, and hang out with some familiar folks too.



Maya has some cousins who came, too.





It was great to see Uncle Dan, and meet Aunt Jenny.



Thanks to Uncle Jeff, who took all these pictures with his fabulous camera!





I guess Daddy was still hungry after dinner!



It *was* pretty funny.



Or maybe Merov was just making funny faces?





Grandpa was helping to keep Maya happy as the night came to an end (during the critical Fussy Period).



We went back to Grandma and Grandpa's house the next day for brunch.



And then Maya got to hang with Daddy and the boys while Mommy and the girls had their nails done.



All in all, it was a great day! And a great weekend!

Fun at Russ and Beth's!

Saturday afternoon we got to visit our friends Russ and Beth, and their 6-week old son Owen (Maya's future boyfriend). It was a lot of fun!

Meeting Owen for the first time! Wonder Twin powers, activate!!



Owen slept almost the whole time! What a good little napper.



Maya was not impressed. Napping is for losers.



Maya had a little snack in the family room.



Then we went for a nice walk in the park!



They actually managed to coordinate their naps at the same time! Aw!



Perhaps it was the beer that caused the Scream Off?





Thanks, Russ, Beth and Owen for having us! It was so fun to see you guys and meet Owen and your family!

Activity mat fun

9 weeks

Lots to catch up on. This week Maya has become much more interested in toys, and will even give her favorites big smiles. She especially likes rattling toys, and the Rae Bunny her future boyfriend Robbie gave her is her favorite. She also smiles at herself sometimes in the mirror.

She's getting much better at holding her head up. Here's a nice little video of her sitting in her Bumbo:



She's getting better organized with naps. She'll still take 30-45 minute naps on bad days, but 2 hour naps are coming more often. Nights are so much better than they were a month ago. Bad nights now involve general restlessness instead of screaming on and off for 8 hours (which ended around the 5 week mark), though she often fights bedtime. Good nights involve a 5-6 hour stretch of sleep and then around 4 hours and then another few until she's up for the day around 8:30 or 9am. Morning is the best time for smiles! She still gets the Evening Fussies but she told us that she plans to give that up in another month.

Here are some 9 week pictures.



We tried the Bumbo out early in the week. She wasn't so into it, though it was kinda neat to see her sitting up.







Morning bed head:



We then tried the Bumbo later in the week, & she seemed to dig it.








No pictures, please!!



She really likes being carried around the house. She also likes looking at herself in the mirror. This was our attempt at getting her smile on camera. Foiled yet again!



The carrier makes a good nap time spot and she has napped up to 3 hours at a time in this thing!



Yes, yes she is a cutie.