Booty Dance

We took this video a couple of months ago when Maya was playing some music and started dancing. I don't know who taught her how to dance. If she was standing around snapping her fingers and clapping her hands then I might have an idea.

Baby's First Burberry

Maya's Christmas present from Aunt Bob: A Burberry raincoat. I put her in it one day when it was sprinkling and we had to cross the parking lot. You just have to take advantage of the opportunities.

Climbing

Maya has started climbing onto the couch and for a while I thought this was a big deal, then we went on a play date. Maya's friend, who is a month younger, proceeded to climb onto a trunk to get to the back of the couch and then slide down onto the cushions, giggling the whole time. I'm very happy to say I'm dealing with a lightweight.

I have no idea how she managed this one.

It's Cold

I wasn't expecting this.

Introducing Moe

Maya has never had a security object, but in the past couple of weeks that has changed. She has become obsessed with this cat that for months has been living at the bottom of her toy box. I have no idea what made her suddenly take notice of it but now she cannot be without him. As soon as I get her out of her crib she calls for Moe. She has always referred to cats as kitty but in this case he has always been called Moe and sometimes Ma, which is REALLY annoying. Not that I want to be called Ma, it's just that I don't like sharing even part of my title with a stuffed animal, at least until he learns to change diapers.

Butterflies

After much cursing and what seemed like an eternity, we were finally able to hang up the butterflies Maya received from her Granny and Papaw for Christmas. It was a bit of a headache to figure it out but the results were worth it, Maya loves her butterflies and she can sit under them while she ''reads'' her books.

Total Chicken

Visiting family gives us the rare opportunity of having a babysitter, and that is something that you just can't pass up. So off we went to Busch Gardens for some much needed scream therapy as well as to see the animals and enjoy time to ourselves. We discovered that there is a new roller coaster that boasts a true 90 degree drop and not only that but it also stops on the edge so the front row literally hangs off the side forcing you to stare at the concrete 200 feet below. Awesome. By the time we get in line Jason has started to have some doubts and decides that he can't ride in the front row and leaves me for the back row. HE COMPLETELY CHICKENED OUT! The whole point is to ride in the front so you can experience what it's like for your stomach to inch its way up your throat. It's not fun if you don't think 'I don't want to die' at least once.

My Buddy And Me

At first, Maya didn't want anything to do with Buddy, he may as well have been a giant that thought he was no bigger than a frog. There were many times when Buddy would cause Maya to cry by smacking her upside the head and knocking her down with his tail. Buddy would respond by running out of the room, he just didn't understand why the little person couldn't appreciate his wagging tail. In a gesture of goodwill, she was eating her grilled cheese and offered Buddy a bite but Buddy took the entire slice. Maya isn't one to share so she took the greedy behavior personally and kept her food for herself for a few days. Slowly, she came to accept his swishing tail and learned to duck at the right times while Buddy learned to keep his tongue to himself and only take the food that was offered. By the time we were ready to go, Maya and Buddy were inseparable.

Maya watching Buddy watching Uncle Morgan watching the computer.

After feeding Buddy a piece of toast, Maya offers him some milk to wash it down.

Maya Wins!

"All right, you're doing great, but remember, no hitting below the belt and try to keep it clean."

No Licking Please

I've been looking forward to bringing Maya to Petland for months. She has a clear love of animals and I couldn't wait to see her reaction to being in a room full of puppies. Maya was a big squealing mess, as soon as we let the puppy go she was running around and playing with the living mop. The one thing that caught me by surprise was how much she hated the puppies licking her. She was fine with the puppies scratching her arms but as soon as they licked her hand she lost her interest.

Christmas

I think everyone except Maya was heavily anticipating Christmas this year. We tried to do as many Christmas activities as possible, hoping to get Maya interested in what this 'Christmas' thing is all about. Endless light displays, Christmas carols, visits with Santa, must see Christmas cartoons, and in the end, Maya just enjoyed all the attention and I haven't had this much Christmas spirit in years.
Maya's first reaction to the gifts under the Christmas tree.

Taking a good look at the rocking horse.

Trying out her rocking horse before deciding that it really needed to keep its distance.

Poppy and Maya discovering just what happens when an emotional pigeon finds a hot dog.

Poor Little Bunny

Maya gives her Aunt Jennifer a giant Teddy bear in hopes of helping her feel better from the flu/cold/hangnail from which she was suffering.

Christmas Lights In Palm Trees Are Awesome

Every year the zoo puts up lights for Christmas and also does a light show complete with music. We met up with some friends so we wouldn't be the only people with a child running around like a crazy person. It was a lot of fun and the lights were absolutely beautiful, the entire zoo was just sparkling. Santa even made an appearance complete with snow machines to help remind everyone that even though its 80 degrees outside it's still Christmas time. The light show was held by the sea lions with music blasting all around them. The poor things took it pretty well, the slim sea lion was swaying back and forth while the fat one was laying on his rock passed out and completely oblivious.

Anatomy 101

We have been teaching Maya to identify parts of the body and she's been doing really well. Ear

Nose

Mouth (she prefers to stick out her tongue)

Belly Button (currently an outie)

Toes

Suddenly Not Afraid Of The Moustache

All I wanted was the standard screaming child photo with Santa, is that so much to ask?