Just Glad I Could Fit

At noon we had lunch at base camp, Maya had gone ahead towards summit. I blamed her restless nature. As the afternoon wore on, we heard something from way above us. I thought it might be Maya so we all started looking. Finally we spotted her. She was at a sharp curve in the mountain, she was uncertain, she had gone too far alone. She needed me. I said my goodbyes and I headed up to find her. The climb was easy, at first, but it quickly became steep with turns requiring sure footing. Gradually I made my way up, higher and higher, Maya's cries growing louder as time passed by. I came upon a fork in the path, left or right? Luckily I came across some natives. They too had heard the child and were eager to show me the way. I doubt I could have chosen the correct path without their help. They offered encouragement when I was close to giving up. I had to keep going, Maya was counting on me. I came to another fork and a native pointed the way. Soon, Maya was in my arms. She had found shelter in a cave where she could see base camp. I was pleased to see a native had been keeping watch nearby. I thanked him, although I wasn't sure if he understood me, their dialect was unfamiliar. They escorted us back down to a safe place where we could repel the rest of the way down. "Better for the small ones," that I could understand. We repelled down with a "Weeeeeee." Suddenly we were back. Maya ran to her Daddy with a huge smile on her face, she would try again for the summit after her Happy Meal.

Those McDonald's Playlands can really be a pain.

Spreading The Love

Soon after having Maya I discovered that everyday tasks that would usually only take 15 minutes would now take at least an hour. As she got older and became more independent, I was able to get through various errands and cleaning in record time. Lately, things have changed. Shortly after I begin to vacuum, Maya will stand in front of the vacuum with her arms outstretched, waiting for an embrace. She forces me to pause long enough for her to give the vacuum a big hug and then hurries on her way. I don't know what prompted this or why it has now evolved into a hug AND a kiss, or even why her doll and kitty have to be in on it. I'm thinking the doll might be more into it than the kitty.

Because She Doesn't Know Sharks Exist

Two weeks ago, I took Maya to the pool for the first time. I expected a lot of screaming and thrashing but I was able to keep myself together. Maya did great. She was hesitant at first, not wanting to go beyond the steps unless I was holding on to her in a death grip. She eventually allowed me to take her around the pool with her holding onto the back of my neck. I was so surprised at how quickly she became comfortable. We've put her in kiddie pools and sprinklers before but she has always hated them. I guess as long as she doesn't mess up her hair she's ok.

Happy Father's Day

Pucker Up

Maya has discovered my chapstick. I was putting some on and noticed she was interested so I put a little on her lips. That was all it took. She now thinks that chapstick is the most fantastic, wonderful product in all of existence. So much so that she now will pull my purse off the table and rummage through it to get to it. This happened the other day, and she started bringing me my receipts from my wallet along with my i.d. and all my cards, I had to stop that. Later, when we went to the store, I realized I didn't have my wallet when we got to the checkout. I could tell you exactly where it was, sitting right on the kitchen table where I put it after taking it from Maya. They were really nice and let me write a check without an i.d. I guess it pays to have a cute kid in the cart. Of course, does it pay if that kid is the reason you need to be bailed out in the first place?

Free Stuff!

Back in April, we went to the park for the annual Kid's Day that's held there. There were all kinds of booths set up ranging from information on proper car seat installation to a Chiquita banana booth giving away, you guessed it, bananas. By the way, did you know you can get mini bananas? They're absolutely adorable. Little pocket sized bananas. Anyway, all the booths were having give aways and a local vet was having a drawing for a stuffed animal and I found out last week that I won this:
well, the dog, I already had the kid. Even though Maya has enough stuffed animals to amuse an army of toddlers, I was just excited to win something! April must have been a good month, because we also went to a spring carnival where I won a cake in a cake walk. For those of you who were wondering, I have always wanted to win at a cake walk, must be something about free food. I can now cross that off my list of things to do before I die.

Confuses Being Tired With Being Hungry

Falling asleep before finishing her lunch of peaches and a peanut butter sandwich. And yes, she's still in her pajamas, it was just one of those days.

Clown Feet

My shoes slow her down so I was able to get a couple of shots, even if she does look like Scruffy the Clown.
Man, she makes my feet look HUGE.

King Street

We have wanted to go to Charleston since we moved here and last weekend we were finally able to make it happen. We don't live very far but we were never sure how Maya would do in the car and if it would be worth it. As it turns out, Maya did great thanks to the dvd player and we can't wait to go back. We drove around downtown a little and I would love to explore that area some more as well as check out the farmers market and local shops. Maya freaking out on King Street right before finally going down for her nap.

All I've Been Getting For The Last Month

I really have been trying to take pictures of Maya but she seems to be fond of extreme closeups lately. As soon as she sees the camera, she comes running towards me so I get stuck with a picture of her eye or one of her nostrils. This is one of the better shots worth keeping.

Oops

So apparently it's been a few weeks since I last updated, sorry about that. You will be happy to know that Maya has not gotten any cuter in those weeks or done anything extraordinary, unless you count learning to scream her responses to every question we asked her. I'll try to do better on my posting.

Now What?

This weekend we bought a potty chair. We brought it home and had Maya sit on it first with and then without her diaper. We have now come to the conclusion that we have no idea how to potty train a child. To the book store!!!

This Is How I Roll

Maya received these sunglasses at Easter and they have become her favorite accessory. She calls them her "cool." I can't help but feel a little responsible for putting, yet another, confused white kid out on the streets.

Tickle Tickle

Maya loves her fish and, as a symbol of her affection, has begun "tickling" them daily. This is clearly NOT hugging and besides giving them severe panic attacks, should not lead to their death.*

*If anything were to happen to these fish then it would definitely be due to Maya's tickling. I have no desire to take the fall for killing said fish.

Shenanigans

A couple of weeks ago we received a visit from Granny, Aunt Dana, Aubrie and Jacob. Aubrie and Jacob were so excited to see Maya, and Maya couldn't have been happier even if she had received a box full of cookies and kittens. They weren't able to stay for very long but it worked out ok, because just as they were leaving, Maya got sick. Again. Because who knows what might happen if she was healthy for more than seven days in a row?