New stuff all the time...

Maia lip trills! She actually does this quite a bit, and over the lasts week or two, she sort of does it as part of her "singing." When she sings, she really experiments with her range, and it sound really whistle-y as she sings higher and higher. Maia plays in the sprinkler (and doesn't like it much!) I really wanted to have her play in the pool that Grandma Effie bought... it was hot, and I thought it would be a perfect day... however, that is NOT a one person job to put that together. Think of it as a 1/8 version of the monster screen house we all have, but with water in it, intentionally! Poles, and poles, and more poles. And some PVC elbows. It's also quite sizable, so it might be better suited for when she's a little bigger. Oh yeah... and MAIA TAKES SOME STEPS!!!! She actually took her first ones like this a on Thursday night (6/25/09)... She did it two different times - about 3 steps into my arms. This is the first time we got it on video, and got a few more steps this time, too! We worked on it a lot this evening. On a side note, we went to the annual "Funk Invitational" Golf Outing and Picnic with Ray's co-workers. Maia very much enjoyed her day outside, and was extremely interested in chasing their cat as fast as she could crawl after it! The cat was tolerant at first, hoping for a nice belly rub from this very small human... but oddly, disappeared completely after she started chasing it.

More Teeth!

After several days of general whininess... I've been suspecting those upper teeth must be close to breaking through - but she won't let me in to look. So, while she was crying at bedtime anyway (I know I keep rubbing my eyes, mom... but I still want to play!!), I got my finger in there and... Yup! Upper Left Tooth has a corner through. So I'm expecting that these two will go similar to the first two: Left first, and about 4-7 days later, the right one. So perhaps there is an end in sight to the whining, but we'll have to get through another week of it, and lots of Motrin (which isn't so bad... it gives her bubblegum breath!) And since the tooth can hardly be seen... just a couple random pics... MmmMmMmm... Maia LOVES Daddy's lasagna! She's doing this more and more: standing with no support. And sometimes she'll stand there and bounce. It's hard to catch a picture of... so I apologize for the poor quality of this. Maia and I also went down to watch Ray play softball this evening. A steamy 95º outside, so we watched from the shade of a few trees off to the side of the field.

Winding down...

Afterward...

We had a little cookout. And in addition to Maia's baptism, it was also Effie's Birthday, the day after Raymond & Effie's anniversary (39!) and two weeks after Tara's Birthday... so: Opened some presents and cards Played some outdoor games Sat and chatted after a meal of burgers, dogs, chips and salads.

Maia's Baptism

Maia was Baptised at Westminster Presbyterian Church on June 14, 2009, the same day she turned 10 months old. In attendance were Grandpa Raymond and Grandma Effie, Papa Joe and Grandma Marcia, Aunt Tara and Dave, Uncle Andrew and Aunt Kathleen, and cousins Aaron, Rachael, Emily, Adrian and Lydia. Aunt Tara and I made Maia's baptism candle together. I did the numbers and letters while Tara worked on the symbols. It turned out better than I'd hoped it could! I'm so grateful for Tara's help! Aunt Tara got all the photos of the actual baptism itself. Rev. Chandler Stokes, Officiating Presenting Maia to the Congregation These are the afterward photos. All of Maia's cousins Rachael, Aaron, Emily Adrian (I'm holding Maia because she was tired and fussy!) Lydia Papa Joe and Grandma Marcia Grandpa Raymond and Grandma Effie Uncle Andrew, Aunt Kathleen, Aunt Tara, Uncle Dave I also LOVE these photos that Aunt Tara took...

A special weekend!

The weekend that Maia turned 10 months was full of events and family. We had a house full (and I think managed to accommodate everyone relatively comfortably, thanks to an external bedroom, courtesy of my folks and their motorhome). Everyone arrived Friday morning after an all night drive. We did some relaxing and playing in the yard.

Rocking Horse

Papa Joe made this rocking horse with his friend when Emily was born, 11 years ago. It's a well-loved horse, having traveled down through three of Maia's cousins. This is her first ride on the horse, and she seemed to know just what to do with it (although she has no body mass to really get it going.)

MMmMmm... Peonies!

Maybe just a few more...

I'm so beautiful!