Time Together

Yesterday our 32 GB memory card was maxed out. We have taken about 2,000 pictures since Maya was born (and that's just on that card). Holy cow! She is getting a lot of camera time, that's for sure!

She is finally big enough to sit up (sort of) while leaning against something. I don't know why this is exciting for me, but it is. 

She is pretty good at looking at the camera, too. :) 

She has discovered the wonderfulness of putting things in her mouth. Or at least sucking on stuff. She won't really hold on to any toys just yet, so it's usually her hands that make their way into her mouth. Yesterday I was holding her and she went to town on the burp rag on my shoulder. I like that it doesn't always mean that she's hungry like it used to. Now she's just exploring!

 

(I don't know why these few pictures are sideways. I couldn't fix it, and they aren't on my computer that way. Oh well.)

I have been spending some time with Maya on the floor everyday, just chatting. I really love holding her, but I realized that she will never learn to roll over, let alone crawl, if she is always sitting in my arms. She hasn't tried to roll yet, but at least she has the chance to now.

I really love spending that time with her. I call it our Mommy-Baby Time. I can tell this girl anything, and she will listen quietly and then respond with some sort of brilliant insight. I have yet to interpret her, but I love that she will talk to me.

During this Mommy-Baby Time I had our camera (obviously) and I was showing her the pictures. She laid quietly looking at the screen with me. I actually forgot for a moment that I was with a 2 1/2 month old, and not somebody who could comprehend what she was seeing.

I think that she enjoys chatting with me also. If she is getting a little cranky, she cheers right up if I lay her down and get real close to her. Then she knows that she, and only she, has my undivided attention for a little while.

And this little face makes me so happy, all day long! She cracks me up.

I am cherishing these moments, but I can't wait for her to get older so we can really play together!

Valentine's Day 2013

Valentine's Day this year was pretty great. Rather unexpectedly so!

We had decided the day before that we would go to sushi for dinner to celebrate. We have found this little joint in Westminster that we really like, so I called to make reservations. But the only time they had open was 9 PM. We decided that was too late, but Ryan said we could go the next day. "So are we going out tonight?" I asked. "No." He said.

Well, fine. "Pick up a pizza." Ryan laughed at me and said, "Have you lost that lovin' feeling?" I guess I had, even though it was silly because we were still celebrating, just not that night.

Ryan got home and did not have any pizza. Instead, he had crab legs, cocktail shrimp, lobster tails, wild rice, spinach salad, garlic bread, gourmet cheese, crackers, berries, sparkling pear cider, and cheesecake. Welcome back, lovin' feeling!

Ryan cooked the whole dinner himself. I would have helped, but I was handling the baby. He did such an amazing job! The food was incredible, and I was really impressed.

 

After dinner we watched You've Got Mail and ate our cheese, crackers, berries, and cheesecake. 

And to top it all off, Maya was great! We tried to lay her down, but she was wide awake. So I held her (swaddled) during dinner, and she did not make a peep. She was still awake after dinner, so she got to lay with us on the Love Sac while we watched our movie, eventually falling asleep around 9 PM I think. It was a great Valentine's Day gift to us!

Ryan was a fabulous Valentine this year. I am so grateful that I get to spend every single February 14th with him. I don't know how, but he always impresses me. I am so lucky to have such a romantic guy for a husband!

No Chocolate? No Problem.

A few months ago I was on Pinterest (I know I talk about that a lot, but I'm really not on it that much...really). I pinned a recipe called Snickerdoodle Blondies. I pretty much love snickerdoodles, and the person from this blog raved like crazy about this recipe, saying that they stay wonderfully moist until they're all gone.

So I tried it.

And you know what? WOW. SOOOO GOOD! The first time I made them Ryan's reaction was, "Mmmm!!" And immediately took seconds before his firsts had even two bites gone. I made it again like 5 days later (which just happened to be a couple of days before Maya was born. It was quite nice to have a treat waiting for me at home). I made it again for a Christmas get-together. And again a few nights ago. Seriously, this dessert is heavenly.

It does stay wonderfully moist until they're gone, just as promised. The edges get a little crispy, which I love. It is a great alternative for people who either can't eat chocolate (me) or don't like it (my sister and 3 other people on Earth). It has quickly become my go-to dessert when I have a hankering for baking!

Here is the link: http://www.myownsweetthyme.com/2010/04/secret-to-soft-snickerdoodles.html

Try it and ENJOY!

We've got a 2-Month Old!

I still can't believe how quickly time flies when you've got a little person at home to take care of. I was afraid of being bored a lot, but life is definitely not boring. There is always something to do!

Maya had her 2-month check up last Friday. I must admit that I was not looking forward to it because of the 3 shots she was going to get. I just kept telling myself that it is by far more important that she get those shots than that she doesn't have to cry.

Maya is such a trooper though. She definitely cried, but the whole ordeal was so short (the shots were done and band-aids were on in like 3 seconds flat), that she recovered pretty quickly. I thought I would have to nurse her to help soothe her afterwards, but she was fine! I was SO glad!

During the check-up we found out that she now weighs 9 lbs 10 oz! She has gained almost 4 lbs since she was born. I'm so proud of her and my fattening milk. Our doctor was impressed by her head control and leg strength. He also told Maya she is in official training for sleeping through the night.

She slept 7 hours straight in the night twice a couple of weeks ago, but hasn't been able to pull it off since then. Last night in particular was a total fail. She woke up four times and had a hard time falling back to sleep because she was too happy! Ha! Not something most parents would complain about! But she would wake up, eat, and then while I was changing her diaper she smiled and cooed and kicked her little legs and I couldn't help but respond to the overwhelming cuteness, so she may have gotten just a tad too stimulated to fall back asleep. Which I guess was my fault. :D

She smiles all the time these days. My favorite is when she smiles with her whole body. It's nice to know that she's as happy with us as we are with her!

She has also enjoyed learning what kinds of noises she can make. I am in love with every coo, gurgle, and cry.

A week ago Ryan and I went to Costco to pick up some stuff for our Baby Blessing Luncheon/Super Bowl "Party". Ryan was carrying Maya and I had the cart. Costco was PACKED. Those huge carts are not convenient for crowds like that! Ryan wandered off with Maya to find something, and I lost track of them. Costco is also very large. I was a little frustrated that I lost my man and child. And then, suddenly, I heard something familiar. All the hustle and bustle around me could not drown out one thing: My baby's cry. I felt a moment of joy as I realized I had entered another stage of mommy-hood!

Ryan and I have decided that she does not look like either one of us in particular, but that she looks like both of us. I have never looked at her and thought, "Wow, that's a mini-me!" Or mini-Ryan for that matter. She is a great mix between the two of us!

Her angel kisses are starting to fade, slowly but surely. I may miss those distinctive marks slightly, but I will be glad when they are gone.

She makes us laugh all the time. Whether it is because of her cuteness or some funny face that she inadvertently makes, she is a hoot. Our favorite time with her is in the morning. That's when she is usually the most happy and content.

She is really starting to respond to things around her. Her bouncy seat has this awesome attachment that has glowing blue lights, a monkey that moves back and forth, and a frog that moves up and down. When she was brand new, she would sit in the seat and just look off to the side. But now she looks at the things moving in front of her and she loves it! She makes noises and smiles and kicks. She will watch the monkey for a minute or two and then switch to watching the frog, and then back again. It makes me feel better about not holding her while she's awake and happy when I know she's getting some stimulus for that tiny growing brain.

She is starting to teach me her schedule. It's not completely set in stone everyday, but I know that she wants to eat after she wakes up, and wants to go back to sleep after "playing" for an hour and a half. Her naps still vary in length, but I'm trying to get them to go longer by just giving her a pacifier instead of getting her up if it hasn't been an hour yet.

Happy 2 Months, Baby Maya!

A Blessing and Some Football

This past weekend Ryan gave our precious daughter a name and a blessing. It was a very sweet blessing, and it even made my eyes leak a little. We sure do love that little girl.

The men who stood in the circle included my dad, my brother, 2 brothers-in-law, Ryan's 2 brothers, Ryan's stepfather, and our bishop. Maya was dressed in a beautiful gown that I just love, and she was perfectly wonderful during the whole thing. Ryan said she was just looking around, enjoying the bouncing. I suppose that makes up for her outbursts later on during Sacrament Meeting! :)

After Sacrament Meeting our whole group came back to our house for a late lunch. There was quite a spread! I had put pork and chicken in separate crock-pots that morning to make sliders, and our house smelled absolutely magnificent when we got home! I think everybody enjoyed the food and company.

After lunch we took some pictures to document the special occasion.

  

 

 

Then... at 4:30 PM... it was kickoff for the Super Bowl! Everybody stayed except for my sister and her husband, who had to get back home to Fort Collins, so our house remained quite occupied for the rest of the evening!

I had every intention to watch the game and/or sit and chat, but for whatever reason, I was busy the entire time. I don't even know what with. I did put together some pizza crust dough to make homemade pizzas later for during the game. I guess time just flew by. Nonetheless, I had a really great time hosting the get-together.

Ryan and I put together pizzas to have for dinner. We made 4 medium pizzas and 8 little individual pizzas for kids. I had fun assembling and baking those, even if I thought the smoke alarm was going to go off a couple of times. You see, in the directions for baking the pizza crust I make (thank you, Pinterest, for leading me to such a superb recipe), it says to preheat the pizza stones in the oven at 500 degrees for 30 minutes. 500 degrees is very hot. Smoking hot. Literally - when we opened the ovens to pull out the stones to actually start baking the pizza, smoke came billowing out (that may be a bit of an exaggeration). The stones were definitely hot enough to keep the bottoms of the pizza from getting soggy! I would not have cared too much if the alarm went off, but it would have been just a tad bit loud for Maya.

 

At any rate, the pizzas were yummy and I think they were a hit. It wasn't until the next day that Ryan and I remembered that we forgot to get out the 5-layer dip and hummus to have as snacks during the game as well. Oh well - I don't think anybody really missed them.

Thank you to everybody who participated in that day, and we missed all of you who were not with us!