One day I got really bored. I was sitting in the living room with Maya trying to think of something fun to do. Because, let's face it, 6 month olds are still not the best conversationalists.
And then it hit me. Water play! What baby doesn't like water play? So I grabbed a few odds and ends from the kitchen and a couple stacking cups for her to play with.
The ladle was her favorite. She held it just as if she were trying to drink some sort of delicious broth.
She realized she could turn the bowl to get to what she wanted.
We found a nest in the wreath on our door several weeks ago. We tried to use the door very sparingly to avoid bothering the mama and babies. One day I wanted to take pictures of Maya sitting on the chairs on our front porch. I went through the garage, but as I passed by the wreath the mama bird flew out, knocking one of the babies to the ground. I was so sad!! The little thing writhed around for a few minutes and then died. I felt like the worst person on the planet, and it totally ruined my day.
Then a couple of nights later Ryan and I heard something fall while we were in the back living room. I went to go see what it was and the noticed the wreath sitting on the porch. Oh no!! Of course I began to panic. What do we do?! Ryan stepped up to the plate and said he would build them a new home. I told him to hurry, and then called my sister so that I could get the womanly sympathy I needed. (Thanks, Holly!) Ryan came back inside with a little box constructed out of 2x4s. He hung it on the post of our porch, and then we had to figure out how to get the nest inside the box. Ryan got a big piece of cardboard, rubbed it on the grass ("It has to smell like nature!" he said), and then carefully scooped up the nest. One little bird had fallen out and was kind of scuffling on the cardboard. He was so cute and delicate! Ryan slowly "dumped" the nest (every time he said he was going to dump it in I said, "DUMP?!") into the box, which was sort of exciting because the little dude who had been scuffling was now stuck on one of the ledges. We managed to get him in there though. Then we went inside and hoped for the best. By now we were completely invested in this nest and wanted so badly for the baby birds to live! I prayed that night that the mama bird would find them.
The next morning we woke up at 5:30 (thanks, Maya) and I went down to check on the nest. I could see movement, so at least I knew they had survived the night. Then Ryan had a thought: We had not put the wreath back up. The mama bird was probably so confused! He put the wreath back on the door and before he had a chance to close it, Mama Bird flew in and then turned and saw her new home. Yay!
I am happy to report that the baby birds are still alive and growing!
Hurray for 6-months old!! We cannot believe that our little girl is halfway to a year already, but we sure are loving watching her grow up!
To celebrate her 6-month birthday we went to Taste of Fort Collins. (Actually, we were invited to go by David and Ashley but we will just say it was to celebrate because then I can put it in this post!) We arrived at about 2:45 PM on Saturday and saved a spot on lawn to watch the band we wanted to see that night. Matt Nathansen was playing. I only knew one or two of his songs, but I liked the other songs too.
We tried desperately to get Maya to nap. Talk about over-stimulation! Ryan managed to get her to snooze for about 40 minutes. That was the only nap she got between 2:30 PM and 9 PM. Despite that, she never got very fussy! Did I mention our child is an angel?
Brady also joined us for the music. It was nice to spend time with everybody!
We got Beau Jo's for dinner, which is mountain pizza pies. It was really expensive and not that amazing. We won't be going there again!
Maya can now sit up on her own! She got it down while we were on a vacation, and now she's a pro.
I have been taking her on walks every day to enjoy the outside world. She sits very happily in her stroller just looking around. She has even stopped trying to take off her sunglasses.
She now weighs 12 lb 5 oz and is 24 1/2 inches long. She gained less than a pound in 2 months! I was a little worried at first, but the doctor reassured me that it is fine. She is in the lower 3% in weight and 10% in height. But her head? 75%. She's got some brains!
Sometimes she still tips over....
I am so looking forward to spending my summer with this sweet little girl!
Last week we took a trip to see family in Arizona and Utah. We were gone for 10 days. Ryan and I were a bit nervous about the length of driving time we would have to endure with a 6-month old baby. But we figured there's a first time for everything! We left on a Thursday afternoon (my mom came down that day to help watch Maya while I scurried around getting everything ready - thanks Mom!) and drove the 14 hours to Phoenix. Ryan was awesome. He must turn into some sort of machine while he's driving. He made it to 4 AM before he needed me to take over. And Maya. Our dear sweet Maya. She slept just as if she were in her crib. It was nice to realize we had nothing to fear regarding the drive.
Maya took her morning nap on Grandpa Berne one morning so I could take a shower.
Ryan's mom and stepfather own 2 Great Danes named Penny and Sam. They are basically ponies. Maya was very curious about them.
Maya has started sticking out her tongue a lot. I think she likes feeling those little teeth.
Ryan's Grandma was so sweet with Maya.
Maya got to interact with all sorts of kinds of dogs on our visit!
I love this picture.
Maya went swimming for the first time! We weren't sure how she would react since she hates baths so much, but she could clearly tell the difference. The water was a great temperature, and she just loved splashing and swimming with us!
She was so happy! I'm sure this was her favorite part of the whole week. I'm glad we were able to swim 3 of the days we were there!
Cute little splashing baby!
I told Ryan we need a pool in our backyard. Surprisingly, he said no.
Maya also got to meet her 101-year-old great-great Grandma. Seeing them interact was precious.
She loves sharing our water.
We had to run to Target to get Ryan something and we saw this suit and sunglasses. How could we resist?? Right before I took the picture Maya stuck her little leg out. This girl knows how to pose already!
Oh that tongue....
She loved the wind chimes!
We were in Phoenix until Tuesday night. We left after dinner (about 7:30) and headed to Salt Lake City to see my side of the family. Driving through the night again was a little bit more difficult the second time, but we made it in one piece. We arrived at my grandma's home around 7:45 AM. Ryan had done most of the driving again, so we all took a day to recover.
I came back into the room and saw this. Haha!
At Papa and Sessie's house we spent a little time outside. Sessie was surprised that Maya didn't recoil her bare feet from touching the grass.
We had a lovely time at Papa and Sessie's.
Maya liked to spend a little time with Grandpa every morning.
The day before we left we invited all of the family close by to come hang out. Everybody came, minus just a few cousins (who we missed!). I was so glad that people took the time out of their day to come see us. This is Maya and Colton, my cousin's little boy. Maya had her first sharing experience. I think she did all right. :)
We drove home on Sunday. Maya did great driving during the day, too. We are so glad we had the opportunity to take this vacation! We loved seeing everybody and can't wait to do it again!
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