Christmas 2008

Well, it's New Year's Eve so I thought I'd finally get out some Christmas pix.

On Christmas Eve Eve, Lezlie made some cookies for Santa. Her recipe is a little different. It includes the usual ingredients--flour, sugar, chocolate. But instead of cooking them for 8-10 minutes, try keeping them in the oven for an hour or so. I hope Santa liked them.Lezlie decided that we would start a new tradition of getting new PJs the night before we open gifts. Since Maya has no concept of time, we were able to trick her into thinking Christmas Eve morning was actually Christmas morning. She was quite interested in all the boxes but I don't think she's got the hang of it yet. She spent most of her time climbing on them.Now, I always told myself that I'd never push things on our kids but I couldn't resist. I saw a small basketball goal at Target and knew that she had to have it. She's already got a goal in the bathtub but I thought she'd enjoy one for the basement too. Maya knows that you put things through the basket but sometimes she tries to put shoes through it.On Christmas Eve, we made the trip down to Cole Camp. Here Maya got to play with all of our cousins. It's amazing how she lights up when she's around other kids. She also got to meet a new cousin--Cody. She was very excited when she saw him, repeatedly doing the "two-handed" wave and saying "eye!!...eye!!". We're guessing that means hi. She never tried to grab at him which is entirely different from how she treats Vinnie--sitting on him, grabbing his tongue, etc.

We were all very nervous how Vinnie would treat Cody. It was David vs. Goliath...1 lb vs. 90 lbs. It was an interesting ticket but it turned out to be a bust. Vinnie was curious but only sniffed at him and quickly retreated when Cody did his hop. He sure is a cute one.
Well, it was a very enjoyable Christmas break but I'm ready to go back to work. Did I say that? Ya, right. I'm dreading the day. It will take a bit to get back into the swing of things, that's for sure. I'll leave you with a couple more pics. Have a happy new year!

Getting Ready for Christmas

Just thought I'd give a quick update on how things are going here in St. Louis. Since Brandon's last post there hasn't been too much going on with us. We are just getting ready for Christmas. I can't believe it is only 8 short days away! But, tonight I was able to finish my shopping which makes me soooo relieved, I never thought I get done!

Maya is doing well. Yesterday she went to the doctor and got another round of shots. Her appointment was just for a flu shot but they decided to go ahead and give her the 15-18 month ones since she was already there. Brandon took her and said that she did pretty good and they didn't seem to slow her down any!

Well...I don't really have anything else to report so I'll close for now. I hope everyone is staying warm!!

How the Maya Stole Christmas

If you look closely at our tree, you'll notice that there aren't many decorations on the bottom of the tree. Maya has taken a liking into grabbing one every chance she gets. She does pretty good though, always bringing them to us, thinking that she is helping out.

Thanksgiving went pretty good. We were excited about Maya having the chance for her first hay ride at Ed and Lola's. The weather turned out great--over 50 degrees. However, it was right about Maya's nap time (11-12) so she slept the whole way once we got moving.

We're glad Maya got to play with all of the cousins. It's fun to see her play with others. I just know she gets so bored of us. Maybe we should have another so she'd have someone else to play with. Only time will tell. Don't go startin' rumors.

This past week was pretty rough for us. Maya began waking up around 5:30-6. I usually get to sneak out before she wakes but this week I had to help out a little so Lezlie could get ready. I can't see how she does it all everyday. I can't even dress the girl unless Lezlie has it all laid out. I could but she'd probably be wearing some clashing stuff. That's not mentioning getting all the other stuff ready for daycare. Lezlie sure is a wonderful mother!!

Maya has started the monkey stage. Ever since we got her a Little Tikes slide, she's gotten pretty good at climbing. She can now climb onto the couch on her own. And lately, she's been climbing on and standing on a storage container in our basement. She thinks it's so funny. Oh, and here's a picture of her on top of the entertainment center. She put a box next to the computer, climbed on the box, climbed onto the computer and then climbed onto the entertainment center. Oh, how her mind is thinking.I have posted some "best of 2008" pictures on facebook. If you don't have facebook, here are some links. If the links don't work, let me know and I'll fix it.

Best of 2008 -- Part 1
Best of 2008 -- Part 2
Best of 2008 -- Part 3

First Parent Teacher Conference

Tonight Brandon and I went to our very first Parent/Teacher conference at Maya's daycare. When we learned that they were scheduling them we kind of chuckled about it but being excited first time parents we scheduled one right away. Her new teachers Ms. Sherry and Ms. Joann are great and they seem to really care about Maya (and all of the other toddlers in their room). They had a glowing report to give us stating that they think Maya is developing right on target and is very smart. We were very pleased about everything they had to say and are glad that we went.

Spending Time With Maya

This week, Lezlie and I spent a lot of time at home with Maya. This would have been great if she were only feeling well. On Wednesday, she woke up with a 101 degree fever. Until Friday, she continued to hold a fever. But, we took her to the doctor anyway because she was really pulling at her ears hard. Surprisingly, it wasn't an ear infection. Dr. Davis attributed it to teething. She has really been working on those molars. He said she was pulling at her ears because she wasn't really sure where the pain was coming from.

Let's hope she gets past this before Thanksgiving. Maybe she'll be able to use those molars eating all of that Turkey.

No More Bottle

We have officially got Maya off of the bottle. She had been down to 1-2 bottles a day for the past month and had always needed one before going to bed. On Thursday, we decided to just give her the sippy cup instead. We honestly didn't think it would work but she did take it. She continued to play and took breaks for milk every couple minutes until the cup was empty. And, she's been doing it all weekend. We are so proud of her!!

Now, we have a feeling that taking her binkie away will be World War III. We'll leave that for a time when we have gotten caught up on our sleep and have several days to kill.

First Trick or Treating

Since Maya was only a month old last year, we did not get the chance to go trick or treating. This year, however, Lezlie was insistent that we dress her up. As you can see, she went as a little lamb. But, I did hear 1 or 2 people call her a bunny. Whatever.

Maya wasn't quite sure what was going on. She didn't smile much but she also didn't fuss at all. But, a smile did come out when she saw Julie. We only made it to a couple houses down the street. We didn't see the point on filling her pumpkin when she still can't eat any of it. And, we sure as heck don't need to eat all that candy. We have enough leftovers from ours. Actually, we didn't even hand any out so we still have about 5 lbs left.Here are some pictures from Jason and Susan's "day after" Halloween party. There sure are a lot of cute kids there. And, I think they wore Maya out and she was just watching them.

Keeping Up With the Big Kids

If you haven't heard, Maya has now officially transitioned out of the infant class. She began the transition last Monday by spending half of each day in the 1-2 yr old classroom. And on Friday, she made the full plunge. And boy, have things changed. On the first day, her teachers were not aware that she was still on the bottle. So, all she got was sippy cups. Fortunately, she did very well. So, we decided to do the same at home, at least during the day. She still gets a bottle in the morning and one at night. But honestly, I don't think it will be too hard to take those away. She is doing very well with her sippy cup. I think we just needed to find the right kind. I think we tried 4 or 5 different kinds but she figured it out on the cheapest one you could find at Wal-Mart.

I'm not sure if it was the change in class but we have noticed big changes in her eating skills. She no longer chokes on every big piece and she is starting to want to do it herself. The other night she ate an entire banana. We're still cutting everything up for her but the pieces don't have to be as small anymore.

And now the greatest change. She now sleeps the entire night. Well, she had one setback on Thursday (woke up at 4:30 hungry) but before that she had slept the whole night for over a week. Many times, Lezlie has to wake her up before going to work. Unfortunately, she also is getting tired much faster a night. This means less play time with Mommy and Daddy. It seems the only way to keep her awake is to keep feeding her. We usually have to feed her immediately upon coming home around 5-5:30. Then, once we fix supper for ourselves around 6:30, she wants some of it. Then, she's ready for yogurt around 7-7:30. Then, after bathtime comes the bottle. If you would see us, you would think we're running a factory.

We were both nervous about the change in classroom but her teachers seem really nice. I've also learned that Maya is a very determined child. So, I think she's trying her hardest to keep up with the rest of the kids in the class. That's progress.

Trip to Springfield

Long time, no blog...

This past weekend, we made a trip down to our college town. Lezlie and I hadn't been there for a real visit in who knows how long. Maybe a year and a half?? So, we had that itch. And, it just so happened that the weekend we all (us and Tommy/Julie) decided to go down, it was homecoming. Lezlie and I made the trip early Friday afternoon hoping to beat the traffic. Well, we did and we had plenty of time to spare so we stopped by the ol' SMSU campus. I'm sorry, Missouri State campus. It was much of the same. There were lot of kids walking about with no care in the world--probably debating on what party they were going to that night. If only I were ten years younger... We tried to make it into the gift shop but they were closing as we walked in. So instead we glanced in the Union and then took a stroll over to Cheek Hall. Let me just say, that felt really weird. I don't know how to describe it.

Anyway, the real reason we came to Springfield was to visit with everyone in Springfield. We feel bad because it seems they always come to visit St. Louis but we never seem to come down south. We will make an effort to change this bad habit.

Friday night was pretty laid back. We went to Mexican Villa. I just had to get a Sancho!!! I don't know why--especially after what happened to John (short but disgusting story). They sure do have some cheap food. The lady only charged me 2 cents for us to eat. I don't know why I said anything. I guess I'm just too honest.

Saturday, the guys and the girls split up. The guys spent all day watching football which sucked because all of our teams lost. The girls went to Jessica's parents to swim in their brand new pool. From the sounds of it, Jessica's mom latched on to Maya. I'm guessing she can't wait for Jaxson to come out. I think Lezlie spent most of her time making sure that Maya didn't get burnt because her back was burnt to a crisp. As you can see, Maya got pretty worn out.

Saturday night, we did BBQ at Mandy's new home. I'm not going to say anything about the Mizzou game. Erin and Chris came over with Rowan for a little playdate. It seems that Maya has lots of boyfriends. It was very interesting to see their differences. What amazed me the most is that Rowan was so quite. I just think Maya is the loudest child in the world...at least that's what they've said at daycare. I just wish Maya would eat as good as Rowan was. He sure was chowing down on those beans:)

After the long day, everyone called it quits pretty early. We just don't have it in us anymore, I guess. Well, it was good to see you all. We will have to do that more often. If only we could get Mr. Holmes back to visit with everyone...

The Concert

This past weekend, Lezlie and I were lucky to have Tommy and Julie babysit while we went to Riverport to watch Maroon 5, Counting Crows, and Augustana. All three bands were great. Augustana only played for 30-40 minutes, mainly because they're a new band. But, they were pretty good.

The Counting Crows were next. They were short band members because two of of the wives had just had babies. So, a couple of Augustana members played with them. Their lead singer was great--very personable with the crowd. Although, he did sweat a lot. I felt a little old singing Mr. Jones and Long December. It just seemed like the young teeny bopper crowd was wondering how I knew these songs.

The headliner was Maroon 5. Lezlie really wanted to see them. I originally wanted to go mainly to see the Counting Crows but have grown to love Maroon 5 also. It seems like we knew every song that they sang and they played for about an hour and a half. But, maybe that's because we've been listening to their record for the past 3 months. During their show, I started to feel young again since the teeny boppers were singing also. And hopefully Lezlie felt younger too. She needs it. The old lady is turning the big 3-0 in about a week!!!! Make sure you wish her a good one.

Maya has gotten better since the last post. She was only sick for the one day. She started coughing last night a little bit. I guess my tight ass is gonna have to turn on the heat:)

She's developed a little habit of hitting herself. Every so often she'll bump her head on something. Then, she'll stop and then do it a couple of more times. Who knows what's going on it that little head?

I'm still not too sure about this whole walking thing. The good thing is that you can put her down and she can entertain herself for a long time. The bad thing is that she often entertains herself with Vinnie's water dish, toilet paper, the basement stairs, and everything on Daddy's desk. But, it sure is cute when she runs into your arms.

And just when things were going great...

Let the sickness begin. Maya came home early yesterday after throwing up and being "more emotional than usual." She was eating cheese crackers and just threw up. They then noticed she had a 99.5 degree fever and a rash all over her stomach and back. Upon getting home, she chowed on some cereal. She was a little clingy and very tired so Lezlie put her to bed by 7:15. Not long after though, she woke up hungry. Lezlie fed her a bottle of milk but she soon threw it up all over her bedroom floor. I never knew so much could come out of such a small person. I raced to the store to pick up some Pedialyte and tylenol since we were out. We then moved her to the guest bedroom since her room smelled horrible. Can you guess what happened soon after? Yes, she threw up again. This time on me. So, now we had two puke-smelling rooms...wonderful.

Fortunately, Maya had a doctor's appointment today for her 1 year checkup. She was supposed to get shots but because she was sick, they didn't give her any. The conclusion was that she has a virus and we can't do anything about it. Just give her tylenol for the fever, the doctor said.

Lezlie stayed home with her for the rest of the day. She took a nap after the doctor's appointment and her fever seems to have passed. She's still a little clingy but she's starting to get back to normal--she is being very vocal (this means that she's screaming a lot just for fun). We'll see how things go. Let's just hope we don't get sick too.

Proud Maya

Well, I heard that someone thinks I've been slacking on the blog. So, I better get to work. In the last post, Maya had been walking well with her new push toy. She does not need it anymore. It's official. She is walking! Like every parent, we were worried that she was behind--especially after seeing Jason and Gayle's son Easton at the CC fair. It's amazing what a few weeks can do.

Today at day care, she even jumped up and walked to me as soon as I walked in the door. I told her she is just showing off. In a way, we are hoping she wouldn't walk too much at day care. Why, you may ask. Well, that means that it ain't long before she gets moved into the big kids room. We really love her teachers (Laura and Jennifer). Jennifer even whispered in Lezlie ear last week "Maya is my favorite." But, I'm sure she tells all the parents that.

She is eating table food a little better, but she still waits for the good stuff (bananas) before she really chows down. The switch to real cow's milk wasn't too bad. She does get diaper rash a lot more often but I think it's getting better.

Her mind is starting to really churn more. She knows where her "head" and "tummy" are. I'm working on toes now. She points to Vinnie when we ask her where he is. But, she also points to her tummy when we ask her where "daddy" is. She still only says "Mama." She said "Dada" 4-5 months ago but now all she says is "mama, mama, mama." I guess I still love her.

Here are some pictures of the kids being goofballs tonight. They sure are a pair. Tune into Susan's blog for a couple of real good pictures from this weekend with Jason's fancy camera.

First Birthday

A busy weekend it was!! Since Maya's birthday was so close to the Cole Camp fair, we decided to have the first big birthday party in town. Lezlie went gung-ho on the decorations. Can you guess what color she decorated in? Pink, what a surprise. Anyway, everything looked great. And, I actually liked the cake and it was store bought. Anyway, I'm getting off topic.

Maya was blessed to get a good mix of toys and clothes. We sure did need some fall/winter clothes for her and we got plenty. We actually only had a few outfits for the chilly weekend. And, Daddy was very happy to see some saving bonds and cash. That will all go in her college fund. Thank you all for the gifts.

Here are some pictures of the cake incident. She didn't quite know what to think of it at first. But, it didn't take her long to figure it out. Surprisingly, she didn't eat much. She was more interested in squishing the cake.

On Tuesday (her official birthday), Tommy and Julie came over for another small party. As great as Maya's gifts from her big birthday party were, Tommy and Julie's gift was definitely her favorite. It is half push-toy, half car. And, since having it, we have noticed a considerable difference in how much she walks. I think she needed a boost in confidence and pushing this around did the trick.

First Steps

Well, it's official--Maya has taken her first steps. She started on Friday but what we got on video has to be her best effort.

She has also started to point everything and then make a grunt sound. I think that means "what's that?" So, we've been trying to tell her what everything is to increase her one-word (Mama) vocabulary.

My birthday went great. Thank you all for the cards and gifts. One more year and the mid-life crisis will begin:) In preparation for Maya's first birthday, I decided to buy a camcorder for my birthday, if that makes any sense. We've always used our digital camera for the videos. It works great for the online video but the quality isn't that good otherwise.

Lezlie and I are looking forward to the Cole Camp fair. It's been 2 years since we've both had a fair burger. That's 2 years too long. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Last year, everyone asked us if we were coming. And, it's a good thing we did not because Lezlie went into labor early Sunday morning around 1am.

Well, we'll see you all in a couple days. We will be coming into town Thursday night around 7pm. And, don't forget about the birthday party on Sunday. We're praying that it won't rain.

Vinnie Loses His Strength

It seems a lot has happened since our last post. I'll start with last weekend.

Lezlie and I decided it would be a good idea to get away together. Maya is now almost one year old and we had never both left her for more than a day. So, we decided it would be easy to just drop Maya home with the grandparents and then make a quick getaway to the Lake of the Ozarks. Of course, both sets of grandparents were happy to take her off our hands.

We ended up staying at the Resort of Port Arrowhead. I don't have much to compare it to, but we were both satisfied. It was very convenient to everything--the outlets and eateries very close by. The first night we had no idea where we were going but I seemed to remember where one restaurant overlooking the lake was--Dog Days. We ate outside and then settled near their live entertainment.


The second day we actually got to sleep in. A year ago, I wouldn't have called 8am sleeping in but nowadays, it is. We did a little shopping, laid out at the pool, and then went to the movies to see Tropic Thunder. That night, we decided to go to the Horny Toad. It was fairly impressive but we definitely enjoyed Dog Days more. It was just a little more casual.

On Sunday morning, I don't think I have ever seen Lezlie get up so fast. Actually, she was so fast I didn't even hear her get up. All I remember is "Get up, I wanna go get my baby." So, we raced out of town by 9am.

When we got home, Maya was still at church with Grammy and Lezlie and I paced and paced. And of course, she was asleep upon arriving. We let her sleep a little bit but finally Lezlie just woke her up. Let me just say, it didn't take her long to figure out who had her. It was definitely good to see her smile again.

Thanks a lot to the grandparents!! As much as Lezlie and I missed Maya at the end of the weekend, we both agreed we need to get away more often. It was kind of like recharging our batteries.

If you got to see her this past weekend, you probably saw that she now waves. Sometimes it's just random but she does associate bye-bye with it pretty good.

And, we finally got her to stand up on camera. I just had to entice her with a little beer...

You're probably wondering about the title about now, aren't you? Well, Lezlie has been getting sick of vacuuming and finding Vinnie's hair everywhere in the house. So, we decided to give him a full haircut. I know, you may have saw pictures awhile back but that was only a trim. This time, we got the electric clippers out. I bet he lost a couple pounds after we were done.

Daddy got a little out of control. Thinking the the clippers weren't working, stupid me took the guard off and just went to town. Well, they worked. Oops!! His new nickname is "Stripe."

It kinda reminds of high school when I let Nick Vilelle shave my head. In the middle of it, the guard slipped off. Everyone called me "Notch" for a couple weeks. At least it grows back. But now, he looks a little funny. But, he seems to have taken it pretty well--no moping around. Let's just hope he stops shedding as much.

Maya Screams For Ice Cream

It didn't take her long to figure out that she likes ice cream. It just cracks me up how much she was licking her chops. Stupid me fed her from a butterfinger blizzard. I guess we know she doesn't have a peanut allergy.

It seems like things have been so busy since Rockaway. Last weekend, our friend Katie came to visit so Maya got a lot of attention. She seems to love that for some reason.

She has started to stand up by herself for several seconds--but never long enough for me to get it on camera. Maya has also started to transition to stage 3 baby food. Every so often she will gag because it's too thick but she's getting the hang of it. She still insists on climbing on Vinnie every chance she gets. There were a few close calls when Vinnie was tired. But, after a few stern corrections, Vinnie now simply gets up and moves to the other side to the room. Unfortunately, Maya just tries to follow.

Lezlie can't wait for her first birthday party. She spent several hours this afternoon gathering up party supplies. We plan on having it the Sunday after the Cole Camp fair at Ezekial William park around 1-2pm. We'll keep you posted as to the final plans. I asked Maya and she would like Dr. Seuss books, winter clothes, and also a Nintendo Wii. Just kidding about the Wii, but I imagine she wouldn't mind some new toys.

Pool time at Rockaway

Here's some pictures from the pool at Rockaway. I think the sun wore her out a bit.

Before...

After...

Too Early For the Potty

We caught this footage after neglecting to keep on eye on her for awhile. She really does love to explore. I guess she's too young for the potty:)

We are now all at Rockaway Beach for the rest of the week. Maya didn't like the ride down. She is usually a good traveler but she cried the final 40 minutes or so. She just wanted out. When we finally got settled, she crawled and crawled and crawled.

Vinnie is also settled. For this vacation, it only took one day for him to finally eat. He has yet to poop though. He always gets so nervous, thinking we're going to leave him. To be honest, he probably gets more exercise here than at home since they have a big field for his frisbee play.

I'll post pictures of the vacation soon.

Fun With Four Year Olds

Mom, Willa, my Aunt Rhonda and her Grandson Corbin came for a visit this past weekend. Willa and Corbin have such a good time playing with each other and are best friends so they thought they would take them on their very own vacation to spend time together. Friday evening when they got here we just hung around the house to let the kids play. It took Corbin a little while to get acquainted with Vinnie but they soon became pretty good buddies.

Saturday morning we woke up pretty early and were the first in line at Grant's Farm. I think the kids had a blast! The big kids loved the giant turtle and of course....the goats! After we saw all of the animals and watched the animal adventure show they finally got to feed the goats. Maya had to sit this one out though. I wasn't brave enough to take her inside of the pen so she just got to pet one from the outside. After we were all completely worn out we headed back home for Maya to take a nap and the big kids got to cool off in the sprinkler. We then rested awhile before we were off on our next adventure. If you remember from my last post, we had so much fun at Chuck E. Cheese last weekend with Josie and Olivia, we decided to go there for supper. Although Corbin had a great time, Willa was very overwhelmed and perhaps a little scared. She quickly decided that we needed to leave as soon as we finished our pizza. She even suggested that we should have just gone to Pizza Hut! But we were able to convince her into staying so Corbin could finish his games.

Sunday was much more low key. We decided to go to the mall where there is a large play area and carousel. After playing for a while we had some lunch and called it a day. Shortly after returning home. They got packed up and headed back to Cole Camp. It was a very busy weekend with a lot of activities packed in, but both kids were really good, played well together and had a great time. I'm sure they will always remember their first vacation together and I'm glad that we got to share it with them.





We have many more good pictures from the weekend but I think I will leave it to Brandon to put them into the slide show. So be on the look out!

4th of July pictures

Now, if I could only teach Lezlie to upload some photos, I wouldn't have to do it. Anyway, here are a few. I've also added a few more to the slideshow. It's amazing how big she's getting.

Busy Holiday Weekend

Brandon is always fussing at me because I never write anything on our blog. So...I thought that I would update everyone on our long holiday weekend. Friday afternoon Steve and Barb came up and that evening we went to watch Bridgeton's firework display. They were awesome, we all really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, I missed Maya's very first reaction because I was in line to use the bathroom :( But apparently, she was not scared at all and just looked around until she finally spotted the source of all of the noise. From then on, she just looked in awe or perhaps she was so tired that she was just in a daze (it was well past her bed time). Either way she sat quietly and was a very good girl.

On Saturday morning Jason, Josie and Olivia came up to spend the day with us. I couldn't believe how tall both of the girls have gotten since the last time we saw them!! For lunch we went to Chuck E. Cheeses. I'm not sure who had more fun playing the arcade games, Brandon or Josie???? With their combined tickets, Josie picked out some colorful "gems" and treasure bag. After lunch we came back to the house to relax for a while. We were hoping that Maya would take a nap to prepare for her late night. But no luck, she just wanted to play. However, Olivia took a really good nap.

Then that evening, we went to St. Charles where they had a carnival and an even better fire works display. Again, Maya did really well and wasn't scared at all. I think my favorite part of the evening was watching Olivia's reaction to the fire works. She kept asking "Lezlie, what's happening?" and saying "Wooo Whooo" after every burst. It was pretty darn cute!

Well, that's it in a nut shell. Our weekend was jam-packed but we had an such a good time. It is always nice when we have our family come to see us, thanks for coming everyone! We will see you in a couple of weeks!

Sleep At Last

I forgot to mention in the last post that Maya is now sleeping through the night...at least most of the time. She went 5 days straight before needing a feeding on Monday and Wednesday. Of course, both of these were nights where I was in charge of waking up with her. I'd like to think she just wanted to cuddle with Daddy. Anyway, here are a couple cute pics from this week.

The Haircut

Let us out, let us out!!

Climbing the Mountain

Here's Maya's latest. I'm guessing we shouldn't be encouraging these kind of things?? But, it's fun to see her learn how to do new things.

Father's Day was great. Lezlie cooked me my favorite breakfast (bacon and eggs) in the morning. And ah...the gift. It may sound weird but I've been wanting a deep fryer for quite awhile. But, we always thought we would misuse it and each die young. But, we've vowed to keep it's use to a minimum. I plan on making some hot wings this weekend. Anyway, we went to church, Maya sung her usual tune, and then came home and each spent some time in the baby pool.After playing in the pool, we all took a nap. I think this was the biggest treat of all. Then, we made way to Dairy Queen to finish out my first Father's Day.

Back to Maya...she is growing up real fast. I don't have anyone to compare her to but I don't think it will be long before she's walking. She continues to crawl over everything. I don't think she has figured out how to go around obstacles. Then, the whole stair thing...I guess we'll have to keep an eye on that. She can walk along the couch too. And, she continues to get into stuff she's not supposed to--Daddy's computer, dog food, dog hair, dog food, and more dog food. Who knows how much of the stuff she's already eaten? Come on, you can't keep your eye on her every second. At first, we started to say "no" to her a lot but a girl Lezlie works with who does "Parents as Teachers" says that she it too young to understand "no." And, if you overuse it at a young age, she won't understand it when it's serious (i.e. running out into the street). So, we continue to just pull her away. She tends to get a real kick out of that, just going right back to what we took her away from--with a "you can't catch me" smile of course.

First Trip to the Zoo

This Saturday, we decided at a whim to go to the St. Louis Zoo. It was quite an interesting trip. Upon first entering, we went to the primate house. I remember when we first brought Jocelyn there. Josie almost freaked out but once she figured out there was glass between the monkeys and her, she thought it was alright. Maya kept a close eye on them but that was about it. To her, they were just a bunch of hairy Vinnies that could jump from tree to tree.

After the primate house, we went around to see the lions, zebras, and donkeys (or as they called them, wild asses). At the edge of the zoo were the giraffes. This is where things got interesting. When I first came around the corner, my first thought was "What the hell is hanging from its butt?" It took me a bit but I soon figured out (with Lezlie's help--the zoologist of the family) that the giraffe was giving birth. What was weird was that all the mother was doing was walking around.
It didn't look like it was going to happen soon so we walked around for a bit longer but soon came back to see the progress. We then heard one of the zookeepers say that it would probably be about 30 minutes based on the actions of the mother. So, we decided to wait and watch. She continued to pace and every so often, she would stop, lower her head a bit, and push. After a bit, out came the head. Around 20 minutes later, out the baby came. I almost got it on video but it happened so quick and I missed it. But, here is a picture soon after. We didn't see the baby get up but she was moving and reacting to her mother cleaning her.

Maya was patient through all of this, but we could tell she was getting sleepy so we decided to make way down to the bears and the penguins/puffins.At the end of the day, I think we wore her out. She took an hour and a half nap. Unfortunately, this kept her up until 11pm. But hey, it's the weekend.

Stay tuned--I'll soon let you know how my first Father's Day went.

First Vacation

Last Friday, we all went to Gatlinburg, TN to stay in a cabin in the Smoky Mountains with my parents and my brother's family. Click here to see our cabin. I would definitely recommend the place. Our cabin was a 4 bedroom/4 bath cabin that had 3 decks, a hot tub, pool table, air hockey, Pac-Man and Golden Tee.

On Friday, we left as soon as Maya fell asleep and went about half-way to Clarksville, TN. We made one stop in Metropolis, IL so Lezlie could do her Supergirl pose. For those of you who don't know, Metropolis is the home of Superman. Anyway, Maya slept the whole way. Upon getting there around 11:30, we played for a little bit, but then fed her and she quickly went back to sleep. On Saturday, off to the smokies we went.

The first day we got groceries, ate, and then went to play miniature golf per Jocelyn's (my niece) direction. Lezlie got one hole-in-one but I still whooped her butt. After that, we all had a craving for ice cream so we went down to the strip and filled our face with sundaes.

The next day we went out to the mountains to picnic and look for bears. Unfortunately, there were no sitings. Actually, on one of our hikes a guy made the comment that he thought Vinnie was a bear as he came around a corner.

As you can see, the Smokies are very scenic. I've always told Lezlie that when we retire we'll have to buy a cabin there. But, we definitely won't buy the one we stayed in. A few around us were for sale and we asked the front desk what they go for. The lady said that the 1 bedrooms start at $490,000. So, I'm guessing a 3 bedroom goes for almost a cool million. I guess I'll have to find somewhere else to retire. Either that or buy 0.05 acres and build a shack...

During the evenings, we spent most of our time in the game room playing pool, air hockey, and video games. I was quite funny watching Olivia playing Ms. Pac Man/Frogger. Every time Ms. Pac Man got caught by a ghost or Frogger was ran over by a truck, she made an evil laugh:) You better watch out, Jason and Susan. Lezlie challenged me to a game of air hockey and was up 9-5 but I came back to win 10-9. Jocelyn was amazed at how hard we were hitting the puck as it flew off about every 10 seconds. Let's just say we play for blood.

In the midst of all the coming and going, Maya was passed around a lot. And, she did her share of scooting across the floor. It's funny--as soon as she transitions from carpet to hardwood, her technique changes drastically. It's as if she loses feeling in one of her legs because she drags one while she steps with the other one. In addition to crawling, she got a lot of attention from Josie and Olivia. She definitely loves her cousins.

Maya did have a bad cough through the whole vacation but was still able to have fun during the day. The nights--not so much. She continued to hack up stuff and her pack-n-play wasn't cutting it as a comfortable bed. So, she cuddled between us in bed. Since returning, I have taken her to the doctor and she was diagnosed with a sinus infection and given...can you guess???...antibiotics. I'm beginning to wonder if they sell the stuff in 5 gallon buckets. At least it wasn't an ear infection.

On Monday, we went to the Ripley's Aquarium. It was very satisfying to see Maya soak in everything. As you can see, she was amazed by the bright tropical fish. Most people would think that we're crazy to drive over 500 miles with an 8 month old but this definitely showed us that she needs vacations too.

On Tuesday, we went on another hike and then did a little shopping. I know, I know, we can shop anywhere but it seems like the money was burning a hole in our pocket since Mom and Dad paid for the cabin. Thanks again, Mom and Dad. That being said, we didn't buy much and if we did it was for Vinnie or Maya. Late Tuesday afternoon, we gave Maya a bath, fed her and then headed back home since Lezlie had to work on Wednesday. We made it half-way before Maya woke up. So, we stopped and played with her for awhile and then went back on the road where she slept until St. Louis at 2am. Then, amazingly she ate and then slept until morning. In total, if you count day care, she slept 17 hours in a 24 hour period. She definitely was tuckered out.

Anyway, that was our trip in a nutshell.