The Boss

This weekend, I was feeling brave so I decided to go out and get a paper Sunday morning. I say this because Maya's favorite pastime is ripping up paper. But, she was a good girl and just grabbed a book, got onto the couch, and began to read with me. What a cutie she is.

Her latest thing is to tell us to do something. If she sees us go fill up Vinnie's dish with food, she stands next to his water and points/grunts. This indicates that is where we are supposed to put it. She can't stand when we don't have the baby-gate up on the bottom of the stairs. Sorry, we just sometimes forget, but good thing we got a little helper on our hands. We also hung some pictures this weekend (that had been sitting on our floor for a year) and every chance she got, she would grab the level, stud finder, and hammer and insist that I use it. Again, it's pointing and grunting--no real words.

Speaking of the speech thing, Maya had her 15-18 month checkup two weeks ago. We told Dr. Rosenbloom that we were worried about the lack of speech. She said that if she doesn't have 5-6 words in the next couple months, maybe we can get some tests done. We know she can hear and comprehend our instructions. A game that we play when we want her to occupy something else (in other words, get out of our hair for a bit), we ask her to go find a ball, baby, block, or book. She quickly runs off to find the item. For quite awhile, she has also been able to show us where her head, nose, ears, tummy, and toes are. So, we know she understands, but just needs to learn how to get the syllables out.

Lezlie does believe that her motor skills are more advanced than others her age. She can kick and throw balls around the room. She can also run very well. And of course, there is the professional dance routine:) Again, we're not worried, just concerned but if any of you have any ideas, let us know.

This weekend, Lezlie and I are going for a small getaway to Springfield for a couple days. So, Maya finally gets to spend some time with the Grandparents. I'm sure they will spoil her but I guess that is what grandparents are for. Anyway, if you haven't seen Maya for awhile, stop on by the grandparents house. I'm sure she'll love any attention you can give her.

Dancing Maya

We finally caught Maya on camera while she was doing her dance. I'm guessing she got her moves from her Daddy. Truthfully, Lezlie and I often load up the Ipod after work and have a mini dance party while cooking supper after work. Lately, we've been listening to Alabama and Maya loves it!! Maybe that's where she gets the stomping??

Maya and have successfully stayed healthy for the past week. Lezlie, on the other hand, was sick Monday through Wednesday of last week. Can you guess who got flu shots this year? All is well now though. The only thing we've had to worry about lately is the weather. You know it's too cold when your dog pees on the porch.

Catching up

This week, Lezlie and I have been playing catch-up...on sleep that is. On Tuesday, we got to go see AC/DC in concert. I have two words--AWE-SOME!!! I haven't been to too many concerts in my life but I'd have to admit I've never seen a crowd get into the show as much as they were that night. I stood through the entire show, along with many others. They played a great mix of songs--'You Shook Me All Night Long', 'Thunderstruck', 'Dirty Deeds', 'Back in Black', etc. Unfortunately, they couldn't play all their hits--they simply have too many. But, I sure would have liked to request 'Rock 'N Roll Ain't Noise Pollution.' Here are some pics of the show. Unfortunately, they didn't allow cameras into the show.

Angus Young stole the show, running around all over the place playing the guitar and doing his patented hop. Lezlie said she got tired just watching him run around. I don't know how many times he just stood there playing with one hand. I'm guessing he'd be pretty good at 'Guitar Hero.' At one time, he did a solo for about 15 minutes. And, he sure did know how to work the crowd. During one song, he started to take his clothes off. I had read that he's known to moon the crowd. He did pull his pants down but only to show his boxers with the AC/DC logo. I'm guessing he's getting too old for getting arrested.

On another note, Maya has developed a bit of a cold. Last night, she was done for the night at 6:30. I hate to admit it but Lezlie and I were in bed not long after at 7:40. Man, we're getting old. But, I think we are finally caught up on our sleep. This morning, Maya still had a bit of a cough but she's still going like normal.

Today, Maya learned how to walk like a Sumo-wrestler. I don't know why she's doing it but she has been spreading her legs as far as she can and then she tries to walk. It is quite the sight. I think she just tries to entertain us.

Since Christmas, she has gotten 4 more teeth. All she has left to get is her molars and she'll be done for awhile. Lezlie can't wait until the day when she's done teething. She's never been able to stand having Maya soak herself with slobber. So, she pretty much wears a bib the entire day.

There's not much else going on here...just a very low key Saturday night cuddling around the TV.

First Word, First Blood

First, the good news. We can now say with confidence that Maya has said her first word. Now, she's been able to communicate well for a while. For instance, when she pointed and said "ma," this meant that she wanted more of what she was pointing at. But, because she didn't really enunciate the word more, I couldn't constitute this as her first word. And, because neither of us wanted to make the other feel bad, we ruled out "mama" and "dada" long ago. (I say that because she doesn't say "dada" much at all.) Once she said her first word, we knew that that was it because it contained more than one consonant so it wasn't necessarily too hard to say. And, because it wasn't an accident--she was actually trying to get our attention. So, have I kept you in suspense long enough? Her first word was "bite." Now, she says this all of the time when hungry...which seems to be all of the time. I don't understand why she is so skinny, though. As my Grandma Violet would say "the wind is gonna blow you away."

Now, the bad news. On New Years Eve, just as we were heading out the door to go to Tommy and Julie's, Maya ran across the hallway, slipped and hit the door hinge smack on her forehead. Blood was gushing, the screaming ensued, and Daddy's beer drinking was delayed. This is where Lezlie and I are different. She is worried about brain damage and reconstructive surgery and I'm thinking that this will "build character." I guess we complement each other well. All in all, Maya stopped crying in less than a minute and the gash was only about a centimeter wide. So, we ended up just putting a band-aid on it and replaced it at Julie's with a butterfly bandage. I wish I had a picture of the wound now. You would definitely laugh, it is hardly noticeable. Can you tell she's our first child?