Maya's 1st Birthday!

We went to lunch in Baltimore, before going to the aquarium. Maya is so good at feeding herself, but even better at sharing. She has cheese in her hand that she is sharing with Poppi.

She is a good eater. But watch out because she will steal food right off of your plate!

After a long day at the aquarium we found our way over to MeeMee & Grand dad's house. We took Maya down to the pier to feed the ducks and then we played for a little while at the park. Grand dad gave Maya a push on the swing.

She liked it. But, she didn't want to stay in the swing by herself for too long.

For a while, Maya and I were swinging side by side. But she got tired of that. She wanted some company, and MeeMee was there to scoop her up. Maya sat on her lap while MeeMee swung with her.

This is the Radio Flyer wagon that Donny and I gave Maya for her birthday. It took me a long time to put it together. But once it was finished, I wheeled Maya around in the living room for a little bit before she went to bed. I can't wait until it gets a little warmer outside, so that we can go on a walk and use the wagon.

The Aquarium

Maya fell asleep right before we went into the Aquarium. So she missed the first 10-15 minutes, but we made up for it by taking her back passed the things she slept through. We took Grandma and Poppi with us to share in her birthday fun. I think that they both had a really good time, not only seeing the exhibits, but also just spending the day with Maya. I'm really happy that they were able to come with us. It was nice to have them there.

Poppi was fortunate enough to have spring break this last week and spent the whole week with Maya. He was especially happy to go with us to the aquarium & had fun pointing out the different kind of fish to Maya. She really loves her Poppi, even though she doesn't get to see him very much. She enjoyed every minute of the time she got to spend with him, and is still asking for him now that he has gone back to Illinois.

We all obviously had a good time!

Maya's favorite part was the dolphins! Every time they would swim by, she got really excited!

Maya is 1 year old!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BIRTHDAY GIRL!

I just can't believe she's a year old already. The time really flew. And they tell me she'll be turning 16 before I know it. So I guess I have to face it, she's one. It has definitely been a crazy, fun, exciting, hard, and tiring year. And I would honestly not trade it for anything. Donny and I have been truly blessed with such a beautiful, healthy, happy, smart, miracle, that is our daughter. Not only are we blessed to have her, but to also have the love and support of our wonderful families. There have been some times this last year that we really benefited from having our family's support. We are grateful to everyone that has given us their support and gifts for Maya. It would have been a lot harder on us, with out you. Thank you everyone!

Happy Easter!

This was actually Maya's second Easter. Last year she was only a little over a week old on Easter. So this year was fun. Daddy and I put together a nice little Easter basket for her. I found a Dora basket at the store and we filled it. In the basket we put some bubbles, a toy car, some pacifiers, a book, and a big pink teddy bear.

In Donny's family they always hid the Easter basket & the kids would have to find it in the morning. Now this is not the way we did it in my family. The Easter basket was just set out for you & you searched for the eggs. So Donny put the basket in between the gates so that Maya would have to "find" her basket. And she did, with a little encouragement.

I think that Maya really enjoyed finding her Dora basket and pulling out all of the goodies inside. Of course the first thing that she really went for was the teddy bear (probably because it was sitting on top), and after the bear it was right on to the book. She LOVES books! This particular book has a bright colored fish on it and is called a clack book. It has very thick pages with a plastic coating and when you shake the book it makes a "clacking" sound. I think she really likes that not only does it have so many bright colors, and she can read it, but she can play with it too.

Happy St. Patricks Day

Maya was sporting her green on St. Patrick's day. I was able to get a few pictures of her cute green dress. I bought this dress for her a few weeks before. On the day, it was so cold outside, but I was determined that she would wear this dress for the occasion. So I went through the closet searching for something that she could wear on her legs. I just didn't think that tights would have been warm enough. Lucky for me, Markey bought Maya some green pants for Christmas that he brought back from Ireland and they happened to match perfectly. So not only did she get to wear her dress, she wore matching green pants that were directly from Ireland.

Super reader!

I've never met a baby who likes books as much as Maya. A lot of times she will reach for a book before she reaches for a toy. Only sometimes does she want you to read to her, most of the time she reads to herself or to anyone listening. If you are lucky enough to read to her, watch out, she will turn the pages on you before you finish the page.

Musical updates

We just can't keep this baby away from the music or the microphone. I think Maya is almost ready to be the lead singer of her own band. She really does come up with some great songs. Not only is she a good singer, but she is a good listener. Whenever I'm singing and I finish a song, she claps and will say "yay." It's nice having a little fan club! :)

Calling the ducks

Not only can Maya say quack, she now can call the ducks with Granddad's duck caller. It took her a while to figure out how to blow into it, but once she figured it out, there's no stopping her. When it gets warmer outside, I'm sure she'll sit out on the back deck with Granddad and call the ducks to the backyard.

Down by the pond

At Grandma's house there is a large duck pond. While we were visiting the other day, it was really nice outside, so we went down by the pond to feed the geese & ducks.





Maya really enjoys the birds that inhabit the waters. She can say duck, and says the word "quack." Which is good because before she learned this she always called every animal a dog and barked at it. :)







This is a picture of Maya and Meme at the pond. Meme is the newest rescue dog at Grandma's. She is a really cute 6 month old puppy.

Such a storyteller..

Maya is such a storyteller. Last night I was sitting on the floor with Maya and talking to her. Somehow she got into a story about who knows what and she must have talked for 10-15 minutes straight. She was so animated about everything she was saying. She was talking with her whole body, her arms and hands were going, then she started moving into a stance that look like she was doing lunges.

I couldn't believe how into this story she was. I just had to start taking pictures of this animated story. Here are a few of them.