Um, is it normal for 11-month-olds to throw temper tantrums? Isn't it a bit soon? I thought tantrums were the domain of toddlerhood.
Tonight went like this:
1. Dinnertime! I unwrap my chicken pita.
2. Maya spots the aluminum foil the pita was wrapped in, and cruises over excitedly to check it out.
3. Maya brings foil to mouth.
4. I thwart her attempt to eat the foil by shaking my head, saying, "No, Maya," and gently plucking it from her gums.
5. Maya FREAKS OUT. She busts out in angry wails.
6. The crying escalates. Seth tries to calm Maya. Nothing doing.
7. Maya, mid-scream, grabs the lint roller and brings it to her mouth.
8. Seth pulls it away, which enrages Maya beyond all reason. She turns red with fury and criiiiiiiiies and criiiiiiies.
9. Crying continues as I wolf down my pita.
10. After practically swallowing the pita whole, I whisk mad-as-hell Maya outside for some fresh air. She finally calms down.
The end.
Sigh.
Is this unusual? Or did she simply inherit her dad's temper?

We Kingsleys are sick and tired of being sick. And tired.
As you know, Maya and I (her mom) spent the past seven days being very ill---Maya, especially. Poor Maya: "Rotovirus" kicked her teeny, soft little butt for a full six days. Those were six of the scariest days of my life. Maya was vomiting, suffering explosive diarrhea, and barely eating or drinking for nearly a full week. Her behavior was frightening, too. She was often fatigued, sad, and listless.
On the advice of the pediatrician, we took Maya to the ER on Monday afternoon, at about 1:30. Door to door and back again, the entire trip spanned 8 hours! After waiting for four hours in the waiting room, Maya finally scored a room and was subjected to a fluid I.V., blood tests, and some gently forced Pedialyte. Maya was also diagnosed with an infection in each eye. We left around 9:00 p.m.
The following day, Tuesday, I experienced a second wave of the virus, after undergoing the first on Sunday and feeling a bit better Monday. Seth had to come home from work early to help me care for myself and Maya. Nightmare.
Today's Saturday, and Maya's tummy troubles seem to be gone---knock on wood---and her appetite back. I feel better, too. I'm trying to steer clear of overly fatty or seasoned foods, however. Don't want to trigger anything.
On a follow-up trip to the pediatrician's office (our home away from home) Monday morning, Maya was also diagnosed with yet another infection in both ears. We are treating that with a low-dose antibiotic, with a back-up high-dose antibiotic on standby if needed. Between the Prevacid, eye ointment, and oral antibiotics (not to mention the occasional inhaler puff), I'm forced once again to write all of Maya's meds down so I don't forget any of them.
Still, though, I'm always grateful Maya's ills are not more serious. She may very well outgrow all of them.

In other news, Maya is cruising! Her steps are small and tentative, and she seems to sometimes spook herself, but still, it's progress! She continues to say about 100 "Dadas" for every one "Mama," but that's OK. Today she was exploring my navel, and when I said, "belly button," Maya said "ba ba." Close!

Maya has been making some artwork in Daycare. The teachers provide the kids with shapes cut out of construction paper---such as snowmen, animals, etc.---and the kids finger paint and sprinkle glitter on them. We've got a bunch of art pieces decorating one of our kitchen walls, and today I tacked a few up here at work. I think it's great that Maya is involved in such activites as arts and crafts and "music time" at her daycare. I'm sure she gets a lot of help from the teachers, since she's only 10 months old, but I think it's great that she's being introduced to fun, stimulating, messy activities that involve creativity, exploration, and cooperation. I've noticed lately at home that when I start singing, Maya starts clapping. I'm sure that's something she's seen the older kids do during music time at daycare. It's neat.

Maya is popular! We visited Daycare today, and the kids seemed excited to see her. It was fun to watch. The toddlers shrieked "Maya! Maya!" and ran over to greet her when we walked in. Drake, a blonde little boy, got right down on the floor with Maya and made funny faces at her, which made Maya crack up. Macey, a really, really cute blonde little girl, helped Maya pull the laces out of her shoes. Maya appeared to enjoy herself immensely during the 20 minutes or so that we visited. There are many more age-appropriate toys there than there are here at home. We REALLY need to invest in some new, challenging toys for Maya. Unfortunately, money has been tight lately. At Daycare, Maya loved the playhouse, the activity table, and the miniature rocking horse. We have nothing like that here at home! Of course, her birthday is coming up, so I'll have an excuse to go splurge on these types of items.
:-)
Today Maya proved my efforts to confine her to the living room utterly fruitless. She will not be thwarted! Despite my barricading the living room with the ExerSaucer, a full backpack, a footstool, and various other random, heavy items, she STILL managed to wriggle her way through into the kitchen. Once there, she of course made a beeline for the cats' water dish, which is a definite no-no. Fortunately, she understands what "no" means and usually obeys me, so we've managed to avoid a major catastrophe so far. (Knock on wood.)
Back to work/daycare tomorrow! Sigh.

What a glorious weekend! The sun shone, I went "running" (more like "slowly jogging/walking") for the first time in about 18 months, and Seth had zero work to do! An excellent Saturday and Sunday were had by all. As a family, we took walks, made two visits to the park, watched some TV, cooked many meals, and enjoyed each other's company.

Maya has started cruising. She's taken some small steps while standing and holding onto the couch cushions and coffee table. It's exciting to watch, but also a bit bittersweet: our baby is rapidly becoming a toddler!

Maya made some gustatory explorations this weekend. She fed herself bits of avocado, which she really liked, and Seth and I fed her some hard-boiled egg yolk, which she tolerated but didn't eagerly pick up with her own fingers, like she did with the avocado. We're trying to expose her to foods with higher fat content, so that once she's weaned she'll keep getting adequate fat intake. (She won't be able to drink milk or soy milk right away, since she appears to tolerate them poorly.)

This afternoon Maya enjoyed petting a neighbor's dog. She continues to chase after our cats while laughing maniacally. (And I do mean maniacally. You've never heard anything like it! And it's infectious: Seth and I can't help but giggle when Maya's Maniacal Laughter rings through the apartment!) Fortunately, my constant exhortations to "Be gentle, be gentle" seem to have sunk in slightly---she's doing much less grabbing of animal fur than she was a few weeks ago.

Another piece of evidence that Maya is comprehending things we say to her: This evening, Maya was zipping around her room wreaking havoc while I changed her crib sheet. After pulling all of her shoes out of her shoe bin, she made a beeline for the space heater, then raised her hand to touch it---but stopped at the last moment and pulled her hand away. She remembered it was a "No"! I was fascinated, amazed, and very proud of her. She's learning!

Today I took Maya to Recreation Park. She's so active and busy these days, I feel that the apartment is too confining for her.
Maya swung on the baby swings, bounced on the bouncy pony, went down the curly slide with me, and rattled around on the shaky bridge. She spent the rest of the time crawling all over---from the sandbox to the grass and back again. Maya briefly befriended a two-year-old girl while we were there. They waved at each other, touched hands (read: "swapped germs"), and did a little bit of chasing each other. It was sweet.
Maya had a good day today. She continued to refine her clapping technique, and she climbed from the couch to the end table. She also climbed in and out of one of her toy boxes. We ate lunch at the Hummus Factory, where Maya threw her toys, the napkins, her spoon, and my cup onto the floor, and charmed several restaurant patrons.
For dinner tonight she tried some broccoli, some rice, some wheat bread, and strained chicken and prunes. She seemed to loooove the broccoli, but---ahem---it didn't love her. Much gas was passed.
Tomorrow Maya gets three solid hours with Daddy while Mom takes an infant/child CPR class at a local hospital.

Hello, Maya fans! This little blog will serve as a record of all things Maya: what she's up to, how she's growing and changing, which milestones she's reached, and which ones she's working on. I'll update frequently, so check-in often!

This has been an exciting week in the Kingsley household on the baby front. It seems as if Maya's cognitive and social development is making huge, impressive leaps all of a sudden! For starters, she has uttered her first official word: Dada. At first we thought maybe it was just a freaky coincidence that she was always calling out "Dada! Dada!" when Seth would enter the room or walk by. After way, way too many of these "coincidences," we've finally connected the dots: Maya has identified her dad with his proper name!

Even more recently, Maya clapped for the very first time today. She's been working on this skill all week, and tonight she succeeded in achieving it! I don't mean to brag here, but it is ADORABLE. And she seems really pleasantly surprised with herself when she does it. Honestly, I could swoon with pride.

Maya is also signing for milk now, especially when she sees me pull out the Boppy pillow in preparation for nursing. She looks at her cup whenever I sign for "juice," so I know she comprehends my sign language. I do sense lately that she and I have experienced some sort of breakthrough in our ability to communicate with each other. I'm so appreciative!

Other goings on:
-She's pulling up to a stand all the time
-She's climbing (most notably from the couch onto the armchair)
-She's mimicking like crazy
-She enjoys chasing us and being chased
-She self-feeds with some success
-She "kisses" other babies in daycare (according to the staff)
-She is expert at anticipating: She pauses expectantly when I'm singing Hokey-Pokey and am about to say "...and shake it all about," because she knows that I will grasp her and gently bounce her around during that line
-She helps me dress her by shooting an arm through an armhole or kicking her pants off

Maya is on the mend from a bout with two ear infections (one in each ear) and bronchiolitis. She's on antibiotics and an inhaler. She still gets tired easily but has definitely perked up since starting the medication. It's nuts: Each day this week we've had to give her two doses of Prevacid per usual, PLUS two doses of antibiotic, several puffs of the inhaler and one dose of iron drops. I had to write it all down and tape one copy to the fridge and one copy to her bedroom door so I wouldn't forget anything.

Last but not least, Maya's hair is getting so long! Her bangs are always in her eyes, and locks of hair are curling around her ears. V. cute.