Maya is a (very young) woman who knows what she wants. And what she wants is Sesame Street. And a soft pretzel from Target. And to be put down. And some water. And some cheese. And her shoes. And to see the baby upstairs. And Dada. She is in the alternately annoying and endearing toddler habit of repeating the names of things she wants all day, every day. "Elmo. Pretzel. Down. Wa-wa. Geeze. Shoes. Baby. Dada." Offer Maya something she does not want, and she will emphatically bat it out of your hand and insist, "No! No! Noooo!"

One one hand, it's really wonderful to be communicating back and forth with our little bug. On the other hand, we are forced to disappoint her, all day long, by telling her she can't have what she wants. For instance, I can't produce a Target soft pretzel right here in our living room. I'm not going to play three hours of Sesame Street for Maya on the television. It is physically impossible to go see the baby upstairs this week, because that baby is in Florida with her parents. Poor Maya. She's constantly being let down!

It kind of makes me realize how luxurious it is to be an adult, able to act on most of my wants and needs, or at least console myself when I know I can't have them. I'm not forever relying on someone else to decide whether I can or can't get what I want. If I crave a tasty chunk of extra-sharp cheddar, well then, I'll just walk myself to the fridge and get one. And even if I know I can't have Target's cinnamon-sugar pretzel right at this very moment, I can reassure myself that I will buy one next time I'm there.

Anyway, despite my little groans and gripes about Maya's typical toddler behavior, I actually really love the toddler stage so far. It's so much fun and so rewarding watching my little baby grow into an actual---if small---person. She's trying to take an active role in her own life, just as she should be, and she's getting understandably irritated when her attempts are thwarted. Good for her! And really, it's nearly impossible for me to get too mad at someone in golden-blond pigtails.

We just never know what Maya will say or do next! This morning, for instance, when her toast popped out of the toaster, she shouted, "Toast!" She's also just learned to go down the playground slide by herself. And she's discovered how to walk backward and spin around in circles. (I remember spinning around in circles as a kid. I'd spin spin spin as fast as I could, then lie down on the floor and savor the ensuing dizziness. Thinking about that now makes me slightly nauseated.)

Maya can do some of the hand gestures for the itsy-bitsy spider song, and she loves to play "Where's Maya?" She's a master imitator, too. She'll roam the apartment calling "Maya! Mayyyya!" in the same tone of voice I do. And she's taken to saying, "I know, I know," which is what I say when she's crying for a legitimate reason and I'm trying to soothe her. I realize we are rapidly approaching the time in Maya's life when we must all change our "shits" to "shoots" and our "asses" to "butts" and our "damn its" to "darn its" when in her presence, because the next thing you know, Maya will repeat them back to us---or even worse, say them at her school.

I had been reading in one of my (many) parenting books that a kid Maya's age should "be able to build a tower of two blocks." I was concerned, because I'd never seen Maya do this. Granted, the few blocks she has are buried at the bottom of one of her toy boxes, so it's not like she gets an opportunity to tower-build all that often. But still, I'd never seen her really make a tower of anything---the act of placing one item on top of another wasn't something I'd witnessed her doing. I wasn't really worried, because I knew that if I were, I'd be Ridiculous Worrying Mother one-hundred times over. But it sort of bugged me. So, yesterday I pulled those blocks out of the toybox and showed Maya how to stack them. Wouldn't you know it, she stacked a tower of three, knocked them over with a toy drum stick, and moved on to bigger and better pursuits. I was satisfied and a bit ashamed of myself for being even the slightest bit concerned. I think Maya just isn't particularly interested right now in building things, which of course is perfectly fine. She's interested in music, climbing, walking, running, kissing things and people, petting animals, pouring water in her tub, and labeling ("Baby!" "Cheese!" "Dada!" "Elmo!"). Putting things together can wait!

Maya knows the word "pee." I'm not sure how this happened. What I do know is that every time I sit down on the toilet at home to do my thing, Maya toddles over and announces, "Pee! Pee!" Seth thinks maybe she picked it up from him. Regardless, it's mildly horrifying/somewhat amusing.

On Sunday afternoon Maya befriended Lucy, my friend Jen's little dog. Lucy is so calm and good-natured---she was the perfect little companion for Maya! Maya giggled when Lucy licked her face, and Lucy tolerated Maya kissing and hugging her repeatedly. There was much cuteness going around.

Seth and I went out for our first date in a year on Saturday night. We had sushi and saw a movie, Knocked Up, which was great and really funny, but probably not for you, Mom and Dad. We were back by 11:00, and Maya was snoozing soundly. One of the teachers at Maya's school did the babysitting. Her name is Lupe, and she's really fantastic.

I am reading an enlightening and very, very helpful book by leading pediatric nutritionist and mental-health professional Ellyn Satter called Child of Mine: Feeding With Love and Good Sense. (Bought with a Mother's Day check from Mrs. K.) It is wonderful, thoroughly researched, practical, and full of very useful advice. I only wish I'd read it before Maya was born! Anyway, Satter's years of research and clinical experience have taught her that children are skilled self-regulators when it comes to eating: They eat when they're hungry, they cut back when they're not. Even the most seemingly erratic eaters (Maya, that's you) get what they need over the course of a week, calorie-wise. According to Satter, it's the parents' responsibility to determine the what, when, and where of feeding; and it's the child's responsibility to determine the whether and how much of eating. In other words, parents make a variety of healthful, wholesome food available at certain times and in an appropriate, pleasant environment, and the child determines how much (or how little) of that food to eat. It seems like plain old common sense, but for me, who thought it was my responsibility to "force" food into wee little Maya, it's been a revelation. I am now able to relax more during meals, because I know that once I've presented the food to Maya, I can rely on her to take what she wants or needs. Even when that's not much, it's OK. Over the course of several meals and snacks, Maya will get herself adequately fed. I'm focusing now on providing nutritious meals and snacks for Maya, then sitting back and enjoying her company while we eat together. It's made a huge difference. Sorry to ramble on, but I just can't tell you how important this book has been to me!

Vocab Update:

Maya's newest words are shoe, hat, more, down.

She seems to be working on cheese, balloon, and bird.

Maya is also signing for "more," but she tends to overuse the sign, even when she does not, in fact, want more of something (so far as we can determine). She did, however, frantically sign "More! More! More!" after tasting some of my chocolate-chip-cookie-dough ice cream today. She kept signing it until she'd consumed about a third of the ice cream, in fact. It was funny.

Maya's first swim class was today. We all enjoyed it very much, even though one of the babies ralphed in the pool and forced the instructor to end class early. I felt bad for the kid's dad, whom I noticed silently hustling the kid out of there as everyone else was slowly getting out of the water looking miffed, like, "Huh? What happened? Someone pooped? What?" Oh well. I think babies have been turning their assorted bodily fluids loose in public pools since public pools have existed. No biggie. (But thank goodness it wasn't MY kid!)

A funny thing that is not unusual around here: This morning we three went out to breakfast. Maya was angelic and fun and sweet and charming, as she'd just woken up an hour before and was greeting her day with enthusiasm and joy. While we were eating, the elderly couple that had been sitting next to us left, and on their way out the woman dropped by our table to compliment us on Maya's good behavior. Later that day, we had a quick lunch at Rubio's, shortly after Maya had woken abruptly from a too-short nap and was thirsty, tired, cranky, and generally out of sorts. In the restaurant, she melted down on two occasions, and her wailing echoed throughout the place as Seth and I cringed. It actually wasn't, like, the most mortifying thing ever or anything---Maya IS one year old, after all---but certainly no one swung by to tell us what an utterly well-behaved little rugrat she was. And that's OK, because we don't need her to be in a good mood all the time, and Maya is only human, not a Perfect Little Girl Robot. It just strikes me kind funny that she is perceived differently by the general public depending on where she is in her day and to what extent she's had it, so to speak.

One thing that's consistent, though: People think she's awfully cute. How's this for proof? Last night, at dinner at a pizza place, Maya so thoroughly charmed the teenaged girl taking our order that I received a second pizza slice totally free of charge. "Don't worry about it," whispered the girl, sliding the pizza my way, then bestowing a huge shiny grin on Maya. Then, today (at Rubio's), I ordered a milk for Maya and the same thing happened! "Here it is, don't worry about it," said the guy taking our order, slipping a half-pint of milk onto our tray. And sure enough, no milk appeared on our receipt. I mean, I wish I had half the power over other people that Maya has! That two-toothed, pink-lipped smile of hers can do anything!

Here's a quick run-down of Maya's vocabulary as of today:

all done
bye-bye
baby
ball
bottle
dada
eye
hi
hello
mama

...and she's working on "thank you," "mouth," and "nose."

Zombie Baby is on the loose!

Maya is doing quite a bit of walking these days. Her style is best described as “lurching unsteadily forward, somewhat stiff-legged.” She looks like the world’s cutest, smallest, and most benevolent zombie. Yesterday I watched her lurch from one end of her daycare room to the other while carrying a spoon. That’s the other funny thing: Maya prefers to carry something with her when she walks. I’ve heard this is common among new walkers.
This morning Maya lurched from the living room to the kitchen. She’s also lurched from the hallway to the bathroom, and from the sofa to the front door. It’s super-exciting and fun to watch. It seems to me she might be walking exclusively by June! (She still crawls when she feels she must get somewhere in a hurry. She also does a caveman scuttle: moving forward on hands and feet. She’s like evolution personified!)
Maya is also repeating words and sounds. When Seth or I sneeze, she’ll go, “Ah-choo!” When I say, “Thank you!” after Maya offers me a bit of her dinner, she’ll say, “Tan-yoo!” And she still says, “Heh-yo!” when she pretends to talk on a phone. It’s all very adorable.
Maya’s eating is unpredictable and sporadic at best, which is really driving Seth and me crazy. As we all know, she’s very small, so she needs all the calories, fat, and protein she can get. So when she goes an entire day subsisting on some crackers, some avocado, and some bread, it worries me. I’ve asked the doctor about starting her on a multivitamin and am waiting to hear back.
Tomorrow is “picture day” at daycare! Too funny. So, I’ll send Maya in with her Easter dress and shoes and hope for the best. Seth made a good point: They’d better photograph the babies early in the day, before their hands, faces, and hair are caked with food and dirt!
We’ve also got an appointment at a local kids’ photography studio for Maya’s one-year portrait. Should be an interesting experience.

Maya's walking! Maya's walking!
Yesterday afternoon she trotted herself carefully from the hallway to the bathroom, where I was sitting on the toilet cheering her on excitedly. (Please don't picture that. Suffice it to say that motherhood means giving up your right to pee in peace and privacy.)
She did it a few more times that evening: four steps here, five steps there, always culminating in a soft little drop to the floor on her diapered butt. What's interesting is that she's actually much more graceful than I was anticipating. It's as if she's been taking her time, building up to walking slowly, not rushing it until she knows she can do it smoothly and with some precision. It reminds me of myself; I don't like to do things unless I know can do them well (which often results in procrastination, but let's get back to Maya, shall we?).
What surprised me was how excited I was to see this walking happen. I thought nothing could eclipse the thrill of hearing her say "bye-bye" for the first time. But I have to admit, this walking milestone is pretty awesome.
For now the walking is sporadic and brief---she still spends the huge majority of her time cruising, with some sprint-like crawling thrown in when she "needs" to get somewhere in a hurry. But I've heard that once a child takes her first few steps, things accelerate from there, and before you know it, she's walking around like a pro.
Other goings-on...
Maya's little-kid personality is taking shape. The girl could write a book on winning over strangers and blinding them with charm. When we're out at a restaurant, Maya will find a nearby dining patron and stare him down until he's forced to look at her. Then, she'll grin or chuckle, and her new friend will smile back, or say, "Well hi there, cutie!" or some such, and Maya will smile or squeal, and back and forth it will go for several minutes. It's as if she's playing the role of Perfect Happy Baby, and she deserves the Oscar, seriously. Last night at the pizza place she even won over a trio of self-absorbed 20-something dudes. She's a little spreader of joy, that one.
Now that, as far as we know, Maya's latest ear infection has cleared, we've resumed the dairy trial. Yesterday she had some cream cheese and a tiny bit of pizza cheese. Last night she woke up three times, crying. Hmm. We'll see how things go.

Cute Maya story: Earlier this week, Maya was cruising around the living room happily wreaking havoc and destruction at every turn, when she got it in her head to reeeeeeach clear over one of her toy boxes to play with the stereo buttons. She stretched that little body of hers and extended a finger, and, ta-da! Suddenly the Glengarry Bhoys CD started playing. Well, Maya was utterly delighted. She pulled herself upright, turned to look at us, and broke out in the widest grin of mischievous accomplishment I’ve ever seen. Seth and I couldn’t help but laugh. She then spent the next 15 minutes or so stopping and starting the CD. Mildly annoying, but funny just the same.

Maya does seem to enjoy music. Yesterday Seth arrived at daycare to find Maya thoroughly enjoying herself during “music time with Ms. Cami.” Seth said Maya was clapping and smiling as Ms. Cami sang some song about various animals. Seth also reported that Maya, “was not taking turns” touching Ms. Cami’s little animal finger puppets; in other words, Maya would touch the finger puppet, then touch it again, then again, and one more time, which was sort of blocking other kids from getting a turn. I immediately thought of that recent study about some daycare kids being less well-behaved upon entering elementary school. A-hem. I will, of course, hasten to teach Maya about taking turns once she’s old enough to understand.

We experienced a minor dietary victory recently when, after four or five days of trying, we got Maya to eat (and seemingly enjoy) pasta! I’m so glad, because it’s the pasta that’s enriched with protein, Omega-3s, etc., so it’s very hearty and nutritious. I cooked it with a simple marinara. The first several times I served it to her, she spit it out. So frustrating. But this week she changed her mind and pretty much scarfed it down. Hooray!

Have I mentioned that Maya can now sit and wave the cat wand around for Ndugu to play with? When I’m not worrying that she’ll poke her eyeball out with the wand (which, by the way, is about twice her body length), I quite enjoy witnessing Maya entertaining Ndugu in this way. The best part of it is the chuckling. Maya just chuckles away as spastic Ndugu leaps and contorts and generally goes bananas for the feather wand.

Things with Maya have been good, until this past weekend, when she quickly developed a really snotty nose and yet another double ear infection. She’s been extraordinarily cranky and teary for several days now, and I feel sad for her. She’s also teething, which is good news overall but adds to her discomfort. (I’m relieved to see more teeth are on the way, though! She’s still sporting just two pearly whites, and she’s now a year old!)

So, little My-My is on yet another round of antibiotics, and the pediatrician is pondering possible reasons for the recurrent infections and what to do about them. If Maya’s still getting infections regularly by the time summer rolls around, some sort of action needs to be taken. (I’m also concerned about the potential for speech delays, in the event that her persistent ear fluid is muffling her hearing.)

Yesterday we saw a new pediatric gastroenterologist, who seemed reasonable and friendly. He’s having us try out some dairy on Maya—a little bit of cheese and/or yogurt each night for two weeks. If that goes well and she does not vomit or show other signs of intolerance, then we graduate to little bits of whole milk here and there. Tonight will be Night 2 of this dairy test. Last night Maya had a few spoonfuls of yogurt and a bit of cheese, and she did not vomit, which was encouraging. I’m not going to get all excited just yet, though. It can take awhile for signs of allergy to present, so we’ll just take things day by day.

Moving on from health issues to more-enjoyable topics: Kacey and Terry recently visited us for several days, and they and Maya got along beautifully. It’s sort of challenging hosting guests while parenting a one-year-old baby, but we all managed and had a pleasant time. K and T were very understanding of Maya’s schedule. Highlights of K and T’s visit included being part of The Jimmy Kimmel Show’s studio audience; walking around Santa Monica and the Venice (CA) canals; hanging out chatting in the evenings; and strolling various beaches.

Maya is getting closer to walking on her own every day! This weekend I witnessed her take two unassisted steps before collapsing on the floor. She also gets a kick out of standing on her own and clapping at the same time—even in the bathtub, which is adorable yet very unsafe. Sigh. Maya reeeeeally loves the clapping, that’s for sure. As soon as I start singing “If You’re Happy and You Know It” or “Patty Cake,” she jumps right in with the clapping. I love how something as simple as clapping brings Maya so much joy. It’s sweet. The best is when she claps AND bounces to music. She’ll even bounce to the choo-choo-train sound effects that one of her toys makes. Hee!

Yay! Uncle Josh is here!
Josh rolled into town this past weekend and quickly set about his business of making Seth and me feel like inferior parents. Uncle Josh spends a full hour cavorting with Maya on the floor! Uncle Josh entertains Maya around the clock! Uncle Josh makes funny faces and does four million voices! Uncle Josh laughs at all of Maya's antics and tricks! Uncle Josh is waaaaay more fun than Mama and Dada!
That's OK; Seth and I are happy to play second fiddle to Josh's first violin. Josh and Maya see each other so rarely, they deserve to leave Seth and me in the dust while they delight in each other's company.
The four of us hit the beach on Sunday afternoon, just as the sun was setting on an absolutely flawless day. It's been like July here in SoCal. I love it! Josh took loads of pictures of Seth dipping Maya's toes in the ocean and Maya and me playing in the sand. An excellent time was had by all, even though negligent Mama nearly let a wave sweep her little peach right into the sea---thank goodness sharp-eyed Dada snagged Maya just in time. I think several years were shorn off my life in that moment.
Maya's new thing is to stand without holding onto anything for a few moments. We try to make a big happy deal out of it when it happens, to encourage her to build toward walking. She's also very much enjoying chasing and being chased, and oh my---the climbing! Look away for one moment, and the next thing you know, Maya has scaled a piece of furniture and is looking around, planning her next ascent. I wish our apartment had stairs. She'd love them!

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.