Four Months!

Dear Maya,

My butterball. My pork chop. My little spicy meatball. My sweetheart. My love.... I simply cannot believe you are already four months old! Watching you grow each day is pure joy. I dont know how else to put it. It is truly remarkable. You no longer need my help with so many things. You sleep through the night. You spend time playing on your own. You crack yourself up. Each day your personality develops a bit more and I am getting to know the kind of person you are going to be.



You like some toys more than others. You love attention. You are sweet and lovely, you are a ham, you are sometimes temperamental. You have very strong opinions and you let us know your preferences right away. My little munchkin, I should have expected this. Before you were born, you wanted to stay head up. When we brought you home from the hospital, you decided that you wanted to sleep in your crib, not the bassinet. About a week after you turned 3 months old, you decided you were done with nursing and would only drink from your bottle. While the nursing strike hurt my feelings a little, I don’t hold a grudge. I can tell you are going to grow up to be a strong, independent, graceful, intelligent woman. You like things on your terms. You are so very much like your daddy in so many ways. I just hope you let me make some of the decisions along the way.



You are a happy girl, you smile and laugh and babble. You’ve become much more vocal this month. When I talk to you for a few minutes, you start to babble right back at me. We have some very in-depth conversations. You shriek with joy when Daddy makes silly faces at you and crack up when he tickles you. You will smile back at pretty much any happy face. I think you're beginning to recognize your name and you recognize mommy and daddy.





I’ve returned to work and you have transitioned beautifully. You have so much fun at home with daddy and you love him very much. You go on long walks together, you play and read books. I don’t know who is enjoying these days more- you or him.



You’ve been going to daycare twice a week, and you seem to love all the action, friends and toys. It’s great to have you a block from my office, I love visiting you in the afternoon. You seem to like the fish tank and other babies there. All of the teachers say you are a wonderful and happy baby… and you are! You look up at me when I walk in the door and you give a big gummy grin- it’s very cute.



You are a total ham in front of the camera. You smile for the flash but you still haven’t decided whether or not you like the video camera. It seems to fascinate and confuse you. The other day we played peek-a-boo for the camera, it was so much fun!



You are getting stronger and you move a lot. While you can’t quite roll over yet, you can turn from your back onto your side. You do this to wiggle and shimmy across your play mat. I think this is how you move around in your crib at night. When I get you in the morning, it’s always fun to see where you’ve ended up.



Your depth perception is developing nicely. You’ve started to grab toys and you are learning more about how toys work. You like the sound your rattle makes and the song your exersaucer makes. You also grab my hair a lot… and boy do you hold on tightly!



You’ve started to like your pacifier much more- it seems to soothe you to sleep. Still, you continue to suck your fingers all day long. Your favorites are your pointer and middle fingers, but really any one will do. It's getting hard to take a picture of you without your hands in your mouth. We have an exersaucer and a swing and toys and books and puppets- yet your hands remain your favorite activity.



We watched the Royal Wedding together. You sat in your bumbo and watched the whole ceremony. I think you want to be a princess when you grow up. You are my little princess, my beautiful little girl. Your skin is so smooth and fair, it looks like porcelain its so perfect. And your deep blue eyes are so round and warm. You always have this wide-eyed look as though everything in the world is interesting.



You celebrated several 'first' holidays this month. You had your first Passover Seder and thanks to you I got to experience my first Mother's Day. We had a fantastic day; you made a card for me, we sang songs, we went for a walk and we went out to dinner.





Thank you for making us a family. Thank you for stealing my heart. Thank you for your nuzzles and sighs as we rock to sleep in your quiet dark room. Thank you for your smiles and giggles. What a wonderful, wild ride this motherhood thing is. I love being your mom.

Love,
Mommy

Maya 'talks' to her elephants

This morning I took a video of Maya having a little chat with the elephants on her wall. We also talked fashion.

Three Months!

Dear Maya,

My Little Cuddlebug, My Smile Machine, My Stinkopotamus. My Stinkosaurus Rex. You are no longer a newborn. These last few weeks have been a wonderful ride of new experiences, discovery and development.



You take after your daddy in so many ways, but especially in that you love your beauty rest. Technically you are “sleeping through the night” which is remaining asleep for five or six hours at a stretch. But actually you are doing much better than that- you will snooze for eight or more hours at a stretch. You go to bed around 8PM and on a good night can make it to 6:30AM- but sometimes you still get up at 4-something for a snack and then go back to bed until 8. Naps, however, are still a work-in-progress. You get tired after a few hours of playing but when I try to put you down for a siesta, you fight it and then become so overtired you thrash and wail and scream until you finally pass out from exhaustion in my arms. Recently when I put you in your crib for a nap, you stay down just long enough for me to begin something like pay a hospital bill or begin to pump..and then you are all “Psych! I’m not sleeping Mommy! Come get meeeeeee.” Le sigh. Saturday mornings are the best. I look forward to them all week. We snuggle and play and laugh in bed together.



Your meltdowns are rare, most of the time you are a smile machine. You smile at the cute baby in the mirror, to friends and family… but you save the best smiles for daddy and me. You are a very social girl, and you love being held no matter who is holding you; but you are also beginning to sort out who's who in life, and you definitely prefer your mommy or daddy to others. You save your sweetest smiles and those rare giggles just for us.



It’s a good thing you love bath time because boy do you need it these days! Between your monster poop blowouts and your sour milk spit-ups, you are one stinky little cutiepie. No diaper can contain the wrath of your little tushie. This seems to crack you up. We go through several costume changes a day. Daddy often comes home to find you in some sort of mismatched getup because I've decided that three is my limit for cute outfits I'm willing to put you in each day. After that... you get whatever I can find that fits.




You have discovered your tongue and your hand this month. You love to stick out your tongue and lick things; your shirt, your car seat harness, all of your blankets... they cannot escape your mouth and I have about a zillion pictures of that milk-covered tongue. Soon after your tongue discovery, you stumbled upon your hands. How fun! You love to slurp and suck on them, even getting that thumb into your mouth once in a while, but mostly you prefer to suck and lick the back of your hand. Sometimes you try to fit both fists into your mouth at the same time. You can never do it but you try all the time.



You have been all over the place this month! You had your first ride on Metro to visit daddy’s office where everyone was super excited to meet you! You also went to mommy’s office and visited the White House. You’ve been out to lunch with your buddies, Josh and Ryan. You have been to the shopping mall for your first Bloomingdale’s experience and the National Mall with your pal Abel to see the spring Cherry Blossoms.


white house


Cherry Blossoms



Your biggest trip by far was your first plane ride to Florida! You visited with Oma Ruth and Opa Paul, Great Grandma Sara and Great Grandpa Joe as well as Great Grandma Rona and Pappa Don. Boy are you a lucky girl to be loved by so many people! You went into the pool and went to temple and met tons of people – and smiled the whole time!


first flight


first time in the pool

You are a great eater. Almost too good, sometimes as I feel like I can’t keep up with your ever-growing appetite. You gulp down 5 ounces and get absolutely furious when I pause halfway through to burp you. You have developed a very strong preference for the bottle, which is great for when you start daycare next week. You are getting these delicious pulkies- I kiss them every day.

You and Jerry are starting to interact a bit. We help you 'pet' him and he doesn't leave the room every single time you cry now. Slowly we are making progress towards actually acknowledging each other. so far, this is the closest we have gotten:


Maya: Can you believe how many pictures my mommy takes?
Jerry: Yeah, it's unreal
Maya: And the poses she puts us in... it's ridiculous!
Jerry: Get used to it kid

Going back to work is going to be a lot harder than I had ever imagined. I do look forward to putting on real clothes and having conversations where someone can actually reply to me, but oh man I am going to miss our mornings together. I am savoring our last playdates in bed where I hold you, talk to you, feed you, nuzzle with you, tell you how lucky I am to have you.



I am also enjoying our afternoon walks which have been getting warmer and brighter. You are getting heavier every day and beginning to react to the warm breezes on your face and the birds chirping around you. I am trying to capture every moment of your discovering the world, your first time touching a flower and the first time you felt the warm Florida sun on your face. I so love rediscovering all these thing with you. Watching you take it all in, the new textures and sounds and smells are amazing.

What will you discover next month? What adventures will we have? What will daddy daycare be like? Last week, daddy put you in all kinds of silly hats and took pictures. You loved it! I'm sure you will have a ball with him all week!



I go back to work today. I know you are in amazing hands and that you will be so happy with Daddy, but I am so going to miss your sweet smiles and giggles and cuddles and your sour milk smell. I can't wait to come home and cover you with kisses and hear all about your day.



Love,
Mommy

Florida!

We went to Florida to visit Maya's SIX Great Grandparents

Here is daddy and Maya about to board the plane! Maya did wonderful on her first flight.


It was great to see everyone!

Koles and Felders


Meeting Great Grandma Sara and Great Grandpa Joe


Playing with Oma and Opa


Bonding with Great Grandma Sara


With Great Grandma Rona and Pappa Don


Maya's pretty dress for Temple on Saturday morning

Maya loved going in the pool! She had fun splashing and kicking in the water with...

Daddy!


Pappa Don!


Opa!


But swimming is so tiring... Maya was pooped after all that fun


Maya was absolutely fascinated by all the ceiling fans in every home.


She also had a bath in the kitchen sink!


Florida was a ton of fun and we can't wait to go back in the fall.

A Visit To Daddy's Office

This morning I found a well-rested and very playful Maya in her crib staring at her mobile.



We moved the pajama party to Mommy's bed (because I can't fit into her crib) had a silly face contest as we watched Regis and Kelly. Maya won.



Soon it was time to get dressed because we were going on a big trip downtown to see Daddy at work! Maya took metro for the first time.



We got to Daddy's office and introduced our girl to all of his colleagues and friends. They were so excited to see her!


Visiting Daddy at work!



Maya even got to sit in Daddy's big chair and make some very important decisions.



Soon Daddy had to go back to actually working, so Mommy took Maya to see a few sights. Here she is in front of the Capitol Building. (Ok its a few blocks away but you can totally still see it)



We had such a fun and action-packed day! Later this week we are going to Mommy's office, and I hope Maya is as happy and well behaved as she was today!

Two Months

Dear Maya,

My sweet baby girl, this month, you have really woken up. It is an incredible transformation. Your personality is beginning to show and you are such a lovable little cuddlebug but also a feisty little lady.



You get furious when daddy or I take your bottle away to burp you. You get lonely when you wake up and nobody is around. You’ve started to stick your tongue out and smile. You are beginning to discover your voice, you coo and grunt. Sometimes you sound like a karate ninja with your sharp “ay ya” and sometimes when you are staring at the changing lights on one of your toys, you squeal with a delightful “haiiiiiii”!



Most mornings, I unwrap your warm little swaddle and hold you to my chest. As I lift you up, you arch your back, pull your clenched fists to your chest and mush your face into the sweetest little wake up stretch faces. You move your head back and forth and squeak and stare at my face to say “hello!”. But every now and then you greet the day by screaming your head off like I am the worst mommy on the planet and someone needs to please please come rescue you from this terrible crib prison and would you JUST FEED ME ALREADY. Then you gulp down your breakfast and you turn back into the Maya I love. No matter what mood you wake up in, I truly love our mornings together. I love cuddling with you in bed, watching tv and singing songs. I love it when you smile and even more when you smile at me!



Your have started to notice things around you like the changing lights above your rainforest play mat and you love staring at your brightly colored butterfly puppet. You hear birds chirping on our walks. The other day you followed Daddy with your eyes as he walked across you on the couch and held onto the rattle we placed into your (left!) hand. Your smiles and reactions to my kisses and tickles and songs make my whole day!



You aren’t into the pacifier or sucking your thumb, you prefer to stick your whole hand in your mouth. Quite the talent.

You are a wonderful sleeper and I am thankful for that. You usually sleep from 8-2 and then 2:30-6. Sometimes I can even get you back down for another stretch until 7:30 or 8. There are some nights it’s so much fun reading a book with Daddy you don’t want to go to bed. He rocks you in the chair and sings to you and soothes you in your dimly lit room until your little eyelids get heavy. He is so sweet and patient with you, his darling baby girl. I am regularly touched at what an adoring daddy he is.



Speaking of time with daddy, tummy time with him is paying off because you can lift your head and chest up while lying on his stomach. Your head wobbly but you can also sit propped up for a few seconds, you are such a strong girl!





Your neck strength isn’t the only thing developing. You can hold eye contact and I get lost in those sweet eyes. Sometimes you flail and swipe your arms aimlessly around- what are you trying to grab onto? You look like you are directing planes on a tarmac or an orchestra.



You have your difficult moments; like your mommy you are in a great mood in the morning but as the afternoons wear on you get a little cranky. Although I sometimes wish you came with a neato decoder ring, I try to remind myself that your fussy times are much fewer than the playful ones and it won’t be long again until you are nuzzling sweetly in my arms.



Its funny what everyday household sounds get a reaction from you. Especially running water- whether in the sink or the shower, it really seems to calm you down. You get upset when you think you are alone; often times just hearing me say “I love you sweet girl” from across the room will get you to relax.

My days now are not measured by meetings or the congressional calendar, you, my sweet girl are the boss. Our daily activities are based more on your moods and bodily functions than any semblance of a schedule. It is exhausting and dirty and never ever predictable- but I absolutely love it.



I am smitten with you, my little one. I’m addicted. Your smiles make my heart race. I cant get enough of your delicious little rolls of fat in your legs. And those feet? They were just made for kissing. My little monkey, my stinkbug, my sweet baby girl. How did I live without you for so long? I love you so very much.

Love, Mommy