Maia's Stats

We had Maia's 18 month old check-up yesterday, so here's how she measures up:
23.5 pounds--35% for weight
331/4 inches--89% for height (I didn't realize she was so tall for her age!)
She actually did really good at the doctor this time, which was really nice, seeing how last time she cried so hard when the doctor tried to look in her ears she threw up all over me...yeah, not such a pleasant experience! Anyway, this time she was very social and talkative with the MD. The doctor said she is well above average for her speaking skills, which made me very proud of my little one! She really is talking so much now. Just this last week she started putting 2 words together (like "more cracker") which is a big speech milestone, says my mom who is a speech therapist, so that is very exciting for us.
Other than our exciting doctor visit, we haven't been doing a whole lot lately...just working in the yard getting our garden going and spending as much time outside as possible! We went to this really pretty park that is close by our house over Memorial Day weekend, so here are a few pictures from that.

Dad and Maia going down the big slide...
Do we look related in this picture?? Lately everyone has been saying how much Maia looks like me--I always go back and forth on who she looks like, just depends on the day I guess!


See how pretty and green it is here when the weather is warm? That is one thing I really love about the East. I miss the mountains of the West, but you can't have it all right?

Just Because

So things have been busy here, but no pictures to show for it if you can believe it, but I still had to post something so I could stop looking at my American Idol post, since that was so two days ago and we already know who the winner is!! I have to admit, I was just a teeny bit sad about David A not winning, just because he is so cute in a little brother kind of way, not to mention his amazing voice. But I really like David C too, so it's a win-win I guess right? Anyway, it's the weekend (a long one, David doesn't have school on Monday hooray!) and the weather is finally warm again so we are going to do lots of projects around the house and prepare for Visitor #2, David's mom, who is coming in one week! Visitors are so much fun. Sorry for the boring post, I promise some great pix soon....like maybe of the latest garage sale haul.....Megan and I were gone "garage saleing" today for 6 HOURS if you can believe it. We didn't have the best luck today finding great treasures, but we did get a few things (you can't ever come home empty handed!) I mostly have remorse for not buying this really cute toddler bed that I wanted. I thought it was too much at first, so Megan and I decided that we'd stop at that same house on our way back around the loop and I would be brave and ask for a reduced price, but by the time we got there, it had been sold. I was so bummed, should have jumped on it when I first saw it. It really was so cute, oh well......I'm still don't think I'm over it though.....

Who's it gonna be??

Okay all you American Idol fans, are you super excited for the finale tomorrow??? As you probably already know, we sure are around our house! Except it will be a depressing day because Aunt JuJu is leaving us in the morning.....Maia is going to have a come-apart, which means Mom is going to have one as well. It really is a beautiful thing to have a nanny around!! Thank you so much Julie for playing with Maia, cooking with me, shopping with me, watching Maia while I exercised, helping out with the dishes, etc, etc. You are the best and are welcome back at ANY time!! In fact, PLEASE come back soon!
But back to American Idol, I hope everyone is voting tonight...we haven't been able to get through to many times because the lines are so busy...but Simon did say that it was a "knockout" (meaning that David A KILLED David C pretty much!!) So I can't wait to see the finale tomorrow. I think David A has it in the bag....but you never know....leave a comment and let me know what you think is going to happen.

Our first visitor!!

Something very exciting happened this past week....we had our first visitor!! Hooray! David's sister Julie (or JuJu if you are Maia) flew in on Thursday and is staying with us for a little while. We have already had so much fun with her here. It didn't take Maia long at all to become very attached to her. She is constantly calling out "JuJu" and following her around. She doesn't like it very much when she leaves the room--she wants her undivided attention all the time. It is really cute and I love it because there is someone else that Maia wants attention from!!
Since we have a visitor, we had to go and visit the famous Buffalo and surrounding area sites....so far we have gone to Niagara Falls and Palmyra. David is in school all day tomorrow, so we are planning a big trip to the mall, another must when you have company right? Here are some pictures from our latest adventures....

I still get amazed every time I see Niagara Falls...it is something that you just have to see in person at least once in your life! I want to take a ride on one of these boats you see in the pictures below--they get so close to the falls.

Just the girls!

Another good look...this is of Horseshoe Falls.

The whole group.The flowers are in full bloom and so beautiful. This is taken on the Canadian side where they have such gorgeous flower gardens.

Maia's photo shoot with Aunt JuJu. She sat perfectly still and posed for such a long time...
...gave her lots of kisses....
...and totally cheesed it at the end!

She sat still for some pictures with Dad too...but when I wanted to hold her for a picture, she wouldn't really have it! What is up with that??
This is from our Palmyra trip....at the Hill Cumorah visitor's center. Maia loves seeing Jesus everywhere.At the top of the Hill Cumorah
And finally, in the Sacred Grove. This place is so peaceful and beautiful, I could go daily and never get sick of it. The weather had been kind of rainy and cold earlier, but for the little while that we were in the Sacred Grove, it warmed up and the sun came out, so it made it just that much more enjoyable!


Here is Maia being at her happiest self...running free!

Happy Mother's Day!!

Happy Mother's Day to all of you wonderful mothers out there! What would we do without our moms?? I ask myself this question quite often...I am so blessed to have such a great mom. She is such an example of selflessness, quiet strength, patience and faith....all attributes that I need to work on!! Maybe after a lifetime, I'll be getting somewhere near where my mom is, but I'm not sure. It's funny how when you are growing up, you think your parents are so out of touch with reality. I remember thinking to myself (like when I was in middle school and thought I had the whole world all figured out!), "I will never do that when I'm a mom" and now that I am a mom, all I want to do is become more like my mom!! Good thing we grow up huh? Anyway, I just want my mom to know how much I love and appreciate her. She is the greatest!! I am also so thankful for the opportunity I have to be a mother...watching a child grow up is honestly the most amazing thing you'll ever be a part of! Maia is such a joy in our life and I don't know what I would do without her!
Here is a picture of my beautiful mom and dad...

In other news, David is officially a second year student!! He did well on all of his finals and is relieved to have one year of dental school under his belt. I am so proud of him for working so hard to get where he is today!! Our time here has just flown by and it's a bittersweet feeling...obviously, it will be nice once David graduates and is able to get a real job, but it will be so hard to leave here and I don't want the time to go by TOO fast! It has been such a good experience for us this far. You can tell that the weather is warm here right now because I have only good things to say about Buffalo.....I told David yesterday that I love Buffalo from about May-November, but not so much the other months!
A little update on our sweet little Maia....this last week, she learned how to say the dreaded word, "No." I was so taken aback when she said it to me for the first time. She has been learning so many words lately, I never really even thought about the "N" word, but then the other day I said "Maia, I need to wipe your nose" and she said "No, no, no." Yes, three times she said it!! She has never told us no for anything and now it has become a favorite. It was a very tragic day indeed. Good thing she is such a cutie so I'm able to forgive her quickly! Here a few cute pictures of her....
Being silly with Hayden....

Smelling the flowers...

Busy, Busy, Busy...

I don't know why my life has seemed so busy lately, but it most definitely has!! I guess it just comes with that time of year where I get all of this energy to do projects, etc. So I have been busy with Spring cleaning, home decor crafts,and Mother's Day gifts...to name a few things. And of course, the garage sales have started around here, so you can count on my friends and I being at those Thurs-Sat. for most of the morning! David has been super busy with finals as well (but he only has 2 left!!! HOORAY! Then he is officially a SECOND year student!), so that always seems to make life seem more hectic and crazy as well. But it is good to be busy and we are having a great time. Here are a few pictures that capture what we have been up to lately....

I got this new double jogger/bike trailer at a garage sale for $20!! It is almost brand new...the lady still had the manual to it and everything. I am so excited about it. Maia and I tried it out yesterday and it is so wonderful--it is really light and easy to maneuver. I almost like it better than my single jogger--I just don't like how there isn't any place for me to put a water bottle or snacks for Maia up by the handle bar. This same weekend, I found this amazing glider/rocker with the ottoman for $40!! Now that might sound like a lot for garage sale prices, but it was such a great deal! I always like to look up the products I buy from garage sales and see how much money I would have had to spend, had I bought the product for full price. Here's how the jogger and rocker measure up.....
Stroller--$279.99 at Toys 'R' Us, for a total savings of &259.99 (not including tax!)
Glider/rocker with ottoman--$529.89 at Babies 'R' Us, for a total savings of $489.89!! Did I ever tell you how much I love garage sales here??!

Maia and her friend Xander, sitting in the rocker...cute kids huh?
Yesterday was my friend, Kendra's birthday, so I decided to throw a little party here with some of our friends. The kids had a blast just running around outside and playing together, and the girls had a blast eating strawberry shortcake and talking with each other. Here is Maia playing...
And the group of girls...and I'm pretty sure Jen is making that face on purpose...she is so funny.
These next few pictures are about our latest adventure...gardening. We are trying to plant a garden this year since we have the space to do it in our yard here. We started the seeds inside a few weeks ago and it has been so fun and exciting to watch everything sprout. They grew a lot faster than we expected so we had to transplant them outside last night, even though there is still a chance that it could freeze here. So here is Maia with her newly acquired shovel from her gardening tool set (garage sale $1, $9.99 at Wal-Mart, total savings, $8.99).
Maia and Dad working the dirt...
Planting the vegetables...I love how Maia has her hand on David's back.
You find all sorts of neat things out in the dirt...like worms.
After she touched it, she wasn't sure about it at all!
She decided she'd rather look at it from a distance...I don't blame her!David also found a toad in the garden!! Again, Maia liked it at first.....
....but then got really worried when it jumped out of David's hand and towards her.