First Haircut

I finally gave in and got Maya's hair cut. It had gotten really long and it's so thin that it just looked scraggly when it was down. During the summer she and I both have a ponytail all the time. But now that it's becoming fall I'll be leaving it down more and I thought it was time. This picture was just taken a few days ago and you can see how long and thin her ponytail was.

We cooked out at my sisters house yesterday. I called my niece and asked her to bring her clippers home from work so she could cut Mikes hair while we were there. I decided it would be as good of a time as any to cut Maya's too. She'll be going to see her Grandma and Grandpa and the Lazars next week with a new do. Here is the before shot.

And during, being such a good girl for her Aunt Sarah. Mosquito bites and all.

How cute is the back of that little sweet head?!!

A big cheese from two new haircuts.
Just for the record, Maya does wear pants contrary to most of her pics lately. She had a little accident and I forgot to bring a backup outfit for her.

August

Well, I sure am glad that this month is over! I usually cling to August like Linus to his blanket because it is the last month of summer. And I LOVE SUMMER!! But this August was a bummer for the most part. There were some good parts so I'll share those with you.
We saw two fantastic Mountain Stage shows. The second one featured bass player extraordinaire Mike Gordon and Mike had his brush with fame. He couldn't have been happier.

Our good friends Jonathan and Mindy got hitched. At their reception Kelli and I showed up in the same dress totally unintentionally. Neither of us were surprised. It's just so typical of us. We said we were the bridesmaids.

And now, without further ado...Little Miss Trouble.

We gathered up a little hand me down playhouse from our neighbor (Thank you Jaylee!). Maya loves it. Mike swore we would never have any of those "damn plastic toys" after helping move some once. That was obviously before he had a little sweetie that may like one of those big ol' plastic toys.

She loves the doggie door and wants Fisher to go in and out of it. He prefers the front door and uses it. He actually couldn't fit through the doggie door if he scooted on his belly. So Maya just uses it herself.

We've been having a terrible time with mosquito bites. This evening I thought Maya's eye was so swollen from the bite on her right eyebrow and the one on the bridge of her nose right between her eyes. Not to mention the three on her cheek one on her chest her shoulder and two on her arm.
Then we got up the next morning...Her poor little eye was almost swollen shut. How pitiful is this pic?!

Just looking too cute in the setting sun!

How bout a "piggy ride"?

Or a swim.

Or an evening on the playground.

It's all fun and games until the big kids show up.

Mom, Maya and I went to visit my sister in VA last week and I never even took my camera out of the bag but that was a good moment in a not so good month too. We are really looking forward to getting together with the Lazars for the Atlanta FCC Autumn Moon Festival next weekend in Stone Mountain, GA. And a quick visit with Grandma and Grandpa in TN. We may even try to visit the zoo while we're there. See you next month!

In the Sweet Bye and Bye

Last night we lost my dear, sweet Momaw Malla. It's never easy to say goodbye but unfortunately it's an inevitable fact of life...damn it!
Love you so much, Momaw.

July

We are deep in the heat of summer around here and loving every minute of it. Maya proudly sports her Hello Kitty sunglasses and her new Jack's Big Music Show shirt. And nothing else but a her panties (yes, panties...we've been potty training around here too. She does great for me but doesn't always tell anyone else when she needs to go, like if she's home with her daddy or staying with momaw) and those damned Ariel shoes. You'll see them on her in nearly every picture. She looks for them first thing in the morning and will put them on herself. Sometimes on the right foot but she always says "wrong foot" when she puts them on.



"Ol' big horse" (AKA Fisher) and Maya.


I picked up this Power Wheels VW beetle at a consignment sell this weekend. It's too cute! Maya would rather just get in and out of it than drive it.


She doesn't like to push the pedal to make it go so she just sits in it and says "I'm driving! I'm driving!" and looks cute.


Since I'm only doing these posts once a month now I thought I could at least indulge you in a little video time. Maya loves "dunkins" (dumplings) and so does Ho Ho from Ni Hao Kai Lan, a show that Maya watches occasionally on Nickelodeon.

We have not had much rain this summer that has not been accompanied by lots of lightening and thunder and Maya always wants to go out and get wet when it's raining. So, last week we awoke two days in a row to nice summer showers with no threatening lightening. Out we went before even eating breakfast. It was a blast. Maya likes to hold her golf clubs up like this and says the club is her "ba-ella" (umbrella).


Believe me when I say that anywhere we are, Fisher is always close by. Usually right under our feet.

Splashing in the (nearly non-existent) puddles!

We went to Darya's birthday party this month. Maya had a great time and due to the safari theme left there with a fabulous blow up giraffe that has been one of her favorite things since then.

Just in case you've ever wondered what a giraffe says...



Maya's first ride on the lawn tractor. She thought she was big stuff on there.

Here are some of Maya's recent magnadoodle drawings.

"It's a dinosaur, Mommy!" Wow!! it really is a dinosaurs!

This has been my favorite face so far. I love the hair!

Once a month?

I honestly haven't intentionally been posting only once a month. But it seems like that is the way it's going. I have actually considered hanging it up entirely. But I know that our family and friends would be so very disappointed :( So, bear with me as I figure out what I'm going to do about this blog. And please, give us some feedback on what you all think. But, while I'm deciding what to do here are some pics from the past month.
This little beauty was taken just yesterday. I love this giraffe dress that Maya's grandma bought her at Christmas time. I can't believe how well it fits now. I think it was nearly dragging the ground when she got it. I also love this expression on Maya's face.

We spent a weekend in Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge last month to celebrate the marriage of my niece. Maya was all about riding the merry-go-round until she got on it and then she would have nothing but a ride on our laps. Almost every day she says, "She ride marry-go-round. She ride zebra." There was a zebra and that was what she wanted to ride on but when we sat her on it she didn't want anything to do with it. And yes, she often refers to herself as "she".

A rare decent shot of the three of us. I am usually behind the camera not in front of it. As you can see here, I couldn't even get mine down quick enough for my sister to get this pic.

Our beauty on the porch at the cutest, tiniest wedding chapel I've ever seen.

Maya and her cousin Lilli.

Maya loves her some Aunt (cousin) Sarah. Maya is pretty slow to warm up to people. Even our family that she sees very often. But not Sarah. She will usually go right to Sarah and will seek her out when we are all together. Granted, there are a bunch of us. I have 5 brothers and sisters and their significant others, 9 nieces and nephews and their counterparts, a great niece and a great nephew (and another one on the way). So when we are all together, it's a crowed for sure. And usually when we get together, we are almost all there as most everyone lives close.

The beautiful bride and groom Samantha and Randy.

She takes my breath away.

BFFs

It's not easy to get a 2 year old and a giant dog to both pose for a pic but this one turned out pretty good except for the big smudge on my lens...hmmm, wonder who's tiny fingerprint created that??

One of Maya's favorite things to do is play in her jewelry box. She will put it all on then take it all off and then do it all over again. Usually if she is being too quiet in her room that is what she's doing...usually.

May

Could it really be that May has already come and gone??
Where does the time go these days? I find that a week or more has gone by and I haven't been online at all. Part of the problem is that I have a Wii addiction and the biggest part of the problem is that I have a 2 year old. I can't find a spare minute in the day between tending to a toddler and then playing Mario Galaxy after sweet thing is in bed. The Mario problem is about solved though. I've beat it already but still have a few stars to complete. Now it's not nearly as fun. I am expecting to get Wii Fit soon and hopefully I'll be as interested in fitness (heaven knows I NEED to be interested) as I am in intergalactic battles with Bowser & co.
Let me go back a few weeks. My second mother's day was great! I received this new super sweet, fat daddy-o Canon EOS Rebel XSi. If only I knew how to work it in something other than the idiot setting. I'm learning though so keep looking for some really good pics soon.

Maya loves Fisher and I think the feeling is mutual. He is very tolerant considering he was our one and only for 7 years before our girly came along. He still doesn't understand why we give food to the little person when she asks but when he begs he gets in trouble.

Big changes have come to Maya's bedroom. It's no longer a nursery (sniff, sniff), it's a big girl's room! Maya loves her big girl bed!! I think she sleeps better too, at least at night. Nap time is another story. The first night we got the bed, she got up about 15 minutes after laying her down. I gathered her up and put her back to bed. She hasn't gotten up through the night even one more time...yes, I knock on wood every time I tell this story. Naps have been getting shorter and shorter over the past few months. I don't think that the bed has much to do with it.
Maya has always been a good sleeper as long as she is in her own bed. Which means that, for the most part, I get sleep too. I don't know how mothers function when they don't get any sleep. Thank goodness (for all of us) I haven't had to find out either.
We put the bed on the floor for now so it will be easy for Maya to get in and out of the bed herself. She never tried to climb in or out of her crib. In fact, I could leave the side rail down and she wouldn't even try to escape. I didn't ever do this intentionally but it did happen a time or two accidentally.

I had to take this picture because I was just in awe when Maya brought her Magnadoodle to me and said "It's a monkey face, Mommy!" Then a little while later I asked her if she could draw a monkey's face and sure enough, one big circle with two little circles and a dot for a nose or mouth. She will draw it just about every time you ask. I think that's pretty darn cool!

That catches us up until last week. Last week we were at Sunset Beach, NC with all of the family accounted for this year. It was a great time. We drive most of the way on Friday and spend the night about 2 hours from the beach. Maya is a great traveler. She really is our perfect girl. Here she is with her Dad kicked back eating some "bubba"(butter).

Finally, we made it to the edge of the earth. We have been talking about the beach for about two months now. Maya was so excited when we got there. We were walking across the boardwalk from our house to the beach and I said "Maya can you hear the ocean?" She jumped up and down and said "Hear it. Can't see beach. Momma hold you!" When I picked her up she actually jumped up on my side and squealed "Beach!! Wanna swim it!" Instead, she just enjoyed standing at the edge of the water and looking out at the sea with her daddy.

This was Maya's salute to Memorial day suit. Pretty cute in her red, white and blue, huh?

More cuteness than you can stand. Prepare yourselves.

Maya drug us all up and down this beach. Chloe and Aunt Debby were good sports and walked and swung Maya until they were all ready for a minute in the shade.
We had great tide pools at low tide right in front of our house. The ocean was still rather cool but the pools were shallow and warmed quickly in the hot sun.

The wagon was so handy again this year. It was all Maya could do to keep her eyes open for the ride home.
We have to shoot the family portrait every year. We waited until Friday night this year and the light was terrible. My camera has a setting that will take multiple pics on the timer setting. We didn't know that would happen so we made the best of it.

Good bye Sunset Beach. See you next time.