I Can't Believe I Forgot!

I can't believe I forgot to update you on Maja's two-month check up this past Friday when I last posted!!! What kind of a mother am I? :)

As many of you know, one week ago today was Maja's two-month anniversary. And to celebrate she thought it would be fun to go to the doctor's for a check up (yeah right!). We (Marvin, Maja and I) arrived at the doctor's office a couple minutes late (as per usual). It could have been because we had to change a dirty diaper just before we left or it could have been because I was stalling because I knew that Maja was going to have her first vaccinations. :( I really don't think I slept very well on Thursday night knowing what was going to come on Friday.

Anyhow, the visit started off like usual with Maja getting stripped down and weighed. Our "little" Maja now weighs in at 12 pounds 12 ounces! She is also a full 23 1/2 inches long (that's almost two feet long!!!!). I can't believe how much she's grown! Makes a mother proud! :)

Then came the vaccinations... for those of you without kids, the vaccinations consist of two needles - one in each thigh. As the mother I was delegated the responsiblity of holding Maja's legs so the nurse could give her the needles. I was torn with this situation... part of me wanted to be the one to hold her legs so I could also try to make her more comfortable but the other part of me wanted nothing to do with it because I didn't want to be associated with the pain on Maja's part. I'm pleased to report that although Maja did cry (for maybe a minute or two) she did really well. Once we calmed her down she took the soother and then fell asleep for about an hour or so. The rest of the day she slept in Sara's arms and then headed into a night of Survivor. No fever... no fussing... nothing either that day or the next. All that without any children's Tylenol or Tempra! What a trouper!

Here is a picture of Maja today at lunch sucking on her fist (you'd swear I never feed her)...
And here she is smiling just on the verge of sticking out her tongue...

Maja the Social Butterfly...

Maja has had a bunch of fun-filled days since last Thursday afternoon... she's had a slew of visitors, went to visit a bunch of people, had some alone time with Marvin and is now down for a nap (hopefully something longer than her usual 45 minutes)!

On Thursday night, our good friends Sara & Nick came over for dinner to celebrate the fact that Sara finally got her cast off. Why did she have a cast on you ask? Well, it's quite a heroic story actually... she busted 4 bones in her left arm while she wrestled two big burly guys who tried to mug her a couple of weeks ago! Ok you got me… she actually dislocated her thumb while playing dodgeball a while back… sorry Sara! :). Sara was very excited about being able to hold Maja more easily and Nick was equally as excited about lounging in our reclining couches downstairs! Here is a picture of Sara & Maja during Survivor…
Then Friday night, Maja got to see Teta Linda - finally! Teta Linda was able to come by right after work, which gave them some "alone-time" (right Linda?) before our company arrived. Teta Linda got to listen to the cute sounds that Maja makes when she feeds (gulp-gulp-sigh... gulp-gulp-sigh...), she got to hold her and got to show her the cool book of Nursery Rhymes and Fairy Tales she bought for her.

Later that night Maja got to meet her prom date David! Yes folks... you read it correctly - Maja already has picked out her prom date (ok maybe Marvin and I picked him out - but that's just a technicality…). Don't worry, David comes from a very respectable family and is a true gentleman! David's parents (Jose & Karine) were kind enough to drive David over for the evening (he's still too young to drive at only 4 months old...). We felt bad having them just drop him off and come back later to pick him up so we asked them to stay for dinner. :) The evening was great... Jose, Karine, Marvin and I got to catch up on things (Jose & Marvin chatted soccer while Karine & I chatted babies). And as you can see by the pictures below, David and Maja hit it off really well! Here is a picture of David and Maja staring longingly into each other's eyes...
And here is a picture of David reaching out and holding Maja's hand (it's too bad we don't have a video, because what you can't see in this picture is how Maja peaked her hand out from under her blanket just as David was reaching for her as if she was holding out her hand for him to kiss it! Very romantic - ok not so much with all four parents and Teta Linda standing by but you know what I mean)...
On Saturday, Maja had another busy day. In the morning she got to see two of her four cousins as Will & Graham were in town (they spent a couple of days at Grandma's house for some good ol' spoiling by Grandma & Grandpa). First, Marvin, Maja and I headed over to Grandma & Grandpa's house to split some logs (Marvin & Grandpa rented a log splitter for the day). Although it was raining, Will & Graham were more than happy to help Marvin and Grandpa split some logs in Grandpa's driveway and then again back at our place. Because Maja is a bit young to help out with the large equipment, she hung inside with Grandma & me (we didn't want anyone to mistake her for a log by accident...). Anyhow, here is a picture of her checking herself out in the mirror after the hard work was all done...
And here she is having some play-time with Doggy (I love the "Hey! What are you doing on my belly?" look)...
Then Saturday night, we headed over to Doug & Anna's place for dinner and some chit-chat. Here is a picture of Anna holding Maja...
And finally, Sunday afternoon Maja had some Daddy & Maja time when I went to a baby shower for a friend of ours in Ancaster (Gaetane is expecting her daughter (Lauren) on December 6th). This was the first time that I was away from Maja for more than an hour... ever! I was a bit nervous about the whole thing... not because I was leaving her with Marvin (I knew he'd do a great job), but because I thought I'd be a wreck. I'm proud to say that I was gone for about 5 hours and only called twice... first just after I left to tell Marvin that I loved him and that I hoped he and Maja have a good time together, and second just as we were leaving Ancaster to let Marvin know I was on my way home and that the phone was turned on. But, I sure was glad to get home and give her (and of course Marvin) a big hug!

Checking Her List...

This afternoon Maja was checking her list of things to do. It went something like this...

1. Spend quality time with Grandma... check!
2. Spend quality time with Baba... check!
3. Spend quality time with Teta... hey, wait a minute... Maja hasn't seen Teta in almost two weeks! Although she was as upset about not seeing Teta in such a long time as she was when she didn't see Baba in that long, I was able to cheer her up by telling her that "Friday Nights with Teta" are returning tomorrow night! And here was her reaction... As you can tell, Maja was very excited to hear this news! :) She can't wait to see Teta again tomorrow! Apparently, Teta has a new book that she's going to read to Maja... can't wait! :)

Now back to the other things on Maja's list of things to do... Spend quality time with Grandma. Yesterday afternoon Grandma came by for a couple of hours. Unfortunately Maja was napping when Grandma first came by but that gave us some time to have a nice chat. Once Maja woke up we went for a walk around the neighbourhood. Because it was quite cool out, we were able to put Maja in the snowsuit that Grandma gave her. Here are two of my favourite pictures of her in the snowsuit.

Here she is in the car seat (barely...)

And here she is just smiling at Grandma... And as for the second thing on Maja's list of things to do (spend quality time with Baba), Baba came by late this morning to relieve me so I could run some errands Maja-free. Maja was napping when Baba came by (is this a theme for when Grandma and Baba come by?) but then woke up just before I came back (about an hour later). I then fed Maja and then Baba was able to have some awake time with Maja full of smiles and lots of leg kicking! Thanks again Baba!

Hanging With The Boys...

Yesterday morning Maja didn't feel like napping for very long, so in an attempt to lull her back to sleep (or at least keep her from crying and maybe to get her to close her eyes a bit) I took her for a quick walk before Marvin came home for lunch. Since the cooler weather (ok... the down right cold weather) is here, I thought now would be a good time to try out the Winnie the Pooh snowsuit that Baba gave Maja. Later today, Grandma will be stopping by for a visit and I'm hoping we can go for a walk and dress Maja in the snowsuit Grandma gave her (hopefully it won't rain... if it does maybe we'll just turn the heat off in the house and dress Maja up in the snowsuit anyway...). It's so much fun dressing her up! :)

Here is a picture of Maja in Baba's snowsuit in her car seat (she barely fit in there!)...
Here is a full body shot of Maja in the snowsuit - I love how her arms can hardly move...
Then after lunch, Maja and I headed out to visit our friends Alina & David and Tracey & Gabriel in Mississauga. The afternoon was fun filled with peeing everywhere (by the kids, not the moms... Gabriel all over his outfit and Maja all over hers... thank goodness David was kind enough to lend Maja a onesie and a pair of socks for the ride home seeing as I forgot to bring an extra change of clothes...)! We chatted about what our kids were experiencing, compared notes on sleeping (or lack thereof), watched a bit of Baby Mozart and drank some Gingerale (very yummy Alina - thanks!). :) Here are some pictures from our play day with the boys!

Here are Alina & David (David was celebrating that he is the first born Canadian in their family)...
Here are Tracey & Gabriel (Gabriel was just celebrating that he was out of his car seat - which he apparently hates)...
A great shot of David grinning at his mommy...
And a great shot of Gabriel just chillin' on his mommy's shoulder...

I'm Two Months Old Today!

Yep... you read it right! Today Maja is a full two months old! I can't believe how fast the time has flown by - it's kind of sad really. As much as the first couple of weeks were very tiring (not like they're not tiring now...), I miss them. My baby isn't a newborn anymore! :( It seems like forever ago when we brought her home from the hospital.

So what have Marvin and I learned about Maja over the past two months? We've learned that...

Maja likes to smile first thing in the morning when she wakes up (she can sometimes be fooled and will smile when you say "Good Morning" to her in the afternoon) - this is often accompanied by her sticking her little tongue out too (very cute);

Maja likes what she wants, when she wants it (there's no such thing as "just a minute" in Maja-land!);

Maja loves her friends Monkey, Bee and Bear (they will almost always get a smile from her - unless of course she's passed the point of no return with regards to crying);

Maja sometimes makes some very unlady-like noises from both ends (sorry Maja, I don't mean to embarrass you...);

Maja likes to take a good hour and a half to two hour nap in the mornings and then not really nap in the afternoons (sometimes she fools us by fading in and out of sleep, but she's never really fully asleep - trust us);

Maja doesn't like bright lights or loud noises;

Maja loves her soother ("duda" in Croatian) although her fist is coming in at a close second;

Maja loves to sit in her chair with the vibration on (imagine sitting in a massage chair all day long... who wouldn't love that?);

And Maja loves to eat as demonstrated by her consistent weight gain - last check (just under a week ago) she weighed in at 12 lbs 4 oz and stretched a full 23.5 inches (that's 3 lbs 4 oz and 1.5 inches since she was born).

Anyhow, here are some pictures from her two-month anniversary. Here she is sticking her cute little tongue out...
Here she is grinning for the camera (definitely not camera shy here)...
And here she is Pretty in Pink from head to toe...

Lazy Weekend...

Unlike recent weekends, this weekend we basically just chilled out and hung around the house. It was nice! A good way to unwind after a busy and sometimes crazy week.

Friday night we had some friends over for a nice home cooked Italian-style meal (ok - so we ordered East Side Marios...) and some chit-chatting sitting in front of the fire. Our friends (you know who you are) hadn't been to our place yet and hadn't yet met Maja so it was about time they came by. They not only came bearing gifts for Maja, but also for Marvin and I in the form of a nice bottle of wine and some yummy desserts. We had a great time!

On Saturday morning, we headed to Mississauga and Marvin got his hair cut while Maja and I hung around Erin Mills Towne Centre for a while. Afterwards, we thought we'd drop in for a surprise visit with Grandma (Grandpa was out with his radio buddies) so she could get her "Maja-fill". Maja had some lunch while we were there (the usual... not the yummy McDonalds that Marvin and I had) and then just hung out over Grandma's shoulder just chilling. Then last night after a nice bath and a good meal, Maja went to bed without a fuss and let Marvin and I watch a movie together (Proof - with Gwenyth Paltrow and Anthony Hopkins) with only one brief interruption!

This morning, we went to church (and Maja did very well... she didn't fuss once!) and then came back home for the rest of the day. This afternoon Baba stopped by and kept Maja comfy in her nice warm arms for a good hour until it was time for dinner.

Here are some shots from the past couple of days for your viewing pleasure. Maja showing off her chubby cheeks...

Maja & Baba spending some quality time together...
Maja dancing (specifically, "churning the butter") with Daddy. You have to move quickly from photo to photo for the next four pictures to see the full effect of her "churning"...



And finally, Maja and one of her new best friends, her fist...

Daddy's Back!

Well, we made it - Maja & I were able to survive the three days and three nights without Marvin! Ok you caught me, we did have a bit of help in that my mom spent those three days and nights at our place (ok you caught me again... a lot of help - thanks mom!). Yes, I'm 32 years old and I'm still not comfortable sleeping in the house by myself! :) Our time was filled with lots of cuddles and cooing (and of course some crying)!

Anyone who has chatted with me recently knows that I've been trying to get Maja to nap more than 45 minutes at a time during the day (her nights are going well (knock on wood) in that she's given us at least 4 or 4 1/2 hours at least once during the night if not twice). So over the past couple of days, I've been trying to get Maja used to napping in her crib during the day (as opposed to the chair or in someone's arms) and to establish a bit of a night-time routine. I am pleased to let you all know that Maja seems to be getting used to things. There are still some times where she has her own ideas, but more often than not, she's settling in nicely. Such a good girl! We truly are blessed!

Anyhow, enough gab! I know you really don't care how things are going... you just want to see some photos! :) Alright, alright! I give in... here are some pictures from the last couple of days! :)

Maja getting ready for a walk (probably to Starbucks) with Grandma. I think because her eyes look brown here (right now they're actually blue) she looks a lot like my sister when she was little...
My friend Marcia from work was generous enough to drop off some hand-me-downs from her sister-in-law a couple of weeks ago (with the help of Gabe - thanks ladies!). With the help of my mom, I finally got around to sorting through the nine green garbage bags of clothes (being the accountants that my mom and I are, the clothes were counted and in total there were almost 1,000 pieces of clothing)!!! Here is a picture of Maja in amongst the piles of clothes having a grand ol' time. It reminds me a bit of the scene from ET where he is hiding in amongst the stuffed animals (can you believe one little girl had this many clothes?!!? What you don't see in this picture is the pile of over 100 pairs of socks and 30 pairs of shoes!)...
Here is a shot of Maja and her new best friend (I've been replaced apparently), Monkey. She will almost always give Monkey a grin or two when he appears during diaper changes and in the morning for a Good Morning kiss...
It has become part of our night-time ritual to have Marvin feed Maja (provided I've had time to pump during the day). Here is a shot of him feeding her last night (I love how they're staring into each other's eyes so intently)...
Maja showing off her newly established neck muscles (sometimes she'll still "flop" but more often than not she holds her head up quite well)...
Here's Maja in her favourite shirt showing us how much she loves Daddy (right before this shot was taken she said "I love my Daddy this much"!)...
A shot of me and Maja just chilling...
When my mom and I were going through the bags and bags of clothes from Marcia, we stumbled across an "interesting" pair of pants (?). They were a cross between stretch pants, jeans and mens boxer-briefs. Everytime we looked at them we giggled. I'm sure you will too - here is Maja modelling them for us...

Who Needs Sleep Anyway?

Last night marks one of the worse nights we've had with Maja in a long time. Yesterday Maja didn't really sleep too much (we ran a bunch of errands so her sleep was distrupted - bad parents, I know) so we thought that she'd sleep like an angel last night. Not the case... not even close. Last night Maja woke up every hour and a half to two hours consistently to feed - *sigh*! So needless to say, this morning the entire family is pretty tired.

Our day started by going to church. But, unfortunately Maja wasn't settled yet and she started wailing once the procession began (I think the sound of the organ startled her). Then the rest of the mass was spent with me trying to keep her calm as she faded in and out of sleep. Once mass ended we high-tailed it out of there! :)

Earlier this afternoon, Maja did have some calm moments in her chair. Here is a shot of her mesmerized by the mirror globe and moving pictures above her chair...
This afternoon Marvin left for a 4-day conference in Niagara on the Lake. :( He's only been gone for about an hour, but both Maja and I already miss him. This is probably the longest that Marvin and I have ever been apart since we got together and it's definitely the longest that Marvin and Maja have ever been apart. Like I said, we both already miss him. :(

But before he left, Marvin and Maja had some good ol' father-daughter time. He brought her downstairs from her nap (a big thanks to Baba for getting her to sleep earlier - she slept for about an hour and a half!), he fed her a late lunch and then he had some quality awake time with her that included lots of smiles, coos and of course a good burp or two!

Here is Marvin feeding Maja her bottle...
And here is a close up - I love how she's "helping" Marvin with the bottle...

Friday Nights With Teta...

As has become our Friday night tradition, Teta Linda came by last night to spend some time with Maja and to unwind from a crazy week at work before heading up to the house this morning. Maja tried to look extra cute for Teta just to help her forget her woes from work. After a fun filled evening, Maja decided that she didn't really need to sleep last night so she gave Marvin and I only a 3 hour chunk of sleep followed by a 2 hour chunk then only a 45 minute chunk. We're not very perky today as a result! :)

This morning Maja asked if we could go to Ikea for breakfast again (her treat seeing as a full breakfast of eggs, sausages, potatoes and a croissant only cost $1 - what a deal!). So after Maja's morning feed she rounded up the troops and we were off to Ikea.

Here are two shots from Teta's visit last night. Maja slumbering all cozy on Teta's lap...

Maja holding the soother in making sure we don't even try to remove it (or telling us to be quiet - I'm not sure which)...

I Almost Forgot...

In addition to the photos I posted earlier this morning (see below), I meant to post these two photos too (you guys are going to get spoiled... two posts in one day and a slew of photos)!

This one is of Maja in the outfit she wore to Grandma & Grandpa's last Saturday for Thanksgiving (Steve & Marisa gave it to her)...And here is one taken from our visit with Tracey and Alina last Thursday. Gabriel (Tracey's son) is on the left, Maja is in the middle and David (Alina's son) is on the right. There were some other funny shots in which at least one of the three of them was crying, but I thought this was the best one to share. If you look closely, it looks like Gabriel and Maja are dancing a bit! Makes me giggle! :)

I Hope You Appreciate This...

Now before I get started I just want you all to know that I'm foregoing a shower so that I can blog. Maja has been sleeping now for a while (yippee) and I'm sure I only have enough time to get one thing done and I'm choosing blogging over showering so as to keep Maja's fans happy! Let's hope for the sake of those I'm going to see later today that I get another chance to shower! :)

So what have we been up to over the past couple of days? Let's see... on Saturday, Marvin and Maja and I headed over to my mom and dad's place for Thanksgiving dinner - we had a great time! The gang at Grandma's place included us of course along with Grandma, Grandpa, Great Uncle Ron, Auntie Sandra, Uncle Mike and the plethora of cousins (Will, Graham, Peter and Anna). The food was yummy and the company was great. Here are a couple of shots from that night...

Maja's new booties peeking out from under the blanket...
Maja & Anna in their Great Uncle Ron's arms (Maja's on the left and Anna's on the right)...
Maja sleeping like an angel in Grandma's arms after a fun-filled afternoon...
Then on Sunday, the Paolucci family came over. Sandra, George, little Georgie and Shelden had a nice visit with Maja (except for poor Shelden banging his mouth on the coffee table - don't worry, he's ok now). Here is a picture of Maja trying to infiltrate the Paolucci family... On a side note, here is a picture I call "Maja's Bonar Picture" seeing as she's in the outfit that Cynthia gave her and she's relaxing in the chair that she first saw at Cynthia's house last month (she absolutely loves this chair by the way Cyn!)...
Then on Monday, we had Baba, Teta/Strina Linda (the jury is still out as to what the proper name is... any help Cyn/Seka?), Uncle Ryan, Doug, Anna and little Emily over for Thanksgiving dinner. Here is a shot of Maja's cute little feet (oh yeah and Doug's arm)...
Here's Maja enjoying some awake time on her play mat (I can almost hear here squealing with excitement when I look at this picture)...
And finally, here is Maja all nice and cozy on her walk with Grandma yesterday...

I hear our little angel "singing" upstairs now so I should get going!