Is Anyone Still Reading The Blog???

I can't believe it's been eight days since I last blogged (and that blog didn't even have a picture in it - you poor readers)! Well, Maja and I have been busy this past week and then we had computer problems. But don't worry, everything looks to be up and running properly so we should be happy bloggers again! :) So what have we been up to, you ask? Well... sit down, grab a coffee (or a can of coke... my favourite) and get comfortable because we have a lot to share! :)

Last Wednesday (over a week ago) Maja and I started the day by attending a new Moms & Babes session. This time there were close to 15 moms there (last session there were usually only ten) so a lot of time was spent going around the room getting to know each other. Lots of younger babies this time around (there is even one, Rachel, who was born the day after Maja). Then after the morning Moms & Babes, Maja and I met up with the moms from the last Moms & Babes session at one of the mom's house. It was nice to see everyone again and chat about what was new. Heather (the hosting mom) has a dog so Maja was introduced to dogs for the first time ever. Her reaction? Nothing. :) Not even the slightest bit interested (except for when he barked, which startled her). Then Wednesday night, Marvin and I headed to the Raptors game and Baba got to babysit for the first official time (she's watched Maja before for an hour here and there, but nothing as long as the four hours we were away and she got to feed her too). Marvin and I did well again seeing as we didn't call home to check up on things... not even once! We're growing up so fast! :)

On Thursday (a week ago today), Maja, Grandma and I went up all the way out into the country to visit Auntie Sandra and cousins Will, Graham, Peter and Anna! Maja got to spend the entire day in the Snugli snuggling up close to me which I think we both enjoyed. Anna is getting so big and so cute! She was very well behaved while we were there as she slept quite a bit - I can't believe she's such a good sleeper with her three older brothers running around everywhere! Sandra, I don't know how you do it... you have a very busy life and I have a new found respect for you! Just before we left, Auntie Sandra, Will, Graham, Maja and I went for a walk to see the horses while Grandma stayed back to play with Peter and be on stand by in case Anna should wake up (didn't happen... what an angel!). All in all, we had a great time visiting Auntie and the gang and we are looking forward to another visit shortly (hopefully)... maybe next week while Marvin is away again? We'll see.

Friday Maja and I went to our first Babytime class at the local library. This class is only about 1/2 an hour long and basically we sit around in a circle singing songs. I signed us up for it because a couple of the other moms from the first Moms & Babes session signed up, but I think Maja is a little young for it because her neck is still a bit wobbly. I can't bounce her around doing the actions during the songs like the other moms... I don't think I'm going to continue going. It's hard to get out there for 10am and like I said, I think Maja is a little young.

And of course, Friday night was "Friday Nights with Teta" even though Marvin and I went to another Raptors game. Teta and Baba were the designated babysitters for the evening and did a fine job (unfortunately though, Maja was a bit fussy that night so they got put to the test for sure)! Teta even got to feed Maja and listen to her little feeding noises up close and personal! The following morning, Marvin, Maja and I headed to Ikea for breakfast while Teta headed up to the house for the weekend.

To be honest, I can't remember what we did the rest of Saturday or on Sunday (aside from going to church)... if anyone knows, please feel free to remind me. :) Oh actually, I know that Teta stopped by Sunday morning (while I was out somewhere... but where? I honestly can't remember...) to see Maja but she was sleeping. Although, Maja did start to fuss while Teta was here so Teta was able to run upstairs and "plug" Maja back in again (aka put the soother in). Teta swears that when she got into the room and told Maja she was there, Maja stopped wailing (just for a second), smiled at her and then started wailing again! Almost as if to say "Don't worry Teta, I'm really ok... I'm just crying because I want to keep mom and dad guessing... just don't tell them... ok?". What a little trickster! :)

Monday, Grandma came over in the morning to help me out by watching Maja for a while so I could shower and putter around a bit. Then at lunchtime, Stephanie and her daughter Christine came for a visit. Grandma was the one taking pictures that day and unfortunately I don't have them yet, but if you click here you can see a couple of pictures that Stephanie has posted on her website. Steph... I love your blog! You always make me laugh!

Then on Tuesday, Baba dropped by for a couple of hours for some good ol' fashioned chit chat and some Maja-time. Maja was able to drift off to dreamland in Baba's warm and cuddly arms all afternoon! She's so spoiled... I'll let you decide whether the "she" in that last sentence is Baba or Maja! :)

Then finally, yesterday! Phew... a lot of updates! Yesterday, Maja and I went to Moms & Babes in the morning. Again, because there are so many moms in the class the majority of the session was just listening and chatting about how we are all doing. I enjoyed yesterday's class a lot actually because I got to hear that what I'm experiencing with Maja these days (lack of sleep at night (ie. getting up almost every hour and a half all night -*sigh*) and only taking short naps during the day) is what other moms are dealing with too. I know people always say that what Maja is doing is normal, but it's always nice to meet other moms and talk to them about it.

One of the mothers asked if I was swaddling Maja (ie. basically wrapping her up like a burrito) at night, which I haven't been because we're using the Grobag (basically a thick sack that you zip the baby into so you don't have to use blankets and worry about them flipping them up onto their faces). But yesterday afternoon, I thought about trying to swaddle Maja again for her nap. And can you believe it?!? Maja slept straight through until supper time! Ok, I'm exaggerating... she really only slept straight through for about two hours - but almost two hours!!! That's great!!! That hasn't happened for about 7 weeks - literally! As excited as I was about this whole swaddling thing, I was more excited that I had the smarts to actually lay down and take a nap when she went down, which meant that I too slept straight threw for almost two hours! :) :) :) I was soooo happy when we woke up! So, after experiencing the wonderful effects of swaddling, I was so anxious for nighttime to come so I could try it again... I thought to myself "Maybe she's been sleeping so crappy because she's not swaddled!" As my sister pointed out, Maja's sleeping episodes started when Maja was around six or seven weeks old, which is around the time Maja starting using the Grobag. Well, I'm happy to report that although Maja didn't sleep through the night last night (as I was so desperately hoping she would), she did give me 3 hours, then 2 1/2 hours then 2 1/2 hours again! Much better than what she's been doing recently. Unfortunately, I think the swaddling novelty has worn off for Maja already, because when I tried to put her down for her nap about half an hour ago, she was really grunting and fussing until I took her arms out. Although I did swaddle her from the armpits down. If she's returned to her old habits, she should be waking up within the next 15 minutes or so. I'll keep you posted! UPDATE: Since I wrote this, Maja woke up after a total of 45 minutes (boo!) and has woken up three times in the last 25 minutes (sigh!). Maybe we'll try the swaddling again this afternoon. Maybe it was all a dream (or a fluke)! :(

Anyhow... I have rambled long enough.... to reward you all for your patience (both for reading all that stuff - or maybe you just skip the babble and head right for the pictures... I'll never know - and for continuing to read the blog even when I don't update for a long time) here are some pictures from the last little while. Enjoy!

Here is Maja admiring the pattern on Grandma's couch (apparently Maja's cousins all found Grandma's couch hypnotic too when they were younger)...Maja looking a bit shocked at her own flexibility (yes those are her socked feet in her mouth - thanks to some encouragement from me)...
Maja has many different facial expressions, but our favourite ones are her grins of which there are many different kinds (each with their own unique squeal to accompany it). Here are a few samples of her grins! Grin #1...
Grin #2...And grin #3...
Mommy & Maja after a yummy lunch...
Maja getting ready to walk the runway in her ever-so-cute (and soft, right Baba?) outfit...

For whatever reason, I'm not able to upload anymore pictures on this blog. I do have a bunch more that I will try to upload shortly... here's hoping it works ok!