Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder...

Hello everyone... yes we have returned! I know it has been almost a full three weeks since we last posted but we've been very busy these past couple of weeks and really haven't had the time to post. But rest assured there are a slew of photos with this blog so you will be rewarded! Let's see... what is new since the last update?

Well first things first, Marvin and his knee are doing well. He had surgery on the Tuesday and started physio (which included bending the leg) that Thursday (within about 36 hours of getting home)! To be honest, the thought of him bending his knee that early after the surgery really grossed me out (you know me and my issue with bones...). But being the trooper that he is, Marvin has been going to physio almost every day (weekends excluded) and has improved so much! He's now able to bend his knee (after warming up a bit) about 110 degrees (when he first started he was only at 60 degrees), walk around for short distances without the crutches and sometimes even without the brace! He is now ok to walk up stairs so he has returned to sleeping in our room as opposed to downstairs in the spare room. Although he does still have a lot of pain sometimes, he is doing so well! Both Maja and I are so proud of him!

Maja and I would like to say a very special and heart-felt thank you to both my mom and dad and Marvin's mom for giving up so much of their free time these past couple of weeks to help us out. Because Marvin hasn't been able to bend his leg, we've had to move the car seat into the car so he can fit comfortably into the back of the truck. This means that I haven't been able to bring Maja with me when I go to physio with Marvin or when I drive him to and from work. So luckily for us Grandma, Grandpa and Bakica have been willing (like we really have to twist their arms though...) to look after Maja at least two times a week each! It's been great for us, for them (I'm sure), but most of all great for Maja to get to know them more and more!

Now for Maja, since the last update she has had two major milestones! First, just a couple of days after turning five months old she learned to roll over from her back to her front! Although she did do it both ways when she first started, she definitely favours rolling to the right. Now if only we can get her to roll from her tummy to her back we'd all be a bit happier. She flips herself over and is content on her tummy for only a couple of minutes and then starts to cry because she's tired of tummy time. And second, Maja has now almost completely mastered sitting up on her own! I sat with her earlier today and she can balance there for about a minute or so before she starts to tip to one side. I can't believe how much she develops with each passing day!

I know, I know... enough chat! You want to see some pictures! Ok here you go! Here Maja is sitting in her "Executive Chair" in the living room. It's almost like she's saying "Welcome to my office, how can I help you?" Here she is looking as though she's annoyed with her secretary for interrupting her meeting and not holding her calls as she requested...
Sometimes some of the larger bibs Maja wears turn themselves around so they are completely backwards. At first I thought this was just by accident, but then I realized that my daughter is Maja by day but Superbaby by night! Here is rare sighting of Superbaby during the afternoon...
Marvin stayed home from work for about two weeks after his surgery (he's since started going back for part days... it's still too hard for him to keep his leg down while sitting for long periods of time). Here is a shot of Marvin and Maja having a good ol' fashioned chat in the living room one day...
As I mentioned before, Maja can sit up on her own now, although there are a couple of instances when she loses her balance - like here...
In addition to developing physically more and more each day, Maja is really starting to let her personality shine through. Marvin and I are thrilled to learn that she likes to have her sides "chewed"... she will often reward us with squeals of laughter (music to our ears)...
A couple of weeks ago, I introduced all of you to Pedro Garcia, the stuffed rabbit that Teta Linda bought Maja and that Maja cuddles when she falls asleep. As any mother knows, once your child gets accustomed to a particular item you better have a couple of backups on hand in case something happens to the original. So, before we run into any problems, I ran out and bought a couple of backup Pedros. Here is a shot of them lying in front of the heater to dry out after having been bathed...Because Marvin was "trapped" in the spare room for a long time, Maja would often come to visit him and let him play with her toys. Here she is reading her ladybug book to him for a bedtime story...

Recently, Maja has started to wake up from her naps and play by herself for a couple of minutes before demanding that we come and get her. Given her newly discovered mobility skills, she likes to move around in her crib while she's waiting for us to rescue her. Here is a shot of her rotated full 90 degrees from where I left her 45 minutes earlier. I love how her feet will sneak through the rails...
Here is a shot Grandma took of Maja waiting in her highchair by the front window for Daddy to come home from physio one day...

Again, here Maja is showing off her mobility skills and her ability to roll over! What a great sight to see when she wakes up from her nap! I love how pleased she is with herself (and how Pedro is also learning to move around and stick his legs through the rails)...

Here is another shot from that nap... she's looking over at Daddy to make sure that he is watching her!

Although it had been a while since Maja had Daddy coming to pick her up from her naps because of the stairs, as you can see by the huge grin on her face, she still loves it!
Here is a shot of Grandma playing with Maja and her "drum" (forget about banging on it, Maja loves to eat it - maybe there's still a bit of residual ice cream on it...)
Here is a shot of Maja in her exersaucer (her primary form of entertainment these days) sporting the new hat that Bakica bought her from when she was on her cruise a couple of weeks back...
And here is a picture of Maja spending some quality time with Daddy! Although you can't see her face, you can tell by her cheeks that she is grinning at Daddy from ear to ear!