I'm 3/4 of a Year Old Today!

Where to begin?!? Well, today (as the title suggests) Maja turned 9 months old! I can't believe, I really can't! Marvin & I chatted about it this morning and it just seems so surreal. Maja is now a little girl - not just because she is 9 months old, but because of all the "real person" things she does... she smiles at you, she lets you know when she's angry because you took a toy away, she lets you know that she's trying to figure something out by furrowing her brows and she has her likes and dislikes just like everyone else. I love it!

So what did Maja do to celebrate her 9 month anniversary, you ask? Well, this morning Bakica, Maja & I headed downtown to do some jewellery shopping. First, we stopped off at our jeweller to get my rings and Marvin's all nice and sparkly, and then, we headed over to Tiffany's so that Bakica could look into exchanging a ring and bracelet. Of course, what would an outing be without a pooh I ask you?!? After having Maja turn many shades of red and make some very unlady like noises, Maja & I headed up to the third floor to check out the bathrooms and let me tell you, if you have to pooh, Tiffany's is the place to pooh! Nice marble floors and counters, a change table that probably is cleaner that my dining room table, a nice
chair sitting in the corner for lounging (?) and paper towels that were more like formal napkins! On the way home, Maja told Bakica & I that she will only pooh in Tiffany's going forward! :)

So what else is new with Maja? Well, she's started to recognize words that we say... for example, when you put her on the change table and ask her where Monkey is, she'll turn to look at or grab Jorge the Monkey. She also recognizes her bath toy Froggie that Teta Linda bought her and pictures of babies (like those on her cereal boxes or baby food jars - guess those store bought green beans and carrots that she likes are educational...).

Maja's latest thing is waving - it's so cute! Every morning and lunch time when Marvin leaves for work, Maja & I will stand by the front window (or outside on the front porch now that the weather is nicer) and wave bye to him. Up until just yesterday, I had to move Maja's arm back and forth for her, but now she will actually wave on her own! Granted, she doesn't always wave when you ask her to and will often wave at inanimate objects (like the truck, her stroller, the phone, the trees - the list goes on), but she is waving on demand more and more. There's something so innocent and sweet about it. I wonder when that trait disappears or maybe for a mother it never does... do you think my mom still gets those warm and fuzzy feelings when I wave at cars? I'll have to ask her when she gets back! :)

Maja has also started to connect the fact that when food is on her hands that licking them provides a pretty tasty treat! Yesterday I gave in and after Maja decided she was done with her mashed apples I smacked a pile of them on the high chair tray for her to play with (I hear it's a good idea to let the kids play with some of the puree, but it makes such a mess, the control/neat freak in me just can't bring myself to do it very often). What a blast she had! I swear, by the end of it all there were apples in Maja's ears, Maja's eyelashes, Maja's nose, Maja's pants pockets, on the floor, on my t-shirt and as I found this morning, on the window beside the high chair!

The other day, I was chatting with my sister and found out that she and my nephew (Will) both earned their Green Stripes in Tae Kwon Do recently (a nice big congratulations to you guys)! Delighted with the news, Maja asked that I post a picture of her clapping to honour their achievement, so here you go...
Here Maja is getting ready to go for a walk with Marvin in her jogger stroller...
And here she is in the stroller (looking like she's holding on for dear life)...
Yesterday on the way home from walking up to the store, Maja & I thought we'd drop in on our friends who live just down the street (Irene, her son Marko, and her daughter Marina). After a short visit, it was time to head back home because Maja was getting hungry and cranky due to lack of sleep. But before we left, Irene took this great shot of the kids (from left to right: Maja, Marko and Marina)...

Tomorrow our plans include going for a walk with our friends Stephanie, Christine and Dashiell. Gotta love the nice weather we're having these days!