Long Gone Are The Days...

Everyone has always told me that once you get used to your children's routine, they will switch things up on you! And I know... I'm ten months into this thing called motherhood and should be used to routines changing, but every time it does I get so rattled. Marvin always says it best, "frustration comes from having expectations". He's so right (thanks for always being so level headed Marv) and these past couple of days have been so crazy for me because I haven't been keeping this in mind.

As I mentioned before, Maja has now mastered the skill of standing up on her own in the crib. As adorable as it is to go into her room after her nap and have her standing there waiting at the door side of the crib waving at me when I walk in, it's really creating trouble when it comes time to go to bed (naps and bedtime). We used to be able to just bring Maja upstairs, close the blinds, turn on the water sounds and the music, give her Pedro and her soother, place her in the crib and she'd roll over and go to sleep. Now, she fights going to sleep with everything she has. Just when you think she's sleeping (either from the bottle or from being rocked back and forth) and you place her in the crib, she rolls over, then over again, then over again, pushes up into a sitting position pulls herself up to a standing position then rattles the crib bars and starts doing laps around the crib. I have read somewhere that once kids start walking more their bodies don't know what to do with that extra energy and they have a hard time falling asleep. Great - just what we need. Combine that with the fact that Maja's two bottom teeth have finally started to make an appearance, albeit a small appearance only the size of a tiny pin head (I swear she's the only ten month old child without any teeth) and you have a great recipe for sleep battles! But this too shall pass... right?!?

Don't get me wrong, not everything about Maja these days is causing me grief - just the opposite actually. Maja is such a delight in so many ways. She is starting to be more expressive both vocally through babbling more and more, and physically through pointing to things. She's also getting really quick at her bum-shuffling and is able to cruise around the basement using the furniture quite quickly (hence the reason we went to The Home Depot this morning to buy child locks for the drawers and cabinets throughout the house). And her favourite game these days is "Give and Take". Maja will be sitting on the floor in her bedroom playing with some small toys when she stretches out her arm to give you a toy and when you take it from her and say "Why thank you Maja, is that for me?", she smiles, giggles and starts to wave her arms and legs around wildly. But you have to be sure to give it back or else she may get upset. :) It really is the cutest thing!

Over the past week, Maja has also started to eat more "solid" food. She now thinks that Cheerios are the greatest thing since sliced bread. She can pick them up from in a container, on the floor, from my hand, you name it! And she's a riot when she "chews" them - she more gums them like an old man without his dentures would. :) She is also more and more interested in what Marvin and I are eating and apparently loves toast with butter. The other day she wouldn't eat her lunch, she would only eat my stir-fry!

Maja has also gone on a number of outings with Teta Linda (which everyone loves... Teta loves them because she gets to hang with Maja, Maja loves them because she gets out and gets to hang with Teta, and Marvin & I love them because Maja's not with us... not that we don't love her and want to spend time with her, it's just nice to get a break every once and a while). And I'm pleased to say that when Maja returned home from her most recent outing with Teta, her pants were dry! The time before that, Maja gave Teta a crash course in "sippy cup & juice" rationing as she drank all of the juice in the sippy cup in one go and then preceeded to pee through her pants! :) Don't worry Teta, that has happened to me a couple of times too! :)

Anyhow, enough yammering on... let's get to some pictures! Because Maja has been a bit of a handful these past couple of days with getting less sleep, teething and being frustrated because she can't walk on her own just yet, occupying her has proven to be a bit of a challenge. It reminds me of one of my earlier posts when Maja first started having awake time and I didn't know what to do about it. Yesterday in particular was one of those days. As you can see by this picture, Tornado Maja hit our basement and went from the play pen to the books to the basket of toys to the pillows until she finally found the best toy of all (a cardboard box...) in an attempt to entertain herself...
Then Maja thought she'd do a little bit of Karaoke on Daddy's DJ machine...

Then Maja figured that mixing a few CDs would be more fun ("Who Let The Dogs Out" stand by... and cue...)...

Then after exhausting all of her other toys, I gave in and let her play with the contraband. Here is a shot of Maja seeing the contraband on the coffee table (I love the excitement in her eyes and how it looks like she's trying to sneak up on them)...

Here she is in "stealth-mode" pulling herself up as gracefully as a gazelle... And finally, Maja moving in for the "kill" (the contraband items are just Marvin's collection of basketball bobbleheads - fow whatever reason, Maja just loves these guys)...
Have a great long weekend everyone!

I Just Turned Ten...

Months, that is! I can't believe it - 10 whole months! Where does the time go?!? Maja has had a very busy couple of days socializing like crazy! You know, now that she's older and sees how her precious life is really just racing by her, she wants to make sure she makes the most of it! :)

On Friday morning, Maja & I headed over a couple of blocks to meet up with Irene and her two kids, Marko (3 years) & Marina (2 weeks younger than Maja). The five of us headed over the neighbourhood park to expend some energy (the kids' energy that is... like Irene & I have extra energy to spare... yeah, right!). Although, Maja has been to the park before, it was more fun this time around because the weather was nice and she's a bit older so she actually enjoyed it. First up was the teeter-totter, next the swings, then the slide and finally a quick snack of woodchips. :) Here is a picture of the kids hanging out on the swings (it took me a couple of shots to get all three of the mobile kids in the same shot). From left to right are Marko, Maja & Marina...
A close up of Maja blowing in the wind in her swing...
Then after grabbing a quick nap and a bite to eat with Daddy at lunch, Maja & I headed over to visit Stephanie and her two kids, Christine & Dashiell. It was so nice to visit with them especially because Steph's parents (who I know from way back in high school) are in town all the way from Victoria. It was great to see them again! After grabbing another nap at the end of the afternoon, Maja was well rested for when Daddy came home from work. Daddy got to spend some quality time with Maja playing and tickling her. Here is a shot of Maja "telling" Daddy that although she was enjoying the tickling, that maybe it was time for him to stop (it looks like she's grabbing his ear, but really his reaction is to her scratching his nose with her razor sharp fingernails). This photo cracks me up (thanks Marv for letting me post it - you're a good sport)...
This morning to celebrate being a whopping 10 months old, Maja thought she'd strip down to her skivies and hop into a cardboard box with Monkey (I mean, would you?!?). Teta was quick with the camera and took this shot of the festivities...
Then finally, this afternoon Maja got to hang out with Sevana & Nadia (who I used to work with) out in the backyard. The time just flew by with all of the Cheerio eating, walking, falling down (yes, on the patio stones... I know... bad Mommy...) and sippy cup drinking. Thanks again ladies for spending your afternoon with us! Here is a shot of the four of us in the backyard...

Enjoying the Weather...

Look at me with a new post only a day and a half after my last post! Yippee! Anyhow... yesterday Maja & I headed to High Park for our walk with some fellow babes (which includes the moms of course). As usual, we all had a nice time walking, enjoying the weather, chatting and comparing baby notes. Here is a shot of the eight of us (from left to right: Casey & Liam, Martha & Stewart, Me & Maja and Susan & Nicholas)...
A couple of weeks ago, Marvin & I bought a "stroller" that attaches to a bike so we could take Maja along on a bike ride. But because we're such nervous folks and want to make sure our little one's head stays intact, we thought we should buy a helmet for Maja. Now don't be fooled by the picture below, she really doesn't like wearing the helmet and is actually pretty quick at removing it despite it being strapped on as tight as we can get it...
Then this afternoon, Maja & I had our friends Mary and her daughter (almost 5 months old now), Nina, over for some good old fashion gabbing. Ok, so it was more Mary & I that were gabbing whereas Maja & Nina did some napping, some drooling and some toy sharing. Here is a shot of the little ladies hanging out in the backyard reading together...

Ladies & Gentlemen, I'd Like to Introduce...

Jenny, the Bunny! Last Friday, Maja & I got to spend the afternoon with Casey & Liam in their backyard pool! When we first arrived at Liam's place, Mr. Liam was taking an unprecedented afternoon nap (much to Casey's delight) so we got to hang with Casey for a while, which was when Casey presented Maja with her first gift from a boy! Apparently, last week while Casey & Liam were browsing Pottery Barn Kids, Liam came across these adorable bunnies and couldn't resist! Maja now has the pink bunny in her room and Liam has the matching blue bunny in his! How cute! And to add to the cuteness, the bunnies' names are Jenny and Forrest! :) Anyhow, here is a shot of Jenny just hanging on the couch downstairs while Maja's napping...
Now before you get all up in arms, Jenny is not replacing Pedro, she's just the latest addition to Maja's bunny collection (she is taking after her Grandma in that respect). To prove it, I took this picture a couple of minutes ago of Maja napping upstairs while hugging her beloved Pedro...

Ok, now back to the pool party with Liam. Again because Liam was napping, Maja got to splash around in pool by herself at first. Here is a shot of the Princess playing with swimming turtle...

Then finally (ok just 10 minutes after we arrived), Liam woke up and joined Maja in the pool! As you can see by this picture, Maja was very excited to have Liam there, however, Liam (who was still a bit sleepy) was not quite as keen at first...
And because he's such a cutie, he's a great shot of Liam showing off his sleep marks all across his chest...
Saturday, Maja went on her first real adventure with Teta Linda! Teta Linda & Maja went to The Home Depot and a couple other stores all by themselves! Before leaving, Marvin & I were sure to give Teta a crash course in car-seat-doing-up, stoller folding, excursion preparation (ie. bring a soother, sippy cup, toy, hat, etc...) and much much more! :) Needless to say, Maja had a great time out with Teta and looks forward to their next adventure.

Sunday as you all know was Father's Day and it was special because it was Marvin's very first Father's Day! Maja worked with Grandma to make a nice Father's Day card for Daddy last week, which Daddy really liked. Then the rest of the day was spent just hanging with Daddy and throwing in a nap or two before heading off to dinner with Grandma & Grandpa at Montana's. Here are couple of shots of Maja at dinner - first, Maja playing with her new purse...
And then Maja sitting on Grandma's lap lounging with the sippy cup and soother (and with her feet up on the table, of course)...
Monday, Grandma came by to watch Maja while I headed off to the dentist (yikes). After coming back, Grandma, Maja & I headed off to Starbucks, you know, just to visit the folks there. Here is a shot of Maja's ever moving feet in the stoller (please note: Maja's big toe is sticking in between two of the snaps in her pants... her feet crack me up)...

Now, for Maja's newest and most impressive trick yet. On Monday, while I was trying to change Maja on the change table, she used the side bars to pull herself up from laying down to sitting up (up until then, Maja could not transition between the two positions). Then, later that day when I went up to get Maja after a nap, I found her standing in the crib all by herself! I was so excited!!! Excited that was until Maja decided that before going to bed each night (and before each nap I might add) she needs to run laps around the crib! :) Cute yes, but cute when you want her just to lay down and go to sleep, no! :) Anyhow, here are a couple of shots of Maja showing off her latest moves...


Yesterday afternoon before the huge storm hit, Maja & Liam got to go shopping at Sherway. As we were walking through the mall, Maja & Liam (I kid you not) both reached out of their stollers to touch the other's hand! I love it! Here's a picture of that magic moment...

This afternoon, we are headed to High Park for a nice walk with a bunch of Moms & Babes (and yes the moms are babes too...)! Enjoy the day everyone!

Blogger Detention for Me...

According to my website tracker I've had 120 hits over the past week, which means that a few of you are "chomping at the bit" for an update on Maja (ok, who am I kidding... you just want to see new pictures of Maja). So because I have been so delinquent over the past week, I will give myself a Blogger Detention. Now let's see... I'm 33 years old (yikes) so does that mean that my detention (aka "time out") needs to be 33 minutes long?!? Ok, how about I just promise to try and be more punctual with my updates? Forgive me? :)

Because it's been so long and I am still suffering from baby-brain (although someone once told me that baby-brain goes away after 8 months and that any stupidity anything after that is considered permanent - too bad for me I guess), I really can't remember what Maja & I have been up to over the past week. I'll just have to trust that I took pictures each time I did something and use those as a reminder. So I'm apologizing now if I forget to mention getting together with some of you. I seem to be suffering from baby-brain, although someone once told me... hey wait a minute... :)

Anyhow, to start things off I thought I'd share a couple of pictures taken just this morning. Yesterday afternoon, Maja & I headed off to Grandma's place without me bringing a spare set of clothes for Maja to change into in case we (ok, she) had any "accidents". Of course Murphy's Law would have it that Maja drank a lot of juice on the drive to Grandma's house and ended up peeing right through her diaper onto Grandma's pants as poor unsuspecting Grandma was letting Maja sit on her lap. :( But, being the ever so creative Grandma that Grandma is, she swept Maja away for a minute or two and then brought her back dressed up in a lovely purple spring dress complete with green accent ties in the back. Ok, so it's really just my Grandma's tank top tightened in the back with a green ribbon, but I thought it was priceless. Because it was so cute, I dressed Maja in the outfit for a couple of minutes this morning. Here is a shot of the "dress" from the front...
And of course, all snazzy dresses have great backs to them so I had to take a shot of the back too...

Then before Maja & I headed out to Toys R Us to get a splash pool and Diaper Genie refills (how exciting... I know) this morning, Maja thought she'd dress up as Teta by putting on Teta's pink Lululemon headband (you know, to keep her bangs out of her eyes)...
As you can see by this next picture, the headband didn't stay on too long and Maja was very pleased with herself for finding out how to yank it off...
Last Friday, Maja's lead-boyfriend, Liam (although there are a number of other highly qualified gentlemen out there, Liam has been spending the most time with Maja lately and she really seems to have a soft spot for him) and his mom, Casey, came over for the afternoon just before the huge storm hit. Here is a shot of Liam charming / serenating Maja with "If you're happy and you know it clap your hands". I love how Maja is clasping her hands over her mouth in a shy, young lady-like way...

On Saturday, Marvin, Maja & I hosted my nephew's (Will) family birthday party complete with yummy ice-cream cake. But before the chaos began, Maja & Marvin decided to go for a nice early morning walk together. Here is a shot of Maja all excited about going for a walk with her Daddy (and well, showing off her socks too)...
Before the party began, Grandma & Grandpa came over to help set things up and to help occupy Maja while Marvin & I ran around a bit. Here is a shot of Grandma helping Maja with her soccer drills...
Then it was time to set up the tent (where the kids later had dinner and opened the presents - it also doubled as "home-free" when Maja was "It" during the impromptu game of "Tag" that began later in the afternoon). Here's a shot of Grandpa, me and Maja setting up the tent. Although Maja was very helpful by holding up the tent polls for us, I did find her a bit bossy and controlling... :)
Here Maja is helping to hold up the tent via the string in her mouth...
Here's a shot of Maja (showing off her paunch) walking around the backyard with Grandpa...

On Monday, Grandma came by for a visit and as usual took some great photos. Here is a shot of Maja "cruising" along the furniture in the living room...
A shot of Maja once she reached the "prize" (aka Grandma's keys). I love how her little butt is silouetted by her pjs...
I've noticed over the past little while that Maja is starting to get very upset when I leave the room (flattering I must say). She was quite happy playing in the hallway outside of the bathroom until I went in, closed the door to pee and left her in the hallway. Here is a shot of her (just before she started to cry) waiting outside the bathroom door for me...
Here's a shot of Maja reading to herself out in the backyard on Tuesday morning before it got really hot outside...
Again, some more soccer drills for Maja, but this time she's making Daddy help out...

A nice shot of our little princess on Grandma's front yard Wednesday afternoon...
A great shot of Maja modelling Bakica's new sun hat...
Maja demonstrating how exactly she got food all over her face while eating dinner...
Maja helping me empty the dishwasher yesterday afternoon. I love the chubby cheeks and her look of concentration in this shot...

Anyhow, Maja is just getting up from her nap so I should go. Hope you enjoyed the slew of photos and I promise not to leave it too long between updates next time. Have a great weekend!

Is It Hot Out There or Is It Just Me?

Wow - it is ever hot, sticky and quite smothering out there or what? Maja & I were going to go for a walk this morning, but it's already so warm that I'm sure I'd be a disgusting sweaty mess before we even hit the end of the driveway! So instead, Maja & I are hanging out downstairs in the coolness of our basement for a while. This afternoon, Maja is having her boyfriend Liam (and his mom, Casey) over for some play time. Hopefully the thunderstorms will hold off for a while so we can sit outside in the backyard (in the cool shade, of course). I think it's about time we bought Maja a splash pool so she can keep cool during the hot, hazy days of summer!

Here's a shot of Maja from a couple of minutes ago of her standing in the play pen getting impatient as I try to check my email...

Happy Birthday Will!

HAPPY 7th BIRTHDAY WILL!

Today is my nephew's birthday and Marvin, Maja & I all want to wish him a Happy 7th Birthday! I chatted with with Will this morning and his plans for the day (aside from getting older) are to eat some cupcakes, open some presents and have fun with his two brothers, his sister, his mom & dad and his Grandma & Grandpa - sounds like a great day to me! Hope you have a great day Will and we'll see you on Saturday!

So Much to Catch Up On!

Although it's only been a week since my last post, I have so much to blog about! So pull up a Bumbo, grab some Baby Mum Mums, a sippy cup of juice and enjoy the news and pictures! :)

First things first, I want to wish my wonderful, caring and thoughtful husband a Happy Anniversary! I love you baby and thanks for three unbelieveable years together!

This past Tuesday, Cynthia & Maja G along with Karolina (aka Maja G's Baka... aka Seka... aka Faithful Reader of Maja C's blog) came to our place to visit with me, Maja C and Bakica). We all had such a great time! The afternoon was full of chatting, laughs, eating lunch, sitting outside and enjoying each others company... and that was just the Majas! :) Here are a couple of shots of the Majas (as we like to call them) from that afternoon. Here the Majas are sitting in the Pack 'n Play sharing toys... Here Maja G is whispering secrets to Maja C...
And here the Majas are standing up in the Pack 'n Play bouncing for the peanut gallery (aka the Bakas & the Mamas - hey that would make a great band name!)...

Thanks again for the beautiful hanging flowers and the sippy cup guys! And Seka, I don't think you can call up Cyn this time to complain that she hasn't updated her blog yet because she beat me to the punch! :) After Cynthia, Seka & Maja G headed home, Maja, Bakica & I headed to the local pool for Maja's last swimming lesson. To mark the event, I was sure to dunk Maja under the water two times much to the horror of Bakica sitting along the side lines! At the completion of class, Maja was presented with her first ever report card! Right now it's hanging on the fridge - we are so proud! :)

Last Wednesday was the day that Grandma & Grandpa finally came back from their 3 1/2 week long vacation in the Mediterranean! At Maja's suggestion, Maja & I headed off to the airport to surprise Grandma & Grandpa when they arrived. As soon as we saw them and called out to them, the tears started (I'm such a suck...). It was so nice to see them after so long! One of the first places Grandma & Grandpa visited on their trip was Dubrovnik (in Croatia) where they bought Maja 12 books and 2 DVDs - all in Croatian! Now I can learn at the same time as Maja! After a quick stop at our place to say Hi to Marvin, Maja & I headed off to Grandma & Grandpa's place to hang out a bit. Maja had dinner there and, as you'll see by the photos below, made quite a mess so we had to have a bath afterwards. Here is a shot of Maja & I sitting on our front step rummaging through Maja's new books...

Here is Maja making sure that she savours each and every bit of the yogurt she had for dinner - please note the broccoli bits stuck to the back of the highchair over Maja's right shoulder...

After her bath, Maja spent some quality time with Grandpa & Pedro...

So since our last blog, Maja has learned a couple of new tricks... Maja loves to yell now (great!). She'll be sitting in her highchair, or on the floor or in her Pack 'n Play not getting enough attention and she'll yell at me! What a punk! :) Maja also has discovered that sticking her hand under the waterhose not only provides for a cool, refreshing treat, but a nice wet Mommy! Maja is still waving at everything and everyone (very endearing) including the nice holes in the plaster ceiling that she sees as we walk downstairs every morning and after every nap... yes, yes, yes, we'll fix those holes soon Maja! Maja is also entertaining herself a lot more these days. When she wakes up in the morning or from a nap, she'll lay in her crib for 10 to 20 minutes just chatting to herself (or Pedro... we're not sure) and moving around. What a treat to listen to that first thing in the morning. I love it! Maja also now can identify and pick out from a line up of toys froggie, the magic spoon, the boy and her brush! It's amazing to watch her process what you're asking her... she'll stop what she's doing, look at you, then look around in front of her then look back at you before reaching for the right toy! Hours of entertainment for me! :) Now for her mobility... this past Sunday, Marvin & I got to witness Maja take her first steps! We were sitting downstairs in the basement across from each other and Maja walked 2 or 3 steps from me to Marvin then back again a total of three times! I can't believe our baby took her first steps and both of us were there to see it! I cried I was so happy! :) In addition to that, Maja has now started furniture walking (just this afternoon actually), shuffling across the floor on her bum and has started to combat crawl (aka tummy surf pulling herself along with her arms/hands). We are so proud of her!

Anyhow, here are a bunch of photos from the last week for you guys to enjoy! Here Maja is sitting in her bedroom lifting up the foam edges of the floor and waving to Grandma...

Here Maja is picking out the boy from the toy line up for me...
Maja examining the pretty hanging basket of flowers that Cynthia, Maja G and Seka brought us (and that I've managed to keep alive for a full week!)...
Maja showing off her dirty, dirty feet after having taken a stroll in the garden barefoot...

Maja (and froggie) waving to the camera...
Maja looking for froggie (this picture cracks me up)...
Maja just hanging out in the kitchen enjoying the hot weather in the ever so cute outfit that Auntie bought her...

Marvin & Maja going for a swim on the weekend in our neighbour's pool (no, we didn't pool crash - we were invited for a swim). This was the first time Daddy got to swim with Maja...
Maja & Daddy rehydrating after the long swim in the pool...
Maja helping set up the patio furniture for our nice outdoor dinner with Grandma & Grandpa on Sunday...

A close up of Maja's foot after she went walking barefoot in the grass (this shot's for you Teta!)...
Maja sporting Grandma's glasses just before she hopped in the bath (I think she looks good in them to be honest!)...

Maja shuffling from one end of the bath tub to the other chasing duckie...
And finally, Maja showing off her "bootie" as she does the combat crawl...