More Birthday Wishes...

Today is a wonderful day in the world of Peter, my nephew, because today is Peter's 3rd birthday!!! This morning Maja & I got a special phone call from "Little Puppy" (Peter's favourite puppy ever) asking if we could pass a message on to Peter for him. Of course, we were honoured and said we would! So, Peter, here is a special message from Little Puppy just for you...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PETER, MY BUDDY!

Hope you have a great day Peter - we can't wait to see you on Saturday!

Welcome Back Me...

Yes, ladies & gentlemen... I am finally finished reading all 7 of the Harry Potter books (including the dramatic final book that I've been dying to read since I had it delivered on July 21st like all the other children (and children at heart) across the world) and have started to resume my normal life again! :) I've been wearing the same clothes for 3 1/2 weeks, have matted hair, a dirty house, a child who cried at me today because she didn't recognize me without a Harry Potter book in front of my face or strapped to my hip to be read at any available moment and a husband who has lost 11 pounds because I haven't been making meals! :)

Because I've been so preoccupied there are a bunch of things I have to catch up on (aka lots of photos of Maja for all of you patient blog readers). But first things first, Maja (and Marvin & I too) has a belated birthday wish to Sara (it was yesterday). And because I don't have a recent photo of Sara, I thought I'd use a sexy wedding shot I found - hope you don't mind Sara! :)

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY SARA!

Tomorrow is Steph & Ben's wedding anniversary and instead of having yet another belated wish, I want to take this opportunity to say...

HAPPY 9TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY STEPH & BEN!

And don't worry... Ben is much happier in real life than he appears on his wedding day. It was just nerves... right Ben?!?

I'm not going to pretend to remember everything that has happened since my last blog update (because, as all of you well know, I was so preoccupied with Mr. Potter). So instead, I'm just going to rely on the photos that I have from the past week to help me remember (I'd like to apologize now if I miss anybody's visit, birthday, special life changing event, etc)! :)

One of Maja's favourite things about her Bakica (and there are so many she says it's really hard to narrow it down) is that Bakica almost always shows up to visit with her head band on. Maja absolutely loves Bakica's head band and always wants to play with it. So here is a picture of Maja after she has convinced Bakica to take it off and let her wear it while she munches some breakfast...One of the advantages of having both my mother and Marvin's mom close by is that they stop by to visit regularly and share a lot of their experiences with raising us. As I have learned recently, both Marvin & Teta were potty trained by the time they were 15 months old (and I'm proud to say that I don't know of any "accidents" that either of them have had). :) So keeping this as my goal for Maja, I thought I'd start talking to Maja about the potty. Maja seems to be responding well, but somehow I'm not sure this is what Lora meant...
A couple of days ago, Marvin was having some good ol' fashioned Maja & Daddy time when he mentioned to her that the Raptors pre-season is a mere 2 weeks away! As you can imagine, Maja was thrilled about this news and immediately ran to dance with her favourite Raptor, Chris Bosh (who actually met Maja)... As we all know, Maja is pretty darn cute! :) But just in case you thought it all came naturally, you're in for a surprise! I caught Maja just the other day prepping herself in Grandma's compact (I love how her left arm is out from her side a bit)...
On Saturday, Marvin & I headed off to another Toronto FC game. Anyone who has been following the TFC knows that their chances of making the playoffs are pretty minimal (5 wins, 14 losses and 6 ties). So in an attempt to show some spirit and get us ready for the game, Maja thought she'd sport Daddy's TFC jersey that Teta bought him a while back...
As the game didn't start until 3:30pm, Maja was able to fit in a date (I mean "play date") with her boyfriend, Liam. It had been over 5 weeks since Maja & Liam had seen each other. Unfortunately that's because Casey (Liam's mom) returned to work at the start of the new school year. Yet another mat-leave mommy bites the dust! :( Anyhow, for Maja & Liam it was as if no time at all had passed. They were instantly buddies again as you can tell by the picture below of them sharing grapes & cheese out in the backyard...
Smelling the wonderful scent of Havarti cheese in the air (although Teta would beg to differ), Maja couldn't control herself any longer and leaned in to make her move (with absolutely no protest from Mr. Liam, I might add)...
One of Maja's new tricks is to walk around the house with clothing draped across her or in her arms. Just the other day while I was tidying her room, Maja found her teddy bear towel, placed it over her head and then paraded around. Here is a shot of her refueling after a long stretch of running around... And a shot of the bear (don't be fooled... it's really Maja) laying down on the pillow waiting patiently for a massage (another new trick of hers - the massage part, not the patience part)...
After getting bored of her room, Maja decided it was time to head off downstairs. But unfortunately she ran into trouble a mere two steps outside her bedroom door - a gate! Curses! So instead of waiting patiently for me to come over and help her downstairs, Maja thought she'd try to climb over the gate with the assistance of Pepe the Puppy (much to Pepe's protest I'm sure)...
Today, Grandma came by for a visit and Maja thought she'd demonstrate how she can have picnics in her bedroom anytime she wants. Here Maja & Pepe (fully recovered from the "use-your-puppy-as-a-step-ladder" incident earlier in the week) are settling in for a nice rest on her picnic comforter...
Here's a shot of Maja looking interested in Grandma's camera...
A shot of Maja helping Mommy with her "Do-Over"... A shot of Marvin & Maja at lunch today. The smile on Marvin's face here was because he had just given Maja a bite of his sub and she was munching on a raw onion (which I'm sure you can all imagine gave her great breath for the afternoon)...
A cute shot of Maja as she lay on the bed in the spare bedroom watching TV as I changed her...
And Maja showing off her flexibility and her cute crocs from Bakica...
Then it was off to the Superstore with Grandma. In the entrance way there were a bunch of mirrors and TV, both by which Maja was very entertained. Here is a shot of Maja reacting to a dramatic scene in the Barbie movie that was playing on a nearby TV...
And that's about it for now. Hope you enjoyed the update!

And Then There Were Six...

Six teeth that is! Maja now has the top four teeth poking through so that she has a mouthful of teeth (ok, maybe not a mouthful... just six but that's tripling the number she had a week ago)! I have tried numerous times to get a picture of them, but with no luck. Don't worry though... I will persevere! :)

Aside from teeth, what else is new with Maja? Well, she has started to express herself more and more using sign language. Ok, so it's not the official sign language (I'm sure someone who knows real sign language would be completely offended by what Maja and I say to each other on a daily basis but that's besides the point), but at least we understand each other! :) Maja can tell me (1) that she wants my help - a quick mini clap movement, (2) when she wants to wear her hat - a tap to her head, (3) who's (or is it whose? I never know) a good girl - a tap to her chest, (4) who Maja is - again a tap to her chest, (5) that she wants up - arms high in the air, (6) that she want to sit on my lap - taps my legs, and (7) where things are - points to almost everything! It really is neat to be able to understand her!

And now that Maja has been walking for about a month, she walks more like a kid than a penguin! She loves to be chased around the house and to chase others (squeals with delight and gets "frozen" on the spot almost when you finally catch her because she doesn't know what to do with herself). She also loves to go outside (which she'll let me know by bringing me her shoes or my shoes), loves to walk around from room to room exploring and absolutely loves to pull all the books off the bookshelves (apparently I used to do that too so she comes by that honestly)!

Anyhow, here are a couple of pictures from the past day or two. Here Maja is enjoying her new tiger-piano that Sara & Nick gave her for her birthday (shortly after this picture was taken, she leaned over to give the tiger a kiss - what a sweetie!)...
Maja showing off her hoop skills by slam dunking the basketball...
And Winnie too...
And imitating Vince Carter's slam dunk that won him the 2000 slam dunk contest...
Here's Vince's actual shot - I think Maja did much better (I mean she was able to do the same slam dunk in loafers pretty much)...
A close up of my cutie pie looking innocent, just before she bonked me on the head with the phone... And finally, Maja lounging around in the spare bedroom reminiscing about the good ol' Teta days...

I Blame Harry...

That's right folks... I blame my recent tardiness with updating the blog, responding to Facebook messages, replying to emails, general housekeeping and basically everything else in my life on Harry - Harry Potter that is! I am now almost half way through book #6 so I have a mere 300+ pages left before I can start reading book #7! Harry is consuming my life these days... whenever I have a free moment (ie. when Maja naps during the day or when I finally stop puttering around the house taking care of all the things I didn't do during the day and settle into bed) I am reading Harry Potter. Yes, I know I'm 33 years old (but I'm still 5 inside) and am addicted to children's books. There I said it, I have a problem! :)

So aside from watching me read Harry Potter day in and day out, what has Maja been up to?!? Well this evening, Marvin, Maja & I headed over to Grandma & Grandpa's to celebrate Grandpa's birthday (yes, we did have a surprise party for him last weekend, but today is his real birthday). We had a great time hanging out with Grandma, Grandpa and cousins Will, Graham and Peter (Auntie, Uncle Mike & cousin Anna are in Calgary for a couple of days). Thanks again for a wonderful dinner mom and...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD/

GRANDPA/

MICHAEL!

And speaking of birthdays, Maja has another birthday wish (belated of course, damn that Harry!)...

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY EMILY!

We went to Emily's 2nd birthday party on Saturday and had such a fun time. Emily was so good at sharing all her toys with all the kids and the food and cake were yummy (as always)! It's amazing to see Emily grow up... it only seems like yesterday when we first met her. Thanks again for the party Emily (and Doug & Anna of course)!

Ok so let's back track a bit... last Wednesday, Maja had a play date with her buddies Christine & Dash (and of course, Molly the Dog & Stephanie). As usual, we had a great time dropping food on the floor (Molly is a great vacuum), "sharing" toys, chatting about nothing in particular and trying to pose the kids for a group shot. Here is the best one we could get...

And yes I realize it looks like Maja has been crookedly cut & paste into this photo, but I assure you that's how she was really sitting. Maybe she was afraid to get too close to the Super-kids for fear of them using their super powers to steal away her "M is for Monkey & Maja" toy. For the record, Christine is holding her "C is for Camel & Christine" toy and Dash is "holding" his "D is for Dolphin & Dash" toy. After posing for their obligatory group shot it was off to the car for Christine, but Maja wanted to make sure it was safe for driving so before letting Christine drive around, she did a quick circle check (she'll be great at Young Drivers of Canada)...
On Thursday, after meeting up with Steph, Christine & Dash (yes, two days in a row...) and going to the Superstore (Stephanie is also addicted apparently), Maja had a visit from Grandma and her Bermudian buddy Pete (aka "G" or Hombre or Pedro - not to be confused with Pedro the Spanish bunny from Teta). Pete was in town getting laser eye surgery done and stayed with us for a couple of days. Great to see you again Pete and be sure to say Hi to Liz, Mark & Sophia for us!

As usual, Grandma took some great shots while she was here (thanks mom... I would have done that myself but I was too busy reading Harry). Here is a nice one of Maja - I swear, when I look at this photo I can almost see what Maja will look like when she's older...
One of Maja's new tricks is to look in her shirt. Here's a shot of Maja showing off her cleavage...
And then inspecting down her shirt for something (maybe a lost piece of cheese or a Cheerio or two)...

Anyhow, it's getting late. I should get going so I can read a bit more Harry Potter before going to bed! :)

Catching Up on Birthdays...

Just in case updating the blog tomorrow (September 12th) doesn't work out (because we're going to be out and about all day), Maja asked me to update the blog with a special birthday wish tonight. So here goes...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Ok now for those of you not able to translate my creative juices... that message is meant to say Happy Birthday Auntie! :)

And speaking of birthdays... from August 16th through to September 27th there are at least 10 birthdays that we (Marvin, Maja & I) celebrate! And unfortunately, I forgot to post two of those special days (I'm really, really sorry guys). :( So better late than never, here are two birthday wishes from September 6th...

HAPPY BELATED 1ST BIRTHDAY MARINA!

HAPPY BELATED 1ST BIRTHDAY STEWART!

It's been so long since I blogged last I really can't remember what exactly Maja has been up to! Let's see... I don't remember Friday very well (other than I was busy prepping for my Dad's surprise birthday party the next day) so we'll move right along to Saturday! Yup, you guessed it, Saturday we spent celebrating my Dad's birthday - I won't let you know how old he is... just know he's older than me and younger than his father! :) Anyhow, here is a picture of Dad (aka Grandpa) a minute or two after arriving to his surprise party...Instead of having a huge party, we thought it would be nicer if we just had the family and a few close family friends at the party. Unfortunately, our close family friends are going through a tough time these days and weren't able to make it to the party. Our thoughts and prayers are with you guys, always!

Here is a shot of Maja at the party (obviously after having drank too much Heineken (see picture below a bit) talking into her sippy cup as though it was a phone...
Then Maja chasing after the stationary soccer ball (I swear... we were all just sitting around on the blanket when Maja stood up and then chased after the soccer ball that was going absolutely nowhere)... A cute shot of Grandma showing off the balloon hat the clown made her...
A great shot of Marvin checking out his balloon hat...
A close up of the Pooh bear face painting I got done...
Maja noticing the Pooh bear painting on my face at dinner...

And then Maja having a "drink" at dinner...

Yesterday, Maja & I packed up the truck and headed out to Mississauga to visit Grandma & Grandpa at their place. The afternoon was filled with playing with toys from Grandma & Grandpa's toy chest, talking on the phone and chatting to magnets on the fridge. Here's a shot of Maja hamming it up for Grandma during lunch...
Then after lunch, Maja snuck upstairs to Grandpa's radio room and found a walkie-talkie (hee hee... we know Grandpa doesn't like it when we call them that... our apologies Grandpa - over & out good buddy!). Maja spent hours trying to figure out how to use the thing and then got fed up and decided to have a staring contest with it instead...
Then because I had never been before, Maja, Grandma & I headed off to the Superstore to check it out. I love it! They have clothes, food, furniture and pretty much anything else you could want! While I was busy looking for pjs for our little one, Maja was busy checking out the other departments. Here is a shot of her picking out some boxers (?!?). I love the guilty look she has here...

Ahhh... then it all made sense! The boxers were for her new friend Victor who was also checking out the clothes! Shortly after this picture was taken, Maja gave Victor a kiss! Well, you know what they say about grocery stores being a good place to pick up... I guess it's true!
And just because I love pictures of Maja from behind, here's a shot of Maja running through the aisles...Then today, although we didn't actually spend the entire day with Bakica, Maja got to spend a lot of her awake time with her! Bakica came by in the morning to have breakfast with Maja... then after her nap (Maja's, not Bakica's), Maja, Bakica & I headed off to the Superstore here for a bit more browsing (I'm addicted I think)... then after her second nap (again Maja's, not Bakica's), Maja & I bumped into Bakica down the street and had a quick visit! I think Maja's going to go through Bakica withdrawal tomorrow when we're out at Stephanie, Christine & Dash's place!