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!