Maja's a Big Girl Now...

So much has happened since I last posted (which really shouldn't surprise anyone given it's been a full month - yikes), I don't know where to start! Let's see... how about with what a big girl Miss Maja has become?!? Miss Maja is now officially potty trained - she has been diaper free (both day and night) now for almost a full month! Her little bum is so cute in underwear and so tiny in comparison to what it was like last month. If only it was that easy for all of us to lose some butt-bulk! :) This morning while Marvin was preparing a yummy breakfast, he heard banging around by the potty and there was Maja, pulling down her pants all on her own and going potty by herself! What a big girl!!!

The other reason Miss Maja is a big girl is because she no longer needs her duda (soother)! Maja has been using her duda since she was six weeks old, so this is very exciting for us! We've been talking about weening her off for a long time now (pretty much since she started using it) but weren't sure how to do it (and more importantly, we weren't sure if we were willing to give up our sleep again). But this past Thursday when I was putting Maja to bed she didn't ask for it when we started reading the books so I thought I'd give it a try. When she did finally ask for it, I told her it was really dirty and that she couldn't use it right now, which apparently was not a big deal. Aside from some tears and a little back rubbing as she's fallen asleep the past couple of nights (and naps), Maja has dealt with the whole thing pretty well, I'd say. So... so long duda! I've loved our time together and I've hated our time together - good riddance! :)

And now, for what you've all been waiting for... the photos! These days, Maja is really into having pancakes for breakfast. She has a whole routine... she starts by picking out the bowl that the pancakes and syrup will go in, she picks up each pancake and inspects it, dips the entire thing in the syrup and then stuffs the whole thing in her mouth. Then she tops the breakfast off by squeezing her sticky, sticky hands together, like this... A couple of weeks ago, Ikea was having a sale. So after having a yummy breakfast with Daddy and Bakica, Maja thought she'd head over to the kids section to see if her buddy, Pedro, was also on sale. You see, after all the cuddles and adventures that the Pedros have been on, their stuffing has, well, been destuffed. :) Here's a shot of Maja and her four new Pedros... In addition to visiting the Pedro bin at Ikea, Maja also spent a nice evening with her buddy, Emily (and of course her parents, Doug & Anna). Here's a shot of Maja and Emily working the night shift at the drive thru in Emily's basement...As some of you may remember, Grandpa spent three weeks in New Zealand helping Maja's Uncle Uncle Alastair build part of his new house. Well, Grandpa returned at the end of June and to welcome him home, Maja took him and Grandma to Baskin Robbins for some yummy ice cream. And being the true Princess that she is, after she treated Grandpa to his favourite treat (chocolate milkshake) she insisted on having some herself...
We decided a couple of weeks ago to join Grandma, Grandpa, Auntie, Uncle Mike, Will, Graham, Peter and Anna on their camping trip. So in preparation, we got Maja her own flashlight. Here's a shot of Miss Maja checking out what her clothes look like in the dark...Here's a cute picture of Maja and Marvin "working" together at the dining room table one morning...On the Canada Day long weekend, Maja, Marvin & I went to the Etobicoke Ribfest and had a blast! Maja loved going on the rides with us and by herself. At first we weren't sure if she'd go on the rides without us, but as soon as she sat down it was "Mommy & Daddy who?!?". Here's a shot of her riding the firetrucks...

After all the rides, Maja had built up an appetite that couldn't be tamed by anything other than a Mr. Softie ice cream. After munching pretty much all of my ice cream cone, Maja was pretty pleased with herself... see what I mean?

We also had a play date / BBQ at our friends Matt & Gaetane's house (along with a whole bunch of friends we hadn't seen in a while. It was nice to see the whole gang again. As usual, we tried to line all of the kids up for a group shot, but none of them turned out. That being said, here's a great shot of Daniel (7 months at the time) putting the moves on Maja. I love how she's just looking at his hand on her knee...
We have also gone on a couple of bike rides recently with Maja in the carrier (which she seems to enjoy so long as she can see Marvin biking along side of her). Here's a shot of her and Pedro (with his own helmet on - it's just a small Tupperware container stuffed on his head) waiting for us to head off to the public pool down the street one hot afternoon...
We also went to visit Teta Linda at her place and had a great time hanging out and walking along the waterfront. As you can see, Maja and Pedro were able to fit in an impromptu guitar lesson with Teta before we headed home...
Maja also got to rummage through Teta's closet and find a matching purse for her and Pedro. This picture cracks me up because this is honestly the reaction she had to seeing Chris Bosh appear on the tv...
We also headed down to the lakefront near Dixie Road with Bakica one morning. We had a great time feeding the ducks (I know, I know... we're not supposed to feed them, but they're so cute and they are such great entertainment for Maja), looking at the boats and being swung in the air...

Grandma & Grandpa came by one weekend to hang out a bit in the backyard. Here's a nice shot of Maja and Grandma in the hammock together...
And of course, what else would Maja want to do on a hot afternoon other than eat ice cream, so we headed off to the local Dairy Queen and indulged. Here's a cute shot of Maja feeding Grandpa his chocolate sundae (I love how she's always eating Grandpa's stuff)...
Here's Maja looking hard into the cup to make sure she's eaten all the chocolate sauce - a kid after my own heart...
We also spent some time visiting our friends Pete & Liz and their two kids, Mark and Sophia (Marvin's God-daughter) recently. Pete & Liz have just moved back to Canada from a "two year" work term in Bermuda which actually turned out to last more like 10 years or so! It's great to have them back and so close by. Here's a shot of Marvin playing with the kids in the pool that afternoon (Mark, Sophia, Marvin and Maja)...
Maja has also recently started to put on our shoes and slippers whenever we leave them lying around. Here's a shot of her trying to "be Daddy" as she said...

Up until a couple of weeks ago, Maja did not like to get any sand or dirt on her. As soon as she did she would almost start to panic and say "Get off! Get dirt off!" and hold our her hands for us to wash. Knowing that we were going camping and that this whole "dirt" problem would definitely cause a problem on the beach, we decided to get Maja her own sandbox to "practice" getting dirty in. It only took two "plays" in the sandbox before Miss Maja felt right at home and started covering herself in sand. Here's a shot of her filling her shorts (literally) with sand...
We've also had a chance to hang out with our buddies Casey & Liam a couple of times now that Casey is off for the summer. Here's a shot of Maja & Liam in mid-goodbye hug - how cute are they?!?
Maja has also discovered that she loves to sit in the car anywhere other than her car seat. Here's a great shot of her looking sooooo pleased with herself after having snuck away from me once she was unbuckled...A nice shot of Bakica and Maja playing in the sandbox together on a nice sunny afternoon (I don't think we had the same issue of sand being "everywhere" this day)...
Last weekend was when we finally went camping. We had a blast (aside from poor Marvin getting eaten alive from the knees down by mosquitoes)! We got to hang out with all of the cousins, the adults (Grandma, Grandpa, Auntie, Uncle Mike and Marvin & I of course), playing in the sand on the beach, go for bike rides and sleep in a trailer!!! Maja had such a great time - it was so neat to watch her with her cousins. I can't wait until they all get a bit older. What a handful they'll all be! Anyhow, here's a shot of Maja helping Grandma get some lunch ready for the group...

Maja digging a whole (very slowly) on the beach...
And yet another shot of Maja looking pleased with herself in the car - cracks me up this kid...
After having recovered from camping, it was time for Maja to spend some quality time with Bakica and Teta Linda. I had a bit of work to do, so Marvin took Maja to go down to the lakefront with Bakica to visit Teta. Here's a shot of Maja all dolled up for the occasion...
A nice shot of Maja, Bakica and Teta Linda strolling down by the boats (which she has started to salute to as they leave port)...
Another shot of Maja & Liam playing in the backyard - and let me explain now that the reason is not wearing pants is because he got a bit messy as the afternoon went on, he wasn't making the moves on Maja (I don't think anyhow)...

We have also seen Melody and Sara a couple of times too. This afternoon, Sara & Melody (who unfortunately isn't in this picture) stopped by our place for some fun in the sandbox (of course) and some yummy popsicles. Here Maja is "cheers"ing with Sara...
Maja has also taken to having tea parties where ever she can - in the sandbox, in the living room, in the kitchen or even in the bath...
This past weekend, our friends Kathy & Terry (and their beautiful little girl, Savannah) had a BBQ. Although there was a bit of rain, we all had a great time. I'm still not sure whether Maja had more fun playing with Nicole (our friends Carol & Ken's 4 year old daughter) or playing in the inflatable jumping castle! Here's a shot of Maja and Nicole putting pebbles on the deck steps (they found this very entertaining)...
Then yesterday, before heading out to Whitby for Maja's newest friend's (Anthony Dario) baptism (during which I didn't take any pictures - sorry guys, you'll just have to believe me when I say he was adorable and very well behaved during the whole thing), Marvin & Maja sat by the front window just watching the rain together. It's times like this that I just love watching them together...

Maja is now at the age where she repeats everything you say - and I mean everything. She may not repeat it right away, but trust me, she'll repeat it when you least expect it. Just before this video was shot, Maja had "thrown" me on the grass and my shirt was covered with freshly cut grass bits. Grandma asked Maja to brush my shirt off for me. So sweet little Maja came over, started brushing it off and then after seeing how much grass there was declared "Holy crap Grandma - a lot of grass!". We were almost peeing our pants at this. Anyhow, here's a video of us trying to tell Maja that "holy crap" isn't what she should be saying - like that's going to work...