Moments of Brilliance

Every so often little Miss. Maya Hennessey has a brilliant moment of shining toddlerhood to make us proud. Three instances in particular stick out in my mind:

1) We were home and Maya was up to her usual tricks and antics, sharing her cookie with the dog, pulling ornaments off the tree, throwing her things on the floor and exclaiming 'uh oh' as if she had nothing to do with it and so forth. One throw too many and her daddy responded by saying 'bad baby', not an uncommon phrase around here and joking of course. Maya responded by sticking out her tongue and blowing a raspberry at her dad. Too funny!

2) We were sitting at the Thanksgiving table, it was about 6:30pm and little Maya had had a long day by that point and was tired and acting up. I put her on my lap and jokingly asked her a question I frequently do, "Maya, who's the boss? Maya? or Mommy?". Would you believe that she took the opportunity to say her name for the first TIME!!!! "Maya!" she exclaimed and we all burst out laughing. Perfectly on cue.

and my personal favorite....

3) One of Maya's favorite phrases is 'bad boy' (pronounced 'baa bo') which was originally aimed at Bailey (our dog). She says it a lot. We were in the Supermarket not too long ago, Maya in her stroller when she reached over to a nearby shopping cart where a little boy was sitting in the child seat, his mother nearby perusing the aisle. She touched a few items in the cart before I scooted her away and the little boy noticed and said to his mommy, "Mommy, I think that baby is trying to steal our stuff."  His mother ignored him, muttering something like "I highly doubt that" and kept shopping. Feeling the need to defend his shopping cart (Maya did try to reach into the cart afterall) started saying "bad baby! bad baby!", somewhat to his mother's embarrassment. While she tried to address his supposed inappropriate behavior, our little munchkin piped up - and you guessed it!! Whirled a 'BAA BO!' his way. Our feisty tike made us proud and we couldn't contain our laughter.

As they say - timing is everything.

Macy's Winter Wonderland

We decided to brave the crowds on Saturday and take Maya to see Santa at Macy's. We went to Bloomingdale's last year when she was only about 2 months old and took a Santa picture- little oblivious thing that she was thought nothing of the strangely dressed man in a chair. The Bloomie's Santa is quietly sitting on the 9th floor amidst the children's clothes on a fancy chair on a little red stage with an elf or two hanging around and a photographer. Nothing like the Macy's Santa. For Macy's Santa we stood on line for a little over an hour, weaving in and out of all the back offices and human resources departments to finally end up where we got on the line.  We then entered a well done train, with cars that vibrate. You walk through them and get dropped off in Santa land, aka North Pole. There were fancy train sets, and lots of Christmas trees, a giant talking tree, ice skating bears, and a singing bear chorus. It was like Disney Land amusement attraction - pretty fun and worth the wait. We finally got to Santa and we tried to prep Maya as best we could anticipating a potential problem - but to no avail. Sure enough I sat her on Santa's lap and moved away so we could get a shot and she proceeded to scream. And kept screaming. Finally I sat down next to her and Santa to get the shot. We didn't end up buying the picture, we may try Bloomie's quiet boring Santa if we want a picture - less stress. It took us about 25 minutes just to exit the building the crowds were sooooooo bad and we got home exhausted. We hosted a fun holiday brunch on Sunday and got to see some friends we don't usually see and are now staring down the last full week of work of the year. Looking forward to Christmas in Wellesley.

The Grinch who stole the ornament

We took off last Tuesday for a wonderfully relaxing Thanksgiving break in East Hampton. We went to the movies (first time in months,) the duck pond (a huge hit with the munchkin), and took a much needed break.  Sunday we loaded up the car to the brim (inevitable with two dogs and a kid plus some black Friday shopping), complete with tree on top like the Griswalds on Christmas vacation and headed home. We weren't sure if we could pull off the tree this year, too much opportunity for destruction, but we decided to give it a try since we are not home for Christmas every year and therefore don't always get a tree. So far the resident toddler has been behaving and leaving the tree alone. Well for the most part - she does pull off some of the ornaments occasionally, but then being her father's daughter that she is she tries to put them back - nice and tidy.

Marathon Sunday (and go Yankees!!)

The NYC marathon swings right by our neighborhood - we made it out this morning to see the elite women pack - that's Paula Radcliffe in light blue in the front, and Derartu Tulu in navy on the outside right who won the race. Pretty cool!

Happy Halloween!

We had a fun filled Halloween. Started off at a kids party at the neighborhood kid gym, followed by a neighborhood parade and trick or treat - probably had a couple hundred people walking around and trick or treating in all the shops. Then that evening we got together with the families in our building for a building trick or treat and that just about did it for us. Maya had her first taste of chocolate which she clearly relished.

Octoberfest part deux (aka pumpkin mania!)

Some of the awesome things about fall.... There are hay rides:



And pumpkins...



And more pumpkins...



And GIANT pumpkins...





And tractor rides...



and jack o' lanterns's - Boo!!

Apple picking

Octoberfest

Lots of news to report!

On the work front, I started a new job with an education non-profit organization called Teacher U. that is training teachers in charter and public schools. It's been a whirlwind these past couple weeks getting up to speed,but overall a really positive experience and I'm very excited about the job. My new office is near Union Square which is just a fun place to go to work.

Maya is a officially a walker! About two weeks ago she made the transition from preferring crawling to walking and now she can get up to stand on her own without additional support and walks down the street and anywhere else she decides - often times picking up random objects and depositing them somewhere else. It's led to fun hide and seek challenges in the apartment - you have to watch where you leave your keys!! She's been enjoying several outings a week to FAO Schwartz for story time and music class, she even did a yoga class! Hysterical to think of a bunch of toddlers doing yoga together but we got a good report that she played along.

Halloween is coming up and we are going to have a full day - including a party at a local little kid gym, a neighborhood parade and trick or treating in our building. I'm really looking forward to it. Maya is going to be a bumble bee :) and Kahlua and Bailey will make some apperance in their usual Halloween costumes as well (Kahlua a skunk and Bailey a green dinosaur). A fun kick off to the holiday season.

3 year anniversary

We celebrated our 3 year anniversary on Wednesday with dinner out and a trip to Larchmont, a town in southern Westchester county that we are considering as part of our town shopping and possible move. We shall see about the move, but it was nice to have dinner out and our sitter put Maya to bed, although I have to admit I was a little bit in withdrawal - first time I missed a bedtime. Maya was fine with it of course and hit the sac without complaint (she typically nose-dives into her bed and grabs her blankie, clearly we're doing a good job of wearing her out during the day). And what did we talk about on an adult only outing on our wedding anniversary? Well... Maya of course. We're just starting to turn the corner with our little person where we have to move beyond the basic needs of a baby (food, clean, warmth, sleep etc...) and having to consider the needs of a toddler which are inevitably more complicated. Now it seems is when the 'parenting' really starts and taking care of the little creature becomes less of a physical demand to more of a mental one that requires more thought and consideration. From manners, to good eating habits, to language and motor skills (she's heavy! the girl needs to walk!) we're constantly trying to teach her things and model behavior (as I try to gently remind Brian as he puts a huge piece of steak into his mouth - honestly). Work, yes, but still - it's a lot more fun.

Fall has hit NYC hard with a quick drop in temperatures. It's my favorite time of year. It's still sunny but cool and there are hints of the holiday season on the approach - leading the way is Halloween which has become all the more excited now that we have a kid (although Bailey and Kahlua have been very good sports and donned their Halloween costumes for our amusement too). Looking forward to taking her trick or treating around our building. That gives her 6 weeks to get the walking down!

First Steps!!

Happy Birthday Maya!

We crossed the finish line and made it through our first year of parenthood! Maya turned one on Sunday and we celebrated with family and friends in a backyard bbq in East Hampton. Grandma Lynn and Grandpa Gib made the trip down from Wellesley to join the festivities, several family friends and co-workers joined us as well and Martin and a friend worked the grill. The year went by very fast of course and it was nice to reminisce on where we were a year ago after receiving our 8 pounder. It was nice to relive the day through memories and although we were exhausted by the end of it, very glad that we made the effort to celebrate her birthday, it was fun for all of us. She got a lot of gifts perfect for a soon to be toddler on the move - things to push and drag, and some musical toys with lots of lights and movements which she easily became fascinated by. She also got baby tricycle which she'll grow into to and some baby einstein DVD which she will surely enjoy. Overall a successful event and the weather even cooperated after threatening rain all weekend.

I had a very fun time making Maya's cake - a 3D caterpillar resting on some leaves with a few flowers. Labor intensive but I loved the way it turned out and was the perfect item for a garden party. I don't think we'll do another real birthday party for a few years but somehow the first one seemed like an important milestone. On to toddler hood! Maya is becoming more independent every day and close to take her first steps unassisted. She has a solid stand - now just needs to get her sea legs straight so she doesn't topple over like a drunken sailor!

Sprinklers!!

Surf City USA

Ahhhhhh Southern California. Why would anyone want to live anywhere else? The weather is perfect, the ocean is beautiful, there are flowers everywhere and the people are friendly and courteous (I've had it with the NYers this summer!!). We had a great 4 day escape to Laguna Beach where we attended cousin Anne-Marie's wedding on the beach. Really gorgeous and fun event. and got to see the Serafini's for the first time since our wedding in 2006. Maya got to hang out a whole lot more with cousins Noah, Anna and Nathan who rented the house with us. It was a very fun couple of days albeit a bit short and we wished we could have stayed longer. We got much luckier with flights this time - no delays and an empty seat for Maya to take advantage of. Doesn't get better than that.

Jet Bound

Airplane travel is like the forgotten level of hell that was left out of Dante’s infierno by mistake. What a nightmare it is getting through airport security with a baby (they tested every single liquid in my carry on – jars of baby food, sippy cup, bottle of milk etc…), then hanging out in the terminal because your flight is delayed, then hanging out on the plane on the tarmac because there is too much airplane traffic – and all this before you even go anywhere!! We got home at 10pm on Sunday. Maya was a little delirious and took 3 naps on Monday!

We flew to Chicago this weekend for Brian’s cousin Kristin’s wedding which was a lovely event. They had a sweet touching ceremony on the porch of an old estate in Oak Park outside Chicago and fun casual dinner inside this beautiful home, once a private home, now a historic building.

A really fun part of the trip was staying with Brian’s sister Lauren and her family who also live in Oak Park and Maya got to hang out with her cousins who she hasn’t seen since Thanksgiving. She was fascinated by them, and Noah and Anna always loving kissed and hugged her. Nathan only 5 months her senior had a little competition for his toys but overall they played well together too. We’re getting together again in a little over a week when we all fly to California for wedding #2. Cousin Anne-Marie on the other side of the family is getting married, and we’ve rented a house with the Breits in Laguna Beach. We’re spending the early part of next week in East Hampton before we leave Thursday (again, not looking forward to the airplane trip) – the first vacation time since I came back to work in February. Really looking forward to some chill time on the beach.

Happy Birthday C & C

(Great)Grandma Charlotte Hennessey turned 93 on Tuesday. She seemed to be doing very well, liked the flowers we sent and was getting ready to go our to dinner with Aunt Jan in Berkeley, CA.

My mom, Carmen also celebrated her birthday on Tuesday by going to a Paul McCartney concert at the new Citi Field and had a blast.

And then there was summer...

I almost forgave the weather this weekend when it decided to be sunny and in the 80's for the July 4th long weekend. We jetted out of town late Thursday evening and were caught in the solid line of traffic that was pouring into the Hamptons at about 11pm. The best thing about traveling at this hour is that Maya is solidly asleep. Our little peanut tends to get a little car sick and there are inevitably a few tears shed during any daytime trips. We had a fabulous weekend - went to the beach with Maya in her new bathing suit - which was packed. She also enjoyed some time pool side in the little inflatable kiddie pool we set up in the backyard. We signed up for swim classes at the YMCA if you can really call it that so we plan to spend most weekends out on the East End. The farmers markets were brimming with activity which is always fun, and we grilled and went to the public library and took several stroller walks to town and to the playground swings. Summer it would appear has finally arrived.

Update: Since I started this post a week ago and never actually published it. Maya had a rough week due to teething. Three teeth in one week results in a very cranky baby. Poor thing even had a fever to boot. We seem to have surpassed this short term crises and la petite is now sporting two top teeth and one more bottom tooth. About time actually. She was better towards the middle of the week and had a fabulous weekend in warm sunny long island (thank goodness). We went to swim class with lots of other babies and toddlers which was a total hoot. Maya LOVED the pool. She was thrilled to be splashing around and kicking like a nut. She also got to try out a new red wagon and we walked her around the neighborhood in it - just couldn't resist. And let's not even discuss her bikini, sumo baby belly and all.

June has sprung

NYC hasn't decided what it wants to do with itself. The weather has been just strange. Memorial day weekend in long island we enjoyed 80 degree weather one day and foggy cool haze the next. It was a great weekend and we took full advantage of what the east end had to offer. We took Maya to the beach and she became quickly fascinated by the sand under her feet. We went to the duck pond and did one of their short nature walks, Maya hanging off Dad in her bjorn. We visited the library which is in a charming old building and joined - they have a great children's reading room. We swung by the local theatre which had undergone an extensive renovation and they were hosting an afternoon garden party as part of their reopening, and then crossed the street to see the resident town swans who are parents again this year to 7 little cygnets. We went to have lunch on the strip, the sandy narrow corridor on the way to Montauk (celebrity sighting Liev Schreiber) We took Tuesday off for an extended holiday weekend which was a wonderful break, and the first day I've taken off since returning to work in February. Definitely looking forward to more warm weekends on the east end.

Last weekend we finally got around to getting some professional pictures taken of us. You can view the slideshow here: www.pictage.com/667415 Part botanic garden, part photo studio. Maya held up like a champ and we got some great shots of her. Had a lot of fun.

here we go...

Entering the danger zone.

Shoes, batteries, coins, a screw, paper, dog toys.... just some of the things I have fished out of Maya's mouth in recent days. Yes, we clearly need to do a better job of baby proofing the house, but even then nothing quite makes up for not taking your eyes off of her. Maya doesn't quit. She pulls books off of shelves, splashes in the dog water bowls, plays with the remotes, the phones, gets stuck in places at times and occasionally 'disappears'. I'll put her down in her room and go get something from the kitchen only to return and find her missing as she's crawled her way into the bathroom.

Another significant milestone that just happened - Maya is really trying out her sea legs and pushed her radio flyer walker across the living room. Not far from walking on her own - she's been obsessed with standing for some time and pulls up on everything. She quickly figured out how to take steps as long as we were holding the walker to slow it down - and then voila!! Pulled up on the bar and took several quick steps before I got a chance to get to her! Now she's thrilled and crosses the room like a pro. Not even 9 months. What a terror.

Heat, cherry blossoms and a cow named Daisy.

We hit the streets, or rather the farm and the park, this weekend as the mercury hit nearly 90 degrees in NYC. It was a record high for April breaking the 1942 record of 84 degrees for April 26th, and the city came alive - everyone was out and about and searching for shade. We spent the whole weekend outside - visiting the Queens County Farm for the first time, the oldest working farm left in the city that dates back to 1697. The original farm house still stands and is open to the public. It is also complete with pigs, chickens, geese, goats and a cow named Daisy (I kid you not). Maya stared at the animals and watched as young kids fed them, the chickens were of particular interest. I think we'll enjoy going there this summer and fall - going to the annual county fair and pumpkin and apple picking (I'm excited about the produce).

Sunday we visited the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens which were beautiful. The cherry blossoms were in bloom and the gardens were packed - lots of people lounging under trees. We met up with Carmen, her husband Dan and baby Simon (11 days Maya's senior) who we had not seen since November when Carmen and I were both on maternity leave and met up frequently for lunch with the babes. Very funny to watch them interact and even use each other as a support to push up and stand (very funny). Lots of pregnant bellies around us too as Carmen and I both reminisced about April last year when were anxiously awaiting the stork deliveries and neck and neck on who would pop first.

Maya on the move.

Finally!! Warmth! Sun! Trees in bloom! We thought the day would never come - it has been an unbelievably dreary winter, cold and rainy well into April and today we finally had the day we were waiting for. People were out sunning, the kids were out, the pets were out people were riding bicycles - it was great. Maya celebrated by yanking off her socks and sticking her feet up in the air as we strolled around the neighborhood.

The real bonus was a short visit by Roshni, Joel and Liam who is just shy of his first year birthday. We took the kids to the playroom and strolled by the river and showed them around the neighborhood. It was so cute to get them together, we hadn't seen them since last November when we gathered in Williamstown and although the kids were more interested in the toys surrounding them than each other, the parents thought it was a real hoot.

We also had a gathering in our building today with other parents and kids in the common area courtyard. There are many children in the building, many under the age of 5 and 3 other baby girls under the age of 1. Soon to be Maya's playmates. We're planning on having several events for kids and parents to get to know each other, our own meetup group.

On the development front - Maya is on the move, ie she's a little terror. She's a little obsessed with trying to stand up and will pull up on anything and everything - the coffee table, the couch, your pant legs, the dogs (yes she pushed up on Bailey to help her stand, he was not pleased), her favorite are the dresser drawers in her bedroom and the washing machine. The problem with this of course is that she's not even 8 months and has no balance - so landing after standing is a treacherous affair and has lead to a few head bangs and tears. Occasionally she manages to land on her butt and will look at you very pleased with herself. But she discovered the bookcase and all of daddies boring finance books which she likes to pull off the shelves. I can't leave her along any more which makes getting dressed in the morning a little more challenging - every time I turn around she has managed to pull up on something and I find her standing, reaching for things with one hand which leaves the sole little chubby other hand to hold on to whatever she pulled up on with nothing but hard wood floor around her to land on. Ay me....

The 7 month mark

Maya turned 7 months and has several accomplishments under her belt to show for it. Two bottom teeth are now clearly visible when she smiles. She's an expert sitter and has gotten very good at changing direction by standing on her feet, arms on the ground and pivoting to land her tush in another spot so she can turn around. Crawling has shown some significant improvements this week - she'll take 3-4 'steps' before flopping on her belly or landing on her tush with gusto. But she's clearly gotten the idea to lift her hands one at a time to make forward progress. Adorable to watch. She's also graduated to the big girl tub. No little baby chair for me thank you very much. She loves to sit in the tub (in about 3 inches of water) and splash around and grab at those pesky floating toys that always seem to be juuuuust out of reach. She got an A + at her regular checkup - 18lbs and 27th inches long puts her in the 75th percentile for weight and height- so not a wilting flower in the least but better than the 90th percentile trajectory we were on for a while. The pediatrician was impressed with how aware she is of her surroundings and how intently she holds a gaze and studies the situation before her. So grown up!!

A tooth grows in Queens.

Maya sprouted a tooth!! Teeny tiny little sharp point is poking through her lower gums - which explains the rather challenging week and early wakeup calls we've had. She had a rough night on Tuesday and would not go back to sleep. She started calling for room service at around 2am - wide awake and refusing to be left alone. Her flustered father who had gotten up to redirect her into sleep mode came back into our bedroom and exclaimed "she's wide awake", to which I responded "well, it probably her teeth" and the rather comical response that I got back in a defensive tone at 2am in the dark by a sleep deprived and flustered dad was "Well, I don't know what to do with a teething baby!". As if I do. ha! Wednesday nothing and at some point Thursday it poked through. She's ready for Peter Lugar's.

She's still not quite figuring out the forward crawling although she can cross rooms backwards with ease. She's also started doing some yoga poses - hands on the floor and stands into an upside down V, downward dog position. Doesn't really know what to do from their so she usually gracefully comes back down on her knees. We still get lots of daddas and the moment I was waiting for - the occasional 'mama' sounds, but 'dadadadada' is strongly preferred. Our nanny, Lilliana who is also vying for some Maya love claims Maya attempted Lilliana - with a 'nanana' sound that she had to call me at work to share. Too much cuteness.

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee swiiiiiing!

Dada -dada

Maya uttered what sounded like her first word this week and now she's a little obsessed with multiple repetitions of dadadada... much to our delight of course and she finds the positive reinforcement very amusing. I'll try not to be tooo jealous it wasn't momma. I suuuupose 'm' sounds are hard then 'da' sounds when you're just starting out. But still. Doesn't seem exactly fair.

Other developments this week - Maya has become a very good sitter and appears to be on the verge of crawling, getting on all fours and rocking back and forth revving up her engine. She's already crossed rooms backwards, pushing herself with her arms and sliding back ending up under the crib, with her legs stuck under furniture and even in the closet. Not bad for just 6 months. Little girl is on the move and bouncy seats and play yards meant to confine are usually met with complaints. She prefers free reign on the floor. And along with all the moving and babbling her diet has become a whole lot more interesting in recent weeks and can now add avocados, bananas, pears and apples to her food repertoire. Sweet potato still seems to lead the pack as her favorite. She's growing quickly right before our eyes.

The weather in NY has finally started to turn after some unusually cold and snowy weeks which are really a nuisance in a city full of commuters. We've had some nice outings with friends including a trip to the Natural History museum last weekend and took Maya to the live butterfly exhibit which she loved - lots of butterflies all around her and landing near her. She didn't know what to think - she just stared in amazement with her mouth open. We're also looking forward to hosting a few lunches and brunches at our house in the next coming weeks (our new preferred get together times with friends) to catch up. Looking forward to warmer weather and longer days.

30 years and 6 months (6 months!!)

Maya got sort of cheated out of her 6 month birthday because February is a short month with no '30'. So happy 1/2 birthday Maya, I can't believe half a year has passed since your birth, it feels much much shorter. On the other hand the big 30 is for me, that would be 30 years old tomorrow. So we're sort of sharing my birthday on the last day of the shortest month of the year. We're planning to spend part of the day at a museum, late afternoon drinks with my parents (they really want to see Maya) then dinner out with friends. Perfect day - as long as I can stay awake!

I'm excited because 6 months means she can now try yogurt and a lot more fruit - avocado even. Silly I know - but it's so fun to watch her expression as a totally new taste hits her taste buds. You can almost see what she's thinking by the way she contorts her face, considers the new taste and the slowly accepts it (or not) and looks at you and asks for more. She complains loudly when presented with bananas, thinks the baby cereal is some sort of punishment and attacks the spoon for sweet potatoes.

We're really looking forward to the next months as Maya's coordination starts to catch up to her desire to move. I've seen her in 'crawling' position a couple of times, she's scooting backwards on the floor and rocks on her hands and knees, just hasn't figured out to dig in her feet and go forward. Soon though - and then we'll never sit down again. We have to remember to take lots of pictures because the time goes in a flash. Another year - bring it on.

Pass the pureed carrots...

It's my third week back at the office and things are starting to settle down. I got a new issue area thrown at me which had me running from meeting to meeting and trying to catch up with everything going on in the education world - which in the NYC public school system is always a big deal. It was a hectic couple of weeks and I had a splitting headache when I got home for a while - too much adult talk, home life is a different world. With a full time schedule now in full swing I'm feeling more comfortable at work and with things at home. Maya has done well overall with her nanny, I think being at home as opposed to having to go into daycare helps a lot in that adjustment. Out of nowhere Maya started sleeping through the night - an amazing blessing. She'll get up to nurse anywhere between 4-6am and then go back to sleep for about an hour. Blame it on being old enough or the fact that at 5 months we started solid foods in the evenings - either way it's working.

Feeding Maya has become a lot of fun. She has worked her way through carrots, sweet potato and butternut squash and just started greens - spinach and today peas. We'll see how it goes. The baby cereal did not pass muster and we've tried everything - serving it warm, with formula, with water, with breast milk and even apple sauce. She hates it - purses her lips and turns her head away from the spoon. Spinach on the other hand she eats with gusto. Who would have thought.

Back to work

As my maternity leave comes to an end and I prepare to go back to work next Monday it's inevitable not to spend some time reflecting on these past several amazing months of motherhood. As people warned it me, it went by very quickly and I'm amazed how Maya has changed during that time. Babies literally change everyday - their physical appearance, their awareness and their ability to interact and manipulate their environment develops overnight. Imagine how smart the human race would be if we all continued on this steep learning curve! Their brain is a sponge ready to absorb whatever you throw at it. Her latest trick which brings her a lot of joy is banging her fists Bam Bam style- against the table, on her toys, in the water during a bath (hilarious - she looks so serious and startled when she splashes herself in the face). She did it yesterday and now she's obsessed. Just like the first time she figured out how to roll over and now can't stop doing it. Other skills still under construction - she can sit unsupported for short periods of time and is trying desperately to creep along the floor and has been known to cover some distance like an inch worm - butt up in the air, digs her feet in and drags her face across the floor before stopping and looking up at you. She's also very aware of food and eating and stares with her mouth open when people are eating around her as if hoping someone will remember she has a mouth too (and puts everything in it). She's hitting the 5 month mark tomorrow (insane I know) and I think we may try some mashed up carrots this weekend. It's obvious she wants to eat and the booster seat I ordered arrived so it must be a sign. Yellow vegetables here we come!

I'm looking forward to going back to work although I am also not surprisingly somewhat nervous leaving Maya for so many hours during so many consecutive days. It know it will get easier with time and we'll fall into a routine. One of many growing pains to look forward to. So here we go - going to spend the weekend car shopping (yes the car was totaled sadly) and then it's back to work.

Near miss.

The near misses seem to keep coming, including one of our own - we crashed our car but only the car got hurt. A plane with 150 + passengers goes down into the Hudson River with both engines on fire and then taking on water and somehow everyone gets off alive and with only some minor injuries reported. A mutant flu virus this year is resistant to Tamiflu but the flu season has been very mild. A girl at Stuyvesant high school unfortunately died from bacterial menengitis but two other exposed students tested negative and an outbreak was averted. One of the Jena 6 teens attempts suicide shooting himself in the chest but lives to tell his tale. Then there's the guy with money troubles who tries to fake his own death parachuting out of the plane he was piloting and leaving his plane to crash into whatever, coming within meters of peoples houses!!. Some real nice guy even left his mini poodle in his parked van at a Vermont airport in freezing cold weather and the dog was rescued after 20 days!! Maybe this will be a year of near misses, forcing us to refocus on what's really important when the economy is going south and people are stressed about jobs and paying the bills. And maybe we should bone up on all sorts of insurance.

I for one could do without that kind of excitement - after a year of life changing experiences and a month of travel I was kinda hoping to hit the cruise control button until we crossed the finish line into 2010. Get cozy in our apartment, work on a sleeping schedule with Maya (still failing grades in the sleep category), soak up parenthood and maybe even learn a little about football (Brian and I really did try to watch the game on Sunday and lost interest within 20 mins. WHY do they stop the clock every 5 seconds? The turkey chili was good though.) Nonetheless these experiences serve as a stark reminder of the only things that really matter ... and to listen to your mother when she reminds you to wear a hat and look both ways before crossing the street.

NOT how this year was supposed to start

So this past Saturday we took a little road trip to drop my brother off at Lehigh University where he is resuming his undergraduate degree after taking a few years off to work. It had started to snow so after we made the rounds and took him to a supermarket and to lunch we were leaving campus and heading down one of Lehigh's infamous hills when we started sliding like we were on skiis. We ended up hitting the corner of a brick building head on. Thankfully none of us was hurt, Maya was pretty startled when her car seat jumped at impact but that was it. Witnesses called police and an ambulance and by the time paramedics arrived she calmed down and she was smiling at them. Brian and I were wearing seat belts and aside from some minor whiplash we were fine.

The car however is another story. Of course of course of course we JUST traded in our Corolla for Subaru Forrester in Decemeber, which is now sporting a huge V shaped dent (not sure you can really call it a dent actually - the front of the car was destroyed). We cracked the bumper in two, grill fell off, hood, fenders and lights all smashed. We hope the car is not totaled but we were leaking antifreeze and the car wouldn't start so it had to be towed and we got a rental car to make the 1 1/2 hour trip back home. Just our luck. We're hoping to get a repair estimate today or tomorrow and if the repair is 75% or greater the value of the car it's totaled and we are sans pretty Forrester. Sad, we really liked our new ride but cars are replaceable and thankfully we are all fine. Not an experience I care to repeat. Let's hope this is not an indicator of how the rest of the year will go.

Home! and a new year

We made it back to the cold yesterday morning after what seemed to be an eternal day of traveling, almost 24 hours total of travel time from door to door. Maya handled air travel like a champ - she was great on the way down to Uruguay when it was just the two of us, her eyes opened wide when the plane took off (what the heck is that!?!) and slept in her bassinet for most of the trip. We had to make a bit of a stink on the way back because the told us we had the bulkhead seat and we boarded the plane to discover we did not. Luckily one man was willing to switch seats with me so that Maya could have the bassinet again which really makes all the difference, the slept most of the flight and spent the remaining time looking for people to flirt with across the aisle. We've discovered that Maya is quite the little social butterfly and loves new people, especially if they're willing to make lots of funny faces and smiles at her which is usually the case when a baby is staring at you waiting for your reaction, she returns the smiles right back.

Our trip was a success and minor catastrophes (like my brother missing his flight on Christmas eve) worked out in the end (boy genius made it down only because a flight with mechanical problems was rescheduled for the next day and several passengers decided to bail). The weather was spectacular, we maybe had 3 days of clouds. It was beautiful beach weather and we divided our time in Punta del Este between the beach, the pool, walks in the neighborhood, lots of big family meals and seeing friends and family. Brian and his parents had a good side trip to Buenos Aires to see the city and catch up with a foreign exchange student that lived with Gib's family when they were in high school and haven't seen since. Prior to their arrival we were in Montevideo making the rounds and doing some shopping. Poor Maya was the recipient of typical Uruguayan baby tortures - she got her ears pierced and her head shaved her first week there. The head shaving because her long black strands were falling out in pieces and she looked a little funny. The earrings because it's pretty customary to do and they really look very nice on her. It only took her a few minutes to recover from each ear, she complained a little more with the second and let us know she wasn't happy about it, but thankfully didn't have any other issues with the piercings afterwards, they healed nicely and she's now sporting gold studs. Her major milestone was learning how to flip over and now she's a little obsessed. She'll swing her leg over her side to turn whenever you put her down on her back which makes diaper changes a little more challenging. She loves her new freedom and tries to crawl - pushing her legs back and forth against the ground but can't quite hold her front end up at the same time as all the butt wiggles so she usually ends up dragging her face across the floor and eventually getting frustrated and cries out to be rescued.

Maya met her cousins, great uncles and aunts and long time friends of my parents. It was great fun to introduce her to everyone and she was showered with gifts everywhere we went. I was on a mission to get baby books in spanish so she can get on the right foot learning the language. We hired a Colombian nanny which will be a big part in teaching Maya spanish. In the meantime I have 3 weeks to get my act together before I have to go back to work Feb 2nd and hopefully get Maya on a reliable sleep schedule (she is not a good sleeper and still gets up a couple times a night to nurse). She appears to be in the early stages of teething and puts anything and everything in her mouth to chomp on with gusto including your hands, she seems to like the pressure against her gums, poor kid. I can't believe my maternity leave is coming to an end and I have to spent the bulk of my day in an office and not with Maya - I'm going to miss her! We've never spent more than a couple of hours apart, the week I expect will seem to last forever. But what can you do - growing pains. A lot happened in 2008 and were looking forward to making the most of it in 2009.