New York visit Part 2

Maya had a great time visiting with the NY family. Many "firsts" occurred on this visit. Maya used her silky, soft blankie for the first time (she is now very attached to it), she met Bubbie and Papa, her great-grandparents, she began doing an "army crawl", she went to her first animal petting farm with her friend Alexander, and attended her first wedding for cousins Kim and Mike. It was very hard to say goodbye to Lawngisland, but we know we'll be back for a visit soon enough!

Four generations

Omi cannot get enough of her Maya

Omi's famous red nails holding Maya's foot

Open wide!

Cousin Bella finally got to hold Maya

The Goldschmidt clan at Kim and Mike's wedding

A Maya Sandwich...Gran-E does not want to let go

First dance with the groom

Uncle Craigy makes me laugh!

Daddy's little girl

Grandpa Les is kvelling

Beeea-yu-tee-ful picture with Cousins Amy and Billy

The Happy Family

New York visit part 1

In August, we went to New York to see Gran-E and Grandpa Les, Maya's great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and to celebrate cousin Mike and Kim's wedding. Here are some of the great memories from our time on Longiland.

I can't wait to see my family in NY!!

Hanging out with Koby and Max (and Dina and Abe)

Mmmmm....Whole Foods.....great place to escape the heat!

Aunt Jaurie loves my pulkies

In crawl position...what do I do with hands and knees?

Meeting up with the MBA crew

I love hanging out with Aimee

Mmmmm...Cheerios
Stylin' with cousin Amy

Snuggling with Auntie Jthe

A new audience for Grandpa Les' jokes

Gran-E makes a great lounge chair with a bottle-holder

First time in the pool with Uncle Mark

Getting a closer look at Bubbie

My great-grandparents are the best

Omi loves looking at me

Cheerios are hard to find on a yellow tablecloth

Yelling contest with Bella

Catching up end of July and beginning of August

Apologies for the long delay in putting up a new blog post. We have a lot to catch up on, so stay tuned for frequent updates.

I have to tell you this great joke I heard...

I love my pretty dress!

Ready, set, goooooooo......

I love naked time

Grooming Saba's beard

Maya will show you just how big she is

New Experiences

Look who can sit up straight now!

For our non-Jewish viewers, this bib says "High Maintenance"

Hippie chick (thanks Grandpa Les!)

First time in the sand...feet, hands, and mouth covered in it!

Fun in the sun

With Lucie and Clara at the beach house

Play ball!

Our first Mother-Daughter conversation

Colds and Rolls

Maya has been keeping our local pharmacy in business. It has been a long month of colds, ear infections, and conjunctivitis. This cold is the gift that keeps on giving as Maya, Mommy, and Daddy are all under the weather. Maya is aware of her loyal blog fans, though has kindly requested that she not be photographed while sick. Despite all of the illnesses, Maya is active, talkative, and happy.

Maya has added new foods to her repertoire including bananas, peas, and apples. She is sitting up for a longer period of time and likes moving toys from one hand to the other. On 6/16, Maya completed a full roll starting from her back! A week later, Maya rolled across the room when Mommy and Daddy took their eyes off of her for just a moment; she was just one more roll away from a rapid "thunk, thunk, thunk" down the stairs. Mommy and Daddy's heart rates have since stabalized and the stairway is now gated as Maya is mobile! She also enjoys jumping in her jumperoo keeping us entertained with her giggles of pleasure. Maya is making more sounds with her lips and tongue. She gets our attention and lets us know her displeasure with babbling and yelling. Maya's current favorite "toys" are the remote and telephone; of course the play ones were not good enough for our little sweetheart, so we had to dedicate electronics for Maya's use only.

Daddy celebrated his first Father's Day. We went to Saba and Savta's house to celebrate with them and Uncle Avinoam. Maya had the chance to show off her new sitting, rolling, and babbling skills providing us all with great entertainment. Mommy and Maya spent their first weekend alone when Daddy went to Seattle for Zadie's unveiling over the July 4th weekend. It was a relaxing weekend filled with long walks, Maya's first time in a pool, and celebrating the 4th with great-aunt Rosie, great-uncle Sherwin, and the cousins.

Enjoy the pictures and videos, and please send wishes of good health our way!

George, can you do this?

If you're happy and you know it clap your hands

Happy Father's Day!

Look Ma, no hands!

Butterfly Maya (thanks Aunt Jessica!)

First time in the pool at Clara and Lucie's house

Rolling over!

Imitating Daddy

"Spit" peas

Food, Folks, and Fun

Maya started eating "solids" in mid-May. On 5/16, Maya got her first taste of rice cereal with formula. She has since tried carrots, sweet potatoes, and pears. We love seeing the faces she makes when she tries a new food!
Maya continues to be a rock star baby at daycare; all of the kids call her Baby Maya, and we often hear the older children referring to her as "my baby" (e.g., telling us at pick up, "My baby was talking today"). She has become more aware of other children and watches intently on their movements. Maya continues to enjoy spending time and learning from her big girl friends Clara and Lucie; second cousins Jenna and Brett were very excited to play with Maya and show off their singing and dancing skills.
Developmentally, Maya seems to learn new skills every day. She continues to explore making sounds with her tongue and lips, which Mommy finds very fascinating. On 6/3, Maya imitated a "raspberry sound" using her tongue. We often find her "practicing" moving her lips and tongue to perfect their coordination for speech. On 6/10, Maya began moving her hand/fist over her mouth to create new sounds and has been chatting away since! Maya has been communicating with us by shaking her head back and forth, especially when it is feeding time. She moves her head and body from side to side when we sing to her as well. Motorically, on 6/1, Maya began sitting in a tripod position when placed there; by 6/11, Maya sat unsupported for just under 5 minutes!
On 6/12 we went to the doctor's for a baby well visit. Maya weighed in at 16 pounds (50th percentile) and she measured 25 inches long (25th percentile). The good news is Maya got out of getting her vaccinations this visit...the bad news is that Maya had an ear infection and a ruptured ear drum in her right ear. Despite the amount of pain we could only imagine this causing, Maya has been a very happy baby continually enjoying the world around her.

Maya turned 6 months on 6/10! Happy 1/2 birthday Maya Boo!!!

George and my foot...what's there not to smile about?

Holding hands with George

Okay Mom, take the picture already...

My buddy George
Look Ma, no hands!
This is my tongue, and here are my toes

Rice cereal tasting

Carrot tasting

Carrot tasted

Carrots taste better when eaten by foot

Tasting pears (aka: my pirate face)

Happy Baby

Sitting up

Here's looking at you kid
This is the "daycare do"

Lucie gets to hold Maya on her lap

Clara, Maya, and Lucie...the pink ladies

With cousins Jenna and Brett

Petting the kitty

Sleepy eyes

Maya telling us how she really feels

If you're hungry and you know it bang your spoon...

Maya's Firsts

May started out with a visit from great-Aunt Priscilla, great-Uncle Billy, and cousin Emily. Maya also had the chance to spend time with her big-girl, second cousins Melody and Julianne; she watched in awe as they sang, ran, colored, and ate dinner.
Sharon celebrated her first Mother's Day cuddling with a clingy Maya , and Akiva made his first turkey dinner to honor the moms in his life. Saba, Savta, and Uncle Avinoam came over for the feast and Maya enjoyed showing off her rolling, reaching, and cooing. Maya woke up the next morning with her first cold, but still managed to smile and reman in a great mood.
We had a wonderful Shabbat lunch with the Jagodas on Maya's first trip to Oakland to meet auntie Laurie's family. Maya also went to her first Giants game, and they happened to be playing the Mets! We got a certificate to honor her first game, which Maya (and her Daddy) will surely cherish.
Maya is now fascinated with watching her cats run across the room and gets very excited by kicking her legs and waving her arms. She is making more sounds and we are beginning to hear her 'crib talk' before she goes to bed.

Coloring with cousin Melody

Singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star with cousin Julianne

Petting Leah

Saba and Savta visit for Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day Savta!

Being silly with Uncle Avinoam

Mommy's first Mother's Day

Getting hugs and loves from Laurie

Daddy's little girl

First Giant's game

This is what I had to say to the Giant's loss

All smiles

This is how I stick out my tongue

Look how I can hold my foot!

Experimenting with sounds