Time with family and a few firsts.

Grandma & Grandpa Carter (Jason's parents MaryAnne & Garry) came to Calgary for a visit this past weekend. It's only been a month since they last saw Maya but she surprised them with how much she can do. She had a great time playing with them now that she can crawl up and onto them and it was fun for all. Maya loves to look at books (we are still trying to teach her not to eat them) and have them read to her. One of her favs is a Baby Einstein book of animals with real life pictures; she gets very excited about the dog and the bunny pictures which seem to be her favorite. Grandma Carter also bought Maya a book for Christmas called "In Grandma's Arms" and so they cuddled together and read a few stories. On Saturday, Grandma & Grandpa came to watch Maya's swimming lessons and saw first hand how much their granddaughter loves to play in the water. But after swimming lessons it seemed that Grandpa was even more tired out than Maya and had a little snooze on the couch. I think that Maya wanted to spend more time playing with Grandpa instead of sleeping so she crawled over to him, sat at his feet and seemed to wait for him to wake up. We all had a good laugh. She just stared up at him watching with such intensity almost willing him to wake up. Eventually he did and they shared a few cuddles too.

Grandma & Grandpa Carter were quite surprised to see that not only was Maya now crawling but she was pulling herself up onto furniture and walking along it quite proficiently. MaryAnne and I were talking about how it might help Maya to walk by herself if she had a little help and found that we had both been thinking about a little shopping cart that she could push around. So we decided to go shopping and MaryAnne & Garry wanted to get it for Maya for an early birthday gift since they probably wouldn't be able to get back to Calgary before then. So off to Toys R Us we went. After looking around a bit, we found a cute little cart that played songs, had flashing lights and looked just her size. We were so excited to get it home to show little Maya (she had stayed home with daddy and grandpa). We barely got the box into the house and Maya started pointing and getting excited. So while Maya had a little snack, daddy put it together (because now how could we possibly wait until her birthday?) and her face absolutely lit up at the sight of it. It is now her favorite toy and if we hide it on her, to give her (and us) a break from it, she just spends the day looking for it. We thought that it might take her a few days to get the hang of walking with it but to our surprise, she looked at the cart, stood up on it and began to push and walk. If only our house was a never-ending hallway, I'm sure she'd walk until she could walk no more. She absolutely loves it. From taking the toys in and out of the cart, to pushing it everywhere and dancing to the songs it plays, she is a happy camper or should I say happy shopper. Thank you Grandma & Grandpa!!

Here is a video that we took of her pushing the shopping cart.

As if is wasn't enough that she is now walking with her shopping cart, I think she is getting ready to become a solo walker. Lately she has been balancing quite steadily on her own feet and will stand for a few seconds on her own. However yesterday she stood up byherself for at least 10 seconds and was even able to clap at the same time. What a show-off!! But we were able to capture it on camera. What a little dolly! I think she will be walking much sooner than we anticipated.

On our shopping trip, MaryAnne and I also bought Maya a few new outfits. She is so tall that she has outgrown all her clothes and now needs 12 months + clothes. The only problem is that her little body is still quite little so the pants that fit in length tend to be much too big in the waist. Fortunately we have a few pants with cute belts (we LOVE the cute grey sparkly pair from Auntie D, Uncle N and Linky) that help to keep them up. One of our favorite new outfits is her yoga pants and top. They are supposed to be snug and so even the 12 month size fit her waist. I just love how cute and comfy she looks in them and plan on going back to the store to buy a few more in different colors and sizes! These pics are for Auntie Jenn H who is looking forward to some yoga time with Maya in the near future! Come on over girl!

After a great weekend, we have had a rough last few days. Maya has been very fussy with very restless naps and nighttime sleep. She wakes up often during the night crying out. Most of the time it only lasts a few second and then she is back to sleep but a few times I've slept in the chair in her room with her in my arms for some cuddles. Her cheeks are very red and we assumed that it's her teeth again and then this morning when I looked, I could see her top right molar very swollen under her gums. So I suspect it will push through in the next few days...hopefully. We will keep you posted!