Valentine's and Family Day

We have continued to be very busy here in Calgary. Between swimming lessons, playdates, naps and eating, errand running, family time and all those other little thing that creep up, the time rushes by quicker than ever. But we have gotten very good at trying to appreciate every moment and be thankful for each other and all our blessings. One of our most recent blessings has been a visit from Grandma Day. My mom came for a week to visit and it was so great. She played with Maya and they read stories, pushed around her shopping cart, laughed and cuddled and made some memories. Since we have no family in Calgary, we are so thankful when they come to visit. We appreciate the effort whenever any family travels all this way just to see us. Mom brought gifts for Maya (as she always does) and they are always fun and girly and this time was no exception. She brought little Maya 4 beautiful spring dresses each one prettier and more girly than the next.....with bows, ruffles, and crinoline in pinks, purples and reds. Just lovely! They should fit her perfectly by the spring/summer and I will be sure to post some pictures. Mom and I laugh about how cute she will be toddling around in those sweet dresses. It's just too cute for words. Speaking of toddling around, Maya just started standing up on her own this week. She crawls up onto a toy or our knees so she is in a semi-bent position and then just lifts herself up and stands. She is quite steady on her feet now and we wonder how long it will be until she ventures to take her first steps. She is very adventurous as her bumps and bruises will attest to so we don't think it will be too long.

One of the things that I am enjoying now is being able to do Maya's hair in fun clips and elastics. Her hair is growing so fast that I now have to try to keep it out of her eyes and what could be a more fun way than to tie it with brightly colors ties or sparkly barrettes? Her little piggy tails are so cute and she doesn't mind having them in her hair. She doesn't try to pull them out which I appreciate. However we had a little scare on Valentine's Day that made me see barrettes in a whole different way. We went swimming again on Saturday morning and then came home for lunch and a nap as per usual. However that afternoon was nothing like our usual. After Maya's nap I was fixing her hair in the bathroom and she was admiring a shiny new package of barrettes (don't ask me why I let her have it to look at) when I hear a rather loud swallow. I proceed to pull the package out of her hand only to find that it is wet and torn up and one barrette is missing!!!!! I called my mom (Jay was out) and we both frantically looked for the missing barrette but it was nowhere to be found. I called Jason and told him what had happened and to come home and then called Healthlink. The nurse was really nice and very calmly told me to take Maya to the children's hospital for an x-ray. At this point I am in tears and practically hyperventilating at the thought of what could happen and meanwhile Maya is laughing and playing and you'd never even guess she had just ingested a foreign object. So off the the Children's hospital we went only to find that we'd have to wait 4-5 hours to see a doctor who would assess Maya and determine whether or not to even do an x-ray. After some careful consideration and a call to my aunt (a long-time nurse) we decided that we would just go home instead of wait. The outcome of an x-ray would really only be able to confirm if it was indeed inside (and even if it was there, they might not be able to see it) and regardless we would just have to wait and see for any signs of distress. So that is what we did for the next few days. But Maya showed no signs of anything out of the ordinary and on Monday morning (after some searching) I found a little green barrette in her diaper. So it took her less than 2 days to pass it (about 40 hours to be exact) and she did it with no problem. Thank God!! What a distressing weekend and needless to say, Jay and I did not have our romantic Valentine's Day out. Oh well...thus is the life of a parent! I'm glad my mom was there with us to help us keep perspective and to pray for us and our little girl. Thanks Mom!!

The rest of mom's trip here was really fun. We played dress-up with Maya and took lots of cute pictures. And we laughed at her funny bedhead. And did some major shopping for little miss. All the spring clothes are out and it's too hard to resist. Plus Maya has outgrown all her clothes and now fits only 12-18mos. We found some great deals at Old Navy (thanks Bev) and even found some cute things at Superstore - surprisingly enough!

Maya can now climb the stairs to the top which is her favorite thing to do. We have to be careful because if we turn our back for a second, she'll be halfway up the stairs before we know it. We would much prefer that her climbing be supervised. She often will stop in the middle and play with the bars on the railing which daddy does not like very much. Too dangerous for his baby. We will likely have to buy a babygate sooner rather than later. For now it's fun to watch as she explores and develops her crawling and climbing skills. She is a very smart little girl.

In other news, Jason continues to train for the triathlon this summer at Waskesiu. He had always felt very confident that he could do the bike and the run but knew that his swimming skills needed some work so he's been swimming at the community center near our home every morning. And now he can do the full swim in just over 30 mins - that's 15oom or 1.5 km. Great considering it took him 50 mins only a few months ago. He has always been athletically inclined.

On my mind lately has been my potential return to work options. Initially I had thought that I would not go back but perhaps under the right circumstances (ie find great childcare and an opportunity for Maya to interact with other kids regularly and find the right work schedule) it might be a good thing for both Maya and I. However I haven't been able to find a place that I would feel comfortable leaving Maya and really don't feel ready to go back. So I was over the moon happy to have my boss offer me an extension of my maternity leave and take a 6 month sabbatical. So if all works out (ie my replacement agrees to extend her contract and the powers that be at KPMG all agree) then I will remain off work until December and will look at returning to a part-time arrangement then. This way I'll be able to enjoy the summer off with Maya and see if there are some childcare options that turn up for the fall/winter. Things can change so quickly but for now this feels like the right thing.

So that's what is new with us lately. I'll leave you with some pics that we took at our most recent photoshoot with Maya. I'm addicted to taking pictures of our little cutie. You'll notice that in many pictures of her (above and below) she has her beloved stuffy named Woofie. Callianna gave Maya the dog since she doesn't have a real one to play with. It's one of her fav toys!