My goodness, where does time go? This month was even busier than last month, and Maya's development soared to new heights! It still amazes me how they quickly she learns to do things. This month she has started to really sing. We hear a lot of "AAaaahhhh ahahhahaaaa...", followed by some very high-pitched squeals. She has such a cute voice, so clear and soft. That beautiful singing started over night. One morning I woke up to singing over the monitor. She'll just lay in her crib, singing away, amusing herself as much as she amuses me. Then when I go in to get her, she gives me a smile (much like the one above) that just melts my heart. Her smile can almost reduce me to tears. It's a face of pure joy, and knowing that I am that joy for her... wow. That's an unbelievably powerful feeling. My mom even noticed how she reacts to me, more than anyone else. She will definitely smile for other people, but when she sees me, she just lights up. The happiness radiates off of her cheeks and smiling eyes. It's a beautiful, special thing to be the recipient of that beaming smile. I can't explain it. It just makes me feel full inside. It's love to the nth degree.Let's see... what other new developments? She plays with her feet and toes, often sticking them into her mouth to explore the taste, shape, and texture. Apparently, they are really good (I've tasted them, too, and I agree) because whenever the socks are off, the pigs are in her mouth. She mainly tries to eat the right foot. I guess it's easier to manage than the left!
She's rolling over from back to front, now. One quirk about that is she only rolls to the left! This would be fine if she had never ending space to continue rolling, but she always finds herself stuck against something like the couch, crib rail, or wall. Then she just lays there on her belly or her back, patiently waiting for someone to rescue her. I try to guide her to roll the opposite direction, and she'll do it with help. When it's just up to her, though, she's going left! When she starts on her belly, she'll go either way. She just arches her back until her head is just inches from her butt. Then she leans one way or the other, and I think the weight of her head just topples her over. At some point, gravity takes over, and down she goes. It works for her! Many people are surprised by just how flexible her back is, and it is pretty incredible. She could rival experienced yogi's in the cobra pose and win, I'm sure of that!
Now that she's practiced, practiced, and practiced rolling over, she's VERY good at it. So good, in fact, that it's become a major hindrance for sleeping at night! Before the rolling began, when she woke up and fussed, often I could give her a paci, and she would fall right back to sleep. Now that we're rolling, she wakes up, rolls over, and it's playtime! She doesn't stay groggy and sleepy. She rolls over, and she's fully awake! She'll usually do that once in the middle of the night, then again in the early morning. Guess what? When she wakes up completely like that, feeding her is about the only thing that will calm her down and lull her back to sleep! I think the older she gets, the further we get from sleeping through the night!
On the sleep issue, napping is going better. Halfway through the month, I figured out how Maya wanted to go to sleep. Until then I had been rocking her to sleep, then very carefully transferring her into her crib, usually to have her wake up again and have to start over... and so the cycle continued. WELL, finally I figured out that she did not want to be rocked! Whenever I would hold her, she would just try to nurse, even if she had just eaten. When I wouldn't let her, she would bawl and scream, and I would muster up every ounce of determination I had and rock her until she fell asleep. Truth be told, I think she was falling asleep from sheer exhaustion! One day, I gave up. I couldn't take the fighting any more, so I laid her in her crib. To my total disbelief, she quit crying immediately! Who's child was this?? Within 2 minutes, she was sound asleep. I could not believe it. I had been vigilantly fighting her for a good 3-4 days before naps AND bedtime! All she wanted was to put herself to sleep! I was stunned. Since that day, she has been putting herself to sleep for all naps and bedtimes. I will lay her in her crib, turn on her Ocean Wonders Aquarium, and give her her paci. Then she holds up her outstretched arms with both of her tiny little hands, palms up, waiting for me to give her her blanket. It's the cutest dang thing I've ever seen. It's as though she's saying, "Okay, Mommy, I'm ready for my covers, so I can go to sleep." I love it. Although, I do miss rocking her, I think it's good for her independence to be able to put herself to sleep. On occasion, I will have to go back in to roll her back over because she has forgotten that it's time to sleep and decided to play instead. I don't mind.
I can't really blame Maya's inability to sleep through the night on her. We haven't had a steady schedule or been home longer than 2 weeks in a row all month! In the beginning of the month, we were in Seattle, Washington for 5 days. Maya slept in a crib in our hotel room, sometimes with the TV on and Will and I talking... not exactly like home! Two weeks after returning from that trip, we went to Detroit to stay with the Collier's again for 2 days. There, she slept in a pack 'n play in the same room as me, in a house with 2 other adults, 2 small children, and one large dog. Again, not exactly like home! She's been a busy little bee all month. In addition to the two trips, we met friends at the mall and a park for a play dates; my dad from Illinois came to stay for a night; we started going to Gymboree on Monday afternoons; finished up our infant massage class; went to Klackel's for a hay rack ride to a pumpkin patch and to pick apples in their orchard; went to Robinette's for cider, honeycrisp apples, peanut brittle, doughnuts, and a walk with our friends, the Lock's; drove to Lake Michigan for some Halloween pictures and dinner; and went to two different parties on Halloween day! It's a good thing she's a little social butterfly because we certainly do our fair share of socializing!
Maya continues to grow! She started wearing 3-6 month clothes this month! She out-grew her 0-3 month clothes in length. We have been shopping a little (or a lot, depends on who you ask) to get more warm clothes for her, as most of her 3-6 month stuff was warm weather clothing. It seems unreal that she was almost 5 months before she started wearing this size! Most of the 3-6 month clothing says from 12 pounds, which she is not yet 12 pounds, but she continues to get longer. Her toes were practically busting out the seams of her 0-3 month jammies! One perk is we are definitely getting good use of all her clothes (as long as they stay appropriate for the weather, that is)! She's such a little squirt. I think she's just going to be a petite little girl. There's nothing wrong with that! She's perfect just the way she is.
Maya is still quite the clown! She still loves to look at the world up-side-down, and she spends a fair amount of time blowing raspberries. She's very good at it! I don't recall another time in my life when I was so entertained on a daily basis. Every day is something new and exciting. Every day is (usually) better than the last. We are truly blessed.
