Mmmm... Dog Food!

So, turns out, dog food is nutritious AND delicious! Just ask Maya! We went to our friend's house today, and they have two labs. Maya LOVES dogs, so she quickly discovered the dog's food bowl and started feeding one of the dogs some pieces of food. She would get a handful of the stuff and hunt Happy down. Happy could either eat or basically have the food shoved up her nose because Maya was determined to feed that dog! Happy obliged, and Maya continued to happily feed away. I watched this feeding session go on and on, until finally Maya HAD to try some food for herself! She'd eat a morsel, then give the dog a morsel. Like any good parent, I grabbed the camera! Here's a short video of the process (when she turns back to the food bowl, watch her left hand closely and look at her mouth when she turns back to the camera)...

Believe me, it only got worse before it got better. At one point, Maya stuck her head into the bowl to eat just like the dog does... NO HANDS! It was hilarious. I actually had tears in my eyes from laughing so hard, and the best part was, Maya was so much in her own little world that she had no idea we were even laughing. She was just going on about her business, until I finally stopped her and ruined the fun. I figured that a little dog food wouldn't hurt, but she should probably have some actual people food for lunch! After we ALL ate real food at the table with our hands, we went out to the pool for a swim...That's us with Melissa and Ashley (not pictured are Crystal, Eddie, and Ethan). The water was a little chilly for Ashley's liking, so they didn't end up staying long. Maya didn't mind at all, and we swam for quite some time... that is until Maya sat down on the side of the pool, and we discovered that swim diapers don't work all that well! Uh-oh. We had somewhat of a poop emergency. Apparently, when the water mixes with... never mind. Just know that it was bad. We're buying MUCH smaller ones tomorrow! Anyway, we got cleaned up and hit the hot tub for a little while. (Don't worry, I sat on the edge like a good pregnant lady.) When we had enough of the outside, we went back in, Crystal and I continued to gab, Eddie and Maya played for a while longer, we all ate a snack, played a little more, then when we were WAY past nap times for the kiddos, we took off. Maya was asleep within one minute of being in the car! She was exhausted! We had a TON of fun, though! Thanks, Crystal, for the super fun play date!

A Big Day in Grand Rapids

Maya and I made an entire day of hanging out in Grand Rapids. It started off in the morning with Maya getting a manicure...Then we headed to the city. Maya took about a 30 minute nap, while I chatted on the phone with my mom parked outside of a bookstore. When she woke up, we went into the store in search of a yoga DVD for pregnancy. No such luck, so we headed to the mall to look for some jammies for Maya, a couple more maternity t-shirts for me, and most importantly, a chance for Maya to play in the germ pit, er, I mean, the playground. Much to our bitter disappointment, the playground was MIA, to be returned sometime around Thanksgiving! I was totally bummed for Maya. She loves that place! Instead of playing, we ate lunch at Subway in the food court, then made a slow trek (with Maya walking instead of riding in the stroller) back to our car. Along the way, we stopped to play on the ride-on toys. Maya LOVED driving the bus! She would even hold out her hand to kids who walked by as if to say, "Come on in! Let's go for a ride!" It was really cute... With full bellies and a need to burn some energy, we left Woodland Mall in search of an indoor playground...We found a great mall playground at Centerpointe Mall, just across the street. There were big bumble bees and fish on the floor to climb on, a tent and log to crawl through, and boat to climb in, and a tree house to climb up and slide down! It was awesome! Maya literally ran around that place for an hour. She had a blast! There was a little boy that took special notice of Maya. He was probably almost two years old, and all he wanted to do was hug Maya nonstop. She was pretty tolerant of him, but I'm pretty sure it was only because she didn't know what to do with the vise-like grip of a bear hug he kept putting her in! She would just stand or lay there, frozen like a statue. Only once she got a look on her face that said, "Get me out of here!", so I went over and broke them up. It was kind of funny... another instance where you don't really want to punish a kid for showing affection (I mean, at least he wasn't hitting her or something), but geesh, enough is enough! I kind of wanted to tell him to keep his paws to himself, but I held back, not wanting to be "that mom". Maya was holding her own, so I let them work it out on their own. Eventually, he always let go, and Maya would run away! All the while, I would be cheering (in my head), "Go, Maya, go!!" She's so even-keeled that nothing gets her riled up. Sometimes I wish she would stand up for herself, but I guess she's going to be a lover, not a fighter. That's okay with me. I might just have to step in every once in a while to rescue her! While at Centerpointe, we met up with my friend, Gwen, who I met through Aero Med. We had a snack and walked around for a little bit, and when Maya started to come unglued, we bailed on the mall. Maya was far past due for her afternoon nap, so she needed to get to the car ASAP for some much needed rest. Within minutes of being in the car, she was fast asleep.

We headed to our final destination for the day, to visit with some smaller, more gentle playmates, Maya's twin girlfriends, Mackenzie and Caitlin... They each napped while we were there, but Maya did get to play with them separately and together. She enjoyed giving them toys, watching them eat, and wildly rocking them in their bouncers. I was slightly concerned that they may end up with whiplash from "Maya's Wild Ride" (something that could have easily been featured at Six Flags or Cedar Point). Miriam didn't seemed worried, so I just kept reminding Maya to "be very gentle with the babies!" For the most part, she was... kind of. I think we're going to have a lot to work on once Liam arrives! It was great to visit with Miriam, too. It's not quite as easy to visit when you're constantly taking care of kids, but we managed a good (even if broken) conversation about pretty much everything. We ate a very yummy dinner of homemade triple mac and cheese and peach pie. It was delicious! We look forward to our next visit with Miriam and the babies!

Poor Maya was wiped out after our long day, and she cashed out about halfway home. She had a little snack, a bath, then it was off to bed right after we returned. Truth be told, it was an exhausting day for both of us! I don't think I'll make a trip like that again, where Maya doesn't get a single proper nap in a day, but overall, she held up quite well. What a trooper!

Our Little Fish

We took the boat out onto Spring Lake this afternoon. Maya enjoyed "helping" her Daddy drive the boat. Actually, she would remove his hands completely from the steering wheel, so she was doing it all by herself. In the picture above, you can see her looking at Will's hand to make sure it's staying right where she put it, and Will's laughing at her for being such a Stinker Bear! She did great out on the water today, so we'll probably be taking the boat out a little more now. She actually seemed to enjoy it. She was always waving at something or someone. There were plenty of boats, jet skis, birds, ducks, and people to capture her attention.

After cruising around for awhile, we dropped anchor, and Maya and I got in to swim. It was a little chilly at first, but we quickly adjusted to the temperature and had a great time. Surprisingly, Maya LOVED jumping in! It took her all of about 45 seconds to jump the first time. She would just take off walking to the end of the swim platform, grab my hands, and jump right in. She did this over and over. What a brave girl! She would have the biggest smile on her face, too, once she had landed safely in the water and I was cheering for her. I would have stayed in the water all day, catching her again and again, just to see that precious smile.When she wasn't jumping in, we were chasing ducks around in the water. No matter how fast we swam, we could never catch a duck! She kept pointing at them and waving, saying, "Dup!". I know she would have been thrilled to give one of them a big ole squeezin' hug! She LOVES animals! She also kept putting her face in the water. I think she likes to put her mouth in the water to taste it. She does the same thing in her swimming pool and the bath tub. Yuck. It's probably not the cleanest thing for her to do, but I hate to discourage her from putting her face in the water, when that's what most kids are afraid to do! I guess she'll just keep doing it, and I'll just keep saying small prayers that she doesn't get sick from it. She's just experimenting, and that's what toddlers do best!

Side note... I had my first session back with my personal trainer today, and it felt GREAT! I worked very hard but not too hard. It was an awesome workout, and if I go twice a week, I have enough sessions left to take me almost right up to my due date. It's going to feel so good to be sore again tomorrow! YAY!

An OB Visit

Will and I had a routine OB appointment. I got weighed (ugh.), a blood pressure taken, urine sample check, and fundal height measurement. (For those of you not in the know, that's what happens at every visit.) I had my doctor fill out some permission slips for me to participate in a couple of exercise classes. The hospital holds an "Aquatics for Two" class at a rehabilitation center three days a week. On the evenings that Will's off, I'm going to try to make it to those classes. I'm also returning to my personal trainer!!! YAY! I didn't think I would want to go back until after Liam was born, just because I figured I'd be "wasting" my training sessions, since I'd be unable to go all out during exercise. However, I've been feeling really bad about my "growing" body, so I decided that it would not hurt to return, do as much as I can, and HOPEFULLY lose some weight along the way. For those of you who think I shouldn't be trying to lose weight while pregnant, let me assure you that Liam's health is my main concern, and believe me, I have PLENTY of fat stores for him to thrive on! I don't want to kill myself or my baby with crazy exercise, I just want to be healthy. Plus, I've read in several places that continuing exercise while pregnant can significantly shorten the length of labor and delivery! BONUS! After going through what I did with Maya, I would be THRILLED with a shorter delivery (the shorter labor would just be the icing on the cake). So anyway, I've stopping my night time snacking, started making healthier food choices, and started exercising every day. My main goal is to participate in a mini-triathlon in the fall of 2009. By making a commitment to a healthier lifestyle now, I believe I can meet that goal.

So, back to the doctor's appointment... my doctor had the results of Liam's ultrasound. He said everything looked really good. The one "abnormality" they did see was some fluid around his kidneys. He also said that Liam's bladder was full, and my amniotic fluid level was on the low end of normal. Taking in all of those considerations, we can most likely assume that Liam had drank quite a bit of amniotic fluid, which had not been passed back out through his bladder yet. That caused his urine to be backed up in his system and my amniotic fluid to be kind of low. I know, when you break it down like that, it's kind of gross. Anyway, the doctor said that's a very common finding, and he just wants to get another ultrasound to see that everything is normal next time. Will and I are not worried, and we get to see Liam again! YAY! He said I would get the ultrasound around 28 weeks (I'm currently 23 weeks along). We can't wait!

We also heard Liam's heartbeat again. He played hide and seek with the doctor for a little bit. He was moving around like crazy, running from the fetal heart doppler. Finally, we caught up to him, and his heart rate was a steady 146 bpm. I know I've said it before, but I'm going to say it again... I never get tired of hearing that sound! It's music to my ears.

A Trip to the Meijer Gardens

We visited the children's area of the Meijer Gardens this afternoon. Maya got to play in water at the interactive Great Lakes exhibit. It's a cement formation of all the Great Lakes and their surrounding states that is filled with water, each lake dumping into the next one, kind of stair-stepping down. Maya played in the shortest of the lakes and had fun splashing, playing with toy boats, and sitting on the edge, which was just the perfect height for her to park her little butt on. A couple of times, we had to stop her from climbing into the "lake", as that was against the rules. The feature that thrilled her even more than the water was the little "Monet bridge" (pictured above). The first time she crossed it on her hands and knees, then she tried walking over it. After a few times of walking over it, she started walking up one side, then running down the other. She had a great time. I think she would have walked back and forth over that thing for the rest of the day. Maybe we should consider installing one in our backyard. It would keep her busy for hours! We also visited the beaver's cave, rock quarry, and log cabin, where she got to play with very old wooden toys and humongous checker pieces. We didn't end up seeing much of the park, but that wasn't really the goal of the trip. I just wanted to let Maya have the opportunity to explore some new surroundings, and she had a blast! This was actually the first time that I didn't bring the stroller along for this kind of trip. Maya walked about 85% of the time. The other 15%, either Grandpa Baker or I carried her. She did REALLY well! We'll have to go back there sometime very soon. We all had a really good time!

Stinker Bear Goes to Church

Right before we left for church this morning, I grabbed the camera to take a picture of Maya in her new outfit from Grandma Peg. Completely out of character, she sat right down and struck a little pose! I couldn't believe it! What a little cutie-patootie! Usually, she runs up to the camera to look at the picture I've taken, but she never strikes a pose for me. It's a rare moment... enjoy this pic!

Other good news, our friend, Jen, got elected to be the Associate Pastor at our church. I was happy to be part of the 100 unanimous votes to get her an "official" position at Spring Lake Presbyterian. Congratulations, Jen!

"Baby B" Has A Name!!

After much debate, discussion, and what seemed like endless hours of searching through a couple baby name books, we have agreed on a name! Baby B's name will be... Liam Parker Deaton! We chose Liam because it's derived from William (Will's grandpa's name), and its roots are Irish/Scottish, which was Nanny's ethnic background. Parker was the name we had picked out for a boy when we were pregnant with Maya, before we found out she was a girl. We still like the name, so we're sticking with it for the middle name. When we had the name picked out for Maya, it was going to be Parker William. Now we have a Maya Reese, and Parker William just seems a little too serious or stuffy. Liam sounds more light-hearted than Parker, and I like that we can name him after his great-grandpa (and dad) without actually using the name William.

One book, in particular, really helped in the selection of his name. It's called "The Baby Name Wizard" by Laura Wattenberg, and it's awesome! My friend, Amy, recommended the book to me when I told her how much trouble we were having deciding on a name. The book puts each name into a specific category, gives suggestions of brother/sister names, ranks the name by popularity, and tells a little information about the name. I highly recommend the book to anyone struggling to choose a baby name! Maya's name falls under the categories "Little Darlings" and "Nickname Proof". I really liked the name Liam before we got the book, and when I opened it to research Maya's name, Liam was the first suggestion for a brother name for Maya! It was a sign! The categories Liam's name falls under include "Little Darlings", "Nickname Proof", and "Celtic". Also, listed under Parker for sister names is Maya! It's PERFECT!! We love the name, and we don't have to call him "Baby B" anymore! Yay!

Little Miss Hollywood

Maya has figured out how to put on her sunglasses! Sometimes they are on right-side-up and straight, sometimes not so much... Regardless, she's proud as can be when she gets them on. She immediately stands in front of the oven or fireplace to check her reflection in the glass or comes over to me, wanting up, so we can go look at her handy work in the mirror. We'll have to put a mirror down on her level, so she can see herself easier. She likes to watch herself do things, like hold and feed her baby dolls, so she's constantly in front of the oven or fireplace. It's so darn cute.

A Pudding Explosion!

Even though Maya is getting very good at using eating utensils, she still has fun using her hands! This was her first experience with chocolate pudding. Yummy!

Maya's Chore...

Maya LOVES to help with the laundry! After I put all the clean, dry clothes into a laundry basket, Maya pushes the basket into the living room, and parks it next to the couch. Then, either by herself or with my help, she climbs into the basket. While she sits amongst the clean, warm clothes, she hands each piece out to me, one by one, so I can fold all the clothes. It works out quite nicely! She's thrilled to help, and I enjoy her company while I do chores. It makes the work much more fun!

Future Kickboxer?

Last night, when I laid down in bed, our baby boy got REALLY active. I've been feeling him move around for over a month now, but for the first time, I could feel him moving, kicking, punching, and flipping from the outside of my belly! I was so excited because if I can feel him from the outside now, Will will be able to feel him moving about. That's such a cool thing. It's just amazing to feel a little baby wiggling around in there. We're over halfway to our due date, so I'm going to cherish these quiet, private moments, as they don't come by very often with wild Maya running around all day!

Millennium Park with Jen and Max

We spent the afternoon basking in the warm sun at Millennium Park, near Grand Rapids. Our friends, Jen and Max, met us there for a little play date. The kids had a lot of fun playing in the sand, eating the sand, swimming in the lake, and playing in the sprayground. Maya was most fascinated with the feet-washing station, just outside of the sprayground. She played in that thing for at least 5 solid minutes. She thought it was the greatest! She kept walking around to the side of the post, holding around it with both hands, leaning WAY over, and lifting her foot up into the spray of water. She did it over and over again. She would also stand right in front of it, so the spray was hitting her right in her belly. Every once in a while, she would let out this squeal of delight. It was really cute! During dinner, Jen sat on one towel, and I sat on another. We each unpacked our goodies from our coolers, and Maya and Max walked back and forth between the two of us, sampling our sandwiches, berries, peas, and yogurt. It was like a mini buffet, and they LOVED it! We tried to keep their hands out of the food as much as possible because between bites, they were playing in the sand, and their hands were covered in the stuff! Apparently kids don't mind a little dinner with their sand!
Hugs! Hugs! Hugs! Maya and Max are becoming quite good buddies. They play very well with each other, usually a kind of parallel or copycat-like play. Maya thrives on being the "little mommy". Max took off his hat, so Maya brought it back over to him. She always seemed to have his best interest at heart. She was also very concerned that Max eat a good dinner tonight. She kept bringing him sandy handfuls of blueberries and peas. Max would open his mouth, and she would shove as much in as she could, then eat the rest herself. It was so very endearing. She's so good at sharing for such a young age. She doesn't want anyone to be left out. She has such a kind heart. It really makes me proud when I see her behave that way. I have a lot of hope that she's going to be one terrific big sister!

A Classic "Maya Move"

Maya has the cutest little "I don't know!" gesture. I finally captured it on film. If she can't find something or someone, she'll look at me, and I'll say, "Where's Daddy (the ball or whatever...)?" She just stands there and puts her little hands up! It's like she's saying, "I've already looked and can't find him, so you tell me because I don't know!"

Fun in the Pool!

I've been taking Maya outside to play in her pool during these beautiful warm afternoons. It's a ton easier than taking her to the beach, and she has just as much fun. She loves to climb in and out of the pool, over and over again, so there's always tons of grass floating around in there. She could care less. As soon as she gets into the pool, she throws something out, so she has to get back out to get it. She really wears herself right out with all the climbing! She's a little picky about the water temperature. If it's too cold, she won't sit down in it. On this particular day, it was a little chilly, so if she slipped and fell down in the water, she jumped right back up! (The following day, I made the water much warmer, and she sat in the pool like it was a little hot tub!) I've been trying to teach her how to blow bubbles in the water. She'll put her face in without any trouble, but she doesn't get that whole blow-thing. She just puts her face in, takes it back out, and pulls on my shirt for me to put my face in the water. At least she's not afraid to get her face wet. That's a good start!She's really starting to enjoy playing with sidewalk chalk. She carries the whole container out of the garage and carefully selects her pieces. She usually has one piece in each hand, and she discovered that it's kind of fun to toss the chalk into the pool. Sometimes it floats. Sometimes it sinks. Cool! I'm loving that she's into the chalk. I LOVE to play with it myself, so it gives me a perfect excuse to mark up the driveway... it's all for Maya, after all! Hahaha...

Maya's New Room!

Maya is spending her first night in her new room! This last week, we have been moving her furniture out of her old room and into her new one. I wanted to get everything moved in and finish the decorating before we moved her in there. That way, I could work on the room while she napped, and not only while she was awake. It worked out very well! Her new room is the pink room in our house, the one that was originally supposed to be hers when we first moved in. Turns out, because of the layout of the room, all of her furniture wouldn't fit in the space. Now that we'll be using the changing table primarily in Baby B's room, her bed, dresser, and rocking chair fit in the smaller pink room quite nicely! I'm still using the changing table during our bedtime routine and probably will for a while. Baby B will just have to share his table with his sister for the time being. Without further ado, here's her new room...This last picture is a close-up of my favorite feature of Maya's room. I got this idea after Maya got her first swimsuit (size 0-3 mos.), and I thought I would put it up on her wall when she outgrew it. She ended up having several swimsuits throughout her first year, so I had to come up with a way to hang them all on her wall. I wanted it to look like several suits hanging on a clothes line. I think I nailed it! I love how it turned out! It's nice to have Maya's room decorated and done. That's one room down, quite a few more to go!

A Play Date for Mommy

I got the chance to meet up with my friend, Miriam, at the mall today. We ate lunch then walked around and shopped a little. It was great to spend some time with her. I think it was some much needed Mommy-bonding time for both of us. She's such a great friend, and especially since we've had our babies, we've counted on each other for lots of support. It's going to be a lot of fun watching our kids grow up together. I look forward to our families being lifelong friends.
While Miriam and I were out for the afternoon, Will took Maya on a little shopping trip of her own. They went to Toys 'R' Us, where Maya picked out a baby stroller and bottles for her babies, Snoopy, and teddy bears at home. She's had the chance to play with a baby stroller at some friends' houses, and she LOVES them! Will's been wanting to get her one of her own for awhile now, so he took this chance to spoil his baby girl!

We Don't Push Babies!

This is a rare quiet moment that Maya gets to spend with her Daddy (really ANY quiet moment with Maya is rare!). We have this whole week off with him, so they are getting the chance to bond a little more than normal. It's clear that Maya just adores Will, and I know that she is the apple of his eye. He always says, "I hope our next baby is half as good as Maya!" We'll soon see!

This evening, we got a chance to babysit for our friends' kids, Lydia and Charlie. This allowed us to have a small glimpse of what next summer holds for us. The age difference and birth dates of these kids are almost identical to what our kids are (or will be once Baby B is born). Will goes, "Are you ready for this?" I just laughed and said, "We don't have much of a choice, now, do we?!" It didn't seem all that bad, though, I'm sure I'll be calling Amy for lots of advice!
Looking at Maya and Charlie, you'd never know there's an 8 month age gap, as they are just about the same size. I think that's why Maya has such a hard time understanding why she can't play with Charlie like she plays with her other friends. She plopped down next to him today, gently reached out, and slooowly tipped him right over! I happened to be sitting right next to Charlie, so I caught him before he hit the floor and sat him back up. I said to Maya, "No, we don't push babies!" No sooner did I let go of him, and the little Stinker Bear reached right out and tipped him over again! Again, I told her that we don't push babies, and we have to be gentle. I also told her to give Charlie a hug. She did give him a hug, complete with pats on his back and belly (pictured above), and I think Charlie forgave her. Lydia and Maya also adore each other, but I think they're a bit too young and there's just enough age difference between them that it's difficult for them to play together yet. Within the next couple of years, I think they will become the best of friends. Charlie and our baby boy will likely become very close, too, so it's quite convenient that they live just a few doors down! I think we have a future full of play dates and sleep overs!

Check Out My Slippers!

I accomplished a big task today! I sorted through ALL of Maya's old clothes, pulling out anything that could be gender neutral enough to put on our baby boy. I actually found a lot of stuff! I also organized all of the sizes into appropriately labeled tote boxes. They are all stacked nicely in storage now! Whew! While sorting through all of Maya's old clothes, I ran across these bunny slippers. Maya has a new fascination with shoes, so I knew she would be thrilled with the bunnies! We put them on, and she walked around the basement, just staring at her feet. I bet she took them off, and we put them back on about 10 times. She had so much fun wearing these bunnies! Hop! Hop! Hop!

Our Little JabbaWockee

Today at lunch, Maya started stringing together consonant and vowel sounds, making these elaborate, yet intangible sentences! It sounded something like, "gadobawa detebageadea batduwagodabu...". Clear as mud, right? Will and I were cracking up! She jabbered on and on for the rest of the day! I told Will before that once she starts talking, between her and I, Will won't be able to get a word in! I think I was right!

Look at my BIG Feet!

Maya discovered Grandpa's shoes today. She spent the better part of an hour putting them on, taking them off, climbing back in, standing up (with some help), taking them off, and on and on. She just thought it was great to wear those big shoes! Check out her big smile as she waves and shows off for the camera! What a cutie!

My Vacuum Buddy

Today I vacuumed the entire house! I did the entire main floor while wearing Maya on my hip. She loves to "help", and after vacuuming several times before, carrying her in one arm while I pushed the vacuum with the other, I got smart and put her in my Kozy-carrier. Maya likes to be so close and ride along, and it doesn't kill my arm to hold her for over an hour. It's quite the win-win situation because she'll ride around forever while I'm vacuuming! I ended up vacuuming the basement while Maya napped. Then I finished with the upstairs while Maya played in her toy room. Four and a half hours of vacuuming! I'm actually sore!! How sad is THAT?!
After all the cleaning, Maya and I headed out to the Grand Haven channel to meet our friends, Brian and Jen and their son, Max. Maya and Max had a blast running around the grassy area and sidewalks. Maya spent a lot of time climbing onto benches, socializing with whomever walked by, and petting and following puppy dogs around. I had a very proud moment with her when Jen was trying to take a picture of Maya and Max together on a bench. She wanted a picture of them both turned around, looking behind the bench, so Brian picked Maya up and told her to stand up (on the bench). Maya went right back down on her knees, and I immediately praised her, "Good girl, Maya! You're right, we don't stand on benches. We have to sit down. Thank you for sitting down!" She's really starting to understand the rules. We work with her all the time at home, teaching her to SIT on the couch and chairs. She's really listening well, and I couldn't have been more proud of her when she refused to stand on that bench, even with an adult telling her to! What a good girl!!

It's Raining, It's Pouring!

Maya was having a horrible, rotten, no good, very bad day... until the rain started coming down. I opened the back door and gave her freedom to run around on the deck in the pouring down rain! It was instant happiness! She stomped around, found a stream of water running off the table, and sipped rain water from a small puddle that had formed. She had the best time. I finally had to drag her inside (not without some protest), and she went straight to a warm bath. Even though her poor little bottom lip was shivering from being soaking wet and freezing cold, I think she would have stayed out there all day!

Our Royal Princess

Maya found this necklace while I was cleaning out our closet, and when I placed it over her head, BAM! Instant transformation! She was suddenly very serious, with eyebrows raised, walking very carefully and slowly, careful not to disrupt the fabulous jewels gracing her neck. The expression on her face says it all... "someone fetch me my throne, magic wand, and glass slippers... I have a kingdom to rule!" Priceless.

Millennium Park with Melissa and Ashley

Today, I took Maya to Millennium Park for the first time. That place is set up perfectly for kids of all ages, including little-bitties like Maya and Ashley. There's a shallow lake with a very gradual decline beach entry, a humongous beach with very soft clean sand, and this awesome water park-like area called the "sprayground". There aren't any slides or anything, it's just a bunch of different tubes and contraptions set up that spray, dump, and drip water everywhere. Some of the things are controlled by the kids, some things are set on timers. It's fun for all ages! We set up camp at the back of the beach, right in front of the sprayground. As we arrived in the late afternoon, several people were leaving, so there wasn't a soul camped anywhere near us on the beach! We had so much fun playing in the sand and in the water at the sprayground, we never even made it down to the lake! It was the most relaxing time I have had at the beach with Maya. The girls were free to roam all over the place, chase seagulls, run around in the sand, and explore the plants between us and the spraygound. While Maya and Ash were busy doing toddler things, Melissa and I were able to just sit and relax on the beach blanket and gab about everything women typically gab about. It was awesome! There will definitely be many repeated visits to that park!

I'm Feeling "Wicked"!

Mom came up to stay with us for a few days! She arrived on a Tuesday afternoon, and Wednesday, we hit the road. I hired a babysitter to care for Maya for part of the day, then she spent the remainder of the day with her Grandpa Baker and Daddy. Mom and I left the house at 8:30am and headed to my OB appointment in Muskegon. We were held up a little bit there because the doctor was running behind. When he finally got into my room, he measured my belly, and we listened to the sweet sound of our baby boy's heart beat! It was awesome... it always is! After we busted out of the office, we hit the highway and headed to Birch Run. We had mapped out exactly which stores we wanted to hit within the 5 short hours we had to shop. I think we actually visited about 70% of the stores that were on our agenda. That 5 hours just flew by! I bought some new clothes for our baby boy, mainly from Carter's Outlet. I love that store! I also had the most awesome personal shopping experience of my life at the Motherhood Maternity store. I gave the girls an idea of what I was looking for, grabbed a couple of things, and headed to the fitting room. Before I knew it, they were throwing tons of clothes over the door for me to try on. I couldn't try on the clothes as quickly as they were giving them to me! I bet I was in the dressing room for about 45 minutes, only opening the door to model the outfits for mom. I felt like Julia Roberts in "Pretty Woman"! It was great!! I ended up finding a few shirts, a pair of capris, and a pair of jeans. They were some much needed purchases. My wardrobe suffers more and more as this pregnancy goes on. The clothes I bought today should work for the rest of this pregnancy and beyond. Yay!

Since we had treated ourselves to sinfully good Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory treats late in the afternoon, we skipped dinner and headed to the Wharton Center in East Lansing. We were practically bursting with excitement and anticipation as we pulled into the parking garage on the MSU campus. The opening act of "Wicked" would start in less than an hour! We had awesome seats... center stage, 12 rows back! The seats were fabulous!! The production was great. I had seen "Wicked" in Chicago last fall, and I wondered how or if this production would differ. I was pleasantly surprised that it was almost exactly the same. I loved it! Actually, the girl that played Glinda was much funnier in this production than the actress was in Chicago. I was able to process the storyline much better this time around. Mom was cracking up when she found out that I didn't remember any of the main plot or how the musical ended. Keep in mind that when I saw it in Chicago, it had been almost 10 hours since I had nursed Maya, so my focus was more on how severely my boobs were hurting then on what was going on on stage. I remember that the entire time the musical was going on, all I could do was wonder if anyone would notice if I used my manual breast pump under my coat. I didn't realize how much I didn't absorb from the storyline until I saw it this time with mom. "Wicked" was WAY more awesome than I remembered it! I was so happy to see it with mom, too. She hadn't seen anything more professional than a high school play in her life, so I knew the production of "Wicked" would blow her away. Mission accomplished! She thought it was fantastic, and I was thrilled to share the experience with her. The tickets were a gift from Will for Mother's Day. The best present ever! Thanks, Babe! We didn't get home until after 1:30am, and we were exhausted. Had we found our way out of East Lansing without problems, we probably would have been home around 12am, however, our directions were about as clear as mud. We ended up stopping at QDoba to eat and get directions back to the interstate. That delayed us quite a bit, but we had fun! We blasted the "Wicked" soundtrack and sang along pretty much the whole way home. It was all we could do to keep ourselves awake! It was a big day!

We spent the following day just lounging around, relaxing, and playing with Maya. We all took a much needed nap. Mom got up with Maya from her nap, so I could sleep a little longer. Thanks, mom!! Her visit was very fun but way too short. We'd like her to stay for a week or longer. Maybe someday!