Isn't this picture just precious? Maya loves her brother so much. Anytime she leaves the house, even to check the mail, she says, "Wah you, Buh-ee." (Love you, Buddy) It's so sweet. Before he lays down for a nap or bedtime, she always kisses him, and if he's already in bed, and she can't reach him, she blows him a kiss and tells him she loves him. You can tell by Liam's huge smile that he's just as smitten over her. He lights up like a Christmas tree when she's around. I hope and pray that they will always be as close as they are right now. I'm amazed that they've created such a bond at such a young age. I hope they're always best of friends.
Another thing that brings great joy to my life these days is Liam's laugh. One of my most favorite things about Liam is how easy it is to make him laugh. The thing that gets the biggest belly laugh out of him is being tickled. He just cracks up every time I put my mouth on his chest, belly, or side and open and closed my mouth like I'm "gumming" his body. He can't stand it! I have to stop after a few minutes because I think he would just let me continue tickling him until he cried! He has such a loud belly laugh. I love it!
Isn't that just adorable?! Maya enjoys trying to make Liam laugh, too. She'll say, "Yiya gih im!" (Maya get him!), and she'll squeeze his body in the same place I've been tickling him. Though it actually looks like she's trying to choke him in this picture, she's squeezing his shoulders and collarbone area. He's cracking up!
Look at those curls!! She's getting the most beautiful hair! I love how it just naturally falls into little ringlets. It's so pretty.
We met up with Jen, Max, and Baby Joe tonight to have a "walking dinner". That's where Jen and I push the strollers, and the kids eat while we walk. We met up at the channel, stopped for a bit to eat (Max's request to eat on the hill), and walked almost to the pier before we had to turn around for a waking baby (Liam), who I thought might need to eat relatively quickly if he, in fact, woke up. He did not wake up, so we enjoyed the rest of our walk and chat. It was nice to catch up! I think we'll be doing lots of walking dinners this summer!
Here's Maya and Max eating at the picnic table on the hill, both showing off their new-found cheesy smiles! Later, they would be seen in the following scenario: Both of them were riding in their own strollers, being pushed side by side. Maya had a bowl of blueberries and strawberries on her tray, so she called over to Max to offer him a blueberry. He held out his hand, and Maya very carefully passed him the blueberry, mid-stroll. Once he finished that blueberry, Maya asked, "More?", to which Max replied, "Uh-huh," so Maya passed him another blueberry. This continued on and on until she ran out of blueberries and started passing him strawberries. Eventually, Max's belly reached maximum capacity, so he refused another strawberry. There were two or three chunks left, and Maya finished them off. Only a few times did they drop a blueberry mid-pass, and when they did, they both leaned over their strollers to watch it roll away. It was the funniest thing. Maya was so sweet, giving Max all her fruit from dinner. She wouldn't have kept anything for herself if Max wouldn't have finally had a stuffed belly! I'm not sure if it was the love of sharing or the challenge of passing each piece of fruit to Max without dropping it that kept her going, but either way, it provided about 10 minutes worth of valuable entertainment for Jen and I! Maya and Max are just way too cute together!
And here's Maya at eight months with her "getting used to my two top front teeth" face...
I used to call it her "old man" face. It's much more extreme than Liam's look, but she never did all the lip smacking that he does. She would just suck in her top lip while sticking out her tongue. It was pretty hilarious! Both kids have their own little teething quirks!
Today, we met up with some friends (Sarah and Claire, Kysa and Madeline, and Kristin and Fisher) at the Frederik Meijer Gardens. The kids got to play in the water, then they "crashed" story time. They got to sit on these big boulders while they listened to the nice (patient) lady read books. I think they spent more time up running around than actually listening to the story, but they were having fun... that's all that matters! We also climbed around the "tree house", ran around in a maze, and played in a log cabin. The kids had a great time, and us Mommies got to chat (a little) while we continuously wrangled kids and counted heads. The weather was great, and we look forward to going back soon! I ended up buying a membership again this year. We went to the Gardens several times last summer, and I have a feeling we'll be back a lot this year, too! As we left the children's area to head home, Maya and Madeline took a second to cozy up to this little "mousey", giving it lots of kisses and hugs. What a couple of cuties!
Here's a little video of the action!
We borrowed this awesome bouncer from our friends, the Porter's, and Liam thinks it's just great! We just picked it up yesterday, and he's already getting the rhythm of bouncing. Here, Maya is teaching him a thing or two about the proper jump! He's a great student, too... look at the concentration! (By the way, that's the Handy Manny saw that Maya is "brushing her teeth" with.)
Isn't this picture just precious? Maya loves her brother so much. Anytime she leaves the house, even to check the mail, she says, "Wah you, Buh-ee." (Love you, Buddy) It's so sweet. Before he lays down for a nap or bedtime, she always kisses him, and if he's already in bed, and she can't reach him, she blows him a kiss and tells him she loves him. You can tell by Liam's huge smile that he's just as smitten over her. He lights up like a Christmas tree when she's around. I hope and pray that they will always be as close as they are right now. I'm amazed that they've created such a bond at such a young age. I hope they're always best of friends.
Look at those curls!! She's getting the most beautiful hair! I love how it just naturally falls into little ringlets. It's so pretty.
Here's Maya and Max eating at the picnic table on the hill, both showing off their new-found cheesy smiles! Later, they would be seen in the following scenario: Both of them were riding in their own strollers, being pushed side by side. Maya had a bowl of blueberries and strawberries on her tray, so she called over to Max to offer him a blueberry. He held out his hand, and Maya very carefully passed him the blueberry, mid-stroll. Once he finished that blueberry, Maya asked, "More?", to which Max replied, "Uh-huh," so Maya passed him another blueberry. This continued on and on until she ran out of blueberries and started passing him strawberries. Eventually, Max's belly reached maximum capacity, so he refused another strawberry. There were two or three chunks left, and Maya finished them off. Only a few times did they drop a blueberry mid-pass, and when they did, they both leaned over their strollers to watch it roll away. It was the funniest thing. Maya was so sweet, giving Max all her fruit from dinner. She wouldn't have kept anything for herself if Max wouldn't have finally had a stuffed belly! I'm not sure if it was the love of sharing or the challenge of passing each piece of fruit to Max without dropping it that kept her going, but either way, it provided about 10 minutes worth of valuable entertainment for Jen and I! Maya and Max are just way too cute together!
