Janet and Brian . Info

Firsts, firsts, and more firsts!

One day away from 16 weeks (when her Grandad keeps telling her she can drive- at 16!) and 4 days away from 4 months, and Maiya is making HUGE progress! The last few days we have had SO many firsts, it's amazing!

If you count the pictures I posted yesterday as her first time being "twinsies" with her Momma, then that's another first yet, hah!

She's very good at rolling over, even though she doesn't LIKE to do it so doesn't do it often.

She had her first time being layed in her crib awake and falling asleep on all her own!!

She had her first time playing with a rattle.

Her first time reaching out and grabbing toys.

Her first time in a Jumperoo.

Her first time being called "Queen" by one of my friends, hehe.

Her first time with her Granddad walking her in her stroller instead of wearing her while Momma worked.

Her first time playing with her rattle! <3

Click read more to see more cute pics and some videos!

She's Officially Unofficial!

As most of you know, my entire family volunteers as crew for our local little theater- The Douglas Morrison Little Theater. Or, as I still fondly call it, The Hayward Little Theater.

Well, once upon a time, our little crew group there felt left out that other theater crews had crew shirts, so one of our own, Jeff, decided to remedy that situation! And lo and behold, he worked his magic and suddenly we all got legal, if unofficial crew shirts! Yay!

Now, thanks to Jeff, the theater's newest member can be included in the officially unofficial group!!

He decided to suprise us all by getting her the tiniest theater shirt ever! It's so cute and she now fits right in with the rest of us! <3

Thank you Jeff!!

Me throwing my ugly mug in there to share the glory and so you can compare uniforms. Wow, mine looks faded! Hahah.

Our First Scary Moment

I never wanted Maiya to sleep with me- my intention all along was to keep her in her own bed. I knew I wanted us in the same room, but that was it. Well, Maiya had other ideas! She used to sleep in bed with me, and now she sleeps in her own crib, but pushed right up against my bed. And I am SO glad!

Last night, about 2:30 in the morning, I heard her moving. I kept still and didn't check her out because I was hoping it was a false alarm and she would put her self back to sleep. Apparantly my mommy instict SUCKS, because next thing I know, rather than going back to sleep, she let out this piercing, terrified SHRIEK.

Of course, I sat bolt upright in bed. Within a second I checked that she hadn't some how wedged herself in between her crib mattress and mine. Nope. She was still shrieking, and within two seconds I figured she was choking (not like dying literally can't breath chocking, but way too close to that for comfort), so layed her across my chest and whacked her on the back a few times. Luckily, she coughed up whatever she was choking on - I think it was spit up. And her terrified shriek turned in to a typical cry.

For the first time in about 2 months, I sat up in bed with her across my chest and snuggled in my arms to nurse her. I was scared!! She got on the boob and was happy as ever (magical booby!) and was back asleep in minutes. For the first time EVER in her life, I was able to sit her over my shoulder, burp her, lay her back down, she stretched, and went back to sleep!! That has nothing to do with the incident, it's a sign of her growing up, but it was still worth noting!

Naturally, even though she went straight back to sleep, I didn't sleep at all, and every time she fidgeted a little I checked her!

I know that even if I'd been in a different room I'd have heard that shriek- over the monitor and not. I am just SO glad that I was there with her within a second, she wasn't alone and knew I was looking out for her. I am also glad to know that had she actually choked and not been able to scream, our movement alarm would have gone off- when she stopped breathing! I am just so ashamed that had she not screamed, I probably would have only figured out something was wrong when that alarm went off!! Luckily, she let me know and disaster was averted. Let's just say, I'm glad I'm not two feet from her and that I have back up!

My sweet girl who scared her Momma!!

Big stretch as she wakes up, in her first Flip (name of diaper)!

A Midsummer Day's Stroll

Ok, so it may not TECHNICALLY be midsummer today, but it felt like it!

We're doing horrible getting out to the picture rocks often enough, so today, instead of working all day like I should have, when my Dad and I went to lunch, we also went to the picture rocks!

Maiya did SO well going there and back! She's growing up so quickly. Her first time she HATED it, her second she really didn't like it, but did better. This time, there was minimal fuss! We had her in the stroller, so I think that made a world of difference.

Here's Maiya 3rd time (after being born!) to the picture rocks, at 14 weeks 5 days (or 3 months, 2 weeks, and 5 days)!

Full sequence here.

Click read more below to see more pictures of our nice summer stroll!

Friends, Family, and Fun

Our little 3 1/2 month old is getting quite the social life! If it's not her big family (Mom, Dad, Brother Quincy, Sister Evie, Gamma, Granddad, Auntie P-Chan...), then she is off making lots of friends!

We have a few friends who we don't get to see too often because they live far away- Claire, Brian, and Atreyu, who were in the last post; Sarah, Andrew, and Zoe who are in this one; Lydia, Justin, Claire, Ronin, and Soren, who were in a previous post- and then we have our play group, with Judy and Amelia, Erin and Hannah, and Kristi and Jonathan. I think I've posted pictures of them before, too, but we have more today! :D We are lucky that we get to see most of them almost every week.

Maiya in her first pair of big girl shoes ever!

Click read more below to see some pictures of the fun times we have with our friends and family!

Bigger and Bigger!

Our little girl is getting bigger and bigger! Haven't weighed her as often as I should, so every time I do, I'm amazed!

Probably most important and significant in her growth is... She has a baby sitter! I can't keep this up, trying to work with her, so Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, she will be staying with another Mom while I work. Still working out details, but we'll probably start this next week. Bitter sweet, I tell ya!

If you remember one of her first big adventures was to Lake Chabot, and it was a bit rough on her... Well now, she goes often, and we do great! If she's in the carrier, she sleeps most of the time. And if not... She now sits up in her stroller like a big girl!! She's much happier sitting up instead of reclining like in the car seat, and this way she can see the world! She doesn't sleep in it hardly at all, but oh well, happy baby is good!

And, we've made some changes at home! One, we put down those foam alaphabet blocks (click "read more" below to see pics!) so we can lay her on the floor and it won't be as hard as the hard wood. And, we side carred her crib, so we can start working on getting her to not sleep with me all the time.

She's growing up so fast!

[IMG]http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s210/SelindaRose/IMG_1824-1.jpg[/IMG]

Click "read more" to see our latest pics!

Three Months Old!!

Today is a big day for our little darling! She is 3 months old! I've been counting in weeks, which means she's 12 weeks, but now she's old enough that I'm kind of switching over to months!

Where has all the time gone? When did my itty bity tiny little peanut get to be so big?? She's doing SO great now!

She still has quite the temper when she does get mad, but she is easier to calm down and doesn't get mad as often. She LOVES her mobile, and does much better on tummy time and back time. She has rolled over both ways- tummy to back and back to tummy. I don't think it was on accident, but I don't think she can replicate the results! Either that or she has no motivation to, as she doesn't like it when she ends up on her tummy!

When on her tummy (and not MAD about it!), she can get up on her elbows or her knees, and is working on getting up on her hands even! She can hold her head up very well and turn it from side to side!

She has a lot more happy time, and will smile and laugh quite a bit- nothing is cuter or lights up a room more than her smile! <3

Here's my beautiful big 3 month old baby girl!!

Click read more to see more pictures of her!

The Alameda County Fair

We went to the Alameda County Fair today! I was a little nervous that a long, hot, tiring day wouldn't go over well for Maiya, but she did really well! She ate a lot (had to keep her hydrated in that heat!), watched the world go by, and slept a lot. Thanks mostly to Grandma for that!

All of us at the fair!

Click read more to see more pictures!

I Love You

They say you never know what you've got till it's gone. I'm sure that's true. You can never imagine how much you'll miss someone you love until they're gone.

Still, you can appreciate what you have while you do. My dear friend Angie's Dad died yesterday, and I read today about someone who lost her little boy at 3 years old, he drowned in their family pool when the mom stepped away from him during his nap for 5 minutes. These events make me think two things- one, how important safety is and how it only takes a minute for things to change forever. And two, to hug everyone I love very tightly and let them all I know I love them!

So, I love you! Brian, Maiya, Mom, Dad, Kev, Sara, Okaasan, Otousan, P-Chan, Evie, Quincy. My dear family whom my heart beats for and whom without I would die too. You never know what the future brings, but I have you all now and I intend to enjoy, appreciate, and love you while I can!! <3

Happy Father's Day!

Happy father's day to the newest and bestest daddy to our newest and tiniest girl!

I tried to surprise Brian for Father's Day dinner with Dim Sum at a nice Chinese restaurant RIGHT on the bay. Gorgeous views, and my husband loves the ocean! So I thought it was perfect. Good food, but something different from our same old same old, and a beautiful view that he would love.

Of course, I had to include the grandfathers, too, but they both LEFT for the weekend! So I upped it to last night, and we were all able to make it! Even when we arrived at the restaurant, Brian didn't realize anything special was going on until I told him it was his father's day dinner- and that we had enough reservations for more than just us!

For the rest of the story and more pictures, click "read more" below!

Teaser pic: Father's Day dinner!