first trip since walking

this last weekend we took a quick little trip up to denver to see some of our friends.  we have been wanting to do some traveling this summer but we were waiting until maya started walking full time.  now that maya is pretty much walking 99% of the time we are happy to get our traveling shoes on and get moving.  our first stop was denver, colorado.  it went really well.  it felt quite liberating to not have to carry maya around everywhere.  of course we still use the stroller when in public places and carry her around quite a bit but now maya wants to get out and walk around also.  she is totally in an exploratory mode.  she is still waddling a lot but she is walking!  here are some photos of our little adventure...

walking around boulder, colorado

maya and aavan

dada and maya looking at ducks

walking on a downward slope

bend it like Maya!

yesterday i found maya in front of our bathroom mirror again...enjoying her little dialogue of signing chatter.  i decided to sit on the bed and watch her from a distance.  just then i noticed that she was standing in front to the mirror and bending to touch her toes.  she was singing the head, shoulders, knees and toes song.  this is the first time that i have ever found her standing and trying to touch her toes.  last week i saw her bending to pick up something on the floor for the first time.  it's so exciting to see that she is gaining confidence with her new skills. 

of course when i took the camera out she stopped...until i started to sing it to her.  so here's the video and i apologize ahead of time for my wonderful voice.  =)

wordless wednesday: new experiences

the best parts

this last month has been filled with sick days.  whether it was maya, myself or her dad,  it seems like we have been having to deal with colds, rashes and fevers this last month.  i'm hoping that things have calm down so we can enjoy the rest of summer.

even though maya hasn't been feeling 100% herself, i can still see that she is making progress in many areas.  here are a few things that she is doing that have really got me excited.

walking!  she is beginning to do more and more walking.  lately she is taking many more steps at once.  i don't count them like i used to which seems like an accomplishment for me.  she is still a bit unsteady but she is really starting to use walking to get around.   in her gym class she doesn't just crawl, she walk places.  a few weeks ago she even walked all the way across the gym to give one of the coaches a hug.  it was just lovely to see.

focus:  maya's concentration has really improved. i really don't know why this is but it seems like she is able to focus more on intricate skills.  during the time we were home sick she would often go to her play area and pull out her shape sorter and peg board.  i was really surprised but she has started to enjoy stacking her pegs and sorting shapes into the bucket.  sometimes she even indulges me and does a little bit of puzzle work.

sign language:  as always maya continues to use asl to communicate. everyday i try to learn new words to teach her and use in our daily life.  when we read and hear new new songs, i use sign.  it seems to engage her more than without asl.  these are some of her new words: smart, different, world, dinosaur, magic, catch, fast, summer, spring, the days of the week.  i see that her hand movements are getting more precise, for instance when she signs her abc's and numbers 1-10.

one of the cutest things about maya is when she can sits in front of a reflection and sign/sing to herself.  she can do this for almost an hour it seems.  when i watch her i try and decipher what she is saying but she signs so quickly that i lose track. i do catch that she sings head, shoulder knees and toes and row row row your boat.

and the best part of all is:  when i come home from running errands or just being away, maya is so happy to see me.  she smiles, gives a little giggle and immediately walks to me. she gives me tight hugs and wraps her little legs around my body.  she didn't used to do any of these things, but now it is like she knows i am her mama.  she is happy to see me and wants to be close to me.  i wish i could wrap that love up and give it to everyone because it is the most amazing thing to ever feel.

wordless wednesday: doing her own laundry