25 months.

[photo coming soon]

maya @ 25 months :: december 4, 2007

• she's the typical 2-year-old :: "i do it!" "my turn!"
• is finally tall enough to easily turn doorknobs so she's into opening and closing doors throughout the house.
• ian is really good at getting her to repeat words. for example, she repeats "chew-bacca!" really well.
• whenever she knows she's done something bad, or doesn't want to look us directly in the eye, she pulls an "ostrich head in the sand" move :: she buries her face in any available soft surface (her blanket, the couch cushions, my shoulder) and won't look at you.
• her favorite "blue's clues" episode by far is "blue goes to the doctor" because a "doctor maya" appears in it.
• she's been waking up in the middle of the night (or really early morning) because her room is so cold. we give her a sip of milk, re-tuck her in, and then she'll sleep in longer than during the summer (7:30 instead of 6:00).
• she's getting much better at putting puzzles together. half the time she's still trying to force pieces that don't fit but she's also capable of putting pieces together quite well.
• we're getting back on track with the potty :: she lost interest for awhile and i was not about to force it on her. rupert has been very good about taking her when she asks to go on the potty ... because i sure as heck ain't gonna do it!

the big 0-2 :: maya @ 24 months

maya @ 2 years old :: november 4, 2007

• as of 11.05.07 :: 22 pounds, 4 ounces (4th %ile), 31 inches (1st %ile)
• it seems like she has a crush on ian's best friend, A. she always tries to sit next to him or kiss him when he comes over to our house. rupert commented that, "maya's going to be one of those girls who gets crushes on her brother's friends." i think he's worried already ...
• likes to pick up "wan wan's unch" with a plastic bag.
• had her first modeling "job" for the tag toys catalog (if you click on the catalog link you'll see maya on the cover and on page 41).
• her bowel movements are getting a tad bit more regular (twice a week as opposed to once a week).
• instead of "no thank you" she says "no please"
• she unlocks the car door on her side
• her blue's clues obsession continues :: her first full sentence was, "i wanna watch blue clue;" sort of sings the blue's clues song; and every paw print (or hand print, even) she sees is a clue.
• trying to figure out how to count with her fingers.
• her favorite food is clearly rice; she screams for it at meals ("wice! wice!") and devours it by the fistful.
• likes it when we play guitar hero II and asks us for "tar"
• dances in her car seat, and insists we acknowledge her "dance dance." if the song is not danceable she demands we change the playlist.
• every hour she screams, "eat! eat!" but isn't very good at telling us what she wants to eat :: "what do you want to eat?" "yes."
• she asks, "what?" with the inflection and pronunciation of an old eastern european lady :: "vaat??"
• juice boxes are a piece of cake :: she can get the straw out of its packaging and puncture the straw hole, all without spilling.
• she's always been into peeling labels and stickers, but now she's into peeling the wrappers off of crayons.
• i'm beginning to think she doesn't like chocolate -- what's wrong with her?!

maya's first "job"

a friend and neighbor of ours works at tag toys, an educational toy company. she asked me if maya can come to take some pictures for their catalog since they were looking for a cover shot. all the kids in the neighborhood have been in the catalog but they're all in elementary school (or older) now so she needed a little one.

maya seemed comfortable when we got there since she was surrounded by toys but when it came to actually taking a shot she was either too concentrated on playing (serious look) or gave us her fake smile (which actually made her look sort of angry).

after taking a few dozen photos i think they decided on using the first shot they took ... go figure!

[edited 11.16.07 :: the catalog's ready! maya's on the cover and page 41]

this is where i realized she can sort of count to 2. she was playing with a toy that you had to insert the number of rods the card displays, and she was counting, "one and two" as she put the rods into the hole.

someone's showing me they're ready for a dog

not that i'm going to let her get a dog, but it's more effort than i've seen either of the boys show!

last week maya got into our plastic bag drawer and pulled out a produce bag. the first thing she did with it? went straight to her wooden dog toy and pretended to pick up poop! she must've been really paying attention during her walks with my mother-in-law and her dog.

i noticed today that the "poop" she picked up was a little brown stuffed animal kitten. how appropriate.

(and, don't worry, she's always supervised when she has the plastic bag and we take it away from her after she's done picking up "dog poop.")

23 months.

maya @ 23 months :: 10.04.2007

• her affirmative "yeah" has turned into an emphatic "yes" or a very polite "yes mama". she also says, "otay" instead of "okay."
• has fallen on her head multiple times this month, mainly due to her attempts at going up and down stairs unassisted.
• we're finally potty training ... wait, is that the un-pc term? um, she's becoming toilet aware?? most of the time she sits on it and nothing happens, but she's peed in it a few times (the first time was on september 19). funny story :: after grandma took maya off the toilet because she didn't pee, and then went off to find a diaper for her, maya peed in the hallway and then proceeded to slip in her own pee, fall down in her pee, and hit her head.
• when she really wants something she will say, "peeze" (please).
• this month she's gotten to be more conversational :: "where ____ go?"; "wadoin? (what are you doing?)"; "what dat?"; "all gone"; and her absolute favorite, "i did it!"
• the little girls she sees at ian's school always want to pick her up or drag her around, but because she's in such an independent phase she absolutely hates it.
• she's obsessed with watching ian's old blues clues videos (with steve); no more watching sesame street, unfortunately. at this rate her birthday party theme will be blues clues, just like it was for ian's 2nd birthday ... but she's not having a birthday party, is she?
• she's always liked blankets but lately she's constantly dragging around her dog and monkey baby gap blankets (also hand-me-downs from ian).
• knows the way to jiji+baba's house :: when we drive towards their house she yells out, "baba! jiji!"
• loves having banana snack time at rie class :: five minutes into the class she goes up to the teacher and asks, "nana?"
• she loves her baby doll, hannah. she's been carrying her around and sleeping with her for awhile but now she pretend plays with her, giving her milk from a small wooden milk carton.
• she brings her plate into the kitchen after she's done eating ... ian won't even do that.
• she learned to say "au revoir" on her own when we leave ian's french class.

penguins

[click on picture for more info]

22 months.

maya @ 22 months :: september 4, 2007

sadly, she can identify spongebob square pants (and patrick) :: "bunge bob"
loves to brush her teeth
says "yeah" and "hai" for the affirmative
is better with using a fork and spoon, although eating with her fingers is clearly much more enjoyable
calls herself "mai" and points to herself
will hide in our closet; doesn't seem to mind being in dark places
first time away from me when i went to argentina for 12 days. she got used to napping at my parents', which is something she didn't do before. i came back and she has been clingy; i was hoping if she were around rupert more she would be attached to him but i was wrong.
i hear a lot of "eat more" during mealtimes
tries to swim in the tub
will want to go into the shower with somebody but the second the water starts pouring on her head she screams to get out
is getting used to small waves at the beach. when she sees the ocean from the car she yells out, "beach! beach!"
at the beach she will chase the seagulls, laughing hysterically, calling them "quack quack"
loves to dance to music and sounds
it makes me cringe, but she likes what we call "slurpies," the milk left in the cereal bowl --> she gets that from her father and brother
can finally put up a finger for one (and "ichi") and both index fingers for two. when she puts up one finger it often means she wants one more of something.
her favorite words must be "ow" and "woa!" because she says it all day long
constantly picks at the skin on the middle of her top lip; she also pulls at her cuticles and any skin hanging off her fingers
she tries to dress herself (usually over clothes she already has on). she's a pro at getting rupert's and ian's socks on, and she's now working on her own pants, dresses, and shirts ... although sometimes the shirts go on her legs and the pants go on her arms.
another clear sign she watches waaaaaaay too much tv :: she can now pick out her own videos from the video drawer. lately it's been a lot of "boos koos" (blue's clues).her favorite food is cheeseburgers :: she can finish off a whole cheeseburger from in-n-out.

future anarchists of america

i cracked up when my friend sent us this shirt. he was at an anarchists convention in san francisco (not because he's an anarchist but because he was looking for a book) and he said he had to get the shirt for maya when he saw it.

i love that he knows our daughter so well, despite living far away. i think it's really funny, but when maya wore it the first day no one else seemed to find it very amusing. i wonder why ...

[click on picture for details about materials.]

rie babies are ...

maya attends a class called RIE, which ian also went to as a baby. we've been going every week for over a year, and it's basically been the same group of babies so they are all very comfortable with each other.

i love this picture because it reminds me of both the parallel playing and the group playing with the plastic rings, which are very popular during class.

the only other detail i have to add to this layout is the date; i'll probably either stamp it or write it on the tab at the bottom of the picture. i scrapped this at around 1am the other night even though i was dead tired; some spark of inspiration + motivation hit me and i finished it fairly quickly.

[click on picture for details about materials.]

21 months.

maya @ 21 months :: august 4, 2007

• new favorite books :: chicka chicka boom boom (which she calls "boom boom boom") and go, dog, go! she'll "read" go, dog, go! in two languages: "go, wan wan, go!" ... and upside down.
• finally saying japanese words :: hai --> yes; dakko --> carry me :: although sometimes it sounds like gakkou (school), which is where i wish she would go.
• first trip back east to connecticut and new york city. that is the last time i get on a plane with maya without getting her her own seat.
• swimming "lessons" at the local pool :: sort of blowing bubbles in the water, although i suspect more often than not she's drinking the water rather than blowing out air. one day it was freezing and she said "cold cold cold" for the first time, so she must've been pretty miserable in the water.
• getting close to throwing tantrums in public. at the market the other day she almost threw herself down on the floor to start kicking + screaming, but when i turned away to ignore her she stopped immediately. what can i say? she's a moody, violent, hysterical girl ... just like the women on mama's side of the family.
• she finally did it ... after three months she can now say each sound in her brother's name :: ian!
• she's been spending a lot of time pants-less lately (with a diaper, of course ... although she's quite capable of taking it off).
• each morning i get her (which isn't often, to be honest) she asks me, "where ian? where dada?" and after i change her diaper she demands to "eat! eat! eat!"
• did i ever mention she cracks up when she watches teletubbies? this started a couple of months back but she laughs hysterically at certain parts of the show. i don't get it but it's funny to watch. she is a complete tv-nut, which is definitely my fault since i allow her to watch it a lot. am i using the tv as a babysitter? you bet!
• she's still wearing 12~18 months (and smaller) clothes.
• likes to do somersaults on the bed and couch. will attempt them on hard surfaces but she's not as successful.
• starting to recognize letters in the alphabet ... i should get working on the japanese alphabet too.
• her current favorite lunch is hummus ("mush") and pita bread. current favorite fruit :: grapes.
• gets into the game cabinet, pulls out boxes and just dumps the contents all over the living room. we're constantly picking up cards and game pieces off the floor.
• besides snoopy she's taken up daisy as her second favorite stuffed animal; she calls her "kack kack". the real reason this is cute is because this particular daisy was ian's favorite stuffed animal when he was two.
• thankfully she willingly goes down for her nap after lunch, as long as she has her favorite blankies (with the dogs on them), a stuffed animal (or two) and a kiss on the nose.

a little scrapping

i've managed to find some time here and there to scrapbook. i completed the following layouts (click on the image for details about materials) and i'm in the process of completing a few more, which i hope i can share soon. (sorry about the crappy scans.)


do babies get brain freeze? journaling :: maya inhaled her first taste of jamba juice ... it was hard to get her to stop! you have to share, maya!


hinamatsuri 07 journaling :: did you know the longer it takes to put away the hinaningyou the longer it'll take the girl to get married? at least, that's what they say. but if that's true maya may never get married 'cause we never got around to putting away the dolls last year! thankfully, mom put them back in the garage right away this year!

20 months.

maya @ 20 months :: 07.04.2007

• i'm trying to teach her to apologize :: "gomennasai" (i'm sorry) and kisses. but she can't actually say "gomennasai" so when she knows she's done something bad she comes at me vigorously nodding her head and trying to give me kisses.
• at the wading pool in rancho mirage she fell into the water face first a couple of times but both times she managed not to drink the water. i think it makes her angry that she falls down but she doesn't panic (like her brother does) so she doesn't inhale any water.
• her vocabulary is growing but almost everything she says is still in english. being in the desert for a week definitely made her learn how to use and repeat "hot" a lot! for a couple of months now she's been saying "aw" for strawberries. she will command you to "eat!" or demand that she "eat!" something.
• ian's name was only one syllable last month; this month she's tacked on the "a" sound = "ia" --> will next month bring on his entire name?
• she enjoys reading japanese folktales, especially "saru kani gassen".
• likes to twirl around and make herself dizzy.
• "tonari no totoro" continues to be her favorite movie. when the opening song starts she 0pens her mouth really wide like the little totoros on the screen. but there are definitely signs that i let her watch too much tv; she asks for, "tee-dee?"
• she is entering her terrible twos a bit early. she's a screaming, hitting, tantrum-throwing little terror.
• we're working hard on relieving her constipation. if she's had a bowel movement she can be a very pleasant person, but those days when she hasn't gone in awhile can be horrible.
• she likes to bite directly into food. she'd rather eat corn off the cob than cut corn, she'd rather chew on a rib than eat chunks of meat, she'd rather bite into a piece of fruit than eat a fruit salad, etc.
• if you don't put pants on her she'll take her diaper off. while we were in rancho mirage she definitely got used to being undressed.
• she tries to be helpful by throwing things away (not always trash) and if we ask her to take things to the dining table she will (with some help from her big brother).
• she has a goofy smile where she scrunches up her nose.
• she tries to unlock the cabinet with the video games in it. she can't quite get the key into the lock ... at least, not yet!
• eats weird stuff like japanese fish bone crackers.
• tells jordan the process of getting cereal in the morning :: bowl, spoon, cereal, milk
• when we change her diaper she says,"bleh!" and makes a stinky face ... even if it's just shi-shi (pee).

surviving the worst week ever

maya -- and consequently the rest of us -- had a really rough week. she started off the week with a fever in the evenings. which led to fussy clinginess. then her constipation made everything 1000% times worse. and boy was she mad about it!

the above pictures are of her on the worst day but she was basically screaming for about 75% of the week (or so it seemed). i got to that point where i was about to tear my hair out because of the constant, inexplicable, hysterical crying fits. i almost started laughing at the absurdity and insanity of dealing with the devil baby all day long.

thankfully, saturday brought lots of unchi (poop) and she seemed to get better. now she's back to her usual tantrums and hissy fits.