4 months old

Maia turned 4 months old this Saturday. It's hard to believe how fast time goes by. It's been really hot here the past week, so we decided to let Maia have some naked time! Here are pictures from her naked adventures.

So, I've been known to give Aleks a hard time about his diapering technique. It's not unheard of for me to redo a diaper that he's put on. He actually does a great job, I'm just worried that there will be a blow out or something. Well, the other day Aleks was lying on the couch having Maia sit on his chest. She made her telltale pooping sounds and Aleks said "oh! she's pooping" in his "what an accomplishment voice" like we always do when she does anything. As he lifted her up he said "oh! she's pooping on ME!". Poop has slid out the leg of her diaper and onto his shirt. He was frantically yelling for me to take her and clean her, while trying not to throw up. 

After changing her, I continued cooking and put Maia in her Bumbo to watch me while I worked. I heard some sounds that seemed like she was filling her diaper again. Since I was up to my elbows in dirty dishes, I asked Aleks to check and see if she had pooped again. He lifted her out of the Bumbo and went to smell her diaper. As he did that, Maia wiggled her bum and hit him IN THE FACE (!!!) with the poop that was leaking out her diaper once again! I have never laughed so hard in my entire life. The irony is, I was the one who put both diapers on her. Ever since, Aleks has been threatening to sabotage me. Poop is funny.

I got a sewing machine this week and have been having fun learning how to sew. I made little blankets for all the babies in my mommy group. I think I want to try a dress for myself next. I feel so domesticated!

Here is a video we took this weekend of Aleks beatboxing for Maia and Maia eating rice cereal for the first time. It was a fun weekend.

Big Weekend

Well Maia had a very big weekend. On Friday Aleks and I left her with some friends and had a date! It was so nice to get out and reconnect. When we went to pick Maia up, they were all listening to reggae and Maia was on the shoulder of our friend Andy. Apparently, when Maia woke up, she totally freaked out that neither Aleks nor I were there and the only way she could be calmed was to dance around to reggae. Hey, whatever works.

Maia has developed a very keen sense of who I am. When we are with friends, she very rarely will let anyone else hold her before she starts crying and looking around for me. I wasn't expecting this to happen until she was 8 or 9 months. It's very sweet, but also kind of oppressive. We're going to keep exposing her to other people and hopefully it'll get better.

On Saturday Aleks witnessed Maia rolling over front to back AND back to front. When we would go get Maia after her naps, she'd be on her stomach after rolling over, but this was the first time either of us has actually seen her in the process.

Saturday night Maia slept 8 hours! We put her down at 11 and she didn't wake up until 7!!! We've yet to experience a repeat performance, but it was pretty cool.

Sunday morning, we heard Maia laugh for the first time. It sounds a lot like a cough with a smile. Ever since, we've been making funny faces, tickling, and blowing air in Maia's face to try to get more giggles. Maia probably just thinks we've finally lost our marbles. It's a lot of fun though.

I don't have any new pictures to post, but I'll try to take some soon. We're thinking about starting solid food soon, so I'll be sure to video our first attempts.

New pictures and a video!

Here are some new pictures from last week. Maia is just getting cuter and cuter! She's started blowing raspberries with her tongue and lips, now the burp rag is never far away.

Maia in her first pair of shoes and socks. It's so cute I can barely stand it!

Here's a little video with some highlights from months 2 and 3 of Maia's life.

3 months old!

Today Maia is 3 months old.

Her accomplishments to date are:

1. eating

2. sleeping up to 4 hours at a time

3. smiling a lot

4. cooing and "talking"

5. rolling over from her back to her side

6. reaching for things she sees in front of her

7. being super cute!

Aleks' Job Update

Well, Aleks was offered the job in Casper, WY. After much thought and discussion, we've decided to stay in Pullman for another year. Aleks' boss was able to give him a title promotion (which should help Aleks with getting other jobs in the future), reassigned some of his load, and might be able to offer me some adjunct work teaching voice lessons. We feel really fortunate that in this economic climate, Aleks was offered 3 jobs this year. We also feel good about staying here in Pullman. We have a fantastic set of friends, a great doctor, Aleks loves his job, and I have a growing music studio. Go Cougs!

Emily's Job Update

Well, I didn't get offered the Executive Director position. I must say that I mostly feel relieved. Of course there is a bit of "why didn't they want me?", but I'm not sure I would have even taken the job if it had been offered to me. I know I'll eventually have to face the "career and family life" issue, but I'm glad that I get to put off that conflict for now.

So, this next year I will continue to teach private piano and voice lessons, hopefully sing in a few recitals, and take more auditions. Most importantly though, I'll get to be there when Maia laughs for the first time and now we can take our time learning to drink from a bottle. 

2 months old and job updates

Aleks has a contract for next year at WSU! It looks like we will be in Pullman for one more year and strangely enough, both Aleks and I are happy about that. We love our friends and community here, Aleks loves his job, we have a great doctor, and the fact that we can walk most places is really nice. I've started a mommy group with some friends from my birthing class and our weekly get-togethers are a highlight in my week.

I had an interview yesterday for the Executive Director position of the Washington Idaho Symphony. I felt like it went pretty well and I should know by next week if I got the job or not.

Well, Maia is now 10 weeks old. We had a doctor's appointment yesterday and she got herfirst round of immunizations. She handled it like a champ, but was pretty tired and fussy for the rest of the day. She now weighs 11 pounds 7 ounces and it 24.75 inches long. She is in the 60% for weight and the 99% for height! We're thinking about putting her in basketball early. Maia is getting more mature everyday and as a result is becoming better at putting herself to sleep. She's smiling all the time and we're just waiting for that first laugh!

I was looking through old pictures of when Maia was first born and saw this one. It's hard to believe she was this tiny once!

How cute is that headband?!

Maia and Uncle Alex (he's a natural with babies!)

Right before Maia went in the pool for the first time at Grandpa and Grandma Kyhn's house in Phoenix, AZ. Believe it or not, it was a little too cold for Maia to enjoy it.