Flower Girl

Maya had her Flower Girl debut today for Ailene and Robert's wedding.  They are our former next door neighbors and have been an amazing support for John and I with Maya.  Ailene's daughter, Isabella, is like a big sister to Maya and we were thrilled to be a part of the wedding.  The wedding took place at the San Fernando Mission and it was beautiful.  Ailene looked gorgeous!  Maya did make it through the photos but decided against walking down the aisle.  She instead spent most of the wedding in a change of clothes, searching for real flowers in the lawn...to eat.  John played at the reception and Maya clapped along to the music.  The Filipino dance troupe was a big hit for Maya.  Here are a few shots from the day...

Walkin' Girl

Maya has more and more courage to walk. Practicing often and gaining more steps along the way. Here is a video of her walking. Unfortunately, she has a cold and runny nose and we are hoping it clears up before Sunday and her Flower Girl debut...

First Steps and Heat Wave

Maya has amped up the courage to step out on her own.  She took three steps this morning and another three this afternoon.  Not steady but with full of gusto.  Too exciting.

Alright summer, you have hit us over the head here in LA.  With the mercury level passing 100, we are starting to get cabin fever.  So many great parks stand empty due to the heat...  Here is Maya embracing the summer heat.

After braving the mall for a family outing on Wednesday, we decided to join Maya's friend, Isabella and her cousins for a romp around KidSpace.  She played for 2 and half hours straight, chasing balls, climbing on giant structures and kissing the kids over and over.  She even had a moment of excitement that entailed humping a large duck (little embarrassing but very funny).
Here is Isabella with her sweet cousins who adored "baby maya."  Maya is going to be a flower girl for Isabella's mom, Ailene's wedding next Sunday.  She will be joining this lovely crew down the aisle.  

5 Year Anniversary

John and I took the first weekend away from Maya to celebrate our 5 year anniversary. Maya spent the weekend playing with Aunt Mary, swimming in their pool and loving all the attention. John and I drove up to Cambria (about half way between LA and San Francisco on the ocean) to celebrate the anniversary. Great to reconnect and walk along the ocean, if only Cambria could discover the fine art of cuisine, it would have been a perfect weekend.

Because John's first Father's Day was spent away from Maya, he thought he would do a frighteningly similar rendition of one of Maya's favorite tricks (Jeannine will know what we are talking about).

Aunt Jeannine's Recording Session

Aunt Jeannine (or NeeNee to Maya) came into town for 4 days. She had a good time playing with Maya and working to teach her a few new words (including her name). Maya was reveling in all the attention.
Jeannine has been working with John on a great children's album of music for meditation. They are wonderfully fun songs, although I challenge you to hear the songs and not get them stuck in your head for days (infact, I have yet to wake up and not have one of the songs playing in my head). Here are a few great shots that Jeannine took of the recording session. They were able to record all 12 songs in one day.

Clapping Hands

Can't believe the summer is here and Maya will be one year in just two months. We inflated her Frog Pool to stay cool in the heat and she splashed in Frog Heaven. Aunt Jeannine arrives tonight for a week to record her children's music with John. Should be a great visit and we will be sure to keep everyone in the loop with this great project.

I started my GRE class this morning while Uncle Jeremy watched Maya. They had a wonderful day of parks and pasta lunches while I scratched my head and tried to remember how to calculate the area of a circle.

Here is a little video to show Maya as she claps her hands (warning, the beginning of the video could induce motion sickness and might be reminiscent of Blair Witch Baby).