Maya now in Michigan, has become accustomed to her new surroundings. Clearly stating in all situations that Michigan is so much fun and naming all of her relatives that live in Michigan; repeating YeYe in-between each member of the family. Now eenthralled in her new room decked out with books and child paraphernalia. Komi And Thea have become Maya's best friends and if it happens they are not in the same room, Maya will search every nook and cranny to find her cousins, calling their names ad nauseum. The porch door has now become a source of constant joy for Maya opening and closing it after stating that, "Daddyo says to close the door". The only glitch in all this fun is once she is outside and has closed the door, she can't open the door to get back inside. Maya has embraced the true essence of Michigan, showing her love for the mitten state reenacting the moves of Michael Flatley with a hint of Indian fire dancing all around the house. - Uncle Joey

Maya leaves CA

Grandma Liz came into town to spend time with Maya and then head back with her to MI.  Maya immediately took to Grandma Liz and they read lots of books, no surprise there...

Maya hit the good-bye circuit, starting with Uncle Tom and Aunt Jen's house.  She hung with her cousins, Jack, Quinn, Sean and Audrey.  She had a marvelous time with her cousins.

It's hard to say good-bye, they have all been so lovely to us here.
Ailene stopped by with baby Gabi to say good-bye to Maya.
Maya loves to hold babies and all of her baby dolls are Gabi in our house.
Ailene has been such an important person in Maya's life since she was born and it was sweet how Maya held on to her at the end of the night.
Another key person in Maya's life is Zoe.  Here the two played side by side.

Zoe is a new big sister to baby Sophia.  It was so nice to hold a new baby and we are sad to not be around on a daily basis for this little one.


Our good-bye to Aunt Mary and Uncle Marty was very hard and emotional.  Maya was sad to see her go but she knows she will be back to visit and hang.  
Now she is MI and loving all of her family.  We are to join soon, just a little chore of packing up the house (oh no).  But we look forward to next chapter in our lives.  I am going to Western Michigan University to study Counseling Psychology and John is heading to NY through January to do a 5 night a week gig at Feinstein's in Manhattan.  He will commute 2 days a week to MI to spend time with the family, and we will go and visit him each month.   Life is crazy full and we couldn't be more excited.

Fireworks and Hiawatha

I spent an evening away from Maya with Mary and Marty at the wonderful Hollywood Bowl. It was a night of Prokofiev and we had box seats.
Mary and Marty brought a fabulous spread of food and wine. Needless to say, I was in heaven.
The night ended with fireworks to my favorite section of Romeo and Juliet.

The following day, we received the DVD of my nieces and brothers performing in a children opera workshop, Hiawatha. Maya was enthralled. She was especially impressed with Nokomis' ballet solo and here she is reenacting the magic in her diaper...

And in tribute to Michael Jackson, we have been listening to his music at home. She loves to hear "that lady sing." Here she is dancing to Jackson 5...

4th of July Flower Girl

Maya tried her luck as a flower girl this Fourth of July for my dear co-worker, Patty.  
She looked so adorable and started the afternoon with energy and gusto for her very important role.
As always, the dress provided hours of fun and amusement.  She thought she looked like a ballerina.
Needless to say, she did not make it down the aisle.  Last minute change of heart left her holding on to my leg for dear life.  We did, however, spend the rest of the wedding running in the back given that she could not use her inside voice during the wedding.  With a loud voice, she continued to say that the man (priest) was talking to her, that the cantor was doing a "great job" and that the images of angels and saints were "fairies."
By the end of the wedding, the flower girls were pooped.
John took her home with her basket of jelly beans (I tried anything to get her to go down)...
Off we went for photos outside our school church.  Here is my co-worker Ana and my boss, Marsha.
The beautiful happy bride, Patty!
The wedding party.
It is officially hot and we are enjoying the summer spirit.  With lots of bubbles...
ponytails and...
swimming.  Maya has enjoyed the pools at Aunt Mary's, Uncle Tom's, and with her cousins Logan and Bannon.  She has been a summer sleeping champ with all the workout.