New hobby- or obsession? And a mischevious little monkey.

Here's what I've been up to lately:


I decided last week that I was going to learn how to crochet. For real this time. And not just a little crochet edging on a blanket or a little yarn potholder. I'm talking hats! I love a baby in a beanie -especially mine- but, I don't love walking into a boutique and walking out emptyhanded because vendors charge $20 for a little hat. Being the frugal little self that I am, I simply can't BUY something that I'm certain I can MAKE.

They make the perfect baby gifts for all the girls I know who've recently had or are soon going to have babies.
And, let's face it, Maya needs some cute little head gear for the upcoming chilly days that will be here before we know it.



Maybe one in every color?



I've gotta say, crocheting is not the easiest skill I've ever learned- I've made five hats total in the last few days- of which only two are salvagable. And I was doing the most basic and frequently used stitch incorrectly until last night.

Basically though, I love it. I feel like I have something productive and inexpensive to do in the evenings after the little one is in bed.

In other news, Maya is everywhere and just full of energy these days. Here are a couple of her new favorite things.



Walking the dog- she always grabs Jack's leash and I think it's awesome. He is amazingly gentle with her (more gentle than he is even with Aaron and I). Such a pleasant surprise. They are going to be best buds for sure.



Crawling all over. Just seeing this picture makes me tired...



Because I know she's headed for this!


Jack doesn't care though- he's happy to share =)

We are headed to Lagoon tomorrow- yippee for our summer vacation- even if it's just for one day, there's nothing like spending a fun day as a family.

In the last four years

We-
Got married
I started working at Bingham Memorial Hospital
Aaron was moved from the Idaho Falls news bureau to the Pocatello station
Did weather forecasting for a few months
Took lots of roadtrips
Aaron took a new position as the weekend anchor/producer
Realized this meant Aaron would be working weekends
Took a lot less roadtrips
After two years of driving a car that couldn’t go in reverse…we bought a car
Spent about 10,000 more than we originally planned to spend on said car
Heather went back to school at Eastern Idaho Technical College
We received our endowments and were sealed in the Idaho Falls Temple the next month
Aaron did weather forecasting for a couple of months
Took a dog in (on a whim)
Named her Sydney
Decided to move into a pet-friendly home
…In Idaho Falls
Heather started working at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center
Realized she didn’t fit in there
Quit and got a job at Kohl’s instead
Loved it and fit in immediately
Aaron got another job at Gap West Broadcasting hosting a morning news radio show
Aaron realized he’d have to get up at 5am every day
Thought about getting Sydney a playmate
Got another dog (kind of on a whim)
Whom Sydney hated
Named the new dog Jack
Bought an awesome camera
Aaron took some awesome pictures
Found out we were pregnant
Secretly hoped it was a girl
Heather graduated from Nursing school
Found out we were having a girl
Maya joined the family!
…

To be continued!

8 Months Old

One hour from now, Maya will be eight months old! She has hit a lot of milestones this last month and I'm still amazed at all she can do!
* Stands when holding on to something (& brave enough to just hang on with one arm)
* Began 'creeping' a week ago, and then crawling two days later- we knew she could do it!
* Prefers real food over baby food- not a fan of purees, but she eats them anyway
* Eats pieces of banana, cheerios and corn flakes, plain macaroni noodles, pieces of toast, crackers (her favorite)
* Says da-da ALL THE TIME (and na-na, ma-ma, ba-ba)
* Is starting to mimic (repeats da-da after I say it, has waved back when I waved at her (though she doesn't connect the wave to "bye bye" yet), will sometimes laugh when she hears someone else laughing
* ALWAYS smiles when she sees the dogs and laughs at Jack when he chases his ball around the house
* Beginning to enjoy peek-a-boo, itsy bitsy spider, and silly songs
* Hums when she hears music or when she's tired- she also clicks her tongue when she's falling asleep
* Still taking two naps a day (yay!) and is doing better with sleeping
* LOVES to pull things off shelves, loves magazines and paper, always goes for the dog food, and is starting to take an interest in looking at books and feeling the touch-and-feel animal type
* Starting the temper tantrum phase
* She's really a happy baby and so goofy and expressive- and she laughs all the time now which we love!

Update: Goodnight Maya

This big girl has been sleeping through the night for the past 3 nights. Yay! We all feel a lot more rested. I took someone's (okay, several someones) advice and started putting Maya to bed awake (after eating and rocking a bit to settle down). She still has a hard time with me putting her to bed and leaving the room, she cries pretty hard for a few minutes at most and then falls asleep. The other thing I began doing was letting her cry a bit during the night when she woke up. I can't say I didn't feel like a terrible mother when she was crying, but I felt like this was the best solution and the results speak for themselves.