7 Months Old

Miss Maya is 7 months old. Meaning she's closer to her one year birthday than her birth day. EEk.

Our little critter is so active and just bursting with personality.

She says 'mama' and 'dada' (it's just meaningless babble at this age to her, but music to our ears for sure)

She eats "finger foods" - Cheerios, crackers, bits of banana and bread...

She's doing really well with her sippy cup

Maya LOVES to ride in the seat of the shopping cart when we go out

She rolls all over the place and is THIS CLOSE to crawling

When she sits, one foot is ALWAYS on top of the other. It looks kind of funny- you can see an example in one of the pics.

She sleeps on her stomach now- I lay her down on her back and she immediately rolls over.

She can pull up to a standing position on her own! This was quite a shock when we put her in her crib, looked away for a minute, and then saw her standing holding onto the crib. So we lowered the crib to prevent any disasters.

Her favorite toys include the TV remote, keys (ewww), anything plastic and crinkly, the keyboard, and things that open and close.

She also loves to empty out the diaper bag- she takes each item out and inspects it, puts it in her mouth, then throws it out of her way and goes in for the next item.

Maya smiles and laughs ALL. THE. TIME!

She loves peek-a-boo, funny faces, pat-a-cake (done with her feet) and pretty much any silly song sung with a high voice and ridiculous expression.

Maya's definitely at the most fun age so far and she does a wonderful job entertaining us!

Photoshoot Giveaway

A friend of mine is giving away a free photoshoot! Hurry and enter!

http://holdthatpose.blogspot.com/2010/06/give-away.html

Girlfriend's Stats

Alright, today was baby's checkup-

*16 lbs 12 oz
* 27" long---only 3 more inches and she'll have outgrown her carseat :P

Doc was amazed she is sitting up so well by herself. That's our big girl for ya.

6 Months Old!

Wow, today (or...yesterday since it's 12:30) our girl turned half a year old.

It's been a busy month of milestones:

- Rolled from back to tummy

- Moved out of the bassinet and into her crib in her own room

- Moved back into the bassinet basket which was placed in her crib

- First mani/pedi at Tami's Salon =)

- Began solids a few days ago

- Learned to sit up by herself

- Cut two bottom teeth (at the same time!)

Maya's doing well and we think she weighs around 17-17.5 lbs. The only thing we're really struggling with right now is sleeping. She sleeps through the night still, it's just a matter of getting her to sleep in the first place. Ever. Now that she's more alert and even more curious about what is going on around her, she fights sleep. Big Time. The whole thing is one big vicious cycle:

- No/very short morning nap ---> No/very short afternoon nap ---> Tired, grumpy baby who gets progressively more tired and grumpy as the day goes on ---> Worn out parents, worn out baby.

Not to complain, but... eh- who am I kidding? I can complain.

We're squished somewhere between the Ferber and Sears methods. Let her cry- it will teach her to self-soothe. Don't let her cry- she'll lose trust in her parents. Let her cry- this is how you teach healthy sleep habits. Don't let her cry- it's cruel, she's crying for a reason, Blah Blah Blah.

When she's not overtired, she really is so fun and interactive. She Loves Jackson, especially (and her Yorkie cousin, Lily!). Whenever she sees Jack, she gets a Big Smile on her face and reaches out to pet him (okay, to pull his hair). She loves it when he licks her hand or her foot and Jack is great about being gentle and not getting too crazy with her. Several times, I've laid Maya on the floor with her toys, taken a peek a few minutes later and Jack is lying on his back right next to her.

Precious, I tell you.

We are loving our girl and can't believe how quickly she's growing.

5 Months

- No, Maya still doesn't sleep in her crib...unless she happens to fall asleep while she's in it.

- Fun Fact- The pink snuggle bear in the corner was also her mama's pink snuggle bear when she was a baby =)

Didn't I just write the 4 month post, like, yesterday? Well, it's that time again- tomorrow is the 4th day of the month.

At 5 months, our girl is active and 'talkative' and just plain delightful.

She enjoys eating anything she can grab onto and shove in her mouth, especially little baby toes. She goes to town on those miniature piggies.

She discovered her thumb this past month along with the magical calming effect it has.

Maya is so easy to put to bed- I simply lay her down in her bassinett, turn on the humidifier, and she's out within a few minutes (most nights). Naps happen daily at 12 and 3...ahhhh... I love a routine.

Miss Maya rolled over a couple of weeks ago while Daddy was watching and Mom was in the other room.

Teething continues with lots of spitting and more drooling; no actual teeth yet.

But we are loving these toothless grins and the way she shyly turns her head away from you when she smiles.

And the laughs...well they are few and far between. This girl is stingy with her giggles. And one must work very hard to get one.

But they are SO worth the effort.

And our Maya became a cousin this month as little Kara joined the family! Cousins are by far the best playmates to have.

We have some fun new videos too, which I'll share soon.

4 month Stats

We took the little one in for her doc appointment last Friday. Have I mentioned how much we love her doctor?! He's very gentle with her, is great at explaining things, and most importantly he is never in a rush with us.

Yep, he will forever be the Kunz's pediatrician...

For those who are interested, we go to Scott Smith, D.O. at Idaho Falls Pediatrics.

Anyway, here are the stats:
14 lbs. 10 oz (70%ile)
25 3/4" (95%ile...!!!)
40 cm. head circ. (20%ile)
----our girl is healthy and perfect in every way----

4 months old

Maya is 4 months old today!

Milestones & Stuff

- reaching, holding toys, bringing toys to her mouth, grabbing mom's hair, grabbing cheeks and lips that lean down to kiss her

- LAUGHING! (This is so fun to hear- we love it)

- raising her head and chest on her forearms during tummy time

- drooling, dribbling, chewing on her tongue constantly-- the teeth have yet to come through, though

- first "ponytails" and "piggie tails"- mom couldn't resist since her hair is getting so long. Dad rolls his eyes at mom, but takes a bunch of photos and really thinks she looks adorable.

Quirks

- Raises one eyebrow a lot (especially when looking at dad) =)

- Screams/screeches when she's happy, excited, bored, tired, hungry. I'm not talking about crying or whining, I'm talking about her actually screaming as loud as she can.

- When she wants to put something in her mouth, she'll stick her lips out really far as she's bringing it to her mouth- as if to say- "Come here, you tasty toy- okay, I'll meet you halfway." (you can see this in one of the pics)

Likes

- chewing on fists, fingers, and pretty much anything else

- being outside

- teddy bear mobile above her crib (it's part of our morning 'getting dressed routine')

- frog toy

- baths

- sitting up. If she's in a reclining position, most times she'll pull herself forward and try to sit up.

Dislikes

- getting strapped into the carseat

- formula...which she rarely gets, but it's much more convenient when we're out on the town or have visitors over.

- being still. This girl thinks she must be bounced or rocked at all times.

So this month we set up a baby monitor in preparation for moving Maya to her own room at night. I have mixed feelings about this. She's still sleeping in the bassinett in our room. It's convenient for the 3am and 5am feedings and just kind of nice to have the whole family together during the night.

But...she's growing out of that thing. Her little arms are always right up against the sides and before we know it, she'll be sitting up alone and getting a lot more mobile. This month might be the one when we transition to the crib...might

And...the other 4-month 4-letter word...food...after doing some research on when babies should be started on solids, we've decided to wait until 6 months to introduce any. Turns out there's no nutritional need for baby cereal this early and giving it sooner has been linked to food allergies and higher risk for diabetes/obesity later on in life.

Wow, this is a rather long post so I'll stop writing now! =)