Eastover

Yesterday we went to the Friedman's for Eastover-Easter and Passover. And for cousins Hannah and Kaylie's birthdays!
Thats cousin Carlie aka "the favorite" and fun aunt Dana the hostess on the right.
The food was yummy, Maya particularly enjoyed the strawberries. She also LOVED jumping on the trampoline in their backyard.
Thats Maya and the birthday sisters. Hannah is the big sister in the back, and Kaylie is next to Maya.
They had an easter egg hunt for the little kids, and Maya found 2. She enjoyed carrying around the basket more than looking for the eggs. Im sure next year she will get the hang of it-especially since these eggs were filled with cash!
She was super well behaved the entire day, then screamed most of the way home.

choooo chooooo!

Maya's friend Lulu invited us to the Train Museum called "Travel Town" inside Griffith Park today.
It was a beautiful warm day and the girls had a blast. We all went for a ride on the mini train, -front row, 2 laps around the grounds, and lots of whistle blowing by conductor Ralph-he even took the group photo for us!

someone's in the kitchen with Maya

Maya got a BIG Easter gift from fun aunt Dana (yes, we really call her that) and uncle Heath- a vintage pink kitchen!
We brought it home last night, and it's the only thing she has played with since.
We have no kiddie dishes or utensils or pots and pans to put in it, but as Pedja said, she can use her imagination -and I have given her a few things from the real kitchen to play with.

an apple a day

keeps Maya healthy and strong!

MWAH!

Blowing kisses with dad.

get up, stand up

Maya is climbing on everything these days-chairs, beds, the dining room table.
Here she is on my TRACY stool that I have had for more than 30 years.
With Pedja's help, she is able to stand up on it proudly.

chillaxin'

Here are the kids, hangin' out, listening to some music (beastie boys) in Luka's room.

Seal Beach

We went down to Seal Beach on Saturday to see my awesome friend/super mom Elizabeth and her family.
Luka enjoyed looking for sandcrabs, Maya enjoyed her first time at the beach, and her Serafina and Leo enjoyed the kiddy pool on the sand. They rented a home on the beach, and when I say on the beach I mean it. It was so cool. The weather couldn't have been better, and her husband Tom and Pedja did some great work in the kitchen for lunch.
We all had a great time, and on the way home Luka said this was the best spring break ever.

A new food

Maya enjoyed a bit of grilled corn on the cob for dinner for the first time.

Sweet dreams

Kids this age normally don't use pillows, but last night Maya fell asleep on mine.

Mommy's little helper part II

I posted a few days ago about how helpful Maya is around the house.
Today she helped me seperate and bring out the recycling.

Scooby snacks!

Her afternoon snack of choice today?
Orange peel.
Yep, I'm serious. She left the orange on her tray.
An excellent source of vitamin C right?

Fun at the park

Yesterday at the park, Maya was going up and down stairs on the equipment all by herself, and with ease, and speed.
Then she got a little ahead of herself, and we had a "frontside noseslide to fakie faceplant"
Thats skateboard lingo for she fell on her face and slid.
This is what her poor nose looks like today.

First Mole

I found a mole on Maya's buddah belly!

LOVE

Mommy's little helper

It really impresses me how helpful Maya is.
Here she is putting the wet clothes in the dryer for me.
She also unloads the dishwasher, and puts her dirty clothes in her hamper.
I will snap some pics of her doing those things soon.

OUCH

It may be hard to see, but that's a bite mark Maya left on my arm.
It frickin' hurt.

15 month check up

I am happy to report Maya's stats from her 15 month check up yesterday:
26.5 pounds, 33.5 inches, 2 vaccines, 1 blood test, 0 crying!
We changed doctors once again, and I am beyond happy with Dr. Hauselman, her amazing super hero like nurses (hence 0 crying), and their beautiful kid orientated awesome new office.

Serbia is Awesome!

There are lots of cool things about Serbia, and being married to a Serbian man.
I think the best thing about is his mom's homemade Wild Rose Jam.
Upon the return of his last visit,Pedja's entire suitcase was full of various flavors of homemade jam, and Rakya- another homemade concoction. But this one is plum liquor, and is the 2nd best thing about beng married to a Serbian man.
Sadly we are down to our last jar of ALL of our favorite flavors of jam, the wild rose.
We recently gave Maya a little bit on her waffle, and she was an instant fan too.
Here she is today with the large serving spoon -once we were all done of course. No double dipping in this stuff. Being homemade there are no preservatives, so that would be an absolute tragedy to have it go bad.

Grandma's Birthday

Yesterday was my moms birthday! We were lucky to have gotten to spend it with her this year.
Maya and I took her to brunch, and then the family all went to PF Chang's for dinner.
I made a Strawberry-Rhubarb Birthday pie that we still haven't cut into because we were SO full after dinner last night.

Here Maya is celebrating her wonderful grandma by reading the Food TV Magazine to her.

Black sheep black sheep

What do you see?
Maya and I read the brown bear book numerous times every day.
I think it's a hit with most kids.

Books are your friend

Auntie Andrea came to visit a couple of weeks ago (I have REALLY been slacking with this blog) for her spring break.
She brought Maya and all of us so much joy, and also her first YO GABBA GABBA video, and this large interactive book.
I find Maya siting quietly reading it all the time.

fisherman

Pedja took Luka fishing last weekend. They left the house at 5am and drove for 2 hours to Castaic Lake.
They pulled over for this awesome sunrise shot.
No fish were caught this time, just in case you were wondering.

clips clips and more clips

This is what happens when dad does her hair.
She handed him all of her barrettes, and he put them all in.

kid sister/my buddy

Maya just adores Luka and the feeling is clearly mutual.

chillin' with my homegirl

daddys little girl part IIII

yogurt part II

Yogurt, oh messy, yummy yogurt.
It is one of Maya's favorites, and it is also the ONLY thing she will not let me feed her.
She takes the spoon immediately away from me, and then using her whole hand, scoops out the entire container onto her tray.
She also drinks the yogurt out of the container, and rubs some in her hair. She paints with it on her tray, and does somehow eat some too.
I now contribute her fabulous skin to a daily application of it.