Visiting with Auntie Sam and Uncle Derek

Auntie Sam and Uncle Derek are such fun!  The girls clearly sense the undeniable love their NYC Aunt and Uncle have for them as the greetings they received today were filled with love.  For the first time ever, Maya initiated a wave and vigorously waved to Auntie Sam as she entered Emmy and Sabba's house.  Jenna immediately wanted to initiate them into her "club," by requesting their assistance with pink and blue babies multitude of needs.  

It is so precious for us to see how much the girls love Sam and Derek and how unmistakable their pride is in their nieces.  Whether it was cheering over and over and over again when Maya signed something at the dinner table, or listening intently as Jenna told all of the animals we saw at the farm last week one time and then immediately asking to do it all over again, Sam and Derek expressed their joy for the experience as if it was the very first time!  

We feel so blessed to have them in our lives; we all adore them!  (And Puppy Charlie too!)

Maya is 9 months old!

We can't believe it, but Maya Blake is now 9 months old!!!  We are in awe of what she has learned to do in the last few weeks, maybe even week!  

Maya now can sign: milk, "yay," up, wave "hi" and "bye," and clap her hands.  She grabs for the food or drink she wants and is a smiling machine!    

Maya has also recently moved from just crawling slowly to actively crawling, pulling to stand up and even cruising a little bit!  Maya is most often un-phased by small bumps or falls.  She gets a quick hug/kiss and then moves on, often attempting to conquer whatever set her back the last time!  :)  

Maya enjoys eating "grown-up foods" now, no more purees for this little girl.  Some of her favorites include: Town House crackers, Cheerios, vegetable pancakes, yogurt and bananas.  Boy, she is a good eater!  

On her "9 month birthday" Maya had a first-her first tooth broke through the gum and she officially has a TOOTH!  

Maya is a physical little girl, wanting to get into things, learn by her own experience and is not afraid to nudge someone or something out of her way to get what she wants.

Maya Blake continues to be an easy-going, happy, charismatic baby.  We are loving watching her grow!  

The most amazing place to visit!

Ask Jenna what her favorite place to go and these days she will likely say a farm, a zoo or the pet store.  ANIMALS ANIMALS ANIMALS!!!!  Now if you are to ask her specifically which one she likes the best-Davis Farmland would hands down be her top choice.

The hour plus drive, with the GPS taking us all over Bolton, Sterling and the likes, was SO worth it!  Each of the girls got to pet: goats, sheep, a rat, and more!  An incredible time was had by all!

Make sure to check out Daddy's IMOVIE to show our fun time!

June Candids

A few photos of the month!

Busy baby

Maya is on the move!  In May she learned to crawl, mid-June she learned to pull up to a stand and now, only a week and a half later she is beginning to cruise!!!  Yes, Maya is just 8 1/2 ish months old!!!!!  She sure is busy!  Who knows what will be next--walking right?  Let's just hope we have a little lag time until that happens...:)

Sadness...

It is with our deepest sadness that we share with all that at 12:30 a.m. today, (06/17/10) Great-grandma/Grandma Ann Ritt passed away.  We all will miss her always and will treasure our most fond memories.

Storyland!!!!!

Our first trip as a family of four was more than a success, it was a FANTASTIC weekend, one that ended all too soon.

We arrived at our "hotel"/townhouse at The Red Jacket Resort and Spa on Friday mid-afternoon, following a stop at Friendly's for lunch--a HUGE hit with both girls!  Jenna was amazed at the new space, running around chiming "Let's go see what is over here!"  Maya was THRILLED with the open floor space to crawl, roll and sit.  Maya also investigated all of the new areas to "get into!" :)

Following a bit of playing with our toys from home, each little one took a short nap and was rejuvenated and ready to hit Storyland!  Curiosity was seriously piqued for Jenna as she asked repeatedly on the way to the park, "What we see at Storyland?"  No matter our answer, she would respond "MORE MORE MORE!"  

Our first day was a short hour and half or so and much was spent surveying the sights.  Jenna tested out the circus--watching acrobats, The Quick Change Magicians and catching a glimpse of the dog portion as well!  Jenna and Daddy tested out the whale ride-DO NOT bring that up to Jenna---EVER!!!!  It was NOT a good experience!  The ride was cut short due to "someone" chanting "Jenna ALL DONE!!!!!!!"  Needless to say, we tested out a more serene atmosphere with the Safari Train Ride--a wonderful match!  Seeing pretend animals while moving on a leisurely paced train, what could be better?  Oh, it could be... Wait till tomorrow!!!!!!  We capped off the day with an ideal pizza dinner in.  The girls had their bath and headed to bed in their first night sharing a room-EVER!

The night went smoothly, no issues (aside from the typical 5:30 a.m. wake-up for the day!).  Day 2 started with a near monsoon of rain.  Daddy suggested we walk the short path to the restaurant, while Mommy's concern for Maya's lack of hood won out-THANK GOD!  It was POURING!!!!!!!!!!  Three of us enjoyed a nice quiet breakfast, Maya enjoyed a nice quiet nap at the table.  As the meal ended, the rain stopped and we opted to head to Storyland and see what short time we could get out of the dry part of the day.  

The "short time" ended up being the entire day with just a two hour hiatus for naps back at the hotel.  The biggest surprises were: Jenna's dislike of the princess, Maya's LOVE of  and active participation/displays of interest in the train ride around the park and Jenna's near captivation by Clifford and Curious George, even going as far as following Clifford over to a bench and sitting down next to him, on her own!!!  The day was completed with another in hotel dinner, baths and bed.    

Mommy and Daddy sat talking later on Saturday night about the day and what everyone seemed to enjoy.  When reflecting back on all of the incredible moments and future memories, we found ourselves already planning next summer's trip!  

The last morning was begun with another hotel breakfast, followed by some playing, packing and shopping at the outlets in the pouring rain.  Another Friendly's lunch to culminate the weekend and off for a drive back home.  Nothing more could be said-this was an ideal trip for us-one none of us wanted to end.  We are all eager to see what our other two summer weekend adventures have in store.  Sometimes in life you have the chance to look at things and think, it can't get much better than this---this weekend was one of those times!