11 Months Old!
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Spring is just around the corner! Maya has been spending lots of time outside this past month. Though she has had stroller phobia lately, Maya does enjoy the fresh air...as long as Mommy carries her ;) They have been enjoying spending time with Stephanie and her 2 month old daughter A'nyah. Stephanie lives only a few minutes away, so it is convenient for them to get together for Mommy/baby time. Sara really enjoys their walks and talks.
Brad had a business trip to Vegas. He attended an internet marketing convention with two of his business partners. They had a great time and Sara was excited when Brad brought home the Amazon Kindle to share! It was a gift from his business partner and a neat way to read books...we highly recommend it. While Brad was gone Sara enjoyed Mommy/Maya time and a movie night in with her friend Tara. They watched Australia with Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman...NOT highly recommended ;)
We celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary on March 6th! We had planned to go out to dinner that night, but Sara was exhausted from a busy week. Instead we dined in with sushi...her favorite :)
10 Months Old!
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Maya is 10 months old and a happy little girl! She loves walking around the house with her little pushing toy and riding it too...backwards! lol The biggest surprise of reaching the ripe old age of 10 months? NO teeth yet. We have thought she was teething multiple times...her teeth are definitely giving us a run for our money and they aren't even here yet ;)
One exciting thing this month was we got a new car! We traded in the 2004 Jetta GLS for a new Audi Q7! Sara scored an amazing deal on it that was too good to pass up. It is nice having an SUV to cart Maya around in, though the Q7 is a pretty posh way to do it! Great features, tons of room for her, her stuff, and any future kiddos. We were happy to chose a German Maker so we got to stay in the VW/Audi family. The GLI and Q7 are happy cousins sitting next to each other in the garage :)
9 Months Old!
Sunday, February 01, 2009
After the busyness of the holidays, we welcomed the slower pace of January. Maya is happy, healthy, and on the move! Maya is all about trying to walk! She loves to takes steps all over the house with us holding her up. Not officially a crawler yet...she crawls about 3 steps then falls on her tummy. Maya had her 9 month check up and her pediatrician gave her a thumbs up. Still no teeth, though her pedi said her lower central incisors are going to pop through any day now.
Brad enjoyed a fun new activity this month...snowmobiling! It is something he has always wanted to do and boy did he enjoy it. Our friend/neighbor/fellow ham radio operator Scott M. has two snowmobiles, so Brad was thrilled to go snowmobiling with him. They took a 15 min ride to a nearby forest preserve and had a blast riding all the trails. It looks like a snowmobile might be on Brad's wish-list for the future! As it turns out, Sugar Grove was the coldest suburb in Chicagoland one morning in January at -30°F.
Sara bought Sprinkles Cupcakes mix from William's Sonoma and had fun making them using her new fancy Kitchen Aid standing mixer. Our neighbors definitely enjoyed the fruits of her labor :)
Our friend Melanie was so kind to babysit Maya for a day while we ventured out to Roselle and later Oak Park to tour the Frank Lloyd Wright home and studio. We are such of fan of his architecture, so it was amazing to see his work and learn about his life. Maya had a blast with Melanie and thought she was the best babysitter ever!
Happy Valentine's Day!
8 Months Old!
Thursday, January 01, 2009
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We hope 2009 finds you happy and healthy :)
December was an exciting and busy month for us! It started off with Maya meeting Santa for the first time. We visited him at a local zoo that Sara frequented several times as a child, so that made the visit extra special. One great thing about it being a small place is no lines! It was cute watching her reach out to Santa to hold her, but then as soon as he did she started crying of course. Guess that is a rite of passage for kids...you have to cry when you are on Santa's lap!
Shortly after that we left for a week-long trip to Dallas, TX and visited friends for their daughter's 1st birthday. The Yi Family (Missy, her husband Sung, and their daughter Hana) are originally from Texas, but moved to Chicago a few years ago. Sara met Missy online a couple years ago after getting interested in Korean culture and was looking to make a Korean friend. They had a beautiful baby girl in December of 2007, and we were sad to see them move away to South Carolina in February of 2008. In Korean culture a child's 1st birthday is a big deal because they used to not live to that age many years ago, so they have a huge traditional party called a Tol (Toljabee). We brought the point-and-shoot camera for this trip, so the pictures didn't turn out the best, but we hope you get an idea of what the Tol was like.
While in Texas we stayed in a penthouse loft in the heart of the city. We aren't city-folk, but it was fun to stay somewhere different for a chance. Maya didn't mind the flight itself, though she did seriously mind missing her naps! There were some stressful moments, but overall she was a trooper! Dallas has an absolutely HUGE Koreatown and Sara could have spent the whole trip exploring all the Korean shops. We had a great time in Texas and think it is an awesome state. Sara was so excited to attend a traditional Korean event and we were thrilled to see our friends again and have them meet Maya. We hope to go back in the future and also visit Brad's extended family down in Austin, TX.
Maya's 1st Christmas...what a joy! We hosted it at our house this year, which worked out great with Maya. We smoked a huge ham on the grill from Imboden's in Dekalb and it turned out amazing! Brad and Sara's Dad did an excellent job as grillmasters...like always! Maya's two favorite gifts are her Incrediblock from Santa and her Musical Jungle ball toy from Grandma and Grandpa Barton. Maya loves to stand when she plays, so she especially enjoys these two toys that are great for that. Brad's favorite Christmas gift was a whole bunch of Starbucks stuff. Sara's was a Harmony Universal remote and the NIV bible on cd's. The funniest thing about Christmas morning was Maya being more interested in the wrapping paper and bows than the gifts themselves!
New Years Eve we relaxed at home with some yummy appetizers and drinks with Sara's parents. Sara's mom had a blast playing Guitar Hero on Wii...she is really into that game surprisingly! We watched the tv events in HD, thanks to the homemade HDTV antenna Brad made. ha
In 2008 God blessed us with Maya and we are looking forward to what He has in store for us in 2009!
7 Months Old
Monday, December 01, 2008
What a difference a month makes! A week or so after our last blog post Maya started sitting up all on her own and eating solids...so exciting! Sara makes Maya's baby food from fresh organic foods (locally grown when possible) and Maya is lovin' it! We gave her cereal twice and then moved right onto fresh foods like avocado, banana, and pear. No yucky jar food for her...she gets the good stuff made at home with love :) It is fun and easy to do and we highly recommend it!
Sara turned 29 years old in November. Her friend Tara was so kind in offering to babysit Maya so that we could enjoy a lovely dinner out for the evening. We went to a restaurant in Geneva called Niche and the meal was absolutely amazing! Brad got Sara an Edible Arrangement (fruit cut to look like a floral bouquet) for her birthday and it made us really, really sick a few days afterwards. It was sooo hard taking care of Maya when we were both sick with food poisoning, but thank the good Lord she was fine! It was a challenge for Sara to nurse Maya while being so ill...the dehydration took its toll, but Sara hung in there! Sara's Dad brought us homemade chicken and rice soup, jello, and diet 7up, which was a welcome meal after we were feeling better. Praise God Maya is in great health and has yet to get sick at over 7 months of age!
Maya had a lovely 1st Thanksgiving at the Barton home. Grandma and Grandpa Barton bought Maya a highchair to keep at their house so that she can always enjoy meals with everyone. This Thanksgiving dinner was extra-special because we bought a Bourbon Red heritage breed turkey. The local diversified farm we purchased it from grows their poultry in a sustainable and environmentally responsible way. The turkey turned out amazing....it was in a whole different league compared to the factory-style turkeys commonly available. The funniest part of it all was placing an order for it knowing that it was still running around the farm!
We are beyond excited for Christmas with Maya! We are hosting it again this year and are planning on making a ham from Ream's in Elburn. Maya chopped down her 1st Christmas tree and had a blast at the tree farm. God is sooo good and we are truly blessed to have a beautiful little person to share the Christmas season with. Happy Birthday Jesus! He is the reason for the season :)
