Arnies with DJ's Family

My man won a $50 gift certificate to Arnie's in Edmonds at a golf tournament he got to play in last week. So we went with DJ's grandparents and Dad and had brunch. Arnie's is an awesome place for brunch, I highly recommend it! Maya was good for the most part. She got a little antsy towards the end so we had to cut our visit a little shorter than we had hoped. Here are a few pictures of our angel...

Can you tell she was enjoying the food too? Ha!

My Best Friend Romy

Let me tell you all about my best friend. She is so great and we have so much fun together. Sometimes we just lounge around and chat about life...

We also make sure we take care of each other and make sure that one another are smellin fresh and clean....

We get together for dinner or coffee (pancakes and bananas)....

Also, she is 6 months older than me so she gives me all of her hand-me-down clothes. Its awesome! Sometimes I will get clothes that still have the tags on them and have never been worn. The best part is she helps me accessorize.....

But, I have to say the best part about our friendship is I know she will always have my back.....

I couldn't ask for a better friend! I love you Romy!

Love,

Maya

P.S. Sorry for spilling my milk all over the carpet right before you took these pictures Mom. I'm sure everyone who is ready this blog will understand that the carpet is clean but always stained because I am only 15 months old and I spill A LOT! Love you Mom!

Daddy Day (week)

So Father's Day was a little longer this year. I have been wanting to get DJ golf clubs for awhile now and have been researching, searching, reading, looking......for golf clubs! I ended up finding him a awesome set of irons, wedges, and a couple of top of the line drivers from this guy off of good ole CL. Instead of me (a woman) going and meeting up with a stranger from Craiglist to buy these clubs I sent DJ. So in the end my "golf club surprise/fathers day present" came about a week earlier than expected. So not only did DJ golf the day after he got the clubs, his second fathers day present was a tee time with him, his dad and his uncle on fathers day weekend. THEN...oh yes there is more...we went to the track on Sunday (the actual Fathers Day) as a family. WOW, that's a lot of presents don't you think? He is an awesome Dad and totally deserved it all!

We had a lot of fun at the track but it was also a little hard bringing Maya. She is walking now and that is all she wanted to do. It was so crowed that it made me a little nervous so we ended up only staying for a few races. But we did stay long enough for Maya to get up close and personal with a horse. One of the jockey's brought out one of the horses for all the kids to see. I thought she was going to get scared and cry but she reacted the total opposite. She screamed with excitement and reached out to touch the horse. I didn't get a picture but I'm sure we'll be back.


Here is a picture of Daddy and Maya at the track,

Soon after I took this picture we headed home due to those ugly looking Seattle clouds in the background! Also, did you notice that DJ and Maya are matching? I put Maya in a polo shirt so that her and her Daddy would match. Ha!

**I have to add too, that when we got back from the track I had a major allergy attack. Anyways, I took some meds and went to bed early while DJ surprised me and cleaned and detailed my car. Not only is he an awesome Dad but he takes good care of me too! Love you baby, Happy Daddy Day!

RN Stacie

Last Friday we went and got to see Stac graduate from nursing school. I was honored to be able to witness her and all her glory! She worked her butt off for this and she is going to make an unbelievable nurse. It seems like just yesterday when we worked at PA together and her and I were talking about how long school was going to take, yada, yada, yada... and now she is done and starts working at Overlake in a few short weeks. Congratulations Stac! We are all so proud of you!

Stac getting her nursing pin

3 generations of strong women!

My HOT man. Don't you just want to squeeze him!

Britty, Stac and I at the after the graduation

28 is GREAT!

I turned 28 last week and did it in true 28 year old fashion. I stayed in with my family, ate an amazing dinner and DJ made me a yummy cake. What else could a girl ask for than to have her man cook for her?

Doesnt this make your mouth water??

DJ and Maya both got me really sweet cards too! I'm so spoiled!

Beads

Maya is very into accessorizing! She likes wearing necklaces, sunglasses, etc. Her very favorite thing to do is go into our room and get into my jewelry box. She takes everything and tries to put it on like a necklace (rings, bracelets, hair ties) So we have found a few necklaces around the house that are just hers and she wears them around all the time. Also, every day that I pick her up from Paula's she's got her Mardi Gras beads on! Here are a few pictures I snagged of her the other day with her necklaces on. Daddy was brushing her teeth in the pictures too!

DJ likes to say "Maya have you been out with Auntie _____?" I wont say the name but her wild Auntie knows who she is! Ha! :)

Maya's 15 month check-up

Well I have broken the tradition of taking a picture of Maya on the scale at her well care appointments. Oops! Work has been crazy busy and I was late meeting DJ and Maya at the doctors office. I was REALLY disappointed that I couldn't take the picture but I was not about to try and get our restless toddler back on the scale. Her appointment went really good. She is once again hitting all of her marks. She is 28 lbs, 33 1/2 inches long and her head circumference I think was about 19 inches. All and all she is WAY off the charts on everything. The doctor said that she is the size of a 2 year old. That's my girl! Since she just started walking though, I think some of that weight may come off. At least she is not short and fat or tall and super skinny. She is perfectly proportioned. She is a smart little thing too! She showed Dr. Wu how she can do "itzy bitzy spider" and walked for her. Then right when Dr. Wu was walking out the door Maya goes "Byyyyyyyeeeee" ~ like a teenager would say. Ha! Dr. Wu turned around was was like "Did she really just do that? She sounded like an adult" Anyways, I'm so sad because I do not have a picture at the appointment (can you tell this is really upsetting to me since I've mentioned it so many times) so I will leave you with a picture that I didn't post from a few weeks ago and it may be some sort of clue as to why our baby is so chubby, or what we like to say Pleasantly Plump!

She not only likes to eat but she is in the process of learning how to eat with silverware. Our baby is growing up!

Here are a few 15 month facts about Maya:

• She has 6 teeth and more are coming in (partly why she hasn't been sleeping very well the last few days
• She says a ton of words and is repeating what we say. At the doctors office she was laying down on the table for the exam and Dr. Wu said "lets get up" and Maya said "up"
• She goes through stages of eating a ton and then not eating at all. I have noticed that she will eat just about anything you put in front of her if you allow her to eat with silverware. She likes to be independent!
• She is getting into everything, it is definitely time to start baby proofing EVERYTHING!
• I think her favorite word is still "no, no, no"
• She tries to put on her shoes by herself. It is so adorable, I'll try to get it on video for you all.
• Her favorite stuffed animal is Minnie Mouse that her Auntie Jossie brought back for her from Disney World. She sleeps with it every night.
• The only thing tiny about Maya is her feet. She is still in a size 3 and has been for the last 6 months at least.
• Her favorite toy is a big blue ball that we picked up for her from Target. She likes to sit across from you and roll it back and forth.
• She loves to go on walks and be out in the fresh air. She will not fuss one bit if we take her for a walk, she just sits and enjoys the scenery.
• Her favorite interactive game right now is "Izty Bitzy Spider" She puts her little fingers together and goes "ehh" and that means its time to sing!
• Speaking of singing she loves my voice. I know, I have a terrible singing voice but really it is the only thing that calms her down if she is crying.
• When we give her something that she likes or wants she will look at us and give us the biggest smile, then turn away and then look back again with a huge smile. Right now that is her way of saying thank you!

Maya and Romy

Sunday morning Maya and I snuck into Romy's room and got her out of her crib. Then me and the girls went out into the living room and played until the rest of the house got up. It was SO much fun. We had a nice little morning together. They are finally at the age where they like to play with one another. It's nice too that they are far a part enough in age that when Maya yanks toys out of Romy's hand, Romy just moves on and finds something else to play with instead of retaliating. Here are a few pictures of the girls and a couple of videos of them on the recliner/roller coaster. Kids are so awesome, at this age they think anything you do is cool and so much fun.

Sorry the video's aren't more exciting. They were laughing so hard when we first started rocking them and then the camera came out right when they started getting a little bored. Also, sorry for my loud obnoxious laugh (and for Maya picking her nose).

Do you know why they call them toddlers?

Because they toddle right into things like, the corner of an outdoor metal swing...

Bragging Rights

When DJ was laid off at the beginning of the year it was a little bit of a scary time for our family. He didn't know what to do, I didn't know how we were going to make it financially, we were worried, stressed, etc. Ya know the normal stuff that comes along with a major, unexpected change. So after countless job interviews and a ton of frustrating set backs, DJ decided to go back to school. What better time to get an education, right? He worked his butt of when he was a Marine and deserves to go to school and have it paid for.

So he started up at Shoreline spring quarter. He was a little nervous as anyone would be after not being in school for so long. He thought he would be the oldest student there(which he wasn't) , he didn't know how he would do with homework, test, reading textbooks, etc.

Well let me give you a little clue as to how he finished out his first quarter at Shoreline:

We was given this award last week by one of his teachers in his Intro to Business class. His team placed 2nd (out of 80 teams) in the business management simulation project. All quarter they had to run their own airline and DJ stayed up many nights working on this project. I am so proud of him and what he has accomplished already within his 1st quarter.

He has already received 2 out of the 3 grades for the classes he took. They are both A's! The last grade that he is waiting on is from his Business Law class and he killed the final so I'm sure he'll add another A to the other two. So his first quarter at Shoreline, he Aced all of his business classes and received an award for the amazing work he did. SO PROUD!!

To top it off he loves me so much that one night last week I came home to roses, a sweet card, and a clean house (the clean house part was just a normal day to day bonus that I get from him being home before me). Then this week he showed up at my office with two boxes from Nordstrom full of presents; a new shirt, sunglasses, another sweet card and perfume that I have wanted for the last 3 years! (no joke I have wanted this perfume for that long :)) I have a sweet, loving, intelligent man!

Alright I'm done bragging. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! I'll leave you with a picture of our little girl in her big girl walker stance,

Guess who's FINALLY walking??

so many parties so little time

This weekend was a little rough. We had four parties to go to and all of them were at scattered locations. But Maya was a total trooper so it made for a really fun weekend! On Saturday Me, DJ and Maya headed out in the morning, after making breakfast, to the mall to pick up a few things. We had to get a last minute present for one of the parties we were attending and a few other things. In true Ladd Lady form, I was totally stressed out the entire morning, while DJ in true Ladd Lady significant other form, was laid back and relaxed. He wanted to take our time at the mall. He kept saying "Honey I just want you to find something nice that you can where that you feel good in." And I kept saying, "Just forget it. We dont even have time to be shopping. I have presents to wrap, Maya needs a nap, I still have to shower, yada, yada...yada." Well, everything ended up working out just fine and we had an awesome day. Here's the recap....

After the mall we came home so Maya could take a nap. She decided she didn't want to take a nap so she had "quiet time" while we got ready. Then we headed out the house for our first party.

DJ's cousin Carlyn has a little boy, his name is Brayden. It was his 1st birthday. It was at Alfy's in Lynnwood. Have you guys ever been there? Its Alfy's on steroids. Seriously this place is HUGE!! Here are a few pictures.....

Brayden enjoying his own personal birthday cake!

I had to post this picture even though Maya isn't looking at the the camera. It just cracked me up seeing her little chubby wrist, arms and fat fingers clenched together. Ha!

Maya feeding herself....what a big girl! (I know it looks like there is nothing on the spoon. Its because there isn't, she was just trying to be a big girl)

After we left Alfy's we headed out to deep Monroe for Lilly's 2nd Birthday Party. This was Maya on the drive out there...

I'm pretty sure my Mom has a picture of me doing this same pose.

After we got out to Monroe Maya woke up but was still a little sensitive because of the lack of sleep. We got to hang out and play for a little while with Lilly and Romy. Here are a few pictures from the party...

Our little family.

After we left Monroe we headed back to Lynnwood for DJ's Cousin Sara's graduation dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory. We had a great time at dinner but unfortunately by this time we were all so exhausted I forgot to take any pictures. Maya did great at dinner. She was a little antsy and wanted to be held but was good for the most part. She barely ate anything all day, partly I think because she was a little out of sorts from not napping. The only thing she ate was Saltine crackers the entire day. Oh well, by the looks of it she will be fine. Oh, and her Papa gave her some Spumoni ice cream at the end of dinner and of course she did not pass that up!

Sunday we had a nice relaxing morning. Maya and I got up and had our Sunday morning ritual of making coffee, playing together and watching food network. Doesn't get any better than that. At around Noon we started to get ready for the 4th and final party of the weekend. It was my Cousin Maddy's graduation party. We headed out there around 1:30 and spent the day with my family, bbq-ing, hanging out, catching up, enjoying each other. Maya did awesome once again. She didn't eat much but she played hard. She was doing really well with her walking too! I'm terrible, I didn't take ANY pictures today of the festivities. Oops. Here is one of her on the way out to Monroe...

After the party we took her home and got her in her pj's...

... about 5 minutes after we put Maya down, DJ went in to her room to check on her and this is what he saw. She was totally worn out from this weekend. She did so good and we feel so blessed to have such a good baby. Love you boo boo.

Michael Christopher aka Maya's future husband

One of my best friends Katrina gave birth to a beautiful baby boy last Saturday. She went into labor Friday night and had baby Saturday early afternoon. Her and Chris were just here for visit about a month ago and we threw a shower for her. Michael was so anxious to meet his Mama and Dada that he came almost a month early! Baby and Mom are both doing great and I am so happy for their family! Congratulations! We love you and miss you and wish you were here!

Isnt he beautiful?! (Maya's future husband)

The Girls at the Park

Last weekend Joss and I took the girls to the park. It was beautiful outside and we have a park within walking distance of our house. Before looking at the pictures, beware, Maya's glare might be a little frightening!

This one is not too bad, she just looks a little irritated that we're taking pictures of her and not letting her out of her stroller....

Mama and Maya (Sorry about the hair, when its hot the only thing I can do with my frizzy hair is throw it up in an ugly pony tail! Its a Ladd thing)

Alright here's the look....

She's all leaned to the side like "WHAT?" Man, if looks could kill. Ha!

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Too Hot to Handle

Love the weather but I must admit it is a little too hot for me. And Maya is just miserable! Babies dont understand why its so hot. As her Bawa would say, "Babies are like 'can someone please turn the heat down" Ha! Anyways, DJ captured this beautiful picture of our angel sleeping last night.

Foutain Pony and an Eskimo Story

The lighting is not that great but I am finally able to put Maya's hair up in a pony tail! This is big news since I didn't have ANY hair until I was about 2 yrs old. I was a little concerned that she would inherit my nickname when I was a child..."Uncle Fester". My family was so sweet don't you think? Here are a few pics of my little girl and her new hairdo...

These pictures were taken the other night. Right after I took these pictures DJ and Maya read a few books which is a part of our bedtime routine. I was in the kitchen cleaning up and looking for something to make for dinner. I could over hear DJ reading Maya's typical favorites, Singing with Elmo, Elmo at the Zoo, Hungry Caterpillar, etc. Then I heard him reading her a new book. From what I could hear he was reading a book about Polar Bears. Then I hear him veer off from what I can tell is the story and say to his 14 month old daughter in a sweet fatherly voice "Daddy wants to kill a Polar Bear some day" and then goes on reading. He finished the book and we put her to bed. After we came out of her room I looked at him and said "Not only do you want to kill a Polar Bear but you decided to add that to your daughters story?" We both started laughing. He hadn't even known that I was listening and I guess being the Eskimo that he is, it was totally natural to him to share this information with Maya. We both agreed that even though she couldn't even understand what he was saying that next time we read her this book he'll leave that part out!

I promise I don't think the idea of killing any animal is funny, its just that him and I come from such different backgrounds and it becomes very apparent with situations like this. His family used to hunt seal up in Alaska and lived in a village right outside of Nome, Alaska and is a part of the Sitnasuak Tribe. If you follow the link about their tribe one of the values is "Love of Children". That is most definitely accurate. I sat down with DJ's grandfather a few weeks back and he gave the a lot of information regarding the history of their family. It was so interesting. I will have to get some of the pictures from him and do a post of Maya's Eskimo Heritage.