Sean wanted to take smash cake photos with Maya. I naively thought that meant he wanted me to let her smash into her cake on her birthday and have him take photos. Then he started showing me some example images with beautiful backgrounds and adorably clad babies and ridiculously large cakes. Clearly, this would require a little more effort.

Maya’s cake smash – almost 1 year old

To start with, I bought a giant cupcake pan. Then, because so many of the cakes in the photos looked to be professionally done, I bought a decorating kit. Sean bought a purple background and a fluffy orange tutu. I baked a test cake and practiced decorating it. I made a giant pile of icing. I attempted to refrigerate said icing overnight and somehow destroyed it. Sean purchased emergency icing (‘cause I just didn’t feel like making more icing just then.) The long and short is that a LOT of preparation went into this project.

The day finally came for the photos. I had baked the cake earlier in the day and decorated it while Maya napped. Sean set up his background and lighting. I looked at his set-up and told him he needed to be fast on the trigger. If the pudding painting was any indicator, the girl was going to be hauling cake to her mouth as fast as her little arms could manage. He said he wasn’t so sure. Lots of the kids in the online photos were pretty dainty about it. Maya, generally speaking, is not a dainty child. I bet him five dollars that she’d tear into it. Needless to say, I lost my money.

Happy Pre-smash Maya

We got her all tutu-ed up and brought her in for some photos. She happily bounced around and grinned while Sean took a few cake-free shots. Then I brought the cake in. She reached out and touched it right away, and then she paused. She looked around in confusion and crawled around the cake to get to me. We tried it again. Nope, getting away from the cake as quickly as possible.

We thought maybe it was because it was late in the day, so we tried again the next day. Again, no joy. She’d scramble away from that cake and into my arms almost as soon as I sat her down. I gave her tastes of the icing and of the cake, feeling certain that if she just realized it was sweet and delicious, she’d lay into it, and still, she was having none of it. She got so upset at one point, she was full on, tears-streaming-down-her-face crying. Even sitting on my lap near the cake, she was very tentative and kept wanting to crawl away.

Not sure about this …

Finally, Daddy took control of the situation. He plopped her in front of the cake and shoved her hands in it. Even then, she was pretty ambivalent about the situation, seeming to want nothing more than to get that mess off her hands. We did manage to get some cute smash cake photos, they just weren’t the photos we set out to capture. When Maya was born a month early, someone told us it was good practice – that she’d be surprising us every step of the way. That person wasn’t wrong.

I wanted to be the mom who made her kid a costume for Halloween, and Sean and I wanted to dress up with her. We’ve been thinking of cute ideas that would allow all three of us to dress up thematically. As so often happens, there just wasn’t time, and we wound up buying costumes instead. Yeah, that’s plural. We couldn’t make up our minds so Maya wound up with two.

Maya the Tiger – 11 1/2 months old

Maya growls. She has this little stuffed tiger that Aunt Kay made her, and we taught her that the tiger growls. Now every time she picks up her stuffed tiger, she growls. And when we ask her to growl (and she feels like it), she does it. So definitely she had to be a tiger.

Maya the Monkey

Maya’s also silly. We’ve called her Maya Monkey forever. So definitely she had to be a monkey.

The costumes are hot and the hats that came with them slip over her eyes, so Maya’s not too keen on wearing them. 11-month-olds, it turns out, do not value aesthetics over comfort. Tonight we’ll probably try to dress her up to hand out candy at the house, but I’m guessing it won’t last too long. Oh well, at least we have cute pictures.

Two weekends ago, we finally had a bit of a cold front blow through town. With morning temperatures in the 50s, you could almost believe it really was October. With the promise of temperatures topping out in the low 80s and the sun shining, we decided to spend some time outdoors. We took Maya to Bastrop to a pumpkin patch.

Maya in the pumpkin patch – 10 1/2 months old

We left Austin bound for Barton Hill Farms mid-morning, figuring Maya would nap during the 45 minute car ride. Not so. She kept up a steady stream of playing and jabbering, not even looking sleepy till the last five minutes of our drive. Sean looked at me and said, “I bet we have fifteen minutes.” I knew it was probably true.

We were wrong. The moment we got out of the car, Maya looked around and giggled. I don’t know if it was the sunny but not blistering weather, the kids running around, or what, but she was happy. Better still, she was pleasant and active for the next two hours.

The whole family!

There were lots of hay bales stacked up here and there with old farm machinery and lots of pumpkins. I’m not sure why, but Maya really seemed enamored with those pumpkins. And of course, hay is fun to eat.

They had some goats penned up for the kids to feed and pet. Those goats may have been among Maya’s favorite things ever. They nuzzled at her hand searching for food and she petted their heads and played with their tiny horns.

Maya loved the goats

The Barton Hill Farms folks had made a very large Willie Nelson themed corn maze, and we walked in it a little while. For the first time all day, I actually started to feel hot, and Maya was kind of bored, so we didn’t spend a great deal of time in there.

We ended our outing with lunch at a picnic table under a big shade tree. Maya drank her bottle then helped eat Mom and Dad’s hamburgers and fries. We had barely made it out of the parking lot before she was asleep.

Summer is finally (FINALLY) over here, but earlier in the month it was still distinctly present. We took advantage of the warm weather to wedge in a few last little outdoor photography projects.

Maya Pudding Painting – 10 1/2 months old

Project 1: Let Maya paint with pudding. All in all, this worked out well, however, there were two tiny issues. First, the moment she realized it was pudding, she wanted to eat it, not paint with it. Second, chocolate pudding looks like crap, in the most literal sense. Still it was hilarious to watch her mess around with it. As long as you remember that it’s chocolate pudding, it’s pretty cute.

Maya in her Summer Dress – 10 1/2 months old

Project 2: Photo Maya in her little summer dress. We had picked up this very thin, pretty little dress on a whim a while back. It can really only be worn when it’s warm and next spring she’ll certainly be too big. We hustled her into it and let her play with the trees in the yard. Very pretty.

We’d been wanting to take Maya to the beach at least once this year, but hadn’t quite worked out the logistics. Luckily, our friend Holly HAD worked out the logistics, rented a condo in South Padre for a week, and offered us the spare room. And that is how in mid-September, we came to be taking our first long-distance road trip with Maya for her first-ever beach vacation.

Maya at South Padre – almost 10 months old

The drive to South Padre is pretty easy; once you get past San Antonio, there’s really no traffic (at least in the off season – can’t speak for spring break). We whipped out the big convertible car seat for this trip so Maya would have a little more room to stretch out, but even so, by the end of that drive, she and that car seat were through with each other.

The condo was pretty lively with Holly and Chris and their kids Ruby (age 4) and Herbie (age not-quite-2) and the three of us. I think Maya was in heaven. There were other kids there for her to watch and interact with, Mom and Dad didn’t enforce vegetable quotas or bed time, and there was a pool practically right outside the door.

It’s right in the middle of hurricane season and there was at least one, if not multiple incoming tropical storms, so the water was pretty rough for most of the few days we were there. We did manage to make it to the beach and play in the water one day though. Maya really likes sand. When we put her on her blanket at home, she’s a little wary of crawling out into the grass. Not so with sand. She hauled ass off that blanket at speed, not stopping till she was all fours on sandy beach. I wish I could tell you that no sand was consumed during that outing, but I’d be lying. Not only did she eat it, I think she enjoyed the flavor.

Playing in the Gulf was a little different than playing in the pool. We didn’t really let the waves splash Maya’s face much, but she still never quite made her peace with the water rushing at her all crazy like that.

Lounging

Given the sometimes rainy weather and the choppy water, we spent a good deal of our time in the condo pool. The kids LOVED it. Maya spent hours relaxing in her little floating thing and playing with Ruby and Herbie’s toys.

We had a great meal at Gabriella’s. The pizza is delicious, they have a nice beer selection, and they seem to be really tolerant of small children.

Can you tell they’re related?

I’m a little sad that we didn’t get to see the beach a bit more, but all in all, it was a good trip. Herbie, Ruby, and Maya provided most of the entertainment. The vibe was distinctly low-key, which was perfect for us. We only stayed a few days, so we didn’t have a chance to get vacation-with-an-infant fatigue. I think we’re already planning to go again next year, figuring a kid who can move around a little more on her own might have a better time playing in the water.

We have a problem with one of our cats. Verbo has a terrible habit of chewing on things, to the point that she consumes pieces of whatever she’s gnawing on. Many of our paperback books have covers with pierced or missing corners. Most of our electrical cords have teeth marks in them (scary, right?). Maya has lots of toys that used to have tags on them and now have shredded nubs instead.

Maya – 9 months old

We received a little tutu in a box of hand-me-down clothes and had been dressing some of Maya’s stuffed animals in it. One day, we noticed that big chunks of it were missing. Verbo strikes again. We figured we better dress Maya up and get her picture before the tutu was completely consumed.

Maya – 9 months old

This also let us show off Maya’s first moves toward being a proper biped. It took her a little while to figure out crawling, but now she’s a force to be reckoned with. Working in the office during the day, I’ll hear the telltale slap-slap-slap of an approaching crawler. Soon after, a grinning Maya will crawl around the corner and pop her head in. She can also climb up the stairs (but not down yet). She can pull herself up to standing and even manages to tentatively cruise along the furniture from time to time.

Maya – 9 months old

As always, it’s so much fun to watch her figure things out. It wasn’t that long ago that we were wondering if she’d ever learn to crawl. Now it’s hard to slow her down.

In the hundred degree heat of a Texas summer, there is no reason to dress a baby in anything other than a diaper and onesie / snapsuit / creeper / whatever … except that babies in overalls are beyond cute, especially when they get a hold of their parents’ straw hat.

Maya – 8 months old

I feel bad for Maya. She really wants to be outside, but between the heat and her band, it’s a little too much most of the time. Sometimes though, we ditch the band and hang out in the yard anyway.

Over fourth of July weekend, we took a trip to Alabama so Maya could visit her Lolli and Pop Woods and her Aunt Darci, Uncle Will, and cousin AP. We were worried that now that Maya was a little more alert to her surroundings that it would be harder to get her through the airport, but need not have bothered. Apparently she’s a seasoned traveler now, accustomed to the ins and outs of air travel.

Maya – 7 1/2 months old

We tried out a new plan. We’d fly out to Alabama around Maya’s bedtime to see if that would help us breeze through the flight. It worked well. She ate and slept as expected, making for a trouble-free trip. The problem is that when we got to Harry and Helen’s house, Maya had just woken from a good long nap and was ready to par-tay. Mommy and Daddy, on the other hand, were ready to crash.

Maya and Lolli

It had been a very wet summer in Homewood, and our visit was no exception. Given that, and everyone’s generally quiet mood, we were homebodies for the majority of our visit. Maya is scared of the noise my blender makes, so I wasn’t too keen on keeping her out past her bedtime to experience the sights and sounds of Independence Day anyway (next year will be better, I think).

Maya and Pop

While we had a good visit, we still didn’t have the presence of mind to take too many pictures. We do have a few of Lolli and Pop with Maya, taken the very last day we were there. There’s only one with Aunt Darci and cousin AP, and we didn’t manage to get any at all with Uncle Will.

Our little family!

Darci took some family photos for us, and they turned out really nicely! I think the only other time before this we’ve even tried to get a family photo was Christmas, and none of us had a great deal of energy or enthusiasm for it.

Because of Maya’s tight neck muscles (torticollis), she wound up preferring one side over the other when it came to sleeping, and especially early on, she spent a lot of time sleeping. Thanks to all this, she developed a flat spot on one side of her head (plagiocephaly). She also has mild scaphocephaly. To treat these things, at her pediatrician’s advice, we had her fitted for a DOC band.

Maya’s first day with the helmet

After some appointments for imaging and discussion, Maya received her band (which we call a helmet) on June 20th. She wears the band 23 hours a day, really only taking it off for bath time and so we can clean the band. She goes in every two weeks so they can route out portions of the band to allow for growth where her skull needs to “fill in.”

Interesting tidbit about these helmets: thanks to all the head sweat, they develop a deep gym-sock-like funk that nightly cleanings with rubbing alcohol cannot get rid of.

Maya Monkey

It was a little difficult for the first few days. She wasn’t fond of having it on, and she found it difficult to sleep with it. Plus, it’s summer. In Texas. The poor girl was so sweaty. After a few days, she adapted. She slept better and got used to having the band on during the day. We have the thermostat in the house set a little cooler to keep her comfortable, but she really prefers to be outside. The hundred-degree heat plus her band are a rough combination.

It took us a while to decorate it. For a little while it was plain. Then in desperation, Sean slapped a Mickey Mouse head on it. We tried some 3D stickers, but they are flat and her band is not, so it was a matter of minutes before Maya had crushed 3D stickers in her grip. Eventually, we settled on some flat stickers and since then all has been well.

Final decorations

We’re likely nearing the end of her DOC band wearing days. We have an appointment next week for imaging to see if there’s anything that might be correctible with a second band. All told, her head is looking much better. There are things that won’t be fixed. Hopefully those will smooth out a bit as her head continues to grow. Even if they don’t, they should be covered up by a head full of hair.

Sean has been looking forward to being a dad for a long time. I don’t think I’ve mentioned this before, but he told me more than once over the years that if he had a daughter, he’d want to name her Maya. There was no particular reason, other than he liked the name. My point is that it’s been on his mind for a while. Given that, I wanted to try and make his first Father’s Day at least a little bit special.

Daddy and Maya

Sean wanted some Daddy and Maya pictures, so we went to Mayfield Park, which is known for its little colony of peacocks (and peahens, collectively known as peafowl). I purchased a couple of Daddy-centric creepers for Maya to wear during her photo shoot, though only one managed to ship in time.

Maya’s Father’s Day Outfit

While it was hot and we were past Maya’s nap time, I think the photos turned out nicely. The peacocks were fairly people-tolerant. (Maya was kind of peacock-indifferent.) The park was lush and green and not so crowded that we couldn’t avoid extras in our pictures.

Peacock!

The way to Sean’s heart has always been chocolate, so I also made a chocolate pudding pie [made-from-scratch dark chocolate pudding, freshly whipped cream, graham cracker crust]. I know it doesn’t look like much, but it tasted good. And of course, Maya was happy to have some of Daddy’s pie as well.

Chocolate Pudding Pie

It took a while for Sean to be a father, and now that the time is finally here, it’s not surprising that he loves it. I think there was little doubt that he and Maya were going to have a nice Father’s Day. The peacocks and chocolate pie were just a bonus.