Hi Deer!

Maya greets all backyard critters with an enthusiastic wave and a "Hi, Tree." We start each day by saying good morning to the world outside, including saying, "hi tree" to the plum tree right outside her window. So, now she stops and says, "hi tree," to all the trees and all things outdoors, like the deer that she is looking at in this picture.

Everything is a phone

Maya's first pretend play is chatting on her "phones" - anything that remotely resembles a phone becomes one! Her phone chatter is just adorable and we could listen to it all day long.

Bye Bye Backyard

We were trying to get a few good pictures of the backyard before leaving, but Maya was not cooperating! We will definitely miss looking out at the Pacific Northwest forest and sleeping to the sounds of the waterfall.

Maya's Step

One of Maya's favorite things to do this summer was sitting on the front doorstep. When we found out we were getting an offer on our house, I cried and told Drew that I couldn't take Maya away from her step. Images like these will be some of the first to come to mind when I remember our first house.

Great way to spend the day!

We celebrated an unusually hot (triple digits!) August day with a trip to Mt. Rainier to cool off and enjoy all of its beauty. Maya loved walking the trails (all by herself!), picnicking, and just spending the day outside, of course. What a beautiful mountain!

Ah, the swing again

We think Maya must love swinging so much because it takes her back to the old days of swinging all night long, the ONLY thing that worked to get her to sleep at all. We have to pry her out of the swing when it is time to leave the park. I think she would still love to be swinging all day long, especially if she could watch Taryn the whole time!

Taryn and Maya

Taryn is much more interesting than the person behind the camera...it's next to impossible to get a good picture of these two together. But, how cute they are!

Water park

Although she is petrified of the bathtub (she stands up and screams like we are torturing her throughout the entire bath), Maya loved this water park and even wanted to get wet!

Our Favorite Muffin

We thought it would be appropriate to start Maya's actual birthday with a trip to My Favorite Muffin, since bran muffins are her most favorite food!