8

Wow. This little baby girl has grown up so fast. I feel like we were just in the hospital holding her and wondering what we were going to do with this little, warm lump. Looking back, we were so unprepared to be parents. We had no clue, yet here we are, 8 years later (well, tomorrow) and we have all survived.

I love that Maya is always creating and using her imagination. I love that her favorite gift tomorrow will probably be the ream of paper we bought her and the package of Scotch tape that has 8 rolls. I love that she always "has a plan". This has been a challenge at times...I spend an entire day organizing the basement just to find that Maya has turned the whole space into a preschool for Cora with paper everywhere and stuff taped to the walls. I love finding little pieces of paper that she has written on. One day we were going to be watching our friends, Kate and Luke, for a few hours. Maya decided to have a Nature class for them and she created this awesome lesson plan all about butterflies. She had a painting craft, a lesson, and a few songs. This is a flyer she made for the parents.

I love that Maya plays with Josh every day at recess. I know he's safe and being watched over.

Another day she decided to be a photographer and she posed her doll in several different places around the house and yard. I found about 100 pictures like this on my camera the next day. Always good for a little laugh. She even talked our neighbors into bringing their dolls over for a "photo shoot".

Her baptism will take place in October! We are all looking forward to it. We love you, beautiful. Keep coming up with great ideas!