teeth times two!

The title says it all - Miss Maya is sporting the beginnings of her first teeth! They're coming up right in the front on the bottom. At first I thought there was only one, but then, a few days later, I saw the other one working its way up. They're sharp and jagged little things, and I'm so excited to see here sweet toothy grin when they finally arrive in full force.

I was so surprised to find them one evening when I was washing her mouth out with a washcloth. Sure, she's been drooling like crazy for last last few weeks and really chewing on all her toys, but she's been in fine spirits and hasn't complained for a second. I've heard nothing but horror stories about teething - the crying, the sleepless nights, the misery. So far, we haven't seen any of that. I'm not sure if we're getting off easy here or if the worst is yet to come.

Of course, it should be noted that Maya now knows how to bite, and she kindly lets me know that she's done nursing with a gnashing little chomp right on my nipple. Not so fun. I have a feeling this is going to become quite an issue in the days to come.

Speaking of biting, the challenge of solid food continues. Maya still doesn't really like eating per se (she prefers the boob on every occasion), but we are getting better at it. It was a real battle there for a while, even getting her to have a couple of spoonfuls of anything was like pulling teeth (pun intended). I have pureed and mashed everything under the sun, hoping to find something she likes, all to no avail. Then I decided to just relax, celebrate what she does manage to eat, and not get frustrated or force her. Mealtime has been much better since. We just keep trying at it, twice a day. I was pleased that today she ate quite a few pieces of banana and some Veggie Booty. And when she shuts her mouth tight and turns her head at the very sight of the spoon coming at her, I just have to keep reminding myself that no child has ever willingly starved themselves and that Maya will eventually "get it". So we just keep trying.

In other news, I've been (slowly) getting my shit together with regard to packing. It's been really hard and very, VERY slow, but I've now got something that resembles a "take" pile and a "give away" pile. I try to get as much done as I possibly can while Maya takes her naps, but it generally doesn't amount to much and I really need to get cracking if I'm going to get all this stuff packed in time. I'm no good at doing the dirty work, I'm definitely more of a supervising kinda of gal. In other words, I need a staff.... and while I'm dreaming, anyone wanna make me a cup of tea and give me a foot massage?

my action pants must be in the laundry

I am completely frozen in my tracks here. I have no idea how to surmount the overwhelming task that lies before me.

My to-do list:
-Pack my entire house
-Separate out all items for the Salvation Army and for selling on Craigslist
-Take pictures of all stuff for sale and attach prices
-Clean, organize, downsize
-Empty our storage locker (which is currently packed to the gills with C R A P)
-Many, many trips to the garbage room
-Purchase necessary items for the new place
-Manage contractors who are renovating the new place
-Clean the old place once empty
-Clean the new place before we move in
-Do our taxes
-Change our address
-Oh yeah and look after my wee baby girl who takes up about 95% of my time and attention

Help!

All I can do is just sit here and stare at everything. I have so much to do I literally cannot even figure out how to begin. So I just keep staring. Doing nothing.

Any ideas on how to get started? And how to get it all done efficiently? I have about 4 weeks to complete all items on my list.

Any help/ideas/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Oh yeah, and as promised, here are a few pics of the new place! (Note that none of the furnishings and decor are ours - the place was still occupied by the previous owner at the time of the photos.)


That guy pacing around is my husband. The other guy (on the stool) is my boyfriend. Haha kidding, that's the building inspector. Although he was kinda handsome. Also, note the exposed beams. Love it! They date back to the first growth forests of the area. Chic AND historic!


This is our view

And of course, my sweet little girl...


More photos to come after we move in...

pack it up pack it in let me begin

I am so happy to report that after an insane crux of real estate madness, the subjects have been officially removed on the sale of our current place AND - even more exciting - we are the proud new owners of a sweet and gorgeous new loft!

Hooray!

Of course, this did not happen without a few hiccups along the way. First off, there was a glitch with the subject removal. The appraiser didn't get his report into the bank on time and long story short, the bank dropped the ball and subjects were not removed when they were supposed to have been. This little detail meant that either we (the sellers) or them (the buyers) could back out of the deal. Fortunately the realtors jumped in and created an addendum to the purchase contract thus buying some extra time. I just got a call from our realtor a little while ago - it's finally official now: this place is as good as sold.

But that wasn't even the stressful part. When we put our offer in on the new place, we didn't realize that we'd be dealing with a total ass-hat. The current owner of our new place fussed and quibbled over every single cent, to a ridiculous degree. She was totally unreasonable and highly insulting to do business with; D and I almost walked away from the deal a few times during our numerous countering sessions with her. To illustrate how insane this woman was, her OWN realtor very nearly quit during this process because she was being so unreasonable. In the end, we decided that a few thousand dollars wasn't worth the risk of losing our dream home so we just ate it and appeased her ridiculousness. Five years from now, we won't remember the extra cost, but we would have remembered losing a great loft because our pride got in the way.

The good news is that the papers are signed and the Papaya family is movin' on up! Yeah yeah to a deluxe apartment in the sky.... (c'mon you knew that was coming...)

So now the fun part - coordinating the renovations and the move... Oh yeah, and did I mention I also take care of a wee baby 24/7? This month is going to be busy. Like really, really busy.

But worth it! We are very, very excited.

Oh how about some baby details? You know, it's only the reason I started this blog. Let's see...
-Maya is sitting up on her own now
-Maya does not like eating solid foods but we're working on it; mummy's boobs are still her #1 fave
-Maya "dances" when she hears music (by dancing I mean kinda rocking and bobbing up and down...OMG it's beyond adorable)
-Maya gives hugs now
-Maya is mastering cognitive reasoning; if you hide a toy underneath something, she knows it's there and looks for it
-Maya is really getting good at babbling. Her sounds are getting more and more complex every day.

She is such a little joy. And what a fun age she's at now. I am really enjoying this kid more than ever.

wheeling & dealing

OK here's all my updates...

House Sale:
Tomorrow (Saturday) is the purchaser's inspection and if all goes well, subjects will be removed and it's a done deal!

House Purchase:
We put in our offer today. Now just waiting and wondering...

For better or worse, all should be buttoned up by the end of the weekend, possibly by the end of tomorrow.

I'm a nervous wreck. I really hope everything goes smoothly and it all works out. I'm scared to get excited but too riled up to just sit still. The worst part is that there is absolutely nothing I can do to affect the outcome on this.

I think I'm going to go eat a pint of soy ice cream now.

Keep ya posted!

signed sealed delivered

Guess what I just received?

(insert drumroll here)

A signed copy of the accepted offer of purchase and sale on our home!

Yup, we got an offer. A darn good one too. We couldn't be happier with the way this deal is working out so far. All looks fantastic, but of course, we wait to pop the champagne (or the sparkling apple juice for those of us who are breastfeeding) until subjects are removed - which is happening this upcoming Saturday following the inspection.

So now, you may be asking yourself: Where oh where is the Papaya family going to live?

Well my friends, we have had our eye on an ridiculously awesome place. Even better that the first place we tried to buy. It's a warehouse loft conversion in the heritage district of Yaletown in downtown Vancouver. Oh yeah baby, we're talking exposed beams, brick walls, reclaimed wood floors, a REAL warehouse loft. It is soooo sweet and just my taste. Can't show you pictures of the inside yet but you better believe if this all works out I will post the shit out of some pictures of our (*hopefully!*) new place...

Just to whet your appetite, here is a picture of the outside of the building...

Anyway, gotta run, it's nearly 9pm and because of all today's excitement I am now just getting dinner on the table.

So nervous. So hopeful.

So excited.

family portrait

Believe it or not, I think this is the only picture of the three of us together (I'm usually the one taking the pictures). This photo was taken today, when we ran into a friend in the lobby of our building. She took this picture on her iPhone (sorry it's a bit grainy) and sent it to me this evening. Just had to share!

my big girl

Maya turned 6-months old earlier this week. She is growing up so fast, I swear I feel like she was just born a couple of weeks ago. My sweet daughter continues to be such a little joy. She is so silly, so happy, so fun. We are incredibly blessed and lucky to have such a good natured kid.

We started her on rice cereal a couple of weeks ago, and with good results. Some days are better than others though; some days she will open her mouth willingly and gobble up a few spoonfuls of cereal, other days she closes her lips tight and turns her head to avoid the spoon coming at her. Here are some pictures from the very first time we tried rice cereal - it looks like we were torturing her but it's gone much better since that first time.



Tonight will be a bit of a milestone - we're adding apples to the mix! This will be the first food, other than rice cereal and rice crackers that Maya will have. I'm going to whip up some fresh applesauce in my sweet new Williams Sonoma Beaba Babycook Baby Food Maker tonight. I'm so excited! I think Maya's really going to like it, I've given her a few licks of banana over the past couple of weeks and she really seems to like that, so apples should be a big hit!

The 6-month stage should be entitled "I want to do it myself". Over the past few weeks, that one phrase has described baby girl perfectly. She wants to feed herself, hold her own spoon, hold her own toys, do everything herself. I think it's awesome and we're encouraging it. She has even been - are you ready for this? - putting herself to bed. One day, she just up and decided that she didn't want to be held, nursed and rocked to sleep anymore (the routine we've had since her birth). It took me a few nights to figure it out. She'd squirm and fuss after feeding and lean and reach toward her crib. I thought she was just been fussy and over-tired. Then, it suddenly occurred to me - she just wants to be put in her crib and left alone to fall asleep. So I kissed her about a million times and laid her in her crib. She was asleep in seconds. And it's been like that ever since.

Sure, it's easier and takes a lot less time to put her down, which is great. And she's getting more and more independent, which is fantastic. But I have to admit I am a bit heartsick that she's starting to need her mummy less and less (sniff, sniff). What a big girl I have!