J & J Silber: Planes, trains and automobiles @ 8 weeks of life

This was a big week in little's life...she got her 2 month immunizations to start

she was such a trooper....she screamed and cried of course, but as soon as I picked her up she stopped, and when we got home we nursed and then she was out....she was such a tired girl after those shots. And the day before she hit a sweet milestone...she slept for 8 hours straight! She must've known she was going to have a big day in the morning!

Then we made a trek back to Iowa! It was a whirlwind. Jason and I have been planning on going back ever since we found out we were pregnant so his family (mainly sister Josie) and my family (my brothers and dad) could meet Maya. And then, we found out that my mom and her siblings were going to throw Grandpa Tweeten a birthday party in which all of my cousins on my mom's side were going to attend. So this was a BIG deal! And...of course I thought, what a great time to have Maya dedicated to the church as well! That way, we can have our both of our families present and we can hold the dedication ceremony at the Baptist Church where the Silbers attend (and where we renewed our vows). Well....of course the day before I was going to buy our plane tickets home Jason interviewed for his dream job. A little insight into Jason's career field: first you apply for a position, and as an artist it is VERY important to have a functional website that showcases your work, as well as a demo reel (fancy way of saying a video turn-table of the 3D models/characters/environments/props that he has created). Then you wait and wait to hear back and maybe interview. If the interview goes well then you have to do an Art Test. This is where the company sends you a drawing or digital image of a character/environment/prop and Jason has to create that same image in 3D on the computer (think sculpting but via the computer) he has to work in many different softwares, and there are many many steps to get to the final product. So, usually the time frame on finishing an Art Test is anywhere from 3 to 10 days. This dream job art test was 10 days long! So, after he takes the 10 days to complete the Art Test, then you wait again. So....to make a long story short....since he got the Art Test right before I was going to book our tickets back home, we weren't sure if he was going to be able to make the trip back to Iowa or not...because he might be starting a new job! So, I went ahead and booked my flights back to Iowa and we planned on just Maya and I going at the time. But...after J submitted the Art Test we didn't hear anything for 2 weeks, so we booked a trip for him to go back as well....but of course we didn't get the same flight BACK to Iowa. Which, we were kind of worried, and dreading not flying together the first trip, but it all went very smoothly. His flight landed into Des Moines just 30 minutes after ours.

So, to make a long story even longer here is how we made it through a van ride, 2 flights and a car ride with only one melt down: Maya usually goes to bed between 10 and 11 pm and has been sleeping for 7-8 hour stretches. So, because I knew we were going to battle the car seat situation I decided to put her to bed in her car seat ready to go for our morning flight (we flew out at 5:50 AM! And...I thought we were going to get around hauling her car seat with because we could just take the BART (subway) to the airport and our parents would have a car seat for her when they picked us up, but the BART doesn't run that early in the morning! So, we had to book a super shuttle (van that picks you up from your apt and drops you off at the airport) but the latest they would pick us up was 3:00 am. So, we HAD to take her car seat. But, my idea to put her to bed in her car seat worked wonderfully. The super shuttle is shared with up to 9 passengers and we were worried we would be doing a lot of apologizing, but sure enough she made it to the airport without a peep (and it is about a 30 minute drive since we live in the city and the airport is technically in South San Francisco). When we got to the airport the check-in counters weren't even open yet! When it was time to go through security I had Jason check the car seat and I carried Maya in her sling with my purse/her diaper bag. She didn't even wake up until I sat down on the plane. Unfortunately I had an aisle seat, which made it interesting to nurse her in, but it all worked and she was a champ! (can I say that having a nursing cover is the BEST thing ever) The doctor told me to just make sure to nurse her when we are taking off, but more importantly when you are landing...so that is what we did! She never even cried through both legs of the flight home! The only melt down she had was in her car seat on the way to Grammy & Papa's house (but we could have predicted that one was going to happen)

It was a super quick trip: we flew in on a Thursday afternoon and back on a Monday morning. We stayed with the Silbers on Thursday night so Auntie Josie could meet her first niece! Josie has also agreed to be Maya's Godmother! We are so proud and blessed for Maya to have such a great role-model like Josie to help guide Maya in her faith. Josie is the best behaving teenager I have ever met, and it is amazing to see the awesome young woman she is turning into! I can't believe I have known her since she was 5 years old and this year she is celebrating her sweet 16 on her and Jason's shared birthday of May 2nd!

Friday evening my dad picked us up from Silber's house and met Maya for the first time. He brought us to my parent's house where my brothers and niece Kenady were waiting! It was amazing...J's parents live about an hour away from my parents now and I was so worried we were going to hear Maya's melt down the whole way there, but she had a pleasant surprise for us! She slept the entire way to my parent's house and for another hour after that! We had a nice dinner together and had to get a good night's sleep because Saturday morning we were heading out at 8 am on a 2 hour trip up to my Grandpa's 80th Birthday Celebration!

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw Kenady again. The last time I had seen her in person she was Maya's size....and now she looks like a little girl! She is 11 months old already! It is AMAZING how much littles can grown in just a year. She was BUSY BUSY BUSY! Wow....no wonder Ty was so exhausted! :) It was amazing to see him with her. He is such a good Daddy! He loves her so much and she knows it! You can see it in her eyes when she looks at him! And...it was amazing to see the relationship she has with my dad....she LOVES him too! She holds her arms to go to him ALL the time!

it was so so so hilarious watching Kenady discover Maya! I can't wait for them to grow up together and be best of friends! They are only 8 months apart...but look at the size difference right now! It is crazy to think in a few years you probably won't be able to tell who is older!

I loved shooting her in the tub! She is just so BUSY, I can't get over it! She jabbers all the time and even says da da da....even though she probably doesn't realize what she is saying! It was so good to see her!