Loving the One's

I love the age of "ones" it is so fun! Maya learning how to walk, run, talk, eat on her own, sleep well, and show her little personality has been so much fun! I can't imagine another age being more fun, but I am so excited for the next stage.

Today at church we had to drop Maya of in the 2 year old class because her class was closed and I felt a bit of sadness....... my little Maya can't go in the 2 year old class yet, she still has 2.5 months left of being 1 and I want to enjoy every bit of it!

I love doing Maya's hair. She has not had it cut yet, and I am not sure when that will happen. Sometimes her hair can be really crazy though, especially after naps, like this photo

but I also love doing her hair in pigtails like these


Right now Maya is really into babies! She wants to dress them, feed them, have to ride in the car seat, and put them to sleep, tonight she even brushed her babies teeth. I love seeing the motherly side come out at such a young age, she is such a girl and I love it!

Maya also loves to color! We are still working on coloring in the lines..... but otherwise she is doing a great job!

Maya doesn't always like daddy...... we are still working on that too. This weekend she was very insistent that he ride down the slide right next to her.

Words, Maya has new words all the time! I can't even keep track of them all, but it is so fun to hear what she is going to say. She loves to say "Gecko" and show me the little lizard creature in her animal book everyday! Some new words she also loves to say:
Stuck
Girl
Nimo (for Elmo and Nemo)
Bible
Duck
Bath
Snack
Papa
No mine (not so new, just an everyday phrase)

and many more, those are just some of my favorites!

Right now Maya is really into firmly pointing her finger when she wants me to sit somewhere. Like when we ride in the car and daddy drives she really wants me to sit by her so she says "mom!" and she firmly points to the seat by her. This photo is Maya telling me she wants me to come in the bathroom

I still love watching Maya sleep, it is one of my favorite things! One night we walked into her room and she was sleeping like this

We like going to Starbucks together, it's not very often, so it's very special. Maya thinks she is having a special drink because it's in a cup like ours, but all it really is is water.

and there are so many other wonderful moments, you should come hang out with Maya for a day, you would have so much fun! See

Couples Retreat

This past weekend we had a mini Retreat for our couples small group. Being that most of us don't have a ton of money and most of us have children we found a way to do it very cheap! We had it at Dan's house, Brett's dad up in Monument, he has a very large home up in the woods, with plenty of bedrooms and space. There were 6 couples and 4 babies, a total of 16 people. We were all in charge of 1 big meal for everyone and that is the only thing we had to pay for. Of course there had to be lots of food and good eating, it was a couples retreat!
Our weekend was filled with lots of laughs, talking, eating, babies and intimate time together. Out friends Matt and Liane found some wonderful speakers, Vic and Lindy Black, both are very involved in Navigators and Vic is the National Prayer director of Navigators. The spoke about "Intimacy with God" and it was amazing, some very new and powerful insight!
We also had to spend some separate guy time and girl time. For the girls to really get away from even the babies, we thought it would be best to go to Starbucks. What an amazing group of girlfriends I have, they were great listeners and all so encouraging! The guys had time together in the morning outside and around a fire. We all decided that we need more exclusive time together.
The weekend was a great time to learn more about each other and more about the scriptures. We loved it and can't wait to do it again. I didn't get a ton of photos, but here are a few.

"Brett the cook"

"hi"

Retreat journal

Our speakers, Vic and Lindy to the right on the couch

Daddy Chris, with Daughter Taysen

Jackson-9 mths, Maya-21 mths, Taysen-7 months, Bennett-7 months

Enjoying meal time together

Playtime

the Hinkles, spending quality time together

Family Photos

We took our family photos in December and our amazing photographer and brother, Jacob and his wife, Noelle took our photos. I couldn't have asked for a better pair to take our pictures. I was very nervous that Maya would just want to run around and not cooperate and that it would be a stressful time, but it was the opposite. Maya did awesome, I think it really helped that it was uncle Jacob and Aunt Noelle taking the photos because she knew them. It was the perfect snowy day, and we went to the Broadmoor, one of the most known and beautiful hotels in Colorado. I really want to enlarge one into a canvas for the living room, but can't decide yet, let me know if you have a favorite!

We are so thankful for Jacob and Noelle, didn't they do a great job! We are going to miss them so much, they are moving to Cambodia in March and they are going to serve Jesus with an organization called In His Steps. If you want to find out more click here Jacob and Noelle

I tried to get a photo of Maya with her aunt and uncle and this was the best I could do

Villa

We love Villa Sport!
It was so fun in the summer for us as a family and it is still so fun in the winter with their indoor splash park! We go there almost every Sunday and it is a great way for Maya and Daddy to spend time together.
Maya loves the water, she could be in it all day if we let her. She is fearless.
She goes down the water slides all by herself and not just this little one in the photo below, but the fast tube slides (they are even fast for me).

(just finishing her trip down the big slide all by herself)

It is fun in the water, but we have to watch her like a hawk, no relaxing at all. She has so much fun though, I love hearing her squeal and seeing all of her excitement!

Come on Daddy, lets go!

The indoor pool makes me more excited for the outdoor summer pool!
and for moments like these....

Maya in action