Maya at 18 Years

 

Here are the current stats:

Height: 5’6”

This will be the last post with birthday stats as our young lady is now an adult (at least on paper). 

Maya's now single, artistic, social, and very talkative. She graduated at the top of her class and had a leading role in both the play and the musical for her senior year. She was busy volunteering at the local hospital and decided to take up guitar. She loves hanging with her friends, painting, getting outside, taking pretty notes for her classes, and making cool foods.

While we are sad that our lives are about to change with her heading off to Northwestern in the fall, we know she is ready. 

Maya at 17 Years

Here are the current stats:

Height: 5’6”

Maya is driving. Maya has a boyfriend (Asha). Maya is constantly on the move. Maya is living the full teenage lifestyle. We don't see her as much and she is busy, creative, funny and rarely home. 

She had a great tennis season, performed in the school play, is painting and making art nonstop. She thinks of an idea and then makes it a reality. 

She will always be our little girl - but she's starting to spread her wings. It will be fun to see where they take her.

Favorite movie: When Harry Met Sally

Favorite food: Oily fish and arugula

No More Braces!

Big day for Maya with the removal of her braces!

Before

After.

Maya at 16 Years

 

Here are the current stats:

Height: 5’6”

Maya is now old enough to drive and should be getting her license soon. She's getting more and more independent. She had another year of Varsity Tennis and Fencing (she was captain). She's was elected for student council and she's continues to develop her charity work for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society with her Two Beanies TAP group. She's enjoying participating in the school play as well. She's very busy with her schoolwork which seems to be the major source of stress in her life. She took painting this year and has gotten very interested in water color and is quite talented with the brush.

She got some great friends and is getting out for social activities. She's still into baking and making boba. 

We love our responsible, funny, intelligent, creative daughter.

Favorite movie: Everything, Everywhere All At Once

Favorite food: Dim Sum

Maya at 15 Years

Here are the current stats:

Height: 5’5”

Maya continues to leap into her young adult self. She’s finished her first year of high school with great grades and has made a whole new group of friends. She started fencing and tennis as her HS sports and performed in the school play. She has become a feverish drawer and has improved her skills after taking a drawing course at school. 

She loves baking and is growing her cooking skills. She’s busy and is having fun with friends. We’ve become much less restrictive in regarding to socializing since Covid. The kids are starting to really be acting like typical kids again, but I do see some hesitation to get out there as all the kids are used to being homebodies. 

Overall, Maya has proven herself to be strong and resilient and we love seeing her independently explore and grow.

Favorite movie: The Godfather

Favorite food: Dim Sum

Maya at 14 Years

Here are the current stats:

Height: 5'3"

A lot happened this year all under the veil of pandemic. Maya has become a much more grown up creature. She is suddenly completely self sufficient, wanting to make her own food, taking care of her own homework, showering without being told. And she's finally growing!! She's definitely mid-growth spurt and can actually buy women's clothing. 

Maya graduated from 8th grade doing very well in all her classes. She starts high school next year at Santa Fe Prep. She's become very interested in drawing, especially on her phone (which seems difficult). She was able to be in school for most of the year which was an achievement on its own. She's managed to stay connected with a close group of friends including Maya, Sophia P., Lexi, Hope, Sofia and Arianna. She really got close to those in her school cohort and enjoyed making some new friends. 

The year was also overshadowed by the move. She handled the moving process well and we hope she will be happy in Santa Fe. She's still a very kind sister and daughter. She doesn't seem that eager to grow up and likes to still be silly and have fun. She's found ways to really make this year a good one. We are very proud of her. 

Favorite book: Lord of the Flies

Favorite movie: Trial of the Chicago 7

Favorite food: Dim Sum

Covid School

Well, it's time to go "back to school." This year the kids didn't go very far. 

The kids got dragged out onto the stairs for their usual first day of school photo. This year no shoes required because they weren't going anywhere.

Time for "screen school" as Dexter calls it.

Maya's classroom.

Dexter's classroom. Here we go...

Maya at 13 Years

 

Here are the current stats:

Weight: 85 lbs (approx 17th percentile).

Height: 60 inches (approx 25th percentile).

Yep, the this kid is officially a teenager. We're nervous about what the teenage years will look like, but things are starting off well. We are beginning to really be able to engage with her on all sorts of topics. She can understand more complicated issues and absorb deeper meanings in movies and books. Pandemic has meant that we've spent a ton of time together for the past months, but other than the occasional emotional meltdown she's been a lot of fun. She's been patient and kind with her younger brother and they've discovered lots of ways to play together.

This year started in the normal way. She had a great first half of school. She was in the fall play again. This time it was a comedy and she had fun playing the part of a bratty princess. She's got nice group of girlfriends in her class. After the winter break, Maya really wanted to try out for softball and decided to not be in the spring musical and be part of the tech crew instead. She started softball and had a few practices until everything got canceled in March. At home, she has been busy drawing and doing creative projects. She was not a fan of virtual learning and really missed her friends. Socially, she hasn't been able to do that much. She video chats a lot with her friend Maya.

Maya's still very interested in her school work. She's in the enriched algebra program. She was nervous about the class at first, but once she found her stride she's been loving it. She's studying more sophisticated topics like Shakespeare and the Holocaust. Her Spanish as also really taken off this year and she likes practicing it around the house. She's continues to make interactive and video projects and she's drawing all the time. 

Maya has definitely leveled up in terms of her maturity. She still seems to tolerate us...of course she has to because we are all stuck at home. We don't take for granted that we get to relate in a new way with her and she's not yet pushing us away. Crossing our fingers that she will still want to be around us this time next year.  

Favorite book: Akata Witch

Favorite movie: Avatar

Favorite food: Dim Sum

Back To School

It's that time of year again...

Unfortunately, this isn't staged.

Hello 2nd grade and 7th grade.

Dexter at his desk.

Maya gets her first locker.

Maya at 12 Years

Here are the current stats:
Weight: 75 lbs (approx 17th percentile).
Height: 57 inches (approx 19th percentile).

Another year gone. Maya has just finished 6th grade and she’s seeming much more mature than she was a year ago. She hasn’t really started the physical parts of puberty yet, but she’s definitely starting to have some of the emotional symptoms. She’s very organized and manages her time well and likes being more independent. She has some wonderful friends at school and seems very comfortable there.

Maya is no longer in Karate as she decided to quit when she got the role of Annie in the Spring production. She’s definitely highly involved with plays with two lead roles this year. Being chosen to play Annie was very exciting and very challenging for her. As far as sports, she’s taking some tennis lessons and she’s going to camp this summer for softball. Otherwise, her creative interests seem to be what’s really driving her.

Maya’s a very engaged learner. She’s loving science with her favorite teacher Mr. E. She’s making videos and complicated interactive presentations. She did a science fair project that involved her rats. She loves reading and is still a fan of historical fiction and loves the books she reads in class. She’s also constantly reading books that feature anything about Greek mythology. She’s quite an expert on those classic tales now.

Maya’s still young enough to want us to still give her hugs before bed. But, she’s old enough that she’s staying up late (even when we tell her to go to bed), she babysits her brother for short periods, and she’s watching more exciting movies. She’s ready to talk about bigger topics and she’s more aware of what’s happening in her social groups, in our town and in the world. We’re excited to move into this next stage where we get to talk about the the grown-up stuff. Here we go!

Favorite book: The Outsiders
Favorite movie: Wonder Woman
Favorite food: Dim Sum

Back To School Again

These guys are ready for another year. Maya is starting 6th grade and Dexter is starting 1st.

 The obligatory photo series.

Shaking hands with Mr. Harvey, the Head of School.

Dexter looking very cute in his new classroom.

Maya at 11 Years

Here are the current stats:
Weight: 73 lbs (approx 25th percentile).
Height: 55 inches (approx 27th percentile).

Maya had a great year. She’s finished 5th grade and is understanding ideas and topics in a much more complex way. She’s got a fun group of friends and is really at home at her school after her second year there. She’s a busy lady between her karate, plays, piano, and homework but she seems to manage everything pretty well (with the occasional meltdown). Overall, she’s developed a new level of maturity while still keeping a strong childlike sense of fun and play.

Maya’s now a blue belt in Karate. She went through a strenuous training period in order to achieve it. She’s continuing her piano and had fun playing in a rock band this spring. She’s discovered that she’s very flexible (especially in her back) and has had fun exploring gymnastics at school this year. In the classroom, she’s enjoying reading historical fiction, learning math and doing science projects. She’s also a dedicated actor in the school plays. It’s fun to see her interests grow and expand each year.

Maya and her brother are still getting along pretty well. Maya definitely likes to prove that she’s right to her brother, but she continues to be patient and willing to play with him. They have a lot of fun together considering the age difference.

Maya is kind and thoughtful. She can get overwhelmed and stressed out over things that aren’t going her way. She finds all sorts of ways to express her sense of humor and her creativity. We are genuinely surprised by her unique ideas and thoughts.

Maya continues to tear through books. She loved the books that she read for school this year including Blood on the River and Chains. She liked The Seventh Most Important Thing, The Wonderling, The Keeper of Lost Cities series, The Olympians series and The Warriors series, just to name a few. We are continuing to try to show her more grown up movies. She’s loved watching a few of the X-men movies, Black Panther, the Back to the Future sequels, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Rear Window. She’s still watching Star Trek: The Generation and has now seen a few episodes of The Simpsons. Our eternal issue is finding time when she can see movies that we don’t feel comfortable showing Dexter yet.

The essential Maya is starting to emerge and it’s fun to see her truly independent self.

Braces Be Gone

Maya has completed round one of braces.  Now, for the Bionator (a giant retainer).  

 Look at those white teeth!

Hooray!

Two Kids, Same School

This has never happened.  Today Maya and Dexter went to school at the same spot.  Dexter is starting Kindergarten (for real) and Maya is starting 5th grade.

Obligatory shots in front of the house.

These two.

Dexter gets to shake Mr. Harvey's hand as a student.  He made sure to look him in the eye.

You can see the excitement.

 Proud Kindergartener.

Dexter is in class with his friend since birth, Owen.

After his first day.  (You may be wondering why there aren't more pictures of Maya.  Being her older 5th grade self, she didn't want photos.)

Dexter says hi to his 8th grade buddy, Matthew.

Maya at 10 Years

Here are the current stats:
Weight: 64 lbs (approx 25th percentile).
Height: 53 inches (approx 30th percentile).

Maya is now officially moving into the world of tweens.  She seems much more grown up this year.  This year she changed schools to a K-8 independent school (that’s code for private). It was a big transition, but she managed it well and has found a new group of friends while still retaining her good friends from her old school.  At her new school, 4th grade is the first year in the upper division of the school which ushers in a new level of independence.  Kids are supposed to manage their own homework and schedules. They are also allowed to get involved in all sorts of school activities. Maya decided to try out for the school play and the school musical and enjoyed performing in both. She is also trying out some of the lunchtime activities and finding her new groove. Often she’s very busy embracing her more grown up self, but there are moments when she becomes an young emotional mess.  It’s been amazing to see how much she can handle on her own and reassuring that she still likes us (at least for now).

Maya has continued her karate and is now a purple belt.  She’s also still taking piano lessons and has greatly improved.  She also completed what will be her last year of girl scouts. At school, they have a much more rigorous physical education program and she learning to play some of the sports she didn’t play as a younger kid and she’s running a mile every day.  She also got braces.  Never a dull moment.  We are constantly trying to balance her activities with enough time at home to make sure she gets some downtime.

She continues to be spunky, funny, and easygoing. Her teachers comment at how she brings a good energy to the classroom.  We see her patience and kindness with her brother who is always trying to keep up with her.  Maya is great at playing with him and bringing him along with whatever game she wants to play. In terms of games, Maya is a four square expert and very interested in learning all sorts of card games.

Maya’s reading this year included the entire Series of Unfortunate Events, along with more Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Wonder, The Secret Keepers, Blubber, and some repeat reading of the Harry Potter books. This is also the year that we are starting to introduce her to a bit more grown up movies like Back to the Future and Raiders of the Lost Ark.  She’s also become quite a Star Trek: The Next Generation fan thanks to her parents. It’s a real pleasure to see her understand much more complex plots and themes in movies and books.

Maya continues to evolve in a more independent, creative, and thoughtful person. Welcome to the double digits!

Braces

Yes...sooner than we're used to, Miss Maya now has braces on her only permanent teeth on the top.  She will have them for less than a year, then some crazy retainer forever, then more braces at the end.  Good times.

 Her new smile.

Maya's First Day at a NEW School

Maya (and her parents) are jumping in to a new independent school.  Mark Day School is a school that is just to the North in San Rafael.  It's a big change and we are all excited and a little nervous for the big change.

Ready for school.  No more bus for Maya.

First day of school dab.

At Mark Day.  All kids wear these shirts on the first day of school (They don't wear uniforms normally).

Opening day assembly.

 Maya's new classroom.

Dexter approves.

After school play time with one of Maya's favorite humans and former neighbor, Riley!

This is going to be fun!

Maya at 9 Years

Here are the current stats:
Weight: 56 lbs (approx 20th percentile).
Height: 52 inches (approx 40 percentile).

Maya is loving getting more grown up and is becoming quite a unique little person.  She has a good sense of humor and is beginning make jokes and tell stories in her a voice that is distinct to her. She's very comfortable going her own way and seems to follow her own interests without much worry.  She has strong group of friends, but seems to be comfortable moving between friendship circles and meeting new people.

This year she worked her way through a huge number of books. She read all the Harry Potter books, A Wrinkle in Time, Anne of Green Gables, and books from authors Roald Dahl, C.S. Lewis, and more.  It's been fun to share some of our favorites and get to read some of the new favorites.  Maya is still obsessed with graphic novels and reads the ones she has multiple times.  It was so much fun to share the Harry Potter experience with her and then watch the movies together.

Maya had another good school year.  She's enjoying her second year of Brownies with her mom still a reluctant leader.  The finale for this year was an overnight where she bridged from Brownies to Juniors (think brown vests to green).  She's getting more serious about her karate and is now an orange belt.  And she started piano lessons this year and has made some great progress in her playing.  She and her friends are discovering that boys have cooties so there is less and less contact with the boys.  This year she also participated in Drama which seems to be a good fit for her.  She also performed a magic show for the school's talent show which went surprisingly well.  She's improved her tennis and swimming.

She and her brother still have a good relationship.  He getting better at keeping up with her which is both good and bad depending on her mood.  They love having dance parties and coming up with strange games that usually devolve into some sort of wrestling, chasing, or yelling.  They are having fun together and we are having fun with them.

Maya is becoming more independent, but she still thinks we are pretty cool and we will ride that out as long as we can!  Happy Birthday Maya!

Our 3rd Grader

Maya's first day of third grade is here.

 Yes, those are silver high tops.

Back to school is bitter sweet.

This is what post first day looks like.