Focus on the positive

With all the stress of trying to get our case moving, it's easy to get caught up those details. One overwhelmingly positive constant in our lives, though, is Maya and her development. She's such a happy little pickle, our little bubbalicious, and she charms every person she meets. We are frequently interrupted in cafes and shops by people who comment on her beautiful eyes, her big smile, how cute she is, etc. Ahmed's Spanish phrases very quickly include:
Niño o niña? Cuánto tiene? Que hermosa! Que linda! Que preciosa! Es una muñeca!
Maya responds to all the attention by grinning and happily being lugged about by shop assistants/waitresses who insist on walking around with her. She's still too small to suffer any separation anxiety.

We also often get comments: "She looks just like you" to Ahmed. I think she looks just like herself, cutest little button nose (Ahmed and I have big honkers!), big bright eyes, whose colour I really can't work out. In daylight they're almost blue, other times they're grey, or even green. One cafe assistant describes them as 'aceituna', olive, which seems a perfect description. She hasn't got much hair, and a bald patch on the back of her head. Tiny little arms and legs, that flap and flail about when she's excited, which is a lot. A fist that she loves to suck on - our super sucky baby. She loves toys that make a noise, especially her rattle, and she's now able to hang onto her toys and wave them about. She's meeting all the milestones on or before the right time and is such a delightful baby. We're still pinching ourselves that she's truly a part of our lives. Despite all the setbacks with the proceedings, we are so lucky.