Maya's Jewish Christmas

Kevin and I decided to take Maya to Connecticut to see the family at Christmastime. Maya came down with a cold the day we left, so she began the trip a little under the weather. She always has a great time at Grammy and Grampy's house though. Nora, Adam, and Debbie came home, and she also got to see Nana, Papa, Bubbe, Kevin, and Cousin Tyson over the weekend. It was a jam packed weekend, and we drove home last night, exhausted from the trip. Today, it's back to normal again. We don't have much going on this week, and we'll probably spend New Year's Eve going out to eat locally. Maya is going o use this week to catch up on her beauty sleep, and to get rid of her cough and cold. She seems happy to be home, but I know she misses her big family in Connecticut!

"Christmas in Connecticut is fun! I didn't go to the movies, but Mommy and Daddy went to see Avatar!"

"Daddy, your slippers are warm! Can I have them?"

"Grampy dressed up as Santa, so he could surprise the neighbor's children. I guess they figure he isn't doing anything on Christmas Eve. Grampy thinks he's a little less 'Santa,' and a little more 'Mel Brooks.'"

"Mommy made a chocolate babka for our trip. She's on a baking kick."

"Mommy, I like your babka swirl!"

"This is my tongue."

"We went out for Chinese food on Christmas, and I got my usual - chicken fingers. You know, Chinese chicken fingers taste nothing like the McDonald's kind, or the Dino Nuggets we get at Costco."

If the Shoe Fits...

Maya is desperate to wear my running sneaks. She gets very sad when she can't keep them on her feet. She does a pretty decent job putting them on, but when they fall off, boy is she ticked...

Maya's Little Pony

We were supposed to go to Boston this morning, in order to celebrate Grammy's birthday at The Cheesecake Factory. Unfortunately, Boston and Connecticut got pounded with snow, so we cancelled our trip. Anyway, since we knew we'd probably be home all day on Sunday, we decided to take a trip to Burlington, VT yesterday. It was a very cold day, but we weren't expecting any snow here, so we figured it would be a fun little day trip. Well, if you've never been to Burlington, you have to go! It was such a fun time. We had lunch at a really cute brewery, and then walked around Burlington for a while. We had a chance to ride on a buggy led by a miniature horse, we stopped to watch carolers on the pedestrian walk, and we saw lots of dogs in sweaters and booties. Maya had a great time, and was totally exhausted by the time we got home. I think next time, when it's a bit warmer, we'll visit the Ben and Jerry's factory, and get some ice cream. Yesterday was just not an ice cream day. Instead, we got snacks at a soup stand. That was more like it...

"Mommy, is that a horse or a dog? In other words, 'neigh' or 'woof woof?'"

"I was freezing in Burlington, but I still loved this mini-horse. I wouldn't even look at the camera!"

"I was so bundled, I could barely move. Thank goodness for my big coat!"

"Daddy got some beef stew at this little soup shack. Some of the proceeds go to the local soup kitchen in Burlington, so we felt we just had to get some soup..."

"Okay, Daddy! I'm ready to go!"

"Okay, this is off topic, but sometimes, when we hear the garage door open, Mommy and I cuddle at the top of the stairs while we wait for Daddy to come inside."

"This is a morning tubby time self-portrait. You like it?"

Conversations with Maya

So, lately, if you ask Maya a "yes" or "no" question, she'll always answer, "Yeah." On the other hand, if you ask her an open ended question, she'll answer with, "Ummmmm??? Blahblahblahblah." It's really funny. We seem to have these conversations over and over again all day:

Me: "Maya, what do you want for lunch today?"
Maya: "Ummmmmm??? Blahblahblahblah."
Me: "Maya, are you happy today?"
Maya: "Yeah."
Me: "What do you want to do this afternoon?"
Maya: "Ummmmmm??? Blahblahblah."

You get the idea. Anyway, this is a very in depth conversation between Kevin and Maya. Well, actually, it's between Maya and the puppet, I guess. I think this is sweet, and Maya has watched it so many times today. It's funny, because when she watches, she answers the questions right along with the video, and it's almost exacty in unison.

Babies are Sweet...

We had our first playdate with Amelia and Lucas yesterday. Maya was very interested in the baby... until I held him, and then she got jealous and went a little nuts. I expected this though, and I think it's good for her to see me with other babies (for obvious reasons). Anyway, she got over it pretty quickly, and ate cookies and peas while she played with us. Today, Kevin was home after being on call last night, so Maya cuddled with him on the couch while she watched a little Sesame. She was missing his attention, but it was sweet to see her loving him and giving him kisses while he napped.

"Daddy, I love you, so please wake up and play with me."

"Daddy, are you faking?"

"At first I hated the baby, but now I like him. He's a cutie. I hope our new baby is this sweet."

"Mommy made these yummy chocolate crinkle cookies for our playdate. Thanks, Mom! You know how I love cookies. I even kissed the oven while I watched them baking."

Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah!

Wow, this is Maya's second Hanukkah! Can you believe it? The holiday kicked off on Friday night. We lit our menorah and gave Maya her first gift - a kiddo medical kit. It's pretty cute, but it might be a little mature for Maya, with a scalpel, emesis basin,syringe, etc. She likes putting the toys in the box and taking them out though. She also loves the stethoscope and the little bottle of medicine, because the top pops on and off. Last night, we gave her a "Little People Schoolhouse," which she adores. It also has its own carrying case, so she is walking around the house with a little school house and medical kit. So cute. I wonder what we should give her tonight...

"Mommy and Daddy took me to the Montshire yesterday! I love looking at the turtles and fish."

"You like my menorah and medical kit? I take Hanukkah very seriously."

"Scuffy and I are going to make a house call. I have all my tools, in case I need to do surgery. Daddy, are you coming to do the anesthesia?"

"Hey Mommy, do you hear my heart?"

"Mommy made veggie chili for Hanukkah dinner. Very unconventional, don't you think? Where's the brisket?"

Wake Up, Maya B.!

Maya loves when I come to get her in the morning. I usually try and surprise her in bed, and she gets all excited to see me. Recently, our neighbors put 2 little polar bears in red scarves on their lawn. Maya loves looking at them out the window. In the evenings, they are lit up, but during the day, you have to look a little harder. We usually take a look in the morning, right when Maya gets out of her crib. She loves this routine, and will be sad after Christmas, when the bears hit the road.

Snow Day!

Maybe it's the teacher in me (or possibly even the student), but I love a good snow day. This past Wednesday was my birthday, and it also happened to be the day we got 10 inches of snow. That left us stuck inside almost all day, though we did end up going out for dinner in the evening, when the snow settled. Anyway, I had a great day, thanks to Kevin and Maya. Maya gave me a beautiful Dartmouth sweatshirt for my birthday, and Kevin gave me a really pretty bouquet of flowers, and a laptop! The laptop is still on its way, but I'm really excited about it. The best part of my birthday, was that Kevin and Maya let me bake all day. It was so relaxing. In the morning, I made hazelnut chocolate thumbprint cookies, and in the afternoon I made more chocolate filled buns. All three of us liked the cookies and the buns, which is always nice. Anyway, we had a great birthday dinner at Molly's, so I have no complaints about my birthday, at all! I'm so grateful for my wonderful family!

"This is the newest addition to our family. It was a birthday/Hanukkah gift from Grammy and Grampy. Mommy loves it to pieces."

"Daddy tried to take me out sledding on Wednesday, but the snow was too deep. I wasn't happy, but we made a snowman instead. He didn't come out that great, but I had fun anyway."

"Hi! This is a fun snow day!"

"When Mommy says 'Smile, Maya!' this is the toothy grin I give."

"Only moments after this picture was taken, I found a purple permanent marker, and ruined this dress. Sorry, Mommy. I know you love this one, but I'm only a little girl, and I don't know any better."

"I loved these chocolate hazelnut cookies. Mommy had to cover them up, so I wouldn't eat too many."

I'm Ready!

Okay, one more sledding video, because I can't stop watching this one. On Sunday, after Maya went sledding with Kevin, she took a really short nap, and then woke up, ready for another round. At first, we said "no," and told her that sledding was a once a day activity. Maya is very persistent though, and she eventually convinced Kevin that it was in his best interest to take her out again. Anyway, Kevin got himself ready, while I put Maya into her snowsuit. We met Kevin outside, where he was putting on his gloves and coat. The sled was just waiting for Maya in the driveway. Apparently, she was ready to rock and roll, because she got right into position. The other funny (yet unrelated) thing about this video, is the fact that Maya currently says, "Cheeeeeese!" when she sees the camera. It's pretty silly.

More!

Our backyard isn't quite steep enough for sledding, so Kevin ended up pulling Maya down the hill. We tried having her sit up, but she kept tumbling out. Then, we tried putting her on her back. Nope, she wasn't interested. We settled on keeping her on her belly, and she absolutely loved it. Every time she came down the hill, she cried out for more, the second her sled stopped. She must have gone down 30 times. It was so much fun, she didn't want to come inside, and then she wanted to go out again after her nap. I love seeing her have a good time.

Slip and Slide

We were living in St. Louis last year, so we didn't get very much snow, plus, Maya was too little to really enjoy it. This year, on the other hand, we are totally prepared. Maya has a really warm snowsuit, boots, and a heavy winter coat. Yesterday was our first snowfall, and although it was very mild (only an inch or so), Maya was itching to play outside. I'll post some videos soon.

"Hurry! We have to go outside!"

"Seriously, Daddy! It's melting!"

"Yes! We're ready!"

"I love my new sled. I wish it would snow every day."

"Weeeeeeee!!!"

My Sweet Muffin

I made peanut butter and jelly muffins on Friday afternoon. I was really excited about them, and I liked them a lot, but they only got medium reviews from Maya, and not so hot reviews from Kevin (hater of all jelly-filled things). Oh well. Maya ate one for breakfast on Saturday, anyway. Well, actually, she moreso brought it into her play kitchen and destroyed it with her fake utensils, but oh well. Anyway, I have 10 leftover in the freezer... Oy.

"Mommy, those muffins look very pretty."

"It's a happy Saturday, when I get to eat a muffin and play at the same time!"

"Mmmmmm. Messy."

"I'll eat a few bites, but then, I will bring this muffin to my little kitchen, and cut it into 1000 pieces. Then, I'll leave them all on the floor. Sound like a plan?"



"Please excuse my bare legs. I'm very embarrassed."



"Mommy, you must eat the last 10 of these yourself."




"These muffins only taste medium."

Little Kangaroo

Maya and I go to play at the Hanover Community Center every Thursday. This is what we have affectionately been calling "The Bouncy House," although Maya never plays in the actual bouncy house (go figure). They have those huge geometric shaped mats, and lots of balls, so Maya just plays with all the extras. Once, she played in the bouncy house while Grampy was here, but she didn't last too long. Anyway, yesterday, she finally decided it was time to go for a long bouncing session. Well, she did bounce, but it was mostly horizontal. She can't seem to stand up in there for more than a second. It was so funny, watching her fall, over and over again.



At one point, a little girl came over to me and asked Maya's age. When I told her, she said, "I'm 4. Can I play with your baby?" It was so cute. So, when Maya and the other little girl got out of the bouncy house, they immediately broke into a rousing game of Ring Around the Rosie. Two other girls saw them and immediately joined in. Maya loved the game, but was very upset at the "fall down" part. The girls kept pulling her down, and Maya didn't understand. I think she thought they were pushing her, so eventually, after about 4 rounds of it, Maya left the game in a huff. It was sweet while it lasted though...

More Dancing...

You are probably very sick of Maya's music videos, but this one is sweet. She loves dancing with Grampy. It's very sweet. As you can hear, everyone was very entertained by this.

Dinner and Dessert

Okay, so I know this is a totally off topic post (a.k.a. no photos of Maya at all), but I was very proud of my dinner and dessert creations today, so I wanted to post some photos. For dinner I made Ancho Chicken and Hominy Stew, which got very good reviews from Kevin (though it was a bit spicy for Miss Maya). For dessert, I made chocolate filled buns. I found the recipe in a very old copy of Cooking Light, that my mom has clearly been hiding from me! I was very surprised at how delicious these buns turned out, but all three of us loved them. I guess I like baking more than I ever thought. Making bread has become my new favorite hobby!

"This is Daddy's bowl of Chicken Hominy Stew. I had a few bites, but dropped most of mine on the floor."

"Mommy and Daddy had never eaten hominy before, but they were pleasantly surprised."

"Daddy took a big bite out of his chocolate bun, so Mom took a picture of the gooey inside. Yummmmm."

"Mommy ate her bun like a lady - mostly because she wanted to see the pretty swirl inside."

"These were really good."

Tumbling Tikes

On Monday morning, Liz and Ryan took us to a session of "Tumbling Tikes," which is like a toddler exercise class. It was so cute. Maya found this little slide, and loved going down it over and over. She wasn't too keen on sharing it though, so she would throw a tantrum every time another kid took a turn. It was pretty funny, considering the fact that it took approximately 10 seconds before she got another turn. Anyway, we had a great time playing there. By the way, unfortunately that not my baby bump, but Liz's cute, 34 week belly in the background.

Stew's

Maya loves going to Stew Leonard's while we are in Connecticut. For those that haven't been there, it's basically a grocery with great, fresh dairy, wonderful produce, a nice bakery, and a terrific hot bar with many prepared foods. Anyway, the 2 best things about Stew's, are the samples, and the fake animals/characters that sing songs and do tricks. Maya loves watching the dairy band, the Chiquita Banana lady, and the Cock-a-doodle-doo rooster. She also loves the rice cakes and cider donut holes. This past visit, she got to see cow! I was worried she'd be scared, but she loved it, and even touched his hand!

"I realize this is not a real cow. I may be 20 months, but I'm pretty with it."

"You're cute, but I'm not sure I want you to touch me."

"Grampy got me this rice cake, and I'm eating it while I watch the dairy band. They are a really good band."

"I love that the milk plays guitar."