Cereal! Cereal!

Okay, this is the last video I will post today. Two is enough, right? Anyway, Maya loves cereal. She asks for it constantly. We have about 5 different types of cereal on top of our fridge, and she is constantly going there and yelling, "Cereal! Cereal! Cereal!" Let me just say - this gets old quickly. Anyway, she is very serious about these Annie's Fruity Bunnies. I'm pretty sure she just likes the box, because she pretends to feed the bunny.

Babes and Chopsticks...

Well, it was worth a try, right?

Babies and Bagels

We had a really nice weekend. On Saturday, we went to visit Nora in Nashua, and on Sunday, Cousin Jonathan came to visit. I also made my first ever batch of bagels! This was a very exciting project for me, and I have since made a second batch as well. The first batch made bagels that were big - like bakery bagels. I decided that no one needs a huge bagel, so I made another batch of "baby bagels," which came out perfectly sized. Yum. No more Panera for us!

"I am feeding Harlene some cereal for breakfast. She's starving!"

"Mommy made the baby bagels in 2 batches. The first batch accidentally came out with no holes (they closed up), but the second batch was perfect!"

"We went out for Japanese food with Jonathan on Sunday. It was yummy! I ate rice and broccoli with baby chopsticks!"

"This was a sesame bagel from Mom's very first batch. They were really big, so I shared one with Daddy."

I am Very Embarrassed, but...

This is Maya at her sweetest. She loves making nice on the baby. I wonder what she'll be like, when she realizes it's a real baby, and that it's coming to live with us... Anyway, I am sucking up my embarrassment about showing my giant belly, to bring you my sweet little girl.

Daddy Daughter Time

Maya LOVES this puppet show. She wants it all the time, but I think it's only a Daddy-daughter game. It's not really up my alley...

A Week of Breads...

So, while some pregnant women are feverishly cleaning and organizing their homes, I am destroying my house with layers of flour and sugar. I have been baking like a wild woman. I guess this is my version of "nesting." This week I did a lot of baking. Read: A LOT. Maya was my helper, playing in the kitchen with her baby dolls while I kneaded dough and cleaned my KitchenAid about 10 times. I made 2 challahs, a sesame loaf, and a wild rice and onion bread. I've been using the upcoming bris as an excuse to fill our deep freezer with loads of yummy looking bread. Am I enticing you to travel to New Hampshire to come to the bris? I'll keep you posted, so you know when it is! Anyway, this weekend has been really nice. Yesterday, we went to Nashua to visit Aunt Nora for lunch. Kevin came, too, and after we ate, Kevin and Maya went shopping on their own, so Nora and I could do some sisterly schmoozing. Today, Kevin's cousin, Jonathan came to visit us. They are out for lunch now, while I stay here with Maya during her nap. Unfortunately, there's a psycho dog next door, barking incessantly. I don't expect Maya to take a long nap... Oh well. At least Maya likes barking dogs, right?

"I loved Mommy's wild rice and onion loaf. Daddy and I shared big chunks of it on the way to Nashua yesterday."

"The Pleasant Valley Mall, in Nashua, has so many things to look at. There are play cars, a play area, a bouncy house, a pet shop, and one of those big bungee jumping trampolines for the big kids. So many things to see!"

"This is my favorite play car."

"Our friend, Sunny, gave me this sweater when I was born. Mommy just showed it to me, and I wanted to wear it forever. It's more like a shrug now, because it's supposed to be for a newborn, but I don't mind or notice!"

"This sesame bread looks good, but none of us tasted it. It went straight to the freezer!"

"Mommy had a very hard time braiding this chocolate-hazelnut challah, but it tasted good anyway."

"Apparently, Mommy likes challah."

Please Answer Our Poll!!!

"Wait, what's gonna happen to my blog?"


I am conflicted over what to do when the new baby comes. Should we start a whole new blog? What would we call it? Should we keep this blog, and just change the name? Or should we just keep it exactly the same title, but add the new baby right into the mix? I am so conflicted. Please leave me some comments, suggestions, ideas, etc. Just FYI, we don't want our last name on the blog, so keep it in mind if you decide to give us name suggestions! Help us, please!

Happy Birthday, Aryella!

Okay, these are the last of our photos from our weekend in Connecticut. We went to Aryella's second birthday party on Saturday afternoon, at Juju and Dave's house. The party was great. Maya ate, played, danced, and sang. Then she came back to Grammy and Grampy's house and slept like a champ. Aryella was adorable in her Cinderella dress, and she hosted a really fun party. I can't believe Maya is going to be 2 soon. What should we do for Maya's birthday this year? Any ideas?
"Well, no one was looking at the camera, but here's a group shot, of some of us kids at the party!"

"Aryella and I sat down for a chat, and to share some candy from her pinata."

"I ate chicken nuggies with Tyson. I wonder how Aryella knew I liked chicken nuggies... She served thousands of them at the party!"

"Balloons everywhere!"

"When it comes to partying, I'm very serious."

Maya Faces the 360 Degree Mirror!

It's funny how on "What Not to Wear," the people are horrified when they look in the 360 mirror. Maya, on the other hand, really enjoys seeing herself from every angle imaginable. I guess that's what narcissistic almost-two-year-olds are like. Anyway, Maya and I accompanied Grammy to the dress shop this past weekend, to approve of her mother of the bride dress, for Deb's wedding. Maya had a blast. She took over the pedestal and pretended to change her clothes like Grammy. It was sweet. I'm sorry, but I can't show photos of Grammy's beautiful dress. It has to be a secret, just like Debbie's wedding gown. She's looks beautiful, though!

"I'm changing - leave me alone!"

"Mommy, how come I don't get to wear a bra, like you and Grammy?"

"Don't look at my belly, please!"

"You like my pose?"

Happy Anniversary!

Okay, so it's nowhere near our anniversary, but while we were in CT last weekend, we decided to finally try the top tier of our wedding cake. It's been sitting in my parents' freezer for the past 3.5 years, and they were basically dying to get rid of it, in order to free up some space. I know you're supposed to eat it on your 1 year anniversary, but we kept putting it off for some reason. Friday night seemed like good timing. We had decided that we'd let Maya have a taste, and then we'd eat it too, so that all 4 of our family members had tried our wedding cake. Nice idea, right? So, right after Maya's bath, we gave her a tiny taste. She spit it out. That should have been our first clue. After she went to sleep, Kevin and I decided to share a piece. Um, yeah, 3 year old cake - not so awesome. I had 1 bite, before retiring my fork. Kevin did a bit better at about 3 bites. My mom and dad tried it too, and couldn't get through a whole piece. Oh, and I should add - I never turn down a piece of cake. Seriously, the it was delicious when we got married, but I guess we shouldn't have waited so long to eat it. Oh well. It was worth a try!

"Mommy and Daddy found their wedding cake in the freezer at Grammy and Grampy's house. This is the box!"

"The cake didn't look bad, so I took a taste. It was bad. Sorry, Mommy and Daddy!"

"After I went to sleep, Mommy and Daddy put on their jammies and got ready to eat their cake. See how excited they look?"

"Daddy tried it first. Mommy was looking forward to her bite. After all, it was a dark chocolate cake with butter cream frosting..."

"They both thought it tasted like an ancient cake. They should have listened to me in the first place, don't you think?"

Wah Wah Wah

This weekend, we travelled to Connecticut for Cousin Aryella's second birthday party. I have a lot of photos to share with you, but I thought this was the best video. Maya has come to love, and I mean love, "The Wheels on the Bus." Grammy sings it to her, I sing it to her, the librarian sings it to her at storytime, and then she heard it at Aryella's party! She really knows the moves, the words, and the sounds. She especially loves the babies on the bus, who say "Wah wah wah." If you see Maya, you should sing the song to her. She will instantly fall in love with you.

Fun at Home

We don't spend a ton of time at home, because Maya isn't really a homebody. She prefers to be out and about, playing with friends, shopping, and people watching. She has fun at home too, though. One of her new favorite pastimes is putting her toys in her chair, and feeding them. At first, she only fed Harlene in her chair, but now she has begun to feed her phone (it has a face, of course), and her Little People. The funny thing is, she likes to strap the phone and the little people into the chair, which is comical, since they are not even remotely shaped like people. Anyway, she also likes to bring a pillow and blanket into our room, and make a pretend bed on the floor, while I fold laundry. There are so many other things she's been doing lately, that seem so clever and surprising to me. I guess we have a big girl on our hands. So much for our little baby...

"I had cereal for breakfast this morning. Mommy likes when I sit in my chair and eat breakfast, but I'm not such a fan."

"This is my 'floor bed' in Mommy and Daddy's room. Maybe I should get my pajamas."

"Now that I'm under my blankie, you can't even tell if I'm in pajamas or not! I'm full of tricks!"

"My phone is buckled into my chair, and I'm feeding it a cookie."

"I'm such a silly girl."

We're Almost Ready...

"I love good crib."

"Ooooo. It's even good when I lie on my belly..."

We've spent the past few weeks preparing for the arrival of Baby Boy. It's less than a month until his eviction date, so we are trying to make sure we are ready, in case of an early arrival. I have been spending a lot of time baking and cooking, so we have food frozen and ready for dinners, and baked goods frozen and ready for the Bris (8 days after the birth). Yesterday, I decided to put the sheets and mobile on Baby Boy's crib. Maya, being the excellent helper she is, came with me to explore his room. We usually keep the door closed (because we don't keep heat on in there), so it's a rare treat for her to be able to explore his space. Anyway, when Maya saw his crib and mobile, she immediately wanted to take a turn. Well, as you can see by the photos, this is Maya's new favorite hangout. She gets to play with the mobile, look out the window, and rest. What could be better? Anyway, I am continuing to keep the door closed, because I'm not sure it's such a great idea to let her play in there. Let the jealousy commence!
"This is Mommy's honey oatmeal bread. We all shared a slice before it hit the freezer for the bris. Good job, Mommy!"

"Why don't I get one of these in my crib?"

"Mommy, you must have a very big baby in there - and he has four more weeks of growing to do!"

"Wow! This mobile even plays music! I can't believe you've been holding out on me!"

"Yeah, I can rest in here..."

"I can even see the bears from the window! This is the life!"

Where are my Jimmy Choos?

Maya is obsessed with trying on shoes. The other day, she woke up in the morning, and played for while, before she exploding with crying. When I got to her room, she was feircely tugging at her sleeper zipper, saying, "Zippy! Zippy! Boots! Boots!" Apparently, she wanted her sleeper off, so she could put on the boots she is storing in the corner of her room. I bought the boots over the summer, but they are really huge on Maya, so she falls in them nonstop. I am hoping they'll fit this spring, but so far, they are just for dress up... They're cute though, right??

Maya's Album

Maya loves her photo albums. She has one that she keeps in the family room, so she can look at it incessantly, and one small one in her crib, so she can look at it when she wakes up. The one in the family room is really big, so she's really getting to know both sides of the family. A few days ago, when I came to get her from her crib, she was busy identifying the people in her little book. Isn't she doing a good job??

Bigfoot.

I can't figure out why anyone would find this fun...

Sweet Mommy.

Maya has been taking very good care of Harlene Verna lately. Just this morning, she gave her a bath in her play kitchen sink, brushed her hair, fed her breakfast in her high chair, and changed her diaper 18 times throughout the course of the day. The diaper part is the only one that's getting to me. Maya insists that I put he diaper on Harlene, and then she immediately starts saying, "Pee-Pee! Pee-Pee!" She then tears off the diaper, and asks me to put it back on. This is a neverending cycle. I don't really mind though. It's so sweet watching her take care of her baby. Hopefully she'll take care of our baby the same way, besides the part when she gets bored and tosses the baby on the floor. I could do without that...

Sick Monkey...

Unfortunately, we are on week 2 of being sick. Poor little Maya has had a cough and cold for what seems like forever. She isn't sleeping well, and she's not a particularly happy camper as a result. In fact, today was the first day in the history of Maya, that she hasn't napped at all. I tried putting her down 3 different times, but she wanted no part of it. Needless to say, it was a very draining day. Hopefully we'll be able to get back into our normal routine this week, and Maya will be feeling a little less out of sorts. These past 2 holiday weeks have been a whirlwind of boredom. I am really looking forward to being back in action tomorrow.

"I'm feeding Harlene her breakfast of pizza and cake. She really likes it."

"Daddy took me out sledding, even though I wasn't feeling well."

"I have had some moments of happiness this past week, but still, I'm a drooly mess."

"I'm really enjoying opening little bottles of baby shampoo. Mommy doesn't really like it when I spill the shampoo all over the floor though..."

"I'm hoping my sweet smile will hide the drool slob on my shirt."

"Next year I'll have a playmate during Christmas and New Year's week. Maybe I'll have less cabin fever."

"Daddy made Mommy this diorama while we were still in Connecticut. Remember dioramas? Mommy doesn't think this is a real one, because there's no landscape or mini figurines, but she says it'll do."