Christmas Cards

Mail time!! This has become one of Maya's favorite times of the day. Inevitably there's at least one holiday card in the stack of bills, which totally makes the mail worth checking. Just another reason that I LOVE THE HOLIDAY SEASON!!

As you can see, Maya doesn't waste any time ripping into the envelopes. There's always the mystery of what she will find behind the sealed flap... sometimes pictures of her friends, sometimes pictures of Santa or puppies or Baby Jesus, and sometimes, on VERY rare occasions, a full sized pack of M&M's will come flying out of the envelope! Do we need to wonder any more why she attacks this task with such unbridled enthusiasm? I think not.

Just do me a favor, and keep the mail coming!

Christmas Cuties!

I'm going to be the first to say that both kids look painfully adorable this holiday season. Today was the church service right before Christmas, so they were dressed in their true "Sunday best". We were lucky enough this morning to listen to some music from our very own Elton John (minus the crazy glasses). He just loves this little piano!
Whoops!! He got so excited, he slipped right off the bench! Hahaha... good thing he is such a good spirited little guy. He just rolls with the punches and often cracks up over his own mishaps...
It was pretty funny... we caught Maya trying to conceal a giggle over her brother's fall...
Ever the helpful sister, you can see her running to his aid to assist him back up onto the bench (after recovering from her fit of giggles, of course)...
Once we finally arrived at church, I attempted to get a few pictures of the kids together, which didn't work out so well. Can you imagine the impossibility of wrangling a walking infant and a toddler amongst a crowd of people? Geez... I mean, what's so difficult about that?? HAHAHA... : ) As you can see, I never got the "perfect" picture of them standing in front of the church Christmas tree, but Will was able to capture this little cutie, ever so nicely posing for a beautiful picture. Would you look at that smile? She is just the picture of innocence...
HERE IS MY FAVORITE PICTURE OF ALL!! Well, I never got the picture by the Christmas tree, but I got the bright idea to sit them on a church pew, which I figured would do a better job of keeping them together. It worked like a charm! I just love how small they both look, compared to the pew. I love the natural light coming through the window in front of them and behind them. I love that you can see the hymnals and Bibles on the pew back in front of them. It's the perfect picture of two kids in church, and since Christmas is more about the celebration of Jesus' birth than Christmas trees, I think THIS picture embodies the true meaning of Christmas more. They both look content and happy to just be them, and that's something that I treasure about our kids. They don't want to be anyone else. They are just happy to be themselves, and they are very happy to be together. It doesn't get much more precious than this...
After our little picture session, we retreated to the fellowship hall for some doughnuts, Maya's favorite time every Sunday. Happiness is written all over her face as she carefully selects her doughnut. Typically, she chooses one with frosting, but if frosting is not available, she will always choose one that is glazed. A girl after my own heart...
Sipping some apple juice, enjoying her treat...
There goes Buddy, off and running! I love that he is in mid-stride here, like he is floating effortlessly across the floor. He is a man on a mission... "Did somebody say 'doughnuts'?"
Me and my handsome little man. I just LOVE this suit on him! He so stinkin' cute!!!
Here is a great family photo of us all. While definitely a posed picture, I love it because it does show our personalities very well. For being "posed", it looks very candid to me. Candid pictures are my very favorite, and this turned out to be a pretty great one!
I'm so grateful that Will had some time off around Christmas this year. I love that we got to attend the Christmas service all together. The kids were so cute walking down to the Children's message. Especially Liam, toddling down as quickly as he could, missing one shoe by the time he reached the steps of the alter. There were many "Awww...'s" throughout the congregation as he made his way down and onto my lap. Last year at this time, I was due to have him any day, and already he we are, one year later! The time goes by way too quickly, but I couldn't be happier with where I am right now. I love that we are establishing ourselves as our own family, beginning our own traditions and carrying on some of our favorites. I really cherish these moments that we share. This family that Will and I have created is more valuable to me than anything in the world. I feel so lucky. I have definitely been blessed.

(kind of) Using a Spoon!

I've been terrible about giving Liam the opportunity to use a spoon thus far. I know it's purely an excuse, but I always just think of what a mess it's going to be to clean up, in addition to the normal mess of any given meal with an infant and a toddler. Finally today, I bit the bullet and handed the feeding control over to him. He was certainly happy to get the opportunity to control the spoon, but most of the time, he preferred to eat his yogurt with his fingers...
Look at how proud he is to have that spoon! He did (kind of) get the dip-it-in-the-bowl-put-it-in-your-mouth routine. Yeah, he had fun!
"Like this, Mom??" Hahaha.... Whoops, wrong end!
And, back to the fingers. He's just so tasty... : )

ALL DONE!!! Time to get cleaned up (which he kind of hates, especially the part where we wash his face)! This should be fun...I knew he would thoroughly enjoy any new adventure with his food. He is SUCH a good eater. Yep. I'd say he enjoyed himself! He's growing so fast! What a BIG BOY!!

Santa and Me!

It's SANTA!! We ended up seeing Santa at Culver's, of all places! Our first attempt of the day to see Santa was just before lunch. We headed into Grand Haven, expecting to see Santa and Mrs. Claus in their little red house, between Jumpin' Java and the 5/3 Bank on Washington Street. Much to Maya's disappointment, the house was closed. We explained to her that they were probably eating lunch, and we would come back tonight and see them then. So, we went home, ate lunch, took naps, woke up and attempted to see Santa yet again... with no luck. After eating dinner at Downtown Dogs, we headed down the street to the Santa house, and I thought it was strange that there didn't appear to be a line to get in. As we got closer, we could tell that there was nobody inside. You have GOT to be kidding me!! Twice in one day?! Turns out that Will misread the sign. It's only open on Monday during Christmas week. We were one week early. Well, we had been building up this trip to see Santa ALL DAY, so we were determined to find that man in the red suit if it killed us! I wasn't about to return home without finding a Santa for Maya to visit. As we headed up to Muskegon (surely there HAD to be one in the mall, right?!), we drove through Culver's to get some chocolate milkshakes. As we were pulling away, with our ice cream in hand, I spied Santa, sitting in Culver's with a kid on his lap! I yelled, "Pull over!! Santa's in there!!" I think Will nearly dropped his ice cream, but he did stop that truck! We rushed inside and waited our turn. They were fabulous people, taking pictures for free and really interacting with the kids. Santa was quite impressive, too, with his rosy-red cheeks and plump belly. Maya was SO pleased! She had been waiting all day for this moment...
Buddy listened in as she told him her wish list, "I wanna sooter, a hewmet, a wobe, an tocowate miwk!" (scooter, helmet, robe, and chocolate milk)
"And what would you like, young man?" Maya watches and waits for Liam to respond...
"I don't care how jolly you are! I don't need nuffin'. Just get me off your lap!" Clearly, they didn't share the same feelings for each other... Poor Buddy!
Overall, the visit was a success. Maya got to give her Christmas list to Santa, and Liam sat still long enough, so I could get a few pictures taken of his first visit with Santa, even if he didn't particularly care for the experience! Last, but not least, Will didn't end up having to drive all over West Michigan in search of Santa! Yep, I'd say everyone was satisfied (well, some more than others...). HO-HO-HO! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Oh, Christmas Tree!

This year, the kids decorated the bottom 3+ feet of the Christmas tree with lots of unbreakable ornaments. They LOVE taking the ornaments off and on the branches and do this several times a day. Maya is quite a little decorator! I love how her toddler brain organizes and groups similar ornaments together. At one point, that branch had 4 red ornaments hanging from it! It was only when she couldn't fit one more ornament on the branch that she finally picked another branch to hang ornaments on. I love to watch her little mind at work...
As you can imagine, Buddy LOVES the Christmas tree! Naturally, he does more deconstruction than construction. He's constantly pulling the ornaments off the tree, and every once in a while, he'll gently place an ornament back onto the branches. Sometimes, as luck would have it, it stays, but most of the time, it rolls right off. He doesn't mind. He just picks it back up and tries again, or he lets it be and yanks another ornament down. I love the concentration on his face as he carefully rearranges the decorations...
This is another favorite photo because I love how his face just lights up when the Christmas tree lights are turned on. It's the same look of amazement, wonder, and excitement every single time he sees them. It's my favorite expression.
The Christmas season is definitely more exciting with little kids in the house! I love to see them get so excited over something (like the Christmas tree) that they've seen over and over again. It's priceless.

My Buddy and Me!

As brother and sister, Liam and Maya definitely have their moments of disagreement (yes, already), but they also have moments that make a this mama's heart melt. Today, was a day FULL of those great moments! Liam was hanging out in his highchair, waiting for me finish cleaning him up and get him down, when Maya hopped up in the chair next to him and gave him this huge hug. Awww... I just love how cozy and happy these two look, snuggled in together!

They spend most of every day together, mainly because Liam is Maya's shadow, HOWEVER, even though Maya often acts as though Buddy is bothering her, she's not fooling anyone. She enjoys his company as much as he enjoys hers, and she immediately tries to find him if he gets out of her sight. They investigate everything together. The snow accumulation on the deck is pretty exciting for them. I think they are getting anxious to get out in the cold, white powdery stuff. I, on the other hand, am not so much!This afternoon, they settled to stay inside and play "doctor" with Maya's "nurse tart" (cart). Liam was getting a check-up. "Say 'ahhhh', Buddy!"He proved to be a good little patient, sitting perfectly still for one of many ear exams. "Hoewd sill, Buddy." (Hold still, Buddy.)Many times throughout any given day, they can be seen in this choke-hold-hug. It usually ends with both of them falling on the floor, laughing hysterically, getting up, running around, and doing it all over again. It always ends in one of three ways: 1. Liam finally gets tired of Maya holding onto his neck, and he starts crying. 2. Maya perceives Liam as getting the advantage on her and yells, "No, Buddy!", at which point, Liam starts smirking, as if to say, "You've had it coming for awhile now, and your finally getting yours! How do you like it?!" (or crying if she screamed loud enough). 3. One or both of them get injured during the inevitable fall to the ground and start(s) crying. As soon as I hear any "I'm-no-longer-having-fun" noises, I break them up in an attempt to avoid the tears. As long as they are both having fun, they can be as rough as they want. It's fun to stand by and just watch! They are really starting to play together quite a bit, and I think, despite the difference in gender, they are going to be REALLY close as they grow up. That's all I could ever ask for.

"Smiwey Sace"

On the way to the Y for Maya's gymnastics class, I was fuming because my laptop cable was not charging properly. I know, I know, there are MUCH worse things, but aside from the fact that I wouldn't be able to check facebook, I would also have to make an appointment at the "Genius Bar" at the Mac store, drive to GR, and hope that the "geniuses" could fix the problem. Ugh. So, I was pouting about the issue, and Maya called me out on it....

Maya: "Mommy, was wong?" (what's wrong?)
Me: "Oh, I'm okay."
Maya: "You sad?"
Me: "No, I'm not sad... just frustrated."
Maya: "Pay wif me." (Play with me.)
Me: "You're right, that would make me feel better."
Maya: "Mommy, put on you's smiwey sace!" (...smiley face.)
Me: (now sporting the biggest grin, because, well, who wouldn't be??) "Okay, I feel better now! Thanks, Maya!"
Maya: "You wehwcome." (You're welcome.)

Lesson learned: if you're not happy, put on "you's smiwey sace". It just might make you feel better!

Also, in gymnastics tonight, Maya's teacher, Coach Mindy, told me that if I'm going to sign her up for the next session, to advance her to the next class. She's very much ready for it. I guess they pretty much do the same skills, but it's without parental assistance. She's doing some pretty incredible things for her age. She can walk on the balance beam unassisted, forwards and sideways (like in a side step, apart/together/apart/together). Coach Mindy keeps her hands at her sides while Maya walks on the beam that is elevated, but for the most part (like 98% of the time), she does not help her in any way. She says most kids her age freak out when she lets go of them. She can do a killer somersault and has absolutely no fear of jumping off of the vault or balance beam. Keep in mind that both of these structures are well over her head. I think she can walk under both of them without ducking. She's doing great with every task Coach Mindy gives her. Any time she falls down, she jumps right back up and tries again. She just beams out there! She's a little powerhouse, like she was physically built for the sport, and she's so proud of the tricks she can do! Her skills are quite impressive, if I do say so myself! I'm excited to go on this gymnastics journey with her, and I hope she always finds as much joy in it as she does right now. If there's ever a day that she doesn't, then that's a clear sign that she should be done and ready to move on. If it's EVER no longer fun, then it won't be worth pursuing. As long as it brings a smile to her face, I'll be standing on the sidelines, cheering her on!

Snow Bunny

As Amy, Lydia, and Charlie were leaving our house this morning, Little Miss Snow Bunny threw on her boots and ran out the door... straight into the snow! No coat, no hat, no gloves, no snow pants. Just a t-shirt, pants, and rain boots. She thought it was fabulous to play in the snow!
At least, for a couple of minutes. She's starting to figure out why (while taking pictures of this madness) I'm telling her to get back inside where it's warm. Suddenly, she realizes that snow is COLD, and she is freezing...
To add insult to injury, she has a rough time making it back to the driveway and falls several times along the way. You may be wondering why I'm not helping her at this point. I happen to be standing in our snow-covered driveway... in my bare feet. I have NO idea where she gets this behavior from...
Once inside, I stripped off all of her clothes (while she cried because she really was starting to feel the effects of cold exposure to her bare hands) and wrapped her up in a super-warm blanket. I turned on some "Angelina Ballerina" and let her warm up.
I guess a snow play day is in order... complete with snow pants, coats, hats, snow boots, and most importantly, gloves!

Kids Say the Darnedest Things!

While checking out at Hobby Lobby today, Maya asked the inevitable first of many embarrassing questions. After asking the mandatory, "What's you name?", and finding out "Her's name's Winsey (Lindsay)," she proceeded to ask the following question, "You have a baby in you tummy?" I thought I would die. The girl was definitely plus-sized but didn't look pregnant (to MY trained eye, not to Maya's, obviously). I held my breath, waiting for her response and praying she would say, "Yes, I am." No such luck. In my opinion she could have stopped at "no", but she did not. Without much hesitation, she responded, "No. I'm just fat." Oh, dear God! Maya didn't say anything, so I quickly jumped in to cover for her. I explained that Maya's aunt (actually, uncle's girlfriend, but it seemed like too much detail when I wanted to get straight to the point) is expecting, so she (Maya), along with EVERYONE else she meets has a baby in their belly. Then, I did what any rational person would do and changed the subject! Whew! I knew it was coming, but I was taken by surprise anyway. It's such a sticky situation because you want to praise them for their keen observation skills (heehee), but you don't want to encourage them to point out every round belly they see! I think I handled it well. I skipped the "every one's made differently" speech. I don't think she's ready for that one yet and had probably forgotten about the conversation by the time we made it to the car anyway. I brushed it off and moved on, and now I anxiously await for the next bombshell of a comment she drops in public!

On a sweeter note, while I rocked Liam and fed him his nightly bottle of milk, Maya came in, hopped up on the foot rest with "Poky the Puppy" and said, "Me sing." I asked her what song she would sing, and she said, "Me song, me song. Sing for puppy. 'Puh, puh, puh, puh. Puh, puh, puh, puh. Puh, puh, puh, puh. Puh, puh, puh, puh. Puh, puh, puh, puh. Puh, puh, puh, puUuUuUhhhhh (pitch going up and down)!'" Liam just stared at her. Hahahaha! It was so funny! I just smiled, and with the greatest sincerity, I told her it was a beautiful song. She was so proud of herself for making up a song. Before she headed back to her room to wait for me, she gave Buddy a good night kiss on his head. Then she hopped back up onto the footrest, grabbed his head and pulled it into her body in bear-hug fashion, and whispered, "I wuv you so much. I wuv you so much." It was the most precious moment I've seen between them. I'm SO thankful I was there to see that adorable display of affection. I'll say it a million times over... I just pray that they are ALWAYS this close. It melts my heart.

Road Trip Entertainment

As we were making the LONG trek to Iowa, I heard this coming from the backseat, "Buddy, dit my toes!" I looked in the rear view mirror, and this is what I saw... Maya was stretching her leg over to Liam as far as it would possibly go, and I could see Liam's little fingers reaching out from his car seat to try and get Maya's foot. This little game kept both of them entertained (for a few minutes, anyway). It was pretty cute. FYI, if you are wondering how on earth I took this picture while I was driving down I-80, I shot it over my shoulder, just hoping it would be lined up right, and it turned out pretty good!

Liam Practices Walking

Here's what Liam spends most of his day doing, cruising and practicing walking! He always looks so proud while he's walking and right when he finishes. He flashes that beaming smile, and you can just tell that he's bursting with pride! Soon, he'll be running!

Whoa!

Naptimes are becoming an issue again, and it always seems to be that way after we return from a trip to Iowa. Just when I think she's gained independence, and we're able to read her a story and lay her down, all in about 5 minutes if need be, we go to Iowa, where EVERYTHING changes, and BAM! we're back to square one. It sucks. Today was a prime example of a horrible naptime...

I sat on the floor of Maya's room, reading "Mother Goose" and "You're My Little Love Bug" for about 15 minutes. Liam was crawling around, and Maya was paying attention to the story about 75% of the time (the other 25%, she was playing with her brother). When we were done with the stories, I turned on her fish (aquarium light/music machine inside her crib) and turned out the light. Promptly, she started crying. I sat in the rocker with Buddy on my lap and pulled Maya up to join us. She stopped crying and started hugging her brother, which ticked him off because he was already exhausted and more than ready for bed. That considered, I sang "You Are My Sunshine" two times, as I said I would, then got up to put Maya in bed. She laid down. I tucked her in. We said good night/I love you's. I walked out the door. "Mommy!!", I hear from the other side of the door. I opened the door back up and walked to her crib. At this point she broke down and started crying. I was finally able to coax her to lay back down and told her that I'll see her after she wakes up, that I'm not coming back in until she goes to sleep. I went into Liam's room, sat down in the rocker, and started feeding him his bottle. Suddenly I heard, "Mama!" Then, "MAMA!!" Within a few seconds, she's escalated into screaming at the top of her lungs, "MOMMY! MOMMY!" Finally, she gave up on even screaming for me, and she started just screaming. And screaming. And SCREAMING!!! The louder she got, and the more she carried on, my blood began to boil hotter and hotter.

Liam finally finished his bottle, and I laid him in his bed with paci and blanket. I turned his fish on and walked out the door. I never heard a peep from him. I never do. He's a dreamboat when it comes to bedtime. It seriously doesn't get easier than him. Anyway, I marched down the hall, ready to battle and talking myself down at the same time. Babies and toddlers are a true reflection of our own behavior, and this screaming behavior is not one I want to reinforce by acting the same way. I took a deep breath and walked into her room. As soon as she saw me, she held out her hands for me to pick her up, and she was sobbing, trying to say something. Instead of picking her up or letting her talk, I held both of her hands, got down on her level, eye to eye, and began to explain in my most serious grown up voice, "Maya, you DO NOT scream at me like that. I was feeding your brother a bottle and laying him down for a nap." She tried to speak, but I cut her off again and continued, "I don't scream at you, and you DO NOT scream at me like that. That is not nice. Sometimes I have to help your brother, and I can't come right away. I will come help you, but sometimes you have to wait a minute. It makes me VERY upset when you scream like that. Do you understand?" She looked at my with those beautiful brown eyes, and through her erratic breaths and sniffles she said, "Mommy.....sing.....me..one....more........song."

I hugged her and kissed her on the head. I pulled her out of her crib with her blanket that she had been clutching the entire time and sat in the rocking chair with her. I started to sing "You Are My Sunshine", and she put her head down on my shoulder. Once that song was over, I sang "Three Little Birds" (not actually called that, but that is what I've always called it to the kids) by Colby Cailet. She was sleeping before I got to the second verse. She was exhausted. I just can't believe all that screaming for one more song? It times like that when I don't know whether to be mad or flattered! Today, and truth be told, most every time, I pick flattered. I took the opportunity to snuggle with my baby girl, who I know will soon be too big to snuggle on my lap, nor will she be interested in listening to me sing a song. I have to relish the moments while I can because they are flying by way too fast.

Water Wars

Ah... the lazy summer days... today was one of the (few) days this summer that we filled up the baby pool, so the kids could play in the water. It really is a lot of work to get them both outside, between naps and snacks and feedings, it's just much easier to not even go there. Sometimes, though, I force myself to buck-up and get outside with the kids. After all, fresh air does everybody good.I let Maya be in charge of the hose to fill up the pool, and it didn't take long for her to discover that it made a pretty awesome drinking fountain...
Here they are, playing side by side. Notice how Liam's hair is wet? That's from Maya dumping a full watering can's worth of water over Buddy's head. I was NOT happy. I asked her if she liked having water dumped on her head. Of course, the answer was "no", so I told her that if she did it again, I would dump water on her head in return.
Minutes later, I was lucky enough to capture this act of kindness on film...THAT was IT! I took a LARGE cup of water and dumped it straight over her head, and she did not like it. It definitely wasn't my proudest parenting moment, but I wanted her to realize what she was doing and how it made Liam feel. I didn't think she would "get it" any other way! I picked up Liam to comfort him, and Maya ran away, up the driveway, yelling, "No! You mean Mommy!" She also started crying, so I asked her again if she liked that. She replied, "NO!" I explained to her, again, that Buddy doesn't like it either, and it is not nice to dump water on people. I apologized, we made up, and we continued playing in the water... without another incident.

"Paul Revere" Punks Her Mommy

We had quite the busy day today! First, we drove into Grand Rapids to see our friends, Jill and Lauren and deliver Lauren's belated birthday present. It was really nice to catch up with Jill... it had been far too long! Liam had a bit of a rough time during the visit. First, he had Lauren to contend with... the toddler who LOVES babies, sometimes a bit too much. Her love can quickly turn into aggressiveness, which can spell trouble for the baby, so their interactions were closely monitored. Second, he met their dog, a pug named Bear, and he wasn't all that thrilled with him. Bear is a licker, and Liam didn't care for that (can't say I blame him). Every time Bear would come his way, Liam would turn his head and crawl the other direction. Between dodging bonks on the head from Lauren and puppy dog kisses, he tended to stay very close to his Mama. Aside from the occasional normal toddler tiff, Maya and Lauren played pretty well together. They especially enjoyed jumping on the bed together and playing at the beach. Liam had a short trial at the beach and was cut off for trying to eat rocks. I ended up holding him and tossing him into the air to keep him entertained. He was wearing a big floppy blue sun hat, and when he was falling back into my hands, the brim of the hat would blow back in the rush of air. He just smiled and giggled. He loves that game! We played there through lunch time, at which point, Maya and Liam started to melt down. I had forgotten to change the kids back into regular diapers after coming back into the house, and for anyone who has ever put their kid in swim diapers, you know they don't absorb anything. Poor Maya started peeing, and it just went everywhere. She started crying, so not knowing what else to do, I whisked her off of Jill's brand new Pottery Barn rug (sorry, Jill) and took her to the bathroom. She refused to sit on the potty, so I just took off her swimsuit and changed her diaper. The rest of the visit went downhill rather quickly. Maya started saying, "I ready to go home now." which was the first time I have ever heard that phrase. I finished feeding Liam, and we left. They both were asleep within minutes of exiting the driveway. They played hard and crashed quickly.

While we were in GR, and the kids were needing a long nap, I drove to Ada to deliver another belated birthday present to Maya's little friend Ashley. I had a few minutes to chat with Melissa, who was having a really bad day. She shared her troubles, though we didn't have time to get into everything, it was nice to reconnect a little. A play date is in order very soon! Also, she sent us on our way with a big sack full of fresh peaches! Now I have to figure out what to do with all of them!

The kids continued to sleep as we made our way out of GR. Of course, as I looked at my dash, I noticed the needle on my gas gauge hovering right above empty. I would likely have to stop for gas! Though I tried to push it to the limit, inevitably the gas light came on. Even though stopping for gas was a possibly a deal-breaker for their naps, I was forced to pull into a station to fill up. I decided that actually running out of gas would be worse. Much to my amazement, they both snoozed right through the stop for gas! Yay!

Onward to our last stop, to see Karen, Paige, and Connor, and deliver yet another belated birthday gift! The kids woke up as we approached the south side of Grand Haven, and since they had been strapped into their carseats for about 1 1/2 hours by now, they were getting restless (this thought kills me when I think about our 7 hour drive back to Iowa coming up... ugh). Luckily, they were home and awake, so we exchanged gifts (Maya got a belated birthday gift from Paige, too!) then settled in outside in the shade. The girls played, Connor sat in the grass, and Liam found trouble wherever he crawled... the rocks, the driveway, the bubbles, the garden, etc... Maya had to sit in timeout once while we were there. Out of nowhere, she decided to hit me. That's intolerable behavior in our family, so she went straight to timeout. She cried the entire time she sat there, and by the time it was over (about 2 minutes later), I could tell she was truly remorseful. She cried in my arms for a couple of minutes, then we kissed and hugged, and I told her I love her. It's a rare occasion that she actually has to sit in timeout, and when she finds herself there, she does not like it. The funny thing about her hitting... which is not ever funny, but bear with me a minute... is that she doesn't know how to do it. I'm extremely proud of this and happy that hitting does not come naturally to her. It's really awkward and almost slow motion. Plus, she really thinks about it before she does it. The couple times she has hit, she balls up her little fist, bends her elbow, so her fist is by her shoulder and kind of just straightens that arm out in a forward direction. It's when she puts her fist up by her shoulder that she hesitates. She knows it's wrong, so she really has to think about it. I hope that's how her temperament stays... hesitant to lash out in anger. That's not such a bad trait. Anyway, I'm getting off track... before we left Karen's, we raided her garden, picking flowers, zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, and the yummiest smelling basil ever! She has a fabulous garden with tons of veggies! I can't wait to cook them!

Shortly after we FINALLY arrived back home, Maya kept telling me, "Poopies, Mommy, big poopies!" I couldn't figure out where she was talking about, so I asked her to show me. She says, "Puppy poopies, right dare!" and points under the table. I bent down and looked, and to my absolute horror, there were two piles of poop under the kitchen table! I asked Maya if she did that, and she said yes, though, she could not tell me when. We had only been home for 2 hours in the morning, during which time, she had a diaper on the entire 2 hours. At this point, we had only been home for about 10 minutes, and she still had a diaper on. I was RACKING MY BRAIN, trying to figure out how this happened!! I thought for a moment that her dog theory was interesting, but WE DON'T HAVE A DOG! I gathered up some wipes to dive into this awesome clean up job, crawled under the table, and upon closer inspection, I discovered that the "poopies" were actually big chunks of BROWNIES! I cracked up, and when I asked if she tricked me, she said, "Yeah, tick Mommy!" (She didn't actually get it, but I could tell she thought it was funny that I "thought" she played a trick on me... what a little comedian.) LOL... I got "Punk'd" by my 2 year old! Awesome! Ashton Kutcher better watch out, there's a new trickster in town!

After Will came home from work, we were sitting at the table, when Maya came running yelling, "(something intangible) are tumming! (something intangible) are tumming!" Will asked, "Did you say 'the Brits are coming'??" Maya says, "Yeah, Bits tumming!" Will says, "You better go warn all the town's people! How many lanterns will you use?" Without missing a beat, Maya turns around, holds up some fingers, and says, "TWO of 'um!" Hahaha.... One if by land, two if by sea... How did she know?? Will and I laughed and laughed... : )

Happy 09-09-09!

The weather this week has been absolutely beautiful, the best we've had all summer, I think. As luck would have it, Will was off today, so we packed up the kids and headed into Grand Rapids. We decided to have some lunch then play at the Frederick Meijer Gardens. The kids and I have been there several times, but Will had only visited the Gardens for the butterfly exhibit and never had the chance to see the children's gardens. Just like our last family trip to the Gardens, we ate lunch at Noodles & Co. Liam found this to be a fabulous choice and happily sucked down buttered noodles, flat bread, and a container of mango baby food. Yummy!After our bellies were full, we were off to explore! Maya loves to look over the rail at the small pond right outside the main building at the Gardens. There are some beautiful plants, flowers, lily pads, and several goldfish of some sort. She climbs up on the bench and studies the pond for several minutes...Once inside the children's garden, there's a cool art exhibit with a small fountain at the base of it. As soon as Maya spotted the fountain, she took off her shoes and began wading and splashing in the water. Liam even got a turn to dip his toes in!As Maya and Will went to play in the "Great Lakes", Liam and I played in the grass. Liam was constantly trying to head for the wood chips. Here he is on a mission...They had some toys out at the "Great Lakes" that I have not seen there before. There were floating fish, octopus, whales, and nets to catch them in. Maya had tons of fun collecting one type of species at a time, one of the things toddlers do really well, sorting and collecting...Liam was also captivated by the water. He found a little leaf and swirled it around and around...Here are the two of them, hard at work, doing what they do best... PLAYING!Next, we stumbled upon a beaver's cave, and it turns out, they're quite friendly fellows! Liam laughed and laughed when I put on one of the beaver puppets and tickled his belly...
Maya enjoyed rearranging the small pieces of wood inside the cave. She also loved carrying the beavers around... "Wook at dis, Daddy!"Next was the tree house, where Maya ran across this bridge probably 25 times. "Ready, set, GO!"Here's my oldest little bird, sitting in the robin's nest...And, my littlest bird...Ironically, I ended up nursing Liam there, perched atop one of these enormous robin's eggs. I couldn't help but feel like a mama robin coming back to the nest to feed her young. Silly, I know, but true. There's just something so natural about nursing. It really just reminds me that even though I am a superior species, I am still just a mammal. That's kind of cool.

After a little play time with the old fashioned wooden toys in the log cabin, we decided to call it a day. Both kids were exhausted. Maya actually climbed up into the double stroller on her own to ride back to the car. That is a first, as far as I can remember. I was beginning to think that the stroller had been a complete waste of money! Anyway, the kids fell asleep in the car. Liam, almost instantly and Maya, just outside of GR. It was a fun-filled, exhausting trip, and I LOVED every minute of it!