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!