Home Again

We got home on 1/6. We spent week trying to recover/get Maya to sleep mostly through the night again. Derek and I celebrated our 9th anniversary on the 10th. We had cheese fondue with sourdough, apples, and chicken sausage for supper. Maya had never had it before but was a fan. Apples dipped in it were her favorite I think. She really liked the sausage but only without cheese. She kept/keeps asking for more sausage. This from a kid that generally won't eat more than a bite of meat. I was surprised. 

1/11 Maya and I made cake pops for the first time. They were ginger bread men (ginger spice cake, vanilla frosting, cinnamon candy melts). They were a pretty tasty but perhaps a sad looking lot. Maya had a blast helping cut them out and putting sprinkles on them/eating sprinkles. When she would eat them she would take a bite and then say poor ginger bread man.

Also being silly during snack time

Maya had complained of her ear hurting the day we got home and the day after. Then nothing for a few days. Then the following weekend she complained again several times. I took her into the doctor on Monday 1/14. I tried to prep her for it by telling her where we were going and what they would do. She asked if she would get a shot. I said no, probably not. She then asked if she would get a lollipop and sticker. I said I didn't know. She did really well. Let them weigh her on the regular scale rather than the infant one. She let the doctor look in her ears without crying. He declared her as healing up without intervention. And she got a lollipop and sticker. She was happy. Well at least until she finished the lollipop and wanted to go back to the doctor to ask for another. I was a little surprise at her memory. While we were waiting she kept asking about the examination table. I was trying to explain it to her and she said it's where they measure you. Yes, yes it is. At her usual pediatrician it is where they measure you when you come in for well baby checks. Well baby checks that she hasn't had since 18 months.

1/18 Maya and I went shopping to pick up some stuff for our "project" formerly known as Maya's Christmas present. While we were out we stopped at good will. We found a dress for Maya's new baby doll she got for Christmas. She's really into dolls right now. I spend a large chunk of the day helping rediaper her doll. Five seconds after you get it on you hear "on no, she pooped again". Those dolls are worse than a newborn but at least they use the potty sometimes. Maya also picked out a dress for herself and wanted to wear it all day, over her other clothes. She is quite the fashion queen. She wore the top her Christmas jammies, that I scored on clearance after Christmas, when we went shopping. In other news, stealing more than one tissue out of the box is hilarious. Or at least in our house.

Christmas Travels, Celebrations 1-4, and 22 Months

12/22 22 Months/Christmas celebration 1: We opened gifts with my family. Maya wasn't quite sure what was going on. She opened a few gifts and then just wanted to play with them rather than opening anything else.

12/23 Making Christmas cookies with the cousins. It was Maya's first time "making" sugar cookies. 

Maya made one and then kept eating the dough and asking for more. My grandma enjoyed watching her.

12/25 am Christmas morning, Celebration 2. Maya Started pulling stuff out of her stocking. 

Then got distracted... 

by the rooster, hen, and cats on the porch.

She was distracted by her ABCs

Then she found chocolate and candy canes which had to eat them right away

Finally decided to open the rest

12/25 pm Christmas celebration 3. We had lunch at grandma's then opened more gifts.

Since a holiday isn't complete without puke, Maya picked up a stomach virus. At least it waited until Christmas night. We had planed to leave town on the 12/26 but between Maya getting sick and the weather we stuck around for another day.

12/27 We drove all day, at least it felt like it. We went the long way, rather than the shorter back roads through the middle of nowhere, because we were afraid that the roads might be icy/snowy. Maya did really well on the drive. Maya loved the snow, until her hands got too cold. I wish we had brought all of her snow gear but it's just so bulky. We had a great visit with Auntie J, Uncle J, G and E. Derek felt sick one day and I did the next but at least there was no puke this year. When we left Maya was upset, asking for "two friends" G and E.

12/31 New years eve/Christmas celebration 4. We started opening gifts with Derek's family in the evening. We took an intermission when some friends came over. Then continued the next day. It worked out well since Maya was still getting too distracted to open more than a few at a time anyway.

It is necessary to immediately try on any new clothes

Derek and I made it to midnight but just barely. Maya didn't really sleep well the entire trip.

1/2 More snow fun. I tried to find a pair of snow boots for Maya but couldn't find any in her size. Instead I got rain boots. They were a little big and she kept losing them in the snow, accidentally at first. Then it was so funny she had to do it on "purfose". 

Early December in Review

Yes, I know that it is now January, fast approaching Mid-January. We've been busy. November ended with backed up sewage in the bathroom, a leaking roof in the living room, and a leaking water heater. The first week of December was spend dealing with these issues and getting ready for Christmas. When the water heater was replaced, air in the line cause the toilet to start leaking. We spent most of our free time trying to get Maya's "Christmas" present finished. I call it "Christmas" because it's still not done. On December 8th, Maya stayed with a babysitter for the first time while Derek and I went to his company Christmas party. Everyone survived and even enjoyed themselves I think. The roughest part was the hand off. Maya knew something was up and kept saying mom hold you. The next week Maya was snotty and had a fever that we couldn't keep under control even with medicine. She was miserable and we spent most of the week snuggled on the couch. Her fever broke on the 14th and she fortunately felt good/bad enough to be a crank for my birthday. I made a carrot cake from scratch. I think it was the best cake I've ever made. I made it during Maya's morning nap and made icing during her afternoon nap. She helped me decorate it with pink and green sprinkles (colored sugar). She even stuck in two of the candles all by herself. I learned that having a baked cake around that you can't eat yet is a form of torture for a toddler. All day I heard "I need to eat the cake". I kept telling her that we could when dad got home. When she heard Derek coming in the garage, she ran to him, and didn't say hi. She just yelled "I NEED TO EAT THE CAAAAKE!!!!" We ate cake before supper. On the 18th, we left town too early in the morning. We scheduled the shuttle for 5:25 am and set our alarms for 4:50 or so. We got a call at 5 that the shuttle was five minutes away. We rushed to get the last minute stuff done. Maya was excited to go to the airport so she didn't really cry despite the early wake up. When we got there, lines were short and our flight was delayed. We sat around forever then Maya fell asleep shortly before it was time to board. We had to wake her up again but she did really well on both flights.

Photo shoot for Christmas cards (If you didn't get a card from us this year but usually do/would like to in the future let me know, I lost my address list and didn't realize it until the last minute)

"Christmas" present sneak peak

Party time. When Maya saw this picture she said
"Mom and dad going to church and mom has a rainbrella"

"NEED TO EAT THE CAAAAAAAKE!!!!!"