Maya's Third Birthday

Auntie Kate arrived in town on the 26th and preparations for Maya's birthday began immediately. The tree was taken down, decorations purchased, cupcakes ordered and the Kingdom of Maya was slowly erected. We had been practicing how to do "3" on her fingers and finally, with the day looming, Maya hollered from the backseat of the car...I can do it! Suddenly, Maya was ready for three!

The morning began with a survey of the decorations and the loot. We filled the hallway with pink balloons, outfitted her chair with princess gear and laid all of her presents out on the table. Her sleepy brain began to register the importance of the day! MORE PRESENTS!

Well, who could resist allowing that sleepy kid the pleasure of a before-breakfast-present. We, of course, had the perfect one chosen for this moment. Little did we know it would become the uniform for many days/weeks/months to come!

(note the slightly crazed, sleepy look is still present)

Grandma Elaine and Grandpa John made their way over and we all enjoyed some homemade cinnamon rolls, scrambled eggs, juice, etc. We were gearing up for the festivities for the rest of the morning/afternoon.

Grandma Sandy's balloons were a big hit. Mostly we saw a blur of pink in the sky and a blur of blue on the floor--that was Maya running laps around the house!

The Wacky Wiants joined us for some Chinese food. Then it was time for the requested "Cupcakes with Pink Frosting" (a la Pinkaliscious). Sorry Auntie Kate...but there are too many tongues in this picture to not post it! :)

Finally, we got to the present time of day...perhaps a bit too late in the day because the slightly crazed, sleepy look reappeared!
It was a wonderful day. Our gratitude and love for the presents and well wishes via the phone!


And finally, a walk down memory lane.

December 31, 2006
First Birthday

December 31, 2007
Second Birthday

December 31, 2008
Third Birthday

Our Baby is 3!

As I collected the pictures for this my eyes welled up with tears. How in the world have three years gone by so quickly? Perhaps I'm feeling a little nostalgic because I just snuggled with Maya in her big girl bed as she fell asleep (never mind that it's nearly 11pm and we've been fighting with her since 7:30). Perhaps I'm a bit delirious because we've been home together non-stop for 12 days. Or perhaps my heart is just full of love for my wild, passionate, dramatic, challenging, beautiful, bossy, funny, quirky and 100% lovable daughter, Maya!

Here is a stroll down memory lane!

Merry Christmas

Well, it's been busy around here! The co-op is closed, Danny finished up his run of "It's a Wonderful Life", we had some snow & some illness...oh, and of course Christmas...whew...well, here's some pics!

Here is Fin, the happy elf! :)


Maya on a Christmas Eve walk. Can you just feel the excitement radiating off of her?


Frosting cookies. Green and blue is this season's green and red!


Santa's loot!


A princess in a leotard playing her "tuba"!


Merry Christmas to all! I hope your holiday season was filled with joy and bliss!

A Visit to the Man in Red!

So, Maya has been expressing interest in Santa this year. If you will recall, last year Maya had a very intense fear of men with white beards/mustaches. She climbed up my body at Quizno's one night because "Santa" was going to get her. Needless to say, when she said she wanted to visit him Danny and I were skeptical. We had some time this morning because of an incident with bad pasta, puking and a 24 hour rule at the co-op...so off we went to Valley River Center. I called first to make sure Santa was there because the weather was snowy...but of course, his sleigh got him there without incident.

So we get into the mall and begin our walk down the corridor. Maya asks several times where Santa is and we tell her probably down the way by the big Christmas tree. She starts to talk about "not liking white beards" and Danny and I look at each other anticipating the potential disaster.

We get to the Christmas tree and there is Santa perched on his over-sized arm chair and he beckons us to join him. Danny and I just let Maya lead the way and sure enough, in she walks! She definitely kept an eye on him and got on and off his lap quickly. He was able to ask Maya what she wanted for Christmas and she quickly responded with "a tuba". That's right folks...our nearly 3 year old wants a tuba for Christmas. Santa just looked at me and I smiled and nodded. He pressed her a bit more asking if she wouldn't like a dolly to which he received a lukewarm maybe. I asked if she thought a "big girl bed" would be cool...we keep trying to get this seed planted in her brain for Christmas morning...she thought that would be good too! Fin just perched and stared and was overall a happy camper!

Just so you know...Santa has been looking all over hell for a toy tuba. Guess what...there aren't any! Not a one. Well, I believe Santa is improvising a bit and will place the book/cd "Tubby Tuba" on her big girl bed and hope that will suffice!

Here is the proof of our visit! :)

Happy 5 Months Fin!

And to celebrate guess who is sprouting 2 teeth! That's right...the bottom two have just barely broken through. I looked to see when Maya's came through and she was 6 1/2 months! Still no rolling but she definitely is getting closer. She is giggling more and more, adores her big sister and is still a very content self-soother!

We did a little something else this morning but I will save that for a separate post after I get Fin off my lap and can type with two hands! :)

Picture Mania

Today we got a disc of pictures from our Thanksgiving session with Roseann. Really, there aren't many words! Enjoy.





And really, this picture with Auntie Kate really gives perspective on the whole shoot! Getting a (then) 4 month old and a nearly 3 year old to sit still and look the same direction is challenging! :)

Trimming the tree

Saturday was the day we had in our schedules to go and get the tree. Yes, we had to schedule it...our lives are that hectic/pathetic these days! Friday night we were looking at the forecast with dread. An arctic freeze was supposed to hit us Saturday morning--very cold and very wet (snow/rain). Well, that didn't sound like a lot of fun so we came up with a back-up plan that included just going to a lot and grabbing a tree.

Saturday we woke up to a lovely dusting of snow and fairly mild temps. We headed off for Bounce with our warm clothes in the back in case everything worked out. And boy did it! The morning was beautiful. Peipicots was stunning and there was even more snow that we had at our house. It even snowed while we trounced about looking for the perfect tree. It was chilly but we were bundled up...case in point below! :)


Danny found a few trees that he really enjoyed; although we think he liked them primarily because they were underneath a huge pine tree which made the ground snow-free. Maya liked his suggestions but quickly took off in the other direction picking out gigantic trees which was a different fixation from last year's dead tree fascination.

We ended up back at Danny's first pick (with much thanks to Christy's effusive joy and enthusiasm) and Maya declared the tree "ours"!

Danny began sawing and the journey to our house began!




It sat outside in the carport last night drinking a lot of water and drying off and this morning it came in to be trimmed. We put on "White Christmas" and began the process. Maya quickly needed to put on her princess dress so she could look like Rosemary Clooney.



She simultaneously decorated the tree and did a little dance number. I am proud to report that Maya was beguiled by my favorite holiday movie!

And, here it is:

Why my husband won't bring me water...or...what we've been up to

(he did bring me a glass...for those of you that care) So we haven't really updated for a while.

Danny is still working on shows and actually opens "It's a Wonderful Life" this week--onstage! He has rehearsals/shows every night this week so that will be an interesting challenge for the girls and I!

I am about a week late on turning in a dissertation chapter so that is what I am working on these next two weeks. And then, Christmas week and New Year's week the girls are home! No Day Care...hyperventilating! So that really means that I need to get my work done before the twin cyclones take up my time!

We went to Seattle for Thanksgiving. The drives had their moments but for the most part the long weekend was stress-free and relaxing!

We timed the drive to hit at nap time...and boy did it hit! (Maya had eaten lunch at school but couldn't resist Danny's leftover fries.)


Maya was convinced that Thanksgiving (like Halloween) was about handing out candy. So, to the craft and party stores we went to pick up some supplies. She delivered several to the Thomas neighbors and periodically we would see her stealthing her way to the basement with a Starburst in her fist.

Thanksgiving is about love and tenderness and giving thanks. Well, we are thankful that Maya hasn't broken Fin's neck! :)

Fin has definitely found her feet (see pics below) and she has also discovered that she can make her hands touch each other. The newest activity is her fascination with faces. She loves to look, touch and suck on cheeks and foreheads!

A funny pic of Fin in a babushka! :)
We are hoping to get our Christmas tree next weekend...so there will be a lot of pictures to share. Today we went with Saf and her fam to Salem to the Gilbert House (children's museum type thing) and frolicked! It was fabulous. Here are a few of the adventures.




Have a good week!

Fin's 4 Month Appointment

It is official...we make monster babies. For all of you that thought Maya was a big kid...we have a bigger one! As Dr. Curtin put it...you have a 4 month old that is as big as a 10 month old!!! Whoa, Nelly!

Here's a little comparison again:

Maya:
At 2 months: 11 pounds 8 ounces
At 4 months: 14 pounds 14 ounces
Total gain in 2 months: 3 pounds 6 ounces

She was 25.5 inches

Finley:
At 2 months: 14 pounds 4 ounces
At 4 months: 18 pounds 13 ounces
Total gain in 2 months: 4 pounds 9 ounces!!!!!!

She was measured at 26.25 inches.

Here are a couple of pics of Maya at 4 months....




And Fin...

New Element

So, I am trying to figure out how to "talk" about the job search. I think I am having a lot of anxiety about the whole process. Last year when I was applying for GTF positions and getting rejection letter after rejection letter it was hard to not take it personally (which I know is ridiculous).

Since there are several of you who are interested in where I am applying and the status of the job hunt, I thought I would post a list of the places I apply to and make the whole thing public rather than private. That way I am forced to share my disappointment as well as excitement (knock on wood).

So the list is over there ------>.
I will update it when I hear anything positive or negative and I will continue to add to the list as I send more applications out!

And yes, I know, we need to do a family update of Thanksgiving and the rest. Probably tomorrow...because I will need to update you all with Fin's stats...we are taking her in for her 4 month appointment tomorrow!