‘Thanks Mom!! YOU’RE the BEST!!!”
“Can I have a fruit Mento – I’ll be really, really good for the rest of the day!”
I don’t bemember what happened.
Mama, can I pick a flower?
these are just a few of the heart-warming Maya-isms in our worlds at this time… you are SUCH a joy to be with!
Last week was definitely weird… You went to a new camp with new teachers and new friends in a new building with new things to do, and I was in Chicago at my conference the whole week… It was strange not being able to picture where you are or what you are doing.
I’m sure you’ve figured out by now that I am kind of what-they-like-to-call a helicopter Mom – one who likes to hover. : ) not really – but I do like to be involved and know where you are and what you’re doing. I do like to really know your friends and teachers… On your first day of your new camp, I called the camp director from Chicago and asked her to spy on you specifically and make sure you were doing okay – not surprisingly, she reported that you were having a BALL on the playground with the other kids… my heart smiled..
Anyway – it sounds like you had a FANTASTIC time. Kate picked you up every single day so you had that consistency in your week – she said you were fantastically happy and well behaved every day. She said you liked your new teachers and you were waving goodbye in the parking lot to your new friends. Kate was sweet enough to send me pictures of your adventures together… Here are some of them…
Strawberry Picking
You and I are both so very grateful for Kate – her kindness, her playfulness, her love, her attention to details, her consistency… She rocks!! How much more blessed could we possibly be!!
So many of your baby language is gone – but “bemember” is one sweet word that lives on. So is “useum” (instead of museum). So so sweet.
I took this picture of you today, and you look SO grown up to me.
It’s the first day of what we call “Barbie Camp.”
You are so articulate, creative and insightful. Tonight after camp, you decided to design and build your own shower. You filled a plastic target bag full of water, and asked me to hang it from the tree. We poked a couple holes in the bottom – and viola – a shower!! Very impressive.
You LOVE to make up stories – and they are quite involved – often starring a little girl. : )
Our favorite thing to do each night this summer has been to “Stoop Squat” – that’s where we eat watermelon or popsicles or cherries while we sit on our one step in the front of the house to watch the sun set and wave to neighbors walking by. It’s so fun b/c we have literally watched our flowers bloom between our stoop squats before bed and those at breakfast time. What a wonderful and amazing time – watching miracles together.
Pill bugs & flowers – “These are a few of your fav-or-ite things”
One of my favorite pictures of you
Tonight in bed (we still snuggle in together every night until you fall asleep), you said 2 things that were especially sweet:
1. “Mama? It’s really uncomfortable when you’re not here.”
and after much chatting and arm flying and re-positioining, you said…
2. “Mama? I am really sorry.” “For what Baby?” “For all the bad things I did today.” And you were so very sincere… it totally melted my heart.
I’m tired… but I wanted to tell you HI and a little about why I’m treasuring you tonight…
Love, your Mama
Here is the last and final update from our fun adventures in Seattle.
Highlights from today
* Elisabeth birthday celebration (a little late) oh and Amy’s too
* Chuck E Cheese “where a kid can be a kid” and so can Amy (with Starbucks of course) – at opening time (9am) – we were the only ones there
* Cool Christian thrift shop
* Jumping on big trampoline place!
* Lunch at Red Robin
* Building “bears” – actually building a scuba-diving flamingo who shares her fins with a recently constructed bunny
* More water time outside
* Yummy summer dinner outside
* A “4-hour” bath (you and Lizzy really think it was 4 hours, so hopefully no one will tell you differently)
You and Lizzy are now giggling like crazy before bed. What a wonderful, wonderful week! Thank you so much Amy, Elisabeth and Hakon! Oh and Shyanne and Sam!!
Welcome to Seattle Day 3 – My favorite day FOR SURE
What a DAY!!! Summer finally arrived in Seattle WA, and all the natives were grateful!! So were we!!
Highlights?
* Yummy breakfast with veggietales (Auntie Amy treated you like princesses!)
* A trip to University of Washington for me and a trip to the Children’s Museum for Amy & Girls (sorry, camera battery died for this part)
* Lunch in the spinning (not my favorite part) restaurant (quite enjoyable) at the top of the space needle (way cool!)
* Carnival rides and a hay maze at the foot of the Needle
* THE COOLEST public fountain EVER with amazing warm sun to bathe in!! Steel drum music coordinated with the water jets. You and Lizzy had a BLAST – ran around in the fountain for a VERY long time!!
* LOTS of giggles from the back seat the whole way home (during rush hour)
* Dinner outside that ended with ice cream and bouncy house
* Very tired everyone.
We are so blessed! We are all so grateful for the wonderful day!
Highlights -
* Another Starbucks run – seriously – you are climbing up the slide the wrong way with a starbucks coffee cup in one hand – what is that?!?
* Tree climbing (a DEFINITE hit with you!!) and swinging
* Bike riding, skating, driving a car for your first time, and cheerleading by you, Lizzy and me
* A trip to Microsoft campus – Auntie Amy records a video and we play in “Lake Bill” with the fishies (dabbling our toes and somehow getting drenched)
* A conference phone call with Oma & Opa and another chat with Uncle Mark
* Getting our toes painted and a bit of shopping
* A Strande fashion show – announcer Miss Elisa and YOU were the model (I kept expecting the pig to come around the corner dressed up 
)
* Hot tub and baths
Amy and I looked at each other all day commenting on how blessed we are to have such wonderful kids!! You and Lizzy are playing together so beautifully! Tonight you asked to sleep in the same room.
Getting there….
On our flight to Seattle, the pilot and co-pilot on our JET BLUE flight (I LOVE Jet Blue) welcomed Maya and me into their cockpit – had us sit down in the driver’s seat – and the co-pilot, who is also an amateur photographer, took great pride in framing these shots.
We started our first morning of our trip with a pajama trip to Starbucks (how wonderfully cliché) – and even Lizzie and Maya got little hot cocoa’s.
The day was fun and packed with Toy Story 3, lots of play, Lizzie & Maya’s magic tricks, time with Arthur, Natalie, Jennifer and Everitt (who we haven’t seen for 5 years!!) – who, by the way all loved the iPad, and lots of fun hanging out!! I SOOO enjoyed getting to know Natalie – and getting reconnected with the whole family – Jennifer & Everitt are such GREAT young people!!
Amy, Hakon and I ended the day relaxing in the hot tub…
What a special time!
Enjoy the picts!
i just wrote a lot for the first time from my iPad for your blog and lost it – let’s try a short post to see if this works…
It DID work – I think the first time I must have forgotten to hit SAVE. Bummer.
All I really said was this new toy of mine is SOOOO sweet. It is the perfect size for me to create interesting things, read documents online (my phone was far too small for that), do email faster and easier than my laptop. This things has tools on it that make my life easier – and the resolution is SOOOO sweet that it is even fun to look at the weather forecast. I loaded it with games and books for you, dan and mad – you all love it! (Like me)
I fall asleep to the sound of a camp fire and crickets made my one app. Totally cracks me up.
And I downloaded the COOLEST ASL translator app today that will help you and me as we continue to work on learning sign language (you have been really interested in that lately).
So Fun!! I cannot even imagine what will be designed and created by the time you grow up. I am so unbelievably grateful that I get to be with you for the long haul!! What amazing adventures you will have!!
I love you Beautiful!
Your Mama
let’s see – I want to try your new blog format – and there are about a million things I wish I had written down for you, so let’s see if, in my tired state, I can remember any of them
funny story:
We were at a very loud restaurant Saturday night (mad, dan, you, me, daddy jim, daddy’s best friend dave, and our friend christine). You and I were sitting on one side of the table hanging out. You said, “Mom, let’s have a staring contest.” So we did… and laughed and laughed and laughed. Sometimes I won, sometimes you won. Once when you won, you looked across the table and excitedly told Daddy Jim, “I won! I won!!” He yelled back to you (so you could hear), “What did you win sweetheart?!?” “A staring contest with Mama!!”
He looked truly perplexed and yelled back,
“A Scary Cow Test?!?!?!”
We both immediately CRACKED up laughing, looked at each other and broke out in the meanest looking and sounding MOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! toward each other that we could come up with!!! Then we laughed so hard our sides split!!!! It took us many rounds of Scary Cow Test and laughter before we could breath enough to explain to Daddy Jim.
How fun!!
Started slowly with a lot of snuggles and giggles in bed… Then we watched two “Peeps” together. We really watched them together – I listened and we laughed together and commented and questioned together. Quack cracks me up!!! So “always confident, rarely correct.” He’s a trip!!
Our family has started measuring time in “Peeps” by the way. You’ll say how long is 3 hours? We’ll answer 6 “Peeps.” You’ll ask, “How long till where there?” We’ll answer, “3 Peeps.” It’s all quite comical.
Pictures from Peep-Watching
The following picture says it all - a very common image of our dining room table with your artwork on one end and my something-else work on the other end… Today it was 5 loads of laundry and going through all of your size 4 clothes and replacing them with size 5 summer clothes.
Then we went to shop for your friend Marlie’s birthday present, and stopped for a picnic at this fun bench along the way. Before we ate, we decorated Marlie’s gift bag with some of our original art. These benches are popping up all over Brighton – I wonder what the back story is…. Very fun!!
Picnic Pictures
Then onto Marlie’s belated birthday party… So many of your old friends from Asbury were there – Else, Natalie, Jaydon, Raine, Missy… It was a good time.
A few pictures from Marlie’s party
(You took the next picture)
(We did a lot of bouncing together – I’m pretty sure I was the only parent bouncing – what an honor…)
After the party, we changed clothes in the back seat together and headed out for a hike with Casey and her parents – I’ve told you this many times, but Casey’s Mom and I have been friends since prenatal yoga. We were all in the same “play group” for the first 2+ years of your life. It’s so fun that we have reconnected through Cobblestone! After our hike and some good tree-climbing, we went to their house for dinner and strawberry shortcake! : )
Some pictures from the park:
A quick snack, bath, teeth-brushing, book and chat with Daddy Jim, and you were out (me too almost… I’m struggling to stay awake to write this post, but I promised Daddy Jim he could keep tabs on us while he is away through your blog…)
As I told you Baby – Life with you is SOOOO MUCH FUN!!!