More details to follow, but Oma & Opa – we want you to know that we’re thinking about you and loving you, so we’re sending these pictures to give you a smile 🙂

7:30am breakfast with Mom & Dad before school @ Panera

Making a friend feel very special by choosing her to be “Starry Guide” and inviting her for a play date after school

Mom and Daddy Jim share a memory from each year of Maya’s wonderful life as Barbie lights a candle…

After play date with Casey, we meet Auntie Judi and Daddy for dinner at Tapas – what a wonderful night!!!

The end of a long, wonderful day

Today was so much fun, Peanut Butter!!

Today we went to Bristol for the 2nd time this skiing season, and you are skiing like a rock star!! Mostly because we couldn’t get the timing right, we signed you up with a private lesson with Sam last time, and you did great! She took you on the chair lift and did a green with you, but even before that you were flying down the bunny hill with ease.

Today? You were crazy confident!! You were doing all kinds of stunts and silliness. You asked for a one-on-one lesson again, so we signed you up with Sarah. She was also awesome. You said you learned “big, medium and little turns” and parallel turns and parallel stops! (Though your spoken version of the word “parallel” was something quite indecipherable but cute). You were very proud of yourself and ready for hot cocoa… so that is what we did – took a break, during which it got dark. Then you and Daddy Jim did the bunny hill a few times, and I skied with Mad and Daniel. When I came back you and I had a blast on the magic carpet / bunny hill. Once I fell done on the magic carpet b/c you accidentally dropped your mitten. When I got back up (very ungracefully), I was facing backward on the magic carpet – sigh. You laughed so hard. Then I fell at the bottom of the bunny hill for no apparent reason – again we laughed our rear ends off!!

When it was time to go home I said, “Okay, Kid. You have a choice – one more time down the bunny hill or one time up on the ski lift to a green.” You really weren’t sure what to do, but you finally bravely chose the ski lift.

Mind you, you and I have never done this by ourselves before. What an adventure. The 2 young women at the lift helped us get on (including replacing your ski that fell off), and you were awesome getting off! You immediately wanted to ski between my legs like we did the previous (less successful) time we tried this (that time I skied you between my legs in a “pizza” all the way down a very very long green and we sang “Rudolph the red nose reindeer” all the way down). This time, I pointed out the hill in front of us and said – “Check that out Peanut – looks pretty flat, don’t you think? Just like the Bunny Hill? What don’t you try it, and I’ll be right here.”

And you did!! And you were a ROCK STAR!!! You skied all of this trail called “Infinity” by yourself… There was one hair pin turn that I just skied with my ski next to yours to help you get set up, but there rest was ALL you!! You were so proud when you reached the bottom – as was I – I yelled “YOU ARE A ROCK STAR!!!!!” and you were giggling and I was giggling!! We had a balll!!!!!!

Can we do crafts?
A week or so before then you asked, “Mama, can we do some crafts?” I said, “but you color and paint all the time.” “That’s not the same as crafts… I would really like to do crafts.” So we did. Five fun crafts over the holidays:

1. The dangling snowperson ornament – first made with Marlie and then you taught your cousins Niklas and Gabriela as well as Oma and Bianca in Michigan.

2. The marshmallow wreath – Madeline and I made this together one night after you headed to bed. We had such a ball! Laughing, talking, burning ourselves. And we were very proud of the way it turned out. Earlier that night we had a beautiful family night – home cooked meal, eggnog, fire in the fireplace, “Charlie Brown’s Christmas Special,” gifts of special ornaments from Austria – and then – a house filled with smoke with all the alarms going off and Mommy and Daddy Jim fighting about how to fix it. Sigh… I guess we aren’t perfect. We laughed about the night many times since. Anyway – here’s the wreath.

3. Melting snowman cookies – We weren’t sure what we were doing, but the three of us (Madeline, you and I) gave it our best shot, and I think they turned out AWESOME!!! Super cute! We took them to Daniel and Madeline’s piano recital, and they were a big hit!!

4. The Christmas card wreath – I was inspired by this idea because we really needed some way to share and see the Christmas cards we received… so we brought the stuff to Michigan and made our first one for Bianca and Mark. I think its pretty – what do you think? Next year we’ll have to make one for us 😉

5. Singing carolers – Last one was a collaborative effort that turned out quite fun – what do you think? Maybe because it was the last of our crafts, maybe because it was the most messy – but few were still standing at the end – Gabby and I finished it up together.

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today

today are my almost 6-year old – with really long hair, interesting insight, and the craziest nuanced reactions i could ever imagine
today you are my giggle buddy (still) – doesn’t take much and you and I are both rollin! most around us have no idea why
today your favorite colors are green and black
today you color puppies, bats, birds, girls and flowers
today you really like to pick out your clothes – and your definitions regarding “matching” are quite… uhmmm… shall we say… hip.
today your phrase by far – mama, i’m hungry
today you don’t like turtlenecks
today you could color and cut and glue for hours at a time
today you can read!!! you can sound out many words, you can sight read others – and, all along, you are quite aware of context (i got all teary eyed listening to you read last night)
today you sit on my lap when I go pottie – sometimes facing me so we can have a close chat
today I still lay down with you, saying prayers together, and staying with you until you are asleep
today i told you that i SOO grateful to be your mama – and I am – every day –
today you love to climb things and push your muscles – gonna sign you up for gymnastics again

today is just about over, and I SOOOOO look forward to tomorrow with you.

i love you my dearest child –
your mama

It’s been almost 2 months since I’ve written to you – I’ve thought about it many, many times. Let’s see what some of the highlights of the past 2 months have been:

* Our fun family weekend with Megan, Jake, Julianna, and Gabby
* First day of Kindergarten
* Raspberry picking at Jo Ann’s (and flowers and tomatoes and peppers and…)
* Your special playdate at the Cinema
* Our family trip to Letchworth State Park…
* Kate’s baby shower with Delilah

Pictures and more coming soon…

‘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!