grandpa bob and grandma dorothy

Maia has a very special relationship with Bob & Dorothy, friends of ours in Zurich who are like her 'local adoptive grandparents'.

Grandpa Bob and Grandma Dorothy just returned from Tanzania, where they were the honoured guests of a Tanzanian mennonite church that our church supported 15 years ago when they were looking to purchase land and build a church building. So being the first from Zurich to make a trip to the church since it was built (and grown from 40 to 600), they were quite overwhelmed with the honour, singing, meals, etc. that was lavished on them down there!

They wore the matching African clothing that was presented to them in Tanzania to church this yesterday. We happened to have our camera yesterday, so now you can all picture our dear friends Bob and Dorothy.

so happy together... how is the weather?

Today Maia's little friend Aidan came to visit while his mom was out shopping for the day. I found a pair of mittens for Aidan (bright pink... sorry lil' fella) so we could all take a little tour outside before nap time. I figure it's good for Maia to learn to share the double stroller sometime... she's so used to lounging in it and having it all to herself. Aidan was very understanding as Maia sprawled out her arms across his chest. (I moved her arm back to her side for the photo -- wasn't that nice?) And hey -- that blanket was intended for all four little legs... how did it end up covering just my daughter?

Yes, it seems it's no easy task teaching a toddler to share. I read recently that little people can't even understand the concept of sharing until they are three... not sure I believe it. I'm certainly not going to wait for another year and a half to try to teach her.

Any great success stories with sharing among toddlers out there?

months of comments

So I finally just switched to a new version of blogger. They'd been asking me to switch over for months, but I wasn't tempted to relearn the program. Lately, I've begun to wonder why no one was commenting on my blog anymore. This week I had a few friends mention they were posting comments but that they never got published.

DING!

The lights came on today and I realized they were all probably sitting there in the new program waiting to be approved. And when I switched over, there they were -- 70 lovely comments (including messages like "This is the third time I'm posting this comment...") from so many of you, dating all the way back to November!

So thank you for your great responses these last few months.

It's a new day. Post away!

car driving toddler

Isn't it usually the boys that try to impress the girls with their cars?

Not in this case...

see video

jumping jealousy

Yesterday I jumped up and down for my daughter. I forget why.

She decided she'd like to master the skill herself. Here's her attempt...

see video

psalm 23

At church today, our service was centred around Psalm 23. "The Lord is my shepherd...." A beautiful picture of the Father's protection and love for those under His care.

I was in a brown and cream mood this morning when I dressed Maia, so this is what she wore this morning.

The big joke after the service was that Maia was the leapord for which the sheep needed the Shepherd's protection.

Nice timing on the outfit, indeed.

And here's another moment from our day posted simply to make you smile. Would you believe me if I said it was my 18-month old's idea?

too many words?

Maia wants to know the word for everything, it seems. So naturally, I've been telling her the words for, well, just about everything.

Including when she burps. I tell her it's a "burp".

And now, every burp is immediately and boisterously followed by its label:

BEEP!

P.S. New words today included "clock" (cawka), "bubble" (bubbaw) and "night, not to mention the dozens of words she tried to say today that aren't coming out quite clearly yet. It's like we've suddenly jumped on the word train! I have this feeling we won't be getting off this train any time soon....

a window on words

New words are coming out of our 18-month-old's mouth at an unprecedented rate! It's really quite a joy to be able to watch the miracle of her brain being able to begin to understand hundreds of words and to try forming many of them herself. It seems every day she is able to say a new word or two -- sometimes when asked, usually unprompted.

Today's words were

"balloon"

(an air balloon commercial kept coming on the TV during a show we watched, and each time it appeared she would say "bawoo!" as though it were the first time it was appearing) and

"flower".

Tim and I both brought a bouquet of tulips in the house this week -- me just because I'm aching for spring and the tulips are a foretaste of the season around the corner... and Tim because he was given them for being a judge at a local school speech competition -- ironically, neither was for Valentine's day. A friend at church gave us mini cupcakes for Maia for Valentine's day (sweet, eh?). She was eating one at lunchtime today and kept pointing at the pink icing and saying "fowah" until I finally clued in that she thought the icing on the cupcake looked like a flower.

Here, see for yourself... you and I see a cupcake but she sees a flower.

I love that untainted mind of a child. I love watching the connections they make. Sometimes I think my brain isn't moving as fast as hers. She's such a little sponge right now.

Other new words of the week include

"blanket", "cheese", "ducky" and "yeah" (in response to questions like "Do you want a snack?" or "Your giraffe is soft, isn't he?).

I caught a few words on video the other day. Amidst other tasks, Maia repeats back all the words she's asked to say... that is, all words except "ball" (not sure what grudge she's holding against a ball) and, of course, "mom". (She does say "mom" now, but only when prompted and then, only occasionally. She still likes to throw in the occasional "daddy" when asked to say "mommy", probably because whoever's listening usually erupts in laughter.) My favourite part of the conversation is at the end when I ask her "Can you say, mom?" and she replies with a simple "Yeah". see video

Tim and I were saying over dinner that we never thought we'd be laughing this much with (and at) a child of 1 1/2 years... we truly thought it would take a few years before she was at a developmental level where we would enjoy her this much!

Thank you, God, for the gift of Maia.... and the promise of spring.

more maia videos

Every evening, Maia gets a burst of energy and does laps around the kitchen table. We think it's part of a getting-ready-for-bed ritual. see video

Tim and Maia have been practicing a new skill: "eyes closed, eyes open". The fake laugh is priceless. see video

And a wee video of Maia watching "Bruno the monkey", a one-minute show that comes on CBC between kid's programs. We don't watch all that often, but when we do, I think she has a special affinity for Bruno. see video


It's unfortunate the sound is off a little on the videos I've been uploading to YouTube -- but you'll get the idea! Enjoy!

beautiful handmade sweater

We have been fortunate (spoiled, really) to receive a number of hand-knit sweaters for Maia. Each one is a treasure, as we know many hours were lovingly spent on it.

This sweater was made with love by Maia's Grandma -- Tim's mom.

It's beautiful and Maia is already wearing it often. And how often do you get a piece of clothing for a little girl that can be worn by her AND a little brother, if she were ever to have one? Girl-to-boy hand-me-downs are pretty rare, I think.

Yes -- absolutely spoiled we are.

Thank you, Grandma!

winter moments

A winter moment inside:

Maia is into trying other people's winter clothes right now. Hats, boots, mittens... long gloves are particularly entertaining when they come up to her shoulders and the fingers hang loose at the ends.

Above are a couple of her famous expressions while donning Mom's hat.

Mom, by the way, is still getting called "dada"... and with great conviction. I have to say it is quite endearing to see your child smile and call out an exuberant "dada" the first time you see each other in the morning, even if it's not your name.

And a winter moment outside:

Yesterday we went for a family walk in the cruel cold, all bundled up and in the shelter of a new forested trail. At first I wasn't sure why we were doing this to ourselves, as it was probably -30 with the wind chill. But then within a hundred crunches of snow under our feet, we saw it. A beautiful white-tailed deer that stopped straight ahead of our path another hundred feet in front of us. And it just stood there watching us in the middle of the trail, in full view. After we realized Phil was oblivious to its presence (wind blowing the wrong way to pick up a scent) and the deer stayed frozen for a good long time, we decided to walk towards it, and it stayed still -- about a minute in total. And when it finally decided to bound off, I realized I had probably never seen a deer bound like that before with its big white tail sailing behind it. A great gift.

I don't think Maia saw much of the deer, but she sure loves the cold winter wind on her face. Isn't that just a little odd?

wildlife

This isn't the white-tailed deer we saw on our walk yesterday, but it is one of the group of five that we saw on our holidays last week up north.
Good thing he decided to cross the road just after we'd driven by...

And while I'm at it, perhaps you'd like to see one of the wild turkeys we saw up near the cottage?

There was a group of about 7 turkeys (apparently called a "flock" of turkeys -- yes, I've done my homework) milling around at the side of the road. And apparently they came over to the cottage itself the next day and had a "turkey party" under a sumac tree in front of the cottage. Tracks everywhere. All the tracking we did on our holidays brings me back to my days as an outdoor ed instructor. Good days. One of my favourite jobs ever.

See, if you read my blog long enough you're bound to find out some strange facts about "moronic Mo" and not just my strange and wonderful daughter...

giggles in the snow

Yesterday, on the first day of February, Maia played in the yard with our dear neighbour girls. These girls will do anything to get giggles from Maia! Such dears. Here's the video.