why ikea doesn't make cars

Some things are too good not to share.

memorable maia moments

Yesterday, Maia emerged from her quiet time appearing to have gained some weight. Since I have learned that anything that seems odd is probably worth investigating when it comes to this munchkin, I took a closer look at the source of weight gain.

No, she hadn't smuggled in snacks. She had smuggled out clothing. As many layers as she could get on.

Underneath the pink sweater and jeans she had had on earlier, I discovered six t-shirts (no kidding -- six), a bathing suit, pajamas, two dancing outfits and dancing tights. I'm all for layering when the house is cold but really, eleven layers?

What a kid.
























More memorable Maia moments of late, for those of who could use a dose of laughter:



Snacktime.

Me: Maia, you little swiper! Are you swiping my snack?
Maia: No mommy, I'm not swiping. I'm sharing.



Dinnertime.

Noodles are being prepared. Maia is concocting something in her mind. Her finger is suddenly raised. With authority, she boldly announces, "Noodles make your ears nice and smooth. Then you can go swimming tomorrow."

Huh?


Songtime. (atonal and wonderful)

Jesus turns the thunder on and aaaaaaaaawff
He makes the rain come dooooooown
Then the farmers are happeeeeeeee
And the birds like it tooooooooooo....

When we forgot my 'babing suit' todaaaaaaay
I cried like a baaaaaaaby
Then we went looking for another babing suuuuuit
But we couldn't find oooooone
So we're going another daaaaaaay

Cried like a baby? Tim and I are sure we've never used this expression with her!


Quiet time.

The sound of grunting coming through the monitor compelled me to check up on her.

Me: Maia, how are you doing?
Maia: Good.
More grunting.
Me: Maia, what are you doing?
Maia: I'm putting my dollies up here.
Me: Are you being careful?
Loud crash.
Maia: One dolly wasn't careful.


Lunch time.

Maia: Thank you, Lord Jesus, for giving us everything we want. Amen.
Tim: Maia, do you mean, 'Thank you for giving us everything we need?' God doesn't always give us everything we want, and that's good actually.
Maia: Yeah, that's what I meant.
Tim: And you said you wanted to pray that God would help Mommy's headache?
Maia: Okay. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for giving us our food that we need. And thank you for mommy's headache.
Tim: [smirking] Right. Shall we eat?


Reading time.

Between Tim and I, one of us is usually out at least half of the nights of the week. One night last week when Tim was out at a meeting, I was reading Maia the classic (though not very intelligent) book "Go, Dog, Go". At the page where all the dogs are driving in tandem together, I asked Maia where she thought they were going. The answer was quick and obvious to her: "To a meeting!"



Family meal planning time.

Me: Maia, dad and I would like to sit down and write out our favourite meals that we like to make, and we want to ask you...
Maia: [interrupting] Yes, you can do that. You go right ahead and do that.

Sometimes I think she wants to be the parent.



Discussion time.

Maia has been thinking more lately about what makes people family. She and I have had various conversations lately about the family in our home, family that live far away, as well as our church family. Now we have a rule in our family that pertains to food falling on the floor. If it falls to the floor, it's fair game for Phil. (A very handy rule if you don't love to clean your floor, by the way.) So when Maia and I were eating waffles for breakfast and a couple of pieces of waffle fell to the floor, she seemed unusually surprised when Phil gobbled them up. When I asked her why she was upset, she bellowed: "They were family!"



Good thing you get about 18 years to raise a child.

the fab five

In her three short years, Maia has taken four dollies under her wing. "Cindy", the littlest, is a gift from a Grandpa. Redhead "Amy" is the cabbage patch kid from my childhood that Maia recently inherited. And "Colette" and "Hannah" are beautiful dark-skinned dollies that were gifts from our friend Mary. (She sometimes calls them 'the twins', even though they look remarkably different to me!) Above are Maia and her fab four watching a little movie as I was preparing dinner the other day.

Recently, another dolly has appeared in the lineup.



At about 17 pounds, Eliana appears about the same size as the fab four. Er... I suppose she makes it the fab five! Maia has been taking all four dollies to bed with her at night. It is so crowded it's amazing she gets a good night's sleep. I fear someone is bound to roll out (a la '10 in the bed') so I just don't let Maia sleep on the end. I'm sure if I let her, she'd make room for one more. Six across in a single bed...why ever not? This was taken the other morning, when I brought the 'Eliana doll' to her room upon waking.



And yesterday, Maia discovered how much her dollies like riding on the rocking horse with her...



... and each one got a turn.



Happy 8 month birthday today, Eliana!

(And can you believe this is my 200th post?)

point and shoot beauty

This Christmas, I captured a handful of images around the house that will remind me of the beauty of the season. Here are a few of the shots.












Most people know I love songwriting. But I really love creating of most any kind... scrapbooking, card making, cooking, photography.... whatever I have the opportunity for. This Christmas I made a painting for someone in our family and in the process rediscovered how very much I still love to paint. (The last time I did that regularly was in highschool. And it may very well take another decade before I get the chance to pick up a paintbrush again!) 'Creating' in almost any way seems to be part of what I was made for. Not surprising perhaps, since, like you, I was made in the image of The Creator.

Over the years, Tim has heard me vent my little frustrations here and there about the limits of a point-and-shoot camera. I once had a great camera, but it was stolen around the time we were dating. So although he and I had made plans to use an unexpected cheque we received to purchase a dishwasher for each other this Christmas, he decided a better gift would be that he would keep washing dishes by hand so that I could have a really nice camera this Christmas. That's basically what this little letter in the tree said:




It all sounded so lovely at first. I mean, really, what a sweet and thoughtful thing for him to want to give me. But after a few days of thinking about it, I came around and decided that I'd rather trade an extra hour of dish-doing each day for family time, instead of having more beautiful family photos and less family time together.

So after a little convincing, Tim agreed, we took advantage of an end-of-year appliance sale, and today our friend Darcy installed our new dishwasher. One load already done. Man, am I ever glad for this purchase! My counters are clear. We all played a family game in place of dish duty tonight. No more funny hole between my cupboards. (Not that it matters, but it sounded good to have a third benefit there.) Here is the new beauty, doing its magic...



One of the highlights of my day was watching Maia watching Darcy as he installed it. He was a very good sport, fielding all her questions and, er, corrections. That little teacher-slash-neat-freak! She found a hat I'd put away, thinking it was too small for her, and insisted on wearing it all afternoon. She is such a character. Here she is laying on the floor next to Darcy. Could she be watching any more closely?



So, as for the lovely SLR camera of the future, that will just have to wait. And that seems just fine to me, as I listen to my dishes made sparkling clean with no effort at all.

elly belly

Feeding Eliana is becoming an event these days.

She was introduced to banana this week, which she managed to hold using her bib. (Might have been a fluke, but it seemed a very clever move to her mom.) Her newest mealtime tricks are grabbing for the spoon and buzzing her lips. In both cases, the food flies. Fun, fun, fun.

Would you believe this girly managed to pop her first two teeth around New Year's Day with almost no fuss? Well, a little... but we thought it was just the symptoms of her cold this week. No hint of diaper rash until after the teeth had poked through. This little one likes to keep us guessing! There's certainly no parents here who have figured it all out the first time around, that's for sure.

I love capturing moments where Tim is feeding her. Here's one for you to enjoy.

christmas comedy

After a month of preparations, my 8-year-old nephew Connery orchestrated one of the most entertaining Christmas plays of all time.

Connery had taken care of everything from the script and props to the toilet paper roll microphone attached to the cereal box speaker on the wall. I mean, he thought of everything. Original jokes and piano arrangements of Christmas carols during costume changes. Roles and lines for four actors (including Maia, a last minute addition who he worked in nicely). A beautiful recitation of the Christmas story from memory. Living room furniture arranged for a captive audience. He's quite the little producer for his mere eight years.

The only elements out of his control: two sisters and a cousin named Maia.




The five-minute-play-turned-twenty ensued with more humour than any of us could have anticipated. Imagine a well-organized boy telling three giggly girls (including two 3-year-olds) where to go, what to put on and what to say next. Here are a few of my favourite moments, recorded as best as I can remember.

Connery: Then Mary laid down to have her baby. Ireland, lay down!
Ireland: I don't want to do that part!



Connery: Then the angel... [interrupted]
Ireland: [loudly from backstage] Connery! I'm not ready yet! Tell some jokes!
Connery: [in a loud whisper] I don't have any jokes left!
Ireland: THEN SING SOME SONGS!




At one point, Reese quietly adorned herself with an outrageous wig and centred herself on the stage, without a word, and then proceeded to stand there for the remainder of the play. Not a word. In the middle of the stage. Action all around. Reese is perhaps the biggest ham of them all. I predict this girly is going to have a dry and gut-wrenching sense of humour like her dad.




Connery: Then the shepherds came with their sheep to the stable to worship the baby.
Maia: [Enters stage right in a lamb costume, crying.]
Tim: Maia, what's wrong?
Maia: [Through her tears] I wanted to be a kangaROO!



And there you have it. A little Christmas comedy with my nephew, my nieces and my grouchy little lamb.

And here's a favourite photo of one who hasn't figured out how to be grouchy yet. (No, that would not be me. That would be Eliana at 7.5 months old.)



Happy New Year, everyone!