Fun Vacation Week

Mayson and I are out of school for the holidays and we are loving having Keri at home this week too.  So far we've had a playdate with the Daus family, a trip to Seattle Gymnastics Academy, a visit with Sara, trips to IKEA to help get our room ready for Mayson's baby brother, and Mayson's two-year old Dr. checkup.  She is doing great!  Mayson is in the 86% percentile for her weight (30lbs), and in the 91% percentile for her height (36 inches).  She is above target for her verbal development (as we suspected), and didn't even flinch when she got her flu shot.  She still has been reading a ton, and when she asks us to read a particular book, she says the entire title perfectly.  Today in the car, I asked her if she wanted me to sing.  I thought I would take the opportunity to give her a little appreciation for Madonna.  When I started singing some lyrics, "I made it through the wilderness, somehow I made it through..." Mayson yelled, "Oh my god, no!"  After Keri and I stopped laughing, we realized that she was actually saying, "Old Mac Donald!" instead.  Either way, she wasn't too keen on Madonna. 

Hanukkah with Grandma and Grandpa

We were invited over to Grandma and Grandpa's house to celebrate Hanukkah earlier this month.  Mayson grabbed the bag of clothes that Grandma picked out for her and put on every article of clothing at the same time: turtleneck, jumper, sweater, hat, etc. and insisted on wearing it all the rest of the evening.  She got a little help from them as she blew out a candle on her birthday cake (birthday celebration number 4). 

Winter Zoo Trip and Animal Obsession

We've been bundling up and doing fun winter outings.  Mayson still loves going to the zoo and always talks about the carousel. She wants to go all the time and just sit and watch it go around.  We're still waiting for her to want to jump on! 
She is still totally obsessed with her Fisher Price Little People animals.  She talks to them all the time and makes up little scenarios for them.  They all ride in a plastic van together and they visit inside the princess castle frequently.  Some of them get along better than others.  Monkey and Tiger are best friends and always go everywhere together, including Mayson's bed.  Polar Bear and Giraffe tend to get along well.  She sets them all up at a little plastic table so they can eat dinner together.  Mayson asks me to sit on the little couch in her room and watch her play with all of them.  She lines them all up and talks to them.  Some of the recent things she has said with them have been:
"Come on guys!" or "Let's take turns." or "Come on, let's do this!"  If one of the animals can't fit into the van or a door comes off, she'll say, "Mama, help you?!" which actually means, "Mama, help me." but her pronouns are a little off.  My favorite new saying of hers is, "That is so CUTE!"

Mayson's Birthday, Round 2

To top off a great trip to Whistler, we also celebrated Mayson's 2nd birthday on the 24th.  Our friends helped us celebrate and the adults were great sports about eating cupcakes on Dora plates.  Mayson is a lucky girl to have so many people who love her!  She opened her presents which included Thomas and Dora books, a flower building set, a fun red dress (thank you, Amy), a coloring set (thank you Tom, Tim, and Jason), and a beautiful ABC book (thank you, Rowan).  To top off the night, we went out for Mexican food and Mayson got a special birthday song from the waiters and our friends, as well as flan with a candle.  We tried to get her to wear the special birthday sombrero but she wasn't too excited about it. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whistler Thanksgiving

Thanks to our fantastic friends: Amanda, Brad, Rowan, Jason, Jennie, Mike, Amy, Tom, and Tim, we had a great Thanksgiving celebration at Whistler.  Everyone pitched in with delicious food and the snow started falling as soon as we arrived so we could play and ski.  Mayson and Rowan had a blast in the sled and loved chasing each other around the condo and sharing toys. 

 

 

 

 

Mayson's 2nd Birthday, Round 1

Grandma and Grandpa came over to start what has turned into a two week celebration of Mayson's birthday. Since they couldn't be with us at Whistler on her actual birthday, they visited and brought Mayson a princess dollhouse castle that she now wants to bring everywhere. It has a little button that plays music, so we taught Mayson how to dance on our feet and we've been having a great time! 

 

 

Mayson's First Haircut

We decided to do a little trim in preparation for the big girl turning 2 soon.  I was a little nervous because I love the curls and didn't want them to disappear. We also weren't sure how Mayson would react to someone cutting her hair.  But of course, she did great!  She sat in a wooden boat and played with the steering wheel, took a look at some toy trains and cars, and handled it like a champ!  She even wanted to try to sit in the other seats when we were done.  We just cut a little, and the curls are as bouncy as ever. 

Happy Halloween

Mayson had a great time decorating her pumpkin with foam sticky letters and glitter glue before the big day!  We made cookies on the night before Halloween so she could share them with her friends at Angie's.  On Halloween morning, all the kids got dressed in their costumes and had a fun party.  We spent the afternoon after school at Noah's house, running around, eating pizza, and dancing with a Minnie Mouse doll.  I was a little worried Mayson wouldn't want to get in her ladybug costume, but after some cheering, tears, and a little tugging, we got it on!  Mayson joined Noah and Brady and enjoyed her first time knocking on doors and saying, "Trick or Treat!" She loved it!  She was very polite and just picked out one piece of candy from each house and made sure to say thank you.  We drove home and got a fun treat at Marni's, put in a little visit at John and Linda's and crashed into bed. 

Daylight Savings

It has been kind of rainy since the time change.  We've been actually having fun staying inside and trying to be creative to entertain ourselves.  Mayson's favorite recent indoor pasttimes have been riding her little bike around the living room with her cowboy hat, chasing MoMo, role playing with her Little People animals, and of course playing with her blocks.  She has been loving reading with mom and dad, and we've been impressed because she knows all of the titles of her books.  Her talking is incredible!  She is fun to talk to and sing with in the car!

 

Fall Boots

Fall is here in full swing, and Mayson has been obsessed with wearing her boots and getting outside.

 

The Men in Mayson's Life

Mayson loves her daddy and also her friend Noah.  Recently they all met up at Bob's Corn to see some pumpkins and go on a train ride.  Although Mayson decided at the last minute that the train was not for her, she was very excited to see Noah!

 

23 Months

Mayson turned 23 months old this week!  We are so close to 2!  She is so fun and active right now, I can't wait to see what the next year brings.  She has been singing along to songs in the car, and also singing on her own a lot.  She has lots of new words and sentences, and knows how to ask for what she needs.  We're having a bit of an addiction to "gummies," which are fruit snacks.  But that is our fault since we use it to bribe her every time we get in and out of the car.  She makes us laugh every day.  Her favorite saying at the moment is, "Mayson do it." She is very social and friendly and says, "Hi Mama," all day to get my attention.  She still loves going to sleep, and her favorite books to read are all about Thomas the Train.  We've graduated to the big tub and she loves her "colors" while she is bathing.  She even wants to be in the bathtub when it isn't time for a bath. 

Perfect Fall Day: Finale

After our pumpkin patch visit, we got to visit Hope and Jenny at Hope's soccer game.  We got there just in time to see Hope score her first goal of the season!  After the game, Hope had enough energy to chase Mayson around the playground. 

Perfect Fall Day: Part III

Okay, almost done with the pumpkin pictures.  I should warn that it is only the first weekend of October, so we might have to go back for more fun before Halloween.  Keri did a good job managing my excitement this time, but I'll have to see if he is up for another visit.  We ran out of time to actually buy a pumpkin, so we have to go back, right?

Perfect Fall Day: Part II

Mayson loved the hay bale maze, cider, homemade donuts, and pumpkin fields.  She tried to pick up all of the pumpkins, and ran circles around Fall City Farms.