Easter Get-a-way

Hi Maev-

You recently went on a little get-a-way to Memphis without Mom and Dad. This was a first for us. I wasn't really worried, and of course I missed you lots. The Thursday morning before Easter we met Grandma and Grandpa halfway between Memphis and Nashville. We woke up super early and of course you didn't go back to sleep. Instead you opted to watch part of Cinderella, and just talk your Dad's ear off while Mommy drove.

Grandma, of course, had lots of activities planned for you. Thursday- you all made Easter cupcakes and decorated them. Friday-you went shopping for some summer swim shoe/sandals. Saturday- you dyed and decorated eggs, and Sunday- you went to Mass in the morning, followed by a Easter basket and Easter egg hunt.

Also on Friday, you spent the afternoon with M, Pop, and JR. You played outside with the T-ball set, and hung out down street with some of the other neighborhood kids, including another 3yr named Maeve!

Mom and Dad didn't get the relaxing weekend- we were hoping for. Dad's car called it quits and we spent most of the weekend at a car dealership buying a "new to us" car.

We ended up meeting Grandma and Grandpa halfway again on Sunday afternoon, but this time at Natchez Trace Park. I brought enough Cascarones for the group, and we also set up an Easter Egg hunt for you.

Here are some pics from the weekend-

Happy Easter!

3rd Birthday

Happy 3rd Birthday Maevy!

 I can't believe you are already 3. I'm not even sure if you are considered a toddler anymore. I guess you are officially a big girl.

On Saturday afternoon you helped Mommy and Daddy finish up your big girl room. The transition was super easy. For weeks now, you've been loving the reading corner. And so far, you haven't fallen out of your big, queen sized bed. You also enjoy picking (2) stuffed animals to sleep with for naps or bedtime from your stuffed animal net.

On Sunday, we had your Birthday-Tea Party. You invited 2 special girl friends, Celeste and Zoe. You drank "tea" (hot chocolate), had heart-shaped peanut butter sandwiches, and bananas and strawberries. Then you had tea pot shaped cake pops for dessert.

 Afterwards, you all ran around the house like crazy and I had to tempt you all downstairs with Cinderella, the movie. You watched about 30 minutes of it, and then Daddy took you all outside to play in the backyard and take some pictures.

 Mommy and Daddy gave you several books and the Cinderella movie, which you finished after the birthday party was over. You asked during the movie, "When this is finished, can we read the Cinderella book?"

Also on Sunday, you helped Mommy make strawberry-yogurt popsicles for your school birthday treat. We used vanilla yogurt and frozen strawberries that you helped picked last May! Your teachers said they were a big hit. They even took a video, but said it was kind of boring because everyone was just eating them.

Overall I think you had a great birthday. You love telling everyone that you are 3, and at another recent birthday, you went around to all the parents saying, "I'm big!"

You are such a sweet 3 year old, constantly giving hugs to your family, friends and even your friends' parents. Even though you're not my baby anymore, I'll still always love snuggling up with you to read a book or 10. Mom and Dad are both looking forward to seeing you grow up even more this year, and taking on a new role- Big Sister!

Happy Birthday pumpkin! Love you!

- Mommy

PS. We might need to work on your goofy smile. See above for proof.

Cowardly Lion

Hey Maev-

You are still pretty obsessed with The Wizard of Oz. Every night you ask that we tell you "the Glinda the Good Witch story" which is just a shortened version of the Wizard of Oz story- the Glinda parts only. This morning while you were eating your breakfast, Daddy was nice enough to pull up a couple you tube videos on his phone from The Wizard of Oz. Mesmerized by the clips, it was very easy to get you dressed and ready for the day.

At one point, Mommy and Daddy were getting dressed. You were in the dining room watching the Cowardly Lion scene. Then we heard laughing, followed by "No...silly lion, we don't wipe our tears with our tails!" Then you came into the bedroom to repeat, "The Cowardly Lion was wiping his tears with his tail. That's silly! We don't do that!"

Very cute Maev...and very true. We don't wipe our tears with our tails.

Love you,

Mom

BFFs

Maevy-

We recently had your parent-teacher conference at school. Overall you are doing great. You are a good helper and your favorite centers to play in are home-living, the loft, and the book center. Your best friend is Zoe (see above), although you also like hanging out with the teachers a lot. It seems you've become quite the teacher's pet and like helping them or doing whatever they are doing.

Other educational updates-
* You know all of your letters.
* You know all of your numbers.
* I think you can count to 20.
* You are really good at writing the letter "M", "X", "W", "T" and "A". Last night, you even wrote a lower case "h".
* Last night, you said there were 6 stories in each Curious George book. I said- "yeah, you're right." You replied, "Yeah, 12!" I think you just got lucky.
* Last week, you "read" one of the Curious George stories in it's entirety, almost verbatim. Sometimes your memory freaks Mom and Dad out. 
* You know your birthday and your address. (You still think we live in Nationals, TN.)

We love watching you learn and grow. Keep it up!

 -Mom

Story Teller

Here you at school napping....super cute.

Now that you are older and have been sleeping in a "big girl" bed, you also like to get out of bed, come downstairs, and make up a story or reason why you needed to get out of bed. Usually you claim you can't find a stuffed animal. "I can't find ___________ (baby, Violet-the dog, Rudolph, Bearie)." One time you whined and claimed that "Baby hit you in the face." Several times you've gotten out of bed to put on your slippers or more recently your new silver, church shoes.

Every time, we just take you back upstairs, say good night, and tell you to "stay in bed!". Last night after we read books for 45minutes!, I put you in bed and said good night. I heard you whining/crying on the monitor and decided to check on you before you got out of bed.

Here was our conversation last night-

Maevy: "Mom...I need you to tell me a story."
(Side note: You have Daddy wrapped around your finger. Plus Daddy is really good at telling stories, and usually when it's his turn to do bed time, he tells you 1-3 stories as you lie in bed. Everything from the Wizard of Oz to Space Balls to baseball themed stories like Fever Pitch.)

Mom: "No, Mom isn't going to tell you any stories. It's time for bed. You can tell your stuffed animals a story."

Maevy: "No, I can't. Their mouths are closed."

Mom: (while trying not to laugh) "Well, then just hold on to blankie and try to go to sleep. Good night."

I'm not sure what you decided, but we didn't hear another peep. I can only imagine the stories you will make up when you are older.

Love you, Maev.

Stories from the Weekend

Hiya Maev-

You are becoming quite the handful, especially for an almost 7ish month pregnant lady.

On Saturday, while Daddy was at a photography class, we went out for a"special treat" to this place where you make your own pancakes.  (Mostly I was hungry and wanted some coffee, but also had been wanting to try this place out for a while.) The food was okay, and you didn't really seem to care about helping make the pancakes. The big news was you needing to poop twice! during our meal- which meant leaving our table twice, once while there was pancake cooking. The 2nd time, you walked off and told the wait staff along the way that you "had to go poopy." Then when you were ready to leave, you announced, "I'm done. Let's go home" and started heading for the door. I was still paying/trying to put some cream in my to-go cup of coffee. Luckily the front door was heavy and you couldn't open it. As I walked to the front of the restaurant, everyone was looking around wondering who belonged to this child. (I'm a pretty awesome and responsible Mom.)

Then on Sunday, we made the mistake of going to the grocery store as a family. Daddy says you are usually great when you two go together, but this time, not so much...You talked Daddy into getting one of those car-carts. More than once, you climbed up on top of the car! Plus we ran into 2! friends from school which meant you wanted to talk, hold hands, run through the store, and give them all hugs. The worst was when we were trying to check out. Daddy was no where to be found. You are on the roof of the car, insisting on helping put items from the actual cart onto the conveyor belt. The cart gets stuck in the checkout aisle, and I'm too fat to fit between the candy bars and that stupid car to get to the front and pull you off. It was a mess! Next time I go by myself to the grocery store or you and Daddy can go together.

Friendly Conversation

This video is hilarious. Last weekend Mommy and Daddy took you and a friend from school, Elias, to see Conductor Jack at the Country Music Hall of Fame. During the 7 minute car ride from Elias' house to downtown, you and Elias had a conversation about Toy Story. It basically consisted of Elias stating, "Buzz Lightyear is a Space Ranger." and you replying, "I know he's a Space Ranger, but also he's a toy!" Repeat. It seriously went on for the entire car ride. Hilarious!