Christmas Day

Good news: Maya is staying dry many nights now!  Bad News: she sometimes wakes up in the middle of the night to let us know she needs to go.  Today was one of those nights.  Maya was up at 4:30.  Then Genna up at 5:30.  Then both up for good before 6:00am.  That made a VERY long day for ALL of us!

 The girls had a great Christmas morning.  Lots of Princess loot.

 Genna recently got her 2 front teeth, so she didn't want much else this year.  But she did like trying on Maya's butterfly wings.

 During Thanksgiving, we visited our Gatson friends in Phoenix.  Maya was smitten with the Plush Polka Dot Robe Jaiden had and has been talking about one ever since.  How nice of Grandma Carroll to send one.  Here is her "Jaiden" pose.

Dinner at Ann & Larry's.  

I volunteered to make the cabbage pierogi.  I don't know if I'll do that again until Maya is old enough to REALLY help.  Or unless I can get Bob as my assistant. 

I was happy and a little surprised at how well Genna did.  She was so sociable despite limited napping today and happily passed from one auntie & cousin to the next.... even the uncles got some love.  She charmed everyone.

Her Christmas surprise to us was tackling a new mobility goal - going from lying on her belly to getting into sitting position by herself!

Half Eaten Lunch

The Rare Occurrence of the Week...
not the Lunar Eclipse, but Maya leaving her lunch after only a few bites.

Little Miss never-been-FULL-in-her-life actually left this plate today because our poor baby had a tummy ache.  We've all had a bit of something this week.  Fortunately the girl's have been only mildly affected.  Of course this was the first time in 5+ years that I neglected to get a flu shot.  That will teach me!

Thanksgiving

Genna's First Flight

We spent Thanksgiving week in Phonex with the Carrolls

 Don't be fooled by the photo.  While Papa DID fall asleep almost instantly upon boarding, the girls slept very little en route.

 Grandma Bliss!

Meeting Genna Bean for the first time

& Crafting with Maya

 Holiday Table Decorations courtesy of Grandma & Maya

 Genna was Grandma's cuddly Slug Bug.  Grandpa even got a turn.

Maya lived in this dress which was one from Auntie Courtney's childhood.

Genna was up FOUR times a night during our stay.  New environment coupled by a first tooth made things tough! Gratefully she's been sleeping GREAT since we got home....even better than pre-trip!

She is attempting to skip crawling altogether and is venturing into the "pulling-up" stage.  Yesterday Maya & I left her sitting in another room for a minute and came back to find her standing at her play center!

quote of the week

This week Maya scolded a crying Genna:  "I'm the one that fusses!  You're the one who's happy!"
Apparently she's going for a monopoly on fussing.

Close call of the day:

Today we were playing school and practicing cutting.  When she was done with her paper she went right to Genna and picked up the hairs on the top of her head, scissors in hand.  She did this right in front of me and nonchalantly as if it was going to be permitted.  (yes, I stopped her in time).

OOh - I can drink water by myself!

Wish List

oh boy.
The Christmas Toy Catalogs came in this week's paper.  Maya has been pouring over them to find out what's hot this year.  The next day she "counted" out her piggy bank to see if she had enough for a motorized ride-on Princess car.

NOTE TO GRANDPARENTS - do NOT send her one.  I will not speak to you again, seriously!

The seaweed is always greener...

Play it again, Sebastion!
This halloween we have a little Mermaid (OK, not just for Halloween - she's been wearing it non-stop since I finished it earlier this month).....and a little friend.  Although, I decided I didn't like little friend's costume, neither did she...... so we scratched that and created something else... to be unveiled on Halloween.  (PS - she hates the 2nd one too).  Why did I waste time (valuable time) making Genna two one-time-use costumes???? I can't figure that out either.

So - Genna is finally getting down to 2 naps a day.  I tried pushing Maya's back so that it would coincide with Genna's 2nd...... but either that or the inevitable course of nature has determined this to be the beginning of Maya giving up naptime.  For several days she has not slept, but has at least stayed in her room for a quiet time, where she has chosen to read instead.  I tell her she can get up when the clock says "3".  (of course I set the clock back to 1:30 when I tuck her in)...even though "naptime" has been starting at 2:30ish lately.  Naptime used to begin at 1:30, so that's where she got up-at-3 engraved in her mind.
On a related note - she has been really into exercising!  She likes to go on walks (not riding in the stroller) and runs the whole time.  She says "we gotta work our bodies!"  {I think we can thank Sid the Science Kid for this}  So actually she has napped well after those workouts.  Too bad the weather is going to preclude that activity soon.

Little Sis is enjoying her mashed fruits & veggies now and likes to CLAP.  At her 6 month check up she was only 19+ lbs.  A peanut compared to Maya!  She has a prescription for more tummy time.  Good luck with that.

mmmm, frozen carrot chew toy

my, what large hands you have!..... the better to pinch mommy with!

THE fall photo opp

Pumpkins.......√
Afternoon Light.......√
Kids dressed in seasonally appropriate duds.......√
Overpriced Caramel Apples.......√

Get both kids to look & smile simultaneously.....not going to happen

Man, I could have bought a dozen apples and a bag of caramels for the price of this unremarkable thing!

Side by Side

Everyone asks who Genna looks like.  I don't think its a question of ME or JEFF.  IT IS MAYA!  Come on, this is what I've been trying to tell everyone.  Now that we have a camera again... see for yourself!

And Look - Little Miss can sit up!

a BIG day!

What a bloggable day!

1) Made the first batch of apple chips this fall

2) Genna can sit by herself, unsupported!

3) The Boyans Shipped off to the islands.... with only 10 boxes!  Can you imagine whittling your worldly possessions down to 10 boxes! Kuddos to them!  And on  another unimaginable note, MOM actually started a BLOG!  Where you can read about their Bon Voyage Party........which I forgot to blog about (1) because it was a secret, so I wasn't leaving details about it here and (2) since it occurred, I've been too busy!

Blog: The Log of Exit Strategy

4) Finished Maya's Halloween Costume... which she may wear everyday now (instead of the jammies)

5) I ordered our new camera!  Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH20

  Yay!  Let the photoshoots recommence!  (Good news for #2 & #4 above!)

aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!

that is my big sigh of relief that the diaper sale is OVER!
It went really well.  I sold out of all my Pocket Dipes in an hour and a half.  There was only 1 wet bag, 1 bamboo fitted, and 1 cover left over.  Now (bite nails) I just sit back and wait for the reviews.......!

Now I have time to:

• research what new camera to get
• step it up on teaching Genna to roll over
• start new session of swim lessons with Maya
• begin feeding Genna solids (she's SO READY & WILLING - I just haven't had time for spoon-duty yet)
• Reorient the house after Boyan-furniture overload
• Make apple sauce & apple "kips"
• relax more!  ha!

Scratch that - Jeff thinks we need to garage sale half of the items in our basement....there goes free time.

It's Natural!

Jeff seemed alarmed the other day when he noticed Maya was playing with her baby.  She was feeding her dollie.......ok, she was "nursing" the baby.  He alerted me to this like I should be aware.
Uh yeah, duh!  That IS how you feed a baby!  I'm proud of Maya for recognizing this fact and practicing being a good little mommy.  Sometimes she asks to feed Genna.  I tell her that she cannot really feed a baby until she is older and a real mommy.  So she thinks Genna might wait for her to do that!
So if you happen to witness some random act of nursing (make believe or otherwise) just play it cool, like it's NATURAL........ because it is!

other stuff

I have a minute - so some things I've been forgetting to post...

After Maya came back from Babçia's last week we were having dinner at home.
Papa inquired, "Maya, did you learn anything this week?"
Babçia replied, "We've been talking about eventually."

Papa asked, "Maya, what is eventually?"

Maya answered, "It means the marker will come off."

HA HA

Genna's progress - OK Genna cannot roll yet, she is basically a lazy lump.  But she can talk.  She says "Mama" all day long.  Aunt Joy can vouch for this!  (yes - I know she is not really talking)

Maya got PRINCESS sheets for her big girl bed from Aunt Courtney & Grandma.  We set it up and she played "sleeping" in it all day.  She was so excited to sleep in it.  In fact she's been asking to for weeks.  But bedtime came and she still wanted to go in the crib.  This weekend the crib IS going to Genna's room, so her days are numbered!  

Finally - a potty progress report.  Maya has been napping in panties ALL WEEK - successfully.  (on a related note - she is actually willingly wearing panties all day, after a summer of going commando).  Tonight we even went out to eat with no diaper!  (We're not a PULL-ups family - so there's really been no middle ground).  We're so proud of her!  She is also dying to wear undies to bed (overnight) - but that is far from happening!

In yoga this is called the HAPPY BABY POSE.

Obviously!

Still busy busy busy!

We had a very nice visit with Aunt Courtney.  Thanks to her I got a lot of diapers finished.  Still have a lot to go in the next 2 weeks, though.  Visit my other site if you want to see pics of my new stuff.

Did I mention it's a busy month.... and that Genna is a good sleeper???  Well the month is still busy - but Genna has not been upholding her good reputation.  She's back to waking between 2:30 - 4:00 am.  Not fun!  The Boyan-hauling date is really "moving" in on us too - so we have to clear out our current spaces by this weekend to make room for their stuff next weekend..... and Jeff will be out of town ALL next week prior to heading to Chicago.

Oh - also - our camera died - so unless I use up older yet-un-blogged pics - we'll be photoless for a while..... as if I have time for camera research/shopping........ ANY SUGGESTIONS for what kind of new camera we should get????

oh so busy

     This is an incredibly busy month.  We have been to Indy and Chicago in the past 2 weeks.  Got part one of claim-the-Boyan's-stuff done..... (the easy part).  The next part will involve a giant Uhaul at the end of this month.  I keep thinking of thoughts to add to the blog - but haven't the time...what I really need to spend my free time doing is sewing.  I have scheduled myself to participate in a mom-to-mom sale on October 2nd so I need to bump up my diaper inventory PRONTO.
     I caved this week and let Babcia and Grandpa keep Maya for a few days.  I am actually getting a ton of sewing done.  We miss Maya and got to SKYPE her this morning.  She was predominately interested in what Genna was doing.  Man she LOVES her GennaBean.  I am sure Genna will be squeezed to pieces when Maya returns tomorrow.


     I have been meaning to comment on what a wonderful baby Genna is.  When Maya was little everyone always said how good she was and beware-the-next-one-will-be-trouble!  But dare I say, Genna is even easier.  She is a very happy little girl and a great sleeper.  We lucked out twice!  So "HA" to the naysayers.

Papa's Favorite Pic

August

Ooooh - looks like rain

Maya bravely rode a pony & the ferris wheel the county fair.  

(But NOT the carrousel, EEEk, too scary!)

Cupcakes for Grandpa Glista's 87th birthday.

Maya had her 1st real sleepover for 2 nights with Babcia at Grandma Glista's.  After 2 days of excitement and no naps, this is the car ride home.  When she woke up in the garage - she popped up and said "I'm ready to go to Uncle Bob's," as if she knew the end of the summer was going to be a whirlwind of visitng....

...... this week to Indy.....Labor Day to Chicago....... mid-September with Grandma & Courtney here.

WOW - busy busy busy!

Sweet & Sour

Sweet 

& Sour

OK - isn't the Color Accent feature on our camera CUTE!  (No we did not put lipstick on Maya... but she just had beet soup for dinner.  Although, I admit, it is a bit Lolita-ish).

Now, regarding the caption...... OOOOHHHH Maya!  What a pill she has been lately!  She is definitely working out the new sibling + terrible twos frustrations this month.  Our latest battle is over Princess Jammies.  Maya knew nothing of the Disney Princesses until one fateful shopping trip I wanted to get her a pretty nightgown as a reward for being a great new big sister.  (Plus I had $10 free Kohl's dollars).  They were out of the correct size in the frilly purple (non-character) one I wanted so I thought she might like a princess one.  She liked it at first but recently she's addicted to it!  Yes, addicted is the appropriate word.  She wants to wear it ALL the time.  At first, this annoyed us and we tried to restrict it to bedtimes.  It was causing major arguments so I realized it was no big deal if she wanted to wear her jammies all day (choosing our battles) but made rule that she can't wear jammies if we go out of the house or if visitors come into our house.  So now she doesn't want to leave the house.  Not for a walk, not to playgroup, not for sidewalk chalk, NOT EVEN FOR her beloved SWIMMING at the Y!  So we're going to give her a few more days to "get over" Sleeping Beauty jammies and then they are going to become LOST!

Put another log on the fire.....

This summer marked the long overdue return of the Godowski Cousins Campout to its original stomping grounds... the Glista Farm.

We thought a family-reunion, car-camping, back-up-plan-house-across-the-street would be the ideal venue to introduce the young Carroll girls to camping.  We set up our old small tent on the deck the week before for Maya to play in and she was immediately intrigued.  I wondered how she & Genna would do in a real sleep-in-a-tent campout.  We got a large family tent that would be big enough for the air mattress & playpen.  The car was packed to the brim and when we arrived at the farm - I realized we forgot the playpen for Genna to sleep in (that's where she sleeps at home).  So we just used the infant car seat as her bed and she was not disturbed a bit.

The site:  The hay field across the street from Uncle Larry's (back-up-plan-house).

We attempted to set our tent a bit away from the main camp (pictured above) to create the baby-might-cry-at-night zone......it slipped my mind that any night noises my girls could have made would have been drowned out by the Cousin's LATE night revelry.

 

Genna getting a sleepy ride to Grandma Glista's Garden 

OOPs - babies are not supposed to sleep on squishy surfaces... like poorly inflated air mattresses. 

Dude - where's my muffin?

The only respite from the HOT sun.  

We spent a good part of the day under the blue tarp (whose ceiling kept getting lower & lower).  This is FILTHY Maya and HOT Genna on Saturday afternoon (Before we retreated to the cool comfort of the back-up house for a bath & naps.....yes - we CHEATED - but it was that or cook the babies.)

Uncle Richie provided the token hayride.

Maya enjoying the feast

Aaaawwwww...... Maya & Lyla

...probably headed for Uncle Bob's tent which was the "Jumpy Jump"  (or "gumpy gump" as Maya would say)

The girl's camping out report...

Maya went in to bed around 9:30-10 each night (darn late-sun-setting Michigan summer nights), but didn't fall asleep until about 11:45.  I was surprised that she stayed put and did not try to talk to or come to me.  She just laid there whispering to herself, playing with her flashlight, or listening to the conversations from the campfire until she fell asleep.

Genna pretty much did her normal home night-sleep schedule of waking up once (3:30 the 1st night & 5:30 the 2nd).  Mama probably got the least sleep of ANYONE, as any rustling of sheets, zippers, or sniffling woke me.  So why am blogging right now instead of joining the 3 other Carrolls in a nap on this afternoon of our return?

Overall it was a positive experience - I hope we make an effort to try camping more often.

UPDATE ... on the ride home we asked Maya what her favorite thing about camping was.  At first her answer was "the dinosaur fruit snacks" (that Babcia had just given her as we were leaving).  Later she says her favorite thing was "coming home".  That evening she practically jumped out of her crib at bedtime wanting to sleep with us!  (like it was in the tent)

Family Fourth

2 family Reunions this summer.... both in the same week.... 

fortunately for us, both in Michigan.

We spent the 4th of July with the Glista/Mays. Maya cheered on the softball players with Sarah while Genna modeled her red, white & blue between catnaps.

Genna met some new friends (2nd, 3rd, 4th cousins???)

Wet June.......Fussy Cowgirl