Maya turns 4!

Here is an overdue assortment of pictures from Maya's 4th birthday party-the theme (if you interpret the word "theme" very loosely) was Alligators & School Buses, as those are her two favorite things in the whole world.

In the morning we all helped tp set up.  Here, Maya wrangled the alligator balloon . . .

 . . . while Parker made sure that this alligator wasn't going to cause any trouble.

Once Parker declared him safe, Maya needed to hug both alligators.

The scene was set . . .

 

. . . and the birthday girl was ready to party!

We gave Maya a sneak peak at her school bus/alligator cake:

 . . . and she liked it!

(It's a good thing that she gave it her seal of approval early on, because when it was time to sing Happy Birthday . . . well, you'll see)

Maya had a great time playing with her friends . . .

 . . . and celebrating :)

But when it was time to sing Happy Birthday and blow out the candle . . . well, she wasn't having any of it:

Dave: Birthday cake is the best!

Dana: Aren't you excited to sing and eat cake?

Maya: You're kidding, right?  I was extremely clear.  No singing. NO singing.

Oh well.

The guests were barely out the door before Maya realized that she could do some major decoration demolition:

Happy 4th birthday, Maya :)  We are eagerly looking forward to your next year, sure to be filled with giggles and good times!

Behind the scenes: The making of the 2011 Holiday Card

Background info:  The photo shoot was done in our living room, on the floor (sans dropcloth---it seem like a good idea, but we would have been tripping on it, and I don't think it would have contained the mess, anyway).  The backdrop was holiday stuff that we tape to the back of our couch (with black duct tape).  We took 233 pictures.  The clean up is an ongoing effort---when I dust, I'm still finding flour.  It keeps going airborne and redistributing. 

All pictures will be enlarged if you double click (I think).

In the beginning things were festive, but flourless . . .

(sprinkling flour)

 Then, the stage was set . . .

And the talent was brought in . . .

Maya: What is this stuff?

Parker: Guys, this seems like a very bad idea.

Maya: This is fantastic!

Parker:  (gulp)

Maya: I think I could be very naughty with this stuff.  Hee hee!

Parker: I think I'm hyperventilating.

Parker: Save meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

This flour is so slippery!

She had some fun shaking the bag . . .

and then moved on to dumping.

This is the most fun I've ever had!

(that's Maya talking, not Parker.  In case you can't tell)

Maya: Daddy!  I need more flour!

Parker: Please no. 

Maya: Whoa!

Parker: Seriously, are you guys seeing this?

Maya:  Hey Mommy, are you watchin' me?

Parker: Yeah, is anyone watching?  Anyone? 

Maya:  Woot woot!  Can a girl get some more flour up in here?!

(note Parker seeming to stretch as far as he can away from her)

FLOUR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Parker: I can't believe they really gave you more.  Everyone has lost their mind.

When Dave wasn't quick enough to refill the bag, Maya took matters into her own hands:

Maya: Fine, I'll do it myself.

Parker: Someone needs to cut her off.

Maya: FUNNEST DAY EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Parker: We're done, right?  Please say we're done.

The aftermath:

 (fancy lighting, right?)

    Ended with a great-job-Maya kiss from Daddy :)

Every kid needs to romp in a big pile of leaves

This is Maya's first walking fall.  Free from the constraints of the stroller (sometimes) she's prone to picking up sticks, rocks, clumps of dirt . . . whatever catches her eye.  On Saturday morning Maya was walking in front of our building, stopping every other step to pick up a leaf.  She was a leaf hoarder---using one hand to smush a growing pile against her coat, using the other to grab new leaves from the ground.

And then we realized that she's never gotten to play in a big pile of leaves.

"Big pile of leaves" is a fall tradition in the suburbs.  It's possibly the most fun part of fall for kids, jumping and rolling, shuffling and kicking and throwing and tunneling through a freshly raked pile.  We called my parents in NJ, asking the rather ridiculous question, "Hey, do you guys have any leaves?"  My dad said that he'd make a big pile for Maya, we grabbed some stuff---and Parker--and headed out.

This is a very big pile of leaves. 

And I can touch them all?!

When Parker sees that Maya is holding leaves, he likes to go and pull them out of her hand.  She may have taught him this by shoving random things in his mouth and then laughing when he takes them and spits them on the ground :)

 Parker, you're takin' all my leaves!  Silly doggie.

Rearranging the pile.

 Doling out leaves to Grandma and her next door neighbor

 Parker likes soccer.  Who knew?

 That, my friends, is a happy girl.

I couldn't resist.

Parker!  Stop takin' my leaves!

*special thanks to Dave, who is letting me upload pictures despite the fact that he's in desperate need of a haircut.

Our favorite partners-in-crime:

This picture of Maya & Parker is so cute that a friend of mine wrote on my FB wall, "Hey, you should enter that picture into this photo contest!"  and I thought "Um, I don't want to be that vote-for-this-cute-picture-of-my-kid" person.

Then I saw the prize.  $1,000 to the photo that gets the most votes between today and Sunday. 

And I thought about the appointment that we have a Yale next week---meeting with a new geneticist---we have hopes that this might actually be the first step on the road to a diagnosis.  For real.  Of course, it's not covered by insurance.

And I thought about the communication device and/or apps that we're hoping to get.  A little photo prize money, well, it would be mighty nice. 

Voting starts today---you can go to this link to vote.  1 vote per person, per day. 

Thanks you.