FB Friday

October 12, 2013 ~ I stayed up late last night playing games with some great friends!!! But I'm definitely feeling the late night this morning!!!

I get to take a mini-road trip with my sister today!!! We're heading up to Independence, IA, to attend our aunt's wedding :-). The morning was full of washing/styling Maya k's hair and laundry!!! Now, it's time to GO!!!

October 13, 2013 ~ It was a lot of fun to get to spend time with my sister driving to and from our aunt's wedding yesterday!!! We got to see our parents and grandparents, along with other family members that we don't see very often :-).

October 14, 2013 ~ Maya K: "Is God ever silly?"
Me: "Ummmmmmmmm.........." (getting ready to give some sort of theological answer about the holiness of God)
Maya K: "I mean, if there are kids in Heaven, does God ever be silly with them to make them laugh?"
Me: "YES!!!! I think that God likes it when people are happy and I am SURE that He enjoys hearing kids laugh in Heaven!!!!" :-)

We had our third and final post-placement visit with our social worker tonight :-). It went great and now we are almost "officially" done!!! We still need/want to finish her re-adoption and name change, and then update her name change on official documents, but we are getting close to DONE!!! :-)

October 15, 2013 ~ Maya K just called me to come upstairs and show me something. She had sounded out and written all by herself the words "nut", "tub", and "log"!!!! I'm so happy with how much she has learned since we started school two months ago!!!!

How many peas is it safe for a 6-year-old girl to eat in one sitting??? Just sayin'!!!!!

October 16, 2013 ~ Oh dear. I was trying to do something crazy with Maya K's hair for AWANA tonight, but it ended up looking good :-). Oh well. The barrettes are in a rainbow of colors, so maybe that counts as crazy???!!!

October 17, 2013 ~ Congratulations to my brother Tim and sister-in-law Mandie!!! They are excited to be expecting their first little blessing and I am excited to be an AUNT again!!! (I haven't shared the news with Maya K yet :-). That excitement will be for tomorrow!!!)

Just for fun!! Nathan and I first met the summer of 1997. There was nothing "special" between us then, but it was a piece of the puzzle that God used to bring us together!!! I love you, Nathan!!!!!

October 18, 2013 ~ For whatever reason, this week has seemed long. And, now that Friday is here, I'm wanting a relaxed day. Maya K has complied (so far) by sleeping in a half hour (yay!!!) and being content to play upstairs in her room for MUCH longer than normal!!! But, I suppose that we need to eat breakfast at some point, so I guess the lazy part of my day is done :-(.

"I think you need to have a little patient, because they are wanting...giving people a little rest of it....that way they like it some more." ~ Maya K, speaking on why I am having a hard time finding her favorite kind of gum in the stores :-).

A neighbor just came over to invite Maya K to come help her make glitter pumpkins this afternoon!! This will be GREAT!! It's not my mess and not my garage so it will be FUN!!

Maya K got to help our neighbor make glitter pumpkins!! It has been a blessing to get to know our new neighbor Hannah and she has been so sweet towards Maya K. She came over this morning and said that she thought it would be a lot of fun for Maya K to help her!! Since I am NOT a glitter/mess-making person, this was GREAT!! And she let Maya K pick a pumpkin to keep :-).

Nathan: "Are you going to be good for Mommy tonight?"
Maya K: "If I say 'No' will you stay here?"
Nathan: "NO. I will (insert consequence) and then I will still have to leave."
Maya K: "Okay. Yes, I will be good."
I did not smile. On the outside. :-)

FB Friday

October 5, 2013 ~ I "heart" these moments!!!!

October 7, 2013 ~ Maya K and I are heading down to Indianola to visit some of my old students at VCA over lunch and recess today!!! I'm excited to get some HUGS from my kids and Maya K is excited to get to play on the playground :-).

What a blessing to get to see my many kids and get so many HUGS!!! I am so glad to be home every day with my little girl, but I definitely miss VCA and all my kids!!! Maya K had fun and got to spend some time in the kindergarten classroom while I wandered the halls :-).

October 8, 2013 ~ Me: "Maya K, it's almost time for breakfast, so if you want to make the beds and get dressed before breakfast you need to do those things now."
Maya K: "I'm on it!!!"
I think she's been listening to her Daddy!!!

Maya K: "Just call me 'Silly'."
K: "I thought your name was 'Sally'?"
Maya K: "Oh yeah. It's 'Sally'."

We're a little sad today :-(. PBS Kids has changed its scheduling and Daniel Tiger is no longer on after lunch. He has been a part of our daily routine for MONTHS and now he is only on at 10 a.m. which is during school. I'm trying to figure out WHAT TO DO?????!!!!!!??????? :-)

October 9, 2013 ~ "I'm trying not to smile, but I just keep graining!!!" (translation: grinning!!!) ~ Maya K

After talking with Maya K for almost TEN minutes trying to answer her question / help her understand ~ "Can God sin? Can He make Himself sin if He wanted to? But He can do anything. If He wants to." ~ I finally had to give in and use a ridiculous illustration. But she finally understood.
"The one thing that God cannot do is sin. He is perfect and if He sinned He wouldn't be God anymore. He can't do it. I cannot talk to a cat and make him understand me. Even if I WANTED to talk like a cat and have the cat know what I am saying, I CAN'T do it!!! God CAN'T sin!!!!"

October 10, 2013 ~ Thursday mornings have been hard the past few weeks. I wasn't sure if school was even going to happen today. It took Maya K SIX tries to be able to sing the alphabet song; something she has been able to do for a very long time (and she was only finally able to do it because I had her run up and down the stairs five times!!!). Reading through the blend cards was NOT going well and I almost stopped. But then, all of a sudden, she started reading the blends better than she ever has!!! It lasted for about 20 blends, and then it stopped. But for those 20 blends she HAD them!!! It was great!!!!!

This picture is from last week, but I wanted to show how well Maya K's handwriting is coming along. She LOVES handwriting time!!! It's honestly one of her favorite things to do in school!!!!!

I am printing some pictures today and came across this gem from our family vacation in CO this past May. Maya K being silly with her cousins :-).

"I just like to talk like a princess sometimes." ~ Maya K

October 11, 2013 ~ A blessing of homeschooling ~ When a friend just needs you to come spend time with her, you can drop your plans for the day and just go!!

FB Friday

September 28, 2013 ~ A year ago right now we had landed in D.C. (or almost landed; can't quite remember what time) and I had a very scared and upset little girl in my arms. I couldn't put her down because she would run away (and she was FAST), but she fought me and didn't want me to be holding her. She was crying and moaning like her heart was breaking :-(. This lasted for a couple hours as we worked our way through customs and getting our luggage. Finally, Nathan had the fantastic idea to put the food we were trying to fee her in her hands and she clutched on for dear life. With her hands full of food (that she wouldn't eat) she finally calmed down!!!! How FAR we have come since that emotional and exhausting day!!!

September 28, 2012 - I finally had my little girl HOME!!!

"God, I believe in You. Thank you for dying for my sins. And thank you for the food. Jesus' name, Amen." ~ Maya K's prayer at bedtime tonight. Is this head knowledge or heart belief? Only God knows, but I am so thankful and grateful for the way HE is working in her heart!!!

September 30, 2013 ~ At the grocery store today I was told - "She looks like you. Definitely looks like you. Almost exactly like you." And he was dead serious!!! Love it!!!

Wish I had taken my camera with me tonight!!! It was a beautiful evening eating Arby's by the pond, watching the ducks and geese, walking around the pond with my  hubby while Maya K rollerbladed, and played on the playground while the sun was setting. The chance for these evenings is fading as fall arrives so I'm glad we were able to enjoy it tonight!!!

October 1, 2013 ~ Me: "Maya K, what kind of muffins do you want for breakfast today?"
Maya K: "It's your deeshishun."
(While her pronunciation still needs work, her vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds!!!)

Maya K is learning how to READ!!!!

October 3, 2013 ~ Lesson plans. Need to do them. That is all. :-)

Nathan and I decided to watch a Tim Hawkins DVD tonight. Maya K wanted to watch it with us and we told her that she wouldn't understand most of what the man would talk about, but he would be telling jokes and saying funny things. After snuggling with us on the couch and watching it for about 10 minutes.....
Maya K: (very confused/disappointed voice) "When is that man going to tell the knock-knock jokes?!?!"
I laughed sooooooooooooooo hard I cried!!!!!

Look what I found a picture of!!!! My first car!!! Wasn't she a beauty?!? We called her my banana :-). A 1981 Buick Skylark. (picture taken in 2005)

October 4, 2013 ~ Maya K went out to the garage to take a box to the trash can. (Panicked voice) "Mommy!!!!! There is a parobobly...blem!!!!" ("problem") I went out to see that there was an empty box on top of the trash can lid :-). BIG problem!!!!

I have an audiologist apt. this afternoon and I was telling Maya K that she gets to go to her Aunt Debbi's house this afternoon while I have my apt. I then tried to explain to her how the doctor is going to see what I can and cannot hear. Here is what she got from our conversation - "Like seeing if you can hear a mouse squeak. Because I know that you probably can't hear a mouse squeak because it is MUCH quieter than I am. But I know that I can hear a mouse squeak because God give me much better ears than you."

Maya K: "When Adam and Eve did not sin yet, did other people sin already? How did it happen when Adam and Eve sinned that everyone started sinning? Did God want that to happen? So everyone sins now because Adam and Eve sinned and then had a consequence? We have the same consequence?"
I guess our Bible lesson today is on...."Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned." - Romans 5:12

Maya K got to go see her very first movie in a theater tonight!!! Monsters University was so much fun!!!!
Side Note: Maya K gets very protective of me when she is tired!!! I was getting a drink from our water bottle in the car on the way home and I handed it to Nathan when I was done. "Daddy!!! Why did you take that away from Mommy?!?! Give it back!!!!" Nathan was reading Maya K her bedtime story in the car and I kept glancing over to see the pictures. Nathan told me to keep my eyes on the road and not look at the pictures :-). "Daddy. That was very rude to talk to Mommy like that!!!" There were a couple others, but you get the picture!!!!

One Year Home

It's crazy hard to believe that one year ago today we were arriving home with Maya K!!!! It has been an amazing year. A hard year. A memorable year. A year of beginnings. A year of changes. A year of adventure. A year of getting to know our little girl.

Here are some of her current favorite things (as I believe them to be).

Favorite Foods: hot dogs, brats, hamburgers, strawberries, corn, chicken, pizza (but doesn't like the sauce), black olives, pepperoni, beef jerky, ice cream, chocolate, yogurt with m&m's, BACON, rice & beans

Favorite TV: Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, Wild Kratts, Clifford, Word Girl, Curious George

Favorite Books: The Three Billy Goats Gruff, The Three Little Pigs, Snow White

Favorite Colors: pink, white

Favorite Things to Do: run, color, cut with scissors, watch TV, play with her babies, jump on the trampoline, play on the Ipad at the library, library story time, read books

Things She Wants To Do: play in the snow again, camping, fishing

Dislikes: sauce, sitting still, sleeping, applesauce

Let's see how these compare with what SHE says are her favorite things!!!! (Keep in mind that she often answers questions with things that she can currently see. This is especially evident in the "favorite tv" section of this interview!!!)

FB Friday

September 23, 2013 ~ Happy Gotcha Day, Maya K!!!! (This picture was taken just moments after she ran around the building and jumped into my arms!!! I "think" she was supposed to be waiting inside for us to come get her!!!)

I thought I had today's plans well under control. A slower start to the morning (we are out late on Sunday nights with our college kids), muffins for breakfast, school, craft time, lunch, quiet time, trip to the store for a balloon, outside time, and out for dinner to celebrate "Gotcha Day". Well...............I forgot that it's supposed to be my day to grocery shop :-(. I'm not exactly sure how to work a trip to three stores into my schedule!!!

This is the first video we took of Maya Kisanet Joy Maxwell after we had picked her up and taken her back to the guesthouse we were staying in. She is such a silly little girl!!!

It is so crazy to look through the photos from our Embassy trip (a year ago!!) and see how much our little girl has grown and changed. I also see/understand so many more emotions on her face. Some of her expressions that look so happy are the same look she makes when she is feeling BIG emotions and doesn't know how to express them :-(. Many of the pictures make me feel a little sad now as I see the confusion and sadness in her smile.

September 24, 2013 ~ Maya K prayed that everyone in the whole world has nice dreams tonight. So, YOU have been prayed for by my daughter tonight :-).

Wow!!! A walk down memory lane found me this picture. We look like babies!!!

September 25, 2013 ~ Does patience come in a bottle format??? Oh yeah!!! It's called Mt. Dew!!! And I don't have any today :-(.

Tonight is Maya K's first night of AWANA!! And it's Crazy Hat Night :-). She's "creating" right now!! Stay tuned!!!

Maya K is making her crazy hat for AWANA tonight. I am making spaghetti.
Because of the first, I am having trouble with the second.
Any thoughts as to WHY this is a problem?!?!

September 26, 2013 ~ Boring. Irritating. Imagination. Important. Frustrating. These are all "new" words in Maya K's vocabulary. Sometimes they are used in context. Most of the time they are not.

We had a VERY successful first trip to Toys 'R Us this morning and Maya K is now a very happy little girl!! She has loved Daniel Tiger for quite a while now and they recently released a line of toys :-). She spent her money on the "Transformation Treehouse", so if you have given her money in this year that she has been home, YOU are a part of this happiness!!! Thank you!!!!

I'm giddy excited over a book I found at the book sale tonight!!! I have tried for YEARS to remember a specific line/poem from a book I remember reading to my brother when he was little. But I could never remember more than the first part. I have asked people, google searched, etc. and never found it. Well, I FOUND THE BOOK TONIGHT!!! In case you are wondering, the book is "The Train to Timbuctoo"!!!!

September 27, 2013 ~ Dishes. Need I say more.

A year ago today, we were spending our last day in Ethiopia. This was the last time Maya Kisanet ate her favorite food, injera, in her home country :-(. It's a little sad for me to watch, but I am so thankful I thought to record it. In case you have ever wondered what injera is and how to eat it, enjoy!!!

Maya K: "Mommy, look!!! I'm a God-Mary!!!"
Me: (laughing) "I think you mean a fairy godmother!!!!"

Funny Quotes

Maya K: "Mommy, may I not sleep tonight?"
Me: "No, Maya K. You still have to go to bed and sleep just like you do every night."
Maya K: "But I know that people have LOTS more fun when they don't sleep!!!"

****************************************

While watching "Kung Fu Panda".........
Maya K: "He's a really good fighter!!!"
Me: "Yes, he is. But should you ever fight like that, Maya K?"
Maya K: "No!!! Because I am not even a pretend person!!!"

****************************************

Maya K: "The bunny!!! Remember the bunny???? That's the one I'm talking about. The bunny.........the bunny.......bugs!!!!"
(She was talking about Bugs Bunny!!!!!)

****************************************

Me: "I love being your mommy!!!"
Maya K: "Me too. I love being your kid!!! That's why I can get you some water when you have a headache and be your little kid."

****************************************

There were five strawberries at lunchtime. So I asked Maya K how many we each could have. She very quickly came to the conclusion that we each could have two and I needed to cut the last one and we could share it.
Me: "That was a very good answer, Maya K. You just did some MATH!!!!"
Maya K: "May I tell you what 'maff' is?"
(We work on saying "math" correctly.)
Me: "Yes, you may. What do you think 'math' is?"
Maya K: "Math is when someone has a good idea like cutting the strawberry. A good idea with numbers is called 'math'."

FB Friday

September 14, 2013 ~ "Mommy, it's like this side of me (touches the left side of her chest) wants to obey and be good and this other side of me (touches the right side of her chest) just wants to keep sinning." ~ Maya K. "For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do." ~ Galatians 5:17

September 15, 2013 ~ To go to church or not :-(. My throat started hurting late last night and Maya K was up for over an hour in the night and is still sleeping. I think we're going to wait and see what time she finally wakes up!!!

I don't feel good :-(.

Me: "I'm going to pop some popcorn for dinner tonight while we watch Little House on the Prairie."
Maya K: (HORRIFIED expression on her face) ".........no??? You are just tricking me, right, Mommy?????"
Me: "No. Since I don't feel good and don't feel like making dinner I thought we would just have popcorn for a special dinner treat."
Maya K: "(still horrified) ".......You wouldn't really do that, right, Mommy?"
Me: "Well, I was going to. Do you want something different for dinner?"
Maya K: "Yes. I thought I could just have some leftovers. Please, Mommy?!?!?"
Me: "Well, maybe I'll just have some popcorn for dinner then."
Maya K: (shaking her finger in my face) "NO!!!!! You need to eat some healthy food!!!!!"

September 16, 2013 ~ I have a cold. I need to buy food. I don't want to leave the house. Oh well. I'm an adult. I'm a mommy who wants/needs to feed her daughter better food than whatever I can find in the cupboards. I'll go shopping. I guess.

Progress is a wonderful thing!!! After being home for almost a year, we are making progress in the food department!!! In the past month, Maya K now likes green bean casserole, soup (!!!), and the new one tonight is Bbq sloppy joes!!!! We have been consistently having her try a small amount of anything that is new to her (or that she didn't like the last time) and then telling her that she HAS to eat the small amount we give her but if she really doesn't like it we'll give her something else (normally something that is only an "okay" food for her). She is learning to like things!!!!

September 17, 2013 ~ Stay tuned!!! Maya K finally got a "yes" answer to the prayer she has been praying for many weeks. She got to play in the rain!!!! Video is loading to YouTube right now.

September 18, 2013 ~ I'm such a "mean" mommy!!! I made Maya K do school today (she's not feeling well). But, she is done and now it's time to cuddle up on the sofa with a movie :-).

Lunch today is chicken noodle soup, crackers, and hot chocolate. Yummy!!!

Her fever has been climbing today and is up to 101.7*. I know that isn't too crazy high, but she has only had a fever once since coming home a year ago and that was 99.5*ish one time after her shots. My first instinct is to not give her anything for the fever but let the fever run its course because it is a sign of the body fighting something. But it sure is hard to see her so droopy and not feeling well :-(.

September 19, 2013 ~ Maya K's fever left in the night and she is fever free this morning and as active and full of question as ever!!!!!

Let's try a schedule change today. Normally, we do school in the morning and then run any needed errands in the afternoon. But the forecast is calling for rain, so we are going to run our errands this morning and do school (hopefully) this afternoon. Here's hoping!!!!

September 20, 2013 ~ Maya K and I get to take a mini day-trip to visit Erin and her family!!! Lots of FUN is expected to be had!!!!

FB Friday

September 7, 2013 ~ "I'm super, snooper, duper, luper, SOOOOOOOOOO tired tonight!!!!" ~ Maya K

September 8, 2013 ~ I'm not sure what is going on with Maya K today. She slept hard all night (even slept in about 15 minutes later than normal) and has been EXHAUSTED all morning!!! She even almost fell asleep on my lap during the singing at church. She has not been her normal energetic self. She went down easily and quickly for her Sunday afternoon nap and I am hoping that she sleeps longer than normal!!!

September 9, 2013 ~ I'm having one of "those" mornings. The kitchen looks like it threw up over the weekend, the bathrooms need to be cleaned, I haven't finished making the menu for September, I need to make a grocery shopping trip to two stores, breakfast needs to be made, homeschooling needs to be done, laundry is waiting to be put away, and on the list goes. I'm not really "feeling" like doing any of it :-(. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." :-)

If you see Maya K and I at the store today, please just ignore the fact that she is wearing a hat because I haven't done her hair today!!!!

I'm so mean. Dinner tonight is something that Maya K DOES NOT like (green bean casserole) so I'm letting her choose between the casserole (after she eats a little of it) and a ham and cheese sandwich (another meal that is NOT her favorite). Poor girl :-(. Life is HARD!!!!

Maya K has a tiny  hangnail and I have chosen to NOT put a band-aid on it. She just wrapped a large piece of toilet paper around her finger and taped it :-).

September 11, 2013 ~ Hmmmmmmmmmmmm...............To do school or to have a lazy day with movies and popcorn???? (We were going to go to the zoo today, but the weather is telling us "no".) I think that we are going to have a lazy day. We have already done 17 days of school, so I don't feel too bad :-).

Melkem Addis Amet ~ Happy Ethiopian New Year 2006!!!!

We're watching "Pippi Longstocking."

September 13, 2013 ~ I just found Maya K upstairs cleaning the bathroom!!! She had swept the floor and was wiping down the back of the toilet with a wet piece of TOILET PAPER!!! She told me that she wanted to surprise me :-). I suggested that she use a washcloth and that I did NOT want her to wash INSIDE the toilet!!! "This was just for your treat, Mommy. Not every time, but maybe I do it again next time for your second treat. Maybe four days and then I do it again. Just for your treat."

I've started the process of going through the containers of clothes that were given to us last year when Maya K came home and  pulling out the fall/winter clothes that she has grown into. It's going to take a few days to get everything sorted!!! And then I can see what "gaps" need to be filled in.

FB Friday

August 31, 2013 ~ One of Maya K's current FAVORITE things to do (along with her FAVORITE word - "favorite") is to cut with her scissors. Today she is cutting up pipe cleaners.

Maya K got to ask a million and one questions at the veterinary clinic today (for our cat's apt.). How many of you think I should be able to count this as a school field trip???? :-)

September 2, 2013 ~ Context: Maya K has a "cow clock" that has a dancing cow that lights up at 7 a.m. This lets her know when she can get out of bed. We were up late last night and Maya K was still sleeping at 7:30 a.m. She woke up around 7:40ish and came downstairs right away (normally she stays in her room for a while playing while she wakes up). She was VERY sleepy and confused!!!! "Mommy, why did the cow wake up so FAST?!?! I was still tired!!!!" ~ Maya K

Our morning was spent taking everything out of our garage, cleaning the garage, sorting/tossing some of the things that had been in our garage, and then putting everything back in the garage. I'm GLAD it's all DONE!!!!

September 4, 2013 ~ I am desiring chocolate and Mt. Dew right now. Just sayin'. In case anyone cares.

We got to spend some time with some adoptive friends at the park on Monday :-). Carmen and I became friends early in our adoption journey and it was fun to get to introduce our kids to each other!!! They got along well right from the beginning and had fun playing together!!!

I just threw away my very first Barbie :-(. The head broke off many years ago, but I had kept the body because I would use it as a store mannequin. But it was discolored and very sticky and it was time for her to go :-(. We have chosen to not buy Barbies for Maya K, but I brought in the container of my old Barbies and let Maya K and K play with them today :-).

September 6, 2013 ~ It's gonna be a busy day!!! School this morning, hopefully a quick trip to WalMart before lunch, early afternoon attorney apt (to start the readoption process), home to get a couple chores done and eat dinner, and then Nathan and I get to go out for a movie date tonight!!!

Some days I just feel amazed!!!

September 17, 2012

August 21, 2013

I've got all of Maya K's important documents in my purse. You'd better believe that I'm going to be hanging on to my purse like my life depends on it this afternoon!!!!

Have I mentioned how little Maya K and I have been apart since she came home? Yes. I know. I have mentioned it several times. You are all probably tired of reading this AGAIN. I am going to the State Ladies' Retreat tomorrow and I have to leave before Maya K will be awake. This is the first time in over 11 months that Maya K will wake up and I will not be right there with her. She was feeling a little emotional about it tonight :-(. I'm feeling a little emotional about it tonight :-(. Please pray that she will wake up feeling okay about me being gone and that she and Nathan will have a good morning together. I chose to not go to the retreat today and be gone overnight because we haven't done THAT on yet either!!! One of these days I will be brave enough to leave her for a night. One day.

FB Friday

August 24, 2013 ~ Nathan left for the Men's Retreat yesterday afternoon and I sort of stopped doing anything productive. Maya K and I went to my sister-in-law's house for pizza and a movie, came home and put Maya K to bed, and I read a book. Got up this morning, got ready for the day, went shopping, came home and ate lunch, then watched 30 minutes of TV with Maya K, then read a book during her quiet time. I've been trying to make up for lost time ever since. Dishes are now done, two loads of laundry done and put away (more in the machines), dishwasher emptied, and ran some errands. Maybe he won't need to know that I did nothing last night or until 2:30 p.m. today :-).

August 26, 2013 ~ "Sometimes I can't remember the bad snake's name so I just call him a bully. Because that is what he does. He is bad and wants people to do bad things. That is why I call him a bully." ~ Your morning doctrine lesson has been brought to you by Miss Maya Kisanet Joy Maxwell :-)

August 27, 2013 ~ Here is the conversation I had when I went into Maya K's bedroom this morning.
Maya K: "Yikes!!!"
Me: "What???"
Maya K: "Yikes!!! Mommy, what does 'yikes' mean?"
Me: (don't even have time to answer)
Maya K: "Like a person sits on a pinecone and says 'Yikes!!!!'"
Me: "Did you see that happen somewhere? In a book, on the TV?"
Maya K: "No. I know this just because I am a smart girl."

School was a little "rough" this morning. Maya K did A LOT of jumping jacks and running up and down the stairs. Then she would be able to THINK for a few minutes and then her brain shut off again and it was back to the running and jumping jacks!!! But we got through it!!!!

We were stopped in Aldi's by a lady who words there as she commented on how much Maya K has GROWN. Her second comment was, "She still doesn't stop talking, does she?" Nope!!!! I don't expect the words to EVER dry up!!!!! :-)

August 28, 2013 ~ "Keep coloring, you silly Daddy!!!" (repeat 20x over 15 minutes) ~ Maya K

Maya K: "I wish I could have a baby when I get bigger."
Me: "Well, maybe you WILL have a baby when you grow up. But what do you need to do before you have a baby?"
Maya K: "Learn how to obey."
(I was thinking something along the lines of "get married first" but learning how to obey is also a valid answer!!!)

August 30, 2013 ~ Second week of school = Done; CPI form submitted = Done; New books checked out from the library = Done; Maya K settled in the living room with her lunch, watching Daniel Tiger, and reading a book all at the same time = Done. It's been a good morning :-).