Christmas

On Christmas, even though Maya went to bed a full hour late, she was up at 7:30 as normal. We started with stockings. I think Maya's favorite stocking gift was a little disposable camera (my mom's idea...):

Maya's present from Santa this year was a trike:

We think she likes it:

Maya also got some duplo blocks (thanks, Wests!):

She also got LOTS of different new books:

Here's Maya with her trike, her helmet (Mom and Dad luckily guessed what Santa was sending...), her new watch, and her new dress-me-up baby (in the backseat):

"Uncle" Sameer sent a basketball goal. I imagine he expects Maya will be on the court with him and Tim soon.


Waiting for breakfast:

Enjoying breakfast:

After breakfast, it was time to teach Baby to dance:

Once we got around, Grandma headed to the airport for a trip to see a friend. We headed to Ron and JoAnn's for Christmas dinner. Maya and Bryan quickly warmed up to each other:

There was more trike riding:

And more presents. Including a mobile vet hospital from Grandma and Grandpa:

And then trike lessons from Ron.

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve, we had the whole family over to the house for dinner. In addition to the usual suspects, Becky and Brian were also both in from out of town. Here are the ladies getting us started... watching Tim cook, drinking wine, and clowning around, all at the same time:

We did a lot of Wii playing this week; Tim bought me two new games for Christmas. Here's Ron and Bryan trying their hands at tennis.

After dinner, I got out of dish duty by playing some carols on the piano; Maya and Grandma sat down for a listen:

Ron had a great idea that we take a picture of everyone. Here's the best one I caught... Casey even made the cut. :)

Outside

Tim, Maya, and the dogs took a little stroll around the backyard this afternoon. It's about 35 degrees colder here today than yesterday. Plus, Maya's practicing sporting her cold weather gear in preparation for the trip to Indiana after Christmas. Brr...

Creepy Acres

So there's this kiddie amusement park not far from our house. It's called Kiddie Acres. I call it "Creepy Acres" since it looks like a scene out of a Steven King novel. But it was recommended by our friend Angela, and we've been twice, and we LOVE it. Maya has a great time. Here are some photos from our trip yesterday (notice the short sleeves and sun...)

Out and About (again)

Grandpa couldn't resist this hat at Target the other day. His excuse was "it was only a dollar!" Maya loves it.

School Pictures

Maya's school pictures the first two times were total failures. Apparently she had to be carried out of the room screaming both times. Not this time. Check out these photos. (Thanks for scanning them, dad!)

Luminarias

Last weekend, we went to the Luminaries at the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center. The gardens were lit up with candles and lights, and there was live music and crafts for the kids. We forgot our camera, but dad remembered. He could not, however, get his pictures to upload to blogger. That's where I come in. It was dark, and, to capture the lights, some of the pictures ended up a bit blurry. So you get some artistic effects with them... :) Maya loved the steel drum band (made up of middle schoolers!), so she danced up a storm. She also got to write a letter to Santa. What do you think she asked for?

Dancin'

Goodness. Finally, after many tries... here is a cutup video of Maya dancing. She's been crazier than this, but for some reason, the camera has made her shy of late.

Little Ladybug

Trimming the tree

Go Tigers!

Well, the Tigers lost a big football game this weekend. But it wasn't for lack of enthusiastic fans in Texas...

Another Grandma and Grandpa...

Grandpa Tim and Grandma Shelly came to visit for Thanksgiving, too! Maya was so excited to have MORE grandparents to dote on her.

On Friday, the weather held (it was in the lower 60s and just a little sprinkly), so we went to Zilker park to the Botanical Gardens for the Dino-land exhibit and to ride the train. Then we hit the new (much closer!) Salt Lick for dinner.