The Pumpkin Patch

We went to the Pumpkin Patch today and Maya had a ball! First, we paid $4 to enter a small area with lots of Dora cut-outs and some marigolds. If Maya had been just 6 months older, it would have cost $8. Somewhat of a rip-off, methinks (though, to be fair, the lady at the ticket counter did warn me, but Maya likes Dora so what can you do?)







She then went for a ride on the up and down horses - this one was definitely a hit!



She enjoyed the hayride too!



Next came the Storybook Path and Bootsie the Bee - both simple paths through a corn field, but with some nice little displays along the way.





And finally we got to pick out some pumpkins to take home.





"This is the one I want - I'll put it in the wheelbarrow, Mummy!"



"Ok, so it's a tad heavy. Maybe you could help a girl out?"



"I'll just push the wheelbarrow then, shall I? Ummm.... actually, this is a tad heavy too. I think I'll leave that one to you as well, if you don't mind."



"How about I just sit IN the wheelbarrow and you can push me? Great stuff - glad I could help, Mummy"



Now all we have to do is carve the blessed things!

Also, another plug for Cath's Daisybows - Maya's wearing my favourite one in the pictures :)

The simple pleasures...

Never grow old. Like blowing the seeds from a dandelion clock...

Even Mummy Dinosaur had a turn!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Firstly, I must comment on the difficulties inherent in getting a 2yr old to keep something as "a surprise".

Maya and I went off shopping for Daddy's presents and cake yesterday and I kept reminding her that it was a surprise for Daddy, for his birthday. Obviously this did sink in... somewhat.

We collected Daddy from the train station in the evening and no sooner was he in the car than Maya was telling him "Happy Birthday" and waffling on about surprises and candles. She did also tell him about the trousers I had bought for his gift. Luckily, Daddy is not quite so clued in on Maya-speak as Mummy is, and failed to pick up on any of her not-so-subtle hints. Equally luckily, Maya has a tendency to follow up the word 'surprise' with "piece of toast!" (she somehow managed to learn that at Granny's house) so that kind of threw Daddy off the scent, I think. Maybe he was just pretending to be clueless ;)

Here she is singing Happy Birthday to Daddy this evening. Enjoy!

Chick or Cheat!

Maya's Hallowe'en costume arrived today (big thank you to Granny!!) and she tried it on after she woke up from her nap. Not only does it fit perfectly but boy, does it ever look adorable! She was a little reluctant to put the hat on but with the help of a mirror, her 'Who Said Boo?' book ("Look, Maya - those witches wear hats. You have to wear a hat to be a proper witch") and dire admonitions about how she wouldn't get sweeties on Hallowe'en unless she wore a hat (isn't bribery a wonderful thing?), she finally capitulated.

One pumpkin basket and one kitchen door later, there we were practising how to Trick or Treat. The Maya way...

"Knock knock who's there??"
"Gosh, I wonder who this can be... " *open kitchen door* "... Goodness me, it's a witch!"
"Chick or Cheat! Give seepies please!" (seepies = sweeties. You probably have to be 2 to understand that one).

I'm working on getting her to understand that it's rude to actually ask for the sweeties in advance. I'm also working on getting her to take the costume off...

Website now live!

Finally announcing the launch of Snapdragon Photos!

You've been tagged!

6th Folder Tag. At least, that's what April calls it. Supposedly, if you get tagged, you have to go to your Pictures folder, open the 6th folder and post the 6th picture from that folder. There's no telling what you have to do if you don't have 6 folders...

I'm rather disappointed that it's not something more interesting, but at the same time I'm rather glad that it's not something more embarrassing ;)



And now I have to tag 5 other people to do the same thing. I hereby tag April C,Nikki,Michelle,Cynthia and Erika. Ha! Now I'll find out who reads my blog :D

Daisybows

I've never been a huge fan of bows and ribbons on babies. However, Maya can certainly no longer be classed as a baby so the time has arrived for me to start girlifying her. To that end, I bought some hair adornments from a friend of mine - check out her Etsy store; she has some seriously beautiful bows and clips. They're priced reasonably, well made and very, very cute.

It's taken a while, but Maya is finally starting to get into the hang of actually leaving them in her hair for long enough to have a few photos taken!




On a side note... I seriously need to do something about this girl's hair. I'm amazed she can actually see through that fringe!

"Nanny bought it!"

We were in the car heading to the swings (I know; we should have walked. We were lazy today. I sent a mental apology to the environment along with a promise to shiver for at least two days this winter to make up for it) when Maya piped up "Nanny BOUGHT it!" What did "Nanny" (it's Maya's mispronunciation of Granny. Maya can get away with it because she's cute, but I wouldn't think of trying it yourself if I were you) buy? The car seat, of course, silly.

This is her newest craze. She needs to know who bought absolutely everything that she comes across. The vast majority of the things she comes across are toys - she is 2, after all - and most of them were gifts, so it gives me a warm sense of accomplishment to know that I'm raising a nice, grateful child who will always appreciate the things that others do for her. In my dreams, I know, but it's nice while it lasts. On the other hand, it can become a little irritating: "Thamma bought it!" "No, actually Mummy did. It's just a wooden spoon - they don't make wonderful Christmas gifts." And so on, ad infinitum.

Consider a trip to the bathroom, where we have to discuss the origins of the rug, the toilet paper, the soap and the towel before we can even begin to think about doing what nature intended. She hasn't yet thought to query the identity of the kind person who gifted us the porcelain throne, for some reason.

Maya 'exercising'

I swear, this is the most adorable age ever! I know each period during a child's life has its own sweet moments, but it just seems like everything she does at the moment is completely, sickeningly, diabetes-inducing downright gorgeous. Or maybe I'm just biased.

Dadu, Thamma, Maya and I were all out in the garden. Thamma started doing a few stretching exercises and Maya immediately began to copy her. The result was a very cute set of photographs!

Here are a few more from the same session. It's great having someone else on hand to get Maya smiling!

My first post

Ok, not a very original title, I'll admit, but I'm stumped as to how else to start this off. I've resisted blogging for so long that I can't quite believe I've finally bowed to the pressure. It remains to be seen how long I'll keep it up for, of course...


Maya and I went into the garden this morning to play sandcastles. The weather was nice and sunny which led me to consider the fact that her paddling pool, which had lain dormant during our two months absence, was in desperate need of a clean. It was too close to lunchtime to do anything about it then, so I promised her that I would clean it out and she could put her swimming costume on after her nap and go for a paddle.


In my excitement (ok, not excitement - after all, I was contemplating a major cleaning job. Maybe stupidity would be a better word.) I forgot rule number one of parenting: never promise what you can't deliver. During the afternoon the winds picked up and it became too chilly for Maya to have her promised swim. We did get the hose out and clean the pool anyway, though, so she didn't seem to mind!


Mummy... where's the water? She obviously couldn't connect the tap at the other end of the garden with the water coming out of the hose, so she kept dipping the hose into my bucket to make water come out of it.


So I turned it on and the inevitable happened...


And then the pouts...

"Maya berry berry wet"

"And Maya berry berry cold"

One quick change of clothes later and the smiles came out again. Along with the Dora shoes, which didn't please me quite as much ;)

And the last photo of the day, which needs a little explanation. One of the Dora shoes having fallen off, Maya insisted that she could put it back on herself. Placing the shoe on the step next to her, she attempted to pull her foot over and put IT into her shoe. The logic of a 2yr old never ceases to amaze me :)

Oh, and in case you've been wondering what that is in her hand, it's a fireman. If you have (or have ever had) a 2yr old, there's probably no need for further explanation ;)