Nice mail, Mummy!

I opened the front door to get the post from the box.
Maya asked me where I was going...

Me: "Nowhere, sweetheart - I'm just checking the mail."

I grabbed the flyers/junk mail/fodder for the recycle bin and closed the door again.

Maya: "Nice mail, Mummy!"

I didn't respond, as I was flicking through on the off chance that there was something worth reading in there.

Maya: "What do you say, Mummy? What do you say when someone gives you a compliment?"

Tree Hugging!

Today we decided to go on an outing to Big Basin, which is a beautiful National Park full of Redwoods. Last time S and I went there, Maya was but a gleam in the eye. We both remembered a pleasant hike through the forest and up to some amazing views of the Pacific. Well, we didn't make it quite that far this time - Maya's legs are still little, but she's a bit heavy for carrying all the way in 90+ degree heat!

First things first - let's give the trees some love! Maya could hardly wait to finish her lunchtime sandwich so that she could go hug a tree.



The highlight for Maya was definitely finding an area of fallen trees and playing house in the roots and hollow trunks.





I vote that next time we go, we do it in somewhat cooler weather ;)

Burger King is the BEST!

I mentioned to Maya that we might think about convincing S to take us out for dinner. I asked her where she thought she'd like to go.

"Burger King!"
"Really? Is Burger King the best place you can think of to go out for dinner?"
"Yes! They have cheeeeeeeeeeezburgers at Burger King."
"Cheeseburgers, eh?"
"Yes! And fries too! And they have apple juice! Burger King has EVERYTHING!"

Oh me, oh my. And I've tried so hard to instil some sense of refinement...

Daddy, where's your hair?

S was bemoaning his ever-increasing bald spot in front of Maya. He told her to touch it...

"There's no hair there, Daddy!"
"I know - I don't want to lose my hair"
"Then why do you keep putting it in my bath?"

Photo Shoot!

It occurred to me the other day that I've actually never done a 'studio' style photo shoot with Maya. I asked her if she wanted to dress up like a princess and have some pictures taken and she agreed wholeheartedly. I think we got some cute shots!

Ano Nuevo and strawberry picking

The day after my birthday was Memorial Day so S had an extra day off, which we put to great use! We drove to Ano Nuevo to see the Elephant Seals, not realising that we would have to walk 3 miles to see them! Maya coped admirably well - she spent some of the time on Mummy or Daddy's shoulders but did the majority of the 3 miles on her own two feet. She did need a lot of encouragement towards the end though - "I think I've walked a lot and I think I'm very tired now..."

The long walk was well worth it, though! The scenery is lovely and it was very cool to see the seals.































On the way back to the car, Maya got into the long grass and pretended to be a monkey!





And then we went strawberry picking! Another new experience for Maya and one which she thoroughly enjoyed. The strawberries were completely delicious, very cheap AND organic! I just wish the farm were close enough for us to go there every week to get more. We could have wished for it to be a bit warmer and less windy, but you can't have everything!

Sweet Treats

Maya loves helping in the kitchen. When I start making dinner, she brings her chair to stand on and immediately asks what she can do. I usually manage to find something that she can handle - mixing things, pouring things, putting veg in the pan... she especially likes breaking eggs, though I usually have to dig around a fair bit to remove the bits of shell ;)

We had a baking day and made lots of sweeties which we wrapped up in little bags to send to family. Maya's favourite part was definitely the sprinkles! She also loved wearing her apron and hat and refused to take them off until Daddy came home from work so he could see them too.











Showing off her owie, which she got when she reached up and put her finger right on the hob. Ouch! Our baking day ended with a bowl of iced water in front of a DVD and a whole lot of crying.



The end results: