A few traits…

At the park this week, Maeve jumped up to grab onto the bar and swung! She runs around like she owns the place, climbing slides, talking to other kids. She used to be timid and let other kids push her out of the way, but now she waits patiently for another child to do something (like go down the slide) and get out of the way, and then takes her turn without being rushed even if there’s someone behind her. I was just bursting at seeing her confidence and can only hope that this self assured little girl is beginning to harness this quiet strength she has.

I realized that I forgot to write down a cute thing that she does – Maeve covers her eye with the back of one hand when she’s embarrassed. We notice it mostly during movies in which there is singing; the most recent example is the Princess and the Frog. She runs out of the room when the frog first appears and she knows Tiana is going to scream, but then during other parts (with music and without) she’ll put her hand up. It’s adorable!

Maeve has been very particular about her friends again lately…choosing which ones share her bed (at nap time it’s ALL of them), which one goes to school with her (usually bear), which ones get to dance in the car (kitty and pig), which ones go to the park with her in her suitcase (trains yesterday). These are more than transition objects now – they are part of her extended family!

She is also particular about her hair – she does NOT like it in the back of her head, only in pig tails or down with a ribbon holding it back. The quote of the week on this topic is, “Mommy, I don’t like my hair. It doesn’t look like me.”

We are excited to go to the Field Museum in the morning to see a puppet show of a few Eric Carle stories, including The Very Hungry Caterpillar. It’s gotten great reviews, so we hope Maeve loves it too! Have a great weekend…

Springtime

I’m not sure if we brought this beautiful weather back with us from the Bahamas, but we sure are reaping the rewards of Spring. We had a wonderful trip with Nanna, Grandad and Aunt Peggy and a nice visit with Gigi and Aunt Nancy – the pictures from paradise are up in the gallery! Highlights included lunch to celebrate Gigi’s birthday and beach/pool time at Old Fort Bay, the police band performing in Lyford Cay, and lunch at the organic farm. We had perfect weather and Maeve loved playing on the beach and building up her confidence in the pool!

This week was filled with lots of park time thanks to some very warm weather in Chicago, and Maeve was back to school and classes. She had her first drop off art class with Ms. Cheryl (I left the room but sat in the hallway) and we had our first playdate that Maeve requested with a friend she made at school. We met Avery (and her mom and baby brother) at a park in Bucktown and the girls had so much fun together! At school, Maeve learned about insects and butterflies – appropriate after our reintroduction to ants and flies in Nassau – and this week they will read various stories and write their own with the help of their teachers. Maeve is opening up socially and her confidence shows as she continues to learn new things and make new friends.

Happy Easter – we posted some fun photos from our celebrations this weekend with Grandma, Auntie Beth and Uncle Matt!