Maeves Website

I’m sure I should be happy because the last I wrote we were buried in snow and since then it’s been feeling a bit like Spring. But I blinked and now it’s the end of February and it’s snowing again tonight. At least the grandparents all made it here for visits and we’ve had lots of fun this month. I also was buried in work for a bit of this month, but somehow that’s already done too!

The big news in Maeve’s world is that she has 2 confirmed weeks of Summer camp lined up. Yes, I realize it’s February, but we live in Chicago and apparently people plan even farther in advance here than me! In fact, we didn’t even get into the week of the Zoo camp we wanted despite members having early access. I am excited about what we did choose though. Maeve will be doing a week of art camp at the Paintbrush and a week of Spanish camp at Multilingual Chicago.

We attended a story time at Multilingual Chicago this morning and it was great to see Maeve picking up more Spanish words – the class is all immersion with a story, songs and playtime. She does really well with her colors and numbers, but we are going to need some help if she is to actually begin to learn another language. I guess I thought we would have started this by now…there’s just so many wonderful activities to do! I’m glad we are exposing her to a language now and we think the week of Summer camp will be fun.

Maeve has her first sleepover scheduled for this weekend. Her friend Gwen is coming over and we’re hoping the girls have a great time! Maeve had her first away-from-home sleepover at Rachel and Fiona’s when she was 2.5, but has yet to have a friend stay at her house. I think she’ll be a wonderful host and friend!

We are in the middle of the Blizzard of 2011 – tomorrow we are supposed to wake up to 2 feet of snow! *GROUNDHOG DAY UPDATE: we did get almost 2 feet of snow and it’s still snowing on and off today! Check out our pictures…

This was expected and all we have seen/heard/spoke about in recent days has to do with the weather. Maeve’s teacher called Monday night to tell us school would be cancelled on Wednesday, and we even got emails from soccer class and pediatrician’s office saying they are closed too! The snow started blowing this afternoon and we’ll have to see what tomorrow brings, but we are prepared with potato eyes, carrot nose and other accessories for the snowman we hope to build…

Maeve and I laid pretty low last week successfully fighting off winter colds, but she has been enjoying school and her classes. Some recent highlights include a terrific outing to a fun place called Make-a-Messterpiece where she did some really neat art projects with fly swatters and bubbles, and a wonderful annual trip to a waterpark in the Wisconsin Dells with our friends. Also, she is officially in a big girl bed as we finally put her bed up on a frame and attached the back of her crib as a headboard! This weekend Maeve and Daddy have a special day scheduled with outings to a Garden Buddies class and a Valentine’s Day dance. Maeve is especially looking forward to visits from her grandparents too…that is, if any of the roads are passable by next week.

Not yet 4 1/2 years old and Maeve already has received her first marriage proposal. We were visiting our friends Georgia, Evan and Owen last night for a playdate and dinner. This was the exchange while we were sitting at the table together:

Evan (leaning over to Maeve): Maeve, will you marry me and grow me a baby?
Maeve (without hesitation): No way!
Georgia and I tried to stifle our smiles – she had prepared me a week or so ago that this might be coming. Evan loves his new baby brother and his friend Maeve!
Me (trying to soften the blow): Maeve, that is such a sweet offer that your friend made. It would be nice to say thank you.
Evan (strong in the face of heartbreak): It’s ok Maeve. You can think about it. It wouldn’t happen for a really long time.

He is such a sweet boy! I am left wishing that we could arrange their marriage…

We have been trying to take advantage of the Chicago museum free days – there are so many great opportunities, it’s unlikely that we will get to them all this month. But we are having fun and staying out of the cold.

Maeve and I hit the Museum of Science and Industry last week and went to the Shedd Aquarium this week. The new area with the Polar Play Zone is really neat, and the dolphin and whale show was a highlight! I had a photo that my dad took three years ago in my mind as I was snapping away on Tuesday. Please check out the Shedd reflections album in the MobileMe Gallery to see both the picture I was trying to replicate and the one I got…

We are looking forward to sharing more of our adventures with family and friends in 2011! Wishing you all health and happiness!

I love this – I saw it on a few cards this year and it really does sum up how we are feeling this year! Maeve is so much more into the holidays and that makes it more fun… She was excited to get the tree and we had a jammies day to decorate it. It might be our best tree to date. Chris did a great job on our outdoor lights too!

She still wants nothing to do with Santa Claus in person, but we’ve enjoyed watching all the Christmas specials on TV and attended her first performance of the Nutcracker. Maeve and her friend Mia did pretty well at the ballet school production and we were thankful for 2 intermissions. My first clue that she might not be entirely into it was when she leaned over 10 or so minutes in and asked, “are those kids going to talk?” All we can do is continue to help her acquire an appreciation of the arts…

We got into the spirit of the season with a festive outing to the Walnut Room with Maeve’s Nanna and Grandma, followed up by a trip to the Christkindlmarket. Downtown Chicago was bustling on a relatively mild winter afternoon – I love the energy of this city! Chris and I also attended a couple of super fun holiday parties thanks to grandparent babysitters. Then the snow came…

With the Christmas music on constant loop and the Yule Log in HD on TV, it really is beginning to look and feel a lot like Christmas! Can’t wait to celebrate with our families in the Detroit area next week. We are grateful for so much this year (especially the new healthy babies in our lives) and are lucky to have had some really fun adventures near and far!

Our wishes to all for a safe and happy holiday, and all the best of what’s to come in 2011!

We are excited to be in Colorado this week for our Thanksgiving celebrations, and are so thankful for all our friends and family, our parents’ support and love, and most of all, our wonderful daughter Maeve. We look forward to seeing so many of you during this upcoming holiday season and will be thinking of you, near and far!

Maeve was a terrific traveller this weekend, and actually rather excited about our detour as we got to take a big bus to Aspen when our flight was rerouted to Grand Junction. She continues her important developmental journeys and, while some kids have a hard time with sleeping, Maeve is proving to need some extra help in the area of toileting. We are happy to have some new guidance and reassurance during what has proved to be a challenging time for her…and we know she will get through it successfully with our encouragement! Thanks to everyone who has provided recent support to us as we work on this – especially Aunt Megan, who had Maeve over for a fun playdate with Lucy last week so we could access some other resources.

We are most looking forward to riding the gondolas on Snowmass Mountain, and Maeve is having the best time eating snow and playing with Auntie Anne and Uncle Cole’s doggy, Bella. Hopefully we can get Maeve out on some skiis later this week too!