Little Drummer Girl

Home and the Holidays

Home alone with Maya and Pete. 

Craig spent a week in Chicago at the American Anthropological Association annual meeting. My job: corral the wild creatures I live with and maintain a shred of sanity. Here are some photos from our week  at home:

Buddies

Maya reads me her favorite book: Dr. Seuss' ABCs

Pete is on the ready for any crumbs. 

While I ran Maya's bath, she did her own running--her face straight into the corner of my bedside table, that is. This is a picture not long after impact.

The shiner

It's starting to get colorful in the golf course behind our house!

Lil' bruiser wearing pigtails.

Thanksgiving

We had a very relaxed family feast for our second Thanksgiving in England. It was Maya's first time eating Thanksgiving foods. Her favorite was cranberry sauce. Who would have thought, it's so bitter!

Super foggy Thanksgiving day!

Maya digs right in.

Craig and me at the table

Cranberry sauce mustache.

Trimming the Tree

Christmas season starts in full swing here right after Halloween. There's no Thanksgiving to hold out for...except in our household. At the end of our Thanksgiving weekend we decided it was high time to trim up the tree. After Maya's reaction to our jack o' lantern, what would she do when she saw the tree all lit up for the first time?

Maya "helped" us put up the lights.

We switched on the lights for the big reveal. Maya's face says it all.

Maya and me and the Christmas Tree.

Beep beep

Mountain Days and Apple Days

A few hanging-around-the-house shots

Maya, checking out the swivel on my chair. Verdict: fun!

Pete and "Scott" take a much-needed nap in the sunroom.

Maya learned how to play harmonica! Pete joins in and sings along.

She dressed herself in Craig's work badge and my headphones. Looking hip! 

Catching up on the World Series playoff game first thing in the morning. 

I taught Maya how to use the camera. She took this - her first "selfie." It BEGINS!

The full-time Mom gig is a tough one. I work hard all day, rarely talk to grown-ups, and earn nothing. However, one of the perks is a whole lot of unstructured time. Sooo, when I got an email letting me know that it was Mountain Day, I decided that it was high time Maya, Pete, and I celebrated the fall day Mount Holyoke style. I said a silent "thank you" to the underemployment gods that I wasn't cooped up inside that day and could follow my whims and fancies!

Whims and fancies included making a big batch of oatmeal cookies with my little helper. Here she is taking the healthy option - cheese stick.

Cookie time! Cute coordinated aprons handmade by my friend Nicki so we could bake in style.

We went for a long walk at Knighton park and saw the leaves turning colors. The teachers went on strike on Mountain Day, so all the kids had an unplanned day off from school and, this view not withstanding, the park was swarmed with kids running around having fun. It's like they knew it was Mountain Day too! 

Our friends Tina and Lin came up from London for the afternoon one weekend. Maya and Alan had so much fun playing around together. They are getting big!

Maya's telling Alan that this particular shoe is off limits. Then she bent down and gave him the pair.

So cute!

Pumpkin Carving (or, toddler in a jack o' lantern)

peek a boo

Watch out!

Family portrait. 

We finished off the pumpkin while Maya was taking a nap. When she came down we had it all carved and lit up on the table. She was so mesmerized and excited that she spent a good hour or so pointing to it and saying, "Woooow! wow!" After that, anytime she walked by the pumpkin while it wasn't lit up she would say, "Uh oh! Oh noooooo." 

Kite weather at Old John

Craig, Maya, Pete, and Old John

Craig's grumpy. Maya is busy yanking on his coat.

Windy!

You can't beat the view

Wigston Halloween

Maya is NOT into costumes these days. I knew that we had to make a costume she didn't know she was wearing. Even so, we decided she could have input on what it'd be. We asked her what she would like to be. She said, pointing to the fruit bowl, "Apple!" Mission Accomplished.

Two apples and two Elmos.

This is the card she made in play group for Craig. It's supposed to be two ghosts.

The loot. Nobody came knocking again this year, so more for us!

Tasty!

Maya and me

A Day at the "Beach"

The Abbey Pumping Station museum has been on my list of places to visit since we moved to Leicester. It is a beautiful bit of septic infrastructure, and also an all-around odd-ball collection. In September we finally made it over there for their beach day festival.

For the beach festival, they trucked in tons of sand and water to create their own beachside. They also had all of the boardwalk snacks and attractions (candy floss (a.k.a. cotton candy), fish and chips, puppets, carnival rides, and my personal favorite: a booth where you could pay one pound to bust up old dishes with wooden balls - AMAZING!).

I realize now that I didn't really take pictures of the inside of the Pumping Station...next time!

Maya and Craig

Craig and Maya take a spin on the tea cups

This picture is from inside the museum. They had a collection of toilets through the ages. We thought that Maya might enjoy doing a little privy picture. Craig is giving her a pep-talk.

Here we are at the beach. As you can see by Maya's sweater, it was a pretty chilly day. That didn't stop the other kids from stripping down to their undies and splashing in the water. I couldn't believe it. The Brits are immune to cold!

We spent most of September pretty close to home. Here are a few pictures from our Wigston adventures.

A little game of chase in the back yard. 

Off to bed.

The little garden gnome.

Maya's new thing is walking the dog. He pulls her along half of the time, so it's unclear who is really in charge.

Maya's first word and favorite snack: Apple

Dinner!