Fall Festivities

We're looking forward to spending Christmas and New Year's back in America with our families and friends. In the meantime, here are a few pictures from the last month or so.

Thanksgiving

We did lots of fall crafts in November. Here's Craig and Maya working on a Thanksgiving cornucopia.

The finished cornucopia.

Thanksgiving Day.
Maya wearing her traditional English Thanksgiving headwear (a.k.a. pilgrim hat). Time to dig in!

Cheese!

Apple pie and ice cream

Maya Dancing

I showed Maya how to work the record player the other day and she got up on a chair and started movin' and groovin'. It's the same way that my mother dances! 

Note: I don't know what she's saying half-way through this video either. I think she might have been speaking in tongues!

Lights in Leicester

Another rainy, winter day. We decided to brave the weather and head  downtown Leicester to see the Christmas decorations. Here's Maya and me by the city hall dioramas.

Maya likes it.

The theme was 12 days of Christmas.

Maya and me waving in front of City Hall.

Maya and Craig in front of City Hall.

Winston Lights "Switch-On"

Instead of having "tree lightings" in England they have "lights switch-ons." Apologies for the terrible photos  - I blame it on that big old fire truck in our way. Behind the cab of the firetruck is the "tree" (a metal candy-cane-colored cone with lights on in. You will also have to imagine the crazy winter carnival behind the truck with everything from a scary house to  tea cup rides to cotton candy.

Craig and Maya waiting for the lights to turn on.

Ta-da. The Christmas cone and storefronts are now switched on.

Decorating our Tree

Maya "helped" straighten out the tangled lights.

She then abandoned decorating in favor of two newly-discovered boxes of dominoes.

She says the two ornaments are kissing.

Mince Pies

On Thanksgiving, my sisters and I had a whole Skype discussion over whether mince pies contain meat. Verdict - some do, some don't. With this in mind, I figured it was high time that Maya and I taste-tested the quintessential flavor of British Christmas (vegetarian blend).
Maya took little mouse bites all around the edges and then stuffed the whole pie in her mouth whole. Verdict, "de-wish-ious."

More "star pie" please!
My verdict: it's like spreading apricot jam on a cinnamon-y Christmas cookie and then sprinkling it with raisins.  A little strange in the flavor and texture department, but I can see why people like them.

A pumpkin, a witch, and a full moon

October was all about celebrating fall. Here are a few activities we did around the house:

Pumpkin Carving

Maya added her own face to the back of the pumpkin with pastels.

Sassy

Mid-carve

Maya checks out the jack-o-lantern.

Maya and me with the jack-o-lantern.

Craig and Maya with the jack-o-lantern.

Costumes and Halloween

Maya trying on her witch hat and the cape we made for her.

One of Maya's favorite books has a witch in it with a long orange braid. I made Maya a orange yarn braid for her witch hat so she could look the part. 

Halloween morning- Maya decides to use her witch's boom to sweep the house.

The little witch

Maya and me

Craig and Maya casting a spell with her special wand.

Potty Time

So, we have been working toward potty training with Maya. That means a lot of time spent "sans" pants.  This picture pretty much sums up what that looks like. 

Outdoor Pursuits

Knighton Park Festival

It's great to live next to a park, especially on days when something fun is going on there. Knighton Park had summer festival right before the beginning of the school year with jumpy castles, a dog show, lots of food, and lots more.

Craig and Maya at the jumpy castles. Maya took one look at the face on this thing and decided it wasn't for her.  Oh well, maybe the carousel will be a hit.

It was pretty hot that day. What better way to cool down than with a "Knighton Park Special" a.k.a.  an ice cream cone with a candy bar sticking out of it. The reason you don't see the candy bar in this picture is because I already ate it!

Ice cream mustache

Maya's first time on a carousel. Verdict - awesome! She wanted to go around again and again.

Flying airplane ride - meh. 

Abbey Park

We decided to go on an adventure to Abbey Park on day to see what it would be like to go without our dog Pete. There is one area of the park with a petting zoo - no dogs allowed - that I was particularly interested to see. The petting zoo was a let down, with just a few scraggly guinea pigs and an old peacock missing most of its feathers. Eek. On the bright side, the rest of the park was beautiful and fun. Here are a couple of pictures.

Craig and Maya playing around the ruins of the old Abbey cathedral

Me and Craig, taking a break while Maya makes a run for it. 

Farm Day

Time for a real petting zoo. I got a flyer in the mail for a place calling itself a "family farm." Intrigued, we decided to check it out.  For a few pounds they give you a bucket full of different snacks that you can feed to all the animals on the farm. It was fun! Farmer Maya and Farmer Craig especially got into it.

Maya is ready to scale the fence to get up close and personal with the chicken heirloom varieties . We try to tell her to just throw the food through the fence, but she's not having it. 

chicky chicky chicky

I know where Rhode Island is!

Pigs can eat the carrots, Maya

Maya took riding the tractor around very seriously. She was ready to take it into the fields and made us truck her all around the animal pens like a real farmer.
Some kids like cars or trains, but for this kid there's only one amazing vehicle - the tractor. 

It's hard to really do it justice in a photograph, but there is a whole lot of sky in England. Look at the clouds over the farm in this picture.

The farm had a lot of odds and ends. Here is an indoor all-weather sand box for the kids to play in. My personal favorite thing was a cage with black and white striped chipmunks in it that did back flips for fun. It was like watching a little circus show!

This is Maya feeding the pony named Mia (pronounced "Maya" in England).  They make a good pair.

Aylestone Meadows

We took a little stroll down by the canal to see a new playground we have never been to before. It was a really long walk and Maya made it the whole way (with a little help from a frog).

Superfrog also went on a walk with us.

Uh oh. Hurry!