Ho, Ho, Ho? NO! NO! NO!

We recently went to one of the early childhood programs in our school district (the Parents As Teachers program that I work for). It was called "Frosty and Friends" - the politically correct holiday activity. Maria enjoyed the activities: using glue on a Q-tip to paint an ornament, a magnetic fishing pole game, peppermint playdough, the coolest pretend snow, pasta snowflakes... and then it was time to visit Santa. She saw him across the room while we were squishing the playdough. She immediately said, "No, Ho-Ho." But eventually she waved at him. We got in line to say hello to Santa and Maria had a death-grip on the back of my neck and hair (I have the scratches to prove it!) I sat next to Santa with Maria on my lap. Surprisingly, she didn't scream or freak out, but she wanted to be as far away from him as possible! Actually, she did better than I thought. But she still isn't a big fan of the Big Red Guy.

We have been procrastinating putting up the holiday decorations due to Maria's dislike of Nonna's holiday fare. Nonna actually had to put away some of her Santas and the musical snowmen she loved last year. But I think all of the snowmen and Santas are finally growing on her. Today she took a marathon nap, and I got the tree up and some sparse decorations. We decided to put up the 4 1/2 foot tree I used to have in my apartment. Somehow our house has shrunk, now that Maria has taken over 95 % of it! So rather than take away the majority of her playspace, we went with the smaller tree. She didn't freak out when she came down from her nap either, so I have hope for a Jolly little one by the time Christmas comes!

I have also been fighting a yucky stomach bug this week. Just when I thought it was over, I decided to go grocery shopping... big mistake. Thankfully, Charles was at home with Maria, and she didn't have to be drug into that. I'm feeling better now, but that's also what I said this morning before the grocery store mess...

Blogger issues!

I've been trying, unsuccessfully, to upload a short video from Halloween and also a certificate from Maria's first haircut .... I AM SO FRUSTRATED with Blogger!!! I may just begin inserting links to YouTube to make things easier.

But here's a run-down, sans photos or cool videos, of the recent happenings at the Saso house:

Halloween
This Halloween was quite eventful. Maria had been having a good time practicing saying "trick-or-treat" (sounded more like "chi-cha-CHEE!"), and saying "BOO!" everytime she passed a ghost decoration in our house. She was enjoying Halloween... that is until the big day finally arrived.

I attempted to dress Maria in her adorable bee costume at about 9:00 that morning to go to the stroller shape-up class we'd been attending. The costume was so cute - a black and yellow striped leotard with a yellow tutu. She loved it 2 months ago when I bought it at a kids' re-sale shop. Everytime she passed it hanging up she would enthusiastically say, "BUZZ, BUZZ, Mama!" She loves the Laurie Berkner song, 'Buzz, Buzz' - so I (mistakenly) thought the costume would be a home run, no doubt in my mind. WRONG! That morning, she refused to let me put it on her. And when I finally wrestled her into it anyway, thinking that she'd get over it once it was on, she threw a tantrum for the record books. She flailed around on the floor, yanking at the cute little tu-tu. She actually ripped a piece off in the process...

Fifteen minutes and a pacifier later, we were off to stroller class dressed in the cute little Halloween sweater Nonna had gotten her. Oh well. There has still the evening, right? Ha ha, mama.....

So when daddy came home later that night, we took the costume over to Nonna's and attempted the it once again, while mommy, daddy and Nonna cheered her on and tried all the distractions we knew. (I'll attach the video or link to it here when it's available). I promise this video will come back to haunt Maria in her teens!

Bottom line: we put Maria's adorable costume on her giant bunny, and dragged bunny along with us trick-or-treating. It was pretty funny explaining the story at each doorstep - we got some laughs! But by 7:30, we were all pooped and ready to go home. What a day!


Maria's first haircut (Nov. 20, 2007 - age 21 months)
Needless to say, after the Halloween fiasco I wasn't planning on the haircut going smoothly. I just knew Maria wasn't going to wear a smock or actually sit in the same spot for more than 10 seconds. I prepared myself for a battle: I brought every bribe I had in my arsenal along in the diaper bag. I was ready!!!

Based on numerous reccomendations, we went to the Hairy Elephant, a kids hair salon, in O'Fallon, where"Miss Erica" eased Maria right into the routine. First she lured her into the elevated "jeep" with an Elmo video (have I mentioned she's obsessed with Elmo?). Then she gave her a bubble wand and bubble juice to blow at Elmo and mommy. And Miss Erica started spraying her head with water, combing, clipping it up, and cutting. "What?!?" I thought, where's the meltdown? Maria didn't budge! When she started to squirm about 10 minutes into the haircut (about 9 minutes and 50 seconds longer than I thought she'd sit!), Miss Erica gave Maria her very first sucker, and Maria was sold! She sat for the rest of the 15 minute process, and even let Miss Erica put in TWO cute little pony-tails (Mommy has only achieved that feat once -about 6 months ago.) I was so excited and proud, you'd think she won an Academy Award! I beamed all around the store, buying her some new bath toys and bows, spending almost as much as I pay for a haircut, once the shopping and generous tipping was over. We immediately called Daddy when we got into the car, and mommy bragged all the way home about how great the first haircut experience was. Maria even allowed them to take a picture and they gave her a certificate with a few of shed curls attached. (I've tried to upload it today with no luck...)

Anyway, I'm as proud as a peacock of my little girl and her patience today. I guess I just don't give her enough credit...



Later that day...
We got home from the fantastic haircut experience, and Maria was exhausted (or so I thought). I popped her in her crib, with the paci and blanket and closed the door behind me as always. I jumped online to check my email, and heard the loud THUD and scream. Yep, she had quietly crawled out of the crib and fell onto the floor. Not knowing how she landed, I went into panic mode. Did she have a concussion? Broken ribs? Dislocated shoulder??? I gently poked and patted every inch of her, and decided I thought she had a bump on the top of her head. WHen she said, "No Mama!" to my poking, and requested Elmo, I was a little reassured. I called her pediatrician anyway, and they gave me things to watch for and check. I wanted to keep her awake to watch for signs of a concussion, so we watched Elmo (AGAIN!) and Maria proceeded to laugh, dance, and sing in all of the usual spots. She was getting tired (it was 3:00 by this time), so I layed her down, cracked the door, and turned up the monitor, listening to her every breath. I even made some extra noise to rouse her a few times throughout the nap, and she responded. So, for now, I'm going with the idea that she is OK. But I haven't been that scared in a long time... I 'll let you know if Family Services comes knocking at my door!

More catching up.....

I'm finding it harder and harder to keep up with posting here regularly, so I'm going to try to scale back a little and hit the highlights each week.

Circus Time!

On Friday, Nov. 9, Maria and I went to her first circus at the Scottrade Center (formerly Savvis, etc.) We went with our Parents As Teachers playgroup, and ended up bringing our friend Allison and Jack too. Both of them seemed to have a great time! Maria did not get a nap beforehand, so she was a little apprehensive at first. The darkened arena and loud noise had her holding onto Mama most of the show, but she loved the animals - mostly the elephants and horses. She smiled and laughed the most when the elephants 'danced' - now when she sees an elephant in a book she gets up to dance!

The kiddos transfixed by the circus excitement...

Maria's favorite parts of the circus...

Maria's favorite part of all, though, might have been the ride home. We carpooled with Jack and Allison in their minivan, which has a DVD player, and the kiddos watched Elmo all the way home (Have I mentioned that Maria has become an Elmo Junkie? She is obsessed!) I thought Maria would crash immediately, but the ability to watch Elmo in the van was just too exciting... she was just amazed at the little TV screen in the ceiling! It was pretty funny to watch her reaction.

Welcoming Lilia

On Saturday, Nov. 10, we helped welcome a new member to the McLane/Cope family. Lilia was adopted from Russia 2 months ago and she was ready to meet many new friends at "Pump It Up!" in Newtown. This is a giant room filled with those blow-up slides, jumping houses, etc. Maria thought it was really cool to slide down the slides with daddy, but she did NOT like it when Mommy held Lilia or Stevyn's little boy, Silas. She got really mad.... yikes.

It was great to meet Lilia, and to see Stevyn, Troy, and their son, Silas - he's a year old already!

Troy and Silas

Catching up...

I know, I know... it's been a while! Just like everyone else, we've been very busy. So here's a quick re-cap of the past few weeks:

Family Trip to Thies Farms (Thursday, Oct. 18)

The family visited a great REAL pumpkin patch. There was so much to do: hayride, climbing the straw mountains, sliding, walking the plank on a 'pirate ship', checking out the goats, and pumpkins, of course! It was a beautiful day - 80's and sunny in October! We had a blast spending some time together, just the three of us.

Trip to Chicago (Oct. 19-22)

Charles and I went away for our first weekend together since Maria was born. Neither of us had been to Chicago, so we planned a big trip - 4 days and 3 nights TOGETHER!! WOW! Plus, Springsteen was playing in Chicago, so that sealed the deal for Charles. We felt like we got to a LOT in a short amount of time, even finding time to meet up with my cousin Mike and his fiance (who coincidentally grew up in the town next to Charles in NJ!). And my Aunt Joyce was in town visiting Mike, so we had a nice dinner together - and even hit a piano bar afterwards. Charles and I managed hit Navy Pier (decked out for Halloween), a tour of Millenium Park, the "loop," Michigan Avenue (a few times), the Hancock center, a mafia bus tour - this was great!, and the concert. All of this between some GREAT food - Chicago-style pizza, Greek food in Greektown, the Weber Grill restaurant, Heaven on Seven (Cajun reccommended by Mike), and more.... I'm still full!

More to come... Blogger is on the fritz and won't let me upload right now...

Pumpkin Patch photo shoot...

On Friday, Oct. 12, our playgroup went to Daniel's, a local nursery that doubles as a "pumpkin patch" in the fall. Maria has been given some adorable seasonal outfits, so of course I decked her out in the cutest little sweater, some new khakis, and new brown shoes daddy bought for her (he did a GREAT job!). I was bound and determined to get that 'perfect shot' of Maria posing in the pumpkins... well, she would have none of that! She likes to be right next to her favorite people, so separating herself for the desired photo shoot was pretty much out of the question, unless I wanted a picture of her screaming...

No, I will not look at you...

...but I'll look at the other mommies next to you!

I prefer to eat the photo props!

OK, I'll look at the camera just this once... since Mommy isn't taking the picture!

Mommy's photo of the aftermath at a stoplight on the way home...

Honestly, she is so darned cute that it didn't matter... she loved holding my hand as we walked through the pumpkins, and stopping for a hug when some other kid got too close. I don't know why I continue to see this as a challenge - I know I should just be appreciating the time she wants to be close to me, instead of wishing for a photo opportunity. I have a bad habit of always wanting more, and not being 'in the moment'. I'm working on this daily....

Anyway, we had a great time running through the pumpkins, checking out the 'petting zoo', and going on a barrel-ride behind a tractor. (I was scared to death the thing was going to tip over and kill us all, but Maria just smiled and said "Weee!!!!" the whole time... ignorance is such bliss!)

Cheese Face!

Maria now loves cream cheese... but she doesn't like to get it on her fingers! However, she has no problem with it being all over her face!

My Early Bird is not getting the worm...

...she's getting a crabby mama! Sweet Maria has been waking up between 5:00 and 5:30 sporadically for the last month or so. But today it was 4:45 A.M. We let her fuss for a while but she has a hard time going back to sleep because she can hear Charles getting ready for work at 5:15 and after... She's awake and ready to go! WHAT?!?! Last night she went to bed at about 8:00, so this is just short of 9 hours of sleep, for a kid who usually prefers 10-11+ hours... I'm at my wits end on this one. It's 7:30 in the morning and she's already down for a nap- been down since 7:00. I know this is a 'continuation of night sleep' nap, but I have NO IDEA WHAT TO DO. And with daylight savings time coming up, she will be waking REALLY early... what should I do? I'm begging for advice from any mom out there who can spare a moment. Comment or email me. HELP!
~Sleepy Mama