Attitude

Maisie has attitude with a capital A!!

I thought that if we could make it through the terrible twos life would calm down a bit but the horrible threes are here and it honestly doesn't seem all that different... other than the fact that we've now added major attitude! Maisie has become fiercely independent wanting to do do everything by herself. Of course it's usually when we're running late and need to hurry that she gets fiercely stubborn and wants to do things her way and at her speed. It's oh so interesting when I ask her to hurry or do something quickly, how she'll immediately slow down and go as slowly as possible. Thankfully she's still small enough where I can pick her up and move her along at my speed when necessary.

I do have to admire her persistence though at working through problems one step at a time even if it does take f.o.r.e.v.e.r! She sometimes gets frustrated with problems or new situations but once we've worked it through she's set and then never needs help again. Maisie loves to learn and seems to be picking things up at record pace. She recognizes, knows the sound and also the ASL sign for all the letters of the alphabet. She can count and sign the numbers 1 - 20. She is starting to write some letters, mostly the straight line ones. She's been working on A, C, E, F, H, I, L, M, N, O, T, V, W, X & Z and when she wants, they look really good.

Maisie's command of English is amazing for a three year old, using and understanding words and concepts that are far beyond what all the books say a three year old generally uses. Even her Pediatrician commented on this fact when I took her in today for her 3 year visit. Speaking of 3 year visits, Maisie is now 36 1/2-inches tall and weighs in at a whopping 26 1/2 pounds. This puts her on the U.S. charts at 35th percentile for height and 9th percentile for weight. Overall the doctor said that she's healthy and looking great...What more could a Mom want to hear!!

At the Pediatrician today Maisie received one follow-up shot for hepatitis just after both Maisie and I received our flu vaccine in the form of a nasal mist. How cool it was that I was able to get my flu vaccine at the Pediatricians office and without a needle!!

Where's Maisie??

One day last year Eammon came home with this giant, extremely soft giraffe which has since taken up residence in our family room as everyone loves to lay on or snuggle up to him. Then last week whilst in Costco Eammon spied an adorable giraffe costume and just had to get it for Maisie. He didn't know it at the time but a ways back I had picked up some giraffe boot style slippers for Maisie which ended up matching the costume perfectly! So here's our cutie patootie giraffe girl with her giant stuffed giraffe friend and in my totally biased opinion, just too stinking cute!

This weekend we're going to our local adopters group Halloween party and there might just be a very cute giraffe in attendance. We'll see if she'll wear the giraffe costume again or want to be Fancy Nancy or a Princess, then again she could just want to be Maisie...we shall see.

Party number three for the three year old!

Thank goodness we have reached the end of the party weekend because we're all partied out but oh was it a blast!! Today was Maisie's big birthday party with all her friends, which was held at her favorite place, the gym! Three coaches, I don't even know how many adults, seventeen children, padded floors, beams, bars, rings, foam pit, trampoline, obstacle course and even medals with as much running, jumping and noise and any toddler could care to make, followed by cake...It was awesome and all the kids, big and small, seemed to have a great time!! Thanks to everyone who shared in Maisie's birthday and helped to make it so special for my little princess Maisie Miao Miao!

Maisie and all her party guests receiving their medals.

Briana 

Aspen

Claire

Chani

Andrew

Happy 3rd Birthday my sweet baby Maisie.  

Happy 3rd Birthday my sweetie girl Maisie Miao Miao

Today you are three! It seems difficult to believe because it feels like just yesterday you were turning two and in my mind, it was mere weeks before that where you were that scared little girl who was being placed in my arms. Where has the time gone? My sweet little baby girl you are growing up so quickly. You are smart, talented, feisty, independent, opinionated, demanding, lovable and the best snuggle bunny in the world. You are my best little girl and I'm the luckiest Mom in the world to have you as my daughter. Happy 3rd birthday my sweet girl and I wish you the best year ever.

Let the partying begin!!

Today was the first of three days of parties as Maisie celebrated her birthday at school with pink cupcakes because the birthday girl wanted PINK! Maisie looked so cute wearing her Birthday crown when I picked her up at the end of her day.
Of course she looked adorable when she started her day too, here she is dressed and ready to go to school. Not only was it Maisie's birthday party day but it was also orange day so all the children were supposed to wear something orange.

Moments with Maisie in bullets

• Last Wednesday for the first time in ages, drought stricken Atlanta experienced some decent rainfall. Maisie and I were driving home from gymnastics and Maisie said to me, "Mummy your tires are on water that means you're hydroplaning." Sure enough she heard the sound of me hitting a puddle and a tire was hydroplaning. I know I've told her about this in the past but it's been ages since we've had rain and that she remembered it blew me away!

• Last Thursday I spent the morning doing a deep cleaning in Maisie's bedroom because that afternoon her big girl bed mattress & box spring were going to be delivered and I wanted to move out and clean up as much as possible. Thursday and Friday nights Maisie was totally despondent that I wouldn't allow her to sleep on her new mattress. On top of that she was totally out of sorts sleeping in her crib as I had moved it to the opposite side of her room.

• Friday I had to email Eammon to let him know that Maisie was really his child. Why do I say that? Because Maisie was walking around the house talking about a Van de Graaff generator. See one time after sliding down a plastic slide Maisie's hair was standing on end and Eammon happened to mention to her, that she was generating static electricity and that the slide was acting as her own personal Van de Graaff generator. I'm telling you, the girl never forgets anything.

• Saturday Maisie's big girl furniture was delivered and her bed was put together. She was so excited but a little afraid and wanted Mummy to sleep in bed with her. Thankfully I bought for her, the most comfortable mattress I've ever slept on. We snuggled together in her new Princess bed and had a fun little sleepover.

• Saturday morning after her furniture was delivered Maisie and I headed to the Dairy to spend the morning with friends. Immediately following the dairy, Maisie and I rushed home to pick up a birthday pressie for one of Maisie's classmates and then headed to Peyton's fun birthday party.

• On Sunday Eammon was cleaning out the pool and he asked Maisie if she would like to help him. Her response: "No, but thank you" I love how she answers things.

• Though Maisie napped alone Sunday afternoon in her big girl bed, at bedtime she wanted her Mummy. I did lay with her until she fell asleep but she then spent the remainder of the night alone.

• When someone does something that just isn't the brightest thing to do or they really screw up, I have a tendency to say, "are you kidding me??" Well Maisie has picked that phrase up from me. I have to laugh when she uses it especially since 95% of the time when she'll use it, it's times where I would have used it too, it's not just something she's saying for the heck of it.

• Tomorrow begins three days of celebrating as Friday is Maisie's 3rd birthday!! I can't believe how much she has grown and what a big girl she is become. Party piccis will hopefully be up in a timely manner!!

The Amazing Maisie at the Maize Maze

Sorry, it should have been titled something like Maisie and friends at the farm, but I couldn't resist the alliteration and the homonyms.

Oh what fun we had on Saturday when we met up with Kathy, Matt & Chani and Lisa, Doug & Briana for a morning at Cagle's Dairy Farm. Our original intention for meeting up was to do the whole pumpkin patch/picking out the pumpkin thing but the morning turned into so much more. We had absolutely gorgeous weather, sunny and warm with a cool breeze and some big fluffy white clouds in the sky, we couldn't have asked for better.

We decided to start by taking a trek through the maize maze where we took a few wrong turns but in the end we successfully managed the maze without having to raise our distress flag even once!

Chani loved the distress flag and in the end didn't want to give it up having a grand old time walking around with it. She looked so cute with it and without even trying, it matched her outfit perfectly!!

The girls then spied these really cool jumping pillows so that was our next stop. The farm has two jumping pillows, one being quite large and then a smaller one for those under 45-inches, which is the one we chose.

I thought that Maisie would be all over it as she loves jumping on trampolines but Maisie chose to just observe while the other little girls and boys jumped away. It looked like great fun especially watching Chani trying to keep on her feet and Briana going at it full force, landing any which way and laughing the entire time.

The pony ride was our next stop and Bri and Chani were chomping at the bit to get on the cute little ponies for a ride. Maisie though is not an animal person and no amount of cajoling, coaxing, bribery or peer pressure was going to get Maisie up on one of those giant creatures. Bri and Chani were all smiles riding and sure had a blast!!

Lunch was next on our agenda and then Maisie and I stopped back over near the jumping pillow where she had fun riding on the little pedal tractors trying out four or five of them making sure to ride on at lease one in every color.

I would say that our next stop was the pumpkin patch but first came two or most likely three trips to the bathroom for Miss M. She wanted to go time and time again as all the sinks were at her height and as she loves washing her hands, it served as a great excuse to use water.

Maisie enjoyed climbing on the big pumpkin and having her picture taken but when I asked her if she wanted to pick out a pumpkin to take home she said "no, but thank you for asking." Now that was stinking cute!

Kathy and Lisa got to realize how "lucky" they were to have their children still in diapers because after yet another stop at the bathroom and more adventures in hand washing we then headed over for a dairy tour and hay ride.

Our first stop was the calf barn where we learned about the breeds on the farm, Holsteins and Jerseys and about how they are tagged. We saw two of the calves being fed milk from a bottle and we were given cabbage to feed the calves but Maisie kept her distance and the little boy who I handed the cabbage to was delighted to have extra opportunities to feed the calves.

The milking barn demonstration was our second stop and all the children sat up front for the up close and personal view. All but Maisie that is, as she was more comfortable being held high and far away from the giant cow safe in Doug's arms!

The final tour stop before the hayride was the processing plant. Well that was a quick tour for Maisie and I as the noise of the facility freaked her out completely. Even before everyone was in the building I had Maisie in my arms, I grabbed some chocolate milk and we waited out on the lawn for everyone to finish and join us. This was Maisie's first taste of chocolate milk and she thoroughly enjoyed it thinking it a great treat.

Finally what Maisie had been waiting for, the hayride! All the little ones thoroughly enjoyed the hayride and the various stops along the way. Especially fun was to watch the pig races as they raced around a track vying to be the first to get to the chocolate milk treat at the end.

Also fun was to see the cows being herded up to the wagon so that they could feast on strategically placed buckets of hay. It was amazing seeing the cows so close and to realize how huge they really are.

After alighting from the wagon they handed us some feed for the goats. Much to my delight and surprise Maisie took the feed and then held her hand out for the goat to feed. I think this may have been one of the highlights of the day for Maisie as she spoke about feeding the goats for much of the ride home and once seeing Eammon, it was the first thing she told him about her day.

The first time we were at the jumping pillow, Maisie just chose to observe but over the course of the morning she asked to go back time and time again. The first time back she didn't want to jump but that was the time she rode on the tractors At the very end of our time at the dairy we made one last trip back to the jumping pillow while everyone else was purchasing their pumpkins. Finally the time was right as she had the entire pillow to herself. It must have been what she'd been waiting for because she climbed right on and just had a blast jumping and jumping.

It was such a fun day and especially now that the weather is so beautiful, we can't wait to do more days out with friends!

I am so far behind on blogging and so much has been happening that I want to document and share, so I'm going to have to make time and get online over the next few days so stay tuned and check back often for more Moments with Maisie!

And the bento prize winner is...

Once again I want to thank everyone who voted for Maisie's bento in the Not Exactly Bento contest. Out of the 111 people voting in the contest, 37 voted for Maisie's bento so thank you, thank you, thank you!

As I promised, I am passing along the original bento prize with some items that I have added to the pot. This morning Maisie pulled the lucky winner's name and the winner is...MENDY!!

So what does Mendy's prize include? The original prize of an oshibori and container, the Clickity Click rabbit triangle onigiri container and a matching bag. To the prize I have added the Clickety Click lunch box rabbit belt, Clickety Click rabbit two tier bento box, Clickety Click rabbit snack container, cute animal food picks, silicon animal cups, rabbit & bear boiled egg molds and a smiley face nori/seaweed cutter/puncher.


Mendy, please email me at LisaShanahan@gmail.com with your address and I'll get your bento items in the mail. I hope that Mendy enjoys her prize and maybe she'll start making bento for her little cutie Joleigh and maybe even for her Jacob too. Who knows, she may become as addicted as I and we'll be seeing bento piccies on her blog! Thanks again for your vote and enjoy!

Sporting the team colors

Maisie and her team mates received their team leotards and when all the little girls tried them on, they all looked so adorable! You can't really see the logo but it says NMGC Fire Flies. (North Metro Gymnastics Center) When they were passing out the leotards, they all looked the same and all but Maisie's were the same size.

All the little girls were able to fit into size 2-4 but Maisie is so small they had to order an xx-small and it just about fits still leaving her plenty of room to grow.

From the mouth of Maisie

Maisie's recently come out with some real corkers and for prosperity sake I'm posting about them.

These first two comments are generally said in the car when we're stuck in traffic or when Maisie's feeling the driver's frustration:

Move your tush you muppet*!

Oh come on, what'ca doing sunshine**?

Maisie is very competitive with both Eammon and I, so many times we're racing around seeing who can do something first. For example, we may all be in the bedroom and Eammon will say, "who's going to get to the kitchen first?" I'll shout "ME" and as Maisie pushes by both of us she'll shout "We shall see!!"

Back over the summer we were driving around one day running errands and we passed by the church where Maisie attended camp. She pointed and said "that's Maisie's church" to which I replied, "no, that was your camp but other people go to church there." Then we passed by her school and she pointed and said "that's Maisie's church" to which I replied, "no, that's your school but other people go to church there." Then close to our house she pointed at yet another church and told me it was LiLi's church to which I replied "yes, that is LiLi's church." After thinking for a moment she asked "where's Maisie's church?" I just casually said to her "we don't have a church, we're just heathens." By that point we had arrived home and the conversation ended and I totally forgot about it...until about two weeks later. We were in the middle of a crowded Target and Maisie was in the buggy looking around then blurted out loudly, "Mama, you're a heathen." I looked at her stunned and she then said, "Maisie's a heathen too!" Oh yeah, we got some looks! I really have to watch what I say around that girl.

Tuesday we were out and Maisie needed to use the bathroom so off we went to what turned out to be a multi-stall room. We walked in and Maisie right away said "Whew, somebody dropped a real big stinker in here!" Yes she said it very loudly and the poor person who "dropped the stinker" was still in the bathroom. Unfortunately I couldn't just turn around and walk out as Maisie really needed the bathroom but I was thankful that Ms. Stinker finished and left before Maisie was done so I didn't have to look her in the eyes! This little gem of Maisie's I'm blaming on Eammon as it's not something I say and I can't imagine where else she would have picked up such a comment.

Today we had our first morning where it was actually cool and comfortable outside, hallelujah! I was so happy to dress Maisie in this top and skirt as I feel like I've been waiting years for it to finally fit her. I find Carter's brand clothing to run really big but when I purchased this outfit I thought it would surely fit her last autumn as it's size 12 months! Here we are a year later, Maisie's just about to turn three and the outfit is almost fitting her. The skirt is still a little big around the waist but I figure it's now or never on this outfit and I think it's so cute I just have to have her wear it.


* "Muppet" is Eammon's "swear word" in the car
** "Sunshine" is my "swear word" in the car.

Neglect

This poor blog has been so neglected lately as here it is again, over a week since my last post. It's so easy to take piccies of Maisie's bentos especially in that they are still and other than a brief description there's little to explain. But capturing images of my little mess making, demanding, opinionated, wear your Mama out, whirling dervish love bug AND finding the time to write about all that is happening in the world of Maisie takes much more time. I'm going to try and be better about Maisie piccies and posting more often and though I've said it before, I promise again to try.

Those who follow along on Maisie's bento blog know that we're still alive and kicking as I've been good about posting over there. For those who want to know more than just what the little girl's been eating and for the non bento blog followers, here's what has been going on in the world of Maisie and family since my last post?

Wednesday I was so proud of myself for getting all of Maisie's birthday invitations out. Most of the invitations were done by evite but I didn't have email addys for her 11 school mates so I purchased cards, wrote out the invitations and placed them in each child's bag. Yeah, oh so proud until Thursday when one of the Moms informed me that I forgot to put Maisie's name on the invite...duh!!!

Friday night Eammon was out with his workmates at a leaving do, his! This past Monday was his last day working for the company he'd worked for since immigrating to this county. Tuesday he started with a new company, no rest for the weary. Hopefully he's going to love his new position as it's only the first week and he's already doing late nights.

Saturday we gathered for dinner with other adoptive and waiting families. It was fun seeing all the little ones and how much they've changed since our last time together. Having an evening out with friends was great fun too.

In addition to school and gymnastics, Maisie and I have had some play dates and we've spent time playing outside enjoying the gorgeous weather. Our activities have been a little limited as I've been trying not to drive anywhere beyond what's necessary due to the fuel shortage.

Who would have thought that almost two weeks after hurricanes Gustav and Ike passed through the gulf, that here in Metro-Atlanta 9 out of 10 petrol stations would still be without fuel. In addition, even with EPA clean fuel regulations relaxed, there are reports that it will be another two weeks before fuel levels return to normal and gas lines will a thing of the past.

On that note, don't drive around the metro area in the right lane as you might easily find yourself in a fuel line. I've seen gas lines as long as 1/2 mile long with officers directing traffic. In addition I also know of people who have waited at dry stations because there was word of a fuel truck due to arrive within a few hours!

Also for the people who only run on premium grades, they have been doubly s.o.l. as in two weeks I have yet to see a station that has anything other than regular and diesel.

Today was Clifford day in Maisie's classroom so all the children were to wear red and bring in their favorite Clifford animal and/or book. We don't have anything Clifford nor has Maisie ever seen Clifford but that wasn't a problem as her teachers had extras. The exterior of their classroom door was decorated like Clifford's dog house and Miss Mary Jo & Hope shared Clifford with fans and newbies alike. Each child not only made and wore big red ears but at the end of the day they each got to eat a Clifford cupcake too!

When I picked Maisie up this afternoon she looked adorable with her little brown nose and big red ears. So cute in fact that she was able to pull the look off brilliantly wearing the only red item in her wardrobe, her Thomas the Tank Engine shirt! Maisie was the only child that had no interest in eating her cupcake so we brought it home for her after nap snack. I think she had no interest because she was full as she ate every single crumb of her bento. Her bento was cute but the hard boiled eggs that I had attempted to dye red in honor of Clifford instead came out bright pink, but she loved them.

I have the names all written out of the 38 people who voted for Maisie's bento in the Not Exactly Bento contest. Once I receive the prize, which is being mailed next week, I'll have Maisie draw a winner and I'll announce what I'm adding to the pot. Thank you again to everyone who took the time to vote and if the winner is not already packing bento, I hope that the prize package inspires them to start.

Expanding her food horizons

This past week I made chicken korma and Szechuan chili ginger garlic shrimp, both served over Jasmine rice. Much to my surprise and delight, my little fussy bunny Maisie loved them both and scarfed down her meals even asking for seconds! Both meals had a good spicy kick but my little spicy girl didn't seem to notice and really enjoyed her meals. I'm so happy that I've found a way to not only get her to eat chicken and shrimp but also rice. For some reason Maisie has never liked eating rice which is sort of a pain since Eammon and I eat it quite often. Who knows, maybe one day I'll get her to enjoy fresh fruit and veggies beyond broccoli and carrots.

Maisie and I of course have had a busy week thus far, but what else is new there. My big accomplishment for the week was getting a venue booked for Maisie's upcoming birthday as well as ordering her cake and getting out all the invitations!! A month ahead and I'm so prepared, I just can't stand it!! I can't believe that she's going to be three in just a month, where has the time gone? She's growing up so quickly...boohoo...but honestly every new stage she enters is so exciting and fun and I love viewing the world through her eyes.

I've been looking at furniture for her big girl room which is oh.so.fun! I sort of feel like Maisie's room was decorated and waiting for her for a longer period of time than she'll have actually used it. I'm ready for the change though and so is Maisie. She and I have picked out her big girl bed and we sometimes go to the store to visit it and test it out. I think when the time comes to transition her from the crib to the bed she'll be quite prepared and hopefully we won't have a problem. Keeping her in her bed and room, THAT will be the problem! Do they make crib tents for beds? I'm going to really miss that crib tent and the security of knowing that she couldn't get out!! Maybe she'll love her bed so much that she'll want to go to sleep without all the stalling tactics that she's already quite skilled at and maybe too, she'll become a good sleeper. One can always dream!

Time for bed as my little monkey will be up bright and early...Ta.