December 2008

December 2008 The first time that we noticed that Maia specifically notices race. We bought a print called “Tiptoes and Elbows” for our new daughter. It is hanging in Maia’s bedroom. It is a painting of 4 little girl ballerinas, all African American. Maia looks at it a lot and one day, she pointed to them and said “it looks like Paige.” Paige is the girl who lives next door. She is 6 years old and Maia and she love being together. We don’t see much of Paige in the winter, but in the summer, Paige stops over a lot to visit.

One Saturday, my Dad came down to spend the day with us. I made a nice, homemade meal that my Dad would love: meatloaf, mashed potatoes, seasoned corn, etc... We all sat down, ready to eat the feast. Maia looked at all of this great food in front of her and asked, "where's noodles?"

One of the things Maia got for Christmas is a kitchen and tea/play food set from Grandma and Grandpa Fisher and Aunt Peggy. Maia loves having tea parties. One of the first tea parties we had at home, Maia held our hands before we could “eat” and she said “thank you food, Amen.” At Grandma and Grandpa Fisher’s house, we pray like that before we eat. Now, when Maia has tea parties, she leads the “prayer”.

Maia loves singing songs. She can sing the whole alphabet song. She also sings The Farmer and the Dell, Twinkle Twinkle, The Wheels on the Bus, Ring Around the Rosie, Baby Bumblebee, Monkeys Jumping on the Bed, and many more. She sings a lot.

Maia’s favorite movie for the past 2 or 3 months is Peter Pan. She wants to watch it all the time. She loves the songs and the characters, even the crocodile and Captain Hook!

SANTA: Maia first met Santa December, 2007 at an Evansville craft fair. She just sat, stoic on his lap. She had almost no expression. She didn’t know what was happening. Then she discovered the pure, sticky joy of candy canes. The second time she met Santa was December, 2008, at the Janesville Mall. She VERY tentatively went up to him, stood by his knee, sort of half-smiled for the camera. Then, Santa picked her up to sit on his lap. SHE SCREAMED, shook and reached out for me “MAMA!!!” As I was paying for the photo, she sat with Daddy on a bench about 25 feet away, watching Santa from a safe distance.