Catching Up - Visiting Grandpa in Indiana

The day after Christmas we flew to Indiana to visit with Chris's grandfather and have Saiya meet the rest of his family.  We usually travel over Thanksgiving, but that didnt work out this year.  So, we bundled up well and hopped on the plane for Indiana.  We stayed at Chris's grandfather's house and from minute one, Saiya had him wrapped around her little finger!  I would scold her for something and he would say "Stop making that little girl cry."  Hahaha!  It was funny.

There were presents there for her when we arrived, one of which was a sledding-saucer.  There was lots of snow, so we took her outside with Chris's cousin and she went sledding for the first time.  We even got to try the sled out ourselves!  Unfortunately, we only got to go out and play in the snow the first day we were there since the weather got too warm for it to stick around for vey long.

On day two we went to see Tangled at the movie theater.  This was the first movie we took Saiya to see a movie and she did great!  She loved the movie (which was very cute) and sat through the whole thing.  She only got a little restless at the end when she started to complain that she was hungry.

Before the movie, we went to the cemetary so that Chris could visit with his mom and grandma.  Saiya picked out flowers for the graves and said hello to them while we were there.  It's heartbreaking that she never got to meet either of them.  They were both amazing women.  It is our hope, though, that she will learn about who they were from us.  We miss them very much...

She got to meet many family members and took to everyone (and all the attention) like a fish to water!  She did great the whole time we were up there and traveled really well.  I love visiting up there and can't wait until later this year when we can go again.  Hopefully we will be able to travel around Thanksgiving like we usualy do so that we can visit with more of Chris's family.  We really didnt have enough time to see everyone and it was a shame that Saiya could not meet them all.

Catching Up - Christmas!!

We spent Christmas Eve at Umma's and Umpa's house.  Saiya loved opening all of her presents and I think it might have been just a little overwhelming for her.  She had fun coloring and we watched Rudolph The Red-Nose Reindeer.  She liked the singing parts, but I dont think she was paying much attention to the movie iteself.  Maybe next year we will have better luck.

Saiya got a ton of toys from Chris's family and really loved opening all of her gifts.  At points she got a little cranky because she had to wait for other people to open presents, but for the most part, she did great!  One of the most memorable items (and one she plays with ALOT!) that she got was a play Doctor set.  She absolutely LOVES it!  She keeps trying to give everyone shots!  When we say "Ow!" she sits back and laughs!  I'm glad she thinks its funny.  She wasnt too thrilled about shots the last time we were at the doctor's office, but maybe she is changing her mind about the doctor himself.  He's great and really good with kids.

Saiya made a picture frame for Umma and Umpa and I put one of my favorite pictures of Saiya in it.  It came out great!  We made one for Umma, Nana, and Grandma Jenny.  Saiya had a great time making them!

When we finally had our fill of Christmas cookies and presents, we headed home, put Saiya to bed and then we proceeded to load our own tree with tons of presents for Christmas day.  I put together the table that Umma bought for Saiya and we stuffed the kids' stockings full of candy and toys and then headed off to bed.  It was very strange being on that side of the Christmas Night fence.  We kept thinking about all the stuff our parents did while we slept Christmas Eve...

Christmas day was at our house and Saiya got to unwrap dozens more presents with the other kids.  They all had a great time.  When the wrapping paper was done flying, Saiya and the other kids started opening boxes and pulling out toys while the adults sat and visited with one another.  Saiya and Syrafina got a jointly shared dollhouse, complete with outdoor accessories and dozens of furniture items, Sebastian got a train set, and Saiya got a ride-on tiger and a bike!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

Catching Up - Saiya and Her Christmas Pony

Saiya asked Santa for a pony for Christmas.  Well, he could not fit one on his sleigh, so Umma arranged for her to have a one-on-one session at a local ranch.  She got to have a pony ride, learned how to brush the horses and even met a llama and some pigs!  The ranch people were awesome and went over the basics of horseback riding and even let her ride the pony by herself.  She had a blast and now keeps asking for a Pony Party for her birthday.  The ranch is great and really focuses on educating the kids about the outdoors and horsemanship.  We are thinking a Pony Party for her birthday might spawn horseback riding lessons when she gets older.  We will see...

Thank you Umma!!

Epcot and Roasting Marshmallows

This weekend was a busy one! Saiya had dance class on Saturday morning. She absolutely LOVES it! Early Saturday morning, she came running into our room yelling “Dance! Dance! Dance!”. By the time I crawled out of bed, she was already in her room completely naked with just her panties on, holding up her dance bag and her leotard, still yelling, “Dance, Mama!! Dance!”. I said, “can we at least eat breakfast first?” haha!

Saturday night we went to Uma and Umpa’s house to watch the boat parade. It was cancelled due to bad weather, but we saw a few boats go up and down the river. Saiya loved it! We had a nice dinner and then headed home.

Sunday, we took Saiya to Epcot at Disney World. Epcot was nice, although there wasn’t much for her to do there. We didn’t go on any of the rides, but we did get to see Captain EO (which Chris was VERY happy about). Saiya watched the whole thing in 3D, which surprised me. Maybe she is ready to go out to a real movie. The weather was overcast and chilly, so by the time we were ready to leave, poor Saiya was a little cranky. I think it was more because she was cold than because she was tired. She is a trooper, though. She walked most of the time we were at the park.

After Epcot, we went back to Uma and Umpa’s house for the rescheduled boat parade. The boats were nice and Saiya had a great time! She even roasted marshmallows on the fire pit. She doesn’t like marshmallows, but she sure liked to roast them!

She is out of school for the next two weeks and we are getting ready for Christmas and our vacation in Indiana. I am so excited!!

Happy Holidays!!

We went to the mall yesterday to see Santa.  Saiya did great!  I really think that they celebrated Christmas at the orphanage.  Saiya saw some wrapping paper on the table at home and said "Santa!"

I said "You know who that is?"
"Yes"
"What does Santa Claus do?"
(un-identifiable words)
"Does he bring you presents?"
"YES!"

Haha!!  So Cute!  So we took her to see Santa at the mall and she did great!  When it was our turn, she walked right over to him and climbed into his lap with a big smile.  We told her to tell him what she wanted for Christmas so she proceeded to tell him she wanted a pony!  Hahaha!!  Don't they all!?  Not only did she tell him, but she even showed him how big of a pony she wanted (spreading her arms as big as she could).  Everyone thought it was absolutely adorable!  When she was done, she hopped down and he gave her a candy cane.  She was all smiles for the rest of the night.  :)

Pictures of Saiya's Dance Class

It is so hard to take pictures of Saiya's dance class.  There are other kids there (with parents who might not want pictures of their kids posted all over the internet) and, of course, lots of movement.  Saiya barely holds still when she knows we are taking a pitcure of her, but it is even worse at dance class, where she is having so much fun.  She still loves it!!  Friday afternoon, she came home, grabbed her dance bag, and said "Mamma!!  Dance!!"  She ran around the house yelling, "Dance!  Dance!  DANCE!"  I'm so glad she loves it so much!

Girl Vs Dog - Battle of the Monkey!

This morning we were getting ready for school and Saiya had her little purple monkey in her hands.  I grabbed her jacket (because its FREEZING outside) and told her to put it on.  I was holding her jacket while she slipped one hand into it.  When it came to her other hand, she had to drop the monkey in order to slide her fist into the sleeve.  Rhaina was standing in the kitchen watching, waiting, prowling, anxious for Saiya to put her beloved monkey down.  Unthinking, she dropped the monkey on the floor to slide her hand into the jacket and immediately realized what she did as Rhaina inched closer to it.  She held up her hand and said, "No! Rhaina! Go Way!"  Shaking her hand vigorously at the poor dog.  Before Rhaina had the chance to grab at the monkey, I scooped it up and tucked it under my arm.

Disaster averted!  We won the battle, but the war over the stuffies is still on!