Maya's Birthday

So Maya had her big birthday party on Sunday, but today was her actual birthday... so of course, we had to celebrate at least a little bit! The day started with me wheeling a shiny new bike into her bedroom, much to her delight. I will need to take some pictures of her riding it, but she loves having a bike (with training wheels) of her own! She had already had lots of practice zipping around on her brother's bike, so she instantly knew what to do. It was so cute!

Shortly thereafter, we all (me, my parents, and Maya) took Nikos to preschool. My parents got to see the place and meet a few of his teachers, which was nice. We also received the proof sheet for his school portraits. And OH MY GOSH! The cuteness is overwhelming. I am shocked that he sat and smiled so nicely for the camera. He never does that for me-- I just get his silly faces! I was so happy!! I've already turned in my order form, haha!

After that, we drove through the pouring rain to make a quick trip to the market. While we picked up a few things, my dad took Maya next door to the dollar store. She got a helium birthday balloon, along with some little toys. She was very happy with her "balloony" all day.

Back at the ranch, we were all hanging out in the front room by the pellet stove when Maya saw something outside. We all ran over and got to the window just in time to see a CHICKEN crossing the road in front of our house. Yes, the chicken was crossing the road. We don't know why. But it went around our house and disappeared off into the ditch over to the side, probably foraging for food. It was so funny, and SO random! Guess we really do live in the country now!

Later, we picked Nikos up from preschool and headed to the mall. Maya wanted to ride on the merry-go-round, and the pouring rain made that sound pretty appealing (and dry!). We started out by having lunch at T.G.I. Friday's, where both kids were well-behaved and ate pretty well. Maya amused herself by making funny faces at me. She also announced that she really loved the music at the restaurant (for the record, "Born on the Bayou," by Creedence Clearwater Revival was playing at that moment. Funny kid!).

After lunch, we went on the merry-go-round a few times. The kids were hilarious, waving and blowing kisses to Grandma and Grandpa every time they went around. And they had the whole thing to themselves!

After we eventually left the mall, we drove to the nearest Trader Joe's with a liquor license. There are exactly four in the entire state of Massachusetts, and this one happened to be not too far from the mall (but quite a drive for us, under normal circumstances). So my parents stocked my wine cellar, haha! YAY!

We made our way back home after that, and both kids fell asleep in the car. We spent the afternoon cooking and cleaning and relaxing. We had spaghetti for dinner (the birthday girl's request), and chocolate cake with purple frosting for dessert.

All in all, it was a great (albeit rainy) day! I can't believe our little baby is three years old!