Christmas!!! Part II: Wellesley

After a fun filled Xmas in GA, we came back home on Wednesday, with all the gifts that were too large to take down to Columbus - and there were A LOT!  We pretended that it was Xmas Even on Wed and when Maya woke up (after 12 hrs of sleep!!!) on Thu, we went down for Fake Xmas - complete with homemade waffles and presents!

99% of these gifts were for Maya... 

All in all, it took about 3 hrs for Maya to open all her numerous gifts, with all her "wow"s and playing with her gifts as she opened them...  she got some amazing stuff too - more books, more puzzles, a new kitchen set (with shopping cart), a cool new wagon, and lots of new animals.  We're also trying to make sure she's getting ready for Eggy #2, so introducing lots of babies and dogs - Maya is SO nurturing - she always is asking for her "baby" or "doggies" and carries them around everywhere.

Opening gifts is fun!!!

More books & puzzles!  This is a doggie!

More animals, a castle, and lego-style blocks (daddy is too cheap for real Legos (r))

I have my own kitchen now!  No more waiting for the parents to cook me fruit!

Hmmm... plastic stoveware - not so sure how this is going to work... 

I'm preparing for a career hawking kitchenware on QVC!  "It's no stick!"

Or a career as the next Julia Child - don't I look cute in my apron from grand-umma?

A talking & walking doggie!  Wow!!!

I'll just add it to my collection of dogs... 

I love babies!  I can't wait for my real little bro to arrive!  I'm practicing with these for now - changing & putting him to bed in my awesome baby furniture from Grandma & Grandpa!

I'm gonna love my little brother so much - and kiss him all over!  Mmmmm-wah!

Grandma & Grandpa also got me this sweet new ride that conveniently can carry me & my little bro! 

and the parents got this sweet new ride for me & the li'l guy... we'll be so styling in Wellesley.

We've had an amazing 10 days or so with family, but we've really enjoyed being with Maya - she's growing up and changing so much every day and it's such a blast to watch her grow into a big girl - she even peed on her potty for the first time - check out the video on YouTube!

We also are getting our first real snowstorm in 12 months (crazy for Boston)... so we took the opportunity to take Maya sledding (just on our porch)...

Only a few more days before heading back to work - hope you all have a wonderful New Years!

Christmas!!! Part 1: Georgia

Finally, the moment we've been waiting for all year - Christmas!! This year, Maya really got into the Christmas spirit, she wore adorable Christmas outfits for weeks, she helped wrap presents, and she loved looking at Christmas Trees all lit up - saying "WOW!" each time she saw one. Sadly, Mommy, Daddy & Maya all had various illnesses in the weeks leading up to the holidays. Mommy with a cold that turned into a nasty sinus infection (first and hopefully last ever). Daddy got a 12-hour stomach bug from something he ate, and Maya caught Mommy's cold. So the weeks leading up to the holidays were a little rough. But  luckily everyone was better just in time for vacation, which made the whole thing even better!

First up, Maya's first trip to GrandUmma and GrandAbba's house in Columbus, GA. We arrived late on Saturday night, so instead of driving out to Columbus late, we decided to stay at the St. Regis for a night, courtesy of Daddy's amazing friend Trent. Mommy and Maya crashed hard on the bed as soon as we got there, but Daddy and Uncle Eddie had a chance to catch up over beer and pizza.

Cool ice skating rink in the hotel - no pun intended!

Then on Sunday, we were off to Columbus! We had an AMAZING Christmas brunch at the country club, with a special guest of honor - Scary Claus. I mean Santa Claus. He was a little scary though.

Me and Halmony are both in red - what a coincidence!

Mommy, you're showing too much leg!

I love drinking out of a big girl glass!

Happy girls!

Daddy got me yummy desserts - like a reindeer cupcake!

Is there someone behind me?

Oblivious...

HEY!!!

Maya and Halabbaji

When we got back home, we got to have some play time.

Weee! Airplane! More, more!

Maya taking pictures of Halabbaji

Christmas Eve started with a rainy morning. Mommy, Daddy & Maya decided to go explore Columbus, and ended up at a really cool indoor game room for kids. Maya loved playing Skee Ball,and she collected all of Daddy's tickets from playing basketball.

Going shopping for Tickets

Jackpot!!

Later that night, we went to Umma and Abba's church to hear the kids choirs. But unfortunately, Maya was too squirmy and spent most of the time outside.

Finally, nighttime comes and we get to OPEN PRESENTS!!! Maya had fun digging through her stocking...

 Christmas Morning!

Cute headband Maya!

It looks good on Halmony too!

4 generations?

Yummy Lobster Mac & Cheese Uncle Eddie!

Maya and Daddy and a Banana

Christmas Lights

I love you Daddy!

We drove back into Atlanta in the afternoon, and Mommy, Daddy and I went to the Georgia Aquarium for a few hours. Maya LOVED seeing all the fish, we heard a lot of "WOW"s then too. She even saw her first 3-D movie! Then we all head out to a Korean restaurant for dinner.

The best present of all...

Our sweet little angel

At the restaurant

Daddy, that's not how you eat Korean food!

Me and Uncle Eddie striking a pose

Happy family...

And again!

Naked baby in bed!

Maya's First Trip To Disney!

First Stop - Animal Kingdom on Saturday afternoon

After being scared by a giant duck, we calm down by checking out a Christmas Tree - there were so many throughout the parks!

Maya was MESMERIZED by the Lion King performance

Getting into the dancing

Maya & Mommy on Safari

Sunday morning - getting excited for Magic Kingdom!

Just arrived!

Lee Family in Main Street, USA (not sure how many of those have a castle in the background)

Girls in front of the castle

Daddy & his little princess

Part 2

First ride had to be the Merry Go Round!

On the new ride based on the Little Mermaid

Maya squatting in Pooh's house

Hello!

A Slide!

Where's Maya? Boo!!

Just clowning around...

At the circus playground

About to fly on Dumbo!

Exploring the water park

Checking it out

Thinking about it

Making a decision...

Almost there

Here I go!

WATER PARK!!!

Fully embracing it

What a happy half hour, she loved this part!!

On the Magic Carpet Ride

Back at Animal Kingdom with Daddy - lots of zebras

Checking out the fishes

Ready for a cat nap!

We had an amazing time at Disneyworld! Maya loved it - she did great on all the rides and loved seeing the animals in Animal Kingdom. Her favorite part was running around the water park with mommy and getting SOAKED! She she loved all the music shows, especially the Lion King where she clapped and beamed, and the Tiki show where she got up and danced along with all the animatronic birds. She didn't love the giant sized characters yet, but she loved all the lights, Christmas Trees, and all the "babies" (many of whom were older than Maya) that she saw. I had my doubts about how much a 17-month old would get out of Disney, but I'm so glad we did it - it was a wonderful experience for the whole family!!