Holiday Season 2008

Hi everyone! My apologies for totally slacking on the blogging recently. I've just been so busy with all of my holiday socializing, but now I'm getting back on track with everything. I spent Thanksgiving this year up in Michigan at Grandma Dar's house (aka Gigi). I enjoyed a lot of quality time with Gigi and the whole gang. There was a ton of snow up there, and from what I've heard it hasn't stopped snowing since we left! Basically, any time that I show up in Michigan, there is usually a big caravan led by my great-grandparents that follows me around wherever I go. You can see from the photo below that Grandpa Galko and I are good pals.

As soon as we got back into Baltimore, my mom dragged Daddy and I out into the pouring rain early on Sunday morning to cut down our Christmas tree. (Daddy calls Mommy the Christmas Nazi-among other names ending in "Nazi"...but we won't go there) We drove over an hour to get to the Christmas tree farm, then we picked out our tree, cut it down, had it shaken and wrapped and loaded it on the car in 15 minutes because it was freezing and raining outside. I don't really understand why we didn't just drive to Home Depot to get a pre-cut tree like everyone else. Oh well-it was one of our best trees ever (according to mommy).Here I am giving Daddy specific instructions on how to cut down the tree. "A little more angle, Daddy!"

Lucy had us all over for a Christmas party one Saturday morning. You can see how adorable we all looked in our holiday gear sitting on the sofa posing for the picture. (note-don't think I didn't notice Robbie rubbing my leg the whole time

. Why do you think I've been saying his name over and over again after that party?)

Lucy also got to spend a whole day with me at my house. Now, I love Lucy and everything, but she sort of started making me look bad after that day. She was so well-behaved that now my parents are expecting me to be on my best behavior at all times...hence this new thing they're using called "Time Out" I'm not a big fan of the "corner" or "time out" so far, so lets see what else they've got up their sleeves.

Oh yeah, we also went to see Santa together. You can see by the expression on our faces how much we liked him....

Stay tuned for more pictures and stories from Christmas with Gigi and my trip to Puerto Rico with the Riveras!!

Just Hangin Around...

In case you were wondering what a typical day in the life of Maria is like, here is a little snippet: I usually get up anywhere between 6:45 and 7:30 a.m. I throw back a bottle of milk before I do anything else and then I usually floss and brush my teeth for about 1/2 hour every morning. Most days I spend taking things out of drawers, trying on every pair of my mom's shoes, taking every book off the shelf and ripping out the pages, and trying very hard to get a cookie. Here are just a few pictures of me just "hanging around"...

Grandma Dar was here a couple weeks ago...as you can see from the smile on my face, I LOVE Grandma Dar!

A large part of my day also consists of chasing after Jacob. Is it just me, or does he look slightly annoyed here in this photo? I think he was exasperated with all the kisses I had just given him...

Did you say "Cookie?"

I am my father's daugher, there's no doubt about that...nope, none whatsoever. If it weren't obvious to you before with my big eyes and curly hair, then my newfound ability to exclaim my love for cookies has to prove it to you! I have discovered that if I actually say the word, "cookie," I am rewarded by, you guessed it, a cookie! I LOVE this game! Here I am with spaghetti all over my face practicing a few words.

Trick or Treat!

Halloween 2008 was a huge success in my book. Why you ask? Well, for starters I was allowed to skip my afternoon nap (which actually ended up being a problem later on that night). I was also allowed to stay up way later than my usual 7:00 bedtime, eat way more candy/sugar in one evening than I've consumed so far in my entire 14 month existence, and I got to hang out with Lucy the Piglet and Jacob the Dragon!! I kicked-off the night by strolling down to Fells Point to meet up with about 1000 other kids and their parents, all dressed up in their costumes. It didn't take me long to fall in the dirt, rip my tights, and figure out how to rip my bear hat off! Then we came back home, and I made the rounds of the neighborhood.

Here I am with JJ on his Grandma's lap. This was the only way Mommy and Josh could contain both of us long enough to get a picture.

I recently started passing out hugs and kisses, and Lucy is my favorite target! Lucy also likes to pass out hugs and kisses, so she doesn't mind! Here we are hugging in the park in our costumes, although a balloon got in the way right as the camera flashed, so the picture isn't perfect.

More Pumpkin Patches???

Well, my speculations that I was going to visit two more Pumpkin Patches proved to be dead on! I think it's safe to say that I am 'pumpkin-patched out!' Grammy and Grampa Rivera came down to visit me a few weeks back, and I took 'em to the Cadillac of Pumpkin Patches out in Westminster, MD. This joint had apple-picking, a petting zoo, live music (to which I enjoyed displaying my dance moves for a very large crowd), and of course TONS of pumpkins! There was one small hiccup though...there was a huge McCain-Palin sign at the front entrance. My daddy almost turned the car around when we saw that, but since we had driven an hour to get there, we decided to stay. As it turned out, their marketing efforts were fruitless anyway!

Here I am at Weber Farms again, but this time with my gal pals, Lily and Lucy. My mom and dad put me in this Bumble-bee get-up that was obviously way too small for me...hence the "hunched-over" look I am sporting in all of the pictures here. Thank goodness I'm still in diapers, otherwise that wedgie could've caused some serious damage!

Pumpkin Patch Season

So far this year, I've already been to 2 pumpkin patches and I've heard talk of going to 2 more. Now this is fine and dandy with me, just as long as those pumpkin patches have apples. I have discovered that there is nothing I love more than to crunch on a good, juicy, messy apple. It feels so good on my teeth (which, by the way, I now have 8 with 2 more on their way) and the juice is unlike anything I've ever tasted! Ok, enough on apples... On to the pumpkin patches. Lucy and I hit up the Harvest Fest down at the Inner Harbor this past weekend. Good times. We ate a few peas, made our way through the hay maze, and listened to a crazy old guy play a guitar (and I of course was dancing even though it wasn't my preferred rap music).
I also had my first carousel ride with Daddy. Wow!! I didn't want that horse to stop...I kept bouncing and kicking the horse hoping he would keep going, but I guess he was too pooped after all that running with both Daddy and I on his back.

Here I am at the second pumpkin patch. And here I am pushing the wagon instead of riding in the wagon...

This exact picture was also taken a year ago...wow, what a difference one year makes! I couldn't even keep my eyes open last year!
All those flowers looked so tasty! I couldn't resist tasting one or two of them before Mommy and Daddy caught me with the petals in my mouth. I still prefer the apples though...

So the word on the street is that I'm going back to this pumpkin patch dressed in my Halloween Costume, which to my knowledge is still undecided at this point. Guess my mommy better get busy!

Action-Packed Trip to Michigan

I took another trip to the north to visit my family in Michigan, and man oh man, it was one entire week jam-packed with visiting family! We no sooner arrived in Grandma Dar's driveway than the Ice Cream Truck pulled up. I tell you--Grandma sure pulls out all the stops for me! So I kicked-off my visit in Michigan with an Ice Cream Sandwich and a mischief-free night full of fun with my Aunt Sandy while my parents, Grandma, and Uncle Elliot hit up Katie Jonker's wedding in Frankenmuth. (Apparently Aunt Sandy used to get into a lot of trouble while baby-sitting my mom--we're talking broken lamp shades, broken faucets...you name it)

By the way-my parents decided to abandon me for most of the trip and left me with Grandma Dar. Let me just say that I am A-okay with this arrangement because Grandma Dar spoils the h-e-double hockey sticks out of me. In fact, we got so cozy together that somehow I was mistakenly calling her "Mama" by the time my mommy returned from her galvanting around the state of Michigan. During my time in Michigan, I was able to visit with my all Great Grandparents, Grandpa Crabtree, Uncle Elliot, and lots of mommy's friends. I spent the night with my Great Aunt Claudia, Uncle Don, and cousins Eric, Ben, and Alex.

Here I am with Aunt Claudia as the center of attention...as usual!

Me and Alivia. I had major "Big Girl" syndrome around her. She is so cool!

Also-as a bonus, we met up with the "Boys" for breakfast in Ann Arbor right before I hopped on the plane to come back home. The boys include Uncle Johnny, Uncle Richie, and "Uncle" Kevin. (note-Kevin is not really my uncle, but he sends me birthday stuff...so in my book, he counts as an uncle!). I don't have any pictures from this event, but I sure did enjoy my French Toast and Uncle Richie's omelettes at the Big Boy!

Here are some pictures of Tricia's wedding. Wow--she sure was a beautiful bride! She looked like a princess in that dress. I wish I could have seen her!

Here is my mommy with Katie Jonker at her wedding in Frankenmuth. Another beautiful bride!

Oh-I guess my parents thought they needed a little R&R, so they drove up to northern Michigan where they stayed in a gorgeous hotel overlooking Lake Michigan, enjoyed nice dinners, and staked out their dream house. (Well, this would be mommy's dream house) When will I be included in these trips? I like wine tasting...