While in Toronto Soter took Maria ice skating for the first time.  We couldn't believe that they had skates in her size, but once out on the ice we saw kids her size and smaller whipping around the rink like pros!

We also visited the Hockey Hall of Fame...lots to see.  Maria took a picture with the Stanley Cup!

And we made it to CN Tower.  Check out the moose and that bear!

This was a fantastic vacation.  A short plane ride, on which Maria was very well behaved, no diapers to worry about (no accidents either!) and lots to do to keep busy.  We had a lovely time on our last vacation as a family of 3 and can't wait to start taking vacations as a family of 4!

This last picture is my absolute favorite from the trip

A while ago Soter was approached by 2 guys selling stolen stereos, $700.  He laughed and offered one of the guys $100 and the response was "See you later, Cheap!"  We use that phrase all the time around here.  Anyway, yesterday we'd just got Maria's summer shoes, a birthday gift for a friend's little boy, and some flowers to plant in the yard and Soter mentioned that we'd better not spend any more money.  I said "Sometimes you've gotta!" (teasing) and he laughed and said "No, you don't!" Maria piped up with "Cheap, sometimes you've gotta!"  Her timing couldn't have been more perfect and the 3 of us laughed all the way to the car.

Last week I brought the crock pot up from the basement to start on a dinner.  As I walked up the stairs Maria saw me and said "So, Catherine, what are you making me and Daddy for dinner?"

We were getting our shoes on to go play in the yard for a bit and Soter was the fastest.  He walked over to the door to let Rizzo out and fearing being left behind Maria yelled out "Soter, hey Soter...Wait for me!"

Maria's all ready for a garden.  We got our feet wet with planing this weekend when we put some flowers in the front yard pots.  To ensure a professional job on her part, Maria is now the proud owner of Diego gardening tools, a Dora watering can and Diego "garden mittens" as Maria calls them.  She got all her things ready, water in the can, gloves on, tools handy, and got to work...until the 1st scoop of dirt fell on her new shoes.  Then we needed to take a break to take the shoes off and rinse them...she proceeded in bare feet.

Soter and Maria were playing soccer in the driveway.  Whenever the ball would roll into the grass Maria would run over and grab it and as she was coming back to the driveway she'd yell "Game ON!!"  Who's been letting her watch Wayne's World?!

I think we might be making some headway on the nap.quiet time situation.  On Friday I put Maria up in her room and she played quietly for about 1/2 hour and then called down that she had to go to the bathroom.  I took her but reminded her that after she went to the bathroom she still had to be upstairs for quiet time.  As I was going back downstairs she started to protest so I told her to hang on, that I was bringing her a surprise (which is a BIG deal to Maria).  I came back up with a little timer set for 1/2 hour.  I told her when she heard the beep beep beep that quiet time was finished and that I'd be up for her then.  She took that well and it was fairly quiet upstairs.  After about 10 or 15 minutes it was silent up there.  I went up to check and found her crashed out on teh floor in front of her dollhouse.  It was super cute but I didn't want to snap a picture and risk waking her.  So, I grabbed the timer and brought it down.   When I hear her start to stir (about an hour later) I went back up, set the timer for 30 seconds and waited in the hall til it went off and she "woke up."  It worked out so well!  I'm not saying that the timer will get her to nap all the time, or even ever again, but it did seem to satiffy her enough not to be calling downstairs to me.  We'll see how it goes again on Monday. 

Today Maria and her Daddy met a friend of Soter's from work and his son at the zoo.  They were there from 10-2, quite a long time, and walked around the entire zoo...no small feat.  Maria even agreed to ride in a wagon for part of the time.  They saw everything and had a great time.  She, of course, fell asleep in the car on the way home so we didn't have a "quite time" today.  And tomorrow she will be staying with Yiayia while we take Johnny (her cousin) out for his birthday...so no nap or quiet time there either. 

Sad news.  Maria's gym, My Gym, closed this past week.  The economy was just too rough.  It's very sad.  We've only been going for about a year, but we've really felt at home there and made great friends there...both of us.  We wil certainly miss our MOnday sessions and the week will feel a bit empty without Miss Debbie singing "Hi, Hi, How do you do? Welcome to My Gym!"

Dance class will end the last week of May.  There will be a culminating "recital" for parents.  I am really really hoping Soter will be able to go.  He'll just die watching her in her tiny leotard dancing all around.  He's not sure if he'll be able to take off, though.  And then all our classes are over.  We're not signed up for summer session of dance, and My Gym is closed so there will just be some down time.  I'm thinking that'll be good since it'll be when Baby Olivia comes to live with us.  Very exciting we're just over a month away now.

Speaking of Baby Olivia, not only does Maria ask what she's doing each morning when she comes in to wake me, she also let's me know what her baby, Mac and Cheese, is doing, too.  Most of the time Mac and Cheese is napping, but sometimes she's awake and kicking. lol  Maria's very excited to show Baby Olivia how to do things like play bubbles and chalk and she can't wait to feed her a bottle.  In theory she thinks a new baby will be GREAT!  Let's see how it all pans out in reality. :-)

Yesterday while we were getting ready to celebrate Baby Nora's 6 month birthday Maria grabbed a package of batteries off the counter.  I heard her quietly say "D-U-R-A-C-E-L-L, that says batteries"

It's been over a week wihtout a nap here and, well, it's been tough.  Last night after Baby Nora's party we went to church for Orthodox Good Friday.  We were there for a little over an hour and Maria did wonderfully.  We left about 9:15 or so, past her new bedtime since the no napping has been in effect.  By the time we got hom it was about 9:45 and it took Maria almost an hour to calm down, she was over-overtired and overstimulated and just over the top!  At one point we had gotten her out of her Easter dress (it took both Soter and I) and then she grabbed 1 dress shoe, ran to the corner to put it on, and then wearing only her tiny underwear and the 1 she she headed downstairs shouting "I'm going back to church to see Jesus!!!"  Soter and I had to bit our tongues to keep from laughing hysterically.  We finally did get her into pjs and into bed and she was asleep by about 10:30.  It's 9:!5 now and she's still sleeping it off.  Good, she needs it.

Today she'll be playing with her cousins while Soter and I attend jcb's wedding and tomorrow more craziness with her other cousins at Soter's parent's house for Orthodox Easter.  2 more late nights in a row...what are we in for?!? 

Today was the first nice sunny warm day we've had in a long time, and we weren't about to let it go to waste.  Starting at 9:45 this morning we were outside all day long!  We started out drawing with chalk on the driveway, an activity both Maria and I love and then the subject of the park came up.  I suggested that Maria ride there in her wagon but she insisted on walking.  It's a 1/2 mile to the park and she was a trooper walking at a good pace and even running for part of it.  We got to the park and played a bit.  When we had our fill we headed home for a snack of Oreos and milk, she walked the entire 1/2 mile home (except for the 4 houses I carried her piggyback)...that's lots of exercize for little legs.  We got home and had a snack and relaxed inside for about an hour until Soter came home early from work.  Then we all piled in his car and headed out to a different park.  We stayed there for a little over an hour before calling it quits.  Once we were back home we hit the backyard playing in Maria's little house, chasing the dog, sliding down the slide, just generally running around.  By the time we came in for dinner we all had smiling faces and pink cheeks. 

After dinner Maria and I headed to Dominick's to get the ingredients for mini cheesecakes that we are making for Baby Nor'as 6 month celebration dinner.  We got through the produce section and Maria's head started bobbing.  By the time we were in the cookie aisle I was holding her head in one hand and pushing the cart with the other, she was OUT!  It was super cute and I wish I could have gotten a picture of it.  Poor little thing is just plum tuckered out from a full day of what my mom calls "Fresh Air Poisoning."   Something tells me that bedtime will be quick and painless for everyone tonight!