Maya's First Christmas!

This year for my birthday, Ryan surprised me and took me to the Nutcracker at the Capitol Theater in Salt Lake City.   I have never seen the Nutcracker before and it usually only plays in Boise for a few days and I always seem to see the ads for it after it is done.  I also, usually, tell Ryan a million times I want to see it.  This year, I saw an add for it in November and I assumed that meant here too.  I didn't mention it to Ryan since we were in Boise that weekend.  Ryan didn't say anything to me about his plans.  I went to my doctor's appointment on Tuesday, and when I got home, Maya and Ryan had balloons and a card for the ballet that night.  Ryan had even set up a babysitter for us!  I was so excited and we had such a good time!

This is us before we left. 

 We drove back to Boise on my actual birthday, and Amber and Kylee made me a special tie-dye cake.  The cake was all kinds of colors too.  It was fun.  My mom gave me a much need gift certificate for maternity clothes, so I finally have more than one pair of jeans I can wear!  Thanks mom!  Amber gave me a book about saying toddlers say, and it is very true to Maya already!

 Maya knows right where all the toys are at Grandma and Poppy's house.  She loves the microphone, phone and the maracas.  She started holding the phone to her ear and babbling into it.  It is so cute!  Maya also got really brave and took her first steps!!!!  She can only do about two steps and will only go from furniture to furniture.  She is getting way to big!

We spend Christmas Eve with Ryan's family.  I gave the camera to Ryan and he insisted all night that he didn't have it.  It was in his coat pocket.  So we don't have any pictures from the festivities.  We played minute to win it type games, and Ryan and I get really competitive against one another.  We also did a gift exchange and a Christmas story thing.  We had a good night. 

We got home way past Maya's bedtime, so she was exhausted on Christmas morning.  Ella was up at 7 am because she was worried she would be on the naughty list.  Silly kid.  She even told me, look we all made it on the nice list!  We let Maya sleep, while everyone opened their presents, and then we hurried and got ready for church.  Maya loved all the attention she got at church, especially from Poppy.  She got really attached to him this trip, and Ryan and I got to enjoy sacrament meeting!  A win for everyone.  When we got home, we let Maya open her presents.  The first one got a little banged up in Santa's sleigh and had some rips in it already.  Maya went straight over and started tearing off the wrapping paper.

It is a little table that makes noises on each side that she can walk around.  She loved it so much she cried and followed Ryan around the room until he put the table together for her.  Then there was so much to look at on the table, that she would just go around in circles giggling as fast as she could.  It was so funny.  She could careless about anything else she got! 

Maya also got a leapster fridge magnet with different farm animals.

 A new play mat that she loves to crawl on, a farm book, and a few other little toys.  I put all her new toys away, except the table so that when we got back to Utah she would have some new things here to play with. 

Before we went to Boise, we took Maya to see Santa.  She looked at him, arched her back and slowly slid off his lap.  She is so funny.

My dad took a family picture for us while we were there.  Poor Maya was so tired, but she tried to be a good sport.  My dad also watched Maya for us so Ryan and I could go with my mom, Amber and Ella to the Muppets movie.  They both survived, even with a diaper that was on backwards, and a blow out that stunk up the whole house.  Maya loved being around my dad and cried when he would leave the room without picking her up.  She also loved Ella and Ella's new puppy Spots.  She would follow Ella around, or go to Spots "training circle" and stick her fingers in the fence so he would lick them. 

Ella and Amber got Maya and Ella matching dresses, but poor Maya was pretty done with pictures by then.

We had so much fun this Christmas with our families.  Maya loves all the attention and it makes me wish we lived closer to each other!  We are very blessed!