Cole Camp Fair 2010

Another year, another Cole Camp Fair in the books. This year was a little extra special for our family. Grandpa John was the Grand Marshall of the parade. It was pretty cool seeing him lead the parade--definitely a once in a lifetime moment. And to top things off, Mt. Hulda's float won "Best Float". So, it was a weekend full of pride for the Henning/Witt family.

Maya is finally getting a hang of the whole fair thing. I honestly don't think I'd ever seen her as much fun as she did with all of the fair's activities. They tried something new this year in that they sold wristbands each night. And of course, we ended up buying one on both nights. We ended up going from the bouncy house to the dragons to the slide to the cars to the carousel and back again, several times. At the end of each night, she was absolutely exhausted. So much that she didn't even have the energy to fight us when we said we had to go home. She just followed us.

Ben did get to ride any rides other than the carousel. We just weren't quite comfortable letting a 3 year old contain a 1 year old from trying to leap out of the cars. Maybe we're too protective. Oh well, there's always next year.

"Three"

Well, Maya has officially made it to 3. We had her party on Labor Day weekend, a week before the fair. A lot of the family made it up and we did the simple task of grilling burgers and hot dogs with our new grill. The weather could not have turned out better--mid 70s. And, the Tigers also came back and beat Illinois.

Maya got a lot of clothes and added to her baby collection. I honestly don't know how many she has now (probably 15 or so), but she loves every one of them. She has such a mothering instinct. I always forget to grab the camera, but she often lines up all her babies on the floor face down and then proceeds to find blankets for all of them.

Thanks to all of you who came up. We know it's a long trip, but it's great because Maya is really getting to know the rest of her family.

That same weekend, we also decided to visit the Botanical Gardens for the Japanese festival. We had the day off and it was something to do that did not involve us sitting at home (which tends to bore the heck out of our 3 year old). It was a pretty cool place. They have a playground area that even I didn't want to leave--tree houses, bridges, slides, water fountains. Maya was having one of her moments and we basically had to drag her into the playground. But, she quickly changed attitude and started to explore. After that, we caught a Japanese drumming show and caught a snack at the cafeteria. But then Maya started to get tired so we opted to leave. We hadn't even made it half way through the park. But luckily we have a membership and can go back and see the rest of it.

All Good Things Come to an End

Two weeks ago, Laura (Ben's teacher) notified us that she was quitting. She and her husband were moving and she had found a job closer to home. The funny thing is that 2 1/2 years ago, we were so nervous leaving Maya with a complete stranger. But, we were so blessed to have Laura help raise both of our kids. She spoiled them both, but also always kept us up to speed with their development. She wrote a letter to Ben saying that he was her favorite, but I'm sure all the kids' letters said that. But, it sure makes us feel good.We had a little problem at day care with the interim teacher, but that has been resolved. And fortunately, Ben's next teacher starting when he turns 1 will be Jennifer, who helped Laura in the nursery with both Maya and Ben. When we heard that, Lezlie and I were very happy.

Today, Maya officially transitioned to the 3-4 year old room. For the past month, Maya has really been resisting going to school. And, I think it was because all the big kids that she knew well had already been moved up. When she starting doing partial days in the big kid room, they said it went so well, they would make the official transition sooner. So, we'll see how things go. One of the teachers had been Maya's teacher before in the 2-3 year old room, and she once whispered to me that Maya was her favorite. Again, I'm sure they tell all the parents that, but hey, I'm gonna believe every word they say.

Rockaway Beach 2010

This year, Lezlie and I didn't have the vacation time we had in years past, so we were only able to stay in Rockaway for 3 nights. But, we still made the most of it. We kept telling Maya we were going to "Raway Bee" but she had no idea. I have a feeling she will remember next year, though. I think she has associated that place as the place where she can swing for 3 hours a day, swim in the pool another 3 hours, and play with her cousins the rest of the day.Last year, Maya was a bit of a bear in the pool. She wanted to swim in the big pool, but didn't want any of us to touch her, not realizing if we didn't she'd quickly sink to the bottom. This year, we had a life-preserver. With that, she got real brave and started jumping into the pool. Then, she insisted we go to the deep end and jump off near the ladder. Then, I persuaded her to jump off of the diving platform. She loved it and did not want to stop. Of course, Daddy got wore out quickly but I was able to last.

Ben loved the pool too. He let everyone just pull him around in his floating device. He spent the rest of the time giggling at Maya. Mommy and Daddy especially appreciated all of the help everyone provided. When Ben would start squirming, he would just get passed off to the next person. Everyone kept commenting how big he was. Ya, like we didn't know that. But, after holding Macy, I had a greater appreciation.

We don't get too many opportunities for generational pictures so we had to take advantage in Rockaway. After thinking for a bit, I realized that Ben is the only 4th generation Heimsoth boy descending from Grandpa Lambert. It's hard to imagine but all the other grandkids either haven't had kids yet or have had all girls. That will soon change with Tim and Rebecca's boy, but for now, he's the only one.Since, Rockaway, Ben's legs have been getting a lot stronger. He started by pulling himself up and he has recently just starting to stand up on his own, without any leverage or help. No steps yet alone but he did take a couple with his walker. So, I'm betting he will be walking in a few weeks.