A fabulous five days

We had a great time with Maya. She is always a pleasure to be around, always interested in what we have to say and asking lots of deep questions. This morning I remarked to Barry that I wish I had jotted down all those little Maya quips. Sitting here now, it is difficult to repeat specifics, but I am filled with this wonderful warm feeling from having been in her presence for the last few days. We kept busy but Maya is an excellent judge of her own limits. Yesterday we had talked about heading over to one of the art museums after the morning and lunch at American Girl. Maya has a book she enjoys about a girl who imagines she steps inside some of the classic paintings and becomes part of their stories. In that book, there is a picture of a painting with circles inside of squares that Maya learned about from her Kindergarten teacher. At first she was frustrated that she could not remember the name of the artist but then she blurted out “Kandinsky!” How many of us would know that even now, let alone at 6?

But when the time came to drive uptown, Maya was quite definitive that she did not wish to go to the museum, she just wanted to go back to our house and rest. Many children would just want to go to the next exciting thing, but Maya knows her limits and is able to pace herself even better than we can. Other than her eating habits (her diet consists of pizza and macaroni and cheese with some fruit and occasional vegetables) it is hard to believe that she is only turning 6 in a few weeks. Overall, it was a simply delightful four days.

Here are a few pictures. The first two were taken at Mystic Aquarium.

  

This was taken at Legoland,

And this one at home with the new set we built.

 

This last one is at American Girl.

We are waiting for the Maya-inside-a-bubble picture from the Gazillion Bubbles Show and I will post that when I have it.

Observant as she is, she did (thankfully) not quite catch on to what was happening at the table next to us during our lunch in the café at American Girl. A little girl who appeared to be a bit older than Maya was sitting with her father. You do not see many men at AG, so at first I found it quite endearing that the father so loved his little girl that he would participate in this rather girl-centric activity, as Barry does his granddaughters. But my first impression quickly gave way to great sorrow, as the father spent nearly the entire time on his cell phone, leaving the little girl squirming in her seat and glaring at her father rather than playing the little discussion-generating ideas that are printed on small cards in a box on each table (Maya loved these and is still talking about some of them). When it came time for their desert to be served, he asked the waitress to bring the check and told her they would not be staying for desert. The little girl seemed heartbroken; I almost wished I could reach out and ask her to join us!

I realize that there may have been any number of good explanations for what was going on. Perhaps the father had received a phone call of an emergency with a family member. But I have to say that there was nothing in his demeanor that suggested anything untoward had occurred; he simply sounded like he was “working.” Why did he bring her there in the first place? Was her mother supposed to come and unable to do so, or did he think he was doing a nice thing for his daughter, accruing points he can use to prove what a great father he is?  

These events and the dolls and clothes and accessories are not inexpensive, and there are certainly other ways to spend our money. But as you can see from the pictures I have posted with Eliana, Ella, and now Maya, it is a wonderful experience, and we look forward to doing it many more times in the future with our four granddaughters.

Have a nice weekend.

Love,

Rebecca