Dancing Queen!

Guess who is going to enroll in dancing classes in September? Miss Maya is! It is going to be one morning a week, assuming there is still room in the class. It is technically a class in creative movement. Maya has been begging for ballet classes, but the ballet class was in the late afternoon on one of her two "school days", so I thought it might be too tiring.

Beautiful Maya

Sharky

Here are some pictures of Maya at the pool today. Seriously, I don't know what we would do ifwe didn't have access to a pool this summer. It is so hot out that our only real options during the day are the pool and the indoor playplace at the mall. And let's be honest, we can't do the mall every day.

We usually do both activities on both days of our weekend. And Maya swims every day of the week as well. We have to take her swimming or she won't get tired enough to go to bed at night. I can't believe how much energy she has. She never stops -- even without the now-dropped nap. Seriously, she has to be engaged in some sort of physical exertion for 45 minutes out of every hour of the day. How does she do it??

Also, she can run faster than 4-year-olds. And the other day Tibby took her to a toddler play class and they played musical chairs. Maya was one of the youngest kids and Tibby said she wononce. Somehow I'm not at all surprised. She's going to be a sporty girl in school I'm sure!

Maya's idea of time

Here is Maya's idea of time. Here is Maya's timeline of her life:

Life started when "I was a baby". As in: "Mommy, I was baby in Zamalek?" or "Mommy, I was a baby, I throw my 'opia hat out the window and I cry?"

After she was a baby, there was "last morning". Last morning runs from the time right after she was a baby to earlier today. As in "I ate a vitamin last morning (5 minutes ago) and I watch Barney?" or she could say "Last morning (yesterday) I had a swim lesson?" or "I go to the zoo last morning (2 months ago)?" Somehow time phrases are always questions. Not sure why.

Then we have the future-oriented "today", as in: "You go to work today, mommy?"

And we have "one minute" and "five minutes". This is used to delay as long as possible something she needs to do but doesn't want to.

And then we have a "couple days", a "couple weeks" or "five weeks". That is how long she perceives she has to wait for something she wants.

Our neighborhood

Just thought those of you who haven't been here might appreciate a picture or two of our building and street. So how many trees there are (for Cairo anyway, and compared to Zamalek for sure).

Also a note on Maya's verbal development. She has learned how to turn verbs into nouns. Hence the "hunter", "hider", etc of the the last post. The other morning she came out of the bathroom distressed because she couldn't find the potty seat -- you know the one that fits over a regular potty seat to make it easier for kids to use the adult potty.

She said: "Mommy, the potty worker is not there."

Overheard in Mayaville

Outside, walking by a basketball hoop: "Daddy, I'm a basketball hooper."

Playing chase: "Mommy, you're the hunter. I'm the hider."

Randomly: "I'm a grumpy frog."

Under the mango tree

Mike and I were both off from work today, and we took Maya swimming at the pool. She is back again to swimming to the side of the pool on her own, and she is doing it from longer distances, too. After an hour or two of swimming, we got out of the pool and went over to the adjacent outdoor cafe for a snack and some cold drinks and sat at a table under a mango tree.

As we were relaxing there, the wind blew and a ripe mango fell off the tree. The waiter brought a knife, Mike cut the mango and Maya had a special treat. An hour later, the wind blew another mango off the tree, which we also ate.

In the meantime, the waiters thought it would be funny to try to knock some mangos off the tree with a broom handle. But the ones they got were green and hard and not ripe. Then a little boy tried to get some mangos by throwing his soccer ball at the tree. But he just got hard ones, too. I guess the lesson is that mangos will fall when they are good and ready, and there's no point trying to knock them down before then.

It was a very cool experience! And it makes me see the benefits of living in Egypt, where a lot of material goods are not always available. How often do you get to have your 2-year-old eat a ripe mango that she has watched the wind blow from a tree?