Fun at the Apple Orchard

A few weeks ago we took Maggie and our dog Penny to Anderson Orchard. We had a blast!

What a summer!

We've had a blast this summer! In June we spent two weeks in Florida with my side of the family! Maggie got some great quality time with her aunts, uncles and cousins! She loved the beach and playing in the sand. I think our evening walks along the beach were her favorite.

In July, we found out that Maggie is going to have a baby brother or sister! She's too little to really understand what that means, but I told her there was a baby in my belly and she gave it a kiss. On Monday nights while we are at praise band practice, Maggie usually goes to play with Aunt Brooke. I don't know what Aunt Brooke feeds her, but she sure is wild when we come to pick her up! ;)

At the end of July, Aunt Amy, Uncle Ryan, Alexis and Kaylee moved to Spain. To keep in touch we've been video-chatting on Skype! Maggie loves seeing them and talking to them. She REALLY loves their new kitty, Artemis (Artie for short). Sometimes Maggie steals the webcam and shoots her own video...which I'm sure makes people dizzy!

Maggie has added several words to her vocabulary. Bye-Bye (or Die-die as Maggie says), Pooh (as in Winnie-the, not smelly), Pup-pup (that's what she calls our dog, Penny), Gramma, Paw-paw, Dada, Mama, Turtle, Kitty Kitty and Tickle Tickle (these two are interchangeable), and much much more! She's becoming well-versed in all the animal sounds as well...apparently giraffes growl like a lion, but we won't worry about that!

We've been spending some time at Gramma's pool. Maggie swims while wearing a little tube. She gets around really well with that on by kicking her little legs. She's still pretty skinny, but has been eating much better. She's in the 5th percentile for weight and the 50th for height. At her 12 month appointment she wasn't even on the chart for weight, so at least she's back on!

Speaking of Maggie, she's awake now and ready for her breakfast!

Skinny minny

Maggie had her routine check up at the Dr. last week, and she had lost weight since her last visit several months ago! I wasn't surprised because she has turned into quite the picky eater. For instance, today I prepared a usual sure-thing (toaster strudel) for her breakfast, and she would have nothing to do with it! I can't even get this kid to eat candy bars, sometimes!!! So, I've just been making sure she is getting enough to drink, and adding instant breakfast to her milk. Hopefully she will grow out of this phase soon! It is difficult not to stress out about it.

She is still just a happy camper, albeit a skinny one. I absolutely LOVE being with her all day, every day. I wouldn't trade even the most frustrating times for anything. She continues to learn new things, and I really try to cherish these small special moments we have together, because I know they only last a short time.

Sad day

Please pray for my friends, David and Melissa who lost their precious baby boy Evan today. He was born today at only 20 weeks, and fought to live for two hours, but couldn't make it. Please pray for them to feel God's comfort and peace through this unimaginably painful time...

HOORAY

The day has finally come, when I get to stay home with Maggie!!! Today was my first official day as a stay-at-home Mom...something I have always dreamed of doing, and am very proud of. It was everything I hoped for and more. Maggie woke up around 9 am and was in a very cuddly mood all morning. We watched Beauty and the Beast while she sat in my lap and ate a toaster strudel. We played for a while, had some lunch, and then she took a nap. She hasn't had a nap for about three days, so that was a good thing. Then she went with me and my Mom to get our hair done. She was worried about me while I was getting my hair colored and washed, but Grandma distracted her pretty well. We had dinner when Brian got home, and then spent a long time playing. She must have been really worn out, because she went to bed at 7:30. It was a wonderful day.

Blessing

Maggie is truly a source of pure joy. She is sweet, silly, smart, sassy, simply spectacular! I am so very thankful that God chose me to be her mother! I really don't want her to grow up, but every day she gets older, she becomes more amazing. I just love her so much.

Smarty-pants

Little Maggie is such a smart little girl! She is learning so many new things! Since my last post, she has learned how to walk. I can't believe how fast she is growing up. She eats pretty much everything now and puts her four teeth to good use. She's working on two more teeth. They may even be in already, but she's so busy, busy I haven't had a chance to peek.

Her favorite movies are Winnie the Pooh, Lady and the Tramp and Elmo in Grouchland. She still likes her Baby Einstein videos, and she is starting to love Spongebob. She has a couple of toys that she has to have before bed...her little elephant and her little bear with angel wings. She snuggles them and rubs her eyes with them. She loves to cuddle first thing in the morning with these two toys and me or Grandma depending on the day. Sometimes the cuddle lasts until her afternoon nap! She spends lots of time playing with all her toys she got for her birthday or for Christmas, sometimes sitting quietly in front of her toy box, carefully examining each toy as she pulls them out one by one.

She is so much fun to play with and her laugh is just the best sound in the whole world! What a great little girl!