The Wheels On The Bus Mania

The Wheels On The Bus. She's always asking to hear it, sing it, etc.

As I was walking past a toy store yesterday I noticed a little plastic bus ON SALE! I went in and found out it plays the beloved song. She loves it!

This morning I woke up to cries from downstairs and came down to find Patrick feeding Maggie in her highchair with the bus perched on the tray. She couldn't part with it long enough to eat breakfast.

I found it just as hard to take it from her for lunch. Oh, the fits that girl can throw!

If the last picture were a video, you would see that her hands are doing the circles for "round and round" and she's singing the song.

Good Girl? Naughty Girl?

Maggie loves to get into the wipes and help clean.

I'm not sure how she does so much damage in a split second.

She likes to get herself on top of things and teeter.

Political Confusion--I Can't Be The Only One

I was on a certain celebrity smut website the other day (too embarrassed to admit which one but I think you'd all know it) and found THIS site that helps "connect you to the 2008 Presidential Candidate that represent your beliefs the best".

We took the short quiz and got our top 3 results--great right? Maybe. BUT the closest candidate only matched up 65%!!! In my opinion that's not much. That means 35% of the time I'll flat out disagree with my "best match". Is it me....or them?

I also went into all the main issues by candidate, a great feature, and realized just how completely I disagree with some of the top runners. UGH! What to do?

Mondays Are Now "Work Out" Days (and Coloring Days)

Maggie loves to color although she rarely colors on paper. It's typically her hand, the couch, the walls, etc. Here I actually caught her doing the right thing.

Doesn't this look uncomfortable?

I took her to the local rec center so I could attend a Power Sculpt class. The lady knew this was her first time and asked exactly where I'd be in case she needed to get me. She didn't come. I picked Maggie up after the class and the lady told me how well she had done. duh.

Oh, the class I went to was great! I had gone the week before with some mommy friends of mine but this teacher was much harder. One thing I miss about being childless--the oodles of available time to work out. But it was a good trade.

Bring It On

I don't know about you, but I'm very ready for spring. That seems a little ridiculous considering March and April are big snow months here in Colorado and we're just rounding the corner of January. Maybe I'm feeling springy after getting the new Pottery Barn catalogs in the mail today. Very pretty. Bright colors, happy colors.

I think wearing this robe every morning might help me feel like warm, sunny days are here again.

Weekend Review: Talky-Talk

Friday morning was Itty Bitty City. What a madhouse that was! But it's hard to stay away when your child loves it all the same. Maggie discovered the joys of a big colorful parachute. I remember those as a kid!

She came home in the best mood.

The missionaries came for Discussion Number Two. Patrick was ready--had read the previous week's assigned reading, had good questions that I didn't even know the answers to. Maggie warmed up to them and ran around babbling the whole time.

Saturday was "organization" day. Oh, and eBay day too! I spent a lot of time organizing and Patrick is finally at the stage in his stamp collection to start selling and trading to upgrade--his collection is looking awesome! He Ebayed himself silly.

As I organized Maggie said her first two-word sentence! She brought me a book, held it out, and said, "Read it". So clear and distinct--I dropped my jaw. Sooooo cute! I guess she's sort of said a three word sentence the other day but it was more like three words smashed into one. I said "here ya go" and she said "herego". It's now getting nearly impossible to record all the developmental jumps she's making since it happens almost hourly. Crazy how fast it all goes.

Sunday's are pretty hard with the new schedule. 11am church is the absolute worst time block if you have kids (it was previously my favorite time). It sits smack dab in the middle of her nap and lunch. When I went to pick her up from nursery I kissed her and said, "I missed you." She responded with, "miss you". I melted. Here she is half way undressed after church. Those legs!

And, in case you're wondering, we're still sick. No kidding...but to be honest I really feel we're coming out of it.

A Charlotte Dress

My sister Charlotte gave us a bunch of hand-me-down dresses and all of them are just so cute! I love them so much I'm starting to put Maggie in them on weekdays rather than just for church. This one was just so sweet and reminded me so much of Char.

This Time I Caught It!

I wrote earlier about Maggie climbing up on our kitchen table to play with the light fixture. Well, she's at it again and this time I went for my camera first.

In case you can't tell, she's actually spinning it! I was trying not to laugh because I don't want to encourage this.

Later, I sat her down for her daily dose of Barney (which we now have to spell in order to avoid begging for it after hearing the word). Check out how she watches him. She is not in the middle of a word or a yawn. She's just watching it with her mouth wide open.

Round 2....or is it 3, 4?

This family got sick on new years. Um, its the 22nd!!! Why are we still sick? Maggie was fine on Sunday after a couple of bad weeks...but by that night we melted down, again. Ok, ok, Patrick is fine after a few days with a minor cold. Apparently he's bullet proof but Maggie and I have been struggling. It's nice that all I have to do today is sit at home.

Luckily Maggie, unlike myself, hasn't lost her spirit.

Weekend Review: Ho Hum

Friday we had a play date at "the twins" house--Julie and Keirsten. Our little group is starting the second generation. Two moms brought their tiny infants for all to see.

Saturday morning Patrick took Maggie for a while as I attempted to walk outside. It.Was.COLD. I hardly could stand the cold when the wind picked up and once my iPod stopped working due to the cold I headed home. We spent the afternoon test driving cars. We plan on tossing that gas guzzler asap.

Maggie had a great time at church on Sunday even though she was one of only two kids in nursery. Where the heck were the six million other kids that are normally there??

I took some fabulous video of Maggie but my camcorder is wonky so this version on my regular camera will have to do.

Save a Tree, Save a Conscience

One of my new years resolutions was to take one small step toward living "green" (what I refer to as personal responsibility). I like the idea of looking at myself as a member of a huge family who keeps her personal space clean, doesn't take more than I need, and is not unnecessarily wasteful.

Last year was reusable grocery bags and light bulbs (CFLs). That's been a big hit. This year I chose to save a tree. Notice how small and easy my changes are. It's not like I'm installing solar panels or growing hemp in my back yard to make clothes.

OptOutPrescreen.com: This joint venture of the three credit bureaus puts a stop to prescreened credit and insurance solicitations. Sign up to stop these for five years, or stop them permanently.

Direct Marketing Association: Stops direct mail marketing from association companies for five years.

It took all of 10 minutes. I feel so much better.

Play Date Fun

We had a play date at a mall FAR from home (or so it felt). We drove and drove and drove. Luckily this play area was super nice and even had a security officer to make sure everyone took their shoes off, no one ate inside, and no one over the allowed height got in--a lovely old guy we came to call "the nazi" with how seriously he took his job.

Maggie was almost 3 hours past her regular nap time and with the long drive home she stood no chance at all. She looked like this within 2 minutes of strapping her into the car seat.

Baby Nostalgia

Patrick and I are clearing out our basement and are planning to take some baby items to a consignment store. He pulled three items up for me to clean and prep for sale. Maggie saw them in our front room and insisted on playing with them. She looked so ridiculously big in her baby stuff. It made me a little sad and nostalgic. She's only 19 months old!! Sheesh.

We also hit the local healthfood store to order our cases of tofu and I, on a whim, bought Maggie her first sucker. She didn't know what to do with it at first but quickly learned. Check out that puckered face! Sour much?

Weekend Review: Recovery

I was so tired Friday morning due to Maggie's sleepless nights. It's hard for a babe to sleep while congested--they do no like it! We had an Itty Bitty group event and I dragged my tired self to it and LOVED it! Came home energized. Can you spot Maggie in the masses of kids and parents? She is there.

We had to take a break for pretzels half way through.

We spent a little time with our neighbor Leah.

That afternoon we had the missionaries over to "practice" their discussions on us. This is their way of trying to covertly try to convert my husband. He's awesome about it all.

That night I took a hot bath and we watched Thank You For Smoking then went to bed early. Didn't love the movie, by the way.

Saturday morning I did a pretty basic kick boxing exercise video and was sore the rest of the weekend. This is just a little hint at how totally out of shape I've let myself get.

Maggie spent the morning on the couch with a few of her favorite toys.

Later than day we packed Maggie in many layers into the jogging stroller and took a short stroll over to the local park. She squealed her head off on the swings (it had been a while since she'd been on them being winter and all), practically jumped down the slides, pointed out all birds and said "peep" over and over. I finally got cold enough to force her back into the stroller for the ride home. She could have stayed all day.

Maggie was still a snot factory on Sunday morning and although she really loves nursery I figured I'd spare the other mommies by not spreading her germs. We stayed home and vegged all day. She was prepared to go in her dress and everything...

The Message

My sister suggested I read The Message by Lance Richardson shortly after my brother Brian passed away. She warned me about the immature writing skill but said there are some good points in there. I agree! Once you put your mind to overlooking the author's simple words and story telling abilities, there are a few gems in there.

To save you the trouble (just in case you intended to read the book) I'll sum up my favorite thoughts:

"...there is so much in this world that we consider significant and worthy of our time and resources, which in reality means nothing. Ultimately, its our families, our relationships, and how we are able to serve others that matters in the hereafter."

"Thank God we are not allowed to see the future. How often we would seek to change the course, not realizing the need for such opposition."

"These feelings last beyond the grave, my brother. Love is eternal, and so is the family. Both your own, and Gods family."

"...there is undoubtedly life after death. I was to share parts of my experience in an effort to give comfort to so many who have lost loved ones through death, and to help them understand what a beautiful experience those who die are enjoying."

"As we serve....we will love more and we will become closer. Our very hearts will be changed. It is the mode of heaven."

Thanks for the suggestion Julie. I think it really did provide some comfort.

What Maggie Does When She's Sick

Sick Girl Activities:

If I have the laptop open she comes up and asks for "Maggie" which means she wants to look at the videos of her on the blog. We probably watch those videos more than anyone else!

For some reason Maggie does not like the vacuum and runs away from it. She runs into the closet I just took the vacuum out of.

Sometimes it requires getting INTO the book to really feel it. Humpty Dumpty needed a talking-to.

Sometimes it helps to read in a chair ON a chair.

Or just toss the extra chair and do some stretches during Barney episodes. Barney has been on much too much in our house during my cold when all I wanted to do was lay on my couch and produce snot.

What Maggie Is Up To

There is never a dull day with our Maggie around. We're perpetually amazed at what she says, does, acts like, etc. She cracks us up!

A few things Maggie is up to:

1. A little over a month ago I found Maggie had crawled up onto our kitchen table and was shaking our chandelier. Now that she's safely on the ground, I'm a little regretful that I grabbed her first instead of grabbing my camera for a quick shot.

2. Her vocabulary is skyrocketing: She stands at the door to our garage and says, "bye-bye, car, outside". She comes up to the laptop when I'm working and says, "Maggie" and points at the screen which means she wants to watch my YouTube videos of her. I love that she can tell me what food she wants to eat (and say "eat"). Mac n Cheese, yogurt, and bread top her list of requests. When she gets tired or upset she points to our cupboard and says, "binki? bottle?". Its like having an alarm telling me she needs her nap. Bath time is riddled with requests for "popcorn" (the primary song I Looked Out the Window and What Did I See?--she does all the actions but of course not for the camera).

3. She can reach door knobs now. She's up on her very tippy toes and can get the door shut but cannot figure out how to open it. This means she locks herself in all the closets, out of her room, and in the bathrooms

4. She helps: With laundry she moves one item of clothing at a time into the washer and from washer to dryer. It takes her forever but I let her since it's so darn cute. Being too young to understand what she's doing, I've made a game of "putting all the animals away" and she picks up all small animals and puts them, one at a time, into their storage bag.

5. Along with all the happy new developments come some problems as well. She struggles with wanting to do things she's not capable of and gets deeply frustrated. Here's a video of her simply freaking out. It's a 90 second sock-related melt down.

Weekend Review (Sort Of)

I realized I have nothing to share for a weekend review. I was sick. Patrick was sick. Maggie was sick. We still are. Yuck. The "highlight" of my weekend was how upset I got at missing Micaela's 80's Dance Party. I was super bummed. I had my entire 80's outfit ready to go!

On to other things. I have some pictures of Maggie and her friends at Play Grounds yesterday.

The kids all put themselves around a table.

Trevor:

Julie and Keirsten (the twins):

And the the overly-obsessed about child: