it was just something in my eye

Mac and I were watching a Christmas movie (Jingle Bells) on Netflix last night. He sat on the couch by himself while I gave Maggie her last bottle before bedtime.
The movie really isn't all that good but he watches anything that isn't scary.
Anyway, there was a sad part of the movie and I looked up to see a few tears roll down his cheek.
I was impressed that he is paying enough attention to understand what was happening in the movie.

I was also not surprised when he denied that he was crying. As Samantha said "he's definitely your son." I figured he just had some allergy issues or something.

Maggie's tongue

Took this video at breakfast this morning. Maggie has discovered her tongue and it constantly sticking it out. Until I start videoing of course.

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Happy birthday daddy!

This post is extremely late due to some technical difficulties, but this is Mac taste testing Doug's birthday cake.

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Maggie

Maggie's teacher sent us this picture. She pulled the box of toys down and the rolled herself onto the shelf. At just under 6 months I think you call this precocious.



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Imagination and experimentation

It is so much fun to watch Mac use his imagination. It has become even more fun recently.
Here's an example:

Each Sunday on the way to church, Mac will close his eyes to shut out the bright sun. (we always seem to forget his sunglasses in our rush out the door) He says if you squeeze them really tight you can see colors. Then he tell us all about the red and black and yellow and green. He even wants us to try it out because he thinks it is so cool.

It's adorable that every time he lists things now he counts them on his fingers. So he goes through the list and then tells you how many things he has listed.

One of our favorite things lately is to watch how delighted Maggie is with everything he does. She will smile and giggle when he is entertaining her, but even when he isn't trying she loves to watch him. This morning he was brushing his teeth and she was just grinning ear to ear watching him like it was wonderful. She quite obviously loves her big brother.

Halloween catch up

Some pictures from our trip to the pumpkin patch and the jack-o-lantern that followed.

Never a dull moment

We are loving Mac's creativity and imagination. Apparently we are going to have a sleepover here...

Brother and Sister

Catching up a bit

This is from a few weekends ago when we went to the Watkinsville Fall Festival. Mac enjoyed riding the ponies. We weren't sure that he would actually want to do it after we waited in line and we were afraid that he would want one of us to walk along next to him if he did. He kept asking if the horses could get out of their circle. But when it came time he got up there and rode without any fear.



Last night he informed me that while he wasn't out of hugs entirely, he was out of "squeezy" hugs. Then today he was tightening up his shoes and told us that was how he got filled back up with "squeezy" hugs.

Today at lunch we looked up just in time to see him closing down on a bite of just butter. It also happened to be the entire scoop of butter off the top of his pancake from Cracker Barrel. I don't know how but he swallowed it. Brett thought he should have washed it down with the little bottle of syrup. :)

Maggie is definitely finding her voice. She is "talking" and getting louder and more high pitched all the time. She also does what we have heard referred to as the "teridactyl scream."

180

Tonight Maggie was playing on her stomach and laughing. I called Mac in so he could see her and asked if he wanted to play with her. His response was "no, I'm busy doing something important."

Contrast that with Wednesday night I asked him if I could take him to school in the morning. His response was "no, I want Mommy to take me because she didn't get to snuggle and love on me tonight."

He can be pretty sweet - when it suits him.

New tooth!

Maggie's first tooth broke through last night. She has been drooling like crazy for over a month now, so we figured it was coming. Last night she was fussing and I let her chew on my finger. Instead of softly gnawing and gumming like usual she chomped down with a sharp new tooth.

Today there is another one starting to show through right next to it as well.

She is such a sweet baby though. Even with new teeth coming in she woke up smiling and happy this morning :)

To the zoo...

Doug and I are taking Mac to the zoo this morning. We were discussing what animals we would see and doug mentioned pandas. Mac said no we can't see them because pandas live in Asia and eat bamboo. It just amazes us the things he says that we don't even know he knows. He is definitely learning alot at school.


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Rolling over

We know that the camera work is terrible. Its really hard to move the camera around and keep it focus on her well while also trying to entertain her and get her to perform. Hopefully sometime soon we can use a little teamwork to try to get a better video.

Game day!

Photos from Maggie's first visit to game day festivities. She only went to the dawg walk and then ate at the student center and went home. Mac and daddy went to the game.


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No fear, unlike mommy

Maggie is sitting in her seat at the table now. She even seems to like having her feet dangling from such an incredible height.
We're planning to start trying to feed her food soon.

On another note, Samantha is reading through the blog from the beginning and reminiscing about all the fun of watching Mac grow up. Hopefully we can capture milestones with Maggie as well, if not better, because there are a lot of things we thought we'd never forget that, you guessed it, we've forgotten.



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Hard not to laugh

Mac was in time away (time out) and I asked why he did what he did.
His reply- "because"

I gave him a look and he responded with a question in his voice, "because ma'am?"

I was feeling really frustrated with him but that certainly broke the tension :)


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Everything...And the kitchen sink

First, in Maggie News, she is rolling over!  She can flip both ways, we think this might be a little early since she is not quite 3 months old yet.  Actually she has been doing it since last week, I'm just a little behind.  (I just checked and Mac was getting close to 4 months when he rolled back the other way)

Now a funny Mac story.  Mac has been helping with cooking a good bit lately.  He especially loves to help make desserts.  (shocking I know)  Last night I got home from work and Mac came running wanting me to see what he made.  While Doug was feeding Maggie, Mac was apparently "cooking" in the kitchen.  He  had a dish and a spice rack.  He nearly emptied some of the spices (the celery salt must have poured better than the others because its almost gone).  

I know that it looks like dirt.  I really thought he had been outside getting sand at first.  He was so proud of the "dessert" that he had made.  I tried really hard to keep a straight face while talking to him about it, but I ended up crying I was laughing so hard.  I wasn't sure how to tell him that we couldn't eat it for dessert without hurting his feelings.  He actually tried a pinch of it and said it tasted great!

And finally...last night when going to bed Mac said "let's thank God for stuff."  He started listing things:  pillows, covers, crayons, bookshelves...and the kitchen sink.  :)

A long time...

Recently we were talking to Mac about our morning plan while getting him ready for bed.
We told him that Samantha would be taking him to school in the morning.
His response:
"No, Momma's been taking me to school for 40 days and 40 nights.!"

We figured this must be the longest time period he can come up with.  Plus, it means he's actually getting something out of our Bible reading even though he can never sit still.

Roll over, roll over

The exciting news: Maggie can roll over already.
The not so exciting news: we didn't see it and it apparently only happens at night.

How we put her to bed...

How we found her in the morning...

Well, actually the first time she was turned 90 degrees and much further down the bed, but at 4:00am we weren't really thinking about taking pictures.

Maybe a little weird?

I tried to get Mac to pick up stuff quickly last night so that we could have time to play a game. He went to put away a set of board books and he just couldn't do it quickly. He had to do it according to the "instructions."

I tried to explain that this was just a picture of all the books, but he insisted that this was the directions for how to put the books away. We spent 10 minutes, at least, with him flipping the box back and forth checking the diagram and putting them in the right place. I finally just gave in to his way and tried not to laugh.

First day of "school"

The schools around here don't start for a few more days but Monday we had our first day for Maggie.
Mac was VERY excited about taking Maggie to school for the first time.

I'm glad to report that this first week went great.  We're still trying to adjust and figure out how to get everything done, but we're off to a good start.  Thankfully Mac is pretty helpful when only one of us can be there to take them or pick them up from school.

Bedtime prayers

Tonight Mac prayed "Thank you for Mommy and please help her work tomorrow and make lots of money so we can go out to eat sometime"

We have a few things saved up that we need to post so look for some stuff soon.

Dinner

This afternoon Mac was helping me start supper. When I told him we were making a marinade he said I like that...I've had it before.

New plan

So I know we haven't been fantastic about doing posts, especially lately, so I have a new plan.  While we will still do regular posts when able I'm thinking of also doing some that are just short comments probably without pictures.  Somewhat akin to a twitter feed, but I don't tweet and I know most of our "readers" don't either.  Hopefully this will encourage us to post more frequently and also do a better job of documenting some of the hilarious things that our children do and say.  (Hopefully you will also think they are funny even though I'm sure something will be lost when taken out of context)

Here are some examples of what I'm thinking...feel free to voice any comments or suggestions.

True to form, Mac didn't tell us anything about what he learned at church today.  However, 

during lunch he was listing his cousins and included Paul and Barnabas so that might be a clue.

Mac had a sandwich shaped like bear for lunch today.  He usually prefers his 

sandwiches cut dragonal, which is very similar to diagonal.

My goal is that we can share more of everyday life with our family that can't be here every day.  Mac is constantly cracking us up with something, or alternately driving us crazy.  We wouldn't want yall to miss any of that.

Daddy's big helper

If you've ever been to our house and out on our deck, I'm sorry.
I knew it wasn't in the best condition, but I had no idea how bad it was.

Back in April I bought some Trex decking that was on a huge sale at work.
I just got around to removing the old deck. There's still a little more to do before I can install the new stuff, but we're making progress (finally).

This was one of the times I'm glad I have a truck and glad Mac has one.
I cut pieces small enough to fit his truck and it cut down on how much I had to carry around to my truck.
It also went faster because we took the "governor" off the truck and it is a lot faster now.

All loaded up.

 

The kid has an arm.

Staying hydrated...with Daddy's water.

All done

 Mac even rode with me to the landfill and helped unload all of the lumber. 

As requested

Maggie is smiling!!! And Mac wanted his picture taken too

2 Weeks Old

Maggie is officially 2 weeks old!


Mac got in the car leaving school yesterday and announced that he did not have to go to time away all day. That was quite an announcement considering we thought he didn't go most days. I still haven't gotten a clear answer from him to see if he has to go to time away every day or not. :)

Greatgrandmothers

Grandma Great (GG)


Mema

Now just one more great grandmother and a great granddaddy with whom we need pictures.


News for the day: Maggie's cord fell off so she now has a bellybutton.

Mac has been playing a matching game on my ipod. A few days ago he got a high score all by himself.

First Bath

Maggie had her first bath today.  She didn't mind terribly, but I wouldn't say she enjoyed it either.

Home with Baby

Today we brought Maggie home from the hospital.  She is doing well and Mac is excited that we are home.  We are beginning to see the difficulties of balancing a new baby and a three-year-old.  Mac loves Maggie, but he certainly needs his own time and attention.  I think that will get easier as we get into a more regular routine.

She's here!

Doug is getting dinner with Mac and our families and so Maggie and I are alone for the first time. I sit here just looking at her and feeling amazed.
I am overwhelmed with love for her. Even though she spit up the minute they walked out the door, and refused to eat because she wouldn't wake up except to spit up more, and she dirtied her diaper the second I finished fastening on a new one.
It's no wonder that I love Mac so much. He is an amazing kid and so smart and loving. He makes me laugh and gives me hugs and kisses all the time.
It's more of a mystery as to why I love this tiny bundle in my lap. And yet I already love her fiercely and I want to do everything to take care of her. It's just such an amazing feeling. I guess thats why God calls us his children. We can do nothing for him and yet he loves us unconditionally.
What a wonderful day! Our family is truly blessed.

Awesome big brother

I'm sure it won't always be great and easy, but something tells me that Mac is going to be an awesome big brother.



For those who aren't fluent in toddler-ese, here is a rough transcript.
Doug: Are you going to have a baby sister?
Mac: Yeah.

Doug: When is your baby sister coming?
Mac: On June 4th.

Doug: What is your baby sister's name going to be?
Mac: Maggie...MAGGIE!

Doug: Oh, Maggie. And how do you spell Maggie?
Mac: M-A-G-I-E.  (*Note: he usually spells it correctly. I think he was too excited about being taped.)

Doug: Alright, and are you going to be nice to Maggie or are you going to be mean to Maggie?
Mac: Nice to Maggie.

Doug: Are you going to take care of her?
Mac: *nods*
Doug: What are you going to do if somebody tries to scare her?
Mac: I'm gonna say, it's nothing to be scared of.

Doug: Do you already love Maggie?
Mac: Yeah.
Doug: Are you going to love her a lot when she gets here?
Mac: Yeah.

Samantha: What are you going to do to help Maggie sleep?
Mac: I'm going to sleep in the day bed (in Maggie's room) so her don't get scared.
Samantha: Oh you are? What about that...
Mac: If somebody sleeping in my bed, I'm going to sleep in the day bed and make sure Maggie OK.

Growing up

So I started realizing what a big kid Mac is a few weeks ago. One of the first things was that we had to buy new tennis shoes. These shoes don't look like little kid shoes at all. I don't know how well it comes across in the picture, but they could be adult running shoes. I felt a little teary-eyed sitting on the floor in the shoe store.

The next thing I noticed was as we were changing his clothes the other day. He is getting to be a skinny kid. He has gotten so tall suddenly without gaining much weight. It makes him no longer look like a toddler. Of course it helps not to have the added bulk of a diaper.

He also seems to add words to his vocabulary daily. Like today he asked if I could toss something to him. And he asked a question last night about the Israelites.

And the thing that most makes me realize he is growing up is the thoughtful questions he asks. Oh we still get plenty of why's and repeated questions, but he also asks if Orange juice will make his teetee yellow. And if sugar in Tea is what makes him teetee more.

Dream closet

I'm finally creating the closet I've always wanted. It's for my little girl:)

One well-dressed baby

More shoes for Maggie! These are actually little socks with pink poofs at the toes. If they weren't cute enough already, their name is Tiny Dancer.



Also I forgot to mention in yesterday's post that everytime I tried to talk up the upcoming doctor's visit Mac would remind me that he needed a checkup with the dentist. I think that is due to the combined efforts of his school (who had a dentist week and a hygienist came in to talk to their class) and his Aunt Jessica (who is going to be a dentist soon).
Mac and Jessica will both be pleased to know that he has an appointment scheduled in 2 weeks for his first checkup with a pediatric dentist!

Growing up

This morning was Mac's 3 year checkup. He is doing great and seems right on track developmentally. He had to get a finger prick and a shot as well. He was very brave through the finger prick and even watched and didn't fuss as the nurse squeezed his finger and filled up the collection tube.
When she did the shot he did cry, but she said it was a bad injection that burns so that was expected. He did great and dried up the tears quickly, of course, only after informing me several times that he did not like it.

When the doctor was in the room, Mac kept asking where Dr somebody was. I couldn't figure out who he was talking about until after we had left the office. He was asking where Dr. Seuss was :)

Lastly, I have a story that sums up the attitude around our house lately. Before we left this morning, I told him to grab a jacket because it might be chilly and he said "ok let me check the weather." He went to the back door, opened it, and leaned out. He agreed that it was cold so then he was okay to go get his jacket. He is growing up really fast and seems to think he knows everything.

Working

Sorry the picture isn't great, but this is the sight that greeted me when I arrived home from work the other day.

"Look Mommy I look like I'm going to work"

Also an important note:  Mac has learned the pledge of allegiance. I will get video of that up as soon as possible.

Nursery Progress

We still have a bit more painting to do and then the trim (crown molding, picture molding and chair rail) will go up this weekend. So excited that it's coming together! I can't wait to get the furniture moved in so I can start putting away the things we have and figuring out what we still need.

Better a late party than never

Thanks for all the family who came and celebrated with us.

What a busy weekend

We actually got alot accomplished this weekend.  We put together a new cabinet Friday night that will help clear all our office stuff out of the nursery.  That is a huge step toward getting things ready for the new baby.

On Saturday we got a load of pinestraw and over 2 days we did most of the beds in our yard.  Its amazing what a difference a little pinestraw can make.  We also had visitors!  Uncle Jeff and Jonah came to see Brett and go to a UGA basketball game.  Doug joined them for the game Saturday night and then they went to church with us this morning as well.

This evening we did something really exciting though.  We took the bed out of Mac's room and put in his new big bed.  It's the queen size bed from our guest room and then the guest room will get the crib and be the new nursery.  He has been really excited about getting a big bed.  The first night that we mentioned it he was ready to move it into his room right then.  He helped pick out new bedding with cool cars and trucks on it and a stool that he can use to help climb up.

He was very excited until it was time to go to bed and then he got a little nervous.  He loved that mommy and daddy could get on the bed with him to read his nightly Bible story and say his prayers.  Once we started to leave him he protested a bit.  He did relax enough to lay down and hopefully he is asleep now.  He has been quiet for awhile, but I'm not ready to risk going in there yet.  -------Scratch that, Doug just checked and he is asleep.  Hopefully that means in the morning we will have returned to the excited about the new bed stage.

And now a picture...

How fun is a baby girl?

We received a surprise gift in the mail yesterday. And what a surprise it was!!





I think this is a product of having an aunt who has a shoe obsession and no little girls. Thanks Aunt Carolyn!

Birthday Party

Mac's good friend Jones recently had an awesome birthday party - at the zoo!
Mac's party last year was at the zoo, but that was basically just a picnic where we walked through the zoo.

Jones' party was in the zoo and included several animals brought out for display and touching.
The whole presentation was about how larger animals eat the smaller ones.  The guide used an example that if he were a dinosaur that ate birthday party children, they would all be cupcakes.
Was Mac afraid of being eaten? No, his response was simply "I want a cupcake!"

Even if he did miss the point a little, it was cool to see these animals and get a guided tour of the zoo.  We certainly learned a lot and had fun.