Forty Three Weeks with Chicken Nugget

We started Halloween early this week! We headed to the Zoo for their Boo-Tastic Celebration and dressed the girls in their costumes. Maggie is a crab to complement Molly's Mermaid desires. I figure she'll voice her own costume desires soon enough and until then, I'm going to take advantage and make the girls dress up in matching costumes. 

Maggie also went on her very first carousel ride! She was not 100% into it but I sure had fun. I'm pretty sure that her love for the horsies will grow quickly. 

Maggie had a fun week but has a wicked diaper rash that I'm hoping clears up quickly. She's been a bit of a 'crab' about it (sorry, I couldn't help myself!). 

Forty Two Weeks with Chicken Nugget

This was a busy week for Maggie with visitors in from the UK who kept her busy, happy and giggling. She did great with a wonky schedule and even experienced her first visit to Mount Rainier. I can't wait to take a family weekend trip up there next Summer. Maggie was a champ for the long car ride and only lost it near dinner time but after a stop in Tacoma to fuel up, she was back to her happy self.

Maggie decided this past week that she only eats the same kinds of food that I'm eating. If we were out having Mexican food, she was pissed when I offered her beans and rice but was thrilled when she was able to have some of my burrito. I guess her two little bottom teeth can really make a dent!

Maggie still isn't taking any independent steps but she walks all over the place while holding onto one of my fingers. She just needs to gain a bit of confidence and then she'll be toddling all over the place. Until then she is like lightening with her crawling. 

Forty One Weeks with Chicken Nugget

The weeks are flying by and soon you'll be a year old. I remember this time last year being so exhausted but compared to this year, it was nothing! Maggie is such a funny kid. She loves blowing raspberries and scrunching up her face. She's so close to walking but just doesn't have the confidence yet. 

Maggie's smiles keep all of us in giggles. She's just so darn happy all the time. She also an apple thief! I've tried eating an apple every day in the past week and she's stolen them all to nibble at them like a squirrel. It's adorable. Sleep is still only OK. I'm working on getting her onto a firmer nap schedule which I hope will help her nighttime sleep. I'd really like to help her sleep completely through the night and have her stop coming to our bed at 2 a.m. It's crowded in there! 

Forty Weeks with Chicken Nugget

Somewhere along the way, Maggie became quite the character. She cracks herself up and loves to toddle around the house. She's not quite walking but she's getting really good at standing up on her own. She moves fast too and loves climbing the three stairs up to our bedroom. 

Maggie had her 9 month check-up and got her flu shot. The look of betrayal on her face was priceless. She got her first taste of donut though because in this house if you get a shot, you get a donut. Except I feel like 9 months is a bit early for sugary donuts so I let her have a bite off my pumpkin cake donut before feeding her some fruit. It's all about compromises. 

Maggie is LOVING daycare on Thursdays and has learned how to turn on the waterworks once she spots me. Such a little stinker! I spied on her last week and she was happy, happy, happy. Then I popped my head in and she started wailing. Her daycare provider and I started giggling because we know that ploy! All in all, Maggie is doing awesome and I promise to post her 9 month letter soon. 

Thirty Eight and Thirty Nine Weeks with Chicken Nugget

Somehow last week slipped away before I could get my weekly blog post about Maggie done. I did however get a photo done! It has been extremely busy around here. Molly started Co-Op Preschool again. We've been working to get my Mom settled into her new Assisted Living and Maggie has been practicing so many skills. 

You'll notice that the chair is in a new place for Maggie's 39 week photo. We re-arranged the living room today and it finally feels right! This means a new location for weekly photos though.

Maggie is eating more and more "real" food on a daily basis. She's packing it away too. In fact, tonight she had two pouches, a 1/4 cup of veggies, a 1/4 cup of sweet potatoes, a 1/4 cup of cheerios and 4 ounces of formula for dinner. I fully expect her to wake up a giant!

Maggie has also almost conquered standing on her own. She's gets so excited though and tends to fall down. She's getting so close to walking. It's exciting and scary. 

We've been having a few sleep battles around these parts too. In fact, last weekend, my lovely children woke up at 4:45 a.m. which is such an ungodly hour. I stumbled around and when Scott got up at 8 a.m. (he was throughly confused by the silence and the late hour), he found the three of us asleep on the couch in a pile. I will do anything for a few extra moments of sleep. 

Thirty Seven Weeks with Chicken Nugget

Maggie is growing so fast. She's nearly walking on her own and started talking this week. She says Muuuuummmmmm, Mummmm, Mummm and Daaaaaaa, Daaaaaaa, Daaaa and sometimes Baaaaa Baaaaa. I also forgot to mention but she got her first two a few weeks ago and is now getting her second. Go Teeth!

We had another busy week (I feel like I say this every week) but it has been busy around here. We moved my Mom this weekend into her new place. Maggie and Molly were champions about the long day and enjoyed exploring my Mom's new place. 

Maggie's been having a rough time with consistent naps and good night time sleep. I know a lot it has to do with our crazy schedule right now. I'm trying hard to give her the space and time she needs for good naps. We'll get there. I know we will. 

Maggie is now eating more and more finger food. I finally remembered mixed frozen vegetables. She loves them along with beans and all the fruit she can consume. Maggie is like her sister and loves food. I'm happy that they are both pretty good about food. They aren't too picky though I'm still watching and waiting for it. 

Pinterest Thursday - Growing Green Onions from Green Onions

I thought it would be fun to try out this Pin on Pinterest with Molly. Supposedly you can grow some foods from certain table scraps. With this in mind, I grabbed the ends of some scallions after dinner one night and told Molly about my plan. We put a bit of water in a jar and plopped three green onions inside. They weren't anything special. In fact, I'm not even sure if they were organic scallions.

Then we waited a few weeks. I changed out the water daily (ok sorta daily) and carefully watched for results. 

It took awhile and we had a failure rate of 2 out of 3 but we got one green onion to grow! It was a fun experiment but if you really need some scallions for dinner, I'd suggest visiting the grocery store for faster results. Also my green onion got a little moldy. I'm going to plant it outside to see if it keeps on growing. 

The Wednesday Links from Around The Web 9.3.2014

The Strange & Curious Tale of the Last True Hermit

The Ultimate Way to Organize Your Fridge but could I keep it up?

23 Brilliant Home Office Decor Ideas

The Quiet Vulnerability of Children at the Bus Stop

A Dietitian Who Won’t Oversell Nutrition to Her Kids

Thirty Six Weeks with Chicken Nugget

Maggie has officially decided that purees are baby food and that since she is not a baby, she only wants finger foods. It's throwing me for a slight loop but a whole new world of food has opened for Maggie. 

Maggie is also becoming a pro-cruiser. I swear she's almost standing on her own and acting like she wants to walk without holding onto something. She is quite the crazy little wiggler. She's been joining me in the kitchen a lot. I make our meals while she cooks at Molly's little kitchen. I make up voices for Maggie as if she's on a cooking show which makes her giggle like mad. 

This last week felt extremely hectic. There were lots of appointments, a new gymnastics class for Molly, lunch with Pop Pop and lots of running around for my Mom. We're moving Mom soon and getting that all settled. Preschool starts soon so Maggie and I will have one morning a week to hang out together. Maggie will go to daycare on the other day so I can work in Molly's classroom. Fall is almost here and it's going to be a lot of fun! 

Eight Months with Mag-Pie (and Thirty Five weeks with Chicken Nugget)

Maggie,

You have been my bright spot through one of the hardest months of my life. You have unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) started sleeping with us in bed at night. You fit right in the crook of my arm and your Dad says that we snore in rhythm together. Just a few nights ago though we started the transition to your crib in your room with Molly. So far the past three nights you have woken up around 1 a.m. and ended up back in our bed. Slow and steady wins the bed war, right?

Crawling and pulling up are your big motor skill this month. You are so fast now and can quickly crawl from the den to the kitchen for a taste of your new favorite food, cat food, in the blink of an eye. I really don't know the allure of the cat food but you giggle every time I pull you away from the dish and tell you, No.

You continue to stalk Kato the cat and love petting him. You are learning what the word, Gentle means and poor Kato is enduring your learning process. 

You are anxious to start walking and are a cruising everywhere. You have a route around one ottoman, past the sofa to the other ottoman. Each day you get stronger and more dare devilish! You also keep finding your way into the bathroom and once ended up in the bathtub before I knew what had happened. I'm guessing your sister had something to do with that big adventure. 

You and your sister love playing together even though she is a bit rough with you. It's been fun watching the two of you form a relationship and I can not wait to watch it grow even more. You are a joy and the happiest baby I know. We are so lucky to have you in our lives and family. 

I'm excited to see what your next grand adventures will be. Will you walk soon or finally get a tooth? Where are those darn teeth? Until they arrive, we'll continue loving your gummy smile!

The Wednesday Links from Around The Web 8.20.2014

Life is slowly getting back to a new normal. We miss my Dad every day but as I cross things off the HUGE to do list, I'm finding a bit of time to explore the Web. Here are a few things I found interesting this week. 

TED's Super Summer Reading List

Advice from a Master: Clotilde of Chocolate & Zucchini shares her thoughts on what food blogs you should be reading

How to find your perfect bra mind-blowing

Kid approved lunchbox ideas These look delicious!

Instagram VS Reality I'm so guilty of this.

Thirty Four Weeks with Chicken Nugget

Maggles is the life of the party! She's full of smiles and joy. She's really been making these last few weeks so much easier. This week, Maggie has really started experimenting with standing and cruising. She likes to make a circuit round the ottomans in the Den. The little dare-devil likes to also take one hand off and try to balance. 

We spent some time last week with friends who were in town from LA. We visited the Zoo and the Children's Museum with them. It was Maggie's first visit to the Children's Museum and I think she wanted to check everything out. It was too stressful for me though because Molly kept running off and disappearing. I was pretty certain I had lost her forever twice. That might need to be a two parent museum in the future. 

Maggie has really moved into finger foods this week. She's so over purees even though I try to feed them to her (because I made a lot and they are taking up room in my freezer!). She tried sweet potato 'fries', watermelon spears, cantaloupe cubes, cooked apples, puffs and oatmeal blueberry muffins just this week. 

We also found a new place for my Mom and Maggie was passed around to all the residents. The Marketing Director has a special love for her. I keep saying that I'll drop Maggie off for babysitting and I don't think the director knows how serious I am. I am excited about my Mom's new place. She moves in a few weeks but I think it is going to be great! The girls are excited about it so that is good. 

Thirty Three Weeks with Chicken Nugget

I took this week's photo a day late. We held my Father's Graveside and Church services over the weekend and the weekly photo was a wee bit late. We held a Hawaiian Celebration of Life for my Dad so Maggie is wearing her Hawaiian garb in honor of her Poppa and her monster is sporting a lei.

This week, Maggie started cruising around the furniture which might mean early walking which also means batten down the hatches! Maggie also had a cold so the last few nights have been rooooooough. The poor thing is so congested and sad. Maggie attended her first Amazon picnic and quickly found some sand to eat.

It was another busy week of driving around town, running errands and getting important tasks down but this week looks easier. I'm hoping the girls can spend more time playing and less time riding in the car. 

Thirty Two Weeks with Chicken Nugget

Maggie was a champ with all the different people who watched her this last week. She stayed her usual happy self through the sadness that engulfed the rest of the family. Her giggles and smiles kept me sane.

Maggie discovered cat food this week and has developed a love for it, just like her sister. I think there must be something about crawling and where the cat food is located that equals true love. Maggie has also been eating sweet potatoes and watermelon like crazy. She loves them so much.

Maggie has been waking up a bit during the night and we don't know why! A friend suggested the 9 month sleep regression even though it would be early but it makes sense to me. Maggie's crawling has picked up speed and if you leave the room for a minute, she is sure to follow you while crying and crawling fast. Maggie has also started stealing her sister's toys which causes her sister to scream and yell.