Maybe She Loves the Jacket

Is it too early to suggest that Maggie might be a Papa’s girl? Without a doubt, she adores him and it is the sweetest thing. I think that she would have tried to walk to work with him this morning – smiling the whole way, of course. Instead she posed for a picture in her jammies, still smiling from cheek to cheek.

Check out Barry’s coat in the above photo. I absolutely lived in that coat last year and I am so thankful to be back in my own winter coats this year. That brown coat reminds me of being pregnant/huge and walking my students out to the buses at the end of the school day. Towards the end of my pregnancy I had difficulty zipping it up over my belly, so I was thankful when Spring arrived.

So much has changed in a year. Barry has his coat back now, and we’ve got a smiling, chubby baby in exchange.

So worth it.

I mean, look at that lil’ grin.

Barry’s grin is pretty stinkin’ cute too.

And the Pug Jumped Over the Fence

We woke up to our yard covered in a perfect dusting of snow. You’d think that Sydney would hate the snow, since she really hates the rain, but she adores the snow. In small amounts. She spent a chunk of her morning chasing a squirrel around in the back yard. At one point I was worried that she’d jumped the fence, but then I reminded myself that she is a Pug and generally Pugs don’t go jumping over fences.

A few times today I have found myself holding Maggie, completely captivated by the falling flakes, staring out the window. We’ve gone outside and wandered around the yard, but when we bundled up to really hit the trail, the snow really started falling and Maggie had fallen asleep in the Ergo.

Perhaps when she wakes up we’ll contemplate heading out again, but at this point she seems snug against my chest as I type this.  I want to let her sleep because last night she threw a P-A-R-T-Y. It wasn’t really that late, but the rest of our tribe was ready to sleep. Okay, so it was like 10 o’clock, but it might as well have been 2 o’clock.

For some reason somebody (it wasn’t me and it wasn’t Sydney) gave her a maraca to play with while she rolled around in our bed. She was rocking out with it and, on one hand, it was very, very funny; however, when my poor brow met up with the wooden instrument I was not laughing as hard.

So today when she did basically the same thing with Sophie, I was able to continue laughing and keep my brow in tact. This mothering thing is rough sometimes, nobody really tells you that.

Honestly, there is a lot that nobody warned me about. Nobody warned me that I’d start to think crazy thoughts – like about Pugs jumping over fences. Nobody warned me that snow, once again, will be utterly captivating. Nobody warned me that I’d be getting hit in the head by a maraca while wishing I was asleep. Nobody warned me that I’d love this little Hooligan so, so much.  Jeesh.

7 Months

Maggie’s Seventh Month from hannah on Vimeo.

Maggie,

Incredible. You are seven months old! Wahooo!! You have become so woven into the fabric of our lives, it is strange to think back to the time that our tribe functioned without you.

It seems like everywhere we go people comment on your eyes and how bright they shine. It’s true. Your eyes are filled with sparkle and happiness and I hope they stay that way forever.

We’ve said goodbye to most of your 6 month clothes and hello to some of the 6-12 month ones, they seem huge! You’ve also started to wear shoes this month with a bit more of a purpose – the weather is getting cold now. You have 2 and a half teeth.  Your dad and I would really, really like to have you be done teething, but it seems like a far off dream.

We’ve been out and about this month visiting friends and family, even going to the library for story time. Speaking of story time, you were the baby that would squeal with excitement at the end of each song that we’d sing. Thankfully everyone thought it was cute. You are working really hard on crawling and Sydney is a constant motivation. I’m fine with you taking your time with it, but you’ve got a different plan. You also love to hold on to things and stand up for long, long periods of time. Some days I feel like you think of me as a means to stand up.

You’ve tried some rice cereal, bananas and avocados this month and we play with a little cup too. So far you’re more interested in the texture of the food than consuming it. Naps seem to be long or short, depending on how easily you’ve fallen asleep.  The only thing that you get cranky about is either being hungry or tired.

You are all things wonderful, most of all you are happy.

You are so, so loved.

Mom