cake pops!

Cousin Sarah (and I think Aunt Gwenn too) have become quite the Cake Pop artist....so after being assured that it was a project Maggie could handle I thought we'd give it a shot.  We did okay.  Maggie thought it was fun to cover and sprinkle them and she really thought taste testing was probably the best job.  Her attention ran out before the end, but in her defense one cake makes like 50 pops, so my attention was waining as well.  We ended up with lots of undecorated pops and our definitely aren't the masterpiece that Sarah's are, but we had fun and made a HUGE mess in the process.

 

We spent last weekend in Omaha celebrating Mom's Birthday.  Laura and Vadim weren't feeling very well when we got there and Mom started getting sick on Saturday so it was a pretty low key celebration.  Mom got a new bike for her Birthday, you'll never guess who Maggie thought she try out the helmet....

Tomorrow is our follow-up check on Potato.  They will redo all her measurements and see how she's fairing in there.  My doctor is out of town for about 10 days, so baring any emergency situation or unforeseen circumstance we will be doing everything we can to keep her in there until at least next week. We're saying lots of prayers for continued growth. 

Lucky Parents :)

Arnie had meetings in San Antonio at the end of the week...so at the very last minute Maggie and I decided to tag along.  I was feeling good, it was warm in Texas and it was supposed to snow at home.  Maggie and I had a great time. 

On Wednesday night Maggie and I went to The Riverwalk, we took a boat ride, wandered around and had some dinner.  It was fun to see and she really enjoyed it.  This was my first trip to San Antonio and the Riverwalk wasn't at all what I expected.  It was pretty and interesting, but much more crowded and less open then I expected.  It was kind of like being in a cramped ally.

Thursday morning we got up and drove about 40 min. away to a HUGE outlet mall.  We were about 5 minutes from the mall when I heard "the noise" coming from the back seat...Maggie makes this kind of coughing/gagging noise several times and no matter how much I try to convince myself that it's not going to happen, it's pretty much always followed by PUKE.  This time was no exception.  I didn't have anything to clean her up with, no clean clothes, etc.  I'm really glad the car was a rental!  We parked right next to the nearest kids store we could find, I cleaned her up a little with some wet wipes, we went in and bought a new outfit and changed her clothes.  She was good as new.  I think maybe she was a little car sick, she returned to herself quickly and other then the rain we had a fun time shopping. 

By the time I took this picture I think Maggie was getting a little tired of shopping :)

On our way back to the hotel we stopped at Rudy's for BBQ.  It's a favorite of Uncle Jeff and Papa, Maggie really liked the brisket, pickles and pudding.  (Like I said, she got over her stomach issues quickly).

After lunch, while I was driving back to the hotel, I said "Maggie you were a really good girl this morning, thank you!" and her response was "ya, you're pretty lucky parents."  Where does she get this stuff!  She's right, we are VERY lucky parents, but I was laughing so hard, I about missed our interstate exit. 

Back at the hotel, we went swimming.  Maggie loved the water slides, the first couple of times she wanted me to stand at the bottom and catch her.  Once she figured it out, she told me I could sit on the edge and watch her (and lift her out of the pool, over and over and over).  I bet she went down the slides 40 times, she was having such a great time.  A couple of times Maggie told me that I wasn't as fun as daddy, apparently he's better at crazy jumps...so she was thrilled when he had a little break from his meeting and came out to play for 45 minutes.

We had a great little get away.  Maggie and I had lots of good mom/daughter time and it will add to the memories I have of being a mom of just one.  I hope when I have 2 little girls I still have the courage and energy to just pick them up and take off spontaneously.  Maggie has become such a great traveler and we have made so many memories tagging along to Arnie's meetings.

first of many...

Maggie, Reagan and I had our first play date in the studio... Maggie decided Reagan definitely needed a flower in her hair and for a few minutes both girls participated better then I'd expected :)

nice or crazy??

I forgot to mention in my post on Friday that Maggie rode along with Grandma and Aunt Laura to the doctor.  It was time to have Aunt Laura's staples out and to get her "real" cast.  I'm not sure if Aunt Laura is really nice or really crazy, but she told Maggie she could pick whatever color she wanted for her cast.  Mom said when the doctor opened the drawer is was a rainbow of choices, no surprise here, Maggie picked HOT PINK! 

Then nice or crazy Aunt Laura let Maggie decorate the HOT PINK cast....

I'm wondering if maybe she hit her head when she fell :)  Maggie is very proud of her work.

Maybe in 4 weeks, when it's time to do it all again, Aunt Laura will have come to her senses...

It's amazing!!!

My studio is officially finished!!!!  and it is amazing!  I'm going to have such a great time out there.  I have tons of shooting space, a beautiful room and a HUGE storage closet.  I don't know what we're going to do with all the extra space in the garage, the basement, the laundry room, etc....I've had "stuff" stored everywhere.  I wasn't sure I was really ready for the commitment of an official studio but now I am SO glad Arnie talked me into it.  I need to get some pictures hung on the walls and a few finishing touches, but we're off to a great start. 

I have it all set up and ready to take some pictures of Maggie when she gets home after her weekend in Omaha.  I can't wait to shoot pictures of her and baby potato, I'm going to have such a great time!! 

My 2 front teeth...My 2 front teeth...

Well, Maggie made her first trip to the dentist yesterday.  It wasn't a scheduled visit but thankfully the news wasn't too bad.

On Thursday afternoon Maggie was "taking a nap" or at least being quite laying on our bed.  I was in the office and heard a big THUD! My first thought was, it's just the basketball (Maggie's taken to sleeping with a basketball, occasionally it falls off the bed in the night and makes a loud noise).  I headed upstairs to check it out, I was halfway up the steps when Maggie started screaming.  I rounded the corner into the bedroom and she was sitting in the middle of the bed covered in blood!  I picked her up and ran for the bathroom, once I got some water and a towel on her face, I figured out the blood was coming (quickly) from both her nose and mouth.  She stopped crying and we had this conversation:

Maggie: "Mom, what's all this red stuff?"
Me:  "It's blood."
Maggie:  "Where is it coming from?"
Me: "Well honey, it's coming from you."
Maggie: "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!"

Her nose and lip quickly swelled and I figured out I wasn't going to get the bleeding stopped anytime soon.  I gathered her up, called Arnie, put her in the car and off we went for the doctor (both covered in blood)....

By the time we finished at the doctor, the bleeding had stopped, Maggie had decided that a slushy would fix everything and we were told maybe we better see a dentist.

Maggie told me that she had been asleep when she hit her face on my headboard....when we got to Omaha Friday morning she told Grandma that she had been jumping on the bed when the accident happened...a much more likely story.

After x-rays at the dentist, we were thrilled to hear that her 2 front teeth were ok.  She tore the skin that attaches your top lip to your gums, and her gums are VERY bruised, but the teeth were in-tacked and not damaged. 

They did tell us, because of the blood in her gums, there is a chance her teeth could get blood inside of them and turn grey....I'm a bit (okay, totally) panicked by that idea, but the dentist said it would take up to 2 weeks before we know if that's going to happen or not. 

My dad thought it would be really funny to send me this picture today.... (Maggie stayed in Omaha for the weekend)

Maggie called me later to tell me that Grandma had "tickled her tooth with some eyeliner"....hahahahahaha, very funny! 

On a side note, you know you live in a small town when you're kidless for an entire weekend and the things you do for fun are attend a couple high school basketball games and go to the annual Lions club pancake feed....seriously, you'd think we could come up with something better!

In the middle of the night...

On Tuesday an awful accident happened at Norfolk Iron.  One family was changed forever by a call they received in the middle of the night.  I can't tell you how sorry I feel for that family.  My heart is broken for them.  They are not only in my prayers now but will continue to be for the rest of my life. 

It's been a trying few days around here.  I thank God that Arnie is the man he is and that he is surrounded by a team of strong and capable people.  There are lots of quotes about how you see someones true character in the tough times, I think I see my husbands true character all the time, but in the last few days I have realized how truly unique he is.  I couldn't be more proud of the respect, leadership and compassion he has show to everyone involved. 

Love the people close to you constantly & unconditionally and pray that the phone never rings in the middle of the night. 

Happy Valentine's Day....

Valentine's Day brought lots of excitement at our house.  The day started with a party at preschool and Maggie was even more excited when she found out daddy was coming to help.  I'm not sure who had more fun, Maggie or Arnie.  When I went to pick her up later in the day, I heard all about how "cute and sweet" my husband was for coming (not that I disagree, it was just funny to hear it at school).  I'm so greatful that Maggie has the kind of daddy who is willing to come be the room mom when mommy is busy....she's a lucky girl (we both are).

Yesterday morning I had the pleasure of photographing a beautiful little boy.  I haven't been working much because I'm under strict instructions to "take it easy" and 4 hour marathon newborn sessions don't usually fall into that catagory.  But Brodie was an amazing gift to his parents, who adopted him a week and a half ago and I just knew I had to try.  I'm so glad I did, he was awesome and it felt great to get back behind the camera.  The studio is so close to being finished, hopefully in the next day or so.  I'm betting he was the last session that will ever require us to move all the furniture in the living room and hual all my "junk" in the house.  I can't wait to have the space....it will be great for all the babies I work with, but I'm especially excieted to have it ready for Potato.

After school we had to make a quick trip to the vet.  We're trying a new arthritis therapy for Reagan that requires a shot every 4 days...yesterday I successfully held her down and gave her the shot myself, so now we have all the tools at home and we don't have to make constant trips to see Dr. Stephenson.  Giving a shot to Reagan was a serious accomplishment for me, I didn't even get quizzy or hesitant, I just did it...might not sound like a big deal, but I don't generally do so well with anything medical...I guess it's true what they say, you'll do anything you have to for your kids :)

Maggie and Lauren got to play outside for awhile yesterday afternoon, Maggie doesn't understand why she can't play in the backyard, hopefully it will all dry out soon.  She's really eager to get into her playhouse. 

After gymnastics we made a special Valentiens Dinner, of what else but Steak, mac n' cheese and cherry jello...what more could a little girl (or her dad) want.   All in all it was a great day.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

The prettiest Valentine's any mommy & daddy could ask for. 

Ready for supper... yum, yum!

Maggie got goggles for Valentine's Day and she thought they would help her see while she worked on a special dessert for Daddy.

 Maggie finishing Daddy's special dessert.  She made sure it had lots of "Cream" (whip cream) and heart shaped sprinkels.

big sister class...

Maggie enjoyed BIG sister class on Saturday morning and the hospital.  I was a bit disturbed by the size of her practice baby, it was HUGE... I'm used to the tiny ones, if Potato comes out the size of that baby we're going to be headed straight for toddler clothes (and the potty chair).

One of the things Maggie learned was never to leave the baby alone, so when she and Grandma headed for the store later in the day she made sure to leave baby chocolate milk in very attentive hands....

She also got a special shirt to decorate for baby potato.  Most mornings when Maggie gets out of bed she asks if today is "Crack Out Day", I'm thinking she thinks potato is going to enter the world as a baby chick.

Saturday night we had  Birthday Party with the Westerfield's.  Maggie and Alex got to play, Maggie especially liked his rubber snakes... she tried to sneak up and scare everyone with them.  Good news is she's not very good at sneaking :)

Sunday Arnie and I picked up and put together (mostly arnie) our new double stroller and got the car seat all organized and ready.  Maggie took a little spin in the new stroller, we're having such beautiful weather around here maybe we'll get a chance to take a walk this week and really give the thing a test drive. 

I go back to the doctor tomorrow, just for a routine check, I expect everything to go fine, but I take some comfort in knowing baby's going to get checked out. 

I'm sure tomorrow I will have a few Valentine's Day pictures to share, I thought I better catch up on the weekend first.

Sugar, Spice and GLITTER!!!

It's all Valentine's Day, pink, hearts and glitter around here the last couple of days.  We had to get the Valentine box ready for preschool & make a few decorations and today, Carly came home from preschool with us so we could decorate some cookies and do a few "projects".  I love the Maggie is old enough to really engage in things now and do a few things for herself, but I find myself missing the little girl who always needed my help and wanted me around. 

I'm sitting in my office (15 feet from the playroom) every time I go in and check on Maggie and Carly they stop what they are doing and look at me like "can we help you?" Then as soon as I walk away they go back to playing.  I'm thrilled that they don't require constant supervision, I'm just not sure where the time went.

I'm sure there will be lots more glitter in the 72 hours between now and the end of Valentine's Day.  I love having a little girl!

On a side note, we have the LAZIEST dog on the planet.  Today is the first nice day we've had in weeks, I keep trying to entice her to go outside and play and here is what I get instead...

I finally took the pillow away from her because she was starting to snore and drool...seriously!

The guys are out installing the window in my studio today, maybe I can convince Maggie and Carly to take a walk out and check on it with me....I can't wait for it to be ready, it looks amazing!!

yee haw! and a couple random pictures...

Today was "Western Day" at preschool, Maggie was so excited to wear her hat and boots to school.  I'm not sure her boots were comfortable (she hasn't had them on in months) but once they were on, there was no way to talk her out of them.  We also figured out this morning while getting dressed, it's time to go get Maggie some new jeans...we tried on 3 pairs and while we found one that worked, they weren't very roomy and barely long enough.  Now that she goes potty by herself at preschool, she pretty much wears sweatpants every day, so it's been awhile since we went through her jeans.  It's hard to believe that any child that belongs to Arnie and I would be so tall....but I guess we're off to buy some 4T pants.

Great Aunt Joyce (GAJ) made Grandma and Maggie matching cookie dresses (aprons).  Unfortunately, when they wore them on Tuesday they weren't making cookies (baby potato loves cookies).  Maggie loves steak, she refuses to eat ground beef, we can call it steak, put cheese on it, hide it in spaghetti sauce, it doesn't matter, she'll find it.  So she and grandma we're in fact making steak...I wonder if you can have high cholesterol at 3?

Realxin' on the way home from Omaha.  Those long legs come in handy for picking on daddy in the car, she can almost reach his ears with her toes.



The spuds a growin'...

We just finished our doctors appointments to check up on baby potato.  Thankfully, she has grown.  Her body still hasn't caught up with her head and legs, but it's in much better shape then it was 3 weeks ago (and honestly when you look at her daddy & especially her uncle Evan, I'm not sure there bodies ever caught up with their heads, so maybe its genetic.)  I guess she just needed a little time at the beach.  As long as everything else keeps going well, we will remeasure her in 3 weeks and go from there.  For today we're very thankful for her improvements and appreciative of all the prayer and support. God answers prayer!

I think that ultrasound pictures are a little hard to understand and I can't always see what the technician says is there, but I thought I would share a profile of Miss Potato anyway, I tried to label it to make it a little easier. She wouldn't move her hand out from in front of her face...I'm pretty sure she was saying "Seriously Mom, I grew like you asked me to, now leave me alone and let me sleep!"

Saturday morning Maggie gets to go to Big Sister class at the hospital, she's excited to see where Potato will be born and we're grateful for the opportunity to familiarize her with the building, rooms, etc.

big girl ponytail...

Yesterday when we were getting ready for church Maggie said, "Mom, today I want a big girl ponytail." I tried one ponytail on the top of her head and she looked in the mirror and said, "No Mom, a big girl ponytail." So with the help of lots of hairspray and a couple of extra barrettes, she got to have her "big girl ponytail".  After her hair was done, to her satisfaction, she woke up her dad to tell him that she was in fact "the cutest thing ever." 

We went to a Superbowl Party at Miss Lauren's house (her mom, dad, sisters and brother live there too, but I'm not sure Maggie notices that.)  Maggie was SO excited.  The Orwig's are BIG Steelers fans so last week Lauren brought Maggie a Steelers shirt and some socks, I'm pretty sure she likes the hand-me-downs that come from their house better then anything new I come home with. 

 

Tomorrow is baby Potato day, she's been dancing around like crazy all morning, I hope that means she's growing a whole bunch and trying to get comfortable in her cramped quarters.  We'll know soon, keep the prayers coming.

Getting ready for Potato...

Today has been "Get Ready for Potato Day!" at our house.  Arnie and Maggie put the crib back together and we cleaned out all the 'junk' that has collected in the unused nursery.  I cleaned out the kitchen cupboards and found new homes for all the stored away bottles, pacifiers, bibs, etc.  It's starting to look like a baby might live here someday soon. 

Maggie decided she needed to give me a lesson in putting baby Potato's pajamas on, so after baby chocolate milk had a clean diaper (because apparently she'd pooped her imaginary one) this is the lesson I got... 

 

While we're saying alot of prayers and hoping Potato keeps "cooking" for several more weeks there is a chance she'll have to be delivered earlier then we planned.  We go to Omaha Tuesday morning for an Ultrasound and some measurements and then my doctor and a perinatal specialist will make a decision.  I've been feeling good but at last check Potato wasn't growing exactly like she should be.  If she's not getting the nutrients and energy she needs in my belly, it might be best for her to be delivered and given them in an incubator.  They've assured us that her brain is developed and while she would need some special care and an extended stay in the NICU, she would likely develop/recover completely from this deficit.  Please say a few prayers for us, and maybe an extra one for Miss Maggie. She is so excited to be a big sister and to meet Potato, but this could all prove to be a little scary and very confusing for her.  I'm still holding out hope for my St Patrick's Day baby...We'll keep you posted on what we find out....

ice skating??

Yesterday afternoon Maggie came running into my office and said, "Mommy, come watch I can ice skate in the playroom!!!"  When I went to look, here's what I found :)

by the way, playing dress-up has all of the sudden become a BIG activity at our house this week.  I'm actually amazed that she has clothes on in this picture.  She's been stripping off her clothes, usually she's just wearing some bright color tutu, a pair of rain boots, a few necklaces and a hat of some sort.  So far daddy has refused to put on a tutu, but I think we're wearing him down :)

She is mine!!!

Almost daily, and surely several times a week, someone sees us in public and comments on how much Maggie looks like her daddy.  And they're right, she does look alot like him...I've kind of resigned myself to the fact that I'll have to teach her to act like me, so people know I was involved in her creation.  BUT while we were snowed in at mom and dad's I found a few pictures that cause me to think twice....what do you think????

our first baby turns 6!!

Last week while we were on vacation, Reagan turned 6!  I can't believe we've had her that long.  Arnie flew to New York to pick her up Easter weekend 2005...and we've been smitten with her ever since.  Arnie and Maggie both think that she is their dog, but really she's my dog :)  We couldn't ask for a better companion.  She doesn't adore her little sister the way we had hoped, but she's very protective of her and tolerates her well. 

A couple of weeks ago Maggie put a leash on Reagan and attempted to pull her around the house...it actually ended up more like Reagan taking Maggie for a walk, but if Reagan wanted she could have just knocked Maggie over and run off.  At least they were playing together. 

And...today Reagan allowed Maggie to put a party hat on her.  Maggie remembered that we had talked about it being Reagan's birthday last week and we had the party hats from Grandpa's Birthday so she had a little celebration with Hannah and Reagan.  Complete with birthday hugs and kisses. 

The picture of Reagan with the coat....Yesterday it was time for Maggie to go someplace and I told her to get her coat on...she ran to me and said "Mom, Reagan took my coat and she won't give it back!"  I wonder how many things she will find to blame on her sister.


The party hats were originally for Grandpa's Birthday...Maggie's been talking for several days about party hats and she couldn't wait to pick some out at the store for Grandpa's birthday dinner.  I'm pretty sure her sweet little face is the only thing that would ever convince my dad to wear a party hat.  Maggie and Grandma made grandpa a cake, chocolate of course.

We were planning on heading back to Norfolk this morning but the weather just wasn't cooperating.  Boy is it nasty here.  Hopefully tomorrow morning.... Poor Maggie is really missing school, the list of things that we need to take care of at home is ever growing and I can't wait to see the progress on the studio, it sounds like it's almost ready. 


On Sunday afternoon Alex & Ellie came to play.  The kids had such a good time and I'm glad they are so close already.  Alex always brings lots of fun toys...this time Maggie's favorite was a nerf shotgun.  I didn't think I would ever here my sweet little girl say, "I need to load some shells."  I guess we'll chalk it up to Alex being from Council Bluffs :) 

I'm glad Ellie will soon have Potato (and Ben & JetSki's baby) because I'm not sure she'll be able to keep up with these 2 crazies.