Hot Stuff....

Gracie thinks she's pretty hot stuff now that she's 2 months old!

I didn't notice as it was happening, but someone has definitely packed on a few pounds this month....She's all smiles now.  Last night she officially slept through the night, Arnie put her to bed shortly after 11 and she didn't wake up for a bottle until 6:05!  Yippy, I hope she can repeat it tonight. 

Gracie is getting really good at holding up her head, she loves to be propped up on the couch or in the newly discovered Bumbo chair.  She rocks around when laying on the floor, but doesn't seem interested in rolling yet, I secretly hope it takes her a long time to figure that one out...once she starts moving, I'm doomed!  She's been staying awake more and more and is still very calm and easily comforted.  We're extremely lucky to have such a mild mannered and happy little girl on our hands. 

This morning while taking a picture of Grace I had a total Deja Vu moment of a picture I had somewhere of Maggie...well I found the picture...check out our girls...almost exactly the same age....can you tell which is which???

And the never ending Birthday, finally draws to a close...

What a weekend!  We had so much to celebrate.  Saturday we dropped Gracie off in Omaha (she still wasn't feeling the best) and then headed to Lincoln for Emma Feldman's graduation party, then back to Omaha that evening for birthday cake and dinner with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Laura & Uncle Mark.  Sunday we got to spend most of the afternoon and evening with the O'Briens, Uncle Mike made us ribs for dinner and the kids (and the grown-ups) had a great time catching up.  Then Monday the last of the birthday gatherings was held with the Westerfields.  Maggie might not know what to do without a Birthday party every few days, but it's a good thing we're done because I'm not sure where she would put any more toys! 

At Aunt Lori & Uncle Howard's house, Maggie and Grandma Lucy found a great nest full of baby birds in the corner of the fence.

Maggie and Aunt Cindi were playing and Maggie said "Aunt Cindi, you are a bad influence!"  At the time Cindi was trying to get Maggie to make a mess with some frosting, I guess we should be proud she used the phrase correctly.

Aunt Laura & Uncle Mark got Maggie a fishing pole for her birthday, she was so excited.  She did lots of "fishing" in the house this weekend while it rained.  The kid on the left side is Kahle, Uncle Deem's best friend.  He came over on Sunday and stayed for several hours, I think he misses Vadim as much as the rest of us do.  It was really nice to have him around, and I think it made us all miss Deem a little more.  He'll be home soon and boy will we be happy to see him!

My Grandma O'Brien and her 4 great-grandkids. 

Hailie (age 6), Connor & Maggie (both 3) and Gracie (8 weeks)

I hope when I'm 83, I can still run around the back yard and play duck, duck, goose with my grandkids. Grandma's sister is 93, and Sunday night grandma was telling all of us kids about something, and she said "when you get old, like Aunt Ruth" :) we all laughed hysterically, I'm so glad my grandma doesn't think she's old...I sure don't think she is!

Not long after this picture Maggie came inside and proclaimed that we were all "Hot Lava Girls"...and that she and Hailie had decided the whole back yard was hot lava.  At the time I didn't know there was a Disney Show about Lava Girl (and Shark Boy, which was of course Connor)...I think I might question what Disney is teaching our children :)

Uncle Mike made homemade ice-cream....Miss Maggie was very sweaty and it was a perfect cold treat!

Cousins! I love this picture...

Maggie and Grandpa putting out the flag for Memorial Day. 

Gracie thinks she's pretty hot stuff! She's definitely feeling better, still lots of coughing, but way more smiles!

More cousins, not quite as well organized as the previous picture, but they're all in one frame!

Elizabeth (9 months), Maggie (3 years), Gracie (8 weeks), Alex (3.5 years)

By the way, this weekend Maggie decided she was going to go ahead and be a doctor before she's a teenager.  There is no reason to wait and according to her, she can be a teenager "anytime" :) watch out Doogie Howser here comes Maggie!!

Rain, Rain, Go AWAY!!!

It feels more like October then May here this week.  It's been so wet and rainy.  I hated to do it, but I had to turn the furnace back on this morning, I just couldn't get warm.  I still haven't planted any flowers, and days like today make it hard to think about being outside.  We need a little sunshine and a few warm days.  Maggie makes trips out to her playhouse with her umbrella, but it just isn't the same.

Poor little Miss Grace is sick.  She started to get a cold last week before we left for Alabama, but it's just continued to get worse.  Yesterday I decided to make the trip to Omaha with her to see the doctor.  We're watching her pretty close to make sure she doesn't develop pneumonia like Maggie did when she was a baby...so far, I think she's just uncomfortable, we're praying it doesn't get any worse.  It was bound to happen sooner or later, and the doctor reassured me that all we're doing is strengthening her immune system, but I still hate to see her suffer. 

Wednesday night was Maggie's last night of gymnastics for this session, so Arnie and I got to go watch her class.  She loves it, she still doesn't understand why she can't flip over the bar like the big girls, we keep telling her, someday it'll be her turn.

Time for a little flower chuckin'....

Sunday was the BIG day.  We did a little more swimming, then it was time to get ready for the wedding.  Maggie did such a good job being the flower girl.  She threw her flowers perfectly then sat quietly during the whole wedding.  At the reception we were all jealous of her energy...she danced, and danced, and danced, and danced....she was the last person at the party!  I'm pretty sure she thought it was her party...she knew no strangers and left with lots of new friends.

We had such a great time in Mobile.  Amy's family and their friends were so kind and welcoming.  We enjoyed them and they were all so sweet to our little birthday girl.  We came home totally exhausted but with lots of great memories, stories, pictures and new friends.

Congrats to Evan & Amy.  We love you both.... 

1- Maggie usually seems so tall. Not next to this guy. Maggie barely came to Jeremy's knee. 

2- Maggie holding court with all the boys.  She was telling them how to walk slow at the wedding.

3- Maggie & Gramma Lea, waiting for the wedding to start. Maggie liked hugging Gramma Lea, every time she did she would get covered in purple glitter, she thought it was great!

4- A pretty little flower girl, all ready to go.

5- Aunt Keeli working on Maggie's hair.

6- Maggie and Brandon, having a little pizza.  Maggie adores Brandon and his big sister Emma.

7- Everyone was laughing hysterically in this picture, right before I took it, Jay, the ring bearer turned to Maggie and smacked a kiss right on her lips.  As you can see, she's wiping it off.

8- Amy's cousin was trying to convince Maggie to say "Roll Tide" and as you can see, she wasn't having any of it.  She told him he should stop saying that and say "Go Big Huskers" instead.

9- Maggie was so excited that her dress and Aunt Amy's dress were the same color.

10- Maggie practicing flower throwing before we left the hotel.

11- Maggie and Jay headed down the isle.  Maggie stopped to look right at the photographer, that's my girl :)  About half way down the isle, Maggie turned to Jay and said "Why aren't you throwing anything?"

12- Maggie and Daddy dancing.

13- Maggie ready to catch the bouquet with the rest of the bridesmaids.

14- She didn't catch the bouquet, but someone produced this little one for her, not sure where it came from, but she loved it!

15- Rachel doing Maggie's make-up while we got ready. She wanted to be just like the big girls! Rachel and Keeli were so kind to help us.

16- Maggie and Arnie dancing, hmmmmmmmm....I wonder why he was sore the next morning.

17- Maggie and Papa, getting ready to leave the hotel.

18- Maggie and Jay playing before the wedding.

19- Grandma & Pops dancing with Maggie. She was a dancing machine at the reception!

20- She was so tired she fell asleep on the way back to the hotel.  She slept in her dress, jewelry on, feet still dirty...That's the sign of a good time!!!

Mardi Gras, Moon Pies and Go Big Red!

Saturday we had a wonderful celebration lunch at the Mardi Gras museum.  Mardi Gras actually originated in Mobile (not New Orleans)....according to the museum.  Then a little bit of down time followed by wedding rehearsal and dinner. 

1- Sarah, Maggie, Jenny, Cooper, Zoe, Claire, Gabe, Ella & Jeff....not sure why Arnie isn't in this picture, but most importantly it's the only picture I have of all 4 babies at once.

2- Maggie & Arnie being the Mardi Gras Prince and Princess..

3- Aunt Keeli and Maggie on the Mardi Gras "float".

4- In Mobile not only do the throw beads for Mardi Gras, they also throw Moon Pies.  So Maggie, Evan and Amy tossed out a few.

5- Maggie's bead collection....not sure what the tough face is about, I guess she thought she should flex :)

6- Aunt Diane and Maggie in front of the float.

7- At the rehearsal dinner lots of people gave toasts.  We asked Maggie if she wanted to give one and she said no, but after hearing some of Amy's family give a toast that included "Roll Tide" she said she had something to say.....Pops took her up there and she gave a good, loud & proud, "GO BIG RED!"  She got a good laugh and was very proud of herself.

8- Maggie found her own name card before the dinner.

9- The flower girl is getting sleepy...Saturday night is the only night she went to bed before 11pm....she's a little party animal.

10- Someone wasn't crazy about the idea of standing still for a family picture, but we thought we'd try...

11- Maggie and Sarah switched headbands... Maggie LOVES playing with cousin Sarah, she might be a grown-up like mom and dad, but she is WAY more fun!!

12- On our way out of dinner Maggie took a few roses, 3 to be specific, because she was 3 years old now.

Ya'll should see a few pictures of our trip....

We left for Mobile, Alabama on Thursday morning...here are a few pictures from our first couple of days there.  (More posts to follow)

1- Thursday evening, Amy's family was kind enough to have a little birthday party for Maggie. She loved it.  We had some great southern bbq for dinner, complete with birthday cake for Maggie, banana pudding for Arnie and great company for all!

2- We put a few decorations up in our hotel room after Maggie went to sleep on Thursday, she was SO excited to see them when she woke up.  Aunt Laura called right after she woke up and she told her "when I went to bed I was 2, and when I woke up I was 3!!" She also LOVED her roll-away bed, she thought it was so cool that it had wheels.

3- Maggie, Uncle Evan and Aunt Amy....they are both so good to her and she loved being a part of their big weekend.  She definitely felt very special to be included!

4- A few bday presents made the trip.

5- Talking to Grandma and Grandpa.

6- We took a walk on Friday morning, to see a little bit of downtown mobile.  Maggie's favorite thing about Mobile was that all of the public trashcans downtown were purple.  She kept saying "there is another PURPLE trash!!!"  I should have taken a picture.

7- Friday night we went to a beautiful home to have our first of several wedding parties.  I don't have any pictures that do this house justice, but someday I'll be building it...so you'll all get to see it.  It was amazing!

8- Headed out for a little birthday swim.  Our hotel had a beautiful pool and Maggie loved it.

9- A crazy family game of swimming pool duck, duck, GOOSE!  Uncle Evan, Daddy, Aunt Gwenn and Sarah were great sports!

10- How many Robinson's does it take to put on a pair of goggles :)

11- Opening a few presents at the Redisch's on Thursday night....it was so sweet of them to think of her.

12- A little quiet time painting in the hotel on Friday.  We tried to do it outside, but it was pretty windy...Maggie said "Mom, we need to go inside the wind isn't being very polite."

13- Aunt Amy help cut some birthday cake.  Maggie liked the pink flowers on top the best.  A couple of Amy's wonderful bridesmaids were there with us too, the girls were so sweet to Maggie all weekend and she loved being "one of the girls".

14- Maggie and her cousin Gabe.  She loves playing with "little" kids and Gabe (and his mommies) were so patient with her. He was a tough guy, he didn't seem to mind being jerked around at all :)

15- One of the things Maggie got for her birthday was an umbrella, it didn't rain while we were in Mobile. But somehow Maggie convinced both Aunt Diane and Almost Grandma Kris to take the umbrella in the shower....she didn't go with them, she stayed outside the shower and just watched....guess who's clothes ended up wet??? (hint: not Maggie's)

16- A little more pool time.  Maggie liked the big pool, but the grown-ups seemed to prefer the baby pool.

17- Maggie is 3....where has the time gone???

home sweet home...

After a crazy few days in Mobile, we're back home.  We had such a great time at Evan & Amy's wedding, I will have a long post (or 2) about the weekend, Maggie's bday, and the successful flower "throwing" with tons of pictures to share, but it's going to take me a bit to get organized...so hopefully I will get it up later today or tomorrow. 

For now, I'm going to share a few pictures of what we came home too.  Maggie had a BIG surprise.  While we were gone Mom & Dad stayed in Norfolk and finished her playhouse.  It was cool before, now it's unbelievable and amazing.  She couldn't believe the slide was "twirly" and "a tube".... it took her a few minutes to figure out how to climb the ladder and then get comfortable going down the slide, but after that she was an expert! We had to pry her out of it last night to go to bed. Maybe I should have suggested she and her daddy sleep in it :)



Peanut has found a new favorite spot, dumb cat!



Last night Maggie noticed the new floor and asked is she needed
her own "duster thing"...(swiffer)...that's my girl!

the twirly slide is fast!



Gracie was SO excited to see us, she could hardly contain herself :)

 

Maggie's already back outside playing again this morning. Hopefully she'll wear herself out and we'll both get a nap today.

Happy Birthday Maggie!

Dear little Miss Maggie,

Today you turn 3! I can’t believe it, where has the time gone?  I remember lying in the hospital the day before you were born, I was so worried about how I would “learn” to be a mommy to you. If only I had known then that you would teach me everything I needed to know, I’d have been able to relax a little. In the last year you have turned from a curious toddler into a bubble little girl.  You never cease to amaze your daddy and I.  You are incredibly kind and caring.  You’re fiercely independent, amazingly smart and extremely polite.  You can keep up with the boys, though you prefer to be “all pinked up”.  You like playing in the dirt but you love to wear my lip gloss.  You know the importance of loving God and loving other people, and that’s an amazing feat for someone so small.

This year you started preschool.  You’ve learned so much and made lots of new friends.  I was very nervous to send you, because you’re the youngest student, but like you do with every new challenge, you mastered it quickly.  You love gymnastics, playing in your playhouse, books and games.  You have a new dance for every occasion and you’re great at making up new songs. 

You know the importance of family and good friends.  You love spending time with family that’s close by and you adore going through pictures of family farther away.  Now that you can talk on the phone, you love to call your grandparents and I’m so glad that you have all 4 of them wrapped around your little fingers. 

This year you became a big sister, and if I could create the perfect big sister for Gracie, it would be you. Your strong personality and infectious laugh, already make her smile.  I love that you call her “Tater” and “Bright Eyes” and I adore that when you enter the room she immediately tries to find you.  I would place a large wager on her first word being “Maggie” or “Sis”.  I hope you keep loving her the way you do now, having a sister is a special thing and I’m so glad you have each other.

HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY MAGGIE! Thanks for loving me. I can't wait to see how you continue to grow in the next 5, 10, 25, 50 years. There's no doubt in my mind you can do anything you set your mind to.  I love you more then you will ever know.

Love, Mommy

Maggie, put your coat on...

We're in Alabama....Uncle Evan and Aunt Amy's wedding weekend is about to begin.  Maggie is very excited.  Currently she is supposed to be napping and she is tossing, turning and pretending to snore...she lets out a few snores and then opens her eyes to see if we noticed that she was "sleeping".  I hope we get a few naps out of her while we're here, but so far it's looking doubtful.

Since we're going to be gone for Maggie's birthday, last night we had a birthday dinner with her grandparents, Miss Lauren and Mr Collin and the Ries'.  It's not the extravaganza that her last 2 birthday parties have been, but she didn't seem to notice and loved every minute of it.  At the end of the party we had a 'proud parent' moment when she gave the Minnie Mouse balloon bouquet we'd brought to Carly and JJ to take home.  She told me that since we were going to be gone for the wedding she wouldn't get to "enjoy" them, so they should have them.  She is wise beyond her years, maybe a bit of an old soul. 

She was sad to have to leave her new presents at home this morning but we promised that there would be lots of time to play when we got home. It was hard for me to leave Gracie home, but I'm not sure Maggie's noticed yet :). Gracie is in great hands and it will be good for Maggie to have a little mom and dad time.   Hopefully the Nebraska weather cooperates and my dad can get the slide and deck finished on Maggie's playhouse while we're away, then she'll have a real surprise when we get home!

I forgot to mention yesterday that another pink frog appeared in the mail this week...it was a stuffed pink frog with blue legs, Maggie opened the envelope and said something to the effect of, look mom, god sent me Cupcake's (that's what she named the first pink frog) mom, that was nice of him.  Then a little later she said that she didn't know God used the mail....it's going to be hard to keep this kid convinced about Santa for long.

Because Maggie was born a little premature, every 6 months we have to fill out a questionnaire about her development.  It's the states way of ensuring we are getting any additional support we need for her.  She's very advanced for her age and we've always flown through the questions.  Yesterday, we got her three year forms...I went through and quickly answered the questions and ran Maggie through a few of the exercises it asked for, then I got to a question that asked if Maggie could put her own coat on....well, I'm not sure.  I'm usually in such a hurry to get out the door that I don't give her a chance (by the time I've waited for her to do her socks and shoes by herself, I don't have the patience for the coat too.)  Anyway, I answered "no" to the question...well I'm pretty sure that answer is driving her dad nuts.  I expect there to be "put your coat on" boot camp at our house soon :) 

Here are a few pictures of the birthday dinner....



Gracie's ready to celebrate!!



Gracie, what do you think about spending the weekend with Grandma & Grandpa??

 
Hopefully I'll have a chance to post some pictures from the next few days...doesn't look like it'll be happening during naptime :)

(I'm working on Arnie's computer again, so for some reason I can't get the pictures turned the right way, sorry!)

11 lbs and 40,000 miles

Last night we weighed Little Miss Gracie...maybe I should quit calling her "little"...she is officially in the 11 pound club.  11 lbs 4 oz according to our scale.  She's been eating like a champ and she slept until 5am this morning....maybe by the time we come home from Alabama my mom will have her sleeping through the night??  Unfortunitly she seems to have caught a bit of the cold her big sister has, lots of coughing and a very stuffy nose, poor thing.  I hate to leave her when she's sick, but I'm thankful she'll have my parents to take good care of her, and taking her sick would be harder on her.

Yesterday was a day of numbers around here, besides Gracie's steller weight gain, my car hit 40k miles.  This is significant because last April when I inheriteted it from Arnie it had 12k miles....so in the last 14 months I've driven more then 28,000 miles....if I averaged 60 mph, thats 466 hours of driving, or 19 and a half days....whoa! that's alot.  If I could teach Maggie to drive while I worked, I would be much more efficient.  Maybe next time we should consider a car that gets a little better gas milage....probably not  (where would I put the kids, the dog, the stroller and all the other junk we always seem to have in there???)

The other number that came up yesterday was 60....as in 60 mph in a 50 mph zone.  I know, I know, you all assume it was me and my lead foot....WRONG! yesterday when I picked Maggie up at school, she said, "Mommy did you have to talk to a policeman on your way to pick me up?" I said, no, why? and Maggie said, "daddy and I had to talk to a policeman on our way to school this morning.  He wasn't nice, he gave daddy a ticket."

Oh ya, last night Maggie's prayer when like this....
"God is great, thank you for a nice day, watch over my trike, and help mommy's tummy to not be so lumpy anymore. Amen."  Sometimes kids can be a bit too honest, I guess I won't be wearing a swimsuit anytime soon :)

Seriously, how is it that I'm supposed to keep the house clean?
(not to mention the tupperware)

Look Mom, I found clouds...

Today during naptime I could hear Maggie counting...12...13...14...15...
So I went to check on her and here is what I found....

She said, "Look mom I found some clouds.  I needed something softer to rest on." One of the throw pillows on our bed was unzipped and the counting was the handfuls of stuffing she'd been throwing in the air.  She wasn't very thrilled that after I made her clean up the "clouds", she still had to take a nap! 

Tonight Maggie begged to ride her trike to Sam & Toppers, so we tried it.  Here is how we left....

We were off to a good start.  Here's how we finished the walk...

After our walk Gracie watched a little driveway basketball before coming in for a bottle.

bedtime prayer...

Last night Maggie's prayer went something like this...
"Dear God, Thank you for a nice day.  Please watch over my tricycle and help me get really good at riding it so I can go all the way to Sam & Topper's house. Amen" 

The flag out in front of our house has been in rough shape for awhile, but the ice ball storm was really the last straw.  Yesterday Arnie and Maggie went and got a new one.  Maggie was so excited to help put it up.  She decided daddy would put the flag up and she would say the pledge to it.  She is a very patriotic little thing, she knows where most of the big flags are on our path to Omaha and she is always quick to point them out.

One more picture, just for fun...who can help but smile at this??

Surprise Birthday Day....

Since we are going to be in Mobile on Maggie's actual Birthday, we decided that we would make today a surprise birthday day and give Maggie most of her presents early. We came back from Omaha first thing this morning, and then Maggie and Arnie went to Menards to pick up a couple of things.  While they were gone, I set out the birthday presents.  Maggie noticed the BIG blanket covered present in the driveway from all the way out on the road.  She and Arnie were headed past our house to check in on Sam and Topper, and Arnie was quickly instructed to scrap the horses and get down the driveway.

Maggie was so excited to see the sign in the driveway and she couldn't wait to uncover her surprise....

Tonight when she called Grandma & Grandpa to tell them about
her new trike, she said "it's all pinked up!"

Gracie didn't seem to mind being Maggie's first passenger :)

It was really windy so it's hard to hear what she says, but here is a video of her uncovering it...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzvmEvTSHPc

We played in the driveway for awhile, then went inside to open a few more presents and then went to Big Red Volcano (Keno), Maggie's favorite restaurant, for lunch. 

While we were in Omaha for the weekend, something appeared on the porch of the playhouse...

When Maggie saw it, she said (all in one breath) , "Mom, God gave me a pink frog for my Birthday!  She's not real, but she is PINK! Do you think God came down here or do you think he just sent it?"  She didn't even think to ask me where the frog came from, it didn't cross her mind that anyone other then God could have done it.  If only we could all have faith like that!

Tonight was Miss Lauren's graduation party, so after a day of playing we headed to their house.  Maggie is like an honorary Orwig, so she spent most of the evening greeting guests at the door with Lauren or telling other kids where things were or what they should be doing.  It was a great end to a fun day. 

The next few days will be busy, all the regular stuff plus a little birthday fun, getting ready for the trip to Mobile and preparing to leave Gracie for a few days.  Hope we can squeeze it all in!!

Maggie & Alex....

Maggie and her cousin Alex are great friends....it's so fun to watch them play.

Yesterday we were at Nate's graduation party, and it was COLD! but watching these 2 you would never have known it.  They played and played and played.  We used to have to entertain them but now they would pretty much rather we leave them alone....yesterday the threw paper airplanes, chucked rocks into the little stream, danced, played "pirate ship", helped serve dinner and ate their weight in M&M's....what a fun day!!

Alex's turn to steer the pirate ship.



Maggie helped Aunt Bobbie serve the sloppy joes...it
didn't take long before she started trying to charge people.
First she asked for 50 cents, then she told grandpa they
were $2....and she got it!

 I only have 5 cousins in the whole world so growing up they were a part of my daily life, more like my siblings then my cousins, I'm so glad that now our kids can be close friends.  It's fun to watch them grow up together.  Maggie and Alex are quite a pair and before long Ellie, Gracie and baby Westerfield will be chasing them around.  I can't wait!