9 Months!

I'm a few days late posting, but Maggie has reached the 9-month mark!  We went to her pediatrician appointment this week, and our "little" girl is 23 lb - 9 oz, 29.5 inches... 98th and 95th percentiles.  The doctor said everything is looking good.  She hasn't reached all the milestones for 9 months, but he did not seem at all concerned.  She has a ton of personality and is moving in the right direction!

Getting weighed... she might kill me one
day for posting this... but it's too cute not to

Sometimes she likes to snuggle with a
dolly at nap-time

Maggie and I took a trip to the park by our house on Wednesday.  She had an awesome time, can't believe I didn't do it sooner!  We got to see lots of kids playing, and met a nice little boy about her age.

Look at me!

I'm here for the Grease auditions

Maggie took a 2-hour nap this week, which never
happens!  I just thought she looked so sweet here,
had to get a pic

We got to babysit Luke tonight while Bobby and Al went to a wedding.  We had such a blast!  Maggie was in her glory watching him move all over the place.  We had dinner, went for a walk, then quickly walked home because it started raining.  Jamie went to get us ice cream while I put Maggie down for the night.  We made a fort and had tickle fights, lots of giggling!  It was awesome to spend some time with him!

Maggie successfully evading her diaper change to get
closer to Luke

Ice cream!

Maggie and Luke's debut duet:

Go Lions!

Napper!

We FINALLY have a nap schedule!  We’re still easing into it, but I can usually get Maggie down for naps at 9am and 1pm, and sometimes another one later in the afternoon.  She only sleeps for 30-60 minutes, but it’s amazing what you can accomplish in that amount of time (or what you can choose not to accomplish by watching terrible television instead)!  I figured out that while she likes to snuggle with me before bedtime, she just wants to play or whine when you try to calm her before a nap.  So I just put her in the crib with some white noise from the fan… after 5 minutes of whining, the girl is down for the count.

Maggie two front teeth are both coming in… they look huge compared to her other teeth, but I suppose they will look more normal once they are finished making their entrance.

This is me trying to get Maggie to
show her teeth...

Trying to levitate toys toward her

Nothing better than water from a straw!

Andy and Katie came to Michigan for a visit this week, and they stayed a few nights at our house.  It was great to see them, and Maggie is all about playing with Katie (Andy’s not so bad either)!

Look at my new friend!

Jamie and I celebrated our 3^rd anniversary last week, but decided to wait until this Friday to do something special… which consisted of going to dinner and watching Superman at the dollar theater.  It may sound pathetic, but it was a great night for just the two of us (thanks Grammer and Pops for watching Maggie!).  Then we came home and our basement was flooding again… nothing says “romance” better than stinking, flowing water!

I love Daddy

I have a couple of fun videos from Maggie this week.  I’m so happy I have a phone that can record videos… it totally perks up my day when I’m at work!

This is from an evening when Maggie was really irritated about eating dinner.  So Daddy decided to just let her feed herself...

Grandma let Maggie make some music, Daddy-style:

Quick update

It's been a busy weekend, so tonight I'm just going to post a few pictures from the week... too tired to remember what happened!

Ben's Encore put on a Back to School concert at the
Hard Rock Cafe this Saturday.  Lots of kids came out to
make instruments and listen to some good tunes!

Daddy playing the drums!
(not my best photo, sorry)

 

Ready to party at the Hard Rock!

Went to Aunt Marlene's today, played in the pool
with Luke!  We'll work on your photo smiles, kids.

Playing with Cousin Izzy

Snuggling with Aunt Grace, who came all the way
from Texas to visit!

Giddy up!

Maggie's most comfortable sleep position.

Catch the Wave

No, Maggie hasn't mastered the skill of surfing just yet, but she is waving!  I thought she was just randomly waving her arms around, but now we see that she waves back when people wave to her.

Time for a haircut!

Still no crawling... she's made some progress from last week though.  She's moving her legs the right way, but she keeps rolling over to get places instead of crawling!  Maggie is definitely frustrated and strains really hard to get objects out of her reach, so I think we must be close.

Her first top tooth is starting to peak in.  It'll probably be another week or two before it's out all the way.  I'm trying to brush her teeth everyday... not sure why, but I have a hard time remembering to do that!  I made it part of our bedtime routine, and she really seems to enjoy it.  I think the pressure on her gums probably feels good.

Can I have some?

Maggie is a sleeping champ!  We haven't had to do snuggles in the middle of the night at all this past week!  I know she wakes up because I see her in a bunch of different positions throughout the night, but no big crying fits!  I think I just jinxed myself...  in the morning she usually wakes up around 6:30, and just plays with her hands and jabbers quietly until I come get her around 6:45.  I keep waiting for her to start crying... she must be a patient soul (unlike Mommy).  It's so funny, she always looks like she won the lottery when someone finally gets her in the morning!

Playing with the grass:

Grandma says that Maggie loves the big koi fish in Grandpa's pond.  She helps him feed the fish (motivational screeching) and likes to watch them swim around.

I've got a secret!

Not much else new this week.  Mommy and Daddy both had crazy work weeks, so it's time for a relaxing weekend (bottle(s) of wine, anyone?).  Shout-out to Aunt Amy who is under the weather - feel better soon!!

Last week of summer

Jamie starts work again tomorrow, so I suppose summer is somewhat over for us.  I'll be happy to have a regular routine again, though it was nice to have Jamie home with Maggie more often.  Maggie is going to spend 4 days with Grandma Donoghue each week, and home with me on one day.  It looks like our office is consolidating from Detroit to Northville next month, and I'm nervous that she'll be in bed by the time I get home every night... I'll have to work something out.

That would not be cool, Mommy

No major developments this week.  Maggie tried puffs, and she's still a little freaked out by the texture.  She's good at picking them up, but doesn't have much interest in eating them, just playing with them.  She's no longer a huge fan of bath time.  She'll tolerate it, but the hair rinse and drying off periods are rather unpleasant!

We decided it was time to force a little independence on Maggie during bedtime.  I used to rock her to sleep and place her in the crib for bedtime each night.  This past month she was waking up several times a night, and couldn't seem to soothe herself to sleep.  So Thursday night we let her cry it out... I put her to bed when she was a little drowsy, and she cried for about 30 minutes before finally falling asleep.  Jamie had to physically restrain me!  I was expecting this to occur for several nights, but she fell asleep after only a few minutes of fussing the past two nights!  She doesn't need us in the middle of the night either!  I think it's too early to tell, but so far so good!

Jamie painted another mural for Kate's new bedroom this week.  Maggie went to hang out with her buddy:

Chillin' in Kate's crib

Maggie's fave toy

Wall talkers

Finished product

Jamie did some face painting at Amy and Rex's church event Saturday, so Maggie and I tagged along for fun.  She had so much stuff to look at, it totally tuckered her out!  Jamie tried to give her a little face-paint flower, but she is incapable of sitting still for more than 2 seconds at a time!

Yay, it's my auntie!

Have a good week!

8 Months

Our little girl is 2/3 of a year old today!  Maggie is really into clapping and laughing right now... not sure if she actually thinks things are funny, or if she just likes the sound of her laughter.  Either way, it's really entertaining!  Maggie eats most foods now, and we're just about to start with some puffs. We're still working on crawling, but she seems to be on her way.  She plays independently and really loves balls and books.

This week we went to the zoo with Uncle Bobby and Luke!  It was a nice, overcast day, and I think everyone had a great time!

Enjoying the greenery

I think Luke's favorite part was chasing the peacocks!

Clap if you like giraffes!

Luke is really excited about
something...

Father and son

Luke's first whirl on the drums... he keeps a gentle beat

Daddy took Maggie to the last day of camp at the Detroit Country Club.  She stayed the whole day, and was a total angel!

Peace and love!

Save me from the tiger!!

We went to Aunt Amal's tonight to see everyone on the Azar side of the family.  Maggie got to meet a lot family members, and I think she enjoyed all the young kids most of all!

Playing with a bunch of second cousins... or first-removed...?
I never know how that works.  But it was fun!

Some other random photos:

Going for a walk with Grammer before bedtime

Justin looking at his future self

Grandpa let me wear his hat.
Just get me a horse.

Must. Have. Leaves.

Bucharest + Tigers Game = happy parents on date night!