Funny Bunnies

This weekend we celebrated Easter early with Grammer. There was an event at the community lodge for all the grandkids, so Maggie got to play with her cousins, search for eggs, play games and get candy - LOVED it!  

So much candy, so little time

The only thing Maggie didn't like was the Easter Bunny.  Every time he came around, Maggie would need us to pick her up so she could hide her face.  I didn't push the issue... after seeing all the Easter Bunny photos on Facebook, I really can't blame her.  What is with the gigantic, glossy eyes?!  They are slightly terrifying!

Luke and Claire were a little braver

I'll just stand here and observe

Claire was all about the eggs

Looking good, kids

Posing on Pops' motorcycle

This was one of my favorite games - the kids were supposed to hop like a bunny to try and get the balls in the tissue box to pop out.  Maggie was too excited to stay in one spot and jump however...

In case you didn't get that, here's some slow-mo action for you:

Maggie also got to spend some time with her cousin Will at Grandma and Grandpa's:

Smile!  or just sit there!

Banana time

Here's a few others from the week:

Maggie loves to do the 1-2-3 swing thing when she walks between two people. Sometimes she likes to count higher, so you just have to listen for the number with high inflection.  8 continues to be a favorite...

Come on!

Don't let the smile fool you;
getting this girl to eat dinner is a
nightly battle of wits

Goofing off with Daddy:

This and that

We had a very quiet St. Patrick's Day around our house... definitely not the crazy holiday it used to be!  

Lucky leprechauns 

Maggie was obsessed with her shamrock
headband from Grandma!

We were able to get an appointment with the allergist last Thursday, but it was during the middle of the day.  Jamie picked the short stick and took a couple hours off work to take her in.  I believe he described it as “one of the worst 20 minutes of my life.”  They decided to do a mini scratch test on her leg, which requires her to sit still (or rather, be forced to sit still) with an itchy leg.  In the end, the control substance didn’t work, so the test did not reveal any useful information. 

Seriously?!  Thanks for the torture experiment

Since she had a little cough along with the break-outs, the doctor thinks the break-outs were likely a result of a virus attacking her skin cells rather than a food allergy.  It can happen to kids around this age.  Unfortunately, everything is just a hypothesis and we can only wait and observe.

Checking baby doll's vitals before
the appointment

I went in for my weekly doctor appointment on Friday, and everything still looks good with our little girl!  The doctor said I appear to be dropping a little bit, but not all the way yet.  I'm really trying to treasure every moment with Maggie... I already feel guilty about how much time I will have to devote to her sister; just don't want her to feel neglected.

Are you ready to be a big sister, little one?

Jamie and I went to see “Bob’s Burgers Live” last night while my parents stayed with Maggie.  It was a fun date night out!   We saw a few parents who brought their kids… I imagine they left about 1 minute into the show.  I think my favorite joke of the night was, “…my wife is the only one I’ve been with since getting married… everyone else has been like nines and tens…”

Such a hipster

"Name that Expression" is still one of Maggie's favorite games...

I love my Daddy

Lately Maggie makes us applaud for her so she can take a bow.  It totally cracks us up - I'm guessing Grandma taught her:

The Great Thaw

Spring is in the air and I am in an infinitely better mood!  Maggie is happy because she gets to go outside a lot more, and there is a plethora of puddles for her to splash in!  ...and we finally took down the Christmas lights (blush).

My philosophy is that you can never
have too many hair accessories

Maggie’s scary rash magically disappeared after 7 days, just like the doctor told us it would.  We still don’t know what the cause was, but were pretty happy to have it gone... until Friday when it came back again - gah!  It's not as bad this time, but bad enough that we decided to schedule an allergist appointment.  Hoping we can get some answers this week, because my daughter is a dramatic cranky-pants when she's on Benadryl.

My dear friend Becky was in town last weekend for some photography (if you’re around Chicago and need an amazing photographer, check her out: http://rebeccapeplinski.com).  She hung out with us all day Sunday, it was so great to see her!  Maggie adores Becky, probably because she has the energy level of a 3-year-old on espresso!

Taking some sample sips

It’s now crunch time for little miss baby – by which I mean we have to finish preparing for her, not that I will be performing any sort of abdominal exercise.  We’re in pretty good shape (again, baby-wise, not physically), spent a bunch of time this weekend pulling things out of storage and cleaning.  I’m hoping she’ll be here in 3 weeks, but could be up to 5.  I’m predicting an Easter birthday… if so, will name our little girl Bunny or Egg (or perhaps a more traditional name).

Maggie insists this is still her tub...
"it fits, Momma!"

Yup, that's definitely my tub

Here's Maggie doing the wheelbarrow - such grace and strength!

Maggie hasn't been able to do anything without her
Ariel doll this week

This is Maggie's angry face.
Do not try to take her doll away.

Under the sea...

I See Spots

Earlier this week Maggie’s skin had a bunch of red patches, so I put some hydrocortisone on and put her to bed.  When she woke up, the patches had morphed into one giant red blob that covered most of her back and stomach.  She seemed perfectly happy and wasn’t itchy, but I was still freaked out.  Jamie took her to the doctor who said she had an allergic reaction, though we can’t figure out what could have caused it! (I won't gross you out with the graphic pics)

We always get a little nervous when taking Maggie to the doctor because she has been very scared and whiney that past few times.  We’ve been playing with her new doctor kits at home, so when the doctor started to do the normal check-up routine, she knew what everything was and how she should behave.  She was insistent that the doctor check her eyes and ears even though he didn’t really need to!

Maggie's face on a good day...

We've been using Benadryl and steroids all week, and while she's had temporary improvements, she still wakes up every day with lots of red blotches all over the place.  We went back to the doctor today, which was wasn't very helpful... sounds like we will be waiting a couple days to see how she does, and if it still doesn't improve, we'll head to an allergist.   Maggie is a total trooper, but all the medicine has made her rather melodramatic.  Hopefully we can solve this mystery soon!

Just waiting for the doc

I love doing puzzles with Maggie - for every piece, she has to say "hmmm" before putting it into place:

Loves stacking her new boxes

Doh, what did I do wrong?

Not much else going on around here... Jamie has been working almost non-stop on ads and other digital designs for Ben's Encore while also creating a major set for Bishop Foley's musical.  Oh, and he works full-time.  And has to deal with his pregnant wife and red blobby daughter.  This poor guy needs a break!

Maggie and Jamie like to sing "The Wheels on the Bus" whenever they drive somewhere together, except they like to change the verses for our family members...  some of my favorites are:

Claire/Will on the bus says "wah wah wah"...
Luke on the bus says "time to play"...
Mama on the bus says "clean-up time"... (I find this slightly insulting)
Pops on the bus says "snore snore snore" (sorry Dad)
Grammer on the bus says "here's your shoes"... (because she made wraps for Maggie's brace?)
Grandpa on the bus says "feed the fish"...
Grandma on the bus says "giddy-up"...

Happiest when she gets to "hold" babies