Today Evie went to the doctor for her FINAL helmet check. She made it all the way from 10mm difference to 2mm difference! I am beyond happy to be done with that clunky, stinky thing! It really wasn't that bad, but I'm thrilled to have more cuddle real estate again!
Wright and Filippis even ground out the helmet so that it would look clean (and not smell) for a keepsake. They also handle all of Maggie's fittings for her brace, and are just an awesome company. They really know how to take care of kids (and parents)!
How do I look?
Andy and Katie came to stay with us this weekend so they
could work on the some wedding plans for the fall. The highlight was definitely dinner at Selden
Standard in Detroit – everything was absolutely perfect, and we got to try a
lot of different things because we had a big group. My parents took the girls overnight, so we
even got to sleep in the next day!
Doing little shopping with Katie
Watching Maggie always make Evie smile
One of my little valentines before daycare
Katie is one of our most tech-savvy friends, and she made this totally realistic video of Maggie doggy. I laugh every time I watch it!
Here is Maggie trying to show off for Andy and Katie. Maybe ballet isn't for her...
Sunday was Sarah Elizabeth’s baptism at St. Michael’s. There were 7 little ones to keep busy during mass, and it was just so
nice to see how the family has grown in just a few years. Sarah is the chillest baby in the world, and
was a complete angel the entire day.
Jamie is the very proud godfather along with Allison’s sister Kristen as
the godmother.
So beautiful in the Rabine christening gown
Sarah has her own personal dresser - so spoiled
Action shot!
Proud mama
Sarah's like, "please can we be done with photos?"
The Rabine family
Some of the hooligans
Unfortunately, Maggie started off with a little cough on
Sunday morning, and by the end of the party she had a fever and a non-stop runny
nose. The poor thing just slept all
afternoon and night afterward. Thankfully she was mostly back to normal the next
day.
Michael Jackson
I forgot to post last week about Maggie's trip on the school bus! "Foley" the school bus is now feeling better (he was broken down when Jamie tried to take her for a ride), so Jamie offered to take Maggie to work during Catholic Schools Week. The kids bus from the high school to the church, and so Maggie got to experience her first ride. She was pretty nervous, but really enjoyed it!
This is amazing!
This is an example of how awesome my husband is - even though he has a billion things to take care of at work, and it was probably stressful trying to keep tabs on Maggie, he knew how happy she would be and it was all worth it to him.
I have the best daddy!
Afterward they had school breakfast, and Maggie got to play with some kids and wolfed down two servings of eggs!
Eggs with ketchup - that's how the classy
folks do it
Maggie also helped Jamie drop off a bunch of his students' art to an art show downtown, so she got to look around a little bit.
Sooo high!
Maggie's favorite work of art
Evie is our little chatterbox, and wants to be a part of every conversation. She is finally starting to make syllable noises instead of just cooing... I don't think she associates "da da" with Jamie and "ma ma" with me, but I have noticed that "da da" comes out when she's goofing around, and "ma ma" only comes out when she is upset and needs some help.
Evie’s bottom two teeth are now on proud display! She is starting to enjoy eating solid foods,
mostly little bits of bread and puffs.
She is so close to putting the puffs in her mouth, but so far hasn’t
made the connection.
Give me some nums nums!
Loves rocking on Blue the horse
Maggie continues to learn more about the past and future... tenses. Right now, everything that occurred in the past happened “yesterday.” Doesn’t matter if it was an hour ago, a week ago, or 2 years – it all happened yesterday. Everything that is going to happen in the future will happen "tomorrow."
My birthday is tomorrow.
Pre-bath party
Jamie is required to chaperone one dance at Foley every
year, so he “invited” me to tag along on Saturday for a little date. He bought me a corsage (mostly to show
the high school kids the proper way to treat a lady), and we had an awesome
dinner beforehand. It was a lovely
little date, though I must admit the dance portion was really boring. The kids were really well-behaved and there
was no drama – which I suppose is a good thing!
Maggie is trying to understand the past tense. She now puts an “ed” on the end of every word
meant to be in the past tense – like “I falled down” instead of “fell”. It’s cute and also a reminder of how
frustrating it must be for people to learn English!
I will conquer English just like this mountain!
Here is Maggie in her Tinkerbell outfit - she couldn't look any more beautiful (her words):
I feel pretty
Maggie's imagination is awesome, and cracks me up on a daily
basis. We now have a lot of monsters in
our house, but we have decided to be friends and invite them to dinner instead
of being scared of them. Our living room
is a sheet of ice, the stairs are the steep north mountain, and the entire
upstairs is covered in lava (thankfully we have our special lava shoes that
help us get across it – but they only last a few seconds before melting!).
Playtime at the park
For the past few weeks, Maggie has been referring to Grandma as "Grandma-with-red-hair." It makes no sense, but at least for now, that is her full name, and you will be corrected if you refer to her as Grandma only.
Grandma-with-red-hair
Maggie so proud that she can hold up three fingers to identify her age... she hasn't totally grasped adding more fingers when counting, but we're getting there!
Maggie was never a huge fan of stuffed animals, but all of
sudden she needs to have 4 or 5 “friends” in bed with her every night. Every object must be completely covered with
the blanket so they don’t get cold, and Maggie must have at least one pony-tail
holder on her wrist as a bracelet.
My little lady is trying to walk in my footsteps
Love this little face
Maggie loves to jam with her Daddy in the basement. She counts them in, and then plays the piano while he drums. Normally she sings also, but this time she was just feeling the music:
Can't resist a few photos of Evie girl too:
Joy!
Evie has mastered putting a paci in her mouth – huzzah! Hoping we will have fewer interruptions in
sleep now! I can’t really complain, she
might need us to comfort her once or twice a week, but otherwise, she makes it
through the night with a little whining now and then.
Evie has reached the 9-month mark, and is doing just
great! She had her pediatrician check-up
and is now 22 lb, 11 oz and 30 inches tall.
She loves to practice walking while holding our hands, rolling all over
the place, investigating anything she can get her hands on, babbling and
cooing, and playing with her big sister.
My happy little girl
I don't know what is happening here...
I'm a little frightened
We also had Evie's helmet checked last week, and she is now
down to 3mm differential! She started at
10mm, and the goal is to get to 2 mm (though 0mm is the best possible result). One more month and we’re done
with this thing, woop woop!
Evie is such
a curious baby, and she often ends up falling forward or backward while trying
to reach something. It’s been no big
deal with the helmet to protect her, but I think she now has a false sense of
protection. We will have to be more
watchful when the helmet is gone!
Hoodlums
In other news, my mom came over this past weekend to teach
me how to use my sewing machine. We went
over all the basics, and she taught me how to read a pattern – “a very simple
one” she says. My mom is a liar! There is no such thing as a simple
pattern! I finally gave up (temporarily) after
sewing the neck-line shut. Maybe I’ll
try again this weekend… I’m pretty sure
whatever I end up with (it’s supposed to be a dress for Maggie), my daughter is
going to look like a hot mess.
We had a slightly chaotic week, but a fabulous long weekend as a family! On Thursday my lovely car battery decided to quit, so Jamie had to drive me to work. Then my entire 16 oz water bottle leaked into my purse and ruined my iphone. So if you left me a message in the past several days, I either didn't get it or I don't like you. Hopefully my new phone will be up and running tomorrow!
When life gives you play-doh, make fake breakfast and keep smiling
Maggie licks all her peanut butter off before eating her toast. It's kind of gross.
Saturday evening we went over Julie and Ryan's house for pizza and hanging out. They also have two little girls about the same age as Evie and Maggie, so we really like hanging out and making each other feel better about parenting.
Our regal princesses
Test drive
Buds
Smaller buds
Sunday we went to church, and it was Doughnut Sunday! It is a little sad how excited I get at the possibility of free doughnuts. At least I know where Maggie gets it from.
Almost nap time, haven't had lunch yet? I'm going to go ahead and eat the whole thing.
When we take Evie's helmet off, she does awesome on her stomach - her normally heavy head just snaps up into the air. She is close to crawling, though right now it's more of a backwards slither.
Let's do this!
This is for Aunt Amy, biggest Full House fan I know!
Maggie is going to be a flower girl in the fall for Andy and Katie's wedding! She really doesn't know what it means, so I need to find some videos to help explain the concept. She seems to think that she will be sprinkling seed on the ground and watching the flowers grow. That, and a lot of dancing.
