Maggie: Eighteen Months

Measurements:

Weight: 26 lbs (66%)

Length: 34.5 in (>97%)

Eats: 3 full meals with us, a snack or two if she's hungry,  and 12-16 ounces of cows milk (4 at her naps + 8 a bedtime). She has a sippy of water throughout the day

Diapers:  Bum Genius 4.0s & Elementals, Thirsties pockets and AIO, Bottom Bumpers Large, Blueberry Simplex OS and Smart Bottoms.  Size 4 in disposables (at night)

Clothes:  generous 18-24 months, 24 moths, and 2Ts. She will probably be in 3t before we know it!

Shoes: 6.5
Sleep: 8pm bedtime, wake up around 7 or 8, with two naps one around 11 and one around 2

Teeth: four bottoms; four tops; four molars, and two canine

Firsts:

8/15/15 Started walking about 70% of the day
8/16/15 First trip to the Varsity
8/25/15 Started walking 100% of the day
8/27/15 Started gymnastics
9/9/15 Peed in the potty (just the one time)
9/10/15 said "no, MINE"
9/11/15 Trip to play putt-putt
9/12/15 Trip to Stone Mountain
9/28/15 Dropped iPad on her face and broke her front tooth
10/1/15 Asked to watch TV "shoooooows"
10/8 -10/11 Long weekend at Grandma & G. Daddy's

Milestones:

Maggie was a bit late in walking, about 16 months, but once she got the hang of it, it wasn't long before she was running.

She is quite the chatter box. Her speech isn't as clear as Evie's was, but she has a host of vocabulary words:
mama/mommy
dada/daddy
E-E (Evie)
nana
g'pa (grandpa)
g.dad (g'daddy)
g'ma (grandma)
shooooooooes (shoes)
shoooooooows (show)
Mick-a-mouse (Mickey Mouse)
'ot 'og (hot dog)
'ilk (milk)
'nack (snack)
teet (treat)
wanner  (water)
fader, 'on, 'oly 'it (father, son, holy spirit)

Maggie owns the playground. She can climb the steps and go down the slides all by herself!

She's up and down the stairs at home at lightening speed and can safely get on and off all the furniture.  We'll even find her standing on the tables (clothing optional).

Likes:

Maggie loves her G. Daddy like something fierce. She talks about him all the time. The moment she sees him, mama and daddy are old news and she's stuck to him like glue.

Cheerios & a "shoooooow" as part of her morning routine

Hanging with the big kids

Swings & slides (which she can do all by herself!)

playing with pens and coloring

figuring out how toys and things work

when we go pick up Evie from school

French Fries!!!!!!

Dislikes:

when mommy or daddy leaves

when we turn off Mick-a-mouse

when she gets in trouble for coloring on the walls

riding in the carseat, Tula, or sitting in the highchair too long (I STUCK!!!)

I wouldn't say she dislikes food, but she's not much of an eater. She eats a variety, but not a lot of quantity.

Other:

Maggie is a super happy kid.  Her moods are much more even than Evie's were/are.

Maggie is in to everything. There is no stone unturned.  She seems to be respectful in new places, but as I type she's figuring gout how post-it notes work and is sticking them all over herself.

Maggie is not much of a snuggler, but when she needs a hug she'll let you know.  She's also very sensitive to other's needs.  She will give Evie a hug if she's crying.

Maggie has a series of nicknames that include variations of:

The Jiggy One

Jiggity-Jig

Bugaboo

Buggy

If Maggie had a tagline it would be "I came in like a wrecking ball" - she's nonstop, all day (and night).

Boy do we love this girl!!!

Nashville Anniversary Trip

Eric took two days off from work so with Grandma and G. Daddy in place to watch the girls, Eric and I hit the road early on a Thursday in October Nashville bound.  The only two things set on our agenda was that I had to teach my science class, which I do from my laptop, and be at the Grand Ole Opry for a Dave Ramsey event.

We stopped in Chattanooga which is not quite halfway.  We walked the city, had lunch, did a little shopping, ate some Moon Pies, and popped into Panera so I could teach and then off we went.

We called the girls since we knew they'd be in bed before we finished with the Dave Ramsey events.  They were eating dinner at Chuy's.  Ironically enough we were eating dinner at Chuy's in Nashville! (Can't beat the Happy Hour cocktail special and Nacho Car, amiright?)

The Dave Ramsey event was so fun!  We've taken the course, taught the course, and lived the course.  We really enjoyed seeing him live for the first time.  The new retirement guru, Chris Hogan, was there to introduce his new book.  He brought up a lot of really neat points. He gave Eric and I a lot of talking points for the weekend.

Eric planned a few surprise activities for the weekend. It takes a lot of trust to have your spouse plan your trip AND pack your clothes (OMG SO STRESSFUL).  He did an awesome job.  We spent Friday on a long hike around the lake. It was nice to walk and talk, and Eric indulged me taking some photos.

That night we had dinner with some of Eric's high school and college friends that live in town. It was so great to spend the evening with them and the kids!

Saturday Eric planned a Kayaking trip through the city.  We only took one phone so he has all the pictures.  Again, it was so nice to be outside doing out own thing, enjoying the quiet and each other's company.  Eric booked a double kayak, which was perfect since I had a cold for the better part of the weekend.  We got to paddle by an old fur trading cave, under some abandoned railroad tracks, and near some shipping ports and then straight into downtown Nashville.

After the kayaking tour we spend the afternoon eating our way through the Nashville farmers market and international food court.  OH.MY.YUM.

 Eric even found a growler stall at the farmer's market and filled up his growler (which he happened to have in the trunk) to watch the Notre Dame game.

We went back to the hotel so Eric could watch the game.  I took a sweet, glorious nap.  And then we went out for our anniversary dinner.

So get this, I find this restaurant that has great reviews, beautiful pictures, and a fabulous menu.  We show up thinking it's going to be a high-end BBQ joint.  Nope.  It was bar stools and cafeteria trays.  Happy Anniversary, love!  HA!

 The food was really good and the company even better.  In case you can't tell, Eric's brisket sandwich was served on pancake corn bread thingies.    Our intention was to go downtown or to The Gulch but after the sun went down it was too cold and we didn't have jackets. Oh well.

 Sunday morning we woke up at the crack of dawn.  Eric had brought his hand grinder and aeropress so we could have tasty real coffee. Love him.

 Again, no jackets and it was 42 degrees out.  We went to the mother house for the Sisters of St. Cecilia aka The Nashville Dominicans for Sunday Mass.    The sunrise was beautiful and the motherhouse was wrapped in fog as if it were sitting on a cloud in heaven.

 This will become a staple on our Nashville visits.  Morning prayer and Mass with the sisters was an absolute treasure.  There is something so stunning about over a hundred women singing to Our Lord.

After Mass we started the journey home.  We took a long lunch at Cracker Barrel. Eric kicked my butt at checkers. Neither of us could remember how to set up the board. We spent a good 10 minutes Googling the directions. Something you think you'd never forget, and then you do.  Huh.

And of course, we had to stop at the Lodge Cast Iron Factory store.  We stop every trip to or from Nashville.  It's all slightly imperfect cast iron for a fraction of the price.  The kind of imperfections that you don't even notice.  Win!  We picked up a few Christmas gifts and settled in for the final trek home.


I absolutely adored this trip.  We have been to Nashville so many times that we didn't feel the need to pack the trip full of all the sights. We simply hung out and enjoyed each other's company without the kids.  We talked about our retirement goals and what we picture our life to be like in 10, 20, 30+ years.  We talked about what we are looking for in education for the girls. We revisited how many children we'd like to have in our family.  We revisited our hopes and dreams for our careers and/or jobs.  It was just so great to connect.  Ah, love that man!

Happy 6 year Anniversary to my one and only!  I love you!

A Sprinkle for Leeann

My sister asked me for her Gender Reveal Party pictures today and in doing so I found the pictures from the Sprinkle we threw my sister-in-law this summer.  Leeann was expecting her second child, but first daughter. I put together a little sprinkle to shower her with some girly baby things.

I love the literal idea of having sprinkles at a sprinkle, and then Leeann and Dan used Share-A-Coke bottles as their gender and name reveal, it made everything tie together even more.

 My sister and I raided our party supply closets and the end-of-summer clearance aisle at Michael's and threw this together in no time.

 And to make things even better, Target had some random "mini candies" sale the same week I needed to buy all the toppings.

 I found a Wilton pan to make these cookie bowls (75% off at Michaels! holla!). And they were a hit.

 Our small, but mighty centerpiece was the family's Share-a-Coke bottles.

Special thanks to my mom who made a double batch of French Vanilla ice cream for the party.  And to Trader Joe's for supplying the dairy free ice cream for sweet Evie pie.

 We had a fun afternoon with this simple little shower.  Katie and I had a fun time putting it together for Leeann. Even if I couldn't keep this little Monkey girl off my back!