Pinkalicious

Maggie had an extremely pinkalicious birthday this year.

The blogosphere is a dangerous place for a mom. SO many ideas. SO many Supermoms throwing Superparties. I started to get really excited (read: sucked in) about planning the most pinkalicious party her friends had ever seen, but then (thanks to a good friend also planning her two-year-old's party) I realized that Maggie was TWO - that this party would be more for ME and for MY FRIENDS. So I scaled things back considerably and we had awesome party with Bops, Paul, Dad and Howie. All of the people that she would have cared about most (who were in town, at least).

The Birthday Fairy came overnight. Unfortunately, due to a Very Light Sleeper, she was restricted to decorating the doorway.

Fortunately, the Birthday Girl got a kick out of the decorations. They are still up.

I love how small she looks in this picture. It is great perspective for a mom who feels like she is such a big girl most of the time.

Thrilled about the Birthday Fairy coming...and already sporting her new pink backpack.

The weather could not have been nastier for her special day. So after her nap I packed up the kids and we headed off to Chick-fil-a for lunch/the afternoon. Who doesn't want Chick-fil-a for their birthday??

I brought down the costume bin in the morning, thinking that she might want to wear her pink tutu for the day. Nope. Instead, she was convinced that this was the birthday hat. And wore it with great pride.

The real birthday hat and table "decor." Upon seeing the confetti, she reached out and wrinkled up her nose and said, "Messy."

Pink pancakes. No duh.

Birthday breakfast with dad.

The cupcake batter.

Making sure they were pink enough.

They were.

The face says it all.

Her new pink boots from her aunties.

She loves them.

It was beyond fun to plan and prepare for her special day now that she had an vague awareness of what was going on, and that we were celebrating HER. I can't wait for Christmas.

Two!

Maggie has been two for nearly a month now. (Where the last month went I do not know)

I can't express enough how FUN we are finding this stage. Granted, she has her days, as all two year olds do, but in general this is one of our favorite stages so far.

Most days find us answering some form of a "W" question - Who, What, Where, Why? (When hasn't come up yet...still working on the concept of time) She mainly loves "What." What's dat?" "What's dat noise?" "Whatchoo doin, Mama?" "Whatchoo fixin, Mama?" "What's her name?" "What's that monkey's name?"

She still refers to herself in the third person. (Perhaps a result of watching too much Elmo??) It's a trait that has become SO endearing to Gary and me...we will be really sad when she starts saying I, Me and My. She loves to say "Maggie do by Maggie's self." Also, when she doesn't want to put shoes on she says, "Maggie just go outside with Maggie's feet." AH! Kills me every time.

Also - while on the subject of grammar/vocabulary - she has an incredible vocabulary that is growing every day. However, there are some words that she just CAN'T get:
Dessert = Bessert
Squirrel = Squillo
Concrete = Honky

She loves to say that she forgot something - usually as a stall tactic. For example, after the last story is read at night, she will often race to the door, turn around and say, "Oh wait - Maggie forgot something downstairs." And spin around and slam the door and she's off like a shot. She didn't forget anything.

She continues to love her brother. I often find them holding hands or Howard being smothered in kisses. One of my favorite things she says right now - usually in the morning when she sees him for the first time. "Oh - it's Howard (or Howie or H-man)...he's so cute."

She continues to dislike vegetables. Veggie chips, snap pea crisps, sweet potato fries and veggie burgers are my current bag of tricks. I find hummus and ketchup to be remarkable vehicles for any of these things, as she sees them all as remarkable vehicles for her "dips." I believe I am truly failing as a mother.

Eating hummus by the spoonful.

It's been strange to experience the beginning of a school year as a pre-preschooler. We are enjoying so many fun activities geared toward toddlers...mainly storytime at the library (which we have been known to attend 3+ sessions in one week), but we have also discovered some fun playgroups and activities that Maggie is really enjoying. It is fun to see her respond to other adults and kids in a more structured setting. As you can imagine, she soaks everything in, and leans more to the side of observation than participation...although that scale is leaning, too.

Her favorite thing to do right now is color. She loves to make "M's" and circles, and plows through about a ream of paper a day. She is very serious and intent on her coloring, yet so expressive and proud when she does something she knows you'll praise her for. "Look! Maggie draw an M!"

"Howard colored on table." Right.

"Maggie, what are you drawing?" "M for Howard."

I had to take a picture of this - because after weeks of drawing "M's" I randomly asked her to draw a circle (we have never even practiced this) and she did!

She also loves to read. We have found her reading/reciting entire books on her own. This has also been a great new strategy for me to employ on car rides and in the stroller.

Reading about "Tor," Wheaton's new mascot based on Perry Mastadon.

Playing with dad in her tunnel. For a solid week this box provided ample coloring and play space.

Hanging out with Unca Paul.

I came upstairs at Gary's folks' a couple of weeks ago to find her sitting on Paul's bed just chatting to him. I have no idea what they were talking about, but it was such a precious conversation to observe. Of course, as soon as she saw me, I got a very firm, "No, Mama. Go away."

With her main man.

That hair.

That hair tamed. FINALLY. A solution to those impossible hair days.

Riding in style.

She loves to mimic...from phrases that she uses in and out of context to things she does...we know she is always watching (and listening!).

"Bye bye, Mama. See you later. Maggie going to work."

"Maggie have Maggie's purses."

I will now end this insanely long post. And I promise to TRY to post more often than once a month.

Buddies

Lately Maggie has taken to holding Howie's hand whenever it is in
close proximity. To say it's heartwarming is an understatement.

This is How We Know

Maggie recited her first scripture verse from memory this week:
1 John 3:16 - "This is how we know what love is - Jesus Christ laid down his life for us."

Three things:
1. All credit goes to "Hide 'em in your Heart," a dated, but awesome scripture verse song DVD/CD.
2. If you are confused by the beginning of the video, we also had been practicing our ABC's. I like to multitask. So sue me.
3. I am 98% sure that she thinks the words are, "This is Howie know..."

If you find yourself suddenly blinded after watching this video, it's just this Mama over here beaming with pride.

The Day in Pictures...and Words

It's been awhile since I've done a Day in Pictures. I thought I would supplement today's with some of the funny things Maggie has been saying lately as well.

1. I'll actually begin with last night. On our way home I heard from the back of the car, "Hey Mom?" As soon as I got over the shock of such a candid (and grown up!) comment, I said, "Yeah Mags?" To which she replied (equally candidly and grown up), "Gotta question for ya." "What?" She took her pacifier out and repeated herself, "Gotta question for ya..." When I recovered from my laughter I said, "What's that?" [Silence] I looked back to see her, pacifier back in place, staring straight ahead. No question followed.

2. A couple of weeks ago we went for a (very short) visit to the Cleveland Zoo. While there Maggie saw an elephant for the first time. She also saw an elephant pooping for the first time. I made a joke about having to send her into therapy as a result, but the truth was, I think we all needed therapy after witnessing it. Anyways, it (obviously) made quite the impression on Mags, and everytime she has seen (a picture) or heard about an elephant since then, she has mentioned something about elephants pooping. I am nearing the finish of our playroom revamp, and there are currently various frames and decorations scattered about the room. One of which being a wooden elephant I found at TJMaxx for the wall. Maggie found it this morning and picked it up, looked at it for awhile, then held it up to me and said, "This elephant is not pooping." Thank goodness for that.


3. As I took the above picture (so I could send the quote to Dad for a laugh in his day) she half looked up and said a half-hearted cheese (I didn't even tell her I was taking the picture), made a face, and as soon as I took it she looked up at me and said, "WOW. What a good picture."

4. I can't remember if I've mentioned Maggie's latest obsession with both the phrase and the state of "naked nudey." Nothing/no one is ever referred to as just plain "naked." And it is rare that she is anything but.


5. After a rather lengthy discussion/battle about getting dressed, we finally settled on this shirt and socks. When was the last time that she wore socks?? Why did she want them on a summer day?? And yes, they are size 12 mo. Anyways, this is her sitting down to lunch #1 (As she usually naps in the range between 11-1, we generally have 2 "lunches"). A fig cereal bar and snapea crisps. I can see some of you Super Moms shaking your head right now (especially as she is also eating lunch at the counter, and not at the table), but I consider this meal a victory in healthy eating!


6. How. Because shockingly, this is the only pic I have of him today. This is a great pic to document him, as his hands are CONSTANTLY in his mouth these days. Tooth?? Perhaps...Mags got hers at 5 months. Just waiting for that sucker to pop through...


7. A few weeks ago I went to get Maggie from her crib in the morning and she said, "Mommy, Oh My Dear Lord." Had Gary not prepped me I would have been shocked and thinking "Where did she learn this language???" But he informed me the night before that she was referring to the first line of "How Great Thou Art" - "Oh Lord, my God..." This afternoon she and Gary and I were hanging out after Gary got home while Howie slept and she stopped what she was doing and said, "Oh My Dear Lord. Mommy and Daddy. Oh My Dear Lord. Sing." After a few minutes of us singing together she said, "No Mommy. Just Daddy sing." Thanks, Mags. Tell me how you really feel.

8. It's been approximately two weeks since we ran out of paper towels. So today when Gary offered to stay with Howard while he worked and the baby napped, I went back on my solemn swear to Never Take Maggie Back to Target Ever and practically sprinted to the car with Maggie under my arm. We moved Maggie's carseat to the middle position due to a mini road trip we took over the weekend and she is LOVING her new view. The whole drive to she kept saying "Oooh, Look!," including when we pulled into the Target parking lot and her eyes got really big and her mouth got wide and she said, "Oooh, Look...TARGET."

9. All I have to say is thank goodness for the inner-Target Starbucks and thank goodness for the retail distribution of Cake Pops (or "Pop Pops"), and not only any Cake Pops, but PINK cake pops. She was basically in heaven. And I basically bribed her.


10. After a miraculously long stretch of staying IN THE SEAT of the cart (thanks to my shamelessly throwing things at her to keep her busy/distracted, no doubt), she convinced me to get out for a bit while I perused the kids clothes sales rack (how could I NOT??). After a few minutes of silence I realized that HEY I brought my daughter with me to the store...WHERE IS SHE?? And after a brief moment of panic I heard the dull banging of stomping on metal and discovered her new favorite spot in Target.


11. One of the things I shamelessly through at her was a Dora water bottle that she spotted on the shelf. How she knows who Dora is I will never know. I very clearly told her that she could hold Dora in the store, but that we were not going to take her home. Through the whole store Maggie kept saying, "Maggie hold Dora in store. Dora no come home." Then as we were approaching the check out lines, she looked at the water bottle in her hands and said (ever so sweetly), "Dora come home with Maggie." Suddenly the red clearance sticker called to my heart strings and before I knew it the bottle was on the belt. On the way home I glanced in the rear-view mirror to see Maggie holding the bottle in both hands and leaning to give her a kiss on her enormous head protruding from the top of the bottle...making that bottle worth even a non-clearance price.

Treehugger

Tinydinosaurus

Maggie is usually pretty good about repeating what we say. However,
this morning she couldn't quite get out "stegasaurus" when she asked
about the dinosaur on H...it comes out "tinydinosaurus" every time.