Torn

Poor Maggie found herself quite torn this morning trying to decide
whether she'd rather watch Baby Einstein or the kids walking to school
(one of her favorite things to do each day). After walking back and
forth between the TV and the door for several minutes, she finally
settled a spot where she could do both. Decisions, decisions!

All in a hard day's work

Making her mom so proud. Writing? Drawing? I'll take either!

She is growing up waaayyy too fast!

Maggie vs. Dwight

Maggie's hair was out of control last night. I thought it would be a good opportunity to document this terrible stage for her.



Disclaimers:
a) I did NOT put her hair like this. It naturally falls this way.
b) It is growing out and really has been looking much better recently. We're also starting to get some CURLS. So cute!!

I also think that there is also a resemblance to Alfalfa.

Foof

This was a moment of pure joy this week, brought to you by HomeGoods. I thought Maggie was going to jump out of the cart out of excitement when we put one dog in there with her. It's a miracle she didn't pass out when we added the second. I wish we had a video to capture how excited she really was. The dark brown one may or may not have come home with us. One of the many benefits of shopping with Grandma.

Oh and "foof" or "fuff" is what she calls dogs. Most animals are called by their sounds these days, and this is Maggie's derivative of "woof." It's secretly one of my favorite words that she says. Mainly because it is one word/sound that only means one thing. Helps with the guess work tremendously. Not to mention being super cute.

Waiting for Morning

As Maggie and I wandered around Target tonight trying to distract ourselves from the fact that we had just said goodbye to Gary for another week (don't ever go to Target when you're hungry and depressed, by the way), my thoughts turned to my sister-in-law and her sweet husband who said goodbye to each other today for two months as he heads halfway across the world on his deployment. Perspective is a funny thing. I suddenly didn't feel so sorry for myself anymore.

I began to think about how much I respect and admire them both, especially as they head into this time of great unknowns and solitude. They both have an incredible attitude about it all, and even as we talked to both of them over Christmas, neither seemed to be shaken by this impending time of separation.

As I think about both of our situations and how we all must have felt throughout today, I was struck by a verse that Gary sent me as he got off the plane tonight,

"Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning." Psalm 30:5

I hope and pray that we all find true Joy in this season in our lives, giving us strength to endure any duration of weeping or sadness we may face as we wait for the Morning to come.

Good Food: Easy Risotto

It's been awhile since I've done a "Good Food" post. Probably mostly due to the fact that my cooking and experimenting in the kitchen has taken a major hiatus. However, Gary got me Ina's new cookbook for Christmas and I found myself re-inspired. I was especially intrigued by her recipe for "Easy Risotto." Mainly because everything that I've heard is that risotto is such a time and labor-intensive dish.

Well, no more! I have a new favorite go-to dish, one that I will even make when Gary is away! (This says A LOT)

Here's the basic recipe:
1 1/2 c. Arborio rice
5 c. simmering chicken stock, divided
1/2 c. dry white wine (optional)
3 T. unsalted butter, diced
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the rice and 4 cups of the chicken stock in a Dutch oven. Cover and bake for 45 minutes, until most of the liquid is absorbed and the rice is al dente. Remove from the oven, add the remaining cup of chicken stock, the wine, butter, salt, pepper and any additional ingredients (see below) and stir vigorously for 2 to 3 minutes, until the rice is thick and creamy and the add-ins are heated through. Serve hot.

I should mention that the first time I made this it came out of the oven perfectly, so I didn't need to add the extra c. of chicken stock. I would just eyeball it and add to your liking.

The recipe in the cookbook calls for 1 c. of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and 1 c. frozen peas. I added some frozen shrimp when I did mine, as well. Really, one thing I love about this recipe is that there are an endless number of things and combinations of things that would work in it...you can really work with whatever you have in your kitchen! I also love that you could serve it as a main dish or a side.

Trust me. I don't know if you will love the dish itself or the fact that it is less than 5 minutes of prep time more. I mean really, "how easy is that?"

100% Girl

Maggie insisted on wearing this today. Well, I take that back. She originally wanted to wear it on her arm as a bracelet. I thought that once I put it on her the "right" way she would still insist on taking it off and putting it on her arm, but she walked around and played like this all morning! The vest and boots really top things off I think.


I have a feeling that I have many days in my future of taking her a la costume to public places of all sorts. It's so fun having a girl!

C'est Bon!

Here is a picture of Maggie reading to herself in French this morning.


Not really...but doesn't she look so grown up?

Risky Business

At the doctor today...she wanted to walk around sooo bad!

On a side note, she is in the 90% on height and 30% on weight...may she always be so blessed!

Hiking

While the weather mostly dictated our activities over Christmas (as in we were inside most of the time), we did take a fun hike as a WHOLE family on Christmas Eve.

The stroller was out because of the deep snow, and we don't have a carrier big enough for her anymore, so Maggie mostly rode on dad's shoulders or was passed off from person to person.

Eating snow - such a novelty!



Such a Maggie face. She's always so serious in all of her pictures...I love this one because she gives this look all the time!

The whole fam...a rare occasion! Even though I did not manage to get one picture of our little family, I'm so glad I took the time to snap this one! It kills me that it's underexposed. Stupid manual mode...I don't think I'll ever get the hang of it!

Uncle Paul

Auntie Kirstin...by far one of Maggie's favorite people over the week. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for her husband.

Bop-bop

This was taken over Christmas - watching TV with Grandpa (which most of the time comes out like "Bop-bop"). I wish that her outfit showed better - it's a velour track suit from her Grammy that makes her look like an old man on his way to the gym. Haha. Sooo cute!

Fifteen-ish Months

Wow. What a FUN age this is. Maggie continues to explode with personality and charm as we watch her develop into a little person before our eyes.

Walking and talking pretty much sum up what we're up to these days. Her ability to communicate and understand things is blowing me away. Over Christmas when we were playing with the toy "kitchen" at Gary's folks', she lifted up the plastic spoon to her mouth and said "Mmmm." She also has taken up to pointing with her index finger at everything. One morning as we were sitting in the real kitchen she pointed at me and said "Mama!" As we all erupted into laughter and cheered, she peeked her head around the corner and pointed at Gary and said "Dada!"

It's little things like this every day that just make my day.

I love when she kisses her animals/babies or has them kiss each other. I love when she offers one of them whatever she is eating. I love the look of pride that she gets when she knows she's done something good or impressive, followed by a subsequent round of applause for herself. (Speaking of which - she also has learned to clap the right way instead of one hand on top of the other) I love that when she and I are together she is constantly asking for her dad, and vice versa when she's with him.

She LOVES the bath. She gets almost giddy even at the mention of it, and can hardly stand herself as she watches the tub fill. It is always enjoyed (by all participants), and almost always a sure form of bribery...even more than cookies or toys. Associated with the bath, she also loves to eat the bubbles and drink the water. (I kind of wince as a parent reading this, but trust me, we've tried...and she's FAST.) There could be worse things, I suppose.




She is having the worst hair these days. It's like when you're growing your hair out between two lengths and it just looks terrible and awkward for awhile, except that she's still mostly bald, so it's just plain ridiculous all of the time. I tried putting a bow in the other day just to tame back some of the long, scraggly ones on top, and I was quickly informed that it looked absurd. Most of the time we think she looks like Dwight from The Office. Awful!

Post-nap one day I found her looking like this. The picture really doesn't do it justice.

With our friend Kelly at lunch over Christmas. This is evidence A of the Dwight 'Do...all matted down and parted in the middle.

She knows almost all of the animal noises now, even if she can't say the actual names of the animals. My favorite is the pig, where she sniffs very heavily and quickly through her nose as if to snort. I also love the monster, where she makes a kissing noise (derived from when Gary used to do the "Kiss Monster" with her).

I'm sure I've left so much out. She is literally changing every day.

She continues to love babies and goes crazy every time she sees one. I am hoping that this lasts at least a few more months for when her brother arrives...she will be beside herself! (Friday the 7th will puts us at just three months out! Eek!!)