Friday, July 25, 2008



7.25.08

Dearest Magnolia,

Tomorrow you will be 21 months! I'm sorry I missed your 2o month update so this is going to be long as I have a lot to say about you!

You look and feel bigger. You are definitely stronger and you've grown a half inch. You are 31.5" but still holding steady at 21-22 pounds. You have 12 teeth now, your incisors are your newest.

Your vocabulary is growing more and more. You say"no" a lot which is typical for your age. You continue to grunt or say "ite" for "yes" even though you can say "yes" as "ses." I'll ask you what your grunt means (trying to get you to say yes) and you'll say "ite." I'll ask what "ite" means and you grunt! You are using 3 word sentences like, "I don't know" & "where are you?" (when playing hide and seek). Your Nani taught you "slippery" and you say it "slipipipipery." You also say "c'mon" which is the cutest thing when you want to show me something. You are really good at your manners too. You say "thank you," "please." and your latest, "excuse me." You also say "bless you" when I sneeze and also when I cough. :)

You love for me to sing the ABCs and you can repeat all the letters after me and you say them with such clarity! You love your shape sorters and puzzles. One day you sat down to your puzzles and did them all. It really happened overnight, you surprised me very much with that! You love to sing songs and you just love music. As soon as we get in the car you point to the speaker and say "music." You also have recently learned to match things together. Mostly with your shoes. You love to get your shoes from your basket and you always bring me the right pairs.

Your daddy taught you somersaults when you were 19-20months. One day he asked you to show me a somersault and I almost fell over when you did it perfectly with no help! Apparently at bath time you also do gymnastics on the bed with daddy, I'm guessing you love it! You are such a daddy's girl. He cannot wait to come home everyday to see you. When you know he's home you get so excited, almost speechless, and then when he's in sight you act so cool, like you aren't excited to see him at all! Then you want to show off everything that you've been doing that moment. You LOVE to ride on his shoulders, you now say "show show" to get up there. Recently we hiked 3 miles on Rock Island with you riding on your daddy's shoulders!

You are starting to express yourself! You push your legs out from under you and land on your bottom when you feel frustrated. Although I don't tell you this now, I always find this so cute and can't but help laugh when you do this. I tell you that you look frustrated and ask if you can tell me what you want and that's the end of it. So far, so good. :) Recently we have been going to the pool which you love. You jump off the edge and don't even care if you go under water, you are such a little fish! You do imaginary play with your toys. You'll ask your baby doll if she wants to go for a walk and then answer "yes" for her. You are getting better and better at stairs, we no longer have to keep the gate up and you rarely go up the stairs without me. You are so good, truly. For some reason, you really listen to me and you really follow the rules. Is this going to change soon? :)
You are the light of our lives, we love you so very much and every night when you are sleeping, your daddy and I talk about the many ways you delight us. Happy 21 months Maggie Pie!

-We're going back up to the island for the week. This time Magnolia will have 9 of her cousins to play with! Have a great week everyone!-

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Like Mother Like Daughter


Magnolia loves watermelon as much as I do!
I have been meaning to do a Magnolia update as I missed her 20 month update. I'm going to make up for it on her upcoming 21st month birthday. We are also approaching our first Family Day Anniversary so I've been busy working on a book for Magnolia on our journey to each other. It's taking me a lot of time but it will be so wonderful to have. Hope you are enjoying your summer!

Sunday, July 20, 2008

The Madlingers


Our longtime friends, the Madlingers, came for a visit. We had not seen each other in over 8 years! Jennifer and I quickly became friends waiting tables together just out of college. I was in their wedding and soon after George and I became engaged, we moved away. It was so nice to see them again and meet their darling boys. We had such a nice time catching up & Magnolia loved playing with Matthew & Michael. Hopefully we won't go so long until we see each other again! Thanks for the visit Madlinger Family!

Friday, July 18, 2008

Wink Eye

"Wink eye, wink eye. Pink eye, pink eye. "
Magnolia learned to wink after reading this Dr. Seuss book. She loves to give me her wink eye out of no where and every time I laugh my head off.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Tuesday, July 15, 2008



We just got home from the island. We had so much fun up there and saw so much wildlife. Magnolia's Nani left this morning. We are all sad to see her go. Magnolia had so much fun playing, painting, & doing yoga with her Nani, she will miss her so much! Farewell Nani, come back again soon! xoxo

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

4th of July

We had a very nice 4th of July here on the island. Magnolia loved the parade and promptly said "more of this" when it ended. We didn't see the fireworks because Magnolia decided she was too tired, said bye bye, and started to walk towards the car. :)
Below are pictures from dinner at The Washington Hotel and story time at the Red Barn next door. After stories all the kids blew bubbles. It was so much fun!
We are continuing to have a wonderful time up here, doing a whole lot of nothing.

I don't have a lot of time on the internet up here without having a connection so I'll be back to blogging next week. I have some Magnolia updates I want to share and hopefully more pictures. Thank you everyone for all of your sweet messages and taking the time to stop by, I look forward to checking in with you next week!

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Taking A Break

Magnolia & I are taking a break at the Take-A-Break Cafe on the island. It's about the only place to get online so we're here sharing an Italian soda and peanut butter crackers. We're up here for two blissful weeks. Here are some photos so far...






Wishing everyone a happy 4th of July!