The art of smiling

Ian has realized he can "fake smile" to appease mommy when she has the camera out and he is trying to watch Dora or Diego. I don't find it very amusing.
Apparently he does....he keeps doing it.
August....

September....

October....


He also seems to know how to make my heart melt...he can keep doing that...I LOVE it!

Diamonds are a girls best friend...

And apparently so are plastic toy links (a.k.a. bracelets)! Maggie has this new fascination with bracelets. If it has a hole in the middle of it and fits over her hand it instantly becomes a bracelet. It is really cute, but she becomes sort of obsessed with them. Last weekend she had 9-10 of these "bracelets" on her arm. They took up her entire forearm! And she holds her hand in the air so they don't fall off too. It is quite amusing. She wears them from the minute she wakes up, during mealtimes and naps and even in the bath. She gets quite upset when I take them off at bedtime. Diva at 1. What happens when they get older and find REAL jewelery??
I'm scared.

Showing off her bangles!







Putting on the last bracelet and clapping at herself for doing such a great job!

Something about Maggie...

I have learned something about girls. They are not always as calm and quiet as one might expect. They aren't always pretty little girls who like to sit and read quietly or play with dolls pretending to be the mommy. No...rather they can be loud, somewhat whiney, and certainly know what they want even if they can't tell you in words.
Or is that just MY child? I KNOW Ian was not like this...especially that whiney little "uh, uh, uh" at the end of this clip. (FYI: be sure your speakersa are not too loud for this one)

I also know they aren't quite as timid as I thought maybe a girl would be. In fact, Maggie seems to be quite the daredevil. The below clip has become almost a nightly ritual for her after bath and pajamas. The girl is crazy I tell you...check her out.

I am sure I have a lot more to learn about little girls as Maggie has just turned 1 year. I can only imagine what the upcoming years will bring us! So while I marvel at the tiny human Maggie is and the amazing (and scary) things she attempts on a daily basis, I also know she is cuddly, kissy, and smells so yummy. She has soft red hair that curls slightly at the base of her neck when it is damp and blue eyes that smile even when she isn't. She is my "lovey love", whines and all!

Here fishy, fishy...

The Friday before Maggie's birthday party we went to the Georgia Aquarium with Grandma Margie. This was Ian's third time and Maggie's first. Ian was ready to run through all of the displays especially the room with the huge viewing window. I guess he thought the fish could get out and did not want to go near the glass. Maggie, on the other hand, thought she was on Deadliest Catch and ran right up to the glass.
It was a long morning and it completely wore us all out I think, but it was fun!



Click on the photo to see more photos or click here.

You can never have too much fun

Two weeks ago we had a birthday party for Maggie...okay...THREE birthday parties. We had one at school with her school friends, one at home just the 4 of us (both on her actual birthday) and one at home with her other friends...okay...OUR friends! Don't judge...all parents do that for their child's first birthday.
Anyway...she seemed to enjoy all of them! She loved being the center of attention at school, she LOVED the cupcake at home, and she was in heaven being the princess for the morning.
I thought I had learned with Ian not to make such a big deal on a first birthday, but I just can not help myself. Jeff would love it if I could. Maybe with #3 I will learn to scale it down (HAHA! Just kidding...maybe). But seriously, this time we did a brunch and it was SO much better than doing an afternoon party. For us anyway. We had mimosas for the adults and apple juice/milk for the kids and a bunch of YUMMY breakfasts foods. We started mid-morning and by 12:30 everyone had gone home for nap time! We had time to clean while the kids slept and then everyone had the rest of their Saturday to do what they wanted to do....PERFECT! This did, however, turn into a dual birthday party. Some close friends of ours were in town with their baby and it was actually HIS birthday that day...so we had one big party for both kids! It was a lot of fun and great to celebrate with them!

So here are some photos..

Being the center of attention at school...
.

Chowing on her cupcake at home...


In heaven as Princess Maggie...


And our co-birthday boy Jack! A total ladies man!



SO through all of this I have realized, yet again, that I am NOT a party planner. I would so much rather attend and socialize than plan and host. I am not a good host...not for more than 4 people. I get flustered...stuck on the details. ME a last born child stuck on details...that's just not right and it makes me uncomfortable.

If you want to see more photos you can go here or here.