BIG day!!

Today, Maggie had her first hot dog and she really really loved it!!



Ok. So as big a deal as the hot dog was, the REALLY big deal was that *drum roll please* MAGGIE PEED IN HER POTTY!!!!!!!! WAAAAA HOOOOO!!!!!! Coincidence? I think not. We will be feeding this kid many many more hot dogs in the days to come - they obviously induce brilliance.

Love you Daddy!

Mommy and I both wish we were there with you Daddy!

Daddy, if I was there, I could ask Mommy to make you zimmers for breakfast. Then maybe we could go to the beach and I could buy you a hot dog or shwarma for lunch. After that I could have a nap and you could have a nap too. Then I could take you for a walk and maybe take you to play in my park. Then Mommy could make something made of cow for you for dinner. Then you could give me a bath and feed me some cereal. I like our baths and cereal times a lot Daddy. And then I could go to sleep so you and Mommy can play bocce balls in the back yard or something. That's a good Father's Day day right?

Daddy I love you soo sooooo sooooooo much!!!

Lots of hugs and kisses,
Your Maggie

Icelandic Features

The girl on the left looks like a young Christopher wearing a wig (and the girl on the right looks like Great Grandma Gwen). Seems to me my Maggie is going to look a lot like that wig-wearing Chris.

Ice Cream Cone

Yes. Maggie went with her Mommy and Daddy to Dairy Queen this weekend. After she got over the shock of the cold on her teeth (and with a bit of Daddy's coaching), she tackled the baby ice cream cone like a pro!

Marking the Date

As of 3 days ago, Maggie became a full-fledged 1-nap-a-day kid! Hurray! This morning we went to the beach with Mara and Tennessee. Yesterday we went for a super duper long walk. Now that we have 5 straight hours together before she zonks, the possibilities seem endless!

What else is going on in Maggie's world? Well, she's totally into teasing and tickling all of a sudden. She's walking up and down stairs more and more (with Mommy or Daddy's hand of course). Out of the blue, she became a climber! She climbs up slides, structures at the playground, logs at the beach...anything and everything. What a kid!

She's lovely. As always.

The End.

15 Months Old

Our little girl is so grown up! Here's everything I can think of in one sitting...

We call her bear Rupert, but she calls him "Nyanh Nyanh"...can't quite figure out what it means. She's decided she does not like brushing her teeth, so that sucks. She likes to sing and dance and be outside. She has very specific taste in music and it's very obvious when she doesn't like a tune; she does a sort of Stevie Wonder dance and scrunches up her face.

Gramma and Grampa Spencer are visiting and they've taught Maggie how to do the following: fake laugh, say "down" and "mat" (through repeated scolding of Flo the dog), clear her throat and pretend to eat/drink from toy dishes.

Mom is working on getting her to say "poo" (which amuses Maggie like crazy). She's also encouraging her to read as often as possible - will post a video of that soon because it's adorable.

Dad is trying to help her walk down the stairs independently (because she's going to anyway so he may as well assist). He's taught her how to say "Go Canucks Go!" - it sounds like "Nuh! Nuh!"

There's so much more. Feel free to add to this post if you know something that isn't written here!

Maggie's Words

Words she can say and all understand:
Dada
Mama (Thanks Raquel!)

Words she can say and Mama/Dada understand:
Baby ("Dyee dyee")
Ball ("Ba")
Banana (just started working on this one)
Bath ("Bah")
Book ("Bu")
Boots ("Buh")
Club Soda ("Ahh")
Cold ("Buh")
Cracker ("DA")
Gramma ("Da da" with different inflection)
Grampa ("Da da" with different inflection)
Hot ("Ha")
Pants ("Pa")
Wow ("Vooo")

Words she understands and has sounds for:
Blow - makes sound of nose blowing
Cow ("Booo")
Crow ("Aw aw")
Elephant (can't explain it)
Fish (smacks lips lightly together)
Flower (sniffs)
Kitty ("Bow")
Puppy ("Mmf")
Tree (sniffs - our Christmas tree smelled wonderful)
Turkey ("Ladaladala")
Yuck - ("hkhh")
Yum - ("Mmm")

Words she understands and has "signs" for:
All done/All gone - flips one hand back and forth
Be quiet - finger to mouth as in shhh
Blow kiss - blows kiss
Brush teeth - teeth brushing motion with finger
Bunny - bounces
Bye - wave
Clap -this one's obvious I hope
Car - car sound and motion of turning steering wheel
Dadada da da daaa CHARGE! - one fist in the air (Thanks Grampa!)
Ear - points to ear
Eyes - points to eyes
Hair - touches hair
Hat - hand taps head
Hello - wave
Hungry/Eat - smacking sound and fingers to mouth
I don't know - shrugs and holds her palms face up (Thanks Gramma! : )
Kiss - kisses
Lips - smacks lips together
Love - hand to tummy
Milk - fist squeezing like milking a cow
More - fingers tapped together
No - scrunched up disgusted face
Nose - points to nose
Oh oh! - hand to mouth in shock
Oops - head tilts to one side
Peas - one index finger taps the other
Penguin - she wobbles back and forth like a penguin
Phone - head tilts to side and hand as if holding phone to her ear
Rock - when she wants music, she thumps her fist in the air
Rocking chair - rocks back and forth
Snap - snaps her fingers...soundlessly
Stretch - stretches arms into the air
Toes - points to toes
Throw - throws whatever she's got in her hand
Wash - circular washing motion with hand
Yes - nod

Words she understands (does that count??):
Avocado
Backwards (how she goes down stairs, or off the sofa)
Big Toe (Ugly Doll)
Bird
Breakfast
Bright light (closes her eyes)
Change diaper
Cheer (Care Bear)
Cheerios
Cheese
Dinner
Door
Down
Draw
Elle (stuffed elephant)
Floor
Gentle (when she pets Feta)
Gonna getcha!
Hand
Hug
Light - most often looks up
Loofie (loofah)
Lunch
Medicine
Molly the Dolly (stuffed doll)
Mooby (stuffed moose/cow)
Moxy (Ugly Doll)
On - turns light on
Off - turns light off
Orange
Peanut Butter
Puffs
Push
Shaker
Snack
Snow
Snuggle
Soft
Spoon
Toast
Up
Walk
Wall
Water
Yogurt

Dinner Date

Tonight was Maggie's first Dinner Party and she enjoyed it VERY much. There were cats and a dog to chase, a 4 week old baby to check out and a really cool fridge magnet to play with. Her Mommy and Daddy also enjoyed their first Dinner Party out of the house in 12 months and 1 week. They all look forward to more such parties in the future. Thank you for the lovely evening S, L, M et al!!

She's Been Runnin!

Well, Maggie has grown 1.5 inches since the last height post: she's now 31.5" tall. However she's been getting too much exercise so the kid has actually LOST .25lbs! We're gonna have to seriously amp up this little girl's food intake if she keeps movin the way she is. The other day, at "Kindergym" she walked straight toward the baby area and, without blinking, climbed up on top of one of the table toys. She sat up there and stared right back at me. Ok Maggie. You've conquered infancy and you're ready to tackle toddlerdom. Give'er kiddo!

There is Nothing Better

While Gramma S. was visiting and we had our friends Raquel and baby Hana over, Maggie learned that thing which all mother's wait for (but pretend they are indifferent to because "dada" generally comes first). My heart sings every single time the word comes out her little mouth: "mama mama mama mama..." *happy sigh* I could listen to that all day.

Mama