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

Maggie's First Drawing

The girl's got crayons - look out!

This was a joint effort. Can you guess which drawing is Maggie's and which is Mommy's?

Happy First Birthday Baby!!

Gramma's handmade gift bag.

Merry Christmas!

And a Happy New Year!!!

copyright Sarah Fobes

iWalk

I'm calling it. It's official. Maggie is now a toddler.

Our little girl (no longer baby) just walked the length of the dining room without any assistance from Mommy, Daddy or helpful pieces of furniture.

here we go again...

Maggie has tooth #8! Bottom right.

It's November and Maggie is so much fun!

Another big month.

Maggie is so close to walking. She can stand unassisted for as long as she likes and she took her first tentative step toward Daddy the other day. Wow!

As the result of some pretty intense "compassionate" sleep training (so painful, and so worthwhile), we have quite a consistent bedtime routine. Every night before bed we ask her if she wants to "brush her teeth" and she smiles and rubs her finger on her teeth. The whole family goes upstairs to brush our teeth together and she's really loving it. Then we read Goodnight Moon, Time for Bed, Goodnight Goodnight Sleepyhead, and Love You Forever. She goes to bed in her very own crib and sleeps from 7:30pm to 6:30am without milk - what a big kid!

As of a few days ago she has started using the sign language we've been trying to teach her. She signs "milk" over and over and over again. I also believe I saw a primitive version of "more" when Daddy was bouncing her on his tummy - one of her new favourite games. "Boing boing boing" came from reading her a library book about a bunny - she loves jumping up and down on the sofa when that part of the story comes up.

This kid is obssessed with books! She can't get enough! I'm going to the library as often as I can to rejuvenate our collection because when she likes something, she wants it read again and again and again. Her favourites right now are The Rocking Chair by Dennis Lee, Off We Go by Jane Yolen, Crunch Munch by Jonathan London, and any book with baby faces!

I'm pretty sure she's working on the words, "Daddy", "Mama", "kitty", "bath" and "baby". She LOVES babies. Books about babies. Pictures of babies. Baby dolls. Real live babies. She's also taken to kissing like crazy. She kisses babies and other kids that she meets when we go to the community centres for play time. She kisses Feta (even though she gets a mouthful of hair as reward).

She loves babies, kitties and puppies (yes, she's over her fear of dogs). She can make elephant noises, puppy dog noises and fire truck noises. She recognizes bird sounds and truck sounds. When we say "Maggie sing" she hums and often it's to the tune of the only song she really knows: "Who Are You" by The Who. Her favourite songs right now are Bringing Home a Baby Bumblebee, Maggie's Camel Has 10 Humps, and She Didn't Dance.

My favourite Maggie trick is the way she sings after she kisses. It's like she's saying "mmm" because she finds kissing so delicious. Love that.

Oh wait, my other favourite trick started last weekend when we went to the Christmas Tree Farm in Langley and introduced Maggie to Christmas trees. Now we tell her to "smell" things and she opens her mouth wide, leans in close and breathes in a few times. Love that too.

The other fun thing we've discovered since the holiday season hit is that Maggie LOVES mandarin oranges! She could eat 3 a day if I let her! She's also eating toast, asparagus, cheese, butternut squash and kiwi on top of her other staples.

That's Maggie to date. Isn't she lovely?

My Little Girl

On the afternoon of the 31st, Maggie stood for 10 whole seconds all on her very own. She was focused on the toy in her hands and forgot to fall on her bum. Her Mommy was so proud that she nearly cried.

October Rocks!

I've learned SO much in the last few weeks. Gramma taught me How big is Maggie? Soooo big! and how to blow kisses, Grampa taught me dadada da da DAA! CHARGE! and how to wave at people, Aunt Abbi taught me where my nose is and Daddy taught me where to find my ears. I can give low-fives and high-fives. I learned how to "say" yes by nodding my head so now I can answer some of Mommy's questions when she asks what I want. I recognize words/signs for milk, food, Cheerios, puffs and water. My favourite foods are avocado, tofu, peas, Cheerios and puffed wheat. I really like cottage cheese with banana but don't care for plain yogurt. Ground beef is good and chicken is good too. I like eating small bits of food from chopsticks. Gramma says I'm a dainty eater.

And I can MOVE! I cruise around on the couch and I can crawl super fast (though I can't catch the kitty yet). I'm curious and starting to "get into things" (that's what Mommy calls it). I can climb all the way from the bottom of the stairs to the top. Yesterday Mommy saw me stand for 10 seconds all on my own (I was busy looking at a lid and forgot that I wasn't holding on to anything).

I've got a fair bit of hair now and SEVEN teeth! (4 top, 3 bottom) The teeth were tough. I got a flu and a cold and a pretty bad diaper rash, but I'm healthy now.

I love my new house. I love playing with plastic containers. I love making kazoo noises with Mommy and Daddy. I love dancing and singing. I love when Daddy gives me baths. I love my books. I love waking Mommy up every morning by giving her zerbits on her tummy and making her laugh. I love giving kisses. I love being scared and being chased and playing "I'm gonna git cha!" and "peek!" I love jumping off the fridge into Daddy's arms. I love kitties. I love birdies. I'm a bit afraid of puppies but my friend Biko is helping me with that. I'm a pretty happy girl.

XO Maggie