November Happenings

Grandpa & Grandma Come for a Visit

This was our longest break from seeing my parents since our move to Lubbock. We usually see each other every three months, but this time it was between four and five months. I kept telling begging them to come for a visit until they bought plane tickets. We love when they come. 

Henry & Maggie were so excited to see them.

Henry was thrilled that our movie rule of one a day went out the window with our grandparents around.

I enjoyed talking with my parents and the added help they provide of entertaining and cleaning.

We stayed at home a lot.

We did venture out to Jump n' Jungle, a favorite when they come.

We also found a new gem: a mini city with roads, stop lights, stop signs and pretend buildings.

The kids could have rode their bikes for hours but the adults got too hungry to stay past lunch time.

Happy Birthday Maggie

While my parents were here, we celebrated Maggie's third birthday. 

I wanted to make a princess cake. 

My grandma made one for me when I was little so I wanted to do the same and had so much fun making it.

But I think I'm done with homemade cakes.

The box cake tastes like the cake I want to eat when I eat cake.

We ended up throwing away the entire cake (minus a few bites).

Maggie's birthday was everything princess.

Grandma & Grandpa gave her everything Frozen they could find in the store:

microphone, candy, an Elsa dress, and more.

And they bought her a mattress.

Mom & Dad gave her bed sheets. Awesome, I know.

But one of the two sheet sets was Frozen, so she did think it was awesome.

The entire time Maggie got attention she was smiling but trying to hide it.

I remember feeling that way: excited and happy but there's too much attention.

She was so cute as she tried to hide her excitement.

Maggie is sweet with a hint of toddler.

She loves playing with her babies and her princesses.

She is constantly changing her clothes and we battle what she wears when going into public:

her ballerina "dress" is an absolute no and princess dresses and tutus are okay if all we're doing is picking up Henry from school. Okay, and an occasional Wal-Mart trip when I don't feel like arguing about it.

When I tell her to change her clothes she asks, "Where are we going?" and the battle ensues.

Along with her dress ups, she likes to wear her Sunday dresses, high heels, jammie dresses,

and jewelry.

But try to get a bow in her hair and, well, most of the time it doesn't happen.

Maggie's best friend is Henry.


If anyone cries while playing, it is Maggie.

Most of the time they play really well together.
Maggie goes along with everything Henry dictates and she is great at playing pretend with him.

She is so good about receiving Henry's bear hugs and squeezes and squishes.

It took her a couple years to realize he isn't trying to hurt her, he is expressing his love.

But her face says it all...

She also loves playing with and taking care of Hazel.

Hazel loves attention from Maggie.

When I say, "You're so cute, Maggie."

She often says, "No, Hazel's so tute."

I love the way Maggie talks right now. 

A lot of words start with "t" or "d."
She is very particular about what is said.
For example, if I ask her--while she's wearing a dress--if she peed her pants she says, "No, I'm not wearing pants."
If I ask her to put her milk in the kitchen she'll say, "It's chwalk-at (chocolate) milk."
She keeps me on my toes.

I especially love when she sings. 

She belts out her songs but not when she knows people are looking.
She has gotten more comfortable with me watching, but would never perform for a group.

So, for your viewing pleasure, here she is...

Maggie is our dare devil out of all the children.

She can be flipped, thrown, or swung and yells, "Again!!!"

If I had one word to describe Maggie, it would be independent.

She's been trying to do things by herself for a long time now and the benefit of letting her try is that
now she can do everything.

She is great at following through with my commands and can do everything by herself:

get dressed, find anything (shoes, toys, etc.), get buckled in the car seat,
put on a coat or backpack, and button up a jacket.

It's amazing how helpful independence can be with three little ones around.

She is potty trained and did a great job getting that way. 

I pushed her a little bit but her independence helped with that one, too.

She wears a pull-up at night but all things considered, she has been amazing.

Maggie has a really good memory,

prefers her left hand,

loves to dance (but didn't like her ballet class),

takes a nap about every other day,

loves playing with her Daddy,

still enjoys cuddling,

can almost pump in the swing by herself,

is shy around new people,

loves to talk to people she knows well,

and is usually obedient.

We love her and are grateful for her easy-going personality that helps her get along 

with everyone in our family.