Push-ups, Pull-ups, Sit-ups, and Stand-ups

Now that I have emerged from the sugar-induced coma that Halloween inflicted, I find that I now have the energy to get down to business in updating the Maggie fans on her activities & hijinks for the past month! 

October brought us the first steady cool weather for the fall season, and, through the month of October, Maggie brought us her firsts of an upper tooth, crawling, pulling up to her knees, pushing up to a sitting position, sitting up on her own, pulling up to a stand (on everything including her bathtub), waving, and clapping.  She has also come a long way in eating solid foods, and the daycare program has been a big help with this.  Since we are first time parents, giving our baby solid food for the first time really made us nervous with the potential for choking, but as soon as we started seeing items on her lunch report such as mac & cheese and turkey sandwich, it was time for us to suck it up and give it a try at home!  Needless to say, now we're very used to giving her solid food. 

I'll have more narrative with the photos below, but since everyone wants me to get to the main event...I give you Maggie in October!

Weekday mornings in our house usually looked like this when we were getting ready.  (Now, this photo is but a memory of Maggie's activity level since she's crawling & climbing.)

"Daddy, I'm still tired."

This photo proves that Sunny doesn't mind being around Maggie.  That is, of course, as long as Maggie isn't bothering Sunny.

It was Hokie game day in the Barden House.  Maggie's fully decked out in VT warm-up gear and t-shirt! :)

Go Hokies!!

Annie met up with our friends Jen & Jodi at the mall one day last month, and Maggie spent some time playing in the kids' area with their kids CJ & Brady.

Brady & CJ are trying to get Maggie's attention.  The mommies had to explain that yelling louder isn't effective with babies.

"I'm just hangin' out in the mall."

This photo marks the first time that we (Annie) witnessed Maggie pulling up to a stand.  Jodi was the spotter.

"Standing is fun, but for now, I prefer staying down here."

Maggie also discovered what you were supposed to do for the camera this month...

Hamming it up for the camera!

Maggie likes waving to her fans. 

Another Maggie first: her first wedding attendance!  Zach & Crystal were happy to have her, and she was an angel the entire service...never uttered a peep!  Despite the pout in this photo, she was waking up from a nap and was actually in great spirits.

Grandpa, Annie, & Maggie outside the church post-wedding.

As I said earlier, Maggie started solid foods big time in October.  Here are just two shots of the effort on the home front.

"I love broccoli!  It works wonders for a baby's complexion."

Maggie waved to me after she was done with her delicious dinner.

Halfway through the month, we went over the river and through the woods to Grandmommy's & Grandpa's house.  It was our home base for our exciting trip the next day to the Graves' Mountain Apple Festival.  Another thing to note is that Aunt Jilly came home this month to stay!  She moved back from New York and started a new job at MeadWestvaco, and even though she was busy unpacking & getting her new apartment set up, she decided that she would go with us on the adventure. 

Maggie & I are sitting on a vintage blanket that my brother, sister, & I all used.

Maggie didn't quite know how to react to the "Tickle-Me-Elmo."

We took off the next morning around 10, and about an hour or so later, we were at the festival.

"Rockin' the piggies!"

We walked around the craft & food area for a while before our lunch reservation at Graves' Mountain Lodge.  Annie bought some of the famous apple butter homemade at the lodge, as well as some other fun relishes & jellies.  We all shared some fried apple slices (excluding Maggie) as a little snack.  They were pretty darn good if I do say so myself.  Before we knew it, we had to hike up the hill to the lodge for lunch.  Maggie was on her best behavior, but she made a mess anyway!

Maggie took time away from lunch at the lodge to wave for the camera.

"I liked the mac & cheese the most!"

After lunch we rolled back down to the festival, and we found the pumpkin patch for Maggie.

"I love squash!  When do I get to eat it?"

Fast-forward two weeks...

Maggie's really gotten the hang of the walker in all its abilities.  She's quite good at driving in reverse, and her ability to stop on a dime after hitting top speed is unsurpassed.

Mag-pie stopped long enough to smile mid-dog chase.  After the photo, she was in hot pursuit again.

Maggie's first Halloween was upon us, and we had to capitalize on the cute onesie she got as a gift.

Halloween also marked the first soccer game she attended while fully awake.  She didn't notice her Daddy playing at all really, but it was still fun to have she and Annie there.

While I was out getting Halloween candy (it's amazing how little time you have once you have a child), Annie & Jill got Maggie ready for Halloween.  So, here she is: the pumpkin!

"Do I make a convincing pumpkin?"

"I bet you can't tell which one is me!"

"OK, I think I'm over the hood.  Can someone please get this hood off of me?"  Maggie was pretty much catatonic at this point.

"I'm happy again!"

We removed the outfit shortly after this picture was taken, mainly due to the fact that she was getting hot.  So, after that point, she was the baby in the walker from the HP commercial for Halloween.  It was equally cute, and the trick-or-treaters were "awwing" from time to time at the cute baby running around behind us.  

Well, that basically wraps up October.  Before we know it, Thanksgiving will be upon us, and I'll have more tales of firsts with our little girl!  I already know that there will be some good stories to tell!

Cheers,
Peter

A belated September posting

To all the Maggie fans out there who are still looking for new blog entries: I sincerely apologize.  I meant to do it the first weekend in October, and then when I forgot to do it then, I was going to do it last weekend.  But apparently I'm so flaky about remembering to keep the family & friends updated that it's now almost mid-October.  *sigh*  Sometimes I wish my office really did just put us on true furlough rather than hint at the glimmer of paying us back in the near future.  At least we all would have an extra day to get more personal work & chores done rather than holding on to the slight chance that our withheld pay will be returned to us...but I digress. 

Maggie's September brought more changes to her little world.  She's starting to work up to solid foods, which is a big deal.  She had her first cupcake sans icing this past month. She's started to show the desire to try to crawl.  She experienced her first ear infection, followed by her first reaction to medication.  She's started dancing - well, it's what we call dancing - to music.  And last, but definitely not least, she found her tongue and lips, which has resulted in hours of fun listening to noises!



The photos this month are largely from daycare.  I've been a slacker on that account as well.  So, I've mingled our few photos in with the daycare photos in chronological order (for the most part). 

Quite possibly one of my favorite photos of Mag-pie.

"These shoes look tasty."

"Yum!  Leather & shoe polish!"

"Come here!  I'm going to give you a kiss."

"Help! She's going to kiss me!"

This was Maggie's first try with non-Gerber bananas.  Needless to say, she liked it.

"My doggie is out there."

"My baby is in there."

Annie & Maggie attended a church barbecue after church one Sunday.  The balloon artists made Maggie a sweet looking rattle.

Maggie love the feel of leather on her feet.  She also looks like she is getting into some mischief in this photo.

One week in September, Marlene, Annie's former babysitter (back when she lived in Ohio as a baby) came for a visit.  Maggie was, as always, the center of attention, and she behaved like the angel she is.  She also had a lot of fun helping with dinner one night:

Maggie's helping snap the asparagus.

Maggie got a bit overzealous...she also thought she should try it for herself!

"Do I have something on my face?"

"Miss Rachael, what do you mean there's something on my face??"

The daycare center also works hand-in-hand with the VCU programs.  Two days one week, the OT/PT students came to evaluate all the little ones based on the textbook tests.  Maggie apparently wowed them with her capabilities; she always went above the expected results.

Maggie and Chloe didn't know what to think at first. So, they held hands until they were comfortable with everyone.

Maggie going beyond her immediate reach.  She was the only one to do it!

Maggie's classic turn & pose move comes in handy yet again.

This looks like a posed photo.  I think it went something like this: "Elliot, look down & away from the camera.  Maggie, look to your right, slightly away from the camera.  Perfect!"

"Grandmommy is helping me work out!  I think I'm going to skip crawling & go straight to walking."

Maggie's pointing as if to say, "Hey! Those sheep are in a Jeep!"

"Miss Rachael! I can't pose when I'm at the clincher ending!"

"Oh ok...just one pose though."

Maggie thinks that buns are the new pigtails.

Maggie took some time away from Sheep in a Jeep to give this cute pose.

Maggie's Coolio look rounded out her fantastic voyage of hair styles. 

I call this photo, "Frizzy in Sunlight."

"Whoa!  I wasn't ready for that one!"

"My daddy's on the phone again!  I'm so excited, I could just...*grunt*..."

This looks fun.  I wonder; if there are enough of these things, could I scale the mirror?"

"Never mind.  It's much more fun to stay on the floor."

"It's time to show off my skills."

"I'm going to have this crawling thing whipped in no time!"

"Ok.  Here we go.  One...two...three!!"

".....help!"

The photos below are not in order with the rest of the month.  Blogspot still doesn't work well with rearranging photos.  They just gave me the ability to post multiple photos; so, maybe they'll get to better photo editing next year...

At any rate, Maggie had her first experience with art in daycare.  She dove right in, and before long, she had basically covered the entire sheet of paper.  Believe it or not, the only place she didn't cover with paint was herself!  I think she's possibly the neatest baby we know. 

Mag-pie is anxiously awaiting her prescribed color pallette.

"Hmmm...I think i prefer the red."

"I know what I'm going to paint now, and it's brilliant!"

"A little bit more over here..."

"More paint needs to go in this corner..."

"And....Fin!  Art is fun!"

On one last note, we recently learned that Maggie's teacher, Miss Rachael, will be moving up to the "pre-toddler" room this Thursday.  This means a couple of things:  1.  I will have to take lots more photos :)  2.  Maggie will be adjusting to a new teacher for the next 3 months. & 3. Maggie will be moving up to Miss Rachael's class in January; so, the daycare photos will only be going away for a short time!  I have to say, that on behalf of everyone that reads the blog, Rachael's photos have allowed us all to see that she is truly loved and cared for at daycare, and, on top of that, she has fun too!!

Anyway, that's it for this month.  I'll try not to be a slacker about the next posting.

Cheers!

Peter