Sidekick

Recently, Jared walked into the church office without Maggie.

"Where's your sidekick?", Barb, the secretary asked.

Ever since this incident, Jared has referred to Maggie as his sidekick. I think it fits. :)

First Thanksgiving

Maggie had her first Thanksgiving this past week. She got all dressed up, drove to Grandma and Grandpa Sears' house, and enjoyed a day being admired and adored. At the dinner table, when everyone went around the table to say what they were thankful for, Maggie's name was mentioned several times. She didn't cry or fuss much at all, and slept the whole way home. Overall, it was a fun day and we are very thankful for our little girl!

Now, a few days later, Maggie is sick with her first cold. The poor thing is sleeping most of the day and is thoroughly miserable whenever we try to suction out her nose. I guess it is a week of many firsts. Hopefully Maggie will feel better soon so she can enjoy all the festivities leading up to another first that is soon to come...Christmas!

"It's Complicated"

Maggie is currently experiencing her first love/hate relationship. With whom, you might ask? The bright green turtle featured on her new swing.

We purchased Maggie a swing last week, hoping it would help calm her down during her fussy period every evening. The swing is cute and brightly colored, with a turtle, a fish, and a whale hanging from the mobile. Maggie can enjoy peppy music at the push of a button, or, with the push of another button, she can listen to a relaxing tune. She can also opt for nature sounds. Maggie seems to enjoy all of this, but she is still not quite sure about that turtle.

Half the time, she stares at her turtle friend with a smile on her face, arms waving excitedly. The other half of the time, she screams bloody murder, her eyes locked on the turtle. The poor girl looks scared to death. I'm not sure why the turtle elicits such varied responses, but one thing is for sure: he is not going unnoticed.

First Trip to Buffalo

Maggie had her first trip to Buffalo this week. She had a good time meeting a lot of her extended family members on Jared's side, and even got to tour the campus of Roberts Wesleyan College. In addition to all of that, she had her first kiss! Ian, the 2-year-old son of Jared's best friend, showered her with many kisses, despite his mother's attempts to encourage him to "just kiss baby Maggie's toes." She also received many kisses from her cousins - see the photo above!

Grandparents, cousins, and kisses: it was a busy week for Miss Maggie! Now she is back home, sleeping off the excitement in her crib.

Church!

Like all new babies, people "ooh" and "aah" over Maggie everywhere she goes. Most of the time, she is fast asleep and unaware of the attention she is receiving. One particular place that this holds true is at church every Sunday morning. Since there are not a lot of babies in our church, Maggie has captured the hearts of most people in our congregation. You might think that most of these people would be women, but you would be wrong. Just this morning, two male ushers got so wrapped up watching Maggie through the back window that they forgot to make their entrance into church and ended up having to speed-walk down the aisle to find their place!

After church is over, we head up to Sunday School. I head into the youth room with Jared to help him teach his lesson to the teens. Maggie, however, prefers to attend the adult class next door, where she is passed from person to person, assisting each one with his or her "baby fix." Sunday mornings are a fun time for all of us, and I find it amusing that my 7-week-old attends the adult Sunday School class, while I attend the high school class. As soon as she can talk, I fully expect her to start quizzing her father on Bible trivia. :)

"I Feel Pretty!"

Maggie has a little "baby's first year" calendar with little stickers to mark certain occasions, such as "first smile", "first coo", etc. One of the stickers is "first fancy outfit", which we are happy to finally be able to use! This week, Maggie got dressed up twice, once to try on her great-great grandmother's christening gown and once for her Daddy's birthday. We are hoping the christening gown will fit when she is baptized on November 15th, but if not, at least she was able to wear it once and get some pictures taken. It was a good week for being fancy!

Shots

Maggie had a doctor's appointment this morning. She got weighed (a whopping 10 pounds already!), measured (21 inches), and poked and prodded, and all was very going well. The doctor commented on how strong she is and how healthy she seems to be. She laid there on the doctor's table, happily looking around, and even smiling once or twice.

Then in came the nurse with the shot. Jared held Maggie's hand, and as she looked at him with complete and utter trust, she was suddenly jabbed with the needle and let out a howl. Let's just say that there were many tears shed, and not all of them were Maggie's.

All in all, it was a good appointment, and we are happy that Maggie seems to be growing healthy and strong. The only downside: our next appointment is coming up in a few weeks, and Maggie will not be given one shot...she will be given several. We better bring the Kleenex.

Smiles!

Within the past two days, Maggie seems to have suddenly become much more alert and aware of the world around her. She has also started to smile every time we make ourselves look like idiots and stick our tongues out at her. Here is a photo of Jared and Maggie having a grand old time!

"Help! Who are these people?!"

Literary Baby

Being the daughter of a librarian, it is probably fair to say that Maggie will not lack for good stories during her growing up years. So far, we are off to a good start. Maggie attended her first Baby Lapsit storytime yesterday, and although she slept through the entire thing (she is only a month old, after all), she "listened" to several nursery rhymes, songs, and a reading of The Little Red Hen.

However, while the The Little Red Hen is intriguing (will the hen ever receive any help from her friends?), Maggie is no stranger to a good mystery. She has already listened to snippets of an Agatha Christie novel and a Louise Penny mystery, among others. In addition to that, her daddy reads her one of the Psalms every night before bed.

Right now, all Maggie really knows is the sound of our voices, and has no idea whether we are reading great works of literature or not. However, I look forward to the day when she, like so many children who are exposed to good books, says excitedly, "I want another story!"

These are a Few of My Favorite Things..

Since Maggie is still so young and there are not a lot of fun stories to share at the moment, I thought I would make a short list of Maggie's current favorites. Maggie's top five "favorites" list would currently include:

- her swaddle wrap - the tighter the better!

- her vibrating bouncy chair (this is even better when used while wearing the swaddle wrap!)

- her teddy bear mobile

- her Ocean Sounds glowing seahorse (she is literally transfixed by this)

- Jared's face, more so than my face since he has facial hair, thus creating more of a contrast

I'm sure her "favorite things" list will be a bit different next year at this time!

Diaper Blowout

The other day, someone asked me if we have had any "blowouts" lately. At the time, I didn't know what she meant.

Now I do.

Yesterday, as I was holding her in the kitchen and basking in baby bliss, I was suddenly bombarded by an explosion as Maggie not only filled her diaper, but destroyed her entire outfit as well. I thought I took care of things, but a few hours later, as I was walking by the sink, I suddenly stepped in something wet and gooey. Sure enough, Maggie had christened the floor too.

As if this was not enough, last night as I was changing a diaper at 3:00 am, Maggie decided to take advantage of the sudden freedom from her diaper and let loose again...but this time it landed on my face.

I think it's fair to say that Maggie's digestive system is working just fine.

Here is one of my recent favorites...Maggie appears to be winking at the photographer (Jared), as if to say, "Aren't I cute?" However, since this photo was taken when Maggie was only about three weeks old, I highly doubt she realizes the effect she has on him!

First Post

I decided to start this blog to chronicle our family's life. Since our family members do not live nearby, it will hopefully serve as a way for us all to feel a little bit closer! I will try to add new posts every few days (although this may be wishful thinking!), so check back frequently to see what's going on in the life of Jared, Meredith, Maggie, and Harmony!