Did I ever mention that...

We still aren't smoking? Yep, two months today. And no weight gain, either! Actually, I'm down about ten pounds, too. Just wanted to share that little nugglet of joy with you all :)

PS- I don't think anything in that above paragraph was a complete sentence. Oops!

Today's List

This is literally an exact copy of the things I need to pack today:

Pack n' Play (Thank you, Katie, we are still using Sam's old one. She has used it A LOT!)
White noise machine
Maggie's Pillow, blanket and special blankie
Our Pillows
Clothes
Maggie's clothes
Jackets for all
Maggie's shoes
Maggie's shampoo and soap
Maggie's bath toys
Maggie's brush and comb
Detangler for crazy curly baby hair
Nightly fluoride/vitamin drops
Maggie's toothbrush and toothpaste
Sippy cups
Bottle for before bed (I need to break this SOON!)
DIAPERS!
WIPES! I somehow always misjudge the needed amount of diapers and wipes and end up buying them somewhere annoying. Not this trip!
Snacks, juice boxes for the car
TOYS!!!
Books to read at night
Strollers (Big one and umbrella)
Baby Tylenol, thermometer, diaper rash cream, teething tablets
Laptop
Wii
Cell phone and charger
Maggie's high chair (It fits on top of regular dining chairs)
Digital Camera and cable
Batteries
Makeup
Our toiletries
Flat Iron
Bible
Books

I think that's it. At least we're not taking the dog. She is staying with Grandma.

I love the Holidays!

Our Little Christmas Tree:

Mark is kinda making a funny face in this one, but he's still cute!
Magdalena and Grandma (both so beautiful!):

Figuring out this whole present thing:

Despite appearances, she did not care for the popper thing I picked out. Sigh

Maggie loved my mom's slightly creepy toddler-sized elf

Enjoying the freedom to RUN!

Loving all her new toys (and an old box). And you can see her crazy/amazing hair!


I am determined to start blogging again. I love it, and I miss it. We are going on vacation this week for five whole days (Mark hasn't had more than 2 days off in a row in over a year!). We're visiting my sister and her husband in the East bay. We're for sure going to Oakland Zoo and still deciding on what else to do. They're about an hour an away from a lot, including San Francisco.

We are so, so excited to spend so much time with Aunt Sarah and Uncle Russ and to do so many fun things. Mark and I have spent every New Year with them since we've been together (I think). We missed last year by a few days, but visited on the 3rd, I think. It is a fun tradition, and one that I hope continues as our families grow.

Here's my goal: Take pictures every day of the trip, and blog every day of the trip. This is our first real vacation with Maggie, and we are excited! I hope for lots of pictures of good food, good times and lots of fun. I'm going to commit to start blogging again, I hate when I go so long without it. A blog every day for a week. Let's see...

Maggie Today

Maggie Update

Everything is good around here. Maggie is amazing and growing up so quickly! She had a well baby appointment on Monday (she turned 15 months on Nov. 27) and she weighed 23 1/2 pounds and was 30 1/2 inches tall. She got three shots and as usual, it was really sad.
Maggie's personality is really coming out, and it is so fun to observe her changing and growing. She is spunky! She is very agile and active , and very quick. She is very, very social and doesn't understand when other kids don't want to play with her the same way she is playing. She is talking a lot, mostly gibberish, but she also says a lot of words. Some favorites are: Mom, Dad, Cat, Dog, Ball, book, bottle, banana (this is my favorite as she really just sticks her tongue out and goes "ba-lalalalalala"), hot (which she also made up her own sign for), out, more, no (a favorite!), yes, cheese, book....so many more! Last night, she strung two words together for the first time and said "more cheese" when I was giving her pieces of cheese at dinner. It was so cute!!
She loves reading books! She will sit in your lap and stay still and follow a story for about three or four books, usually 15 minutes or more. She also likes to read books to you, by turning the pages and speaking gibberish the whole time. She knows a lot of body parts, names of objects and people, places...I am constantly surprised by how much she understands. Like if I say "We need to put on your coat", she will automatically run to the front door and turn the handle to go outside.
What people most comment on is how physical she is. She literally runs around everywhere, fearlessly and efficiently getting about. She climbs on things, pushes her way through people and even stops to spin in circles, or takes a quick dance break (she is seriously amazing!)
I am so proud of who she is! She is so strong, so opinionated and smart and so loving and gentle. She is super, super funny and loves to dance. She is just absolutely a people person and an explorer. I am so looking forward to watching her grow up.
Oh, and another great thing about her: She has my hair! Her hair is really fine, but there is a lot of it and it is curly. Her hair is so fine it just kinda grows out instead of down. Her hair is so cute and kooky. It is so hilarious and such a part of her. I'll post pictures soon, but I lost my digital camera :(