Little Gym

Maggie has been going to Little Gym for a little over a month now, and dad came with us this past week.  Maggie got to show dad all the cool things she's been doing in the "Bug" class.  She really seems to like going each week.  Her favorite thing, besides crawling everywhere, is shaking the shakers to music.  She could do that all day!  She's also likes playing with other little girls and boys her age, since most of the time she has to try and keep up with a 5-yr old!  I'm enjoying getting to spend time with her one-on-one, and repeating a lot of things I did with Carson when he was a baby.

The Latest...

We're getting back into our routine for school and keeping busy.  We just had Maggie's 9 month check-up and although she's measuring very tall, she's a little on the skinny side. Nothing to worry about, but we need to fatten that girl up a bit :).  She's snubbed a lot of foods initially, but she's slowly coming around so I'm sure we'll have her fat and sassy real soon.  Carson is loving kindergarten and comes home each day with fun stories of the day.  He's making new friends, learning all kinds of cool stuff, and charming a few teachers along the way…;).  He's already invited a few of them (teachers) over for dinner…I wonder what they tell him when he insists that they should come.  I guess I shouldn't be shocked if one day one of them shows up, haha!  On the weekends, he's enjoying sleeping/playing in the camping tent Michael put up in the dining room.  We finally got some rain this past weekend, and we went outside just to stand in it.  Kind of sad when just a little rain gets everyone excited, but it did!  Maggie really hasn't seen much rain in her 9 months, so we had to get her out to see the wet stuff.  Finally, I dug out this old pic of Carson playing with the piano that has now been passed down to Maggie.  They are about the same age, give or take a few weeks.  They do have their unique qualities, but I think they definitely look like siblings.

Kindergarten

Carson started Kindergarten this morning! He HAD to wear his new school t-shirt today because "mom, it's just appropriate for the first day, don't you think?" Yes :). When we arrived at school, he couldn't wait to jump out of the car - I literally had to hold him back!  Last week we went for a "Meet the Teacher" day and he was beyond happy to see his classroom and meet his teacher.  Over the weekend, we learned that they added an extra Kindergarten class and Carson was moved to that one.  Good news because class sizes were approaching 30 before this, and now he's in a class of 20. I thought he might get upset about the change, but he wasn't rattled one bit.  His new teacher seems very nice, and he walked right in and immediately started looking for his cubby and desk.  Carson's first observation of the room…"Where's the "color change" board?"  - the behavior monitoring tool teachers use at his school to keep them in line.  Yes, we pointed it out to him in his original classroom, and we've been encouraging him to try his best to stay within the "safe" color range.  But we know our little talker has his work cut out for him :).  He immediately sat down to draw, and seemed quite at home.  Maggie and I said goodbye and headed to Starbucks to celebrate!  We're so happy for him because we know he's going to love learning and meeting new friends!

Maggie Update

Miss Maggie is 8 months old now!  She's doing well eating solid foods, and we're experimenting making some homemade stuff from time to time.  She loves peas and most other veggies, but she's been a hard sell on most of the fruits, go figure! She's crawling everywhere now, and the baby gates are officially up.  We'll have to add some pics/video of her in action.  She's a sweetie most of the time, but she's starting to show signs of being a bit clingy (with mom)…okay, we'll see if we can brake her of that, but who knows, we'll just have to wait and see how her little personality develops :). She's clapping and waving now, but our favorite skill she's been working on lately, is giving kisses. They are big, sloppy, open-mouthed wet ones, but oh so sweet!  As for her hair, it's growing, believe it or not.  It's hard to see in photos, but she has a nice patch of blond fuzz growing on top and the brownish/red stuff she's had since birth is slowly losing the battle.  She looks like both mom and dad depending on the angle or expression.   But when she busts out that cheesy grin, I think she looks more like her dad.  If she had those trademark double dimples on her chubby cheeks and his green eyes there would be no question about it!

Carson Update

Our little guy is about to start Kindergarten and he's READY!  He's curious about anything and everything and he's got more energy than ANY five year-old I've ever met.  On most days he could run the energizer bunny straight into the ground…no joke!  He is still only five, so on that rare occasion that we've run him around for days on end, he can still crash and nap on your shoulder.  But those days are few and far between, and I think they are quickly coming to an end.  He's a little prankster who loves to laugh, he tells horrible (yet funny) knock-knock jokes, and given the choice he'd rather be with a group of friends than just one. He's not afraid of bugs or snakes, he's always ready to talk to new people and make new friends, but he IS afraid to ride his bike, and still begs us to sleep with him.  I've enjoyed spending the past five years helping him find his way, and I'll miss him during the day, but I know he's going to LOVE school and all the new things coming his way!

Family Visit

Grandma Connie, Aunt Julie, Uncle Chuck, and Ricky came to visit in July. It was fabulous having family here for a visit, and of course to meet Maggie.  Grandma was on her fourth visit within a year…AWESOME...but Julie, Chuck and Ricky hadn't been here for a visit in almost four years.  What Californian in their right mind wants to come to Houston in the summer though…so happy they braved the humidity to come see us :)! As you can see by all the pictures, it's not a question of what did we do, it's more like, what didn't we do? It was such a fun trip and we went everywhere like crazy tourists on a mission.  Maggie loved meeting more family, but she was especially impressed with Ricky's beautiful curls! :)  Carson was in heaven, as usual, getting to spend time with family!