Happy Birthday Maggie!!

Today we had a beautiful birthday party for our sweet and sassy little Maggie who just turned 2!!  I am not entirely sure how she suddenly became 2 before my very eyes but we are crazy in love with her.  Anytime she does something really sweet and cute, Jordan's eyes meet mine and we quietly melt over whatever adorable thing she has just done--we stifle a quiet "awwwwwwww."  She is the sugar in the family to be sure.

Ps.  That is Maggie trying to eat the cake with her mouth...  She is such a rascal too.

We decided this year to have a party just for her.  When she turned one, we did a quiet family party, but now she has friends and opinions about things--like she loves doggies and the colour pink and she really wanted to wear her party dress--so we were happy to put together a party to celebrate.

The only person more excited than Maggie, was Gabriel who couldn't wait for balloons and cake and for his friends to come over too, since they share many of the same friends right now or many of Maggie's friends have older siblings.

Last night I had to pop out to pick up balloons...  For some reason it didn't even occur to me that I would have to fit all of the balloons in our small station wagon.  I was a little worried when I tried to get them in the car in the pouring rain....  It took a little bit of fancy maneuvering to fit in all the balloons, but eventually I was able to find a way to get them all to fit.  Sometimes... I am just a little over the top.  But balloons are my FAVORITE thing about parties.  And as you can see, everyone wanted a balloon and it caused hours of fun as they ran and ran and ran around the house with balloons, shrieking and laughing.

Puppy wanted some spaghetti too.

What?  Just chillin'!

Doggie cake!!!!!!!   

Big brother Gabriel has the honors of opening the presents for his little sister.  She actually doesn't protest even a little bit.  It's like her lot in life to have her brother do everything for her I guess.  Ohhhh... and she loved that Ken doll! 

I felt pretty lucky today to have such wonderful friends to come over and celebrate with us.  The kiddos and us are really really blessed to have such kind and warm people in our lives.  Anyone who meets them says so too--you guys are the best!

Thanks cousin Ginger for capturing some funny and precious moments with the kiddos today!  You are so talented! xo

Birthday Girl and her Big Brother

Happy January!!! Christmas is over and birthday season is upon us. In a few days, it will have been two years ago that we were blessed with this beautiful, sweet and sassy little darling who totally rocked all of our worlds. Not just mama and daddy, but even big brother Gabriel. She has left an impression on everyone she meets. We love you Magdalene!

I have to say that right now I am loving this stage with Gabriel and Magdalene--almost 2 and almost 4.  When we wanted to have two children, we wanted to have them close together and almost exactly two years apart was perfect for us.  Man, it's been a heck of a busy time with two little ones close together in age--both in diapers for awhile, both not sleeping through the night.  Lots of energy, lots of needs.  But it has been 100% worth it to see them now.

These two littles are best friends--really and truly.  They love to play together.  This Christmas, Gabriel helped pick out toys that Maggie would play with when they play together.  Paw Patrol--he wanted Marshall and for her, he picked Skye.  For Thomas the train, he wanted Henry, and picked out Emily for her.  They follow each other around always looking for each other as playmates. 

And they are co-conspirators in trouble-making already!!  The other morning they were downstairs having "tea" together.  While they played happily, I went upstairs for a bit.  Before I knew it, the little giggles escalated into high-pitched laughter and shrieks of glee.  I came downstairs to find the tea table drenched in water, the floor around them covered in water, two piles of sopping wet clothes and two little naked children running around delightfully.  I found it hard to be mad.  Honestly.  I had to hide my smile and pretend to be mad, or you know that we would be in trouble for sure.

The other day at the lunch table, I turned my back for a minute and when I returned, both were covered in hummus up to their elbows...  And tonight in the tub they spurred each other on continually, filling their mouths full of bath water--ewwwwww!--and spraying each other in the face with it.  Laughing and laughing the whole time.  And while we had to clean up the messes and reprimand them, I had to share these moments with Jordan.  My heart is full.  What would they do without each other?  What would we do without them? 

"...If not for your smile and your laugh and your heart,
this place we call home would be minus a part.

Thank goodness you're here!
Thank goodness times two!

I just can't imagine a world without you."

-Nancy Tillman "You're Here for a Reason"

Hats and Pearls and Dresses, oh my!

Here we are, Maggie, just you and me in the mornings while brother is at school.  Just us and a box of dress up things.  It's never really too early to start digging into that box, putting on all sorts of costumes and pretending to go on big adventures.

I remember as a child rearranging rooms to make my bedroom a library, where I cataloged each of the books with homemade library stickers.  I would charge overdue fees to my parents.  I would take cups of flour and with a fan, blow fake dust all over them to make them seem old and mysterious.  (Not particularly something my mother was fond of).  I also took half of the downstairs and turned it into an art gallery of my collection of "Little Mermaid's Sisters" I had created by tracing a picture I had of Ariel and changing the hair styles and colour of the tails.

But we also loved to play dress-up, wearing old fashioned clothing with aprons.  We would mix clean toilet paper in buckets of water pretending to boil wool and then string it out on the split rail fence to dry in the sun.  We would try on our mother's dresses, our father's ties and put on silly glasses.  And we would get into the jewelry and shoes too.  And we would parade around in my mother's wedding dress, delighted as we got bigger and bigger each year and started to nearly fit it.  Boy, did we feel like we were getting more and more grown up in that dress.

Dressing up sure holds fond memories for me and I enjoy watching my children as they use their imaginations to be dinosaurs, train conductors, race car drivers and little mommies and daddies.  Maggie is just as happy covered in dirt and goop as she is with a string of pearls around her neck, whatever hat she can find around the house and various pieces of clothing--mine, her brother's, mittens, shoes, whatever.

As our children play pretend and dress-up, I am keenly aware of what a huge responsibility we have as parents to be good role models.  Our children are constantly watching and mimicking us, and each other.  I hear conversations and see actions repeated weeks later, phrases and intonations copycatted. It really makes me think about how these early years we are investing in their lives are so crucial.  I know that they will grow up and be so very much themselves with their own personalities, set their own goals and make their own decisions.   And it starts so young, this assertion of independence.  But, while I can, I am enjoying the times when they look at us with their big adoring eyes and dress up in our shoes and clothes and want to be just like us.

Maggie's 1st Birthday!!

This weekend we celebrated this little darling's 1st birthday.  Wow, a year has gone by so fast, too fast!  From newborn cuddles, meeting big brother and making new friends, sitting, crawling, first words (mama, dada, dog) to taking first steps on her big day, it's been such a year of growth.

On Maggie's birthday, Gabriel met her with a big warm hug and an exclamation of "Happy Birthday Cake, Maggie" which is his way of saying Happy Birthday.  Because, we all know, it's really all about the cake, right?  And we were amazed when she took her first steps shortly before bed.  It won't be long before my baby girl isn't really a baby anymore.

Rather than a big party, we had a small family party with just the grandparents.  We started counting the people we wanted to invite and before long it was just getting a big ridiculous...  so until nicer weather when we can all be outside, we settled on a small affair with family only, which is just as well.  Our little Maggie is a bit more shy, I think. We started singing to her and when she realized it was for her, she ducked her head into her arms to hide.  I am not so sure she loves the spotlight as much as her brother.

 

For the record, I would make a TERRIBLE pastry chef.  My cakes are very, very sad looking and don't even taste very good, so I opted on buying one at a very affordable price from a local mama who runs a cake business from home.  This lemon cake with cream cheese icing was made by Sophia's Sugar Rush.  And it was very moist and delicious!

Maggie hiding from us while we sing her happy birthday.

And Gabriel helped with everything including blowing out the candle and opening presents and being the balloon commander.  Aren't balloons the most fun part of birthdays??  I am pretty sure they like them more than any of the gifts we bought them.

 Oh Maggie.  She loved that cake and ate a whole piece without hesitation. 

And here is a little video from the party!  

http://youtu.be/rQ7NvOSuUmA

Happy Birthday our sweet Magdalene.  You are the sugar and spice we so longed for!  Cannot wait to see what adventures are ahead this year!

You might also like:

• For a Girl Who Turns 1.
• Eyes Wide Open.
• Coming home.
• Meet Baby Girl :)
• A Couple of Milestones over the Week.
• Octopus Mama.
• So Many Silly Faces