new friend

In June we got to meet, feed and hold our good friends' new baby, Matthias. He's a cutie and we were so happy to meet him at just 3 weeks old. Maggie was giddy with excitement to see, kiss, hold, snuggle, tickle and play with him and somewhere there is a video to prove it. When we finally allowed her to hold him (with assistance, of course) she could not stop giggling and smiling and touching and loving him. Heart melting, really.

big girl room

A couple months ago we had three walls in our guest room painted a light aqua/blue to prepare Maggie for the move into her new bedroom. We ordered and received her new bedspread but didn't want to fully move her into the double bed (from a toddler bed) until the room was painted and the bed was where we wanted it. We hoped to make it a big event for her. And even though it wasn't (and still isn't) complete and this past weekend we rearranged it all again, the switch was still a big event and she loves her new room. The are still things that need to be done (putting up a full-length mirror, adding a clothesline for artwork, hanging window treatments, etc.) but I'm giving myself a month or two (or more) to get them completed. There's no rush--the big move has been made and for the past couple months she's loved what we've done to it. We thought she might miss her old room but so far she hasn't. She talks about the baby's room as just that, and knows that she now has a super awesome big girl room that's all hers.

Playland

While I was at the bachelorette party baseball game, Chad and Maggie spent the afternoon at Playland and Storyland. Maggie loves it there. We have unlimited ride passes which means she can go on the train, carousel, carnival rides and more as much as she wants. She was still sobbing when they picked me up from the baseball game because she was mad that they had to leave...after playing there for nearly FIVE hours.

cowboy birthday

Maggie's bud, K-Bob, turned one this month and we got to celebrate with him this past weekend. His family threw him a darling cowboy birthday party in the country complete with stick horses for the kids, hats, bandanas, photo ops, swimming, food and a pinata. A great way to spend a warm weekend evening.

asparagus

Ever since turning 2 1/2 Maggie has increasingly requested to help me around the house. She wants to help me with laundry, dishes, cooking, etc. so I try to find easy jobs for her so she can feel productive and happy. Jobs that don't make my task any more laborious or time-consuming are a bonus as well. In the kitchen she mainly washes veggies in the sink or puts things in bowls, but in this photo she's actually snapping the asparagus before we wash and steam it. So what if we're losing a bit of the edible part of the stalk in the process...it's a safe and helpful task and she couldn't be prouder.

Undies!

 

Back in May we started potty training Maggie. She, unlike the previous times I'd tried, took to it immediately and did an amazingly great job. My parents started putting her in undies for a couple afternoons while they watched her (thank you!) and when Chad and I picked her up from a weekend away we decided to fully go for it. And she totally rocked it and she even stays dry at night. Yay Maggie!

escaping the heat

This past weekend Chad, Mags and I went to the cabin to cool off. The weather was great, the mood was relaxed, and we all had a great time. Saturday morning we travel to Huntington Lake to watch the High Sierra Regatta. The three of us had a picnic while watching the boats and enjoying the fresh mountain air. And of course we took Maggie to the swing before the day was done.

Independence Day

We had a great, full-filled Fourth of July this year. We were invited to a BBQ where all three of us got to eat and play/chat with friends before camping out to watch the local fireworks show. It was great!

third birthday party

We threw Maggie her third birthday party on Saturday and she had a blast. She is super proud to now be three! Eight of her friends came to help her celebrate, and along with their parents, my parents and a few others, the group totaled over 30 people. The kids started out painting birdhouses (the very light party theme focused on birds. If you watch Portlandia you get it and if not, click here to see why). Then they played in the sprinkler toys for a little while before sitting down for lunch. After eating we had cupcakes and then let the kids take a few whacks at a bird pinata we stuffed for them. We filled it with the usual crap: candy, bouncy balls, bubbles, mini skateboards, etc. and the kids enjoyed both trying to break it with the stick and gathering the loot from the ground after it was broken. Finally we opened her gifts before everyone set off for home.  It was a busy but fun party and we're pretty sure most everyone had a good time. We hope anyway!

Cousin Keri's Wedding

In late June our beautiful cousin Keri got married in the bay area. Maggie was her flower girl and was pulled in a wagon with Liam, the little ring bearer, by our cousin Bailey. Maggie was precise with role as flower girl, only dropping one petal at at time and rotating evenly between the left and right side. Super cute. After the wedding they had a party and Maggie danced the night away. 

We all know Maggie is a lover and can't wait to give (and receive!) hugs and kisses. This night was no exception, as you'll see from a few of the photos in this post. She just can't help herself...

A fun weekend with family and I know everyone had a good time.

Congratulations, Keri and Matt! We love you!

Happy Birthday, Mags!

Today is Maggie's third birthday and yesterday we celebrated with her friends. More photos later this week, but for now...happy birthday sweet girl! We love you!

the bachelorette

Two weeks after her family bridal shower, Keri's friends, sister, and cousins threw her a weekend bachelorette party. We started out at dinner in Fresno (convenient for me!) and then the girls took off for Hume Lake. I opted out of that part because I wasn't sure how I'd be feeling. Instead, Chad, Mags and I drove to Visalia where Mags and I went shopping with my mom and Chad, my dad and a friend of theirs went on their annual hiking/fishing trip. Sunday I met back up with the girls for an afternoon of baseball at Chukchansi Park. We caught the Grizzlies game and, despite wearing black on a sunny warm day, had a really fun time. Keri got to throw the first pitch to SF Giants catcher Eli Whiteside and we got our hats signed and took a photo with Grizzlies players Heath Hembree and Skyler Stromsmoe. Maybe one day they'll be famous.

Keri's shower

At the beginning of June our family gave Keri (my cousin) a bridal shower at a restaurant in Lodi. While I was setting up Maggie watched the cupcakes for us. She picked out her favorites (all of them) as we stopped her from touching them all. Once the guest of honor arrived we played games, ate lunch, snacked up cupcakes and watched her open her gifts. It was a nice afternoon just three weeks before her big day.

Glendale/Los Angeles

For Chad's birthday my parents watched Maggie for the weekend so we could spend a couple nights in LA. We did things Chad wanted to do and we both had a nice time. Super fun seeing our old favorites down there and getting to relax a bit between stops. We hit Chad's favorite restaurants: Damon's, Scarantino's and Fred 62. We also drove to Montrose, Silver Lake, Los Feliz, and by our old apartment in Glendale. We spent time people watching in the Americana and saw a couple movies, including The Avengers (eh) near our hotel and then Moonrise Kingdom (yeah!) at the ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood. Overall it was a great weekend with perfect LA weather and good company.