I feel so lucky that some of my very best childhood friends also have children that are about the same age as Maggie. When we’re all in town at the same time (aside from Erin who now lives there!!) we try to make a point of it to get together with the kids. Most recently Erin and Lara came out to my parent’s house with Thomas and Maggie and we ended up going to see the cows next door and eating large amounts of popcorn.

Mara is old enough that she understands what it means to go on a walk, but when it comes to Thomas and Maggie, their still a little hopeless when it comes to directions or walking distances without getting distracted.

By the time we made it to the cows, and picked up some pussy willows on the way, it felt like we’d reminded both of them that we were going to see the cows many, many times. The cows weren’t really sure what to do about a bunch of kids staring at them, so they just stared back. Sydney, on the other hand, decided that the best thing to do was to charge at the fence, which made me nervous because there was one cow that looked like it wanted to eat Syd for lunch.

My parents have a collection of toys that stay at their house and it is always fun to see what other kids, besides Maggie, glom onto. Thomas was all over the fruit cutting station, the hammer,  a truck, and also my dad. He kept bringing my dad different things and made sure that my dad noticed it. It was all sorts of cute.

While the kids played with play-dough my mom started to pop some popcorn and by the time the first kernel had hit the bowl, nearly everyone was done playing with playdough. As the adults and kids both huddled around  bowls of popcorn, we started talking about all the different groups of people that have enjoyed popcorn at my parent’s kitchen table. It was a long, long list and it seemed fitting that Maggie would be shoving handfuls into her mouth with two of her buddies by her side.

I only wish I could have understood their conversation as they each reached for handfuls. Mara is pretty quiet, so much of the talk was between Thomas and Maggie. It wasn’t long after that both Erin and Lara had to leave, but lucky for Mags and me, we got to stay and keep eating and chatting around the popcorn bowl.

I may or  may not have been feeling a bit sorry for myself with my last ‘I don’t feel like writing’ post, but that is over and done with and I’m back. And I’m full of gusto. Mostly because I feel like Maggie is finally back to herself, making demands and bossing the rest of us around like we’re HER people.  I guess we ARE her people, but still, nobody likes to be bossed around.

We were in A-Town for a few days visiting folks and I was slated to work yesterday, but since Maggie was sick I opted to stay with her and not work. Even though she slept most of the day, I’m really glad that I was able to be there to comfort her when she was awake. It would have been asking a lot of my mom to watch her and I would have been useless at work.

We’ve been on the go since before Thanksgiving, I think it really knocked Maggie out not being able to fully commit to her naps, etc. It was a huge, huge reminder to me how important it is for all of us, not just Maggie, to make sure we’re getting good sleep and eating well during this busy time of year. I’m going to do everything I can to avoid being sick or having a sick family.

Last weekend (seriously 2 days after Thanksgiving) we decided to get our tree and decorate for Christmas. On that same day we decided to rearrange some furniture and paint our guest bedroom….our house looked like a total disaster sprinkled with a bit of Christmas cheer.

But now we’ve got our mistletoe hung and our tree is sassy and fat looking, I’m pumped. We’ve had trees in the past, but they’ve always been really sad Charlie Brown trees.  This tree is fluffy and smells up our whole house, I’m in love.

Our next task?

Hang the outside lights!!!!

Welcome, December!!!

Last week while I was at work Maggie and Sydney went up and spent the night at my parent’s house. I got to go up the next day after working a half day and tag along with their adventures.  My mom planted some bulbs and it took about half a second before Maggie was right next to her assisting.

My mom is such a garden whiz, I’m envious. She makes planting 75 bulbs seem like a walk in the park, where if I were to be faced with the task, I’d feel overwhelmed. Someday I’ll be a better gardener, right? I love that Maggie doesn’t hesitate to get her hands dirty and try and figure out what she can do for help. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I think my child’s thumb is greener than my own.

Green thumbs aside, I listened to my parents and Maggie head out the door the next morning to go get the morning paper. I shuffled about the house before finding my shoes to catch up with them, because walking the length of my parent’s driveway is soothing to me. It is the perfect length of a walk to carry a warm cup of tea and still get to the mailbox with a sip left. It is also the perfect length to remind me of where I came from. It is the perfect length to have conversations that sometimes get interrupted, ignored or forgotten.

It makes me happy to think about Maggie already helping to work in the garden with my mom and pick blackberries along the driveway with my dad. Isn’t that just what life is about? Those moments that flash by and can be gone if you don’t take notice. We’re working hard to slow down and notice those moments, those life-filled moments.

I snapped this photo the other night while driving back home from my parent’s house and it turned out much more beautiful than I had thought it would. The large bump is Mount Erie and the smaller one to the right is Sugarloaf and my parent’s house is practically at the base of the two mini mountains. Since I’ve returned from our road trip, and I fell in love with Montana, I’ve appreciated the drive through Skagit Valley much, much more.

I’ve also unearthed an old photo of Maggie (can it really be called unearthed if the photo is only a few months old?) sitting on one of the rocks in my mom’s garden a few months ago. I had Mags sit again on the same rock and both the garden and Maggie have grown so much!!  Goes to show that still a few months really does make a difference!

Happy weekend to you!!

Sydney is on vacation from HBHQ for the week and visiting Camp Janet and we sure do miss her around here. Maggie keeps trying to drop bits of food from her high chair and looks around waiting for Sydney to come charging out with her tongue out. The two are the very best of friends, but I’m sure it is nice for Syd to get a break from Maggie’s powerful pinches and kisses Last I heard, she was basking in the sun on the front stoop letting Sparky do his own version of relaxing, which really means digging in the field next to my parent’s house.

Last week while we were up in A-Town both Erin and Suzanna brought their kids out to my parent’s place to play for a few hours and it was so much fun. Suzanna’s son, Daxten, has the most edible legs right now and he was right at home rolling on the grass and munching on some treats. I could seriously take a bite out of him right now…

Erin and her family have FINALLY moved back to WA and it has been so much fun to get to know her little guys beyond the quick visits that we’ve become accustomed to over the years. Gavin is roughly Maggie’s age and has the exact opposite hair-do of Maggie, which is pretty funny.

The MagSTAR is up from her nap and so this is the….end!

Without a doubt Maggie and I were the luckiest of girls this week to get to spend time with all our friends and family scattered around Skagit Valley. It is so easy and enjoyable to be in Anacortes during the summer months and my parent’s house never fails to feel like a little pocket of perfectness tucked into Fidalgo Island. I only wish that everybody was so lucky to have a place to return to and feel such a strong connection to.

When I spend time looking at all the work that my parents have done to turn their home into the gorgeousness that it is, I can’t help but wonder if their talents skipped a generation (me) and will hopefully crop up in Maggie. Maggie’s love of plants and flowers is already so blatantly obvious, with her insisting on smelling every single flower she sees and digging in the dirt without hesitation. The girl also has no qualms getting in the mix of things, helping out in every way.

My childhood is partially sprinkled with memories of eatting vegetables from my mom’s garden, but now that I’m on the other side of the fence as an adult, I have a deeper appreciation for all the work that must have gone into making sure those seeds got planted and nurtured. Seeing Maggie and my mom wander the garden, filling colanders with freshness, washing the dirt off and taking bites off and on, was incredible to see. Maggie was fascinated by the process and I have no doubt that she’ll be a great ‘helper’ for future harvests.

I’ve got Ella Fitzgerald’s Summertime stuck in my head.

Summertime and the livin’ is easy….

Fish are jumpin’ and the cotton is high….

We went to Camp Janet for the night earlier this week and snuck in a visit with Thomas and Caroline on our way home. By the time that we got back to HBHQ, Maggie and Syd only had energy to pass out together on the bed and sleep soundly. The weather has been playing games with us this past week and even though rain was predicted, the sun decided to show its pretty face.

My parents house is one of my favorite places in the world and the walk out their front paper and down the driveway to get the paper is so relaxing, with fields that hold cows sprinkled in the pastures. We’re not too far off from Maggie mooing full-on at the huge cows and their little spring-born babes. Ahhhh, we’re getting so close to summer.

Last night, after our arrival home, Barry commented to me about our precious potted plants and how interested in them Maggie has become. More than once she has sprinted over to a pot and double fisted dirt with a huge look of satisfaction spread across her face. Maybe we should just hook the girl up with a bucket of dirt and gravel because it seems like that is what she loves the most about the great outdoors so far….dirt and gravel.  Just last week she was trying to throw some gravel into her mouth like it was nut mix.

It feels like we’re nearing the end of the longish stand-off with both the rain and a big tooth that Maggie has been working on.

Can I get a hallelujah?

Thankfully the whole teething issue hasn’t really been an issue with us, but this big one that popped through seemed to do a little number on The Little One. We’re through the woods though, at least until the next one rears its head. Does teething ever really end?

Until then, Maggie’s pallet has developed ten-fold and we’re testing out newish foods left and right. Thomas is still light years ahead of her, but at least we’re making a bit more progress. Still though, she LOVES the social part of eating and yearns to be in the conversation with the big people. She’s got opinions to share and the dinner table is just the place to do it. We listen to her rants and try to chime in when she lets us, I think she got worked up about Donald Trump’s presidential bid the other night. I haven’t yet told her he withdrew, but she’ll be thrilled.