This whole weekend was an absolute pile of goodness. I love weekends like this and we’ve been pretty low key for a few weeks, so having a jam-packed weekend seemed to feel just right. On Friday Maggie and I met up with Cole and Caroline to see what the newly remodeled aquatics center was like. It did not disappoint. It was AWESOME and we’ll go back again for sure. Maggie has been in the water quite a bit, but this was the first time that I felt like she was really pumped up about it, it was if she’d turned into a fish.

Saturday we met up with Krista and Lance and had brunch at their house, which for some reason I’ve held onto the wrong address and it took us a while to get there. All in all, it was fun to let the kids play and the adults talk. At one point Krista and I were upstairs with the kids while Lance and Barry stayed downstairs talking. Krista and I are so similar in our loudness and the dudes are way more laid back. We were shrieking, laughing and being not quiet while we played with Will & Mags.

The men, on the other hand, had a quiet calm conversation that we couldn’t hear from the top of the stairs. It was a serious conversation and they both took turns talking, never interrupting one other. So unlike Krista and myself. Girls will be girls. Can that be the excuse.

After we left the Hoffman household, we headed over to Brian and Darcy’s for the evening. I may or may not have eaten too many pieces of shrimp and sipped a bit too much wine while at their house. Sometimes that happens when we’re all together…the shrimp and wine combo is killer.  So much fun though.

We didn’t watch the Super Bowl today, instead we went to the beach. (The above photos are from last week and our attempt at a self-timer portrait…photos from this weekend to come). We thought we were clever by going to the beach, but every other little family that didn’t want to watch the Super Bowl was there too. It was still fun.

And now.

We’re about to enjoy a delicious dessert to cap off our weekend. Pictures to come from the photo challenge, etc.

Ta to the Ta!

Just like most of my days today I wore jeans, a sweater and whatever else was on top of the laundry pile or at my finger tips. When I saw today’s picture was what I wore, I thought I’d dress it up a bit, but by the time I remembered to take the photo I was already dressed. Keepin’ it real for y’all. 

Yesterday we headed down to the beach to catch the sunset and watch some of the ferries come and go. I tend to forget how easy it is to access the water and what entertainment it can be down there.

We ran into other little families out to catch the last moments of the day, bundled up and pausing to point out the passing boats and trains. Every time we saw another kid, Maggie would stop, point and yell “baby” at the top of  her lungs. She thinks people are either babies or adults, she doesn’t quite grasp the idea of ‘kid’ yet.

Also, my parents got back from their vacation last night and spent the night at our house. I kid you not when I tell you that my dad strutted into the kitchen topless this morning just so we could see his tan. At first, we were all wondering where in the world his shirt was, but then after he puffed his chest a few times, we oohhed and ahhhed at how sun-kissed he was.

I am so happy they’re home. I still talked to them frequently while they were away, but it never felt natural (with the international phone charges and all) as it does when they’re home. I talk with my mom sometimes multiple times a day, so I practically felt like I was missing a limb sometimes not being able to share with her some of our shenanigans.

Maggie got more comfortable with the idea of talking on the phone while they were gone because on Sunday (the pictures of her in red) she was all a sudden talking to my mom without either Barry or I knowing it. We were both in different rooms and heard  a loud “Hi, Nama!!!” followed by a bunch of affirmative answers and stretches of silence. Sure enough, when I checked,  my mom was on the other end of the line.

Before I go any further, I implore you to watch Maggie’s latest jam session on the harmonica. Last night Barry and I were sitting with her in the front room and she stood in the middle of the room just stomping her foot and playing her harmonica while we clapped along. She was rocking out and stomping her foot super hard, I had to try and record it. The video is a very toned down version of what she was doing minutes before, but the transition into the computer room meant she lost a little steam. Still funny though…at least to us.

We’ve been having so much fun here now that the snow is melted and our regular routines are back in full swing. Maggie has developed into somewhat of a boss (not sure where she gets that from…must be Barry) and is very, very specific about how we play games with her. Lately Barry has transformed back into Captain B-Nut and they rush up and down the hallway making all kinds of noise. Mags especially likes to run by the mirror to check herself out. (Side note: how cute is Barry? So cute. Best dad ever.)

Last night Barry and I sat on the kitchen floor while she ran circles around the kitchen and hallway. For the first part of the game we accommodated her bossiness and worked with her to say “excuse me” when bustling by. Once she figured out what ‘excuse me’ actually means, she kept saying it to us and the dogs, except it sounds like ‘new me,’ a perfect compliment to her version of thank-you, which is ‘nee-new.’

Eventually though we got bored with her telling US what to do (make sure our legs were stretched out, eyes closed, backs against the cabinets) so we started to throw her for a few loops by switching positions, singing and even kissing, she isn’t a fan of us kissing, but I suppose most kids don’t like to see their parents kiss, right? At first she was really sweet about us not doing it exactly how she wanted, but towards the end she really wanted to restore order to the game. Of course we appeased her.

I feel extremely  cheerful today…perhaps it is the sun peeking through the clouds or the fact that I have book group tonight and get to see some friends. Maybe I’m feeling good about finishing Maggie’s first year photo book (hallelujah!) and can move on to her next one. Yesterday in a fit of needing a change, we reorganized furniture in our house and Maggie’s room. Things here are in constant flux, but the changes feel SO good and fresh. Bring it on, Spring!!!

In these past weeks I’ve been bustin’ my tail to finish Maggie’s book, I’ve found myself looking at tons of old photos and I’m going to try hard to keep  myself from sharing a billion of them, but some are just too good to pass up. (See above image to get my drift.) Since tomorrow is February, my favorite month, I’m going to do a 30 Day Photography Challenge. Since there aren’t 30 days in February, I’ll have to swing into March, but that seems like a great transition.

Alrighty. Did you watch the video of Mags jammin’?  Hilarious stuff around here, folks.

This past weekend after the snow started to melted away, we decided that we needed to get out of the house in a bad, bad way. So we made grand plans to hit the road and stop by and visit my grandparents and go on a walk without the dogs. (Since we have Sparky with us for a while, walking without them seems like a luxury!) When we arrived at my grandparent’s Maggie instantly checked the corner where all the noisy Christmas toys had been and discovered that they were gone. Not one to be disappointed, she headed to the back room, while dragging my grandma with her, and the two of them worked to carry some toys back out to the living room.

I love that she is familiar enough with their house to know exactly where they keep her toys. I also love that some of the toys that she plays with are the same toys that I played with as a child, I suppose that means they’re vintage. But the toys weren’t really the highlight of  the visit, it was the washcloth that came out with the toys that seemed to garner the most attention. At first she placed the washcloth on Sue’s head and they had a game together, where we discovered that Sue has the ability to talk exactly like Grover from Sesame Street.  But I digress….

Maggie proceeded to place the washcloth on everybody’s head and we all went along with it; however, when she put the washcloth on my grandpa’s head, he went wild in his typical Grandpa Elvrum fashion.  My grandma instantly tried to sush him, which I found hilarious because my grandfather doesn’t do quiet. It just isn’t in his nature and we love him all the same for it. But his reaction to this game was the same that I know he has had for all of his grandchildren, he just has such an unabashed adoration for us and now Maggie too, his first great grand child. He is a grandpa through and through.

Eventually the game ended and our conversation picked up, but a few minutes later I looked over and noticed that Grandpa and Maggie were quietly looking at the North Dakota picture book of our trip this last summer. You know what? Maybe he does do quiet after all.

I love it, but then I hate it too. The snow just isn’t giving up and I’m no longer thinking that we need to move to Montana because I’m pretty certain that there is more snow there than the twiddly amount I can see out my front door. I haven’t driven in almost a week because last year when I drove in the snow/ice I eneded up running into a pickup truck stopped in front of me. I had Maggie in the car and it was pretty scary, even though we were all fine.

That has meant that when I have the urge to strap Maggie into her car seat and skate over to somebody’s house, I decided that the backyard will do just fine and if we’re really crazy a walk around the neighborhood. I hate feeling like such a weather wimp. Then I remember that the news said it might be “impossible” for people to drive and that anywhere I could go is wholly unnecessary. So we’ve stayed home and I’m learning to embrace it.

Chaya came to visit the other day and we’ve dug out most of the Christmas presents that got stashed away for a day just like today. Tomorrow we’ll probably set up the basketball hoop from Greg and Linda, that’ll entertain us for who knows how long. Maggie doesn’t seem to mind being home…heck, she probably has a better deal out of it because she gets some one-on-one time in a major way without the distraction of a trip to the grocery store or other errands.  (That said, Maggie’s story time and music class we started with Caroline & Thomas are things I’d rather she didn’t miss.)

Cora gave Maggie a bunch of stamps for Christmas and we were able to use them and Maggie fell in love with pushing them onto the paper. The girl has a knack for making sure the ink gets pushed onto the paper, check out her face! I had a very hard time containing my laughter and by the time Chaya came over Maggie was practically a stamping expert. If you need anything stamped, Maggie’s your girl.

Besides stamping, Maggie has been assisting Barry in various tasks outside…..like wiping snow off the car I never drive and hitting snow off the bamboo that I hate with a stick. Yesterday we spent far too much time outside making a movie about Barry hitting snow off a tree in our backyard. In a strange way I hope you get to see it, but it probably wouldn’t make your life any better if you do.

So we’re surviving the big snow of 2012. I was informed today by Maggie to be quiet (imagine her curly head and index finger like a librarian shuuuushing me) because her baby was sleeping. I had to laugh because I totally get it, the need to be quiet when you’ve finally got your babe to sleep. Mags is such a good mama to her babies, I keep finding them swaddled around the house and earlier today I found one of her babies “reading” a book that Maggie had propped up.

I love it. I hate it. The snow really is beautiful and we’re fortunate enough to have a warm, warm home and lots to entertain us while we watch the flaky whiteness fall from the sky. I love the taste of fresh snow. I love the sound of snow….or the way it makes me really listen. I’m not going to make a list of what I hate about the snow, but I will say this: I’ll be glad when the roads clear up.

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.

You’d think that we’d never seen snow before the way that we’re celebrating it here…or at least the way that Maggie is celebrating it. Yesterday morning she woke up early and started poking Barry in the nose insisting that he get up. When he’d finally wiped the sleep from his eyes and wandered down the hall after her, she ran up to the window looking into the back yard and yelled at the top of her lungs “NOOOOOOOOOO!!” (which translates into snow)

So we piled on the layers and went outside and Maggie was in heaven and so was Sparky. Sydney, on the other hand, had to take a moment to herself before she got off the back stoop and when she did she too ran around like a mini snow plow. We frolicked in the back yard and I demonstrated my best pitching stance while hucking snowballs at one of the big trees in our yard. Barry informed me that I may or may not have some serious skills when it comes to my pitching of snowballs.

That afternoon when the Little Miss wanted to go out again, I was smart and brought my cup of tea to enjoy because I learned earlier in the day that Maggie just doesn’t get cold. Period. When I was pregnant with her I was constantly warm and often light-headed because I was so hot, and now I feel like I know why. The child does not get cold ever and poor little me does. So, I brought my tea and kept it close by for occasional sips while we rolled out a couple snowmen.

Today when we woke up to more snow, I found that good snow really does make a difference when it comes to rolling snowmen.  The snowfall from last night just wasn’t as good as that snowball material the other day, but we made do and put together a mini snowman.  The squirrels didn’t seem to mind, and immediately stole his entire facial structure. Poor guy.

The prediction is for more snow to dump tonight and all day tomorrow. That’s fine, I guess. We’ve been busy inside also.  Mostly in the kitchen baking breads, muffins, chili and other snow-related things. I can do this for a while longer and can battle the cabin fever by going outside and making forts, but I’m slightly excited for it to melt. Then we can crack open the windows and welcome nicer weather.

But until then, we’re going to be watching the “NOOOOOO” fall from the sky and work on perfecting the best drying techniques when it comes to our jackets and hats. It isn’t so bad. We had our yearly snowy visit from Chach, she is fearless driving her little car in this weather. I’m a wimp; however, we did go across town yesterday just to get out of the house. I decided I didn’t need to do that again, at least with the predicted snow coming.

And aside from cooking and watching the snow fall, we’ve got other indoor activities to do. For example, reading the paper and making sure that we haven’t missed an important story. Maggie, like her dad, likes to read the advertisements. [B-mills edit 1/17/2012: "That's how you know where the best deals are." ]

Most importantly, we’ve got a new game that we can play all hours of the day: “Night-Night”. Maggie invented it and I’m almost certain that this game is just part of the developmental process. She loves bossing us around while piling blankets on our heads insisting that we go night-night. She also loves to pop up and yell “Morning!” to whomever is playing with her. Every once in a while I only wish night-night time was as simple as a pile of blankets and a simple “night-night.”

I’ll give it a try here and see how it goes.

Night-Night.

A number of years ago Barry’s uncle made him a copy of all the home movies from his childhood and I think it is one of those gifts that just keeps getting better and better over time, especially since Barry is now a father and The Little Miss sometimes does things that are just oh-so-Barryesque. One of my favorite snippets from the home movies is of Barry eating grapes, while holding an entire bowl full in his hands, and he complains to his mom that Brian, who snagged one, was eating his grapes. Classic.

But one of my very favorite parts (aside from Barry rolling over his cousin’s head) of Barry’s Childhood Videos, so appropriately named, is of Barry and Brian playing with their red wagon on a blustery fall day. After Brian had pushed Barry down the hill and through the field a number of times, he’d finally had enough. Pretty soon you see a angry little Brian hollering from the top of the hill and then the camera cuts to Barry yelling back for Brian to come back and play. The whole interaction is hilarious and adorable at the same time.

So when Barry and Brian get together now, sometimes isn’t too hard to see some of those dynamics, personality traits or jokes that have carried them into adulthood shine through. Brian isn’t necessarily stealing Barry’s grapes and Barry isn’t making empty promises about pushing his brother in a wagon, but they still like to banter and play together….even after all these years.

Plus they like Foreigner, remember?

]]> http://www.hbadventure.com/blog/index.php/2012/01/midges-list/feed/ 1 http://www.hbadventure.com/blog/index.php/2012/01/blank/ http://www.hbadventure.com/blog/index.php/2012/01/blank/#comments Tue, 10 Jan 2012 04:13:25 +0000 hannah http://www.hbadventure.com/blog/?p=7415

6:32

Maggie has officially learned how to play the harmonica that she got for Christmas. I finally have a moment to write and all I can do is crack up listening to her have her own jam session in the other room as Barry and his dad talk. She is practically her own audience, cheering over Barry and Greg’s applause and praise.

I have so dearly wanted and craved this time, but now that I’ve got it – a moment to write, ponder, think, unload – I can’t seem to muster up any thoughts and shove them into one piece. Our lives are extraordinarily full lately, the holidays over-flowing into 2012 by celebrating my Grandmother’s 89th birthday this past weekend. I love my family.  Plus I’ve been working and that adds an element to our lives that we have yet to fully understand where it fits in. While I worked last week, Maggie had a slumber party at my parents house and she had a few of her friends over to look at the cows next door…

7:46

I had to stop writing because the harmonica concert arrived at my knees and demanded my full attention, which I gave. Since then we’ve said goodbye to Grandpa (Miller), jumped on the bed, read a book, started to color and now we’re inching closer to bed.

8:02

Maggie decided to not draw on her paper and  ‘accidently’ got some on the fireplace hearth. We had to work to scrub it off. Now she’s peacefully playing with her surf jeep and I’m trying to find my words again.

8:03

I think I’ll go play with the surf jeep instead.

8:08

Have you heard of the book “Go the F**k to Sleep”? We got it for Christmas and as horrible as it is to laugh at, it is really funny. I wouldn’t have laughed at it before I had a kid, but now that we’ve been down the ‘is she ever going to sleep’ road, it is really funny.

8:12

Night-Night