big steps

Lilly will be 6 months old in a few days, and I've started giving her a little bit of cereal each day. She hasn't quite figured it out yet, but she seems interested. She'll open her mouth and lean in like a baby bird, but most of the time she just wants to chew on the spoon.

Maggie is starting to accessorize her outfits...whenever we are getting ready to go somewhere, she'll run into her room and pick out a necklace from her dress up trunk. It is a different one every day, but her decisions always seem very deliberate. And she's also recently rediscovered her white hat, and she's been putting it on and wearing it out to the grocery store lately. It really cracks me up that she's turning into a little fashionista!



And in other exciting news, Maggie pooped in her little potty for the first time yesterday! For those of you without young kids, you probably think that is a crazy thing to be excited about, but for the rest of you, I'm sure you understand my excitement. So I guess we're now in full-fledged potty training mode!
-Heather

pretty in pink

These photos are from this past week...the girls enjoying a sunny afternoon on the back deck.

Lilly enjoying one of my childhood dolls, Lolly (which never seemed to interest Maggie, but Lilly loves her).
Say "cheese"!!





And for those of you following the giant storm that crossed the Southeast and came through Raleigh today, we managed to make it through w/o any damage...but there was apparently a big tornado that came through the middle of town, just a few miles from our house.

just dancin'

Hope you enjoy this video of Maggie with her new dancing partner, Elmo.


Also, I'm sure everyone was eagerly awaiting the return of "the Hooptie"!

puzzles

Maggie has been really into puzzles the last couple of weeks. She'll say "mama, it's puzzle time!!" whenever she wants to put one together. Here she is posing w/ her current favorite floor puzzle.


And here she is modeling her sunglasses.

cheer-up cheerily!

Maggie's new favorite toy is a cheap hula hoop I got at the grocery store the other day...she calls it a "hoopa hoop".

She's also been enjoying playing with some homemade play-doh that Daddy made (note to self= keep homemade play-doh away from beagles).

Here she is practicing some of her bird calls (courtesy of Sesame Street). You'll notice her hamming it up for the camera at the very end.

playing catch up

Lilly is almost 5 months old, and Maggie is already teaching her the ways of the world. Here she is teaching Lilly about numbers and colors. As you can see in the bottom picture, she is already taking on the role of protective big sister.




And here are a few mandatory cute baby photos...



Maggie, Snoopy, and Pooh Bear enjoying the view on a rainy day.

Sorry these next few photos are blurry, but I couldn't resist posting them. When Lilly is in her Bumbo seat, Maggie will pile up every baby toy on her tray for her, one by one...


...and then Maggie thinks it's hilarious when the pile falls over!

Today we brought out a box of play-doh that a neighbor had given us, and Will set Maggie up at her little "desk" outside (the pool was our attempt to keep the play-doh from getting rolled in the pine straw). This play-doh kept her occupied for nearly 2 hours!

playtime pictures

Lilly is starting to grasp and manipulate things with her hands, which means that she can now chew on toys instead of just her fists.


Here she is enjoying some quilt time with her friend Jacob (who is Eli's little brother, and 2 months younger than Lilly).

Maggie and Eli at the playground.


Since mastering the small ladder at one of the neighborhood playgrounds, Maggie wants to test her climbing skills at each playground we go to. She really is amazingly confident and very cautious at the same time, and her persistence is pretty neat...she won't quit until she can climb all the way up by herself (grandmothers...don't worry...I still stand under her and "spot" her!).


Resting on the couch with Daddy.