Happy 3rd Birthday Maggie!

November 29, 2012

Dear Maggie,

So much has happened since your birthday last year! You started at Kids on Broadway and have made new friends! We moved to a new part of San Diego and have had many new adventures in our neighborhood! Looking back on the photos and videos from over this year, I can't believe how much you have grown. There really is a big difference from 2 years to 3 years, and I have to say - it has been so much fun this year! You have grown taller! You have learned to do so many new things! You are truly a big girl now, and I am so happy to see how proud you are of  your accomplishments.

Just this morning, you climbed into bed with us and declared: "I'm 3, Mommy. I think I'm going to throw my binkies in the trash." Your Daddy and I were so impressed! After we talked it through a bit, we decided to send your binkies to the "Binky Fairy" who will pass your beloved binkies on to babies who need them. What a generous girl you are!

Tonight, we are going to have cupcakes to celebrate you! You know what kind we will have because you have been talking and dreaming about them for six months! :) "Red, with white, with red cupcakes!" Everyone you meet knows that you are 3, and that you will be having cupcakes. I can't wait to share one with you.

Your favorite thing these days is to wear your "ballerina princess dress" and your "tutu dress". You've worn them every day this week, and have brought your wand to school almost every day. What a princess you are, my beautiful girl! I love to watch you twirl and curtsey... you are full of grace already.

I have to say, that you truly are my best buddy and I am happiest when I am hanging out with you, Mags! I love our little chats, your kisses and how much you love to help me do everything. I love it when you wake up and say to PJ "Good morning, Mister!" and give him a big hug and kiss... He's our guy and you take great care of him! It makes me smile when you make sure Daddy is listening to me... he thinks we are bossing him around, but we are really just helping him, huh? ;) And I love to hear you laughing deep from your belly when you are being silly with Daddy... you both have the same laugh, and it is so contagious!

Well, my girl, I love you with all of my heart and soul! Happy 3rd Birthday to you... As I always will, I  look forward to the new adventures we will find for ourselves in the next year! I can promise a few exciting days in the next week or so! Can you say "Disneyland"???

I love you,
Mommy

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Dear Mags,

Happy birthday!  

You’ve been telling people you were three for a month now, but today, you truly are a “big girl”.  You woke up this morning and promptly told us that you were done with your binkies and you were ready to throw them in a garbage can...  However, your mom convinced you that putting them in a box to send to the binky fairy so other babies could have them, might be a better choice.  Just in case you were talking a bigger game than you really were ready for (especially with mommy leaving for a week in two days......).

It is amazing that a year has already gone by since your last birthday.  We moved from our home in UTC to downtown.  This move also coincided with you starting a new school.  It was a little scary at first, but now it is your home and you seem to really enjoy it.  You’ve made new friends and seem to have half the school staff wrapped around your finger!  Your best friend is still your mister, PJ.  He still loves and tolerates you, even when you are putting hats on him and trying to hug him when all he wants to do is go outside.

It is amazing to look back on the year and realize how much you’ve grown.  Not just in size but in every way.  You started going to the bathroom like a big girl on the potty.  You know who your Grandma, Papa, Mimi, Poppy, and your aunties and uncle are; You not only know them but you are excited to see them and talk to them.  You say please, thank you and your welcome (though sometimes you must be prompted).  You sleep in a big girl bed.  You know the words to and sing lots of different songs.  You are a smart and energetic girl.

It truly is amazing how quick you change.  We watched a video of you singing happy birthday to Poppy in July, a few days ago, and you sounded like such a little girl.  You sound so much older in just those 4 months!  Each day we are able understand more you say and this seems to be a good thing, since you sometimes talk non-stop!  If you really are giving up the binkies, I would imagine that your speech and vocabulary will be better than mine in no time at all!

You still have a TON of personality.  You are still not shy about telling us what you like and don’t like.  You are becoming more outgoing and less shy by the day.  I think this is a good thing.....  Though, it seems that little boys are now hanging on your every word.  Not really loving that..... You are still pretty aloof of them though, so I have a little time!

Thank you so much for being such a joy in your mom and I’s lives.  You are such a sweet little girl and we love you so much.

Love,
Dad

***As these letters were written this morning, I thought we should update you on the "Binky situation":

It was a really good birthday. 

Happy Birthday, Maggie! You're TWO!

November 29, 2011

Dear Maggie,

Today is my favorite day. It is the day that I take some time to remember the details of the day you came into my life; the day I look at your Dad and say with pride "Look at our beautiful daughter!" It is today that I woke up and couldn't wait to see your face... did it change at all from yesterday? Are you taller??? It is today that I look at the last year and reminisce about the places we went and the things we did and then start to dream of all that is to come in year three.

I am so thankful to have you and you are teaching me so many things! You make my heart melt with your kisses and your pats on the back. You challenge me to be creative and to communicate in new ways. You remind me of the pure joy that is felt when you see something new for the first time. You lift my spirits after a hard day of work. You entice me play - leaving the chores for another day. You are becoming your own person in so many ways every day, and I am in awe of your strength, humor, and sensitivities. I love you, Magpie! Happy Birthday to you, and may you enjoy every second of year three as much or more than year two!

Love, Mommy

*****************

Dear Maggie,

Two years ago today you came into the world and joined our family.  It was the most exciting/scary/wonderful day of my life.   I’ve never seen such a look of joy on your mother’s face as when she was handed this tiny little red baby.  It was a look of pure happiness.  Everything in the world was perfect at that very moment.

Over the next few months you and your mother stayed at home and bonded.  You ate, pooped, slept and grew.  You were a pretty good baby.  You cried when you were hungry, you cried when you were dirty and the rest of the time, you slept.  

During that time, I wasn’t good for much.  I tried to help but you needed mom and I was just kind of there.   I did try to give your mom time to go out and do some things outside the house.   Though, when she left, I made her carry a phone and never be more than 15 minutes away in case you started crying and I couldn’t fix whatever was wrong.  Luckily, you were a pretty good baby and the Happiest Baby On The Block taught me how to swaddle, side, shhh and swing you when you were crying until you were happy again.  It was probably the only reason I let your mom leave me alone with you!

The next few months were even better.   You started to recognize that I was more than just a blob and that you were connected to me too, not just your mom!  You liked to watch football with me and take naps on my belly as we would watch a game.  You started to be able to sit upright without any help and we started to see your personality.  We figured out real quick that you had a lot of it!

In no time at all a year went by.  You learned how to sit by yourself, you learned how to roll around, you learned how to crawl, figured out how to stand, and then you learned how to takes steps while holding on to things.  You thought about taking some steps solo but as with everything else you learned you wanted to wait until you had mastered the skill before risking a step without support.   During the first year you developed a love for your big bro PJ.  He loved you right back and let you pull on his years, poke his eyes and generally let you do anything you wanted to him without a single complaint.

After the first year, time really started to fly.  In no time you were up and walking and that barely seemed to happen before you were running.  You were making friends at daycare and playing hard every day. 

At some point in the 2^nd year, you learned who mom was and that you could call her that and who dad was, though, you mostly called me me-momma.  Eventually, near your 2^nd birthday you started calling me Lolly.  Not quite dad or daddy, but close and much better than me-momma!

After your first birthday, you started to become very strong willed.  i.e. you wanted what you wanted and didn’t want what you didn’t want.  And you weren’t afraid to let us know!  In fact, you weren’t afraid to let the entire neighborhood know sometimes!  But even during the worst breakdowns, you would pop back up and instantly make us laugh by completely moving on from whatever it was that you were mad at and act like nothing happened. 

You discovered many new things this year.  You learned how to communicate more effectively and started using words and then sentences/phrases.  Phrases like “my momma” and “my PJ” and “my shoes” and “my socks” and “that’s mommas” and “that’s mimi’s”.  You really liked to show your understanding of possession!  But you also liked to show your understanding of what was going on with the world by letting us know things like “pj is night night”!

This year you loved to eat eggs, cheerios, pears and apples (you called both apples), cheese (#1 for sure), quesadilla, black beans, yogurt, grapes, crackers, juice and many other foods.  You started eating all by yourself and didn’t want mom, dad or anyone else to help you.  You sometimes would use a fork or spoon though it often inhibited you from eating as fast as you wanted.  Your perfect meal this year was a quesadilla with apples, yogurt and juice. 

We couldn’t have asked for a better first two years.  You are the most beautiful, smart, funny, caring little girl in the world.  You have more personality in your little finger than most people have in their entire body.  You have enriched both your mom and my lives to a point that I didn’t even think was possible.  We love you more than you can imagine and can’t wait to watch you grow up and live your life.

I love you with all my heart,

Dad

Fall Review!

Whew. It's been a busy Fall so far. We've had a lot of fun with Maggie in the last few months, and she has blossomed! She is talking so much more now, and is learning new things each day. Some of her favorite things to do are:

1) Assign things to people. For example: "That's Mommy's!" (while nodding her head earnestly) or "That's MINE." (I'm sure you can all imagine how often this one is used!)

2) Boss PJ around. Poor PJ! We hear the following every day: "GO!" or "No, No P Yay!!" (that's how she pronounces PJ. "P Yay". (It's so cute! But I wonder how endearing it is to PJ when he's being told what to do all the time??)

3) When seeing any vehicle larger than a mini-cooper: "BUH!!!!! There's the buhhhh!" This means 'bus' and 'truck'. :o) She is also obsessed with planes, and luckily for Maggie, we live conveniently close to the Marine air strip! She hears a plane coming, and looks to the window or the sky, and says "Plane!" and points upward. Maggie and I had a wonderful view of the Air Show in early October from the end of our driveway. The anticipation of hearing the big planes coming our way was almost more excitement than she could handle! She would squeal with excitement, point as the jets flew by, and then clap when the were gone. She kept signing and saying "More, more!" After the last big fly-by, she cried when I told her it was all over! :( However, it was a great time for me - she was so thrilled! Maybe she's a future pilot?

4) Point out anything cat related and say: "That's a MEOW". (Again with the head nod. I just die when she does it... so cute!) She also loves to point at each animal on her wall (we decorated in a Safari theme) and say "Roaaaaar" (in a whisper!) when we point to the lion or the tiger.

5) Scream...........

So, here are some pictures from events over the past few months! xo

This was just a fun day after work/school - she looked so cute!

Maggie wanted to do my hair! 

Matching bows, obviously!

A sweet girl and her handsome pup.

I mean, honestly, he is the ideal playmate. He'll wear anything!

Mags decided to walk a mile in my shoes... :)

Maggie and Mommy took a few days off and went to Palm Springs when G&G Korn and GiGi were here for a visit. It was warm and so much fun to spend extra time with them!

Play day at the Mall. Maggie loved following Rhea!

She is saying "Mooooom... don't embarrass me in front of my friend! Keep it cool!"

Sunset in La Jolla - family outing. We were looking for seals! 

Our little family. <3

Halloween is Here!

Off to Trick-O-Treat with her bff Kaylyn! Princess Maggie and Kaylyn the Cow! 

Best part of the night: ringing the doorbell. Maggie actually really got into the trick-o-treating, and it was so much fun for us to watch! Kaylyn helped a lot - she grabbed a piece of candy for Maggie on the first few houses when Maggie was still a bit shy. But she warmed up, and had a blast! 

Not too shabby, kiddos! 

A very early b-day present! Pots and Pans from Grandma Korn!

To go with the kitchen from Mimi!

She was a natural chef...

Cooking with almost all the burners right off the bat! Mimi taught her how to stir and how to taste. These gifts are a huge hit at our house!

Aunties are here!

She's doing the serious look...

Loves! 

Looking forward to Maggie's big 2nd birthday next week, and Christmas soon after that!! xoxo

Awesome Summer Trip #2 - Washington!

We had a blast in Washington this summer! The trip started out with our excuse for the long visit - Tait and Cecelia's wedding! It was so much fun. We had a very nice overnight away while Maggie hung out with her entourage, Gigi, Grandma, Auntie Mardi, Grandpa, Cameron and Auntie Tracey!

The weather was beautiful for our visit, and we made the rounds! We hung out in Federal Way with family and friends, and also took to the road for visits with as many friends as possible! Check out the photos below for a few of the highlights. Of course, the camera-woman forgot to pull out the camera on a couple of occasions, so a few of our great visits are missing! :( However, we had a blast seeing Tricia and Kaylyn in Woodenville, where Mags and Kaylyn played at the coolest place ever! It was a coffee shop with a built in play are inside. The play area is surrounded with a short wall, so the parents can sit outside it and watch the kiddos play. Genius! We also saw Joel and Addy for dinner in West Seattle! That was a delicious meal with great friends, and it was so good to catch up with them! Addy disappeared for a few minutes and brought back ice cream... which is Maggie's favorite! We had a blast.

Maggie was such a trooper on our many long road trips. Elmo helped, though! Maggie LOVES Elmo these days, so a DVD of Elmo was her companion when things started to get a bit tense in the car! Now, she pretty much asks for Elmo as soon as she wakes up in the morning!

Federal Way Days

Cousins! Maggie was very curious about Cameron - they had a lot of fun!

Water park! This park is so awesome! A great way to cool off, and it was free!

This one was her favorite.

Lake Chelan!

The Beckstead Clan invited us up to the lake for a few nights, and we had so much fun. Maggie loved playing in the water and going on the boat. We all soaked up some sun, relaxed, and enjoyed great friends!
I wish I had picture of Emma and Rob together - Emma's famous quote of  the weekend "Rob, you're a party barge!" ahahaha... She is such a sweetie, and was always asking Maggie to come and play. Jess cracked us all up with his obsession with the iPad, and Hannah is the sweetest little Daddy's Girl you've ever met!

I love crackers!

Note the impressive belly. My mother (Mimi) can atest to a similar belly had by me - so impressive that I was dubbed "'Chelley Belly"....

"Huh?...."

"You want us to do what??"

Our beautiful hostess, Lindsey with Hannah in the pool! Lindsey did so much to make us feel right at home - it was so much fun to relax and catch up!

Maggie had so much fun playing on these stairs that led right into the lake. The water was pretty cold, but she didn't mind it. She just loved splashing around and 'jumping' in with me!

The amazing lake!

Failed attempt at a family photo, but at least we tried!

The guys were more cooperative. :) Handsome group, no?

Robbi, Ryan and Rob

Point Defiance Zoo

This was kind of a grey day, but Point Defiance park made up for that! What a beautiful spot! Gandma took Maggie and Cameron (and us too!) to the zoo for a bit. We had a little picnic after walking around a bit and then rode the Merry Go Round. After the zoo, Rob and I took Maggie on a drive around the park. It was so pretty and green! 

"Cheese!"

Trouble makers!

Cam and Grandma picked this horse - he was really excited about this ride!

Maggie and Dad picked this one. She loved the idea (when this photo was taken) but didn't love it when the horse started moving up and down. Next time, we'll stick to the stationary ones. :)

West Seattle

We were actually early when we went to meet Joel and Addy. Yes, you see it here and it is true: we were early to something! We took a little walk along the boardwalk of West Seattle, and Maggie got to run around a bit. It was a nice few minutes of family (down) time during our busy trip!

There they are: my loves.

What do you think, Mags?

This picture doesn't do justice to the moment. Maggie was practicing her "jukes" - she'd fake one direction, then spin around and run the other direction! What was she trying to do, you wonder? Oh, just stand at the edge of an 8 foot drop to the beach and peek over! She loves to test the strength of our hearts...

She thinks she got away! The giggles are just too much for me - I love them!

North Bend

One of my favorite parts of visiting the NW is that we get to see Curtis, Emily and Murray. They hosted us for an early dinner at their beautiful home in North Bend. It was an amazing backyard bbq, complete with smoked pork by our very own Curtis! Delicious Ginger Margs were for the grownups, and for Maggie? She got to play in the dog's water bowls! ;o) I guess she's officially a water baby.

Our beautiful Emily, hostess with the mostess! She was ready with two boxes of toys for Maggie to enjoy!

Here are the most important guests! "Puppas!"

They are fun from afar, but....

A little ltoo much when they are surrounding her!

She got used to them right after this - that's when she followed them to the water bowl!

Time to go...

Maggie really did do a wonderful job with all the traveling we did. As a Sagittarius, she is adventurous, eager to extend her experiences beyond the familiar, and loves travel and exploration! We see that in her already, so it didn't surprise me that she took the hundreds of miles we put in over this week like a pro. We're already looking forward to another trip as soon as we can!

Do I have everything I need for this flight?

Ahhh, that's the spot! You guys don't mind if I stretch out, right?

Nite, nite!