Locked Out

We have been dealing with the classic sibling rivalry of annoying little sister vs. possessive big brother. It is Maggie's main mission everyday to sneak into Tuttle's room and play with his Legos, firehouse, and books. If she is caught, it usually results in Tuttle grabbing her away from his stuff and a LOT of screaming. I was tired of being referee, so we came up with a solution.

 

Introducing Tuttle's new gate to his room. He can open and close it independently, but Maggie cannot (although she has tried many times much to her frustration.)

 

 

I love that Tuttle has his own space to keep his treasures safe. :)

Snow Day 2014

Atlanta is experiencing some CRAZY weather today, but luckily our family has not dealt with any stress or traffic standstills. Jay lucked out and left work right before everyone in Atlanta hopped in their cars to avoid the snow and ice. It only took him an hour to get home, which is not much longer than his usual 30 minute drive. There are some people still in their cars after 8 hour commutes home, and many students are stuck at school to spend the night! Insane!!

 

I promised the babies that we could play in the snow after naps, so I bundled Tuttle, Maggie, and Gigi up and headed outside.

 

 

I made everyone, including Jay and Smelly, pose for the classic snow picture. :)

 

 

Snow Angels.

 

 

It did not take long for Gigi and Tuttle to taste the snow, but Maggie was having none of that!

 

 

Tuttle LOVED the snow. He lasted the longest in the cold. After about 30 minutes, the girls were ready to come in, so I let Tuttle play in the backyard for a few minutes by himself.

 

Hot chocolate wrapped up our adventure in the snow. :)

 

On a side note, everyone DEVOURED spaghetti tonight for dinner. Maggie and Tuttle were so messy that a bath was necessary. I washed both babies, and then headed to the kitchen to clean dishes while they played. (Our bathroom is directly around the corner from the kitchen.) A few minutes later, Tuttle starts reprimanding Maggie. I walk into the bathroom to find that Maggie has pooped all over the tub! Gross!!

 

This little girl is a MESS!

This Girl



Happy Eighteen Months, Maggie Ruth!

Margaret Ruth Thorne has been a part of our family for eighteen months now.

 

At eighteen months, Maggie

 

 

 * wears 18m clothing and size 3 diapers.

 

* is completely OFF the bottle now.  This is a recent change because she was taking a sippy cup and a bottle to bed and spilling so much that I had to change her sheets multiple times a week. One day I just stopped giving her the bottle, and she has done wonderful so far!

 

* prefers water to anything else, like her Daddy. She refers to it as "juice." She will drink milk but only at naptime and bedtime.

 

* still clings onto the name "Moo Moo" from the original nickname of Maggie Moo Bear. I find myself call her "Moo Moo" more often than Maggie, even in public! Daddy likes to call her "Boo Boo."

 

* has started to potty train herself. CRAZY! She has gone poop on the potty about 8 times. She will point to her bottom and say "tee tee" if she goes poop in her diaper. She enjoys sitting on the potty with a book. She will also bring me/Daddy a diaper when she needs one.

 

* is talking more and more everyday. She especially loves to point out babies. Some words/phrases she uses regularly include: done-done, tee-tee, baby, Gigi, ma-ma, daddy, yes, I walk, thank (for Thank You), ball, book, yuck, and cat. She will repeat everything I say, too.

 

* is officially SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT! Hallelujah! She goes to sleep between 7:30pm and 8:00pm and wakes up around 8:00am!

 

* takes a nap from about 2:00pm-3:30 or 4:00pm. She is not the three hour napper that her big brother was, but I will take what I can get!

 

* loves taking care of her babies. She will feed them, walk them in her pink stroller, and even put them on the potty. I am obsessed with her obsession with babies! It is so cute! She is becoming interested in princesses, too. She will play with her Little People princesses while Tuttle plays with his superheroes.

 

* takes every opportunity she can to sneak into Tuttle's room and play/disassemble his Legos.

 

* runs directly to Daddy's Chair the moment Jay wakes in the door after work.

 

* still prefers to be held a lot, especially when we are out on adventures (the zoo, Fernbank, birthday parties). She is lucky she is so small and light!

 

* will actually sit still to watch Elmo or Barney for ten minutes or so. Nothing else really captures her attention. I typically let her watch when I need to comb her hair.

 

* still takes her shower in the morning for several reasons. She will not sit in the tub, and I need to tame her crazy hair after sleeping.

 

* is a gymnastics superstar. She can walk the beam unassisted and support herself on the bars.

 

* loves to snuggle, mostly with Daddy.

 

* can put together all the wooden puzzles we have. I usually use this activity when I need to cook dinner.

 

* has stolen our hearts and makes us laugh everyday. :)

Maggie had to do a mini photo session to celebrate being a year and half!

 

Happy Eighteen Months, Maggie Ruth! We love you so much!

Our Weekend

We started off the weekend with a visit to the hospital to see my grandma. She is 93 years old and developed bronchitis. Due to difficulty breathing, her doctor admitted her into the hospital for observation and testing. Hopefully she will be going home today. She seemed much better on Saturday during our visit. Tuttle was so sweet with her. He gave her lots of hugs and sang her a few songs.

 

 

Please keep her in your prayers. :)

 

Saturday afternoon Jay took the babies to Aunt Peach's condo to visit with Grandmommy and Grandaddy, and I stayed at the house to relax and clean up a little. That evening I babysat Ellie while her parents went on a date. Katy watched the kids a few weeks ago while Jay and I went to Allison's Christmas party. It is so wonderful to trade babysitting with friends and not pay a sitter!

 

Sunday we hit the ground running. The babies and I dressed up for church, and I was so happy to go back. We had missed a few weeks, and I was ready to get back to routine. Maggie is really starting to love church. She walks right into her nursery room without looking back and heads straight for the babies.

 

Next we headed to Costco to buy a birthday present for Niko's party later that afternoon. We barely had time to go home, change, wrap the present, and load the car again before it was time to celebrate Niko at his horseback riding party!

 

Elena did a FANTASTIC job with the party. It was such a creative activity for the kids, especially since we have been cooped up all winter. The kids painted the horses with glitter, decorated picture frames and horseshoes, and took turns riding the horses in the ring. We had a blast. Happy 4th Birthday, Niko!

 

 

Today we are loving a taste of warmer weather. As soon as the babies wake up, we are heading to the park!

 



Bowling

Today we tried a new activity: bowling! I wanted to find something new to do to beat the cold weather, and I am so glad we stepped outside of our comfort zone. I called Tracey this morning, and she was excited to bring Will and Sarah Bates to Midtown Bowl, too!

(This was the best group shot except for silly Will!)

 

 

We were the only people bowling this morning, so it was nice to have the extra space for the kids to explore. We requested a bumper on our lane and special kid-sized bowling balls.

 



 

The kids were so cute cheering for each other. I do not think they fully realized the goal of rolling the ball toward the pins, but they were very excited when the ball made contact.

 

 

This will definitely be an activity we will repeat. What a fun morning!

Our Week So Far in iPhone Pics

We are finally back to a normal routine this week, and I think everyone was ready.

 

 

Monday Maggie and I returned to gymnastics, and she continues to impress me. She is the only one in her class that does the balance beam unassisted and loves hanging on the bars. I am enjoying this activity with her, especially since she is so good at it!

 

We snuck in a few minutes at the preschool playground before picking up Tuttle and Gigi.

 

 

Remarkably Tuttle is starting to nap again. Everyday I let him choose between a nap and quiet playtime in his room alone (reading, Legos, etc.), but recently he is opting for sleep. He requests that I snuggle with him until he falls asleep. It is my favorite time of day because I love feeling him fall asleep like a newborn. For just a minute I can pretend that I do not have a big boy getting bigger by the day. :(

 

 

Tuesday we had nice weather, so we headed to the zoo with some friends. Most of the animals were out, and it was not very crowded. We ended the adventure with a ride of the train which never gets old!

 

 

Today (Wednesday) my bible study started back up at church, so Maggie and I rushed to arrive on time after dropping Tuttle and Gigi at preschool. The bible school girls caught up on life events since the holidays, wrapped up our book study, and decided on the next book to read together. I think Maggie enjoyed being back at her "little school" while I was in class.

 

After a quick grocery trip, Maggie and I attended the preschool chapel service to watch Tuttle and Gigi with their class. Tuttle was the volunteer during the little sermon. I love that the kids are being exposed to traditional church songs and prayers weekly.

 

 

The kids are getting so creative during the afternoon since we do not get much outside time. Gigi and Tuttle have started playing "Santa" where they pack bags full of toys to deliver to the boys and girls and "Sleepover" where they spread out blankets and pillows and lounge in their beds. Tomorrow we are trying out a new activity to beat the cold weather: BOWLING!

It's Raining, It's Pouring

 

Pants optional.