hi from colorado

It's been a very busy last several days. On Friday, Aron and I flew to Phoenix for a short visit with some of our good friends, Eric and Kandi and their lovely kiddos, Charity and Justus. We flew out on Tuesday morning and once we landed at O'Hare, I ran to catch a plan to Denver for my annual girl's trip (no, that much travel in one day was not planned, so I'll have to share the story later). I'm here until Sunday afternoon with Mags. Aron is busy at work, missing his girls. Check back in later for stories and pics.

monster

I've created a monster. For Father's Day, Mags and I gave Aron a new game for Xbox 360--Guitar Hereos II and he's already played it for several hours. It's downright addictive and, Shel, I can see why you often have to call your hubby and say, "Put down Guitar Heroes and come home now." :) The boys will have too much fun with it, won't they? Even though Aron is a talented guitarist, the game is challenging and he likes that. Steve, if you were here, Shan and I would never see you or A as you'd both be glued to the game. How many hours will be logged riffing? We shall see!

success!

I made my first batch of homemade baby food yesterday--acorn squash. And Mags LOVED it. I simply baked it at 350 for 45 minutes, scooped out the flesh, purreed and added water, and voila! Instant goodness. My good friend La and my new friend Beth (here in Chicago) have inspired me to make my own food. Thanks, girls. I'm using the book "Super Baby Food" and it's incredibly helpful. Mags has now eaten avocado, sweet potatoes, pears, and squash and likes them all. Hooray!

Wordless Wednesday

Hanging out with dad before work

Loving books

I can honestly say that Maggie thoroughly enjoys books. Although she likes to nibble on their corners, she does listen as we read, which seems quite impressive to me! Recently, we've been running our fingers along the words and her eyes follow along. We just added Miss Spider's New Car by David Kirk (how hilarious is that?!) to our collection and she loves the big, bright illustrations. Here's to building a lifetime love of reading!

Nick and Emily visit

My OKC "cousin" Emily and her husband were in town this week on business, so they were able to hang out Thursday night. Emily's grandma and my grandma were best friends for over 60 years (I believe), so we have always treated eachother as family. Growing up, I we actually called ourselves "adopted cousins." We enjoyed catching up with them, eating dessert, and drinking coffee, and playing one of our favorite card games, Rook.

Thanks, you two, for stopping in. This picture suits you both well! :)

Welcome baby boy!

Our good friends from Dallas (en route to NYC), Matt and Rachel Maples, gave birth to their first baby yesterday, a sweet little boy named Dealey James. His birth has been much awaited as Rachel had a challenging pregnancy. From talking with her yesterday the delivery went smoothly, Matt was an amazing coach, and Dealey is perfect. Just wanted to say congrats!

Saturday at the lake

This past Saturday our church held it's annual kick-off to summer barbeque and I helped coordinate. About 65-70 people showed up, ate burgers and brats (the best brats Aron and I have ever tasted), played frisbee, and just kicked back. Both of us thoroughly enjoyed the time getting to know new people. The best part of the day? Maggie survived on only three 1-hour naps, instead of her usual 5-6 hours of naptime throughout a given day. I couldn't have been more pleased! She was the only baby and recieved lots of attention, especially from a set of 5-year old twins.
Grillin' up the goods...Steve, we missed you!

Shel and Randall hanging out

Chillin' in the shade; it was a *perfect* day!

Mags and dad

Feeding the Magster; Aron is an amazing dad!

Wordless Wednesday

Roby uncle visits

Our friends Roby and Heather live in Chattanooga with their 19-month-old son, Owen. We met them years ago in CA and have kept in touch since. Rob was in town for business and was able to come over for dinner on Wednesday night; we so enjoyed our time with him, he's really wonderful to be around. If only Heth and Owie could have joined us! Next time for sure. Here's a great shot we took of him and Mags together.

Maggie's 6 month stats

Today was Maggie's 6 month appointment, even though she isn't technically 6 months old until Monday. Here's an M update in words:

*Weighs 18 pounds, 12 ounces (she's only gained 2 1/2 pounds since her 4 month visit; we actually figured she was around 20 pounds now): 90th percentile
*Height 26 1/4 inch (almost 3 inches up from last visit): 75th percentile
*Her first solid food (other than rice cereal) was an avocado and she hated it...tried it twice. Too bad. I'm determined to bring it back in a few months (there is no better food, imo, than an avocado!). Solid foods are slow going, but she ate sweet potatoes this week and loved them, so my hope is renewed. Up next: bananas and sqaush. Still don't think she is a fan of rice cereal. Some babies aren't.
*Started sitting alone about 3 weeks ago; she's very strong
*Loves to stand
*Puts everything in her mouth but especially seems to love book edges
*Still only has 2 front teeth; no new ones to date
*Rolls over from back to front
*Laughs and smiles tons and constantly makes noises
*Loves to look up at the lights in the house or in the hallway
*Takes 2 naps and a catnap each day
*Still an amazing sleeper at night (10-11 hours)
*Likes to be covered up with her blanket when she sleeps
*Puts her pacificier back in her own mouth quite deftly
*Had her first childcare experience at church this past Sunday and did very well!
*May need to wear a helmet for flatness of the back of her head (do you like how I threw that in at the end? oh well, such is life. we are going to see a speicalist in two weeks).

Wordless Wednesday

Maggie helping momma with laundry

My oldest friend

This is Suzanne, my oldest friend. Yes, we have the same name. We grew up together in OKC, attending the same church and school from preschool until junior high. Our moms were also very good friends, and we did so much together back in the day, anything from Awanas, shopping, sleepovers, and well, all the things kids do. We were even baptized together. I have few memories in my childhood that do not involve her in some fashion. It's really wonderful to have walked through much of life with her. Suzanne and her husband, Adam, currently live in Maryland and spent Memorial Day weekend visiting his sister here in Chicago, so we were able to grab a Starbucks downtown on Monday. I love that Suzanne was finally able to meet Maggie; I loved watching them together. There is something very surreal about seeing old friends connect with a part of the present in my life, namely Maggie. I hope Maggie has life-long friends like I do.