Maisy's been here...
And here...
And here...
DEFINITELY here...
Here too...
Hurricane Maisy!
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Maisy's First Kiss
Who would guess we would pick Maisy up from the church nursery tonight and hear about her first kiss??? Not even 14 months old yet!His name is Joel. He looks like he's about 3 years old (an older boy!), but I can't be sure since Maisy didn't introduce us to him.
The nursery volunteers say it happened something like this:
Joel and Maisy were playing near each other, when Joel (struck by Maisy's sweetness, I'm sure) puckered up for a kiss. Maisy spotted her opportunity, puckered up right back, and SMOOCH! Right on the lips! Apparently, Joel was very excited about his big moment and even did a little dance.
Maisy's reaction? I'm not sure, but I do know that she only had eyes for mama when I came to pick her up.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Friday Faves: Read-Aloud Favorites
Anyone who knows me knows that this picture of Maisy (snapped just this afternoon) is no accident: Like Mommy like Baby. Or should I say, "Mommy like, baby like." I love books - and I especially love a great kids' book!
Here are some of Maisy and Mommy's current read-aloud favorites:
Read-Aloud Pick #1:
Blue Sea
By Robert Kalan
Illustrated by Donald Crews
I originally checked this book out of the library to read with a current young client of mine who is an emergent reader. When I decided to read it to Maisy, however, she was immediately captivated by the bold illustrations and simple, repetitive phrases. Maisy bounces with excitement when we open the pages of this book, and she's ready to flip back to the beginning as soon as its finished.
Young ones like Maisy will love the bright pictures. Older children will enjoy the storyline and predictable prose, and learn about "big, bigger, and biggest" at the same time.
Read-Aloud Pick #2:
Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear?
By Nancy White Carlstrom
"Jesse Bear, What will you wear, what will you wear in the morning?"
This adorable preschool classic is a prime example of "mommy like, baby like." I love this sweet book with its happy pictures and song-like rhymes. After just a couple of attempts, now Maisy reaches for it too! Jesse Bear takes us through his whole day, from wearing his red shirt in the morning to wearing the moon on his bed at night.
Don't think your little one is ready to sit still through a whole storybook? You won't know until you try!
Read-Aloud Pick #3:
Baby Talk
By Dawn Sirett
"Peek-a-boo!" "Yum-yum!" "Night-night!"
This has been one of Maisy's favorite books for the longest time! In fact, I had to check to see if I'd blogged about this awesome board book before. Big baby faces! Cute baby words! Giant baby lift-the-flaps! Given a choice, Maisy picks this book almost every time. If she accidentally skips a page or a flap, Maisy actually notices and goes back to read what she missed.
This book is great to read-aloud, but equally fun for Baby to flip through on her own.
By Dawn Sirett
"Peek-a-boo!" "Yum-yum!" "Night-night!"
This has been one of Maisy's favorite books for the longest time! In fact, I had to check to see if I'd blogged about this awesome board book before. Big baby faces! Cute baby words! Giant baby lift-the-flaps! Given a choice, Maisy picks this book almost every time. If she accidentally skips a page or a flap, Maisy actually notices and goes back to read what she missed.
This book is great to read-aloud, but equally fun for Baby to flip through on her own.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Maisy's Haircare Secrets
Step 1: It's important to select just the right brush.
Step 2: It works best if you dampen it a little before using.
Step 3: Hand it to your stylist. If your mom is a ponytail professional, all the better for you!
Step 4: Smile! You're a star!
Step 2: It works best if you dampen it a little before using.
Step 3: Hand it to your stylist. If your mom is a ponytail professional, all the better for you!
Step 4: Smile! You're a star!
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Memories to Keep
Maisy is 13 and a half months old now - is it possible that the second year can go faster than the first? It seems like it. I know that the first 6 weeks of Maisy's second year of life has disappeared much more quickly than the same weeks last year.
When I think back to those weeks, I can remember waking up many times each night, and the feeling of victory I felt if she made it three hours between feedings instead of two, four hours instead of three. The week she began sleeping until 4 am was monumental! Now she's drinking whole milk from a sippy cup, and the rare nights that she wakes up in the middle feel in some ways harder... I think. :)
I remember thinking she slept ALL DAY LONG - and she pretty much did! Now I cross my fingers that Maisy will take two naps in a day, or at least one long afternoon nap so I can clear away the clutter for round two.
I remember her sweet newborn noises and the adorable kissy face she used to make unconsciously. Now she's trying out new sounds and words nearly every day, and her breathless "hi hi hiiii" is a greeting I will always treasure. Her "kissy face" has been replaced by real kisses, with a big upper-lip-to-the-bottom-of-her-nose pucker up that is irresistible.
Our family will grow again someday, maybe soon. Judging from my mother-of-4 sister's blog, my cluttered house will get clutterier and my mornings will become hectic. The days will fly by one faster than the other, yet there will always be memories to keep (even if there is seemingly no time or place to keep them).
I love being a mom, even when I'm greeted at 4:45 am with a poopy diaper, a diaper rash, and a rarin'-to-go 1-year-old. When she's proud of her first crayon scribbles, taking those first few steps into my open arms, or crawling toward me all puckered up for a kiss and a snuggle, it's worth every blowout she ever had.
And that's a whole lot.
When I think back to those weeks, I can remember waking up many times each night, and the feeling of victory I felt if she made it three hours between feedings instead of two, four hours instead of three. The week she began sleeping until 4 am was monumental! Now she's drinking whole milk from a sippy cup, and the rare nights that she wakes up in the middle feel in some ways harder... I think. :)
I remember thinking she slept ALL DAY LONG - and she pretty much did! Now I cross my fingers that Maisy will take two naps in a day, or at least one long afternoon nap so I can clear away the clutter for round two.
I remember her sweet newborn noises and the adorable kissy face she used to make unconsciously. Now she's trying out new sounds and words nearly every day, and her breathless "hi hi hiiii" is a greeting I will always treasure. Her "kissy face" has been replaced by real kisses, with a big upper-lip-to-the-bottom-of-her-nose pucker up that is irresistible.
Our family will grow again someday, maybe soon. Judging from my mother-of-4 sister's blog, my cluttered house will get clutterier and my mornings will become hectic. The days will fly by one faster than the other, yet there will always be memories to keep (even if there is seemingly no time or place to keep them).
I love being a mom, even when I'm greeted at 4:45 am with a poopy diaper, a diaper rash, and a rarin'-to-go 1-year-old. When she's proud of her first crayon scribbles, taking those first few steps into my open arms, or crawling toward me all puckered up for a kiss and a snuggle, it's worth every blowout she ever had.
And that's a whole lot.
Friday, February 25, 2011
"BA!"
Two of Maisy's favorite words are book and ball. Whenever she sees one, she expresses herself with one-year-old enthusiasm: "Ba! BA BA BA!"
The giant red concrete balls outside the Target entrance are greeted with "Ba!"
She points at a book on her nursery table: "BA!"
The shining display of oranges at the grocery store earn a frantic "BA BA BA BA BA!!!"
The giant red concrete balls outside the Target entrance are greeted with "Ba!"
She points at a book on her nursery table: "BA!"
The shining display of oranges at the grocery store earn a frantic "BA BA BA BA BA!!!"
One of my favorite "ba" experiences so far, though, happened Wednesday night. We got home late from Awana, and Maisy was waaaay overtired. Attempting to lay her down or even soothe her led to screaming, crying, writhing, and general exhaustion-induced tantrumming.
Rick and I tried the usual tricks - rocking (yeah, right!), reading a bedtime story (just led to sobbing "BAs" whenever we put a book down), checking the diaper, pacing the living room floor, singing, putting on music, just plain leave-the-room distraction - on and on for at least an hour.
Rick and I tried the usual tricks - rocking (yeah, right!), reading a bedtime story (just led to sobbing "BAs" whenever we put a book down), checking the diaper, pacing the living room floor, singing, putting on music, just plain leave-the-room distraction - on and on for at least an hour.
Finally, as I rocked her in the chair in her nursery, she spotted an orange plastic basketball that had rolled under her dresser. She pointed. "Ba!!!!!"
So, like any desperate parent, I picked up the toy ball, placed it in Maisy's chubby baby hands, wrapped her up in her blanket, and tucked her in. When I left the room, Maisy was clutching the hard plastic ball to her chest like any other baby might hold a teddy bear.
Then, sweet relief. Maisy drifted off to sleep, to dream of basketballs, exercise balls, ball poppers, and bright displays of grocery store oranges.
"Ba!"
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Happy First
I remember holding her for the first time, and how her tiny, perfect features erased all of the chaos and pain and fear of the hours before. She was just right - pink and crying and beautiful. My sweet baby.
The first night in that dim hospital room, Rick and I hardly slept. Every hiccup, every sigh, every whimper was cause to shift and stare, stand and hold our precious girl.
My mom helped me with her first bath at home, a sponge bath on our kitchen table. We assembled everything - towels, washcloths, baby wash, lotion, diaper, clothes. I was so careful. The temperature of the water was triple-checked, each tiny finger given individual attention, her head kept covered and warm as soon as it had been washed.
So many firsts have followed. The first time we brought her to church. The first night she slept in her crib. Her first taste of solid food, first tooth, first walk to the park, first word, first pair of baby jeans, first dip in the lake, first babysitter, first ear infection, first snow, first Christmas, first birthday cake...
I think there must be something special about the first-year firsts. A year ago this very night, we drove slowly home through dark snowy streets. We slid her tiny arms into the sleeves of a big yellow blanket sleeper and laid her down to sleep in a bassinet that made her look so very small (and she was!). First night in her first home.
And here we are: the first year is over. Maisy is one. Our little sweetheart is pointing at everything in sight, flipping madly through the pages of books, saying "dada" when she hears the garage door open, voicing her disapproval at being removed from the dog's water dish, bringing a spoon to the same lips that used to make the "kissy face" that we so loved.
I'm not sad, though. How can I be sad when I think of all the firsts and seconds and thirds yet to come in Maisy's life? She's growing. Transforming. Becoming more independent and vibrant with each passing day. I'm blessed to be her mommy, to be given this precious baby-girl life with all its incredible, every day firsts.
Happy First, My Maisy.
Love,
Mommy
The first night in that dim hospital room, Rick and I hardly slept. Every hiccup, every sigh, every whimper was cause to shift and stare, stand and hold our precious girl.
My mom helped me with her first bath at home, a sponge bath on our kitchen table. We assembled everything - towels, washcloths, baby wash, lotion, diaper, clothes. I was so careful. The temperature of the water was triple-checked, each tiny finger given individual attention, her head kept covered and warm as soon as it had been washed.
So many firsts have followed. The first time we brought her to church. The first night she slept in her crib. Her first taste of solid food, first tooth, first walk to the park, first word, first pair of baby jeans, first dip in the lake, first babysitter, first ear infection, first snow, first Christmas, first birthday cake...
I think there must be something special about the first-year firsts. A year ago this very night, we drove slowly home through dark snowy streets. We slid her tiny arms into the sleeves of a big yellow blanket sleeper and laid her down to sleep in a bassinet that made her look so very small (and she was!). First night in her first home.
And here we are: the first year is over. Maisy is one. Our little sweetheart is pointing at everything in sight, flipping madly through the pages of books, saying "dada" when she hears the garage door open, voicing her disapproval at being removed from the dog's water dish, bringing a spoon to the same lips that used to make the "kissy face" that we so loved.
I'm not sad, though. How can I be sad when I think of all the firsts and seconds and thirds yet to come in Maisy's life? She's growing. Transforming. Becoming more independent and vibrant with each passing day. I'm blessed to be her mommy, to be given this precious baby-girl life with all its incredible, every day firsts.
Happy First, My Maisy.
Love,
Mommy
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