The Fox and the Hound

Before we had Maggie, Zach and I had another baby.  A spoiled rotten little bundle of joy that we wouldn't trade for a million of dollars.  That baby had 4 legs, two gigantic front paws, and big floppy ears.  That baby was our basset hound Harlee.  Then Maggie arrived, and like most dogs, didn't get as much attention as she did when she was our only child.  We still love her though, and I try to make her just as much a part of our family as she has ever been.  

A while back, I found a picture on Pinterest of a basset hound with a little boy dressed like a fox... the fox and the hound.  I knew I had to do it.  So this was the year... before Maggie could tell me she wanted to be Minnie Mouse or a pirate or a California Raisin (circa my husband in the early 80's).  My impromptu photo shoot went so much better than expected.  There were no smiles from the fox, but really, have you ever seen a fox smile?  This was serious business... it was hunting time.  

This last picture melts my heart.  Maggie loves Harlee, but Harlee just tolerates Maggie.  I want them to be best friends.  Really really want them to be best friends.  This picture almost tells me it could be true one day.

Monthly Baby Pictures

When I found out I was pregnant with our first baby, I knew I was going to be one of those moms that took zillions of pictures.  Nice pictures too, the ones you see on all those fancy blogs that seem effortless and oh so easy.  Then Maggie arrived, and the idea of amazing, effortless pictures quickly became wishful thinking.  I did, however, make it a priority to take monthly pictures.  I follow Ashley at Under the Sycamore, and I had seen this post early on.  She made it look so easy.  It wasn't.  After babies get mobile, they are hard to get still, and it became almost impossible to get her face, the month, and her age all in one shot.  But I think my little girl is beautiful, and I hope she enjoys looking at these pictures when she is older. 

I also received some monthly stickers from a good friend of mine, and wanted to use them in a different way.  I thought it would be fun to see how the little one grew in comparison a stuffed animal, so I sat her in the rocking chair and off we went.  The stuffed hippo is a gift from her daddy got me very early on in our relationship, so I thought that would be a fun touch.  What I did not expect was for her to figure out how to rock the chair somewhere between month  9 & 10.  You can see the growing frustration towards the end as I try to keep the chair still...

Bye Bye Baby Mullet

Let's face it, Maggie has (had) a baby mullet.  As a first time mom, I refused to cut my 9 month old's hair.  She is 9 months old, she is still a baby!  A first haircut is for toddlers, right?  BUT, my little girl had a mullet.  And it was out of control.  

There was also the issue of the bangs.  I'll be honest, I HATED it when my mom would tell me to get my hair out of my face.  Didn't bother me, why would it bother her?  Well, now it bothers me. 

We could put it up in a little ponytail, but even the sprout was getting out of control.  Another honest mom moment, I'm not good at it.  Plus, Maggie doesn't like it when I do it, or at least I imagine she doesn't like it when I do it. 

 All that being said, it was time for Maggie's first haircut.  I found a little place in Tulsa, Kuts for Kidz by Mr. Will, and took the plunge.  Well, Maggie took the plunge.  I watched.  And took pictures.  (pardon Zach's backside for the intrusion in the first picture)

What do you think?  Not bad, not great, but then again she is a baby and it served its purpose. No more bangs in the eyes, ponytail sprouts are now an option vs a requirement, and best of all, no more baby mullet.  

Maggie's First Easter

Last week we celebrated Maggie's first Easter.  We started the day out right by attending the church that Zach and I grew up in with my parents.  Maggie was of course a hit.  We got out around 10:30, and I noticed the weather was overcast - not the brightest day for egg hunting but perfect lighting for outdoor pictures.  We weren't supposed to be at Zach's parents for Easter lunch until around 1:00, so I took Maggie outside and let her be my little model.  The Easter basket was from her Nana & Papa (Zach and I left ours in Tulsa), the quilt is a hand-me-down from Maggie's great-grandmother Barker, and the eggs are courtesy of the Easter Bunny. Prepare for picture overload.

 

The Littlest Chow Hound

Maggie had her first bowl of cereal at about 3 1/2 months.  Originally her Dr. said we should wait until the four month mark, but the little chub was eating 9 1/2 oz at her last feeding of the night so we called and got the green light from his nurse.  It  was her first time in her high chair.  She was obviously a little confused.  

" Hmm... what is that coming at my mouth?"

 "I'm not sure about this dada..."

 The next day there were still a few questions.  These questions were mainly along the lines of "Do I have something on my face?  It feels sticky.  I think I like sticky."

She eventually decided that she needed more control, so I let practice with the spoon.  

 "Hmmm... where do i put this?"

"I know!"

"Nope, no satisfaction there."

"Maybe this is it."

"Yep, this feels good."

"Crap, now what do I do?"  Maggie - don't say crap. 

"Sorry Momma. Hey there's my foot"

"Oh wait, the spoon. Hey maybe I can play with both."

"Muffins! Spoon, what spoon?"

"Ok Dada... I've been practicing with my spoon so you let me take care of this.  We will get more in my mouth and less on my face."

 "Momma did I do good?"

Yes Magpie, you did really good. 


We gave her veggie's next - starting with green beans.  Again, she thought things would go smoother if she helped.

 "Hmmm... not sure about these green beans you guys."

 "Wait a minute..."

"I like green beans!  Yummy in my tummy!"

 "I've seen Momma lick the top of pudding cups, if I can just get a hold of this wrapper, I can lick it and get even more yum in my tum."

And such is the story of the littlest chow hound.