Now that I am 6 …

Due to a “miscommunication,” Maggie & I did not go horseback riding the weekend we went to Luccock. Needless to say, Maggie was extremely disappointed. Fortunately, one of the women I work with has horses and she was eagerly allowed us to bring Maggie over to ride Roxy, her 5 year old mare.  I’m not sure that Maggie really believed us when we first told her, but when we missed the turn and had to turn around, she was very worried that we weren’t going to see the horses.

Charlotte had Roxy all ready to go and walked Maggie around several times.  Maggie had a big grin on her face the whole time.  We also got to pet baby Mocha and the other 2 horses, who Maggie enjoyed picking grass for while we were there.

    

We were there about 45 minutes and then headed to Applebee’s, which Maggie had selected for her birthday lunch.  They even sang to her and brought her a birthday sundae!

It was a quiet birthday, but I think it’s what Maggie wanted.  Grandpa Mike & Grandma Bonnie are here to help celebrate.  She got a Barbie Vet kit, Smurf Dance Party game for the Wii, a Dr. Suess book “If I Ran the Zoo”, and lots of great presents from her grandparents, including Princess sheets, blankets & curtains for her “new” room!  She took cupcakes to school yesterday and they sang to her.  A little later tonight, we’ll all have cupcakes and get some candles out for her.

Those Magic Moments

"When I am six" is a phrase we have heard a lot in our house lately. Maggie turns 6 this coming Saturday. And for about a year, she has told us that when she is 6 she will sleep by herself. Maggie has always been a snuggler and, for the past several years, we have made a couple of tries at getting Maggie into her own bed all night long. Before Jessie was born, she told us she would do it when she was a big sister, but lots of grandmas in the house and we fell back into the nightly snuggling habit. Finally, we came up with THE idea. The one idea that would get Maggie in her own bed consistently: Bunk Beds! And when some friends of ours were looking to get rid of theirs as their girls are almost grown, well, it became an offer we all couldn't refuse. So yesterday, we went to get them.

Maggie helped carry parts to the truck.

All set up and ready for bed!

Now we just need to figure out how to keep Jessie from climbing the ladder!

This Magic Moment is brought to you by Things I Can't Say

It's magic because we are one kid closer to getting our bed back!!

Parent Teacher Conferences Kindergarten Style

We had our first conference with Maggie's Kindergarten teacher earlier this week. They have conferences at the beginning of the semester to allow the teacher to ask us some questions and then later in the year to talk about how the teacher thinks Maggie is doing. I really like Mrs Rodacker. She seems to really like this age group, which I think is SO important.

We talked about Maggie's interests (music, coloring) and how we think she learns (listening). We are looking into getting her into Girl Scouts (COOKIES) which Mrs Rodacker thinks she'd really like.

We also got some great Maggie-isms:

Maggie took a sweatshirt to school the other day. When Mrs Rodacker told the kids to get their coats, Maggie was sure to say, each and every time, "I have a sweatshirt. "

One day at recess, Maggie sat next to Mrs Rodacker under a tree and said "Do you know what's the best part of summer? The best part of summer is sitting against a tree in the shade watching the clouds.... oh, and catching dragon flies!"

Mrs Rodacker told us how Maggie plays well with the other kids and even has a calming effect on one of the more rambunctious boys, who likes playing in Maggie's imagination games. There are some zoo animal toys Maggie plays with a lot, lining them up, moms & babies together.

Kindergarten really agrees with Maggie and I'm glad we didn't try to send her last year as I'm not sure the transition would have been aa smooth. I asked Maggie what she did at school and she told me "Oh, Mom, I just had so much fun I don't remember what we did!"

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.4

A Wedding!

In June, we drove back to Minneapolis for Zac & Katie’s wedding where Maggie was to be the flower girl.  Maggie had been looking forward to this for a long time.  Grandma Bonnie made her dress, and she still loves to wear it!

There were lots of cousins for Maggie to play with and the morning of the wedding they played HARD.  We were sure to give Maggie lots of quiet time and tried to get her to take a nap, but she was still very tired when it came time to get to the wedding.

She was a little whiney, but Dad got her some treats.  She thought she wanted to go back to the hotel right after the ceremony, but she really just wanted to go swimming!  We talked her into staying for dinner and went back to the hotel soon after we were done.  We did a little swimming. And went to bed early.

We were able to spend time with all the grandparents and went to the Minnesota Zoo where we met up with Grandpa Rich, Aunt Holly & cousins Jada & Jeffrey. We also made a stop in Redfield to see Great-Grandma Alberta and Uncle Ardie, Aunt Jeanne, Cousin Nicole and her daughter Emma.  Jessie was fascinated by Emma.

Lots of pictures on Facebook.

Six Hats Chenin Blanc

It’s a beautiful Saturday, no chores to do (thanks to my house husband – which is a different post), spent some time at the zoo and now we’re enjoying some popcorn, “Major League” on Blu-Ray and I’m enjoying a 2nd bottle from my September Wine Club, a South African wine called Six Hats Chenin Blanc.  I actually opened it yesterday, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I had hoped.  I thought it might have been because it wasn’t cold enough.  And know I really believe it as I am enjoying it today!  It’s fruity, though I can’t place the fruit I’m tasting, and crisp.  It’s light enough to stand on it’s own – a nice deck wine – or with a light meal.  This is actually a new type of wine for me.

Wine Spectator gave this wine 87 points.  Read a little about the winery Citrusdal Wines, Fairtrade certified and sustainably farmed. My old “Boulder, CO” self would be proud!  

15 Months Old

Jessie is now 15 months old. How is that even possible? We have a toddler, into everything!! And of course everything goes into her mouth. She babbles a mile a minute and seems to assume we understand her. She can sign eat, more, daddy & please. I pulled out the sign language book we got when Maggie was a baby to see if we can add more signs to her vocabulary. She loves to sing and dance and has her favorite songs, especially "Lance the Turtle," a Veggie Tales Silly Song.

She is 21 lbs and 6 oz and 30 inches long. She has 5 teeth. Still not much hair but does have the start of a mullet, a curly mullet no less!! Her hair has lightened up so she may be a little blondie like her sister. Her eyes are looking hazel but I'm not expecting them to settle on a color just yet as Maggie was over 2 when hers finally did.

Maggie is starting to see the downsides to having a baby sister. Jessie watches Maggie play some of her imagination games and wants to jump in and play too. Maggie has very specific ideas of how her imagination games should go so it will be awhile before Jessie will be welcome! Maggie is a good big sister though and willingly shares the attention.

Jessie will try almost any food but still prefers to nurse at home. I haven't decided when to wean her and am kind of letting her take the lead on that. I'm kind of curious to see how long she goes, and, as I won't nurse any other babies, I guess I'm not willing to let my baby go completely.

She is such a happy baby. I don't know how we got so blessed to get 2 beautiful, healthy, happy girls. But we did and I thank God every day.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.4

Maggie's First Kiss

A friend of Maggie's from Little Seeds is also at the YMCA afterschool program. Maggie told Rocky that Max kissed her in the gym a the Y the other day. He asked her about her reaction.

R: What did you say?
M: Maa-aax!
R: how did it make you feel?
M: umm surprised.

She told me it was okay because Max just kissed her on the cheek.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.4

Wine Club

I joined a monthly wine club!  I finally have my student loan paid off (hallelujah!) and I decided to celebrate by signing up for one of the Simply Wine monthly wine clubs.  I opted for the Simply Wine Club, which is 3 wines for $29.95.  And today I picked up my very first selections!!

The white: Six Hats Chenin Blanc (South African). The reds: La Maia Lina Gertrude (Italian) and All About Red (Californian).  Tonight, I’m drinking the All About Red.

From Simply Wine: This delicious little California red blend from Thomas Halby is the perfect fall wine. It is easy to pair with just about any meal & light enough for a warm day. Zin, Merlot, Cab & Petit Sirah blended together for a smooth, well balanced wine.

I picked this one to try first because I wanted something lighter tonight and sometimes reds can be so heavy that I feel like I’m not doing the wine justice if I’m not having a nice juicy steak with it.  And steak was not on the menu tonight.

I like this light red wine.  It might gain a little body if it sat for a few years, but I really like it as is.  I think this might be a nice transition wine for those who prefer whites, but are looking to expand their horizons.  Salut!

For the record, all of my wine blogs are non-compensated.  I do it because I enjoy wine and want to share those that I enjoy and those I don’t with others.  I also want to keep a record of the wines I do enjoy so I can purchase them in the future.

Sunrise

Watching the sunrise from the bedroom window. I can't see the sun, only the light as it hits the farmland and prairie. The harvested fields reflect golden rays. The sky is baby blue with light pink clouds. It's a beautiful early fall morning.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.4