Building a better you

Today we went to see an Ear Nose and Throat doctor. She checked out your earns, nose and throat; like any good ENT should. Unfortunately it wasn't so pretty in there- but I expected that. So now January 12^th you'll be having tubes put in your ears and your adenoids taken out.

She's going to use a camera to take a peak down your throat to see if there is something in there that has been making you cough.

On the one hand, I don't want them to find anything terrible or gross when they take a peak; but I know that chances are they'll be able to fix whatever they find. I'm just very nervous at the thought of you having to endure more surgery, so for now we'll hope that it's something they can fix right then and there or something that can be corrected / maintained / mitigated with medication.

Star light, star bright- first star I see tonight

Combined, your Wish List item total eclipses mine. I'm ok with that. I'm older. I have more stuff than you do, I've had a lot more time to go shopping than you have. I also have credit cards and bank access, BUT I DIGRESS!

Your Amazon Wish List is about to eclipse mine in total items- this does not please the gods. I will now begin shaking a fist at the sky.

Happy Thanksgiving, again!

I tried to sit you at the table like the rest of us, but that only seemed to confuse you. You wouldn't touch your plate until I put it on the tray of your high chair. So I guess you're not quite ready to sit with us at a table, but we'll get there.

While you could eat anything and everything your little hear desired this year, you only wanted to eat one thing: cranberries. You kept asking for more and eventually you gave up the spoon to shovel them in to your mouth with both hands. That change in delivery also lead to a discovery: cranberries are good for squishin'. So from that point on you squeezed and squished them to bits.

Poppa came over for dinner and daddy even woke up early for the occasion so you had almost double the number of adults you normally have a meal time. You kept asking Poppa to give you food and he was more than happy to oblige. However, you weren't too impressed with my turkey cooking abilities but you did like licking all of the gravy off of your fork, so that'll have to do for now.  Maybe next year you'll learn how super awesome Thanksgiving turkey is.

It's incredible to me how much has changed since last year. Today, I am thankful for all of your crazy, independently formed ideas. That's one awesome melon you've got there.

Oooooh well

I was awestruck when you started to play with dolls appropriately. You'd rock them, kiss them, dance with them. It made me seriously reconsider a lot of what I thought about nature vs nurture. And then today I put a dress on you- and you cried. No, you shrieked and SCREAMED. You may not be a real girl after all.

Ohdear

You can climb out of your crib. It's not terribly graceful and it sounds awfully painful.

Please stop?

Trick or Treeeeeeeat!

You didn't want to nap today. You knew there were M&M's to be had, there was no fooling you. I tried to get you to eat dinner- it was the same story, you didn't want anything to do with dinner. You wanted to run around. You wiggled and wriggled as I tried to get your tights on. I made the two of us pointy gnome hats and skirts- I did it all without patterns which double impressed me.

You wouldn't actually say Trick or Treat when we rang any of the doorbells, you'd say hi the entire way up the drive way and then when we'd get on to the porch you'd go mute. You weren't so keen on holding your bucket, but man oh man you were happy to take goodies from anyone who was willing to offer them up. You even got some from a fire truck!

We finished up with a stop at Grandma and Grandpa's house and then it was home to eat some M&M's. Thankfully there will be no Halloween Hangover since you had a total of 10 M&M's over the course of 6 hours. And hopefully you won't notice the candy is all gone in the morning!

You made it!

This past weekend was your first road trip, we went to Troy to visit Hunkle Mike and Miss Aunt Casey.

You spent most of the trip there asleep. However, you were less than pleasant once you woke up. You kept kicking your legs and yelling "all done." We still had about 45m left on our trip and we tried our best to distract you, but it didn't work. When we got to the hotel you ran around the parking lot in the rain with me. After daddy got us checked in you ran around the room and bounced from bed to bed.

You got to see horses up close and personal for the first time and you got to show them how to REEEALLY explore the CMOST. You didn't seem to hang on to any of the fantastic information about science and technology- but you did enjoy the fish in the river habitat. There were a LOT of buttons for you to push; they made things light up and move, some of them even made noise! We got you a lizard while we were at the CMOST, you kept coming back to the gift shop and taking him in to the different exhibits. I figured it was going to be an easier day for everyone if we let the fella come with us.

I wouldn't call the trip a complete success but I wouldn't quite call it a failure. I know that it'll be a bit before we try another road trip with you, but at least we got one under our belts for now- and we know that it can in fact be done.

I can't believe I'm one of those moms.

Right now your room looks like more of a mess than anything really- but let's ignore that fact for a moment.

It's not really a room for a baby anymore. I won't say it makes me sad, because I'm not actually sad, it's a bittersweet feeling. While I miss the littlest you, I love the silly dizzy you I have today. I already love the cranky sad pants you'll be tomorrow. I didn't get sad when I'd have to box up your clothes because you'd outgrown them. But looking at some of the clothes makes me melancholy. I stare at them and I want the little you back. I didn't get sad when we had to pack up the jumperoo or swing either and when I see those disassembled in the basement I don't even feel a twinge. I smile and think about how furiously you jumped the day you learned how to. I think about you s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g as far as you could to touch the fish. I remember you holding on to those same fish for dear life- I thought you were going to break them off!

Out of all the things of yours I've had to put in your closet or in to a box or bin in the basement- the changing pad gets me. Without it, you're not a baby. You're well over 30lbs and I haven't been using it other than first thing in the morning for over a month; packing it away is long over due.
There are moments that I wish I could hold on to forever- and to a degree. I hope that this accomplishes that for me and for you. I don't want you to have the ache I do. I want something tangible for you when you wonder about your childhood. While I know you can't actually touch the internet, not in 2011 anyways, this does serve as a record of events. So that's a start.

Yes, you are a sillykins

Tonight marked a very important first: You got yourself dizzy, on purpose.
After your bath you just kept walking around your room. Eventually you ended up behind the door trying to look in to the mirror at yourself. At one point you tried to turn around quickly to run at daddy, but instead you made a small circle and turned all the way around. You didn't look surprised but you smiled and did it again.
You started to wobble a little, but you did it again. And again and again and again... you get the idea. You were stumbling every which way and giggling. You started to fall and daddy went to catch you, but that made you pretty upset. You seemed to think he was trying to stop you, which made you cry. But soon you were on your feet again making your lopsided circles.

Someone else's first!

Today we got to go to Genna and Josie's birthday party. You weren't too sure at first but after a while you were running all over the place talking to anyone in your way. You yelled at the boys for not playing with the balloons in the correct fashion, you ran circles around anyone who stood still and you crawled around under the candy buffet like a goof. We didn't stay for cake because you were getting sleepy and crabby- but we all expect those things from toddlers.

You also got your first jellybeans... I'm pretty sure that was the highlight of the party for you. You weren't too sure about them when I handed you the first one. But when you got your little mitt on the second you did a dance- I'm thinking you're going to like next easter.

...someday you'll understand.

I'm sure that day is far away. But listening to you jump up and down in your crib yelling "AAAH DUUUUH!" or "All done!" is hysterical at 10:40 at night. I know you're not all done- you haven't even GONE to sleep yet; how can you be done?

But for the moment, your frustrated little outburst is amusing me because you've come to associate the phrase "all done" with an activity or action stopping. You say it when you're in the bath tub, when we wipe your nose, when we change your diaper. And honestly? Hearing you say it in situations like those, makes me laugh. You are clearly all done with the task at hand- but there's still an itty bitty bit left to do.

Happy Birthday Bear

It's been awesome watching you for the last 365 days. Sometimes it's hard for me to believe just how long it's been. I keep thinking "..remember when she was little?" I have to remind myself that to the rest of the world you ARE little.

After just 365 days here you are 1/30 my age, 1/4 my weight and 1/2 my height. Pretty impressive in my opinion.

Today you got to share cupcakes and pudding with your friends at school- and I got a filling. : / After dinner we went out to Condrell's with Grandpa. Grandma was stuck at work- some day we're going to have to go rescue her and make her have some fun. We can worry about the when's and how's of that later though. For now let's worry about the fabulous, shall we?

Margaret can SAY:

• balloon [boo-n]
• this [dis]

Margaret can:

• get the correct end of a utensil IN to food and then her mouth
• carry objects while walking
• stand from a squat
• climb on to the couch
• climb a ladder

Margaret likes:

• ice cream!
• Star Wars
• pudding
• spinning in the yard
• going for walks
• pancakes
• hide and seek
• mud
• hot dogs
• mommy's sunglasses
• having her picture taken
• ketchup
• visiting the bigger kids at school
• Tangled
• reading books to people

Margaret does not like:

• raw broccoli
• hamburgers
• kiwi
• wearing her own sunglasses

I'm so excited we're starting year 2. This past year really has been an amazing adventure- I can't wait to see where you take us to next. Sooner rather than later you'll be the one calling the shots and we'll just be supporting players. Don't be afraid to remind us of that if we forget- it's all about you now.

So, where are we going?

I'd say you were excited-

but you don't even know what day it is. For the last few weeks any time we've been in a store that sells toys you start bouncing in the cart saying "That! That!" while reaching for toys.

I'm going to delude myself for the next week and allow myself to believe that you're just as excited for your birthday party as I am.

We knew this was coming

I thought we had more time. But today, a week before your first birthday, you were sent to school in an entire 2T outift. Your arms were a tight fit in to the 18m shirts and your shorts have been getting tighter so I knew my days were numbered.

$5 says you're in 3T before your next birthday.

You sly little fox you.

You signed all done, so I started to clean what was left of your lunch off of your hands. And once the tray was mostly clean and your hands were COMPLETELY clean you signed more. I was confused by what you did next, until I realized that it looked a lot like cookie.

I then showed you the cookies we got when we ordered your birthday cake- and you squealed.

Well played, well played.

You won this round, but the next one will go to me.

...it was only a matter of time

You ate M&M's. And you're in love. You will have to thank Amber properly on Friday. If she weren't moving to Rochester there wouldn't have been brownies with M&M's.

I don't even know how many of them you actually ate because you kept swiping them from the pan and people were giving you theirs. Either way, it was pretty commical. I'm sorry to say that you won't be getting them as often as you'd like. And it's going to be a while before you learn what kind of package they come in. I really don't need you trying to suck 'nems out of a bag in Wegmans.

Now you've gone and done it...

You've gone two whole days with nothing but big girl food. You're not terribly impressed with milk, but you've got time to let that grow on you. You looooooove sandwiches. We like that. Breakfast bananas and cherries with daddy is also a hit. So from here on out it's no more mush. Something tells me you'll be ok with it.

Eleven Months

I can't believe I'm sitting here doing this. I feel like we've already spent a lifetime together, but truthfully, this is where all of the fun starts. You've developed this awesome and sassy personality, I frustrate you daily- but you get over it. You got teeth 8, 9 and 10 this month. No stats until 12m, which will be more like 12.5 since we won't see your doctor until the middle of September, let's not dwell on that, let's just talk about how awesome you are. Ok?


Margaret can SAY:

• all done [ah duuuh]
• that [dat]

Margaret CAN:

• walk, not well. But she gets it done
• open and close doors
• flush a toilet, thanks honey
• climb stairs

Margaret likes:

• Taco Tuesday
• Despicable Me
• sprinklers
• hot dogs
• watermelon
• carrot cake
• slides!

Margaret does not like

• whole raspberries
• peas, we sort of knew that
• putting on shoes

I'm so glad you're here. You make some fabulous faces that make me make equally awesome faces. And while you're sometimes a challenge, you don't ever let me get bored. Thanks for that boo bear.

Whoooa Nelly!

You walked. Over 8 feet. Through the kitchen. You didn't even fall- you quite gracefully lowered yourself to the ground when you got to the end of the kitchen.

I'm in trouble now.

Well that's a relief, I suppose

You're headed back to normal- thank goodness. I couldn't take much more of that.

You had Roseola. It does make me feel better to have an explanation for all of the terrible of last week. I don't really enjoy that it could only be diagnosed AFTER the fact. But that's just the way it works.

If you wouldn't mind though, can we make it until your birthday without any other sort of ridiculous indecent? That'd be awesome. My nerves are pretty well shot.

This is my serious face.

You are very sick. You have a temperature over 103, you're throwing up- and the doctors don't know why.

You've got me more than a little worried at this point. So if you could do me a solid and knock it off, I'd appreciate it.

EIGHT!

The 8th means 8 teeth! You now have all four top and bottom teeth.

This is what they call, strong willed.

We'll blame it on that little bit of Livernois, because after all, there are fewer of them around to contest. You've clearly had your own agenda from the very beginning. You don't seem to have it written down though and most importantly, it changes frequently and often.

While all babies develop at their own pace and in their own time, you embody this in the most fantastic of ways. While I was pregnant, at the end I would have contractions that were 5min apart and lasting for about a minute. My doctors use the 5-1-1 rule; which is 5mins apart, 1min duration for 1h. They would only ever run for a maximum of 50min. It felt like you were mocking me silently. You showed me that you knew how to go, but you weren't done at the party yet. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't annoyed.

When you were learning to roll over you'd get your torso turned but your hips and legs would be stuck. Almost as if your diaper was too heavy and you couldn't possibly move it. This went on for over a month, until one day you rolled. You rolled like you'd been doing it for years. Sometimes you'd catch me watching you and flash a proud smile. But those weren't terribly often.

Learning to crawl was terrible on everyone. You were so frustrated, you wanted to move. You were in the big baby room at daycare; so you saw all of them moving. You tried so tirelessly to figure out how to get everything to do what you wanted. You'd move a few feet and then plant your face in the floor to have a good cry. I think you wanted to cross the room in seconds and you couldn't figure out why you were still staring at the same old toys.

Once you learned to pull your self up cruising along furniture came within a day.

But walking? It's taking forever. You take somewhere between 2 and 6 independent steps a day. Some days you look so proud and amazed, other days you look down right terrified. You've been doing it for well over a month and you still insist on holding 2 hands when walking. If you're only given one hand to hold you get, mad. I'm not sure what the hang up is. But I know you'll get there in time. And I'll be watching with a happy heart the whole way.

Happy Independence Day!

Today you drank from a straw- it took a few tries but once you figured out that there was lemonade on the other end, it was over. You got to have your first Ted's hotdog too. Not a bad way to spend the 4th. We didn't try to go see any fireworks with you and thankfully you slept through most of the ruckus.

I'd say you had an all'merican day.

Perfect Ten

Ten Months- and you're talking. Mostly gibberish, but some words. Which is, in a word, best.


Margaret can SAY:

• hi
• mommy
• daddy
• yes
• no

Margaret can:

• clap!
• cruise with one hand
• take 3-4 steps

Margaret likes:

• pickles
• peek a boo
• blanket tents
• REAL tents
• the zoo

Margaret does not like:

• being on grass

... least it wasn't no

Today, you said a word. Not blabber or gibberish. A word. Kitty, to be precise.

It even had context! You were trying to pet Spite! So not only did you say something, you know what that something you said was.

Keep firing those neurons, baby.

Cookie? Sure why not.

...and so it begins. I bribed you with a cookie. Chocolate Chip. You wanted out of the high chair, I just wanted you to finish your lunch.

Eight Months

I'm more than amazed at how much you've grown and everything you can do. When I think about how little and helpless you seemed, that all seems so silly now. You're hell bent on doing whatever you can, as often as you want. That may not go over so well shortly- but for now, we'll ride it out.

We have no stats this month other than weight, 23lb 14oz. You're not climbing the scale as steadily these days. A lot of that has to do with your insane desire to wiggle. Once you figured out how to crawl, self propelled motions became the name of your game

Margaret can:

• crawl
• pull to a stand
• stand!
• cruise!

Margaret likes:

• standing and watching Sesame Street
• standing in the front yard
• yelling at cars as they drive by

We don't yell at all of the cars though. We sit outside and wait for daddy to come home most mornings. You get soooo stinking excited when you see him pull in the driveway. It's more than a little adorable.

I was going to wait...

...but I can't hold it in.

You crawled.

A real crawl.

Heeeeere we go!

It's amazing what a change in texture can do.

We tried to give you mango in a feeder- you weren't really down with that. It might have still been a little cold/frozen in the middle. Which might have been the cause for your, lack of interest. I found some pureed mango and you loooooove it. Don't believe me? Mr Uncle Jamey had to watch you eat some. He can tell you. And I didn't even slip him a $5 bill to say it.

And the list grows!

Pineapple too has now been conquered. Luckily for you there seems to be more in the way of fruit than vegs in the baby food department, so you're getting a whole heap of natural sweetness. I prefer that over the artificiality of freezie pops.

No foolin' here

You think Plums are pretty fantastic. There are going to be quite a few of these posts until you figure out crawling. You can feel free to start that any day now. Aaaaaany day now.

I forgot to mention...

You had some Kraft Mac and Cheese with your lunch today- you thought it was boss. I thought it was funny watching you try to scoop up as many noodles as possible with one slimy hand. Tomorrow: Waffles.

Seven Months!

You've got a serious set of pipes my friend. You've learned how to squeal and scream like a professional in the last month- I'm not sure which one of your friends at Day Care taught you that- but I think it might have been Ava. Ohwell. This wasn't really a big month for milestones, you've gotten very comfotable rolling around, you haven't quite figured out that crawling business yet. We don't have any official stats on you since there was no doctor's visit this month and there won't be until June. But I am absolutly certain you are over 22lbs.


Margaret CAN:

• roll front/back and back/front to the left AND right
• get up on all 4's

Margaret likes:

• waffles
• toast with jelly/jam
• MANGOES!
• riding in carts
• baths in the big girl tub
• bubbles!

Margaret does not like:

• peas
• little girl car seats

There aren't too many dislikes because most of them have stayed the same. You still don't like having your nose wiped although we make silly noises and faces at you now while we clean your face- that seems to make it more amusing for you.

I got a little lost.

So let's rehash the food list shall we? Because I don't think I was the best at posting them all here, and now that we're in combo land I really do need to remember. I gave you a food trial of blueberries twice because I forgot.

Rice Cereal
Oatmeal
Apples
Apricots
Bananas
Blackberries
Blueberries
Bread, White and Whole Wheat
Cherries
Corn
Pasta
Peaches
Pears
Potatoes
Prunes
Raspberries
Squash
Strawberries
Sweet Potatoes

Sharing

Your father clearly loves you more than I do. He shares with you. I do not. I must be a hate monger.

I've said on several occasions to him that he shouldn't or can't eat things in front of you that he won't or can't share with you. Tonight he interpreted this in an interesting fashion.

He gave you a freezie pop.

Oh you cutie patootie you!

Today, I took you to have pictures taken. I wasn't sure how you'd do since the school pictures didn't go so well- you didn't want to look at the camera. HOWEVER! After a little singing from me and a quick snack, you were a cheerful ball of fabulous. You tried to eat the colored easter eggs as well as the grass from the basket, but you try to lick everything these days. So I shouldn't have been surprised.

ohboy

This morning I gave you a literal crumb of toast with cinamon and sugar on it. You kept stretching to see what I was eating and leaning towards me with your mouth open. You seemed a bit put off by it at first, I'm sure that had more to do with the dry and crunchy of it all.
But later this afternoon I tried again. Only this time I made you your own slice of toast and I cut it up in to little cubes. I'll give you a dollar if you can guess what you did with them.

Take your time, I'll wait.












You crammed as many as you could hold in to your mouth. I had to start giving them to you 3-4 at a time. Any more than that and you would be rubbing fistfuls of buttered toast all over your face.
I think you have a new favorite food.

The beginning of the end...

You got real food tonight. You were craning your neck to see what your dad was putting on his plate- you were very mad that he wouldn't share. You kept getting louder so I figured, what the hell, give her a potato.

I did.
You loved it.

I'm pretty sure there's no turning back now.

Double Combo, punch!

Second stage foods come in a lot of strange combinations. Some of them have multiple new foods in them, so that means we have to avoid a lot of the fruits for now until we can single out the new foods in them. Which is oddly harder to do with the fruits than it is with the vegs.
I digress...
Corn. While you can eat it, it gets into some serious fights with your digestive tract. So we'll probably stay away from it for a while.

Really?

Did you really just do that? Yes, you did.

You split your first pair of pants. It was the first time you wore them, which makes me not so happy. So I guess I need to borrow a sewing machine to fix them now- because that outfit is super cute.

Blueberries

...have been conquered.
Although, you didn't get straight blueberries. They come mixed with apples and we added pears or banans to the mix as well. But you still ate 'em!

I'm going to regret this later I'm sure...

We gave you prunes. Not to fulfill a want. But to fulfill a need.

You could care less, you think they're delicious.

Six Months

You've made it to another milestone: Your very first Half Birthday, congratulations.

Somewhere in the last month you became very, VERY demonstrative of your feelings. I shouldn't find your irritated grunts and moans as funny as I do. But someday, god willing, when you have children of your own you will understand. It's been a very busy month for you. You seem to be convinced that the big kid's stuff is way better than yours, and god dammit, you want it.

You're still in the 95^th%ile for head height and weight! You just won't quit. You're 20lbs 9oz and 30in tall.


Margaret CAN:

• pass things from hand to hand
• pick up small objects
•  sit completely unassisted
•  roll [back to front AND front to back, but only when she feels like it]
• feed herself!

Margaret likes:

• grown up food and still wants you to share
• her sippee cup, especially if it has apple juice
• Puffs!
• fresh peaches and cherries
• the sounds: oink, quack and woof
• Sid the Science Kid
• Sesame Street

Margaret does not like:

• people who won't share grown up food, yes sometimes that includes me
• reclining, she will sit herself up or use toy bars to pull herself to a seated position if put in a bouncer or infant rocker- this is most distressing
• the sounds: neigh, moo and cluck

You've come a long way baby and I super, duper, ouper, schmooper love you.

An unfortunate first

We've finally found something that you are not head over heels for. Grape Juice. I didn't give you straight juice, it was mixed with water.
Oh well, lesson learned.

Happy Birthday to Meeeee!

No one is going to believe me- because I can't take a picture to prove it. But you have real teeth now. They're sharp. Before it was something you could feel, not see. Now they are OH so visible.

For my birthday you gave me a bite. A love nibble, if you will.
Thank you for that.

I'm not so sure I'm down with you getting two at once though. I'm hoping we don't have to do all of your teeth 2 at a time, that might get uncomfortable.
For everyone.

Oh dear

Tonight was bath number two in your new duck tub, you actally got to play for a while before we broke out the soap and made some bubbles. That might have been a mistake on my part, because you figured out how to spalsh. quite a bit. And you loved it.

I think I'm in trouble.

You+Food=Love

We gave you a mesh feeder with some peaches in it Sunday night- you weren't too sure at first, but I blame most of that on the fact that the peaches were frozen. After a few minutes you decided that you loved it and it should never leave your face.
Since you did so well with it Sunday we tried it again tonight, first with peaches and then with cherries. This time went much better than last time and we found out that you love cherries. I had a HOLYCRAP moment while you were jammin' on the cherries though. I forgot that I'd switched out the peaches for cherries- and when I saw red goo on your bib and running down your arm I thought you were bleeding. As soon as I touched your arm I realized what it was, super sticky cherry juice and goo.

We're taking the first steps to independent feeding and that's got me pretty excited.

You're making me crazy.

I haven't been able to find a pair of your pants for quite some time now. Ok, I lied, it's only been a week. But I also can't seem to catch you rolling from your stomach to your back. I've watched you roll tummy/back several times. And I don't count the speed rolling you did a few weeks ago as a real back/tummy roll- I think you were doing a physics experiment. Miss Meg would be proud.
While I'm on the quest for pants I have managed to find out that I can fit into some of my pre-baby jeans and I found your long lost taggie and mitten... just in time for spring.

I will do my best every day

To be a mother:
you are proud to call your own
that always puts your needs first
you can look up to
who makes time for tea parties and ice cream dates
you will miss when I'm gone
you can share your secrets with
not a smotherer
that shows you you're important more than you're told


This list is no way inclusive, but it's a start. I don't want either one of us to regret any of our time spent together. And I will do my best to make sure that that doesn't happen.

Level 5

Which makes sense, since you've just closed out month number 5.

You have successfully conquered:
Rice Cereal
Pears
Applesauce
Peaches
Sweet Potatoes
Squash
You are most certainly an eating MACHINE! You haven't made one ucky face yet and that makes daddy and I very excited. We're hoping that this trend continues as we introduce you to more flavors and textures. At this rate you'll be gnawing your way through meals in no time. Well that is if you can manage to get yourself a decent set of chompers. So if you can work on the tooth part- I'll work on more tasty recipes. : )

FIVE months

You've been here for quite some time now, and I'd like to take a moment to thank you for that.
To show my appreciation I've started planning your birthday party: you're welcome. You're still stuffy and I still hate it. But whateves. Hopefully the new doctors can help me get to the bottom of that. I don't know your stats because there's no well baby check this month. But we did go to see them several times for sick visits- at one point you were 21lbs 3oz so I shudder to think what you are now. You're still in 6-9m clothing but some of it is getting tight and some of the long sleeved shirts had to be forced in to early retirement because they looked like 3/4 length sleeves on you.
Now for the fabulous:

Margaret CAN:

• ROLL! [back to front]
• sit up for short periods of time UNASSISTED!
• hold her own bottle [if she feels like it]
• get the CORRECT end of a spoon in to her mouth

Margaret likes:

• the Veggie Tales theme
• BOO!
• The Princess and the Frog
• apples and peaches!
• water!
• hanging upside down
  

Margaret does not like:

• Veggie Tales, odd no?
• having her nose wiped
• having her nose sucked
• not having control of the remote
• people who won't share cups

Daddy keeps giving you cups with water in them. He holds on to them- but you drink from them with his help. This makes for a very sad you when I'm home alone with you and you want me to share... my rootbeer. I'm just not down with that.

I suppose it's worth mentioning

You love peaches. Which is amusing to me because I hate them. I threw them up several times while pregnant. I couldn't even stomach the terrible fake tasting peach yogurt.

I'm curious to see how you feel about our continuing adventures as we head in to vegetable land next week.

Toofs x 2, apparently

It wasn't one tooth. It was 2. Which could explain why you were SUPER mad. And why the chomping hurt so much.

Apples!

You have leveled up dearheart.
You made it a week eating pears with no upsets. This pleases me. Mostly because now this means that you can start apples. I'm hoping that you like them. I'm mostly certain you will- I was eating 2-4 apples a day while pregnant because that was the only thing that would keep nausea at bay. So it is my sincerest hope that you love them so, otherwise this whole food trying thing isn't going to be much fun for you.

One more thing...

Along with your first tooth, you got your first taste of pears tonight. I'm not sure if it was the texture or the slightly sour of it all, but you did make a few funny faces. Which ever it was that caused the face was not enough to stop you. You gobbled up the 1-ish oz I had in the bowl and you certainly thought there should be more.

Either way, I hope you don't hate them; we've got another 4 days of them twice a day!

TOOFS!

Well, to be fair, we can't see it. But you most certainly cut one. Dad and I can not only feel the hole in your mouth but we can also feel the SHARPANDPOINTY! that lies beneath.

So now I must ask you, ever so sweetly, please don't start biting.

It took so much restraint not to scream.

You rolled over. I've been waiting for this for what seems like YEARS. I know that that thought is ridiculous. But whatever, again, h-y-p-e-r-b-o-y-l-e. Deal with it.

I had to clasp my hands to my mouth and sit up. I was afraid I'd scream and you'd get startled and stop. I'd been waiting long enough for this that I had to learn to be silently excited. You may or may not know how hard that is for me depending on how old you are when you read this.