Maggie made a friend last night. Who knew Chris had such a way with babies? The two of them were doing a call and response with their tongues, and we were lucky enough to snap this photo at just the right moment.

Jen has been in a crochet frenzy lately. She's been making the caterpillars for a while, now, but has added the bears to her repertoire. I'm crazy about them and she finally took a few glamour shots to show them off. If anyone is interested in a "plush lovey" of their own, send me an email. She's happy to meet any special requests.

Crazed baby.

Over the weekend, Kim passed along a parenting magazine that had a story featuring a great little rag doll with exaggerated arms and legs and an adorable silk dress. Since I spotted that doll, other similar rag dolls are popping up in the blogs I visit like this one and this one.

I decided to try my hand at one and came up with the form you see, above. She's not perfect but I think with the right dress, hair, and makeup she just might turn out. I'll be sure to post an update once complete.

Frequently Asked Questions About Maggie

Q: Is she sleeping through the night?
A: No. She usually wakes up two or three times to nurse but she always falls right back to sleep.

Q: Are you exhausted?
A: Not really. And on the days that I am there are lots of opportunities to steal a nap. I just have to sleep when she sleeps.

Q: Where does she sleep?
A: Mostly in a bassinet in our bedroom but sometimes we can't resist bringing her into bed with us. (And, yes, we're aware that some won't approve of that.)

Q: How is the breastfeeding going now?
A: It's going great, although I cheat a little by using a nipple shield. At some point I'll probably give that up but for now it's super comfortable and Maggie seems to like it, too.

Q: Has she smiled yet?
A: Sometimes she smiles in her sleep which is the cutest thing on earth. We've also caught her smiling here and there at one of us but so far these seem like freak accidents. I can't wait for her to smile regularly.

Q: Does she cry often?
A: No! And we are so grateful for that. Most evenings she does go through a little fussy spell but it doesn't bother me too much because I think she sleeps better afterward.

Q: Does she do anything unusual?
A: Since we brought her home she's been able to roll onto her side. Most people don't believe that but someday we'll catch video of her arching her back and slowly maneuvering over. She has not figured out how to return to her back.

Q: When do you go back to work?
A: In late February I will go back three days a week. On those days, Maggie will stay with my mom at her house. We couldn't be more grateful for that.

Let me know if I've missed anything!

We had our first real snow today and with John and Susan here I was able to skip out and take a few photos.

It was sad to see them off at the airport, knowing that they won't be here to witness Maggie's milestones. We'll do our best with pictures and videos, of course, but having family spread all over the country (and world in Anne's case) isn't always easy.

On the bright side, Jen sent me an email today with a snapshot of this fantastic little bear she made for Maggie. She claims his arms are too long but I think he's perfect. I suggested Walter or Morton for a name but her dad came up with Mondale... definitely a winner.

P.S. Still having issues with comments. Graham finds that he typically gets an error message when he first hits "Post". If he hits it a second time, the comment usually takes. Let me know how that works.

Loved baby.

"Are you sure about this, Paba?"

Finally.

I had to get a photo of Maggie in this outfit before she grew out of it. This is, apparently, what all of my brothers and sisters and I wore home from the hospital and it's such a great little number. The tag says 100% acrylic (ha!) and it was made in Japan. The little birds and other details definitely have a vintage Japanese feel. I love it.

Paba and Grandma Susie arrive today! Maggie and I will pick them up a little before 1:00. Can't wait for them to finally meet her!

Maggie had a bath today in honor of our new President. This photo accurately captures her post-bath hair, which takes on a natural mohawk. Despite my efforts, there's nothing I can do to tame it.

We've been watching Inauguration coverage all day and it's put me in a great mood. I just love watching this young, vibrant family as they wander through all the formalities. Sasha and Malia are such beautiful girls and seeing their excitement and how they carry themselves makes me even more appreciative to have a daughter. Watching her grow up will be such a blessing.

As a side note, Sasha's color combination of pink and orange was fantastic. So youthful and refreshing for winter. I'll have to remember that for future sewing projects.

For Aunt Barbara

Grandma Susie inspired me to make a mobile to hang over Maggie's bassinet using the picture mobile she gifted at the baby shower. She had made these adorable cards with shapes and animals to clip into place but unfortunately they are a bit heavy for the mobile to support. I decided to give it another go and made some geometric patterns in Illustrator that I printed on glossy photo paper so they might pick up a little light as they spin. Each pattern has a positive and reverse version and I made use of the circle cutter (that I complained about earlier) and cut them into sets that would be placed back to back. All that was left was clipping them into place and suspending it from the ceiling with a little dental floss. This was such an easy project and now Maggie has something to gaze at as she drifts off to sleep.

If anyone is interested in a mobile, drop me a line. I saved the patterns on my computer and could whip up another in no time.

Fighting Sleep.

Graham surprised me and Maggie with this adorable seersucker bolero jacket. My old stomping grounds, Ben Silver, had a big clearance sale and he snatched it up online. I actually remember this jacket when it first came into inventory and photographing it for the catalog. I always thought it was perfect for a little girl. She can't wear it until she's two but it will be worth the wait.

Graham the Baby Charmer.

As a side note it has been brought to my attention that my blog settings are making it difficult for people to comment. This has been resolved so please feel free to tell us how adorable our daughter is. (Or how obnoxious my ramblings are.)

Cast your vote, Grahammers.

Sup, homies?

Today is our first day home alone and we started off with a bang by going to her pediatrician's appointment. Thankfully, my mom tagged along because it turned out to be an adventure. Our first misstep occurred when I was undressing Maggie to be weighed. As soon as her diaper came off, the pee began. Not just a little bit, either. She soaked the entire exam table and there was nothing I could do but watch and hope for it to end. Then after the weigh in I was instructed to put on a new diaper. Wouldn't you know it... rookie mom had a brand new diaper bag filled with baby junk but not a single diaper to be had. That was a bit embarrassing to confess to the nurse, but she took pity on me and found a diaper in the depths of their storage closet. This was followed by the PKU test where they pricked her little heel to collect blood samples. Maggie handled it well with a reasonable amount of tears but rookie mom somehow ended up with blood stains all across her white cotton shirt. I was a mess all around.

Leaving the office, my mom decided to treat me to a Happy Meal at McDonald's. How pathetic!

Oh my. Jen needed to beef up her portfolio and asked us to pose for some family photos. The photography looks great... but the modeling? Not so sure. These are three of my favorites.

Apparently Maggie had a fleeting nightmare, here. She handled it well.

Today's other big adventure was a bath in her big sponge bear that Sarah gave us. We've wiped her down with suds and water before but this was infinitely more exciting. It involved real life running water! The tears were minimal and I'm wishing we had photos. Unfortunately, Graham and I were both too involved for one of us to act as photographer. Our bathing skills should improve with time... I hope.

P.S. I hope we don't get any SIDs lectures for this video... she usually sleeps on her back. I swear.

I was sorting through Maggie's discharge papers and am now so seriously disturbed. The caption reads:

"Never leave a child unattended in a stroller because the child may slip into a leg opening, become entrapped by the head, and die."

Is the illustration really necessary?

Friends.

Graham bought the most fantastic little Flip Video camera today. It's tiny and only has about 5 buttons on it and I am in love with its simplicity. Despite how ridiculously easy it is to use, you can hear in the video how technologically impaired I am. Also, please excuse the creepy background music (Graham's video game).

We promise better videos in the future. This is the trial run.

Henri has apparently found his new favorite spot, making better use of this chair than Maggie is. It may be poor training by letting him hang out there but I have to give the cats some credit for adjusting so well to this new little life that has suddenly arrived. Somehow I think Maggie's presence has actually subdued them a bit. I was particularly concerned about Henri and his wild bursts of energy that he would get in the middle of the night, having visions of him trampling through her bassinet on his way to scurry up the window blinds. Thankfully, these somehow stopped as soon as the baby came home. Both cats have been cool as cucumbers and I have a feeling that they'll end up being be faithful friends to Maggie. So much to look forward to as she grows up!

I'm loving the colors here. I never planned on putting our baby girl in much pink, but I have to admit she looks great in it. (She takes after her dad... he looks great in pink, too.)

From our mini home photo shoot.

Maggie's poor Pop Pop spent the day in the hospital today. His kidney stone showed no mercy last night and he was rushed through the ER to have it surgically removed. This photo of him and Maggie is no reflection of what he's been going through. Get well soon, dad!

Somewhere between his status reports, we went on our first family outing today. I'll admit that IKEA on a Saturday is pretty ambitious but Maggie was amazing. We had a successful feeding in the parking lot before venturing inside which was a great accomplishment for me (our first feeding outside the little comfort zone we've created at home). We then plopped her in her little stroller, where she dozed and slept peacefully as we navigated the chaotic walkways of the IKEA showroom. I told Graham it was like being in a live-action version of Mario Kart, wheeling her around carts and people and strollers, speeding up and slowing down, finding shortcuts and straight-a-ways. I had a blast. It was fun to feel like a family, too. Today was definitely my first real sense of that.

Oh. And we bought new dining chairs. Yay!

This photo was taken at the hospital but I do think it's a pretty poetic representation of my physical condition the past few days.

Between breastfeeding and shoving ice packs down my pants, life at home has been pretty raw. I reached my breaking point last night, though, when I couldn't fathom keeping Maggie on my breast another second. Graham was really patient and encouraging through my tears and suggested we find a lactation consultant to come by the house. Initially this sounded extravagant to me but he reasoned that all the money that we're saving by not bottle feeding should even it out.

My God, I am so happy we did this. Google brought us to the most incredible woman who emailed me back in minutes and was at our house in 2 hours. Unbelievable. At first, I was afraid she would just call me a wuss but she affirmed everything I was feeling and explained how my positioning with Maggie was affecting my body. She taught me good technique, encouraged me to pump my left breast for the next day (because it's just too sore to continue) and gave me the name of a good prescription ointment that I can pick up tomorrow. We spent $90 for the session. I would've spent so much more.

God bless Kathleen.