My sister asked me to design birth announcements for Lucy and the house became a mini print shop, today. The design is very simple but I'm happy with the result. The design on the card back was found on shutterstock and the type on the card front was set in Avenir Light (my new favorite typeface). The paper is from Paper Source and our little HP did a surprisingly good job on the printing. Lucy's picture will be affixed in the space above her name so we still have a little work to do before they're complete. Can't wait to see them in the mail!

I took a little blog break. No particular reason... just lazy, I suppose. After just five days away there is a variety of things to report. (It's amazing how much she can change in such a short period of time.)

Our biggest accomplishment (adventure?) is that she is now sleeping in her "big girl" crib and through the night. I'll admit that she outgrew the bassinet long ago but Graham and I just weren't ready for her to be in a different room. We usually started the evenings with Maggie in the bassinet and then once she started rolling into the sides of it, we would bring her into bed with us. (Yes, I can hear some of you groaning.) There are a lot of things we like about sharing a bed but the biggest downside was that our own quality of sleep was suffering. She was waking us up and we were probably waking her up.

We made the switch the other night and I made the cardinal mistake of going against my own instincts and trying the "cry it out" technique. I know many parents that this has worked for and for some reason believed that we would only have success if we did the same thing. Despite the fact that I knew full well that this wasn't for us, I spent an hour listening to Maggie sob in her unfamiliar crib. It was terrible. In the end I scooped her up, allowed her to nurse as long as she wanted and went to bed with her in my arms. (Everything I wasn't supposed to do.)

The next night was much different and devoid of any "techniques". We simply put her down when she was ready and let whatever happen, happen. To our surprise she slept soundly through morning. Lesson learned: trust myself.

Our other recent milestone was the introduction of vegetables. She's a champ with rice cereal so we decided to give carrots a try. We simply boiled a frozen bag of them and then ran them through a food mill. The result was a lukewarm flavorless puree that Maggie received in disgust. Her facial expressions were priceless and how can you blame her? The only reason we ate carrots in my family was because my parents told us they put stars in our eyes. By "stars" I guess they meant celebrities because I was always told they saw Mr. Rogers. I tried telling Maggie that I saw Miffy but this didn't help.

Last tidbit... our pool opened this weekend! We finally have an excuse for Maggie to sport her bikini. (Aside from random exploitation of cuteness, as shown above.)

Maggie is asleep as I write this guest post. Today is day six of my stay with Maggie, Meghan and Graham. Maggie and I are having a quiet day of many naps and one quick trip to the grocery store. It's cool today so Maggie is shown here with sweater and cap for our outing.

Maggie is a very easy baby to be around. She is truly happy all the time and extremely verbal. Her conversations of squeals and squawks are entertaining and quite humorous. She has lived up to her reputation of "the best baby." I've loved my time with you, Maggie.

Love, Grandma Susie

My father-in-laws much coveted sheep and maryjanes are officially on sale at Etsy! These are lovingly knit and felted by John Still and can be purchased at: johnstill.etsy.com

(Photographs by Jen White... aren't they wonderful?)

Before and After.

My mom left for California last week and - lucky for us - we have some special people helping out. Kim watched Maggie on Tuesday and somehow managed to stay sane with four children on her hands. (Not that I'm surprised.) I wish I was there to watch her cousins interact with her. From what Kim tells me, Josh had Maggie in stitches.

Then yesterday Grandma Susie arrived from Kansas City to lend a hand through next Wednesday. We are so grateful to have her here and so happy to see her spend time with her granddaughter. She took these photos, today, capturing Maggie's array of facial expressions. The best surprise for us was pulling up to the house after work and seeing Maggie and Susan sitting in the grass, awaiting our arrival. They looked so sweet together with spring flowers in full bloom behind them. I'll be sure to preserve that memory.

This little swing set is a short walk from us and we've taken advantage several times this past week. Maggie's definitely a fan.

Our weekend was really enjoyable. I hope yours was too. We went to my grandparent's beach house on Friday night and stayed through Saturday. It's sort of silly to call it that because it now belongs to my parents and technically it's not a beach – it's a creek. However "my parent's creek house" sounds totally off. (My siblings will know what I mean.) Anyway, our time there was really a great way to get out of our house and relax. I was able to get some reading in which is a rarity. Maggie spent a lot of time absorbing her new environment. She's big on that. I've started calling her the "quiet observer".

Then today, of course, was my first mother's day! Graham took Maggie out for some errands this morning so that I could sleep in. Then upon his return he brought me breakfast in bed. (Quite luxurious!) Later on we brought Maggie to the swings and watched a few minutes of the kids'  soccer game that was being played on the adjacent field. Tennis (with Maggie napping court-side) and replanting our flower boxes rounded out the day, as well our usual Sunday house work. 

I may have a new favorite holiday.

This marks our 100th post on Maggiesville! I think this calls for a celebration... or at least a party hat.

Thank you to all that have visited and for letting us share. I'm always surprised when I hear that people have stopped by this little space and flattered to know that they enjoy coming back. Writing and documenting our experiences has helped us savor every day with Maggie and I'm delighted that others can take part in our joy. I'm also so pleased if this blog has allowed us to expand our circle. Visitors started with Graham, then family, friends, and I think even friends of friends. If we have not met, know that you're welcome and please feel free to introduce yourself.

All of that said, we'd love some feedback. What would you like to see more of? Which posts are a snooze? Is there anything you'd like to hear about? Comments or emails (meghansville@gmail.com) are welcome.

Maggie had her four month appointment on Tuesday. Here are her stats:

Height: 25 3/4 inches (95th percentile)
Weight: 14 pounds 11 ounces (50th percentile)

As our doctor said, she's built like a great dane. During the visit we also learned that she has eczema. We've been struggling with her skin for a while and it was great to finally learn how to treat it. This means changing her laundry detergent and bath soap and using a few over-the-counter creams. She's also taking a bath every night. It's already made a huge difference... she's well on her way to sweet and soft baby skin.

We were also given the green light on trying rice cereal! It's pretty cute to watch the confusion on her face as she rolls a spoon full of mush around on her tongue. Most of it ends up on her bib (or nose or hair or lap) but I think she was ready for it.

Our little girl is growing up!

I've been looking forward to our outing today for a while, now. We drove out to Millwood, Virginia to attend a small art show that takes place in a restored mill. My boss is old friends with a man named Roger who lives down the road from the mill with his wife, Snow. They have the most stunning piece of land that you can see glimpses of in these photos. They live in the beautiful white house that is behind our picnic and adjacent to their house is their own stone mill that has been restored. 

Roger made his living as a printer and over the years has gathered an impressive collection of antique presses and hordes of metal type. The image, above, is just one of the 100s (1,000s?) of drawers of typographic treasures. He stores all of this in the basement of the mill and hopes to convert the whole space into a small museum some day.

Roger (seated in the chair to the left of the group) and Snow are incredibly kind people and it's easy to see how fortunate they feel to have such a special home and how much joy they receive by sharing it with others. Our picnic on the lawn was wonderful. Good people and good food. What more could you ask for?

Some of you may find this disturbing but I ran out of breast milk storage bags, last week, and had to find a quick solution for transporting a few servings worth of milk to my mom's house. Ironic (and somewhat ridiculous) that the best container I had was a milk jug.

Susan has left, Maggie is sleeping, the house is quiet and I've found my self in a reflective mood. I've been thinking a lot about myself as a mother and wondering how I'm doing. Particularly what it means to be a working mother and whether or not it's the best thing for Maggie. In some respects, I feel like maintaining my career may make me a better parent. Because I love what I do and am passionate about my work, I feel like it adds dimension to who I am as a person. That has to transfer to Maggie, right? And maybe as she grows up she'll see that it's possible to take pleasure in work and she'll be encouraged and look forward to finding her own niche. Maybe.

The guilt comes in when I recognize that there are 30 hours in every week that I spend away from her. The poor thing is only four months old. Biologically we should be together. I'm almost ashamed to admit, though, that I wouldn't necessarily want that... I enjoy working too much. 

Should I feel guilty about that? I don't know. I really probably shouldn't be dwelling on these things. It can't be healthy.

Over the weekend we attended a craft fair and tractor pull at the local county fair. The tractor pull was a first for Maggie and a first for me. We only stayed for the "antique" portion and I loved watching these beautiful, old machines. I can't say that the weight and distance that they pulled was terribly interesting, but it was still a great way to break out of our normal routine. Maggie was surprisingly tolerant of the dust and noise and heat... and even my persistent sunscreen applications.

Much is happening this week. The biggest of all is the arrival of our new niece, Lucia Alison. She was born last night around 11pm and my sister described her as peaceful and beautiful. We saw a few pictures through email and we now know the latter to be true. We're so excited to have this new addition to the family!

Also this week, our good friend Susan is staying with us to take care of Maggie while I head to work. My parents had a few too many grandchildren on their hands this week so Susan took a train down from New York to help out. It's so nice to see her and I'm so glad she has a chance to meet and spend time with Maggie. I have no idea how we'll ever return this favor!

The camera-work is terrible but the audio makes up for it. I was finally able to make Maggie laugh on camera. I can't tell you how much I love this video. Hearing her laugh is the most wonderful thing!

What kind of parents would we be if we didn't give Maggie mohawks at bath time? Her childhood just wouldn't be complete.

From the house. (I'm in love with the yellow bed.)

We decided that an easy outing today would be a tour of the Belair Mansion. (Believe it or not, there is a bit of history in our suburban town.) And after the tour, we layed the girls in the grass for a pic... totally against their will.

We have been so lucky with the weather this weekend. Yesterday we went to the park and had a great little picnic. We staked out a good spot under a (trimmed) weeping willow that was along the pond and enjoyed our turkey sandwiches. Evey got a chance to run and Maggie laid on the blanket and stared at the sky.

We also discovered that Maggie is captivated by Evey. You can see in the photo the way she beams when Evey leans over her. Very sweet.

Cousins meet! (More later. We're off to the park...)

Wouldn't the world be heaven if all children dressed like this?

I really need to get a handle on my infatuation with baby clothes. I regularly find myself daydreaming about new dress ideas for Maggie and I've even considered chopping up my prom dress in order to make her another romper. I suppose most women would be happy to say goodbye to prom but I actually still love what I wore. It is sleeveless and knee length, and the fabric is a pale blue cotton with yellow embroidery that incorporates classic Japanese motifs. (As some of you know, I didn't exactly "fit in" during high school.) I wore the dress again to my cousin's wedding two years ago but I don't believe it fits me, post-baby. Do I cut into it, now, for Maggie? Or do I save it for her on the off-chance that she actually wants to wear it to her own prom?

Maggie has a very strange obsession with the sound visualizer that comes with iTunes. She'll hardly stop to blink when we turn it on for her. I'm not sure if this is a healthy pass time?

Maggie in her Easter dress (care of Grandma Susie).

This photo was taken at a surprise birthday party for me on Saturday. I was so flattered that Jen and Graham put this together and I was even more flattered to discover that I had more friends in DC than I realized. It was such a fun afternoon.

Yesterday, of course, was Easter and it was not nearly as good of a day. I was really looking forward to the wonderful meal that my parents were preparing and to spend time with my niece and nephews, but an hour after getting to their house I became so sick, so suddenly. I spent the day holed up in my old bedroom while everyone celebrated downstairs.

Being sick and trying to be a mother is so much more difficult than I realized. I really relied on Graham and my family, yesterday, to take care of Maggie. I'm so lucky to have that option. In fact, I even called my mom this afternoon to watch the baby for a few hours while I continue to recuperate. Maggie's a lucky girl to have so many people that care.

Okay, so this isn't the best video of it... but good news... Maggie rolled over for the first time, yesterday! For the past week or so she has been truly focused on this endeavor and would make attempts at every opportunity. Typically she would get stuck on her side, unable to turn that last little bit, and it was pretty adorable to see how much this would frustrate her. She would squawk and grunt and shout, all in exasperation.

Well, yesterday, she finally made it over while she was at my mom's house for the day. It's silly, but when my mom called my desk to tell me, I felt a little lump rise in my throat. Not because of the accomplishment but because I wasn't there to witness it! I hate that I will have to miss milestones.

Fortunately she showed off a little bit for me and Graham when we got home.

This a photo of my mother's grandfather and her oldest brother, Dan. Isn't it great? They are at the family farm and, apparently, the small building behind them is the hog shed.

When I see photos like this, I wonder how our photos will be seen 60 years from now? Will the pictures I take of Maggie have the same nostalgic quality as this one? And, how will they even last that long? Most of our photos are in digital form and the technology will likely change, sending our current archive into extinction. How sad. I'll have to make a point of printing her photos more often.

P.S. Congratulations to Matt and Rachel on the birth of Althea Louise! Can't wait to meet her!

I think she likes this song.

We recently started reading Miffy books to Maggie and it's amazing the response she has to this colorful little bunny. With other board books her attention is hit or miss and her interest is difficult to gauge. With Miffy, on the other hand, she smiles so wide with every turn of the page and can't take her eyes off of Miffy's adventures. We've definitely found a favorite.