One of my goals for the long weekend was to spend time in the sewing room and I was able to steal a couple hours this morning to make this little top.

Deconstructing old clothes is such a great way to make things for Maggie with little effort. This project started with a button-down shirt that I loved but had to stop wearing after I wore a hole into the elbow. All of the ruffle detail was already done for me. I just had to reduce the size of the collar, trim down the width, and sew a hem to cut this down to size. The only extra step was to repurpose the ruffled cuffs by converting them into capped sleeves.

I did forget one very important step: taking Maggie's measurements! You can see how the buttons are pulling across her tummy in the photo. (Darn!) Looks like her cousin, Lucy, is getting a new shirt for Christmas. Kathy, expect this in the mail soon.

Well, Maggie did everything you're supposed to do on Thanksgiving; she dressed up, ate lots of food, and passed out on the couch. Thanksgiving offers a surprisingly great array of baby foods. By then end of the day she had a bagel, some grapes, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, lima beans, a bite of cranberries, a dinner roll, and pumpkin pie. Explains why she felt no different from the rest of us by the time it was all over.

P.S. After Graham saw this post he suggested I make a new category: Maggie and Graham Sleeping. (How many times has this pose appeared on the blog???) Either they take too many naps or I have some weird obsession with photographing my sleeping family.

How could I forget? This arrived in my inbox last week, amidst the piles of work email.

Jen had the morning off and decided to try out a crocheted chick-a-dee. So ridiculously cute and even better in person. (His beak is made from grosgrain ribbon. Fantastic!)

After a long and exhausting work week I decided to devote Saturday to Maggie with no distractions permitted. I've been missing her.

We started our day early, and after breakfast we took a long stroll in our new neighborhood. We saw the geese I mentioned (well the pond, anyway, the geese were hiding) and checked out the mini town center which, as it turns out, has a barber shop, a massage therapist, a print shop, and a tavern. We waved at some neighbors, woof-woofed at some dogs, and then came home and nestled in for a morning nap.

Post-nap brought lunch and our biggest adventure; a walk around our park's nature trail. This turned out to be a great opportunity for Maggie to practice walking and she grabbed onto the back of the stroller to take off. It was so much fun to watch the focus and determination she put into this and the occasional glances up at me to say "hey! Look at me! Impressive, right?" The leaves that her little feet were sifting through also proved to be irresistible and she had to stop every few feet to crouch down, pick up a leaf, and show me how spectacular it was. Such fun.

We rounded out the day by curling up to a movie with dad. We watched Coraline which in retrospect was incredibly frightening and inapropriate for an eleven month old. She didn't seem phased, though, and just sat, wide-eyed, and watched the color and animation, which – if you're familiar with movie – is quite captivating. Thank goodness she couldn't follow the story line. We'll save that for when she's in grade school.

Such a fantastic Saturday. Why can't everyday be so sweet?

My dad sent a big slew of summer photos the other day and I'm really loving this one. She looks so young!

I'm not having the greatest week so far. Nothing too bad, in particular, but when work stops being fun it makes being away from Maggie so much more difficult. It makes me feel quite useless that I have no idea what she eats for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Or that I actually get excited about changing poopy diapers because I so rarely see them. Or that we've lived in this house for two weeks and I still haven't taken her down to see the geese, just steps away at a nearby pond. (Not that she hasn't seen them already with Grandma Susie but I bummed that I haven't taken her myself.)

At least I have bed time. I absolutely love cozying up in a big comfy chair with her, reading quietly, enjoying a bottle, and having her drift off to sleep in my arms. Night after night it just never gets old.

More sheep! And, now, felted bracelets! Contact me or John Still, if interested.

Well, we're finally coming up for air and after two weeks this is the only photo I have to share of Maggie. (Can you even find her?)

Between moving, a crazy work schedule, and a visit from Paba and Susie, our world turned into sudden chaos and we're finally sorting it all out; boxes are being unpacked and blogs are being revisited. We even have some fun things to report:

1. A new house. (Yay!) We decide to put our condo up for rent in order to start renting my parent's townhouse. It's so fantastically spacious with more bedrooms than we need, a big finished basement, and a charming enclosed patio. The absolute best part is that I get to have a dedicated sewing room which feels a bit decadent but so exciting, at the same time.

2. New tricks. (Woohoo!) Maggie is suddenly a very quick study and Paba and Grandma Susie taught her to clap her hands for "Patty Cake" and to raise her arms for "how big is Maggie." (So cute.) She also went to the zoo with Nanna and Pop Pop today and came back making monkey noises. This is the third animal in her repertoire which previously consisted of "eeeh eeeh" for cats and "ooohf ooohf" for dogs. Her ability to communicate and engage is really developing, right now. It's so much fun.

3. Employment. (Hallelujah!) I'm very proud to report that Graham starts a new job tomorrow. The people that he's met and the firm, itself, sound really terrific and I'm so glad that he'll get to put his talents to use again. He'll be working three days a week which means that Maggie will not be completely abandoned by her parents and that my mom will have some well deserved time off.

Now if only we could find time to cook again and stop having ramen noodles for every meal... then things would really be good...

Maggie was a sailor for Halloween, complete with tattoos. (It was a last-minute choice when I couldn't find a decent lamp shade to be the cap for her toothpaste costume.) In the end, she looked pretty darn cute and I was glad she got a chance to wear her dad's romper that his parents had held onto for all these years.

Look at this rocker. Is it not amazing? It was handmade and gifted to us by Jen's father in exchange for building him a website . I feel like the work we did pales in comparison to this beautifully hand-crafted piece with wave details and solid bent wood. It's an instant heirloom.

Rummaging through her sock and hat bin may have been the most fun that Maggie's had in a while. She was absolutely captivated with this activity for what seemed like a good hour. It also gave us the chance to model the adorable little cap that Paba made which was gifted as her "coming home from the hospital" hat. Ten months later, it finally fits.

Well, I think we officially have a first word! There have been a many times were she has mimic'd a word or sound back to us (which is wonderful and adorable on its own) but suddenly she has a very complete comprehension of the word "cat"! She seems to know exactly what it refers to and can pronounce it at will. She has pointed to our cats to say it, identified cats in books, and carries around a little tiger figurine at her Nanna's house, saying it. She definitely reserves the word for when a cat is actually in sight... except for one occasion where she was falling asleep in my arms and staring into space, when out of nowhere came a very loud and pronounced... CAT!!!

It's a bit hard to hear, but we're so glad we could preserve this on video. Enjoy!

It's been a weekend of birthdays, including Graham and two of our nephews. We spent Saturday afternoon celebrating Kyle turning two and it was so much fun to see Maggie among the other kids. She has had very few opportunities for this and it was a pleasant surprise to see that she had no reservations about getting into the mix. We found her foraging in the toy box with older kids, chasing after candy that had fallen from the pinata, and even sharing Pop Pop's lap as he read to her and another little boy.

The poor thing was exhausted by the end of it and took a nice big nap with her dad when she got home. All that fun can wear a girl out!

I found a new blog, last night, that inspired me to break out the sewing machine. (Check out Katie Did and her beautiful sewing projects.) This post got me thinking about a headband for Maggie and with some scraps of felt, crimping shears, and a bit of elastic she has new fall accessory.

It felt good to sew again. Wishing I had more time for it.

Our friend, Ryan, recommended a great book called The Read Aloud Handbook that gave us a lot of motivation to read more with Maggie. We had already been incorporating books, here and there, but it was great to get a little guidance on the types of books that are best for her, now, and which books we may want to set aside for later. So, at the moment we've been reading lots of books with rhythmic and rhyming language and throwing in some other oddballs to break it up (like identification books and those with small story lines). I loved the explanation for incorporating lots of rhythm and rhyme... as the author of the handbook puts it, language is so new and complex to her. These books bring sense and order to what must be a very complicated world. Not to mention the joy and pleasure they bring to hearing spoken words.

Something that I grapple with in the handbook is that the motivation the author uses to get parents reading is to give lots of data and real-life examples of children who have excelled in school, thanks to reading at a young age. The types of examples are not just "A" students, but kids who skip multiple grades, win national spelling bees, and have to leave regular schooling because they are just too advanced to stay stimulated.

Reading this has made me think a lot about what I want for Maggie and the expectations that I want to have as she grows older. I think what I've decided is that all I really want (in regards to schooling) is for Maggie to love learning. Whether she's in the lowest groups or highest groups, I just want her to be happy with where she is and who she is. If she has confidence to ask questions, the thoughtfulness to offer ideas, and a big smile on her face when she steps off the bus... then I'll know we've accomplished something great, regardless of the letters on her report card.

Today we celebrated three years of wedded bliss. (Love that expression...)

It was a really great little anniversary. Graham prepared a beautiful meal that incorporated both of our favorites: mussels (for me) and steak (for him) and we spent quite a long time at the dinner table eating, talking, and goofing off with Maggie as she whizzed by in her walker. In typical Graham fashion, he decided to pull out the china and dress Maggie in her Sunday best. (It's a good thing he's around because I'm far too practical to think of those sorts of things.)

I have to say that my favorite part of the evening, though, was taking turns dancing with Maggie while the other picked music. Bill Withers, the Beach Boys, Simon and Garfunkel...

I'm a lucky girl.

Maggie took a big-girl bath, tonight. Up until now we had been using one of those smaller basins that sits in the tub and I have no idea why we hadn't moved on from it sooner. I guess we were just short-sighted as to what she's capable of. (This has been a recurring theme, lately.)

Our other revelation is that she's actually – despite my earlier complaints – totally capable of sleeping through the night. We discovered this after coming to our wit's end with night wakings and sleep deprivation and deciding to try the old "cry-it-out" technique again. We talked about this at length; how we felt about, how long we could stand the crying, at what point we would cave... but decided that anything was worth trying. To our very pleasant surprise, Maggie made it easy on us.

The plan was to put her in bed – awake but drowsey – and allow her to cry. We would come in at intervals to scratch her back and let her know we still existed, but the rest was up to her. This, of course, was hell and my guilt was increasing with every passing minute, but then... gasp!...silence. She actually fell asleep!

It was very humbling to realize that while she may want us at bed time, she doesn't need us. The following nights have gotten better and better. The tears are brief and she's sleeping more and more soundly. I feel absolutely spoiled with how much of my own sleep I've been able to catch up on!

I got a little scissor-happy during Maggie's haircut. This is her before and after.

My family would classify these as "katie-bangs". (Long story.)

Enjoy.

Showing off her new tricks.

P.S. I added a new link to the Family and Friends list: The Journey of Ellis. Please visit and send prayers and positive energy to this family.

Graham thought I should give a run-down of Maggie's recent developments, so here are the highlights in no particular order:

1. After several months of soldier crawling, she has finally popped up on all fours and is cruising around the house like a champ.

2. Not only does the crawling suddenly come with ease but so does standing. She regularly finds a table edge or arm or railing to hoist herself up and check out the view. She'll stand comfortably – supporting herself with her hands – until she gets bored and struggles to find her way back to the ground. Every so often she'll just let go and... ker-plunk.

3. More and more solid foods are making their way into her diet but I wouldn't call her a "hearty" eater. She's not necessarily picky about foods but just not all that excited about them. She usually complies and accepts that it's something that she has to do but rarely does she eat with fervor... unless we're talking about pickles... that's a different story.

4. She has not granted us another mimic since that lovely, first "da-da". It seems that was a freak occurrence. She does, however, constantly run around saying "mum mum ma ma mum mum" but there's no indication that she knows what those words mean (or the effect they have on my heart strings).

5. Sleeping? Let's not talk about it. (In short, still waiting to experience a beautiful, silent night.)

Well, I think that covers it. Please let me know what I've forgotten.

P.S. Yes, she's wearing a basket.

Here are a few picture taken outside of the house. All-in-all it was a great weekend and good way to say goodbye to summer and welcome fall.

These are glimpses of the most perfect little cottage that we rented last weekend. So full of charm and a wonderful collection of mid-century furniture and detail. It was interesting that so many items in this cottage are celebrated collectibles, however, there wasn't at all a feeling of pretension. Actually it was just the opposite and every room just felt open and comfortable. After knowing a bit about the owners, we decided that this isn't the home of an antiques dealer or furniture connoisseur (as one might guess) but that it must have been furnished during the same period that it was built and simply never updated. Lucky for the owner, she chose her decor well.

Anyone looking for a great Bethany rental, just two blocks from the beach, let me know. I'd be happy to pass this along.

Maggie and Graham surprised me at work, today, by sending this series. (The second one is my favorite!)

We've returned from our last summer hoo-rah with much to tell but suddenly I don't feel like blogging. We received more details of baby Ellis' condition and my heart is breaking. Whether you know this family or not, please send good thoughts and love to their little boy.

Apparently Maggie likes playing in the grass. A lot. So much so that she left a few grooves in the dirt.

Well, we are in week two of our new life and still no major complaints. In a way it's nice to have things evolve, a bit, and I'm still very grateful that I got to spend so much of her earliest weeks and months at home.

Being flexible has been crucial and I can see that my original plan to nurse the whole first year may not come to fruition. Right now, we nurse once in the morning and once at night with formula in between. I decided that the whole pumping thing was too much to deal with and I've already seen that my body has gotten the hint. As much as I hate to say it, there is a sense of relief and it's good to feel like a human again and less like a vending machine.

The best thing about working, though, is coming home. I love love putting my key in the door and having Maggie give me the biggest smile when I step through it. The arms wave, the eyes light up, the squealing begins... it is the best thing to have waiting for me.