We found a home for the fantastic flash cards that Grandma Susie made and gifted at our baby shower. I'm sure we'll eventually take them down to play with but they just look so charming arranged in a row. I can't decide which I like best; the penguin or the scottie dog. Which is your favorite?

So much is happening with this little girl, right now. It's amazing. I didn't realize that 6 months was such a critical time but suddenly she's hitting several milestones at once. Here in this photo you can see that she's able to hold herself on all fours and we're certain that she's just on the cusp of crawling. Last week she was soldier crawling on her belly (generally backwards) but this week she's lifting herself off the ground with ease and I think it will be just a short time before she's putting it all in motion.

Last week is also when we started to hear more carefully crafted little noises. Her high-pitched "ahhhhhhs" and uhhhhhs" are starting to sound more like soft and low "da-ah-ba-du-uhs". It's not a regular occurrence yet, but several times we've heard things that have stopped us in our tracks.

It melts my heart to watch her discover her voice and find ability in her movements. Every so often she'll lift herself off the ground and look us straight in the eyes with a wide smile almost as if to say, "look guys! Look what I can do!" That combined with her two little teeth poking out of the bottom row are just too much for words.

This was taken on Sunday as Maggie cozied up with Pop Pop. She didn't hold this position for long but I love when I can see glimpses of an older girl. It will be such a treat when she'll be able to throw an arm around someone or hold a hand.

We had a really pleasant day. The weather was great and Jen joined Maggie and I at the baby pool which was fairly crowded with lots of little ones. For some reason, I tend to feel out of place when I'm around so many "mommies". Like they're all "real" moms and I'm just someone pretending to be. (I realize this makes no sense.) Today was a little different, though, and chatting with some of the women around us I finally had a small sense of belonging and a realization that they're just regular people, like me.

I'm not sure what it was, but even after the pool the world was smiling on us. At the grocery store a random person stopped to chat and at the deli counter our sandwich was free because the women working there thought Maggie was cute. Such a funny day.

We have a bad habit of filling our weekends with errands and chores, but this weekend was all play for once. Saturday we went to the Baltimore Aquarium with Jen and Joe, thinking that Maggie would love to gaze into those massive tanks and watch the colors and shapes float by. She seemed pretty content as Graham walked her around in the Baby Bjorn, mesmerized by the fish and people and sounds of other kids and babies. The highlight, for me, was when Maggie handed our tickets to the ticket-taker and he handed them right back to her. It was like she had done it a hundred times!

Today we spent father's day with my parents and brother, playing tennis and lounging around the baby pool. We also had a really good steak dinner with gooey brownies for dessert.

I hope Graham had a good first father's day. He definitely deserves it. I shouldn't be surprised at what a great dad he is because I always knew he would be, but still, he's really got a knack for it. He's so comfortable with Maggie and totally committed to her. He doesn't moan and groan about diaper changes or baths. He's always ready to help and – perhaps more importantly? – always ready to play. Thanks Graham... we love you.

The best part about this video is how much Maggie loves to watch it. Whether she knows that it's her or she thinks it's another baby, she's completely entertained.

Little miss independent.

I love putting Maggie to bed for the night. She's so adorable when she's drifting from drowsiness into sleep, and she's so warm and serene in my arms.

During this ritual, tonight, I was thinking about the pregnancy and how funny it was to have people tell us how much we'll love our baby and how surprised we'll be at how much love we have. Obviously, this came true but it feels strange to define how I feel for Maggie as "love". That seems far too superficial and a bit too close to a Hallmark card (no offense to my mother-in-law!). That said, I really struggle to find the right words for how I feel. I guess, to start, I feel like she is a part of who I am. I feel like I carry her with me every moment of the day - even when I'm not actively thinking of her or I'm focusing on other things. To say I love her is such a small expression for how connected I believe we are. There's not a lot of mush and gush involved... it's more like a sense of belonging to one another that doesn't require hearts and teddy bears for it to be understood.

I guess that's a start? I'm curious to know how other parents might define it. I can't be the only one who finds the word "love" to be inadequate.

P.S. Her hair clips the day of this photo were a choking hazard. I know. I promise that I was watching them like a hawk. It's just that they're so darn cute, I couldn't resist.

This girl can really get around, now. Yesterday we found her under the coffee table, expecting her to be playing on her blanket a few feet away. She's not crawling but she's "maneuvering" and it's starting to sink in how much things will change once she's crawling and walking.

She had a fairly tough weekend, dealing with her tooth. She was not her usual happy self and was shedding more tears and getting less sleep than we're used to. Poor baby. Things turned around a bit last night and she's smiling this morning, so hopefully the worst is over.

More charming family photos. Love the one at the beach... so classic.

Thought you may want to see Maggie's carrot reaction for yourself. This week we are trying squash and we can already tell that she finds it far superior.

In other news, my mom discovered today that Maggie is cutting her first tooth! I still can't get over how quickly things change. Every day is something new and different.

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.