Bath time

Margaret loves being in the bathtub.  Will is really hoping that love of the water continues and she doesn't instead inherit my constant state of cold.  He is determined to make her into someone who loves the water.  We'll see.  Clearly, she already has a mind of her own.  No matter what kind of mood she is in going into the bathtub, coming out she is all smiles.

Cookie Day

Best Christmas present ever.

Helping Mommy in the kitchen

Aunt Michelle was dancing around making Maggie laugh. 

We got together with Grandmama, Aunt Michelle and Leah to make some delicious Christmas cookies!  Maggie looked adorable in the new Christmas outfit from Geege.  Hopefully the neighbors appreciate our culinary efforts.  I have eaten way too many of the cookies I didn't think were pretty enough to share.

Play time

Mary Ann is so good with Margaret.  Margaret can stare up at Mary Ann mesmerized.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Will and I have so much to be thankful for this year.  Top of that list is clearly our beautiful baby girl.  Margaret fills each and every day with such joy and wonder.  She is healthy and getting so big!  It is hard to believe where things started and to remember that month she spent in the hospital.  All we see now is this perfect little being.  We are so blessed!

Margaret and Leah were adorable in their pink and blue dresses!  Little girl dresses are too cute.  

Grandmama and Grampa with their girls

Will and I cooked our first family Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday.  My parents, Michelle, Mike and Leah all ate the feast with us.  Neither of us are very good at portion control when cooking.  We have been creative with how to use all of the leftovers:  soup, pasta carbonara, shepard's pie.

Let's go Ravens! (and Pats!)

Margaret is learning how to sit up on her own.  Her head still topples her over, but she is starting to get the hang of it.  I am in constant amazement of how quickly she changes.

Grampa watching a little football with his girls! 

Sporting her Ravens gear

Look!  I am starting to sit up!  

Pretty cute!

Although still just on rice cereal, we let her lick a banana.   

Happy baby! 

First dance class

All dressed up and ready to go!  

Dancing to the music! 

She is so precious. 

Margaret and Leah attended their first dance class yesterday.  It was unbelievably cute.  Well, let's be honest, THEY were unbelievably cute.  A few have asked, "What does a dance class for a five month and ten month old look like exactly?"  Basically, Michelle and I skipped, hopped, rolled, etc. with our respective daughters in our arms.  The girls had such big smiles on their faces.  They loved seeing themselves in the mirrors, bouncing around, watching the other kids and singing along.  A few months back, Margaret and Leah were each given a little tutu outfit as a gift.  It was the perfect occasion to break out the pink tutus.  Too cute!  Just so no one thinks we are too crazy, the classes are free, so what do we have to lose?

Anything but a bear

Uncle Anthony brought Margaret this adorable onesie back from his trip to Alaska.  He gave it to her very shortly after she came home from the hospital.  It took a few months, but it finally fits.  It is so crazy to look back and think back to that time in our lives.  She is truly a blessing in our lives.  We are so blessed to have such a healthy, happy baby.  Clearly, she is anything like a bear in the mornings!

Cousins

Lunch with Uncle Anthony! 

Uncle Charlie came for a sleepover! 

Margaret is quite lucky to have a cousin just five months older.  I know very soon the difference in age will not be noticeable at all, but right now it is amazing!  I love watching my niece, Leah, as she hits all these major milestones.   It is fun watching her do the big kid things while I get to still have my snuggly baby.  I know all too soon, Margaret will be doing those big kid things.  Leah loves her cousin and gets so excited to see her in person or in pictures.  It is hard to get a picture without Leah's hands all over Margaret because she just gets super excited to be with her.  Margaret has started to recognize Leah as well and smiles at her all the time.

We were also lucky enough to see Uncle Anthony and Uncle Charlie today!

Glee?

Is it bad that we are watching ridiculously awesome dramas about high schoolers with our baby?  She was mesmerized by the singing.  Mom never saw a stage, but maybe Margaret will.  At least my daughter loves my singing!

Birds?

Margaret has enough head control to finally hang out in the exersaucer for a bit.  She still takes it in small doses, but it is nice to have somewhere to put her that keeps her entertained.  The little parrot has her both perplexed and quite pleased.  It is the toy she spends the most time staring at.  Let's hope she doesn't get too attached to the idea of birds!

Time for Cereal

Unsure at first what to make of the food, she realized quite quickly what she needed to do to get the food off of the spoon.  Mary Ann plopped herself down next to the high chair, realizing that baby in high chair will lead to treats for her.