Thankful

Our little family of four has so much to be Thankful for. This Thanksgiving season was a gentle reminder of how truly blessed we are.

Although it was Maggie's 2nd Thanksgiving celebration, it was actually the first that she could enjoy the meal. And for Jack, it was the first that he couldn't get enough of his family. If I had to guess, my two little turkeys are more than thankful for all that Thanksgiving 2010 had to offer. With that being said, here is a peek at our list of "thankfuls" for this year...

Our first Thankful...the weather in Florida. Jack could not get enough of Grammy and Grampa's hot tub. And although I remembered to pack a bathing suit, just in case, Jack decided he didn't need it.

Our second thankful...a crawling baby! Yes, you read right, our Magpie has finally gotten the urge to get up and go. It's not a conventional crawl--Daddy calls it the Spiderman crawl with one foot and one knee on the ground. But, we can proudly say she is officially a mover!

Our third thankful...solid foods. And boy were they good!

Our fourth thankful...Grampa's cozy lap for a tired baby with a full tummy.

Our fifth thankful...cousins to chase so Jack could sport his infamous sweat head. I would say Jack was having a goood time.

Our sixth thankful...an Uncle to wrestle with. This pushed Jack just to the limit of exhaustion.

Our seventh thankful...Maggie's first trip to the zoo. I'm not sure if I want this to be considered her first. Although, she was amazed, she was still a bit confused and spent a lot of time observing from her stroller. We can call it her "pre-first".

Our eighth thankful...a joyous family train ride, cousins, Uncles, Grampas, and all!

We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday too and made your own list of "Thankfuls"!

Mickey Mouse's House

I bet you thought November was all about Maggie and Turkeys. And it was mainly, however we were able to squeeze a vacation to Disney in there too.

I wish I could call it a family vacation, but we decided dear Maggie had her fun for the month and wasn't quite ready to appreciate the chaos of Disney World. So Grammy and Grampa graciously offered to give her a vacation of her own at their house. You better believe our sweet Maggie will be on the next trip to Mickey's House (as Jack likes to call it).

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Clay missed the first half of our trip too. Jack and I were devastated, but Clay was where he needed to be. So, my little monkey and I made the best of it and enjoyed every minute in the most magical place on earth until Daddy arrived. And then, we enjoyed it even more.

Of course, Jack was in ahhh. The highlight of his trip was actually visiting Mickey's house (who knew?) and meeting the characters. We actually waited in line 3 separate times to see Mickey because after each visit Jack "forgot" to tell the giant mouse something. So, back we would go again, usually I could talk him into waiting until the next day though. I was ready to do something different, but this was Jack's trip, so I bit my tongue and drug myself to the line...again and again.

I learned a lot on this trip and that is actually what I was hoping for. It was a kind of "get our Disney feet wet" trip. We want to do it big (and right) when Maggie joins us in a couple years. A few tips...never go Thanksgiving week...the lines and crowds were nuts! And stay on the monorail, especially if you have a little one that needs to return to the hotel for a nap or rest. Other than that, it was great!

Jack, of course, devoured every moment of it, but finally hit a wall the last day. We surely wore him out and are still trying to get back on routine around here. It was all worth it though...seeing the wonderment on Jack's face on such a magical vacation!

I could never share our visit in just a few pictures, especially when I have over a hundred to choose from. So here it is in slide show form. You will have to do without my narrating, but I'm sure you can get the just of it. Enjoy!

A Gracious Hostess

There is only one thing my Maggie loves more than other babies and that is...her own playroom full of them. Maggie was quite the gracious host this Friday when she hosted her very first baby play date.

It has been a long time coming, but we finally worked it out to where Jack was in school, Maggie was class free, and her smallest friends could make it over. It was certainly deserving too, since Maggie finally cut her 1 year molars, survived a horrendous stomach virus last week, and will be vacationing at Grammy and Grampa's while Jack is in Disney. Let's call it a Play Date Celebration of sorts.

Like I said, Maggie was thrilled to have her playroom filled with little faces just her size!

Sweet Alexandra tried to teach Maggie how to crawl. However, Maggie was perfectly content showing off her bucket of toys. Meanwhile, we couldn't get Emma to stay still for a picture--this is one of the only ones she cruised by for.

Maggie was like a magnet to Bradley. These precious girls are sure to be great buddies when they are old enough to realize it. (and yes, her name is Bradley with a "B", Mommy accidentally put her bib on backwards)

My Mags was a little giggle box between Bradley and Matthew. Who wouldn't be with these fun friends?

Maggie's 1st Birthday Party

The pictures have finally arrived of Maggie's 1st Birthday party celebration. I am so excited to share, but not quite as excited about the quality of the pictures. No offense, but I think I could of done as well as our "photographer" did. Oh well, the point was to allow me to enjoy Maggie's special day without worrying about photo ops. And thankfully, I did just that.

As always, the best way to capture the fun of Maggie's special day is with pictures. So here they are with lots of narrating...

As always, I like to start with the decor. Here are Maggie's turkey invites. It was not easy designing "girly" turkey invites with Fall colors, but I think we made it work.

Come on in to the party...

The table of yummies! I used lots of polka dots to make it more girly. It's hard to see, but the dessert plates were orange and brown polka dotted. I was so thrilled when I found them at Target.

More polka dots on the plastic wear bows and pumpkins everywhere.

What's for dinner? Turkey chili and rolls, of course! (the rolls and sides were in those empty bowls once the party started)

And...turkey sandwiches for the kiddos!

But, dessert was the best--Giant turkey cupcakes! Yum! Could they get any cuter?

No 1st birthday party at the Cibula's is complete without a month to month banner and look!--more orange and white polka dots. It was so bittersweet making this. I had a wonderful and hard time watching my Magpie grow up in pictures. (The banner was much cuter in person--I realize this was a difficult picture to get with the window behind it.)

All of the guests signed Maggie's birthday book. I hope it is a keepsake she will have forever.

With big brothers and sisters joining Maggie's baby friends, we had to have some turkey entertainment. So, we played a friendly game of Pin the Hat on the Turkey!

After the big kids placed their hats on the turkey, they got a prize. These are actually turkey covers on a lollipop--how clever!

And one more activity for the big kids...a craft table with turkey headbands. My Mom manned this table--thank goodness!

All the turkeys, big and small, took home a turkey place mat as their party favor. They were an exact match to Maggie's invitations. Except the girl turkeys had eyelashes and the boys didn't:)

A family picture with the birthday girl before the party starts.

Maggie and I were so blessed to have Grandma and GG (Great Grandma) to celebrate with ( and help A TON). Here are 4 generations of us ladies.

The Birthday girl was all smiles once the party got started. It was towards the end that she got a little droopy. My Mags can only handle so much fun before she is ready for her crib.

Jack was the first to pin his hat on the turkey. In all honesty, his hat went perfectly straight on the turkey's head. We are still examining this picture for cheating.

Jack anxioulsy helped Maggie finish her meal so we could get to the cupcakes.

You have to tell us how old you are Maggie before you can get your cake!

I love this picture of the "big" kids crowded around her after singing Happy Birthday. Maggie wasn't sure what to think...all this for me?

The first bite...

Oh dear, it's all over my hands...

That's okay...it is my Birthday after all! Gobble, Gobble!

Yes Maggie, you are still one!

Maggie and the ones who love her most. Happy Birthday sweet girl!

Of course, this is only a snip it of the pictures I have. We actually ended up with over 250 pictures. I'm slightly tempted to post them in a slideshow on the blog. Don't be surprised if you see a 3rd post about Maggie's birthday before the month is over.

Thanks to everyone who made Maggie's day so special. She truly is our little piece of heaven and we feel so blessed to have shared her 1st year with friends and family. We can't wait to see what year 2 holds--(I've already got her party idea brewing in my head:)

The New Maggie

A lot can change when you turn the big ONE! So, since we are still waiting on those professional 1st birthday party pictures, let me take this time to share with you a few of Maggie's changes since the big day.

I think "1" certainly brought out some personality in my little gal. To start with, eating with her is, hmm...how should I say this?, unenjoyable? Maybe "challenging" is a better choice of words. Maggie has taken to removing food from her tray that she has no interest in. And with her new found pickiness, that is about 50% of her food. Oh, and dear Mags is not discreet about this either. She looks you straight in the eye, picks up a morsel and hurls it across the room or to the ground. Basically, I'm already over it...Cosby loves it!

Food isn't the only thing she likes to drop either. She has created a new game that even Jack is already tired of. And he was her biggest playmate for the first couple of days, so you know it's bad when he quits. It's the "uh-oh, I dropped my sippy cup" game. And as annoying as it is, she does have a way of melting my heart when she belts out an exaggerated, "uhhhh-ohhhh!". This game also transfers into "Uh- Oh, I dropped my Pinky (lovey) and Uh-Oh, I dropped my____." (just fill in the blank).

Turning "1" isn't all bad though. Sweet Maggie has added the most delicious kisses to her bag of tricks. Just ask and the majority of time your request is granted. And let me tell you--Maggie kisses are absolutely yummy!

Mags is now forward facing in her car seat! Yay! If I only had taken a picture of her face when she saw me for the first time from her new view. An absolute priceless look of wonderment and sheer joy all in one. I will never forget her chubby cheeked expression from my rear view mirror--mmmm...forever ingrained in my heart. And since then, she is lovin' it, especially when Jack is accompanying her--I suppose it gives her an audience to drop things for.

"1" has also seemed to give Maggie a new inclination to explore. Don't get me wrong, Mommy is still her favorite place to be, it's just ALL OVER Mommy now. The girl cannot sit still. She is literally scaling me from head to toe. She wiggles left, then right, then upside down, then around the back of me, it's nuts and absolutely impossible to hold on to. No more snugly Mags. I reluctantly put this in the good category though---Magpie has got to get moving whether I like it or not.

And in the appearance category...and this is the honest truth....literally, since the morning she woke up as an one year old, her hair has been laying flat. No more spikies. Old age must be taming that do. I'm thinking (or at least secretly hoping) it's the humidity and her hair will be up and at em' here soon. She looks so grown up with bangs:(

So that's a little update on my freshly turned 1 year old Magpie. Definitely a bit more challenging than the pre-one days, but always just as lovable. Hopefully the next post will be full of Birthday Party pictures! Stay tuned...

Maggie's Birth Story

One year ago today, God welcomed a beautiful angel baby into this world. And although everything was planned for her birth, we never could have planned for the joy she would bring to this family. Nor could we have planned for how "unplanned" the actual birth was going to be.

One month before Maggie's arrival, I was sitting in Dr. Carroll's office picking out her birth date. She was due on November 13th, another "13" baby is what she was suppose to be, but since I had to undergo a C-section, we would be taking her early. I hated the idea of kicking Maggie out before she was ready and even more so, before I was ready. But, it was the way things had to be. So when I was given a list of possible dates that Dr. Carroll was in surgery, I picked the closest one to Maggie's actual due date... Monday, November 9th, 2009.

I am such a planner, so it would seem natural that I would like to have my daughter's arrival planned too. But, for me, it's the one thing I always felt shouldn't be scheduled. I wanted Maggie to come on her own time, because God knows I would be scheduling her sweet little life as soon as she arrived. So the month preceding the C-section date was exciting, emotional, and even hard. The anticipation was more than I could handle at times. I had a list of things that I wanted done before November 9th, I tried to sleep as much as I could because November 9th was coming, and I spent lots of extra time with Jack because on November 9th everything would change. I even cried and worried myself to death...how was I going to love two and have time for two children? It was a lot to count down to.

Looking back, all those feelings and tears seem so silly. I didn't even have to try to love Maggie--it was an instant love. And it was glorious!

My C-section was scheduled for 7:30 a.m. Try sleeping the night before that. We had to arrive at the hospital 2 hours early. That's 5:30--did I ever mention, I am not a morning person? Clay and I traveled down the dark interstate as my anxiety ate me away to the bones. Jack was home safely with his Grammy and Grampa and I already missed him. Oddly, we didn't talk much-- I wonder if we were both scared. Again, it seems so silly now, but, I have to be honest about my feelings. We arrived on time, checked in, anxiety still eating away at me and were placed in an OR waiting room. I put on a gown and tried to rest in the hospital bed.

And this is where the unplanned started. Clay pulled out the camera, one hour till show time, and attempted to take one last pregnant picture of me. The camera clicked, gurgled, and shut off. This could not be happening. How could my camera break on one of the most important days of our lives? In utter panic, Clay rushed out the hospital doors to the nearest CVS to buy a disposable camera. I laid in my hospital bed taking the camera apart and putting it back together over and over again. Somehow, by the grace of God, after I had almost given up, it worked! I could not have imagined taking my baby's first pictures with a throw away camera. Thank you lord!

Next thing we knew it was time for the epidural and surgery prep. The nurse walked in, announced it was time to go the OR and in I walked. Yes, I walked into the OR, in a hospital gown, to give birth to Maggie. Not sure why I find that so incredibly odd, but somehow I was expecting to be rolled in there or at least put in a wheel chair, not walking. That seems to be something, pre-Maggie's birth, that sticks in my head--me walking into the ice cold OR room.

An anesthesiologist was there to meet me with my epidural. Never could I have known how that one little needle would change the "planned" birth. With minutes to go, Dr. Carroll greeted me with her always warm smile and put me at ease. Here we go, I thought, we are minutes from meeting Maggie. I remember everything going through my head, when I could still think clearly, how big will she be? or how tiny-since we are taking her early?, will she have reflux?, will she have hair?, is she really even a girl?. Then before I could think a minute longer the dreaded epidural kicked in.

First the loss of feeling started at my hips, then my legs, and then my feet. All the while I could here Dr. Carroll and her partner making small talk behind the sheet. At this point Clay arrived in his scrubs and I remember letting out slight giggle. I was so happy to see him though--we were in this together. Then I started losing feeling in my arms, my torso, and even my chest. I complained about feeling like I had a ton of bricks on my chest. I kept trying to sit up, but I couldn't. It was an awful feeling. And before I knew it, I was nauseated...and I mean, bad. I can not describe the feeling of having to throw up and not being able to move all at the same time--it is horrendous. It is something I will NEVER forget.

The nurses doused me with cold wash cloths and held a bucket by my mouth. (I'm so sorry Maggie that this part of your birth was not very beautiful, but you made up for it.) They were injecting me with anti-nausea meds and an IV of fluids. I literally could not move--I was dead weight. And to be truthful, it was not only miserable, it was downright scary.

After I was semi-stabilized, for lack of a better word, the C-section began. And before I knew it at 7:49 a.m. on November 9th, 2009, Clay cut the umbilical cord and Dr Carroll handed my baby over to one of the nurses standing near by. I heard, "what a big baby", and "look at that hair", but I did not hear a cry. I was still reeling with nausea and lack of movement, but I had to know..."is she really a girl?" when I received that confirmation, I then asked, "why isn't she crying?". After a couple slaps on the back and "come on baby" by the nurses and Doctors, at a side table where I could plainly see, she was wailing. Thank God again!

I remember glancing over at her and I was in awe of how big she was... I mean she looked huge and perfect and just like she belonged to us. I cried and smiled and longed to hold her. She was here! I had to wait for them to weigh her, wash her, and check her vitals. And then after what seemed like forever, Clay brought my angel baby over to my bedside and announced she weighed 8lbs 10 ozs. I was still laying flat and still vomiting into the bucket, but I will never forget her in that moment. I do not lie, when I say it was instant love. Then I questioned, how I could ever love her more, and looking back, that was another silly feeling, because it's been very easy to do.

I was taken to the recovery room shortly after. Maggie was taken away again, but they returned her pretty quickly. What was suppose to be a 30 minute stay in the recovery room lasted an entire two hours. Just me, Clay, and our Magpie. It seems the epidural had really taken a toll on me. My blood pressure dropped significantly, my temperature was very low, and I was plain sick. The nurses layered me in heating blankets, kept the IV going, and gave me more and more anti-nausea meds. I was determined to nurse Maggie in those first few moments. I did, and she ate beautifully, and then I passed her back to Clay so I could vomit again.

Hours later when we finally made it to the safety and comfort of our hospital room, I was feeling better. Not great, but the best I had since 7:15 that morning. And this is when I truly got to enjoy and dote over my new baby girl. She was literally perfect. A tiny tuft of dark hair, a picture perfect little nose, and precious heart shaped lips. I topped her crown with a pink hat. It was official, we were a family of 4 with a baby girl!

Maggie and I spent the next 5 days in the hospital recovering from one of the worst experiences of my life that turned into one of the most best outcomes of my life. After the first night, Clay went home, Jack needed him, and Maggie and I needed some bonding time. Clay spent the days with us in the hospital and the evenings at home with the other love of my life. In those 5 days, something magical happened between Maggie and I. We fell in love with each other...a deep, unbreakable, perfect love. I could never describe in words what grew in my heart that week and the elation that overcame me. It was truly magical--a real gift from God. And in looking back, I should have known then, that Maggie was going to be my separation anxiety baby.

So to my dear Maggie, you were worth every nauseating moment of November 9th, 2009. And I would welcome you into the world, with open arms, all over again. I love you with every ounce of my being. Happy 1st Birthday my Love bug!

Party Preview

Okay..I just couldn't wait to share a few pictures from Maggie's 1st Birthday party. We celebrated this past Saturday with a turkey theme for our very own "little turkey". EVERYTHING was turkey around our house and I think it turned out pretty cute. With Maggie being a November baby, it just seemed fitting. Maggie had fun turning one, Jack loved all of the action, and I finally let out a deep breath. It's been a long month of planning.

We did have a professional photographer at the party, one less thing for me to do and more time to enjoy myself. However, I haven't received the "good"pictures from her yet. So here are a few from my camera to hold you over. The Big Birthday post will come soon, I promise...