Happy St. Patricks Day

I promised I would be better about updating the blog and here we are...

Here's a quick post to get me back into the swing of things. Maggie and some friends enjoying the St. Patrick's Day parade in Gaithersburg.

Up to the moon...and back.

Tonight for the first time I put Maggie to bed without her nightly bottle. I've been working on getting her off bottles completely for some time now, but we started in earnest last week. With the holidays and all our time away I didn't feel like it was a good time until now. After her 15 month check up I was told to start the process and that very day I dropped the nap time bottle with no fuss at all. About a week later I tried to drop the morning bottle, but I caved after a few days. The truth is I, not Maggie, wasn't ready to give up bottles yet. Every time I thought about it it seemed as if no bottles suddenly meant she wasn't a baby anymore. It was too soon and I wasn't ready to give up that special time yet. I felt the same way when she weaned herself from nursing - she was ready and I wasn't.

So, last week we dropped the morning bottle and replaced it with a sippy cup. Much to my surprise she took the cup of milk on the second morning of the transition. Up until this point I hadn't been able to get her to drink milk from a sippy cup. She drinks about half while we have some snuggle time and then the rest at breakfast. All this week we've been heating her nighttime bottle less and less (she doesn't like a cold bottle) and last night she drank about 1/4 of it and pushed it away. We read two books, brushed our teeth and she went right to bed. So tonight was the final test - no bottle at all. She had her bath and got dressed for bed. We took our usual position in the rocking chair (she is asking for the baba at this point) and we sit down. I offer her a sippy cup of milk which she pushes away and after that she settles in with her thumb in her mouth as we read Guess How Much I Love You. The only protest I got was when I suggested we read Goodnight Moon (which we have read every night for her entire life!) and she cried and wanted to read Guess How Much one more time. Teeth were brushed and she met Monkey in the crib for a date to dream land.

So, I'm trying not to look at it as an ending, but a beginning. She is growing up so fast and I don't think she could ever guess just how much I love her.

A Catholic by nature

I just love this picture. This is Maggie outside of my neighbors house. She is fascinated with her statue of The Virgin Mary and without prompting walked up to it and gave it a kiss. I certainly reminds me to take a step back from the business of every day life and reexamine my faith.

Christmas Morning

We had a really nice Christmas in Albany this year. We said we weren't going to go overboard with gifts this year since Maggie is so young, but of course - we did! She got a Tickle Me Elmo (Extreme!) - it's hysterical to watch and she absolutely loves it. She also got a mini Dyson vacuum just like Mama's. Since we will likely be away from home most Christmases we've come up with a nice tradition for Maggie. Each year I buy her a special pair of Christmas PJ's and that will be how Santa knows where she is. Maggie really loves being with our families which is the best present we could ever ask for. Seeing her play with my nieces and nephews just like I did when they were her age makes very happy. Overall it was a bitter sweet Christmas without Grandpa there, but Maggie makes everything so much fun that you can't help but smile. We had a good time being with family and watching all of Maggie's antics.

What will you bring?

Dear 2011,
First let me say welcome! We're very glad to see you and to bid goodbye to your friend 2010, which was a very challenging time for our family. I have very high hopes for our relationship and promise to do my best to be my best this year. While I don't want to put too much burden on you in these first few days of your new position, I do have some requests:
1) Please keep our families and friends safe, happy, and healthy.
2) Help us to focus on what is truly important - love.
and finally...
3) Please lock Sarah Palin in Alaska and don't let her out.

With sincere thanks,
The O's

Going Viral

The Wally Spot has been know to my immediate family for a very long time, but for those of you who may not be aware here is a short description. Whenever my dad would pull into a crowded parking lot he always seemed to get that one spot right by the door. No matter how crowded the lot, he always got a good spot. It happened so often we started calling it a Wally Spot. It's been a lot of fun to see the 'Wally Spot' page on FB grow and see people post their own stories about getting a Wally Spot.

So this holiday season as you're doing that last minute shopping and you get that great spot, take a look up to the heavens and say 'thanks' because you just got a Wally Spot!

Here is a photo of a Wally Spot John got at Starbucks, during rush hour. As John said to me "Is it any wonder they're together!"

Peace. Joy. Love.

Our blog has been 'Out of Service' for some time now, but with the new year comes resolutions. So, we have resurrected our blog to facilitate our resolution to keep family close. We hope this will keep people better updated on the comings and goings of our little social butterfly.

Here's a quick wrap-up of all that Maggie has been up to:
-Talking, talking, talking! She repeats absolutely everything, but my favorite things she says are: please and thank you. I've never known a 17 month old to use those words so often and appropriately.
- Walking. She's been doing this since a little before her 1st birthday, but now she's really mastered it. She's working on climbing next.
- Family. Maggie loves looking at pictures of friends and family. She knows so many of her cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents and friends by name. She loves pointing out people in pictures.
- Loss. Unfortunately at only 17 months old Maggie has already experienced the loss of two grandparents. We're grateful that she is too young to understand and that her smile gets us through each day.