Ready for Her Cose-Up...

When Maggie was a couple of weeks old we had a fun little photo shoot at our house with Everest Road Photography. Julie & Jessica took some really great pics of the kids and were such a joy to have in our home. Here are some of our favorites...

While we waited for Miss Maggie to fall asleep - Owen entertained J & J with stories about "Big Truck" and a detailed explanation of how volcanoes work.

 And Miss Rebecca jumped around the room vying for Owen's attention, donning the sweet little bow I put in her hair (she never lets me put stuff in her hair) and Owen's old fireman boots...

 So tricky to get photos of kids together where everyone is looking at the camera and smiling. Then again - who says that's what makes a good photo anyway???

(Rebecca is saying "Um, why is sheeeee getting all the attention?")

 And finally, precious little Maggie. Once asleep, she slept through the entire shoot and let J & J move her around into all those adorable newborn positions you see. We kept it simple - no stuffing her in a bucket or wrapping her in a little knit cocoon (not that there is anything wrong with that if it's your aesthetic). I couldn't have been happier with the outcome.

 (The birth announcement photo - below.) I can't get enough of the little dimple in her chin. And now that she's starting to smile we've noticed one in her right cheek as well. Can't wait to catch the full-on gummy, dimply smile on film!

 I know that bench looks hard - but I promise you she was comfortable. And look how adorable?

 Woke up for just a second.

 Homemade booties by my pretend sister Katie.

 Bummer that Kyle had to work this morning, but they got a few pics of me with my baby.

And while we're talking about Miss M - we had her (late) 2 month check-up yesterday and here are her stats:

 weight: 12 lbs 14 oz (75-90%)

height: 23.5 in (90%)

All is well with her - she's eating well and clearly growing bigger and bigger every day! She can definitely do long stretches at night - usually 7-8 hours. The only problem we're having is that she's not going to bed until around 1am. Yikes. We'll be working on that over the next few weeks. 

She is smiling and cooing and blowing lots of raspberries. Each time she makes a little noise Owen says "she's learning to talk!" She is really focusing on and responding to faces. And she has even started sitting up for short periods in her bumbo chair. Such a big girl and we're all having so much fun watching her develop her own little unique personality...

Nana's Driveway

All of us are really excited to see Nana's new house (built by Uncle Luke, aka Mezger Homes, aka Bob the Builder) in the final stages. Today the concrete for the driveway was poured - which means it was time to leave some hand and foot prints! Considering the big event took place in 100 degree heat during naptime the kids did really well.  

Isn't there a saying about watching cement dry??? Here we are waiting...

Uncle Luke writing the grandkids' names.

Owen wasn't happy about Bailey going first - since he's bigger, how can she be older???

Owen.

Rebecca ran out into some wettish cement earlier - luckily it was wet enough the workers could fix it - so Luke has her in a pretty tight grip.

We decided to do footprints for Blake and Maggie.

 

Maggie slept through the entire event.

Luke and Mel each left a thumb print for Baby Girl B.

In two days we found out their baby is a girl (!) and we know the initials...

What a special driveway. What a blessing our family is.

It's a Girl!

No, Maggie is not going to have a little sister (whew!), but she is going to have another little GIRL COUSIN! Luke and Mel are having a Girl! That'll make 2 boys and 4 girls on the Mezger side (right now the only side for all of us). 

One of the things I adore about my sister-in-law is her delight in a good party...she loves to plan fun gatherings for friends and family as much as I do. Yesterday's "baby gender reveal" party was no exception - such a treat! Check out her blog for more details.

They announced (and found out themselves - brave souls that they are) what they were having by cutting into this cake while we all watched. Pink means girl!

 

Everyone at the party wore pink if they thought the baby was going to be a girl or blue for a boy. Looks like Mel was right!

And since it was only 106 degrees, they had lots of water fun for the kiddos. Here is two-time big sis Bailey mastering the slip-n-slide.

Owen trying to give Bailey a push.

Bailey riding Owen "like a horse".

I forgot about the promise of water activities so I dressed Rebecca in a pink dress - which she promptly took off as soon as we got there (after going through the sprinkler and into the pool first).

Nana couldn't pass up a little snuggle time with her littlest grandbabe - Maggie - especially since she won't be the baby in the family for long! (As you can see - Nana thought Baby B would be a boy, and Maggie was voting for a girl.)

Can't wait to meet Baby Girl B!

Saturday at The Dock

We are blessed to have extended family who are generous with cool places they own. This morning the five of us loaded up and drove to (Great) Uncle Doug's dock on Lake LBJ (Granite Shoals side) to do a little fishing. (Here are a few iPhone pics.)

Kyle and Owen got some quiet time on the dock while me and the girls hung out in the van and finished our breakfast while we watched a Dora - this way the fish didn't get scared away immediately and father and son had a chance to actually catch something!

Their first catch.

Owen is surprisingly good at the casting, waiting and reeling, but he's is still a little funny about touching the fish.

Once the girls joined in, the fishing got good - we caught a total of five little perches!

Rebecca was all about touching Mr. Fish.

Me and Becca with our first catch.

We released them all at the end - but kept them in the fish cooler until we were ready to go - so the kids could watch them. Rebecca liked to say "Hello!" up close and personal. At one point I was afraid she was going to blow bubbles in the water. That would have been progress at the swimming pool, but just gross here. She also like to (gently) kick the cooler to stir them up and watch them swim around and around.

Between the overcast skies and the breeze on the dock it was really pleasant out - I'm honestly surprised I can say that! Owen and Rebecca had a blast and Maggie (as usual) slept through the whole event - what a trooper! Makes me excited for some more outdoor adventures (camping???) in the fall when it cools off...