A Peek at Margo's Birthday Week‏

It wasn’t really planned this way, but Margo’s birthday turned out to be a week-long extravaganza! She had so much fun with all of her mini family celebrations and her big party was a hit!

The Saturday before her birthday, PaPa and GiGi, brought Margo her new red tricycle fully equipped with a flashing flower basket, purple horn and a “You are Loved” license plate. They did not spare a detail and she is really excited about trying to ride it. We have been practicing, although I think it is going to take Margo a while to catch on. She will leave her feet on the peddles and move her legs with them as we push her, so that is a start. They also brought the cutest Elmo and Cookie balloons I have ever seen! After a yummy dinner at Pappasitos, she desperately wanted to take them to bed with her!

I took the day off on Monday, so I could spend Margo’s birthday with her. We filled the hall with balloons and streamers the night before and she wasn’t sure what the heck was going on that morning, but she sure thought it was fun! Her shopping cart and groceries gift were waiting on her play mat and she went around and around and sampled many of the delicacies filling her cart—ha ha! We played at home and headed for Hermann Park to ride the train. Boy, was it a hit! She absolutely loved the ride and we got off at one of the stops to play at the park. Luckily, the weather was amazing and we were getting a tiny taste of fall that day. She begged to ride again and what mother can resist, so we bought a cute little owl that she fell in love with and took one last trip around the park! Margo slept in the car for 15 minutes, which always turns out to be disastrous because she usually will not nap in the afternoon after any kind of cat nap. We had her favorite cheeseburger and fries for lunch and after an hour and a half of playing in bed, I gave up! I altered our afternoon plans knowing she would have an early bedtime and we spent all afternoon on her playset outside (her big birthday gift from her grandparents and us)! After dinner I got several cute little baby cupcakes ready for her. She was scared of the candles and is not a fan of cupcakes, although I was hoping she’d change her mind. After a lot of coaxing and total refusal to try anything, we settled on a cookie and she crashed after her bath, still talking about the “choo choo train”! She has been asking to go back every day since!

During the week, I think she got a gift everyday… a cute outfit from her favorite teacher, awesome pink Tom’s from Carter, bath toys from Lucas, a sparkly purse from her Great Granny Faye and more I am sure I am missing. She loved tearing into the paper and getting new stuff! On Friday my mom came over with more loot and Margo especially fell in love with her new pink house that has all kinds of fun functions, lights and noises. She had dinner with Granny, got to eat a special cookie and loved that Granny gave her her bath!

Then came the big party Saturday! I tried to explain to her that she was having a party and we have a few books about the subject, but she just didn’t get it! When she woke up many of the decorations and treat bags were already out. It was hard to keep her out of everything and keep the house clean. She took an extra long nap and by the time she woke-up it was almost party time. We kept the party simple for two-year olds and just let them play with toys and outside. We did have a pull string piñata—they were clueless, but I think they kind of had fun picking the treats off of the ground and putting them in their bags. I had also planned on doing Pin the Nose on Elmo, but the kids were having so much fun outside, I decided not to complicate things.

The food was really simple, ranging from Elmo’s favorite pizza, Dorothy’s goldfish, Oscar’s Texas trash, Abby’s magic pretzel wands and Sesame Street character cupcakes, among other things. I was really sad to learn that my usual cake person, who makes the best white cake I have ever had, was taking a break, but I ended up with a great, affordable option. I ordered cupcakes from Kroger to be iced in the colors I selected and then I hand decorated them to look like Elmo, Cookie Monster and Oscar. They were so easy to decorate and only $7/dozen!! Quickly becoming a Weaver family tradition was the margarita machine, which was a hit as always. I must admit, I snuck a few sips post-party to reward myself and baby boy Weaver slept great that night—ha ha!

All in all, I think Margo’s birthday week lived up to any kind of a birthday any two year old could ever hope for! I loved showering her with fun and attention and creating wonderful memories with her!

Margo with her awesome birthday stroller after a busy birthday week!

Look Who Turned Two!

Without a doubt, the past two years have been the best of my life because of our sweet, amazing Margo. As we celebrate her second year, I must admit it is a little bitter and a lot sweet. Margo is blossoming into such a bright and happy, wonderful toddler, but she is also slowly relinquishing her babyish ways. I love that she has recently loved to rock with me again and wish I could hold onto those precious, quiet moments forever. I love that she runs into my arms at the sight of me with such enthusiasm and I wish it could stay this way forever. At the same time, she also wants to run away from us at times, exhibits her independence and is slowly learning to trust herself. I know this instinct will continue to become stronger and while I am glad she is growing emotionally as she should, I wish she could be my baby forever.

As Margo goes into her second year, she continues to grow verbally and physically. Her shoe size did not increase for almost a year and just shot up over two sizes! I actually bought three pairs of new shoes that were too small! She is also counting to 11, which I find amazing. One day we were playing and I counted to two or three and she finished the string of numbers. I could not believe my ears! She truly is like a sponge and repeats EVERYTHING we say! We have to start really being careful. Her GiGi caught her saying “shoot”. She has copied me saying “dogawnit” and says funny things like “oh my goodness”—a new favorite phrase! Basically, we are at the point of if we can say it, she can say it. She now fully speaks in small sentences and rarely gives one word responses. She knows how to ask for exactly what she wants and knows how to throw a fit when she doesn’t get it if she’s in the right mood for a tantrum. She asks for either peanut butter or a cheeseburger and fries at almost every meal. She begs to play outside, go to the park, go to the grocery store and whatever she has in mind for the moment. Many times though, she is perfectly content playing in her favorite place—her room, where we play music, dance and read books!



Our girl is also very musical. She can recognize the piano playing in a song and knows the words to several songs like London Bridges, Twinkle Little Star, This Old Man, C is for Cookie, Elmo’s World and If You’re Happy and You Know it! We will definitely be putting her in piano lessons when she gets older, which is also supposed to help with math skills. As our offspring, she needs all the help she can get in that area! This video is long, but the best dancing video ever captured with her new birthday piano!



She loves to be outside more than anything and I am so welcoming this cooling weather, so we can have lots of outdoor activities! She cannot stand to be messy, doesn’t like food or dirt on her hands, hates the sand and already seems afraid of bugs! I have been forcing her to play outside without shoes, so she can get used to being a little dirty and I refuse to wipe her hands until she is finished eating even though she complains about the mess.

And so far, while I can definitely say she is challenging at times, I would not yet call this the “terrible” twos and hope that it never really gets that hard. Don’t get me wrong, Margo knows how to throw a fit and is actually quite hard to discipline. She thinks us yelling or being firm with her is a complete and total riot and laughs hysterically when she goes to time out. Sometime, we have to put her back in time out, Super-Nanny style, upwards of 20 times until she actually gets it. Even then, she rarely cries and will finally sit there for the required two minutes. The thing is, there are many days she doesn’t go to time out at all and then some days where she may go to time out five times. I think it depends on her sleep almost entirely. Our challenges that we are using discipline for right now are sitting still during diaper changes, dumping her food or throwing it on the floor and hanging/crashing into the blinds. Otherwise, she is our usual delight most of the time. She may whine for something or even cry her eyes out if she doesn’t get what she wants when she wants it, but my typical method is to ignore it or distract her until she gets over it.

Her Two Year Stats are:
Weight: 25 lbs & 45%
Height: 34" & 56%
Head: 31%

I could go on and on boring you with the details of Margo’s exciting two-year old life! She is a true ray of sunshine, has so much personality and does the funniest things everyday! She brings me more joy than I could ever put into words and I celebrate her precious little life with the fullest heart a mama could ever have!

Happy Happy Joy, It’s a BOY!!!

My last post was written before we found out the gender, but not posted until after. I decided to just write a new post…

For my 1st trimester prenatal screening and ultrasound, I had it done at a genetics facility. They told me a gender test, that is 99% accurate, was included in my co-pay. Me being the anxious preparer I am did not hesitate for a moment! The results were supposed to take 7-10 business days, but when a week later (5 business days) my OB/Gyn said he got the great results of the screening (our boy is healthy!!), I hoped that meant the gender test was ready too. That day I called the toll-free number three times with one last ditch effort at about 9 pm. Low and behold… the results were in! After listening to the results about the screening, the voice very casually said, “And for the gender test, you are having a little boy! Congratulations!” Cary and I looked at each other wide eyed and called it back to make sure we heard correctly!

All this time, I thought it was a girl because I was quite sick with Margo too. We had been actively debating girl names, had finally settled on something and had a plan for room transitions, etc… BUT, after it has sunk in… we realize we are soooooooooo EXCITED and blessed! God is giving us what so many families hope for—the perfect balance of a boy and girl! Cary, of course, cannot wait to teach him all about football and pick out his first pair of cowboy boots! I am already planning for elephants in his room and bought a cute little picture I had spotted about a month ago that says, “You’re kind of a big deal!” And he is a big deal in so many amazing ways! Cary, Margo and I cannot wait to meet this boy!