Cary gave me the best Mother’s Day treat with a weekend away in New Braunfels. It was our first family trip alone, on our own agenda, and it was fantastic! During our weekend we spent a lot of time at the famous and beautiful Landa park. Margo loves nothing more than to be outside, so this was our best option. She spent hours on the swing and they had a wonderful toddler play ground with a neat fire truck to climb on and easily accessible slides and toys. Her favorite new thing on the play ground was the disc you sit in and spin around in. Margo squeeled with laughter every time and would fall over dizzy afterward. It was so cute! We also fed the ducks twice, but Margo didn’t really catch on to the concept until the very end. Instead, she stuffed the bread in her mouth and enjoyed the taste of cheap white bread! Last but not least, Margo took a few train rides and I think she was quite impressed and in awe because she remained near expressionless—ha ha! However, since we have been back, every time we hear the trains from our house she says “choo choo”.
We ate at our favorite restaurants… Pat’s and Huisache and enjoyed the great view we had at the fun Gristmill, although my steak was inedible. We also hit up the wonderful Children’s Museum in NB, which is only $5 and Margo had so much fun. She LOVED shopping in the pretend grocery store, dancing to the old fashioned radio, the music exhibit outside was a huge hit and she had a fascination with the rings at the water exhibit and lined them up all the way on her arms like bracelets. It was really cute!
On Mother’s Day, we had a special treat and met my best friend, Razil, and her family at Landa Park for Rudy’s BBQ and some playtime for the kids. Although it was a quick visit, it was so great to lay my eyes on her precious kids and get a big hug. Olivia is such a sweet little girl and tried to interact with Margo who just doesn’t know how to play with others very well yet. I got to hold and smell baby Jonas who is a chunk of sweet baby love! Margo was so exhausted that she slept the ENTIRE drive home! You have no idea what a feat that is for her… she usually sleeps only about 45 minutes max in the car.
It was different going to bed at 9 pm on vacation, but we woke-up early and refreshed each day and I think that made us enjoy our trip even more! Cary and I long to be back in NB. It is such a quaint, slower paced, little slice of heaven in the hill country and our year there was some of the most memorable times in our lives. It was truly special spending Mother’s Day with my most favorite people on earth in my favorite place on earth!
In April, we took our second trip to the zoo… this time with daddy and now that Margo is older, she seemed much more aware and really enjoyed it. We went on a weekday as soon as it opened while it was still nice outside. You could hear the monkeys howling like crazy all the way in the parking lot! However, by the time we got to the monkeys they had calmly settled in for the day.
Lots of animals were out and about, but lots weren’t. I received a recommendation to go in the morning because there would be more animals out and awake, but I found that many of them were still asleep or MIA and it wasn’t much different than going in the afternoon. Nonetheless, after a great tour of the elephants, lions, bears and monkeys we made a final stop to the children’s area. Margo was ready to get out of the stroller and play. She loved pressing the buttons for the animal sounds and especially loved the playground… it is clearly the simple things! It was a great visit and I look forward to many more trips to the lovely Houston Zoo!
Gosh, I cannot believe that we are nearing the two year mark and what fun Margo is at this age! She seriously does something that either cracks me up or amazes me every day. Margo changes on a daily basis and I can see what a “sponge” she has become as babies this age are often described. I have completely lost count of all of her words at this point, but her vocabulary is quite extensive and I am certain she has single words in the several hundreds. In the past month, she has begun to put two words together in a few instances, such as “Hi and bye + the name”, “Excuse you”, “All gone” and just last night when I sneezed she said, “Bless you”! Sometimes I wonder where in the world she learns these things—this is what I mean about being amazed every day! She knows all kinds of animals including the octopus, reindeer, fox, hippo and many more. She can identify by name all of the primary colors including pink—naming colors has actually become one of her favorite activities this month.
She still loves music, asks to turn it on every day and will shake her bootie like you would not believe. I don’t know where she got it, but our girl has some serious rhythm . Her favorite songs of the moment are the “ABCs” which she can sing but not clearly and “Rain Rain Go Away” which she sings even when the sun is shining bright. She is also into saying everyone’s names, which I think they are practicing this a lot in school. Usually it only takes meeting someone one time, repeating their name a few times and she says it and remembers it if she sees a picture. Matter of fact, we have a birthday invitation on the fridge for a boy named Ryder who she saw a month or so ago. Last week, she pointed at the fridge and started repeating his name over and over. I could not believe my ears that she had remembered! Cary has an elephant’s memory and clearly she inherited this from him. I on the other hand, suffer from a serious case of CRS on a daily basis.
This month we have gone swimming a few times and it had been since last summer, so I wasn’t sure how Margo would respond. At her friend Alexis’ birthday party I plopped her right in the water and she did great, but it was just on the steps around the edges and I think she felt safe and in control. On Memorial Day weekend, my sweet sister and brother-in-law set-up an awesome baby pool for Margo. Arrggghhh, she never even sat down in the water. I think I was pushing her too hard to jump right in and it had the reverse effect. Finally, we went swimming at my niece Catie’s summer place and we took our time adjusting to the water. She was scared and fussed quite a bit, but by the end of the swim date she loved it and was going back in forth between Catie and I and even letting go of us and floating. Ever since, Margo has been enamored with Catie, so it was clearly such a great experience for her! We will be having lots of fun in the baby pool and going to the big pool this summer! Might I add, unlike me, Margo is crazy tan! I cannot believe how brown she has already gotten and I put sunscreen on her almost every day! I think she inherited her PaPa Ron’s olive complexion, thank goodness. The one thing I hoped she wouldn’t get from me was my freakishly white skin!
Margo’s most favorite thing this month is swinging. She will swing for a solid hour and has no interest in any other activities at the park. Every day, one of the first things she says is “Park and Swing”. Thank goodness, I just found a great swing under a huge shade tree that will be more enjoyable in the summer heat. We have a swing in the back yard, but it is not to her liking and she refuses to get in it… silly girl! I have a feeling we will clock more hours swinging this summer than just about anything else.
In my last update, we were working hard at Margo’s dexterity. I am happy to report that in a few short months, she has mastered stacking blocks and has maxed out at nine high. She has also mastered sorting shapes like a champ. She has become much better at using her hands and even made homemade shakers, placing lots of little colored beads in a bottle with ease.
This month I decided to buy a potty to introduce to Margo since she had started to tell me before she goes poop. I am not going to push her with potty training, but she likes to sit on it and we talk about the potty when we are in the bathroom. Much to my surprise, when she told me she had to go that first week we got it, I removed her diaper and sure enough, she pooped in the potty. Another time, she was in the bath saying she had to poop. In a quick effort to avoid an accident in the bath, I scooped her out and sat her on the potty… she peed. My guess is she does not understand the difference between #1 and #2. A week later, she was suffering terribly from constipation. Without getting too graphic, she had been screaming terribly trying to go almost 10 times. We finally had success when I sat her on the potty!! However, because it was painful she has been resistant to try it again. I am giving her a break because I know she is not emotionally or quite physically ready, but I think ultimately she is going to be easy to potty train once we decide to get serious about it.
Last, but not least, we have entered the land of the toddler appetite slump and extreme pickiness. My once amazing eater who would devour any vegetable hates them now. Her diet has become limited to lots of grains, the occasional fruit/veggie and cheese. I can barely get her to eat any meat, although if it’s the right day she will still enjoy a fish stick or cheeseburger for a treat. She still loves sweet potato fries and loves the dried snap pea crisps which are actually quite healthy. She despises some of her old favorites like asparagus, beans, blueberries and turkey. It is challenging trying to find ways to sneak in healthy things, but she loves eggs, peanut butter and I do not feed her any white foods. I have started her on a daily vitamin with iron to make up for the lack of nutritious foods and am just trying not to worry about it. I am serving her well balanced meals and she can choose to eat or not eat them. For example, the other night I gave her meatloaf, potatoes, lima beans and apple slices. All she ate was the apples and she drank her milk. I didn’t offer her anything else and she was fine. I figure she’ll eat when she is ready and I am not going to start offering less healthful options just so she will eat. Her weight and size is healthy and she is happy, so I am just trying to go with the flow with this whole eating strike!
So… that’s that! Everything about this age is fun and rewarding and amazing! I love being a mother beyond all explanation. This past Mother’s Day I found it kind of funny that I was being celebrated because really I think it is the best, most wonderful thing in the world being a mother. I do not need to be thanked for doing my God-given job. It is a blessing and a privilege to be Margo’s mommy and I cannot wait for all that is yet to come!
This spring, the Weaver’s World has been busy busy busy. There have been many celebrations in the past few months… of life lost, enduring love and most importantly, of Christ’s Resurrection!
My dear Uncle Wilson passed away in March and although it has been a difficult loss, our family is also relieved that he is no longer suffering from the effects of a traumatic brain injury sustained while herding cattle five years ago. He was such a fun man and a great uncle! He had a sparkle in his eye and was described as larger than life, to say the least. He was a cowboy, a Christian, a recovered alcoholic who was proud to admit it, an amazing friend to so so many and was loved by all! He was a giver, a thinker, a comedian without even knowing it and so much more. He couldn’t sit still and I will never forget the way he held my hand with his big rough cowboy hand -- he would fiddle will my fingers non-stop. He lovingly named me “Wild in the Streets” at the age of two, a name probably still fitting even a few years ago until I finally settled down and became a mama. His horses were his closest companions, as he never married, but that did not mean he had a lack of love. He was magnetic and everyone adored him. From his obituary, “Wilson loved his mother, AA, swimming holes, Blue Bell, puppies and other peoples' children. Wilson's last audible prayer was that ‘God to give him a good horse and a home on the range.’” I have been mourning my Uncle Wilson since his injury and it was very difficult to see him in such a sad state. I know he is free now and find so much peace in that!
Cary’s parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary in April!! I did not grow up in a home with parents that loved each other in a healthy way. Cary’s parents have been such a wonderful example to me of what a loving couple should be. They have been through incredibly difficult obstacles in their lives, but have always managed through the tough times as true partners, seeing each other through even the darkest times in the most loving way possible. They truly put one another first and it shows in their beautiful relationship. We treated them to a yummy dinner at my local favorite place, Tiny Boxwoods. The food is very good (not excellent), but the atmosphere is amazing and the desserts are to die for!! Margo enjoyed running around on the super soft grass and digging through the rocks at the adjoining nursery. We had a great time, enjoying wine and interesting food on the beautiful patio, and we finished off our meal with the most amazing fresh warm doughnuts that literally melted in our mouths.
Next came Easter which Margo had a great time with. I think this was her first holiday where she kind of got it—the fun part at least—and it made being a mommy so neat! She started the celebrations at school and her teachers remarked that she must have been practicing for the egg hunt because she did so well. She had never even seen an Easter egg, so it turns out she is just a natural—ha ha! Margo is a busy busy body and is very observant. While the other kids were more focused on the playground equipment, I imagine she thought those eggs were lots of colorful balls and went right after them! On Easter Sunday, she woke up early as usual and found her basket of goodies hiding under the bathroom counter that the Easter bunny left. She went through each item one by one, ate bunny grahams for an early breakfast and immediately wanted to read her new Sesame Street bunnies book. Later we went to my sister’s house for an early dinner and Margo’s cousins had created an awesome Easter egg hunt for her. She was ready to go with her basket and was more excited about the eggs than what was inside them, funny girl! Margo’s cousins are so sweet to her and she loves to play with them, so she had such a great time. Dinner was sooooo yummy and Alan’s apricot glazed pork tenderloin was especially good! My sangria made me loopy after one glass, but it sure was tasty! We are so blessed to have such precious time with our family and I treasure the moments and the memories made, especially for Margo.
Last but not least, I had my first sister’s weekend away since Margo’s birth and Cary kept Margo on his own. Needless to say, he did such a fantastic job with her!! I was gone for three nights, the longest ever, and I loved having an adult break, even though I missed my sweet girl. My mom helped out the first night, but Cary was on his own the next two days and he mastered the bath and bedtime like a champ. I have not done a good job of delegating these important parenting jobs to Cary since I am a bit of a control freak and he has been hesitant. Now I know he can do it, probably better than me, so he will be taking over more often now. And… although my visit was bittersweet because we went to my Uncle Wilson’s funeral, it was also sooooooo good to go home. Midland will always be my home. I grew up there, born and raised, and I am so glad my sister and my grandmother are still there to go home to. I got to eat my favorite Mexican food ever, chat with my family without interruption, enjoy the awesome West Texas weather and sleep with my beloved earplugs—ha ha!
The past few months have been busy, but good for the most part. I am ready for some boring weekends with nothing to do… I am a homebody and not so much of a go go go type of person, so I am looking forward to a more relaxed May with my sweet family that I adore so much!
I am behind on our blog as the past few months have been nothing less than chaotic! Margo has barely had a break from sickness, we have been making repairs and painting our house (what a mess) and I have had a HUGE project at work that has been all consuming!
Excuses aside, Margo is doing fantastic! You would never know she is under the weather about 75% of the time because she is so darn happy! A week ago Margo had a 102 fever and double ear infection and was dancing away and laughing like crazy. I had no idea she was so ill until we went to the MD. She is our little delight and is so much fun. I am hoping as we move into summer and her little body gets more used to the exposure to germs at school, all of this sickness will be behind us.
Margo’s 18 Month Stats were as follows: Weight: 23 lbs (51%) Height: 31” (the MD inputted it wrong as 33.5” which had her way up in the growth chart, I think we are more like 50%) Head: 45.5 cm (27%)
Margo is fascinated with everything Sesame Street, especially Elmo and Cookie Monster. I still do not allow TV and she is not really interested, but she loves watching Sesame Street videos on YouTube. I will sit her in the computer chair and manage to get a few things done while she watches, mesmerized, for at least 10-15 minutes. She dances, sings and claps her hands to the songs… it is so cute! One of the first things Cary bought Margo was a little cookie monster that attached to the car seat and she has loved the characters ever since—it is funny that she likes them so much despite not watching them on TV.
Margo is also doing exceptionally well verbally. I would say she has at least 50 words, but most likely more since I quit counting a few months ago. I can understand most of what she says and she can point at most any picture in a book and name it—examples of some of her newest words are flower, snack, butterfly, grass, squirrel and the list goes on and on. She loves to go “side” (outside) and ride in the “car car” to go places. She can identify by pointing and can name almost all body parts including eyes, nose, mouth, eyebrows, hair, head, ears, arm, toes, hand, leg and belly. She can also identify and say the shapes heart, circle and star. She loves to look at herself in the mirror, kiss herself, dance and sing to herself, make funny faces, etc… it is so funny to watch!
Margo loves loves loves to sing! I would say she spends at least half of the day singing while she plays, rides in the car, etc... Most of what she sings I cannot understand, but she can sing Ba Ba Black Sheep and The Wheels on the Bus in her own special little way where you can catch some of the words and she definitely has the tune down. She can also do the hokey pokey which is her new favorite dance! And laughter… the music to my ears… is abundant in her little world and in our home!
Margo loves to copy everything we do. She is constantly wiping the floor and other surfaces, her nose, my nose, she puts her finger to her lips for “shhh”, brushes her hair, puts q-tips in her ears, etc… She has become an expert at giving and blowing kisses and even gives lovies to many inanimate objects such as a cup or random toy such as a ball. She waves to everyone and everything that passes by. She is so affectionate, she melts my heart a million times a day. She runs into my arms and smothers me with hugs and kisses all the time. She can identify all of her grandparents by picture and can name “GiGi”, “Grannie” and Grandpa is “PaPa”.
Margo has adjusted beautifully to daycare and especially loves her teacher, Dina. I love getting all of her little craft projects and seeing the results of her learning and socialization. We did have an incident already where she was bitten by a classmate—HARD. There was a terrible bruise and mark—thank goodness it did not break the skin. Cary was mad beyond belief and was ready to yank her out. It took lots of people explaining that this is common to calm him down. I just hope Margo doesn’t pick up too many bad habits in school as a result of her peer’s bad behavior.
Just in the past month, Margo has begun to show a bit of defiance. She is starting to throw mini-tantrums when she wants something. I just walk away, but I know the older she gets, the harder it will become to manage. Cary and I are not on the same page discipline wise. He is such a softie and I am the bad guy. He says “no” in the softest, most ineffective tone and laughs at everything she does that is bad. We are going to have to work on being consistent to teach her properly. I love that he is such a sucker for our sweet girl though. Cary is an amazing dad and plays with Margo and loves her so very much. I love watching them interact and act silly. Cary and I are so opposite that it offers her a great balance of our different traits.
In the next few months we will be working on Margo’s dexterity. Unfortunately, she inherited her mommy’s poor coordination and is not great with stacking blocks, sorting shapes and doing puzzles. She also doesn’t have the attention span for those things, so I will just continue to work with her as much as possible. I think usually kids have one strength either verbally or physically and Margo definitely got the verbal side. Either way, she is flourishing and I could not be more fulfilled being a mother! Margo is incredibly sweet, well-behaved and smart. How did we get so lucky?!? I thank the good Lord each and every day for our beautiful girl who has brought us so much joy!
Margo’s 16th month has been action packed! For starters, Margo started school two days a week in January. It has been painful and hard some days with two hours of crying and other days it has been wonderful and easy with only 10 minutes of crying! On her 5th week at school, she was finally dropped off without tears. I think Margo was made for school and the socialization it fosters. She is a sweet baby with lots of energy and it is clear that she thoroughly enjoys the interaction and new experiences by her happy demeanor when she gets home. I cannot believe she has mastered napping on a mat, coloring with crayons and so many other things since she started. Margo especially loves one of her teachers, Ms. Dina, hugging her and sitting in her lap. Her favorite activities at school include dancing, singing, playing outside and reading books.
The hardest part about school is that Margo has already been sick a lot, as predicted. She suffered from her first ear infection and has been perpetually congested for almost four weeks! Surprisingly though, I love her school and how great it has been for her. It has not been as hard for me to lose control and not be “in the know” as expected. When Margo was at home, I could call and get reports as many times a day as I wanted. After several weeks of relinquishing control and giving her care up to God, I now only call once a day! I actually like knowing she is in a structured environment and I know that she is getting educational and social stimulation that was lacking at home. Plus, she is building up immunities that will keep her well in school when it really matters.
This month, we visited my best friend, Razil, and her precious family in San Antonio. Razil has a new four month old baby boy who is beyond adorable and a beautiful three year old blondie, Olivia. It was fun to see Olivia’s blossoming personality and watch Margo interact with her. I also loved the snuggles I got to experience with little Jonas. Razil is one of those friends I am certain I will have for life and it is neat watching one another “grow up”, build a family, etc… As we were finishing our second glass of wine one night and heading to bed, we laughed at the thought of how different it would have been just a few years ago. We probably would have been pounding beers and staying up until the wee hours. It’s amazing how time changes so many things, but not the bond of friendship.
During our visit to San Antonio, Margo got to meet her Great Uncle, Wilson, for the 1st time. Wilson is my dear uncle who suffered a traumatic brain injury several years ago and sadly, resides in a home for disabled people. It was obvious how happy Wilson was to meet our precious Margo and I am so glad we got to bring a little joy to his otherwise sad existence. As you read this, please say a little prayer for Wilson’s peace and comfort.
Developmentally, Margo is growing in leaps and bounds. Every single day she does something that amazes me. One day I asked her to bring me her shoes and I couldn’t believe she understood. Another time I told her to eat another bite of fish before I gave her more grapes and she did it. She is also a talking machine! Her vocabulary consists of at least 25 discernible words—some she says often, others not. Some of her new words include shoes, keys, spoon, baby, car and she can even say blueberry. I cannot understand a lot of her gibberish, which makes me feel bad because I know she is trying to tell me something.
She can recognize the color blue and almost all types of animals. She knows most of her body parts including ears, hands and toes and has a new fascination for eyebrows. She loves to sing and even mimics Elmo’s song as seen in the video below. Matter of fact, she is starting to mimic everything from the way I read a book (see video), to brushing her hair, sticking q-tips in her ears (scary, I know), wiping her nose, cleaning the floor, etc… She helps brush her teeth, scrub her belly, get herself dressed and desperately tries to put on her shoes.
Her favorite things are still her books, balls, stuffed animals (dogs especially) and she is starting to like her dolls. She gives her dolls and animals lovies, kissing them, cuddling them, feeding them snacks and rocking them—melt my heart! She loves nothing more than to be outside and cannot sit in one place for more than a minute. Margo loves playing our own little version of hide and seek in the house and screams in delight when we find each other. She is a true blessing… sweet, easy, funny and the most affectionate and loving child a parent could ever ask for. There is nothing better than your child running into your arms, giving you an unexpected kiss or patting your back in an embrace—it is love in the purest sense and it brings my heart so much joy!
Christmas would have been perfect, EXCEPT… the night before Christmas Eve Margo decided to cut her first two molar teeth. At the time I thought she was sick, but a few days later at the MD we learned that she had two little molars peeking through. Being the lunatic I am , I decided it would be easier and better with Margo if we hosted both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at our house with our two families. Although this was a little stressful, it would have been fine had I slept more than 1 or 2 hours the night before Christmas Eve. Margo had fever that was not well controlled with meds and was waking every 30 minutes. I finally let her sleep on my chest on the couch for a few hours. On Christmas Eve she did pretty well with meds, but did have some crying spells like I have never experienced before where she was almost inconsolable. I never even really knew she was teething with her first teeth. Nonetheless, teeth behind us and on to my exhausted, but still wonderful Christmas!
Thank goodness my dad and his sweet wife, Connie, were in town because I could not have made it without their help. We had lunch for 12 at noon on Christmas Eve and despite the crummy way I felt it went off pretty well. It was special treat to have my sister, Shannon, in town with her twins along with my dad and sister, Laura. I made a pork roast in the Crockpot with cranberries and holiday spices that was not fantastic, but was okay and easy. The sides were all yummy and we got some stuff from Whole Foods that was good—I highly recommend the caramelized leek and bacon mashed potatoes! My sister brought fabulous desserts including an amazing red velvet cake from Dessert Gallery. We had lunch, opened tons of gifts (everyone was way too generous and I love my new Kate Spade bag, Laura) and sang Happy Birthday to Jesus before enjoying dessert. Margo’s cousins were so sweet to her and were a great distraction and she only started to get fussy toward the end when she also clearly needed a long nap. The day did feel a bit rushed for everyone to make church, but it seems that is the case every year. The cold nasty rain kept us cozy indoors and we had the afternoon to clean up and recover in preparation for the next day.
The night of Christmas Eve was fun preparing for Margo’s Santa stuff. Dad and Connie bought Margo an awesome wagon complete with cup holders, an umbrella and more! Fortunately, my handy dad was there to put it together or Cary and I might have strangled each other before it was all said and done. I few glasses of wine made me feel better and everything else was easy to set out. Margo received a Pottery Barn chair, an activity cube, books from Santa’s reindeer and other small things including her stocking stuffers. I must say, with the wagon and her other gifts from family, she made quite a haul! She only woke once in the night with a low grade fever and slept until 6:30 am the next morning, thank goodness. She was much improved in the morning and seemed to have fun with all her new toys from Santa although she clearly had no idea what in the world was going on. It was a fun memory and the only thing missing was her Christmas jammies, which I am still sad about. I went to six stores in the Galleria, finally found a pair at Hannah Anderson that was pricey, but I was desperate. Got home only to learn they were the wrong size (because they have this weird European sizing) and when I called they didn’t have any in her size in stock. Cary went to the Gap the next day, got a precious pair, only to discover that the top was the right size and the bottoms were 2T. Christmas jammies were not meant to be this year. Maybe God was trying to tell me not to sweat the small stuff!
Dad and Connie said goodbye at 7:30 am, so they could head to San Antonio to visit my sweet Uncle Wilson who is in a home for brain injured adults. We were sad to see them go so early, but grateful for our precious time together which is all too infrequent. Cary and I actually managed to relax, drink coffee, play with Margo, open our other gifts, etc… until his parent’s arrived around noon. Thank goodness for their help, I was able to shower and reheat leftovers in plenty of time before Cary’s cousin and aunt arrived and we all had a wonderful afternoon together! Margo only needed one dose of Advil and put on a show for all of us, dancing in her chair, kissing her new baby doll and showing off her gymnastic skills doing somersaults! She was happy on Christmas Day and I was so grateful for that! It was a relaxing afternoon with family and Margo brought so much joy to all of us that day!
The day after Christmas Margo was pretty much back to normal and although it was hard surviving Christmas with the sleep deprivation and my heart hurting for my sweet baby who was clearly suffering, we were with family and there is nothing more important! It was a wonderful time to reflect on the gift of our Savior and treasure our time together!
Love this photo by my dad, captures Christmas in the best possible way!
Cary and I are just as much in love as we were when we married twelve years ago. We welcomed our sweet Margo into the world in September 2010! Baby David made his arrival in January 2013 and we could not be more thrilled! Our family is perfect in our eyes and complete!
