19 Months

It seems like every month I’m another day behind on getting Maisy’s monthly posts done, but I’m determined to keep these going until she’s 2!  Here’s what our 19 month old is up to these days:

• She weighs 23 pounds and continues to be in the 25th percentile for her weight.  Her height is between the 75th & 90th percentile.
• She wears size 18 month clothes and size 5 shoes.  If she had it her way she’d wear brothers shirts & pants, Mommy’s shoes, and Daddy’s hats…that’s how we normally find her strolling around the house after she has helped herself to various people’s clean clothes!
• She is such a little snacker.  She walks around the kitchen with her arms in the air saying “Help! Help! Help!” because she wants someone to pick her up so she can pick a snack out of the cabinet.  Her favorite snacks are goldfish, fruit snacks, grapes, blueberries, and popsicles.
• She hasn’t had her paci since the day she threw it out the window (she definitely gave us an easy way to get rid of it!) It seems like she has started talking a lot more now that she doesn’t have it.  Some new words/phrases are: my turn, good job mama, bad girl.  She says “I” and “thats” in front of things now like I draw, I drink, I potty, that’s Momma, that’s Dada, that’s Brother.
• Her & Ryder play a lot together now, it seems like whatever one is doing the other is either doing the same thing or close by playing with something different.  They love to both hold onto a rope and run around the house saying “Choo Choo!” In the bath tub they play “Jack in the Box” where I sing the music and they each take turns popping up.  They crack each other up, it’s pretty funny.
• She experienced her first snow this month and loved it! She loves to be outside in any type of weather!
• Her favorite thing to do at any time of day is to lay in our bed and watch Bubble Guppies! 

I feel like she’s going to turn 2 before I know it!!  I sure do miss her little baby stage, but I love watching her learn and grown into this adorable little toddler she has become. :)

Whirlwind

What a whirlwind the past few weeks have been!  A stomach bug came through our house and knocked me and Alan down for a few days!  That was absolutely miserable.  We each quarantined ourselves to the bedroom and had to call an Emergency pick-up from Nana, trying our best to keep the kids away from the nasty germs.  We lucked out and neither of them caught it, from US.  But 2 weeks later Ryder caught it anyway, probably from school.  So now Maisy is the only lucky one, hopefully it stays that way!

 

                 

In the midst of all that, we celebrated my Aunt Annie’s 50th Birthday and we also had a fun lunch to celebrate Lindsay & Baby Noah.  Nick & Lindsay’s newest addition is coming in March and we are all anxiously awaiting his arrival.  Seeing all that baby stuff instantly gives me butterflies, thinking about my own babies fitting into those tiny clothes.  No, don’t get any ideas, we are not planning any new Marsh’s any time in the near future.  We have our hands more than full right now!

 

I love watching them eat cake, they both go into a cake daze!  There aren’t many things that they actually sit down and focus on these days…but cake, they will surely sit still for that!

We also celebrated my 29th Birthday!!  I am now hanging onto my 20’s by a thread!  My Mother of course showered me with a Birthday week that started off with a shopping trip and continued throughout the week with meals and little surprises! It ended with a family dinner at her house. 

 

My sister in law made me this fabulous cake!  YUMMM!!

Alan has always thought this whole “Birthday week” thing is a little ridiculous but we’re starting to rub off on him.  He sent flowers to my work one day, took me shopping one day, and dinner a different day!  This is my 12th Birthday I’ve got to celebrate with him by my side!  Love that guy.

 

 

We got our first snow of the Winter (Maisy’s first ever!) and the kids loved our little adventure in the front yard.   We had just enough snow to get a day off work & school, make snow angels, eat snow cones, and get back inside to warm up with hot chocolate!

 

 

We all worked together and built an igloo with as much snow as we could gather!  Ryder is learning about the letter I in school so I got to go visit him the other day at school and we built Igloo’s out of icing & sugar cubes :)

Does anyone remember when we got so much snow that Daddy & Uncle G built THIS igloo?!

 

I’m trying to get THAT much snow again! 

Maisy turned 19 Months Old and Ryder got his very first REPORT CARD!  Those both deserve posts of their own though, so stay tuned!

Maisy Movies!

Oh this little girl.  Now that she is talking and understanding things it is so fun to have little conversations with her!  She keeps us laughing!!

Any time she is near my phone or the computer she says “Bruva sing, Bruva sing, Bruva sing” over and over and over and over because her favorite video ever to watch is the video of Ryder singing at Church.  She would seriously watch it on repeat a million times if she could.  She sings along, adds her little dance moves, and laughs and claps.  It’s almost as entertaining watching her watch him, as it is watching the actual video!

Please ignore the vocals on this next clip and just enjoy the cuteness!

Girls Day!

For Christmas I got a gift certificate to get a manicure and pedicure, some much needed pampering and relaxing time!  My mother-in-law made our appointments for Saturday and I was supposed to find a babysitter.  BUT you know how that goes, so needless to say we had another girl joining us on our Girls Day.  It ended up working out perfectly because Maisy absolutely LOVED doing the whole nail thing!  By the time it was over we actually felt guilty for thinking about not bringing her. 

 

This is definitely the first of many Mommy/Daughter pedicures I see in our future! 

 

After pedicures we had lunch…

Then of course a shopping trip to Wal-Mart…

 

And that was more than enough girl action for this little gal!  She crashed!

     

We had a fun Girls Day and can’t wait to do it again!

In Christ Alone

On Saturday, December 15th 2012, a dear friend of ours took his final breath and ended an unfair battle with Cancer.  James was 32 years old.  The father of 4 beautiful young children.  The husband to an amazing wife, one of my favorite people.  Why did this have to happen to them?!

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm

I can barely even find the words to type this post.  Not many things leave me speechless, but this.  This just leaves me without words.  Only a lump in my throat, hurt in my heart, and tears.  Tears for Erica, losing not just her husband but her very best friend.  He was the love of her life, they met and married young, I don’t think she ever pictured a day in her future that he wouldn’t be a part of.  Tears for those babies…four of them.  Alyssa, Karley, James, and Emma who were blessed with an amazing father.  A rare thing these days.  But they had one!  And they don’t get to keep him.  Tears for James having to fight such a harsh disease, to face his destiny, and have to say goodbye.  He said goodbye to Alan during a visit the night before he passed.  Alan can’t even talk about it without tears streaming.  It just all seems so wrong. 

What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

It seems wrong, but I know it’s right.  I know from being a Christian my entire life, that this is life.  This life is just a vapor compared to the Eternity that we get to spend with Jesus.  A perfect eternity, where cancer, and tears, and heartache don’t exist.  I know that’s where James is already.  At his memorial service his Pastor told the story of James getting saved.  A story I will never forget.  It was that little glimpse of hope that everyone there needed to hear.  It was still so hard though, hard to say goodbye and accept the reality that he was really gone.

 No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny

When I think of them I think of this song, In Christ Alone.  The only way James could find peace with this situation was through Christ.  Can you imagine??  I can’t!  But I know if I were faced with it, that Jesus would meet me there.  Just like He did for James.  I know that He is comforting Erica and getting her through each day, one day at a time.  I can’t imagine.  But I know He would meet any of us there, if we let Him.  What an inspiration they are to all of us!

No power of hell, no scheme of man
Could ever pluck me from His hand
Until He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I stand

To this sweet family:  We will do whatever we can to be there for you guys and help keep James’ memory alive.  We love you and are so very sorry for your loss. :(

A Little Walk

There’s really not much to say about this walk.  We spent the weekend at home with not much to do.  So we went for a walk.  As a family.  We were together.  It was so special to me.

           

I pray that we always have each other to enjoy these simple treasures with!

Bye-Bye Paaaa

That would be baby talk for Goodbye Pacifier!!! 

Last Wednesday I came home from dropping Ryder off at Awana and when I came in the door Alan told me Maisy had something to tell me.  She told me her first little story!

Maisy: Paaaaaaaa (paci)

walking toward the window

Maisy:  Beee-Beeee (Beasley)

pointing out the window

Maisy: Chewwwww

Mommy: What!  You threw your Paci out the window and Beasley chewed it up???

Maisy: MmmHmmm … All Gone!

And just like that, her paci is all gone.  She has not had one since!

Bye Bye Paaaaa!