Welcome Jack!

Welcome Jack: Oct. 1st, 2011
A healthy 10 lbs 10 oz and 22.5 inches long.

Testing out the new mobile app...

Hopefully we'll be able to update this big more often now. :)

Daddy's Little Helper

While up in Caseville for the weekend, Maggie decided to help Daddy do a little grocery shopping at the local IGA.

For Daddy...

Happy Mother's Day 2010

Happy Mother's day Mommy. I still love you with all my heart! -Maggie

Imagination Station - Toledo Ohio

While Becki was working a chocolate show in Oregon Ohio, Maggie and Dad decided to check out the newly renamed "imagination station" in downtown Toledo. Toledo.... who would have thought? It was surprisingly very nice and had a beautiful location right on the Maumee river. We look forward to coming back in the summer time (perhaps by boat?) and exploring the outdoor attractions.

The imagination station is very similar to the Ann Arbor Hands-On-Museum. Many, many, many science and learning based attractions geared toward children. Maggie probably had the most in the black right room with the walls of mirrors:

What a Fun Weekend!

Busy, busy, busy and fun!

We started out yesterday morning by going to the Nursery School Olympics. What a great event! They had probably close to 20 different activities for toddlers and pre-schoolers. Every 'event,' like the Obstacle Course, the Marshmallow Shot-Put, the Big Wheel Race and the Pirate Tug-of-War had a special sticker to put on your sheet that listed the events (so you could be sure to do every one), and then everyone got prizes! There really wasn't any competition, and each of the activities we did were individual, not actually against anyone else. The last activity to complete was getting your medal and getting up on the podium to get your certificate. It was great for Maggie, if somewhat over-stimulating!

After the Nursery School Olympics, we headed over to MicroCenter to get a new laptop! Yay! Having a laptop will make it much easier for me to accept some computer jobs, since I'll have a reliable back-up machine, has made it easier for us (mostly Andy) to clear off my desktop and reformat, and I'll also be able to take a laptop with me to chocolate shows in different tax areas and charge the right amount for orders, since I can enter them on the spot. Very exciting! We also got the newest and best-est virus stuff, and a new ergonomic keyboard for me - it is super!!

Since we were already out and about, we then went to the mall to browse a bit and get some spring work clothes for Andy. Maggie was bribed to good behavior by knowings she'd get to play in the kids' area once we were done with mommy and daddy's stuff. She's having such a good time playing with other kids lately!

Today she got to play in another mall play area while mommy went to her Cakes for the Queen of Heaven class, then we all enjoyed a walk in the nearly 50 degree evening before dinner. We're winding it all up with two fixed up computers, a bit of progress on cleaning up the office, and some chillin time for mommy and daddy, since Maggie went right to bed tonight (as opposed to the last few nights...ahh, life with a toddler...).

Hope you had a super weekend as well!

Winter Fun!

As much as I gripe about the cold and snow, I had to put up one of my favorite winter pictures. Maggie asks a few times a week to go out and sled or make a 'snowman' (her definition is pretty liberal - she just wants to hold a piece of snow). Unfortunately, other than Maggie's cuteness, none of these activities hold any appeal for me. Luckily her daddy feels the opposite. He loves the cold and snow, and all the fun activities they can do outside. On Monday he hurried home from work to get back while there was still a bit of daylight so he could build a wonderful snowman with his favorite helper. We made sure to get some pictures of the snowman, including its hair, arms and face. Maggie still asks about him every time we come home, "Is that my snowman?" Why yes, Maggie, it is.

Fun at the Boat Show!

Maggie got an airbrushed mermaid on her arm.

Maggie and Daddy peaking out the porthole at Mommy:

Maggie, Grandpa and a hot-dog-boat:

Captain at the wheel:

The Hands On Museum of Ann Arbor

Maggie and Daddy decided to explore the Children's Hands On Museum in downtown Ann Arbor. A fun day was had by all! Maggie enjoyed playing with all the fun "toys" while Dad tried to entertain the thought that he was actually teaching her a thing or two about science.

Maggie had fun playing "garden" by grabbing (plastic) flowers from inside the motor home and planting them into the (plastic) dirt:

The ball rolls left, the ball rolls right. The ball rolls left, the ball rolls right...

Playing with the Tesla coil. Daddy was so proud. :)

Maggie pulled up a gigantic bubble around herself:

Taking a break next to her new friend "Mr. Mousey":

Climbing the kiddie sized rock wall:

Building a tower from building blocks:

Happy Valentines Day!!

Swimming with Daddy

In the new year, we're finding lots of fun things for Maggie to do, since mommy would rather be inside while it's cold! The activity that has started first is swimming class. We purposely scheduled this one in the evening, as it's more daddy's style and gives Maggie and daddy some fun time together. And it meets right at good ole Churchill High, so it's nice and close.

It's a pretty loosely structured half-hour class. The instructor mentions some 'goals' before everyone gets in the pool and then she just tries to stop in with each group to see how they're doing as class progresses. For the last five minutes or so, everyone gets together to sing some classics like 'Motorboat, Motorboat,' 'The Wheels on the Bus,' and the 'Pancake Song' (which was also in swimming class with mommy a couple years ago.

Maggie looks forward to swimming with daddy. Although her lips are usually blue by the time class is over, she loves every minute of it and still asks to swim more when it's time to go home.

Sledding with Uncle Bunny

My long time friend, affectionately known as 'Uncle Bunny' to Maggie, joined us on a Sunday afternoon for some sledding in Hines Park. Maggie was apprehensive about taking the ride, but she did make two trips: one with Daddy and one with Uncle Bunny. She had more fun standing at the top giving us all pushes to start our way down.

Wordless Wednesday

Maggie Loves Her Bubbles!

Maggie had so much fun blowing bubbles at Mimi and Papa's house, they broke out the "big gun" for Thanksgiving weekend.

Her laugh is 100% intoxicating. We'll never get tired of hearing it.

Ms. Maggie's Christmas List

Okay. If you're looking for gift ideas for Maggie, you've come to the right place.' So far she's definitely getting the Loving Family Grand Dollhouse. She'll definitely need more accessories to go with it! The rooms/sets she does not need are as follows:

• Parents
• Twin babies
• Dining Room
• Living Room
• Puppy Playtime
• Nursery
• Work-at-Home Office
• Grandma and brother
• Camping set
• Kids' Room (girl)
• Mini-van

I'll try to keep this list updated if anyone lets me know of other things she does not need for her house. There are about a billion different rooms/sets/accessories available to go with this house, so we'll probably be collecting this stuff for years to come! Other ideas of things Maggie would probably enjoy include:

• Fisher Price Little People play-sets and people
• Kohl's for Kids books and animals (they have four sets available where the animal and the book are just $5 each. She has the cat and "If You Give a Cat a Cupcake" book, but doesn't have the other three books or accompanying animals)
• clothes for her Cabbage Patch Kid

Of course this isn't an exhaustive list, but I just wanted to throw a few things out for those of you currently asking. Her clothes are currently size 2T, and her shoes are a 6 1/2.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!!

Wishing a hauntingly fun Halloween to you and yours!

Maggie on Ice

Maggie went to her first ice show recently. Judging by her reaction, I would say she had a good time.

A Halloweekend at Cedar Point

Maggie got her first taste of a real amusement park the other weekend as we pack up the car and headed out for the opening of "Halloweekends" at Cedar Point in Sandusky Ohio. Along with her Mommy and Daddy, Maggie was able to enjoy the day with Aunt Sarah, Uncle Pete, Aunt Alicia, Uncle Rob, Uncle Nolan and Grandpamama. We tried the school bus and lolli-swing in 'Camp Snoopy', but Maggie wasn't much of a fan. She had more fun riding the smaller kiddie rides towards the front of the park. It's too bad we didn't find these rides until the day was almost over. This didn't stop Maggie from trying to cram a ride into every last minute of the day. She was going strong all the way until the park closed. That's our girl!

'Finding Nemo' through the eyes of a 2-year old

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Birthday Maggie!

Wow. Our baby is TWO today (at 7:20 ET tonight, to be specific...)! I can't remember life without her, yet it seems like she was born just yesterday. Oddly enough, a couple weeks ago she started randomly singing, "Happy birthday to you," whenever someone lit a candle. We finally figured out the last time she heard it was July 5. Her timing is perfect. She still won't answer, "Two," when you ask her how old she'll be, and I'm not sure if she'll dig people actually singing happy birthday to her. I've been trying it from time to time, and she always interrupts with, "No. No." Maggie's favorites lately include apple juice (although she'll call any liquid in her sippy cup apple juice), the movie Bolt (but Daddy and I have been encouraging her interest in other movies after having watched Bolt approximately a million and two times), her toy phones, and telling us, "That tickles," when we try to tickle her. Well, of course it does! She likes running around naked (don't all kids?), and walks up to me to say, "Knees, knees," when I'm getting ready in the morning. What she means is that she wants lotion on her legs, just like mommy. She also likes being tickled with my make-up brushes. We may end up with a girly-girl on our hands! She's becoming less of a fan of having her diaper changed again, but still not interested in using the potty. She's also stopped eating garlic hummus by the handfuls, but I'm not sure that's a bad thing. Her favorite meat continues to be 'taco' (as in seasoned ground beef). Maggie's teeth-brushing skills are also improving, but she shows Daddy much better than Mommy. There are literally a million things I want to remember about our little two-year-old. She's truly a joy and the love of our lives.

(Nearly) Wordless Wednesday

Becki, two years ago :)

Exactly one year later.

Every year, we try to get together with all of local boating friends on July 5th to celebrate our friend Tom's birthday. The birthday celebration is really a moot point, it's more of an excuse to get everyone together at the same place on the same day. If you remember, we were out on the water for Tom's birthday last year. This is when we had the adorable little purple car / boat for Maggie to play in. Fast forward exactly 365 days and we found ourselves in (almost) the exact same location with the exact same car / boat and the exact same kid, only a little bigger now. Maggie in her car / boat 2008: Maggie in her car / boat 2009: All in all, we had a great time on the water. Maggie was a hit and brought smiles to everyone’s faces. Mom and Dad got a little too much sun, but Maggie was well protected with her SPF 1,000,000 and faired her day out in the sun very well. The boat still needs a little work, but we were able to enjoy an entire trouble free day otherwise.

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Mother's Day

A tribute to the best mother in the whole wide world!

Love, Maggie Sue (with some help from Dad, but only a little bit.)

Thanks for a very happy Easter!

Once the drama with the bunny was over, Maggie was able to go on and enjoy her Easter weekend. Saturday we went to Grandma's, where Maggie did her very first egg 'hunt,' and got a fabulous bonnet. Hopefully Grandma got some good pictures of Maggie in her dress and bonnet, because although she wore the same dress the next day, we only took pictures outside with her jacket covering her dress! Sunday we headed to church and then Mimi and Papa's. If she'd thought of it before hand, she may have thought it was too good to be true, but Mimi got her a hat too!! Yay!! Tomorrow it may be hard to decide which one to wear, but today there was one for Maggie AND one for Mimi... Maggie also (of course) ended up with plenty of traditional Easter candy. Hopefully she doesn't grow to like it quite as much as her mommy does - YUM! Yesterday she was a little hesitant at first, but then really enjoyed her first Peep. Today she attempted to cram one of those big mallow eggs in her mouth as one bite - don't think so, kid! We were very happy to add matching aprons for Maggie and mommy from Mimi to our collection. Maggie's smock will go perfectly while she works on her new easel from Grammy and Grandpa. We were able to spend some time with all of our favorite people this weekend - thanks!!

Hoppy Easter?

Well, the day started out well enough. Maggie and I got up and had breakfast. When it was time to start relaxing and play, I talked her into taking a bath instead. Once she was clean and dressed, I snuck in a quick shower for myself. After stashing her pretty pink dress in the diaper bag and getting the stroller into the trunk again, we hit the road.

It was a little bit further to Twelve Oaks than to the mall right by our house, but I knew she had liked the Easter bunny there, so I figured it was worth the trip. And the bunny costume there was cute too. Once we got to the mall, my first mission was to find a pair of white tights to go with the dress. Fifteen dollars later (are you kidding me??), we headed to the restroom to change her into her new tights and pretty dress. We got nothing but compliments from there on out. She looked adorable!!

In line for the picture with the bunny, Maggie was having a ball. She kept pointing, saying, "Bunny," and waving and blowing kisses. I was so proud that she was still cooperative after hearing other people's horror stories. We already had two good Santa pictures and a good bunny picture under our belts, and it seemed to just be getting easier.

Then, it was her turn. "C'mon, Maggie. Let's go see the bunny!" One of her first spoken words is still one of the most audible. "No. No. No," while shaking her head. I didn't want to be 'that mom,' so we just hung out for a while. Luckily it was the middle of the day, so there was no line. I sat with the bunny, I sat on the ground at the bunny's feet, I gave Maggie fruit snacks while I was with the bunny and I gave the bunny fruit snacks to give Maggie.

Finally, it was time for the bunnies to switch shifts, and we'd been there over an hour. I decided we'd go with what we got. So here it is....

Hoppy Easter!!

Mr. (and Mrs.) Bayley go to Washington

After a long two week test drive for work into the cold northern wilderness, it was decided that a nice impromptu driving vacation was in order. Without any sort of concrete plans or expectations, we packed up the family car and drove out to our nation’s capitol. In route to Washington DC, we stopped at the Kalahari Resort and Hotel in Sandusky Ohio to bask in their clear blue (because it’s chlorinated) waters of the world’s largest indoor water park. Maggie wasn’t a huge fan of the water park, but she did have fun sitting back and watching Daddy come down the big slides. We were welcomed to the capitol with unseasonably warm weather. Just five days prior, the city was shut down for a snow day. However, we were treated to temperatures in the lower seventies all weekend long. Even better, was that our hotel was two blocks directly north of the White House. We started the day off by posing for pictures in front of the north lawn. After the White House, we meandered over to the Washington Monument and gazed upwards. Maggie also did a few laps around the monument... just because. From the monument, we explored the Air and Space museum. The day concluded with a visit to the Capitol building. Maggie loved running up the stairs, sitting down and then posing for a picture. After her first picture, Maggie remembered her hat that she received from the Hershey chocolate tour the prior day, ran back to her stroller, grabbed the hat, ran back to the stairs and then posed for a second set of pictures. ...and finally, what trip to Washington DC would be complete without a ride on the Metro.

Maggie Goes Sledding

After being cooped up in the house all day, Maggie and Dad decided to take advantage of the fresh fallen snow on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

Dad makes sure Maggie is bundled up nice and warm!

"I'm ready to go Dad, bring out the sled!"

"I'm good to go Daddy, HIT IT!"

---

"Too slow Dad, pick up the pace a little!"

"Woot-woot! We're cookin' now!"

"Uh oh, I'm not so sure about this anymore..."

"...I'm ready for my hot chocolate now."