Our Thoughts and Prayers

We have been constantly watching The Weather Channel, CNN and the national news over the past 48 hours. The monumental damage caused by Hurricane Katrina has affected a lot of people in our lives. From friends in Louisiana to family and friends in Mississippi, most have been affected by the hurricane. We have been able to get in touch with almost everyone and everyone is safe. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of you.

Please pray for the families of those who have lost their lives in this hurricane as well as those who, thankfully, have their lives but have lost everything else.

Here is a picture of Maggie that we took when we got home today. It's so refreshing to see the pure happiness and joy in a little one when so much is happening in our lives right now.

Katie

There's A First Time for Everything

So, the week of firsts continued this weekend. No, she is not walking. This weekend was one of the quieter weekends that we have had in a while. We spent most of Saturday at home. Andy did yard work, I was in the kitchen for most of the day and Maggie played with a new toy- her ExerSaucer.

The ExerSaucer was a gift that we received at a shower but it has been in the attic until now. Maggie woke up from her morning nap and I decided that she should get to try it out. So, I opened up the box to find a lot of pieces. And, after an hour and a half of Maggie watching me put it together, she got to finally play in it. She's still a little small for the seat so we kind of have to stuff towels around her so she doesn't fall forward but she loves playing with all the toys. There are something like 80 sounds, 20 toys, etc... on this thing so I'm sure Andy and I will grow to hate it by the time she outgrows it.

The other first from the weekend happened on Saturday night. We went to dinner with some friends at a restaurant in downtown Decatur that does not provide high chairs for children. Crazy, yes, but we still go there. Anyway, Maggie gets very hot in her car seat these days so we decided to try her in her stroller with no car seat. She did very well and looked grown up. Of course, I didn't think to have my camera with me to capture this on camera. However, there are plenty of pictures of her in the ExerSaucer.

Today has been spent watching The Weather Channel keeping an eye on Hurricane Katrina and keeping our friends and families in Louisiana and Mississippi in our prayers. Maggie and Andy spent the afternoon together while I was co-hosting a baby shower. Maggie said that she had lots of fun with Daddy.

Have a good Monday!

Katie

Things Added to Maggie's Baby Book

The following items will be added to Maggie's baby book tonight:

1. First vacation- Destin, Florida (19 weeks) see previous post for more details.

2. Holding her bottle for the first time (19 1/2 weeks). Maggie decided to hold her own bottle while at the beach. It only happened once and for about 20 seconds so I'm not betting this will happen again soon but it's still a first.

3. Drumroll please...ROLLING OVER FOR THE FIRST TIME- TWICE!!!!! (20 weeks) We are not excited at all (sarcasm, sarcasm). Maggie has been working on rolling over for about 6 weeks and we have just been patiently watching and it finally happened tonight. Once when we first got home and then again before bed and it was from back to belly. I guess the childproofing needs to start???

So, that is what Maggie is doing lately. Here are a few more pictures from the beach.

Katie

Maggie's First Trip to the Beach- Destin, Florida

Maggie took her first family vacation this past weekend. Andy and I took her to Destin to see Gigi, Papa, Uncle Trey, Great Uncle Troy and Great Aunt Zoe. We got to Destin very late on Thursday and came back to Atlanta today (Monday). This was Maggie's first trip to Florida and to the beach. We stayed at Silver Beach Towers, on the Gulf, which was wonderful as the sun and water wore Maggie out. After about a half hour of being at the pool or beach she was ready for a good nap.

Maggie made her first trip down to the sand and the Gulf of Mexico on Friday morning sporting her matching hat and swimsuit and her Baby Banz sunglasses (which she didn't mind too much). She enjoyed being held in the water by Daddy and then promptly decided that she was tired and fell asleep in my arms. After a good nap and lunch it was time to hit the pool. Maggie enjoyed being floated around the pool in her kiddie float with canopy and all.

We did pretty much the same thing on Saturday...beach, pool, naps, etc..., except that Andy and I went on a date on Saturday night while Maggie stayed with Gigi and Papa. We did a little shopping at the outlet mall and went to see a movie. We saw The Wedding Crashers, it was really funny and we recommend seeing it. However, keep in mind this is our first time to see a movie at the theater in about a year and a half!!!

We did more of the beach and pool stuff on Sunday but we ended the day with a dolphin cruise around Destin and we actually got to see some dolphins. We headed back to Atlanta this morning and Maggie was glad to see Jack Pete when she got home. And boy is he glad to be home (he has been at the vet all weekend being boarded).

More stories and photos from the weekend will come this week.

Katie

To: Daddy; From: Maggie

Dear Daddy,

I hope you are having a good time in Las Vegas. Mommy tells me that she hopes you aren't having too much fun, but I'm not sure what that means. Mommy also said something about me not ever going to Las Vegas without either of you.
Are you learning a lot at your conference? Mommy said that you are going to have to take a test before you can come home. I don't know what tests are yet but they don't sound like fun.

I miss you very much. I don't have any fun when you are gone. Jack Pete told me this morning that he misses you too. I had fun at school today and I was a good girl. Mommy said that if I was a good girl and took a good nap when I got home that I could have some more rice cereal in my dinner bottle. I like the rice cereal; it fills my belly up and makes me not hungry as much.

Well, I have to go take my nap now so I can get some rest. I didn't sleep much at school today. I love you and can't wait to see you on Thursday!

I love you,
Maggie XOXOXO

Gran and Aunt Amy come to visit

Today brings the end of a fun-filled weekend with Gran and Aunt Amy. Unfortunately, Maggie had to start her weekend off with her 4-month check-up at the pediatrician where she was given four nasty shots. She is a very healthy little girl. She now weighs 15 pounds and is 24 1/4 inches long (almost two inches longer in two months)!!

Gran and Aunt Amy arrived Friday night and Maggie was happy to see them both. We spent Saturday going to the Farmer's Market, Target and cleaning the house for dinner with friends on Saturday night.

Gran and Aunt Amy babysat for me this afternoon while I went and had a pedicure (Andy's birthday present to me) and it was nice to get some relaxation time in. Gran and Aunt Amy had to leave to go back to Mississippi when I got home but Maggie can't wait to see them again soon. And Jack had fun playing with Lulu too.

Andy is out of town until Thursday attending a conference in Las Vegas. He arrived safely there around lunchtime today and then had to wait for a little over an hour for a cab to his hotel. We will miss him terribly this week. However, we are looking forward to our weekend. We are taking Maggie to the beach on Thursday for a long weekend and her first trip to the beach. We are meeting Gigi, Papa and Uncle Trey there. Maggie has her swimsuits and sunglasses ready.

Here are some pictures from this weekend.


Katie

And So It Begins...

One day last week when I picked up Maggie from daycare, one of her teachers informed me that Maggie had been getting hungry and fussy about one hour prior to her scheduled lunch and afternoon feedings. Being the working mom that I am, I quickly responded that maybe she was just tired and having trouble going to sleep as I thought there was no way that she could be hungry after eating only 2 hours prior. I was thinking there is no way that Maggie's daycare teachers could know something about Maggie that I don't. So, I adjusted her schedule a little and we went about our week. Fastforward to Sunday night. I had gone to Target about 6 pm and Andy was keeping an eye on Maggie. My cell phone rang around 7 and Andy proceeded to inform me that Maggie was indeed hungry an hour and a half before her bedtime bottle.

Were Maggie's teachers right? Maggie has been getting hungry before her scheduled feedings!!!! So, the time has come for Maggie to begin solid foods, or what they call solid foods for babies- rice cereal. To a normal person, this would in no way be solid food, but for someone who has had all of her meals out of a bottle for the past 18 weeks, rice cereal on a spoon is solid food.

We gave her the first spoonful of cereal last night when we got home from work and daycare and considering she was tired and hungry, it went pretty well and she was in bed at 7:30. She slept until 6:45 this morning, so no upset tummy from the new addition to Maggie's menu. Everything has gone well today and she is fast asleep as I type.

Of course, there are pictures of the first solid food feeding below. I'm sure they will only get more interesting as the foods only get more colorful from here.

Katie

Weekend of Birthdays

It was a weekend of birthdays in the Kennedy household this weekend. Maggie celebrated her 4 month birthday on Saturday (pictures below) and Andy cooked dinner for me on Saturday as a late birthday celebration for me (I turned 26 on Thursday). We had a yummy chocolate cake and I was given a gift card to go get a pedicure at a local spa.

Not too much else has gone on this weekend. We went to Atlanta's newest home furnishing store, IKEA, on Friday night. Two words can describe IKEA- organized chaos. It's bigger than three Super Walmarts combined, but their prices are really low so it's worth managing the crowds.

Maggie has started making preparations for her first trip to the beach. Maggie is going to Destin in two weeks and she wanted to try on some of her beach attire. She thinks she looks cool in her Baby Banz!

Have a good start of the work week!

Katie

Maggie and Mommy

Well it's been a quiet week around the Kennedy house this week. As you know, Andy has been working in Savannah this week. He's had a very busy week and is anxious to come home tomorrow. Maggie, Jack Pete and I are also anxious for him to get home. It's been quiet around here this week.

I went in to wake Maggie up this morning and found her sucking her thumb for the first time. She found her hands about 3-4 weeks ago but had usually tried fitting her entire fist in her mouth. I guess it was too much effort to try that in the middle of the night last night, so her thumb found its way in her mouth. So, of course I took a picture.

That's about all that is going on with us right now. Maggie will celebrate her 4 month birthday on Saturday so I'm sure there will be more pictures over the weekend.

Katie

Weekend in Mississippi

Let me preface today's post with this. This is my first time posting to our family website. Andy is out of town in Savannah this week and I wanted to post before we started getting phone calls about updating the website. So, here goes...

We loaded up the car on Friday, and set off for north MS. The occasion was Andy's 10-year high school reunion. The reunion began with a picnic for the families on Saturday mid-morning and concluded (well, officially) with dinner at a restaurant in Tupelo. We were having such a good time that we all decided to go bowling. It has been years since Andy and I have been bowling and we had a great time.

Maggie enjoyed herself at the picnic, and it wasn't too hot. Maggie spent the rest of Saturday showing off her new talents of talking and rolling onto her side to her family. She and cousin Anna even had some pictures taken together that evening (as soon as those pictures come in, we will be sure to post one).

We headed back to Atlanta (aka- Maggieland) Sunday morning and Andy flew to Savannah last night. So, that's all for now. Enjoy the pictures from the weekend.

On a side note unrelated to the weekend- Maggie is no longer the youngest baby in the baby room at daycare. She has two new friends, Joel and Grace who have both been there less than one week. She told me today that she has been showing them the ropes. However, she said that she is not telling them her secret on how to get the teachers to hold you. It's simple- no one is cuter than her!

Katie