Family Visit

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My parents and grandparents came down to visit a couple of weeks ago; it was so good to see them and Margaret Mary loved all the attention. My mom brought down some of my old clothes and in the top picture, Margaret Mary is wearing a dress that my mom made for me when I was her age. I think it is so beautiful and I love putting my daughter in it! Unfortunately, I didn't get a good picture of my mom and Margaret Mary so I'll have to work harder on that next visit. The second picture is of my dad and the third of my Memaw. Thanks for coming down guys, I love yoU!

Little Margaret Mary only a couple days old!

I found this picture today of Margaret Mary only a few days old. This was taken during the light therapy she had to undergo for jaundice; this picture was taken at one of the few times we could hold her. Look at how little and sweet she is. I am so glad that I'm a stay at home mom so I can be there for her. Yes time flies, but I don't feel like I've missed anything. I love being there for her all day, all night (because of teething and her little stomach virus, she is up every hour!), every day. I LOVE being a mom.

We Love Nuns

The Home of the Mother sisters live in Jacksonville, and are very dear to our family's heart. These women have given everything to Jesus and love him so much; when you see them they are always glowing! They prayed for Jason and I when we were having trouble conceiving and so when we saw them at Mass the other day, we couldn't wait to introduce them to our little miracle. I am so excited that Margaret Mary gets to grow up around these holy women. Sister Claire is the one holding Margaret Mary.

What Sam Thinks About Margaret Mary Part 2

I got this email today from Sam's mom and thought it was too cute not to post. As I've mentioned earlier, Sam is the son of some of our best friends here in St. Augustine, and loves Margaret Mary. He is always saying sweet things to her that I try (and most of the time fail) to catch on camera.

"this morning at breakfast sam told me that he wants margaret mary to come and sleep in his bed with him. and gus will ask if he can be in the bed and they will say, there is not enough room for you. and then they will watch football. and they will be adults and margaret mary will be his sister. and they will talk and talk and talk and talk."

How sweet.

I always wanted an older brother to look after me growing up. Even though Sam isn't technically Margaret Mary's brother, I hope that they do grow up close friends and have that intimate kind of friendship.

On a side note, Gus is Sam's younger brother and our families joke that if God calls them to marriage, we will arrange a marriage between them (Margaret Mary and Gus). I find it funny that Sam says that there won't be room in the bed for Gus. It will be interesting to watch Margaret Mary's friendship develop with both the boys.

Mommy time, cute baby sweaters and pinestraw

It's Finally Fall in Florida

This Saturday, Florida finally had some fall weather. Jason and I were so excited that we bundled Margaret Mary up first thing in the morning and took her on a walk. Look at her just taking everything in! I think she is gonna be an outside girl.

5 Months Old!

Margaret Mary is five months old! It seems like she has grown up so much in the past couple of weeks. She is so BUSY reaching for everything, putting everything in her mouth and smiling. She is also becoming very frustrated at her lack of ability to move as she wants to. She can roll from her belly to her back and can almost roll from her back to her belly. She can also sit up for a couple of seconds, but is more interested in playing with toys then with trying to balance herself. She loves kisses on her belly, chewing on ribbons, grabbing Mac's hair and taking long walks outside with her papa. It is amazing how much she likes being outside.

October 17- The Feast Day of St. Margaret Mary!

On October 17, the Catholic church celebrated the feast day of St. Margaret Mary, whom our daughter is named after. Basically, a feast day is a day of celebration honoring Christ for his redeeming work in St. Margaret Mary and the way he changed the world through her service to him. Many Catholics celebrate their "name days" (the feast day of the saint whom they were named after) almost as much as their birthdays. To celebrate the name day of our babygirl, Jason took the day off and we spent it praising and thanking God for our little miracle. I love the top picture. We dressed our daughter up in a sweet little dress to go to Mass and I wanted to sit her up on a pew so we could take some pictures. But when I tried to sit her down, she was insistant on standing. Just then, some ladies at church came by and started talking to her. She is such a little charmer; her smile is just too much for me sometimes. I just melt. Being her mom is such an honor!

Jason's favorite pic of the Week

Some Sweet Black and Whites

So, our first photo shoot didn't go very well. Margaret Mary refused to look at the camera and smile. :) Here are a few sweet ones in honor of her five month birthday! So much has changed in just the past couple of weeks. I'll post more about her changes later when I can unload my camera...

Girlfriends

At the church picnic the other day, Margaret Mary got some play time with Emma, a friend who is about 18 months. The whole interaction was so sweet. Emma was all smiles, as she always is, and Margaret Mary was reaching for Emma, holding her hand, eating her hand and smiling back. I love this picture because it looks like they are telling secrets! I can't wait to watch them grow up together. Isn't Emma a beauty?

What Sam Thinks About Margaret Mary

Margaret Mary has a little friend named Sam who we talk about a lot on this blog. Recently, he has been all about Margaret Mary: telling her how much he loves her, stroking her hair, asking to play with her, etc. We tried to catch it on camera, but unfortunately, Sam was in a "everything is yucky" mood. It's still cute and you can see him love on her a little. My favorite is how he says he likes her clothes!

The Shiveries!

Jason and I think this is too cute. Margaret Mary gets the shiveries a lot but they are very hard to catch on camera. The other day, Jason was playing around with Margaret Mary and discovered that he can make her shiver by blowing on her neck. All three of us think it is hillarous!

The Best Ad the World Never Saw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2CaBR3z85c

Farmer's Market

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Our family loves to go to the farmer's market on Saturday mornings. We buy most of our veggies there and then listen to the old county bluegrass band that plays in the middle of the market. This Saturday, I decided to try a bow in our daughter's hair. I thought it was adorable. Yes, I know she doesn't have that much hair yet, but I couldn't help myself!

Tummy Time!

Now that the weather is getting nicer and nicer Margaret Mary has been having her tummy time outside. She loves looking at the flowers and can tracking butterflys. Check out her big ol' cloth diaper booty! The bottom two pictures show Margaret Mary's two main smiles. The one on the bottom is her "this is amusing" and the one above it is "I'm having so much fun I can't stand it!" She gives most of these smiles to her papa, especially when he comes home from work.

Sitting Up

Margaret Mary can sit up for a couple of seconds by herself! It is so much fun trying to capture her grin on camera.

Aunt Eryn

We have really enjoyed having Eryn live with us. She came down here to go the St. Gerard House, a highschool for pregnant teenagers, and will graduate in May (at the age of 16!). Her baby is due in early March and it is so much fun watching her belly grow day by day. It has also been very sweet to watch Margaret Mary bond with her. Here are a couple of pictures of them hanging out. I love the picture of Eryn and Margaret Mary in the rocking chair. It was taken at a friend's beach house that we stayed in when we went to Rush's wedding.

I'm Not Napping, so just get me up!

This is an old picture of MM when she was about three months and rolled over for the first time in her crib. Now we have to put pillows all around her when she sleeps to keep her from rolling over and waking up.

This carseat aint so bad after all

P.S.

Check out our girl's strawberry blonde hair!

We Miss You Papa!

Jason is in Nashville right now with Fraternus and asked me to post some more pictures to the blog so he could look at "his girls." I found these sweet pictures of Jason and Margaret Mary from our recent trip to Pensacola. I love how my girl loves her papa. :) We miss you Jason and can't wait for you to come home!

Sweet Pics from the Bech

Rolling Over

As I mentioned earlier, Margaret Mary is rolling over in her crib like every five minutes. It is getting harder and harder to put her down for her nap because she rolls over so much and then can't fall asleep in her new position. Here is a video of her rolling over during tummy time today. She started rolling over about a month ago, but did it by leaning her head back. Now she is pushing up on her legs (like a tent) and rolling over using her butt to throw her body over. Excuse the shaking and twisting of the camera, I got excited and forgot that I was making a movie instead of taking a picture. :)

It Begins...

So today, Margaret Mary and I were playing when Mac walked by. Up until now, Mac and Margaret Mary haven't really cared about each other. Occasionally, Mac would walk by and stare for a couple of minutes but that is it. But today the tide changed: when Mac walked by, Margaret mary, with a HUGE smile on her face, reached out and stroked Mac's fur. She did this twice! She was very gently and didn't pull his hair (which I expected because she is a pincher!), and Mac didn't seem to even notice. This picture was taken a couple minutes later when Mac stopped by to look at MM while she was doing belly time. I love how they are staring at eachother!

Rush's Wedding

Chris Rush (who works with Jason) got married this weekend and so we traveled to Pensacola for the wedding. This was no fun as Margaret Mary still sleeps terribly in her car seat. But once we got there, we stayed in a beautiful beach house and had a very relaxing weekend hanging out with friends. The top picture is of our friend Melissa Ace , whose husband is also involved in Fraternus. Margaret Mary LOVED her necklace, and in fact, I think you can see her trying to lick it in the picture.

Our Little Margaret Mary

Margaret Mary is four months old! At her check up the other day she weighed 13 pounds, 5 ounces and was 24.5 inches tall; this confirms what everyone around us has been saying, that Jason and I have a petite baby (who would have thought?). Her little personality is developing and Jason and I are so in love with her. When she is tired, she starts talking making lots of ahhhs and ewwwww sounds and whenever we put her in her bed to go to sleep, she tries to keep herself up by rolling over. We can tell she has rolled over when we hear her talking on the monitor. When we go in her bedroom to turn her back over, she gets this HUGE grin on her face as if she is so proud of herself and it is very hard not to laugh.

Margaret Mary loves sitting up, standing, getting her diaper changed (weird, I know, but she cracks up), smiling at herself in the mirror, hamming it up with strangers who talk to her on the street and cuddling after nursing with mommy. It is getting easier to make her laugh and she loves kisses on her belly. I can't believe how big she is getting!

Finally! Some more family shots!

Thanks Tammy!

Visit from Granny

Tammy came down last weekend to move Eryn into our house (she's living with us to go to the St. Gerard House, a highschool for pregnant teenagers). It was good seeing both of them, and Jason and I truley enjoy having Eryn live with us. The first thing she does when she comes home from school is to pick up Margaret Mary and play with her. Margaret Mary loves this time and I'm excited about her having a sweet relationship with her "aunt Eryn." Here are some pics of the weekend.