Magrilless

A video post this week. All of a sudden on Friday Maggie decided that walking while holding on to only one adult hand was the way to go. So overnight we went from this

to this

It used to be we’d have to trick her pretty sly-like in order to get her to go one-handed. And then when she realized the schtick, she got super mad. But overnight — really, overnight — she decided that she was a big girl and one hand is all she needs. It’s great; she can carry something around in the other hand or have it available for swatting a dog. And the adult on the other end is a little more upright, thus there’s less back-breaking work involved.

Really, she’s not holding on all that tight, either. The next big thing will be learning how to fall appropriately. She’s gotta get to where she can throw her weight backwards and just sit down when her balance starts to go. I figure that’s why kids wear diapers — to cushion those precious bottoms when learning to walk.

Maggie got a training toilet for Christmas! We know it’s a bit premature to go into potty training mode, but it doesn’t hurt to get acquainted with Doodie Duck a little, right? She’s actually used Doodie Duck for his intended purpose a handful of times already. When the removable cup thingy has any weight in it, a little fanfare plays and he sings a song. The first time she didn’t even notice the hullabaloo, but every time since she’s at least had a “hmm, interesting” look on her face when her chair plays music. She has some pretty predictable times of day, so we can set her down, read a few books, and skip a really messy diaper experience. It truly is much easier to clean up a baby that way. I guess there’s a reason we get toilet trained, huh?

At our Texas Christmas, Maggie became very interested in walking around with someone holding both of her hands. Although she still prefers her knee shuffling as her primary mode of transportation, she asks to be walked around a lot more often now. Yesterday we spent probably 45 minutes in Home Teapot walking her around, stopping at this dishwasher and that shower stall. Doodie Duck is actually the perfect height for her to practice standing up from sitting and the momentum encourages her to put a foot out. Maybe we should start looking for some tiny furniture. (This is not a suggestion for packages to start arriving in the mail, by the way. No tea tables with matching miniature chip and dale chairs, please.) She got really close to walking a step from the couch to the coffee table the other day. She stands so she can lean her back up against the couch and then she can shift her weight forward and lean her belly up against the coffee table. When we moved the coffee table progressively farther away so she couldn’t just lean, she seriously thought about making a move. Instead she just made a trust-dive toward the coffee table and barely made it with her chest, ending up at this wonderful 45 degree angle. Which was close enough to drop to her knees and scoot along again. So one day there will be a video here with Maggie’s first (or close to) step.

We’re home! It was a long time coming. Three flights cancelled. Long waits in the airport. Flights delayed. Plane maintenance required. Baby benadryl spit out. Screaming daughter. Landing at 3:45 AM. Taxi ride. Home. Whew. We were happy to get back to snow. We were also happy that we were marooned with family we like and with access to a vehicle and grocery stores and a comfortable bed and a swimming pool. All those people stranded at airports away from home having to take taxis to and from hotels. We were very lucky.

We made the most of our stay over in Texas. We went to the outlet mall one day and took advantage of after Christmas sales. Maggie is okay with shopping if she can occasionally crawl around and if she’s allowed to touch all sorts of different fabrics. And if we keep the trip to about an hour. We also visited the San Antonio zoo on a rainy weekday; we were almost the only ones there! Maggie really likes the zoo. She made all sorts of animal noises as we walked along. Her roar is especially darling; it’s very delicate for a bear or lion. The SA zoo is really neat — you get to enter a lot of the exhibits where there are no fences for the animals. Maggie was really interested in the parakeet house, especially when one landed on us, and she liked the guinea fowl and ibis too. She wasn’t as big of a fan of the drive home, but it’s exciting that zoos are in our future (Bill and I love zoos).

When we got home on Thursday (I think), we had our Boston Christmas and Maggie got to open a whole other set of presents. Like her bike seat and helmet! We tried her out in it yesterday, and she really likes it. She didn’t mind the helmet being put on at all, and when we took off rolling, she clapped her hands. Very exciting! It’s not exactly the season for bike riding, but it’s a nice thing to be looking forward to in the spring. And you can see in the videos that she’s outfitted for such an experience — she’s had her yellow jersey waiting just for this.

We’re in Texas. For a little longer than we had planned (thank you northeast blizzard conditions). Having fun. Seeing family we hardly ever get to see. Laughing and being silly and feeling the jolly Christmas spirit.

Merry Christmas to you too!

I thought it was time for another video post. She has the funniest sense of humor. Odd, that is. I wish I knew what was going through her head sometimes. Last night it was hilarious when I cleared my throat. Burst out laughing every time. Now, why is that funny? And the word “bah” when uttered with feeling almost always gets a reaction. We adults are so jaded and unamused. That’s why you have kids, I guess, to be reminded it’s hilarious to hear someone say “ahem.” One of her favorite games is a variation of Simon Says. She does something (clap, raise her hands over her head), and we do it back. Really fun that she can make the big people do something.

We get on the plane tomorrow morning to fly to Texas for Christmas week. Thankfully, because we go for a drive every day in order for Maggie to fall asleep at naptime, our Christmas shopping has been done for a long time. Three times a week we’d run one errand (i.e., shop for one stocking stuffer). Who says kids make you less organized, more harried, scrambling for order and calm, running around at the last minute? Yeah, well, packing for our trip? Um . . .