Hello Stranger

Preparation for school and trying to get a head start on classwork sucked up quite a bit of our time these past few months. I apologize for the lack of an update, but I am sure you all know that the blog takes a backseat when school and family life needs tending to.

Although hectic at times, things are good here. The kids are happy with the routine of school but looking forward to COVID being over and seeing friends and family again. I am constantly amazed at their patience and optimism with everything happening around them. Having these four little bodies in the house makes things hum around here, enough so that there are no really boring moments, just a ton of laundry.

Little Maggie in particular makes life good. She is the center of everything. The kids are always close to her and if ever I leave the room for a moment I hear, “Don’t worry Mama, I’m with Maggie!” They will tell me everything she does that is “soooo cute” even if I was sitting right in front of her when it happened. They are enamored with her.

She is pretty stinking hilarious.

Maggie loves to blow raspberries on any arm, leg, or belly (if she can sneak the boy’s shirts up). Her latest gag is army crawling to the front door and peeking her head up to wait for people to walk by and then she unleashes a humongous “HI!”. The first time this happened I came into the living room wondering, “Who is she talking to?” As I approached the front door to pick her up I saw a woman on the sidewalk pushing a stroller and glancing around bewildered at who had been yelling. I sheepishly replied , “Sorry, she is down here.” We all had a good laugh. She chats and scolds in her baby English and only has two categories for animals, it’s either bird or an elephant. She is a natural comedienne.

On the physical front her hand looks amazing. All her little digits are separated and she is using them more and more. She only has joints on her thumb and pinkie, but she can manipulate anything, and regularly claps for herself when she figures things out. Her latest milestones is learning how to sit up on her own. She does it the Maggie way, laying flat on her stomach and spreading her legs into the splits and then pulling her legs around forward. It looks as painful as it sounds but it works for her and she is happy.

And did I mention….she pulled herself to standing!

Do you see the joy?! She did it!