Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Unfortunately, Maeve's cold was keeping her from celebrating her Irish heritage 100% this year.  She looked super cute, but just wasn't feeling all of the momentum leading up to St. Patrick's Day.  She finally fits into the  absolutely adorable sweater I got at my baby shower from cousin Mary Beth.  It comes with an equally cute hat, but that lasted about 3 seconds before she ripped it off.  We only made it out to the grocery store so couldn't really show it off, but I already have a feeling that it may fit next year as well.  I certainly hope so!

And that concludes the Week of Green!  Hope you enjoyed this week's green-cuteness as much as I did.

Week of Green: Thursday - Saturday

 So catching up... I have a very quick and busy trip to Baltimore.  I landed back in the BUF around 3 on Friday exhausted and ready for work week to be over.  However, I had one more commitment at the office for a co-worker's baby shower.  I had been looking for an opportunity to take Maeve into the office and this seemed to work so I ran from airport to daycare back downtown. We got to see a couple people, have some cake, and off we went to Mark & Jennifer's to see the big reveal for their Disneyland trip to Luke and Aidan.  But let's not forget our Week of Green! Ryan was trooper and not only got Maeve all dolled up both Thursday and Friday, but also remembered to capture her cuteness in pictures.

Thursday morning and end of day.  She kept it on all day long and it didn't seem to bother her one bit.  I had a matching headband, but even I know when less is more.

 Friday was equally as cute, mainly due to this adorable clip/fascinator that Heather got Maeve.  It was so cute that I even wore it on Saturday.

So here is Maeve hard at work at my desk.  She actually loved sitting in the chair and "coloring".  

 Unfortunately Maeve woke up on Saturday with a bit of a cold.  She was spewing mucus and coughing pretty consistently so we had to change some of our weekend plans and keep it low key, but we did still make it out for a couple of hours that evening.  As you can see the tutu was back, sans pants.  .

My cousin Cathryn was babysitter for the night and took/shared this pic with me.  She confirmed my belief that Maeve can be a bit emotional when she is told "No".  

 So we did end up going out for a couple hours into South Buffalo to celebrate the day.  I had Al take a picture as documentation that Ryan and I actually made it out in public together.  This doesn't happen often!

Flashback to 2007... pretty sure we were at Frizzy's.  I think we've aged pretty well, but I'm pretty sure that this year's picture was taken around 6pm, while the one from 2007 was likely at 2am... things have changed!

Week of Green: Wednesday

Unfortunately these pictures keep getting worse as the week goes on.  Maeve is getting pretty sick of my Week of Green experiment.  As you can see, she is chopping away on that binky.  I'm trying to only give it to her at naptime and bedtime, but she's been a stinker in the morning refusing to give it to us.  We usually have to get sneaky about it and can get it away by the time we get to school.  

As you can see, static everywhere... we need Spring to get here soon so windows can be open and get this winter dryness out of here.  I'm off to Baltimore for a night for work so no more pics until Friday at earliest, but I have communicated to Ryan that he's got the important task of dressing and picture taking for our next two days in the Week of Green... I've been saving best outfits the closer we get to Sunday!

Week of Green: Tuesday

So the picture on the left shows how our day began and the picture to the right reflects how our day ended... much improvement from this morning.  I'm actually liking Maeve's independence spirit that is just SHINING through on a day to day basis, but certain mornings can be difficult.  Particularly those mornings where we've got 8 o'clock meetings and she decides to sleep in and fight us on each move we have to make (e.g. diaper changes, pj changes, socks, sneakers, brushing teeth, combing hair, etc)

Today wasn't any crazy green outfit, but we are getting ready for St. Patrick's Day.  

I've ordered a couple bows from the Fancy Miss Bowtique shop on Facebook and here is the latest.  The shop owner is from Tonawanda and makes adorable clips/bows.  I've gotten a couple for Maeve and even for gifts.  The shop owner is running a competition for some free store credit so I entered the picture on the left... feel free to LIKE Maeve's picture on my or her page.  This sequence reminds me of the many faces of Maeve.. perfectly serene in one and an absolute nightmare in the other.  I think the chaos on the right freaks Ryan out a bit.  I think Maeve's spunk will give him some uneasy nights in the years ahead... makes me smile just thinking about it!

 Found out today that Maeve is moving up (finally!) to the Yellow Duck room on Monday.  I'm so curious how the transition will be.  No more bringing in cups with milk or getting a notebook home each night.  Our big girl will be napping on cots (instead of cribs) and sitting at little tables with chairs vs a high chair.

Week of Green: Monday

 We had a great time at Reagan's birthday party!  Maeve got to see her 1st clown and get a flower painted on her hand, as well as a pretty awesome flower made out of balloons.  Maeve hung out in the corner for a bit, but didn't take long and she was checking everything out.

Post - Cupcake Action... a perfect frosting mustache.  

 Maeve had an adorable ponytail on top with a new bow from Aunt Heather, but Ryan had to take it out and look what we get... Jack Nicholson maybe? Or Harry from Dumb and Dumber?  It didn't help that she was partaking into some carrot cake and getting frosting in her hair.

I forgot to take a picture today, which kicks off Maeve's Week 'O Green.  You can see her top, but she was rocking some pretty great green jeans in preparation for St. Patrick's Day.  I've got a whole week of adorable green outfits for my lil Irish lassie.

Heat Wave

What a weekend!  We hit 60 today which was just amazing and with windows and doors open, it felt like a heat wave.  We all needed the fresh air. This was the first morning since October/November that we made the walk to Tim Hortons - puts a smile on my face just thinking about it.  I'm looking forward to the upcoming months and lots of outdoor time.  We've got quite an active little girl, who just LOVES to play outside. 

Weekend kicked off pretty slow, which was so nice.  We picked up some pizza, had a fire, and I was asleep at about 9:05... yes, I'm 31 and likely asleep before my parents on a Friday night.  It really was a long week... seriously!  We had a busy weekend so I'm glad I got my rest.  We had doctors appointment, a memorial service, a 1st birthday party, a playdate with cousins, dinner with Aunt Michelle and lots of playtime in between.  Plus, Justin Timberlake was on SNL and I didn't want to miss. 

Fun fact about me is my love for Justin Timberlake.  He's a been a favorite ever since NSync days and has continued on.  I'm pretty sure I've even convinced Ryan to how amazing JT is as he even stayed up to watch it with me.  It was a fun episode and the opening monologue was worth it alone... lots of SNL legends.  Check out YouTube.

Weekend pics to come...

Chicago Pictures

Here is a recap of the trip in pictures:

Testing out headphones we borrowed for the plane from Brady.  These were used a total of 10 minutes the entire weekend. 

Maeve easing into the love she got from her cousins

Young Elton John?

Looking like such a big girl at the airport. 

Snacktime!

Trip to the library and enjoying some trains.

Princess play time: Sawyer was the leader and got everyone in the spirit.  This girl loves her gear.  I even had to get her gloves on.

Jasmine/Isla

Maeve alittle unsure, but still looking cute!

Getting ready for some dancing princesses.. Sawyer made me download some Taylor Swift since I didn't have anything good on my phone. 

Even I got into it alittle

We pulled out Sawyer and Isla's sleeping bags and snuggled in for Madagascar.  Short attention spans meant we didn't get through the movie, but overall the girls were pretty good and went to bed.  Erin and I were pretty full from our frozen yogurt snack mid-afternoon and ended up just eating spinach & artichoke dip for dinner and relaxed on the couch. 

This captures Maeve's love/worshiping of her cousin Isla.  She only said her name oh about 1,000 times over the weekend.

Three adorable girls in the carride to the airport.  Tough to see but both Maeve and Isla were holding hands with Sawyer. 

We are all looking forward to this summer when Mark, Erin, Sawyer, Isla, and new Baby Harris will be here for 2 whole weeks!  Thanks to Erin for hosting us... we had a blast and plan on returning as soon as possible!

Chicago

Last week was a typical week, flying by quick as can be.  I was only in the office beginning of week so trying to cram more in than usual as I flew in and out of NYC on Thursday for some meetings, then ran back to the airport Friday morning for a mini vacation to Chicago for Maeve and I. 

I planned it a couple of weeks ago when I realized Ryan was going to be in Burlington for Magic Hat Mardi Gras weekend.  Maeve really does talk about Isla ALL OF THE TIME so figured let's get the cousins together.  Mark ended up having a marathon that weekend in Arkansas so we only got to see him for a night, but it ended up being a perfect low-key weekend.  The girls were pretty good playing together.  Erin picked them up early from school on Friday as Sawyer made her promise to be there right when she woke up from her nap.  Much of the weekend revolved around tearing apart their play room... bouncing between the easel, the kitchen, books, blocks, etc.  Maeve loved all of the different toys and I think Sawyer and Isla loved having a new person to attend to.  They both loved being "big sisters" and re-enforcing all disciplining that I was doing. 

We made a special trip to the library on Saturday morning for story time.  Maeve didn't last long and then I think Isla and Sawyer wanted to know where Maeve went because they were right behind us.  We got to play with trains and books before both Maeve and Isla pooped and we realized neither of us brought diapers so trip was cut short.  After naps we went for some frozen yogurt and a quick trip to the toy store.  It really was a perfect weekend besides Maeve not adjusting to the time change and getting up around 5:30am both days... Just wish we could of stayed longer. 

I should dedicate a whole post to flying with a toddler but I'm purposely avoiding so I don't have to re-live it.  Maeve was by no means awful, but you never realize just how small the seats are on planes until you've got a toddler to contain.  On the way there it just worked out that she was ready to eat so we spent most of the time eating snacks and reading books.  Flights weren't full so we had an empty seat next to us... thank god or I would have lost it.  Maeve fell asleep in the car on the way to the airport on our way home on Sunday so I was hoping she would stay asleep on me or would easily get back to sleep once we got through security, but no luck.  She was way to interested in all of the people and the light switch above, and then safety brochure, and sticking her fingers in my mouth than in taking a nap.  She fell asleep before we hit the 90 driving home. 

Other than our trip, Maeve's vocabulary has been growing.  Recent new words include: yellow, purple, turtle, owl, uh oh.  We aren't sure exactly what she's saying but she repeats that same phrase multiple times a day and my guesses include "ice your bum", "on a bun", or "eyes or bum".  I gave her a peanut M&M the other day and those were a big hit.  She's been all about tea parties and her baby dolls lately.  On the downside, she's still biting (mainly me when she's pissed), hitting, and now pinching.  It appears to be mainly when she's frustrated or pissed at us because we've said no or done something she didn't like.  She had a mini meltdown tonight because Ryan snapped her buckle in her highchair instead of letting her do it herself.  I'm completely loving her independence, but would love for the biting/hitting/pinching to stop.  Little does she know, but I'm going to start phasing out her binkie soon so just one more thing to really piss her off:)

I took a ton of pics in Chicago but too tired to upload tonight so please bear with me... I promise they will come soon!