Busy Bodies

The past couple of weeks have been a flurry of activity full of firsts for our little girl. Here's the list: First trip to the zoo, First sleep-over with a girlfriend, First visit to the doctor where she understood what the doctor was all about and wasn't quite happy about that fact, First overnight camping trip, First weekend alone with Daddy, First fall that resulted in lots of blood (not at all related to first weekend alone with Daddy.)

Here are some pics from all the fun. They are pitifully out of order and obviously not inclusive of all the fun had. For some reason I didn't take any pictures of her first sleep-over fun with Morgandy last weekend. Her parents went to Canada for the weekend and Maizie got to have a friend stay over. They squealed with delight each time they woke up to realize a friend was right there ready to play! I couldn't get them to eat breakfast for awhile after they woke up because they were too excited. Over all, they kept each other entertained and actually followed a pretty close schedule together, so I guess I could adopt twins once they are one and a half. :-)

Her 18-month appointment went well, except everytime she heard any door open in the entire place she would crawl up on my lap and hold on tight. The doctor's main comment was that she was very, very strong. She weighed in at 27 lbs and was 33 inches tall. Her height and weight are between the 75th and 90th percentiles and her head has miraculously shrunk to the 50th percentile. I asked if that meant that she's gotten dumber and the doctor just laughed. Hmmm. Another first was one of her first situationally appropriate sentences. When the doctor was saying bye to her, she said, "Bye Bye Doctor"! I guess she was excited to see her leave!


Maizie being inspired by the monkeys and climbing up to get a closer look.

Good friends still give hugs, even after a long, sweaty day at the zoo.


Her grandpas should be proud--looks like this girl knows how to preach!


Getting a closer look at the bluebonnets.


At the park about two minutes before the "incident" in which she fell of that wall she's sitting on and bit her lip open. I'm glad my friend Jessica was there to provide first aid for Maizie and mommy. I don't do blood.


Here's the one pic from the girls' weekend with the George clan. That's Cecily (hiding her face) Emily, Ensley (above), Amy, me and Margaret.


Here's Maizie at her first camping trip talking to Baby Ry-Ry through the tent screen.


Here she is getting a lift from Amanda (whom she calls Azu). She also calls anything Azu that she can't pronounce, but we'll let it stick to Amanda.

Here's the man Maizie knows as Fancy Pants. You can now see how he got the nickname.

And (if you're still reading) we have BIG NEWS on our house. Our move-in date got bumped up to Sept/Oct! More than 6 months earlier than we thought. This also means we don't have to re-income qualify, so that is such a weight off our shoulders, especially since my work has been much more steady lately. We will need to sub-let our apartment until April, so be on the look-out for anyone that needs a 6 month lease next Fall/Spring.

We are one building down from our good friends, the Robertsons, and two buildings down from this amazing pool (designed by an old co-worker of Jason's) and park. This is a view of our place from the stairs. We are choosing darker finishes, but the layout will be the same.

Thanks for letting me catch up. We're looking forward to going to Colorado next week for the first time since we moved. More action is on the way!

One and One Half

I couldn't let today (yesterday now) go by without acknowledging it. My girl is officially halfway to two! I can't believe it's been a year and a half since Maizie came into our lives. On one hand, it seems like she's always been a part of us. On the other hand, I feel like I was just holding her for the first time yesterday. I LOVE her personality, her toothy smile, her long naps, her hugs and kisses, and even her stubborn "no's." I love every single thing about her.

The George girls got together for a no-babies-allowed weekend and Maizie stayed in the capable hands of Jason while we got to shop without strollers, eat without tantrums, and watch movies without interruption. It was glorious. I guess I was also taking a break from taking pictures, since I didn't take any.

Maizie Faces

This is a common occurance in the George household lately. It usually involves Maizie not getting exactly what she wants when she wants it. Life can be hard when you are working hard to communicate and then your fervent requests are sometimes denies. I know I'm slightly evil for taking pictures of it, but I don't want her growing up thinking she was a COMPLETE angel.


This is her with her "guilty" face on. We had a get together with church friends and Grant and Amanda brought "mocktails". We let Maizie have a sip of a "strawberry daqueri" and she was hooked. I think she's thinking, "This feels so right it has to be wrong!"

Bluebonnets, Take 1

Last week, we all decided to head out and fulfill the First Commandment of Spring in Texas: Thou shalt take pictures of your children in bluebonnets. Things didn't quite go as planned. The flowers were sparse, but the light was good (cloudy but not rainy), so I enthusiastically turned on my camera to see the battery light flash and all go dark. Tanya was nice enough to share her camera, but I think we're all going to go for a "Take 2" this week. Anyway, it was a nice big field for them to run around and get their energy out and the little babies and the big girl (4 years old) took great pictures.



The "3 M's" laughing at Myra's chicken (or whatever that was :-)) dance.


My amateur photographer


Coming soon to an ACU Today near you.


Our "Little Mommies." Morgandy has really started playing sweet with baby dolls and is fascinated with strollers, car seats, blankets, etc. I'm hoping her maternal instincts rub off on Maizie, as seen in this picture.


Maizie and Mia "head hugging." So sweet.


Not sure why this picture makes me laugh, but it does. It's just "her".

More pics to come after Take 2!

House Plans

Well, it's been awhile since we've given a house update, but Tanya inspired me, so here goes. After nearly a year of nothing happening, they are moving at lightning speed through the building process on our Row Homes. We are estimating that we will be able to move in about a year. Right now, they are on #23 on the list and we are #66. There is still a possibility that things could not work out. We have to requalify when it's time to sign and we are pretty close to the cut-off. If Jason gets a bonus or I get a big job, we could be making too much. We've talked about that possibility, though, and have decided that if that happens, then when our lease is up next year we can look for another place to buy and someone who needs this house more than us will be getting it. Plus, it's been amazing to experience how faithful God has been to us even in the tiniest details this year. It's taught me to trust that even if the "biggest" things don't work out, he is still a faithful God.


They were painting the insides last night when we walked through! Getting close to completion on Building 1! We estimate we will be in Bldg. 10-13.


This is the floorplan we like. Not the prettiest of the four from the outside, but we really like the inside.


Building 2 is being framed, Building 3 has a foundation and Building 4 has pipes laid. This is Building 2, the inside of the floorplan we like. I'm standing in the "breakfast area" which we will make a little play area. Straight ahead is the bar for the kitchen. To the left is the living room. A formal dining room is up front. Upstairs are 3 bedrooms and the world's smallest 2 bathrooms. That's the only negative in my book, though. My favorite feature: a two car garage behind the house. We will just park one car and set up a wood/craft/storage shop out there.


And no post is complete without a pic of Maizie, who is once again in love with swings. She doesn't act too excited, except for occassional "weees", but she screams when we tell her it's time to go. Right now she's taking a break from her old favorite, the slide. She prefers to climb to the top, turn around and come back down.