All we need is love, love...

...love is all we need.

Mac and I headed out to dinner and a movie for our Valentine's date night...but not before we squeezed and kissed our baby girl good night.

Hugs for mama

I love love love this gummy smile. I am so gonna miss it when her pearly whites come in.

horseplay and self photos

daddy got his girls flowers and candy:)

reading her Valentine from daddy...telling her how special every inch of her tiny little self is

Maryn made her grandparents and daddy a platter with her hand and foot prints on it, in the shape of a crab and a lobster. We made it at Kiln Time, a local pottery shop....I highly recommend it. I think we'll be heading back for her birthday to make a plate for her nursery wall.

Best friends

(please excuse the slobbery window...it's Bode's hangout spot)

These two are...um...pretty dang proud

My love for you is immeasurable

Seriously, best friends. She was hitting him here and yelling at him! I wonder where she learned that from?

He just puts up with it and 'winks'.

Not since 1989

Charleston has not had 'accumulated' snow since right after Hurricane Hugo back in 1989...21 years ago!!! Born and raised in the Midwest, I should be used to the white stuff but I freaked out last night! It was beautiful...the flakes were so huge and fluffy and landed on your lashes like tiny cotton balls and the leafless tree limbs gathered two inches of snow...it looked like a winter wonderland. Mac and I went out to dinner and a movie last night for Valentine's day while my parents watched Maryn. As we were leaving, Mac grabbed the snow brush for the car as a joke because the newscasters were hyping up the fact that we might get some flurries. We went into the movie theater at 8pm and when we left at 10:15, the streets were covered...and three cars were already in the ditch off the side of the road! We got home, bundled up and frolicked in the snow with Bode. He was hilarious...jumping up and biting the flakes out of the air, running laps in the back yard and barking at the neighbors snowman. It was magical! We knew it wouldn't last very long and that we probably wouldn't see this again for another 20 years, so we ran around like little kids and took it all in while we had the chance. I was so tempted to whisk my baby girl out of bed, bundle her up and build a snowman together.

He thought he died and went to heaven!

This morning we went over to our friends and neighbors, Laura, Justin & Ashton's house to see the HUGE snowman that they built. Sweet Ashton was napping so Maryn had to pose by herself.

"Frosty, is that you?"

Our little snow bunny

It feels like we have magnets in our lips that constantly attract them to her beautiful flawless skin. We cannot stop kissing her. She is more beautiful than we had ever imagined she would be and as I lay in bed at night, I thank the good Lord for his mercy and grace, for allowing us the pleasure to protect and love this sweet child of His.

Head over heels

I was busy scrubbing some pots and pans and baby girl was VERY quiet in her corner o' toys...I glance over and see THIS!!!! She is perfectly quiet...searching for her 'baby'! I hurry and grab Mac who is grilling outside...we stand there in hysterics for 2.5 seconds...I grab the camera and then we hear "mama mama?". Her prince charming (daddy) runs to rescue her!

I have been meaning to blog about this toy chest for months. I absolutely LOVE it! We desperately needed to get something to house all of her toys in our family room but I didn't want another plastic eye sore or a wooden chest that could potentially pinch her fingers. I had seen the basket last summer in Buffalo when I was visiting Mac's parents and I loved it then but wasn't sure what I could use it for. Once Maryn began to accumulate toy after toy, I knew exactly what we needed. It's made from kaisa grass by artisans in Bangladesh through fair trade. It's the perfect height, that clearly she can reach into to get her toys, has a lightweight lid and stores a ton. It does need a little airing out from all the natural grass smell but hey, it's natural and doesn't contain any toxic lead paint or some other dangerous chemical that manufacturers deem fit to paint our children's toys with.

So much for the baby gates that Mac put up two weeks ago, after spending an afternoon alone with her. I got home from my Saturday afternoon out and the gates were up. I was asked "how in the world did you chase her around all day for the past month?"

Mac adores this little girl. I told him we could get a babysitter once a week in the morning while I slept after work so he didn't have to go into work late but he looked at me and said "no way, I like my time with her!". Those words tickled my heart.

Oh BOTHER

I can see how having a camera lens in your face 12 hours a day could be a bother. But if she wasn't so dang cute, this wouldn't be an issue.

1. Bother look #1

2. Bother look #2

3. And here's Bode's bother look...sissy was teasing him by playing with his leash. He had a moment of hope. I'm not too sure that Maryn will ever be able to walk that monster.

A walk to the river

The kids and I took a walk to the Wando River the other day and lucky for them, I brought along my camera. A typical beautiful January afternoon down here in Carolina. You can't beat it.

She's a maniac with a 'crab crawl'! She turns her hands inward when she crawls. I have all of these adorable posed pictures of Maryn when she was non-mobile...now most of my shots look like this. She won't even sit still for a treat!

Go ahead...squeeze it...I always do:)

I love when the sun hits her blonde locks like this...she's quite delectable

By this point, Bode was whining to continue on our walk

And just this morning, daddy made his famous scrambled eggs for Maryn and I (Mare gets the yolk and I get the whites) when I got home from work. Can you tell she just woke up...she usually has a serious case of 'sleepy eyes' in the morning if she wakes up before 7:30. Just like her mother.

Oh the places you'll...

...find Maryn. Like I said, she's on the loose and I'm on the chase! Loving every moment of it.

On this particular evening, I look over and see that she is making sure Bode eats every last bite of his dinner. He was minding his own business, scarfing down his grub...all the while, Maryn had her teeny little fingers mixing up the kibble, poking his teeth and gums and pulling on his collar. You gotta love Golden Retrievers!

These two like to wrestle too!

I was blow drying my hair and set her free in my closet...she pulled every last shoe off of the rack...

daddy's...

...and mommy's!

Loves playing chase with her daddy...I think it's that boy/girl dynamic. I remember those days on the playground in 6th grade...being chased by the boys:)

She escaped during a diaper change...straight for her toys

"can we finish this later, mom?"

I'm training her early. I am the master at squeezing 103 dishes into the washer to avoid washing anything by hand. Precisely why my china is dishwasher safe:)

This discovery made me freak out...I found her on the second step!!!! Who knew a 9 month old could climb stairs! I really shouldn't underestimate this girl anymore!

Browsing through all the goodies that Nanny bought her

...and trading her stocks online...just like Poppop! Hey! How are my Disney shares doing, Pop?