4th of July

Fourth of July in Manzanita is kind of hilarious as there is nothing more classic than a small town parade. Henry is particularly funny as he feels compelled to yell cheers of support for each parade participant...things like "I like your bike" OR "Nice wheels" are examples of things that he yells out. The key to the Manzanita parade, for the kids, is the candy that everyone throws....90% of which is a choking hazard. I am going to the parade board...watch out. Henry has counted his candy inventory and created a spreadsheet (not joking) of how many he has of each candy.

The fireworks were great this year...but didn't start until 10 PM...which kind of a killer for a parent of newborn. At first Francie was scared of the loud sounds...but then she warmed up and was in heaven. She must have yelled "Happy Fourth of July!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" about 25 times during the firework show.

Brookie and Joshie in Da House

We have had another SUPER, SUPER exciting, life changing event in our lives this month...Brookie and Josh moved to Portland. WAHOO!!!!! They came down to the beach for the night and the kids were in heaven. Henry asked Francie last night if she was going to be Joshie's 2nd wife...after Brooke. Maggie is already taken with her Auntie Brookie...she took a very long nap on her and seemed in heaven.

Maggie Meets the Beach

We came down to the beach house for the 4th of July weekend.

Packing the car and getting everyone ready was really the first time that it hit me that three kids is going to be a bit harder than two -- holy moly the amount of stuff that needs to be packed. I am quickly realizing that I think we may need a new car....the Pacifica is not cutting it....and I fear a mini-van or suburban may be in our future. That said, we finally got the kids in the car..ready to take a nap...baby fed....and the battery was dead. No joke. After resolving that issue, we finally got the on the freeway only to get stuck in horrific traffic...which made the car stop...which made Maggie and Francie wake up...which forced us to pull over into a farm so I could nurse Maggie...seriously, classic Griswald. The farmer came out and asked if we were ok...only to see me bearing my chest...classy. Mark and I reached the point where we thought everything was hilarious.

That said, when we got here -- it was magical. The sun was out and the kids and we were in heaven. After dinner, we decided it was time for Maggie to meet the beach. We think she liked it. Hopefully so, as we plan to spend a big part of our summer here. Me likie maternity leave....

Check out Joanie's version of "holding the baby" while she checks her Facebook.

Cousins Galore

Jenny being here the first week of Maggie's birth really was heaven because my kids have been nothing but elated to play with the cousins. It also has been a gift to me, because they have had instant entertainment and I have been able to focus on Maggie. This trip, Frances and Kate become best buddies. It is seriously one of the cutest things to watch ever. At the zoo, Francie was trying to keep up with all of the cousins who were running up the hill and fell behind. Katie stopped, walked back, and held Francie's hand. Mark said it was an instant heart melter. The Peck girls may be overpopulating the earth, but I gotta tell you, there are few things as precious as seeing the cousins get together.

Ladybug Girl!!!!

Francie seriously cracks my sister Jenny up. The fact that Francie won't wear dresses particularly makes Jenny laugh. Francie LOVES the Ladybug Girl books. In fact, when we go hiking, that is how I get her to keep going. I tell her to be Ladybug Girl!!! and then she gets this renewed energy and runs with force. Jenny's daughter Kate has a Ladybug Girl dress that she wears everywhere. I was telling Jenny about Francie and hiking and a lightbulb went off -- maybe Francie would wear the Ladybug Girl dress. Jenny got her one -- ADORABLE. When she gave it to Francie, Francie nervously looked excited. We asked if she wanted to put it on. No. Strike one. Tonight though, Grandpa Gordon came over for dinner and all of a sudden Francie asked to be.......LADYBUG GIRL!!!!!!!!!

Not gonna lie -- we lost it.

She didn't keep it on for long, but it was sheer joy to see her run around the front yard.

Maggie Meets the Cousins and Gertie

Jenny and the kids came down to visit for a week. I was SO excited for Mary to meet Maggie has she had sent me a list of the reasons why I should have a girl, instead of a boy. Mary was very aware that given this child was the ninth grandchild and there are already four boys and four girls, that this child would be the tie-breaker and she wanted to make sure I was well-informed of the implications. She sent the list when I was four months pregnant and she was honestly one of the first people I thought of when I found out the baby was a girl.

Gertie has been anxiously awaiting this baby's arrival -- teasingly saying it was helping her to "hang on". Mind you, Gertie is 93. She was pretty enamored with her upon arrival and Maggie caused quite a stir in the Active Living Center that Gertie lives in -- I basically had to spend 20 minutes in the lobby while basically the entire place came down and took a peek at the four day old baby. When people asked Francie the name of her big sister, her reply - "Henry". One track mind.

Getting to Know Each Other

These first few days of the kids getting to know Maggie and our family readjusting have some pretty magical moments. Thankfully these moments help to "win out" the not so fun ones, that involve a lot of whining. Holy moly.

Maggie's Homecoming

They let us come home on Sunday, which was great because there is nothing like your own bed. My parents had taken the kids to the ZOO, so the house was eerily quiet. Mark and I noted how weird (quiet) it was to have just one child in the house...the irony of which was that when we had Henry we felt like the house felt so much more FULL with our only child.

It was hilarious when the kids did come home as they wanted to take Maggie on a tour of the house. Hearing them describe the rooms was serious comedy. Oh the world she will be shown through their eyes!

Meeting her Portland-Based Grandparents

Margaret is VERY lucky to have three of her grandparents in town. It is always awe-inspiring to watch your parents hold your child...like the world is coming full circle.

My dad is a baby LOVER - so he took the opportunity to hold Maggie as soon as he could. My mom is not necessarily a huge fan of newborns, but since this is her last grandchild, she is all of a sudden very nostalgic and wants to hold the baby. Maybe the strategy of naming Maggie after her was a good one...hee hee.

Gordon came over in the afternoon and gave us another wonderful gift -- sleep! He held Miss Maggie for almost two hours and watched the US OPEN, while Mark and I took a nap.

One side note about the silly flower head band. As you know - Miss Francie REFUSES to wear dresses, headbands, hair clips...basically anything that screams girl. So, my strategy is to get my "fix" in to dress a child like a girly girl NOW...in case Maggie decides to follow in her sister's footsteps. The funny part is that Francie LOVES to see all the girly stuff.....on Maggie.

Magical First Moments

The anticipation of having Henry and Frances meet Margaret was seriously one of those great moments in your life where you can barely stand to stay in your skin because you are so excited. We told my parents to NOT tell the kids if it was a boy or girl or her name. The hospital puts these signs on the room door that say "It is a Girl".....so unfortunately ....with a child that can read - Henry knew before I could tell them. Henry was happy and excited and Frances was a bit overwhelmed. They were most excited about the big sister and big brother presents that Maggie brought them. Frances had requested (via yelling to my belly daily) a baby with a bottle. She got one and instantly wanted to hold that and play with "that baby" rather her sister, who she also called "that baby". Pretty funny. Henry was incredibly precious holding Maggie - she is SO lucky to have a kind, thoughtful big brother like Henry. Thankfully, the kids thought the whole experience of mom having a baby was pretty awesome mainly because they got to have a sleepover at Grandma and Papa's house and go on adventures to the zoo, bowling and watch cartoons. Pure bliss....for them......and for Mark and me in that we got to spend some precious moments getting to know our little girl.