her very own blog

the easter bunny came

and these three made out pretty well :o) enough candy for the big kids to get sick off of, sidewalk chalk & a fabulous slip & slide for them all to play with.

and the roo's bucket was pretty exciting too.

i love monkey is perhaps the cutest children's picture book i've read recently! easy to hold heart shaped crayons, sunglasses, an adorable camera by vtech, bath tints that smell fruity, peeps (major hit!!) and her absolute favorite...abby kadabby :o)

see the love?

i think bennett enjoyed the camera as much as she did. it has remained a popular toy & is super cute (and  i believe quite an appropriate toy for child)

she loves being read to! it has taken until recently-in the past couple months-for her to actually sit still enough for a story, but now she brings us all books and puts her arms up to indicate she'd like a lap seat.

the bunny hid eggs around the den. pailyn caught right on! she is loving emptying out things and then putting stuff back in. i.e.: the kitchen cabinet drawers...i allow her access to one with plastic cups in it while i'm cooking and it occupies her the entire time. she takes them all out, stacks them in different arrangements and then with a little instruction puts them back in the drawer.

this is a great activity for her, but i would much appreciate it if i didn't walk into the kitchen often to find she has played and not cleaned up after herself. stinker.

super excited about the praise she'd received for finding another egg. yay pay!!

now...time to get ready for church; we serve a risen Savior!

she got to (finally) go outside!

january has been cold here in south mississippi! brrrr...we've been cooped up far too long, so while this day wasn't particularly nice, it was above freezing & so we ventured out for a bit.

that little roo was beside herself being out-of-doors. i believe, had it been much longer, she may have forgotten a world existed outside of our home.

taking it in :o)

she loves watching bennett do whatever he might be doing...he fascinates her. i remind him of the huge responsibility he has with those impressionable little eyes watching his every move.

we headed around to the front yard. i thought i might be able to snag some nice shots. when i put the roo down & backed away from her to photograph, this is what i got...

these days i am not allowed to leave her side. please note, that she doesn't care to sit with me-she wants to be down, free to move about, but heaven help me if i'm holding her for a bit (like to walk around to the front yard) and put her down! sigh...let's just say i have a little shadow ;o) 

nothing like a little distraction via the big sister.

she enjoys flying the first time, after that, not so much. no worries...bennett was deathly afraid of such shenanigans and can hang with me-no problem-on any ride there is :o)

we wrapped our outside time up, came in & de-layered.

not five minutes later:

she passed out while rubbing her eyes (a sure sign that she's tired.) stinkin' adorable!

twas the night before christmas...

and nana began a new tradition...

she sent us home from her house christmas eve with one more present & instructions to open it just before bed.

 

that nana is brilliant i tell 'ya! she gave them the classic the night before christmas storybook. not just an ordinary storybook, but one in which she had recorded herself reading it :o) what a fabulous idea!

pailyn quickly recognized a familiar voice & just like any book she got excited :o) see her pointing to something on the page in the photo above? notice that she's making a sound too with that little mouth? i can hear it right now...it's the sound she makes when she points at something...always the same sound, lol...and excied one!

they listed to their new book being read a couple times.

 

her turn to hold it :o)

she loves a good story!

bennett, while the roo listened to the story some more & tried to eat the book a little was quite concerned with getting santa's snack out & getting to bed :o)

we always have high expectations on baking something homemade, but i make sure there is a back up. santa has enjoyed our fudge and bennett and heather decorated sugar cookies in the past, but he doesn't seem to mind store bought either :o)

  

dressing her up for christmas sunday

it's no secret that before bennett was born, i wanted a boy. no secret at all & i so enjoyed having a sweet baby boy to snuggle with. when we announced our happy little surprise 19ish months ago, everyone wanted a baby girl. i never really vocalized what i wanted; i think i honestly didn't care...i had my boy that i so wanted & spent the first part of my pregnancy getting use to the idea of a new baby!

when we learned that pailyn was a girl i immediately began thinking clothes, hair, shoes, accessories! and of course i spent a ton of prayer time praying for her health followed closely by the request that she be as beautiful as her big brother :o)

all that to say...oh how i have enjoyed having a little girl! she's so girly! she carries herself like a girl-oh at the girly hand gestures! she has her daddy's heart like only a little girl can have it. she screams like a girl. she's obtained the nicknames 'drama queen' and 'princess' because of her girly ways.

and she looks adorable in each and every outfit, dress, accessory, and pair of shoes i put on her :o) ...i played with dolls & barbie until i was old enough that i knew it wasn't cool anymore...i'm enjoying having my own babydoll to dress up!

that brings me to christmas sunday :o) she was a real live babydoll in her dress. see for yourself!

 a quick snap before the fabulous car-seat wrinkle set in! her daddy had to come assist hold her in place so i could get a shot of miss busy-body-can't-stand-still for even one second.

after a fabulous christmas program by our choir and a nap, we headed outside for a couple with the big brother. heather preformed at church and wasn't dressed for pictures, so here are just the little two.

she's not good & awake just yet i'm afraid, so mr. bennett does a little wake up performance, and gets a classic roo response...

to which he replies to with a classic ben response.

this one...not anything stellar, but i'll take it...you see above what i'm working with, right?

i know...sweet :o) after he did this i told him he was free to go & he went.

and she watched him go...

and she didn't like it.

and she showed her girly drama-queen self. and right now, while it's manageable...i love it :o)

her trip to the pumpkin patch (his too)

it's that time of year & on the first pretty day that came along, the roo, the big brother & i headed out to the pumkin patch! a local church put together a little patch (pumpkin hollow right next to the wistle stop antiques store on 51)...it was cute as could be & did the trick without the travel :o)

this next one really gets me. i don't at all see a little boy & it may be the first time i've recognized that about him. i think it might make me cry if he were the caboose. see...God knew i needed another baby. i think i can embrace his big boyness a little easier knowing there's a baby in the house ;o)

and what a fun, adorable, bursting-with-personality baby she is (if i do say so myself!)

and i do say so.

i think that roo has one picked out!

but the big brother pulls rank and sellects the perfect pumpkin!

it was a super fun time & they were both so pleasant for me! and yes, i know the roo is wearing the same outfit two posts in a row. (the days were spread out though) it isn't her only one. but, if you're concerned, feel free to expand her wardrobe ;o) nana...thanks for the cute outfit! as you can see, we must like it lots ;o)

 
next year we'll be sure to plan ahead & go to a patch that has a maze or something so that roo can run around ;o)

her at eight months

i'm not totally liking the idea of eight months already, but she's here...eight & a half months actually! 

and before you think it...i know posts to her blog are growing farther & farther apart. shame on me, i know, but i must point out that i do try to tweet little happenings along the way & even if you don't follow me on twitter, i have the feed posted right there to the left. if you stop by & there isn't anything new posted you can at least get a taste of what's happening with the roo via my tweets! 

without further ado...some current going-ons with the roo:

• she's growing; still a munchkin, but i was able to put away all the 0-3 month clothes across the past month; she's wearing 3-6 month now and has moved up to size 2 diapers! she's a Rollie polly & is solid; just wee.
• she has a new little toofie (her first one in fact) on the bottom right. it's the most adorable little thing ever! pailyn has been chewing on anything she could get in her mouth pretty much since she got here, so i've heard, 'she must be cutting teeth' for nearly 8 months. as of 15 days ago, i can now reply with, 'why yes she is.' ;o)
• she has been off aluminum formula for about a month...this is wonderful! her new formula is almost half the cost & while she's still the spit-up queen, the current spit up smells wonderful compared to that nasty stuff's reak!
• this isn't anything new, but i have to point out that my baby girl doesn't meet a stranger! she is the quickest to seek out any face that will make eye contact with her & give them a huge gummy+one half tooth grin you've ever seen, complete with the dimple that springs to life upon a smile! i love that she's so social :o)

• she's a waver! she waves when someone new appears in her view. she waves when you ask her to wave. she waves back when she is waved to. she waves big with her whole arm. she waves small as though she's been through pageant training with her little wrist action & a cupped hand. adorable!
• add clapper to the list! she'll clap along with pat-a-cake or just when she's excited about something or anytime i say 'yeeeaa' and clap, she'll join in :o) like here:

• she's able to hold her own bottle; does it well, in fact. but...she's *so* not interested in doing it. knowing she's it for me...i gladly sit down with her & feed her her bottle.
• she is *not* a lap baby. she wants down. she's busy, busy, busy! she only cares to be held if the one doing the holding is up walking around...absolutely not at all interested in just sitting to cuddle. bennett spoiled me...he would let me snuggle him on the couch or rock him for as long as i'd like. not her. nope.
• i mentioned she's busy. understatement! that roo is all over the place. from one end of the den (the only carpeted room in the house other than the big sister's bedroom) to the other. she's a super quick crawler, and crawls a lot, but i've noticed, she only crawls to get to a spot where she can stand up. she pulls up on any & every piece of furniture; if there is no furniture around, she'll use the bare wall.
• she's cruising around like a champ! she's been doing this for nearly two months, but now it's second nature...it's walking from one end of the room to the other using pieces of furniture along the way. she's let go completely to grab onto another piece (occasionally), but only for a few seconds. she is capable of standing on her own, but doesn't know it yet, and that's fine by me!
• she know's the word 'no' ...to her it means, stop immediately and look at the speaker of the word. slightly smile and keep eye contact for approximately 5 seconds. immediately return to the action which prompted the 'no' and repeat. she gets her hand smacked (picture pokey outy bottom lip and real tears) and then relocated away from the temptation. 9 out of 10 times she heads right back to where she was. she wears us out, that roo!
• she is madly in love with the big brother! he can just look at her funny upon coming home from school and she'll squeal with delight :o) he can make her roll with laughter with little effort. i love watching them together! love!

• she knows her people. 'pay, where's daddy?' she looks at her daddy :o) repeat with bennett, & heather.
• mma maa mma maa mma maa...that's me, btw. :o) and she calls me by name when she wants me; mostly in a whiny kind-of way (reaching for me all the while), but sometimes just to say it. her firstest word ;o)  and only word. she's babbling all the time and i've heard dada dada, & nana among other things, but we're not going to count it until it's associated with something.

• it's been noted before that i'm blessed with an amazing night sleeper. seriously in the past 4 months i think i've heard her fussing one time during the night! she goes down about 10 (9 tonight) and is out until about 9:30 in the morning. blessed! trust me, i know.

 
 
 

• while the roo couldn't be a better sleeper at night. she is *not* a good napper. she might catch an hour (lucky me if she makes an hour & a half!) in the morning, but she'll fight any more sleep until bedtime. she often wins. she'll go through a fussy patch late in the afternoon, but shakes it off & goes full speed ahead until bed. an extra nap would be great, but i'm not going to complain too much.
• cutest going-on currently with the roo is her adorable hip twist. i'll explain. pailyn has begun crawling out of rooms or in directions she isn't allowed to go in. she knows these are off limit places, so she crawls fast. when we see her headed towards the door, we say 'pailyn! where are you going?' and she hits the breaks mid crawl places all her lower body weight on her right side and twists her left leg in the air while looking back/over at us. she holds the position for a few seconds then high-tails it toward her destination trying to outrun the capture she knows is coming. chuck & i love her pose.

i have so many photos & lots of commentary i want to share on her very own blog, but the time i could be spending here blogging goes to the real her! as it should.

things are seriously quite busy in the mageehouse & have been for the past year! the daddy and i have built our new internet business and are working hard to grow it; we welcome prayers on that front :o) it is going to be an amazing thing & i know our diligence & patience will be rewarded as we've prayed for & seek God's guidance & blessings every step of the way!

while developing landsource, my one time 'mad money hobby/job' of photography has transformed into a rewarding business! wife & momma will always be my primary roles & i am so blessed to be able to contribute through my passion of photography without neglecting the priority that my family is to me!

all that is said in order to say...i'm sorry for the apparent neglect to your blog, my love, but living you & loving you every second of every day is happening whether or not it gets written about here. you are loved and loved on constantly & maybe if you'd cooperate & catch an afternoon nap once in a while i might make some time to document your very own life on your very own blog a little more often. xoxo-momma

her first real outing

was a fun one! it was more a planned adventure for nana and bennett that we sort of invited ourselves on, but i needed a break from landsource and photography for the day and pailyn was game for the ride ;o) nana took us to the children's museum in new orleans & it was fabulous!

i have to say i think the big brother looks like his momma in this picture! except maybe he has more hair than i do, lol! i don't care what anyone says or thinks (mom!) i *love* his hair. he had a ball in the grocery store! and can i just say...if i had access to this as a child, i would seriously want to move in!

i did a little grocery shopping myself so my dude could check me out. note him realizing one of my purchases as he scanned it, lol.

sadly my kids have no idea what this tree is. i recall staying at mrs. susan barryhills during the summer and hating *hating* nap time (i never could sleep! ...hmm that may be where the roo gets it from.) and being so ready to one of the older kids who got to stay up and watch mr. rodger's neighborhood. how funny is that?!

remember mr. owl? and the trolley?

the huge bubble was very cool! we met a friend of nana's there that lives near NO and her little boy will had fun showing bennett around...it wasn't his first trip :o)

the roo was fabulous and enjoyed her outing. i enjoyed it too! it will be fun to take her back when she is old enough to enjoy pushing that grocery cart!
 

her first real outing

was a fun one! it was more a planned adventure for nana and bennett that we sort of invited ourselves on, but i needed a break from landsource and photography for the day and pailyn was game for the ride ;o) nana took us to the children's museum in new orleans & it was fabulous!

i have to say i think the big brother looks like his momma in this picture! except maybe he has more hair than i do, lol! i don't care what anyone says or thinks (mom!) i *love* his hair. he had a ball in the grocery store! and can i just say...if i had access to this as a child, i would seriously want to move in!

i did a little grocery shopping myself so my dude could check me out. note him realizing one of my purchases as he scanned it, lol.

sadly my kids have no idea what this tree is. i recall staying at mrs. susan barryhills during the summer and hating *hating* nap time (i never could sleep! ...hmm that may be where the roo gets it from.) and being so ready to one of the older kids who got to stay up and watch mr. rodger's neighborhood. how funny is that?!

remember mr. owl? and the trolley?

the huge bubble was very cool! we met a friend of nana's there that lives near NO and her little boy will had fun showing bennett around...it wasn't his first trip :o)

the roo was fabulous and enjoyed her outing. i enjoyed it too! it will be fun to take her back when she is old enough to enjoy pushing that grocery cart!
 

good morning sunshine!

i love, love, love the mornings when i hear little noises coming from her nursery & i know she's stirring. sometimes i peak in & just watch her roll over & scoot around in there fiddling with her blankie or paci. eating her toes. chatting with herself :o)

then i let myself be seen & this is what i get:

i'm not a morning person, but this big 'ol grin certainly brightens my day! she takes a bit to get going too :o) if i don't give her much time to stir around before i make myself known it get this:

but give her just a few seconds & here it is:

on a side note. the gap bear onesie she's wearing here is from the big brother. he picked it out for his new sibling (before he knew whether she'd be a girl or boy) when he went on his annual orange beach summer trip with nana. ...the annual orange beach summer trip that got promoted to disney world this year! wow...this little onesie has been around just waiting for the roo for over a year. he's so proud every time i put it on her :o)

when you're little,

and it's not quite full-blown summer yet & the pool water is still a bit cool from the chilly night before...well

...sometimes you've just gotta be the spectator!

 

(pics taken sunday, june 7th)

 

her hair had a reddish tint, just like bennett's did at about this same age. it has lightened up since & i don't think i see much, if any redness anymore.

 

 

and a video from earlier last week. not directly pailyn related, as she was napping while it was being shot, but it's way too cool not to share!

(video to be added here)