margaretyagan

Today got off to a very unusual start when Mom got up with me in the morning.  Perhaps the most reliable, consistent part of my weekly schedule is on Saturday morning, when Dad gets up with me and we go to the grocery store.  It was fun to get to spend some quality time with Mom in the morning while Dad enjoyed his birthday weekend with some extra sleep.

Dad came down around 8:00 and played with me and Mom until my nap time.  When I got up, Mom put me in a dress and we took off for Dad’s birthday brunch with Nana and Grandpa.  We met them at Francesca’s (the same place A/C had her birthday brunch a few weeks ago) and we had a great meal.  I got to eat pancakes and eggs off Dad’s plate and Grandpa let me taste almost everything from his plate, including peppers, chicken, and potato!  Also, I hadn’t seen Nana in a week, so we had some special bonding time, too.

After brunch Mom, Dad, and I headed back home and hung out.  We decided to retire my Jumperoo, which had so many fun memories.  It’s hard to believe that just a few months ago Mom had to put phone books under my feet so I could reach!

Grab some popcorn, this is a long one:

Dad and I made our weekly trip to the grocery store, but our regular friends weren’t there because the early morning shift had already gone home.  It was still fun and there were certainly a lot more kids around.

After we got back it was time for my afternoon snack and then nap.  I got up and hung out with Dad (Mom was napping) and then they both helped feed me dinner and then played with me before my bath.

I got up and since it was a Friday, I expected Mom to get up and be hustling out the door.  But instead, Mom decided to take the day off because she had been traveling so long!  Mom and I went downstairs and Grandma Droste hung out with us until we took her to the train station.  I’m going to miss her and I hope I get to see her again soon.

When we got back, it was time for my nap.  I got up at 10:45 and “helped” Mom wrap  Dad’s birthday presents by ripping up the paper she was using.  We played all afternoon but we decided not to leave the house because it was still pretty chilly.

When I got up from my afternoon nap — Dad was home!  Dad was so excited when he came to get me out of my crib.  Mom and Dad had waited for me to open his birthday presents — and just as I helped Mom wrap earlier, I got to help Dad unwrap.  Thanks to the practice I got at my birthday party, I’m very good at unwrapping!

Here I am showing off my mad athletic skills (or total lack of interest):

The three of us hung out the rest of the evening and Dad was sure to spend every possible minute with me — he said that I was one of the best birthday presents!

Well, here was my official present for Dad — a kiss:

That sure beats the sign I made him last year!

I woke up on Thursday and for the second day in a row I woke up to see Grandma Droste! We got dressed and played peek-a-boo in my room with my puppy (who needs a name, by the way!).  We watched the birds in the trees and noticed that it was a much nicer day than it’s been in a long time.  We knew we’d be spending some fun time outside!

Breakfast was a bit messier than yesterday.  I really fought to hold on to my own spoon, which caused food to go flying, but I got (most) everything down.  After I ate, I played with my bibs,  the dish towels, and the plastic ware in “my” cabinet.  Then we walked to Dominick’s to get a few things and Grandma let me buy a new balloon to go with the two that I still have from my birthday!  I couldn’t decide between the frog and the rabbit (I mean, come on, they both go “hop hop”!), but I eventually decided on the rabbit.

After lunch, we celebrated the beautiful day by spending time in the yard. I’m really starting to appreciate how nice it is to have our own space to play when we don’t want to go to the park. I worked with Grandma planting flowers but I also played on my slide:

While we were outside, Mom came home! Yay! I hadn’t seen her in 8 days and I missed her so much. Of course, the three of us spent a lot of time playing together the rest of the day. She gave me my snack and put me down for a nap. When I got up, I was so happy to see that Mom was still here! But she was so jet-lagged that she could barely function! So she took a rejuvenating shower while I played with Grandma until dinner. Then it was bed time. I hope Mom’s here when I wake up1!

A year ago was my first night away from Dad!

I got up and started babbling at 6:15 and hung out with myself until about 6:35 when I was taken out of my crib by…Grandma Droste!  I was simultaneously delighted to see her and shocked not to see Mom or Dad!  Grandma let me pick out my own often and then we hung out in my bedroom, reading books and playing with Fred the Frog (which I learned that Mom’s grandma made for her when she was my age!).  Grandma Droste likes to spend more time in my room than anyone else — maybe because we’re eye-to-eye with the birds in the trees!

I had a great breakfast with most of my favorites — oatmeal, cereal, prunes, and strawberries.  I even drank almost a whole glass of milk!  I got a good nap in and then Grandma and I went for a walk until lunch time.

After lunch, Grandma and I went on a road trip — I think my first solo-trip with Grandma Droste!  We went to Home Depot and bought some flowers for our garden.  After we got back, we read books, ate a snack (yogurt and, of course, strawberries!), and took a nap.

Dinner went pretty well and then we played with blocks, sang songs, and looked out the window at all the passers-by.  My bed-time routine lasted a bit longer than usual, which I liked because I got to stay up past my bedtime, falling asleep around 8:00.

I woke up on the early side again (6:15) and Dad finally came to get me at 6:30.  I hung out in the bathroom while he took his shower and then we came downstairs.  I played with Dad until he fed me breakfast and then he took off for some meetings.

Grandma Droste and I played all morning.  We sang songs, read books, played Elmo and the teapot, and even did some birdwatching (which Grandma claims is the #1 pastime in America; Dad was highly, highly, HIGHLY skeptical).  It was a bit warmer today, so there were more people out and about for us to people watch.  They seemed to be in better moods with the snow having melted, as many of them returned my waves!

I’ve now learned to swat away the trick pacifier, so the process of getting to my real pacified has been made much more efficient.  Dad, you like efficiency, right?

We went for a morning walk across Division.  We met a big black dog named Charlie which I got to pet.  When we got home I got to play in the yard on my awesome slide.  Grandma even taught me how play with the flowers and leaves — very gently!

Lunch was great — I ate a lot and drank a lot of milk!  After lunch we put on our hats and coats again and walked to Wicker Park where I played on the swings, the bouncing toucan, and the little slide.  I even got to swing on the big swings — in Grandma’s lap.

I made two new friends Maia (a big first-grader) and her brother Leni, who turned three today.  She let me play with her stick collection, but didn’t seem to like it too much when I licked them!

Here we are:

My afternoon snack was delicious, made even more so because Grandma let me help feed myself.  I thanked her by saying “YUM!” a lot and waving my spoon in the air like a drama queen (thanks, A/C!).

My nap was good.  I impressed Dad by using my Raggedy Ann doll as a pillow.  Hey, you have to admit that was pretty smart!  I got up kind of late and therefore pushed dinner late, which pushed my bath late, and my bedtime late.  Dad was all set to feed me dinner, which he started to do — until I completely revolted against the Dal and the cheese sauce he tried to feed me.  Exasperated, he gave up and Grandma Droste had to come to the rescue.  She did a little bit better in terms of getting me to eat, but a lot better in terms of being patient!

Check out my Peruvian sweater!

I got up a bit earlier than I have been the last few days – 6:15 – and Dad got me up at around 6:30.  Still no Mom!  Mom, we miss you!!  I woke up with a huge poop and Dad was so happy!  I think he was afraid that two whole bananas in the last couple days might back up my system.

We went downstairs and a few minutes after Dad and I started playing, Grandma Droste came up the stairs!  I was so happy to see her and greeted her with a big smile and plenty of claps.  Dad had to leave and so I had breakfast with Grandma.  It went well, though I didn’t like my egg nearly as much as I usually do and I insisted on holding — though not using — a spoon throughout the meal.

Grandma and played, read, and sang  together after breakfast.  We even looked out the window, but it seems that most of the dogs and babies didn’t want to be outside in the cold either.

For the last few days, I’ve been allowed to choose which book I read.  For my naps, I always pick Pat the Bunny (before bed, I always pick Goodnight Gorilla!) and today was no different (Mom also decided that I get to pick my own socks in the morning and my own pajamas at night – now that’s responsibility!)  However, I finally put a stop to this modified pacifier thing.  Grandma put me in me crib with this green pacifier with 1/4 inch of the tip cut off and I protested.  Not like civil disobedience, either.  This was all-out war.  I was getting a fully-functioning pacifier!  Sure enough, I won.  In fact, I got so riled up that I didn’t go to sleep for another hour — after playing with Grandma in her room for a while.

Lunch was kind of boring, mostly because of the potato that Dad cooked.  I mean, a sweet potato is yummy, and sweet.  A potato is just poo, with a tat in the  middle.  To make my point clear, I started throwing food on the floor, until eventually Grandma gave me some blackberries, which I devoured.

My schedule was kind of off, but Grandma and I had fun playing wth all my toys, including the blocks, the lion, and the teapot.  Again, I rejected the faux pacifier and this time Grandma relented after just a few minutes.  I got up a bit after 5:00 and pretty soon it was dinner time.  I ate almost everything I was supposed to and then played with Dad until bed time!

Here is a quick video before bed time:

I slept so much more last year!

For the third day in a row, I got up around 6:30, though Dad didn’t get my out of my crib until about 6:45.  After Dad showered we played downstairs until breakfast.  Then we went down to the office and had a little Maggie Dance Party.  Dad played all my favorites, and even bought a song — one that should be in everyone’s collection: Elmo’s Song.  La la la la!

Here’s a better song to dance to:

Mom called us from Hong Kong and we (mostly Dad) talked to her for about half an hour.  I mostly made noises and tried to rip the phone away from Dad as often as possible.  After that, Dad read me a story and put me down for my nap.  I slept almost two hours and got up in a great mood.  Nana had sent some extra linguine home with us, which I was excited to see on the lunch menu.

I had a much more minor fall in the afternoon and hit my face on a dining room chair.  This time the distraction effort included a trip to Starbucks (yes, A/C, we gave you a shout-out).  There were a few people at Starbucks trying to work (one really nice woman was trying to finish her business school applications!), but they were overtaken by my charm and all decided to become friends with me instead.

Here I am checking the place out:

We were going to stop by Dad’s friend’s Chris’s house, but it started to rain so Dad and I got home as quickly as possible.  We spent some time on the couch, where Dad made me practice getting down safely.  It went pretty well, except once he had to catch me when I tried a more acrobatic dismount.

At 3:00 I ate a snack that was way, way too big.  I have no idea what Dad was thinking! At least he tried to teach me how to feed myself:

But just when I thought I had eaten plenty, he handed me a whole banana. You know where that ended up:

Needless to say, I slept for a really, really long time after that huge meal.  Dad was proud of himself for getting me to fall asleep with a modified pacifier, but I was just too tired to protest.

I got up at 6:15 (I usually eat dinner at 6:00!).  Dad and I played until 7:00, when I ate a little bit before my bath!  (Dad managed to get me to use the trick pacifier again.  Don’t worry, this won’t last long!)

Wow, a year ago my neck couldn’t even lift my head up!

I got up today at 6:45 and Dad came into get me.  It seemed to be a usual Saturday, except that I hung out in the bathroom while he took a shower and noticed that Mom wasn’t in her room.  I thought she might have come back from China by now!

After Dad showered, we went downstairs together and I had a yummy breakfast.  As usual for a Saturday, we made our  weekly trip to the grocery stores.  I like Dominick’s more than Whole Foods because I get so much more attention from everyone who works there!

We got home at 9:30 and I still wasn’t tired, so Dad played with me, even though he usually likes to get me to bed closer to 9:00 (though other people often let’s me go until 10!).  I slept for about two hours and woke up just before noon.  We hopped in the car and went to Nana’s and Grandpa’s for lunch.

It was great to see them and especially fun because Nana made me whole wheat linguine — one of my new favorite finger foods!  Grandpa was so impressed by my walking skills, though he was constantly worried that I was going to hurt myself (as I’m sure I will, eventually!).

Luckily, the teapot came with us:

We got back home in time for my snack and then nap.  Everything was going great until 4:45, when I had THE FALL.  The re-enactment photo shows exactly what happened.  I was in the kitchen (at the top of the two steps) stretching up to try to reach the buzzer.  Apparently I stretched just a bit too far and tumbled down the two steps and then slid a good three feet, almost hitting the wall across the hallway.

Dad was horrified!

He ran down to get me and very quickly distracted me with my teapot and all was better.  I don’t even have any visible bruises!  To help distract me,  he immediately took me for a walk, first to Bank of America and then to Wicker Park, where I had a fun time in the swing.

As payback for Dad’s not catching me when I fell, I made dinner a battle.  Dad eventually got everything down me, but boy did I make him work for it!

Remember when I had my first bottle?

Bloggees, I want to share some publicity that I’ve gotten recently.

Professor Greg Mankiw, the noted Harvard economist who taught both Dad and  Uncle D mentioned me on his blog.  He’s super-famous and his blog is very-widely read, and now he’s riding my coattails to get even more publicity.

Also, Mom  used me as a prop to embellish a video she made for work.  Look for me at the 3:39 mark! McDonald’s will probably sell an extra billion cheeseburgers thanks to my cameo.

Ok, back to the day at hand.  I got up at 6:30 with Dad and we played (after he showered) until breakfast at 7:30 when I completely rejected the fritatta Dad tried to feed me.  Sun-dried tomotoes?  Ewww!  Dad was already getting a little stir crazy (which is scary, because we have 3 more days of this, alone, together!) so we took a walk to Dominick’s, where Dad bought a loaf of bread.  Mom called us from Haikou and we caught up (well,she talked to Dad; I just made cute noises for her!).  After my nap, Dad let me eat a whole banana, in its peel, on my own!  Not only was it a complete choking hazard (Mom NEVER would have let this happen!), but it also risked ruining my appetite and my digestive system!

Here’s the proof:

Dad took a couple more videos before lunch, which was pretty uneventful.  We went down to the office and hung out for a while.  I wasn’t a big fan of the fresh mozzarella that Dad tried to feed me, but I loved the regular mozzarella string cheese.

Here they are:

After my nap, Dad and I went for a walk to the bank and then stopped by the park on our way back.  It was a bit chilly, but it was great to get to swing and see all the other kids!  Spring is going to be so fun!

A year ago I was in Central Park, not Wicker Park!

I was so excited to get to spend so much time with Mom this morning!  She usually leaves for work at 6:30, but today she hung out with me until 7:40!  We even got to start breakfast together, which was a great way to start the day.  Nana took over when Mom got in a cab (what’s wrong with our car?) with a suitcase (hey!?).  We had a fun time playing all morning and I had a great nap.

Lunch was quite a disaster.  I hate rice noodles!  Mom, Dad – can you hear me?  Rice noodles (and confetti slaw, while we’re at it) should be banned from my diet.  Please?!  For good measure, I also rejected the accompanying salmon cake.  I don’t really dislike it, but Dad also seems to exaggerate, so I figured I’d give it a try, too.

Check out my March photo album:

http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf

Dad got home just after I woke up from my afternoon nap.  We were so excited to see each other.  He hadn’t seen me walk yet, so he was  blown away when Nana said “get up and walk to Daddy” and I did just that!  There was about two minutes of hugging, kissing, and screaming as we greeted each other in our usual manner.

Nana took off and Dad fed me dinner, which went pretty well.  I spent the time between dinner and bed showing Dad my teapot and all the cool songs the friendly British woman can sing!

A year ago today I had woken up for the first time in NYC!