margaretyagan

Last year I welcomed Nana back home!

Last year I started my second season of soccer!

Last year I was celebrating the new year!

Last year I was celebrating Christmas in Dow!

Last year I was at a cookie-decorating party!

Last year I beat my ear infection!

So, one of the coolest things about being a big sister is that I’ve gotten so many “Congratulations on being a big sister” presents!  I’ve gotten games, puzzles, clothes, and dolls.  I’m really starting to like this whole big sister thing!  I’m also really enjoying having Jack around.  I like holding him, touching him, and swinging his swing really, really high.

On Monday I spent the day with Julie, as usual, and it was really fun to have both Mom and Dad around the house, even though they both really busy taking care of Jack and working. 

On Tuesday I went back to school and told everyone at school about “my little baby” as I call Jack.  It was really fun to tell everyone how little he is.  The theme at school this week is animals who live where it is cold.  My favorite are penguins and polar bears, of course.  Dad was at work today, so Mom had to put me and Jack to bed all by herself.  She looked exhausted!

Wednesday and Thursday were more fun days at school.  Aunt Claire took me to school and Nana and Jiddo picked me up each day. When I got home, I practiced waddling like a cold penguin:

Friday was extra fun because I got to play with Aunt Claire in the morning and then I got to spend the afternoon at Nana’s house!  She made yummy food with me and Jiddo joined in the fun playing, too.  When Dad finally came to pick me up I didn’t want to leave.

On Saturday morning I woke up to see snow all over the yard and still falling from the sky!  Dad and I made our usual trips to Dominick’s, Stanley’s, and Whole Foods.  We also went to a fancy watch store, but I’m not quite sure why.  When we got back home Dad let me run around in the yard make footprints in the snow.  It was so fun, but since I wasn’t wearing snowpants, my clothes got all wet.

After I warmed up, I practiced playing teacher with Mommy and Daddy:

And then Mommy and I decorated Christmas cookies!

On Sunday, we celebrated Jiddo’s birthday with brunch at Al Hambra.  It was really fun and really delicious.  I sang him happy birthday three times and I especially loved (of course) helping him eat his cake!  When we got home it was nap time, and when I got up I got to watch the end of the Bears game with Mom and Dad.

Last year was also Jiddo’s birthday!

Monday was a pretty fun day with Julie.  I woke up with Dad and took a shower efore getting dressed and heading downstairs for breakfast.  It was raining pretty hard, but Julie let me put on my rainboots and go out in the yard for a few minutes when the rain stopped.  Dad was working from home and came up to visit me a bunch of times when he took breaks.

On Tuesday, Dad took me to school and I had a fun day at school.  Not surprisingly, this week’s theme is Thanksgiving!  We spent a lot of time talking about Turkeys and the letter T.  Nana & Jiddo picked me up and played with me until Dad got home to get my dinner ready and put me to bed.

I woke up on Wednesday with Aunt Claire, which was a little surprising since it’s usually Dad’s day.  She got me dressed for school and dropped me off.  We did more Thanksgiving stuff and then before I knew it Nana & Jiddo & Danny came to get me.  All they could talk about was that I had become a big sister and that we were all going to the hospital to see Mom.

When we got there I was greeted by Mom & Dad (and Grandma & Grandpa Droste).  I gave Mom a huge hug and sat on her very goofy bed (it had buttons that made it go up and down!).  Then Grandma Droste brought over the baby that just came out of Mommy’s tummy: a little baby boy named Jack!

I was so excited to hold him and hug him and kiss him!  I was even more excited that he brought me a little gift that I could play with! I got to hang out with Jack for about half an hour and then it was time to go home with Grandma and Grandpa Droste.  A bit later, Dad and Uncle Danny got home and we ordered Picante (I love their soft tacos!) for dinner, which I devoured.

On Thursday I woke up with Dad and then spent the morning with Grandma before heading over to the hospital to visit Mom and Jack.  I hung out in their room for about 45 minutes and then Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle Danny went to the cafeteria for lunch.  After some more visiting with Mom and Jack, I went home with Grandma and Grandpa.

Dad woke up with me again on Friday and  I spent the morning with Grandma and Grandpa until about 11:30, when Mom and Dad came in the door — with Jack!  I greeted Jack and got to hold him very carefully on the couch. 

I ate with Grandma while Mom, Dad, and Jack got situated upstairs.  Then I went up and took a nap.

I was so excited to wake up with Aunt Sarah!  I miss her so much.  She got me up and we played until dinner time.  I ate Grandma’s chili (and had a chili-eating contest with her!) and got three treats (two for having no accidents and a bonus one for being a great big sister) before going to bed.

I had a really fun weekend, including playing with Jack (and giving him a bath), picking out a Christmas tree, and my second Thanksgiving dinner!

Last year I helped Grandpa fix the sink.

There certainly seems to be an increased sense of preparation for the new baby coming to our family.  Mom and Dad set up the baby’s nursery in their room, using my old crib and my old dresser.  The exciting news is that I got a brand new dresser that I got to pick out all by myself!

I’m not sure what all is going to change when I’m a big sister, but it’s all anyone can talk about around here.

The theme of school this week was the circus.  I hadn’t really heard about the circus before, but it was fun to learn about.  It seems so cool to see lions, elephants, tigers and dancers all in one place. 

Nana and Jiddo also came back from Syria this week and they missed me so much.  They started picking me up from school every day and so they got to see my school and meet my teachers.  They also got really excited to learn that we’re studying the circus, so they bought me tickets to go to the circus htis weekend!  I’m so excited!

Here I am inspecting my new dresser:

And here’s Dad talking to my chili:

On Sunday, Nana, Jiddo, and I went to the circus.  IT was so fun.  I went potty twice and ate popcorn and other yummy treats.  I was so happy to sit close enough to be able to see but far enough so that the animals wouldn’t scare me.  Nana and Jiddo bought me an elephant as a souvenir!  I can’t wait to tell my friends at school that I got to see the real circus!

Last year I discovered my first favorite song.

This was an exciting week at school, with the theme of dinosaurs and our official picture day!  I really like dinosaurs; my favorite one is stegosaurus. I’m the only person in my class with that favorite dinosaur.  I like being unique.

I got to bring in the dinosaurs that Grandma and I made last weekend and even got to be own dinosaur: Maggie-osaurus.

Picture day was Thursday and I was very lucky that my stylish Aunt Claire was responsible for taking me to school and making sure I look great.

Last year, Nana left for Syria.