College

Last week Maggie and Grant were having a deep conversation about her future:

Maggie: Daddy, do I have to go away to college?
Grant: Well, you don't have to but when you're old enough you'll probably want to.
Maggie: I don't want to go away to college and move out of our house. I'll miss you and Mama and Finn so much. Please don't make me go!
Grant: Okay, that's fine with me!
Maggie: Can you just college me at home?

"College me at home?" I love it! But I have a feeling she'll change her mind in about 14 years.

Finally, the dollhouse (interior)

So here are the long-promised photos of the completed dollhouse. I still need to take some of the outside.
Here's a wide view of the entire interior:
Since we have no furniture (well, except for that one piece) Maggie has populated the dollhouse with odds and ends and her 15 tiny dogs. You can see them all grouped together up in the top left corner. There are also a few playing on a puppy seesaw (what else?) on the top right side, and their pink doggy bowl is on the downstairs left side. Right now we have rugs in nearly every room thanks to Tiffany Dupree's amazing upholstery fabric book, and two random dolls. Sorry it's so backlit.

Below is the living room which is the bottom right part of the house. The wallpaper is pretty funky and looks a bit more 70's than I thought when I bought it. Oh well. It's bright and fun. That dashing man on the steps is Maggie's Playmobil groom. Try not to notice the fact that one end of one of the treads isn't painted. I know I'm trying not to notice it.
Next we have the left side of the house. I believe the blue room will be a bathroom area. Right now it holds Maggie's hutch and wee tea set (say that five times fast). That's also her doll, Sullivan, standing next to it. Sullivan is from Pottery Barn Kids where I hope to buy furniture for the rest of the house (as well as the rest of Sullivan's family - one day they will be reunited!). Below that is the kitchen. I was tempted to put bright, crazy colors on every wall but I restrained myself, as evidenced by the taupe walls in the kitchen. Please note that the windows in the house actually slide or swing, depending on which type of window they are.

Said Daddy

A few days ago we were eating dinner at our table and Grant and I were discussing something that was not too interesting to Maggie so she crawled under the table. She kept trying to get us to notice that she was under there (which we did notice but we didn't say anything). The next thing we know she's saying in a deep voice, "'Do you know where Maggie is,' said Daddy." Then, in a higher voice, "'No, I don't,' said Mama." And then in an even higher voice, "'I think she's under the table,' said Finn."

Hilarious.

And here's her most recent, craziest way to fall asleep during her rest time. How on earth does a person sleep with her face buried in a pillow? Maggie's also been experimenting with my camera. She takes about 30 photos that are blurry variations of each other. She's taken so many of me when I'm not expecting them and I'm practically cross-eyed in them. In the one below she gave me some advance warning and I thought I'd make a crazy face to be funny. It actually portrays how I often feel, which is happy but on the verge of losing my mind!

A little dreamboat

Do you remember a few posts ago when I mentioned that Finn freaks out when he sees food and continues to freak out unless you basically shovel it into his mouth? Well the other day I was feeding him dinner and I couldn't get the second part heated up fast enough. He totally lost it. I could have found him something else to eat (a cracker or whatever) while I heated up the food. Instead I got my phone and took a photo!
If he could talk here's what he would be saying: "Lady! I DID NOT SAY I WAS FINISHED! Keep it coming!"
Ahhh....my sweetie.
Now here's the way he normally looks:
I just swoon. I am in love with this guy.

Magical Tree Party

Two weeks ago when we had such nice weather we decided to make a little movie. When I say "we" I really mean "Grant and Maggie." I was willing to go along with it so I did whatever they said. Maggie wrote the script (you know what I mean) and was in charge of costumes.

Here's how the costume selection went:
Maggie: "Mama, you have to wear your most beautiful dress."
Courtney: "Which one is that?"
Maggie: "You know...the most beautiful one. It matches the one I'm wearing and it's purpley-pink."
Courtney: "Ummmm...if this is the most beautiful dress I own I need to go shopping."
Maggie: "And don't forget you have to wear your rain boots. We have to match."

(By the way, that IS spit up on my dress in case you were wondering. Nice.)

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you...Maggie's Tree Party Adventure.

Maggie's Tree Party Adventure from Howardyoudoing on Vimeo.

Gesuntype

Maggie's quote of the day (from last week, but still...): "Today in ballet class I sneezed and the teacher didn't say 'bless you' or even 'gesuntype'. Can you believe it?"

Today at church someone asked Maggie what she wanted to do when she grew up and she said without a pause, "I want to be a midwife and an artist." COULD I LOVE THIS KID ANY MORE?

Maggie loves this modeling clay from her Uncle Steve and Uncle James. She decided the other day to make some letters with it and I absolutely love what she did (yes, I know she's my kid and I have to love everything she does. But in this case I just think it's so cool!). To me, it looks like a font.

100% princess

I've said it before and I'll say it again...I can't stop taking photos of Maggie sleeping! Why are sleeping children so adorable?

If I suspect she's fallen asleep in "rest time" I love to peek in at her and 90% of the time she's asleep on the play tent her Mimi and Poppy (and the cushion is from Grandaddy) gave her. Here are two recent photos of unexpected naps.

Who knows why this one is so yellow!? I'm definitely not a very good photographer. But look...she fell asleep with her crown on. That's a definite sign of a princess, I'm sure of it.
I like this one now because she took care to cover her feet up with her blanket. Why she wouldn't just get in bed is beyond me, but my mom (who I've mentioned before is obsessed with keeping her grandbabies' feet warm) will be glad to see this.
Last week before we went to the grocery store Maggie asked if she could take her own money and buy herself a treat at the store. I didn't mind so she put her few dollars in her wallet and her wallet in her purse and we were off. We got to the store and when we were looking in the bakery for her little treat I saw one that looked good (as a sidenote, have you noticed the little $.99 tarts and cupcakes at Whole Foods? They're so sweet - literally and figuratively. They're a great little treat for a 4-year-old or a 30-year-old.). So I got a mini (like, 2" wide) pecan chocolate tart and she got a mini chocolate cupcake with a purple flower on top. Maggie loves to check out with the cashier - have them ring her up and her hand over the money and get the receipt in return.
When we got in line I went first and as the cashier was ringing me up Maggie started tugging on my sleeve. I looked down at her and she said, "Mama, may I please buy your treat?"

Break my heart!!!! What a sweetie pie!

Of course she didn't have enough money so I quickly slipped an extra bill in her wallet! Oh I love that little girl!