Virtual baby shower

Happy virtual baby shower, Rob & Liza! We are so excited for you and can't wait to meet your little girl. I am really looking forward to playing with her!


We are glad you like the hat and the blankie! As you can see, the hat fits me now, so it should fit your little girl in the fall or winter - I hear her daddy has a pretty big head! We think orange is a pretty color, especially on redheads.

My mommy and I put a lot of love into the hat and blankie. That's right - I helped my mommy make them. I really thought they needed some sort of bright yellow accents. Mommy disagreed, which was upsetting, but then she used the yellow yarn to make me a little ducky. So that's all right, then.

Love, Maisie

A nice evening out

Auntie Laura just sent me this picture from Easter, of Dylan showing Maisie something that he received in his Easter basket.

As you can see, he explains things very seriously to Maisie. I can't quite tell what they're talking about, but she seems to be taking it seriously too!

Last night we went out to eat at Punch, a St. Paul Neopolitan-style pizza restaurant that is a favorite of ours. Turns out, Maisie also likes it!

She quite enjoyed the focaccia bread we got as an appetizer, and seemed to enjoy the margherita pizza we got as well. Although, with fresh basil, buffalo mozzarella, and crushed roma tomatoes, who wouldn't like it? She washed it all down with some apple juice, and when she got bored we watched the cooks making the pizza and cooking them in the big brick oven.

It was a lot of fun!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter, and happy spring!

We went over to Gramma J's for brunch today, where Maisie got an Easter basket! It was full of yummy treats and fun little toys.

When we got home, Maisie had fun sharing the yellow paper "grass" from her basket with the kitties. She started out trying to tickle their noses with it, but ended up just putting it on the chair they were sitting on.

As you can see, she thought this game was hilarious!

Gramma J made Maisie the cute little dress she's wearing, by the way!

It hasn't been much of a spring so far - we got at least four inches of snow over the last few days. I've been spending my time indoors, when not chasing after Maisie, by learning to crochet.

I managed to make some things that are gifts, and those pics will get posted when the receipients receive them, so as not to give away the surprise! I also made some little Easter eggs and a ducky for Dylan. Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures of them today... but I did just finish up a little bunny. Isn't it cute?

I am especially proud of the tail, which was my own idea, not even on the pattern! Look at me being creative!

It was remarkably easy to do. I am really enjoying this new crafty hobby. I can't wait to get better at it, and make lots of little toys for all the little ones I know!

I want to ride a tricycle

Aaron has caught the "fever virus", so Maisie and I went over to Auntie Laura and Dylan's house tonight for dinner by ourselves while he napped.

Maisie likes most of Dylan's toys, but tonight she was especially captivated by Dylan's tricycle. Her legs aren't quite long enough yet to reach the pedals, so we all took turns pushing her around the house. Dylan showed us his new bicycle, which Maisie also wanted to try. But she is far too small for that!

We had a good time, as always - yummy food and fun toys! Thanks Auntie Laura and Dylan for having us over tonight!

All better!

Well, Spirit Week came to an early end when Maisie was sent home on Thursday with a high fever. So you can pretend that this picture is from either Thursday (mix & match day) OR Friday (pajama day), since my shoes totally do not go with those jammies.

(It is actually from today. Maisie really enjoys putting on my shoes and trying to walk in them. She hasn't been able to walk in them yet, though. My feet are just too big!)

So, Maisie had a very high fever on Thursday that we got under control with some ibuprofin. Oddly, she had no other symptoms... so when we got her in to the pediatrician on Friday, she was diagnosed with a mysterious "fever virus."

I left work early on Thursday, Aaron stayed home on Friday. We gave her lots of fluids, naps, cuddles, motrin, and TLC, and that combination seems to have done the trick.

She was fever-free by Saturday, and back to her happy, energetic self today. We even went for a walk around the block!

We are so glad our Maisie is healthy again!

Wacky Hair Wednesday

We had grand plans for what to do with Maisie's hair today. We considered a faux-hawk, Kool-aid dye, and even tons of little braids, Coolio-style. But when it came down to it, we overslept a little and were kind of rushed and just did not have time to get any of those things done.

So, we ended up with the topside ponytail. Not truly wacky or outrageous, but it still looks pretty silly, and that's good enough for a Wednesday.

Hat Day

Today is Hat Day at daycare! Maisie wore her cute Hershey's Kiss hat that her Grandma Jo made for her.

You can't quite see it in this picture, but the ribbon on top has Maisie's name embroidered on it. Maisie even kept it on once we got to daycare (she normally rips her hat off the minute we get inside), so I think she must see how cute it is, too!

Yesterday, Special Toy Day, was not nearly so successful. Apparently the kids were all fine with bringing their special toys in, but sharing them with the other children was another story. Oh well, said our daycare provider... they all learned something!

ATTACK!!

Dear blog,

I have a frightening anecdota to repota: I was attacked. I was walking home from free-style-rap-poetry club practice (I'm team coordinator, a very important and busy position) when this mugger jumped out at me. I was, like, terrified. The attacker demanded my wallet, and my Blue Bankie. Which is, like, totally not what it sounds like. It's a, um, diamond.

So anyway, I guess I panicked. I just lashed out with all my fear and terror and stuff, and latched onto my attacker with my teeth.

I...I...guess I killed him.

Luckily, my attacker was made out of spaghetti. Otherwise, there might have been some awkward questions.

Needless to say, I'm safe now, but watch yourselves out there, bloggers.

You never know who or what might be made out of spaghetti.

Peace out,

MJWD aka Baby Thunda

Hard at work

Maisie takes her work - er, play - very seriously. Yesterday she spent a long time building towers with her blocks, then taking them apart, and rebuilding.

She was working really hard at it! And when she got the tower built, she was very pleased with herself.

We sure seem to have a lot of pictures of Maisie in her jammies up on this blog! I'll try to get some pictures up of her actually dressed in normal clothes. This coming week is Spirit Week at her daycare, so each day has a different theme. It should make for some interesting pictures, especially Wednesday's Wacky Hair Day.

I think their Spirit Week is the cutest thing ever and I am really looking forward to it. If anyone has any ideas, though, what to do for Mix & Match Day (Thursday), let me know! I am stumped...

16 months!

Maisie is 16 months old! As you can see, she's a very happy girl, especially when she is playing with her dolls.

She is really in to dolls these days, and always seems to be carrying one or another around by its hair. In this picture she is holding the dolly that her Auntie Clare gave her for Christmas, and another that she got from her Grandma Jalonen is on the couch next to her!

Maisie comes out with a new word just about every day. This weekend she said a few words for the first time: doll (natch!), toast, Gramma, Dylan... and NO! That last one has reappeared more than once since then. I guess it's a preview of things to come as we head towards age two.

Happy March!

Rabbit, rabbit!

Believe it or not, we did not go to the children's museum today!! (we went yesterday.) Instead, we spent the day in a variety of midwestern almost-spring activities.

This morning, we sat around in our jammies and read books on the couch. As you can see, those of us who are teething wear bibs with our jammies, though we do not wear them to bed.

Speaking of teething - I discovered today that Maisie has her first molar, in the back on the lower right! I guess that explains the copious drool and the fussy nights. I am surprised, though - she still only has two teeth in front on the bottom. You'd think she'd get eyeteeth before molars.

Anyway...

Then we got dressed and went to the Mall of America, where we played with the Duplos at Legoland, watched the rides at the Nickelodeon Universe f/k/a The Park At MOA f/k/a Camp Snoopy, and ran up and down the aisles at DSW where Aaron bought new shoes.

That was exhausting, so when we got home, Maisie took a good long nap.

When she woke up, it was relatively nice out (above freezing! spring is on the way!) so we bundled up and went for a walk.

It didn't end up being a very long walk thanks to some freezing rain that started to fall shortly after we set out. But we felt good about actually getting outside today for more than walking to or from the car!