My Little Helper

Lately Erik and I have been noticing that Maggie is actually VERY helpful. And not in the sense where you placate a child and say "thank you dear" meanwhile thinking in your head "I'm so glad you put the mustard in the tupperware cabinet - now I need to remember to take it out when you're not looking".

No, she is seriously helpful.

Yesterday she decided she needed a band-aid. She might not have needed the band-aid but she is officially obsessed with them right now so we let her have this luxury of plastering herself in plastic adhesive with Dora designs. So she walks over to the drawer, gets the band-aids out, opens the box, opens the band-aid wrapper (which, I have to add, her father just figured out how to do this less than a year ago. He didn't realize they peeled open...but that's another story) puts it on her knee and then throws the trash away.

When I went in to check on her this morning, she was awake in her bed. She immediately jumped out of bed and I did my usual routine of sitting in the rocking chair in her room so I could hold her for a few minutes before we had to get ready. She stood there and said "no, I have to put a different shirt on and change my diaper". She opened her drawer, found a shirt and a skirt that matched, threw them on the floor and layed down for me to change her. But not before she cleaned up all of the clothes on her floor and put them in the correct drawers (while singing "clean up, clean up, everybody do your share...")

When we were leaving she noticed my lunch was on the counter, she picked it up, carried it all the way to the car and put it on the passenger seat.

What does she need us for again? I'm starting to wonder. Her maternal instinct is stronger than mine!

Three is a Magic Number

Maggie's crib is on Craig's List. This makes me a little emotional for many reasons, not the least of which what it indirectly means.

I struggle daily with the prospect of Maggie being an only child. Not only am I 37 and just tired, tired, tired at the end of the day but I'm not sure I want more children. Until I was 26, I wasn't even really sure I wanted 1. I know a lot of only children and they are just fine...but is it selfish to not give Maggie a sibling because I am tired? Is it really all about me?

Not that I feel the need to explain myself, but I will. Erik, Amy and Maggie, family of 3. I like it. I like that our entire life is about her, focused on her, making her a good person and happy. I never was a girl who had to be a mother, just happy. Having 2 kids gives me that mother title and everything in your life is about caring for kids - plural. Having 1 makes me happy. And it makes us..."us". We take a flight on a plane and we're in a row together, we all fit nicely on the bed together when we watch tv, we fit at our kitchen table that is against the wall and only has 3 sides perfectly, she sits in between us and can touch both of us. We have a thing...the 3 of us...inside jokes that no one else needs to understand and a closeness that I never want to dilute.

With all that said, she will probably hate me one day for this decision but I hope she understands it really was all about her.

Sing a Song...

Our life has become a musical. If Maggie's not bossing us around she is singing her little heart out.

Check out her rendition of the ABCs...pay close attention to the L-M-N-O-P part...I think she is subliminally telling us to stop trying to potty train her:

And the ever popular "Tankle Tankle Little Stars":

And you can't miss her encore and all-time favorite, "Oh Canada":

Enjoy!