Whatever it takes to get comfy. . .

I checked in on Maggie during her naptime today and found this:

Maggie's First Swim

Ben's parents belong to a supper club through their church and this week the group came down to the beach. We went over to meet them on Wednesday and had a really great time visiting with friends and exploring the beach. While Maggie was napping, Ben and I took a stroll on the beach... the weather was so nice and the water was warm. I chased fish and we stalked a heron that was on the beach (got to within about 10 feet!) and saw lots of (what I think were) blue crab that have migrated down to the gulf.

We had planned to get Maggie on the beach to feel the sand under her toes, but by the time she woke up from her nap it was raining and thundering, so later we visited the pool instead! Miss Shelby, who has a beautiful condo which we were staying in, is a former swim instructor and she gave us lots of wonderful advice about how to introduce Maggie to the water so that she will learn to love it.

Maggie eventually got to the point where she would splash with her hands and giggle when we moved her legs to help her "kick". It was GREAT fun! There is a short video clip on the link to the right. . . it will take you to YouSendIt.com where you can download the clip. This is only recommended for those with high speed access and will only be available for 7 days. Happy viewing!

War Eagle Baby!

To celebrate the start of college football, a sacred season here in the south, Maggie got some new duds. . . (thank you Grandmother!) Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar Eagle!

Birthday Parties!

Maggie and I got to visit my sister and her family. Her daughter turned 2 years old this September! We had SUCH a fun visit, even if it was very short.


I got to help my sister decorate her birthday cake. . . the party had a water theme so my sister picked out this fun dessert!















Here's Maggie's cousin with one of her presents from Gabby (Grandma Small). . . a frog umbrella!













The cousins share a "hug" before saying goodbye.

Savage Gulf

Ben and some of his buddies from work got to spend a weekend hiking in Savage Gulf, near Chattanooga, TN. They had a great weekend - John Eldridge would be proud.

This is Ben at the Stone Door. . . Quite a view!

Born to be Wild. . .

Maggie and I decided to play a little dress up today. She makes a cute little biker, doesn't she?

Turn, Turn, Turn. . . .

Maggie had another monumental first - when I got her out of the crib this morning she was on her tummy! She had rolled over during the early morning hours. This is significant because she generally does not like being on her tummy and I was beginning to wonder if she was just going to skip this milestone. :-)