Girls' weekend

This past Saturday, I had a girls' night away -- the first time I've traveled anywhere and left Patrick and Maggie at home! Of course they had a great time, and so did I. Sona picked me up on Saturday, and we headed up to Asheville for a reunion with our high school girlfriends. She came bearing gifts -- a new garba outfit for me, and one for Maggie. Check out this pose!


I think she loved the long skirt -- the whole time she had it on, she ran in circles around and around Patrick. She was practicing so she'll be ready to do some Indian dancing when Garba season rolls around again!


Maggie and Sona:


Govie girls:

Spring day

We spent a little time outside this weekend enjoying the lovely spring weather and our flowers! Here are the daffodils I planted last fall -- a first for me:


Maggie likes to smell the flowers! Unfortunately, she can get a little rough -- she hasn't learned to be gentle with them yet. Or to watch where she steps! We're working on it, though.


"Petting" the tulips:

Patrick teaching (or rather, attempting to teach) Maggie how to pick her feet up when she walks. Aren't they adorable? Like a daddy duck and a baby duck. :)


Maggie and me!


Family self-portrait:


A few more pictures from the weekend to come, hopefully tomorrow.

Haircut!

Aunt Leslie gave Maggie her first haircut on Wednesday -- just a little trim to neaten things up. Maggie did great -- until the end!

Beach!

On Tuesday we went down to Miami to visit family there and then to Miami Beach to see our friends Tal and Sydney, who live within walking distance of the beach. Of course we had to go! So Maggie had her first experience of the beach, and she loved the birds and the sand but was afraid of the water.

Zoo!

On Monday we visited the West Palm Beach Zoo and had a blast! I think Maggie's favorite part was chasing these birds that were all over the zoo.



She also loved these tortoise statues:



So much so that she decided to give all three of them hugs!



We learned that Patrick is almost as tall as a black bear:


But Maggie still has a ways to go!


The carousel was another first for Maggie, and a lot of fun!

Spring break

This week was Patrick's spring break, and we went down to Florida to visit my mom, grandma & family down there. We had a fun time! It was great seeing everyone and we enjoyed the warm, sunny weather, too.

Maggie got in lots of quality playtime with her grandma:


The golf cart was a huge hit! Maggie loved riding around in it.


She also loved gathering rocks and throwing them in Aunt Leslie's pond!



Playing dolls with her grandma and great-grandma:



Four generations!



We also had a trip to the beach, a trip to the zoo, and Maggie's first haircut during this visit -- separate posts with pictures of those to follow!

Easter surprise

Maggie's Aunt Patty and Uncle Tom sent her an Easter package the other day. It was very exciting!

What's this?



Open it up, Daddy!


Maggie was interested in the bunny basket and the goodies it held, but SO excited about the sand/water toy set:


A sieve!!!!


I can't wait until we have a warm, sunny day and she can try them out. Thanks so much, Patty and Tom!

Spring walk

The weather here was so nice this weekend that we went for not one, but two, walks in the woods! Alas, we forgot the camera for one of the walks, but the other one was documented. Here are a few pictures from our visit to the Botanical Gardens on Saturday.

I wanted a picture of Maggie with the daffodils, but she had no interest in staying in one place long enough to have her picture taken! This is the best one I got:


She loved carrying her backpack around. Sometimes she even wore it on her back. :)


Snack time!


Stopping on a tree root for more snacks:


She's outta here!