Friday evening our monthly dinner group got together, so Maggie, Ty, McKenzie and Kaleb all played together and ran around the backyard enjoying, well, running around. Maggie is so happy the weather has gotten better here because she loves nothing better than being outside. At one point she was running in random circles with Ty and as she took a turn past me, she looked at me with her breathtaking smile and yelled out, "Mommy! I haf'in fun!" Indeed, she was. The girl slept like a log Friday night.
Today, we attended Stella's 1st birthday party. I love little kid birthday parties, but I have to hand it to Stella's mommy - she is so imaginative, and creates the best spaces for her parties. The ideas she comes up with are simply stunning.
Not only was the party amazing to see, Maggie had a blast. Mostly, she played with Norah and Jack. Maggie and Norah played with toys so nicely together, then once Jack arrived, Maggie attached herself to him and Norah and followed them everywhere. If they went running through the rooms in a big circle, Maggie was right behind them. If Norah and Jack jumped off the step in the foyer, their little shadow was next in line. They could not get rid of her if they wanted to!
I went looking for Maggie and Hubby at one point and found them outside on the swing set/slide with, you guessed it, Norah and Jack. Maggie was dirty from tip to toe and couldn't be happier. The three of them were alternately sliding and swinging, and generally having a grand time. I hope to have more opportunities for Maggie to buddy up with them - she enjoys playing with them so much.
(By the way, I had my first real "Maggie's mommy" moment today. Jack was going down the slide and he called out, "Hey! ... um, Maggie's mommy! Look at me!" It cracked me up - I'm sure it's the first of many over the next few years.)
The birthday theme was "in the garden", so for their activity the kids painted little terra cotta pots. After the pots dried, the kids scooped potting soil into their pot and planted seeds to take home and watch grow. With the seeds and pot, the kids also received a little cup for watering, and an adorable magnifying glass to watch the seeds grow. Maggie (as is the theme for this entire weekend) had a lot of fun with it :)
After all the playing and painting, the sliding and cupcake-eating, we finally called it day, about 2-1/2 hours after Maggie should have had her nap. I knew it was time to leave when she starting getting weepy over toys. She was asleep in her carseat before we were ten minutes away. When she awoke from her nap, about an hour and a half later, I had to give her a bath. Never has this girl been so dirty! I had to scrub her up good (though carefully - her legs were a little skinned up from the day), then drain the water and refill the tub so she could play.
Tonight, about 8:30, Maggie told us she "nee' takey nap", which means she is ready to go to bed. There is no better indicator of a hard-played day than a child asking to sleep :)