at twenty six weeks...

at twenty six weeks we went to west springfield and you met your great-grandma! you are her twelfth great-grand.  and you are the first daughter of a daughter of a daughter.  pretty special. 

you know what else is special?  my grammie reads my blog...at almost 92 years old.  i hope when i am 92 i'm celebrating the things that are familiar and embracing the new.  

hi grammie...we love you!

at twenty six weeks you danced under aunt kim's disco ball in preparation for your visit with great-grammie...

and re-enacted a famous sady family photo...

and aunt eileen took a bunch of sweet photos of you...

 you also met your second cousin, emma...

 

and no proper trip to west springfield is complete without a trip to...

at twenty six weeks, we logged some miles.  after massachusetts, we drove to new harbor to celebrate mother's day and my birthday...

you loved the candles and i made a really good wish...

you got passed around and were the center of the party with those new giggles you let out...

 we showed you the picture of you and nana and great grammie... 

and you couldn't stop staring...

then you and popsie had a meeting of the minds... 

 

this one is blurry, but i just love it...because the moment you were born i remember how skinny your little ankles were...but not anymore...

you got out for a walk with dad in the new ergo...

and here i am doing my impression of you in the car.  what do you think?

at twenty six weeks we were able to get some family photos...

dad at the top...

 cozy on the couch...

and while out for a walk, i took a photo of you and decided it was only fair to turn the camera around and take a photo of me.  here we are on our first mother's day.  you, then me...

 and at twenty six weeks of course you had some good fun with your buddy...

your expressions in this next one are priceless...

you may have co-slept in a co-sleeper (and you also stole august's blankets...you are certainly your mother's daughter)...

 

wilder read you some stories...

 and you followed his lead wearing a tie and getting dressed up...

when i look at this photo i can sort of imagine you as a 75 year old lady in florida on the beach...

at twenty six weeks we had some fun with food, although you mainly look terrified...

you are currently fascinated by the spoon, but not really by the contents...

and this week we let you gnaw on a cob of corn...

 

at twenty six weeks you feel like a real person, which makes it sound like you were something else before...it's not that...it's just that i can really see your personality in this past week.  you seem more grown up and i may regret writing this...but a bit more predictable and able to be understood.  your laugh is something i will love forever and this week you laughed and laughed.

getting to celebrate mother's day in this new way was really special.  this week i had some moments of wondering about the path of parenthood and my mothering style.  i also had many moments that pulled me back on course and reminded me to stand tall in my mama boots...to listen to my gut...and to trust that no one knows the way to raise children...for there isn't one way, there are lots of ways.  there are studies and studies and studies....there are millions of books...there are so many opinions and options.  in the end, i'm learning that i have to honor what i value and believe, as honoring what someone else values for me and wants me to believe doesn't cut it.  

maeve, you are teaching me every single day how to choose love, how to be present, how to be patient, and how to keep it simple.  you are the best mother's day gift.  on the ride home from new harbor, dad and i listened to the audio clip of the moment you were born.  wow.  wow.  wow.  talk about a gift...

at twenty five weeks...

happy half birthday miss maeve!  at twenty five weeks you had so many firsts...two days at a new daycare, avocado, naked time without a space heater (hooray summer is on the way), time in a swing and in the exersaucer.  suddenly you seem very grown up...grabbing and reaching for things, communicating your needs without a single word, and killing it with that smile and those expressions.

at twenty five weeks you are still working on sitting up, but often end up folded over...

at twenty five weeks you used your exersaucer...and if i put you on the floor next to it you let me know that you wanted to be in it not next to it.  you were moving, shaking, playing with the toys, making noises, and loving the action...

tongue out and having fun...

at twenty five weeks it was the start of summer, but just the right temperature for your new cardigan from aunt helen.  you wore it nearly every day...

outside...

with skinny jeans...

 with friends...

 with a matching beret...

and while dancing on the counter...

at twenty five weeks mr. hobbes made it clear that he likes to be near you.  you woke up extra early one day and were talking and babbling.  i came in to see you and i found hobbes laying next to your crib and you were looking out and talking to him.  allergy-wise hobbes can't sleep in your room...but we let it slide just this once...

at twenty five weeks you are moving through clothes so fast.  i just packed up a bunch of other items and brought out some new things.  clothes with bum decor are being savored, because i know pretty soon you won't be laying still and on your tummy like this...

at twenty five weeks you were your most colorful yet...sporting your onesie from senegal and your yellow ciee hat...

mmmm...saliva and avocado...

at twenty five weeks you had two great days with rachael, august, and wilder.  you went to the bank and got your first sticker...

 you lent august your hat and had a photo shoot...

 you got ready for the days outside with a little sunscreen...

 you and august cuddled in a single stroller...

at twenty five weeks nina and rachael both captured a few more photo series of your expressions...

 and here...

 at twenty five weeks you got together with your buddies for a mexican fiesta in the sun...

 and we did the first (and last) mama pinwheel...

the mamas surprised me with a little early birthday present...photo cards from all the babes...

i'm having a hard time putting into words just what it means to have been a mama for six months...how do you compress such wonder, learning, growth, challenge, and happiness into a paragraph?  how do you take a feeling a give it adequate words?  i certainly can't...at least not right now.  the feeling...i have that and always will.  that is enough.

oh and did you hear what o and uncle ben bought maeve for her half birthday?  a boat.  yup.  a boat.

happy six months baby!