I THOUGHT I was over the jet lag. Maybe not.

As you can see, it's rather early in the morning. This seems to be when the jet lag hits me the hardest. I wake up to go to the bathroom and then I am wide awake at 4:30 in the morning. I haven't been taking any naps the past couple of days so maybe I don't need any sleep. I don't think that is the case however. Guess I'll keep working on it.

So far, things are going pretty well. I will admit on Wednesday, when David went back to work at noon to meet with his sub, I sat on the floor of the den with Maggie on my lap and cried. She basically won't let me put her down when it's just the 2 of us here and I thought, "I cannot do this for the next 2 months." I feel bad watching TV while we are playing because all she wants to do is look at the TV and honestly, you can only hit blocks on the coffee table for so long. Well, she could probably do it forever but I get kind of bored. I need to make sure we GO somewhere each day, I think. I've been taking her for long walks in the jogging stroller each morning because the weather has been so beautiful here the past couple of days. That's been fun. It's REALLY fun on trash day because then you can check out what's in everybody's recycling bins. It appears that the people in my neighborhood enjoy cheap beer. And a LOT of it. Maggie protests mightily everytime I put her in the stroller or the carseat but then clams up after about 2 minutes and usually goes to sleep. I think she just feels like she's not getting her way and must complain. Our neighborhood is not a very stay at home mommy kind of place. It's more working class, I would say. Lower middle class. Usually when we are out, I see at most 2 people. It's kind of weird but so quiet and peaceful.

My parents came on Thursday and they have been very good about helping me wear Maggie out! She is exhausted by nighttime. Also, because she sleeps in the stroller in the morning and it's such a trial to get that behemoth of a jogging stroller back in the house, she usually wakes up and REFUSES to go back to sleep. I had to put her in the pack n play the other day while I showered and she SCREAMED. Maybe I'll try letting her come in the bathroom next time. I need to babyproof the cabinets in there first though. Then she did nap but just for an hour on Thursday and we were out running errands yesterday so the only sleeping she did was in the car. We went up to BJ's and when we got there, she was drenched in sweat. I felt really bad. Then we went to Kohl's where she got some new clothes, because you know, she has none. We ran into the Teeter and I discovered that she is unable to escape from those grocery carts, unlike Target and Walmart. I would prefer her not be able to escape from the Target carts because that is going to limit my browsing time. Finally, we hit Old Navy because she has no socks that will stay on her feet. I can't figure out if her feet are unusually large or if I'm trying to jam newborn socks on her that are handmedowns! Ha! David brought a TON of presents home from kids and teachers yesterday. Maggie now has 2 pairs of Nikes and maybe the cutest little Timberland mary janes I've ever seen.

So that is all for updates now. My dad hung Maggie's swing on the deck yesterday and she is a fan. She is NOT a fan of the swing on the playground here, perhaps because the front of the baby swing comes up to about her nose. Today we are going to work on her birthday party. We're making tie dyed cupcakes. Oh, we gave her part of a pumpkin muffin last night and she devoured it. I think watching her eat her cupcake on Sunday is going to be a hoot. We are beginning to see new parts of her personality daily and she is just about the cutest thing ever! As maddening as it is to not be able to put her down most of the time, she is just so sweet! Here are some more photos for you to enjoy. Nice hats, right?