Ange, Leo & Eri in Ohio for a visit!

Cousin Ange & the kids have escaped the depths of winter in Texas and are visiting for a while. Whooo hooo! Someone to walk to Starbucks with and have playdates all the time! It is also a great excuse for friends and family to come up for a visit. Sunday we had a brunch down at the farm. Here are some pics from the day: This might be one of my favorite pictures. Cousin Katherine singing along happily, showing her little cousins the way around the farm. Eri & Maggie look so confused!

Eri & Cousin Sarah.

Cousin Katherine & Maggie... yes, she is teething!

The story behind this skirt. As many of you know, Grandpa Bill has a bunch of horses. The most beautiful ones are the Kigers. Steph found this skirt with Kigers on it! I think it is the perfect way for Maggie to start buttering up her Grandpa for her own pony. The rest of the outfit is my fault. I could not find any other socks!

Great Grandma Trudie with Leona Smith, 6 Months old already!

Best wishes to Jill!

Cousin Jill is getting married next year so all of the Smith/Slaven ladies got together to shower her with love & gifts. We were so happy to see everyone there and especially to see glowing cousin Kate carrying baby number 5! A little baby girl who we can't wait to meet! Unfortunately there were no good pictures of the ribbon bouquet that I made for Jill's rehearsal. I guess we will just have to wait for pics from the wedding.

Auntie Sus-sus & Maggie

All of the gifts!

Grandma Trudie & the beautiful bride to be, Jill.

Lebanon Horse Parade

Every December, the town of Lebanon holds a horse-drawn carriage parade through the streets. It is a full day of food, fun & horses dressed up for the festivities. Maggie, Steph & I went downtown to see the parade. We met up with Cousin Sarah & Branden. Lots of fun, a little snow, and a little baby girl Maggie fast asleep through the entire event!

Eating Ice Cream

Food all over her face! Maggie enjoying a ice cream treat.

Happy Friday!

Reasons to be happy today: The sun is shining (but it is still 20 degrees outside)! Great weekend planned with Cousin Jill's Bridal Shower, the horsedrawn carriage parade in Lebanon with the Smith Family (Maggie should love this event!), reconnecting with friends at a Christmas party, and thanks to Steph's offer to watch Maggie over night on Saturday, we get to sleep in on Sunday!! Have a great weekend!

Thanksgiving 2008

Thanksgiving 2008 was spent with great food, great family and of course our wonderful friends. Thank you to Bret & Carol for an amazing feast and really fun wine tasting (Bret, we still think that your wine is the best of them all!!). We are also thankful that dad came home from the hospital on thanksgiving and is now quickly recovering with the best nurse in the world! The feast is about the begin. Carol is making sure that her little guest is happy!

Cocktails outside by the fire before dinner. Ahhhh, perfect. The labs are circling the table just in case something falls.

Always fun to have Brian home from college. He was such a big help at our Thanksgiving last year in Barton Bendish!

Kelly & Maggie playing before dinner. Fight on!!!

Dad looking and feeling great! He was Maggie's favorite. I think it was the See's Candy he was slipping her on the side.

Capitola

We had a great time in California as always. We ate way too much, spent too much time at Gayles, and rushed around trying to see everyone! For those of you who have not yet come for a visit to the beach house... you should! Besides the beach, etc there is the best bakery in the world just a few blocks away from the house. Why are we surprised that we have both gained 5 pounds? John teaching Maggie the basics of the ocean

Checking out his favorite surf spot the "Getty" (as he puts it).

Ta da! Sand!

Can you tell that it is really early in the morning? That is the sunrise. In case you are wondering the beach is south facing, with the bay that allows for an amazing sunrise and sunset. We are still on east coast time after all... that means 4 am wake up call from Maggie.

The best place for a cup of coffee in the morning.

Gianna's wedding

While I was looking for a picture of Carol for my welcome post below, I came across tons of pictures from Gianna's wedding. Some of my favorite people are below: Maggie at the rehersal dinner.

Maggie taking her first steps down the aisle. Only 11 months old and she had to perform!

The girls.

Sweet Eric putting up with us :)

Erin & Miss Audrey.

Erin... determined.

My Sister Carol

At Thanksgiving, my sister Carol did not realize that we had a blog! So, her darling children were going to teach her how to log on and see miss Maggie in action. Welcome Carol to life with

Maggie! Picture of Carol from Gianna's rehersal dinner at Rodney Strong.

Thanksgiving with the Smiths

The Grandkids (minus Hannah and Owen) with Bill & StephThe great-grandkids (minus Hannah!) with Gram Trudie. Maggie was busy playing with her toy. Here is what happened when dada took it away!

We are heading west for Thanksgiving so we will not post for a week or so! We hope that everyone has a wonderful week with family and friends.

Perfect Height

The Diaper wipe box seems to be the perfect height for Maggie. Yes, the book is upside down. Give her a break, she is only 14 months old! Thanks to Martha for giving her the Peter Rabbit books. They are just her size!

Snow already

We are in for a long cold winter here in Ohio. We had our first snow fall this week. Makes me start to think about what to do with Maggie for the rest of the winter! We bought the pass to the children's museum, have signed up for playgroup, and just purchased the play kitchen for the basement. I think that we are ready.

While it was snowing here, I was informed by all of my California people that there was a heat wave and it was 80 + degrees! How nice, November and 80 degrees. Don't worry, I am sure that it will cool down when we arrive for Thanksgiving next week.

A Tie???

We witnessed a bizarre game today... a tie between the Bengals & the Eagles. Thank you Dave for taking us to the game. John & Evan on the way to the game.

Boonshoft Museum of Discovery Dayton

Maggie & Mommy explore the wilderness through the safety of a bubble.

Maggie at the wheel. She is an excellent driver.

Warm kisses on a cold day

Getting ready to discover

The Lovely little Miss Maggie Jane Smith

Update from John:

Miss Maggie Jane Smith is almost 15 months old and already she has quite the personality. She is inquisitive, sweet, and affectionate. But underneath her sweet demeanor, lies a strong willed little girl. Most of her day is spent exploring, whether it be the cupboards or bookshelf. Her favorite is to spend as much time as she can 'Outside'. She says this word from the second she wakes up until she goes to sleep. She likes to make use of her new skills at the local park, especially crossing the 'bridge of terror'. She laughs and laughs and laughs as the mean ogre (played by her dadda) tries to get her from below. Her favorite books include, 'one fish, two fish' and 'each peach pear plum'. She is currently in the process of destroying her favorite pop-up... Dr. Suess. Her favorite words are 'Mine', 'Dadda', 'Mommy', but the word she uses the most is 'no', as she asserts her dominance on the world. She likes to sing and dance and watch her favorite DVDs about animals.

Thank you Dadda for the update!

Fun at the Park with Baba!

She loved her new outfit from Baba, but she is still figuring out what to do with the purse. Gianna, you will have to help her!

We are finally on Skype!

I know, we should have been on it a long time ago. It would have helped in England! Well, better late than never. We have finally joined the 21st century! Call us :)

ringo.mary.maggie.smith

Our Kitchen!!!

Well, half of a kitchen. The countertop will not be here for another 4 weeks and then we have to paint etc. All of this means that we are still doing the dishes in the bathroom!

More pictures of the girl we love!

Maggie is in love with her dolly Lamby that Dori gave her. She dances around the living room chanting... Lamby, Lamby, Lamby, Lamby. It is pretty cute. She loves it so much that 'just in case' we have ordered another one.

Raking the leaves in the front yard. A first for her and for her mom! We don't have to do this in California.

It is Cold!

Maggie & her baby are all bundled up for a walk.

Libby & Catherine waiting for a treat

Halloween in Oakwood

The neighbors really go all out with their decorations!! Maggie was a little bit confused by the witch that lived down the street. Lesson 1: Living in the Midwest. Halloween costumes need to be warm!! Auntie Carol gave Maggie the tinkerbell outfit and it would have been perfect for California. But, as you can see, she has some random accessories on to keep warm! Now we know for next year.

Cousin Katherine shows Maggie how trick or treating is done.

John & Maggie looking cute out in front of our house.