Let the Countdown Begin...

This Saturday our little Maggie Moo turns 3!!!

She'll officially be a preschooler. We will be celebrating her birthday in Boise with a PINK party! I know, I know...next will be a princess party or something.

Maggie's still crossing off the days on her little calendar we made her until her birthday. She's excited that we'll be visiting family again and that her cousins and Boise friends will join her for her birthday. She was sad though when I told her that Isabelle (who she now officially refers to as "my best friend") won't be able to make it, and her other friends in Moscow. I'm so glad she's made pals here! We might just have to throw another birthday bash when we get back home:)

Magnolia's New, New House

Yep, we're moving again!!!

It's finally settled though, and this is the new home we'll be moving into. We're very excited. It's a great house and a great location where we can still walk and bike commute very easily. Maggie (and River) will still get a play room, we'll have a spare room, and Zac will get some office space. AND the outside area is fantastic! It will be so nice to have a yard again!!!! We get to keep the swing set as well, and next to that is a sandbox...Maggie is SO excited. We'll be moving out of the house we're in now by the end of the month. For those of you that didn't know, we are moving again because of a problem with mold in the basement garage of the home we're in now. There are large cracks in the foundation of the home which allowed in a lot of moisture during this very wet spring. The foundation is so saturated with moisture that the mold has been difficult to control, and the home is very openly ventilated to the garage, so we endured a strong odor of mold during the spring! The owners are choosing not to address our concern about the mold, but are releasing us from our lease with no repercussions, so, we are moving yet again!

Books, Books and MORE Books

Magnolia just finished the summer reading program with our local library. The children of course had reading requirements, and there were also events in the community for children and families. Zac and Maggie enjoyed music and entertainment each Thursday evening at the park during the month of June. Storytime at the library started back up again, and we've been working on getting there each Wednesday morning. For the reading requirements, the children had a few options: they could read a certain number of books, a certain number of hours, or a certain number of pages. For preschool age we felt it was easiest to just read a certain number of books. The requirement was 10 books, but we decided on a family goal of filling every line of her reading log with a new book (55 books). We read everyday, but we often read the same book for days in a row, so the challenge with this of course was actually reading 55 different books...but we did it, and she was so proud! Every evening when we would record the books read for the day, Maggie would have to make her marks on the reading log as well, noting the books she read. On Thursday she turned in her reading log, got her certificate, put her name on the window at the library, picked a prize, and a book to keep! She found The Wheels on the Bus (remember the post about how much she loves that book?). It was quite the process, but well worth it! And a great way to do something special with Maggie each day!

A Magnolia Summer

hammock, adirondack chair, sprinkler...

she never wants to come in!

And the countdown begins...

Magnolia is so excited that her birthday is coming soon. She's been celebrating the birthdays of friends and family which has only increased the excitement for her own special day. We've been talking a lot about how her birthday is in the month of July, how old she'll be (her new favorite number is now 3), and how we'll celebrate another year of her life. Zac and I put together a simple calendar for her so that she can cross off the days until her birthday. The 23rd day on the calendar has her name on it, and a nice birthday picture of her from last year. She was so excited about it when she woke up to find it. We also added all the other July birthdays (we have a lot of them) so that we can make cards and send special birthday wishes to family. I'm excited that her enthusiasm about her birthday will offer a new learning opportunity---it's always nice when that works out so well!

And while we are on the topic of her birthday...we still have absolutely no idea what we'll be doing, or where we'll be celebrating. Of course, as many of you know, we are yet again in transition as we prepare to move to a new home. We had been thinking that a birthday in McCall, celebrating on the beach at Payette Lake would be wonderful. This way family could travel up from Boise, and we could travel down from Moscow. We may travel all the way to Boise, or we may just stay home. I don't think we'll know until closer to her birthday, but we'll certainly keep everyone posted. I know family really would like to participate, and Maggie would really like that as well!

Market Day

Generally we head to the local market each Saturday to stock up on local produce and goods. Last weekend I ventured out with both River and Maggie alone. With River slung and Maggie in her umbrella stroller (which she had been begging to use again for some reason) I ended up a tired Mama---carrying all sorts of baby gear and purchased items, pushing a stroller and wearing a sling. Our friends, the Weed Family, offered up their 2 seater Chariot for the weekend for us to try out and see how we like it. So we put Maggie and River in (Maggie was SUPER excited about this) and headed to the market. Overall, it went really well. River was quite content in the buggy for the whole outing!

Maggie and River in Isabelle's buggy...

Maggie enjoying some delicious Sticky Fingers Farm ice cream!!...

She's Seriously FANCY

SHE'S ALSO SUPER CUTE!

AND SUPER FEISTY!!!!!