a week full of family & love

we traveled to ssi a few weeks ago - my sweet husband riding down with me in the loaded car, which has managed to somehow shrink in size since may 13, and flying back after unloading said car at his gmom's condo.  we had to get out of atlanta and i needed some family time. unfortunately matt had to work so he couldn't stay, but more on that later.  i hadn't seen my family or friends since margaret was born and i know everyone is busy at home so traveling to atlanta is not easy.  since i'm on maternity leave (thank you, mr. president for FMLA) i figured, why not?  not to mention most importantly, my brother was leaving for the army the following week and i wanted to be with him before he left for basic training.  matt's gmom was kind enough to allow us a week in her condo down on the beach so the girls and i made ourselves right at home - just us three.  it was wonderful.

we visited with cousins, siblings, in-laws and parents.  i loved it - hectic as it can be down there visiting everyone, i needed it more than anyone knows and i had such a great time with you all.

libby will be TWO next week, and margaret will be two months.  my children amaze me everyday and i love them both so much.

libby is growing into her own little person by the minute.  she loves to read, loves to color (cul-lee) and loves to do girly things like put on mimi's makeup (since her mother has none to play with) and also loves to be a little tomboy and kick the soccer (socc-ee) ball around.  lately she's saying sentences,  even though you have to piece them together to understand what she's saying.  "i wanna hold you mama" obviously means "mom please hold me" and "watch this" means just that, "hey mom, watch this and stop whatever you're doing" so you can focus on me!  she has totally adjusted to margaret and no longer shows any jealousy.  she calls her sissy and knows that sissy comes with us and is just now part of her life.  the few times we have had to ourselves, she is constantly asking where m is which i think is so sweet.  where my little libby used to be pretty clingy to me, which i loved deep down, she is now blossoming and trusting of more people in our life.  her attitude is positively happy and joyful and i just find her to be a wonderful, precious little lady.  she is definitely two though - so we do have our moments of "OMG libby please, please, please stop screaming just to hear your own voice" or "libby please don't touch that" or what have you, and she is extremely independent and strong willed - quite the combination.  matt and i constantly say to ourselves that she is pretty OTT - over the top.  we have our hands full with libby and those hands will love her more than she will ever realize so we're not complaining, but i do see her hometown being "LA or NYC" one day based on her dramatic acting skills i see lately.  her "OH NO" as she holds her hands to her forehead and realizes she forgot to get her sunglasses out of the car or something small, suddenly turns into a major disaster.

and then there is margaret....sweet, quiet, margaret.  after a few moments trying to figure out what name suits her best (is she a maggie?  does she look like a meg?  perhaps greta?) we stand firm in the belief that she is truly a beautiful, regal little margaret.  i love her name.  it is so her.
margaret is such a part of our family now i don't remember life before her. everyone says you get to that point and i really never understood what they meant until now.  i just adore her.  i steal kisses from her all the time, i smell her precious head and i could seriously eat her up.  she makes the most precious noises - and in the mornings i could lay in bed with her forever.  she laughs, smiles and is the happiest baby.  her hair is lightening up (could she be a redhead? maybe!) and her eyes are still brilliantly blue like her big sister's and her daddy's.  she loves to watch libby and she recently has begun reaching out for her and noticing more and more who's around.   besides knowing my voice, she really smiles when libby is near - a sign of a great friendship between our two girls.  i look forward to everyday with them both.  we have our trying days and days of tears (from me, not them) but that is mainly because i want to give them both 100% and that's just not possible, so when i feel defeated or sad because i don't feel like i've done enough for each of them, i have to remind myself and just remember that i do my very best, everyday, for them both, and that is all i can do.  the main thing is, they know they are loved by matt and me and that is really all that matters.