My First Time Fishing!

Now that summer is in full gear, mommies decided to take me fishing on Friday night.  We had planned to go when we were camping, but we ran out of time!  We headed to one of our new favorite spots - Eau Galle lake to see if the fish were biting.  In order to keep me occupied, mommies got a snack for me to nibble on, which actually did work.  (for a while...)  Unfortunately, the fish were NOT really biting, so we didn't catch anything, but we had a great time together and I'm sure we'll be fishing a lot this summer!

Mama showing me how everything works.

Enjoying some snacks.

Flossing after my snacks.  (with fishing line)  :)

Sitting with Mama while she fishes.

Enjoying the view.

Checking out the lake!

Trying to get a closer look!

First McNamara Family Camping Trip!

Over Memorial Day, mommies rented a camper and we went on our first ever McNamara family camping trip!  We went to Highland Ridge campground in Spring Valley, WI, which was close to home, so that worked great.  The campground was beautiful, and it had a playground, which I loved!  It was also the first time we've ever had a camper, and we all LOVED having it!  Buying our own camper is definitely in our plans now!  (not for several years though...)  We had such a fun weekend together.  We went for lots of bike rides, we went hiking, we took walks, and we spent a lot of time relaxing at our campsite.  The Nelson family also came to visit us for a while on Sunday afternoon, which was lots of fun! 

The camper was really nice!  It had a big queen size bed on one side and a full size bed on the other side.  (we didn't use the second bed, so we just kept all of our bags there)  The kitchen table folded up, and my pack 'n play fit perfectly there!  We also had a couch, a bathroom and a kitchen.  We grilled most meals outside, but Mommy made breakfast for us on the stove both mornings, and she used the microwave for my dinner the first night.  The camper also had a big refrigerator, which was really nice for milk and other cold food!

The only downside to the trip was that I would get a little scared when mommies would try to put me to bed at night, and I spent quite a bit of time screaming.  Both nights I had to fall asleep on mommies' shoulders before I would go down.  The same thing happened during nap time.  (although by Sat afternoon I was so tired that I took a 3.5 hour nap and by Sunday, I went down for a nap right away, so I clearly got over my fear!)  Oh, and one other thing, I decided to get up at around 5:00AM each morning, so that was ... different.  :)  Despite the sleeping though, we all had a really great time!

Mommies definitely want to make a tradition out of this, and once we get our own camper, we're planning to go all the time!! 

Mama hanging out with me on the couch after dinner on Friday night.  Mama bought me a new farm animal book for the trip.  You can't tell in this picture, but I loved the book!!

Mommies' bed.  My pack 'n play wasn't set up in this one, but it was right by their bed.

Helping Mommy with the dishes.

EARLY Saturday morning, trying on Mommy's Crocs.

Mommies bought me my own camping chair for the trip!

Hanging out with my doll.

Side shot of the camper.

Rear angle of the camper.

The camper and our campsite.  Our site was pretty small, but mommies checked out the rest of the campground and found some much bigger sites they'd want to book next time we come here.

Mommy being silly.  (and trying to put me down for the night)

Trip to Eagle's Nest with Nancy and Ellis!

A couple of weeks ago, Mama went up north to go fishing, so Mommy and I were on our own!  We had a lot of fun together!  On Friday night, we had dinner with Melissa, Aftin and Bailee.  On Saturday, we were supposed to go to the Como Zoo with Mommy's friend Nancy and her son Ellis, but it was rainy and yucky outside, so we went to an indoor park called Eagle's Nest instead to burn off some energy!  I was tentative at first, but I eventually warmed up to it and had a great time!  I'm so glad I finally got to meet Ellis too!  He's such a sweet, cute boy!  Here are some picture of our Eagle's Nest adventures - I can't wait to go back someday and to see Nancy and Ellis again!

Being shy at first.  I was also confused by the wristband I had to wear and spent the first 20 minutes or so trying to take it off.

Starting to warm-up and climb on the toys!

Playing in the big turtle.  This was one of my favorite spots!

Ellis having a turn in the turtle!

This was another favorite of mine!

Climbing ... bullying my way past a kid who was already playing on this toy.  Mommy quickly put the camera down after snapping this shot and grabbed me to let me know it wasn't okay to climb on top of other kids.  I don't think this kid was amused by my actions.  :)

Nancy and Ellis playing make believe at the pretend fast food restaurant!

Mommy tried to get a shot of the matching socks we had on.  Mommy had worn flip flops and I had worn Crocs with no socks because we didn't realize you had to play in socks, so we had to buy socks when we got there.  :)

Checking everything out!

Ellis and I trying to make our great escape!



Taking care of my brother!

Much to mommies occasional delight (but usually dismay), I've discovered Joey's food canister in the pantry and I now love to fill his food dish!  Mommies keep an old cup in his canister that they fill up to put food in his dish.  Now I do the same!  At first, it was cute.  Now mommies think it's just messy.  I guess I do miss the bowl a lot of times...  :)  What can I say?  I love my brother Joey and I love taking care of him!!

This picture was taken when mommies still thought this was cute.  They no longer take pictures of me filling his dish.  Usually they run to the pantry to close it as fast as they can.  :)

Still Teething....

Just when mommies thought the worst was behind us in terms of teething, I introduced them to the ultimate teething pain - eye teeth!  Mommy is pretty sure my eye teeth have been coming in now for over a month, and they're still not through!  As a result, mommies are desperately trying to find cold things for me to chew on (and lots of Tylenol) to help manage the pain and to keep me happy!  In addition to the pain, my face gets splotchy, so Mommy said I kind of look like a little bit of a "wreck" when I'm teething.  I don't think that's a compliment, but I'm not sure?  Here are some lovely teething pictures....

This popsicle seemed to do the trick a couple of weeks ago.

Mid-bite.

That's tart!!  (what you can't see in the pictures is when I eventually put it down on the kitchen counter when mommies weren't looking and they discovered a pool of red goo about 10 minutes later...)

Do you like my outfit?  I hear the t-shirt/diaper look is really big this season!

Running around with another frozen treat - my teether!

Not all teething toys need to be frozen .... or toys for that matter.  Here I am gnawing on my sunglasses.

Summer Fitness Requires a Headband!

Now that summer is FINALLY here, Mommies have been getting outside a lot more for biking, rollerblading and walking.  Since we live in the country, the wind can be kind of strong sometimes, so mommies always wear headbands to keep the wind from their ears and to keep their hair out of their faces.  I of course caught onto this, and now whenever we go out to get some exercise, I have to wear a headband too.  I keep it on nearly the entire time we exercise, and if mommies try to leave the driveway without giving me my headband, I make sure they know it and run back inside and get it!  Here are a few pictures of me and my favorite headband.  :)

Getting ready to have a peak under the front porch!

Chasing Peanut after a family bike ride.

Ready to head out for a walk!



I Love Making Videos on Mommy's Phone!

Mommy's phone has a really cool feature where you can watch videos WHILE you're making them.  So when you look at the screen, you see the video you're making .... kind of like a mirror!  Of course, I think this is AWESOME and am very humored by myself when I make videos.

With Mama out of town this past weekend, Mommy thought it would be nice to make a little video of me since she knew Mama was missing me a lot.  (can you blame her?!!)  So, here's what I came up with.  As you'll see, I was very fascinated seeing my face and my tongue in the phone....  :)

Mommy's Trip to Orlando = a FUN Week with Mamma and Papa for me!

A couple of weeks ago, Mommy had to go to Orlando for work.  She knew she'd be gone a few days, so she asked Mamma and Papa if they would come help take care of me to help Mama out!  Unfortunately, the weather wasn't nice while they were here, but we still had such a fun time, and they pretty much let me get away with everything, so that makes it pretty great for me!  Here are a few pictures that Mamma and Mama took of me while Mommy was away....

I wonder if Mommy will take me with her if I hide in her suitcase?



Cuddling with Papa.

Getting ready with Mamma!

Standing on Papa!

By their third day, it got nice enough for us to go outside and play.

Chewing on my kids menu from the Orchard! 

Being silly before bed time.

Hanging out with Papa before going to bed on their last night in WI.

This was taken the following week during another trip of Mommy's.  And yes, I'm always this happy in the tub!



Bathtime silliness!

Lately, bathtime has become a REALLY silly time at our house.  (most times have, come to think of it)  I just love getting a bath.  It's so fun to splash the water around.  Mommies can't even imagine how happy I'll be once the weather warms up and I get to play in the water more often!  (turn your volume up for this one)

Easter!

Yesterday was Easter, and while I didn't fully understand why I woke up to candy and presents, I loved it just the same!  The Easter bunny definitely made his way to our house on Saturday night and delivered some really great presents for me to open when I got up on Sunday!  The first thing I found was my Easter basket.  It was full of books, puzzles, candy and bubbles.  After that, mommies got me dressed and took me outside, and the Easter bunny had brought me a new climber to play with in the yard this summer!  He also hid some eggs around the yard.  It took me a while, but I eventually found all of them!

After the morning fun and a long nap, we headed over to Kelly and Dave's to continue the celebration.  We had a yummy lunch, then went outside for another Easter egg hunt and some fun on the playground.  I found both of my "Maggie" eggs and I also found one special egg that had $1 in it.  I can't wait to put my dollar in my piggy bank!

All in all it was a great day and I was out cold the entire ride home and continued sleeping long after we got home.  So exhausting but so much fun.  Can't wait until next year!

Look what the Easter Bunny brought me!

Digging in to my basket.  (while simultaneously brushing my teeth)

Checking out my new book from Mamma.

Sampling the chocolate bunny from Mamma and Papa.

Carrying around my basket like a big girl.  (with chocolate bunny remnants on my face)

Going outside to see what else the bunny left me...

A new playset!!

Do you think I like it?

Mommy doing a quick photo shoot on the deck with me before leaving for Kelly and Dave's.

Silly Maggie face.

Kind of posing for this one.

Showing off my bow!

Being me.

Sampling one of the chocolates in my Easter egg during the egg hunt at the Mansell's.

Searching for eggs.

I found one with a dollar in it!

Found another one with Brett's help!

Found my last one!

Cousin picture.  This didn't go too well.

Adult cousin picture.  Thankfully, none of them cried in this one.

Lucy taking me down the slide!

Checking out the chicken in Lucy's boots.