For those Down Under

As many of you know, Margaux's B and Pop are traveling in New Zealand and Australia. They are missing Margaux, and it just so happens that my friend, Courtney, who is visiting this weekend brought her camera. So, for you, Mom and Dad, here are some pictures of your granddaughter from this morning. Love to you both, Cindy, Mike and Margaux

Tornadoes and Tigers

Lots of twisters a couple of days ago (Tuesday). I was about to give M3 a bottle and put her down for a nap when the warning sirens went off. You'd be surprised how quickly you can get a baby, diaper bag, flashlight, and weather radio down into a storm shelter if you're properly motivated. All was fine in Stillwater (some light hail damage) but other communities in OK weren't so lucky.

On a happier note, Aunt Megan sent Margaux a stuffed tiger that sings "Eye of the Tiger," the hit song from the 80s. The tiger plays the song over and over and over and over again. We love to hear it! (Not!)

But here's a fun video of M3 and her new toy. If you watch closely, at around 1:33 into the video you see a subtle hint that Margaux has had enough of the song.

Dancing to the purple dinousaur

Hello, all. We're digging out from under the ice that got dropped on Stillwater over the last couple of days. Our Honda has been parked up the street the whole time because it was impossible to get down the icy hill without sliding into the creek. Our neighbor tried to move his Corvette (I guess he was going to put it in the garage) and ended up spinning around in the ice and parking it on top of *his* neighbor's terraced flowerbed, where it sat for 2 days because the tow truck couldn't get down the street. Yeesh.

Here's a short vid Cindy shot. When Barney came on, Margaux dropped what she was doing so she could crawl over and dance to the Barney songs.

Margaux eats cheese

This video shows the first time Margaux tried cheese, and as you can see, she's not keen on cheese. We'll keep trying to get it down her, though, because a world without cheese is sort of sad.

Short movie

Cindy got me a FlipVideo camera for Christmas, and I've been having fun filming stuff. It's very easy to make quick little movies, like this one...

Patrick the Puppy

Cindy got online a week or two back and decided to get Margaux her first Christmas present. She hit FAO Shwartz (haven't seen the bill yet and I'm very afraid...) and got Patrick the Puppy, a giant (4') stuffed dog that is very smushy and soft. We gave it to Margaux yesterday, and she has really grown to love Patrick. She climbs all over him. It's very funny to see a wee little 9-month-old climbing a stuffed animal like it's a mountain--she goes up one side, and down the other.

Here's Patrick...tomorrow when the baby's awake, I'm going to put Fergus (the real dog) in there next to Patrick and take a pic to show the scale (real dog much smaller). Note the alien in the background. We picked it up in Roswell NM a few years ago. Margaux was kind of attached to it, but Cindy was afraid she would grow up and have dreams that she was abducted by aliens as an infant. (The UFO-ers will recognize the alien, which is often draped with Mardi Gras beads and sporting an LSU shirt.)



Margaux was a little standoffish at first...



...but then she did the canine 'nose sniff' ritual...




...and then decided that she LOVES Patrick the Puppy. Whenever she's near Patrick, she goes up to him and lies down on top of him. Even softer and squishier than Dad's belly!

bye-bye gramma & grampa

Well, Lolan and Faye packed up the RV and hit the road, after spending all autumn here in Stillwater. We were very sorry to see them go, but we're so grateful they hung out for these last several months. Nothing better than having grandparents around! Margaux spent lots of time with Gramma and Grampa, walking, playing, shopping, etc. Now that it's just Cindy and I here, I think Margaux's getting a little bored with us. Here are a few pics of M and her grandparents:

Here's little M rolling around on the floor with Faye. Margaux went from rolling to crawling to pulling up on stuff in the months L & F were here.



Grandpa spent hours playing with Margaux, telling her stories, and showing her stuff. He says he can't wait until she's old enough for him to teach her to throw rocks.



Here are the 3 of them. It looks like they're explaining something to her: "Well, honey, I know you want to go with us in the RV, but your mom and dad would miss you if you left..."