1st Pigtails and Laundry

Maggie loves laundry. She loves going through the dirty laundry in the hamper. She loves helping me put laundry in the washer, and then putting it in the dryer. She loves unfolding the clean laundry and throwing it around. She loves empty laundry hampers. I don't know why, but she loves laundry.




Maggie also loves looking pretty, so when we realized that she could finally have little mini-pigtails, we made it happen. They turned out cute, however tiny they are. We had to use some interesting techniques to get them to stay, but I like them. Someone told me they made them think of Shrek. Go figure. . . finally enough hair to put it up and she looks like an ogre.



Note the bruise is looking better.

Habitat for Humanity ReStore

So Jeremy wrote a proposal that the ReStore needed bigger space, more parking room, and additional paid staff. He pitched it to the board Monday night, and it was approved! So the ReStore continues to grow under Jeremy's skillful supervision. God is using him to do great things, raising money to build homes for less fortunate individuals!

If you want more information check it out on the web:
http://www.restorelgin.org/

Ouches always look worse than they are

So, today Maggie had her first ambulance ride. Mommy had her first mental breakdown. Not really, though she did panic a little bit, which is fairly unusual in an emergency. But anway, Maggie fell at daycare, and biffed her head on the metal door frame. A HUGELY HUGE welt/knot immediately filled up the right side of her forehead. It was the grossest darkest purple that I have ever seen on human skin. I couldn't look at it without getting choked up. Of course, being the kiddo she is, she refused to let us put an icepack on it. The medics were FANTASTIC, thank you Oswego Fire Department! They gave her a bear to take with her to the hospital, which kept her occupied for all of five minutes, but mom's keys lasted her the rest of the ride. Rush Copley was also awesome. It was by far the best and fastest emergency room visit I have ever had in my life, I think we made it out of there in an hour and a half. The CAT scan was a breeze, and everyone was super nice. Maggie's brain looks fine, but I wish I could say the same for her face. . .not so much, unless you like the look of purple bruises on your forehead. I'm just glad the little peanut is alright, and I'm relieved that our first major ouch is over and done with. Thanks to everyone who helped us through that stressful situation.

Looking Pretty is Hard Work

I Love Surprises

So our friends, the Tracy Family, decided to make a spur of the moment trip down from the Twin Cities to Chicago. They have 2 little children, Ella and Owen. Maggie had a blast playing with them, and it was fun to see the Seventy-Two Others guys with their children. I think that Maggie has a new boyfriend, as you will see from the pictures.

My daughter is a little OCD

I used to think Maggie was a very normal child. Then she started lining up her toys along the edge of the bathtub in a perfect row. Tonight she decided she didn't like the way the tupperware cabinet was arranged, so she took initiative and began to move the lids to other areas of the kitchen. See the video below. Note how she is very pleased with her work.

Winter in Illinois

Wearing Daddy's Hat!

Look how cute I am!

One small step, one giant leap

I also forgot to mention that Maggie is walking quite a bit now. This is a video clip of her earlier steps. Shes a pro now, but this was the beginning.

Maggie as Mommy

Maggie is a riot. She recently picked out a doll at Target . This doll is great because it makes different noises depending on where you squeeze her. The thing that I love most is that when you squeeze her foot, she cries. No matter where you are with that doll, if you squeeze the foot and she hears that baby cry she will come for her. Not only will she find her, but she will pick her up, kiss her, and go shhhh, shhhh, shhh. Just like we do with her when she cries. Plus she likes to push her around in the stroller that we got as well, which is also amusing because she never can get her in the stroller right, and when she pushes it on the hardwood floor she wipes out every time. The doll also sneezes when you push her nose, but they must have been thinking that children have the strength of Hulk Hogan, because you have to squish her face beyond recognition to get a 3 second sneeze out of this thing. Toys! I think Jeremy and I have more fun with them than Maggie does. She'd rather play with our car keys. Go figure.

This is the beginning

Hello everyone! This is the beginning of the Illinois branch of the Keen family's blog. I will be using this as a means of updating information and pictures of what is going on in our lives. Some new news:
We have recently purchased a new used car. It is a 2007 Ford Freestyle. It is charcoal gray in color and really fun to drive. Its essentially a cross between an SUV and minivan. Currently the weather has yet to permit me to get outside and take any pictures of the car. Then when the weather permits, the car is messy and salty from the previously discussed weather. However, to be fair, I am posting a stock picture of the type of car that we bought, and perhaps as the weather warms up, we will be able to post actual pictures of our car.